Welcome to the world design template! This template has many sections - odds are, you won't need all or even most of them to create a good world for your character to come from, host an adventure in a strange world, or even run a long-standing campaign. Still, in the interest of thoroughness, and just because, we've tried to make this template as comprehensive as we could think of. If you've got suggestions, please let us know what we may have missed!

These categories are examples (specifically, examples that could be used for a city to country-sized worldscape, or section of a worldscape); feel free to add your own as well! Obviously, much of the information provided here makes excellent material to create individual pages with more in-depth information later.

Nickname: Missouri's known as the Show Me State; what do people call your region?

Motto: Big amongst the slogan-minded; also big amongst corporate sector drones, though they usually call them mission statements.

Flower / Plant: Some regions like to symbolize their connection to nature by adopting a representative plant. Others just think it looks pretty on their stamps and stationery.

Bird / Animal: The United States almost ended up with the turkey as its national bird. Does your region have a representative favorite?

Flag: Whether it's painted on the side of a ship or blowing merrily in the breeze, a flag gives people a strong sense of blinding pride.

Seal: Most regions have some seal of authority (it's how they make themselves feel special). If yours does and you feel like describing it (or even illustrating it!), this is the place.

Official Languages: De jure: The legally-mandated language of the land; what you are required by law to use when conducting business.
De facto: The actual language or languages commonly used within the region.

Demonym: Term used to describe a person from this region; for example, a person from California would be a Californian.

Currency Unit: The unit of currency most commonly used.

Capital: The seat of government in this region.

Largest Cities: The largest cities in the country.

Most Populous Cities: The most highly populated cities in the country; not always the largest, though many of the same names appear in both lists.

Area: The area encompassed by this region in square miles (or other appropriate measurement), as well as a rough estimate of the dimensions of the area (it's nice to know when your country's only two miles wide.)

Estimated Population: A rough estimate of the current population of the region, and any strong racial divides that exist.

Population Density: Average number of people per square mile; in short, population divided by area.

Highest Elevation: Height above sea level at highest point. May be too detailed for most cases, but it's good to know when your area has a mountain that can escape flooding.

Mean Elevation: Average height above sea level. Important to know if you live on flood plains.

Lowest Elevation: Height above sea level at lowest point. In many cases, this is 'at sea level' for regions that directly contact the sea.

Start with the earliest recorded history of the region that you care to detail, with major events given their own header.

A good example of something that deserves its own header is a major war or conflict. Other important sections include anything that deviates strongly from known history (if referring to a world with known canonical history, such as Earth or an existing fictional universe), or anything that you feel is significant enough to be well-known by any reasonably well-read inhabitant of that region. You can always add more later.

Obviously, history gives you an opportunity to create your own folk heroes and villians - great explorers, warriors, builders, scientists, and innovators that advanced or retreated the quality of life for the region.

Most major regions are not flat, featureless plains - they just look that way on maps because drawing every fine detail would drive worldbuilders mad. Still, this is a good section to go into depth about interesting geographical points in the region - major mountains and valleys, national parks, historic areas, rivers, lakes, forests, deserts, and other aspects of scenery.

Touched on briefly in the demographics section, this is a good place to add more major cities to your regional map, and to map out rural, urban, and metropolitan areas where people live, work, grow food, and so forth.

Another related concern to geography in anything under planetary scale is climate. Specifically, this refers to the general temperatures and rainfall expected from the region, although if there are peculiar weather conditions that one should be aware of - radiation storms, magical chaos hurricanes, sudden anomolies that defy all reason - they should also be described here.

All places have a government - even if that government is 'anarchy', or 'if I don't like what you're doing I'll shoot you'.

Who - or what - runs the show and makes things happen around here? Are representatives elected, or appointed, or earn positions, or born to rule, or take their titles by force? Is there a higher power that commands the region (for example, if your region is New York City, then the governor of New York, and the President of the United States, are both 'higher powers')? Are there independent authorities within the region not governed by the primary government?

Note that in worlds focused on the masquerade, where the 'human world' and other worlds have different governments, you may need multiple Government sections!

Assuming there's more than one major political player, chances are good that numerous groups will associate themselves into factions, parties, or groups. Describing the major and minor players is useful for adventure planning, and to give things a deeper flavor. And who knows, someone's intimate knowledge of Beer Party politics might come in handy if they abruptly end up in charge of the country.

How are laws written and enforced? What is and is not allowed in the pursuit of a suspected criminal? Who or what is responsible for policing illegal behavior? Does the accused have the privilege of a trial? Are courts considered generally fair and just? What punishments are generally meted out?

What are citizens generally allowed to do without punishment or retribution? How easily are these privileges removed if the government deems it necessary?

What are citizens generally not allowed to do without punishment or retribution? Are there exemptions for particular circumstances?

Aside from the units of currency (and explaining further, if you have multiple currency units), you may want to provide other information, such as the average per capita income for a person living in this area, the Gross Domestic Product for the area, and how much a unit of currency is actually worth. In short, if you have twenty Zerkmids, and a Zerkmid is worth 500 Zerkmots, and ten Zerkmots will buy you a bottle of soda, then twenty Zerkmids will buy you approximately one thousand bottles of soda, which should be a basic way of helping people figure out currency exchanges.

Most places need some sort of crops to feed the citizens. So what grows in this region that keeps people fed? Your answers might provide insight into the lives of the inhabitants, illustrate some unusual flora that the region has, or just explain how a particular plant is so important.

In more rural worlds, hunting and fishing are a major food source, and in most worlds, forests provide lumber to build homes. Regions without major forest regions may have to rely on other materials for construction, or have their wood imported.

Aside from the natural beauty created by a region's geography, various industries focused on entertainment can become tourist attractions - everything from the World's Biggest Ball of String to the Twilight Jubilee Amusement Park to the place where they film a popular TV series. A region's cultural heritage can also be an excellent source of tourism opportunities.

The technological development of a region can have a major impact on its overall state of being. Everything from the invention of bronze and iron to gunpowder, mass production, electronics, and genetic engineering can greatly influence the 'flavor' of a world. In particular, worlds that have a technological development that differs from Earth ('steampunk', 'clockpunk', 'cyberpunk', and others come to mind) may be vastly different, and the influence of alternate laws of physics and the universe can generate radically different results.

In more modern worlds, the offices, factories, and headquarters of major businesses and corporations may be as much a mainstay of a region as its parks and streams. They provide employment and sources of conflict that can motivate plots, as well as political pull and similar intrigues.

Major employers of the region have a serious impact on the economy, and an overview of what industries hire the most people can be telling when it comes to analyzing society. Another important fact - the employment rate. If a large portion of the region is unemployed, it tends to hint at other troubles.

There are only two things certain in most worlds - stupidity and taxes (death is negotiable). While developing an intricate taxation system is probably not your cup of tea, having some idea of what income taxes, sales taxes, tariffs, and other odd taxes are common in the region may occasionally be relevant, if for no better reason than to take down a criminal for tax fraud. Taxes are also how most governments obtain the funds they need to pay for administrative costs (read: government salaries), as well as to provide funding for civic projects, construction, and other public necessities.

Population: How many people live in this region.

Population Density: Average population per square mile, usually.

Population Spread: How the population breaks down by percentage along common lines of demarcation, such as racial lines, whether those lines be AmerIndian, Irish, or Lunar Sylvan; natives versus foreign-born; population by age; population by social class; population by religious affiliation; population by education level; and others as you see fit.

Depending on your world, education may be a right, a requirement, or a privilege. As a rule, an in-depth coverage of the topic should include what access the populace have to public and private primary and secondary schools, colleges, universities, museums, and other educational facilities, as well as the general expectations and requirements for entry. (For example, if everyone who practices magic is required to attend and graduate from the Kyrillian Academy and survive the Tribulation of the Soul, this is a good place to mention it.)

What artistic crafts does your world make that are of interest to others? Do they prefer poetry, or novels, or theater plays, or ballet, or any or all of the creative arts? Expression of an area's culture can be seen in a variety of areas - if you feel inspired, write it down, as little details about these background elements can make worlds feel more real to those playing in them.

Dance, musical performance, and theater all serve roles in telling the history of a civilization, in evoking particular moods from an audience, and ultimately in providing entertainment. Being able to name a few of these performances, or the locations where these performances are held, gives you a few good names to drop in conversation if you need to seem artsy.

Especially in areas where immigrants have settled, you may find pockets of cultural isolation that have been brought over from their native territory to create a unique local flavor all their own. Exploring these pockets of cultural difference can tell you more about the immigrants and about their reasons for maintaining their isolation.

What do your residents like to eat? Every place has its local delicacies or favored foods, whether it be Kansas City barbecue or a Coney Island chili dog. A few regional dishes can emphasize the style of the region in subtle ways, or serve as a stark reminder of scarcities.

You've gotta have faith. Even in most worlds where religious fervor isn't visibly rewarded, the tenets of religion can shape culture and morality on a deep underlying level - and woe to the unwary traveler who isn't aware that shoes are a profanation of the earth in an area. If your world or region has major religions that you feel need explanation, this is the place to explain. Even those unpopular religious cults may get mention, if you feel that it should be common knowledge or easy enough to look up. “So that's a Scientologist, huh? They don't look as creepy without the jumpsuits.”

Sporting events, whether baseball, football, or gladiatorial warfare, are always popular. Does your region have a favorite sport or sports? A particularly diverting game that practically everyone is familiar with? What do they spend their time watching in the bar, or buy tickets to see on the weekends? Don't forget that most professional sporting events require an arena or stadium of some sort dedicated to the purpose, and a roster of teams playing - and in many modern countries, more than one sport is popular.

Some worlds rely strictly on oral tradition and messengers to pass news and stories; others have print media (newspapers and books), broadcast media (radio and television shows), Internet media (the World Wide Web), and more depending on their technology. What has media done to influence your world? Are there new forms of media that one should know about, or new forms of self-expression available? Are certain forms of media banned or censored?

First and foremost, if there is some form of organized crime involved, this is a good section to go into detail - are they involved in smuggling, protection rackets, prostitution, illegal manufacturing, piracy, blackmail, extortion, drug running, or any other vices you can think of? Are there any known members? What is their organizational structure like?

Second, if you feel particularly like detailing out crime rates in an area, the FBI has a tool to help you out: they collect data from law enforcement agencies across the United States in order to form the Uniform Crime Report. The UCR measures the number of reported incidents of offenses in standardized categories, divided by the population of an area, to get the crime rate - the rate of incidents per 100,000 citizens. By doing this yearly, they can track whether an area's crime rate is increasing or declining over time.

The offenses are categorized as follows:

Obviously, those wanting to keep track of other crimes may use this template to help out – or just to add some extra flavor. 'Unlawful charms on a goat', indeed.

Who's who in this region? Some of those answers may already be apparent - rulers and governing bodies, as mentioned above, as well as people who are routinely mentioned in the news of the times, for good or for ill, or are otherwise well known. In short, this is a list of people who you'd be expected to be familiar with when talking about the area.

While famous people are all well and good, chances are, players won't have met most of them face to face. The people they do know and should remember, however, are noted here – whether they know of them from personal dealings, from their current hangouts, or their current business associations, they're all examples of familiar faces.

Note that the information marked on either section is limited to what one might expect to be publicly known; unless the barmaid at the Silver Glove tells you the story of the jagged scar on her left leg, or makes a habit of telling anyone who asks, it'll remain a mystery. If you're curious, why not ask?