Building a Setting from the Ground Up! 

Some useful notes on metals, mainly from old research I did while procrastinating on doing an art history essay school -Although sources differ, early Ironworking methods to my knowledge create inferior tools to bronze if given a high enough Tin count. A main reason the move was made was that tin was a rare metal only found in certain areas (for example, in Ireland our Bronze Age people got their tim from Wales). A major collapse of civilisations in the Mediterranean the end of Bronze Age lead to all a collapse in trade, meaning this weaker metal was a substitute. - This doesn’t mean Iron was disadvantageous, for Iron is a lot more common in the earths soil than the materials needed to make Bronze, which made it more practical and common when it comes to tool use. A good example of this would be in warfare, as metal weaponry could now be produced to an entire army, sculpted with the techniques already developed through bronze and gold use. -Steel, like Bronze, is an alloy, instead being an alloy of Iron made with Carbon, initially using coal. -Bronze, though usually made copper and tin, refers to several other copper alloys. Copper and Zinc and Copper and Arsenic are such examples. These also have other uses, but I forgot them :P

While I do worldbuild for storytelling, my favorite hobby is literally worldbuilding and thinking too much about the tiny details is everything to me. I adore this stuff.

An important note, in case it escaped your notice: While Aluminium is indeed one of the most common metals, it has been historically one of the hardest metals to mine. As such, up until the industrial revolution, Aluminium was considered rarer and more precious than gold or silver.

i'm a gamedev doing worldbuilding. i've been spending months and months studying rock types, 3d modeling tree types, studying landforms and fauna, to build the world from the bottom up. the way I see it, this stuff is the foundation of immersion, and it's so often neglected in video games especially.

amphibians actually thrive in cold environments outside the arctic circle, its reptiles that struggle with the lack of heat. europe especially is filled with newts and toads and frogs, and colder climates in america and asia are home to the three largest species of amphibian on the planet with the three extant giant salamanders.

Finally! My Biology degree is useful for something! Loved to see someone hyperfixated on small aspects of worldbuilding that isn't me.

For anyone reading this struggeling with creating their world: Artifexian has some really useful videos on where to place climate zones, ocean currents, wind patterns, resources, etc. Might save you some research work on the geological parts. He also goes quite in depth into plate tectonics and such, so it can help you create a really 'realistic' natural world, if that's what you want.

This is not only world buildings tips. This is an introductory video on mineralogy, biology, botanics and anthropology. I love it.

Might want to include Obsidian in your Native Elements, obsidian can be found around volcanoes and can be easily chipped to incredibly sharp edges, in fact obsidian can be made so sharp that it’s still used today for the finest of surgical scalpels. So very useful as arrowheads, spear points and knives. The main downside of obsidian is it’s brittleness but for an example of a larger weapon utilizing it you can check out the Aztec Macuahuitl, which according to one conquistadors account was so sharp it could decapitate a horse in one swing. Pretty sure the Aztec warrior swinging it was basically their version of Goliath but still not a material to overlook since it can be utilized as early as the Stone Age.

Calling naturally-occurring metals "native" runs into the issue of glossing over the utility of what that term is used for irl--that is, metals that occur in usably-pure concentrations without needing smelting (ex: finding a lump of metal inside a rock, gold flecks in a stream, etc). In the context of worldbuilding, the main benefit of native metals is showing where gold rush-style mining towns are most likely to form, but meteoric iron (that is, native iron gathered from a fallen asteroid) is a nice source for culturally significant artifacts or cheating an iron sword into the bronze age. You need less heat to forge iron than you do to smelt it from ore, after all. Another thing native metals are useful for is showing where even low-fuel societies can engage in metalworking. Your average plains nomad likely doesn't have the charcoal on-hand needed to smelt something from ore, but dried animal dung is a decent substitute if you just need to hammer metal into shape.

I am trying to create my own setting not for a story but for a ttrpg with a unique, alien environment, and videos like this do a lot to help me understand how to make it feel truly alive, so it is much appreciated

I like how youtube recommended me this after I started writing a new story and accidentally wrote paragraphs about the paper industry in my fantasy world

Bruh, this is a ridiculously underrated channel

and that’s why I’ve been researching swordfighting for years! actually tho I’ve found group-level combat to be more useful for writing, since it benefits the narrative more to have clear goals and structure, whereas a fight between two dudes can absolutely just be them smacking the tar out of one another.

Thank you for including Fahrenheit! That was a very small but VERY NOCTICEABLE detail. Thank you. AMAZING VIDEO! Definitely inspirational to say the least and very informative!! I will say I will be watching everything here!

If you're not starting with the Directional Rotation of your Planet, Continental and Ocean Plate Tectonics and even Ocean Currents and their effect on Climate are you *really* doing hard research for your Worldbuilding?

In terms of stone, I feel it's a good idea to also add stones used for building. Here sandstone or brick was the go-tos in europe. And wood may be very expensive heating-source in regions without a lot of trees, which is why peat (worth looking up, not as much used today) was used by a lot by people to heat their homes/cook etc. Plants, you would often find Flax a useful plant, as it was used for its fibers to create clothing, other plants like nettle etc. was also used by some. But you will typically find cloth being made out of cotton (plant, where you spin), flax (where you need to preprocess it) or wool (animal). Most people would spend a lot of time spinning and weaving, before spinning wheel you used drop spindle(need rotation to bind thread together) and a distaff(held the wool/etc. so easy to draw from.)

Ooh! "Aestetic Elements" is an amazing term!!!

Honestly I think this might be my favorite part of world building, yes making continent spending multi cultural empires are cool, but Really Making a World is just something magical

The best thing you can do in life is ask yourself questions. By asking a question, you can seek an answer. Once you start looking for an answer to your question, you can find it and keep it jotted down, then move on to another. I would recommend asking a load of questions first, marking each one down, and then answering each one individually and continuing to ask more questions about those answers before spreading out an entire world. All it takes is a few important questions, and you will be able to go anywhere with them.

What a wonderful channel, ill have to continue my binge tomorrow

I keep telling myself I dont have a type, but your character's white hair drew me in, the content caused me to subscribe. Now its time to binge the backlog of content!

I think I value world building more than any other part of fiction. The story and characters are just a means to explore other worlds as far as I’m concerned.

I played in a resource based game one time. My character was named King of Cows, the Lord of Dairy. I paid a lot money for this marketing campaign. The goal was to convince kids to eat two bowls of cereal a day. It was somewhat successful.

This is incredible! I always thought that I put too much time into research for settings but now I see I don't do enough! Immense thanks for all the details you put into this!

I really like world building and love to see other people do it so great video

Fascinating in presentation and information provided. I've been worldbuilding for TTRPGs for years and don't tend to worry too much about details except when making a new town or city, I find some fascinating things I didn't know and fantasy it up for a unique aspect of that city. It's enough and I usually deep dive a *lot* which means if players need more I have it tucked in my brain somewhere and can make stuff up on the spot. Delving into just writing and publishing my own web novel has made me even more deeply fascinated with this stuff and this is an absolutely wonderful way to present yourself, good work!

there are several uses for precious metals, mainly revolving around non reactivity. Like bone replacement prothesis (maybe teeth, maybe kneecaps), piercings and jewelry (although copper jewelry is really prominent on some cultures), in corrosion resistant alloys like sterling silver, used for intricate machining pieces that are susceptible to corrosion/ have to work for a long time (automatic watches, sewing machines, several analog measuring devises) and lets not forget conductivity and electronics! for gemstones its a little more complicated but the basics are: hard gemstones (not just diamonds) are used for making high quality grinding wheels and "cutting"(which is more of grinding pieces if the material away than wedge cutting) also used for pieces exposed to friction wear. Some gems are valued because of the substances that can be extracted from them (fluorite and sulfur are big ones) pigments too, really dangerous pigments like arsenic and mercury specially so. Some gemstones are valued for their refractive properties, not just to make eyeglasses, but also telescope and microscope lenses (pure clear quarts is really valuable for this reason [ also its more heat resistant than glass]) other optic devises, prisms.

definately gonna use my anthropology background to build interesting cultures, peoples, religions, and other things. I was taught in classes how environments effected the shaping of peoples and their cultures, beliefs.

I sometimes spend almost as much time building out my worlds as I do writing stories for them, which for one such story set across various alien planets, was both an extremely fun creative exercise and a frustratingly complex challenge...

Love the video, I have got to read up more on Foraging, and learning that birch tree bark can be eaten makes me intrigued as to how it would taste. I was reading a fantasy book recently called The Grace of Kings, and the character Jia plays a lot with how herbs and stuff work, and the part reminds me of that. Mind if I ask, do you have any resources to use as a starting point for this part?

I'm so happy to find your channel! Great inspiration

i tend to start my stories with census data, so this was an interesting look at another perspective. thanks!

So thankful to have stumbled upon this community! I LOVE everything you've included in this video, your style, your pace, your focus and love of details. I've always played with these things casually, usually in making stuff up with friends while we watch movies or play video games. I've had a lot to focus on, and struggles to overcome these past years. After my divorce last year I've been finding myself building up this insatiable desire to worldbuild! I love playing with cause and effect. Exploring all the details that go into creating societies. Creating all the details of a world, or enough, that I can play around with a specific location, people, creatures, flesh it out with all the things I'd like to see happen with them. Often emotionally/tone driven. One I'm working on now I've built up the immediate area with elements I know I want that will help further the type of story I'm interested in, but along the way I also am seeing and building events and interactions between elements that's building the story, and how if things were ordered differently or a few things were changed it could be entirely different. Like a goblin society that has a goblin more musically inclined discover parts of a creature can be used as a type of instrument, and how that can be a cornerstone of development for the society. How that's influenced by the history, traumas, personalities of the village. What they're surrounded by or not surrounded by. I don't know how to express what I love about emergent gameplay. I want to build a world that can be used for that in tabletop, that I can also play my own stories in. For that I need DETAILS! What foods can be made from flora and fauna? Who has access? Who has knowledge? I gotta stop because nothing I'm writing is gonna paint the complete picture, I just gotta get back to BUILDING! I have no training, I've played D&D with people for a dozen or so sessions years ago. But I've played SO many games, reflected on so much media, and LIFE! Feelin' excited and passionate today, wishing the best to everyone! 😆🥰

You know what your are talking about! Nice to see

Hannah: "content warning for a somewhat violent description (of use of a deer)" MH Fans: *vigorously writing down notes*

This is my first time here and I am pleased to see the ancient prophecies were correct. You truly are the lost heir to the Holy Trinity of Worldbuilding Guides. Rise now, and take your rightful place alongside Artefaxxian and Atlas Pro. We will prepare the way.

What a phenomenal video. More!

So, the usefulness of your "aesthetic elements" actually depends a lot on TL (tech level), and even in low TLs some of them are very useful. Just a few examples: -Malachite and turquoise are copper ores, and cinnabar is the principle ore of mercury (which has all kinds of uses, apart from being super toxic). Note that copper was kind of the first "aesthetic metal," on the other hand; Its earliest uses were pretty strictly as jewelry for wealthy and powerful people, before gold and silver were found in sufficient quantities to take that role, and before copper's biggest claims to fame became first bronze and brass, and later electronic wiring and superconductors. -Gold is biologically inert, making it ideal for housing things like implants, and it's also an excellent conductor often used in contact plates for electronics. -Silver has antimicrobial properties. -Platinum (and iridium) are crucial for large-scale high-efficiency solar power, and some promising leads with 3D graphene aside, are one of the big things actually stopping us from adopting that power option on modernday Earth. -Jade is one of the absolute toughest minerals (meaning that, notwithstanding how easy it is to scratch (it kinda isn't, it's harder than quartz but still much softer than diamond), it is incredibly difficult to break (by comparison, diamonds and even sapphires are fairly easy to shatter into tiny bits with percussive force)). -Quartz, on that note, is used in atomic clocks. It's also used to make glass. -Sapphire is pretty much second only to diamond in mohs hardness (scratch resistance, and ability to scratch other materials), making sapphire dust almost as useful of an abrasive. If you have a recently-made, higher-end smartphone, its screen is probably made from sapphire too (pretty much only low-end androids don't have sapphire screens at this point). Phone manufacturers do that so they can objectively correctly advertise their screens as "hard" and somewhat misleadingly as "durable," so that they're almost impossible to scratch, and, crucially, so that they shatter super easily (again, sapphire and diamond are hard but not tough; in other words they are brittle), forcing you to buy a new one. -Technically still sapphire (they have the same crystal lattice, but a red sapphire is called a ruby), but rubies are used for lasers. (So are other sapphires, sometimes.) -Tantalite is an ore of tantalum. (Tantalite is usually only considered a gemstone as manganotantalite, which is also the heaviest non-toxic, clear, facetable gemstone; That's just fun rock trivia and not practical info on the gem's usefulness, though.) -Flint and obsidian's usefulness is well-known (both have been or sometimes still are considered gemstones); Obsidian remains useful in eclectic cases today due to the sharpness of an obsidian blade (it's sometimes used in scalpels). Also depending on its makeup bronze also often tarnishes blue or green. Arsenic and zinc content tend to alter that.

Yaaayyyyyyy we hath been blessed by an upload! I love watching your videos while working on my own WB project

I think this video contains a lot of good information. It reminds me of the research I did for one of my stories that takes place after the events of a plane crash. I haven't worked on the story in a while, but at the time I was really into survivalism, so I wanted to write a story where a group of characters had to survive. When I first started writing it, I made a major mistake. The story ended up being too much of me showing off my knowledge of survivalism which I'm glad I realized. Eventually, I plan to revisit the idea. I still have a list of survival tricks such as how to make birch pitch. I came across some cool channels while researching for that story and one of them put me onto an anime called Dr. Stone which plays with the idea of survival.

Note: an animal bladder is used to make water skins

You are gonna love Dwarf Fortress. Play it!

Yeah a new video, love to see more about your world.

I tend to write in hard research because I can’t help but love that which I write and who I am writing, and I want to do everything to make their world beautiful and full.

Also worth noting that our change from bronze to iron as the primary metal used was caused to a large degree by thr Late Bronze Age Collapse... it became worth it for us to focus on iron (which at the time wasnt easier to extract or work) because the tin trade necessary to make bronze became a lot harder to acquire... almost all tin was coming from either what is now Wales/Cornwall, Spain or Turkey. There were a lot of degrees for the quality of bronze based on what percentage of tin was used and if other metals were added as well, some of which rivaled the average iron tools and weapons of the time. The Spanish imorted so much silver from South America that they devalued it and it hit their economy hard. So even what is available and its value can change a lot because of world events.

AMAZING VIDEO! Really well done! Thank you!

I just found out about this channel and I thoroughly enjoy it! Your art style is very pleasing and your enthusiasm for worldbuilding is infectious! I have quite a bit of experience in worldbuilding, be it making my own worlds, helping others, or leading online worldbuilding communities. I'd like to give some constructive criticism to this video just to help you out, because this channel has potential and I'd like to see you fulfill it. 1. Kudos on the overview and philosophy of worldbuilding, you covered the wide range of forms it can take very well! 2. This was mentioned in another comment, so I'll keep it short. Native elements are generally speaking elements that can occur as pure in the Earth; no smelting or processing required. Native iron is just iron, native gold is just gold, etc. The presence of these can jumpstart a society by giving them access to "refined" resources early on. Fun fact: A lot of this native metal comes from space in the form of meteorites, and these were utilized worldwide! 3. Your definition of a non-native metal is properly called an alloy, though some alloys can occur naturally. Galena is not an example of this, for it is an ore (lead sulfide with silver impurities). 4. Gold, silver, and platinum are extremely useful in industry for mirrors, electrical contacts, catalysts, etc. I don't know what tech level you are aiming for with these descriptions, but I presume it includes modern times because platinum was discovered and utilized only fairly recently, and the energy-intensive process of smelting aluminum was also a recent find, downgrading it from a precious metal to a common one. 5. Phenomenal crash course on the uses of plants and animals! 6. Colder average temperatures do decrease the diversity of amphibians and bugs, but they also do so for every other animal. Nothing special about warm-bloodedness here; cold temperatures are tough for diversity across the board. 7. I like the little discussion about the relationship between a civilization and nature. It indeed can be as awful or mutually beneficial as one wishes. 8. I definitely agree with the frustration that can come with reading a work of fiction that is not well worldbuilt. Keep in mind one caveat, though: Judge work based on the technology of the time. It's easy to forget that we live in an age replete with information that is easier to find than ever. Works created earlier would not only be restricted by the knowledge of the time, but by the accessibility of that knowledge via local public libraries and the speed of communication between people. Of course, this gives us all the more motivation to tear apart poorly made cash grabs that took no advantage of modern knowledge, which often plagues cinema. I'll keep watching your vids, and I hope you keep making them! I hope my feedback was worth something to you.

Jist stumbled on this channnel, 10/10 i love the style and drawings in the videos cheers

Aluminum was not available until the industrial era. I think Zinc was the same. If you are including modern materials and uses, like aluminum or diamond for cutting, gold, platinum, and silver do have uses. Silver, especially, was used in photography for a long time.

I am enjoying your channel, I hope it goes viral.

your art is always so cool! i love your style

Silver, gold and Platinum are extremly useful materials, Platinum is major catalyst in many industrial processes and used in a lot of small equimpent. Silver is not only major part of mirror making, it's also a excelent electricity conductor, and base for old age photography. And gold. Gold is the main electronic compoent, it's a incrediably easily molduable metal. Also biggest part. All of them can be made into money

This was a fun video to watch, I’ve been working on a world for a certain project I’m working on so this was oddly good timing too, I hadn’t thought about what animals could be used for other than meat and pelts before so that could be really useful for me. Can’t believe this got into my recommended though, my recommendations aren’t usually that good. Anyways first video from this channel I’ve seen but I subscribed anyway, hope I see more of your videos in my recommendations.

Thanks a ton! I'm working on finishing a dnd setting I'm working on enough to be playable, and this is helps a ton!

Woww love this, as aspiring concept artist i gound this is gold!

What a lovely channel I found! Great video. I'm worldbuilding a DND setting from scratch so looks like I'll be binging your vids!

I too have been writting a story set in the Paleolithic and i STG i spend more time researching nature facts and tutorials on how to make tools the "olden way" than actually making up plot points and characters : v

im no writer (yet) but i got so excited seeing the word geology since that's my passion (and major). Maybe it's time to give world building a try

While checking out megafauna in fiction, I'd recommend a look at the Monster Hunter series, especially Monster Hunter World. The designers took a lot of care with designing the ecology of their world, and it stands as an interesting case study for things to do or avoid in one's own writing.

Bronze and brass are also used in modern day manufacturing, and likely many other industries, generally in the maintenance of steel parts that cannot be put at risk of scratching but require a durable metal tool to maintain or adjust. An example being the usage of a bronze putty knife used in tandem with a rag soaked in solvent to get adhesive off of the steel cutting blades in the assembly lines I presently work on. Brass wire brushes are also used for the cleaning of some complex steel injection-molding dyes in the manufacturing department I previously worked in for a time.

Brilliant!

Just found your channel and I love it. I love the idea of building a world for campaigns but find it such an overwhelming task with how many factors are involved. You explain it so well

Will probably use your channel as a resource/jumping off point for any world building I do for tabletop related stuff. Very good stuff

I love your style and presentation, I would’ve really loved your videos a year ago, I just don’t need the information anymore, writing a different story with a more modern setting. Still much love, and I will still be subscribed

My plan for the worldbuild of the short stories that I'm writing is to say the name of the tech that allows whatever I need to and then skip back to the plot as fast as I can!

6:45 Quartz: Piezo electric effect. Rubies: Low friction bearings inside watches.

I really like thinking of the stock market and how demand and supply is effected by mountains and stuff

Your disclaimer made me giggle and I instantly found you super charming for it.

Very cool, but remember, another settlement needs our help.

Something interesting about ruby and sapphire is that are made of aluminum oxide and are pretty much one step below diamonds in terms of hardness and are commonly used in sanders or high precision cutters. So not *entirely* useless. Also crystals are used by wizards in most settings. Just btw, I’m not criticizing you, just adding to what was said

The thumbnail reminds me of a webtoon I really like

For a very long time lead was used for pipes. Things is the minerals in the water would bind to the lead and coat the inside of the pipe. Also if you are just using it for moving waste it doesn't really matter.

Frankly you're REALLY underselling lead, weird to say I know, but having a stone that was so durable yet easy-to-work metal is crucial for a burgeoning civilization.

Aluminum was actually very expensive to produce until a modern method of production was developed. I feel it would be out of place in a fantasy environment unless a magical process is used to refine it.

Fun fact! Before the 1840s, aluminum was a more precious metal then gold. The chemical process used to extract aluminum from bauxite wasnt invented till then and aluminum very rarely forms into ores large enough to extract.

Nice drawing style

today diamond coated drill are used to bore tunnels and rubies are used in water jets to cut almost anything. So the pretty metals and stones in a setting could be practical and aesthetic

The area you used really looks like world of banner lord 2

i love your vids

Bruv, your hard research is my light research

Material World by Ed Conway is a book you might enjoy! It goes into depth on the handful of materials that have shaped the ancient and modern world. Material science is fascinating

Beautiful thumbnail.

Thanks!

14:27 you mention what sounds like 'slow fruit?' Googling didn't get me anything, do you know what fruit that is? I'm curious about the dye.

Universe Creator Survival Guide: "Just nuke the earth, and plunge it into a moderate ice age."

REALLY liked this one! Almost out of content on your channel. Great stuff! Thanks for Makin it!

I shall breifly mention here: limestone. It's an important rock, concrete, toothpaste, steel, paint etc... It's 100% something I consider when worldbuilding.

Please beware lead isn't as common as you'd think the only reason it's common is because of the ease of use it gave. Also the most useful gemstone is quartz because of its high thermals, stability and resilience being used from lighters to clocks from cellphone screens to high temp and pressurized forges but the oldest use for them would be as fire starters since if you smack any form of quarts together hard enough it'll emit hot sparks that are hot enough to make a fire fairly easily the most easily available wound be quartzite. And diamond isn't as useful as you'd think it'd be. Sure it's used in high strength applications like digging into miles and miles of dirt to carving and stress tests but most of those require a significant amount of knowledge in materials science and engineering.

Earned my sub before the world building started

Brass is extremely useful for the fire department. While most nozzles now-a-days are plastic there are a few special nozzles that are still brass.

Whats said: Make you (hopefully) look more professional, competent and impressive as a writer Translation: Give you more nerd cred

ThE INITIAL SEARCH FOR LEAD IS SO RELATABLE LMAOOOO

5:29 I mean, those got proper uses with late industrialization.

An interesting thing about iron is that our planet only has it in abundant amounts from an ancient rusting event that may not happen on other worlds so just imagine a civilization without iron

9:49 No mention of flint, obsidian and other rocks suitable for trools?

Brass was also used to decorate armor

Wow, this video is amazing. Time for my autistic hyperfixation.

The whole radioisotopes of lead comes from that lead can either come from nuclear decay of heavier elements, or from neutron star collisions. The heavier nuclei decay at sort of random, and less stable forms of lead decay faster than more stable forms into either non-isotopic lead or other elements. If you ask where lead comes from, it doesn’t really help world building unless you deal with in which stage the universe at large is in. If you want to know where to find lead, then that is a different geological question I don’t really know how to answer. It’s technically possible to manufacture lead in the very real nuclear transmutation sense, but this is almost completely for research purposes. Just coming from a mechanical engineer.

It’s not too relevant for fantasy world building, but the precious metals of Gold, Silver, and Platinum are all essential for the production of computer components (circuit boards, ray tubes for older tech, hard drives, fiberglass cables, etc.) and other industrial works like tools. They are also important in dentistry! So if you’re doing more grounded, sci-fi, or sci-fantasy world building it would be good to understand how precious metals do actually have major use!