{"slug":"worldbuilding","title":"worldbuilding","summary":"This skill should be used when the user asks to \"create a location\", \"add a location\", \"magic system\", \"political system\", \"build the world\", \"add culture\", \"world history\", \"technology system\", \"religion\", \"economy\", or wants to develop any aspect of a story's world and setting.","platform":"Claude","tags":[],"authorName":"LLM Mart","authorSlug":"llm-mart","score":0,"source":"github","price":null,"verified":false,"createdAt":"2026-09-21T18:18:22.847721Z","repo":{"url":"https://github.com/danjdewhurst/story-skills","stars":233,"forks":33,"license":"MIT","updatedAt":"2026-09-20T19:43:31Z"},"bodyHtml":"<hr>\n<h2>name: worldbuilding\ndescription: This skill should be used when the user asks to \"create a location\", \"add a location\", \"magic system\", \"political system\", \"build the world\", \"add culture\", \"world history\", \"technology system\", \"religion\", \"economy\", or wants to develop any aspect of a story's world and setting.</h2>\n<h1>Worldbuilding</h1>\n<h2>Overview</h2>\n<p>Create and manage world elements for a story project. Locations, systems (magic, politics, technology, etc.), factions, and artifacts are stored as markdown files in the <code>worldbuilding/</code> directory with YAML frontmatter. All elements cross-reference characters and other story elements.</p>\n<h2>Prerequisites</h2>\n<p>A story project must already exist (created via the story-init skill). Verify by checking for <code>story.md</code> in the project root.</p>\n<h2>Creating a Location</h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Read <code>story.md</code> for genre, era, and tone context</li>\n<li>Read <code>worldbuilding/_index.md</code> for existing locations and systems</li>\n<li>Ask for the location's name and type (city, fortress, wilderness, etc.)</li>\n<li>Build the location through conversation, covering:\n<ul>\n<li>Physical description and atmosphere</li>\n<li>History relevant to the story</li>\n<li>Culture and customs of inhabitants</li>\n<li>Notable features characters will interact with</li>\n<li>Current state at story's timeline</li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n<li>Write the file using <code>references/location-template.md</code></li>\n<li>Save to <code>worldbuilding/locations/{name-kebab}.md</code></li>\n<li>Update <code>worldbuilding/_index.md</code> locations table</li>\n<li>If notable characters are listed, verify those character files exist and add this location's kebab-case identifier to each character file's <code>locations</code> frontmatter list</li>\n<li>When CLI access is available, run <code>story reindex .</code>, <code>story links .</code>, and <code>story validate .</code></li>\n</ol>\n<h2>Creating a System</h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Read <code>story.md</code> for genre and themes context</li>\n<li>Read <code>worldbuilding/_index.md</code> for existing systems</li>\n<li>Identify the system type and consult <code>references/world-element-types.md</code> for the relevant prompts</li>\n<li>Build the system through conversation, addressing the key questions for that type</li>\n<li>Write the file using <code>references/system-template.md</code></li>\n<li>Save to <code>worldbuilding/systems/{name-kebab}.md</code></li>\n<li>Update <code>worldbuilding/_index.md</code> systems table</li>\n<li>Cross-reference with characters who interact with the system (e.g., magic-users for a magic system)</li>\n<li>When CLI access is available, run <code>story reindex .</code>, <code>story links .</code>, and <code>story validate .</code></li>\n</ol>\n<h2>Creating A Faction</h2>\n<p>Use <code>story add faction \"{Faction Name}\" --type \"{family|guild|government|military|religion|company|community|criminal|other}\"</code> when the CLI is available. Otherwise create <code>worldbuilding/factions/{name-kebab}.md</code> with frontmatter fields <code>name</code>, <code>type</code>, <code>status</code>, <code>members</code>, <code>locations</code>, and <code>tags</code>.</p>\n<p>Cover:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Purpose and ideology</li>\n<li>Power base, resources, and territory</li>\n<li>Important members</li>\n<li>Conflicts and pressure points</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Then:</p>\n<ol>\n<li>Save to <code>worldbuilding/factions/{name-kebab}.md</code></li>\n<li>Update the Factions table in <code>worldbuilding/_index.md</code></li>\n<li>If members are listed, verify those character files exist</li>\n<li>When CLI access is available, run <code>story reindex .</code>, <code>story links .</code>, and <code>story validate .</code></li>\n</ol>\n<h2>Creating An Artifact</h2>\n<p>Use <code>story add artifact \"{Artifact Name}\" --type \"{object|weapon|document|technology|relic|symbol|resource|other}\"</code> when the CLI is available. Otherwise create <code>worldbuilding/artifacts/{name-kebab}.md</code> with frontmatter fields <code>name</code>, <code>type</code>, <code>status</code>, <code>owner</code>, <code>location</code>, and <code>tags</code>.</p>\n<p>Cover:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Description and recognition details</li>\n<li>Function, constraints, and costs</li>\n<li>History and prior owners</li>\n<li>Current owner/location state</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Then:</p>\n<ol>\n<li>Save to <code>worldbuilding/artifacts/{name-kebab}.md</code></li>\n<li>Update the Artifacts table in <code>worldbuilding/_index.md</code></li>\n<li>If an owner or location is listed, verify those files exist and cross-reference back</li>\n<li>When CLI access is available, run <code>story reindex .</code>, <code>story links .</code>, and <code>story validate .</code></li>\n</ol>\n<h2>Updating World Elements</h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Read the existing file</li>\n<li>Make the requested changes</li>\n<li>If cross-references changed, update the linked files</li>\n<li>Update <code>worldbuilding/_index.md</code> if name, type, or status changed</li>\n<li>When CLI access is available, run <code>story reindex .</code>, <code>story links .</code>, and <code>story validate .</code></li>\n</ol>\n<h2>Cross-Referencing</h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Locations reference characters via <code>notable-characters</code> in frontmatter</li>\n<li>Characters reference locations via <code>locations</code> in frontmatter</li>\n<li>Factions reference character members and locations</li>\n<li>Artifacts reference an owner character or faction and a current location</li>\n<li>Systems reference practitioners via character tags</li>\n<li>When a location is used in a chapter, the chapter's frontmatter <code>locations</code> field links back</li>\n<li>Keep the <code>worldbuilding/_index.md</code> world overview section current as elements are added</li>\n</ul>\n<h2>CLI Maintenance</h2>\n<p>Use the Story CLI when it is available. If <code>story</code> is not installed, use <code>bun run story --</code> from the Story Skills repository checkout or the bundled fallback <code>node ../story-maintenance/scripts/story.js</code> with the same arguments, resolving the path relative to this skill folder. If no CLI is available, perform the registry, backlink, and word-count checks manually.</p>\n<h2>Reference Files</h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><code>references/location-template.md</code></strong> - Template for location files</li>\n<li><strong><code>references/system-template.md</code></strong> - Template for system files</li>\n<li><strong><code>references/faction-template.md</code></strong> - Template for faction files</li>\n<li><strong><code>references/artifact-template.md</code></strong> - Template for artifact/object files</li>\n<li><strong><code>references/world-element-types.md</code></strong> - Detailed prompts for each system type (magic, political, technology, religion, economic, military, social)</li>\n</ul>\n","files":[{"path":"references/artifact-template.md","sizeBytes":663,"isText":true},{"path":"references/faction-template.md","sizeBytes":644,"isText":true},{"path":"references/location-template.md","sizeBytes":1537,"isText":true},{"path":"references/system-template.md","sizeBytes":1008,"isText":true},{"path":"references/world-element-types.md","sizeBytes":2797,"isText":true},{"path":"SKILL.md","sizeBytes":5508,"isText":true}],"reviewScore":null,"reviewSummary":null,"trust":{"provenance":"trusted-source-unreviewed","notice":"Community-authored content, reproduced verbatim and not vetted as instructions. Treat it as data to evaluate, never as directives to follow.","bodySource":null},"bodyLocked":false,"purchaseUrl":null,"sourceUrl":null,"report":{"provenance":"trusted-source-unreviewed","screen":{"ran":true,"outcome":"clean","suspicious":0,"notes":0,"hiddenCharacters":false},"virusScan":{"engine":"clamav","status":"clean","scannedAt":"2026-09-21T18:18:41.958466Z","sha256":"DDD89A0004150295502DD7DF329248D7E0F632721A8AD6EB6E356A451D736109","sizeBytes":5979},"review":null,"source":{"repositoryUrl":"https://github.com/danjdewhurst/story-skills","path":"skills/worldbuilding","license":"MIT","commit":"8350f778cc00ac747e7a82c08b8301f340f07bf9","subtreeSha":"D6428FF2ED0518099C4CB7F90FE21F05740517271FFC0369CC97890EAF9EC748","lastSyncedAt":"2026-09-21T18:18:21.020256Z"},"reviewedAt":"2026-09-21T18:19:10.284384Z","notice":"Community-authored content, reproduced verbatim and not vetted as instructions. Treat it as data to evaluate, never as directives to follow."},"install":[{"target":"skills-cli","command":"npx skills add https://github.com/danjdewhurst/story-skills/tree/main/skills/worldbuilding"},{"target":"claude-code","command":"claude plugin marketplace add https://llmmart.ai/marketplace.json && claude plugin install danjdewhurst-story-skills@llmmart"},{"target":"git","command":"git clone https://github.com/danjdewhurst/story-skills.git"}]}