What is Bug World? It is a setting where mammals are almost unheard of and insects rule the world. It is a place of cities built from hollow logs, Termite megolopoli, and dangerous monsters that stalk the lands.
Last thread had some pretty good discussion on magic, Termite society, and some good talk about Cordeceps.
Link to the Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pAduIU7TDaKHvvaUfzRbgYj44TX_hApLeNeVu2d5bbM/edit?usp=sharing
Last Thread:
>>46198328
>>46230443
First for Psycho Mantis Shrimp
>>46230533
Those things are fucking insane
So have we basically decided that Ants are kinda communist, while Termites are more caste based?
Also, while we have the basic culture, I think we need some sort of historical figure for each of the races. Maybe some not!Marxist for the ants?
>>46230891
The endless beauracracy begins
>>46230891
I think we did. Except for those dickass Slaver ants who have an oppressed slave class made up of conquered ants and stolen eggs, and maybe even members of other races just because. We know who an 'evil' party could potentially work with.
>>46231017
Driver ant queen is hit hardest with it the hardest. She's so busy that no other race or colony has ever seen her.
>>46231086
I think we found another low level antagonist. Slaver Ant raiding parties.
>>46231017
>bureaucracy
Maybe a historical figure more akin to Blackfeeler would fit more for the Termites. Someone who attempted to start a revolution, but was put down. Her ideas are still present in many mounds today, so the military police have to keep a close eye out for "strange behavior"
>>46231126
low-mid high most likely, depending on their size and equipment
>>46231186
I could see a raiding party of Slaver Army Ants being terrifying
>>46231147something something 1984
>>46230533
>>46230662
I'd see some going nuts with power, but most trying really hard and sincerely to keep their urges under control.
>>46230891
Well communism would work with hive bugs since all and every single one would be full FOR THE HIVE.
>>46230662
By design. I love it. High level antagonists? Mid level allies?
>>46230891
I don't think the ants should have any historically significant members, but their Queens could be these eternal Singularities that maintain the hive or something? Like the Tribunal but huge, with the only culture being derived from the personality quirks of the Queens, like Tyranids or Necrons in a way.
Just my thought
we should flesh out the hornet wars and alrac the hawk wasp a bit more.
maybe at some point in the distant pass a great race wide war between the wasps and the bees took place. and the wasp queens ended up surrendering on unfavorable terms resulting in most of the wasp population becoming demoralized and angery at the outcome of the war. And then Alrak came along and rallied all the wasps who were bitter at the rule of the queens and the lose of the war. make him kind of like a folk hero for some of the hornet/wasps
>>46231126
>>46231186
>>46231213
>>46231404
I added then to the Antagonist section in the docs.
I fucked up early though, since the Bold wouldn't turn off.
Was the Bug World D&D group thread ever put up?
>>46231495
Rad, thanks anon
>>46231364
In my opinion they've either been so far gone that concepts of sanity and morality are alien abstractions to them, they have no idea that they are even alive and are essentially the deadliest idiot savants in the universe, or they know exactly they price they are paying for their sight beyond sight and keep doing what they're doing because otherwise the universe is going to fall apart.
Another low to mid level antagonist could be Army Ants. They could be a nimadic army that just loots and destroys whatever it can before they are driven back or they succeed in whatever objective they have. Their Queen could be a powerful military strategist.
Low level versions would be Scouting parties. Mid to high level versions would be full on invasion forces.
>>46231964
I'm all for army ants. They're numerous, intelligent and they're dangerous
>>46231964
On the flip side, they'd have pretty good surgeons due to their aggression resulting in skilled field medics, and as a reference to the practice of using army ant heads for suture.
>>46232072
True. They might also capture Arthros for food if they cannot sieze enough supplies during a campaign
>>46232146
That's brutal, and seems very fitting. Various roving bands of murderous, cannibalistic, gigantic ants
>>46232172
>>46232146
Again that sounds more realistically like driver ants.
>>46232397
Have you ever seen footage of army Ants? Fucking nasty. They just march and eat and march and eat. If you see them you better fucking run.
>>46232397
driver ants are a genus of Army ants, so they would march together
>>46232450
That sounds more like driver ants, to be honest. Army ants at least use tactics like encircling their prey.
>>46232450
I don't think I have to be honest. I've seen fire ants which are basically the army ants toned down cousins. Driver ant don't give a single fuck, all female colonies that make a highway of death when they pillage, they drag other bugs into that shit and rip them to shreds. To mate they take their males prisoner and use him as a sperm slave.
>>46232503
>>46232535
Driver ants are a type of Army ant, as Army ant is a more general name
>>46232503
>>46232535
https://youtu.be/UozWJTuhbMQ
>>46232582
Well shit. Time to combine the ideas?
>>46232660
Sure thing
>>46231497
Hey did anon here. I put link in last thread from my conversion but no one commented. Should I put it in the doc instead?
>>46232660
Different sects maybe? One more driven towards brutality and war and the other more organizated and intelligent. Like the hammer and the scalpel.
>>46232751
Dnd anon sorry
>>46232751
Ah I must have missed it. If it's complete I suggest putting it in the doc
>>46232782
It's got about 10 races on there. There are just a lot of races to cover
>>46232759
That would work, or we could just have them work together.
A bandit raiding group doesn't have to work together perfectly, so the differing ways that the two ants work would create just the right amount of tension
>>46232759
Interesting. I think that having them be fractured could explain why they don't overrun everyone. They could be just as busy fighting other groups and devouring each other. Slaver Ants could sell them slaves that gather food and supplies during these conflicts. Or if things get bad enough the slaves become food
>>46232909
base them off greek facist/anti-facist parties. They're all mad as hell but can decide between themselves
>>46233071
I know nothing about politics, so I have to ask if these parties are currently around, or if you're talking about past parties
>>46232909
I imagine that they have different views on what to do with captured resources and troops.
Driver ants: Mame, burn, kill.
Army ants: Control, Conquer, Convert (if possible)
everyone in the roll20 campaign
make sure to check the page theres a new thread on the game page about start time
>>46234040
will do. I'm out for the night
>>46233411
Sounds good. As for what motivates them, I've got a few ideas.
Ants, in place of deities, revere a quasi-spiritual concept, which I'll call "the Unity" unless someone has a better name. The primary manifestation of the Unity is of course, the Hive. The form this devotion takes varies greatly between subspecies, and to a lesser extent between individual Hives. Army Ants believe they serve the unity through conquest, imposing order by force. Driver ants go even further. They believe that only they can truly comprehend the Unity, and that all others, including other ants, must be exterminated for Unity to be truly realized.
The Craw people live in the Nineteen River Cities, each an independent city state of varying influence. The River Cities are located mostly in the swamplands between the heartlands and the Big Green. The majority of each city is wholly submerged in the murky bayou waters, but a great deal of each River City is above the surface, easily rivalling a comparable branch town in size and population.
The Craw are largely reclusive and stay out of the politics of the world at large. They are unaligned politically for the most part, but some of the River Cities lean towards favouring whichever other culture has been the most generous with them. The Craw do not import foodstuffs or any basic staples, the Swamplands provide much bounty for those who know where to look and how to cultivate it. The Craw subside mostly off of smaller aquatic bugs and farmed algae.
The Craw make most of their trade money through providing safe passage and hospitality to travellers and merchants, against whom they levy high taxes and tariffs. Nearly all travellers however, pay the price, no matter how steep it is, because the alternative is near-certain death alone and lost in the swamp. The Craw are known for their hospitality, which extends above and beyond the traditional call of duty. Travellers and merchants pay a high fee, but get more than what's fair in return.
>>46235219
The treachery of the swamps has created a demand for monster hunters, and it is a profession many aspiring adventurers can make a living on. There are incalculable horrors lurking in the bogs and wetlands the River Cities claim to exert influence over, and they are always needing hunting. In spite of their petty rivalries and ancient blood feuds, each of the nineteen River Cities has agreed to host a non-political guild composed of equal parts Craw and outsiders, dedicated to hunting monsters for bounties levied by individual City magisters. The Monster Hunter's Guild is given political immunity during their expeditions, regardless of the banners they carry, because the extermination of monsters benefits the economies of all the cities.
Once every year, the Wyrm Hunt is called. The nineteen River Cities muster their standing armies, declare a truce and ceasefire for two months, and all undertake major operations to hunt and annihilate the young spawn of as many River Dragons they can to prevent their population from booming. Often, one or two Dragons themselves are killed, but the majority of the hunt is centred on killing the young kings before they can mature into the city-ravaging monsters they become in adulthood. Despite the truce being declared, it is not unheard of for a city to guide River Dragons away from their cities towards other roaming hunting parties to weaken their neighbours for the coming summer, when a war might be declared. The Craw are extremely opportunistic at destroying one another, but absolutely will not breach the terms of their truces and agreements. To a Craw, it is better to be gutted and crucified on the surface to suffocate than it is to dishonour oneself.
>>46235251
The honour culture of the Craw is very particular and elaborate. The majority of the Craw people and culture is submerged below the surface, both literally and figuratively. To outsiders, the Craw seem a happy-go-lucky, noble folk who are well known for hospitality and luxury for their guests. Below the surface, they are cut throat merchant princes, plantation owners, and noble families, each the potential patron of any number of machinists, artists, and composers. The beautiful aspects of their society, and the bounty of their services to outsiders is fuelled by the darkness under the water. Unbeknownst to the world at large, the majority of the River Cities employ the slavery of small shrimp, who cultivate the algae that provides the staple of the Craw Diet, the other staple being the shrimp themselves after they have outlived their usefulness, or in some ranches, bred specifically to die.
If other cultures were to learn of this barbaric practice, it would surely sink their outside economy, and perhaps provoke an invasion, in spite of the foolishness of such an endeavour. As a result, all but the most flagrant of River Cities will keep this aspect of their society under wraps, and those that don't are so deep in the swamp that they know they are virtually immune to invasion by outsiders: the swamp would kill their armies months before they reached the city.
>>46235272
The peculiarity of their culture and the function of honour, is they will see and treat guests as equals, regardless of their actual social standing, but their slaves are never seen as guests, and therefore never treated as equals. The Craw, despite having a wide gap between the upper, land owning class, and the lower, landless class, are united in their absolute knowledge of their worthiness as Craw over the shrimp. This leads to even the lowest of Craw feeling a camaraderie with the highest, because of their unification in a very much "us versus them" society.
The Craw River Cities have very little influence on the outside world, beyond some luxury exports, such as the art created by renown Craw artists, funded by the noble plantation owning families. At least four River Cities are in a state of open war at any given time, caused equally by economic or honour disputes. Each River City is ruled over differently, but the majority are lead by a Prime Electorate, a land owning noble that is elected by his peers and the common Craw equally, until he is deposed by another vote, which can be called at any time. Because of their elected leadership, and the sense of fellowship felt with even those above and below them, this leads to mostly stable societies within the cities and their borderlands. The very feeling that they chose who seats the throne, and can depose him at any time, leads the Craw to a sense of comfort, which in turn, causes very few actual overthrowings.
>>46235272
The arts, and cuisine in particular flourish in the River Cities. Much of the art is stonework and paintings that could not survive the surface world, so are gone unseen by the uninitiated and outsiders. Their cuisine is composed mainly of spicy meat and stews, and elaborate candies and distilled honeydew. Algae is seen is a bland staple, and is not fed to guests. Most ingredients used in their cultural dishes are prone to spoilage, so do not see use in the world at large, which promotes those who become enamoured with the cuisine to return and stay in the River Cities at a premium.
>>46235251
River dragon "younglings" not young kings. Derp, mobile autocorrect
>>46231364
Maybe different kinds of communism. Ants have a Varying degree of Marxist to Stalinist bent, while bees are more Socialist in the Scandinavian sense. Every bee in a bee hivestate is cared for, because the hivestate assigns work and welfare to every bee.
Just a few ideas I've been playing around with, I have no idea how relevant they are or if they conflict, just things I thought may be neat.
>Trilobites are this settings Dwemer, but instead of bullshit magic steampunk it's Giegeresque biotechnology/biomancy body horror and non euclidian geometry. Their ruins are horrific to behold and filled with not falmer/xenomorphs/Darkspawn/Shoggoth things. These things may or may not be friendly
>But they where actually nice guys and genuinely wanted what they viewed as their children, the younger races, to make to greater sentience
>The war between the Ammonites and the Trilobites was mythic in scale and inconceivable in damage. The scars of their battle dot the landscape and their war wiped out the dinosaurs, who allied themselves with one side or the other.
>I don't know why, but I feel like there should be giant weapons here and there. Like ancient building sized swords and castle sized hammers just chilling in the middle of nowhere or overgrown in a forest. The world is Jupiter sized right? Or something? I don't know, just something visually appealing
>Instead of God's being the bugs tulpas, the universe is their tulpa that spun out if control. Some gods think this was a mistake and want to undo everything.
>The rings around the planet are home to SOMETHING, be it a crazy world like that one guy said or horrible Necromorph things like I for some reason want, but the celestial bodies around Arath aren't empty
>Liches are simply bugs that refuse to die. Again, sheer force of will being the "CHIM" of this universe, but less pretentious I suppose.
>Maybe we can refluff the Anonimi and place them in here as trickster fairies?
>Maybe the bombardier Beetles are No Sense of Right or Wrong artificers that think The Flesh is Weak and slowly fill their insides with clockwork and flame?
>The alcohol game is ridiculous, the Booze Guild being amongst the most powerful organizations in the setting
>Guilds are so out of hand that there are Guilds for Guilds and Guilds for allegiances for Guilds and Guildlaw Guilds. It's so bad that there's Guilds dedicated to causing shit and destroying guild to reduce bureaucratic stagnation
>You want to go wierd? Instead of Cosmic we could go micro, having Bureaucracy be an occult concept like Mantling is TES.
>Religion is a psuedo counter to guilds, although there is a worrisome amount of overlap.
>There is a place that's the Capitol of the world, either officially or not. It's a beautiful mix between Ravnica, Zendikar (I really want floating land masses guys....maybe we can crib ideas from that last thread with the giant planet and the cosmonaut Knights? P-please?), Tortuga, Riften, New York, Mecca, Sigil, New Orleans, and some other fun place. I don't know I'm exhausted and just spouting place names at this point.
>Ridiculous weapon concepts and weapon combos like Axe Muskets and lantern Shields are a big thing in Arath.
>Some sort of Darkspawn/Mordor Orc/Hive+Taken/Burning Crusade stand in. Nasty otherworldly bugs that are like setting herpes
>More made up bugs.
>Renaming bugs? Just an idea, might be neat. Ants would be dwarves, Beetles Giants, Butterflies Moths bees and wasps could be Elves etc. Might be neat might be cool who knows
>>46238077
>>46238137
I didn't mean to write that much guys, I swear! Just throwing out ideas, seeing what sticks
I'll uh...go to bed now...
>>46230891
Termites are mostly split into to classes, nobles and peasants (no surprise). There's more intricacy to it, but I'll write it all up when I get the time
>>46238077
>>46238137
Very nice ideas. I like the stuff on the Trilobites and Ammonites. Feels like the only stuff that would come close to what they did would be Bot Flies getting their hands on a behemoth corpse.
Yes for ridiculous weapons concepts. With wings and extra limbs, this was inevitable.
The guild stuff is interesting.
Made up bugs would have to be animals or other for now. We have a lot of player races and need to hold off on adding new ones now. Maybe as an expansion for the sentient ones?
I have to oppose the force of will and renaming though. For the will, it can be a stat, but if it can do almost anything lie that, than everyone will just put everything in it and it breaks the game. As for renaming, it's for the convenience of new players, who wouldn't know which race was which without some time to adjust.
>>46238077
Ideally i'd like to try and avoid building things based off of tropes. There's nothing worse than worldbuilding devolving into "and these guys are the elves and these guys are the dwarves"
Also I understand that everyone has a big boner for TES but draw from other inspirations where possible
>Trilobites ruins are 'At the Mountains of Madness'
Pretty much but closer to the Vendigroth people of Arcarnum. They are mostly dead places with an uneasy feeling projected to those that travel there, increasing as you go deeper into the cliff faces. There's creatures there that were previously servitor races but a large number of Behemoths reside there as well, fascinated by the ruins for some reason.
>But they where actually nice guys
They were a race, neither good or bad.
>The war between the Ammonites and the Trilobites was mythic in scale
Yes, to the point where all accounts of it are wrapped up in apocalyptic myth and legend. Some landscapes are littered with craters large enough for whole cities to rest in but no one thought to wonder what they might be from. Not sure about dinosaurs, i'd veer towards avoiding them entirely.
>Building sized swords and castle sized hammers
Eh, sounds a bit too much high fantasy. War remnants should be unrecognizable at best, completely alien in design at worse.
>Instead of God's being the bugs tulpas..
True faith and the faith in creation is the font of all magic
>Rings around the planet
Nothing concrete about there being anything like that but I can't see why there can't be a ring around the planet.
>They are home to something
Maybe but lets not start making insect aliens when there are more important things
>Liches are bugs that refuse to die
They believed so hard in their practices that by sheer force of will and ego they went past death. To achieve that kind of will you'd have to have gone completely mad to think that death is conquerable, or at least discover something that made you doubt the inevitable
>>46240359
Huh, I missed that part about building sized swords. Yeah, there's not much point to it if there's no one big enough to wield them.
Faith based lichdom to go with faith based magic is pretty neat.
>>46238137
>Maybe we can refluff the Anonimi
Too self referential and an inappropriate addition
>Maybe the bombardier Beetles are No Sense of Right or Wrong
Bombardiers 'discovered' their core religious technological ideals after studying scraps of Ammonite culture. They treated these records religiously but found they could only fathom the most basic of processes which they took as ancient rituals rather than chemistry or engineering. This is why they have such contention with how Flies are treating it as they seem to have abandoned the religious trappings entirely and made it ok for everyone.
>The Booze Guild is powerful
By extension organised crime is powerful
>Guilds on Guilds
Its complicated enough as it is let alone that
>There is a place that's the Capitol of the world
Questionable. There are large cities considered particularly important cultural hubs but a capitol city for a world is daft. Personally I'd say no to floating land masses since immediately that conjures up the wrong kind of high fantasy tone where most of this is low fantasy.
>Ridiculous weapon concepts and weapon combos like Axe Muskets and lantern Shields
Weapons are practical for the anatomy of bugs and also reflect cultural ideals or ways of thinking on a symbolic notion. Beetles are more likely to use shields, butterflies using quick and delicate weapons etc
Also matchlocks are as advanced in personal gunpowder weapons available and they are so expensive that you'd never want to bring it to a fight lest it get damaged.
>otherworldly bugs
They already have existing enemies and groups. Throwing space/warp/evil for evils sake bugs muddies things further. Closest would be Cordycep infected and the Followers of the Mold.
>More made up bugs
There are more than enough sapient races
>Renaming bugs
For the sake of clarity they shall be referred to their real world names. An ant is an ant, not a Suhrienain or Dhiw'wuil or some other hyphenated abomination
>>46240511
>otherworldly bugs
>They already have existing enemies and groups. Throwing space/warp/evil for evils sake bugs muddies things further. Closest would be Cordycep infected and the Followers of the Mold.
>>More made up bugs
>There are more than enough sapient races
With these I meant more beasts or murder hobo fodder
>>46240951
Oh ok, well there's what monsterbugs are for. The collective group of 'adventure party fodder. I guess you could flesh out individual monsterbugs into a bestiary though
Oh also in general
Trilobites = biotech/biomancy and genetic manipulation to make servitor races. Think Cronenburg body horror with a bit of lovecraft Yith thrown in as grand manipulators
Ammonites = technology and engineering prodigies. Think Miyazaki Laputians minus the flying city thing.
Ammonites and Trilobites had a huge, world devastating war, trilobites making all kinds of awful bio-nightmares (cordyceps is an offshoot remnant of this). As a last resort the Ammonites created artificial bug-life, immune to the triolobite biotech as a last resort which wiped out both Trilobite and their Ammonite masters before destroying themselves completely. There are no remnants of these artificial beings and all fragments of history indicating they even existed describe them as "The shelled masters false allies untouched by death"
>>46240359
>Ideally i'd like to try and avoid building things based off of tropes.
To bad this isn't YOUR setting.
I fucking hate that you've become the spoken king of these threads.
This was supposed to be cooperative, you don't get to shoot down people's ideas without majority vote or ensuing shit flinging
>>46241222
Spotted Aphid-Killers are a feral breed of beetle that is the bane of any aphid ranchers existence. The large red and black spotted carnivores target a wide range of prey but their preferred meal is the succulent flesh of aphids, tame ones being much easier to catch than the skittish wild breed.
Spotted Aphid-Killers sport vicious mandibles but also secrete a highly noxious fluid that drives off many would-be attackers. These secretions and the glands that produce them are a valuable reagent to alchemists, a few enterprising flies trying to domesticate them to various levels if failure.
While easy to spot from far away their vibrant red and black spotted carapaces are nearly invisible to Aphids.
>>46241800
Calm down anon. No need for the salt. PR has become the defacto head of this project because he/she is the one who started it in the first place. For the last 11 threads they have been the arbitrator. The rest of us namefags have been moderating and providing stuff alongside the rest of you.
Any project without someone to decide between wildly different ideas will wind up a clusterfuck of contradiction and shitposting.
Lay off the salt.
>>46241800
Calm down man. He's done most of the work so far. When you run this setting in your own game you can have it be as tropey as you want to
>>46241811
Chill and have a spider enjoying their sandwich
>>46241875
Whoops meant for>>46241800
>>46241844
Since YOU are Trilobites Anon, what do YOU think of AA's stuff?
>>46238077
>>46238137
To be honest I didn't like these. They attempt to make Bug World more like other settings, and throw in a few concepts that could literally never be touched from the perspective of actually playing the game, like aliens.
As well as the fact that I imagined Bug World would be a lot closer to our world in 'scale'.
>>46241904
Some of the things proposed, such as horrifying abominations being created by them, are exactly what the accepted fluff already says about them. Others, such as the "wanted to help the younger races" are not at all like what has already been accepted.
Other discrepancies:
>No dinosaurs
>Universe is not a dream
>Trilobite creations will kill you then devour your corpse
>The ring around the world could have life. If it does it still wouldn't have any effect on daily life.
>giant weapons could be replaced by crumbling, rusted Iron Shells created by the Ammonites, and the animating spirits vanished long ago
>No clockwork-implant bugs
>Each race has their own major cities that could be Capitol cities. No Republic City.
>We don't need to rename bugs when the setting was supposed to be Bug's Life mixed with fantasy elements
This is why I love /tg/.
Once we progress a bit, let's make a 1d4chan page.
A snappier name than Bug World might do us good.
>>46242092
We have been discussing that a bit. So far the best name imo would be Arthroterra
>>46242107
I like Arath
>>46242107
That name is retarded
>>46242057
Are those really discrepancies when they haven't been discussed?
I think a Most Famous City in the World would do us some good, and clockwork bionics are cool
>>46242151
Well that's just like, your opinion, bug
>>46242092
Because of thematic incongruity and cancerous namefags?
Messed around with the crude weapons we were talking about yesterday.
>>46242182
Well I'm not alone in it, nor am I alone in Arath. So that counts for something
Jeeze, I was just throwing out some ideas to be played with guys...it's no big deal
>>46242263
It's all good man, some of them were interesting ideas. I really like the idea of rings around, makes the sky more interesting
>>46242184
That much salt leads only to mummification anon
Can we step back for a minute and come up with an actual name for bug world? I'm digging all the fluff and all but this really needs to be addressed.
>>46242194
I like it! What species is it though? Also, what's the smoking thing? Some sort of pipe?
>>46242308
I say Arath, short and simple
>>46242308
I proposed Arath last thread.Anons seemed to like it.
>>46242298
Yeah, sorry I was super exhausted but I felt the need to shitpost.
I'm all about making things visually striking, leading to dumb shit like floating rocks and giant hammers and crap.
When I said Capitol of the world I meant in the same sense New York is. Just a bug city that everyone from lofty Butterfly spires to the lowest Termite mud farm has heard of
>>46242329
It does have a nice ring to it.
>Welcome to Arath a land filled to the brim with insects. You are spidermaster race, Ant, beetle, moth, etc.
>>46242329
Arath is a good name too. I'm not married to a particular name.
>>46242184
How are we cancerous? All us namefags have done here are provide fluff and discussion. The only thing is we are regulars in these threads, so we named ourselves. I don't namefags in any other threads.
>>46242365
Ah ok, that kind of "capital" makes more sense. I thought you meant like London, or D.C.
That would be good to have though, a nice big city for each area or region. We do have Dewhall, which the one anon wrote about a few threads ago, sitting on the edge of the Big Green
>>46242317
It is an ant of some sort.
The smoking thing is the firing mechanism; medieval hand cannons required one man to hold the thing steady and another to light the little hole in the rod with a burning rope. I figured since most bugs have two sets of arms this little solider can do both of those things.
>>46242413
Oohh ok I see it now. I thought it was a spider of some sort due to the eigth limbs.
The hand cannon is super neat though
>>46242184
Do you even know the meaning of half the words you just used? I doubt you do, please get the dick that's lodged firmly up your ass out and talk out any discrepancies. Don't try to passively aggressively attack people you fuck.
Back to /b/ with you
Have we talked about dragonflies lately? I haven't been active in these threads in a couple of weeks and the googledoc's got nothing.
My idea:
>dragonflies are large, nonsentient insects, much bigger than the average intelligent bug and capable of incredible speeds of flight and aerial acrobatics
>normally they're rather wild and stubborn but can be tamed with enough patience and skill
>a lot of skill, seeing as dragonflies are naturally carnivorous and can easily chew up a trainer pretty good, even before reaching adulthood
>tamed dragonflies are used as mounts by the more daring bugs, and some kingdoms have a host of these flying knights, who perform military and civilian duty as warriors and couriers/rescue troops
>some riders perform aerial shows during times of peace, pulling complicated flight maneuvers and weaving through each other in the air
>dragonflies are bred for their shining, iridescent colors for show breeds and size/speed for working breeds. Larger bugs like beetles can't ride a normal dragonfly due to their weight, so a special, larger breed is required for them. It's slower but can carry an armed and armored beetle knight or a large group of smaller bugs with ease
>different knight houses pride themselves on having dragonflies with coloring matching their heraldry
>mounted dragonfly knights act as flying cavalry on the battlefield, doing flyby assaults with spears, bombs, and in some cases, special long gonnes with a massive bayonet to act as a combination spear-rifle, able to fire a shot to soften a target before going in for the stab, and then flying away to reload or attack from another angle
>the larger dragonflies can also pick up enemy bugs with their legs or tails and drop them from the air on top of their allies
>>46241800
This was always a project that that anyone can use so feel free to include absolutely anything you like in your own games. That being said...
Someone has to have a say on what is and what isn't in the setting and many contested points have been left deliberately open for reasons of coherency and brevity. When I replied to those points I was simply explaining what has been agreed upon in previous threads and putting my own opinion forward as to how AAs suggestions might be used.
One of the problems that worldbuilding threads suffer is that they can be swayed all over the place by trying to include absolutely everything put forward, throwing any sense of establishment or coherency right out the window.
Also
>you don't get to shoot down people's ideas without majority vote or ensuing shit flinging
Funny because voting didn't stop the shit-flinging until it was veto'd.
refer to the previous 'scorpion anatomy debate' for further reading
>>46242263
>>46242365
And that's cool, some of those points should be discussed. I'd like to know how the booze industries power might link into organised crime and the bombardier beetles opinion on things in general.
>>46242308
Yes, for the sake of reference a name has to be decided. Bug World was always originally a placeholder for the planet and so the actual name should be voted for.
'Arath' seems to be one that people like but I'd like to leave it to the end of the thread for other suggestions before cementing it.
>>46242194
I like it. Except I think there are one too many pairs of legs there.
>>46242432
No prob. I'm working on a type of wasp warrior and I wanted to know about some of the species so far.
In my head I imagine that ants are like the Dwarfs of this world; the mine and dig all day, keep mostly to themselves, that kind of thing.
I wanted your opinion on wasps because I was wondering if they would be like the ronin or the barbarian hordes of this little world.
So we've been establishing some facts about magic, particularly the "do's".
Now lets give some attention to the dont's, which to me are twice as important.
>Magic can't induce death directly. A spell can't make a living thing become dead. This is not to say the destructive effects of a spell can't kill, of course. A fireball will hurt and burn you, and these effects could definitely kill you.
>Magic can't revive things. It cannot make dead things alive. Once you've shuffled off your mortal coil, magic won't bring you back. Theoretically, some sort of bug-oriented CPR could do the trick if death was recent enough, but magic won't help here.
I imagine Leeches, being masterful healers could realize this early, and branch out from magic into alchemy to seek compounds that could help one come back, a la adrenaline shots. Wasps trained in electromancy could figure out how to defibrilate someone as well.
>Not an effect of magic itself, but of physics, the laws of thermodinamics still apply; energy cannot be created, and it cannot be destroyed. There's also a fixed limit on how much magic you can pump into anything, which would be roughly the energy required to accelerate something to the speed of light. These facts combined mean no teleportation or instant travel.
These can be discussed (and shot down), of course. So what other things can magic not do?
>>46242518
>>Magic can't revive things. It cannot make dead things alive. Once you've shuffled off your mortal coil, magic won't bring you back.
We've definitely discussed the subject of necromancy before with the cicadas and cordyceps, so I think that kind of 'resurrection' should exist as truly black, evil, incredibly powerful and hard to learn magic (unless it's the cordyceps doing it - don't think we've ever reached consensus on that), but true resurrection is impossible.
>>46242555
I'm fairly certain 'necromancy' was animating empty shells, was it not?
>>46242518
One of my personal pet peeves about magic is when it's used too frequently in a setting.
I like it when magic is subtle and when you don't explain it. Think about Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings books.
Again this is just my personal taste and could be completely inadequate with what you guys are trying to accomplish.
>>46242486
Mole crickets are the mastersmith dwarfs while ants and termites are the big diggers.
Wasps resemble mongols with massive hordes that fave fallen to infighting among the deceased grand leaders children. They hate bees a lot. Some special mutant wasps have retractable stingers on their forearms and even rarer are those with natural electromancy abilities
>>46242518
The part about magic not being able to raise the dead conflicts with the trilobite lich story hook. Other than that I think the other's are viable, I don't quite understand the "magic can't kill" part.
>>46242579
Most likely. It's been a long time since we've discussed that and it was never added to the googledoc for some reason.
>>46242518
I like what you have so far. No resurrection helps reinforce how harsh of a place this world is to live in.
>>46242555
>>46242579
Necromancy is animating empty shells, but they are exactly that: empty.
Cordeceps is an infection, and was a creation of the Trilobites before they and the Ammonites destroyed each other.
>>46242585
>I don't quite understand the "magic can't kill" part.
He means that there are no spells like Power Word: Kill or Avada Kedavra that you can just say a word and wiggle your hands and the other thing just drops dead. Blowing their shit up with a fireball is fine and entirely possible, but you can't just point at something, say "die", and they drop dead.
>>46242580
And I agree. Establishing limits is for us not to go too crazy with stories and fluff, it doesn't make magic any better understood by the bugs.
>>46242618
Ohhhhh so no Harry Potter death curses. Just flinging magic power at someone until they explode.
>>46242638
AKA the best way to make someone explode.
>>46242580
It is like that currently, but to the bugs like >>46242618 said. Bugs who attempt to look further into magic, or gain an understanding of how it works begin to go crazy. Much like the Mantis Shrimp. They have seem past the veil, into how magic truly is, so they act insane to the other ants
>>46242580
It is like that currently, but to the bugs like >>46242618 said. Bugs who attempt to look further into magic, or gain an understanding of how it works begin to go crazy. Much like the Mantis Shrimp. They have seem past the veil, into how magic truly is, so they act insane to the other bugs
>>46242465
What I was thinking is having Guilds be legal mobs like they where in the Renaissance with the only checks and balances they have are internal or other Guilds trying to maintain Balance
>>46242685
>>46242710
My bad, on mobile, didnt mean to double post
What's the philosophy on death in bug world? Do they believe in angels and demons or do you just die when you are killed?
>>46242685
>>46242580
We've already talked about how the setting has battle mages, magic academies, etc. Magic was once common but has been waning in popularity because of Flies leading the charge into scientific domains. Magic is still potent and around, just not as common as before.
>>46242740
Belief and religion for the different species has been touched on in previous threads, but I'm not sure if we've discussed supernatural beings.
Maybe it can be one of those deals where some of the mutated bugs are worshiped as demigods or holy beings.
Like if there was a wasp that grew to be a giant he would be recognized as an "Oni" by the others of his kind. The magic and science bits that we just threw around can help this out. Maybe the leaders of some of the species mutate members of their own family to make them resemble holy figures so they can keep their rule legitimized.
>>46242579
>>46242555
Necromancy could be perceived as bringing back the dead, but not a true resurrection. If anything it might be akin to making shell and husks move as they did in life by the casters willpower making necromancers elaborate puppeteers of a sort. (that and since faith empowers magic, bugs seeing animated shells of the dead walking makes it all the more potent)
>>46242518
I'm writing in the doc at the moment about magic and those seem to be some good grounding terms for magic that keep it within reasonable borders.
>>46242922
The gods are created tulpas right?
Updating with a wasp warrior concept. Wanted to mess around with somebody's idea of mutations.
>>46242922
Did the salamander Behemoth Ba'Gaw get added to the list? On mobile and phone doesn't like the googledoc
>>46243287
Get that wasp a sandwich.
>>46243287
Dat waist
>>46243318
It should be in the doc but if not can you find posts about him?
I intended to add as I can but am not always available to do so.
Any thoughts on guilds? I really like the concept
>>46243503
>Guild of the black mandible, run by scorpions, primarly used for combat support of official military operations.
>Guild of the Golden Antenna, run by flies, primarly bankers and financers.
>>46243584
>Guild of the Rising Sun, a secretive Butterfly Mage association
>>46243584
Would the Golden Antennae be the guild that owns those Amber mines we've spoken of before?
>>46243503
I think the guilds can all go in the "groups" part of the doc
>>46243503
Guilds are a great idea. We shouldn't treat them as mobs though, as we already have an actual mob, with the Roaches.
Infighting can, and probably should, happen.
Did we decide that Crickets and Grasshoppers were separate races or are we mashing them together still? I liked that lore some anon made about Noisy Jim the Cricket bard
>>46244026
Looking at the doc I see a lot of missing stuff. I'll add what I can when I get off work
>>46244134
In terms of fluff, they are two different races. Mechanically they will most likely only have some minor differences
>>46244063
That was my thought. Tradesmen and craftsmen hellbent on monopoly.
Guilds can be tools for the GM, which is why I wanted there to be a fuck ton of guilds so they can make whatever they need
>>46244353
Ok I guess. I saw them as having drastically different sizes and skills
>>46244477
They are different. Many Crickets would be almost identical to Grasshoppers, except for minor anatomical differences and coloration.
Mole Crickets are the exception, living deeper underground and smithing the best metal in the world.
>>46241811
Ladybugs?
>>46244016
I came up with that name at random, I don't think it's the same group.
>>46245226
I think it would be interesting if the banking guilds owned some amber mines
>>46245226
I meant that could be their name. The fly and book scorpion operated bankers guild is the one that owns a near monopoly on the Amber mines
>>46245260
Oh. Sure why not fits perfectly.
Is there an imgur for all the art in these threads?
>>46246038
Not yet, good idea anon
>>46232782
>Dnd
Alright its in the doc. Any suggestions would be helpful. Sorry i did not have time for all the races. Tell me if its a good fit for the setting
>>46246091
Link? I can't find it from this thread's link to the doc
>>46247080
No I mean that we should make one. It was a good idea
>>46247080
>>46247175
Sorry I meant for DnD anon.
The Blasted Zone is one of the most stark reminders of the Ammonite-Trilobite to still exist. Miles of obliterated and tainted landscape stretch in all directions, the ruins of Ammonite structures dotting the land.
The Blasted Zones are a highly dangerous area where only the most hardy and resourceful of adventurers dare set foot. The "natural" hazards are many, much of the Zones consisting of half-frozen marshes and steaming forests. Plant and wildlife suffer from constant mutations and diseases, warping into nearly unrecognizable new monstrous forms.
A near persistent fog shrouds the Zones, hiding much from view and hampering scent from travelling. Unexpected anomalies appear without warning, violent breakings of physics or magic erupting. These anomalies range from harmless events such as leaves falling upwards it as violent as gravity deciding to go sideways. Roaming pillars of fire, spheres of boiling water or chemicals drift like bubbles through the air, small motes of nothingness carving perfect holes through whatever or whoever they encounter. The hazards of the Blasted Zones are many but their rewards are great for those brave and resourceful enough to survive.
Relics of the Ammonites empire persist, hidden in deep bunkers or scattered across the land. A collective of Roaches, payrolled by Fly researchers and with Tues to the crime families, are common visitors. Wearing special suits of rubberized leather and dense lead protect the hardy insects they delve into the dangerous Zones searching for artefacts and lost knowledge.
The mystery of the Blasted Zones origin us lost to time but the occasional recovered information details the site as a safe haven for the Ammonites dangerous experiments. Several fly and book scorpion scholars well versed in the Zones theorize the catastophy occurred during a Trilobite invasion leading to the violent destabilization of a delicate experiment into what the Ammonites called "Harmonic Wave Alterations".
>>46247910
So many typos. Damn mobile autocorrect.
Trued to come up with a high end area for adventurers. Similar to the Zone from STALKER and the Mournlands from Eberron
>>46247910
Should we put those on the map, or let it be GM's choice where adventurers could come upon one?
>>46248018
Up to Mapanon
>>46247910
cheeky breeky get out of here stalker
>>46248329
Too blatant?
Ok i'm trying to summaries the following key parts and write a paragraph or two to cover the basics.
>Finance and Currency
"The main currency of the world is Amber Chips. These amber chips come from a specific breed of now extinct tree, its amber a distinctive golden hue. It is not uncommon for bugs to attempt to ply regular amber or alchemically formed amber to cheat honest businessmen but a simple test is to shine a light through and compare the colour to the real stuff. While Amber Chips are universally accepted, some areas of the world also accept direct trade in bartering or rarer goods.
Most financial transactions are carried out by “The Golden Antenna”, the main guild of bankers Roaches who relish the complex organisations and Flies who find the complex bureaucracy fascinating."
Anything else that should be added?
>>46247910
I'm digging this, seems like a really neat ideastalker
>>46248108
I'll probably add a few to the map and see what everyone thinks
>>46248605
>a specific breed of now extinct tree
How is new currency made then?
>>46248605
Maybe bits of carapace and shell as coin amongst more bloodthirsty circles? The luster and integrity denoting value.
This of course has lead to guilds and cults dedicated to snatching up Beetles and peeling their shells off
Just an idea
>>46248689
I don't know - suggestions?
>>46248689
There's no inflation ever. Which is nice.
Maybe there's a few lesser currencies and amber is nice because it's universally accepted and you don't have to go through six different channels to exchange your Gold for Shells to something else entirely to be able to exchange for amber.
Maybe Guilds could use a scrit to keep their members?
>>46246551
I've been working on a homebrew as well if you want to look at it and pull anything, etc. for 5th ed. I brought the setting up with my players a while back and they've been hounding me for more deets.
Need help on figuring out the implications of 4 arms, which is a pretty important factor here.
I'd rather collab than step on your toes DnD Anon
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ifPJEhGw1EE3-2RPhxC-fct5sxrBrePJERB2VcwvyRw/edit?usp=sharing
>>46248750
Maybe they aren't extinct, just very rare and under the control of the various governments. The Amber is naturally made and collected at a steady rate, only increasing if new trees are seeded which requires more resources to take care of. Thus, to plant new ones, the nation needs to be improving. If a nation is in a bad state, they can't take care of some of those trees, which naturally die and cease producing amber.
I mean, sometimes currency can get lost or destroyed, so if you can't replace it somehow, it eventually causes a crisis.
>>46248905
maybe the biggest supply of "new amber" is newly discovered in Trilobite and Ammonite ruins? Which makes dungeon diving a plausible and extremely lucrative business endeavour?
>>46248887
I just thought of something that I'm not sure seems to have been discussed.
Females being larger in some species, like mantis, spiders, and scorpions. Do we just keep the Sizes, but have females for those races be towards the bigger end of the max size? This makes me wonder why there was a scorpion emperor rather than a scorpion empress.
>>46249039
I think maybe females should just be on the larger end of the spectrum, except if theres a race or two we REALLY want to push for dimorphism for.
I have a proposition for an additional class for this setting.
What would you guys say for a bounty hunter class?
Of course everyone would take bounties here, but I'm talking here about a class that resolves around versatility. Though it may never exceed all other classes in their own expertise, it makes it up with unique weapons and gear combined with decent skills.
Think bug Bobba/Jango Fett, only replace jetpacks with wings.
>>46249208
I had my own class in mind, unless there's something already like it
>Juggernaut:Unarmed class based on utilizing the benefits of full plate armor
>extra armor class while wearing full plate (increased with levels)
>extra gauntlet damage (increases with levels)
>increased maximum dexterity while wearing full plate
>damage reduction equal to your armor's base AC
>occasional bonus feats
>>46249360
Beetles, Crabs and Scorpions would love this class.
>>46249208
Not every game has classes, and not every game with classes has them working the same way. I'd prefer it if we decided on if classes are part of the main system (and if so, how), and if not, that classes were discussed in the context of the specific game you have in mind.
>>46249647
Well we could archetype it if classes won't cut it.
>>46249555
So its okay for a class/archetype?
Ok how about this?
>Finance & Currency
"The universally accepted currency of the world is Gold Amber Chips. These amber chips come from a specific breed of now extinct tree, its amber a distinctive golden hue. As this base currency is very rare and valuable, its control is held by a number of governments and banking guilds who regulate its distribution.
As there is a finite amount of Gold Amber Chips, currency is further divided into X, Y and Z, with gold amber chips used as the comparable measuring value for their worth.
It is not uncommon for bugs to attempt to ply regular amber or alchemically formed amber to cheat honest businessmen but a simple test is to shine a light through and compare the colour to the real stuff. While the Amber Chip system is universally accepted, some areas of the world also accept direct trade in bartering or rarer goods.
Most financial transactions are carried out by “The Golden Antenna”, the main guild of bankers where financial transactions is maintained by Book-scorpions who relish the complex organisations and Flies and Roach clerks who find the management bureaucracy fascinating."
I don't know what X Y and Z would be. Coloured shell fragments? specially carved coins of a finite weight and exact stampage? Whatever the copper, silver and gold would be
>>46249734
Since >>46249647 pointed out that classes were not decided yet and that not every RPG has them, then archetype it for now.
>>46249774
Any thoughts on my useless shitposting?
>>46248780
>>46248725
>>46249208
Assassin bug, obviously.
>>46249880
I was thinking Assassin bugs would be more machevilian manipulators that have more in common with Nosferatu/Dracula then Ezio or Lucien Lachance
>>46248725
>>46248780
Well having a currency that never inflates is good in general and keeps things economically stable and also having secret caches of gold amber is a great reward that would certainly induce the wrath of the banking guild on a party that discovered it.
I don't think shells would work as that could be something artificially inflated real easy with bugs just murdering each other for the shell. Ideally it has to be something that is rare, has no real use but has an assigned value given to it to represent wealth.
>>46249774
X Y Z could be various types of rocks. It could be based around using rocks decorated with a design of some sort to denote value in Gold Amber Chips.
Gold Amber Chips would be the insurance behind the rocks, which could be turned in to the Golden Antenna guilds to have the actual Gold Amber Chips. Kinda like credit, you could pay in either, but the Chips would garner you a better deal.
This could also allow for fun, corrupt, bureaucratic things to happen in the Golden Antenna in an attempt to hoard many of the Chips to themselves
>>46249994
These rocks would of course be regulated by the Guild some way
>>46249988
>shrug
It was useless shitposting I suppose.
>>46250049
Not really, there is room for shells as currency. Some more vicious or murderous groups might value kills as currency over 'pointless bits of shiny rock' and adorn and exchange shell fragments of defeated foes.
>>46250139
Markings in their carapace? Or tattoos?
Would bug tattooes just be scrimshaw?
>>46250199
>scrimshaw tattoos
thats amazing. Like holy shit how has this not been considered.
Question: For the DnD conversion at least, should bugs have AC included in their racial stats? like count as always wearing X armour unless they equip something better?
Additionally, how do we feel about 4 arms meaning taking a free action with the second pair of arms simultaneous to the actions of the first? I was considering bonus action at first, but that fucks some classes up pretty bad.
Maybe the abundance of natural AC will counter balance the extra attacks?
>>46249880
Oldschool and I love it.
>>46249909
Bloodsucking Ezio.
>>46250199
I guess the scrimshawed bits would hold greater value than the plain ones so that 'strong warriors' might make unique marks on themselves after a great battle achievement, (literally giving themselves value in their peer groups).
Maybe a primative value language where value is based on what the event was and how great they were so acquiring these would show others that you have defeated "Hunrea Who Killed Six Hornets on Red Moon Day" and "Hunrea Who Took Ruios Head" for example
Like having a scalp collection or ears on a chain only you could just carve a bunch of designs on your own shell but you'd better be able to back them up or your buddy might murder you and keep the shell bits.
>>46250311
Dunno. I think fantasy tatoos are rad but I've been rather unproductive in these threads so I didn't want to bring it up
>>46250348
Perhaps there's a cultural divide between Assassins that enjoy fine dining and the screams of grubs and the political failure of those that oppose them and sneaky beaky plague doctor dudes that may or may not be CG anarchists
>>46248887
>https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ifPJEhGw1EE3-2RPhxC-fct5sxrBrePJERB2VcwvyRw/edit?usp=sharing
That sounds like a plan. Im starting to take a look right now. What if for 4 arms you used duel weilding but take a greater penalty beyond 2 attacks. So get a free duel weild, but if you want to use the 2nd arm on the same side you would get a greater penalty. Does that make sense?
>>46248887
Even for kicking you could do that. like a mod version. its one action but each kick as separate damage. like a double strike. So each counts as separate damage and happens at once.
>>46251642
so like, as a single bonus action, it can swing with up to three remaining arms, suffering stacking a -1 penalty on each successive arm after the first?
We could add a feat after Two Weapon Fighting to mitigate that. FOUR WEAPON FIGHTING.
>>46251760
i mean. would minus 1 be enough of a penealty though? i mean that would be the only thing that makes me wonder. It makes it feels op. If i have attacks with 4 arms i have a minus 3. maybe make the penalty at least minus 2. -2 -4 -6 to make it not too much of a deterence
>>46251991
if they crit fail they should hit another arm to hurt themselves since there arms could get in the way.
>>46230443
Did the lightning bugs idea ever go anywhere?
>>46250199
Scrimshaw tattoos would be metal as fuck, and as an added benefit - when the bug molds, he gets to keep his artwork forever on his wall or something, and with each new molt is the chance to earn new glory and get a new tattoo.
The truly ancient ones, passed down from family to family would probably be incredibly expensive too.
>>46252069
Yes
"In the last few decades after a partial eclipse of the sun predicted by the Butterfly Conductors, a strange trait has been found in newborn hornets. Patches of brown and yellow colouration seem to collect sunlight and with it, generate a current. These strange hornets have been heralded by the Butterfly groups as ‘Light-Blessed’. Further investigation into this odd trait has led to these unique hornets being taken as apprentices at a young age and trained by Butterfly Maestros to control their current, unlocking frightfully effective electric powers. While these ‘Light-Blessed’ are few in number, the mutation is occurring drastically often in young, a common whisper being that the Paper Empresses lineage itself has more than a few ‘Light-Blessed’ inheritors."
>>46247910
Blowout soon, Roacher
Oh yeah, I expanded the lore for the Deep Lords last night on the gdoc, what do you guys think?
>>46252601
Give this anon a cookie he deserves it.
>>46252601
I never thought of that! That's some Morrowind stuff right there. The beetle knights could embalm themselves but others could wear their ancestors with pride.
I wish I thought of that desu
>>46251270
>cultural divide
I'm for this kind of thing.
>>46249988
For currency, the trees could be extinct, but were semi-abundant before they died off. Bug governments and guilds. are always looking for new ones to mine.
As for lesser currencies, quartz chips could be used, as could granite. Or the Amber of different trees. We could have Gold amber as the rarest and most valuable, with Orange Amber as a less rare and less valuable cousin.
>>46263768
Ok so how about a graded currency like so.
Gold Amber
Yellow Amber
Orange Amber
Red Amber
I'm not sure how many to each it should be in worth. Could go with a simple 10:1 ratio for each set but i'm not that great with currency derivations
>>46263768
I think 10:1 is a good ratio. 10000 Red Amber would equal 1 Gold Amber.
If bogleech wasn't such an SJW cuck puppeteered by his hambeast wife
He might actually be useful for this
Ok so how about this for the finance details.
>Finance & Currency
The universally accepted currency of the world is Gold Amber Chips. These amber chips come from a specific breed of now extinct tree, its amber a distinctive golden hue that almost radiates when light is cast upon it. This species was evidently common at some point in time but its decline and extinction has seen the discovery of new, untapped mines as banking guilds number one priority. This base currency is very rare and valuable and its control is held by a number of governments and banking guilds who regulate distribution.
As there is a finite amount of Gold Amber Chips, currency is further divided into less rare and darker coloured amber which, while still being uncommon came from far more common tree species, are of less direct value with Yellow, Orange and finally Red Amber Chips of lesser value respectively. The ratio of each grade of currency is as follows
10 Red Amber Chips = 1 Orange Amber Chip
10 Orange Amber Chips = 1 Yellow Amber Chip
10 Yellow Amber Chips = 1 Gold Amber Chip
It is not uncommon for bugs to attempt to ply regular amber or alchemically formed amber to cheat honest businessmen but a simple test is to shine a light through and compare the colour and occlusion to the real stuff or an official chart. While the Amber Chip system is universally accepted, some areas of the world also accept direct trade in bartering or rarer goods.
Most financial transactions are carried out by “The Golden Antenna”, the main guild of bankers where financial transactions is maintained by Book-scorpions who relish the complex organisations and Flies and Roach clerks who find the management bureaucracy fascinating.
What about blue amber? That is supposed to be the rarest type. It might be a highly sought amber for making regalia and to adorne important objects.
>>46265018
Blue amber could be more like a gem, where it has a lot of value but is not used as currency due to how valuable it is
>>46264792
I don't really like this whole "different colored amber system". It just seems like we're re-skinning normal currency and calling it Amber. For a system like this to work, we would need to be able to produce new currency, which we can't, due to the trees being extinct.
It just seems like the currency is an oxymoron.
>This base currency is very rare
>But we have 4 types that are abundant enough to be treated like basic copper, silver, and gold
It just feels wrong/off to me. But maybe I'm insane.
>>46265232
Does blue amber even exist in the wild? Not saying it doesn't sound like a cool idea, but I've never heard of such a thing before
I decided to keep going with the custom races doc. Hope the one who started it is okay with that. Some stuff I'm not sure of, so I can't go very far.
>>46265375
Eh, retcon the fact that the trees are extinct. Or make the blue ambers' trees be extinct, while the other amber trees have a varying degree of rarity.
So that means blue ambers are not currency but worth a lot, and the other ambers can be collected and 'minted' into specific shapes. In my opinion, it shouldn't be coin-shaped, not commonly at least.
>>46266850
That could work. Then we could have the Golden Antenna control the majority of the amber sap trees, so that they're still in control of the flow of currency
>>46251760
And wanted to know why the +2 to two stats for the most part instead of +2 then +1
>>46267436
>>46266850
>>46265375
Ok how about this then
"The universally accepted currency of the world is Gold Amber Chips. These amber chips are minted from a specific breed of tree, its amber a distinctive golden hue that almost radiates when light is cast upon it. This species was evidently common at some point in time but its decline has seen the discovery of new, untapped mines as banking guilds number one priority. This base currency is very rare and valuable and its control is held by a number of governments and banking guilds who regulate distribution. Rarer still is Blue Amber, derived from a completely extinct tree species it is too valuable to be turned into chips and is instead usually used as part of precious jewelry."
>>46269775
I like it
>>46269775
That sounds good
Scorpidflies as a common flying mount? They look fierce but they're pretty harmless
Got some fluff to explain the friction between the Bees and Hornets.
>A long time ago, before the era of civilized bugs, there was a great war between the Bees and Hornets. The Bee Hives and Hornet Hives had declared war on one another. Nobody remembers why or who provoked who, as this was during the Feral Age.
>The leader if the Bees was the Queen Isa. The Hornet Empress leading the Hornet Hives was Empress Xira. Both had rallied many of their sisters to their banners, creating the first powerful kingdoms that each species had seen.
>The fighting was brutal, even for the brutality of that era. Hornet swarms were roasted by Bee Pyromancers. Bee Lance squadrons were struck down by Hornet Aeromancers and their lightning. Much blood was shed by both sides.
>Both sides had gained and lost territory, yet they refused to give. In the East, the Bee lines pushed forward every day. In the West, it was the Hornets who were at the advantage. Flanking attacks and counter flanking maneuvers led to fractured territory where no Arthro knew which side owned the ground they fought for.
>Soon the conflict became so bloody with so little gained that a stalemate was declared. Both had built up the land that they captured, establishing new Hives to cement their grips.
>So came and end to the War of the Stripes, and the Bee and Hornet Hives have been fractured and isolated from each other, with the rare colony Hive being established near the border of another, trying to expand the reach of the parent Hive
Quick question, how much of Bug World is explored and mapped out? I want to write some fluff about a scouting misson gone wrong but I don't want it to conflict with the timeline.
>>46275090
I think the map we have is just a single continent. We were going to leave the wider world open for GMs to expand on as they please.
By all means, feel free to write it out
>>46275135
>>46275090
Here is the most recent version of the map. I'll post the key, gimmie one sec
>>46276459
>Yellow: Desert
>Brown: Area claimed by the wasp hordes
>Green western island: Ignore this. It has a volcano though, so that's neat
>Grey area: Destroyed land, due to war. Maybe now a blasted zone
>Big mountain on the Western Continent: Mount Khepri
>Green blob on Western Continent: Heavily forested area
>Triangles: Mountain ranges
>Green island to the East: Large Mantis Library is located here, pretty forested as well
>Lime green: The Big Green, talked about in stories/fluff
>Dark green: Swampy area
>Darkest green: Big Jungle
All is subject to change
>>46276459
looks a bit... un ornate
want me to draw it all old map like
>>46277450
That would be fantastic! I'm not the greatest artist, and I don't have access to any good drawing tools, so you're welcome to do as you please
Have you guys adressed the significant dispoportion of numbers between male and females in hive insects society?
What about the termite royalty coming of age where they literally have orgy in the air (and sometimes inbreeding) where termites royalty find their life partners.
>>46278312
The first is something that has been discussed (but I don't remember the specifics).
I don't want to even touch the second thing. Realistic or not, some things are just not appropriate.
>>46278312
keep your magic realm out of my bugworld
Anyone want to make a sector? Most projects as of late revolve around Warpstorms, Hua Yuan, Sunken Angels, these guys, Bolts of Hammerwatch, one other thing...
Might be cool .
So. The Booze Guild is like one of the strongest factions.
Are Bugs like major alcoholics on Arath?
>>46284691
No more than humans I would think. Some cultures would put greater emphasis on their unique spirits.
Bees make honey mead, wasps make fruit based rums, Grasshoppers and crickets love their beer, berrywine is a common worldwide drink and scorpions love their tequila and cactus juice.
>>46284783
Kinda bornin innit?
Maybe there's some magic in getting totally shit faced, some Celtic level shit. The Booze Guild is basically just the powerlevel cops
>>46284912
I'm all for drunken monk grasshoppers.
I know rl wasp and bee hives sometimes have to banish alcoholic members of the hive when their production levels drop to far. Wasps get part of their bad reputation because some types get shitfaced on fermented fruit and become angry-drunks
>>46278605
>>46279682
Fair enough, but sooner or later you guys will have too touch the subject of how the hives sustain it's numbers just saying.
Okay how about instead of a full blown orgy, the termites Princes and Princesses dance together in the air for a night before losing their wings and going underground to makes their new colony.
>>46285498
See, that's a good one. A big night long aerial courtship event.
Some of the hive species are completely reliant on the Queen for reproductive means. There was talks of the males having competitions or challenges to become the next mate of the queen and sire of a new generation. To prevent inbreeding they'd travel to different hives to prove themselves.
Maybe some hive races the queens only regulate, through pheromones, when the other females of the Hive can reproduce. Like, they hold back the right until the female proves themselves worthy or they allow Hive-wide reproductive rights during a "breeding season" every few years.
I don't know man, I'm tired.
>>46285534
That could be interesting imagine the ants drones when they reach maturity go on a journey to find a partner maybe it will be a new queen or he will find a already established queen that accepts him just so the hive have more than one genetic makeover.
But I think the best thing to do is that every ant subespecies have a different reproduction method, like you said some Queens may give their subjects reproduction rights for some days (although it will have to be a big event between close hives so that inbreeding does not happen).
>>46285743
Would be good for political reasoning too. Strengthening the bonds between hives
>>46285760
And what about parasitic species such as wasps that depends on hosts in order to keep their species. Such as female cazadors that need paralized roaches in order for their larvae to eat.
>>46285797
The intelligent ones, like those in the Wasp Hordes probably make use of livestock as communal hosts for their larva. Like they seal up the larvakids up in a cavern or vault with a bunch of lobotomized aphids or tortoises or POWs, or whatever they can get their hands on.
The Paper Empresses sound like they would have strict regulations on birthing rights, wasp couples needing to prove themselves or fill the proper bribes or sacrifices to be allowed into the brood dens. The Nobility and the hero elite would likely have their own independent areas.
Maybe it's a banishable offense for a wasp female or couple to raise a larva on their own.
>>46285841
>Maybe it's a banishable offense for a wasp female or couple to raise a larva on their own.
That could be a interesting piece of lore, like a myth that it's passed by from generation to generation of the fool couple in love that went against the empress command and país dearly for it.
Now about more militaristic hives such as army or drivers (and slavers) ants maybe you could have a great competion where the drones of each hive fight to the death and the prize could be one Princess of each separate hive that form the horde afterall only the strongest should pass it's genes in their society ( I would imagine).
What about bullet and matabeles ants would they be consideres feral ants. Have you ever seem the video where matabeles just decimate a termite colony? It's as brutal as the video where giant Hornets kill a entire beehive.
I was think they could be like a mercenary group (since bullet ant colony are very small compared to other hives) the matabeles could be a raiding faction or something.
>>46273782
To this day I wonder if God accidentally created these things along with the Echidna and Platypus.
>>46286761
It was a wild party noone remember all the exact details.
>>46286828
God confirmed for having the best parties, but back to the topic at hand.
I'd see the Scorpidfly as a aerial mount.
I want to add a new lore called the subterranian wars, a series conflicts that ocurred between ants and termites for resources and living space.
>>46287059
I see no problem with this.
>>46284979
>Wasps get part of their bad reputation because some types get shitfaced on fermented fruit and become angry-drunks
Wasp hooligans on a raid when?
Which brings to mind: what kinda sports could these wasp hooligans cheer for?
>>46287059
It all began in the feral age when a red ant scout patrol met a termite foward camp in the grasslands of Arthros, although small in comparisson to the great towers the termite are known for to the feral ants it was more than a impressive fortification for then it was a very serious threat for their sovereigntiy, they sent word of their discovery back to the nest and the Red queen promptly sent a message back and with hundred of thousands of soldiers.
Back the termite fort word from scouts of a vast ant army amassing near their position caught all of them by suprise, they didn't know of any ant settlement on the grasslands.
But their leader a termite by the name of Janus simply told to all workers to stop their foraging and get back inside the fort he told to his second in command to prepare their troops that consisted in a couple of hundreds of guards to prepare for the ants arrival and to go back to their king queen and tell them what was happening, and he also sent word for the chief of the workers to prepare seal off the tunnel that linked their main colony in case that if the battle was lost so that the ants wouldn't be able to gain anymore ground and threaten their home.
When the ants arrived Janus knew the serious ness of the situation, it was like a red tide had come for him, the ant General named Lyciana ordered her troops to stop at the base of the termite tower she then stepped forth and started to relay hers queen message.
>To all termites that are residing within this fortress surrender now and we will give you free passage back to termite lands if you chose to reject or ignore this demand we will assault this fort and kill every single soul that resides within it.
And for various moments there was a great silence, until Janus appeared on the top of the tower and shouted.
>Come and try to take it!.
And like this a situation that could have been resolved without bloodshed end up beginning a series of conflicts that would left deep scars.
>>46288164
The ants sent the first wave of common infantry in order to take the towerbut they were pushed back by the defenders another wave of infantry made the climb this time double of numbers of the first but this attack was also reppeled, next Lyciana sent flying units to target the defenders from above and this time they succeded the termites were forced to enter deep inside the tower and tens of thousands of ants started to make their way inside the tunnels,but now Janus trap was set, he knew that there was no hope for him to hold the tower with so few guards but he knew his tower he knew every nook and cranny and he also had his workers with him and he made use of them.
Every time his troops found the ants moving into a tunnel his workers quickly worked to seal it forcing the ants to move only where he allowed them to, for five days this went on until at the noon of the fifth day Janus appeared again at the top of the tower helding several ants heads in his hands and threw them at Lyciana feets.
Before she could order a general attack she saw movement in the grass behind the tower it was the termite army with numbers doubled of hers, she saw no choice but to turn back with her army and live to fight another day.
The first battle went for the termites but this wouldn't be the last time Lyciana and Janus met themselves on the opposing sides of the battlefield, one simply cannot tell of their story without mentioning the other.
Anywho, I started on the Class tree that was talked about a little a while back.
I started with the Pyromancer branch of the Elementalist tree.
Next: Fighters.
>>46273782
I was waiting for someone to mention this thing. I had an idea for a story hook/lore bit.
›Scorpions are going missing near fly alchemical sites
›Flies deny any evolvement
›Pcs are asked to investage
›After sneaking(or fighting) their way into the alchemy sites they find the abominations of Scorpion Flies.
›The Flies were trying to strengthen their bloodlines but instead created aggressive, unintelligent hybrids.
>>46288164
>>46288387
Interesting - it'd make sense that they'd have wars for the underground too
I think it might be an idea to keep the DnD 5e rules separate to the world building doc so since people who might want to adapt it to a different system can do so.
We could stick the link to the DnD rule doc at the bottom of the doc and include the link in the thread openers too.
idea: Tardigrades, usually kept as pets, have a super seekrekt society where they brew dark and powerful majicks using secrets of the universe
>>46290218
I second this.
Could someone clarify how many legs Anthros stand on? I've seen some pictures where they stand like humanoids and others where they walk on all their legs.
>>46290391
I accept this only if they are piglet sized.
>>46289034
Why not have them be their own beast? Stingwings are cool in and of themselves, no reason to push more misfortune on the scorpions
>>46291061
I think the general rule is
6 limbs in the real world = 4 arms and 2 legs
8 limbs in the real world = Interchangeable between bipedal and quadrupedali'm looking at you scorpions. That is to say 4 arms and 4 legs or 6 arms and 2 legs
>>46291373
Thanks PR. I was going to doodle my Pc for the upcoming DnD campaign but I couldn't decide how he'd look.
>>46291277
Alright but what would they do?
>>46291373
Centaur Scorpion master race.
>>46291373
This reminds me: what do we call them for the stats in the docs. The fluff we made means that they're the subrace, but 'Taur' doesn't sound very good, and 'Crawling' sounds awkward as well.
