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So, recently I've been getting in to LOTR, and I had a thought.
"Self, how about we make our own epic fantasy world that will later be mass-produced into an rpg for me and my few ttrping friends?"

So I've tried, and tried, and failed, and failed, to make an epic saga of fantasy goodness. For those who know their way around fantasy lane, help.

for myself, its know the beginning and know the end, and let the story tell itself. alot of my thoughts and ideas are just things i see everyday or random ideas ive had for a while.  dont be afraid to let the characters change who and what they are, they will tell their own story in time, and dont be  afraid to let them die

So, recently I've been getting in to LOTR, and I had a thought.
"Self, how about we make our own epic fantasy world that will later be mass-produced into an rpg for me and my few ttrping friends?"

So I've tried, and tried, and failed, and failed, to make an epic saga of fantasy goodness. For those who know their way around fantasy lane, help.

I’d say that if you want to make a fantasy world, it’s all about lore. Specifically, if you want your world to stand out, try and make your lore independent from Tolkien (I suggest you read the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. The author, Steve Erikson does a great job of this). Furthermore, if you intend on magic being a big part of your world, I suggest making it something unique and fleshed out (another strength of the Malazan Book of the Fallen). This is especially important for ttrpgs, as it will lead to fun mechanics the players will enjoy

i have to agree with my fellow writing colleague here.  a truly unique and well thought out world can certainly make or break a book. it seems too often that fantasy is just the same damn thing over and over and over, through a different author. elves are always the same, dwarves are always the same etc... make them different. magic is another thing that can definitely vary. the whole wizard locked away in his tower looking at old musty tomes is really cliche (dont forget the beard and generally uncouth personality)... but, magic in many books and series has varied wildly, and i would encourage u to do the same.

Jos, if you need any help, I’m more than happy to give you ideas

Also, one last last piece of advice. The more fleshed out you make your magic system, the more compelling it will be. Essentially, don’t make it “the wizard was able to do this thing because of reasons and magic”, explain how your magic works at least a little bit. You could talk about the rules, the limitations, or the sorts of things certain mages are able to do.

When it comes to TTRPGs, Matt Colville's Running the Game series can serve as a really good resource. He has really good thoughts on worldbuilding, storytelling, running sessions, and more.

A particular standout is his mini-series on politics, which gets a new installment once very couple of years. Highly recommend this to any DMs, PCs, storytellers, worldbuilders, and also just political thinkers.

He also has a set of worldbuilding VODs, as well as this one on lore vs writing.

If you want to worldbuild under a more structured collaborative setting together with your friends/players, he also highly recommends the games Microscope and Kingdom.