World Building 101

World Building 101 - Resources

1/27/2017

The Nile River turned the deserts of ancient Egypt into a blossoming oasis, springing forth the first great civilization of recorded time. Similarly, the roaming buffalo herds of the Great Plains brought some of the most well-known Native American cultures to prominence. On January 24, 1848…in a small mill near central California, a man by the name of James Marshall discovers shiny metallic flakes. Over the next few years, over 300,000 eager prospectors and their families flocked to the fledgling colony in hopes of striking it rich. By 1849, the Gold Rush was on, and cities with populations in the hundreds swelled to tens of thousands. The resources available to a civilization make or break its future…and in the case of California, forever change the landscape. This article goes into detail about the types of resources used in creating a new world and how access to those resources will have a lasting impact on the nearby cultures.

He who controls the spice...

In today’s terms, the concept of ‘available resources’ is somewhat vague. After all, what is there that you need that you can’t get from the nearest Wal-Mart? But that’s not what we’re really talking about today. Rather, we’re talking about the resources that a society needs to function. One farm may produce wheat while another produces dairy, but collectively, the community needs access to multiple resource streams to survive. The resources available to a town along the New England coast today are drastically different from those in Colonial America. And the resources available during Colonial America are drastically different from what the Pilgrims had…so technology, trade, and politics have a lot to do with it.

For the sake of today’s argument, we’ll again assume we’re referring to your typical ‘Medieval Era’ civilization. That’s a common timeframe for a fantasy setting and it’s a good mixture of technology and trade. We’ll go over the 4 basic principles of resources, as outlined below:

Water – Fresh water accessibility for life and sustained agriculture
Food – Consistent supplies of food to feed a settlement, plus stores to survive the winter
Shelter – Access to structural materials for housing and basic lifestyle
Minerals – Additional supplies for the creation of tools, machinery, and society

Water

“We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one” - Jacques Cousteau

The power of water

It’s easy to oversimplify the need for water in a society until the water source runs dry. In a nutshell, life doesn’t exist without water…anywhere. In addition, human life is not sustainable without access to FRESH water. But think about the needs of a community, a settlement with families, farm animals, pets, and crops…what are THOSE requirements? A mere trickling stream simply won’t suffice. So when thinking of the size of your civilizations, think about their relative access to water and how that would impact their growth. Even in today’s age of technology, where are the largest cities in the world? Near water. Have a look at the map of the earth at night and it will become pretty clear.

So how does this translate to world building? Simple. In general, the more fresh water available, the larger the cities will be. In addition, more smaller villages and trade routes will be set up along rivers and streams, as opposed to the middle of an open plain.

Here’s a good test to see if you’ve built things right…using a graphics program such as Photoshop or Gimp, plot all of your villages, cities, and forts where you think they should go, ensuring you’ve placed them all on a layer separate from your lakes, rivers, and oceans. Now, hide the ‘water layer’…do you still see the outline of your waterways? You should! Since human settlements follow the rivers, you should still see the outline of your water, even if that layer is hidden.

On a side note, irrigation is crucial to early settlements. Use this to your advantage when thinking of plot points or conflict within your story. The bad guys don’t have to kidnap the princess or murder the prince…they just need to dam up the river!

Food

Oh give me a home....

Schools of fish just off the coast, wandering herds of Bison across the plains, or acres and acres of corn and wheat. Food comes in many forms, all of which are crucial to the survival of any civilization. Some will stake their claim to land and farm it for as long as the crops will grow while others prefer the nomadic approach, following the herd wherever it decides to take them. The end result is the same…families are fed, warriors are strengthened, and empires thrive.

In world building terms, there must be a means of providing food for settlements of any size, otherwise its inhabitants would have to wander until a source is found. As majestic as it sounds, you won’t find an enormous Cliffside castle overlooking the rocky shoals below. Sure, it makes a picturesque scene, but its inhabitants are either dead, starving, or have left long ago. Any society large enough to build a castle will need hundreds, if not thousands, of cultivated acres of land to farm. Likewise, a fishing village would need…fish!! The placement of your water resources should come first, but after that, it’s time to determine how that water will bring life to the region. Will a forest crop up teaming with deer, boar, or elk? Will several streams converge into an inland lake, fully stocked with trout? Or will a marshy bog become a watering hole for a large herd of buffalo?

When developing specific parts of your world, use plenty of variety in deciding the food source for a particular culture. After all, those resources will be traded, over and over again. Not every city will have access to live fish, not every fort will have fresh corn, and not every village will have soft, steaming rolls of bread. What’s commonplace for one village has value in another. And before you know it, the ideas of supply and demand are born…the inner workings of a semi-functional economy.

Shelter

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What do Northern Africa, Central America, and Eastern Russia all have in common? Harsh environments. Man cannot thrive in temperatures over 100 degrees or under 30 degrees consistently, neither can they thrive in jungle-like conditions. Every continent on earth has at least one point that would be considered ‘unsuitable for life’…one continent isn’t suitable at all. So, what makes life bearable? Shelter. Whether it’s the stone castles of Medieval Europe, the log cabins of Colonial New England or the Stucco Walls of Southwest America, all cultures learned to use their surroundings to provide shelter from the elements.

Keep this in mind when planning cities for your new world. How did early settlers provide shelter? Is there a nearby forest? A rock quarry? Endless tracts of clay soil? Man is surprisingly adaptable, given the conditions allow a little creativity. Make sure you change up the architecture of the region to account for the variety of materials available for building. Even today, you’ll see wooden houses in New England, Brick Houses in the Midwest, and Siding along the Pacific coast. Different regions of our world adapt to their environment, and so should yours.

Also consider the environment itself. Hot, sunny, arid regions will not have an abundance of trees or foliage. This will eliminate the use of wood or logs for shelter. Think of the streets of a Middle Eastern city…what do you visualize? Adobe-like buildings with cloth awnings to block the sun. Now visualize a city in the Pacific Northwest…have a picture in your head? It’s bound to have wooden panels and log accents…probably wooden shingles as well. Mix it up a little, and make the architecture match the surrounding environment.

Middle Eastern Street

Minerals

Worth its weight?

Whether it be iron ore for farm tools, marble quarries for statues, or salt deposits, minerals help define the function of a settlement. Nearby precious metal deposits such as gold and silver can bolster the local economy, or even cause a population explosion, as seen in places like Colorado, Alaska, and California. Likewise, spices can be harvested to provide valuable exports to neighboring cities. It’s one thing for a town to sustain itself through farming and fishing, but local mineral access takes a small village and turns it into an economic stronghold. In many cases, trading posts or forts are set up near mines far away from civilization, providing defense and much needed supplies to the workers.

Turbo Fire - Intense Cardio Conditioning

As much as valuable minerals can aid the economy of a culture, it also serves as tantalizing ‘bait’ to nearby factions. A family farm or a nearby fishing hole won’t pique the interest of a group of bandits looking to plunder…but a gold mine guarded by just a few untrained soldiers? Well, that’s simply too tempting. It’s important to understand the dynamics each type of mineral plays in your world. Is gold as valuable in your world as it is on earth? Is something more exotic out there, yielding a larger prize? Mythical metals such as mithril or adamantium are sought after in most popular fantasy worlds. Be creative and allow the laws of supply and demand to take hold. In essence, something fairly common won’t be able to hold its value in a typical economy, so if it’s worth something…it’s rare. And if it’s worth a LOT, then it’s only available to a lucky few.

Ancient Egyptian Granite Quarry

The concept of trade and trade routes becomes very important once you determine the types of minerals accessible to a kingdom. Let’s say you have a capital city, two or three large cities, and a few dozen villages and hamlets sprinkled across the countryside. They’re not ALL going to have access to a gold mine. Maybe there’s only one in the whole kingdom…maybe they don’t have one at all! So how do those precious minerals make it back to the capital city? After all, all roads lead to Rome, right? The answer, trade routes. Everyone knows of the ancient pyramids of Giza, but did you know that some of the limestone was transported nearly 600 miles? By using barges and navigating the Nile river, the seemingly impossible became a reality for a civilization so early in human history.

Summary

Concept Art - Dune Sandworm

Once you discover the power of resources, the landscape really begins to take shape. Have an open area of plains with no lakes and only a small river? Odds are, you’ll never have a village with more than 50-100 people. Why? It lacks the necessary resources to sustain a larger settlement…limited shelter, limited water, and limited access to minerals. What about a lush grassland at the base of a mountain chain with several glacial lakes? Odds are this will be a very sizeable settlement. Why? Mountains and Lakes mean trees, which means shelter, wildlife, an abundant source of water, and mineral deposits, all within reach.

Be intentional with the placement of your world’s resources. Allow access to some parts while denying it to others. Create economies, trade routes, and conflict merely by carefully placing resources that are in high demand. As your world unfolds, you’ll be able to plot storylines from the global dynamic that they have created. After all, everyone knows that ‘He who controls the spice, controls the universe.’

Continue our World Building Series: History

Mists of Kel Doran