Editing Worldbuilding Questions

== Creating Your World ==
Here are some questions about The Biosphere Project, and the Biosphere itself, you may want to answer when creating your world. You don't have to answer all of them, many of them may not be relevant to the world or game you're trying to create, just pick any sections that interest you. With any luck the prompts will kickstart your imagination in no time!

=== <u>Where to start</u> ===
If you're looking at this long list of questions and aren't sure where to start, then deciding what you want to use the worldbuilding for may help:

'''If you're doing this for fun:''' then just flicking through the categories and seeing what topics interest you might be useful. 

'''If you want to create a campaign:''' then creating some foundational ideas, for both your Biosphere and wider society, may be a good place to start – that way you have a sense of setting, and give your players an understanding of what type of world they're in.

'''If you're intending to create a Biosphere one-shot:''' then you may only want to flesh-out as much of the world as is relevant to the idea you have in mind. If you don't have a premise yet then, like the point above, creating some foundational ideas for your Biosphere and wider society may be a good place to start. Of course if you want to do more then go for it!

'''Alternatively start by choosing a genre:''' as this can help you start to get a feel for the world you want to create if you're not sure which direction you want to go in. Check out our page on this [[Basing Concepts on Genre|here]]!

=== <u>What to do if you get stuck</u> ===
If you're struggling to answer any of these questions then consulting some of your favourite tv shows, books, games, films etc might help you find some inspiration, Equally real-life examples may help, and you can always check out our [[Example Biosphere]] page to find some ideas. If you're still stuck, then chatting to someone and brainstorming together might spark some new thoughts.

If this list is too overwhelming, or you want some pre-written answers to the most fundamental worldbuilding questions, then check out our [[Guided Creation]] page!

== Worldbuilding questions ==

=== <u>Your Biosphere</u> ===

* What does your Biosphere look like? What are the advantages/limitations to its design? What type of power is used to power the Biosphere and why? 
* Where is your Biosphere set? What surrounds it? How far away is the closest bit of civilisation? What did the rewilded area look like now/how does it compare to before?
* Where do the people who work at the Biosphere live? What facilities/buildings/departments might they have? 
* Is there any in-game vetting process for people wanting to join the Biosphere? Is there any criteria they have to meet? Do they have to apply to join? Has anyone ever been turned down? If yes, on what grounds?
* How much do Biosphere authorities communicate with the world outside?
* How much does the rewilded area differ from land outside the Biosphere?
** If it's quite similar, what makes the Biosphere Project significant in the world you're creating? What particular element makes it a pioneer for fixing the impact of climate change?

==== Threats ====

* Does the climate outside pose a threat to the Biosphere (if yes, how do they protect it)? 
* Are there any specific people, groups or organisations that may threaten the Biosphere? What do they seek to do and why? What weaknesses in the Biosphere might they exploit?
* Have any experiments during the development of the Biosphere gone wrong? If so, how and what happened after (were any lessons learnt from that experience)?

==== Protection ====

* How is it protected? 
** Is the rewilded area surveilled? If so, by what methods? 
** What are the limitations to any protection or surveillance it may have?
* Do they have any specific safety protocols? 
** What would happen if there was an emergency?
* If your Biosphere’s protection and surveillance relies on technology or magic, and something goes wrong, do they have manual protection or protocols as back-ups? If yes, what sort of things? If not, why?

=== <u>The Biosphere Project</u> ===

* What events led to it being founded? Does it have a philosophy or principles it was founded on? How was it funded? 
* Is it owned or founded by anyone? If you asked the, in-game, creators of the Biosphere project what it's purpose is, what would they say? Is it affiliated with any in-world organisations? Is it a politicised endeavour? 
* What does it aim to do? If it had a 10 year goal, what would it be?
* What does the world outside think of the project? 
** How do the views of people inside working for the Biosphere, differ to those looking in?
** How are Biosphere Guardians viewed e.g. are they seen as vigilantes, criminals, saviours, civil servants?
* What does rewilding look like for the Biosphere Project? To what extent do humans intervene and try to control the ecosystem e.g. reintroducing species (plant or otherwise), boosting population numbers, disease control etc.? What does looking after the land look like to Biosphere workers (what sort of tasks do they do)?

== General Worldbuilding ==

=== <u>Society & Politics</u> ===

==== What is general society like? ====
* How polarised is it?
* What are the major divisive issues?
* Are there any dystopian elements?
* What is the average person like?
** What are the typical aspirations for marriage, job, home life and work?

==== What does politics look like in 2050? ====
* Have they changed much?
* Are there any new, or up-and-coming, political ideas or philosophies?
* Are there any trends in political ideologies across societies?
* Who or what are the most influential or powerful authorities?

==== What does civilisation outside the Biosphere look like? ====
* How might your setting, genre, or world-specific problems impact, civilisation and how it operates?
* What kind of areas do people live in e.g. rural, urban etc.?
* How large is the population of an average community? How tight-knit are they?
* How do they sustain themselves e.g. where do they get resources like food and water from?
* Are there any class differences?
* How have the politics shaped the way society works?
* Are there any factions? What distinguishes one faction from another? Is there one particular issue that divides them all e.g. a religious difference?

==== What does education look like in 2050? ====
* How long is compulsory education? At what age do most people leave school?
* What subjects are compulsory?
* What subjects are optional?
* Are there any new subjects?
* Are their any options for further study?
** If so, what are they?
** How exclusive are they? Is it rare for people to go to/aim for further education?
* How do most people view education?

==== What does work look like in 2050? ====

* How might work be different in 2050? 
* What are the most common professions?
* What job, or sector, is considered the ideal?

==== Religion ====
* Do any real-life religions exist in your world?
** Do they have the same history in your world as they do in real life?
* Are there any religions specific to your world? 
** What fundamental ideas are at the centre of the religion? 
*** Do they have any moral codes of conduct that determine how people should live?
*** What behaviours, ideas or concepts are they opposed to?
*** Do they have a sacred text?
*** Do they believe in any deities? 
**** Is it monotheistic (one deity) or polytheistic (multiple deities)?
*** Do they have an alternative belief, e.g. some sort of force or non-humanlike entity guiding the universe?
** Are there multiple religions?
*** What ideas do they differ on?
*** Did any religions develop from pre-existing ones?
**** How did that happen?
**** When the new religion was created, what changed to separate it from it's origins, e.g. were there any principles that were rewritten?
*** What are the inter-religious relationships like? Are there any particular religions that get on well, or ones that are massively opposed?
**** Has there ever been any religious conflict? 
***** What caused it?
***** What were they fighting over?

=== <u>The Environment</u> ===

* What is the climate like outside the Biosphere?
** How different is it to the climate today?
** To what extent is it able to support life of all kinds?
** How much damage has climate change done?
** Have there been any apocalyptic-level natural disasters?

=== <u>Science & Technology</u> ===

===== Technology level =====

* How advanced is the world's technology? 
** How much is it capable of? 
** What are its limitations? Are you going to set any boundaries on the capabilities of technology in your world?
* How has technology progressed to that level? 
** Are there any historical turning points that allowed it to accelerate advancement?
* Is there anything preventing technology from developing further e.g. limited resources, lack of knowledge etc.?
* Is there any particular type of technology that does more harm than good?
** Were the negative effects intended when it was designed? Why?

===== Power =====

* How is power generated? 
** How much of it is sustainable/renewable energy? 
* Does everywhere use the same type of power?
** Why or why not?

===== Science =====

* Are there any new fields of study? 
* What's the dominant scientific field? 
* Have they discovered things we haven't? 
** If so, how?
* What are the largest scientific debates in 2050?
** Are there any particularly controversial studies or conclusions?
*** Have any of them changed how things in society are done? 

===== AI/Robotics =====

* Do they exist? 
** How advanced are they? 
** What types are there? 
** How are they created? 
** What do they do?
* How much do humans/society trust any AI or robots? What are the ethics/debates surrounding their existence (are they any different from the ones today)?

===== Medicine =====

# How different is medicine in 2050? 
#* How much can it help with? 
#* Can it cure things that we currently have no cure for?
#** How does it achieve this? Does it require futuristic technology or magic?
#* How much medicine is based on technology, magic and/or herbal methods?

===== Bio-engineering =====

* Is it possible? 
* Have any species been bio-engineered? 
** Were there any unintended side-effects/consequences?
*** If there were, was anything learnt as a result? Were any new precautions, rules or laws put in place to prevent it happening again?

== Fantasy-specific Questions ==

=== <u>Magic</u> ===

* Where does magic come from? 
* How does it work? 
* What are its advantages and limitations?
* Does everyone have magic? 
* Do magic users have a limit to their magic?

==== Magic in the Biosphere ====

* How does magic interact with the Biosphere? 
** How normalised or accepted is it there?
** Is it used for any Biosphere tasks?
** Is it used for power?

==== Magic in the wider world ====

* How much is magic ingrained into wider society and the world in general? 
** How normalised or accepted is it?
** What are the 3 most common views on magic?
** Is it used for anything in particular?

=== <u>Fantasy Creatures/Races</u> ===
Are there any fantasy races? Are they pre-existing or ones of your own devising? What are their distinctive features or traits? How do they interact with each other? What are their cultural differences? Are there any that don't get on with each other?

What about fantasy creatures? Are they pre-existing or ones of your own devising? How intelligent or sentient are they? How normal/accepted are they to most people in your world?

=== <u>Mythical figures and Deities</u> ===
Are there any mythical figures or deities? How have they impacted the world? How do the people of your world think of them? Are there any religions or cults dedicated to them?