User blog:Taldin/Building On A History - Shared Universes

(Worldbuilding Weekend: some tips and tricks on writing worlds. Today's post is about shared universes and coexisting within them. )

Shared universes are interesting animals. You don't have full creative control; you may have control over your own characters, and you definitely don't have any control over someone else's characters. Sometimes, one person is the universe's creator, and they're the one who writes the story bible for the realm. Everyone else picks that up and runs with it.
 * 1) In order to have a shared world, you have to have a shared reality.
 * 2) In order to have a shared reality, you have to decide what the laws of nature are.
 * 3) In order to agree on the laws of nature, you need a model and a place where such things are kept.
 * 4) In order to share a library, you have to agree on your facts.

Other times, people add their own pages one at a time, basing it around their character's place in the existing universe.

I've been a part of both worlds (no pun intended) and each of them have their strengths and weaknesses.

So Step 1 of the process needs to be to get a hold of Lemoness, the primary lorekeeper. To see what's possible, and how much room we have, if any, to maneuver.

Step 2 is to create or add onto the existing stuff for the world; I know we have a Places in Habitica page, and a People page, but it'd be good to make an Encyclopedia Habitica set up of some sort, with an eye to doing some writing. Perhaps even written from the point of view of a librarian....

Something to think about for the rest of you, in terms of characterizations. In general, though, the best way to get started playing in a shared universe is to work with what exists, so, let's start with answering this very important question along with the above:
 * What class do you want to be?
 * Where are you in your adventuring career?
 * What makes you an adventurer?
 * What's your reason for questing?  Fame, fortune, defending the world?

What was your favorite quest?