Worldbuilding for a variety of reasons. No specific games, systems or genre.
Some worldbuilding resources:
On designing cultures:
http://www.frathwiki.com/Dr._Zahir%27s_Ethnographical_Questionnaire
Random generators:
http://donjon.bin.sh/
Mapmaking tutorials:
http://www.cartographersguild.com/forumdisplay.php?f=48
Free mapmaking toolset:
www.inkarnate.com
Random Magic Resources/Possible Inspiration:
http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/magic/antiscience.html
http://www.buddhas-online.com/mudras.html
http://sacred-texts.com/index.htm
Conlanging:
http://www.zompist.com/resources/
Random (but useful) Links:
http://futurewarstories.blogspot.ca/
http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/
http://military-sf.com/
http://fantasynamegenerators.com/
http://donjon.bin.sh/
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/index.html
http://kennethjorgensen.com/worldbuilding/resources
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/books/europe#wiki_middle_ages
https://www.reddit.com/r/worldbuilding
OP Here, I'm in a bit of a pickle. Basic premise for my setting is colony ships that crash-landed on the moons of some distant gas giant, some are decently habitable, some aren't, some already have aliens on them. Now, I want there to be some sort of event called the Interlunar wars in the history of these crashed colonies, the game would be in Fate CORE and it'd be set somewhere around 300-500 years after the crash. Here's what I've got for moons so far, a lot of which has been ripped straight from pathfinder's Distant Worlds supplement because I'm kinda lazy. If anybody's got any advice for me on how to justify an Interlunar War, or some new ides to spice up the moons I've already got, or anything for the moon I don't have written down, feel free to respond. I'd really appreciate any help.
>>47251227
I feel like you meant to include a picture.
As for an Interlunar War, I can think of a few workable options:
1) One moon developed a militaristic, expansionist society. Eventually they decided to conquer the others because of manifest destiny, or a belief that they'd run everything better. Maybe their early history involved fighting the local natives almost perpetually?
Anyway, most of the war was fought against their nascent empire of a few moons and a coalition of defenders.
2) Not every moon has every resource in needed quantities. A series of small wars developed over control, often to break monopolies over resources. This went on for several generations until a weak treaty resulted in a decade long, unilateral ceasefire. However, during this brief period of peace the moons pulled a "Europe in the 1910s" and made a bunch of secret alliances to prepare for the next conflict. Then one jackass ruined it for everyone by picking a fight and everyone else got pulled in WWI-style.
3) One colony lost to the alien natives, who used the newcomers' tech to develop into a power in their own right. They then launched a religious crusade to destroy the invaders from every moon. Some humans fought them, others had to deal with resurgent local natives, and others still refused to take part in a genocidal war until they got attacked in turn.
>>47251345
oh shit, yeah, I forgot to include a link to a google doc, sorry
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F4YU71AQZzUa0ekrbe_niOpbM6kEURz_nVID7Pl4Bqk/edit?usp=sharing
comments enabled if anybody wants to help improve on any of this.
>>47251345
>>47251380
also I like the WWI-WWII thing you suggested, might combine it with a dash of the first one you suggested, with the manifest destiny.
Choose a city. Answer any of the following you wish:
>Is it independent, or part of a larger kingdom?
>What are its relations with the rest of kingdom (or its immediate neighbors) like?
>How old is the city?
>How many ethnicities are present?
>How is it run?
>What are some of it's major and/or most interesting laws?
>How does it keep order?
>Is it known for any specific food?
>What are it's major exports/imports?
What are your thoughts on having undead as a distinct -- maybe even playable -- race?
What would be the best way to handle something like that?
>>47253465
well, I'd say make sure there's different distinct classes of undead, playable and non playable. Like, playable/nonplayable: Vampires/Zombies to represent undead that still have some meat, Wights/Skeletons for boney undead, and Wraiths/Ghosts for incorporeal undead. and like, make sure to give different kinds of undead different bonuses. Maybe fleshy undead are more resilient, skeletal undead are more agile, and incorporeal undead have better magical aptitude or other abilities associated with being incorporeal.
>>47253571
Good advice, but I was more referring to fluff. I find the idea intriguing, but I'm having trouble wrapping my head around the idea.
>>47253058
>>Is it independent, or part of a larger kingdom?
Part of two-city state. Not exactly kingdom in traditional sense, it's called principality and is run like a republic
>>What are its relations with the rest of kingdom (or its immediate neighbors) like?
It's a capital. The other city is a rival trading hub, they often try to fuck each other over, but the capital just has better position. Outside the city camping somewhat civilized nomads who once joined effort to make the state what it is. Many want to become proper nomad again and pillage the city. Their major trading partners are a feudal kingdom across the land and a Mysterious Orient type of nation across the sea. They are menaced by non-allied nomads
>>How old is the city?
About 4 centuries. Timeline needs some adjustment, but this sounds about right
>>How many ethnicities are present?
Inside the city it's mostly one. However, some nomads married urban people, moved into city wall and sired mixed-raced children.
>>How is it run?
It is run by elected Prince-Successor and city assembly. De facto some wealthiest people control entire districts where they are the law. In slums very little gets run at all.
>>What are some of it's major and/or most interesting laws?
Unfortunately the only one unusual law I have so far is practiced in different place.
>>How does it keep order?
It is civil duty of full citizens to patrol the streets. Some of the wealthiest outfit their own watches to protect places where their business interests are clustered
>>Is it known for any specific food?
Molluscs. They have mastered mollusc farming and it's some of the most vital part of their diet since agrarian areas are full of nomads
>>What are it's major exports/imports?
They aren't so much export and import something by themselves as they control the crossroad the world. There's no other way to connect South and West but through them, so their business revolves around assisting trade - banks, shipbuilding, security
>>47253465
Why are they undead? Are they sustained by external force? Are they vampires who feed on their own? Or they just normal people but a bit rotten? Did they mortify their own flesh to never properly die?
I'd define what keeps them going and built their habits around it.
So, I hope that this isn't in the wrong thread, but since this is about worldbuilding... I'm trying to put together a post-apocalyptic fantasy world, of the "fantasy world blown to shit, dungeonpunk style" variety. Sort of Fallout by way of Eberron, if that makes sense.
Problem is, I'm really new to the whole worldbuilding thing, so I don't know where to go or how to work. I was hoping I might get some tips?
If it helps, this is what I've figured out:
* I intend to use this as a D&D setting (5th edition), just in case that's relevant.
* The Old World was dominated by three major factions/races; Humans, Elves and Dwarves. There might have been other races, but they were on the margins - these three held everything important in their grip.
* Highly magically developed, with the three major factions all enjoying magitek of the "industrialized magic" variety (ala Eberron).
* Everything went to shit because the dwarves and the elves started a war with each other. Humanity tried to mediate, and... well, it didn't work. Humans do have some part of the actual blame in the world going boom, but for the most part it was the elves & dwarves who fucked things up.
* Things just got worse and worse, each faction being willing to do awful shit. For example, Orks in this setting didn't exist until dwarves took elf prisoners and used alchemical concoctions to mutate them into expendable warrior-slaves, creating the first Orks. Of course, that shit went disastrously wrong for them and the orks turned on them. Still unsure if gnomes should be the result of forced dwarf/elf interbreeding done by the elves to try and harness the dwarfin natural affinity for alchemical technomancy, though.
>>47254727
Had to break my post due to length.
* Eventually, things just blew up. World war erupted and was ended with magical weapons of mass destruction that just fucked up everything. The modern term for it, "the Glow", is a catch-all phrase for a diverse array of magical plagues, mega-curses, living spells, psionic distortions, and other remnants of the sheer magical fuckery that the three races wove up.
* Emphasis is on a Fallout style "grimbright" setting. Yes, everything's a mess, between the magical not!radiation, the killer monsters, the mana-spawned mutants, raiders, psychos, etc. But, things can get better, if people are willing to make the effort.
* As you've probably guessed by this point, "The War" is a big origin point for most of the non-Trinity races. I just haven't figured out what races I should actually include. Orks, taking fluff from a mixture of Tolkien (origins as corrupted elves) and Wicked Fantasy (basic culture, pain-worship), are definitely in. I've also toyed with the idea of gnomes (as mentioned above), kobolds (the malformed offspring of dragons, who haven't been able to breed true since the Glow was created), ratfolk and/or Burmecian-expies, Warforged expies, thri-kreen and aranea. But, really, I should be worrying about the world setup, the Trinity, and how the world fell apart before I worry about them, right?
>>47253058
>Is it independent, or part of a larger kingdom?
It's a small city, barely large enough to be called one, but is the capital of collection of large towns and villages.
>What are its relations with the rest of kingdom (or its immediate neighbors) like?
It's only nominally in charge due to being the largest, and it has little authority.
>How old is the city?
About three centuries. The area was settled after a forest fire took out a few thousand acres of... forest.
>How many ethnicities are present?
Most of the population is made up of descendants of former hunter-gatherers. Each winter the city hosts a large number of current hunter-gathers, who they consider distant cousins. In the last century or so, there has been an influx of foreign traders and such, who make up less than 10% of the population and are typically segregated into a trade quarter.
>How is it run?
It has a king, but he's elected from one of the major noble families. He mostly serves as the head of a council of elders, but has much more authority during emergencies.
>What are some of it's major and/or most interesting laws?
>How does it keep order?
Gonna combine the two. Each town, including this one, is partnered with one or more tribes of hunter-gatherers. They serve as the standing army/police in exchange for winter housing and food. By this point, the noble families are interbred with tribal leaders. In this way, the nobles control two different societies.
>Is it known for any specific food?
Hadn't thought about it. Domestic animals are rather new, and the grains are fairly basic. Oh, beer. They make really good beer.
>What are it's major exports/imports?
Exports: grain, furs, really good beer, and high-quality lumber (and furniture and such). They also get work as mercenaries on occasion.
Imports: textiles, metal, and salt. The nobles are also getting into the slave trade, mostly as a status symbol.
>>47254727
>>47254746
Sounds pretty interesting. I see you're taking pains to have good reasons in -your- setting for including otherwise old school tropes, which is always nice. Are races still segregated, or have they started to work together to survive?
>>47254137
I'd imagine they'd have a large book-keeping/bureaucracy/scribe industry. Lots of translators, record keepers, and mediators for business.
The Mistborn books had something called Obligators. Their presence was required for any business deal to be considered legal.
It might be interesting if you incorporate something along those lines. The city/kingdom itself only allows business if they have some part of it, likely with them having some responsibility to force each party to keep their end of the bargain.
Oh, and insurance would be a big business as well, but that kind of goes along with the banking idea.
I like the sound of it.
All human, I imagine?
Am close to finishing this, I'm just having trouble on deciding the number I should put on the scale thingy in the bottom right. Anyone got suggestions? The way I envisioned it, the continent part of the map it's about half the size of Hammerfell, although I'm not too sure
>>47254832
I figured that there's an element of segregation, but usually the bigger settlements are working together. More hands means more hope, and all that.
I'm not sure if there should be any real prejudice against humans/elves/dwarves, or if they're just mostly isolationistic, or if it's a mix of the two - like, dwarves & elves really don't want to interact with anyone, just hiding in their villages and trying to survive for themselves, and the other races hate them for it, but humans are willing to try and help out, so they're not quite so hated.
>>47251177
If I link to a Google doc of my setting ideas, would any of you guys want to look it over? I don't want to paste the whole thing into the thread.
>>47255141
Couldn't hurt, anon.
Could I get some help with the world map I've been working on? I've been working on it during my lunch breaks at work whenever I can, (sorry for the grainy quality of the pic-- our copier is a piece of crap). I'm in need of advice on where to stick mountain ranges and breaking up the northern landmass really.
I was thinking about putting another island where the circle is on the map. An unexplored, mysterious isleconveniently covered up by the compass roseto spice up the exploration for the PCs when the time comes.
>>47255911
I got a bit of a plot outline.
The main character volunteers to get cryogenically frozen in the early 21st century and doesn’t get thawed out for another 500 years. During that time the Earth has been quarantined (to clean up the pollution) and humanity lives on one of two colony planets.
MC freaks the fuck out at the culture shock and the first half of the story is mostly establishing the new society and interacting with the 3 other alien species.
Eventually MC runs into an alien humanoid who turns out to be royalty in hiding (possibly the two become love interests?) and ends up getting tangled in interplanetary political and cultural intrigue, and ends up having to prevent an ancient war re-igniting.
when building a new d&d campaign. how would you approach it? create the whole setting? just create the basics and a town and let the setting evolve itself in time?
>>47255141
Here's muh space opera setting notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S-YHNjlPKkWc0qHtC60q_tlafWyCj-sfQaK5XiFolNk/edit
>>47256663
I assume the black part is the ocean, right? Or is it the other way around?
>>47253058
Caerus, Blue Jewel of Sayal.
>Is it independent, or part of a larger kingdom?
It is the capital of the Kingdom of Sayal.
>What are its relations with the rest of kingdom (or its immediate neighbors) like?
It can be thought of as a sort of analogue for Constantinople, with a bit of Mecca thrown in. It has a commanding position on sea trade routes and hosts a number of temples key to an old, fading religion.
>How old is the city?
Utterly ancient. It's a millennial city, with all the twisting undercrofts and catacombs that implies.
>How many ethnicities are present?
Several, all drawn from surrounding lands. Pilgrims to the blue-halled temples have always been common, and in this day and age, tourists have come from the other side of the world to visit the same places.
>How is it run?
Trade goes in, trade goes out. While land and air transport are starting to take over in the modern era, the sea still represents the most effective means of shipping goods, and Caerus has forever expanded its ports to accommodate larger freighters. The city government is also the kingdom's, with the king being both master of the capital and master of the realm.
>What are some of it's major and/or most interesting laws?
A curious law has stood for centuries regulating the display of the color blue. Originally, this was a matter of controlling the supply of Sayal's famous blue pigment, but these days is more a city beautification measure. Only government and religious centers can display the color.
>How does it keep order?
Through the usual methods: royal guards for the palace, police officers for the common streets.
>Is it known for any specific food?
Blueberries, of course.
>What are it's major exports/imports?
Caerus has always been famous for its export of pigments, chief among them Sayal Blue, made from grinding up local lapis lazuli, and for its stones, with turquoise and sapphires both finding their way out of the city's old workshops in stunning jewelry.
I want to build a world in which to set a sword-and-sorcery fantasy series. How should I organize my notes and everything? Like, what's the best software with which to do it? Or should I just keep it in a big binder?
>>47260983
I use the binder idea. Another problem would be to make a pdf, quick would allow you to tag pages for easy reference.
A wiki-style website might work as well
Writing some history for my fantasy setting. I find it rather therapeutic after a hard day at work.
I'd like to know how I'm doing, especially considering I'm basically making it up as I go along.
>http://pastebin.com/pELParZj
>>47253465
Problem I ran in with undead is how fucking strong they are if you don't nerf em. Ended up resorting to placing most of them behind a wall of bullshit that keeps most of them locked up as they regularly attack the walls. Luckily the defenders can hold because many of the stronger undead have something better to do or they simply lose track of time(very common problem among the older undead) but a few strong ones take part often enough to remind the living holding those walls. Not to mention those aren't ordinary walls they harbor very powerful secrets that suppress the undead. Very important given how strong those ancient bastards can get.
I feel terrible about it but without some kind of limitation given time they start wiping everybody else out especially if its an old setting when they had time to build up.
So in my setting the undead are around and very powerful force to be reckoned with. Fortunately for the living their older bastards have a bad habit of losing track of time but often enough being very powerful.
So most the time it isn't so bad...most of the time. Things go to hell in a hand basket real quick when some of their ancient fuckers get off their bony possibly ghostly asses. At such times if enough of their oldies get active it can become a huge crisis for the living.
YOU try fighting off the best undead magi in millinia who been busy studying and undead warriors who been training all that time too. It ain't pretty so long as enough of them get active around the same time.
Things really go to hell when that happens.
>>47254927
>I'd imagine they'd have a large book-keeping/bureaucracy/scribe industry. Lots of translators, record keepers, and mediators for business.
>The Mistborn books had something called Obligators. Their presence was required for any business deal to be considered legal.
Yes, all this too, but I was running over post limit
>All human, I imagine?
Yes. I prefer to have all human worlds unless non-humans are really non-humans.
>>47254727
>>47254746
So, can folks point out any other stuff I need to focus on clearing up so I can start hammering this idea into something more coherent? >>47254832 was helpful with its asking about racial segregation, but anything else?
Oh, here's a query I had for it on my own part; just how much damage can I believably get away with inflicting? Should I stick to Fallout style craters, slagged cities and polluted oceans, or could I get away with things like broken moons in the sky from whatever apocalypse doomsday spell helped annihilate one faction?
>>47263300
emergent political powers post-apocalypse
what kind of governments do they form, who are the leaders, where were they and what did they do before the apocalypse, what are their goals now? how do they achieve them? yes, the world will naturally shape itself after all that shit went down, but organizations and powerful individuals will dramatically expedite that process. this will help you with direction after you've finished up physical details. your stories just kind of write themselves after you start asking yourself what a faction would do in their current position.
regarding your last question, do whatever you want. creating a world is like painting a picture. there are no rules, tailor it to your vision.
>>47253058
>Is it independent, or part of a larger kingdom?
It's the capitol of the kingdom.
>What are its relations with the rest of kingdom (or its immediate neighbors) like?
Being the only major city in the kingdom, it's highly associated with the nobility and with governance. Opinion depends on whether you're daydreaming about attending court balls or griping about taxes.
>How old is the city?
Who knows? It was "renovated" by royal decree around 200 years ago. It's effectively a new city built on top of the old one. A lot of old records were damaged, thrown out, or lost during that time.
>How many ethnicities are present?
Two, but they've bred together long enough that they can probably be considered the same. There's more distinction between the two in other parts of the kingdom. Being a fairly large city, you can also find all your normal fantasy races in small numbers.
>How is it run?
A constitutional monarchy, with a king presiding over a council formed of each of the four Dukes (and provisionally the Lord of the West March, who rules an area equivalent to a dukedom but doesn't have a noble house), a representative from the comital court and one from the baronial court, and the Magistrate General, who isn't actually a royal subject but rather something of an ambassador from the kingdom to the east, but is also the highest judiciary position in this kingdom. So traditionally there's 8 positions on the council where one is sometimes not invited to attend, but currently there is one more whose vote is understood to count for slightly less than the others.
>What are some of it's major and/or most interesting laws?
Most of the laws are written and enforced by the church, which is the government ruling the kingdom to the east. The law is fairly simple and lenient, you have to fuck up pretty hard to get in any serious trouble. There's also laws enacted by the ruling council, but that's mostly contract law and the like; nothing that really affects most people.
1/2
>>47259221
The black part is water, yes.
>>47263400
Good point. I was actually planning on setting this about a century or so after the big blowup, just to give things a chance to restabilise, but still, this is an important aspect to tackle.
I don't really have many ideas for it, though. Two ideas that immediately spring to mind are the Last Army - a huge force of warforged who, having survived the destruction of their masters, are now trying to figure out what they're going to do now - and two nameless factions of orks; one content to just try and survive in the wasteland after the blast, the other out to punish the dwarves who made them and the elves who abandoned them and so are hated for being warmongers in a time when nobody has time for that shit.
Hmm... how do I go about doing this? Just randomly throw up faction concepts and get feedback on which ones can be expanded, salvaged or scrapped?
>>47264104
I think you should invert it. At least for me, subjectively, logic tells "If it is black on white, it's what matter painted.
>>47264184
I have a blank of the map, I'll give your suggestion a go in paint or something and see how it looks.
>>47256663
print out a bunch of revisions and waste all their black ink
really though i would just start over desu
>>47263954
>How does it keep order?
For any settlement with more than around 50 people, there's a Judicar Militant for every 200 people or so (so in a village with 70 adults there would be one, in a town of 1500 there would be 7 or 8) that has been trained extensively by the church and sent to the settlement. Below him, there's 1-3 Wardens drawn from his ward to serve as his aides. Wardens that are particularly promising are sent to be trained as Judicars themselves. It's the Judicar's job to train his ward in combat (the entire population is a militia, everyone is expected to show up to drill at least two nights out of a week of ten days), preside over minor cases of law and settle disputes, serve as a counsellor to those that come to him, and organize his ward in communal activities (barn raisings and such).
>Is it known for any specific food?
I hadn't really thought about it, but no. Nothing in particular. The common people tend to favor simple, hearty meals. They're big on potatoes and thick stews, and a soft but dense bread that makes foreigners wonder if there's a block of steel inside. A quiche or pot pie might mark special occasions. The nobility often imports chefs from exotic places to cook for them.
2/3 apparently
>>47264263
>What are it's major exports/imports?
The city itself thrives off of trade, and isn't really known for any specific product. But the Royal Road is the only large, well-kept, and patrolled road to neighboring kingdoms, and the Hallanripa river passes right through it, so it's a huge trade hub.
Food is a big export for the kingdom: fruits, vegetables, salted meats, dairy, and the like. Also related products like leather and wool. The country is hilly, perhaps even mountainous, and cut through by deep river valleys, but not particularly steep and nearly the entire kingdom is fertile grassland. The main imports are building materials: stone is found either too deep below the soil or too high in the peaks to make quarries profitable, and the only large forest in the kingdom is the Kingsforest, which is a (huge) hunting reserve that provides a staggering amount of game meat.
>>47264254
Once you make fill land with features it would be more clear, but you probably could make ocean less dense. Make it filled with horizontal lines or something.
>>47264261
Nah, I've got some blanks like I said-- only made one copy of the blacked in map.
>>47264290
That's a good suggestion, thanks
>>47261837
Yeah, the problem I think is once you turned off legit death, it becomes hard to comprehend at what point they are supposed to die.
One of my weirder ideas of undead was to depict skeletons as enchanted floating sculls with all the other bones attached telekinetically to serve as conduit.
Can a society be devoutly religious if it doesn't have priests?
Speaking of a scenario where the religion is viewed as a social and legal code with holy value behind it. There wouldn't be any churches, priests, or organized worship, instead they worship the government that enforces this code.
>>47266792
As someone who knows nothing about Confucianism I think this is what Confucianism is.
>>47266792
So it's a theocracy without the church, and the religion is just legal guidelines?
As in, it's just a Lawful (probably Good)-aligned country full of Lawful (probably Good)-aligned people.
>>47266792
>religion-less theocracy
>citizens worship the state
So, like, the USSR?
Can a plateau be adjoined to mountain range that rises over it, or it wouldn't make sense?
>>47253058
>>Choose a city
Neo-Babylon
>>Is it independent, or part of a larger kingdom?
De Jure independent, de facto in total anarchy and split between various factions and roaming bands of vagrants. Think Mordheim but with more Cyberpunk.
>>What are its relations with the rest of kingdom (or its immediate neighbors) like?
Everyone wants to control it as it's strategic, political, and religious value is immense in a world where Christianity never caught on.
>>How old is the city?
2450 years old and counting, the year is 3000 A.D.
>>How many ethnicities are present?
Uncountable, most can be grouped into a wider "Babylonian" group, while others are either Nova-Romans, Persians, Varangians, Greeks, Turks etc. It's a long story.
>>How is it run?
Military governorship in the occupied parts of the city, near total anarchy throughout the rest with little that resembles official law. It's a clusterfuck.
>>What are some of it's major and/or most interesting laws?
Well what parts of the city have laws have some more dictatorial measures in place. Curfew, no Public Meetings, rationing etc. Some of the more fanatical vagrants have taken upon themselves to impose their variants of religious law on certain neighborhoods, which in this universe varies from "Fuck anything that moves" to "Celibacy or death". Quite insane
>>How does it keep order?
>Implying
>>Is it known for any specific food?
Well in the past when food was plentiful numerous wines and beers were widely produced and consumed, as well as what can best be described as grilled goat kebabs. Now people eat anything they can find, including each other if they're desperate enough.
>>What are it's major exports/imports?
Exports: Bad news, refugees, illegal organs.
Imports: Mercenaries, weapons, soldiers of fortune.
>>47253058
Gonna post another one, although less developed yet
>>Is it independent, or part of a larger kingdom?
Part of a large (By local standarts) feudal kingdom
>>What are its relations with the rest of kingdom (or its immediate neighbors) like?
Third in size out for important cities. Like all, it is ruled by a duke who doesn't REALLY bothers to answer to the king most of the time.
>>How old is the city?
Very old. Although back in a day it was wooden and kept burning down. It's stone now, burns down significantly less
>>How many ethnicities are present?
Two. It used to be controlled by Fantasy!Slavs who eventually lost control of the plain and retreated to woods. Their blood is still present in local population, making some dislike them
>>How is it run?
Duke owns the city and land around it as a warlord. People who serve them are called knights and get a plot of land to collect food and men-at-arms from for their service as military elite and commanders
>>What are some of it's major and/or most interesting laws?
Like the rest of the kingdom locals are parcticing punishment known as "The sack". Those who commited an offence against other people are sewn in a large sack which is hanged from the tree. Guard posted nearby stops everyone who passes by, explain the crime and makes them hit the sack with a cane. If they refuse or don't show enough effort they must pay the fee for not loving the justice hard enough. After a given time (depending on offence) criminal is released and any money collected are given to the victims. For serious offence condemned might never be released and dies from hunger, thirst or being hit by a cane, what comes first
>>How does it keep order?
Well enough.
>>Is it known for any specific food?
Fish. The city overlooks a rift lake, teeming with fishes found nowhere else.
>>What are it's major exports/imports?
Food and some ores.
I run a GURPS 4th Edition game set in a fantasy world. The top pic is the main continent that my players will be traversing, should they choose not to go full retard, which they might. Bottom pic is the city they've spent a few sessions in. I haven't finished that map yet, but it's coming along.
I've got some questions for you guys about them.
>Is the world populated enough with major landmarks/cities/things? Everything shown has a description and a little fluff to give it character, but I'm not sure it's enough.
>Is the city a waste of time, or is it a nice addition to the game?
Giant inland body of fresh water surrounded by desert. No rivers, in or out. Any objection from geologists?
>>47268198
Sure, why not. I made mine the filled in caldera of a dead volcano.
>>47269156
Great map, first of all, I usually dislike 'blob island' world maps, but this one has so many nice details that I'll make an exception.
It's difficult to speak about population without knowing the scale. Based on the look of it, I'm assuming 'real big', in which case it is a little sparse. If you don't want to document every tiny village, cottage in the woods, etc. I'd suggest making a few non-location-specific place descriptions to use whenever necessary. Travellers would probably expect at least an inn every day's travel or so, as a rule of thumb.
The city looks good as well, assuming you know what all the coloured squares mean. Although I'd hesitate to draw every damn house, especially for clusters with no clear roads in them. A big cloud of tiny, randomly arranged squares doesn't convey any more information than a single large block, really.
>>47269348
Enjoy your new salt flat
>>47270677
So, it's inevitable? It will get salty and maybe dry eventually?
More for a book than a game, so feel free to tell me to fuck off, but I'm working on a faerie setting and keep flip flopping on whether I want humans included at all.
On the one hand, like someone on /lit/ said, faeries work best when their, well, fae nature is contrasted with humans, and I'm a bit nervous that not including humans sets off a 'trying too hard to be different' alarm. On the other hand, there are plenty of lesser fae and changelings that could replace humans well enough, and if the setting is entirely in Faerie, why would humans even exist there?
>>47270730
It'd be kind of weird not to have any humans. At least to not even have reference to humans--even Watership Down acknowledged that humans exist.
That said, would you need to twist the story out of shape to include humans?
>>47269348
Sounds like it'd have to be an oasis, or for it to be as big as the map shows, probably a whole bunch of springs close together.
How would you do a fantasy setting about Not-Ancient Greeks travelling to and building colonies in Not-North America?
>>47272381
That's way too broad a question. I'm not gonna do your job for you.
>>47272381
>>47272445
Then I will because its fun.
It would depend on what kind of not-Greeks were talking about as each city had a different code of ethics and laws to live by. If you just fast forward and make them Romans then you could have another chapter in the Big Book of Roman Conquest. Imagine a legion in full formation fighting on the plains of North America against an army of natives. Eventually they have to meet the Aztecs and Mayans and one big bloothbath is sure to follow.
/tg/ does anyone here have autistic stories from their childhood that they have considered using as an RPG setting?
I have a setting that is pretty generic but could work for players. The problem is letting them into that sort of personal world that is meant solely for you. It's hard to explain.
I have other settings to work in, I just sometimes entertain the idea of using it. It's caustic as fuck though and I'm worried I'd ruin it just trying to make it palatable to normal people.
Anybody have more realistic spaceships or a resource for them? I want to make an Age of Sail type of space game on board a freighter. Big stigma on AI and such, so it'll still have lots of manual labor.
>>47272381
The Greeks were pretty prolific in colonising the Pontic, Southern Italy, etc. I'm sure there's plenty of research out there that could be helpful.
Off the top of my head, the society would be very coast-based, with huge amounts of trade in strange new resources and eventually wars over trade rights and ownership of key trading cities. In Greece, Byzantium was such an important city because it controlled the trade between the Aegean and the Black Sea, where much of Greece's grain supply came from.
I imagine it would be a good time for bands of adventurers and mercenaries who, in the absence of established citizen armies, do the bulk of the fighting and exploring. Some would eventually settle and try to found new cities, either in fresh land, or as vassals of already established princes. Land would be a common reward for great service, and lords would be happy to use former-mercenary vassals to sure up the defence of their fledgling kingdoms.
>>47270730
>if the setting is entirely in Faerie, why would humans even exist there?
exactly this, you don't need humans for it to be a good setting. If having humans in the setting serve no purpose or they have to be shoehorned in, just leave them out.
>>47272381
Depends how fantasy we are going. Is this just an alternate history world? Or are we including things like magic, greek monsters, gods, demigods and titans?
>>47270730
I hate to agree with /lit/, but they're kinda right. Most fairies and such are defined by how they interact with humans. It's a rather big part of their lore.
I'm taking a slightly different approach to making a D&D campaign setting.
I haven't decided much about it other than it's in a somewhat isolated peninsula like Italy or Spain. The setting is something of a dark age which began 2000 years ago during a war of the gods -- this is why there are random magic items across the land. This is the extent of my normal top-down approach of worldbuilding, then regionbuilding, and getting down to where the PCs start.
What I've been doing is looking at the 1e Fiend Folio and Monster Manual 2 for less well known monsters to populate this land, and then building the geography out of their habitats in a sort of Gygaxian realism. I want to do something a little different than goblins, orcs, kobolds, and trolls.
Has anyone else tried this approach?
>Fiend Folio
Yes, this does mean motherfucking FLAIL SNAILS among other things
>>47272888
I saved this and another one from a while ago.
>>47277906
>>47272326
>Sounds like it'd have to be an oasis, or for it to be as big as the map shows, probably a whole bunch of springs close together.
No, I'm not the guy with the map. I'm unrelated. Just want to make setting where everyone is grouped around a huge lake. Wonder if I should make it magical.
>>47277906
>>47277924
benis :D
>setting idea
A high fantasy setting during the apocalypse -- meteors raining from the sky, demons invading the world, whole continents being swallowed by the sea.
It is kind of a slow apocalypse though, so the world won't be destroyed for another year or so.
Some groups are trying to stop the apocalypse, despite there really being no clear way to go about doing so, if it is even possible. Naturally they all have different ideas about why it is happening and don't get along.
Most people are just trying to get by. Just because the world is gradually ending over the next year doesn't mean they aren't also hungry right now.
>>47279543
So, Warhammer fantasy end times?
>>47279564
honestly I didn't even think about that until halfway writing that up
back to the drawing board I guess
I am so fucking tired of these buggy "click verify until there are none left" captchas. I swear the new admin has some deal with Google to make these harder so he can rake in more pass money
What do you think is the proper mindset for people who spent the last 500 years being immortal and infertile?
>>47280156
really damn forgetful. Exhausted. Melancholic. Either emotionally spent or emotionally unstable.
A bad scene in general.
>>47280207
I'm going to give them superhuman memory. Otherwise I agree.
>We murdered our god and ate his flesh to gain his awesome powers. Now what?
If the star is a red star, would it always be Tidal Blocked with only the Twilight area being habitable? What is necessary for the planet to wobble like Mercury?
>>47280555
What's so special about red stars to tidally lock planets?
>>47280560
If a planet is close to its hosting star (like small stars), it has many points to be tidal locked and have no moons.
At the World's center stands the White Spire, seat of the Empress Eternal. Her power keeps the World harmonious and can be granted to anyone, any person who is summoned to the White Spire, in the form of a charm called The Blessing, but only for as long as She wishes.
From the foot of the White Spire, all kinds of lands, literally ALL kinds, stretch out as far as the eye can see and beyond. If you were immortal and had a lot of time, you could walk forever in one direction and never circle back around... but at the same time, the White Spire is the same distance from every point in the World.
Underneath the surface of the World lie the Unseen Chasms, remnants of the Seedbed, a place of complete and utter darkness that is said to have been the cradle of all living things when the World was created. But everyone knows the World has always been like it is, never born and never changed in its fundaments. There has always been a Spire, there has always been an Empress, there has always been a Blessing.
In close vicinity of the Spire, a kingdom rose to power under the rule of a merciless conqueror. Holy Queen Grimhyldis of Hyldholm, descendant of Hynrek the Dragonslayer, sent forth soldiers in black carapaces, the Black Vigil: untiring and mindlessly cruel warriors that drew their power from the darkness contained in the Unseen Chasms. Quaris, Exile of Amarganth had drawn out its true strength in course of his search to find the Worldmatter and Royal Magus Hector bound it to the bodies of men using hexes that lay beyond human comprehension. Commanding this force was Cyrenne, First and Last of the Black Vigil, blessed to see them rise and doomed to see them wither and fall. Vigil soldiers could feel the carapace gnawing away at their insides, eventually leaving only a hollow suit of armor that was inexplicably drawn to seek the Unseen Chasms. (1/2)
>>47280560
Tidal planets would also have no seasons whatsoever and very predictable climates as you approach one face or another of the planet (permanent winds and temperatures). Perpetual twilight in the habitable zone.
That said, smaller stars have a tendency for violent solar flares.
>>47280578
>>47280615
I know what tidal lock is. I just don't know why should red stars lock them.
>>47280643
The habitable zone is closer to the star, so tidal forces from the star are stronger.
>>47280590
Grimhyldis sealed her fate, and that of the World itself, when she laid siege to White Spire. In her arrogance, she thought to usurp the throne and make herself Empress. Aethelred, Her Royal Aegis broke down the doors of the Spire's Inner Sanctum and the Queen tore the Blessing from the hands of the Empress, taking her as a prisoner. But the Blessing's power can never be taken by force. In the hands of Grimhyldis, it became the Curse. Instead of granting her wishes, it twisted them, at the cost of her memories, and eventually sanity.
Hyldholm fell into ruin as more and more Vigil soldiers departed in their search for the Chasm. Neither force nor reason were able to stop them. Soon after, Aethelred was overcome by madness, lashing out at his servants - it is said that one night, he shed his skin and escaped into the open as a mindless beast. Either way he was never heard from again. Some say Prince Hyur, born with a hideously deformed goat's head, but adored by his mother nevertheless, was his son.
From the World's borders the Void draws ever closer, its hunger sparked by the Curse, swallowing entire kingdoms whole. And with the Empress locked up deep below Hyldholm Castle and the Queen not to be reasoned with, who would dare claim the Blessing and restore order?
>>47253058
>>Is it independent, or part of a larger kingdom?
Independent
>>What are its relations with the rest of kingdom (or its immediate neighbors) like?
Neighbours aren't too happy since the people seceded and have proven that they can look after themselves, setting a precedent for other groups of people
>>How old is the city?
A few decades.
>>How many ethnicities are present?
All ethnicities and races are present and tolerated.
>>How is it run?
It's a collection of ships lashed together, and anyone wanting to join merely has to connect their ship at one of the assigned locations to ensure the ability for previous people to disconnect is preserved.
>>What are some of it's major and/or most interesting laws?
No stealing, no murder. Anyone who is wronged can bring a case before a jury of their peers to resolve a dispute.
>>How does it keep order?
Anyone who causes excessive danger to the inhabitants is locked out, or even worse, thrown into the deep. Aside from that, it's largely anarchist.
>>Is it known for any specific food?
Fish delicacies are the main culinary distinction
>>What are it's major exports/imports
Jewellery made of fish bones, like the currency, is highly popular on the mainland, but mainland officials try to stop trade with the Free State of Meropis because they "belong to us and broke our laws".
Who here makes flags for their countries?
Honest question: Have any of you actually used the settings you do here in a game? How much of the autismal detail is even mentioned?
>>47283398
I've used settings I've made myself. Never so much as worked on one in one of these threads so far. Just decided to join in today because I want to work on a setting for a book/series.
>>47283449
I know you can use a homebrew setting, but people here fixate on stuff like realistic types of government or geography, or the minutiae of their magic system, and I feel most that stuff is too much work for something that isn't ever going to come up in an actual game unless you shove it in the face of the players
>>47283526
Yeah, I agree. I suspect many of the people here are either making settings to publish, doing all of that just because they enjoy it, making settings for fiction, or some combination of the above.
>>47283287
I've only sketched out one.
>>47283398
Haven't yet, still working on it. Depending on their character and starting location though they'll be given anywhere from a few pages of common knowledge to a dossier of shit-they're-supposed-to-know.
>>47283554
I do it mostly because because I enjoy developing. In its current state it's not very playable because it doesn't have enough adventure fodder
>>47283398
Not many ever surface, but I believe it's good to have foundation in place so you can have derivatives that actually matter align. Nothing takes me out of the setting faster than derivatives that do not align with common cause.
>>47283287
Is there any utility that helps generating flags for people with arms growing from wrong places?
>>47284175
You mean for people what cannot draw? Yeah.
Warning: Some Plebbit links
http://flag-designer.appspot.com/#d=9&c1=5&c2=4&c3=0&o=6&c4=5&s=14&c5=6
https://www.reddit.com/r/vexillology/comments/2ei5wf/flagmaker_17_flagmaker_jr/
https://www.reddit.com/r/worldbuilding/comments/1i0eq6/flagbuilding_a_guide_to_flag_design_for/
This flag, for example, was made with the program in the middle link. >>47283287 were all made with the first link (or a brief period in MS paint, for the bottom right)
>>47284685
Thanks, the second link is pretty good, although seems to have centring issues. The first one was very barebones, I found it on my own and it was poor.
>>47253058
Southway(formerly Taselyin)
>Is it independent, or part of a larger kingdom?
Part of the Empire of Sha'hara
>What are its relations with the rest of kingdom (or its immediate neighbors) like?
As a former Ruwan elf settlement it was long under the watchful eye of imperial investigators after the Riversong Rebellion. It's citizens and subjects, out of fear of being branded as traitors, have become near fanatic loyalists of the Empress and the empire. They have done so with such dedication and zeal that neighboring territories see them as being too uptight and have been secretly and openly investigated repeatedly on suspicion of being a front.
>How old is the city?
About a decade old.
>How many ethnicities are present?
About 80% of the residents are elves of Ruwan descent with the remaining a varying percentage of humans and orcs.
>How is it run?
Like other Sha'haran cities the local government is run by an elected city council answerable to an appointed military governor.
>What are some of it's major and/or most interesting laws?
Immigration Incentive - With permission from the capital, they are offering to 50% local tax deduction to new immigrants for 3 years(100% if Orc or Human) and 10% duty deduction for merchants. Farmers get the deduction for 10 years and assistance in clearing farmland.
>How does it keep order?
Like other cities and towns they have a professional City Watch under the command of the Governor.
>Is it known for any specific food?
None as of yet.
>What are it's major exports/imports?
Being in a sub-tropical region they raise and export rice, beans and fruit to the rest of the empire. They import a lot of hops and barley for beer production to supply the local taverns and inns frequented by travelers and merchants.
>>47284814
Easy way to fix that is to adjust the grid size. Larger grid makes it easier to get everything right where you want it to be. Select a grid size with two even numbers and centering should be easy. The grid size options will change depending on the ratio you use for the flag.
How do I start on a world *and actually get anywhere with it*?
I've had several projects where I lay a framework, get a couple good ideas, and just... stop. Lose inspiration. All that fun.
>>47285146
I'm not the most prolific creator and even what I made will probably never be seen by anyone but you need a clear picture of what you want. Start with it. Design past around it. Then start fixing it to make more sense.
>>47285253
Well, there's the thing. I know what I want. Like, the latest project I was working on that I got anywhere with. Dieselpunk setting in a chain of floating islands, sort of like Crimson Skies. Took notes on the logistics of living on a floating island, figured out the tech to make things possible... and then ran out of inspiration entirely.
Makes me feel bad, I keep trying to figure out *something* to run a game in so our GM can take a break. I've tried casual worldbuilding as well, no end goal like "run a setting in this", and I don't even get that far.
>>47285403
Maybe you should try something more personal. Like try to start with cultures you are interested in or even individual people. Then try shape world around them.
Don't just dump "I want to make it about floating islands for the sake of floating islands". Try with "I'm fascinated with idea of isolated community where everyone needs to work together to make best of available resources or they all plunge into abyss"
>>47285253
Also, how do you organise your worldbuilding?
>>47283398
This might answer your question, at least in part.
http://www.strawpoll.me/10186071/r
>>47283287
The flag of the Deicolorii. The blue represents the sea, the yellow squares the islands, the red strength and prosperity, and the ring unity.
>>47286208
I think that it'd do wonders for that if you changed the red and the ring to a quarter of the flag, similar to the US flag. Alternatively move it to the center and make the red a diamond shape. Right now it looks kind of indecisive as to whether it wants the checkered pattern or the ring to be the focus of it.
Do rings do anything funky that needs special attention on a planet, or could I get away with giving the earth a pretty ring system with something about as simple as "An asteroid broke up when it passed the Roche limit. You can't put a satellite in that bit of space anymore, The tides are a little different. Maybe occasionally a bit of rock falls down."
Note that this is a ring system hypothetically established tomorrow, not before the evolution of life.
>>47286876
If it were large enough to be visible, you'd probably have more of an effect than that, even if only through Kessler syndrome being worse than it already is around Earth.
http://www.ausflag.com.au/assets/images/Good-Flag-Bad-Flag.pdf
At what distance would a habitable planet need to be from a star to have plant life that is primarly red/orange.
Hi, /tg/.
I'm building a low-tech sci-fi far-future scenario where a type III civilization regressed into renaissance era technology after a galactic cataclysm. Tens of thousands of years later, people are only now rediscovering gunpowder and any old technology and knowledge is treated as arcane in nature.
Its an exploration era scenario where space faring is commonplace.
The problem is that I'm having a real hard time imagining low-tech alternatives to life-sustaining systems, especially oxygen generators, oxygen tanks and water purifiers. So i decided to come to /tg/ for ideas.
>>47289924
>oxygen generators
plants
>water cleaner
plants
>>47289924
Seriously plants dude. Especially if its a society that traversed the galaxy they'd have specialized GMOs to do just that
>>47290424
>>47290520
I was literally thinking about this shit for months now without coming to a conclusion. Using plants is so simple the fact that it didn't cross my mind earlier is making me feel kinda stupid now.
Thanks.
Conlanging is harder than I thought
I can never get it to look quite how I want
>>47253058
The City of Ondun
>Is it independent, or part of a larger kingdom?
Complicated. Legally a part of the capitol city, also called Ondun, but with many practices and laws that are separate from the norm. The King cannot even enter without the Lord Mayor's permission.
>What are its relations with the rest of kingdom (or its immediate neighbors) like?
Amicable, except with the Monarch. While Ondunmen have a bit of an ego (calling themselves the Unconquered for example) they far less so than the usual nobility.
>How old is the city?
Possibly older than time. No, really. There are parts of the city that might well be from another, long extinct, dimension.
>How many ethnicities are present?
Still deciding. Probably a couple, at least.
>How is it run?
Guilds.
>What are some of it's major and/or most interesting laws?
The thing about the King not being allowed in is pretty interesting.
>How does it keep order?
One of the Guilds is a sort of Police Guild, though the city is big enough and dense enough with architecture that they're rarely enough to keep complete order.
>Is it known for any specific food?
Mostly boiled or fried stuff.
>What are it's major exports/imports?
Ondun imports most of its goods, including wool, wood, stone, and food.
>>47283287
>>47284031
>>47284685
So >>47286208 went and explained his flag. What about you guys? And does anyone else have flags they'd like to share?
>Whenever a battle is won, the enemy's banner is taken and marked with the victors sigil
>They are then hung in the victor's halls as eternal glory
>An enemy's trophy banners are often looted after a siege
>Arrogant lords either take them to show how great a victory they had or claim them as their own
>Being handed the trophy banner is the highest honor short of lands
>Legend has it the feud with dragons grew so bitter because dragon flames often destroyed these banners
How long can you keep a flag hanging before it rots to tatters?
>>47293773
Depends on the conditions. A banner left in a hot, dry, desert tomb could last thousands of years. In a swampy area? If well tended, maybe a few hundred.
>>47293814
Fair enough
Does the banner thing give good flavor to the world or would it just be a distraction?
>>47293886
As long as you don't take a long time to explain the process then it's an interesting tidbit that gives players/readers some insight into their society. Sounds fine to me.
Human only, or Kitchen Sink?
I've been building a world for a story that took form out of my day dream fantasies and nights spent with my imagination centered around heroic chariot racers from across the known world and their adventures leading to a grand championship tournament held at the worlds most prestigious Hippodrome.
One of my great passions in life is studying the Greek mythological canon, so naturally it was going to form the basis for this world. As I've been thinking up facsimile versions of Greek concepts though, I've come to the realization that it might actually be way more interesting if I forgo trying to make some knock off of mythology and set this story within the actual Greek canon as I know it.
What do you think would be the more satisfying path to take? Inserting my own original characters within an already established world, or trying to build my own from scratch?
>>47294453
I prefer human only.
>>47294453
http://www.strawpoll.me/10234507
Give me creatures, /wbg/
Prehistoric creatures!
My setting is in an ice age, so prehistoric megafauna is all the rage. We have ermines three feet long, sabertooth cats, pygmy mammoths(the fullsized mammoths have already died out), New-Zealand style giant eagles that prey on the pygmy mammoths in packs of five to ten, and predatory elks whose antlers have evolved into slashing blades.
I need more.
>>47294942
Thrown in some proto-humans. Neanderthals and such.
Also, cassowaries are always good.
Because they're scary.
Very, very scary.
>>47294989
I'm considering War Emus, but protohumans don't really fit the setting.
Aiming for a low magic setting, human only. I quite like the idea of Man VS Nature being a major theme. Anyone got some general advice I should keep in mind? Or, barring that, anyone got some pics to help inspire?
>>47294942
Ancient giant apes are pretty horrifying.
>>47295768
Man vs Nature would work best in an Odyssey like setting, centered around the voyage of ship upon the savagery of the seas that intersects with mysterious islands and distant foreign ports. If you haven't already thought up a heroic ship for your characters to take their journey with, you should.
>>47295856
I like it! Though I'm more a sucker for Early Modern Period myself.
There is an adventurer's club built over the main entrance to a massive and labyrinthine dungeon. Nobody knows how bit it is, but they are determined to reach the bottom of it.
The club sustains itself by charging dues to its members and disallowing access to the dungeon of anyone who isn't a member.
>>47296500
I like this idea. I had a similar idea involving temple everyone tried to loot and nobody came back so people started showing up, saw that nobody came back and thought "Screw it" and settled right at the entrance because they out of supplies.
>>47253058
>Brightport, capital of Ursani
>The capital, though the other cities are administrated by the kingdom's generals who de facto control what gets done.
>Roughly 500 years old, though human civilization goes much further back. The age of kingdoms only came a few hundred years ago when a sun worshipping civilization that encompassed almost all humans broke down due to an exodus of its paladins.
>Most varieties of humans found on the continent can be found in decent numbers here. Large numbers of halflings as well, since it is a trade hub, and dwarves are more common than some other human settlements due to the need for formidable warriors.
>It is the only city run de jure by the nobility, and is dominated by managing the flow of trade goods in and out of the kingdom due to its geographic position.
>Its most important law, which is present and enforced heavily in all major cities of the kingdoms and to the best of the military's ability in more rural areas, is the summary execution of anyone found to be practicing any form of necromancy.
>This kingdom has been faced historically by more threats than any other area of humanity, and so it is highly militarized. Soldiers and patrols are found more commonly here than anywhere else in the continent, and so order is kept.
>>47296621
>The land in this kingdom provides much of the grain for the continent, and the southern sea provides a source of unique fish whose flavor has defined the culinary aspect of the kingdom.
>It exports the aforementioned grain and fish in large amounts, as well as trade goods and crafts from the halflings to other human kingdoms, largely in exchange for coin to support its military and to a lesser extent meat from a nearby kingdom that raises a lot of livestock.
>>47296410
You could tell this kind of story in any time period or setting really. You could even frame it in the context of a lost spacecraft voyaging through an ancient solar system and encountering the ruins of it's civilizations upon the planets you intersect with
>>47286871
I made it that way because it's meant to be the symbol of the islands themselves (The chequerboard) and the overall ruler (The red and the ring). I do like the idea of putting the ring in the canton, like this? Changed the aspect ratio as well.
r8 flags
pls
Pic related is one of three, all three are in the imgur. Unfortunately the first one is a bit off center, I am aware.
>>47297878
This is something Westeros would use if they were advanced enough to warrant national flags.
Is your nation a confederacy of seven kingdoms too?
>>47297907
It's one of the three major (human) nations on the continent. Some time ago they had a single ruler who practiced foul magic and got infested by a demon and worked to slowly turn the entire nation into a cult which worshiped him, giving him more power. After this plan was foiled and the demon expelled from our plane, they abolished the single ruling noble and replaced it with a council of the nation's seven dukes. They're pretty happy about it, so the light blue represents a clear sky/prosperity, the crows the dukes, and the laurel their ruling union.
>>47293273
>>47284031
The white circle symbolizes the founding of their (then) kingdom. The triangles represent the four cultures at the founding. The white represents a new sbeginning. The blue isthe Empress's favorite colour.
>>47297841
squares too small, would blur into a mess at a distance. The number of squares should be representative of something
>>47298274
The numbers of squares represent the major islands of the Deicolorii, that's why there's so many. I may cut it down a little bit, though.
>>47298105
Nice. I like the reasons for everything there, especially the blue.
>>47298324
oh look, it's the Azeroth method of map making
>>47298336
At least >greentext if you're gonna meme
>>47298343
I miss mid sentence green texting
>>47298336
>Azeroth method of map making
What is this method?
>>47298336
Never played WoW or original Warcraft. What's the Azeroth method? The fact there's islands?
>>47293273
Half the flags in >>47283287 were just made because they look nice, with little symbolism. A few do have more thought put into them:
>top right
City flag for a large port city. The stripes resemble the ocean, the beach, and the countryside, while the gold/yellow keys both imply wealth and the control over it that the city has.
>Middle Right
The crown represents the monarch, while the chequered pattern represents the smaller fiefs that pledge their loyalty to the monarch (not an exact match between the squares and the fiefs). The gold represents wealth, and the blue represents loyalty and patriotism.
>Bottom right
Not a flag of a state or a city, this flag is actually used by the Vensi people (a race made from animated volcanic rock). The flame patterns and black triangle are a deliberate reference to their birth from erupting volcanoes. Similarly, the red and yellow both directly reference their fiery cores, as well as their general independence from the other races. The black represents the Vensi themselves. Also, here's an updated version. In this one, the 7 flames represent the 7 active volcanos that the Vensi come from. The previous one had no meaning for the number of flames.
>>47284685
This flag was the first one I really put more thought into the symbolism. This flag is for a kingdom that had their original, corrupt king overthrown by a hero, who restored the kingdom and expanded their borders. The crown represents the king, while the sword is both a reference to their military might and the enchanted blade he wielded. Both are gold, representing the prosperity brought to the kingdom under his rule. The white field behind the sword represents the peace he brought to his lands, while the red in front of the blade both recalls the kingdom's conquests and the blood spilt by the former king. The flag has a pretty simple overall message: Either you're with the king, or you're in front of the sword. The kingdom has mellowed out since then.
Two flags for principal factions in my budding space opera. I really really need to get better sense of colour.
Would anyone like to read and comment on the history/lore of this world? I'm planning to run a quest in this setting over on /qst/ and I'd like to hear your opinions on the background of the setting.
http://pastebin.com/0m8mrbMv
Thanks!
>>47300660
There's some old heraldry bits that are pretty useful. Most important for colors are the Rule of Tincture and Fimbriation.
The rule of tincture basically divides colors into two sets: the Metals and the Colors. The Metals are White (silver) and Yellow (Gold). The Colors are Red, Green, Blue, Black, and Purple. The rule is that Metal should not touch Metal, and Color should not touch Color. Sometimes a bright red can be used as both a Metal and a Color, which was more common in eastern/central Europe than western Europe. Metal on Metal generally has some connotations of purity/holiness. There are also some exceptions for fur patterns or charges that are their natural colors.
Fimbration is the use of thin lines of one to separate two of the other (ie: using metal to separate two colors), which RL examples of can be seen in the flags of Norway, North Korea, Tanzania, and others.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_tincture
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fimbriation
Both are pretty useful when making flags, even in more modern settings (you'll probably note that most modern flags already follow these rules)
For example, your first flag has three colors right up against each other. The second might want to ditch the white outline around the yellow star.
Some magic questions:
>Which races can learn magic?
>Which race is "best" at magic?
>How is magic learned and who teaches it?
>If you have a magic guild or school of some sort, tell us about it.
>Assuming they do, how do non-magic-wielding nobles/royals keep power when wizards and shit exist?
>Are there any types of illegal magic?
>If so, how are these laws enforced? And by whom?
>>47303351
>>Which races can learn magic?
I've only got humans
>>Which race is "best" at magic?
See above
>>How is magic learned and who teaches it?
Some people are born gifted with elementalist magic. They used to be formally told in four different colleges under Imperial guidance, but with fall of Empire only one college survived and became independent and run by magic supremacists. Other people gain strange powers by moment on inspiration. They are often animalistic in nature. It is also possible to steal magic from gods, but for obvious reasons it's hard to do and tend to result in various unpleasantness.
>>If you have a magic guild or school of some sort, tell us about it.
Formerlly a magical school focusing entirely on earth magic it is now teaching everyone, but only earth mages managed to preserve their knowledge mostly intact. They are cunts.
>>Assuming they do, how do non-magic-wielding nobles/royals keep power when wizards and shit exist?
Earth magic is only strong in place of power and other elemental magics no longer even have places of power. Non-elemtalists are diviners and mess with your mind, often crazy and reclusive and most can't really take on military force
>>Are there any types of illegal magic?
Not really. But being elementalist will make you a persona non grata in most of the world
Gevonea
>Is it independent, or part of a larger kingdom?
It's semi independent. It's a Freistadt in the Sarolinger Reich
>What are its relations with the rest of kingdom (or its immediate neighbors) like?
They are the greates rivals of Veneta which is also a Freistadt. But they have quite good relations to the rest of the Empire, since it's a trade hub
>How old is the city?
About 4k years old
>How many ethnicities are present?
Every ethnic which is able to be in the city.
>How is it run?
By the council of the bourgeois and the mayor who is elected by the council
>What are some of it's major and/or most interesting laws?
Venetian merchants are banned
>How does it keep order?
Mostly mercenaries
>Is it known for any specific food?
Not really. There are some good chefs around since there are a lot of rich people in the city, but there aren't any delicacies
>What are it's major exports/imports?
Salt, noble metals, gems, spices, pepper...
Pretty much everything to make profit
>>47303351
>Which races can learn magic?
>Which race is "best" at magic?
Humans only. Best mages come from "civilized" societies because magic is knowledge based, and civilized areas keep better records.
>How is magic learned and who teaches it?
Magic is knowledge based and most training works in a master/apprentice fashion.
>If you have a magic guild or school of some sort, tell us about it.
My settings doesn't have an established, major religion, but the role the Catholic Church had IRL was filled by a powerful mage college. They teach both magic and sciencey-stuff, largely because the culture draws little distinction between the two. A mage could be a fireball thrower or a mechanic depending on their field of study.
The equivalent of the Reformation resulted in a few "Protestant" mage groups, who are still violently opposed to the ones I've been discussing.
>Assuming they do, how do non-magic-wielding nobles/royals keep power when wizards and shit exist?
The main mage order believes in guidance over control, largely because they were only allowed to get established in the first place after swearing many binding magical oaths of obedience to the then powerful empire. The kingdoms who sprouted after the empire fell required similar oaths if a mage wanted to enter their lands.
Despite this, mages and governments are constantly vying for more power.
>Are there any types of illegal magic?
Several, like necromancy. Also, any magic not performed by the guild/order/whatever.
>If so, how are these laws enforced? And by whom?
The mages act largely as their own inquisition in countries allowing them access. Most other nations just use their armies to wipe out anyone suspected of witchcraft.
Setting has Late Victorian/Pre-WWI tech level at this point.
>Which races can learn magic?
All humanoid races, plus the (now-extinct) dragons.
>Which race is "best" at magic?
There's not a pronounced difference, generally. Elves are usually a bit better at it while they're within their home environment but often have trouble using it when they're not. Humans, however, are the only ones capable of bearing Shards, which make learning one particular kind of magic much easier and much more powerful (at the cost of precluding anything more than basic spells otherwise).
>How is magic learned and who teaches it?
All kinds of people. It's a skill you practice and develop. You can teach yourself and "play by ear"; you can pick up a My First Cantrips workbook; or you can study under someone experienced.
>Assuming they do, how do non-magic-wielding nobles/royals keep power when wizards and shit exist?
Relatively few people study destructive magic, since it's not really practical in the day-to-day. Nobles usually don't have to worry about anything more than someone not needing a flashlight.
>Are there any types of illegal magic?
Magic is a tool. It's not illegal to own a hammer, but it might be illegal depending on what or whom you're hammering. A spell that's used to copy manuscripts is just fine and dandy until it's used to counterfeit money.
>If so, how are these laws enforced? And by whom?
Local law enforcement, usually.
>>47300660
I'm not saying you should change the designs, I just find it odd that most scifi flags seem to have a bright circle or star on a dark background. You don't *have* to put stellar objects in the flags of space nations, and the colors could represent things like culture and ideology instead of space/ocean/plants/sun.
The flag on the left looks good, your design on the right feels wonkier.
Sometimes less is more. The most aesthetically pleasing flag in the NZ national flag competition dropped all the ferns, korus, kiwis and stellar constellations, and went for an extremely simple design, with the colors referring to a Maori story.
>>47305020
>You don't *have* to put stellar objects in the flags of space nations
It's less of a stellar object here and more of a symbol of "I'm getting the fuck out of here and so is everyone else in all directions"
>>47303351
>Which races can learn magic?
Natural or Divine Magic can be taught to anyone, but most of the "tribal" societies don't have enough organization to train Clerics.
Arcane Magic is almost exclusively Human. Dwarves or Halflings occasionally dabble.
>Which race is "best" at magic?
Humans. Arcane Magic is exponentially more versatile than any other type, and Humans are the best at it.
>How is magic learned and who teaches it?
Natural and Divine can be self-taught, but Arcane must be taught by a practitioner.
>If you have a magic guild or school of some sort, tell us about it.
The Empire has an militarized magic academy, where they also teach students the basics of artifice or alchemy. It isn't exclusively Arcane, as Dwarven Clerics or Paladins often become Artificers.
>Assuming they do, how do non-magic-wielding nobles/royals keep power when wizards and shit exist?
There aren't non-magic-wielding nobles. The Emperor is one of the strongest Paladins alive, the northern Kingdom's royal family are all Dragon-blooded immortals, the western Theocracy is ruled entirely by Clerics, and most assorted Nobles have some Arcane training.
Likewise, most Wizards don't give a shit about ruling anything.
>Are there any types of illegal magic?
Necromancy and mind control aren't taught by any reputable teacher. "Imposing your Will" and "Destroying Creation" are the two big sins of magic use, and would either warrant an execution or imprisonment.
>If so, how are these laws enforced? And by whom?
Within the Empire, a Paladin/War Mage team would be dispatched to investigate and/or mete out justice.
Outside of the Empire, the Adventurer's Guild would probably put out a bounty contract on the perpetrator.
>>47303351
>Which races can learn magic?
All can learn some form of magic. My setting has it divided into three types: esoteric (classic magic, learned from tomes n' such to uncover the 'science' or hidden knowledge of the world), mystic (study of metaphysical religious meaning, not necessarily scripture, to acquire unification with the gods who have mostly left the world) or runic (carved sigils in items that given meaning the scriptless language of the First race, the agender draklen)
>Which race is "best" at magic?
None; the draklen are dying, the elves cursed, the humans oft peasants, you get the idea every race is somehow fucked. It's more like runic is the easiest, then esoteric, then mystic, and I see them as logical linguistics, physics, and then biology in terms of their application. Not that any of those fields is easier than the other but in terms of how much depth and understanding is required is dependent on the specific branch.
>How is magic learned and who teaches it?
By working for it. Nobody but those born under the cursed planet when it passes over have obvious innate magical talent, so everyone has to buckle their boots. Runescribes learn it from masters (closest thing to a guild), mages as either an apprentice (sometimes a wizard will take multiple but in the end only teach one pupil the most basic of secret knowledge) or going out into the wild and discovering lost knowledge for themselves, and mystics require a natural touch to learn but have no concrete way of learning how to fashion their powers further. The local priest may be able to cast a healing spell once a day but unless he goes on something akin to a pilgrimage that is all he will ever know.
>If you have a magic guild or school of some sort, tell us about it.
See above.
>>47305753
>Assuming they do, how do non-magic-wielding nobles/royals keep power when wizards and shit exist?
Runes originate from the ash dwarves, who were banished to the Deeps for heretical practices (such as inscribing runes on living beings) and only after returning recently has it been taken up back into society. The four clans of dwarves are led by mindsages, so runic magic is seen as generally favorable and helpful, not to mention difficult to get something as simple as a bucket of perpetual water made.
Esoteric mages have the short end of it, generally looked on with suspicion and a queer dislike, not unlike the way the Shirefolk see Gandalf. That said a smart wizard knows to not go around threatening to burn everything down, even if she has that capacity, so most will keep to their own holds only traveling out for their own purposes. Smart nobles will keep a fair respect for them but the more wicked and greedy will try trapping wizards to do their bidding, not understanding it isn't like a weapon you can just wield but a pure harnessing of a person's will.
Mystics are seen as messengers of the gods who have mostly bailed on their own divine home once it got warped into the material plane, at least if you believe the caphyran goat-folk. These people are blessed by magic innately but will often have weird signs or blessings befall them wherever they travel, so while they are welcome for a short time it is likely the local townsfolk/militia/nobility will spurn them if they feel their power is threatened.
>Are there any types of illegal magic?
There's no overarching kingdom anymore; the only real thing frowned upon is the old blood rune stuff the ash dwarves used to do, such as trying to enchant a person by carving runes into their flesh in hoping of obtaining the same magical effects in a person. This never goes well.
>If so, how are these laws enforced? And by whom?
Local rule is the name of the game in a realm without a king, let alone a royal bloodline.
I'm working on a system of runic magic and I could use a second opinion on something. Basic runes do things like make the user stronger or faster, but more complex abilities (fireballs, divination stuff) require complex runic formulae to cast.
Mages can't cast spells directly. Instead, spells have to be bound to objects -- typically scrolls.
My question is whether or not to have the casting of bound spells destroy the scroll/medium the spell is written on. I can think of three options:
>1: casting a spell destroys the medium, making each spell a fire-and-forget affair. This would be like turning Vancian magic up to 11 since a character's initial stock of spells would have to last an entire adventure. If I go with this, even basic magic will be very powerful.
>2: spellcasting does not destroy the medium, but still requires the user to be physically connected to whatever the spell is written on. This would mean a caster is completely useless if their spellbook/scrolls is/are taken away.
>3: half and half method: simple spells can be cast several times before they destroy the medium, but more powerful ones burn out much, much faster.
Which method should I go with?
Also, is this take on spellcasting something worthwhile, or is it too restrictive?
>>47307729
I think #3 is the best. My only concern is the amount of bookkeeping it could require, but you could probably find some workarounds to keep it simple.
>>47308839
I hadn't really thought of the bookkeeping aspect, but overall I agree that is probably the best way to go.
>>47307729
How are runes formed into spells, visually?
I've reasoned that my setting's scrolls, spellbooks, and the like have something like this scrawled on them.
>>47309852
That's a fairly good approximation.
Simple runes consist of a circle inside a larger circle. The innermost circle contains a rune of power. A formula is inscribed in the space between the middle circle and the outer one, which defines how the power is used (what it does, and what it acts upon).
More complex runes, especially the spells, are even more like the arcane spell circle in your example. Many spells involve the binding of a spirit. In these cases, the inner symbol is a representation of the bound spirit, the symbols around it actually do the binding, and everything else around it is the formula for the spell proper.
I also have a second type of magic I'm calling sorcery. Sorcerers also bind spirits, but do so by binding them into their own bodies. Whereas a runic spell is activated or released, a sorcerer will "speak" their spell.
>>47308962
Something I'm imagining is having a list of available spells on one's character sheet, plus the number of castings you have of it (plus space for tallymarks of how many times you've used it). In towns or wherever you can purchase more media, and the same amount of money will net you more castings of simpler spells than of more powerful ones, as each medium lasts longer. So for 20 tokens you can get 8 castings of Simple Spell, 5 castings of Less Simple Spell, or 1 casting of Redonk Spell, based on their respective complexity levels.
This allows the bookkeeping to be condensed to when spells are being prepared, while more or less keeping it out of the act of casting. It's still there, just less intrusive. It also means simplicity at the cost of making the fluff of it (using the media to cast spells until they burn out) a bit more abstract.
>>47310903
That sounds like a pretty solid workaround. My thanks.
>>47310044
Ooh. Maybe there could be a hybrid, where someone just has the rune for (say) "fire" bound to their body, then uses media bearing different runes to cast fire spells. So if "fireball" is "large + impact + fire", they'd just need the "impact + fire" runes on a medium.
>>47310953
Could make it tattoo-based. This example here: >>47309852 is actually a tattoo one of my characters has on their upper arm, which acts as a limited use, at-will ability.
>>47310953
That might work better for sorcerers, actually. They contain a spirit in their body, but have to have an external medium to allow them to use its power.
It's a clever idea; I'll have to find a way to use it.
>>47311062
Another idea that just came to me: sorcery is high-level advanced shit. Most people rely on media; however, you can have runes bound directly to your body, which is dangerous and requires someone of very strong fortitude or magical aptitude or whatever you want to be the limiting factor. This lets them cut down on the media they need to use somewhat. If it goes well, eventually they can get another rune bound to their body, and then maybe another. Thus the pinnacle of spellcasting is someone with enough runes bound to them directly that they have a versatile, reliable arsenal of spells available just through the runes bound to them.
With this model, a rune that just reads "impact + large" would be less taxing on the medium than one that reads "impact + large + fire" (and thus get you get more bang for your buck).
Not to hijack your setting or nothin'.
>>47311164
That's pretty much my thinking, actually. Runic magic is an entirely different school of magic from sorcery. Whereas a runic mage's power is limited by what spells they have written down and by the strength of existing spells (like Vancian magic, runic spells have a clearly defined effect), sorcery had no hard upper limit for power. They can even overcharge spells by throwing in extra power from other spells, or even consumed souls, into spells they cast.
I should probably mention that sorcerers are typically the baddies in my setting for these and other reasons.
>>47296500
the more I think about this idea the more I like it
obviously the members of the club would cycle over time, some would leave or get lost in the dungeon, but new people would surely be lured by the promise of treasure.
>>47301341
Not the person you replied to, but that's really useful, something I had never considered when making my flags.
Tell me about your favorite culture's food. Compare it to other cultures' cuisine. Why would I go to a restaurant with their food instead of somewhere else?
Get descriptive; Redwall that shit.
>>47303351
>Which races can learn magic?
All of them.
>Which race is "best" at magic?
None.
>How is magic learned and who teaches it?
The learning part is spontaneous/accidental at first because the magic system is based on a focused/trained mind influencing a certain particle in the universe.
People can learn how to /cast/ spells on their own by trial and error, much like us fiddling with materials and parts. For actual formal learning the common practice is apprenticeship with a more experienced master but one state has a more formalized education system for beginning stages before switching over to more specialized institutions and specific apprenticeship.
>If you have a magic guild or school of some sort, tell us about it.
Gedask has an Imperial Mage Guild that handles the formal training of elite mages where the rest of the population usually avoids the ability as it is seen as dangerous for novices. The Fassure Xuande have an institutional priest-like caste/organization that seeks out promising candidates to train and initiate into their cult. Sha'hara has numerous state and private institutions but heavily regulates the practice with legal standards and license.
>Are there any types of illegal magic?
Due to really bad consequences that is little understood alchemic transmutation is not practiced outside highly controlled circumstances if ever. Generally its just banned.
>>47317466
I can do it for one of my cultures, I'm developing their foodstuff at the moment:
The two staple crops found throughout the deicolorii are corn and wheat, and many meals have these as their base.
The Deicolorii favour hot spices in their food, many islands producing wide ranges of chilies. Common folk eat a porridge of cornmeal that can be dried into a loaf and then grilled or fried. Spices and meat can be added, or sugar or honey for something sweet.
Due to the many islands making up the Deicolorii, there is a huge range in the makeup of generic dishes, with some areas preferring certain local produce over others, or something common at one edge of the group being a delicacy at the other end.
A traditional ‘holiday dish’, enjoyed by common folk on special occasions, is a joint of móg that has been braised in a marinade and then shredded, served in the sauce, with vegetables on the side, sometimes with pasta.
Soft shelled crabs are a seasonal meal, as they can only be harvested when crabs are molting.
Meat is preserved in a similar method to the Spanish ‘Adobo’, marinades. It is also done in traditional drying and smoking huts. The diet is heavy in seafood, with land animals seen as a delicacy, due to the high volume of land needed for them, which is normally given over to trees and to crops, as the bounty of the sea can support most people.
(1/2)
(2/2)
Normally, 2 large meals are had, in the morning and late evening, with small snacks of little plates during the day. These are eaten standing with fingers, or small skewers.
>A parcel of pasta that is filled with regional meats and spices, and then fried.
>Meatballs in regional sauce.
>Small sausages, either cured and sliced, or fried and brought out hot.
>Mussels, sometimes stuffed.
>The fried tentacles or strips of cephalopods
>Small breads
>Cheeses
>Fried vegetables
>Deep fried whole baby octopi
>In poorer areas, fried or grilled polenta with dipping sauces.
>Deep fried unleavened dough with dipping sauces.
>Fritters
>Meat skewers
>Oysters
>Deep fried balls of crab meat and batter.
>>47317466
I am deeply disappointed that pigs can't be milked, which ruins all my fantasy cuisine. Just kidding, I'm going to have them breed special milk pigs anyway.
I'm just not good at culinary. Best I can do is to designate a specific products for each region.
>>47317676
That's what I started with, just a small thing here and there, as it got me onto researching food, methods of preparation, methods of storage and where things grew. A single thing for each region is a great starting point, as it allows a 'jumping off' point.
>>47317531
>Assuming they do, how do non-magic-wielding nobles/royals keep power when wizards and shit exist?
I'm still ironing it out but for now magic elitism has not taken complete hold as anybody, with training, can at least be a low level mage. Powerful mages require so much time and training that they develop specialization myopia, becoming highly competent in their specific field while sacrificing the study of another(like not getting stabbed or shot), I'd like to say it's similar to how in the real world technocrats are not the default leaders.
It helps that the magic that exists in the setting requires a lot of training and discipline for "high level/powerful" spells and the stress can be quite a lot for practitioners. If someone knows what a high level mage is trying to do/cast even a low level mage can counter to reduce its effectiveness or maybe nullify it altogether.
Magic supremacy is more a cultural thing like with the Luwasati where high level practitioners are considered social elites.
>If so, how are these laws enforced? And by whom?
The Xuande mages have taboos against magic and practices they deem dangerous and punishments range from imprisonment(and usually drugged) to death or lobotomy. The Alwara have cultural taboos similar to the Xuande but enforcement is usually done by the various tribal chiefs and their warriors with criminals being usually slain or banished. Gedask rules with an iron fist where magic is concerned and uses its mages and warriors to hunt down and kill violators. Sha'hara has specially trained forces that respond to and capture/kill violators depending on the crime. Those not killed can get a heavy fine(like practicing beyond your license) to imprisonment(misuse or using banned practices).
>>47317655
>>47317674
Wow, you really go all out for this stuff, very nice.
>>47317466
coming from a background of unseasoned gruel, cured meats, boiled beets, more gruel, dark bread and lots of onions, an Idanian (i.e. not!European) peasant will find a typical Valsian diet of spicy pumpkin mush, salt-dried herring, sweet maize bread and the ubiquitous fish-n-bean stew much too flavorful for their tastes, but easier on their teeth. since most Idanians live far away from the shore, they have limited access to salt and use it primarily to conserve food. salty-tasting food is associated with winter and times of need. eating salt-dried fish as casually as you'd eat a bag of doritos is confusing to them.you'd also wanna go to a Valsian restaurant because whale meat fried in its own fat and served with red rice frycakes is The Shit.
>>47317466
The homelands of my main empire consists of dozens of former city states, roughly divided into two main culture groups: the mountain dwellers to the north, and the ones who rule the Empire from the southern floodplain. Southern nobles can measure their wealth by the size of their cattle herds and treat beef products as a status symbol. Cow cheeks and brains in particular are especially prized.
Southern peasants eat little meat, usually sheep or goat when they can get it. Goat is the preferred meatstock for northerners, largely because it's the most practical for their region. Many cities have bred their own special type of goat (just like specialized dog breeds), and compete for the best flavor and such.
Cheese is one of the major food industries. There is a rather heated competition between the north and south over who makes the best cheeses.
Need some help with an idea /wbg/. I'm trying to create a fantasy medieval Canada, but I don't really know what that might look entail. Ideas? I like the idea, but I'm not really sure how to build on it more.
>>47322609
You mean pre-colonized Canada? I suggest starting off with research into the First Nations history, culture and myth, then springing off from there.
If not, then it'd pretty much be fantasy medieval Europe again.
>>47322708
Yeah, I was looking more for post-colonial Canada in a medieval setting, but I could see how it could turn into fantasy medieval Europe.
>>47322776
It would be more like medieval sweden or norway.
>>47322836
Weren't the main colonists French and British?
>>47323028
Yeah, but the way they'd build their colonies and live would be like in medieval sweden/norway.
Of course you can just make a medieval france or england and let there be snow, but it wouldn't be canada, because it wan't colonialised
>>47303351
>Which races can learn magic?
Any race, although it manifests differently based upon old ideas of magic which became bound up to certain races.
>Which race is "best" at magic?
They're all the best at their own forms of magic.
Human magic is based on heroic legends with enchanted weapons, so their school is enchantment.
Elves found magic in life, but this was twisted to its current version of necromancy Life magic lives on through dryads.
The Selkie found it through alcohol
The snake races through alchemy
The sharks through weather
The jungle races through blood and idols
Abysslings from the dark, cold oceanic void
All have nulls who see magic as evil
>How is magic learned and who teaches it?
Magic is taught as a trade. One's affiliation with magic comes from immersion. A human is naturally going to be better at enchantment being raised among humans, but a naga can use enchantment as well if raised among humans.
>If you have a magic guild or school of some sort, tell us about it.
The only organized school is found among the Naga. Nulls have their own cloisters.
>Assuming they do, how do non-magic-wielding nobles/royals keep power when wizards and shit exist?
Magic isn't powerful enough or requires their patronage
>Are there any types of illegal magic?
Depends on the society. Abyss magic, blood magic, or necromancy is almost always illegal. Weather magic is frowned upon.
>If so, how are these laws enforced? And by whom?
Null agents hunt rogue magicians
>>47325154
Do you think colonization is a central aspect of Canada to such a degree that without it not!Canada turns into France/England?
>>47325388
Without colonisation Canada would be a cold forest/tundra
>>47325426
Well, yes, but we're talking about a country that would be based on Canada. If I were to create a medieval country that uses Canadian culture and society for its main influences, do I need to have the country be a liberated colony?
>>47325507
Oh. No I don't think so, but it would be literally England with a french stripe in the middle.
>>47325557
Bummer. That's what I suspected, but was hoping that there would be enough aspects of Canadian culture and society unique enough to make it distinct from English/French/American culture.
>>47303351
>Which races can learn magic?
Every race, but there is a price to pay. Some races can afford more of it, some less. Humans seem to be the most adept at it, but seldomly produce an exceptional magic-user, whereas races like the Woeful (tiny grey humanoids with elongated torsoes, short and skinny limbs and vestigial wings) don't have many magic-users, but the ones they do produce are a force to be reckoned with. And then there's also inherently magical beings like djinn who are the product of someone else's magic.
>How is magic learned and who teaches it?
To form a spell or a hex and be able to use it at will requires binding it to a fragment of your very own person: a memory. Vivid ones are more useful to bind spells to and vital memories yield more powerful magic, but using the spell gnaws away at the memory over time until it is completely consumed. Therefore, it is advised to be careful with what memories you choose to sacrifice - many careless practicioners of magic lose themselves in their magic and become delirious wandering death traps. Those who are not tend to become sage-like teachers of magic when they reach old age, seeking out the magically gifted and ambitious to pass the torch to them. They aren't organized in any kind of institution, instead there's kind of a genealogy of wizards, among humans at least. The other races seem to have their own ways of tapping into magic, ways yet unknown to human scholars.
>Assuming they do, how do non-magic-wielding nobles/royals keep power when wizards and shit exist?
Magic requires concentration and active brain work. A spell being cast usually leaves the caster wide open to attacks and puts heavy strain on their mind, ranging from light headache to full blown migraine. Magic needs preparation time. If you've let a hexer prepare their ritual to put a hex on you, a non-magical assassin would've gotten you just the same.
how do you guys do magic systems?
I need some HAAAAALP
>>47326027
I'm writing books for my world so I....
Don't.
I just leave it vague. I like mystery to magic. A fascination and other worldliness.
I like clearly defined magic some times, but it bores after a while.
I want characters to be confused and flabbergasted and awed by another character's seemingly god-like powers.
>>47326177
in my world, everyone is a mage. They physically fight too but magic is always part of the skillset that boosts. Richest = most powerful mage. Currency comes in two folds: magic paper that does one spellcast or power stones like in that capcom game, Power Stone.
Not sure if currency is good idea, not sure how to organize and limit the magic on less skilled plebs from the demigods via a well organized magic system with good rules...
>>47326177
Not the person you're replying to, but I disagree. Your reader need not be handed clearly defined rules for magic, but as the person writing the material, YOU need to know the rules. If -anything- can happen, then there is no tension and everything is dull. This is where you get "a wizard did it" and other bullshit moments in fiction. Things shouldn't happen just because, and magic is no excuse. Mystery and fascination are great, but there still needs to be a sense of order as well. Rules provide this, but creating rules and following them is not the same thing as boring a reader with details. All a reader needs is enough info to know there -are- rules and to see some sort of consistency. Let 'em figure out rules themselves.
>>47326319
I do have basic rules for my magic, it's not like people can raise the dead or split the sun in half or anything, it's just that there isnt a mages guild, there arne't any textbooks on magics(Biomancy 101; vIII: blood circulation, mana, and you) or anything ridiculous like that.
>>47326365
Anything else you can tell us about the setting? The more information, the more we can help.
>>47326413
Basically, it's sort of mid fantasy(or whatever you call it between low and high fantasy) that borrows heavily from history.
There are three races: Humans, Gargans(giants), and Elzani(elves).
The Humans are two groups: the Western men and the Eastern men. Western men is more western Europe and Mediterranean, whereas the Eastern men are Chinese and Mongolian(with a dash of north american natives).
The Gargans are a mix between Norse and Celt. They live on a large island off the coast of fantasy europe.
The Elzani are brown-skinned elves(fuckyouit'ssexy.png) that are basically pre-muslim Arabia and India, with some Bedouin and Fremen-like Elzani wandering the scorching desert of Duneland.
The magic is going to be a more intrinsic thing, like bending from avatar, but it also going to have some more ritualistic and traditional style to it(how magic was portrayed pre-1900s). So, you got a mage that can bend fire and water and shit, but to do anything super powerful(like summon a demon or enchant a item), they have to do a ritual.
Also, most magically gifted people have mutations. It can range from you being very pale to you having big ass horns coming from your head. It's really rather random.
I'm planning for when the Napoleonic/Industrial era of the world comes about(which I'm rather excited for. Think steampunk in vein of Dishonored and Thief, but with the dystopian themes of good cyberpunk), there is going to be some attempt at an academy, similar to Xavier's school for the gifted: part school, part safe haven for a world that is increasingly becoming non-magic friendly(ie, magic is slowly going away.)
>>47326602
So are you planning on having different kinds of magic, or just one big mass of supernatural phenomena called magic? Will this magic be the same throughout, or will there be different kinds for different cultures?
>>47326710
It's all pretty universal. It's just that one could say that there are two tiers of magic.
The "active magics", where it's typical "manipulate the world around you" thing.
>woman takes hot coals in her hands and cups her hands around her mouth. Proceeds to have flamethrower breath.
>man makes vines from trees grab you.
>ect
and the other, far more powerful, "true magics".
>little girl spends the entire afternoon performing a ritual on her dolly to make it alive. Dolly plays tea time with her.
>evil necromancy, after spending days preparing and readying a legion worth of corpses, begins a long and tiring ritual which, at the end, will have these bodies rise up.
Many concepts of my world, even the magic, are still in the primordial stage and are subject to minor changes.
>>47326819
And all magic users practice both?
>>47326862
depends on how well of a grasp they have on their powers.
If one has never learned how to do rituals, they'll most likely never practice any magical rituals ever.
This is why some mages go out and kidnap magically inclined children. Others go out on a quest to find an old hermit somewhere out in the woods or mountains to learn from them. Others still just never use their powers out of shame, fear, laziness or whatever else have you.
>>47326904
Well what parts of your world do you want to have be universal? It sounds like all magic is practiced the same way, it's just a matter of knowledge. From what its sounds like, two mages from opposite sides of the world practicing magic the same way.
>>47327190
well, the rituals might differ and some rituals may be culturally exclusive. I'd have to think more about it.
Had an idea for a low magic fantasy setting. One of my players adores this sort of world, so I'm making it as bleak as I can stand. Aiming for GoT Lite, or at least an Edge-Free experience similar. Since his scheduling is shit with the other players, I plan on a solo adventure. My aim is to have him run a whole party. He'll roleplay as one of them, and I the others, but he'll be in mechanical control, ala old-Bioware.
Basic plot would be amnesiac person wakes up on a battlefield amid the dead. No memories aside from vague childhood stuff (D&D 5E's backgrounds) and the knowledge that a particular man, a powerful Lord of the realm, was the one who betrayed him, though he seems to have gotten better.Obviously he's secretly a non-undead form of a Revenant brought back by someone the Lord betrayed and implanted with the memories appropriate to someone who would want to kill him. The PC was even in his previous life the Lord's faithful friend and colleague.
Anywho, while I work on a suitable set of plot points for him to crash into, I made a map of the setting and am looking into ideas to fill the world a little. I have a lot about a little, and a little about a lot, so any help will be, er, helpful.
First, the map.
>>47327594
The colors mean what exactly
>>47327697
VERY basic weather patterns. Green is warm and wet, orange is dry, blue is cool/temperate, and purple is arctic/antarctic.
How's this flag look, /wbg/?
/tg/ I need a hand. I'm writing up a group of special abilities for the races of my setting. These powers are kind of meant to let the player do "that one cool" thing once session.
I need an idea for name for the dog race's ability, it's a howl that scares away evil and rallies friends.
I AM THE FORCE THAT CAUSES THE WINDS TO BLOW AND SEAS TO FLOW. Started working on oceanic currents and prevailing winds. Think it's going good so far. Certainly easier than topography and tectonics.
>>47327753
Doesn't harm anybody's sensibilities with ugliness or rule breaking for one. What's the symbolism there? Why that field division? Why green? What's the history behind it? Flags have more quality and worth given to them through history than through aesthetics.
>>47283287
So /tg/, I have a magic system devised (partly for my own personal enjoyment, also possibly because I want to write a story that takes place in the setting, possibly a campaign) but I think it may be too convoluted/hard to explain. Would anyone be willing to give input on it?
>>47329087
>>47329249
This means yes, by the way.
>>47329332
>>47329249
Ok sweet. Here's the pastebin.
http://pastebin.com/Zi60XNNFwarning: might be a bit long
>>47329353
So, at it's most basic level, magic works like the Force, but with the power for actually doing magic stuff coming only from the user. To make magic easier, they have a computer-like device that does the concentration bit for them. Mages have a connection to their device, and it breaking is BAD.
It actually sounds a bit like the magic system from the Eragon books, but with the True Names thing being replaced by math and the device. Even the device/mage connection works like the one between a dragon and rider, and both systems require a person to use up their own "life energy" for casting.
I think the way you describe it is a little convoluted, but the basics are actually rather straight forward.
I'm guessing this is a sci-fi-ish setting?
>>47329044
There any retard proof simple approach to ocean currents and prevailing winds? I tried to study it but felt it was over my head. The cliffnotes I try and keep in mind are:
-Higher altitude terrain is drier.
-Mountains having the 'wet' side and 'dry' side.
-The trade winds or horse latitudes normally bring dry and hot climate. But what I don't understand here is you have the verdant and wet Florida/Caribbean/Texas Gulf area/Mexico or south-East Asia, not just the deserts of the Sahara and Mid-East.
>>47329609
Magitech. So most if not all of the technology is powered by magic but standard tech (ie. electronics) is all handled regularly.
Allow me to clear some stuff up though:
1. Before, mages would just project their consciousness into the vastness of the universe and have reality shape towards their will (basically reality-shapers). However, this was extremely lethal and dangerous so instead devices are used by converting mana (ie magical energy) into magic via mathmatical equations. This means that can't do anything regular people can't do, though that doesn't limit it to "realistic" outcomes (see: time, space, or elemental manipulation magic types).
2. Breaking your device isn't that bad. You just get some mental feedback and have to get a new one. The process is lengthy though.
3. Mana/mana reserves aren't life force. Only through using the full power state (an extremely lethal technique) is a person able to tap into their secondary mana reserves (which use their "life energy" if you want to call it that) to heal sickness and wounds (think of it as the thing that powers your body's self-repair capabilities). Once a person's secondary mana reserves run out, they can't repair their body and any damage done afterwards is permanent.
4. A device is merely a machine, a device isn't sentient. Think of it like a computer that executes programs (ie spells) moreso than a person.
Last point: Don't really see the connection between true names and math and the device. True names are the names of things or words that are called into existence and shaped by the will of the caster, the device is a vessel through which the mage merely injects mana and the device uses the mana as fuel for programs/spells.
Does that make sense?
>>47327753
>>47329064
Neat. Now what do they mean?
>>47329619
Water comes from the ocean. The wet side of a continent is going to be the side where the prevailing winds carry the water from the ocean onto the continent. Less water the further you are from the water. So much less water once you hit a fucking wall, i.e. mountains.
Temperature mostly depends on latitude. However, there is a slight variation on temperature due to oceanic currents. Currents moving polar next to a continent will slightly warm the coast. Currents moving equatorial next to a continent will slightly cool the coast.
Where your low pressure and high pressure zones are, what direction your prevailing winds are, where your prevailing winds are places, etc are all determined by the orbital mechanics and planetary dimensions of your planet. They are not influenced by land or sea (much). If you want to get complicated here and not copy the earth I recommend studying up. However, I recommend copying earth. Due to earth's speed of rotation, size and axial tilt earth has three atmospheric cells per hemisphere. These cause pressure zones like this https://classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com/255/flashcards/4013255/jpg/hadleycells-141B7B5B7F84F9FA33A.jpg and prevailing winds like http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/maps/jpg/WOR_THEM_Winds.jpg.
Oceanic currents are driven by the prevailing winds. The winds are a force that makes the water want to rotate, like a spoon in a glass. What your independent containers where they will rotate in is determined by your continent placement and atmospheric cells. Oceanic currents don't cross low pressure zones (equator and 60 degrees polar), they rotate clockwise in the north and counter clockwise in the north, unless your planet has opposite rotation. Water in general will want to move in the same direction as the prevailing wind. So, grab a chunk of water somewhere in one of your containers and drag it with the wind until it hits some land, then deflect it north or south based on the wind.
>>47329619
>But what I don't understand here is you have the verdant and wet Florida/Caribbean/Texas Gulf area/Mexico or south-East Asia, not just the deserts of the Sahara and Mid-East.
South-east Asia is actually mostly equatorial, not in line with the other two places. It's also mostly islands and peninsulas, so a lot of fucking water.
As for the Caribbean Gulf, it's actually north of most of the Sahara. But the important thing is that the prevailing winds, which come from the East here, have a lot of water to blow into North America but almost none to blow into northern Africa. Arabia is in the way of Africa's water. Iran and India are in the way of Arabia's water. South East Asia is in the way of India and Iran's water. There is no consistent and strong easterly wind over the oceans at these latitudes because there's too much shit in the way and not enough water. Additionally, winds ARE affected by ocean currents, just not for the purposes of my previous post. The hot water from the Atlantic moves west into the Caribbean and because of rotational force it wants to keep going west and north as much as it can. Wind is affected by this, driving hot wet water into the Caribbean gulf.
Look at this map https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Ocean_currents_1943_(borderless)3.png
I find it helps a lot.
>>47329747
>don't really see the connection between true names and math/device
They serve the same function. The true name thing is basically a formula for what the spell does. Your magic literally uses a formula.
1. So it used to work a bit like the Warp, not the Force.
2. Fair enough.
3. I honestly don't see the difference. You use energy from your body. Use too much, or use it in the wrong way, and your body gets hurt. Mana, life force... at that point we're just arguing semantics.
4. I never said I thought they were sentient. I called it a computer.
I think it's a solid system, but you may be trying to over explain it. Also, while I don't think the Eragon similarity is a bad one, on further reflection I admit they're not as close as I first thought.
And magitech is a good way to go. We don't see enough of that.
You going with humans only, or do you have other races as well? You mention a multiverse, does that mean people can travel to other worlds?
>>47329994
>Your magic literally uses a formula.
That's what I was going for, yes.
1. Yes, except without the madness and crazy killing sprees.
3. While I do agree, I do believe that this difference is something important to the system. Your primary mana reserves are your energy (replenished via rest in a very Eragon-esque fashion I will admit). Your secondary mana reserves power your body's ability to fight off disease and repair itself. This cannot be replenished and is the reason why the older you get the sicklier you get. It is also worth noting that only the most skilled mages can tap into their secondary mana reserves, and only the highest tier of mages can use it without repercussions (and even then only for a very limited time). Once you run out of mana in your secondary mana reserves, your body can't repair itself. So while you are partially right, I do think there is a crucial difference between mana and life force. One is your ability to do things, another is your very ability to live. A very slight but crucial difference in my mind.
4. You equated them to dragons which are sentient. If you were referring to the relation between dragon and rider, devices are merely means to an end of casting magic. Even in Eragon, non-riders can be casters (if not as powerful as riders) so the distinction is lost to me. Even if we are talking about devices in a role as mana suppliers (as they are in Eragon) the roles are flipped and even then mages still have to input the commands into the device beforehand and not just leave it all up to the device.
But you are right, I may be trying to over explain it.
>You going with humans only, or do you have other races as well?
Was thinking of only humans
>You mention a multiverse, does that mean people can travel to other worlds?
Was planning on retconing that and making it limited to this galaxy. Before, it was that space mages could manipulate space for not only FTL travel, but also inter dimensional travel.
>>47329955
>>47329860
Appreciate it, I'll save that and look over it when it's not so late on my end.
Slightly confused why currents moving polar would warm and currents moving equatorial would cool - I'd think the reverse would be true or is that the whole water takes longer to heat up (and to cool down) than land at play? Polar water is not as cold as the polar terrain, so a current that runs polar will warm the adjacent terrain?
>>47329955
I was thinking Taiwan, Szeshuan China and so on, my bad on calling it South-East Asia.
>>47331255
That whole comment was worded awfully. My bad. What I meant to say is that a current that moves water away from the equator, i.e into colder waters, will warm the land. The opposite for the opposite direction. Just like a wind moving from a source of moisture onto land will bring the moisture with it, so will water bring temperature. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Annual_Average_Temperature_Map.jpg shows it okay. This is the gulf stream effect.
>>47294942
Mega-sloths. Alternatively, protowhales. Big, bad, protowhales. Like, Moby Dick, but badder and with more teeth.
>>47303351
>Which races can learn magic?
In the known world, Humans and Elves.
>Which race is "best" at magic?
Elves
>How is magic learned and who teaches it?
Magic is genetic, and is much more common among elves than humans. It can be amplified at certain locations, or "magic hotspots". Those with magical potential can cast spells by force of will, but anything other than tricks like creating a spark or small flame, flashes of light, or simple enchantments like changing hair or eye colour involves serious concentration and exhausts the user. The most advanced magic that can be done in this way involves healing wounds and is greatly taxing, practiced only by skilled medicine men/women.
Elves, unlike humans, have learned to first draw the "magical potential" from the surrounding environment and use that energy for their spells instead of attempting to cast the spell directly, which makes much more advanced magic possible. The degree of which depends on the amount of energy available in the environment, thus the most powerful spells can only be cast around magical hotspots.
Elves are taught by magic professors at institutions of higher learning. Very rarely (if at all) do elves accept human students.
Medicine men/women pass on their craft to their children. Lay humans who have magical potential in their blood often either do not discover their abilities, or discover them accidentally and go on to teach themselves.
>If you have a magic guild or school of some sort, tell us about it.
In Elven lands, magic is a government institution, with departments, faculties, and bureaucracies that entails.
There isn't anything like this in human lands, since magic is much rarer and humanity as a whole hasn't learned how to harness the magical potential of the environment like elves have.
(cont'd)
>Assuming they do, how do non-magic-wielding nobles/royals keep power when wizards and shit exist?
Racial unity is pretty strong in the Elven lands and so there isn't much risk of conflict between wizards and the non-mages in government. That being said, there are spells of Silence, and if there's a rogue mage there will always be another mage willing to Silence them while a mob of guards drubs the nonconformer over the head.
Rogues can then be placed in prisons in areas of extreme low magical potential, where any advanced spellcasting is simply impossible.
>Are there any types of illegal magic?
In Elven lands magic is controlled like many things are controlled today: you can't start throwing fireballs unless you have a license for offensive magic, you can't heal people without a healing magic license, can't use magic to fortify construction unless you've got a license for that, either.
It's very difficult to acquire a license for things like raising the dead...
>If so, how are these laws enforced? And by whom?
There are police mages (known as "Librarians") who are explicitly trained in Silencing. They can cast a spell that removes all the magical potential from the area for a time, while regular old guards move in to capture the rogue.
All of this is unique to the Elves.
I want to develop world on following premises:
>There are multiple universes
>Each has slightly different laws of nature
>Travel between universes is possible for some people and any foreign technology would be magic incomprehensible for locals
So for example in some other world electronics and internal combustion is magic, but telepathy and faith healing are facts of life.
But I can't really decided what difference to make between world.
>>47335069
Maybe base the worlds around themes, e.g. this is a world of floating continents and steampunk airships with a gas that doesn't exist in other universes. This is a world of hard sci-fi, where space is a decidedly hostile environment and space travel is still a huge endeavor. And then this world has hyperdrives, gravity technology and SSTO ships that only work because their tech exploits that universe's fundamental laws of physics.
Something like that.
Work in progress. What do you think?
The scale is quite large(5km per pixel) so I only mark the important cities.
bumpan
>>47337084
Someone literally just posted you dumb fuck.
>Designing the general look of an otherworldly faction
>Despise 3edgy5me visual motifs
>Problem: Given the nature of what the faction is centered around, those motifs fit in the non edgy way, but it still bothers more
>Considering dropping that for "cosmic" or space themed stuff like pic related
>>47337126
This guy on the picture seems less cosmic and more like an electric ghost.
Otherwise you didn't say anything about anything that could help anyone to advice you.
>>47337126
>seems less cosmic and more like an electric ghost
>Cosmic Knight 2: Electric Boo-galoo
As someone that is a huge fan of military structures and systems, what are some of the militaries you guys have created for your settings? or do you just not pay it all that much attention?
>>47337126
You're way too vague for anyone to be able to give anything but the vaguest advice back.
So: don't give a shit about visual motifs. If it fits, it fits. Or just get other motifs that also fit.
>>47337099
Thread hadn't updated with his post when I refreshed. Calm your shit.
>>47337208
A mixture of the hidalgo system combined with Napoleonic conscription for one army, mass badly-trained peasant levies used mostly as magic-fodder and lead by the monastic/warrior elite for another, literal slave armies lead by false runequest-style heroes, another hidalgo-like system but this time with Polish Commonwealth undertones, and so on.
I mostly care about militaries in regards to where they're drawn from, their political ramifications and, most importantly, any hooks for players.
>>47337208
I just try looking up the structures and organizations that fit for whatever faction I'm trying to make and emulate them wholesale.
Roman-style faction would have a probably post-Marian Reforms legions, something in WW2 would have panzer divisions and the like, etc.
Depending on what you're making the world for (e.g. a story about a group of people), you don't have to delve deep into military structures, but it's good to learn at least the basics so you don't mix up a battalion with a brigade, or put a platoon into a navy.
>>47337313
>put a platoon in a navy
marines exist so they technically can exist in a navy but I get your point
>>47337208
I didn't really invented much. My most prominent military power employs system which usually puts one competent guy in charge of a village tasking him to assemble a squad that can perform. As a result military is fragmented into tiny squads where best you can hope is that they will reach the rally point together. If you really lucky today, they might even make something resembling a formation. But most of the time it's just gloryhound rush towards the enemy.
Only thing saving them is that their enemies are just as terrible.
>>47337208
My main region isn't developed enough to have lasting, powerful kingdoms or empires, and populations tend to be rather small. As a consequence, warfare is usually a smale-scale affair.
My main civilization, the closest thing to an organized kingdom, organizes its armies as follows:
When war is declared, the council of nobles/elders elect officers from among the noble families. These will then call upon the citizenry to form a cadre of soldiers. These citizen-soldiers have training every month or two, but are only allowed to carry real weapons during wartime. Each citizen family is sworn to a noble family and are organized during combat along these lines. So, a noble with lots of sworn citizen families would lead a large force.
Only the wealthiest citizens can afford armour, but all are issued sturdy shields, helms, and spears (maintained by the noble families). Combat tends to look like poorly organized phalanx warfare; organized battle formations are a relatively new development.
Each city/town is also allied to one or more tribes of hunter/gatherers, who winter in the towns and trade furs and such the rest of the year. During peacetime, they also act as a police force. Since they have no stake or authority in the city, they are considered safe and so are allowed weapons (typically bows).
During wartime they serve as scouts/pathfinders/foragers, and during battle they act as supporting missile troops. They leave the close combat stuff to the townies, however.
When towns/cities fight each other, an expensive proposition, the belligerents will usually decide on a mutually agreeable battlefield and fight out one large, decisive battle so everyone can go home.
When fighting foreigners, things tend to last a bit longer and the tribes tend to do most of the fighting.
In fact, the tribes do such a good job that many foreign people consider this region to be haunted.
No one in the region has horses or cavalry.
