this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2026
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Worldbuilding

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So, here's the thing. I have this setting I've been working on for years now. And the setting ended up with almost 5000 years of extensive lore, and you need to be familiar with several different philosophies and cultures to understand any of it. I was trying to come up with some names for characters in a story I am writing in said setting. And when I was researching how names and languages change I was struck with a thought. Am I overcomplicating this? Do I really need an explanation why there is a guy named "Al Banian" and why the name is actually a remnant from a completely different reality? I'm getting to the point where the lore is so complex it starts to sound stupid if you don't know all the details. Case and point, a guy named "Al Banian".

Another example. There are several creation myths, and three of them are technically correct.

I need some advice. Feel free to ask questions.

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[–] Young_Gilgamesh@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I'm just concerned that my world building is getting too complex for what it is. Who wants to do what equates to a study session just to understand a story?

I do that, but I'm weird, so it doesn't count. I'm looking for opinions of fellow creatives.

I'm no Tolkien. I'd love to be, but I'm just a guy who started the whole project with a silly justification for the existence of a made up game from the 1980s and a conspiracy theory. Also, I'm way too stupid to write to the quality that Tolkien did. If you want to imagine my level, imagine if the Sonichu comics had a Silmarillion's worth of background lore that explains everything, and how it all ties to Jungian philosophy and Nietzsche's Übermensch.