Lesson 1: Get Started with Articles
Welcome to World Anvil, the home of your new world! In this get-started series of lessons (and videos!) you’ll learn everything you need to know to get started on World Anvil.
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7 guides
World Anvil Beginner Tutorials
This mini-course of World Anvil tutorials for beginners takes you through all the core features of the World Anvil worldbuilding platform! From articles, to timelines, maps, secrets and customizing the way your world looks, follow this World Anvil course to become adept with the ultimate worldbuilding software in 6 lessons.
- How to Use World Anvil
- Lesson 2: The UI
- Lesson 3: Customizing & Sharing Your World
- Lesson 4: Getting Started with Timelines
- Lesson 5: Getting Started with Maps
11 guides
Workflows for World Anvil
Complete workflow guides to using World Anvil. Whether you're a Dungeon Master or Game Master, Author, RPG player, or using World Anvil as a professional, we have a walkthrough guide for you.
World Anvil for Writers
Learn how to set up your manuscript, worldbuild, and write your masterpiece, step by step, on World Anvil.
- Workflow for Video Game Writers
- World Anvil for Graphic Novel Writers
- Workflow for Running a LARP on World Anvil
- World Anvil for Serial Fiction Writers
- Workflow: using World Anvil with Discord
29 guides
Article template guides
Guides & inspiration for our worldbuilding templates, including which to use, and how to get the most out of each template's special features!
Guide to the Character Template
Use the Character template to write about any named creature in your world! This includes people, but also the protagonist's pet dinosaur, a vengeful god, and even sentient doors. If it has a name and a personality, it's a character!
- How to Create Magic Systems and Magictech
- How to Create a Space Station and Other Space Structures
- How to Create Dreams, Visions, and Flashbacks
- Guide to the Spell Template
- Guide to the Tradition Template
33 guides
BBCode & Formatting Tutorials
BBCode is the key to formatting, embedding elements and other advanced functionality across World Anvil. And it's easy to learn! These guides and tutorials go through everything you'll need.
Feature Guide to BBCode Formatting
BBCode allows you to format, embed items, hides things, and a hundred other useful things! This guide shows you how.
- How to Embed Anything with the Advanced Editor
- How to Use Lists in Your Articles
- How to Use Text Alignment Options in Your Articles
- How to Add Hidden Comments to Your Articles
- How to Create Anchor Links in Your Articles
15 guides
Interactive Map Tutorials
Feature Guide to Maps
Display and link all of your worldbuilding in a single place your players can freely explore!
- How to Create Polygon Map Markers
- How to Create Circle Map Markers
- How to Create Map Lines
- How to Create Map Labels
- How to Create a Map
37 guides
Article Tutorials
Articles are the powerhouse of your worldbuilding. Learn to write, manage and format your articles on World Anvil, to take your worldbuilding to the next level, whatever you're building.
Guide to the Articles & World Manager
Manage your articles and categories, edit your world settings, and even edit your articles in a full-page editor—all from a single place!
- How to Add Belligerents to a Conflict Article
- Guide to Dictionaries
- How to Create an Article with Your Keyboard
- How to Enable Manual Save on Your Articles
- How to Create New Articles as Private by Default
22 guides
Manuscripts Tutorials
Our novel writing software integrates with your worldbuilding, keeping all your ideas together! Whether you're writing in private or publishing to the community, these tutorials will guide you through.
Feature Guide to Manuscripts
How to use Manuscripts to write and publish the novel, serial fiction, short story collection or even graphic novel of your dreams!
- How to Customize Paragraph Settings on Manuscripts
- How to Export Your Manuscript
- How to Publish Your Manuscript Exclusively for Your Supporters
- How to Add Audio to Manuscripts
- How to Create an Access Denied Page for Manuscripts
10 guides
Category Tutorials
Categories are the main article organization system of your World Anvil world. Learn how to use them here!
Feature guide to Categories
Categories are the fundamental organization tool on World Anvil—master them with this guide
- How to Automatically Order Articles in a Category
- How to Customize Your Category Page Layout
- How to Link to a Category
- How to Edit a Category
- How to Embed Categories as Books
6 guides
Access Rights Tutorials
These guides will teach you how to use the coauthor and subscriber features to fine-tune who has access to what content in your world.
Feature Guide to Subscribers
Curate your readers' experience by choosing what they can see exactly
- How to Make Private Article Sections Available to Subscribers
- Feature Guide to Co-Authors
- How to Create Subscriber Access Codes
- How to Create Self-Assignable Subscriber Groups
- How to Import Subscribers from Patreon, Ko-Fi, or Other Platforms
14 guides
Community Guides
Communities are an amazing way to meet like-minded people and get fresh new ideas and inspiration for your own worldbuilding. Use these guides to find your way around the World Anvil community!
World Anvil Guide to the Community
Learn how to get involved with one of the nicest communities on the internet!
- WorldEmber 2025 Winners & Prizes
- How to Submit an Article to a Challenge
- How to Flag Your Article as NSFW or 18+
- How to Hide or See NSFW or Adult Content
- How to Report a Breach in Etiquette on World Anvil
13 guides
World Anvil Interface Tutorials
Navigate World Anvil's interface with ease, including keyboard shortcuts, where to find settings like dark/light mode, and more!
Guide to the World Anvil Interface
Learn where everything is in the interface with this guide
- How to Customize Your World Dashboard
- How to Organize Your World with Folders
- How to Switch Text Editors
- Feature Guide to the Advanced Editor
- Guide to the Visual Text Editor
11 guides
Timelines Tutorials
Use these guides to learn how to use timelines and become a master of time on World Anvil!
Feature Guide to Timelines
Become a master of time with timelines to visually represent your world's history
- How to Add a Changing Background on a Timeline
- How to Switch Timeline Modes
- How to Handle Large Time Gaps in Timelines
- Tips for Worldbuilding Historical Events
- How to Create Timeline Events and Eras
1 guide
Family Trees Tutorials
Family trees let you visually represent relationships between your characters. Use these guides to learn how to use them on World Anvil!
Feature Guide to Family Trees
Family trees let you visually represent relationships between your characters—here's how to use them!
3 guides
Chronicles Tutorials
Become a master of space an time with Chronicles: a fusion of interactive maps and timelines to see WHERE and WHEN history happened in your world.
Feature Guide to Chronicles
With Chronicles, you can visually display the history of your world on World Anvil by connecting all of your events to an interactive map. As you scroll through the chronicle and select each event, the map will zoom into the area where that event happened.
1 guide
Diplomacy Web Tutorials
Create interactive visualization of the relationship between factions and other organizations in your world.
Feature Guide to Diplomacy Webs
Visually display the relationship between various factions and groups in your setting
2 guides
Whiteboards Tutorials
Whiteboards let you place graphical items in a free-form whiteboard. These items include shapes and text (like arrows, lines, text boxes, and sticky notes), as well as World Anvil elements (like articles, maps, images, and more).
Feature Guide to Whiteboards
Outline your throughts and plans visually and interactively
1 guide
Calendars Tutorials
Calendars allow you to name your days and months, and choose how long they last. They are great to track festivals, phases of moons and celestial bodies, as well as the general flow of time in your world.
Feature Guide to Calendars
Track yearly events, your world's moons, and the general flow of time
7 guides
Images Tutorials
Learn how to upload and use images in your World Anvil world!
Feature Guide to Images
Learn how to upload, use, and organize images in your world
- Recommended image sizes
- How to Create Image Galleries
- How to Mass Edit Images
- How to Embed Images in Your Articles
- How to Upload Images to Your World
4 guides
Account Management Tutorials
Manage and edit your account and user profile.
Guide to Your User Profile
Introduce yourself to the community and share your worldbuilding projects
9 guides
Campaign Manager & Statblocks Tutorials
Learn how to run campaigns on World Anvil to level up your GMing experience.
Feature Guide to the Campaign Manager
Run your games on World Anvil to have both your notes and your lore at your fingertips
- How to Create Homebrew Content
- Feature Guide to the Digital Storyteller Screen
- How to Keep Secret Storyteller Notes
- How to Import a Character from D&D Beyond
- How to Delete a Campaign
5 guides
Player Tutorials
Create your RPG characters on World Anvil, join campaigns, and even have a public social profile for them!
Feature Guide to the Character Manager
Manage your RPG character, quests, equipment, and more in a single place
- How to Create Your Player Character
- How to Add a Character Sheet to a PC
- How to Join a Campaign as a Player
- How to Delete a Character
1 guide
Meta Tutorials
Start your world with a solid foundation, stay consistent, and don't lose motivation.
Feature Guide to the Meta
Build a strong foundation to build your world upon
5 guides
Styling & Customization Tutorials
Make your world POP with color, advanced layout, and more!
Workflow for styling your world (without CSS)
Make your world feel unique and more interesting to look at
- How to style particular articles with CSS
- Feature Guide to CSS on World Anvil
- Guild Theme Gallery
- How to Customize the World Homepage
1 guide
Tag Manager Tutorials
Tags let you organize your articles, easily find them, and even generate automatic lists of related articles!
Guide to Tags
Organize your articles with tags and make them easier to find
1 guide
Discussion Board Tutorials
Create a community and engage your audience in your world.
Feature Guide to Discussion Boards
Interact with your readers and build a community around your world
4 guides
Secrets Tutorials
Create hidden pieces of information, share them with those in the know, and even reveal them when the time is right.
Feature Guide to Secrets
Hide information from your readers and players, and reveal it at the right time
- How to Make Secrets Public
- How to Add Subscribers to a Secret
- How to Let Your Co-Authors See Your Secrets
1 guide
TODO List Tutorials
Plan ahead, have a clear view of your world's future, and stay productive with to-do lists.
Feature Guide to the TODO List
Keep track of your tasks and stay productive in your worldbuilding
2 guides
Interactive Tables Tutorials
Interactive tables let you display structured information and turn it into an interactive random table.
Feature Guide to Interactive Tables
Structure and organize data in tables, and create interactive rolltables
4 guides
Notebook Tutorials
Jot down ideas, keep session notes, and references all of it from the same page.
Feature Guide to the Notebook
Write and read your notes without leaving the page
3 guides
Content Trees Tutorials
Create interactive structured content, showing hierarchies and other tree-like information.
Feature Guide to Content Trees
Organize your worldbuilding information in an interactive tree-like structure
4 guides
Variables Tutorials
Variables let you reuse content throughout your world: keep character names consistent, have reusable tooltips for frequent in-world terms, and even create complex BBCode & CSS layouts!
Feature Guide to Variables
Easily reuse content within your world, provide additional context to your readers, and keep your character names always consistent.
- How to Use Icons with Variables in Your Articles
- How to Keep Names Consistent with Variables
- Tips for Using Variables
24 guides
World Management Tutorials
Learn all about how to manage your world and its configuration on World Anvil!
Feature Guide to the World Configuration
Learn everything there is to know about your world settings
- How to Set Up Global Eras in Your World
- How to Import Your World to World Anvil
- How to Use Global Content Fields
- How to Create a Custom Activation Page
- How to Transfer Your World to Another User
1 guide
Random Generator Tutorials
Create all sorts of random generators, from the simples to the most complex, and integrate them into your world.
Feature Guide to Random Generators
You can use random generators to randomize content, from simple name generators to full character creators! And if you like the result, you can even copy the result of a generation straight into an article of your world.
6 guides
Events & Showcases
Catch up with past events and their winners!
Summer Camp 2026 Winners & Prizes
Learn if you won a prize during Summer Camp and how to claim it!
- Worldbuilding Awards Nominees and Winners
- Summer Camp 2025 Winners & Prizes
- WorldEmber 2024 Winners
- WorldEmber 2023 Winners
- Summer Camp 2024 Winners & Prizes
Every great world starts somewhere
Let yours start here.
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