worldbuild

name	worldbuild
description	Design or extend a fantasy world -- magic systems, cultures, geography, naming -- scoped to what scenes need. Use when Sagar says "worldbuild", "design the magic system", "build this culture", "name these places", or asks world questions about a fantasy book.

Worldbuild

Scene-driven world design for the fantasy shelf. The world serves chapters; chapters don't serve the world.

Preparation

Read references/worldbuilding.md and references/exposition.md from the writing-craft library; references/fantasy-genre.md when reader-expectation questions come up. Output lands in the book's _bible.md (rules, places, cultures sections).

Method

1. Start from need. What do the next 1-3 outlined chapters require the world to answer? Build that; log open questions instead of answering them speculatively (worldbuilder's-disease guard: build what scenes need, iceberg the rest).
2. Magic systems get the Sanderson treatment, in order:
   • First Law: how well will READERS understand this by the time it solves a conflict? Plot-solving magic must be established on-page beforehand; mysterious magic may create problems, never solve them.
   • Second Law: define limitations, costs, and weaknesses BEFORE powers -- that's where the stories are.
   • Third Law: before adding a new power/species/culture, try extending or deepening one that already exists.
   • Hard/soft is a dial per system, not a global choice; declare where each system sits in the bible.
3. Cultures get three concrete anchors each (food, greeting, taboo beat a paragraph of history) plus one economic fact -- who feeds this city -- because economy questions expose hollow worlds fastest.
4. Naming: conlang-lite. Pick 2-3 phonetic signatures per culture and stay inside them; no apostrophe salt; test every name aloud; keep a per-culture name ledger in the bible so siblings sound related.
5. Reveal budget. For each new element, note HOW readers learn it: incluing through scenes, never lore-dump chapters (exposition module: inclue, casual-drop, ammunition, tease-then-withhold).

Output

Bible-ready entries (terse, factual, chapter-cited once used on-page) plus an "open questions" list. If Sagar asked exploratory questions, answer in chat and offer to persist only what he confirms.

Rules

• Nothing enters the bible as canon until it's on-page or Sagar confirms it; drafts of world ideas stay in the open-questions list.
• Never redesign an established system to solve a plot problem -- that's the retcon the Second Law exists to prevent. Find the solution inside existing limitations (Third Law).