First, an introduction to my challenge. In 2025, I started creating a setting to play games in with my bestie, Cheeki. The main system was originally going to be the Basic Roleplaying system, but I would use other smaller games, such as Prequel, for oneshots or mini sessions. This world would also allow some creative freedom to let us write stories in fiction format if we wanted. I wanted it to be large enough to support a wide range of adventures in different points of its history. Like with most of my projects, I had to put it down before I got very far on it.

Secondly, I have a lot of worldbuilding aids, such as the Story Engine decks and tables galore. These haven't been getting a lot of use lately, for many of the same reasons that kept me from worldbuilding. Now that I have time and energy to worldbuild, I wanted to spend dedicated time to fleshing out this setting while using things I've spent money on.

Originally I had intended on making a video for these weekly sessions, but I'd like to actually complete the challenge, ya know? Having to edit a video would create a roadblock that would make it too easy for me to skip. So after hastily building a new website and blog, here we go.

One Setting, Two Planets

I don't have a set structure for this challenge yet; I did obtain this list of 400 Worldbuilding Prompts to assist me, but I won't use it every week. So, the format of these posts may change.

Today, I'll review what I've already created, which is not one planet, but two. I used the Story Engine's worldbuilding journal to kick off some planet details, and after doing some dice rolls and some card draws, decided that I would have a pair of sister planets that had similar make-up, but progressed much differently.

Additionally, humans did not originate on either planet. They arrived as settlers, part of a social experiment performed by an extremely large corporation. This experiment would place two groups of human volunteers with wiped memories on both planets, and then be checked on from time to time for their progress. The humans would not know of their origins and there would be no interference from the corporation...for now.

The twist to this would be that the experiment was a front for the corporation's bid on two planets that contained an extremely valuable resource. However, this is not something that would come into play for a very, very long time, because science fiction isn't my preferred genre setting to work in. Fantasy is. And any science fiction work I do create will likely be soft sci-fi or space opera, or even just space fantasy. I just don't have the chops for science stuff, though I do plan on trying to learn more about various scientific topics in order to better inform fantasy creations.

I started working on one planet first. I decided that when it comes to technology, it'll be behind its sister, somewhere close to an industrial era, perhaps. Mining will be a big deal on this planet because of a reveal of magic-granting ore after a major earthquake split a large area. I haven't yet worked out the details of how the ore grants magic yet, and yes, it happens to be the resource the jumbo corp wants to get a hold of.

Planet Land Masses

This planet is about 50% water. Most of the land is concentrated on a single continent that stretches between its poles. There's a two smaller continents that are fairly isolated; trade probably happens with them, but I haven't yet focused on them yet. So far, the bulk of my work will take place on the main continent, which is split into 5 zones.

Zone 1 - Mega-City: Located in the center, its two major landmarks are the mega-mines located in the massive ravine left by the earthquake and a temple set upon a hilltop. The temple is the headquarters for the religious order that holds majority of faith. The mega-mines are, coincidentally, owned by a corporation—I mean, a consortium. This "consortium" is not related to the one out in distant space in any way, but does create a bit of subtle irony. The city doesn't have a name yet, but is often referred to as "the Golden City".

Zone 2 - The High Plains: Located to the north of the mega-city and named such after the earthquake shifted most of its elevation upward. It used to be a desert before the shift, so cacti are still a common sight. Its major landmark is a lake that also formed after the earthquake; named "The Lake of Last Chances", it is protected and owned by no one. However, I've written down as a plot hook that this protective status is being contested after a valuable material was found inside it.

Zone 3 - Valley with Port: This area used to be a grassland before the earthquake, and then became a valley. It's located to the east of the mega-city and is the smallest zone. This port is likely who would be trading with the second largest continent across the eastern ocean.

Zone 4 - Briars: Located to the south of the mega-city, this is a large area that is still mostly untamed. My biggest point of interest here is a village that hosts the resting place of a legendary monster slayer. Near the village is a gorge shaped by an earth-eating monster, that became its deathbed after being slain by the hero. This story is one I'd like to play out using the game Prequel, which focuses on a group of heroes that fight evil...and lose. My favorite part of this idea is that my player, Cheeki, would play the Prequel game as the hero laid to rest in the village, and then later come back to this vilage as a different character in a different game, and recognize who it is.

Zone 5 - Fen/Marshland: The largest zone on the continent. There are three major landmarks here. The first is a large city and the second is a magnificent dome structure that's a wellspring of nature magic and a school. Since I haven't worked out my magic system, this part is still in the works. The third landmark is a bridge over a large gravelands, crafted by mages to solve transportation problems over the marshlands while respecting the dead. It is hauntingly beautiful.

Peoples of the Planet

There are 4 sentient groups on this particular planet. Or at least, on the main continent, that I currently know of. It's possible there may be more from the two smaller continents, but I haven't decided yet. As for the groups I do know, I haven't yet worked out their details other than what I rolled on a table from the workbook journal.

Humans: Pretty much what you would expect. They haven't mutated or evolved in any form since landing on the planet with no memories, and have acted like humans typically do. Thanks to the giant earthquake, they didn't really get a chance to do too much in the way of warring and conquering, but there was some tension in those first few decades since they were mysteriously dropped off with no explanation other than by deities.

Bear-like People: They have specialized eyes. Primarily originated from the fen/marshland zone.

Bird-like People: While they have wings of some kind(?), they also have protective shells or carapace. They still mostly reside in the briar zone and their shells are probably what protects them from thorns.

Deer-like People: Often small and petite. I can't find my note on it, maybe I never wrote one, but I am thinking that I could make them interesting by having them be aquatic in some way. They could be seafarers and river folk, and maybe inspired by kelpies.

Next Week...

I have more notes than this. For example, I had already started jotting down some details about who first found the ore, who owns the consortium, and a little of what it does. I have a handful of various plot hooks that could also set me off in developing some locations and lore. I'll need to decide before next Sunday what to do next. The ore is pretty important, so I may work on that and determine what it does, how it does what it does, and why it does it.

Until next week!

Disclaimer: I was fortunate to be a playtester of the pre-alpha version of the game. Any rules and mechanics seen here are not final. I'm also not sponsored or anything.

First, to address the elephant in the room...yes, I am posting this on Christmas Day. Shhh, don't look, I promise I'm resting. Anyway, here's a brief play report on my first complete solo game with Legends of Akeroth. I greatly enjoyed it, and I'm eagerly waiting to sit and play my much longer game.

For this game, I decided to play a "prequel" of sorts. My "main" game is going to follow a character named Kadlen, who joins a guild that I've already created a few details for, as well as the guildmaster. The guildmaster has a rescued Vatahim, which is an owl-shark hybrid, an enemy that was in the LoA rulebook. I decided I'd play a brief adventure with the guildmaster as my character, and this would be where they'd rescue the baby Vatahim. This meant there would be two necessary outcomes: the guildmaster lives (so they could later go on to start the guild) and acquire a baby Vatahim. I also knew I wanted to utilize the shrine generator in the rulebook. There were no other details, the rest of the story happened organically through play.

I used my character design deck to determine some more details about my guildmaster, who's name became Dizen Fellclaw (they/them). They're a Drakari, a level 4 Warrior, and uses a sword and shield combo. I started the day in a little fishing hamlet and rolled a scene spark to see how I'd come about a shrine. A villager girl named Sadda was born; she approached Dizen and told them that a sealed entrance was no longer sealed, and Dizen, wanting to make sure there was nothing foul afoot, agreed to check it out. Sadda became a Waymate, because by this point I had decided I wanted a dungeon, not a shrine, and I wasn't sure if Dizen could solo a dungeon despite being level 4.

Waymates are LoA's way of creating companions from PCs who's players can't make it to the game but still want to be involved, or to help solo or small tables tackle challenges that would need a bigger party. While Dizen couldn't die, Sadda could, and it would crush Dizen if anything happened to her. Since she was a fisherfolk by trade, I made her a level 2 Warrior and gave her a spear for a weapon, but no armor. Her move table also consisted of just stabbing with her spear, but I gave her the perk of her spear having a range of 2. This proved quite handy while Dizen acted as a tank during combat.

Away they went, on a short Journey with a 3-segment clock. I rolled for events that included fighting a Vatahim, which was interestingly relevant to my desired outcome, and saw large boulders that were overturned recently. When they arrived, they investigated the area and determined that the intruders had used some kind of large beast to bust open the sealed passage, which turned out to be the dungeon.

Using LoA's dungeon generator, I explored rooms with traps, perils, and even met a new NPC that I could reference in my "main" game. When we came upon the boss room, I used the random enemy generator in the rulebook to craft my boss: an earth elemental, left behind by the intruders. Dizen almost went down, but with a surprise crit during a critical move, they took it down. (Sadda also helped.)

The pair explored a couple other rooms, finding...no one. None of the intruders were still around. I had decided that I would leave this as a mystery, because this game needed to be brief and completed, and I had other things going on in my life that limited play time. I can reference this adventure in the future. Perhaps my Big Bad Villain had some business here, maybe another faction did instead. I didn't finish exploring the dungeon; instead, Dizen decided to call in a couple of friends to come by and look, since they were quite winded and only had Sadda with them.

After leaving the dungeon, Dizen heard a soft peeping noise. They discover a baby Vatahim hatchling, who's nest was destroyed when a nearby boulder was overturned by the intruders. Dizen realizes this is why they were attacked by a very aggressive Vatahim earlier, and regrets killing it. They pick up the hatchling just in time for Sadda to appear and tell them that Vatahim imprint, so they're a new parent!

For an epilogue, I wrote Dizen's return to the hamlet, where they tell Sadda they're retiring from most active adventuring duty and forming a guild. The Vatahim, who's name became Kiki, is also doing well, but is still pretty young. Sadda gleefully volunteers to be Dizen's first member of the Band of Owls, and the curtain falls.

Overall, I enjoyed playing the game a great deal. Most of my challenges and hang-ups were on combat, which is mostly due to my inexperience with crunchy games and playing solo, and organization of my most-accessed rules. I was using a .pdf reader and haven't yet transferred any resources to my Obsidian vault. I think that for my next game, I'll print it out, so I can put bookmark tabs and flip back and forth more easily. This will cut down my time spent on looking for tables and rules, and spare me confusion or frustration.

Legends of Akeroth begins funding in early 2026. If you follow the campaign, you can download a free solo demo and a free group play demo. Both give you a great idea of how the gameplay works. I definitely look forward to having the final physical book in hand myself.