Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise as we create a necromantic magic system—inspired by Tamsyn Muir’s novel Gideon the Ninth—by answering these six questions:

1. Does the necromantic magic deal with the body or the spirit?
2. What can necromancy do?
3. How do necromancers learn to use and improve their powers?
4. What are the costs of performing necromancy?
5. What are the benefits of necromancy?
6. How are necromancers viewed by society?

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• Next month’s novel: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!)
• Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi

Join us for a chat about the worldbuilding in the adult science fantasy novel Gideon the Ninth by Tamysn Muir. We discuss having a large cast of characters, necromancy, five-act structure, and more.

• Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop
• Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon
• Next month’s novel: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!)
• Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi

5.18 Building a Bonded Creature

Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise as we create a bonded creature, inspired by Moniquill Blackgoose’s novel To Shape a Dragon’s Breath, by answering these ten questions:

1. What is the creature?
2. Is the creature sentient or more animalistic?
3. Why does the creature bond with human(oid)s?
4. How does the creature bone with human(oid)s?
5. How do the creature and humans benefit each other?
6. How do bonded pairs communicate?
7. Is the bond permanent, or can it be severed?
8. How rare is it to bond with a creature?
9. Do the creature and the human(oid) need some sort of training to work together? If so, how is this training obtained?
10. How are bonded pairs viewed in society?

• Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop
• Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon
• Next month’s novel: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!)
• Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi

Join us for a chat about the worldbuilding in the YA fantasy novel To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose. We discuss animalistic dragons, themes of colonialism and racism, romance in YA, and more.

• Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop
• Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon
• Next month’s novel: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!)
• Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi

Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise as we create a university by answering ten questions:

1. What does the University teach?
2. Who is this University for, and who is excluded?
3. What does the University value the most—profit, knowledge, power, etc.?
4. What makes the University unique in its world?
5. How do students physically experience the University?
6. What are the social dynamics among students?
7. How is power structured within the institution?
8. How does the University interact with the outside world?
9. How do students change by the time they leave the University?
10. What’s the name of the University?

• Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop
• Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon
• Next month’s novel: To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!)
• Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi

Join us for a chat about the worldbuilding in the sci-fi novella Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. We discuss aliens with tentacles, culture-based worldbuilding, how less is more in novellas, and more.

• Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop
• Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon
• Next month’s novel: To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!)
• Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi

Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise as we create a zombie outbreak by answering these nine questions:

1. What quintessential parts of zombie lore must be preserved to make it recognizable as a zombie?
2. What is causing the zombification? How/where did it originate?
3. What are the first symptoms of zombification? What are the later symptoms of zombification? What are the final symptoms of zombification? At what point does the host die?
4. What are the zombies’ strengths and weaknesses?
5. What motivates the zombies?
6. Does the zombification affect only humans, or any animals as well?
7. How does zombification spread?
8. What do people think is happening before they realize it’s a zombie outbreak?
9. What are the impacts on society of the zombie outbreak?

• Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop
• Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon
• Next month’s novel: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!)
• Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi

Join us for a chat about the worldbuilding in the adult horror novel What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher. We discuss gross mushrooms, how the author uses line level techniques to create a sense of dread and deliver worldbuilding information, modern pronouns in a historical fantasy, and more.

• Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop
• Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon
• Next month’s novel: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!)
• Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi