Greetings elegan/t g/entlemen,
I come to you seeking guidance in my hour of need. I am in search of software to help me develop a new fantasy setting in extreme detail. My requirements are two-fold:
1) Height-mapping software. I need something that can help me simulate realistic geography (fractal based perhaps) down to the level of river flows and their effect on the land and the impact of natural disasters such as meteor strikes or volcanic eruptions. Added bonuses if the capability even exists would be basic A) systems of plate tectonics and B) weather systems and climate zones.
2) A program to map the orbit of moons and planets within a solar system.
A single program to simulate both of these would be ideal, but I realize that msy not be realistic and as such I may need multiple programs.
A little background as to why I'm looking for this. The idea for this setting stemmed from a combination of the 9 worlds in norse mythology, the movement of the ptolemaic spheres, and general astrology fuckery effecting people/events.
>>47473633
The setting is generally low fantasy on the earth-like world (we'll call it Midgard until I come up with a better name). That being said the geography is royally fucked after the giant ass volcano at the juncture of a few continents blew its top and sank a lot of land into the sea, along with the predominant empire in the region. People believe that the previously dormant volcano is a stairway to heavan and it blew its top after some cunts decided to kill the Son of God (TM).
>>47473655
Now getting into the point of a working solar system. So while Midgard more or less follows the physics of our own world, the other planets play by their whole own set of rules. Now this is where magic comes into play. Mages are (incredibly rare) individuals that given a power source can play by the rules of physics/reality from another planet on Midgard. Now the nearer one of these planets orbits Midgard the more powerful the magic becomes. For example the 'death' planet comes near Midgard every at the end of every fall causing a lot of undead to get themselves up to no good. Most planets only get close enough every 50-200 years to have a noticeable impact, but when they do they can cause some serious supernatural fuckery.
>>47473683
Additionally the sun that the planets orbit is the heavan equivalent of this setting. I'm debating whether I want to have a second smaller sun as my 'hell,' dedicate a planet to it, or place it in the literal core of Midgard.
I hope you guys can give me some good recommendations. I can post more once I get home from the bar and have access to my notes if you would like.
OP here, pls respond.
I'll dump some shit I drunkenly came up with in this setting for a quest thread a few years back.
>
Your people comprise the proud imperial citizens of Castrum Aquila, or you would be citizens of the Empire, if there were an Empire left for you to serve. 43 years prior the Imperial Capital Vremius melted in a great storm of flame when the mountain it was built beside, known as the Angel’s Stairwell, erupted in an explosion the likes of which had never before been seen. The smoke cloud was visible even from the walls of Castrum Aquila, thousands of miles north of the imperial capital. That same explosion vaporized much of the imperial heartland, and vast swathes of the fertile lowland plains that surrounded The Angel’s Stairwell sank beneath the waves. Once you could travel the distance from Castrum Aquila to Vremius on a perfectly cut imperial road, but now there is only roiling ocean, tossed by ashen winds and filled with ghastly fish no man dares eat.
>>47474441
What caused the Angel’s Stairwell to erupt is a matter of heated debate. The faithful claim God in his anger at the decadence of the Empire brought forth the flame to cleanse the Empire of it’s transgressions, while the philosophers hold that the eruption was merely a natural event (albeit of a cataclysmic nature). Accounts from the few that escaped the devastation that day consistently point to a draconic form rising forth from the Stairwell’s peak when it first erupted, and it may be possible that one of the last dragons slumbered beneath the Imperial City for all those years. This is certainly not the most outlandish explanation of The Shattering that has been put forth. Finally, some believe that the eruption could only have been the result of some powerful sorcery, no doubt invoked by one of the Empires arch-enemies—either the confederated merchant plutocracies to the south and west, or else conjured by the Bone Horde far to the north, along with their great wooly beasts and bloody idols.
>>47474475
Roughly a century prior Castrum Aquila was founded by Nord auxiliaries, primarily the few surviving members of the Eagle Tribe, in the newly secured Steppe Provinces. When not fighting eachother, the Nords were traditionally enemies of the Empire. That all changed though as the Bone Horde’s westward advance threatened both sides. It was in those dark times that the Beornling Chieftain, Volsung with the aid of his brother Volskarn united the warring tribes under one banner, and allied with the Empire under the condition that the tribes receive land conquered from the Horde, and that the settlers be allowed to maintain their traditions.
Here is the base map I came up with without any details.
This is a pretty ambitious idea, but I think you might be putting in more effort than what you're going to get out of it. Are the players going to care about any of this, or will they be happy if you simply tell them "astrologers say the undead planet is getting closer"?
>>47474693
It's not so much about players caring about the intricacies for the story of a one off as developing it as lasting, compelling setting, that has scope for a great number of events.
I want to develop scope and create internal consistency. For the most part the players won't see the ins and outs, and a big part of this will add to the mystery of the setting.
In effect players are guinea pigs for this.
>also thank you so much for responding.
I'll dump some more shit. Here is the draft of the map with borders and roads.
Map with climate zones.
From what I recall when I made it:
>dark green: alpine
>light green: step/grassland/pastures
>orange: deciduous forest
>teal: tropical forest
>red: barren land/mountains
>white: snow/tundra
>gray: swampland
>purple: faerie forest
faerie forests were portals to another plane (I think the moon orbiting Midgard) where reality began to bend and alter, playing by the laws of the faerie realm instead of Midgard. The functional benefit of these areas was that one could rapidly travel from a faerie forest on one side of the world to the next as time flowed differently while in the faerie world. These were the most common expression of planetary influence along with the planet of undead fuckery.
>>47475451
Though now that I look at it further I think orange was not deciduous forest but highlands.
