From grimoire
Designs a world-building framework for speculative fiction, establishing physical rules, social structures, history, and internal consistency to support credible narrative.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/grimoire:design-world-building-frameworkThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
Design a fictional world-building framework — establishing the physical rules, magic/technology systems, social structures, history, and internal consistency needed to support credible, immersive narrative in speculative fiction.
Design a fictional world-building framework — establishing the physical rules, magic/technology systems, social structures, history, and internal consistency needed to support credible, immersive narrative in speculative fiction.
Adopted by: Tolkien's "On Fairy-Stories" established the theoretical foundation for world-building as a creative discipline — his concept of "secondary world" and "secondary belief" remains the foundational framework. Brandon Sanderson's Laws of Magic (2007–2013) are the most widely cited practical framework for speculative system design among contemporary fantasy authors. Ursula K. Le Guin's essay "From Elfland to Poughkeepsie" is the canonical statement on world-building and voice. Orson Scott Card's "How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy" is used in science fiction writing courses at Clarion, Odyssey, and other major writing workshops. Impact: Reader immersion in speculative fiction depends on "secondary belief" — the reader's willing acceptance of a constructed world as internally coherent. World-building that contains internal contradictions, inexplicably inconsistent rules, or cultural clichés produces cognitive dissonance that breaks immersion; readers close the book. Tolkien spent 40+ years building Middle Earth's languages, histories, and geographies; the depth of that world is why reader immersion is total.
Before building any detail, establish the premise that differentiates this world from others:
Establish the premise in one sentence: "In this world, [the core departure] which means [the primary implication]."
Sanderson's First Law: a writer's ability to solve narrative problems with magic is proportional to the reader's understanding of that magic.
Soft magic systems (Tolkien's approach):
Hard magic systems (Sanderson's approach):
The cost principle (Sanderson's Second Law): limitations and costs are more interesting than powers; what the magic cannot do or what it costs defines the character and plot more than what it can do.
The world's physical rules should logically produce the social structures — not the other way around:
The Le Guin test: could you replace the protagonist's culture with any other fictional culture without changing the story? If yes, the world-building hasn't done its work — the culture should be essential to the story, not interchangeable backdrop.
The world's present state is produced by its history; history that isn't designed produces unexplained inconsistencies:
The map before the story: Le Guin and Tolkien both drew maps; the geography produces history (rivers enable trade; mountains create cultural isolation; coasts produce seafaring); work from the map outward.
World-building for long projects requires documentation:
Scale documentation to scope: a short story needs minimal formal documentation; a novel needs a lightweight world bible; a series needs comprehensive documentation.
npx claudepluginhub jeffreytse/grimoire --plugin grimoireAudits a fictional world for internal consistency, texture, economy, and constraint-story alignment. Use when a world feels thin, generic, or like a backdrop.
Guides creation of story world elements: locations, systems (magic, politics, technology), factions, and artifacts. Cross-references characters and updates index files.
Generates 14 planning documents (7 categories) for epic fantasy novels using Crucible Structure via interactive multi-choice questions from a premise.