Worldbuilding in focus: travel
Let’s say your protagonist needs to go from one town to another. How do they do that? Perhaps it’s too far to walk or maybe they have too much cargo to carry. You then go down a rabbit hole of researching medieval transport devices and question how your protagonist’s mythical dragon-cow companion could pull a wagon.
Maybe you spend hours figuring out the blueprints for your wagon down to every bolt and wheel then send your protagonist on their journey only to have a beta-reader ask you how Mildred the dragon-cow who gets seasonal allergies avoids sneezing fire on the wooden wagon. It doesn’t help that Mildred is towing explosives for your protagonist’s undercover smuggling ring.
By this point, you’re too attached to Mildred and her cute little sneezes to write that out of your story, and a metal wagon would be a sure safety hazard for your protagonist. The health and safety inspectors of your fantasy land would hand out a fine to poor Mildred in record time.
You are about to go down a new rabbit hole pondering if your laws permit dragon-cows to receive fines when you remember all that time designing the wagon has been wasted! Your plot is now in shambles and you’re back to square one.
Of course, this is a dramatic example. Most people’s plots would not be ruined by a dragon-cow with seasonal allergies, but this does show the importance of knowing the intricate details of your world. The small details make your world more believable. After all, the details are what your protagonist interacts with on a daily basis. They eat, wear clothes, buy from a market, and travel from town to town.
Today, today we will focus on travel, including how your protagonist moves around and their purposes in doing so. Remember, this isn’t an exhaustive list but a starting point for you to get the ideas train going.
Why would your inhabitants leave their town?
Think about access to resources and employment. Your inhabitants might live in small remote communities where they don’t have the population to sustain a blacksmith or maybe the weather is too cold to grow vegetables so they travel to other areas for supplies. If your town has experienced change recently, inhabitants might migrate to find employment in their chosen profession.
How do your inhabitants travel from town to town?
Think about if they would walk, ride animals or use another form of transportation. This would change depending on where they are going, what they are carrying, their social class, and safety concerns. They might use walking aids like sticks. Consider forms of public transport or how travellers might band together to tackle areas with high levels of crime.
Do your inhabitants travel on paved roads, dirt paths, or off the beaten track?
Think about why inhabitants would or wouldn’t use the main roads and who is responsible for maintaining the travelling routes. This could be a social responsibility or taxes might pay for a specialised crew to maintain areas. Crews doing extensive could lead to temporary road closures. Consider if there are personnel along the road to maintain social order and how different forms of transportation such as wagons would fare on unfavourably maintained roads.
What do travellers take on the road?
Think about what’s necessary and what is considered a luxury. Necessities might include a bag, food, water, money, medication, weather-appropriate clothes, and a source of light. Luxuries might be snacks, blankets, wine, or a tent. They might need to carry food supplies for the whole journey or take money and buy food at each town. They may need a weapon for protection, but perhaps weapons are expensive or illegal. Think about what they could use to protect themselves instead, like a bodyguard or a very heavy book. Consider a first aid kid and the kind of bag a traveller would use.
Who are your inhabitants likely to run into on the road?
Think about who else needs or wants to be on the road. These could be travelling musicians, merchants, healers, fortune tellers, scammers, seasonal workers, or bandits. There could be wild animals. Consider if these animals are friends, food, or foe.
Are there restrictions on who can travel, where they can go, and when they can travel?
Think about perceived or real safety issues and restrictions used as a method of control. These could be restrictions set by law or through social means. A law might stop children under the age of ten from leaving their village unaccompanied but fear of the mythical dragon-cows that roam just outside the village that children are warned about by the village elders might prevent all but the most curious of children from wandering off.
Do your inhabitants take vacations?
Think about where they go, what would be considered an expensive vacation, and how long they go for. So many things would influence vacation time as they’d need leave from their jobs, the finances to afford it, and the ability to get to the vacation location and back in time.