Crafting a Realistic Physical World in Fantasy Writing
Every great fantasy story needs a solid stage to unfold upon – and that stage is the physical world. Specifically, the geography of your world sets the tone for adventure.
A well-crafted physical should look and feel real, and also influence cultures, conflicts, and the very lives of your characters. In this blog, we’ll chat about how to design a fantasy world’s geography and climate in a way that feels believable yet still full of wonder. By the end, you’ll have practical tips (and some fun exercises) to make your world’s setting as compelling as the story you’re telling.
Source: Wikimedia. A thoughtfully designed world map can make your fantasy realm feel real. Notice how different terrains (forests, deserts, seas) are arranged logically on this map – much like in our own world. This consistency helps readers suspend disbelief and get lost in your world.
Start with Real-World Basics (and Then Break Them Creatively)
One of the best ways to create a realistic fantasy world is to draw inspiration from Earth’s geography. Think about how our rivers flow downhill to form deltas, how mountain ranges often border plains, or how deserts usually form on one side of mountains. Incorporating these natural patterns makes your invented world instantly feel more authentic.
For example, if you place a lush jungle right next to a vast desert, ask yourself how that’s possible – perhaps towering mountains trap moisture on one side, creating rainforest and arid sand on the other. Such reasoning mimics real-world biome distribution and gives your setting internal consistency.
That said, creative breaking of these rules can lead to fascinating worlds. Maybe a sorcerer’s curse twisted the land, causing a frozen tundra smack in the middle of the tropics. It’s okay to defy physics or climate – as long as you have some explanation the reader can accept (natural or magical). The key is to establish a pattern or rule in your world’s design and stick to it. If magic causes odd geography, clarify those rules early so the reader isn’t left puzzled.
Mapping Out Your World’s Layout
When you’re ready to put pen to paper (or cursor to screen) and map your world, start broad and then refine details:
Continents and Oceans: Determine the number of landmasses. Do large oceans separate them or is there a Pangaea-style supercontinent? If your story involves long sea voyages or island-hopping adventures, an archipelago setting might be perfect. Conversely, one giant continent could host many diverse regions connected by overland routes.
Mountains and Rivers: Add mountain ranges – often at continent edges or where tectonic plates would logically collide. Mountains are crucial because they influence climate (snowy peaks, dry basins behind them, etc.). From mountains, draw rivers snaking toward the sea. Remember, rivers generally flow from high elevation to low and join together, not split apart (at least not without magic involved!). Rivers give life – expect civilizations to spring up around them.
Deserts, Forests, and Plains: Now consider climate zones. Perhaps there’s a desert on the leeward side of a mountain range (no rain gets past the peaks), or a broad grassland in the continent’s interior. Forests often appear where ample rain falls – maybe a temperate deciduous forest in the north and a steamy tropical jungle near the equator. Think about latitude: equatorial regions tend to be hotter, polar regions colder, unless magical factors override this.
As you sketch these, keep cause and effect in mind. If you place a huge desert, figure out why it’s there (distant from ocean moisture, perhaps). If a vast forest spans your map, what feeds its growth (steady rainfall, rich soil from nearby rivers, maybe even ancient magic)? This logical reasoning may seem like extra homework, but it’s what makes your world feel like a cohesive planet and not just an underdeveloped backdrop.
Example: Building a Region from Scratch
Let’s say you need to create “The Kingdom of Aerilon” – a fertile realm where much of your story happens. You decide Aerilon will sit between a mountain range to the north and the sea to the south. The northern mountains trap rain clouds coming from the ocean, so the foothills in Aerilon are green and lush, filled with farms and deep woods. A major river flows from those mountains through the kingdom, nourishing a prosperous capital city before emptying into the southern sea.
Now, beyond the mountains to the north (in their rain shadow) you might place a harsh steppe or desert that poses a natural border with rival nations. By thinking through this geography, you’ve not only drawn a map – you’ve also laid groundwork for Aerilon’s agriculture (farming in river valleys), trade (a port on the southern sea), and even politics (perhaps border fortresses in the mountain passes protecting from northern invaders). All these elements arise logically from the land itself.
Climate and Seasons: Adding the Finishing Touches
A truly immersive world considers both static geography and the climate and weather. Is your world generally warm, cold, or does it have familiar seasons?
You can certainly have a fantasy world with a tilted axis and four seasons like Earth, or something more exotic (maybe decade-long summers and winters, as in Game of Thrones). Whatever you choose, let climate impact your story. Harsh winters might force armies to pause their wars, or an especially dry season could spark a famine in your plot.
If you’re aiming for realism, distribute climates sensibly across latitudes – perhaps tropical near the equator, temperate in midlands, frigid at poles. Also consider elevation: a high-altitude plateau can be chilly even if it’s near the equator. And don’t forget things like ocean currents or wind patterns if you want to go deeper. For instance, maybe a warm ocean current keeps the eastern shores of Aerilon mild year-round, making it a coveted vacation spot for nobles. In contrast, the western coast might get hammered by storms. Consistent weather patterns like this can serve as plot devices (a voyage threatened by monsoon season) or simply enrich the background ambiance (locals celebrating a harvest festival before the autumn rains arrive).
Small Details Matter
To really sell the physical reality of your world, sprinkle little details of how geography affects everyday life. Perhaps certain towns are built on stilts because of frequent floods. Maybe the road between two cities winds heavily because it avoids an old landslide zone. Does the culture have multiple words for snow because they live in a permafrost tundra? Do they build their homes with steep roofs because it rains so often? When characters interact with the environment in such ways, your world’s realism shines through.
For Dungeon Masters, these details also provide lots of adventure hooks – a merchant might hire the party to escort goods through a dangerous mountain pass, or a village might need help preparing for an annual river flood. For writers, these are opportunities to “show, not tell” the world – describing the bitter wind sweeping off the glacier or the way villagers have adapted their farming techniques to rocky soil paints a vivid picture without dumping a lecture on geography.
Practical Takeaways
Consistency is Key: Establish basic rules for how your world works (geographically and magically) and stick to them. If something breaks real-world logic, explain it within your world’s own logic. Readers will accept a magical eternal storm so long as they know why it’s there in the story.
Use Maps as Tools: Even a rough sketch can help you keep track of distances and terrain. It prevents the classic mistake of characters “riding in two days from the desert to the snowy peaks” unless you have a good explanation. A map also helps you visualize choke points, strategic locations, and travel routes that can fuel plot developments.
Leverage Geography for Plot: Need an obstacle? Use the terrain or weather. A sudden mountain avalanche or a sprawling swamp can be as challenging as any enemy. Need to differentiate regions culturally? Geography often dictates lifestyle (coastal fishing village vs. mountain mining town). When in doubt, let the land shape the story.
Immerse the Senses: When writing, remember that geography is experienced through all the senses, not just sight – it’s felt, heard, even smelled. Mention the thin air in high mountains making a character dizzy, the roar of a waterfall that drowns out conversation, or the sulfur stench near volcanic hot springs. These sensory details anchor readers in the environment.
Worldbuilding Exercises & Prompts
Ready to apply some of these ideas? Try these exercises to spark your creativity:
Map Sketch Challenge: Draw a simple map of a new fantasy region. Mark one major river, one mountain chain, and one city. Now, write a short description of how a traveler might get from one side of the region to the other. What natural obstacles do they face? What sights do they see?
Climate Contrast Exercise: Pick two very different climates in your world (say, a frozen north and a tropical belt). Write a scene of a character traveling from one to the other. How do they need to adapt (clothing, food, mode of travel)? What changes in the landscape and wildlife do they notice as days pass? This will help you practice making transitions in environment feel gradual and believable.
Geographical Origin Story: Imagine a unique geographic feature in your world – e.g. a canyon filled with glowing crystals or a lone island floating in the sky. Now come up with a legend or scientific explanation that inhabitants tell about how it formed. Did a god cleave the earth in anger? Is there an ancient petrified creature at its core? This merges lore with physical setting.
Integration Prompt: Think of a plot point or conflict in your current story or campaign. How can you tie it to the physical world? For example, if two kingdoms are at war, consider if a mountain range forms the contested border (making battles difficult in passes), or if control of a river trade route is a major factor. Jot down a few ways the land itself influences the conflict.
By completing these exercises, you’ll develop a more intuitive sense for integrating geography into your storytelling. Remember, the goal is not to become a professional cartographer or climate scientist – it’s simply to let your world’s physical traits enrich your narrative rather than exist as a flat backdrop. With a bit of logical thinking and a lot of imagination, your fantasy world will feel as tangible as the one we live in. Happy worldbuilding!
Want to build out your entire world (not just your physical one)? Checkout the Tolkien-inspired world building checklist.