Crow Caw Studios

It's time. Your dozens of scattered half-written notes from notebooks and phones need to be eliminated, because you now want one place to store everything and find everything. It's a mighty purpose... but how exactly do you achieve this goal? Let me show you how. Contents What Tool To Use When To Use The Tool How To Use The Tool The Key Technique The Waiting List The Rule Of One Style Wonderful, Now Share Your World What Tool To Use This may seem like a difficult step. After all, you don't know what working with a certain platform will be like until you've tried it. But actually, it doesn't have to be a complex tool ; the more function-specific it is, the more restrictive it will end up being. There are some popular tools, like Obsidian, WorldAnvil and OneNote. But for the reason above, I find a Word document is perfectly sufficient. The main difference is whether everything is stored in one linear file or in a hierarchical system of files. But since you'll u...

Have you ever got stuck in the middle of creating something? Or felt like you don't know what to do next? It often helps to be more conscious about your creative process. You may already be following these steps, or using some of these techniques. But even if you're experienced, you might find something new here that you want to try out. Let's begin.   Contents Step 1: Collect Choose Your Goal Turn Your Thoughts Into Notes Read Up Step 2: Ask Use Your Notes Get Help Draw Inspiration Ask About Specifics Define Similarities And Differences Answer Multiple Times Talk To Yourself Step 3: Connect Eliminate Inconsistencies Deduce Rinse And Repeat Step 1: Collect First you need to gather what you actually want, as well as anything you already have. Start a list of bullet points, or a mind map . Trust me, it'll help a lot in organising your ideas. Choose Your Goal Title your mind map or note page with whatever you're making. You won't have to stay within the boundarie...

When you start worldbuilding, it usually feels like you just pulled up a very, very large empty canvas but have no idea how to fill it. How do you create all those interesting things? How do you use those ideas in your head to make something marvellous? Here's how.   Contents Know Your Goals Hobby Or Tool? Fun Is Important Regardless The Paradox Of Making An Entire World Yes, You Will Forget It The Three Steps Of Creation Step 1: Collect Step 2: Ask Step 3: Connect No Shackles Originality And Inspiration It's Its Own Thing Geography Comes Last Realism And Believability The Suspension Of Disbelief Internal Consistency Building On Foundations Making Changes Take Control   Know Your Goals To start building, there are some guidelines you need to know about. They help you define what you want and provide a general concept of what worldbuilding is like. Hobby Or Tool? Just like with any creative project, it's important that you know what you're actually trying to achieve. If...

Hey there. This is all pretty new to you, isn't it? Sure, you might have seen some shows or movies, or even participated as a player before... and those things should help, but there are still so many lessons to learn. Let's start the first one, then.   Contents Your Table, Your Fun How To Interact With Players Talk, Talk, Talk! Keeping In Touch When Not To Talk Your Role As A GM Being A Mediator Being A Rules Referee Being A Narrator NOT Being An Author How To Fulfil Your Role As A GM Don't Stress Act Be Firm Be Fair (Or Even Generous) Be The Example How Can You Start? Start Small Things To Know Before Look For Examples Do A Session Zero When To Start Your Table, Your Fun The first thing to establish is what everyone should know about the game: every group is different, and that's alright . If you contradict some generally accepted golden rule but your group still has fun, go with it. This is what really matters. That being said, it's always worth listening to ...

You might have already heard of them: the two opposing strategies, yin and yang, the dilemma worldbuilders fight to the death over. Or you might not have, in which case you can learn something really useful today. Let's take a closer look, shall we? Contents Building Inward Building Outward So, Which One Should I Use? Building Inward Building inward means that you start with general concepts , then hone in on certain aspects of your world. For example, first you create the continent, then the regions and empires, then the counties, etc. This strategy can be especially useful when you're in the early stages of developing something. It allows you to establish key concepts about the given region, without spending lots of time on specifying details . For example, you can say 'people in this county communicate with gestures a lot, and they value objects and gifts', without having to actually create those gestures, gifts and symbols. Building Outward This is the opposite of...

Are you also struggling with this? Do you also feel like the names you create don't fit the things they're supposed to? Or do you not even have any ideas? Fortunately, there are many ways of creating names, from titles to names of locations. Come closer, let's take a look together.     Contents About Naming Know What You Want Step Out Of Your Comfort Zone Give It Time Consistency The Depth Of Names Methods of Naming Baby Names Using Real Words Digital Tools Composing With Letters Random Letters Method Your World - Your Names   About Naming Know What You Want There are many different types of names, and within each category, there are different styles; a french knight and an ancient lich won't have the same sounding name, probably not even the same structure for their name. Places vary their titles even more; some people like using realistic words like Treacherous Falls, others get lost in creating new sounds and words like Vok'Zorok. Before you create a name, make s...