Why Geography Matters in Fantasy World Building

World building is a very engaging and sometimes complex process. When done well, it can really change the way your readers see your story. Geography is often an overlooked part of world building, but it affects nearly everything that matters to your world. From continent shapes to mountain placements, geography impacts politics, culture, trade, and more. For today’s post, I’ll be talking about why geography matters for fantasy world building and what the next steps you can take are to ensure your world showcases this the right way.

Ready to dive deeper right away?
Unlock the complete world building framework in The Ultimate Guide to World Building. It contains map-making tutorials, geological quick-reference sheets, and worksheets that tie every landform to culture, economy, and conflict. With over 340 pages to go through, you’ll learn everything there is to know about world building!

1. Environment and Ecosystem

Mountains, rivers, forests, deserts… each region nudges the story in a different direction. A jagged coast might breed fearless sailors, while an inland basin could isolate entire cultures. Geography can also define weather patterns and what sort of natural disasters exist in a certain area. This could create some interesting conflict for your world and story as well.

The ecosystem also defines biodiversity, as some flora and fauna cannot survive in certain areas over others. For instance, a shark is found in the marine biome but not in the desert biome. These sorts of things can really enhance your world building if you think about them deeply.

Ask yourself:

• Which biomes dominate my primary setting?
• How does the local climate limit agriculture or travel?

Throughout The Ultimate Guide to World Building, I talk about all you need to know when it comes to designing continental biomes and ecosystems to fit your story’s goals.

2. Culture and Society

Where people settle, what they eat, and which gods they worship often trace straight back to geography. River kingdoms celebrate flood festivals. Highland clans value endurance and herd craft. Coastal empires wield naval power.

Geography plays a huge role in how society is shaped and it matters to cultural development as well.

3. Map First, Write Second

One thing I recommend doing is to map your world’s look first before you actually start filling things in. For instance, placing a certain mountain range in one area might not make any sense from a geographical perspective so you might need to move it. Before you start defining roads, paths, distances, names, etc… you should probably think about where things are logically placed in your world.

If you want to learn about the best techniques to create a fantasy map based on logical geographical placement, The Ultimate Guide to World Building breaks all of this down and more with some ideas on how you can create maps based on real maps and your own imagination.

4. Natural Resources

Natural resources decide who grows rich, who arms an army, and who must raid a neighbor. Natural resources include things like minerals, timber, precious metals, oil, natural gas, etc… Think about in the real world just how important natural resources are. So much so, that there have been many wars in history that sprouted out of a desire for natural resources.

Natural resources can also define how wealthy a country is economically, which is precisely why it’s such a big thing to think about in geographical world building.

Think about:

• What rare material fuels your setting’s technology or magic?
• Where is it mined or harvested, and who controls the source?

5. Obstacles, Conflicts, Quests

Geography can threaten travelers or define entire plot arcs. It can even become a character in its own right and it can also be an entire source of conflict, as Person vs Nature is a conflict type under the 7 literary conflicts.

Geography also impacts natural disasters and natural hazards and how they exist and impact a region. It’s also something that I noticed isn’t often covered in world building guides and is something that I decided to include in-depth instruction on in The Ultimate Guide to World Building.

6. Borders, Trade, and War

Geography is a big player in borders, trade, warfare and things around those concepts. Natural landmarks or mountain ranges and oceans might define country borders. The ease of traversal in a certain nation could also easily affect warfare. Maybe a country that has a more jungle-like ecosystem is hard for people from a mountainous region to traverse, which could ultimately affect the outcome of a war.

Trade is also majorly impacted by geography. If there’s a whole ocean between two nations, it’ll definitely raise the cost of prices compared to if a few roads connected those two nations.

Ask:

• Which cities rise at crossroads or harbors?
• What shortcuts or bottlenecks shape alliances and rivalries?

You will get a full worksheet set for designing trade networks, tariffs, and merchant guilds inside the workbook, complete with examples from history and published fantasy worlds.

Take the Next Step

Geography influences climate, agriculture, migration, military strategy, architecture, and even fashion. To master those layers the right way, grab the Ultimate Guide to World Building.

Inside you will find:

• 340+ pages of guided prompts and fillable templates
• Guided questions for beginners and advanced creators
• Detailed levels of instructional material
• Topics from across the spectrum: from the broad to the niche

Put simply, the workbook is the companion that turns scattered notes into a coherent, immersive world your readers can believe in. Secure your copy today and start mapping the story beyond the edges of your current draft.

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