Building a present-day or sci-fi world

For builders: where each of these lives and what it does.

Making a world starts with where it's set. The answer deals that setting's genres and premise sparks, and its starting answers: a present-day world is mostly humans with no magic; a science-fiction world a few species and no magic.

• Fantasy: Dark and high fantasy, sword and sorcery, grimdark, fairy tale, mythic, steampunk, post-apocalyptic and cosmic horror, as before.
• Present day: Crime noir, thriller, urban supernatural, post-apocalyptic, modern horror, espionage, military.
• Science fiction: Space opera, cyberpunk, hard science fiction, frontier colony, military science fiction, space horror.

"From the example world" starts from that setting's example: a present-day country of four regions, or a science-fiction world with synthetics, two alien species and an orbital station. Its names come from the name generators and are dealt for your world's name. "From a blank page" makes a blank world in that setting.

A present-day or science-fiction draft has regions with that era's powers (a police department, crime families, companies; a governor, a consortium, raiders), no kingdoms, keeps or taverns, and no coins unless you named a currency, so the world counts in dollars or credits. A present-day draft has no other worlds; a science-fiction draft makes its other worlds planets, moons and stations. Its art style and scene pictures are painted in that era.

• Map art Fantasy, Modern or Sci-fi: the setting itself. It paints battle maps, dungeons, building plans and town textures, and sets the defaults below.
• World map Parchment, Road atlas or Sci-fi display, or As the map art.
• Texting Match the map art, On or Off, and what people text on: this world's word for it ("phone", "comm").
• News and social media On or off for a present-day or science-fiction world; whether player posts are shared between players or private; and the outlets, named from your world, which you can rename.
• How big is this world One city, a country or a continent.
• Ways of travel Each way's word, speed, where it runs (anywhere, on roads, between stations, between airports, between worlds, or by sea), a flat fare and a fare per 100 km. Add up to twelve, or go back to the map art's own with "Use the map art's ways". "How locals get about" is a line the storyteller reads.

• Economy: with no money of your own, a present-day world counts dollars and a science-fiction one credits. Name your own and choose Coins ("2 gold, 5 silver") or One currency, with an optional sign ("$1,640").
• Map tab, new realm: in a science-fiction world a realm can be a planet, a moon or a station, reached by ship, with one sentence each for its sky, gravity, air and hazards. A modern world can still add a supernatural realm behind a gate.
• Towns: a town's places are its setting's kinds, and a town built in a modern or sci-fi style always wears its own look.

Places, sites and dungeons

The Places and Map tabs offer the setting's own town places and map sites, and planted dungeons are designed in its style. See Towns, sites and dungeons.

Rule systems

Pick Classic d20 in a present-day or science-fiction world and it brings that era's gear and foes. A system you compose or import works the same in any era.

Hob can set the map art and the world map, change the ways of travel ("add a ferry, 30 km/h by sea"), and add planets, moons and stations with their truths. Ask in plain words.

An edition translates each way's word, the locals line and the texting device's word with the rest of the world.

Every other part of the Studio works the same in any setting. See The Studio, tab by tab.