It’s been a little longer than planned since our first showcase, but we’re back with two more worlds from the Kanka community!
As a reminder, the idea behind our showcase is simple: highlight some of the worlds our community is building, the stories behind them, and the different ways people use Kanka to bring their ideas to life.
This time, we’re looking at two very different projects: a fantasy world that’s been growing for twenty years, and an alternative-history setting that has grown into something of a monster.
Trynnalta by Christopher Turner
How long have you been building this world?
Trynnalta, or what I originally called it; Inis Mona, was an idea I had in my mid-teens. The concept, themes and ideas continued to grow since then. I’m 35-ish now, so its been a long process of growth and creation around 20 years long.
I think it was going to be a book at some point, it may still be, but for now its also a way to spend time with people I care about and maybe share my creation with others.
What is this world really about?
Exploration is the cornerstone of my world. Cataclysms and a series of world ending catastrophes have ravaged the world. What history accounts the end of a golden age is spotty at best.
But, most importantly, all of its inhabitants are recovering and slowly realizing they’re not alone for the first time in over 800 years. The land has been reshaped by earthquakes, meteors, whatever and is almost wholly open to explore.
Our world is so vast and gorgeous with so many terrible and amazing things in it. I hope mine is close.
What are you most proud of?
I’m not an especially confident person, so its hard to really answer these types of questions. If I had to go off the words of friends and family, its the details.
Everything they encounter has a name and a history, maybe not as Tolkien as I’d like, but enough that they always seem to ask “Who are you?” or “What the heck is that?”, the two most important questions in the world.
What inspires this world?
I want to preface this with saying that I’m aware some of my biggest inspirations for literature growing up are very, very problematic. However, they had an impact on me, hopefully a good one.
A lot of the aesthetic, historical formation and general emotion of the world is drawn from Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian and Kull series. Movies, books, etc. I loved that people were people, gods were strange and magic was dangerous.
Tolkien of course, but not from his works, but his method. I draw a lot of inspiration from real world history. Sort of synthesizing some ancient, dead cultures into new ones or learning from a living one. Not only does it inspire, it helps me learn about new people.
What kind of stories emerge at the table?
I have two groups, primarily, and had some friends have even run games for me in my own world which was… something. Of course I loved it, and that was maybe always the intent.
Howard and Lovecraft opened their worlds to other writers and they grew, arguably flourished and TTRPGs are perfect soil for that. Luckily, I have friends who let me use these stories.
I try to run games in living worlds, so the stories are so myriad; anything from get smashed in a saloon while playing the Deadlands: Night Train to the somber, sad moments of building a funeral pyre for the dragon’s dead mother.
I’ve had players become kings, villains and one who even became the local cryptid.
What we loved about Trynnalta is that Christopher’s world isn’t just a backdrop for his players, but something they’ve helped shape, sometimes in rather unexpected ways. We’ll need to eventually learn more about the local cryptid, for research purposes.
Crimson Blues by andreslucero
How long have you been building this world?
Well, my Kanka page has been active for 5 years, but I’ve been working on this project for… 8 years, I believe?
What is this world really about?
It is set in an alternative universe with two faces: on one hand, the wider world is set in a Cold War inspired by Kaiserreich, in which political intrigue and proxy conflicts dominate the headlines, with an ample number of conspiracies occurring concurrently.
On the other, more whimsical and cynical hand, is the Oceanykan Federation, an even more untamed and unhinged version of Australia where gun violence is a daily occurrence, every man is out there for himself, and the supernatural rears its head from time to time.
It is essentially a patchwork of warlord states, kingdoms, republics, totalitarian dictatorships, anarchist communes, social democracies and libertarian commonwealths unified by their hatred of the outside world and the liberty that the Federation provides to live their way of life. True anarchy.
What are you most proud of?
There’s a lot to be proud of, but the thing that’s on my mind the most right now is the proprietary TTRPG system I’m working on, which is designed to fit the setting in any time period, both for squad-level engagements and for large-scale wargaming.
Once I’m done with it, it’ll be a wonder.
What inspires this world?
There’s a lot of inspiration. The original idea came from the videogame RUST, which I used to play a lot of back in the day, but there’s stuff from Kaiserreich, The New Order: Last Days of Europe, real-life conspiracy theories, STALKER, Warhammer 40k, Terra Invicta, ARMA, GATE, War Thunder, Black Souls, Steins;Gate, Cyberpunk 2077, Fallout, the Forever Winter, HighFleet, RimWorld, XCOM, DEFCON, Alice in Wonderland, D&D, Made in Abyss, the SCP Foundation, Rainbow Six (the book), Escape from Tarkov, etc.
What kind of stories emerge at the table?
I have never brought this monster to a table, but if someone were, it’d probably be high-stakes political thrill, conspiracies and combat.
I designed the RPG/wargame hybrid system in such a way that combat feels DEADLY. A few well-placed shots are enough to bring most men down, and some weapons systems such as tanks and aircraft are rightfully deadly.
However, this goes both ways, and a good battleplan with ample preparation and the right equipment should be a breeze. Mistakes are costly.
Why do you run games in Kanka?
I experimented with a few sites before Kanka. My original project was hosted in Imgur (Jay’s note: WHAT?!), but as the scope expanded, I found it lacking in features. Kanka turned out to be the best option due to its ample technical features and customisation options.
Nearly 3,000 entries is no small worldbuilding feat. And an entire custom RPG system in development on top of it? Sheeeeesh! Crimson Blues is a good reminder that you don’t need to be running a tabletop campaign to use Kanka. Sometimes you just have a world in your head that keeps expanding, and you need somewhere to put it all that isn’t imgur.
Want to be featured?
The showcase is open to all campaigns, free or premium. If you’ve built something you’re proud of, apply on the showcase page. We’re looking for worlds with a story behind them: what they’re about, what drives them, what happens at the table. The writing doesn’t need to be perfect. The world just needs to be yours.
See you in #3!
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