World Building

Creating Languages- 7 points

2008-10-02T04:23:45Z

This is quite an interesting short article explaining seven things you should consider when creating a language. Which some of you might be doing.

hover machines

2008-07-29T12:36:11Z

Hey all. So I was thinking about sci-fi transport today (for the trilogy that I'm writing) and I was wondering about what you thought about hover machines. I know that they are a bit used in the sci-fi genre but I thought that it would be good to make it so that it can be folded up -that way the main character won't have to carry it all the time and it could easilly be stored in a backpack or even a pocket. I also thought that maybe the hover could have huge bat-like wings that can be used as shields to deflet bullets and other means of attack against the enemy. So what do you think, do you like the idea? or do you think I should try and think of something a bit more original?

The Arcana Wiki

2008-07-23T11:50:19Z

I recently had an idea for a wiki project which might be of interest to you - the Arcana Wiki. Basically, I got the idea when I was reminded once again that the real world was a never-ending font of ideas for building fictional worlds, cultures, and RPG adventures. I mean, who of us hasn't browsed through the Wikipedia and thought: "This would be so cool in my own setting!"?

Unfortunately, the Wikipedia doesn't permit users to post story ideas into an article. But the Arcana Wiki does. Basically, each article is divided into two sections - "Basic Information", which contains factual information similar to the Wikipedia (though with a greater focus on the interesting stuff, rather than dry statistics and other boring technical information), and "Game and Story Use", where contributors can post ideas and suggestions for integrating the material into a story - whether into a novel or an RPG adventure is irrelevant.

The wiki is still young, but rapidly growing - there is currently a dedicated pool of volunteers, and several new articles appear every day. I hope some of you are willing to join the effort - and as an incentive, I've recently started a contest where those willing to write up mythological creatures can win a $25 gift certificate for an online RPG store.

I hope to see you there!

worldbuilding @ 2008-07-16T18:19:00

2008-07-16T23:19:09Z

At http://clerkfuturist.wordpress.com, I have posted "Building Futures Which Last." It's at
http://tinyurl.com/574sqc or
http://clerkfuturist.wordpress.com/2008/07/16/building-futures-which-last

System of Magic

2008-07-15T20:42:52Z

Hi, I was wondering what steps I might want to take when inventing a system of magic or what things I might want to look for so I don't create any unwanted loopholes. Thank you.

Treatise: On Dwarven Living Conditions

2008-06-13T02:09:09Z

High fantasy typically skimps on some of the more tedious logistics of the worldview, and I'm just such a detail-minded person that I get to wondering about these things. One of the most troublesome aspects of a typical fantasy world is that of the subterranean Dwarven city. These are fairly common, and they naturally bring about certain questions of their function; how does a three-dimensional society, physically removed from any other civilizations, forced to carefully dig out any expansions to their living space, and severely limited in their natural resources, function and thrive? The main issues that I've found myself mulling over are the trafficking of water and sewage, and the provision of food and sufficient light for the populace.

To provide some possible answers to these quandaries, I applied them to one of my own worlds and did my best to create a workable subterranean dwarf society. While doing so, I've attempted to disregard the ramifications of magic here, because while magic, like technology, can often provide balance to an otherwise unworkable situation, it is somewhat hard to come by in most worlds, and also tends to be unreliable. I'm interested in any thoughts, particularly of problems and difficulties that I might have missed.

In the world of Ormais, there are four races of Dwarves occupying a single, vast mountain range, comparable to our own Himalayas. The foothills and valleys of these mountains are relatively habitable, though constant cold air moving down from the upper ranges makes for a fairly frigid lifestyle, but a number of creatures and plants live there which have adapted to the cold. The Dwarves, with their stocky and dense build, as well as thick hair, don't chill very fast and can live quite happily in this climate, especially as they make use of their natural rock-oriented habits to delve into the earth, harvesting among other things its own preexisting heat to nurture themselves. The highest part of the range, at the northern end, forms the kingdom known as Dwereth, wherein the Dwereg race of Dwarves take this behaviour to its greatest extreme, building large subterranean cities deep into the mountains, and these structures are known as holts.

A holt is built around a single central shaft, which drives straight down into the earth (or as close to strait as possible; sometimes it must be diverted because of faults in the rock or areas of material that is too soft or hard to be mined effectively). Into the side of the shaft is dug a deep corkscrew, which serves numerous purposes, not the least being an easy way to access all of the holt's levels. Tiers are further dug out into equidistant galleries of a specific height (typically eight to ten feet, which is pretty high for a dwarf, with the distance between them varying on the quality of rock), with more ramps and shafts dug between levels further out to facilitate traffic. Housing and other structures are then dug out of the walls of these galleries. The great ramp surrounding the central shaft is also shored up with thick pillars, both for structural integrity and to provide something to tie ropes to and winch equipment and supplies up and down the shaft, which saves considerable time. Pillars are also found in rows toward the centers of the wider galleries. The pillars are sometimes decorated and are considered the Dwereg equivalent of road beautification. With some exceptions, the lower half or so of a holt is given over to mining concerns and other forms of heavy industry, including smelting, metalwork, and stonework, it being far easier to process stone before you have to haul it up a thousand feet of rampage. Since expansion of the upper levels happens at the same time as deeper digging of the main shaft, the holt tapers downward and is quite large at the top. The upper portions of the holt are the most refined and completed, not to mention the largest, and so are the most heavily populated.

Water is a major concern in any city, and moreso among the Dwerege. Holts are usually built near a river or aquifer if possible, although such are primarily used to bear away sewage than to provide water. For water provision, if a river isn't handy or is polluted by foresaid use, the Dwerege will make use of snow and ice, which are plentiful in the region, melting them in large cauldrons on the surface, which drain into pipes below. Every holt of a significant size has a plumbing system, a series of channels dug into the walls of the main galleries and diverted into the individual homes and businesses within the holt. These channels periodically open into well-like cisterns, both in the public areas and in private houses. Because the water provided here is communal, it's illegal to place one's hands or personal belongings directly into it. Traditionally, dwerege use large public pitchers to gather water and then empty those into whatever container they wish. The entire plumbing mechanism is powered by gravity, with water pouring into primary tanks from the surface and from there into the individual pipes that supply the galleries on the levels. The tanks have to be refilled constantly.

As you can imagine, the prospect of building, maintaining and supplying this extensive plumbing system is daunting, but necessary. The largest holt, Dwightholt, has close to 30,000 inhabitants and can be found from miles away by the presence of dozens of huge cauldrons on the mountainside above, continuously melting ice and snow and boiling rain and groundwater to be directed into the holt's four central tanks. In addition, the holt employs hundreds of engineers whose primary jobs are designing, building and maintaining the plumbing system, not to mention redesigning the system when new construction cuts into an existing gallery wall, which is often. Because all of the pipes are interconnected, the channels going to a new construction site can be cut off without blocking water to any other areas of the holt, but actually sealing the channels is still a frustrating task. Once water into a section is cut off, an engineer must physically climb into the system via one of the communal cisterns and dig out new sections from there. Piping into individual housing is made by digging an arm-wide channel through the back of ones house into the system. Naturally, a permit is required to do this.

Sewage is a completely unrelated matter. Once water has been passed through someone's bladder or used to wash something, it becomes garbage, and is disposed of with other garbage, in large bins usually. Solid waste is thrown out in the same way. In the more wealthy holts, houses have narrow corridors at their backs- "servant's walks"- leading to the main galleries, in which garbage is deposited, among other things. In poorer holts, the garbage is simply piled outside of one's front door. To take care of this, there exist sanitation companies, some government-run and others freelance, who gather the garbage, dump it into carts, run these carts up to the surface, transfer them into huge wagons, and in most cases, drive those off into a convenient valley somewhere to empty them (Dwerege aren't exactly environmentalists). This whole process takes a considerable amount of time and effort, which is why holts tend to be built near aquifers, shortening the trip considerably, while drastically decreasing the land value of the areas at the water's edge- and that's why holts are only built near aquifers, and not right next to them.

The next problem is food. As inhospitable as the mountain ranges of the Dwerege are, there aren't really any farms nearby to harvest from. Aside from migratory fowl, the occasional goat, and some of the more hardy grasses, there isn't really anything at all to eat outside. While a small dwarf population can be sustained on cave life-forms, such as lizards, fish, and various mosses and mushrooms, it isn't really feasible with a community of any noticeable size. Fishing makes up most of Dwereth's food production, but the Dwerege have moved so far inland and grown so many in number that this means of food production is no longer feasible to support their entire population long-term. Increases in fishing simply cause eventual major shortages of all types of sea life.
Almost all of Dwereth's food source has to be imported. The rich plains of the empire of Ehrania, to the east of the range's foothills, and the milder ranges to the south in other dwarven nations, prove vital to the enduring Dwereg civilization. Food entering a holt comes mostly in the form of livestock, driven up the passes by herdsmen from the neighboring countries, for which traffic the aforementioned hardy grasses, occupying the lower valleys of the region, prove very handy. These livestock are then led down to the lower levels of the holt- the industrial sector- to be butchered and processed into meat, leather, glue and other products, which are all carried back up to the higher levels to be sold to the populace. The dwerege also import a large number of nonperishable foods- the better to make the long journey unspoiled- most notably spoil-resistant breads and alcoholic beverages, the latter of which the Dwerege are quite fond of. Some dwerege also brew their own drink, calling them local and therefore superior to imported fare, but its best not to ask where they get the ingredients.
Because Dwerege is basically fed by its neighbors, it needs to maintain a strong economy- and military- in order to ensure its own continued survival. It manages this with ease, thanks to the continued need to bore ever deeper into the mountain depths. The Dwarven nations are renowned worldwide for the quality, abundance, and skillful production of their stone, including stoneworks such as statuary, and provide most of the world's high quality stones such as marble and granite. These materials are even exported overseas, at outrageous prices, but the Dwarves profit handsomely from the enterprise. In addition, all manners of metalworks, especially weapons and lanterns, are produced by Dwarves with no equal, and to immense income. But perhaps one of the Dwarves' most lucrative industries is also one of their smallest- the Dwarven nations, at almost no personal cost, produce more than 95% of the world's supply of gems and precious stones.

Finally, there's the matter of light. The holts have to be navigated, and though Dwarves have excellent night-vision, they aren't bats, and need some source of illumination in order to make their way.
With the bulk of food sources coming from elsewhere, most of the Dwereg fishing industry is devoted to the cultivation of whales, seals and similar creatures, simply for their blubber. Blubber is used for numerous purposes, but the most significant is its rendition into oil, purely so that the Dwerege can light their many lamps. The other major source of oil comes from olives, again provided by the fertile plains of Ehrania. Ehrania produces a huge olive crop, much of which is used for its own sustenance, but Dwerege use the fruit exclusively for its oil, which is used preferentially for cooking over whale oil, as well as for a lighting fuel.

worldbuilding @ 2008-06-11T00:25:00

2008-06-11T05:25:09Z

I've determined the new home for Galhaf. It is a star about 40 light-years away called 55 Cancri A, or Rho¹ Cancri.

55 Cancri A is part of a double-star system. The secondary star is a distant red dwarf, which would appear as a very bright star in their sky, not bright enough to light up the night sky, but it would be visible during the daylight hours. They'd probably consider it a bright star at first, but they might notice that it behaves a bit differently than other stars. It's close enough to have a 5 arcminute parallex, though I'm not sure if that would be noticible to the naked eye. It would also move about 1 degree per (Earth) century in the sky, which would likely be noticed by their ancient astronomers. 55 Cancri A is between 4.5 and 5.5 billion years old, and is a little smaller than our sun. It's about twice as metal-rich as our sun. Five gas planets have been discovered in fairly circular orbits, one of which (55 Cancri f) is in the habitable zone. Galhaf is a trojan planet, located in f's leading trojan point. 55 Cancri f (and thus Galhaf) has a year of 260 +/- 1.1 days.

From Galhaf, 55 Cancri f would have the unusual property of appearing largely stationary relative to the sun, 60 degrees away from it. Once they developed the telescope, they would notice that it's in a perpeptual crescent phase. There's another roughly Earth-sized, and life-bearing, planet in the trailing trojan point, which would, therefore, appear to be perpeptually between f and the sun.

Being in the trojan point, I rather suspect Galhaf might be subject to a moderately increased rate of asteroid collisions. In addition, the gravitational interaction of the sun and f would make interplanetary probes more difficult, much to the dismay of their NASA-equivalent. :-)

worldbuilding @ 2008-06-09T22:04:00

2008-06-10T02:14:26Z

Hi, I'm attempting to build a world that suffers from schizotech (most technology it uses comes from 1945-ish; however, there is the occasional more advanced thing floating around.) I want the world to be realistic but acceptable when the 1945-tech breaks away into the unrealistic. On top of this, I'm trying to research what type of stoves, cars, vacuums(?), etc. would be commonly used, but this is kind of a big task, and I don't quite know where to start. Any suggestions on how to maintain balance and to do the research?

worldbuilding @ 2008-06-08T03:42:00

2008-06-08T08:42:43Z

I have found a new home for Galhaf! It will require details to be changed about their orbit, not to mention their calendar and chronology, as a longer year will be required. It is Alula Australis B (Also known as Xi Ursae Majoris B), part of a four-star system, consisting of two pairs. Galhaf orbits the binary pair Ba-Bb together, which consists of a Sun-like star and a brown dwarf in very close orbit (taking just 4 days to orbit each other). The other pair, Aa-Ab, is a yellow dwarf just slightly larger than the Sun and a red dwarf. That pair couldn't have any habitable planets in stable orbits, due to their distance from each other. The two pairs orbit roughly every 60 years, and the Aa-Ab pair orbits each other in about 1.8 years.

It would make their sky a rather interesting place :-)

Aurgh!

2008-06-08T01:28:11Z

I just found out that 36 Ophiuchi, where I had placed my concultures, is estimated to only be about 590 million years old.

That's barely enough time for anaerobit prokaryotes to evolve, much less a complex ecosystem.

Back to the drawing board.

And it was such a nice system, too ...

The new world

2008-05-28T14:45:48Z

This is my latest draft of my creation story. The creation story as I wrote in an earlier post belongs to one of the dwarf tribes in a fictional world that I am currently in the process of building. The tribe that this story belongs to are widely known for their religious beliefs that often seem strange and unusual to peoples of other races. The theme of the "Otherworld" in this story is just one aspect of their religion that is often recieved with sceptical comments from non-believers more so than any other religion in this world.

The story itself was originally based on some Norse mythology that I had read when I was researching for this piece. From my research of Norse mythology I was able to gather a lot of idea's which have given me a lot to think about over the past few weeks. However I soon found that the idea's that I had previously came up with were replaced with new idea's that had no relation to Norse mythology at all.

Instead the story began to take on a new direction and with the introduction of the "Otherworld" I realized that the story was loosely based on Celtic mythology, which I had also extensively researched and became a central element of the following story.

I would also like for you to note even though I am relatively happy with this piece, despite this, I realize that further changes will be needed. As you read the story you will notice that the names of the various God's have not been mentioned. This I will do later because I am also working on a conlang that I intend to use for this very purpose and this will take some time before it is completed to my standard of liking.

Also the story is short; but that was my intention because I just wanted to focus on this specific element of the dwarvish Religion and mythology. I do however intend to write other stories that I plan will describe the events that take place in the Otherworld following the departure of all beings, and what the beings faced in the new world (again the world has yet to be formally named).

So it is with those final notes that I will leave you to continue and read the story. Also if you do read this then please make sure that you make a comment as constructive criticsm is strongly wanted.

***

There once was a time when all beings lived in a world beneath this one. The world was known as the Otherworld and in it lived the high God, his eleven follwers named the lower God's, and all peoples, creatures, and other beings who served all Gods of both status.

For many years the inhabitants of the world lived together peacefully. All were proud of the world that they lived in and wished to live no where else. After all the world was beautiful and was reknowned for it's lush green hills and crystal blue lakes that sparkled as the ripples danced towards the riverbank.

For a long time it was like this; but slowly the world began to change. As time passed the world became darker until little remained of it's former beauty.

The mountains where many of the beings had lived began to crumble to dust; the lush green hills became dry and hard, so dry that no longer would any plants or tree's grow; and so the God's and all the beings who lived there began to starve as the food that had once been plentiful began to disappear until all the trees and plants that remained were stripped of their bearings.

Also not only was the world beginning to change but so were the inhabitants who lived within it. The beings who had once lived together peacefully soon began to argue against one another and would sometimes go to war.

Tired of this the God's decided to hold a meeting to discuss what they ourght to do. Then, after much debate, the high God decided that all beings, with the exceptance of the God's will be removed from the world. "It is time," he announced suddenly, in a loud deep voice that was filled with sadness. "Let all those who have opened their hearts to evil be banished from this world. I will not let this world be destroyed by their evilness."

"But where shall they go?" asked one God in a small voice. "There is no world but this one."

"So I once thought myself but it appears that there is another," replied the high God in calm voice, but, despite this, for the first time the lower God's noticed a shadow of fear that lurked mysteriously behind his eyes. At this the lower God's frowned but the high God rushed on so as they could not interupt.

"It appears that my previous knowledge of this world was gravely mistakened. Like yourselves, I only knew of this world and so I was surprised when I discovered, by accident, a new world. The world exists above ours and can be reached through a secret passage that connects the two worlds together.

Since it's discovery I have watched that world and through my study of it -all I saw was darkness; and I knew that it was ridden with evil, sadly much like this one. But this world is not meant for evil. Evil destroys it. The new world, however, seems to live for evil and it is through good that the evil can be destroyed. This I understand and so I it is my intention that these beings be removed from this world and into the other in the hope that one day the evil that reigns within their hearts will be destroyed. Thus until that day they will be forbidden to re-enter this world.

But despite this they shall not be left alone. One day each year the passage shall open and in our mercifulness we, the God's of this world, and soon the new world, will visit them and bestow them with gifts from this world when they deserve them. These gifts shall remind them of what they lost and in turn will help them to leave behind their hatred that has seeped into their hearts.

Following their departure the passage shall be shut to protect this world as we attempt to heal it." So it was with this final statement that the God's lead all the beings through this passage and into the other world where they have since remained.

The new world

2008-05-28T13:45:15Z

This is my latest draft of my creation story. The creation story as wrote in an earlier post belongs to one of the dwarf tribes in a fictional world that I am currently in the process of building. The tribe that this story belongs to are widely known for their religious beliefs that often seem strange and unusual to peoples of other races. The theme of another world in this story is just one aspect of their religion that is often recieved with sceptical comments from the non-believers.

The story itself was originally based on some Norse mythology that I had read when I was researching for this piece. From my research of Norse mythology I was able to gather a lot of idea's which have given me a lot to think about over the past few weeks. However I soon found that the idea's that I had previously came up with were replaced with new one's.

There is however a strong possibility that I might use those notes in a different story, perhaps in a creation story that belong to a different tribe of dwarfs, as I really do find Norse mythology to be quite interesting to read. It is with that final comment about that I will let you read to continue to read the story.

Also constructive criticsm is strongly wanted.

*********************************************************************************************************************************************************

There once was a time when all beings lived in a world beneath this one. The world was known as the Otherworld and in it lived the high God, his eleven follwers often referred to as the lower God's, and all peoples, creatures, and other beings who served all Gods of both status.

For many years the inhabitants of the world lived together peacefully. All were proud of the world that they lived in and wished to live no where else. Afterall the world was beautiful and was reknowned for it's lush green hills and crystal blue lakes that sparkled as the ripples danced towards the shore.

For a long time it was like this; but slowly the world began to change. As time passed the world slowly became darker and darker until little remained of it's beauty.

The mountains where many of the beings had lived began to crumble to dust; the lush green hills became dry and hard, so dry that no longer would any plants or tree's grow; and so the Gods and all the beings who lived there began to starve as the food that had once been plentiful began to disappear until all the trees and plants that remained were stripped of their bearings.

Also not only was the world beginning to change but so were the inhabitants who lived within it. The beings who had once lived together peacefully soon began to argue against one another and would sometimes go to war.

Tired of this the God's decided to hold a meeting to discuss what they ourght to do. Then, after much debate, the high God decided that all beings, with the exceptence of the God's will be removed from the world. "It is time," he announced suddenly in a loud deep voice that was filled with sadness. "Let all those who have opened their hearts to evil be banished from this world. I will not let this world be destroyed by their evilness."

"But where shall they go?" asked one God in a small, slightly shakey, voice. "There is no otherworld but this one."

"So I thought myself but it appears that there is another," replied the high God in calm voice and for the first time the God's noticed a shadow of fear that lurked mysteriously behind his eyes. At this comment the God's frowned but the high God rushed on so as they could not interupt.

"It appears that my previous knowledge of this world have been gravely mistakened. Like yourselves I only knew of this world and so I was surprised when I discovered, by accident, a new world. The world exists above ours and can be reached through a secret passage that connects the two worlds together.

Since it's discovery I have watched that world and through my study of it -all I saw was darkness; and I knew that it was ridden with evil, sadly much like this one. But this world is not meant for evil. Evil destroys it. The new world, however, seems to live for evil and it is through good that the evil can be destroyed. This I understand and so I it is my intention that these beings be removed from this world and into the other in the hope that one day the evil that reigns within them will be destroyed. Thus until that day they will be forbidden to re-enter this world."

So it was with this final statement that the God's lead all the beings through this passage and into the other world where they have since remained.

creation story

2008-05-08T06:23:51Z

Have you ever writen a creation story for a conworld? At the moment I am writing a creation story for a conworld that I am working on. The creation story is told from the viewpoint of the dwarves and is loosely based on some ideas that I read in a book about mythologies. I think the book was mainly about Norse mythology with a small collection of mythology taken from a few other races.

Note: this isn't a can-you-help-me-with-this kind of question. I am simply asking out of interest.

World building: crops

2008-03-17T17:57:54Z

I'm working on some world building, and I'm trying to decided what crops could naturally grow in the area where the story takes place. I've been googling for ideas, but I haven't found anything truly helpful. Does anyone here have any really useful world building tools for crops, agriculture, and the like?

The area is subtropical, but close to the tropical range. It's also somewhat elevated and mountainous, however, which lowers the temperature and shields them from some of the rain during the rainy season. They live along a river that floods during wet season; its source is in the mountains. There is also limited space, not very many trees. Firewood is a precious commodity reserved to the rich.

Any ideas?

Cross-posting to __fantasynovel and fantasy_studies.

Headline News from Fyksland

2008-03-12T00:08:58Z

This weekly publication is a compact collection of news headlines appeared in Staandæt Poste, a national daily in Fyksland. Originally published in Fyksian, this condensed edition is available in English to provide news briefs of the past week to readers from around the world. The daily news items account for local and international headlines from a Fyksian perspective. Staandæt Poste is an independent news agency and is in no way affiliated with the Government of Fyksland.

fyksland_news

Immortal phoenix people

2008-03-04T04:03:56Z

This is a race from a universe I'm working on. The genre is science fantasy / magic in space. Please ask as many questions about my creation as possible, the process of answering them will help me develop it further. As well if you see any holes in my logic please point them out.

The Kihya are a race of anthropomorphic phoenixes. They have the head and wings of a bird while their body, arms and legs are human like in appearance. One of the most notable things about the Kihya is their immortality. Like the phoenixes they resemble, whenever a Kihya is old or mortally injured they can be healed by dying and being reborn in a burst of fire. This healing fire spontaneously comes forth from within the Kihya and does not need to be started by outside sources. Kihya are unable to reproduce, as there is no need to since they are immortal.
Kihya also have several kinds of psychic abilities. All Kihya can telepathically communicate and have the ability to read minds, both surface thoughts and buried memories. The level of telepathic ability varied between individual Kihya. Some Kihya also have additional abilities such as telekinesis, remote viewing and precognition.
The Kihya originally were not immortal, they were born and died like any other life form. They evolved on the world Nestorhem, which was destroyed in a battle with their enemies the Maraskans. This happened when the Maraskans invaded Nestorhem and threatened to overrun the entire galaxy. The Seneschal, a mysterious god like figure known to the Kihya, defeated the Maraskans by destroying Nestorhem with them on it. The Seneschal was only able to save four hundred Kihya from the millions that previously made up their population but he gave them immortality in return. It is unknown exactly how this chain of events played out and most other races believe this story to be only legend or allegory.

Also, I have worked out how the Kihya became immortal, but it is really confusing and probably wouldn't make sense without reading the whole story (or even then for that matter). I'll tell you about it if anyone wants to know but I don't want to make this post a mile long explaining both the Kihya and this process at the same time.

World with weird seasons: request for ideas and thoughts

2008-03-03T17:33:55Z

Sorry for the ill-thought-out nature of this idea. It began as a "wouldn't it be funny if" thought for a roleplay setting on a world with very long (seasonal) 'years'. Can anyone give me any thoughts on whether and how this might be possible? Hopefully with as little handwaving as possible!

So we have a world. We're probably only looking at a hemisphere: natural barriers of some kind prevent access to the other half of the planet. That's handwaveable and less important than the rest.

I want the cycle of seasons to be long - 30 years from midwinter to midwinter.

I also want the seasons to move around cyclically... that is, on one side of the hemisphere it's midsummer while directly opposite it's midwinter. That seems the trickiest part to me, but it's also important - not vital, but without it everything will need to be different and probably considerably less fun biologically!

I want a relatively narrow band of land in this hemisphere that's suitable for habitation all year round (i.e. a band where seasons are mild enough that 7.5-year winter and 7.5-year summer don't kill everything off). Towards the 'equator' and 'pole' the geography or climate should prevent settlement and cultivation by unadapted humanoids, assuming these are humanoids similar to us.

The civilisation we're concerned with started out as nomadic humanoids who followed the warm seasons around, but it has now consolidated enough of an empire to build a fortified city and have food shipped in from colonies established all the way around the habitable belt. Geographically speaking, this habitable belt needs to be mostly joined up, by land bridges or fordable water at minimum, for all our nomadic species to have evolved. (I assume variable sea levels isn't sensible.)

If it's not even vaguely plausible I'll shrug and change my plans; just thought it would be cool to think about the effect this would have on the evolutionary side of things. :) Animals are more to my interest than geography and astrophysics, and I'm really stumped with finding out how to research this stuff.

Future Building Questions 001

2008-02-18T04:18:06Z

Warning: These questions are intended for use in writing fiction. They are not suitable for construction of real-world utopias. If used to design Role Playing Games, proper results are not guaranteed. Investments based on these questions are guaranteed to make a small fortune only if you start with a large fortune.

1. Which theory of society do you believe:

a) Society is an organic whole whose parts work together.

b) Society is made up of competing groups.

c) Society is made up of competing ideas.

d) Society is continuously constructed and reconstructed as people respond to what they think the words and actions of others mean.

e) Society is run by secret masters, benevolent or malevolent.

f) Other.

2. You see history as being:

a) A rise toward greater and higher civilization.

b) Bound by rigid cycles; for example, the United States will last as a civilization exactly as long as the Roman Empire did.

c) Cyclic, but the cycles are rather looser.

d) Cyclic, with the cycles we can see being part of a greater cycle. When civilization reaches its peak, it will destroy itself. Humans will start all over again, from the beginning of the Stone Age. Alternatively, humans will die out and another intelligent species will experience the next cycle. (Of course, this requires explanation of why oil and various ores weren't used up in previous cycles.)

e) It's all going to repeat, exactly the same. For example, there will be another Roman Empire.

f) Other.

Trains!

2008-01-08T07:18:36Z

http://www.privaterailcars.net/

http://patentroom.com/trains

Useful resources.

Community Info

2008-01-04T19:13:17Z

I've asked this before (more than a year ago), cannot find the question or the answers so I'll ask again as I'm returning to our shared hobby...

What is the difference between this community and worldmaking? I'm posting this over there also so I can try to get a concensus from both sides.

Also, I'll be working on a SciFi universe. Is there a prefered community for such endevors?

Thanks!

worldbuilding @ 2007-12-18T00:57:00

2007-12-18T06:58:28Z

Historical timeline, concensus view of 20th century history -- somewhat different from the views of historians -- in the 25th century:

1914 Great War

Establishment of first world empire, the League of Nations.

1939 League of Nations breaks up; the Atomic War. (Use of atomic weapons in later wars considered minor.)

World empire re-established as the United Nations

Mythical Creature: The Frerwyn

2007-12-06T01:20:32Z

I'm cross-posting this from Mythmakers, because this community has a lot more people in it.

This is one of many races inhabiting one of my story worlds. They are quite obviously based on wherewolves, but I tried to add some twists that would make them a more interesting race to read about. I'd like to know what people think about my effort; is it too cliche, or is it a refreshing twist on an old monster?

Overview: The Frerwyn are a magical, tranformational race. They have the ability to transform between any of three specific animal species: humans, wolves, and cougars (panthers).

Specific attributes: A frerwyn can change from one form to another at will. While in a form, they have full self-control, though their minds are limited to the nature of the brain of that form. They can also mix the attributes of any two of their available species; thus, they can become a human with the eyes of a cat, or a cat with the nose of a wolf, or any other imaginable combination. They cannot, however, normally mix the attributes of all three species.
The transformational power of the Frerwyn is tied to the phases of the moon. The fuller the moon is, the more quickly the change takes place; on a full moon, it can occur in less than a second, depending on the Frerwyn in question and the degree of change taking place. Right before a new moon, the transformation is as slow as five or six seconds, and in some cases may take up to eight or nine seconds. During a new moon, the transformation cannot be done at all, and Frerwyn are always careful to pick a suitable form in advance since they will be stuck that way until the moonlight returns. The effect of the moon's phase works regardless of physical barriers, and lingers after the moon has set, until roughly the time that it rises again, so even if a full moon is not actually up, if it has been in the sky within 12 hours or so, its effect will remain.
Additionally, while the moon is full, the Frerwyn are able to transform into a creature known as a Greyn, which mixes the attributes of all three species to the greatest effect. The Greyn is extremely strong, agile, quick to respond, intelligent, and has highly acute senses. Because of this, the territories of the Frerwyn fall silent during the time of the full moon, as all living things take refuge lest they stir the ire of the Greyn.
Finally, Frerwyn have a weakness for silver; even when cold, it burns them as though white-hot. Frerwyn are known to say that the moon's rays feel like the warmth of a fire, though slightly different, and that the touch of silver is like a more extreme version of that warmth. Because of this and the similar color, many have conjectured that the energies emitted by silver and the moon are somehow related.

Culture and social structure: Frerwyn consider themselves of each species and none, taking no favoritism over any of the three, though many prefer one form over another in general. Within their territory, they hold what is known as the Pact, an accord that no wolf, human or cougar may kill a member of the other species. If such a thing happens, they are subject to the harsh and often fatal justice of the Frerwyn. The Frerwyn hold themselves to this Pact as well, and never hunt the native wolves, cougars and humans that live nearby, except in cases of socially-accepted retribution. However, those species are still wary of the Frerwyn, partly out of supernatural fear of their shape-shifting powers, partly because of the profound control over the area that their powers give them, and also because consorting with the Frerwyn inevitably lends itself to all manner of complications. For example, the child of a Frerwyn is always a Frerwyn, regardless of whether the bearer is a Frerwyn or simply a natural animal. This can lead to difficulties when a she-cougar suddenly finds a sometimes baby or wolf-cub on her hands, and finding the actual father is often a difficult prospect.
Frerwyn live in a highly scattered social structure, some living in town-like settlements, others moving in nomadic family packs, and still others taking a loner's lifestyle, so there are a number of potential radical elements in Frerwyn society. However, even the loners are generally kept track of, and there exists a certain amount of communication between all Frerwyn communities, regardless of their preferred form.
Some Frerwyn are given to a certain degree of arrogance, pushing around the outer species out of a sense of superiority. Their reasoning is that they have a singular perspective of the world, and that this three-fold view gives them an unparalleled understanding of nature. Recently, a movement in this direction has become increasingly popular.

Language: when in wolf or cougar form, Frerwyn use the natural languages of those species, as the forms are ill-suited to alien forms of communication. When in human form, however, they tend to use a human vocabulary, taken from a neighboring human kingdom and altered to a very distinct dialect over time, but tempered with the grammar and syntax peculiarities of the other animals. Word order is based on wolf language, as well as words describing times and places, and also honorifics. Cougar language lends itself mainly to insults and colorful exclamations.
The resulting sound of Frerwyn language is odd, punctuated by growls and hisses and certain unusual gestures and possessing a certain directness and simplicity that many human languages lack.
Because the moon is of such primary importance to the Frerwyn, they keep not only a lunar calendar but also a lunar clock. A day begins when the moon rises and ends when it rises next, and night is considered that period when the moon is not in the sky. This sense of time is said to come from the wolves. The position of the sun is largely ignored by the Frerwyn; daylight has little meaning to a race who can adjust their night-vision at will.

Because of their extreme adaptability and the sheer power of the Greyn form, the Frerwyn are considered a class A threat.

Birth in Terralga

2007-10-19T14:46:37Z

Known spontaneous abortions and stillbornsare deemed demonic and are destroyed (usually by fire). The widwife must remove the afterbirth and a monk must clean the uterus with holy water then cleanse it. This ritual usually entails lots of prayers and chants. The mother and midwife must stay in a different room, away from the rest of the world, until the next full moon. The night of the full moon the mother and the midwife musdt lie naked in the rays of the moon.

Asexuals and hermaphrodites are regarded firrefently depending on where they come from but they are all sent to monasteries. Followers of Thabid (solid god) hate hermaphrodites because they are the symbol of SaHir. In these areas the father takes the baby to the closest Abdul al SaHir monestary and the mother must regain her respect with another child-asap. Il Fagr they are taken up as servents at the monasteries. In other areas asexuals and hermaphrodites are taken in to monasteries from birth and cared for by a wet nurse. In such places giving birth to a shim is looked on highly. Once giving birth to a shim, the only people who see their children again is the Il Fagr.

Steriles don't know they are sterile until they try to concieve. Once they know they are sterile nobody will want to marry them but they are still part of the village/ city as normal people. The only difference is if you are of Il Fagr or are royal. Il Fagr deem that you must have done something terrible to warrent such a punishment from Abha, who is usually kind and forgiving so you are shunned. Rolyals who cannot pass on thier blood cannot inherit. Sterility is grounds for devorce.

Facilitated abortion is an underground trade and is considered disgusting and any person found doing it is shunned. Whores do do it in many cases but after having it done they move on. In Il Fagr, it is punnishable by death

My mostly complete setting.

2007-10-03T21:03:33Z

Hi all,
I thought I'd drop in to post the link to the website for my first worldbuilding effort. The setting is for a soon to start roleplaying game. I'll be adding content like character profiles and session summaries once the game actually starts, but for now the biggest feature is the Worldbook. I've got a few sections in the Physical Setting that aren't quite complete, but I expect to have them up within a couple weeks.

Caveat the First: Since this game setting is primarily for entertainment and as the basis for collaborative storytelling among a small group of friends, I have made no attempt to completely file off the serial numbers of some of my influences. You will find some ideas taken more or less directly from Gene Wolfe and a few others. On the other hand, the majority of the material is much more filtered through my own creative lens. Artwork on the site is used without the permission of the various artists. Again, I would be worried about this if I ever expected to make a red cent from this work.

Caveat the Second: Sadly, since this website is a resource for my players, much of the mystery of the setting is missing at this time. The fairly obvious reason for this is that the players need to discover these things through their characters' experiences in the setting. Thus, a great deal of very interesting material remains in my notes and will only be added as it becomes common knowledge for the players.

That said, I have put a great deal of my personal creative energy into this project and I wish to share the fruits of my labor with a slightly larger audience. I welcome all questions and criticism, and will do my best to explain myself without revealing secrets to players who are also reading this community.

Tales of the Future Imperfect

After death

2007-10-01T11:16:12Z

I have a bit more on Terralga to post (though everybody seems sick of it). It's on what happens after death. What I am about to post is what actually happens to people after death not what they believe.

Life is a giant sphere inside a person. On the outside is consiousness then lower consioucness levels, then subconsious levels, then comatose levels then finally an infitesimal 'black' sphere in the centre. The further you go in the darker and denser the surrounding are and the more it pulls you in. Some can remain 'alive' while their body rots away as though dead. This is not dead and it is not comatose where there is a possibility of coming back. It is more like a void, locked away in nothingness.

Once you go through the shere you see the entire universe as it exists at the point you crossed infinite and infitesimal at the same time. You are as you see yourself, if you see yourself as brave, you will look brave. Seeing the infinite makes you revert back to your initial self (what you were before you were born): a child. It's rather a paradox having the universe inside a person inside the universe but that is the way of Thabid as he is the greatest of the gods and yuo are now in his domain.

Inside this sphere is the Goddess of Death. She looks at you and judges if you have been a 'good or naughty boy'. Those who have been naughty are taken by Hell to be taught your lesson (sent back to Terralga in a reflected role as punishment such as if you beat your wife you will be sent back as a wife who will be beaten). Those who have been good are given eternal rest and dissipate into the universe. Those who have done great works worthy of being a demi god are sent to a god they feel connected to or their works are relevant to.

You can come back from the dead without being taken by Hell. If you don't want eternal rest you can ask to be sent back. You will not be able to reconnect with your body because you have been sent back via a different route. Once you have left you can only come back when Heaven and her demi-gods happen upon you (which is very rare becuase gods have more important things to do than their jobs). Very few will be able to feel your presence and most decline the offer if it available.

Thise who can be trained to look at you are the blind, those who can be trained to hear yuo are the deaf and so on, only those who cannot smell can smell you and so forth. You can sense the same things other people can but everybody alive can only sense you. Only those who are not limited by the outward sencess have enough stillness to notice you and can understand your communications. Creatures of the subelement* Blood can sense you and those with magical talent in this area can control you, just like fire mages control fire. Blood is not a part of the wizarding society because it is not a true element and is not thought to be bistowed by SaHir (even though it really is, as a part of Cognitising). Those that can control you must have a physical limitation and an ability in Cognitising. The ability to control the dead is the weakest and their are very few blood mages.

*Blood is not an element but there are creature that are ruled by it instead of the 5 normal elements. Blood is outside the area of Khalid and his children. All gods have minor abilities in other areas but are far too interested in their own to want to worry about others.