Worldbuilding

Worldbuilding

Overview

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 worldbuilding/ directory with YAML frontmatter. All elements cross-reference characters and other story elements.

Prerequisites

A story project must already exist (created via the story-init skill). Verify by checking for story.md in the project root.

Creating a Location

1. Read story.md for genre, era, and tone context
2. Read worldbuilding/_index.md for existing locations and systems
3. Ask for the location's name and type (city, fortress, wilderness, etc.)
4. Build the location through conversation, covering:

• Physical description and atmosphere
• History relevant to the story
• Culture and customs of inhabitants
• Notable features characters will interact with
• Current state at story's timeline

1. Write the file using references/location-template.md
2. Save to worldbuilding/locations/{name-kebab}.md
3. Update worldbuilding/_index.md locations table
4. If notable characters are listed, verify those character files exist and add this location's kebab-case identifier to each character file's locations frontmatter list
5. When CLI access is available, run story reindex ., story links ., and story validate .

Creating a System

1. Read story.md for genre and themes context
2. Read worldbuilding/_index.md for existing systems
3. Identify the system type and consult references/world-element-types.md for the relevant prompts
4. Build the system through conversation, addressing the key questions for that type
5. Write the file using references/system-template.md
6. Save to worldbuilding/systems/{name-kebab}.md
7. Update worldbuilding/_index.md systems table
8. Cross-reference with characters who interact with the system (e.g., magic-users for a magic system)
9. When CLI access is available, run story reindex ., story links ., and story validate .

Creating A Faction

Use story add faction "{Faction Name}" --type "{family|guild|government|military|religion|company|community|criminal|other}" when the CLI is available. Otherwise create worldbuilding/factions/{name-kebab}.md with frontmatter fields name, type, status, members, locations, and tags.

Cover:

• Purpose and ideology
• Power base, resources, and territory
• Important members
• Conflicts and pressure points

Creating An Artifact

Use story add artifact "{Artifact Name}" --type "{object|weapon|document|technology|relic|symbol|resource|other}" when the CLI is available. Otherwise create worldbuilding/artifacts/{name-kebab}.md with frontmatter fields name, type, status, owner, location, and tags.

Cover:

• Description and recognition details
• Function, constraints, and costs
• History and prior owners
• Current owner/location state

Updating World Elements

1. Read the existing file
2. Make the requested changes
3. If cross-references changed, update the linked files
4. Update worldbuilding/_index.md if name, type, or status changed
5. When CLI access is available, run story reindex ., story links ., and story validate .

Cross-Referencing

• Locations reference characters via notable-characters in frontmatter
• Characters reference locations via locations in frontmatter
• Factions reference character members and locations
• Artifacts reference an owner character or faction and a current location
• Systems reference practitioners via character tags
• When a location is used in a chapter, the chapter's frontmatter locations field links back
• Keep the worldbuilding/_index.md world overview section current as elements are added

CLI Maintenance

Use the Story CLI when it is available. If story is not installed but the story-maintenance skill is present, use node ../story-maintenance/scripts/story.js with the same arguments, resolving the path relative to this skill folder. If no CLI is available, perform the registry and backlink checks manually.

Reference Files

• references/location-template.md - Template for location files
• references/system-template.md - Template for system files
• references/faction-template.md - Template for faction files
• references/artifact-template.md - Template for artifact/object files
• references/world-element-types.md - Detailed prompts for each system type (magic, political, technology, religion, economic, military, social)

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: danjdewhurst
• Source: danjdewhurst/story-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.