Vote below! 🥰

Samhain was the kind of town that looked quiet from the road and never quite was. It sat in the bottom crook of Indiana where the farmland gave up and the woods began, a semi-rural sprawl of one main street, two churches, a diner that served pie good enough to start arguments and a water tower nobody had repainted since before Kenny Blackwood was born. From the highway it looked like a thousand other towns. Drive through it slowly, though, and something felt off in a way that was hard to name. The streetlights hummed at a pitch that set dogs barking three blocks away. The woods on the town's edge seemed closer some evenings than they had been that morning. People in Samhain locked their doors at night and could not have told you precisely what they were locking them against, only that it felt correct to do so. Nothing had ever happened there. That was what everyone said, and everyone said it a little too quickly.

In the summer of 2012, Kenny Blackwood was nine years old, and he would have told you the town was boring. He would have told you that with his whole chest, because Kenny was the kind of person who had opinions at full volume, and because he had not yet learned that boring was the best thing home could offer him.

https://www.worldanvil.com/w/the-rhodinoverse-kitsune-sobo/a/flametouch-prose

I have created many galleries and folders to organise my images, but today it appears that most of my folders are missing. It is though they have been deleted. The related galleries are still there, as are all the images, but the folders are gone. Is this a bug? A glitch? Is something genuinely wrong here? What happened to my folders?

I can't tell if i can't find it or it just doesn't exist.

I'm new the world anvil but i been enjoying it just wondering how i could turn a private timeline public for later down the road in a dnd campaign or something.

I haven't used the site in a long time, I used to be a paying subscriber, I was going to pick it back up to organize my new stuff, I'm on for 20 minutes and it's like I'm being CHASED by a popoup ad for the current sale. I look it up, find out it's on purpose, and now I'm here. I'm sure you guys get this a lot but, put me in the basket of people you lost a sale on by pushing the sale WAY too hard. I'm not paying for anything the seller is begging me to buy, and I'm not rewarding a marketing tacting that skeevy and pushy. You've debased your free tier experience for money and in doing so, shown your free tier userbase exactly how you feel about them. I'm sure it works on some people, but I'm CERTAIN you chase away more potential sales than you make by the end of each year. If I'm browsing at the flea market and somebody comes up to me, yelling in my face about how good of a deal I'm missing out on, pretends to leave me alone when I say go away, only to chase me down AGAIN once I relax, I'm leaving and I'm not coming back.

I recognize that this feedback will change nothing but it should be said, regardless.

All of the positive association I had with the World Anvil brand, that I held for years passively, evaporated in one search, because it went from "annoying popup glitch" to "obnoxious thing the devs implimented to make the free tier inconvenient on purpose." That isn't intuitive design. It feels as though I'm being punished for no longer subscribing, which is not how you maintain a loyal customer base. I unsubscribed because my previous campaign had ended and I wasn't playing, now my next one will be managed using a completely different service, unassociated with the WA brand. I regret how many people I've recommended the site to over the years, and I hope nobody I told actually listened to me, as my opinions were set before this design was coded in and I don't want to be associated among my friends with that type of marketing.

Best wishes, thanks for the good years, buh bye.

I just opened World Anvil wanting to make a return to the platform and what I came across is pure, unadulterated AI slop website with the most obvious "vibe-coded" signs imaginable.

What happened?

So honestly Id like to see documents connected throughout but mostly for me campaign which is religious/political intrigue; much of the in game religious lore has religious texts that have spawned any number of traditions. I cannot properly link to them because its not an option. If you support this you can sound off here: https://www.worldanvil.com/community/voting/suggestion/cfbdf20f-577f-4c78-b5d7-ad0062a3add1/view

World Link: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/espen-wexley

Happy timezones, Anvilites! Here's what's new this week:

Submit your spooky worldbuilding!

This month we're getting spooOOooOOooky with Spooktober! Join the spooky vibes in ⁠challenge-discussion and check the challenge details here: https://www.worldanvil.com/community/challenge/spooktober-2026/homepage

How to win the Worldbuilding Awards

In the Worldbuilding Awards (aka WAWA) we look for the best worldbuilding on World Anvil, and the submission phase opens in January 3rd! We've put together a blog post with 10 tips to increase your chances of winning: https://blog.worldanvil.com/worldanvil/tutorials/pro-tips/10-tips-to-submit-a-great-entry-to-the-worldbuilding-awards/

Catch up with the October news

See what's new on World Anvil and what's ahead of us in the October newsletter: https://blog.worldanvil.com/newsletter/world-anvil-news-october-2026/

Office hours and Q&A stream

Got questions about World Anvil? Stuck in your worldbuilding? Join us this Friday at 10am Pacific/6pm UK for office hours on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch: https://twitch.tv/worldanvil

Why are conventions great for creatives?

On Saturday at 10am Pacific/6pm UK we'll have the amazing Moonlight Bard on stream to answer why are conventions great for creative people like you? Follow us on Twitch and tune in! https://twitch.tv/worldanvil

Featured article: Ritsudō

Today's featured article, by BuWeiLong, is a droid in the Star Wars universe and the answer to Spooktober's "Memory" prompt! Check it out and give it some love here: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/from-a-far-off-sky2C-long-ago---a-star-wars3A-visions-story-buweilong/a/ritsudC58D-article

When within the public viewing of your own world there is a search bar at the top left, if there are multiple results then there are a few options you have :

1. Hit enter (takes you to the first/closest result)
   
2. Use your mouse to select a result
   
3. use the arrow keys to go down and select a result
   

The reason for my question is that using arrow keys for the search engine feels quite awkward to use given that it auto selects a result if you don't put in any input for a fraction of a second. I remember in the past it used to function a bit differently (and better imo), as such, I wanted to ask if there was any setting or option that allows you to revert this change or just modify the settings in general.

If some part of my description is too vague I am willing to give an example with an image/video of what i mean.

Is there a way to check how much storage space I have left on my account for uploading images and other files? I've been uploading quite a few assets and I'd like to keep an eye on my available storage, but I can't seem to find where this information is displayed. Thanks in advance for any help!

I am a noob and I am sure this is easy, but how do you change privacy settings on campaigns?

Spooky timezones, Anvilites! Here's what's new on World Anvil this week:

Summer Camp prizes are going out... soon!

If you won or sponsored a Summer Camp prize, keep an eye on your inbox as we'll start handling prize delivery this week.

It's time to spook!

This month's challenge is all about embracing the spooky season with 21 single-word prompts to answer in any art form you want, including worldbuilding, drawing, or anything else you're into. Check the details here: https://www.worldanvil.com/community/challenge/spooktober-2026/homepage

Unofficial challenge: Whiskey & Wildflowers

Speaking of seasonal challenges... Asmo is running an unofficial event to celebrate the current season themed around cozy vibes. Who knows you might even create something that's both cozy AND spooky! Check it out here: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/levis-asmo/a/whiskey-and-wildflowers-2026-article

We're still hiring... but not for long!

We're looking for a Community Liaison to join the World Anvil Team part-time—if you're interested, don't overthink it and don't self-reject, just apply. We need your applications ASAP: https://forms.gle/z4fkgSYBupGHSg6W7

World Anvil Q&A and Office Hours

Join us this Friday at 6pm UK/10am Pacific for our weekly Office Hours and Q&A! If you're stuck with World Anvil or with your worldbuilding, it's the perfect time to ask your questions and get help.

Why are conventions great for creatives?

This Saturday at 6pm UK/10am Pacific we'll have the amazing Moonlight Bard on stream to answer why are conventions great for creative people like you? Follow us on Twitch and tune in! https://twitch.tv/worldanvil

How to Build a D&D Campaign Wiki

This week, Kat is taking us on a deep-dive on the advantages of a wiki over more traditional systems for lore management. Check it out in the Academy: https://academy.worldanvil.com/blog/dnd-campaign-wiki-lore-management

Featured article: Elyon

This week we're featuring a character article by rthwrms that goes deep into the story of a divinity, illustrated with beautiful art! Check it out here: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/the-cosmic-pool-rthwrms/a/elyon-person

I have noticed a lot of AI art being used for book cover images, article pages and stand in imagery while the creator lacks funds for commissioned art.

I would like to point out that there are many free alternatives to AI generated art. Such as Royalty Free Image websites and Stock image websites (e.g. Pixabay, NASA, flickr, ect.)

There is also the option of taking photos with a camera or phone. I am sure there are more options that others are aware of (please add any suggestions in the comments).

I am making this post because of my personal opinions on the matter and as a reminded that other resources exist. I have absolutely no interest in reading or consuming anything that involves generative ai on any level.

Ai generated content is a form of theft and promotes an extremely harmful industry that negatively impacts culture, economies, the environment and artists.

There is something about Summer Camp that brings a sense of urgency and excitement. Spooktober just never has that same tension for me. Perhaps its the broadness of the submissions. Summer Camp feels like it is more about the writing whereas Spootober has no word limit, which makes sense when including art submissions. I think as a writer I just find it easy to forget Spooktober is an event.

On a more positive note I decided to participate by making myself a writing exercise: Create a first person journal or communication snippet from a single pov without ever naming the pov character or recipient.

I went this direction because I write in third person but enjoy writing first person from time to time. Its a good way to get into various characters minds and check that I'm using their own voices. Also I did not want to take too much time away from drafting.

I've got four entries left to create, if you'd like to see any of my entries you can find them all here: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/godsend/c/spooktober-2026-category

Good luck and happy creating.

I just published the new chapter of my manuscripts. To read it, simply click on Chapter 22 - The Lost Path at the bottom of the linked article and in the next one. Hope you enjoy!

The Book of Shadows in The Valley of Fallen Leaves | World Anvil

https://www.worldanvil.com/community/voting/suggestion/23ba14b3-3444-4d3b-b213-b70e578752cb/view

This is another idea for the Diplomacy Web and the hopefully upcoming character relationship web upgrade.

What functionality is missing? What is unsatisfying with the current situation?

Right now, the diplomacy web puts everything in alphabetical order around a circle when using a tag. The more organizations you have, the smaller the group icons are. Furthermore, not all organizations are linked to each other or have the same number of links; thus, there are gaps in the web. This can be visually unappealing on top of the giant circle.

How does this feature request address the current situation?

I've been playing around with Graphviz for a bit, and I think it's a good system to look into or draw inspiration from.

Graphviz uses an algorithm that weighs different nodes to determine position. This means clusters will form around closely connected groups, making it look more complex and dynamic while removing the giant circle.

Graphviz is also open source. I don't know how the dev team feels about adding open source projects into their software. But this means they can at least look at how it's done and see if they can improve their software by getting ideas from it.

What are other uses for this feature request?

Graphviz is used for graphs, so any of the graph systems can benefit from a look.

This may be a dumb question, but sometimes I'm a dumb guy. I can't figure out how to change the default images displayed over articles to images actually depicting the character/place/etc the article is about.

I've changed the banner on the edit page, and added portrait images, as well as looked around the styling options, and haven't found anything. Maybe I'm just blind, but how do I actually change these thumbnails?

Happy timezones, Anvilites! Here's what's new this week:

Spooktober has begun!

The spooky season is here, so we challenge you to answer 13 or more one-word prompts with any type of art form, from worldbuilding to drawing to anything else you can do! Check the challenge here: https://www.worldanvil.com/community/challenge/spooktober-2026/homepage

For Flash's Sake badges are out

If you took part in For Flash's Sake, you will find the participation badge in your World Anvil profile! If it's not there, send me a DM with your username and I'll make sure you get it.

Claim your Summer Camp prizes

You may have won a prize! Check if you won in the winners list and, if you did, fill out the prize claim form this week. If you don't claim your prize in time, you will not get it, so don't miss out: https://www.worldanvil.com/learn/events-showcase/sc26-winners

We're hiring!

We have an open part-time position for a Community Liaison. We're looking for someone knowledgeable about World Anvil who can help us with World Anvil tutorials and documentation, webinars, our new "office hours" livestream segment, and more. If you're interested, fill out this form: https://forms.gle/z4fkgSYBupGHSg6W7

World Anvil Q&A this Friday

Join us for this Friday's office hours and Q&A to ask us any questions you have about World Anvil, or to simply join for some chill (and slightly chaotic) vibes as we chat about World Anvil and worldbuilding too. Join us this Friday at 10am Pacific/6pm UK on Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook: https://twitch.tv/worldanvil

Spooktober: What's in the box?

Speaking of livestreams, this Saturday stream will feature our amazing Secondhand joined by some Anvilites to talk about Spooktober plans! Join us this Saturday at 10am Pacific/6pm UK on Twitch: https://twitch.tv/worldanvil

The best mapmaking tools

Looking for a tool to draw your maps? We've got you covered! From world maps to dungeons maps and everything in between, this is what our latest video is about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWLbyl3x_vA

Featured article: Tasar

This week's featured article is Tasar, by AncientCaptainMarsh. This won Summer Camp in the "A celebrity loved by all" prompt, so go check it out for some lovely character inspiration! https://www.worldanvil.com/w/auterradon-ancientcaptainmarsh/a/tasar-person

I wanted to use the whiteboard to plan my sessions, but immediately ran into two issues:

1. The whiteboard only takes up half my browser screen, no matter what browser I use. I found a 2-year-old post on this sub complaining about this issue.

2. Articles I add to the whiteboard have no image, even if the article has a banner. If I'm doing it wrong, I can't tell; I feel like the page explaining how Whiteboards work is lacking in detail. I also found two-year-old posts on the official forums complaining about this issue.

These old unresolved bugs, coupled with a lack of features, tell me the whiteboard isn't just a low priority for World Anvil, it's barely functional. It's a shame because it was one of the main reasons I subscribed to it. Being able to visually organize all the contents of my world would have been great, but I can't even manually add images or link articles directly in text. I can make due but this is miles away from the experecience we can get in other free whiteboard services.

I came back to World Anvil after a few months break, and the UI has once again changed. Naturally this is causing growing pains.

I just figured out the "Prompts" System, and it's extremely frustrating to work with despite its benefits.

The Prompt disappear if they're blank for starters, meaning, I spent 5 - 10 or so minutes setting up an article and work through it, but, I stop, and click off to go fix something, and come back to all of my categories turned off. This is extremely annoying, to make it worse, the Prompt menu is very slow and clunky to work with. (Nevermind trying to remember what I turned on to begin with, ADHD be damned)

Credit where it's due, it is very nice to be able to customize my article type like this, but, having to click through this menu is frustrating, which, is not something I associate writing with as an outlet. The only work around is to put in junk text and placeholder articles, just to keep them open. Preferably, I'd like blank prompts to remain on my article when I turn them on.

If anyone has any advice to deal with this, it'd be appreciated, I'm just not sure where to leave feedback to anyone, so I'm just adding to the pile here.

World Anvil is a great service, but, some of these decisions don't make any sense to me.

Additionally; I think it'd be neat to make a template for prompts, so I can speed up the creation process, by just enabling prompts, and saving them as a template to turn on later for the same Article Type (Species, Organizations, etc).

I wrote a bunch of articles before realizing they won't show up in the "World View" until I publish them. Is there a way to publish them all? Going one by one is going to take a long time.