Post-Apocalyptic Worlds
Post-apocalyptic worlds feature a fictional world in disarray. By definition some traumatic event has crumbled the world as we know it, leaving individuals or small bands of people struggling to survive in a harsh new environment. These worlds are primal and are often used to explore humankinds’ more animalistic natures. Here, endurance, hope, and instinct are pitted against hunger, violence, and despair. Yet beauty is also a recurring theme to these worlds, as the demise of human society can bring about a return to a more natural, pristine state. Post-apocalyptic worlds feature survivors, either alone or in small bands, as they struggle to survive against raiders, cultists, a new environment, and other dangers this new world brings forth. Here you will find bunker cities, wastes, and endless hardships.

Example Mythonyms: Last Earth, Afterworld |
Worlds |

Designing Fictional Post-Apocalyptic Worlds
Overview
The central question to any post-apocalyptic world, whether answered explicitly or not, is how the world fell apart. That event, and its aftereffects, are the primary drivers of any post-apocalyptic world. While some designers may wish to keep this event an untold mystery, for others it will ripple into each and every other element the world contains, from new religions, to new monsters, to new endless wastelands. The next question most worldbuilder will wish to address is the current world era with respect to the apocalyptic event. Some worlds will occur directly after (or during) the event. These worlds often feature narratives examining the lengths people will go to survive and how groups or individuals navigate a world currently falling apart. Other settings will occur years afterwards, showcasing a world attempting to rebuild (either successfully or unsuccessfully so). Yet other worlds occur centuries afterwards, where the apocalypse has become an ancient memory or even myth, and all that remains is a fundamentally changed world and unknown ruins leftover from a time before.


Rebuilding
Has society rebuilt and to what degree? Has a system of government been reestablished or does anarchy reign? With the fracturing of a more global network, society may have divided itself into smaller collections of people. These groups may vary in their cultures and may not all coexist peacefully.

Havens
Often in post-apocalyptic worlds there are safe havens, bunkers or fortified areas that either provided protection during the apocalyptic event itself or continue to provide safety from the aftereffects. These may be secured city/towns, areas, or singular buildings.

Ruins
Ruins are common to post-apocalyptic worlds. They serve as a constant reminder of the world as it once was. Additionally, they serve as locations that survivors can search for supplies or areas of increased danger.

Post-Apocalyptic Economies
Bartering may be common. The value of goods may have shifted so that more utilitarian items are more highly valued. Things like fuel, food, weapons, and ammo, may be the primary trade goods.

Post-Apocalyptic Vehicles
Vehicles can play a central role in post-apocalyptic worlds as they represent a (potentially) diminishing means of long-distance travel. This may mean cars and trucks are central with fuel to power them being critical, or it may mean that the collapse has returned the world to using pack animals as a method of travel.

New Religions
These may feel like the end times, or whatever time comes even after that. The people of these worlds may be turning to whatever new or old religions may guide them through this difficult period. Will these pursuits offer a buttress against growing evil, or are they only a mirage of safety?

