In Wayward to Wilds, everyone is free to create their own cultures, cities, towns, kingdoms, etc. for their characters’ backstories. We just want to communicate a few ground rules to ensure consistency in the world’s lore and that the group remains friendly and exciting. Generally, anything mentioned in the Character Creation, Lore, and Locations documents will apply here. Throughout this document, any player-created locations will simply be referred to as “locations” for simplicity.
✦ Do not create any locations that contain homophobia, racism, transphobia, or any other types of bigotry. We have mods and players with many identities, and we would rather have Waywardia be free of these issues! Classism, however, is an issue in some locations. Just be careful about your tone!
✧ If you feel compelled to implement elements of real-world cultures that are not your own into your location, we implore you to do extensive research. Refrain from cultural appropriation or disrespectful depictions. If you see a player creating a location that makes you uncomfortable, please let a mod know.
✦ You may place your location on or off the canon WTW map. In any case, do not make your location so large that other characters should or must know about it.
✧ Similarly, large-scale events that would require other characters to know something about it, such as a war between multiple locations, are off-limits. Nobody can account for everybody’s backstories in their own character creation!
✦ The level of technology in Waywardia is akin to the steampunk genre, meaning it has inventions similar to the 19th century. Things like locomotives, cars, cameras, and even revolvers are present, but are uncommon and far from advanced, especially since many of them require magic technology to function. Due to the expense of these objects, they are mostly used by the rich (which is why things such as daggers and axes are still the most common weapons, for example). Generally, locations should stick to this level of technology. While some places may be more inventive, bear in mind that advancements in technology are rare and expensive. World-altering inventions should not be present in your location (for example, Petunia’s location cannot invent airplanes). More details about technology and magic in Waywardia will come in a future document, but these are the main guidelines to keep in mind!
✧ Player-made locations can have light connections to canon locations (for example, Jim’s hometown sources their magic technology from New Star City).
✦ You are free to make connections between your location and another player’s location as well! Just be sure to communicate well with each other.
✧ Holidays and celebrations are free to be made up and unique to your location! The cultural depictions rule also applies here. Just avoid making a real-world holiday; for example, a Christmas-inspired holiday is okay, but Christmas itself cannot exist in Waywardia.
✦ As always, if you are unsure of anything, contact us in any way to check over your concepts and ideas!