Continent

What is the general shape and size of the continent?

Compare it to the others in your world.

What major landforms define its landscape?

Think mountain ranges, rivers, lakes, plains, plateaus, canyons, etc.

How does the north, south, east, and west differ?

Consider climate zones, vegetation, resources, etc.

What natural divisions break the land into regions?

Describe a traveler’s journal comparing two very different regions of the continent.

Which regions are most fertile or habitable?

What makes them valuable or contested?

What places remain unexplored or unmapped?

Why?

How has topography shaped migration and settlement?

Which areas are easiest or hardest to reach?

What is the continent's general climate like?

How would outsiders stereotype its overall climate?

What climate zones span the continent?

Consider how heat, rainfall, or altitude shape different regions.

What are the continent’s seasons like?

And does it differ across the continent?

What major weather systems define the continent?

Consider monsoons, hurricanes, dry and wet seasons, etc.

How do myths or religions explain the weather?

For instance, do people see storms as omens?

How does the climate interact with its people?

Consider whether it creates migrations, wars, collapses of empires, etc.

What types of ecosystems exist across the continent?

Are any famous or iconic?

How diverse is the continent’s plant and animal life?

Which regions teem with life, and which are barren or dangerous?

What keystone species define each biome?

Think of creatures or plants that balance or dominate the food chain.

What natural resources are most abundant on this continent?

Conversely, which are scarce or highly valued?

What environmental conflicts exist?

Think overhunting, pollution, resource wars, etc.?

How fragile is the balance between civilization and wilderness?

E.g., is nature retreating, reclaiming, or coexisting?

How do its people describe themselves in relation to the natural world?

E.g., stewards, conquerors, etc.?

How old is the continent?

And how far back does recorded history go?

Who were the earliest known civilizations?

How did they emerge? What traces remain of them?

What are the key events that shaped the continent?

Think wars, conquests, plagues, major societal shifts, etc.

How did borders and nations form over time?

How did they change?

How did the population grow over time?

Consider what impacted it, e.g. famine, war, migration, exploration, climate change, etc.

What periods are considered "golden ages" of prosperity, enlightenment, or peace?

What paved the road to their downfall? How are these eras remembered now?

What is the current state of peace or conflict?

Are there ongoing wars or tensions?

Who inhabits this continent today?

How are its people distributed?

What range of civilizations or nations exist on the continent?

Consider what form they take in each region, e.g. city-states, nomadic tribes, federations, etc.

What are the dominant...

Languages? Religions? Traditions?

What shared cultural traits or common values exist across the continent?

Conversely, what divides them?

How do its people see one another?

How strong or fragile are these relationships across regions?

How do people see themselves in relation to their continent?

What continental identity, pride, etc. exist?

How are outsiders or foreigners treated?

And how is this continent stereotyped elseewhere in turn?

How is political power distributed across the continent?

Consider empires, federations, independent states, or alliances. Has the balance of power shifted in recent centuries?

How do nations maintain or challenge balance of power?

E.g., through war, diplomacy, marriage, trade, manipulation, etc.?

How do nations or city-states interact with one another?

Consider alliances, rivalries, colonization, isolation, etc.

How is the continent politically divided?

Describe the continent's political map.

Who are the traditional allies of this continent?

Why? Consider trade, religion, defense, family ties, etc.

Who are its enemies?

Why?

What trade systems are used in this continent?

Write a scene from a marketplace where two merchants struggle to agree on terms of exchange.

What role has this continent played in global history?

How might other continents see it differently?

What famous figures are tied to its identity?

Do they represent the continent’s ideals or its tragedies?

What ideas or discoveries from this continent changed the world forever?

Consider magic, philosophies, inventions, etc.

How do stereotypes about its people shape its reputation?

How grounded is the stereotype in reality?

How do myths and legends interpret the continent as a whole?

For instance, is it said to be the center of the universe?

What role does the continent currently play in shaping global balance?

For instance, is it a dominant power, struggling underdog, cultural beacon, neutral mediator, etc.?

How is the continent spoken of today?

Do insiders’ views clash with outsiders’ impressions?