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This is a links portal to various world-building information, with a few personal projects of my own listed at the bottom. I do try to keep this page fairly up to date, but on occasion some links still break. If you know of a good site that I could add, please send me a friendly e-mail with the link path. Thanks! --Bob (Last updated 09may08.)
	Forums
Basilicus - free world-building web site. Creative Conclave - collaborative world building forum. Fantasy World Builder's Forum - multiple topics. Fargoth - world building project. Jacmus Prime - creation and discussion of fictional worlds. Orion's Arm - science fiction world building group. Rabiki - science fiction world building forum. RPGHost - See the world and town designer forum. Star Army - science-fiction collaborative story telling and simulation community. World-Building E-Mail List - public forum and archive for fantasy, sci-fi, and horror. World-Create E-Mail List - discussion list for world creation. Any genre, but emphasis is on fantasy.
General Directories
Captain Barcode's War Room - link site to many topics on world building. Fantasy Web World Ratings - a rating of various fantasy web worlds by four categories. Fantasy Writer's Resources - inspirational links for writers of fantasy fiction. GURPS WebWorlds - Role-playing worlds based on the GURPS system. Open Directory Created Worlds - directory of existing worlds on the web. World Building - links to various sites and tools for building worlds. World Building - personal site with projects and links.
	Guides & Articles
Ad Hoc's Builder Outline - a set of writer's outlines. Alien Encounter - paper on how an alien culture could differ from our own and what would be required to establish communication. Building New Worlds - world building from a writer's viewpoint. Constructing a SF Universe - tips for developing a sci-fi setting. Conworld - Wikipedia introduction to world construction. Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions - a series of questions to ask yourself when you are building a fantasy setting. How Aliens Might Work - rational speculation about what forms alien life might take. Magical World Builder's Guide - brief writeup on building a fantasy setting. Rich Staats' World Building Articles - articles written by the web page author. Way With Worlds, A - articles about creating fictional worlds.
Construction Tools & Resources
Blue Trolls' Netbooks - e-books on role-playing topics. Dwarven Delving - various information specific to dwarves. Great Netbook Archive - e-books on role-playing topics. Solar System Synthesis Applet - A Java Applet for simulating planet accretion from dust. Star Generator - Star system generator for Sci-Fi RPGs. Tablesmith - table generator utility. Also check out the gallery. Terragen - freeware scenery generator program. USML - archive of the defunct Universe Simulation Project. World Builders' - a course on world building.
	Names
Baby Names - half a million baby names. Chris Pound's Name Generation - various random name generation schemes. Everchanging Book of Names - generate random names. Fantasy Name Generator - form to generate random names. Geographic Names - The Getty thesaurus of geographic names. Medieval Names Archive - information on authentic period names for various cultures. Squid Name Generator - generate random names for various cultures and categories. Yafnag - "Yet Another Fantasy NAme Generator", pretty much sums it up.
Languages
Ancient Scripts - signs that represent units of language. Constructed Human Languages - links site to web pages with constructed languages. Language Construction Kit - creating artificial languages. Model Languages - dedicated to the creation of languages. Xenolinguistics - how to speak like an alien.
	Map Making
3-D Starmaps - information on building 3-D star maps for use in a Sci-Fi setting. Autorealm - freeware mapping program for role-playing games. Campaign Cartographer - commercial mapping program intended primarily for fantasy settings. Samples and libraries available. Cartography Unlimited - Creating maps for RPGs. Dungeon Demon - commercial tile-based fantasy map making software with multiple art packs. Fantasy Mapmaking 101 - some basics of drawing fantasy maps. Fracplanet - open source fractal planet generator. Fractal Worldmap Generator - generate a random fractal map of a world. Irony-Games Map Maker - map makers ranging from buildings to entire worlds. It's Full of Stars - utility program to create star maps and stellar systems. Legolas' Fantasy and Medieval Maps - various city, dungeon, and building maps. Wilbur - tool to modify terrain data.
Useful References
Alternate History - all things of an alternate historical nature. Archery - a series of articles on archery. Astrobiology Web - site dedicated to study of life in various environments. CIA World Factbook - reference guide to countries of the world. International Business Culture - guide to business etiquette that can provide ideas for cultural differences. Division of Territory in Society - book on territorial division. Encyclopedia Mythica - extensive encyclopedia of mythology. Federation of American Scientists - Primarily focused on military threats. Flav's World Scale - rating system for describing a world. Folklore and Mythology - electronic texts. Geography Network - free geography resources including maps. Gemstones - information and gallery of gemstones. Project Gutenberg - Huge electronic archive of out-of-copyright works. History of Metals - brief history of the discovery and use of various metals. Kronos - a history of martial arts and combative sports. - Mineral Deposits - Information on mining and mineral deposits. Mysterious Places - information on unusual locations. Mything Links - links portal to various mythological sites. Myths and Legends - good starting place for mythological information. Symbols Encyclopedia - western symbols and ideographs. UT Library Map Collection - online collection of maps. Virtual Religion Index - index and link site for a multitude of references on different religions. Wikipedia - collaborative encyclopedia with free content.
	The Past
Ancient World Web - many useful sources on the world prior to the dark ages. Castles Learning Center - all about castles. Castles of the World - reference guide on castles, palaces, and monasteries. Medieval Art & Architecture - nice collection of images and a useful glossary. Medieval Demographics Made Easy - writeup on determining demographics for fantasy settings. Medieval English Towns - maps, references, and links on towns in England during the Middle Ages. Medieval Studies - online reference book on the medieval world. Medieval Technology - reference information on technological development in western europe during the middle ages. Plumber - includes articles on the history of plumbing and sewer systems. (bandwidth limited). Regia Anglorum - living history site for English life circa 1000 BC. Society for Creative Anacronism - group dedicated to researching and re-creating pre-17th century european history.
The Future
Building Dreams From Moondust - article on lunar colonization. Contact - futurist conference. Encyclopedia of Suns - information about nearby sun-like stars. Futurism - various futurist ideas and topics. Nanotechnology Revolution - overview of the potential and pitfalls of nanotechnology. NStars Database - Scientific data about stars within 25 parsecs of the sun. Overused Sci-Fi Cliches - A list of things to avoid in your setting; also highly amusing to read. Planet Search - Information on known planets beyond the system of Sol. Planetary Fact Sheets - NASA-supplied information on the planets within our solar system. Space Future - General page on topics about future space travel and settlement.
	Personal Projects
Adelfarn - a fantasy setting in the form of a teleporting town. After Earth - a post-apocalyptic setting in the solar system. Diadamon Pantheon - general pantheon usable in various settings. Fantasy Maps - various fantasy maps at different scales. Fantasy Web World Ratings - a rating of various fantasy web worlds by four categories. (No longer maintained.) Karnia - early construction phase of a world setting. World Setting Ideas - a list of ideas that can be used in fantasy world settings.