Thread 24667235

Sorcery, Wizardry, Witchcraft, Psionics, and General Magic and Powers Edition

FAQ:
>What is worldbuilding?
Worldbuilding is the process of creating entire fictional worlds from scratch, all while considering the logistics of these worlds to make them as believable as possible. Worldbuilding asks questions about the setting of a world, and then answers them, often in great detail. Most people use it as a means of creating a setting or the scenery for a story.
>"Isn't there a Worldbuilding general in >>>/tg/ already?"
Yes, there is. However, that general is focused on the creation of fictional worlds for the intended purpose of playing TTRPG campaigns. Here you can discuss worldbuilding projects that are not meant to be used for a roleplaying setting, but for novels, videogames, or any other kind of creative project.
>"Can I discuss the setting of my campaign here, though?"
If you want to, but it would probably be better to discuss it on >>>/tg/ . We don't allow the discussion of TTRPG mechanics, however. If you want to discuss stats or which D&D edition is best, this is not the place.
>"Can I talk about an existing fictional setting that is not mine?"
Yes, of course you can!
>"Does worldbuilding need to be about fantasy and elves?"
Worldbuilding, as already stated above, and contrary to what many believe, does not inherently imply blatantly copying Tolkien. In fact, there are many science-fiction setting out there, and even entire alternative history settings which do not possess supernatural elements at all. Any kind of science fiction book has an implied setting at least, which involves a certain degree of worldbuilding put into it.

Old thread: >>24567943

>>24667235 (OP)
Thread Questions:
>What kinds of magic, psychic abilities, and/or other powers exist in your world? And if multiple types exist, how do they interact with each other, if at all?
>If the different types can be combined, what is the result? And if not, what is the reason?
>How do people use/gain access to the magic? And what are the most important things to consider/remember when creating a magic system(s) or power system, and what mistakes to avoid? How did you make your own?
>Is there anything that the magic or powers explicitly cannot do, and if yes, what? And how much of the limits of the abilities are inherent versus a lack of understanding?
>On the subject of hyper-advanced technology, what exists in your world and what do you need to remember when creating/including it? What about magitech, or other tech that incorporates powers, what can you say on that?

>>24667235 (OP)
Since the last thread died early for some reason, I'm reposting the TQs from it here in case anyone is still interested.
>Do the people in your setting believe in any celestial beings like Angels or something similar? And do these beings actually exist, and if so, how accurate are the beliefs?
>How about Demons or similar beings, how accurate are their beliefs to reality? And how do you add your own twist to them, or to Angels?
>Are there any other categories of otherworldly entities in your world, like the Fae, Yokai, Ghosts and specters, Grim Reapers, Elementals, etc.? If so, how are they related to Angels, Demons, or each other, if at all, and what are they like?
>What about the gods in your world, what are they like, how are their pantheons structured? And what is their relationship with the other mystical entities in the setting (do they have any specific groups of Angels serving specific gods, etc.)?

>>24667249
Why did it die? I thought it was going strong.

Bump

>>24667235 (OP)
I’m planning on having a form of alchemically created gold in my setting, one that’s harder than normal gold, visually distinct if you look closely, and great at holding magic and enchantments. I want “Aurum” to be the term for “mundane” gold, while “Orichalcum” is used for a separate substance entirely, does anyone have any idea on what I can call the artificial hold that isn’t just “Alchemist’s Gold” or something similar? If it helps, a key ingredient in the process is material from a gigantic entity called a Titan.

>>24668971
>does anyone have any idea on what I can call the artificial hold that isn’t just “Alchemist’s Gold” or something similar?
that sounds like a Philosopher's Stone. Maybe you should think of Orbs or something like that to find an interesting name

>>24667242
There is Asking, the ability to subtly shift the laws of physics in your favor. Theoretically anyone can do it but only really those born with the innate skill/power are taught

There's Spirit Calling, where one houses a ghost within themselves to call upon their power, which is in a sense the use of Asking. Ghost powers are Asking but done in a more closer, soul sense.

Then there is Thought Light. Unrelated to either of the former, it is what happens when a brain gets exposed to second-dimensional energy and unleash the connection to it in energetic form. Imagine a light that you can make appear and determine what it does and looks like. You can make complex images, solid light creations, or energy blasts. Theres quite a bit more but thats for another time

>>24670268
holy cringe

>>24670271
How you fag

>>24669839
>that sounds like a Philosopher's Stone. Maybe you should think of Orbs or something like that to find an interesting name
Not where I was going with this, but thanks anyway.

>>24667235 (OP)
I’m looking to create a setting where there are six elements, Light, Void, Earth, Fire, Water, and Air. Each element has a god that embodies their element, as well as having other domains in their portfolios, with no element being “good” or “evil”. For instance Light has dominion over Creation and Chaos, Void has Destruction and Order as domains, one of Fire’s domains is War, etc. I’m trying to brainstorm ideas for other domains for each god, what would you suggest? Someone in the last thread suggested Protection & Humility for Earth, War & Love for Fire, Inspiration & Fertility for Water, and Life & Trickery for Air, though I wasn’t thinking of limiting each god to just two non-elemental domains, and I’m unsure of giving any one god “Life” as a domain, the last thread died before the person I was talking to replied back after my last post, do you have any more suggestions please?

As for the angels, the idea is that elementals were accidents, made from shed bits of power when the gods made the world. The gods then refined the process to make angels, which further inspired them to create mortals. So each god/element has their own variety of angels, and I’m looking for ideas on things to give each one. Halos and wings that showcase their element of course, like wings and halos of flame for Fire angels, halos that look like black holes for Void angels, etc., if you have any ideas that would work well, please let me know. Demons would be elemental as well, but they’re not as developed yet.

The different races were made by the gods all combining their powers, with each race having two or three dominant elements in their makeup, so they primarily worship the gods that had the heaviest hand in their creations over the others.

I was thinking that the relationship between the gods would be neutral leaning towards positive. The Light and Void gods tend to work on a more metaphysical level, the former constantly creating like a stream of consciousness writer, the Void god acting like an editor refining their creations and destroying that which would harm the world (monsters being creatures that slipped through the cracks). They formed first and act in a semi-parental way to the other gods, though technically they're all considered equals.

While the gods care about their followers to a degree, and will grant some prayers within reason, they're still their element, so the Fire god might burn down a forest not out of malice, but because that's what flame DOES, etc. Revering the gods is seen in part as a way to try and keep them happy and prevent any scuffles from going too far. They mainly communicate via their priests, but sometimes they create avatars to do certain tasks. If a person lived a good life, they go to the afterlife of the god they're most aligned with (they can choose between the options if there's a tie). What do you think?

>>24667235 (OP)
What are the most important things to remember when creating a magic system? And what are all the sub-types/schools/disciplines you can include like divination, elemental magic, summoning (demons or otherwise) wards, enchantments, oath magic, alchemy, etc.?

Also, I love discussing magic systems, if you’d like to discuss your own here I’d be glad to, especially given the thread topic!

>>24670271
Stay fucked off you utter faggot

>>24672514
See my >>24670268
Any questions you can think of ask

>>24667242
It's all subject to change because I'm retarded and tend to overthink simple shit but
>What kinds of magic, psychic abilities, and/or other powers exist in your world? And if multiple types exist, how do they interact with each other, if at all?
Psychic abilities rendered more spiritual than scientific. Magic, ESP, sorcery, etc. are just names for achieving supernatural feats using spiritual power.
>How do people use/gain access to the magic?
Lots of different ways, mostly natural talent although dealing with spirits (and taking proper precautions) will strengthen your spiritual power at least a little. Priests usually have stronger spiritual defenses than others, but their power comes mostly from entreating higher spirits to accomplish tasks.
As for espers/sorcerers/etc., most aren't very powerful (fortune telling and the like) but the more talented ones are what you'd expect. Telekinesis, fire starting, clairvoyance, etc. Often takes intense focus and mantras/gestures help with that.
You can also "brute force" awaken these abilities. Usually doesn't go well. Demon summoners ask for power and have some locks opened. Government experiments. Thing is, trying to awaken and speedrun these abilities can kill you or mutate your body as it attempts to contain the increase in power. Kinda like an egg that's too big for the shell, it's eventually going to start cracking and if the shell continually reforms over the leaking egg then it's going to end up looking really weird. That's why some sages and psychics have third eyes or things like an extra finger or macrocephaly. Funny thing is, this occurs even in those that develop their power naturally, the process is simply much, much slower and less atrociously offputting.
>And what are the most important things to consider/remember when creating a magic system(s) or power system, and what mistakes to avoid? How did you make your own?
I have no idea what I'm doing lmao
>Is there anything that the magic or powers explicitly cannot do, and if yes, what? And how much of the limits of the abilities are inherent versus a lack of understanding?
No time travel or traveling between worlds (gates been worlds are naturally occurring and can't be forced open). Inherent.
>On the subject of hyper-advanced technology, what exists in your world and what do you need to remember when creating/including it? What about magitech, or other tech that incorporates powers, what can you say on that?
I really don't want any "magitech". I don't have any practical reasons yet, I just highly dislike the trope. Nothing saying a demon couldn't manipulate your smartphone if it had a mind to however. Think about that next time it does something it's not supposed to.

>>24670271
NTA, but what exactly is wrong with this? Tell me in great detail please.

>>24668971
Dark Souls has 'Titanite' which is also the name of an actual real mineral (although it's just a silicate); If you're not feeling original you could borrow it.
Alternatively since you're using the term 'Titan' maybe you can use a bit of a subtle reference to Greek mythology; something like Theognite (after the Theogony) or Kronite (after Kronus). You could also call it something like Archgold or Truegold or some compound word that imparts flavor. Just off the top of my head though.

>>24672514
I personally have a strong distaste for 'hard' magic systems so I don't believe having an elaborate system is necessary, but there's still a few things I think are pretty important.
>Who can use magic? Is it common, is it rare? Is it tied to blood or can anyone learn it? If you can learn it how would one go about doing that?
>What are the drawbacks? What are the limits? What cannot be done with magic and what is the danger of using it?
>How does this influence the world and society? If magic is real and able to be controlled with any level of precision then without any force opposing it then magic-users should naturally rise to the top.
With the last point a lot of settings have specific weaknesses that target mages which are coupled with a background of strong religious/social prejudice; i.e. the chorae in Bakker or something like the Templars in Dragon Age.
It doesn't work in every setting but personally I really like magic that is mysterious and occult in nature, something poorly understood and that poses nightmarish risks for attempting to wield it.

I was writing earlier and ran into an extremely insignificant problem, but I thought it was an interesting question to ask.
In a fictional world, no reader would question bread being called bread.
But what about fermented mare's milk? Would anyone raise an eyebrow if I called it 'kumis' or 'airag' which are the actual names used for it in the real world cultures (Turks, etc) that consume it?
At what point does using Earth-names for food ruin the immersion in a fictional setting - when should we start making up names used by the fictitious cultures in our worlds used to describe something that is essentially the same as a real thing on Earth?
Should we call curry, curry? Maybe? What about sushi? Almost definitely not, but why? Where's the line?

>>24674673
It's dependent on whether or not it's in English.
English as a language has a useful habit of including words from other languages very easily so if its in English (be it written or the story langue) its more tolerable.

Theres also whether its necessary or not. Chai tea for example is a type of tea, it denotes a specific type of tea and you can just say Chai because it means tea. If you're trying to say that it is specifically some foreign to the character then you should you the other language words.
Else just describe it specifically

>>24667242
>What kinds of magic, psychic abilities, and/or other powers exist in your world? And if multiple types exist, how do they interact with each other, if at all?
There is natural magic that exists ambiently throughout the world, but also extremely concentrated into magical crystals. Magical crystals are extremely dangerous to regular humans, producing a magical radiation that kills them instantly. in the 4th millenium of the divine era, humans discovered a technology called the "brand". By applying a magical tattoo to their forearms, magical users called Witches can create a substance called mana in their blood. The more magic a witch is exposed to, the more of their blood is replaced with mana.
By channeling magic through their mana, witches can use magical crystals to cast runes, specific spells based on the untranslated divine language.
>If the different types can be combined, what is the result? And if not, what is the reason?
Magic uses the 6 types of crystals: earth water fire metal wood and star. Witches can specialize in any combination of two magical crystals, but their bodies become aligned to those elements and they are locked into that art for the rest of their lives. For example, star+water crystals create psychic magic which can only be used by a psychic witch. Using 3 or more elements is chaos magic, and even if the spell is successful it will kill its user.
>How do people use/gain access to the magic? And what are the most important things to consider/remember when creating a magic system(s) or power system, and what mistakes to avoid? How did you make your own?
They need to be branded, and to increase their powers they need an increasing supply of mana in their bodies. Since mana perverts the natural order though, it causes abnormally bad luck in its users called a Jinx. The costs grow exponentially as a witch ascends, eventually becoming an undead wraith known as a High-Class witch. In order to use magic, crystal dust, a sign in divine language (written or in sign language) and a spark are required.
>Is there anything that the magic or powers explicitly cannot do, and if yes, what? And how much of the limits of the abilities are inherent versus a lack of understanding?
The limit to magic is mostly the limitations on alignment, so witches work together in killteams of four. Magic also takes a toll on their soul, and using magic that is too powerful or too much magic quickly destroys your soul and turns you into a High-Class.
>On the subject of hyper-advanced technology, what exists in your world and what do you need to remember when creating/including it? What about magitech, or other tech that incorporates powers, what can you say on that?
The setting is around 19th century technology, but witches are restricted from some of the advanced technology like electricity and trains because their jinxes actively destroy it. They are cordoned off from the general population because their magical aura kills humans.

>>24674673
I would say it depends on how tied to a character the writing's perspective is.
For example, in lord of the rings it would make sense for an elf to talk about lembas without introducing it but not frodo. you can include contextual clues about what it is in the text, and that really locks in the reader's interest. people like feeling smart and figuring out what something does for themselves. need to show restraint for how often you do that tho

I wonder if I can justify nonhuman races appearing humanlike by taking advantage of the Adam Kadmon concept in some way. Basically imply that much as Adam Kadmon served as the blueprint for humanity through which God's light flowed through and created humans (by uplifting apes), some of that light reflected and scattered in some way to steer some species toward a human shape. I'd never hard confirm it and I want to avoid having a fuck ton of Star Trek aliens, but maybe it'd add some flavor.

>>24668971
Just use other ancient languages:
Chrysos (Greek)
Zul (Etruscan)
Kugsig (Sumerian)

>>24668971
philosophite

>>24668971
Heileijen, or kyrzen

>>24676171
>philosophite
>>24676217
>Heileijen, or kyrzen
Why those names specifically?

>>24675532
Thanks for the suggestions, do you have any in a similar vein please?

>>24674629
Huh, the latter suggestion is worth exploring, thanks. If you have any further ideas please let me know.

>>24667242
In my current setting there is basically a type of energy that when interacted with by sentient beings is magic.
There is several larger categories of interaction. Internal and external and hybrid which have their own limitations and benefits.
As well as categories of effects, objective and subjective. With objective requiring materal components but their effects actually effecting material reality, while subjective not requiring materials of any kind but only effects the perception of reality, often only the targets of the spell at that.

That is a very basic overview of my magic system.

>>24676261
Not much reason. I just wanted to be a bit creative, but also make them sound like they could fit gold.

>>24668971
Are there any other alchemical substances like this in the setting?

>>24672514
>What are the most important things to remember when creating a magic system?
That the magic system should serve the story and not the other way around. Even better if it relates to deeper themes within the story.

At least if your goal is story telling.
If it's something like game design then game balance and playablity/fun needs to constantly kept in mind.
Main advice though is not to get lost in the sauce. Magic is just one part, usually not even the most important part. Remember your overall objectives in your project. What ideals, what emotions, what you are trying to communicate and invoke in the audience.

>>24667249
>Do the people in your setting believe in any celestial beings like Angels or something similar?
>How about Demons or similar beings
>Are there any other categories of otherworldly entities in your world
There are spirits. Sapient beings composed arcane energy. Or mind and energy but no physical body.
There are celestiral spirits, sometimes being somewhat similar to angels and tend to be safe to interact with since their intentions are benign or beneficial.
There are infernal spirits who can be extremely dangerous to deal with because they tend to possess and mutate the weak willed, creating demons/monsters. Especially those close to death or are otherwise pushed to extremes to the point of hopelessness. The mutations are usually permanent so even if someone banished the infernal spirit that person is unlikely to ever be able to live anything close to a normal life again. Though usually most possessed are too far gone to safe. It is a righteous and merciful act to put them down.

Then there are the earthly spirits, including sprites, fae, all kinds nature spirits, totemic spirits, and so on.

There are spirits of certain locations, usually relating to their history. Thing genus loci taken litterally.

Familiar spirits, which share a symbiotic relationship with a material being for one reason or another. Sometimes with whole family lines or groups of material beings as a sort of guiding or guardian spirit due to some deed or contract that has lasted generations.

And lastly is the rare spirit of someone who was formally a material being but for one reason or another became in part or in whole a spirit. Probably the closest thing to a proper ghost in my setting.
Reincarnation is basically cannon within the setting so it's not like a normal non-magical parson is going to become a energy being/spirit/ghost. Usually this kind of thing only happens when massive amounts of arcane energy were involved or the person was a powerful mage who turned themselves into a spirit intentionally.

>>24678748
>>24667249
>What about the gods in your world.
One of the secrets of my world that I might revel later if the story becomes multi-realm is that most of the beings seen as and worshiped as gods are ascended immortals who have successfully undergone the process of apotheoses and not turned into some sort of cosmic eldritch being between realms. Currently that isn't in the story though and won't be included in the current book I am working on. Probably will at least hint at it if I make a second book in the same multiverse.

The the current main setting of the story there are only two gods that the humans worship, with most other sapient beings with religion instead honoring and having ritual practice involving greater spirits. However there is some cross over. Including humans who honor the spirits, and non-humans who worship or honor the gods.
As far as gods themselves. There is Sol the sun father and Sor the earth mother.
A whole pantheon wasn't necessary for my current story so I just focused on the two.
There are others in the multiverse but they are currently not important. I will hint at The Traveler, who is a immortal who unintentionally achieved Apotheosis, and isn't known as a god by anyone other then realm travelers, which my current MC technically is, and if I make more books with him will certainly become fully. Which as he travels more realms he learns more about The Traveler, eventually maybe even having a encounter with him.

>>24678801
>most of the beings seen as and worshiped as gods are ascended immortals who have successfully undergone the process of apotheoses and not turned into some sort of cosmic eldritch being between realms.
I would love to hear more about that and how said ascended immortals managed that please. What inspired the setting, BTW? And what advice do you have?

>>24679183
Currently at work so I will just bump the thread so I can give a detailed answer a bit later.

>>24679183
>I would love to hear more about that and how said ascended immortals managed that please.
I haven't made the finer details of how exactly it works and likely will actively keep it mysterious.
However the more general overview of it requires understanding what the immortals actually are in my setting.
They are material beings who for one reason or another have become or contain a arcane energy nexus, which is basically a fount of practically unlimited power. However there main limitations relate to them being material beings who can only channel so much of this arcane power without burning themselves out both physically and mentally. Doing so is one of the very few ways such beings can actually permanently die since the very core of their being is obliterated. Meaning in effect while they are extremely powerful, especially over time if they put their mind to something, they aren't all powerful or even on the upper end of the most powerful beings in the multiverse. However figuring out how to break these limits and being able to have full access to that well of unlimited energy is a core driver that leads a immortal to strive for apotheosis, which for the rare few who do basically becoming gods. However becoming a god ironically comes with a lot of rules and limitations that only those who are gods fully understand, but mainly come down to not being allowed to directly interact with objective material reality. The closest they can come to doing so is using proxies, avatars, or interacting with the subjective experiences of sentient beings. It's not that they technically can't, it's just that whatever the consequences of doing so are, they are so grave that even the gods themselves will never speak of them.
This too will likely not actually come up, at least not directly, in the story I am writing.

> What inspired the setting, BTW?
A ton of things, but the biggest influences are some of the more obscure lore for D&D, pre-mending plainswalkers from magic the gathering, and portal fantasy and isekai stories in general.

>And what advice do you have?
Daydreaming is great and all and you can use it to quickly iterate on ideas, but actually working on projects where you can put your ideas really kicks things into another gear and makes things feel more concrete instead of just ever changing ideas.
For me that project is creating stories, both large and small.
But it could be whatever you think you might want to try to make, even if you aren't that good at making stuff yet.
Making stuff based on that universe inside your head makes it real in a way. There is magic in that.

>>24668971
How about "Aurelium"?

I forgot how slow and constantly near death this thread is.
Not many people into world building on this board apparently.

>>24681548
I know, right? It's incredibly annoying, why can't they be more active here?

>>24680065
What more can you say on this obscure lore?

Also, do you have any feedback on >24672118 please?

>>24668229
These threads are always at risk if they are going through a slow point and suddenly a bunch of new (usually low quality) threads are make quickly.

How magic

>>24681901
>Also, do you have any feedback on >24672118 please?

I find changing perspective helps when stuck on things like this.
My advice, which you can take or leave, is to really visualize the experience of the average person in your society interacting with one of the temples, shrines, rituals, major life checkpoints in ceremonial form like weddings or naming days or funerals.
Think what feelings a lay believer feels when they enter a sacred space for one of your gods. What do they do there. What symbols do they see. How is the space decorated? What does the space smell like? How do the people learn of the gods in a particular culture or area? What are the cultural values and virtues to the people that they look up to the gods to reflect those values?
And at the end of each of those questions ask the additional question of why?

Thinking about things on that ground level, that personal man on the street level, is what I like to call bottom up world building. It has it's limits and isn't the end all be all of world building, but it might help.

>What more can you say on this obscure lore?
Dungeons & Dragons Immortals Rules/set being part of the loose inspiration, as well as the whole multiverse thing and most universes themselves having several planes and aspects of reality on different levels. Like the planesscape setting.
Generally speaking nobody actually plays campains to that absurdly high level because D&D breaks game design wise in the teens. So level 40+ characters kind of beyond what the system can actually reasonably handle. Part of the reason why it's so obscure even to people who are well informed on older D&D lore.

>>24681548
It's mostly the same few guess reposting the same "Here's my story give me ideas" posts.
Then there are some who do have interesting things but then not elaborate even when asked questions.
The ultimate problem is nobody interacting with anybody else, they just want to post there idea and then get praised

>>24681548
World building is for people who can’t write a story.

In my setting magic has been commodified. Anyone can use wands or scrolls that perform a preprogrammed spell. In such a setting, would there still be wizards? And if so, what would make them special?

>>24683270
Wouldn't wizards be the ones who both make said magical devices, but also be the ones researching and developing new magic as well as new applications of magic.
Plus they get the bonus of being able to cast spells that aren't preprogrammed.

>>24682936
That is blatantly false.

>>24682896
I am interacting with you right now.
*pokes your nose*
See, interaction.

Also if you read the thread you can see what you claimed isn't totally true.
Problem is it's only like two or three dudes posting at each other.

>>24683270
i mean, if you're leaning into the commodity thing for a cyberpunk feel you could make it so magic is locked behind a certain contract/ employment with a corporation or state

>>24684069
In a way it would make it that wizards would be the ruling class who control the supply of magical goods.
Corpo-wizards.

>>24682622
Wut?

The few people remaining in this thread.

Are you world building just to world build or are you world building for a purpose?
Like are you working on a project or story of some sort, or is world building a ends onto it's self for you?

>>24685192
Worldbuilding as a hobby with the intent to write stories as well.

>>24667235 (OP)
In my story’s world, once every hundred years there’s a great tournament for a user of every group of magic/type of spell, or at least mages who are temporarily limited to those specific spell types for the tournament, with the winner of each round gaining all the magical knowledge and skill of the loser (types with more combat utility from the get-go might have to enter in the second or third rounds for balance reasons though), the mages growing stronger as the tournament continues, until the final winner becomes the most powerful mage in the world, and the head of the mage's council for the next 100 years, kind of like Highlander but less lethal (in fact, killing one's foe is highly discouraged, in part to make it more challenging) and with magic, and once the tournament is over there’s a great feast to celebrate. I just need more types/specialties of magic in order to pad out the brackets as much as possible, no matter how if they don't seem useful in direct combat or not like healing spells or the various kinds of divination, since I want to have every branch of magic possible to be included in this besides the go-to ones like illusions, summoning, elemental spells, or necromancy. So far, after the aforementioned examples, there’s alchemy of course, biomancy, banishing, runes, wards, demonic magic, holy magic, magitech/artifice, scrying, contract magic, buffs, debuffs, and dispelling magic, what else can you please suggest? Remember, no type of spell is too specific or broad to mention here.

>>24686117
How many brackets are we dealing with here?

>>24667235 (OP)
Is it wrong if I leave the worldbuilding for when I finish my first draft? I've obviously thought of the premise of the novel and shaped the world accordingly, but there are so many aspects of the world that would pamper up the story and embellish the setting. Stuff like fleshing out the faith of the people, a brief history of the land, a city/world map and the relevant neighbouring people/realms.

>>24686773
Generally speaking you can world build as you go, but it's much harder the more different the story world is from our everyday reality. You will end up having more and more things to keep track of and fit together while your writing and the editing/revision process becomes increasingly difficult.

I would strongly recommend keeping notes if you want to discovery write a fantasy story/world in such a way. Otherwise it's almost certain you will forget stuff, miss stuff in editing, and have plot holes. Also helps keeps the spelling of names consistent, lol.

It is so hard and so stupid to get ideas for multiple different settings stuck in your head at once. It is painful to separate them and repeatedly try to keep them unique from each other simply because you want to keep them separate even if they share some design elements you enjoy.
What did you do to make your stories have different settings that stayed unique from each other?

>>24686841
I try to actively work on one story at a time, and leave ideas for other stories and worlds as daydreams. Generally I think if a idea is good I will likely come back to it, remember it, and refine it.

As far as keeping them separate. I think it's ok if ideas bleed over between stories, as long as you make sure to adapt the idea so that it seamlessly fits into the world.
Like for fantasy stories I more or less port the same currency system to each one because I really rather not build things from the ground up each time I need a currency system. I just change the names and lore around a bit to fit the story/world.

I'm working on a world set in the late 1800s and inspired by the writings of Jules Verne and HG Wells. The main theme of the book is about the relationship between humans and technology, and about how technology can by used by governments and corporations to oppress people. What technology do you think would fit in this setting?

Anachronistic Technology:
Bullet Trains
Submarines
Atomic Bombs
Surveillance Cameras

Fantastic Technology, may or not be common:
Airships
Human-Animal Hybrids (like in Dr. Moreau)
Heat Rays
Cloaking Devices

>>24668971
>great at holding magic and enchantments
Make it radioactive and call it something like leper's gold.

>>24687221
Lots of unadorned concrete, gas lamp spot lights, assembly lines and depersonalized heavy industrialization powered by coal.
Think about the vibes you want in a scene. The gritty nasty opressive feel that grinds down the soul of everyone.

>>24687221
Airships were the most common form of air travel in late 1800s, not a fantastic technology

>>24687416
NTA, but there’s a reason we stopped using them.

Reminder that your protagonist is probably someone's antagonist and they might not even know it.

>>24687632
There really isn't

>>24686754
To be determined by how many kinds of magic I can come up with.

>>24687221
don't have much to say other than good luck on your project. Don't see much 19th century worldbuilding or stories nowadays

My own setting is mostly inspired on the Renaissance (15th-16th century Europe) but with borrowed aesthetics from later eras

best apps or sites to hire people to draw shit for me? I can draw a basic map outline but I'd really love for someone to draw a professional looking piece for my world even if it costs me

>>24667235 (OP)
I want my magic to all be derived from the four elements of flame, water, earth, and air, with each element having affinities for particular kinds of spells, with a few existing that are neutral across the elements, like making enchanted objects. Thus, earth magic is well-suited to defensive wards, for example. What oils you suggest for each element? Because I’m rather stuck on that.

>>24689171
>oils
Typo, means to say “would”.

>>24683270
How did this process happen?

>>24689171
Avatar: The Last Airbender probably has some inspo

>>24689391
I already looked at that, and took a little but didn't want to directly copy it, but thanks for trying regardless.

>>24688023
They are comically slow, have tiny cargo capacity, can't stand harsh weather, oh and the most cost effective gases to use with them are also absurdly dangerously explosive, with the stable alternative being expensive and relatively rare.

Planes are better. Deal with it.

>>24690301
There's no reason they don't have a large portion of the market. A smooth and stable ride is preferable to planes like 60% of the time. They can carry far more passengers than you think if constructed with modern materials and a little clever engineering. They fly overtop bad weather and can adjust landing times safely to account for landing conditions. Hydrogen is perfectly safe and cost-effective, a gas being flammable is laughably irrelevant to the conversation, you might as well complain that jet fuel is flammable. There is no reason to think Hydrogen airships would be less safe than planes today. Planes are cool too and have their use cases but are not good enough to explain the absence of a passenger airship industry.

>>24690335
>There is no reason to think Hydrogen airships would be less safe than planes today
Oh the humanity!
Also all of your points are straight up objectively wrong. Who the heck do you think you are fooling?

>>24690335
I think I recently saw a video about how some people are considering bringing airships back, for cargo at least, but there's several technological hurdles to make it viable.

>>24674673
>At what point does using Earth-names for food ruin the immersion in a fictional setting
Real life location based names throw me. I remember GOT tv show a character mentioned wearing something like 'French Brooch' similar saying someone was eating 'Yorkshire pudding' would take me out.

Why are magic systems so retarded

>>24690916
Most morons don’t realize that magic is a soft description not a hard definition.

>>24667235 (OP)
I’m working on a setting where if one overuses a kind of magic it can start to physically affect them. And mentally, but that’s more of a chicken and egg thing. Depending on the specific spells used and the personality the exact traits that the user will gain/be altered will vary. For example, one illusion-focused mage might get eyes that slowly shift colors, while another might get ones that look like mirrors, etc. It gets better over time if one limits their magic use though, and some healing spells can help the process along. This process is particularly pronounced for elemental magics. Speaking of, I’m looking for some more ideas on how users of the different elements might have their appearances change due to their magics besides hair made out of their element, eyes colored/glowing the color of said element, skin colored to match their element, or glowing marks in the shape of their element. There’s giving them traits of animals associated with their element, but what else works? Someone else had some useful suggestions, like them having an affect on the area around them, like fire mages raising the temperature in their vicinity, etc., emitting smells associated with their element, physical and mental cravings related to the element, and things like apparent burns, among others, but they never got back to me after that.

>>24690916
What’s hilarious is that the capital-w wizard won’t necessarily see themselves as a capital-w wizard, so transcendent they are, and hopefully humble. They know it’s the domain of the mind’s eye. Their bar for magic is likely a lot higher.

>>24690936
I remember you mentioning this in previous threads.
You have not made any progress on this?

>>24690936
>Someone else had some useful suggestions
>but they never got back to me after that.
Were you expecting them to completely flesh out your whole setting for you?
>I’m working on a setting where if one overuses a kind of magic it can start to physically affect them. And mentally, but that’s more of a chicken and egg thing.
The Cyberpunk franchise explores this a bit with cyberpsychosis.

Magic systems are a pain in the ass.

>>24692624
Remove the "system" out of magic system. Bring the mystery back to magic

>>24692926
Perhaps my mistake is thinking of mechanics when I should be thinking of themes.

>>24693040
Yeah, cool idea. Meaning > mechanics.

>>24691127
No, partly because these threads keep dying, partly because I've been distracted with IRL stuff.

>>24691966
No, I'm saying that I wanted to build off what they said and discuss it further, but they never replied before the old thread died.

As for the cyberpsychosis thing, I was thinking that the mental effects would be more subtle, and make it hard to tell how much is actually the magic and how much is because those kinds of personality traits draw mages to that kind of magic to begin with (though I admit that I could have explained that better), that make sense?

>>24692624
I guess it depends on the context and how complex of a system is.
You could always just not make it the focus or keep things mystical and undefined.

I like big general simple premises for magic systems I work with. Things that have simple straight forward rules but near infinite flexibility and variation in how it manifest.
It means that each expression of that magic is very flavorful and shows a lot within the narrative without needing to tell much. But I usually think of magic systems within the context of narative and story telling.

I do admit I would be at a totally loss and likely get frustrated if I was dealing with magic system world building for something centered around a game system especially if it had to be tuned and well balanced. Or was more thinking about things from a marketing and merchandising perspective.

I use my objective, to tell a good story, as the way to navigate how to ultimately shape the finer details of a magic system. You got to put things into perspective and remember your goals.

>>24692926
>Bring the mystery back to magic
If magic is mysterious and unknowable, how do people USE it?

>>24693780
Say some words. Point a stick.

>>24693780
>>24693786

>>24693795
DEH-ack

It's an amazing feeling after having invented the greatest magic system of all time ~3+ years ago now I can just coast on it.

>>24693780
The same way people thought they were using magic in real life.
Blood sacrifice, profane ritual, crazed orgies screaming the devil's name. Only sometimes it actually works.

>>24693139
>You got to put things into perspective and remember your goals.
This is good advice.

>>24690916
because magic is fundamentally impossible. More you are trying to science it out more illogical it becomes and bigger and bigger plot holes become.
If author leaves it completely unexplained it just feel lazy and anything done with magic just feels unearned handwaving.
With any sort of fantasy setting with magic in it, the trick is to keep magic mystical enough while still making it somewhat clear what can and can not be achieved with handwaving.
Any attempt to systemize the magic will end up just people arguing or wondering if the cube will shoot out of the magic portal or just fall to the floor without additional gained inertia. correct answer is B. btw

>>24693826
Good for you I guess.

>>24694071
I mean, if you don't want your readers to constantly nitpick your choices, there has to be SOME kind of internally consistent logic to magic.

>want to write werewolf themed novel
>something about literally me meeting big amazon wolf gf
>he gets introduced to their pack of more big wolf women
>of course they fight over me
>help them fight off vampires, damn i'm good
>realise i have no writing talent and just want to look at furry art

>>24696003
Sure, but you don't have to make it a measurable science. Mysterious magic is also as viable as mechanics. Don't get me wrong I also enjoy systemized magic, and usually its the mix of both that hits that sweet spot of a good magic system.

>>24696113
I hate that furfags ruined werewolves and other "human with animal head" characters.

>>24696003
I don't really believe that eldritch metaphysical beings have to be bound by our sense of logic.
Just avoid leaning on it as a crutch-form of author fiat and it's fine.

>>24693826
What’s the system? I’d love to hear about it please.

>>24693826
Why would anyone make something like that?

>>24696003
It all depends on if you are using it to cause problems or solve problems and what genera you are writing.

For example in horror where magic is the cause and the MC is just trying to survive, you don't have to explain shit. The thematic elements are FAR more important then the mechanics. That being said, that type of magic and story isn't really the kind being discuses in the world building thread.

Meanwhile a story where the MC is a mage detective or tactical wizard who constantly solves problems through their deep understanding of magic needs to have a magic system that is understood by the reader and is very internally consistent and predictable.
My advice is to keep the fundementals of such a system very simple with the details being just treated as "flavor". For example the fundamental rules of alchemy in Full Metal Alchemist are very easy for the audience to understand. Sure the nitty gritty details that the characters have to worry about are complex, but narrative wise and as far as the audience needs to understand is the law of equivalent exchange and some of the basic mechanics, as well as what happens when that law is broken and the very few exceptions to those basic mechanics. All of which are very important to the story.

I think a lot of the issues world builders fall into is that they are world building to world build so don't actually know how detailed the magic system they are making needs to be as they don't have a greater context or objective to put such a system in.
If they had a context such as a story or game system, even a vague outline of such, then they would know what kind of magic system and how detailed they needed.

>>24698626
I mean even in horror movies they bring in an expert (priests for satanic magic etc) to explain to the audience why things are happening and how to stop the evil

>>24698704
Usually all that amounts to is
>demon did it therefor pray to Jesus really really hard or die, lol
>Monster from another dimension did it so I guess we are all fucked being in it's domain, lol
>They say so and so was a witch, guess that turned out to be true, guess we are all fucked now that we disturbed her hanging tree, lol
etc.

The "magic" is almost never explicitly explained, because a big part of fear is the unknown.

>>24698727
That's true. The metaphysics are never explained like a science. We don't usually get the "its midi-chlorians bro, lol" which as you said would make the unknown known.

>>24698815
Unless its a zombie horror with "muh virus"

Why aren't there a lot of secondary worlds inspired by the 19th century?

>>24698968
steampunk?

>>24667242
>What kinds of magic, psychic abilities, and/or other powers exist in your world? And if multiple types exist, how do they interact with each other, if at all?
There are two kinds, Aura and magic. Both are exclusive and if they interact they annihilate each other. Aura is a spiritual manifestation of force, it's like a muscle which must be trained, it is possible to gain it naturally but it acts as a force multiplier to the self so somebody who has not trained their body extensively would kill themselves using it even in small amounts. The people who use it have many different names but in my current story are Aura Knights, they train their bodies to peak performance in their early 20's and then start training but with very small applications of Aura until it reaches a superhuman level that can handle using it in most situations making them an Aura Knight. It is not possible to become one unless you have prior Aura training or are in peak condition, a 40 year old simply cannot build a body that can handle the force even to train in it. Aura only acts as largely a supplement to ones own physical strength, so even without it an Aura Knight is still far beyond a normal human

Magic is essentially an ambient force across the world. It was introduced to the world later on and is far more versatile than Aura. To use it one must channel it through their bodies and manipulate it then expel it how they desire like in flames or ice. Channeling magic also requires a strong body especially if you want to hold some in you and they undergo a weaker version of Aura training to achieve that, otherwise the moment magic enters your arm it would be shredded to pieces. Magic is generally inferior to Aura, and those who use it are outmatched by them in physical strength and skill. Due to it being far less prestigious and powerful, none of the far more powerful people in the world use it.
>How do people use/gain access to the magic?
I like to have it that anybody COULD do this by practice and training but in reality it's more like how anybody could become an Olympic swimmer, sure you could, but you're not. It is obscenely difficult to achieve it.
>Is there anything that the magic or powers explicitly cannot do
They aren't barred from doing anything, it's just ridiculously inefficient to do things. For example using Aura outside of the body or a weapon is incredibly taxing and a waste of Aura, being far better just to empower your leg and jump off instead of pushing yourself off with Aura itself. Using something like that in a practical application is only possible by the greatest of Aura users.

>>24698979
>steampunk?
What does one need to remember for steampunk settings? Especially if they have magic.

>>24699803
Sorry, I don't understand what you're asking.

>>24698968
Why would there be? What exactly are you looking for?

>>24698968
What comes to your mind when you think of the 19th century?

>>24701442
NTA, but Sherlock Holmes.

A litrpg world with a system, but only men get access to it. Or only women. I'm not sure which one to go with.

>>24701442
Battleships, coal, oil, electricity, telephone, telegrams, light bulbs, stream locomotives, trains, railways, airships, automobiles, bicycles, typewriters, accurate guns (rifles), anesthesia (cocaine), coca cola.

Honestly, the 19th century is probably the coolest one out of "old-time" settings.

>>24701873
What kind of story do you want to tell?
What themes interest you the most?

>>24701873
Both sexes are innately capable of magic, but only men are trained/taught to harness it.
Woman caught practicing it are put to death as witches.

>>24702077
Bakker.

>>24668971
How about calling it "金"? It's "gold" in Japanese. You have to get some of that weeb audience in there.

>>24702096
google is saying thats chinese - pronounced "jin"

I'm trying to come up with a good power system for my planeswalker/jumpchain slop story outline.
Basically the premise is some individuals are born with a planeswalker spark in their soul that lets them travel between different dimensions or worlds. Every world can have different rules, the most are filled with humans and have Earth-like rules some have magic some have super science some have vampires or fantasy races, etc. One concept I really want to stress is that the main character is essentially gaining power or powers from traveling and experiencing these different worlds, but I sort of want an overarching "theme" to the power. That way when he inevitably encounters "evil" planeswalkers he had interesting opponents to fight.

Essentially I like the idea of getting new powers from visiting new worlds; like visiting a desert world and getting sand powers, but having a random mix of powers from any given dimension would make the conflicts too crazy. Like imagine a hundred year old plansewalker who has mastered a hundred worlds and a thousand spells- its too much to mentally contend with. Having every one of Planeswalkers have the same power is also interesting, but maybe a little boring. What should be the overarching theme of this power system for individuals?

>>24698817
>Unless its a zombie horror with "muh virus"
Why exactly would a virus reanimate the dead though?

>>24702036
I'm not sure. It would be an exploration of where people end up with by being born with advantages vs those that lack them, particularly when others can tell just by looking at them.
>>24702077
I'm not sure about that. This would end up as an exploration of some form of oppression, but it could be interesting. I could look at cultural development in such a world, where it's less about women not practicing magic because of overt pub punishments, but rather because the culture made it taboo.

Magic is a good vehicle for this because it doesn't come with all the implied baggage from the real world.

My head is warring with the idea of making it smut or smut-adjacent though.

>>24703634
I think there are whole feature length youtube videos that go into painstaking detail of how sci-fi zombies could possibly work.

>>24702223
The spark that every planeswalker has should be the theme for their powers. It should influence (but not entirely determine) what the powers are like that they gain from those worlds.

Eg Mart is a planeswalker with the spark of time (he doesn't know that until he awakens multiple powers and recognizes the theme). From the desert world he gets abilities that let him make things crumble as though time rapidly progressed forward. Or he could gain an ability that lets him summon an hour glass.

If he had the spark of fire then he could turn things into glass or manipulate glass.

If he had the spark of water then his water magic would be imbued with sand (that's how high pressure water jet cutters work).

You could also have every spark be composed of two opposing themes and the abilities get assigned to a random theme.

You could also put a limit to the number of abilities a character can easily access. Eg 10-20. Beyond that visiting worlds modifies those abilities. Someone's they become better, sometimes worse, sometimes they are side grades.

>>24704300
That was extremely close to the original concept; which let you have the "Superhero" vibe with creative powers but still restrictive enough that it didn't feel like a magic spellbook, but I like this interpretation. Thanks.

>>24667242
>What kinds of magic, psychic abilities, and/or other powers exist in your world? And if multiple types exist, how do they interact with each other, if at all?
There are generally four types of "magic", Sorcery, Mysticism, Mantra, and Illusion. Each are entirely distinct from each other and cannot be combined. Sorcery uses an organic medium (such as wood or bone) to transfer energy. If, for example, you wanted to cast a fire spell, the energy for it is taken from somewhere else, which get colder as a result. On top of that, it is consistent. If the best sorcerer and the worst both cast the same spell, they would get the same result. Because of this, it is often employed in the military. Mysticism, on the other hand, is all about manipulating internal life forces to perform one's natural abilities in situations where one normally could not. For example, walking on water or seeing in the dark. Because it is based on your own life force, what you can do with this magic will differ from person to person. Mantra is much more subtle and deals with blessings and curses (which, depending on your point of view, are the same thing). This magic focuses one's thoughts, feelings, and intent to impact the condition of those around them. Mantra is hard to teach or regulate in any way as it is very easy for just about anyone to cast it without even noticing, often caused by repressing emotional stress. And lastly, Illusion, the rarest of all magics. The exact process is unknown to anyone who doesn't already practice it, a secret that is jealously guarded. And for good reason, as Illusion is a magic that makes matter seemingly out of nothing, even living things, and then eliminates it against without a trace. These constructs are not tricks of the light, but actual, physical things that can be interacted with.
>Is there anything that the magic or powers explicitly cannot do, and if yes, what?
Sorcery explicitly can only be cast through an organic medium, which will wear down over time. As such, which one could cast it with their bare hands, it would be foolish to do so as they would cripple themselves eventually. Casting it through inorganic mediums, such as glass or metal, is also ill-advised, as not only would the spell fail, but the medium would most likely explode into red hot shrapnel (though the military is looking into making use of that property).
Mysticism is completely limited to what you could do with your own body. You can walk on land, so it would let you walk on water, but you can't fly, so it can't change that.
Mantra only affects others in small ways. You could make someone stressed or ill, but not outright kill them. You could raise a wounded soldier's morale and vitality, but it won't heal him or make him stronger. The influence is limited.
Illusion is so mysterious that no one seems to know its limitations.

>>24704251
I’ll take a look for them, thanks.

I'm building a litrpg world where characters get access to abilities through a system, but it's also possible to do magic without the system involvement. That latter type of magic is slower and less efficient, but now versatile. I can't think of a name to this.

Basically, it's ritual magic from He Who Fights With Monsters, but I don't want it to be a direct copy of that.

I want this type of magic to be separate from system abilities so that the system can have a limited number of abilities without characters losing all the utility magic.

How do you figure out the "goal" of an "Lovecraftian"/old god?
Giving them a knowable end goal that characters can figure out seems wrong (since they are supposed to be incomprehensible).
Maybe their goal should be driven by a basic function (hunger, reproduction, etc.), but this seems like you're just reducing them to an animal.
Or maybe the way to make it weird and eldritch is to make everything they do random - nothing they do seems connected anything else they do?

>>24705368
You could make them operate on a different timescale. They might be animalistic behaviors, but they take so long that it seems unnatural. Eg imagine a giant planetary scale octopus snacking on the planet. It's eating it, but it will take 1000 years for that to happen.

>>24705368
Personally, I'd go with a base function, but make the method be what's incomprehensible. Like eating time or reproducing through nightmares.

>>24705474
>>24705492
Damn good ideas.

>>24695231
>>24696835
Sorry for Ego posting. I'll relent.

Basically I've always had a huge fascination with magic systems; all of them have good elements but all seem to "lack" something. In order to find that magic that feels truly real, folkloric, and mythological I went back to the roots and etymology. A spell is "a form of words used as a magical charm or incantation." To ancient people, words had power. Promising something or calling the name of something were almost as significant as the thing itself; cursing someone with your words was a magic spell in an of itself. We know these as superstitions and confirmation bias today, but at the time they had mystical significance. So for this system, you must literally call on things to work magic.

You can use whatever cosmology you want; I personally have my own specific one tied in with the stars (which are "realms" in the astral plane; which magic users can visit by using psychoactive substances or intense mediation and the like), but you could also use gods or spirits or whatever. In order to cast a spell, a magic user must speak aloud what they want to happen, calling upon the various forces that could make it so.

"Rise flames of the heliod! Come desert wind!
Beetles consume they flesh; my curse on your kind!"

The more elements you add to the spell's incantation; the more powerful or precise you can make the spell. Certain beings or magic words could also be stronger then others; or have some sort of cost or ritual associated with them. In this way you can expand this to almost any kind of magic system you want; from calling upon the names of demons requiring blood sacrifices along with the incantations, to the holy names of God to provide healing magic, and so on. It's not a hard magic system by any means, but I personally think it acts as a good enough framework to dodge most of the usual problems and questions of softer systems; like why don't mages just shit out unlimited energy bolts or accidentally make fire when waving their hands for a taxi and the like.

I wanted to do space battles but for the, at least "tough" if not "hard" science fiction aesthetic. To do this well, I needed to set specific conditions and explain how the basics work so the audience can see the tactics and not feel like it's retarded asspulls one after another. The only fixed conditions need to be
>deltaV is constrained
>orbital mechanics exist

I worked to develop a regime where 1) space battles exist, 2) the space battles involve ships with crews, and 3) there are no obvious "why don't they fly the eagles to Mordor?" issues due to the technology mix. This proved to be incredibly fucking difficult, as I either ran into "automatic factories make a bazillion kinetic kill vehicles and it's an economic war to see who can make the most missiles" or "gigantic fuckoff lasers ruin everything". I chose the following limits
>computers are basically capped out as they are right now. turns out Moore's law hit a limit. oops.
>sensors correspondingly don't get much better, the ability to process everything everywhere all at once is an impossibility, cones of vision are extremely narrow
Thus allowing these knife-fights (relatively, for space). Fleets must exist because most of humanity lives in habitats. Unlike planets, habitats are fragile, so arming them to be able to fight back is retarded (a planet can soak some missiles and society can recover, a habitat is just destroyed), big colony laser sounds great until someone sends KKVs into your ass (they only need to get lucky once).

I thought with slow fleets (5-15 milligees) and modern naval carrier warfare you can have sufficiently interesting tactics and technology and humans can be there. But then I realized I just invented Gundam's Universal Century again so I gave up.

>>24667235 (OP)
Besides Brandon Sanderson’s Laws, what are the best pieces of advice, tools, and/or other books/resources you can recommend for creating magic systems?

>>24706245
>Err on the side of awesome
Stopped reading right there

>>24667235 (OP)
In my setting, I was thinking that the goddess of Life and Death wanted to retire, so she made deals with the god of the Day and the god of the Night to have kids with each of them. She had planned to split the two spheres between each respective child, but they instead they both inherited power over Life and Death, filtered through the Light and Darkness spheres they inherited from their respective fathers. As a result, both healing magic and necromancy have a Light and Darkness variant these days. For Light healing, I was thinking that it would be better at healing people in area-of-effect spells, both to tie into the typical depiction of a fantasy cleric and healing spells and to represent a lantern’s light. Darkness healing, at the other hand, is better at healing single individuals, including the caster. For necromancy, I was thinking that the necromancy would use either Light or Darkness as a replacement for the life force of the body, or as a medium to hit their foes with the essence of death. I would greatly appreciate any feedback you have, especially on the necromancy and undeath angle please. For instance, I was thinking that taking a cue from the White cards from Amonkhet in MtG, mummies could be one of the kinds of undead affiliated with Light necromancy, does that make sense to you? Tried a few threads ago but no one responded, trying again.

>>24705701
On the laser thing.

In space heat management is a very big deal. Lasers are pretty limited by the heat they generate at the source as well as all the factors that can dramatically lower their effectiveness and range in the field.


>But then I realized I just invented Gundam's Universal Century again so I gave up.
The thing about writing ideas that kinda already exist is that they will still likely be pretty unique due to being written by your own unique perspective and in your own style/voice.

>>24706720
Big static laser emplacements in orbit can have big static radiators. As long as you can outrange the other guy, your big fuckoff laser is good. You can maybe finangle some kind of "nobody builds these because a KKV from 5+ light seconds can come at 0.05c and wreck its shit before it can get a lock and slag it" but it's kinda a copout. Big lasers on Earth are even worse, you can put them on submarines, cool them with the ocean, and now anyone trying to dominate you from orbit gets the spicy underbelly whenever they pass overhead.

Maybe Universal Century without Minovsky particles would be fine. If it's fighter drones then maybe it's different enough to get a pass. Hard to say. For a lot of things. Thank you for your reply.

>>24706586
Is necromancy a corrupted form of healing magic?

>>24707169
Kinetic kill vehicles are actually shit in space. You see them coming from a long distance away. Even at 0.05c it would take a good 20 seconds for it cover the distance from the Moon to Earth. In that time even with 1g acceleration you could gain 200 m/s velocity in some other direction:
Initial velocity (v0): 0 m/s
Time (t): 20 s
Acceleration (a): 10 m/s^2
s = v0 * t + (a * t^2)/2 = 2000 m

You could move your space craft 2 km somewhere else at just 1g acceleration.
The kinetic kill vehicle has to be powered to be able to hit the target, but then it would be visible from way further away (or at least visible from other angles). Lasers would also just delete missiles.

What you would need are incredibly tiny kinetic kill vehicles launched from very far away at very high speeds to decrease the chance of detection. Against a large habitat it could work, but habitats might just randomly move around, in which case you'd have to pray that you hit. Stations might also have a cloud of water or gas around the station to stop small micrometeorites.

>>24706544
>Stopped reading right there
What's wrong with wanting magic to be awesome?

>>24707258
>You see them coming from a long distance away
No, this is a limited computation regime, did you read the post? Detection ranges are much closer, it is computationally expensive (and thus, slow) so there is a "narrower field of view".
>Even at 0.05c it would take a good 20 seconds for it cover the distance from the Moon to Earth.
Yes, naval vessels have 60 seconds or so to react to missiles coming over the horizon. This is normal, and 60 second intercepts are totally acceptable for this regime. Interception is non-trivial. KKVs are both high velocity, have more dV than their target, are numerous, and are non-trivial to target and disable.
>even with 1g acceleration
This is not that kind of regime, there are no memedrives.
>The kinetic kill vehicle has to be powered
Yes, it is a missile.

Did you just want to brag about reading Atomic Rockets for the first time or something? Not to mention, this is about a STATIC (not actually static since it is orbital) defense vs a mobile attacker. And we don't WANT petawatt lasers because otherwise we can't send vessels with humans back and forth fighting each other. We are choosing concessions here to achieve this effect. Is it your intent to be helpful or do you just want to prove you are smarter than everyone else? I would prefer the former over the latter.

>>24707353
The phrasing is infantile; evocative of a 'I fucking love SCIENCE' shirt or some fat retard shouting "RULE OF COOOOL!" at a tabletop gaming session.
It's also shitty advice.
>How can I write better?
Just write some fucking rad shit, bro!!!! That's like the most important part!

>>24707434
The realest advice.

>>24707403
>No, this is a limited computation regime, did you read the post? Detection ranges are much closer, it is computationally expensive (and thus, slow) so there is a "narrower field of view".
Then you have more people on watch with telescopes. Ships spotted incoming torpedoes with people standing on the deck and just looking at the ocean in WW2.
Also, radar has a very narrow field of view at any given time, but a radar dish spins around. That gives you 360 coverage.
>This is not that kind of regime, there are no memedrives
1g acceleration is not a meme drive. Our chemical rockets can easily do that.
Also, if KKVs can accelerate to 0.05c and still have "more dV and can maneuver" then you do have meme drives.
>Did you just want to brag about reading Atomic Rockets for the first time or something?
I don't know what that is.
>And we don't WANT petawatt lasers because otherwise we can't send vessels with humans back and forth fighting each other. We are choosing concessions here to achieve this effect.
Just limit power generation, power transfer or heat exhausting then.

Or maybe just set a limit to how coherent they can make a laser beam: lasers still fall off with radius cubed, like a sphere, but the sphere is just focused on a very narrow area. Still, if you were to point a laser at the moon it would still fall into an enormous chunk of it rather than a point, which means that all its power gets spread out over all that area.

Distance to the moon is measured by shooting a laser at one of the mirrors installed on the moon:
>At the Moon's surface, the beam is about 6.5 kilometers (4.0 mi) wide. The reflected light is too weak to see with the human eye. Out of a pulse of 3×10^17 photons aimed at the reflector, only about 1–5 are received back on Earth, even under good conditions. They can be identified as originating from the laser because the laser is highly monochromatic.
KKVs are going to outclass lasers at long distance. Maybe anti-ship missiles could basically be like grenades: the tip is full of shrapnel. If the KKV gets destroyed before the target it explodes and rains shrapnel in a cone in the same direction it was traveling previously.

>>24707434
To be fair its marked as zero - the following 1- 3 being the actual advice. But yes it does sound reddit

Should I take the time to naturally evolve a writing system for my world's conlang or just make an alphabet and call it a day?

>>24707843
Hieroglyphs.

>>24707843
Unless conlang is a major hobby of yours I would highly recommend against it. It can easily slow everything else you are doing down for basically no gain.
Conlang will kill the project or world building progress while you get stuck on it. It's also utterly unnecessary for world building.

>>24707201
That's an interesting idea, but I wasn't considering it with this system. Why do you ask?

>>24708302
Nah, I just assumed because of the Light/Dark connection between healing and necromancy, and you brought them up together. But after re-reading it seems more like a balance thing. Sounds cool. Yin Yang inspired?

Give me justifications why female adventurers and knights would wear bikini armor and mages bikini robes.

>>24708952
Because they can manipulate men that war.

>>24708952
They wouldn't. If you write that then you know exactly what kind of story you're telling and you should own it.

>>24708952
felt cute

>>24708352
A little bit, yeah. Do you have any advice or feedback on this please?

>>24708952
Knights wouldn't.
Part of the image of a knight is being heavily armored and skilled at fighting from horseback.

Adventurers can wear whatever fits the character. And a barbarian or more wild and fearless type woman warrior could rock bikini armor and it fits.
Also any setting where superhuman/supernatural body enhancement is a thing. It's believable that a woman who has reached a high level of body resistances and durability would make armor redundant or even a hindrance. So anything worn is just a accessory that has to be durable enough to not get ripped apart in combat. Thus making bikini armor actually make sense for such a person who cared about not constantly ending basically naked by the end of intense fights. The bikini armor isn't to protect them from damage, their abilities already do that, the bikini armor is just the only thing durable enough to protect their modesty while not getting in the way of their super human movement.

Mages are easy since it's almost default in most fantasy setting that there are reasons to not wear armor.
For a female mage it could be as simple as they are dealing with a lot of water and wet robes are a mild inconvenience or detract them so swimwear is preferred so they can maintain concentration when soaking wet.
If you mean wearing a bikini style outfit all the time, then it could be culture, a flex, they could use their attractiveness as a weapon, they could dance their magic spells, they could overheat due to the magic they prefer, they could need more skin exposed to maximize how much they can draw from or manipulate the environment, or really anything you can probably think of that fits the character/setting/magic system.

>>24709161
In my current story contractor/spirit talkers have "witch marks" that help them draw in more arcane energy than what is normally possible for their species.
There are some techniques where instead of passive drawing energy they instead actively draw energy. When a user does this they need to expose the mark to open air or else it will heat up then combust any material in between the open air and the mark.

I use it as a power up motif, but so far it has only come up with male characters in the middle of magical enhanced fights. But I see no reason why a female contractor wouldn't also use such a power up in a fight.
So more shonen inspired than a excuse for TnA.

>>24708952
She comes from a race that breathes through their skin

>>24710491
>She comes from a race that breathes through their skin

I'm working on a Victorian setting and I'm designing a cabal of robber barons to act as antagonists. Here's what I've decided on:

>Banker Baron
>Cattle Baron
>Steel Baron
>Oil Baron
>Railroad Baron
>Steamship Baron

Are there any I should add? Are any redundant?

>>24710722
I call it, L'chaim.

>>24710799
You aren't far off. It is about the decline of kings and aristocrats and the rise of the robber barons who replace them.

>>24710804
Sounds cool. To answer your question;
Coal Baron? (or that might be the same as Steam Baron?
Slave Baron? (even if your story takes place after abolition the barons might continue slavery illegally)

>>24710810
oh wait nvm. You said Steamship* Baron. So yeah Coal could still work

>>24710722
Gunpowder Baron? or something to do with guns & munitions manufacturing.

>>24710810
>Slave Baron?
The villains are far too civilized to openly deal in slaves, instead they'll just put you into debt for the rest of your life.

>>24710821
>slavery through debt
Oy vey!
What about Pleasure Baron? Hotels, gambling, prostitution etc.
Or maybe Church Baron (or whatever title)? Like an Archbishop who manipulates the church for profit

>>24710722
Banker baron, railroad baron, and steamship baron don't roll off the tongue. Try bank baron, rail baron, and steam baron instead.

>>24710994
These are just nicknames for the draft, they'll have real names in the actual story.

>>24711031
NTA, but what do you do when trying to come up with names?

>>24711966
I go to Wikipedia and just select random names from there.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:English-language_surnames

>>24712253
What about for settings with more unusual names?

>>24710491
That reminds me of a kind of genetically altered human in a science fiction setting. Can't remember what the story was though.

>>24712253
>>24712945
If you want creative English names for a Victorian setting, just follow Mervin Peakes naming conventions
Steerpike
Sepulchrave (sepulchre + grave)
Prunesquallor
Sourdust
Rottcodd
Muzzlehatch
Flittage
Paggot
Flay
Swelter
Linteel

>>24710421
>It's believable that a woman who has reached a high level of body resistances and durability would make armor redundant or even a hindrance. So anything worn is just a accessory that has to be durable enough to not get ripped apart in combat.
This is actually a great point. If you're fighting a dragon the size of a three storey house then no armor is going to protect you when the dragon rakes you with its claws. It would just get shred to ribbons.

It's a lot easier to carry around a bunch of bikinis than multiple full sets of clothing/armor.

>>24667235 (OP)
With elemental magic systems do you prefer if users can use multiple elements, or if like all-non Avatar benders in said setting, they can only use one? And what general advice or resources would you recommend for someone looking to create their own elemental system, especially if each element has abilities beyond just manipulating the substance of the element itself?

>>24674644
>>How does this influence the world and society? If magic is real and able to be controlled with any level of precision then without any force opposing it then magic-users should naturally rise to the top.
>With the last point a lot of settings have specific weaknesses that target mages which are coupled with a background of strong religious/social prejudice; i.e. the chorae in Bakker or something like the Templars in Dragon Age.
I don't think magic would rise to the top. Intelligence combined with ambition would still rise to the top like in our world. Mages would be top "employees", perhaps even getting assigned high positions, but the very top will be filled with "entrepreneurs" (CEOs, kings, lords, presidents etc). By that I mean people who start things and rope other people into it. They might be mages, but they don't have to be. Right below them you have the managers and then everyone else.

Hello, is this the right place to talk about OC projects i have?
Tried on /co/ but didn't recieve any attention. Tried again on /ic/ but what i sended was text related stuff than actual images, but they told me that what i want is fitting here. Tho i wish people in /co/ and /ic/ hear what i have in mind and see ppl reaction over it.

>>24714952
Sure.
As long as it's related to the topic of the thread and it doesn't break any rules I don't see any problem.

Just keep in mind this thread and board are a bit slow. So don't freak out and spam if you don't get instant responses.

>>24713712
I have never and likely will never use a strictly elemental magic system. I personally don't like them in most incarnations.

>>24714997
I see.
The problem is that the texts i wrote about them are quite long and that could be a problem if you mind spam and lots of text.
You don't mind that?

>>24715006
You have several options.
From posting a link or file
To just summarizing or talking about particular aspects.

Though this thread is about world building rather than the craft of writing in particular, so if you want feedback on your writing as a craft or the overall story then the writing general is probably going to be more useful to you.


If in doubt lurk more. Read through the thread a bit. You will ether figure out this is or isn't the place to post your stuff.

>>24715016
Ok, here it is a file containing the summaries of the current oc proyects i have.
>https://files.catbox.moe/8coesg.txt
Please, give me your opinion once you get to read them all!

>>24715023
Are they interconnected, like in the same world with similar systems or are they all separate story ideas with totally different settings and systems?

>>24715033
separate ideas, although the only way i'd connect them is via multiverse shit, but i am not a fan of that.

>>24715050
So you are actively working on 3 different stories, in 3 different worlds, with 3 different magic systems all at the same time?

You got your work cut out for you.

>>24715058
yeah, but i guess the experience would be worth it isn't it?

>>24715064
I think working on one thing at a time would probably be better, but you do you dude. Some people can pull it off. Maybe you are one of those people.

>>24715093
i see
any opinions of the synopsis i put of my proyects that you have?

>>24715000
>I personally don't like them in most incarnations.
Why not? And if you don't like "most" incarnations, what about the ones that you DO like?

>>24712945
Use Celtic, Scandinavian, or old Arabic names. I don't like gibberish names, even in fantasy settings.

>>24713712
Elemental benders can use all elements but only as a way to gain access to more properties to modify on their main element

>>24715350
>Why not?
Not him, but its usually just telekinesis with elemental limitation.

>>24715805
Okay, so how would you add other abilities to the different elements then?

>>24715798
>Elemental benders can use all elements but only as a way to gain access to more properties to modify on their main element
I'd love to hear more about this concept please.

>>24715350
>Why not?
It's arbitrary, inflexible, uncreative, and uninteresting the overwhelming majority of the time. It also is rarely thought out with no fundamental reason why within the system or lore and usually reeks of lazy lore and rock paper scissors style system. Might be tolerable for a children's game like Pokemon but outside of that context of simplistic games where such a system is obviously actually there for mechanical reasons to do with gameplay I can only think of one other example in all of fiction that wasn't related to game play where such a magic system was done somewhat well.
>what about the ones that you DO like?
The first encarnation if avatar the last air bender was decent.
It blended martial arts with the magic system as well as built deep culture, decently thought out world building, and lore around it.

Can you honestly say you can think of any other time a elemental magic system was done even slightly well besides ATLA that wasn't just thinly flavored game mechanics for a more complicated system of rock paper scissors for strengths and weakness?

>>24715109
I have no strong opinions on them since the premise of such things are just the beginning idea.
It's the execution that matters more.

>>24715989
>Okay, so how would you add other abilities to the different elements then?
Meaning > matter. So like powerful curses that take time, rather than instant fireballs shooting out of hands. Dont get me wrong I still like a good Kamehameha.

>>24714581
>Intelligence combined with ambition would still rise to the top like in our world.
If, between two ambitious and intelligent people, one is also capable of melting your brain with his mind, that individual is going to end up on top one hundred percent of the time. It's a huge advantage. Unless magic users also all have down syndrome, the capable amongst them are going to outcompete the mundane smart/ambitious people.

Any examples of worldbuilding with platonic, neoplatonic, even Hermetic themes? It seems like most genre fiction these days is modernist atheistic, or some variety of gnostic.

>>24716389
>It seems like most genre fiction these days is modernist atheistic, or some variety of gnostic.
Please elaborate on this.

>>24715989
>Okay, so how would you add other abilities to the different elements then?
Of the top of my head: Highly proficient benders can turn their bodies on their own element
Earthfags can sense people through the vibrations on the ground, travel through the ground without being crushed by the pressure, create earthquakes
Waterfags gain an immense speed boost underwater, can breathe underwater, travel the deep ocean without being crush by the pressure
Firefags are immune to extreme temperatures, have thermal vision and can create heat related mirages
Windfags don't need to breathe at all, can fly, can modify atmospheric pressure on a small area

>>24717395
>Earthfags can travel through the ground without being crushed by the pressure.
horrifying

>>24716036
>Can you honestly say you can think of any other time a elemental magic system was done even slightly well besides ATLA that wasn't just thinly flavored game mechanics for a more complicated system of rock paper scissors for strengths and weakness?
Have you ever heard of the webcomic Aurora?

>>24716047
>Meaning > matter. So like powerful curses that take time,
I'd love to hear more about this concept, just how much time would you think it should take for stuff, and what about things that each element can be used for besides manipulation of the physical element itself? Like, maybe fire magic can enflame emotions?

>>24717395
Neat ideas! What about elements beyond those four, like Light or Darkness (besides obvious shit like being able to see in the dark for the latter)?

>>24717450
I'm getting claustrophobia just looking at this! The Hell?

>>24717738
>Powerful curses
Nta but
Waterfags can curse you with: Make you feel as if you were drowning. If you try to swim you will sink immediately. Whenever you try to drink water, the water disappears before touching your mouth.
Earthfags curses: Make you feel extremely heavy. If you try to grow plants, seeds never sprout and if you try to touch crops, they whiter in your hands. Sandstorms follow you around.
Firefags curses: Make you feel as if you were burning. When you try to start a fire, it will always fail. Stuff around you randomly ignites and burns you.
Airfags: Severe shortness of breath. Pleasant aromas turn putrid to you, if you try to travel through air, strong winds will make you aircraft fall or crash.
As a bonus idea for lore: The first curse of every bender has a less aggressive version used to train newbies

>>24717908
Cool. Like metaphorical elemental curses

>>24716888
>or some variety of gnostic.
I'm using gnostic loosely. Systems of magic inspired by Daoism or Buddhism involve self-cultivation (loosely, attaining gnosis) in order to become an immortal or a buddha/bodhisattva. Their cosmology reflects this with fallible deities that the protagonist may overthrow or supersede. When the Japanese take inspiration from Western traditions, they often include gnostic themes and symbolism not merely because it's exotic and cool, but also because it is most culturally similar to Buddhism with respect to deification principally through knowledge. The god killing trope is also completely in line with gnostic belief of a faulty demiurge. Even though this is usually a video game trope, the influence they have on Western writers is existent.

>modernist atheistic
What I meant by "modernist atheistic" is the attitude towards religion. There's probably a better word for this, but the only other term that comes to mind at the moment is "reddit". Even if the world has religions with myths, histories, followers, etc., it falls flat when it's treated like a garnish to its denizen's being. The redditor does not understand religion, and treats it like an arbitrary set of beliefs that followers subscribe to to attain membership in the religion, and without understanding the religious mindset. As a result the people they write like people are today, sans the knowledge of modern science. When magic is involved, instead of treating it as something wondrous and fundamental to the world's being, they ruin it by over-systematizing it and turning the supernatural into a science. The redditor especially, sees magic not unlike a distinct school subject, and while systematizing this science, they make it foreign and disjunct to the natural sciences with how poorly it integrates into how the world works. This culminates to people treating magic and magic items like it's electricity and electrical appliances, but with a different power source.

>>24717738
>What about elements beyond those four, like Light or Darkness
I have never liked darkness as an element, since darkness is not something but rather the absence of something (light)
I can give you electricity though.
Lightfags: Can turn invisible. Can turn into light for a second (essentially intangibility) Can absorb the light of a given area (turning it completely dark) and concentrate it in a laser. Can change the color of things.
Electricfags: Have reflexes as quick as lighting. Have control over magnetism. Can attack with sonic shock waves by clapping their hands (must prepare before using the attack or they might make themselves deaf) a sub ability of this is the ball lighting, they basically make bombs of electricity that can be detonated over large distances, can be used as distractions.

>>24717908
I think these curses are overpowered. They should be a lot weaker: a fire curse should just make you feel hot all the time. A water curse makes you constantly sweat or gives you dry mouth all the time. An air curse doesn't let you breathe through your nose or gives you asthma if you breathe too deeply.

>>24718099
>I think these curses are overpowered.
Well yeah, the anon ask for POWERFUL curses, if he wanted moderate curses or weak curses, he should have specified.

In honor of Silksongs realse and play I ask one question.

How much of another setting can one take without it being completely stealing

I ask cause I kinda want make a story akin to a xenofiction one but in its own world and with magic. Redwall but with genuine magic, or more accuratelyand more greater focus on the magic. A story of 3 inch tall insect creatures that live in a fantasy world and they're the main intelligent inhabitants.
Hollow knight has a cool setting but I doubt we'll get a stand alone story series with it and i want to think about its world, so maybe make my own based around it?

How viable is that, I already have some ideas.

>>24718399
Just put a spin or two on it, that should be enough

>>24717738
>Have you ever heard of the webcomic Aurora?
No.
Looked it up.
Looks and reads like shit, like most webcomics.

>>24719506
I like it, personally. Are there any webcomics that you DO recommend then?

>>24719985
No.

Dead general

I just made my magic system arbitrary bullshit. The world is a god's dream, you can affect it by convincing the god to do so. That's it. Well, the god is dreaming an objective reality, so you can also directly alter it by interacting with the same incorporeal forces that the god uses to dream the world, but that's so complicated it's practically impossible for anything but the simplest tasks.

Hard magic systems are gay.

>>24716036
Hey, I was the anon that posted >24672118, and I plan to have my magic system be elemental as well, each race having an affinity for the elements that make them up (save for humans being more elementally neutral), and each element having different specialties beyond shooting blasts of the elements themselves. Besides your thoughts on my elemental angels and/or gods, what would you recommend so that I can avoid the pitfalls you often see in magic systems based on the elements that you haven't already mentioned, and what specialties to assign each element, since you clearly have a lot to say on this topic, please?

Finally got the preview copy in the mail. Very happy with how it turned out, hopefully my slop will be officially able to buy off Amazon in a few days. Big thanks to the anons who gave me feedback on earlier drafts, I can share the epub if anyone would like to check it out

>>24667235 (OP)
What are some good examples of Order/Law magic versus Chaos magic besides picture related? And what are some ways we can spice up the concept?

>>24720189
>Hard magic systems are gay
I agree. When magic has clear rules it becomes mundane, and magic should never be mundane.

>>24721487
>When magic has clear rules it becomes mundane
No it doesn't.
That is stupid. Do you even read fantasy fiction at all? What a garbage opinion.

>>24721481
Elric of Melniboné and Warhamer Fantasy are the first things to come to mind. Especially Elric.
Though it's less the magic and more the whole metaphysicas of how the universe works in both settings that is a constant tug and pull between order and chaos.

>And what are some ways we can spice up the concept?
That order in overabundance is almost as bad as chaos unrestrained.
And make chaos extremely dangerous but also extremely useful so that it always seems worth the risk to deal with.

Makes for interesting character motivations and interactions in how they approach order and chaos as well as why they went down each path.

>>24721516
All the good fantasy has soft magic. The harder the magic, the more retarded it is. Doubly so because the limits aren't real. Like, they literally aren't. They're real in board games and video games and such, that's why hard magic systems work perfectly there. But in stories, you can arbitrarily give/remove powers at your whim, so it doesn't matter.

Even Tolkien had to retcon the Hobbit to make LOTR work, changing Bilbo's ring from just some magic ring that turns you invisible into The One Ring which makes you into like a fucking god or something (even Sam was promised the ability to turn the world into a garden). EXCEPT if you're Bilbo/Frodo. Then it just turns you invisible.

>>24721673
>All the good fantasy has soft magic.
Stopped reading there.
That is wrong. You haven't read shit. Opinion invalid.

>>24721721
>Stopped reading there.
Forever? Well, thank god.

>>24721463
As someone who thinks that they were one of those anons, I'd love that, thanks! Remind me, how do the Arts and Paths work again?

>>24667235 (OP)
I feel like i can't do worldbuilding in the traditional sci fi/fantasy sense anymore. Anything large scale i would have to discover write. I can't create a whole universe with planets and shit.

What would be the results of a fantasy earth like planet without a moon or with several moons?

>>24721673
>EXCEPT if you're Bilbo/Frodo. Then it just turns you invisible.
A Hobbit isn't going to get much control of The One Ring. And even then, Frodo does manage to place a geas on Gollum.

Though it's notable that Gollum is the same race as him, but of lower birth and spiritual power.

>>24721973
Not him but a quick runn down
Path: Specified wizardry. Each path is a weird thing that one can do: Life, Souls, Plants, Water, etc.

Arts: Beast Magic. You can either control animal, combine them, or transform into a specific animal. Think Flesh magic but more inclined to animals.

>>24668971
Eschatopyrite?

>>24721529
>And make chaos extremely dangerous but also extremely useful so that it always seems worth the risk to deal with.
So Order magic would be more stable and dependable but not as capable of some things as Chaos magic is? What other abilities/specialties would you assign to each?

>>24724451
> What other abilities/specialties would you assign to each?
I wouldn't
Again, I would take inspiration from the sources I mentioned and make it apart of the metaphysical framework of the universe. I wouldn't make it as a simple
>chaos gets crazy red fireballs that do AOE damage
>Order gets extra focused blue firebolts that hit a single target really hard
I ain't writing litrpg stories so I wouldn't ever approch world building in such a way.

>>24722293
No moon = no tides (or very weak solar tides)

Some theorize that tides were important for life to emerge. Without them you don't get tide pools and that's where life might've emerged from.

Fishing would work differently, but I don't know how. Seafaring as well.

Nights would be much darker. Life would likely have evolved better low light vision.

>>24667242
I have the inklings of a story in my mind that I'd like to write, but I have a couple short stories I want to do first since I haven't done much writing in my life. As for the worldbuilding I've thought of so far:
>magic users are born with a stone inside of their brains that allows them to channel energies from forces still unknown to mankind. These stones can be harvested from the brain and used in magical devices. They have to be used carefully though because once outside of the body, they expel magic wildly.
>Magic users, at least in this certain region, are sent away secretly to an island to train until they can be used by the King for whatever purpose (military, espionage, fortune telling, etc). Because the stones in the brain are usable outside of the body, scavengers and other regions simply kill magic users in order to make quicker use of them.
>I haven't thought too much on restrictions yet, but presumably a natural magic wielder will be much more powerful than someone who just utilizes harvested stones.
All that said, I want to write it from the perspective of someone without any magical ability going on some sort of adventure, he comes across these magicians and kills them, using their brain stones in one way or another, blah blah blah.
Like I said, it's only the most basic of an idea of something I MIGHT write, but eventually I want to put more thought into it all

I'm trying to get some ideas for different "biomes" or regions a hell dimension could have. They don't need to make sense, as long as they're cool. Already have the main citadel thought up, where the lord of that dimension would reside. Now I'm thinking of other surrounding areas.
So far I have deserts, barren rocky mountains, dark disease-ridden swamps, vast forges with lava everywhere, rivers with souls traveling to their doom. Does anyone have any cool ideas of how an underworld could look like? Buildings, landscape, creatures, anything will do.

>>24727050
So an obvious reference point would be the circles of hell (I forgot how many... 9?) from Dantes Inferno. Each "biome" could be themed similarly to those circles.

>>24727051
Yeah for sure! I wasn't sure about including "cold" biomes like the Ninth circle, but I just got an idea. I was thinking of maybe making the hell dimension infinite, but the demons and their influence in it finite. This means that most of the "activity" in hell, as well as most of the demons, is centered around the citadel,which is the center of the dimension itself, and the further away you get from the center, the less demons there are. This means that you don't have to deal with so many demons, but there's also not many chances of surviving, since hell is meant to be inhospitable by design.
Maybe a couple of sinners manage to escape the center, and they travel endlessly to escape their punishment. Maybe in the far, far reaches of the place, they start to notice how the heat of the area starts to dwindle, eventually leading to a cold empty lake stretching out into a dark abyss. At last, they are free,but also completely alone, abandoned, at the edge of hell.
This makes it so the cold region isn't the deepest place, but the farthest place if that makes any sense.

Other than aristocratic woman and street urchin what are some roles for a female character in a Victorian-era adventure novel?

>>24727156
Sex

>>24727156
>bakers wife, tanners wife, tailors wife, cobblers wife, tavern wench (husband owns the tavern)
just pick a Victorian occupation and add wife to the end.

>>24727156
Teacher is a good one.

>>24727080
>Maybe in the far, far reaches of the place, they start to notice how the heat of the area starts to dwindle, eventually leading to a cold empty lake stretching out into a dark abyss.
melancholic kino

>>24727156
Nurse (Florence Nightingale)

>>24726674
Well, for starters, what causes some people to be born with said stones in their brains? And are they only found in humans, or can monsters have them as well?

>>24727050
A massive and oppressive cityscape that houses all sorts of demons, windswept plains that try to send those in it flying, and caverns that exist in total darkness.

>>24727080
BTW, what are the different kinds/species of demons?

Here's a minor case of geopolitical irony:

The top power in my setting is MORE obsessed with getting superweapons than the secondary one. This despite how they won their last conflict pretty decisively.

Why? Because being the superpower for so long has given them absurd expectations. It's not enough to be the strongest by a large margin, not even to be invincible, what they want is to be so strong that they become the world government by default.

To have so much military power that the other nations just surrender to them WITHOUT fighting.

And again, why? It's because they are so accustomed to the idea of being invincible....that they lose their head at ANY casualties. Because the public will lose all morale if casualties even reach into the thousands in a single war.

Victory has defeated them.

>>24727690
>BTW, what are the different kinds/species of demons?
As for the demons that live there, I haven't gotten to develop much apart from just a random assortment of beings, still need to work out the hierarchies.
So far, I have a couple of things.
A race of "devils", who are the original inhabitants of hell, tasked by the gods to torture human souls and also kinda just build their own society. The gods in this universe experimented with different kinds of beings made to serve them, with humans being weak but completely free/neutral in their choice, and with devils being much stronger/smarter, but with an inherent selfishness and desire to betray. They're basically humans with red skin and horns.
A small group of "hand-made" lords of hell meant to command the devils, they're only inferior to the one being that commands hell (a disputed position due to certain things, but that's another story) they're hopelessly addicted to fighting amongst each other for power.
Apart from that, I could include a bunch of monsters that serve as the basic soldiers that torture sinners and fight in the conflicts there. Minotaurs, skeletons, golems, etc.
I was thinking of developing the idea of hell being a place where the devils are slowly being driven to extinction due to their own nature and the conflicts that occur in that place, with some resorting to dark magic and strange experiments to extend their already long lifespan.
This makes it so that hell begins as a complex and advanced society of devils, plotting against each other under the shadows, but still within an established order. Then, as conflicts and other events occur, it devolves into a more chaotic place, mostly populated by inferior monsters, with the remaining devils becoming more monstrous to survive, the classic "Fire and brimstone" hell.

>>24727156
Every lower class profession that didn't rely on strength, including factory worker, craftsperson of verious kinds, and even stuff like coal miner.
Basically whatever you can likely think of there is historical examples of women doing it during Victorian times.

Though I do admit my mind drifts towards house staff of Victorian manors, because that is the first thing I think about when thinking of that era.

>>24728518
>(a disputed position due to certain things, but that's another story)
Details please? And has any mortal soul ever escaped Hell completely?

Let me guess, the addiction to fighting each other was put into them to keep them from uniting?

Also, what about sub-groups like succubi? I presume that things like imps and hellhounds would fall under the monster category?

>>24729215
>Details please?
Sure! Basically, Earth is ruled by two gods, they start out fighting against each other, but eventually, they have a truce. During this time, they decide to create humans as well as lower gods meant to help them rule over the world (and potentially pick sides when the truce stops). To keep the humans in line, they created hell. If any human sins, they get sent to hell, an alternate dimension ruled by the lords of hell. In the beginning, there was a supreme lord of hell that was hand-made along the other ones, and during that time, his reign was undisputed, especially considering how any other lord of hell can't become the actual ruler of hell (the gods made sure to powerbalance them lol). Some time after, the two gods eventually decide to make another lower god, and they decide to give him hell as his kingdom (the other lower gods got actual kingdoms on Earth, so he kinda got a bad deal, considering he can only rule over sinners and demons there). They task him with killing the supreme lord of hell and taking his place. He does, but eventually he rebels against the two gods, leaves hell and gets btfo, trapped in a weakened state (guess who comes back when the main story gets rolling lol). After that, many beings there take power, leading to different ages.
As for how one actually becomes ruler of hell, I just thought of a macguffin magic stone one can take that gives you the power to issue commands to any other demon (including lord of hell) that they can't refuse.
>has any mortal soul ever escaped Hell completely?
Not really, the only way one could do that is with direct intervention of one of the two main gods, and good luck doing that.
>Let me guess, the addiction to fighting each other was put into them to keep them from uniting?
Of course. The lords of hell aren't powerful enough to face any actual god head on, but they are capable of accessing, studying and harnessing souls, the only things that even the two gods don't truly control.
>Also, what about sub-groups like succubi?
Funny, I was thinking of making one of the lords of hell a "corruptor" type of being that embodies decadence and depravity. Maybe the gods made another race of beings similar to humans that also live in hell, but after the rebellion of that one lower god, they left them to the mercy of that lord of hell. Maybe that's how succubi were created. I was thinking of all sorts of fucked up hybrid creatures coming from that lord as well.
Also yeah, imps and hellhounds would be monsters in that universe.
I'm realizing I developed this fictional world in my head for far too long. It just keeps growing. Should write it down some day.

starting a new sci-fi horror proyect
it's already hard
wish me luck

>>24727050
Bottomless land where souls constantly fall and there are floating cities/ fly ping nomads

>>24730504
Good luck

>>24730504
Good luck, anon. But practice has a higher rate of success than luck.
Also what's the horror element? Rogue Ai/robots? Aliens? Body horror?

>>24730504
Details please. Maybe we can help.

>>24727858
What's your inspiration for this?
Sounds interesting.

Typical fantasy world, but populations are in decline in all the major kingdoms for the last century. People just aren't having kids. Wars basically don't happen. No kingdom can afford to lose people.
Noble titles are going back to the crown as noble families are simply dying out. New ones are raised in their stead, but even those are wavering.
Monsters still roam about and they're gaining ground. Less people means fewer adventurers means more monsters. But people aren't worried. After all, the king will protect the people. The royal knights will protect us, right?

Right?

>>24734899
Could work, as with all things it's all about the execution.

>>24734899
>People just aren't having kids
Why aren't they having kids precisely?

>>24734899
Import the monsters as cheap labor. Over time the monster population with replace the native population.

>>24667235 (OP)
So I had a group of religious refugees request citizenship in a foreign land, and I based their exodus to that land on the Parsis of India.

According to legend, the Rajah of the area said they could live in his land with the following conditions:

>Must learn the local language
>Must adopt the local dress
>Explain their religion to him
>No proselytization, cannot convert locals to their faith
>Conduct their rituals at nightfall so as to not stand out as much
>Surrender their weapons

However I intended the land they emigrate to is quite dangerous with many animals that are quite dangerous.

So my idea is that instead of surrendering their weapons, they:
>Are allowed spears, knives, bows - hunting tools
>Are not allowed metal armour

With the exception of those who join the military. Thoughts on that?

I also wonder how reasonable the other conditions are- adopting the language, no proselytization, and conducting rituals out of sight seem reasonable, but I wonder about the adopting of the local dress.

>>24736556
I don't know. It's supposed to mirror whatever is happening in the modern world with the plummeting birthrates. The story will just be decades ahead of where we are.

The reason is probably a combination of factors.
1. Anti-teen-pregnancy campaigns. If you teach an entire generation that having kids is dangerous, irresponsible, and life ruining, then we shouldn't be surprised that they decide not to become parents at all, even when it's safe to do so (when they're older). They've already internalized the message.
2. Our expectations of what we need to provide to children are so high and they are ever-growing that it makes having kids too expensive in terms of time and money. It's just easier not to have them.
>>24736594
Haha! But even that's not a long-term solution.

>>24736184
NTA, but how would YOU execute things then?

>>24667235 (OP)
I’m working on a setting where the forces of Heaven and Hell are in conflict, but are prevented from waging large-scale battle in either of their two realms. As a result, they use the mortal world to get around this. That’s not the issue at hand though, I’m running out of name ideas for both sides that aren’t just the names of angels or demons from the Bible, and could use some suggestions, and I would love to hear how you name your own angels and demons as well. I want the names to be meaningful beyond just slapping “el” to the end of ordinary names for angels, which of course makes it harder on me…

One idea I had was that succubi and incubi, especially the former, mainly take on the role of spies in the mortal world, so I could use some names for that kind of demon in particular. Lilith as their queen is a given, and names of historical women associated with lust (like Helen because everybody in Greece wanted to marry her) could work for some of them, especially if the rumors are true and said women become succubi after death, but I can only think of a few and I still need some more ideas for succubi that weren’t ever human, thanks in advance for any help you can give me! I tried last thread but got nada, sadly.

>>24730504
Is it aliens or is it robots? Alien robots count as robots and bioengineered freak Thing types count as aliens if that helps.

>>24737794
Personally I tend to write horror and pulp action adventure hybrids.
So I would probably write about the royal knights trying to keep the few remaining cities in decline safe from the external threat of monsters as they are undermined at every turn from the threats within.
Probably touching on the overall theme of if it's still worth being a hero in a society not worth saving, what is worthy of self sacrifice for, and tension between wider society and close community.