/wbg/ - Worldbuilding General
- Home
- Board: /tg/ - Traditional Games
- Reading: /wbg/ - Worldbuilding General
Worldbuilding Thread - Lovecraft Edition
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
Questions:
>What's the name of your world? What does it originate from? Do different cultures have different names for your world?
>How much time do you devote to worldbuilding?
>What are your main inspirations (book/tv series, comics, historical events, etc)?
>What's the most fun part of worldbuilding for you?
>Have you ever spent a bunch of time and energy on a world, just to have your group end after a couple of sessions? Or do you worldbuild for a book/comic/just for the fun of it?
>What's an idea that you wish you had come up with?
>>46063312
Hard Mode Questions:
>What is the most crazy, whacked out religion in your world?
>What are some of the gods/goddesses in your world?
>Do you have any religions with a common root, like the Abrahamic religions in our world?
>Continuing from the last point, are there any subtle crossovers between religions (like the connection between gods like Zeus and Indra from our world)?
>What are some of the rituals/ceremonies from the religions in your world?
>How have your different religions shaped the history of your world?
>>46063312
>>What's the name of your world? What does it originate from?
Antum, from the word Antumnos, the gaulish other/underworld.
>Do different cultures have different names for your world?
Yes but I can't be arsed to come up with them. NAMES ARE HARD.
>>How much time do you devote to worldbuilding?
Maybe 10-20 hours a week?
>>What are your main inspirations (book/tv series, comics, historical events, etc)?
All media I consume. There's a lot of ideas from novels/rpg settings mixed with stuff from real world cultures. Even some ideas from songs tossed in there.
>>What's the most fun part of worldbuilding for you?
Anthropology. Making up cultures and the history of why they are how they are fascinates me.
>>Have you ever spent a bunch of time and energy on a world, just to have your group end after a couple of sessions? Or do you worldbuild for a book/comic/just for the fun of it?
If I ever managed to be satisfied enough with it I may actually run a game set in it.So probably never
>>What's an idea that you wish you had come up with?
I'm sure several, but nothing comes to mind.
I'm actually having trouble coming up with a name for the world I'm building. How do you come up with good ones?
>>46063312
>What's the name of your world? What does it originate from? Do different cultures have different names for your world?
Heiros. It doesn't have an origin yet. Other cultures have names, the civilized cultures all have one bastardized form of the name they use and the fringe cultures each have their own name.
>How much time do you devote to worldbuilding?
Not enough. Maybe 5-10 hours a week at most.
>What are your main inspirations (book/tv series, comics, historical events, etc)?
Tolkien just for his depth of detail. My main historical influence is the Hellenistic Period since I want the world to be in that technological period. CoC.
>What's the most fun part of worldbuilding for you?
All the parts are pretty fun honestly. Only the cosmology is really "hard" because it requires really abstract thought but even that is fun.
>Have you ever spent a bunch of time and energy on a world, just to have your group end after a couple of sessions? Or do you worldbuild for a book/comic/just for the fun of it?
The current world I'm making is for use in a video game I'm making. I don't think I would ever make a world solely for a campaign, I would make the world for fun and then happen to use it for a campaign.
>What's an idea that you wish you had come up with?
Uh. I'm not too sure. I'm not opposed to "stealing" an idea so I don't have regrets really. A good idea is a good idea! That being said there's probably something out there I wish I had been the one to come up with.
>>46063848
You can just string some catchy sounds together (the Faerûn method), name it after the narrative center of the setting *the Greyhawk method*) or figure out its role within your own mythology (the Middle Earth method).
*Or if you wanto to be a stickler about it beinhg Oeridia, then call it the Ravenloft method
>>46063848
There's no real perfect way to answer this. It depends on what YOU personally are looking for in a world name.
Do you want a name that sounds satisfying? For instance I think Azeroth is a really satisfying name from a "rolls of the tongue" perspective.
Do you want a name that has meaning? Maybe it is a reference to name of the god whose body makes up most of the planet. Maybe it's a bastardization of the word for "Truth" in some ancient language.
You can have both or even more objectives of course but first you need to decide on what you want the objective to be in picking that name.
>>46063312
>What's the name of your world? What does it originate from? Do different cultures have different names for your world?
I'll admit, this is something I have yet to puzzle out. I've yet to really get into the nitty-gritty of building some conlangs, and I've assumed a name for the world will arise from that, even if it comes from one language's word for "dirt". And yes, I plan on the name of the planet being differing between cultures.
>How much time do you devote to worldbuilding?
Depends on the amount of free time the day gives me, but at least an hour daily.
>What are your main inspirations (book/tv series, comics, historical events, etc)?
I'm a history nerd, so I take a lot from just reading about interesting events. Knowledge of history is indispensable to worldbuilding, of course, but it's a double-edged sword. I'm constantly checking myself to ensure I'm not simple transplanting history, but am still giving it a fresh spin. Same with my characters, who tend to draw from all sorts of well-established media.
>What's the most fun part of worldbuilding for you?
There's always that "eureka" moment, where you realize that "Hey, this all makes perfect sense! That's really cool!" Realizing how certain elements can work in concert, or how a new bit of inspiration makes everything click, is such a fun thing with any creative endeavor.
>Have you ever spent a bunch of time and energy on a world, just to have your group end after a couple of sessions? Or do you worldbuild for a book/comic/just for the fun of it?
I experienced the former example once, long ago. Sudden player death (or at least, permanent loss of internet presence) kinda put a damper on the whole campaign. Now my worldbuilding efforts are focused on a setting for (at least) a novel.
>What's an idea that you wish you had come up with?
Pic related. It's served as inspiration for basically my entire high concept.
>>46063848
Recently I remade a map of a major nation with Inkarnate. It's a little rough and loose, but it's better than the MS paint crap I use to make people mad around here.
>What's the name of your world? What does it originate from? Do different cultures have different names for your world?
Lautumai. It's a purposeful bastardization of a word that I forgot in another language that loosely means 'ceiling'.
>How much time do you devote to worldbuilding?
16 hours/day
>What are your main inspirations (book/tv series, comics, historical events, etc)?
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
A Song of Ice and Fire
Guild Wars
Ravnica
Torin's Passage
>What's the most fun part of worldbuilding for you?
Making fey.
>Have you ever spent a bunch of time and energy on a world, just to have your group end after a couple of sessions? Or do you worldbuild for a book/comic/just for the fun of it?
Yes, but then I kept on going, since I've run 3 separate games in this world,
>What's an idea that you wish you had come up with?
The idea of a nested world.
>>46064040
>for basically my entire high concept.
Do you mind elaborating on this? I am not quite sure what you mean. A drug high or a higher state of existence? I'm interested either way.
>>46063312
>>What's the name of your world? What does it originate from? Do different cultures have different names for your world?
My main work right now is a Sci-Fi setting in the Milky Way, but I have a name for the setting that I use when referring to it irl. "Last Children of Earth"
>>How much time do you devote to worldbuilding?
All the time. I'm almost always day dreaming in the back of my head about games, characters, or my various settings. Actual concrete work? Not nearly as much as I should. The only time it gets written down is when I talk about it here.
>>What are your main inspirations (book/tv series, comics, historical events, etc)?
For LCoE? I've got Mass Effect, Dues Ex, Eclipse Phase, Traveller, Destiny, and a few other Sci-Fi settings. I'm trying to keep it relatively unique though. Another side project called Antediluvia which is sword and sorcery setting is largely influenced by Conan, Dreamquest, history, and paleontology/speculative evolution.
>>What's the most fun part of worldbuilding for you?
I honestly couldn't say. I just like seeing it come together. Especially when I can feel immersed in my own worlds.
>>Have you ever spent a bunch of time and energy on a world, just to have your group end after a couple of sessions? Or do you worldbuild for a book/comic/just for the fun of it?
Nope, because I just do it for fun.
>>What's an idea that you wish you had come up with?
A fantasy world with all the mythical beasts replaced by pre-historic animals/most of the fantasy races replaced with various hominids.
>>46064101
>>46064101
I find your choice of colours for the Ocean and iLwurg highly confusing at a glance
>>46063312
>What's the name of your world? What does it originate from? Do different cultures have different names for your world?
Novard, which is just a bastardization of New World in Swedish. The cultures don't have a name for the world, because they don't have other worlds to go to.
>How much time do you devote to worldbuilding?
I've lost control of my life.
>What's the most fun part of worldbuilding for you?
When I "discover" something rather than "reason something out".
>Or do you worldbuild for a book/comic/just for the fun of it?
I'm worldbuilding for myself.
>What is the most crazy, whacked out religion in your world?
The Nemoran Skeletons worship what they call the "Elder Lich", as a Patron Saint of Skeletons. The only other people who worship the Elder Lich are crazy necromancers and death cultists.The Nemorans see this as cultural appropriation
>What are some of the gods/goddesses in your world?There aren't actually any gods or goddesses. Clerics and Paladins gain power through faith alone. An Atheist Cleric would have no power.
>Do you have any religions with a common root, like the Abrahamic religions in our world?
Not really. All of the religions in my world worship an idealized version of a historical figure.
>What are some of the rituals/ceremonies from the religions in your world?
Depends heavily on the religion. Dwarves have a nice ceremony whenever they find Mythril. The Mythril ends up gaining magical properties by the end of it.
>How have your different religions shaped the history of your world?
Elves worshiping the Springmother and Dwarves worshiping the Forge God are what led to the mortal races uniting to purge evil.
>>46064164
Take it up with the way the tool works.
Anything that isn't a landmass is stuck one particular color.
>>46064106
a 'high concept' is basically a punchline -- it's a short, succinct idea that tells you everything you need to know about the concept. Think of it like a movie pitch for a summer blockbuster or something, like 'what if we lived inside a computer simulation?' for The Matrix.
>>46064013
>>46063977
How do you choose between languages of your setting's races/cultures?
>>46064106
"High concept" refers to the core idea of a creative work, summed up succinctly. Take, say, Ghostbusters for example--you can tell pretty much all you need from the title alone, but going further, it could be summed up as "Misfit paranormal experts/entrepreneurs fight ghosts with science (and snark)." It's a way to pitch your idea to an audience, and such a pitch can have a big impact on its reception.
>>46064329
Oh ho ok I have seen that before in terms of the, "Describe your work in one sentence" thing. Thanks for explaining!
>>46063848
Unless you're making a sci-fi setting (or at least one with interplanetary travel/colonization), your world shouldn't have a name.
Worlds are only given proper nouns when there are many known worlds. Otherwise, you just have synonyms of "ground" or "universe."
>>46063574
>What is the most crazy, whacked out religion in your world?
The Dragons have a cult going where they claim to be the sperm of the Sun God (Lord of Summer) that fell out of the Moon Goddess (The Winter Queen) when he finished inside her, producing the Gods of Spring and Autumn. This means they're proto-gods and thus worthy of worship. The crazy part is they secretly believe that the planet itself is a giant egg, and if they were to burrow deep enough into it they could fertilize it and become a true god themselves.
>What are some of the gods/goddesses in your world?
There's the Sun God, known by many names depending on the setting (I typically use Soleil) and the Moon Goddess, also known as the Winter Queen. From there? It really depends, because some religions believe in the Lords of Spring and Autumn, while others believe that only the Sun Lord and Moon Lady exist, and others go so far as to claim only a single over-god (The Lord of Creation) is out there.
>Do you have any religions with a common root, like the Abrahamic religions in our world?
See above, all religions began with worship of Light and Dark, as the souls of Man are themselves composed of both elements (Dragons are mostly Light, and Elves are mostly Dark.) Eventually proto-man put two and two together and began to associate Light and Dark with Fire and Ice, then Sun and Moon and then eventually Summer and Winter.
>How have your different religions shaped the history of your world?
It's the state religion of Chalon and has permeated the continent in a way similar to Catholicism in Europe; kings are anointed in holy fire, the Elves heavily utilize the divine might of winter, even the Undead Empire of the far Northeast have devoted their existence to an eternity of quiet contemplation and asceticism.
>>46063312
>What's the name of your world? What does it originate from? Do different cultures have different names for your world?
for personal reference I call it "the Salt & Silver world", in-universe people call it Earth or the equivalent in their language. for the Valis that would translate to "5th World" - "the Sunlands" for the Ahigbeni, "the Grand Equation" for the Sharac... basically all from their respective religions' creation myths.
>>46064334
Usually I start out with how I want it to look or feel and then work backwards.
What's become of that skype group for worldbuilding consultation and stuff?
>>46064334
I'm not sure what you're asking exactly. How do I choose a name from the various languages in my setting?
I've been working on a super hero world for a bit now, I was wondering what you guys thought of it
At the end of WW1 Super powered beings began to appear en masse, the veterans and survivors of the fighting suddenly developing powers and abilities.
With the birth of the new powers a new weapon was found. With the backing of the world's militaries, studies and training to develop these powers further began. The effects of this were catastrophic the crossfire of the super powered fighting caused more damage to the land and innocent lives than every war combined. To this day the western front of the war is a dead zone where no human or any animal could ever safely live, Hawaii had been completely erased from the earth and Japan had been shattered to thousands of islands. The World was visibly scarred forever.
In the wake of the chaos five powered individuals appeared, their powers much greater than any other of their contemporaries. They called themselves The Hands of Fate, they explained that the source of all the powers that had been causing so much pain was an entity named Fate. Fate had decided to grant the truly heroic or the ones who truly wished for power these abilities and they would be its Guardians for something in the future. So the name Guardians of Fate was applied to all powered individuals, eventually being shortened to Guardian.
At the end of the war a law was passed by all nations, that no Guardians will ever be used for war again. With nowhere to go, for a time Guardians were treated as pariahs usually isolated or when discovered the area would be evacuated. Until the day Guardian Entertainment was born, a Global entertainment conglomerate offering every Guardian an opportunity to become famous and do good in a much more controlled environment as time went on it eventually evolved into GTV, Guardian television.
(for the most part it acts like if the WWE worked with super heroes)
>>46063574
>What is the most crazy, whacked out religion in your world?
Well, their is a religion dedicated to a lesser god whose shtick is torture. They see torturing someone to death as sending them to the gods side and thus a great honour.
>What are some of the gods/goddesses in your world?
Well, theres Justinia which is basically Judge Dredd with a hammer and boobs. Theres Iarmhéid whom is basically a god of diplomacy and elderly wisdom. Theres Ritalia, whom is a trickster god in a similar vein as Loki.
>Do you have any religions with a common root, like the Abrahamic religions in our world?
All the ''religions'' originate from the same pantheon, with minor deviations to include non-deitific entities and the Creator of each race. So... yes?
>Continuing from the last point, are there any subtle crossovers between religions (like the connection between gods like Zeus and Indra from our world)?
Not much subtle. Because theres a fixed and active pantheon, most gods are well known. Difference arise regarding which are considered worthy of worship and varied interpretations and names. Most places have a broad pantheon but some cults focused on singular gods exist
>What are some of the rituals/ceremonies from the religions in your world?
Theres a variety. As I mentioned, one cult considers death through torture the only way to ascend to heaven and thus some of the cults saints will consciously torture themselves until they die. One group of dwarves has taken the deification of smithing to heart and uses smith hammers in all their ceremonies. This means that when they marry, the couple must form the rings together in the eyes of the priest, each embellishing it as an expression of love.
>How have your different religions shaped the history of your world?
Lots of wars and bullshit. One of my races has turned into the vietcong because of divine bullshit.
>>46064894
I can't even decide what I want it to sound like. It just wasn't a question I cared about until after I'd set up all the cultures.
>>46064996
Yes.
>>46063574
>How have your different religions shaped the history of your world?
By far the best answer to this is "war."
Let's be honest here, /wbg/, isn't conflicting religions one of the most fun ways to start a military conflict in your setting? Whether it's a Crusade or Cleansing of Heresy, you can't just go wrong with stabbing a man that just worships a different (or different interpretation) of a deity.
In fact, not enough settings take into account good old-fashioned excuses for war, too many are clear-cut Good/Evil when it should be claimant wars or previously mentioned religious conflicts.
>>46065101
>whom are they
>>46065114
Like >>46064894 I decided on how I wanted it to sound and feel and went from there. I personally went with the, I want the name to have a meaning that you realize when everything clicks together feel. If you think about it long enough you'll likely come to something that you want the name to reflect and you can go from there.
>>46064334
>>46064894
>mfw you run into someone that thinks you shouldn't base the language of Not!France off of French.
Well golly.
>>46065271
If I had a not!France on my setting, their language would just be French, with the sole exception that my grammatical errors are in fact totally correct for them.
>>46065295
>their language would just be FrenchIt literally is French, complete with provinces and castles being named after real-world French provinces and castles.
Nobody's gonna get that Bellac is a real place.
>>46063312
>>What's the name of your world? What does it originate from? Do different cultures have different names for your world?
Domhain, from the Irish for ''World''. I wasn't particularly bothered about it desu. A lot of cultures have varying names, often based on a founder or a prominent location and the groups composition.
>>How much time do you devote to worldbuilding?
As of right now, not that much. I sorta burned myself out. However, before christmas I spent a long, long time at it, building a map, dividing it up, providing lore and religions and so forth.
>>What are your main inspirations (book/tv series, comics, historical events, etc)?
Basically historical cultures and events that I find interesting crossed with both Warhammers, some random inspiration from '/tg/ and whatever made sense to me or that I found interesting enough to include. Some input from a friend as well, if that counts.
>>What's the most fun part of worldbuilding for you?
Honestly, I enjoy taking an idea and following it. What I hate is having to slog my way through the parts where Im not getting any ideas.
>>Have you ever spent a bunch of time and energy on a world, just to have your group end after a couple of sessions? Or do you worldbuild for a book/comic/just for the fun of it?
I actually have only just built my first world so no risk their yet. And as DM its my intention to use the same world multiple times. My current campaign will be universally canon, thereafter campaigns might take place in AUs just to avoid having to keep track of too much stuff in case the other DM in the group wants to go back to DMing and use the world.
>>What's an idea that you wish you had come up with?
I like some parts of the Dragon Age templar thing, namely the risks of addiction and so forth. I kinda want to integrate it into my setting for paladins but I don't want to screw the PCs over too much. They already have to deal with vietcong kobolds for god sake.
>>46065233
Whom are who?
>>46063574
>What is the most crazy, whacked out religion in your world?
In my 3rd setting there was a group of transhumans who's founder was a absolute madman who preached that God was the world and thus as pieces of the world every emotion felt was of God. So holding back any emotional urge was attempting to deny the divine.
They basically later on genetically engineer themselves to be barely unable to control any emotional urge they feel and upped their pleasure/pain sensations to absurd levels.
It's only later on they realized not only is there real gods but those gods have it out for them for a multitude of reasons.. So they basically wind up creating this batshit insane plan to effect the abyssal sea with a large enough charge of sadism and turmoil in order to create a god then once the creation starts use magical resonance to fire the power directly at their own souls and turn themselves into soulless creatures that will escape damnation.
Near the end they wouldn't even functional as a society if it wasn't for the artificial beings they built as intermediaries.
>What are some of the gods/goddesses in your world?
This depends majorly. Almost every supernatural being in all my settings declares itself a god and in my main ones a lot of the major gods known by man were just servants to the original makers of the world and some beings that don't claim godhood can crush what most people call gods easily. Not even including that the original makers were just offshoots of the first original age of creation.
>Do you have any religions with a common root, like the Abrahamic religions in our world?
Plenty. It's harder to do that in settings where there is a real god there though. In my main one it tends to be rare for true connections outside of a single universe. In the third it happens all the time due to the major god being a 7 in 1 broken being. So seven aspects that each have a different interpretation but each is part of the dead first god of the world.
>What's the name of your world? What does it originate from? Do different cultures have different names for your world?
There is too many world for me to even start with this one.
>How much time do you devote to worldbuilding?
When ever I am in the mood and have time to let my mind drift. So a whole lot sometimes a lot less other times. Average I would say is 5 hours a day at work.
>>What are your main inspirations (book/tv series, comics, historical events, etc)?
The iron dragon's daughter
My work is not yet done
Faith of our fathers
HP lovecraft
Lords of light/Call me Conrad/Creatures of light and darkness
Elric of Melnibone
Jacobs ladder.
Pretty much any religious myths I can read up on.
My years of watching anime.
>>What's the most fun part of worldbuilding for you?
Making up scripture and cosmology. I can sit for hours on end just debating the in setting morality of a gods omniscience and the effects it has on free will. Or just in general what a soul is or isn't and what each supernatural being is.
I tend to build cultures last based around what normal people would figure out about the cosmology or fail to figure out but think they have.
>Have you ever spent a bunch of time and energy on a world, just to have your group end after a couple of sessions? Or do you worldbuild for a book/comic/just for the fun of it?
Mostly for the fun of it these days.
>What's an idea that you wish you had come up with?
Far too many.
>What's the name of your world? What does it originate from? Do different cultures have different names for your world?
I should probably figure something out there, huh? Or maybe I'll just continue not naming it and never have anyone refer to the world by name. The god from whose body its composed is called Earth.
>How much time do you devote to worldbuilding?
Who fucking logs this shit? Twenty minutes one year, a month the next.
>What are your main inspirations (book/tv series, comics, historical events, etc)?
Are there really people who keep track of this?
>What's the most fun part of worldbuilding for you?
Languages.
>Have you ever spent a bunch of time and energy on a world, just to have your group end after a couple of sessions? Or do you worldbuild for a book/comic/just for the fun of it?
Mostly for the fun, but I'm thinking I'll make a LN of it one of these days. Problem is learning to code the mechanics I want, and the huge effort of populating everything with events, while I don't have a dynamic party trying to do shit for me to make the world react to.
>What's an idea that you wish you had come up with?
No such thing. If I want to use an idea I do, it doesn't matter who came up with it.
>What is the most crazy, whacked out religion in your world?
There's some goblins who throw their dead over the side in order to let them join the dead of the sunken empire. That's kinda crazy. There's also some pale-faced moon warriors who never laugh. They're less of a religion and more of a holy order among moon worshipers though.
>What are some of the gods/goddesses in your world?
The big five are Sun, Moon, Earth, Sky, and Darkness. Humans, elves, and dwarves (who are generally very similar) hold these to be the only true divinities. Excepting the black elves and the gnomes, and the human barbarians and maybe the magocratic commies, who have other religions. In general, other religions still acknowledge those five as extant, but besides those five primordial beings, there's smaller spirits of just about everything (except the sea or anything under it) and there's deified heroes.
>Do you have any religions with a common root, like the Abrahamic religions in our world?
Yeah, the five-god thing is pretty much common. Elves claim its origin but it predates good records. Faestir and lizards both worship the old dragons, who are dead now, and the dwarves venerate their ancestors in opposition to the Others.
>Continuing from the last point, are there any subtle crossovers between religions (like the connection between gods like Zeus and Indra from our world)?
Nothing that's subtle, really.
>What are some of the rituals/ceremonies from the religions in your world?
Moon folk tend to go on rapine night-time raids under the full moon, sun priestesses have an annual thing where everyone fucks them and the fields grow better, the Sky favored gets up to all kinds of eldritch shit. Earth doesn't really have any, and Darkness rituals are careful secrets passed down in different lineages, and vary a lot.
>How have your different religions shaped the history of your world?
Mostly just inspired geopolitical conflicts I guess.
post cool pictures
>>46066384
>select all images with a storefront
dude captcha is out of control
>>46066407
>He doesn't try to select all the pies and fail only to question everything he knows about pies and come to the conclusion there is still much to learn.
Captcha is the path to enlightenment anon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKfqjp0UBUQ
This song helped me write about the "Lucifer/Satan" figure in my setting.
>>46066407
There's a setting called classic captcha or something that'll take away that bullshit.
>>46067147
>>46067355
Credit to some anon on /tg/
>>46063312
>>What's the name of your world? What does it originate from? Do different cultures have different names for your world?
Haven't really gotten around to that yet. I was thinking of something in the draconic language since they are the only ones to circumnavigate the world.
>>How much time do you devote to worldbuilding?
Not enough. Finals are done but I still have a motorcycle to work on and thinking about going for summer classes or courses.
>>What are your main inspirations (book/tv series, comics, historical events, etc)?
You could say the real world in general. Especially current events, consciously and subconsciously. Details are tidbits gathered here and there.
>>What's the most fun part of worldbuilding for you?
Making a setting and making its parts fit as well as possible.
>>Have you ever spent a bunch of time and energy on a world, just to have your group end after a couple of sessions? Or do you worldbuild for a book/comic/just for the fun of it?
Just for the fun of it. I use them for game settings also. Doesn't matter if its shelved after a few games, it's not as if you can't use it again.
I feel if your not having fun just making a setting then you shouldn't unless you're getting compensated for it. It's a lot of time and energy to invest in something you don't enjoy.
>>What's an idea that you wish you had come up with?
I have quite a few. Like the Good Lich concept thing /tg/ did. Those magic shell things from Nanoha. The history of Wolfs Dragoons and a whole host of others I can't remember right now because I likely blocked it out to spare me the grief.
>>46065096
>WWE worked with super heroes
>SuperMcMahon manages and makes the drama for the entire thing as the BBEG heel.
I rike it
>>46063312
Does anyone happen to have that Campaign Cartographer 3 addon for city design? City Designer 3 I think it's called. I googled the hell outta it, but all I could find was a CC3+DD torrent.
I put the Great Race of Yith in my world.
They are a played out as a mysterious race that lives in the arctic, and anyone who goes looking for them ends up found in their board with their brain missing.
Thoughts?
>trying to make a conlang
>everytime I make some progress I decide I don't like how it looks and start over
This has been going on for over a year now
How would a city state dedicated to education defend itself from a city state dedicated to war and conquest? What about a trade city?
My setting has 3 major cities on a warm sea.
Scholar city is basically run like a medieval university or ancient philosophy school. Social status is largely the result of education level, general intelligence, and intellectual contributions given to the city.
War city is based on Sparta, Rome, and a bit of Nazi Germany.
And Merchant city is largely based on medieval Italy, ancient Carthage, and Constantinople.
I want to have an order in my game called the 'Torchbearers', but I know there is already an RPG game called Torchbearer (I haven't played it though). Has anyone played and can you tell me if the name references a specific in-game group? I don't want to rip it off, but I also just really like the name.
Am I the only one who tries to read posts of people answering the OP questions, but gets bored a few words in, and ends up not reading any of them?
>>46071119
If we're talking realistically, every city state is going to be dedicated to war and conquest at least to the extent of not getting conquered themselves. Largely because any that don't are conquered, and so aren't city states.
For example, Carthage/Constantinople/medieval Italy all had large armies, medieval Italy being very famous for its mercenaries. Scholar cities didn't really exist as states AFAIK, but you could have a militia system where training in arms is considered an important part of becoming an intellectual -- liberty and all that.
>>46063312
>Worldbuilding Thread
>Lovecraft Edition
Oh fuck yes.
>>46071297
This is true.
>>46071119
The mercenary point in >>46071297 is a good one - the Italaian city states were famous for using condottieri and mercenary great companies to fight wars for them, to the extent that a couple even went bankrupt because of it. Look into Sir John Hawkwood, the Company of the Star, etc. If the philosophy school was rich, it could afford to use these. Watch out though, Hawkwood was famous for accepting bribes from those he was supposed to fight against and would switch sides if he got a better offer.
The other thing to think about is leagues, most famously, the Hanseatic League. I haven't read much about it so it's not something I fully understand, but basically it's an economic and to a lesser extent defense alliance between a series of cities which can cross country boundaries. So the philosophy school may be a part of a league of cities, which it offers some rare or valuable product to. Maybe this city has great tech due it's schools, so it offers these other cities tech in exchange for defense if it ever gets attacked.
>>46071119
>>46071297 Nailed it pretty well. Merchant cities would have their standing city guard and good supply of mercenaries in case of needing them.
>>46063574
>What is the most crazy, whacked out religion in your world?
Tribal Raks believed that the whole of reality was an endless war between different gods of nature. Lightning is striking at the earth while water whips at air and pillars of fire tear through forests. Humans are just pawns caught in the middle of the eternal conflict. The religion revolved around committing yourself to one god or another and hoping they would notice you and give enough of a damn about fucking over the others to protect you. Humans changed alliance whenever they needed to; you'd swear by water before sailing, fight for earth when farming, promise yourself to fire before fighting. Because the gods didn't care about you, they wouldn't remember you had fought for them.
Their myths were about the epic fights between Nature -- and the hopeless attempts by humans to avoid getting killed in the crossfire. The stock hero is a trickster who plays the gods against each other, only to fall when a stray god decides to kill him.
/wbg/ hear my question!
What kinds of arms and armor does different factions in your world use?
In my Dull and Uncreative Milquetoast-setting peasant levies are just being replaced with more professional troops mainly due to few decades of hard fighting. These drafted troops are mostly spear or halberd armed and have simple gambesons and pot or kettle helms. More professional troops differ from kingdom to kingdom, but one of the most common armor for troops currently in timeline has become either Dwarven made munitions plate and sallet or Maille with brigandine. Weaponry usually used is either the usual sword and shield combo or the more common halberd/polearm. There is of course exceptions on these norms for example the not!Dutch kingdom has fetish for scale armor.
>>46063312
How 'bout it? Still have to put in colors and work on roads, but I think it came out better than before.
>>46071545
One of my favourite parts of worldbuilding is decide who has fetishes for what kinds of weapons and armor. The main ethic I'm sticking to is that any armor or weapon I use in the world has to have a historical precedent (so no crazy fantasy armor), but I can arrange and distribute it in a non-historical way based on what I think is cool.
>fetish for scale armor
I have a similar group (Engelmark or not!Scandinavia) (pictured). They like langdebeves and the occasional axe or sword, and tall Norman-style shields.
Dragarthia has a fetish for anything that looks crow-like, so they use a lot of bec-de-corbin style poleaxes, hounskull bascinets, that kind of thing. Their armor is late-transitional early plate (like mid-to-late 14th century) with a lot of coats of plate and splint armor and that kind of thing. They also incorporate feathers and fur into their cloaks and heraldic overcoats and stuff.
Astoria is like early-to-mid 15th century, so they have lots of full plate, barbutes, armets, the occasional sallet, that kind of thing. The best analogue is like late Teutonic Order in the Baltic Crusades and Battle of Tannenberg. They are kind of the archetypal crusader knights, so I decided to also give them great helms and stuff like that even thought those are from an earlier period historically. They use a wide variety of weapons, but the poleaxe is favoured among knights, and the estoc is a widely favoured sidearm.
Sylice is the not!Italy, except they have a fetish for fish and marine animal style stuff. Their favourite style is the late, single-piece pointed top kettle helms or early cabassets, along with a bevor. They have the most intricate armor and use heavily articulated stuff like falling buffes and things like that. They use fancy halberds and partizans and stuff.
The northwest area of the world is mostly forest dwelling barbarians so their armory is mostly just boiled leather and lamellar or poor quality mail if they can get it from the south.
>>46071545
>talk of melee weapons and armor
>not having progressed to the point where accurate firearms have rendered them obsolete
I love the look of them and respect their utility for their era, but medieval arms are, simply put, cliche.
>>46071717
that guy looks 100% Done With This Shit. somebody get him something to drink
>>46071545
Endorifles delete a tube of space/time. Preferably a tube running through your face.
Charifles turn a tube of space/time into fire. They don't burn it -- they literally turn it into the exact essence of fire.
Charquebuses teleport a piece of lead to a random point a certain distance forward of the trigger. Without a barrel, this lead could materialise five million miles to your right. With a barrel you can reduce this to a few metres.
The Lionslayer's Jackals were infamous for their unprecedented use of foot charquebusiers supported by pikes. The later Rak-no-Ak soldier class used light charifles with bayonets to overwhelm cumbersome tercios. Endorifles were only developed during the Old War, and only a few powerful chieftans have one or two examples in their collection. They are mostly used to prove how large respective chief's dicks are. Although the astrals use them...
Tancron guerillas use cheap imports from Solara or home-made jezzails. Rushites use stalguns, civilian rifles made to protect herds and kill people you don't like.
>>46071767
>all this bait
Cliche is in the execution. Besides which, no one actually cares about the weapons.
>>46071717
>marine animal stuff
Please tell me they'd be all over helmets like this one.
>>46071881
Oh yeah, forgot to mention: all of these weapons work by cheat code. They literally rewrite sections of reality to their liking. A charifle writes over a specific relative set of coordinates in reality, replacing "X matter" with "Fire".
Huh. Clark Ashton Smith named a suburb of my town Ophir. Didn't knwo it was a Dreamlands reference.
The Public Library is dedicted to him, and they have a reel-to-reel tape recording of CA Smith reading his poetry to HP; the road that leads to a local Mormon Church is named Poet Smith Drive (and they have no clue that it's not a reference to their Johnny boy).
>>46071896
Definitely. I don't have anything as wild as Zant's helmet (which I like a lot), but definitely a lot of stuff like this.
>>46071865
>tfw when you just want to deus vult but get stuck on palace guard duty instead
>>46071896
My Rak-no-Aks have those kinds of helmet. They used to have the faces of gods carved into them in order to scare off any gods that might be supporting the other side. Now each clan has their own "face".
The Lionslayer wore helmets like >>46071970 (in the shape of a hyena, obviously). This was in stark opposition to the rest of his culture; the norm was to wear helmets in the shape of your face.
>>46071767
>periods i don't like are cliche
>periods i like are not cliche
>sword and shield are cliche
>firearms are not cliche
what do words even mean?
>>46071717
I attached the still wip map to see where the kingdoms are.
Dalreig and Lankraig (not!Czech) are both from same tribe background and both kingdoms have moved away from traditional peasant levies being the arrow fodder. Peasants of both kingdoms are required to train with troops of local Baron in mainly supportive roles in battle. Both Kingdoms due to location near the Dwarven Mines have ample supply of arms and armor and thanks to that more richer Barons have armed their household guards and men at arms with Dwarven produced equipment. This has led the armies of both Kingdoms to be smaller but more professional than others. Due to their tribal background their trademark weapon is war hammer and due to that it is very common to see men at arms with their "lucerne hammers".
Krolestzwo Brzeg i Morze (not!Poland with shitty translation meaning Kingdom of Shore and Sea) is due to their coastal area heavily into naval stuff and their land forces are the most 'outdated' with heavy reliance on peasant levies. Their professional troops are mostly on horseback to be as light cavalry or knights. Their equipment is quite mishmash and has taken inspiration from quite everywhere and it is not rare to see peasant levies armed with second hand Nofos bay equipment. Specialty of theirs is the Kings Royal Marines who have specialized in ship to ship fighting, but on land they act as light archers/skirmishers.
1/2
>>46072103
Kingdom of Crownlands and Kingdom of Westland (not!English) are the more traditional factions with Crownlands being the oldest human kingdom. They rely heavily on their heavy cavalry and knights to dish the damage along with semi-professional men at arms. Brigandines are their thing along. Westland differs from Crownlands in way of being recently formed and it is governed by Knight Counsil, after the latest big war the area was reclaimed and it was decided to give the area to Knight Orders which contributed most into the fighting. Due to that Westlands military is professional, battle tested and is surprisingly heavy.
Turvemaa is most backwards place in southern kingdoms. The King is chosen through Moot and he doesn't have that much power over his underlings. The hard lifestyle in cold south creates tough and good soldiers, but they do not represent professionals at all. Mishmash arms and armor is quite common, but due to ancient law the local nobles have to form and train group of household heavy cavalry. So you have good, but ill equipped infantry supported with crack heavy cavalry that can fight on foot easily.
All human factions employ magis in combat, but due to magis being rare in proper fighting they usually are in supporting roles as healers and counter magic. One school of Magis do concentrate on fighting and they are possibly the most deadliest soldiers in whole world due to their heavy plate and magic imbued attacks. Nobody wants to face the legendary Dragon Knight who breaths fire from his helmet and swings sword that is on fire.
I haven't thought much about the other factions, but their names kinda gives ideas.
Pic somewhat related on men at arms the Crownland employs.
>>46063312
>What's the name of your world? What does it originate from? Do different cultures have different names for your world?
Ano, from the Pédaz word for "Heart". Most cultures have their own names and cultural myths about the world, but due to the former dominion of the Yagarde Empire and Pédaz's status as lingua franca in many corners of the old empire the word for the world stems from the Pédaz
>How much time do you devote to worldbuilding?
It depends. Days or weeks will pass without a single thought or word devoted to worldbuilding. Then in a sudden flash it'll all come pouring out of me.
>What are your main inspirations (book/tv series, comics, historical events, etc)?
Book of the New Sun/Long Sun
Tales of the Dying Earth
Numenera
Yoruba mythology
The Elder Scrolls
Khmer Empire/Ayutthaya
Voodoo
>What's the most fun part of worldbuilding for you?
Writing treatises/documents from an IC perspective. Really helps bring things together. And making maps.
>Have you ever spent a bunch of time and energy on a world, just to have your group end after a couple of sessions? Or do you worldbuild for a book/comic/just for the fun of it?
The latter. I gave up on running a campaign in this world a long time ago. Working on a novel atm and refining what I have to be less shit.
>What's an idea that you wish you had come up with?
All of the Elder Scrolls' cosmological/metaphysical eccentricities. Such an incredible world.
>>46071545
>What kinds of arms and armor does different factions in your world use?
the Valis, being the scumbag naval raiders they are, rely on their ships' cannons before anything else, but carry at least one revolver pistol (rarely revolver rifles) and a hatchet for close combat. their martial arts utilize the hook shape of the hatchet to catch and redirect slashes and stabs to make it easier to go in for the kill with a knife (or another hatchet). it looks a bit like trying to fight a fencer with a miniature helicopter or like the guy with the red socks in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J8LnLhdkPs. predictably, this isn't that great a strategy against cavalry charges or pike formations. but you have cannons for that. lots of cannons.
the Ahigbeni basically carry what >>46071767 posted in their pic: a rifle with a bayonet and a saber, with a dagger as a secondary side-arm (or general "do anything" tool). they still wear steel chestplates over their coats because it's not completely useless after all.
>>46072418
also (because I'm inattentive as fuck), I forgot tho attach this, another ref I used for the Valis' hatchet copter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM_wLigRTqs
>>46072103
>>46072186
Good stuff.
>being recently formed and it is governed by Knight Counsil
That's a cool idea. I was thinking of doing something similar where there would be a region in the barbarian wildlands controlled by the various crusader orders.
> the legendary Dragon Knight who breaths fire from his helmet and swings sword that is on fire
I dig that. I like the idea of mages being rare and not being bound to only were robes and cloth armor (though I understand why settings and game systems do that and nothing against it, I just also like the wizard in plate armor look).
>>46072224
For someone who doesn't know much about the Elder Scrolls world, what's the best place to read about it? The uesp.net wiki?
>>46072522
Definitely not in-game.
What are some scumbag things the Not!Dutch can do to make sure the Not!HRE won't eat them again? Right now I've got them producing highly-accurate and effective firearms which they try to smuggle into the Not!HRE at any opportunity to cause internal strife, but now that I consider it that might be a cause for war, not a deterrent. I've got them on good terms with the Not!French, but if push came to a very major shove I don't know if they'll bleed the deep stuff for them.
How did the Dutch IRL maintain their independence?
>>46063574
>>46072224
1/2
>What is the most crazy, whacked out religion in your world?
I don't know if I've created it yet, but for now I'd say the folk religion of the Etsuyo Delta. I tried to infuse Yoruba religion (including its variants in the new world) with Chinese folk religion and Hindu mythology to create a huge assortment of kaleidoscopic gods, goddess, and spiritual figures. Itunde the Crocodile, Kokáyá the Parrot-Face, and Yona (archetypal creator) are the most well known, but they are accompanied by a host of thousands of lesser figures. The Chinese idea of apotheosis is also well understood.
>What are some of the gods/goddesses in your world?
-Itunde the Crocodile, a primeval god of knowledge from a previous world
-Éll, the Forgotten God, or the Prismatic Emblem, who lost its physical form when he was eaten by Léoz (also known as Losh)
>Do you have any religions with a common root, like the Abrahamic religions in our world?
Sort-of. The religion of the Jôdwar Isles is thought to be the "proto-expression" of the Yonic Cult, but there are marked differences. More common is the syncretistic adoption of figures from other faiths (think Rome and Haitian Voodo). This arrangement was thought up by the Yagarde Empire in order to pacify their conquered subjects more easily.
>Continuing from the last point, are there any subtle crossovers between religions (like the connection between gods like Zeus and Indra from our world)?
This of course is an issue of scholarly discourse. Many adherents of the hermaphodritic Sex-God Ramlë will claim that the mother that the Yonics so adores finds common precedent in their "Whore-Prince", to much derision. However, Yona has literally replaced the "mother" god of the Etsuyo pantheon, suggesting further crossovers. It's an ongoing debate.
>>46063312
this is the closest thing to a gm workshopping thread, so i'm posting my request for help here
I have a world that's basically post-collapse america with corporations running amok. the main difference to shadowrun and the like is that it's pretty non-serious. there's a lot of fantastical elements and satire. if you've ever played Hellmoo, it's like that. the theming has a lot to do with satirizing corporate indifference to human suffering, exaggerating sociopathy to the point of dark humor and the overall tone of materialism throughout the whole thing.
for example, corporations use their trainees as training dummies for their agents. suicide bombing is considered a sacred technique among a certain clan of bandits. a group of trust fund kids like to play as power-armored super heroes in a city, just running around killing poor people that they think are criminals. that kind of stuff.
-------
anyway, anyone know of a good way to restore mana in combat? i have a resource called "Nerve" that determines your ability to sustain the stress of battle AND it also works as your main resource for using special abilities. i want it to go up and down multiple times during combat. the whole system is pretty light on realism, so it doesn't matter if everyone comes out of combat with full HP and mana.
so far, i've come up with these
>when you kill a foe, restore mana. problem is that supportive characters would have problems restoring mana
>when you score a critical hit, restore mana. problem is that only crit-heavy characters would restore mana
>after combat, restore full mana. problem is that i want yo-yo their mana in combat constantly
>restore a bit of mana every turn. problem is that i'm afraid it might make combat dull with everyone marking down their 1 mana or whatever they get
>>46072495
Thanks. The idea on Knightly Council was that the land of Westfield is so poor and ravaged by war that nobody really wants it so Kings decided to give the governing it to the Orders who fought in the war.
Magic in my setting is something that everybody can learn, but it would take lifetime to learn basics properly. The most common form of magic is healing in form of village healers and herbalists who follow old ways of healing people. It is not effective, but better than nothing. To properly learn magic you need to be attuned to magic which is rare, usually those who are magically attuned are either burned on a pyre by dimwit peasants or taken as apprentice by hedgemagis or sent to City of Magis to learn.
With armor not disturbing the magic, but actually enchanting. One way of using magic is carving runes with magical properties. A very slow, but effective way of acquiring magical weapons and armor. Runes are categorized to two categories, passive and active. Passive ones are usually weak, but they can be stacked. For example magis usually have passive runes on their staffs/weapons which help them to channel magic better or city walls might have magical runes on them which prevent them from erosion and natural harm. Passive ones needs to be activated and to activate the rune you need to study runemagic. This means that magical equipment can be used by others than magis, but even then they need some time to learn how to use them properly.
Even the most powerful magis aren't that powerful compared to other settings. High end battlemagis who excel at flinging lighting can't do that long and usually magis are reserved in battle to special situations in which they can cause most damage.
Pic related, could be used to represent not!Czech man at arms
I don't have full setting, but I have an idea I'd like to share. In my setting, if you have magic powers of a sort you draw attention of six forces. They will judge your conduct and will reward you if you veer into extremes of any of three axis:
>Honesty-Deceitfulness
>Charity-Creed
>Mercy-Cruelty
I think it would make a better moral system then Lawful-Chaotic, Good-Evil. Because it's easier to gauge and does not dictate your ambition.
Do you think it makes sense?
>>46072802
I think it's a really bad idea, for purely mechanical reasons. It encourages players to box themselves into one extreme or another, rather than creating complexities.
>>46072893
That's actually any three extremes for everyone.
>>46072653
>What are some of the rituals/ceremonies from the religions in your world?
One ritual of the Deltafolk is the rite of Move-Like-Him, performed annually to invoke the blessing of Tapa, the Baron of Colors, He-of-the-Many-Hued-Turbans, the Throned-Prince of the Coteries of the Orange Feather, a clique of folk gods who govern the province of merrymaking, art, song, and food, amongst other things, for their prized cask of yafa, a strong palm wine. In doing so, they mimic the folk tale of Tapa's (who was once a man) apotheosis: the drinking of 100-100 casks of distilled palm toddy, the eating of a jalayam shaped like a star and as large, and the procurement of his own harem. The gods were allegedly so amused by this feat (more at the fact that he yet lived), that they bestowed upon him his mantle of divinity. In the heavens, he so outshone the previously convoked Coterie that he was crowned their Lord. The candidate is elected on the day of the previous year's rite and has one year to complete the trials (the final, of course, being the most difficult), in the hopes that another shall achieve Tapa's ilk.
>How have your different religions shaped the history of your world?
Religion, of course, has been used as the justification for wars. For instance, the conquest of the Ram-Nibo region (the Lake province) was carried out as "revenge" for the murder of Léoz, the mythical founder (and then god-patron of the city of Léonnez) of the first Yagarde dynasty, by one of the final Mur-Po kings, Höm.
A similar religious justification was used in the conquest of the Despotism of the Ritualists, centered on the Jasmine City of Celocombo; the Hierophant of the Ritualists, Yuenaga IV, used powerful ancestor-magick to smite the city of Jeyenne. The emperor of Yagarde, Orgaz V, denounced Yuenaga, and was purported to have been granted divine powers in order to confront the Hierophant in the Ancestor-House, stabbing him "through his soul". More likely he was assassinated.
>>46072905
Which changes nothing. Instead of (for example) "all God's children deserve mercy. *They* are not God's children", you are encouraged to have "I give mercy to everyone but I'm really greedy".
>>46072768
do you have character classes? if so, each class has their own method of restoring mana. it doesn't have to be universal.
support classes could have turn-by-turn. dps classes would get it on kills or crits, tanks would get it when they get hit, etc.
you could just use dice or beads for tracking, don't have to mark it down until after combat.
if no classes, what about being able to take specific actions like 'rest' or 'calm your nerves' that let's you restore a percentage of your nerve? depending on what traits you have, this amount would be larger or smaller.
>>46072772
just a note, 'magi' is the plural, so 'magis' is redundant. the singular could be mage, magi, or magus depending on what style/etymology you prefer.
>>46072522
Anon here.
I would definitely suggest the Imperial Library. They have collected all of the in-game books, as well as some critical texts not in game, in one place at your leisure.
I would say, don't start with the higher level metaphysics. Familiarize yourself with some of the critical concepts and lower-level stuff; DO play the games, particularly Morrowind. Some of my best memories are chilling in Jobasha's reading all of the texts; it's a great way to get to know the world.
Also, /tesg/ we have here is a good place to start; each thread always starts off with "how to become a lore-buff" and etc. Reading the threads I wouldn't recommend as much, but definitely take a peak./r/teslore is also okay if you're looking for TES specific content
It takes a while to get to know TES lore, but it's highly rewarding. Reading a text like the 36 Lessons of Vivec or Loveletter from the 5th Era and being able to understand it feels great. There is a big disparity between how it's presented in the games and how it is in the lore but it's the little details that you DO see in the games that just makes you smile.
Just know: the entire thesis or premise of TES lore is that for any given phenomenon or event, there are wildly different accounts and interpretations; there are no "certainties" in TES but rather "ambiguities", and that's what makes it so unique, different, and fascinating to reach into. Each in-game text proffers up another analysis, another perspective, often purposefully manipulative or misleading.
Good luck outlander
>>46073040
Ahh thanks, magi is singular and plural gotcha.
>>46072989
>do you have character classes? if so, each class has their own method of restoring mana. it doesn't have to be universal.
>support classes could have turn-by-turn. dps classes would get it on kills or crits, tanks would get it when they get hit, etc.
no classes as of now. basically how it works is that everyone picks up abilities as they go along. everyone will end up specializing in different things, but it will all be fairly heterogeneous. a guy who uses psionics might also be very tanky. a guy who snipes dudes from afar might also carry a knife that deals extra crit damage.
i will also have some special items that restores nerve in a more efficient way, but yeah i need like a baseline mana restoration thing because not everyone necessarily has them
>you could just use dice or beads for tracking, don't have to mark it down until after combat.
that's a good idea, thanks
>if no classes, what about being able to take specific actions like 'rest' or 'calm your nerves' that let's you restore a percentage of your nerve? depending on what traits you have, this amount would be larger or smaller.
yeah that's a decent idea as well, although i want combat to be as fast-paced and crazy as possible
i might just stick to the "you get 1 mana in the beginning of your turn" thing
>>46063574
>What is the most crazy, whacked out religion in your world?
pic related believe the universe was created in accordance to a divine (albeit flawed) mathematical formula, and that insight into its workings can be achieved by applying its "lesser descendants" (aka basic maths, arithmetics, algebra) to architecture, terraforming, and warfare, which also channels the universe's internal energy into the products, empowering them as a side effect. without that empowerment, they believe, buildings will not last, the crops will go bad, and wars will be lost. therefore every Sharac city-state is a series of almost perfect concentric circles, with its construction being planned and mapped out down to the last millimeter at least one generation ahead of time.
with the insight into the formula the high priestesses hope to gain the power to change elements of the formula and re-shape the world in a better way (aka a world where humans never die and never age, because death is the end of all existence forever, with no afterlife and no reincarnation). needless to say, they don't have gods in the traditional sense and don't have much common ground with their neighboring nations' religions because they are conquerors who came across the sea from the far East some 2000 years ago.
When writing your setting, do you find it important (vital, even) to include fail-states or victory conditions for each kingdom, as well as at least two reasons why one country would go to war with another?
Because I'm drumming up potential plot hooks for my party and I'm totally thinking, "hey, what if the party wants to fight in a big bad war? I've got this string to tug... And if they just want to take over for themselves, they could do this."
>What's the name of your world? What does it originate from? Do different cultures have different names for your world?
Grail, mainly because it's basically a giant cup of water that everybody wants. They don't have different names for it, because god said so.
>How much time do you devote to worldbuilding?
Not as much as I'd like.
>What are your main inspirations (book/tv series, comics, historical events, etc)?
Warhammer and DnD, I guess? My process is basically to shake out the parts I like most about traditional fantasy, change the things I don't like, and throw whatever I feel like on top of that.
>>What's the most fun part of worldbuilding for you?
Drawing stuff from my setting.
>Have you ever spent a bunch of time and energy on a world, just to have your group end after a couple of sessions? Or do you worldbuild for a book/comic/just for the fun of it?
Just for the fun.
>>What's an idea that you wish you had come up with?
Strongfat mongolian ogres.
>What is the most crazy, whacked out religion in your world?
The Big Bad Evil God's teachings says you should always share your unsolicited opinions with brutal honesty, and also that you should horribly murder anyone who pisses you off.
>Do you have any religions with a common root, like the Abrahamic religions in our world?
There's really only one religion, as all the gods recognize each other as divine. They put a lot of effort into stamping out all other religions, and attempts at starting new ones are not appreciated.
>How have your different religions shaped the history of your world?
Big Bad Evil God created the world himself, to serve as a living hell for any mortal creatures he could seed it with. The other gods found out and insinuated themselves into existence with better deals for the mortals, creating the foundation for civilization more or less overnight.
>>46073485
Flawed, or incomplete? I think it would be better to have the understanding be incomplete.
You can do more things and understand the divine inherent in creation by proving more theorems and discovering the intentions of the creator.
I guess what I'm saying is it's better somehow if it really exists as a platonic ideal, but if the understanding of it is like a shadow on a wall for even the religious officials.
Only visionary figures who would be saints to other religions or prophets would really begin to understand it, and even then only as clearly as human eyes can perceive it. And they would possibly be weird to begin with, or touched by the experience.
They would be hard to understand because they are talking "I've seen the light" talk, not "oog Og Thing on Wall move! caveman talk".
>>46073503
>victory and failure conditions
It depends on the campaign and its narrative. If your players are reliably righteous enough to not pursue the doom of every land they come across, then you really only need to plan for one end-game scenario.
>at least two reasons they'd go to war
This, however, is something that should be considered any time you're developing a political who's-who. Nations are always going to have certain areas of friction between one another, and knowing what those are can shape the face of an entire campaign. Really, two reasons is a pretty low minimum for this sort of thing.
>>46073648
you're right, that does make more sense.
>>46073797
>It depends on the campaign and its narrative. If your players are reliably righteous enough to not pursue the doom of every land they come across, then you really only need to plan for one end-game scenario.
Oh absolutely, it's not something I'm going to assume will happen with every nation, it's just a kingdom in decline or ascension can make a great backdrop to a campaign.
And, more importantly, it's good to understand what works and what's broken about the kingdoms in your setting. An all-too-common problem with worldbuilding is designing a nation that's "too good", or their problems are so topical that a simple change of hands will set them back on track to being a major power. By including a fail-state you're forcing yourself to ask *what* triggers a fail-state and *why*.
>>46071119
Scholarly armies. They aren't the strongest or the fastest but they are highly trained, well disciplined and have great quantities of advanced engines of war.
For example, they might bring cart or chariot -mounted ballistae alongside their armies to bombard their enemies with. Chariot mounted ballistae could be particularly useful for their ability to ride up to the enemies most vulnerable flank and start pounding in bolts.
Beyond that, their technology should be generally superior. Better, more comprehensive armour, better weapons and such or even just more efficient siege defences and such.
>>46073503
Like another anon said, there is always some friction between factions. I chose that most Kingdoms have different language and ethnicity to make that "us and them" effect.
Then we take into account normal politics by force and other fun stuff and there should be some conflicts.
I have been thinking of actually using my setting in one possible RPG game and the possible game idea would be that local Baron is away doing war and left his brother to run the show, but brother wants to take the lands for himself. Then just tell the players that war is actually going badly and that enemies are advancing, throw some mercenaries and brigands in nearby area and throw the players into the mix and you have a good soup.
Pic related gave me inspiration to settings Dwarven
>>46071119
>How would a city state dedicated to education defend itself from a city state dedicated to war and conquest?
>avoidance direct confrontation
>defence in depth
>sabotage of enemy economy and logistics
>use of deception
_____
>What about a trade city?
>strong arm other nations into ceasing trade with their opponents
>offer havens for pirates and bandits to raid enemy trade and territory
>use their powerful economy to bolster their forces with mercenaries
>use bribery to solicit traitors
>>46071545
Sha'haran light infantry wear a steel helmet, light gambeson with hard leather plates under a steel breastplate with leather bracers, greaves and woven pants. Footwear are hard soled boots of thick leather. They are issued a round steel shield, short sword and spear.
Heavy infantry have additional mail with full steel gauntlets and may be issued additional weapons such as hammers, swords and axes.
Non-direct combatants such as archers and mages often wear only a light gambeson for armor.
Light cavalry and mounted archers wear the leather plated gambeson. Light cavalry have steel greaves, mail pants and are armed with a lance, saber and spear. Heavy cavalry wear complete mail and have a heavier, longer lance.
Land dragons and horses have leather plated gambesons under mail. The dragons may carry skins of water in case of fire attacks. Their secondary arms are outfitted with short spiked bracers with gauntlet like gloves to reinforce their claws. A spiked or weighted sleave may also be worn on the tail. Hard leather pads are tied to the hind feet for protection with a half helm with slotted visor completing the set. A large dragon may have hand and foot hold on its armor to carry light infantry.
Flying dragons have no armor. Their rider will have a heavy gambeson and heavy boots for cold while armed with a crossbow and tangle rope/net.
Irregulars use what equipment they have and are issued regular equipment upon request. All units wear a red tabard over their armor with the Sha'haran standard front and back.
I asked this in another thread, but this seems like a better place for it. How many PC races are too many?
Moreover, might it be worth starting your worldbuilding centered on one region, making that the "point of view" culture(s) for the setting so that there are distant, unknown vistas for protagonists/players to explore?
I'm torn between making more races and not, and right now I'm leaning toward taking the ones I have, putting them in one specific area and, if I end up making more races, have them come from somewhere else, and make them out to be odd and exotic.
>>46074789
i kinda want to help but these are some really vague questions
but i mean, you probably don't want more than 5 or 6 races. once you get to 7 and up, players will start having trouble keeping track of them all. not to mention it will make it harder to make them more distinct from one another.
also, i beg you, don't make races that are "elves but with x" or "dwarves but with y" please
>>46074789
Personally I find that the more races there are in a setting, the less fleshed out each one is, leading to them ending up very monochromatic with very little breathing room for character development. Often races end up defined by a single trait;
>proud warrior race
>shrewd merchant race
>skilled artisan race
>cunning thieving race
and so on...
Cultures are not (usually) monolithic entities. They're formed of individuals with a variety of beliefs, personalities and ways of thinking. These individuals sit at different levels of the social hierarchy, work in a variety of professions, have differing wants and needs, and may be part of a variety of sub cultures. It is the sum of these parts that makes the overall culture and society of a race.
As such, if you reckon you can develop interesting societies for each and demostrate not only inter-racial differences, but also intra-racial differences, then go for it.
What are the advantages of gavelkind inheritance (in real life, not CK2)? Is it just to keep everyone happy or something? Seems odd that someone came up with this, instead of the main heir just inheriting everything.
>>46075011
Prevented inter-familial conflic on the one hand, allowed one to provide for ones family on the other.
If all you had to leave behind was land, each kid got a portion of it so they could farm it to ensure their survival. Also tended to ensure that land that entered the family stayed in it rather than being sold by the eldest if he decided to take up a trade.
>>46075003
On the other hand, if you have enough races you can kind of have a each-culture-is-a-race thing.
>>46074789
>that Undyne
>that Asgore
I really, really hope you did that deliberately and I'm not going insane.
>>46075183
>I really, really hope you did that deliberately and I'm not going insane.
not him but i think you're just going insane from your meme games anon
>>46075183
those images look nothing like anime fish or sad goat. you need therapy, anon.
>>46074789
>How many PC races are too many?
Only add as many races as you think need to be included in the story. Personally, I find there's enough variation between humans to have them as the majority race, with conflict coming down to cultural or religious lines.
That said, they're certainly not the only race available to the party, which includes (in order of how often you'll encounter one);
>Humans
>Elves (which include standard Elves and "Fair Folk".)
>Dragonborn
>Half-Giants
>Dwarves
>>46075183
I can sorta see Undyne in the top middle one, but where the fuck are you seeing Asgore?
>>46075233
>>46075238
>>46075269
I haven't even played the damn game in months, I swear.Top middle was Undyne, bottom right Asgore.
>>46075183
>On the other hand, if you have enough races you can kind of have a each-culture-is-a-race thing.
Depends on your definition of race in your setting. If you've got multiple races being part of a larger species, then it's reasonably believable, but if each race is a seperate species then it feels forced.
This is just my opinion however.
Pic related challenges the mightiest mortal warrior of your setting to a duel. How does it end? And what tall tales will be told about it years and centuries later?
>>46073997
>victory and fail conditions
This is a really good idea and something I should think about.
For someone who doesn't really into political science, what are some examples of victory and fail conditions for real world countries, modern or medieval? I'm assuming victory is a more subjective thing, but failure is a much clearer and real thing.
>>46075342
>but if each race is a seperate species then it feels forced.
Only if you're operating on biological realism, I'd say.
>>46075343
The local authorities are forced to put up with a huge impromptu tournament as thousands of "mightiest warriors" hammer out just who *is* the mightiest.
Then Undyne gets to face a small twerp who got through because the Illegalists bet a tonne of money on him.
>>46075183
>On the other hand, if you have enough races you can kind of have a each-culture-is-a-race thing.
that was the exact thing he was saying to avoid...
>>46075343
Well, depends if we're talkinig about the supposedly best or the proven best?
Theres a King whom claims to have been appointed as a warrior king by a major in setting god, so in theory hes unbeatable and no one has ever tested that in living memory or theres a paladin champion of the god of war whom is pretty powerful, swinging a 2 handed sword and wearing high quality plate with a bunch of enchantments and such (one of the simpler ones is that he doesn't take extra damage on crits).
If its the King, it ends in his utter slaughter and people will forever more renown here as the literal embodiment of martial prowess, eventually leading her to become a minor god of war. If its the paladin, chances are she loses after a long and fierce battle that legend will say left the lands in a mile around them utterly leveled
>>46075419
It's not a monolithic monoculture if it's not monolithic.
>>46075003
Yeah, that's probably true. Plus, every new race made is time I could've spent developing something that matters.
>don't make races that are "elves but with x" or "dwarves but with y" please
I don't plan on diverging more from my source material than Tolkien did from his.
>>46075003
>As such, if you reckon you can develop interesting societies for each and demostrate not only inter-racial differences, but also intra-racial differences, then go for it.
Absolutely. I'm working much more with geographical and political influences on culture than racial, although each race is intended to have one or two biological traits that affect society as well. There's not going to be any "elven architecture" or anything like that, though - no race is a hive mind.
>>46075183
>Undyne
>Asgore
I had to look up both of those, and I think you've been playing a little too much Undertale.
>>46075259
You do have a point. Even when I think of fantasy, the first images that flash before my eyes are of gallant knights, strange monsters, unexplored lands and eldritch vistas. Not different races.
>>46075343
Strongest Wizard wins in a tenth of a second because Wizards are literally gods.
>>46075480
Are they mortal?
>>46075480
He said warrior, not wizard.
>>46075461
i don't understand what you're saying. he was saying it's good to have intra-racial differences. you're saying you should not have intra-racial differences from what i can tell.
>>46075480
Wizards are not warrior you dimwit.
>>46075343
>the mightiest mortal warrior
There isn't one. Folks, including warriors, are just bumbling their way through life as would anyone. If there were a candidate however, they would get destroyed because power levels match the real world.
>>46075372
Victory
>control of trade routes
>control of a strategic area (e.g. resource rich, buffer zone)
>uniting the tribes
>keeping the tribes out
>righting a perceived wrong, real or otherwise
>conquering your neighbours
>then conquering your neighbour's neighbours
>spreading the word of your god(s)
History is full of ideas. Fire up that wikipedia and see where you end up.
>>46075418
>Only if you're operating on biological realism, I'd say.
>mfw I'm actually a Biology student
>>46075511
>>46075536
19 levels in wizard, 1 level in fighter.
>>46075511
Oh? *Oh?* So you're saying a wizard can't be a warrior? In today's society?
You bigots disgust me.Seriously though there's nothing to stop a wizard from being a warrior unless you literally take the D&D classes.
>>46075519
In what way would you ever get that impression?
>>46075553
If the mightiest warrior is a wizard who's just a part time warrior, why is there even a need for warriors who aren't wizards?
>>46075553
i'm probably just reading your post wrong.
>each-culture-is-a-race
can you elaborate on this?
>>46075508
They can't become a Lich. They can only stop their aging with an item, not actual "immortality".
>>46075544
>>46075553
Honestly, I felt it was implied that she would intend an honourable duel with weapons, not one person fighting with weapons and the other carrying weapons to look like a warrior and winning through magic.
But whatever I guess. I ain't the dude that posted it anyway so I dont set the parameters
>>46075597
If she's going to be using magic glowing projectile spear things, I'm sure as hell going to use magic myself.
No such thing as an honorable duel when one side uses magic anyway.
>>46075568
You could have a wizard who is also a warrior, the same way you can have an anything who is also a a warrior.
>>46075579
Imagine that every single culture also happened to be its own race. For example, the English are all lizardmen (crocodiles in the south east, newts in the west, iguanas oop north) and the French are all Moth-Men, the Scandinavians fish-men and the Italians monkey-men &c.
>>46075465
>Even when I think of fantasy, the first images that flash before my eyes are of gallant knights, strange monsters, unexplored lands and eldritch vistas. Not different races.
The fly in the ointment is that, no matter how hard you push for as few races as possible, you're going to run into the most damnable roadblock of any custom setting; the thing needs to be playable.
Sure, you can tell the players to roll up a bunch of Humans, but that's... Boring, at least from a mechanical standpoint. People want variety, and unless you're comfortable with giving different human types different racial abilities, you're gonna have to include some pointy ears or fluffy tails somewhere. My advice? Figure out like, four races you absolutely want to include in your setting, and start working from there on how they'd make sense.
You've already seen other posters talk about what *not* to do, so I'll advise what you should; the Witcher is an excellent source of inspiration on how non-human races might act in a human-dominated world (realize that non-humans are the ultimate "Other", unless you're in a very tolerant society they WILL be persecutedif in a human kingdomor WILL be hostileif in their own kingdom!) You could also make the non-humans your swarthy foreigners - if the focus of your campaign is in Not!Europe, make your catfolk from Not!Africa.
>>46075705
>the Scandinavians fish-men and the Italians monkey-men &c.
>mfw my Scandinavians are mostly half-elvesbecause they're geographically in-between the Elven North and Human South.
>>46075727
>Sure, you can tell the players to roll up a bunch of Humans, but that's... Boring, at least from a mechanical standpoint.
You what?
There are ways to offer character customisation that aren't tied to race, you know.
>>46075343
>Thus did Olut, Fourteenth of his Name, Slayer of the Baggy Wyrm, Champion of the Eight-and-an-Eighth Realms, Lord-Regent of Burf, Durf, Swurf, Murf and Kettleton, take up his legendary tankard against the Fish Knight and drink his traditional pre-battle gallon, and to begin his furious assault.
>For ten-upon-five hours he did harangue his foe, heaving insult upon taunt, libel upon invective, and complaint upon gripe. His slur rang loud and nigh-incomprehensible, his words assailing the Fish Knight like an avalanche of incivility. And at last, his tirade complete, he did fall into restful, valiant slumber. Upon waking with a belch to sunder mountains, he discovered a small piece of yellowed parchment adhered to his nobly furrowed brow. And upon this missive was writ:
>"Sorry, gotta run. Got other, less talkative enemies."
>His foe routed and vanquished, Olut did fashion a crown from his prize, and throughout the Realms the Note of Capitulation was spun into song. And the Dwarves did rejoice, and take up their own tankards, and drank and reveled and laughed and fought and ate and drank and fought some more and drank and hailed Olut as Master Slayer of Fish Knights, and all was well in Dwarfdom.
>>46075705
oh, ok. that's not how i'd interpret the meaning of race (as it relates to fantasy settings) but i see what you mean now.
>>46075727
there are just as many people who find playing 2-dimensional tolkienian race archetypes boring as who find playing humans boring. anecdotally, none of my group has really ever been interested in playing non-humans.
also,
>implying you can't give mechanical variation to humans based on culture/economic class.
>>46075769
I can already tell this is going to be underrated.
>>46075766
>>46075851
>Stats determined by culture/class
Next you're going to tell me that some Elves can be tough bruisers while others are dainty effeminate mages, and it's all due to their interests and upbringing.
>>46075769
you have made me proud, son
>>46075897
no i wouldn't tell you that because i don't really play games with tolkienian race archetypes like i said above.
i mean like:
>you were raised in not!England so were taught to use longbow, you have bonus to archery and strength
>you were born into a hunter gatherer tribe so you have bonus to hunting/tracking and constitution
>you were born in a gentry family so had access to good schooling, bonus to int and knowledge, penalty to strength/whatever
>you group up as a street urchin and had to steal to survive, bonus to dex and stealth skills, penalty to int
>you grew up in a working class family doing construction, bonus to this and this
>you grew up in a famine stricken region, your growth was stunted, penalty to this
>you are part of a widely known noble family, bonus to charisma, penalty to disguise
>you were raised in a monastery, bonus to wisdom/religious knowledge, penalty to whatever
>>46076060
That's all fine and dandy, but it has no base in realism.
>>46076187
>That's all fine and dandy, but it has no base in realism.
FATAL is probably more your game, then.
>>46076187
so being educated doesn't raise your intelligence?
growing up in a hunter/gatherer or nomadic tribe doesn't make you tougher? all those historical accounts of nomads taking over cities and becoming soft within a generation aren't based in reality?
learning skills a particular culture values doesn't give you those skills? englishmen who were mandated by the state to practice archery two hours every sunday weren't any better at using bows than someone from another culture that never mandated longbow practice was?
someone who went to sunday school wouldn't be more knowledgeable with the intricacies and complexities of a religion than someone who didn't?
suffering from famine and malnutrition doesn't stunt your growth or affect your body? have you ever heard of teen wrestlers having their growth stunted by weight cutting? or the fact that in the industrial era there was a several inch height difference between urban lower class and upper class people?
elves and orcs are based in reality?
lol, ok
the point is that you can play up these differences in a fantasy world. fantasy races are one way to provide mechanical differences, not the only way.
>>46075727
I dunno about that. I'm definitely in the camp that thinks giving humans different stats based on genetics and upbringing is totally fine. Especially if the stat differences are minor, such as in DnD.
>>46075761
Is that what you'd call cultural exchange?
>>46075769
Pretty boss.
>>46075897
Everyone knows elves can only be french maids and bikini babes.
>>46076330
Education is a meme SJWs use to brainwash people from accepting racially hard-coded intelligence as a fact. Which it is by the way.
Anyone here ever build an Africa based setting? What races did you use?
My thoughts so far were to play up native animals as fantasy races. For example, gorillas as orcs, chimpanzees and bonobos as goblins, meerkats as kobolds, etc, etc.
Can anyone think of any more I could use?
I'm building a mostly-destroyed world that was previously inhabited by Elves - They're mostly extinct in my setting. They're meant to be a lost civilization that is slowly discovered/researched, but I want to have a solid idea of their world in my head.
>What's the name of your world? What does it originate from? Do different cultures have different names for your world?
Soskayye to the Elves, Dreitan to all others. Soskayye because it sounds vaguely Elvish, and Dreitan because it was the other name in the generator that I liked.
>How much time do you devote to worldbuilding?
Not that much. Lore comes along a few lines at a time between/during classes, when I have an idea I want to clarify, or a question I want to answer, or a cool thing I want to justify. I also tend to be somewhat revisionist, and keep a general version number for my drafts.
>What are your main inspirations (book/tv series, comics, historical events, etc)?
Right now, I feel inspired by DOOM3, Stalker, and a bit of Hellraiser. These Elves took land from the Abyss to help handle overpopulation on their primary planetoid, and eventually, this fucks them over. What's left is an alien landscape that is yet to be fully understood, but yields valuable
>What's the most fun part of worldbuilding for you?
I like the idea of making an exotic, alien world that isn't understood, and I want to see how the players react to it. At the same time, the scenario in my head allows players to choose whether they want to experience the End of the Elves, or explore the aftermath from an outsider's perspective.
Also, I like having a creative outlet that I can add little pieces to over time. I'm studying Computer Science, and it's nice to not have to pound something out for several hours at a time.
Ask some questions if you like, and I'll see what I can come up with. Poke holes if you can.
>>46076826
>a whole setting full of WE WUZ KINGS bullshit
I'd rather not. There's no way for a contemporary author to develop a reasonably well thought out African setting without veering into cringy Afrocentrism and propaganda and everything else would just be derided as racist, no matter how faithful to real history it would be.
>>46076826
hyena gnolls are the obvious one.
as for apes, i'd shift the size up by one, so -> gorilla ogres, chimpanzee orcs (as chimpanzees can get pretty big too), and baboon goblins (or some other smaller monkey).
other than that, not sure. what other existing fantasy races did you want to go with?inb4 someone tries to be clever by picking the black people = apes low hanging fruit
>>46063574
>Hard Mode Questions:
Hardly. This is the part of the setting that I tackled first.
>What is the most crazy, whacked out religion in your world?
Honestly, the background mythology is really crazy, but the actual religions tend to be toned down versions that focus on some of the insanity to the exclusion of the rest of it.
The Sighted Sainthood appear sane on their face, seeing as the primary goal of their religion is to protect the material world from the Aspects of Druj, but the overgod that they follow has obsessive-compulsive tendencies, and as a result they spend a colossal amount of time and energy bickering over the true will of Deus. They also have a tendency to stoop extremely low in order to accomplish their goals, their higher-ups readily jumping off slippery slopes like incorporating necromancy and vampirism fed by human sacrifice, and abducting babies to raise them into super-assassins. The reason good people still go along with their religion is that these things are generally classified and specific to individual Orders, and the more complex aspects of their religion are generally only known to theologians.
The Hushed Gnosis have a strange and inscrutable values system. One of their gods is mad, and another one delights in confusing people. At its core, their religion is built on a radical rejection of the "this-worldly," believing that the world is fundamentally flawed and offering an escape from it. This results in a lot of strange behaviour that appears indecipherable from the outside. Ultimately, they want to usher in an apocalypse, but they often behave in unexpectedly benevolent ways, and they viciously oppose the very same Druj that the Sighted Sainthood despises. Their members are often insane, but they clearly have an agenda and act with purpose.
(to be continued)
>>46076908
The Aspects of Druj appear to be the basis for a mad cult. The truth is either better or worse than that, depending on how you interpret it. Druj isn't a religion. It's a corruption, a metaphysical cancer. The "clerics" of Druj aren't actually priests at all, but people who have been corrupted by it and essentially become extensions of its "body." In a way, this is a relief, since it means not that many people have it in them to willingly take sides with the root of all evil, but it also means that potentially, anyone is susceptible to it.
The cult of Ourab wants to release a colossal serpent that was sealed inside the world at the dawn of time. Never mind that it'd break apart the planet and kill everyone in the process. Even the Hushed Gnosis don't want this to happen.
>What are some of the gods/goddesses in your world?
The Gnosis deities are: Ghaele, Cadeus, Sanossu, Czuga, and Jhavar.
Ghaele is a deity of heroism and glory in battle. She was a hero in the style of the Bronze Age; someone who could reach heaven through violence.
Cadeus is a hermit-deity. He's pretty benign and focuses on healing; why he associates with the rest of the Hushed Gnosis is a mystery.
Sanossu is a trickster and weather deity, said to have wrestled Ourab in the distant past and made his sword from one of its fangs.
Czuga is a mad goddess of the sea, dreams, and despair. Her followers are nearly always suicidal, and often drag others down with them.
Jhavar is a deity of riddles. It is said that the more you know about their scriptures, the less you understand.
(to be continued)
>>46076889
You do have a point, but instead of going full african setting you could add area in which few more successful not!african nations are
>>46076925
>Do you have any religions with a common root, like the Abrahamic religions in our world?
The Church of the Sighted Sainthood and the cult of the Hushed Gnosis both derive from the same source. Originally, the Hushed Gnosis was a Sainthood heresy. Now, the Sainthood identifies all its deities(and indeed, all outside the Sainthood) as powerful daevas, extensions of Druj.
Also, one of the deities of the Gnosis, Jhavar, originally comes from the dualistic religion of the Aleph. The other deity from their religion is Geshaal, sort of a collective entity comprised of every mind in the universe trying to comprehend itself. The two of these deities represent the dichotomy of understanding and confusion.
>Continuing from the last point, are there any subtle crossovers between religions (like the connection between gods like Zeus and Indra from our world)?The Saints that have Orders in the Church of the Sighted Sainthood are actually old pagan gods that sided with Deus for various reasons. St. Amelia=Amatesh, goddess of the sun, sister of Sanossu, and once-Empress of the heavens; St. Georgius=Geshaal, the living Akashic record; St. Hydatius=Hashmanut, the god of honorable warfare; St. Marthanes=Moch, the god of mercenaries, merchants, and death; and St. Zoilus=Zaal, the disgraced former herald of Deus, god of eclipses, brother of Ghaele, would-be conqueror of the heavens, and once-Emperor of Qur.
(to be continued)
>>46076889
>There's no way
nah, it'd be harder, but not at all impossible. also, if it's a fantasy setting just based on africa aesthetically, it doesn't have to be faithful at all to real history.
>>46076937
>What are some of the rituals/ceremonies from the religions in your world?
The Aleph mystics in the northern desert can use guided meditation techniques to let people enter the Dreaming, a plane of pure consciousness. They do this through a combination of rhythmic breathing, mantras, and burning herbs.
Followers of Czuga make a pilgrimage to the cliffs overlooking the southwestern sea. Then they jump off. Few of them survive, and the ones that do become clerics.
>How have your different religions shaped the history of your world?
War, obviously. The Church of the Sighted Sainthood is the driving force behind much of the Ionian Empire's expansion, and in its quest to eliminate Druj, it's grown paranoid and decided that all other faiths are merely fronts for Druj, and therefore anathema. In particular, this has driven its attempted genocide of the Derojin, who dream every night of the tutelary deities that created them, and are therefore nearly bound to be heretics. Unfortunately for the Empire, the Derojin reproduce asexually, and entire communities can therefore emerge from a single survivor.
(end)
>>46076932
You'd still have people throw shitfits when you mention things like slavery or human sacrifices, or Heaven forbid, actual voudoun practices involving corpses or so-called doctors whipping supposed witches to death in public. There'd be full on chimp-outs if you did anything but present the most shallow and boring pastiche of an empire that can do no wrong and where everyone is happy, like I dunno, the Tau or something.
>>46063312
>What is the most crazy, whacked out religion in your world?
The worships of Otto Atta Ette, the god who screams and dies. He created the world and found it alien to him, so he screamed until he choked. Why do people worship him? Well he was extremely powerful, as a creator deity. If they ever manage to bring him back, he is just going to scream himself to death again.
>What are some of the gods/goddesses in your world?
See above, as well as a couple others. Gods who were created after Otto Atta Ette died.
They are Yashi, goddess of winds and water. The sea and fate, dreams and love.
Tavesh, god of the earth and fire. Combat, civilisation, industry and the family.
Olistrie, goddess of the sky beyond our world, deceit and ambition.
Randvel, god of love and nature, mercy and truth.
>Do you have any religions with a common root, like the Abrahamic religions in our world?
All the religions stated above all have the creator deity in common. There are a few other, isolated gods that monsters worship.
>Continuing from the last point, are there any subtle crossovers between religions (like the connection between gods like Zeus and Indra from our world)?
No, not yet.
>What are some of the rituals/ceremonies from the religions in your world?
They're usually simple things, such as praying before taking something from another or bowing down in the presence of new rain.
>How have your different religions shaped the history of your world?
Not terribly much, to be honest.
>>46076959
>Then they jump off. Few of them survive, and the ones that do become clerics.
That's stupid.
>>46077045
Their god kinda has a thing for suicide.
>>46076826
Not orangutang orcs?
>>46077279
orangutans are too fun to be orcs.yes i know adult orangutans or any great ape will still eat you on a whim.
if i were doing i'd make orangutans some kind of wise helper race that is super smart and practices mysterious wizardry but doesn't bother to spend time doing civiliation or whatever, just hangs out in the forest and helps you out if you bring them bananas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDStH49W5Hk
>>46077279
Orangutangs are SE Asian you mongoose.
>>46077356
that video was the happiest 9 minutes I had in weeks. love that ape.
>>46077553
i know what you mean, i've watched it like 5 times lmao.
>>46077432
>Orang-Utans are Not!Buddhist travellers seeking spiritual enlightenment in the mythical Lands of the Origin (aka the Africa setting)
>>46077609
>Journey to the West (and South a bit)
>>46077850
>Actual monkey Sun Wukong
>>46075343
I dont know who that is. Is she from a cartoon or a comic or...?
>>46078199
Anon, no one who actually doesn't know who X thing is says something like "is she from a cartoon or a comic or...?". They just say "who is this" &c.
>>46076908
want some Dante Must Die mode questions?
>>46079075
I mean, I'll probably regret it, but ok.
>>46079165
>How many languages have you created? What's the one you're most proud of?
--> How many genders does this language have (keep in mind that gender does not necessarily mean male/female when it comes to languages)?
-->Is it tonal or pitch accented?
-->How many words do you have for this language?
-->What is the word order of this language?
-->What is the morphology of this language?
>How were things like the Pythagorean Theorem and other mathematical formulas developed in your world?
>Does your world have a calendar? Do different civilizations have separate calendars? How many days does it have? What are the names of the days? How is the year broken up in your societies?
>What's a common idiom in your world?
>Let's talk about inheritance. Do the royalty in your societies prefer absolute primogeniture, or agnatic primogeniture, or male/female preference primogeniture? Gavelkind maybe?
>What's the preferred crop in one or more of your societies? How does crop rotation work? Do the peasants still practice subsistence farming or is there a more advanced method?
>>46079506
I think you gave me European Extreme.
>>46079530
are you up to the challenge or not, nig
>>46063312
Leliel is an eldritch abomination that is worshipped by the majority of races around. He has a good track record.
Too much. The inspirations vary, but some come from books I suppose. Building a set of rules by which something within the world operates. No and can't say anything like that, as copying is the sincerest form of flattery.
Here's something I've been working on, improving my Gimp skills.
/wbg/ I need help
I am making up some Gods for my setting and so far I've only got two
I have two gods so far
Knowledge and the Forge (Smiting, creation, ext)
>>46079506
>How many languages have you created?
Not a one. Working on fixing that.
>How were things like the Pythagorean Theorem and other mathematical formulas developed in your world?
Dragons. No, really. Dragons' minds are more well-adapted to calculation than humans', and they've been the source of numerous scientific advances. They were actually very quick to figure out the physics behind flight, for one thing.
>Does your world have a calendar?
The Ethelian Calendar is the most widely-used, and has had relatively few alterations since it was first introduced. It consists of 386 days divided among twelve 32-day months, with two days on either side of the new year line regarded as the "Days of Passage" and are international holidays. Each week has eight days, and the year is quartered according to seasons similar to Earth's.
>What's a common idiom in your world?
"Think in the sunlight." It's a draconic saying, referring to how dragons regularly bask in the sun, and how that moment of calm is the best time to puzzle out one's problems.
>Let's talk about inheritance.
It's usually by absolute primogeniture, though traditionally there is parceling of property among many members of the royal family. Since dragons frequently belong to large families, however, their traditional method is to have completely partible inheritance.
>What's the preferred crop in one or more of your societies? How does crop rotation work? Do the peasants still practice subsistence farming or is there a more advanced method?
There is a great variety of cereal grains to be found throughout the continents, most of them symbiotic in some way. Farmers in this world quickly learned which plants grew best alongside one another and devised their agriculture around that. There's one grain which takes the whole season to bear fruit, but in the meantime serves to fertilize two other species which grow in half that time.
>>46081270
Think of all the things people in your setting would need.
They need food so chances are theres a good of that. Farming? Hunting? Fishing? Your call.
They'd also need warmth and hearths for cooking and the likes. In many settings this might be the motherly god, partner to the top god.
There'd be a good of war and battles as well, almost guaranteeably.
And then a god related to their culture. Are they very artistic? A god of art could be quite appropriate. Do they build great cathedrals and palaces? Maybe a god of architecture? Are they warlike? Maybe a god of victory in battle.
And lastly, based on their culture and tendencies give them a heaven, VIkings had Valhalla, which one may infer was related to the significance of feasting and battle to them. You fought and died for food so having a feast thrown for you was a great honour. You get the idea.
>>46077045
Not as crazy as it sounds.
The Mayans had Ixtab, the goddess of hanging yourself. Pic related.
>>46081270
I should be slightly more descriptive. I've going for a Norse aesthetic
>>46081479
A god of battles, focused around raiding and defending your homestead.
A god of hunting, for all your hide, bone and extra meat needs.
A goddess of rudimentary farming as they would have had, possibly related to natures bounty. Im thinking Idunn but its your call.
A god of the hearth and home, partner to your top god.
The top god should be a god of poetry and command. Selfless and noble, wise and powerful, he guides the other gods in their battle against the Not!Gods.
>>46079573
I'll give it a shot.
>>46079506
>How many languages have you created? What's the one you're most proud of?
None. I don't know anything about linguistics. All the names I've used have just been pulled out of my ass, but at least I didn't sprinkle apostrophes and accents around at random. I might get up to constructing languages at some point in the future, but for now I don't really consider it a necessity. If I do so, I'll probably be renaming lots of things.
>How were things like the Pythagorean Theorem and other mathematical formulas developed in your world?
Earlier mathematics were developed in the Eonates during the Bronze Age, back when it was primarily inhabited by Uruk pirates. They raided Qur, the cradle of civilization, and brought back cuneiform tablets that served as the seeds of their own society. Over time, they developed a philosopher class, and since they were relatively secular and relied heavily on sail, mathematics became an important field for improving navigation techniques. Since Qur had greater access to magic and therefore not as much need for actual engineering skills, the Eonates eventually surpassed them in mathematical skill, and became the source of early theorems that are still in common usage. Later mathematical development was carried out in universities owned by the Church of the Sighted Sainthood, and found widespread use in engineering projects across the Ionian Empire. Overall, lack of access to magic is a common predictor of mathematical development. The Uruk, now known as Eoruques, still have a culture that emphasizes strong mathematical skills.
(to be continued)
>>46081788
>Does your world have a calendar? Do different civilizations have separate calendars? How many days does it have? What are the names of the days? How is the year broken up in your societies?
Yes, it does have a calendar. The Ionian Empire has two: one designed around the harvest, and one designed around the traditions of the Church. The colonies of Niko also have a calendar. The year is the same length and same number of days as it is in our world, and the months are numbered the same. I think any other arrangement would only needlessly interfere with the players' planning abilities. However, the months and days do have different names. The days of the week in the Ionian Empire are as follows:
Ionian: Amilem, Shakilem, Hydatem, Georgem, Sanosem, Zoilem, Ourabem
The months will take me considerably longer to work on.
>What's a common idiom in your world?
"Throw in a Dero's stone and it's a deal."
Translation: "Bullshit." (Derojin are sexless and reproduce asexually, and as such, don't have testicles.)
(to be continued)
>>46081810
>Let's talk about inheritance. Do the royalty in your societies prefer absolute primogeniture, or agnatic primogeniture, or male/female preference primogeniture? Gavelkind maybe?
This is mainly relevant to the Ionian Empire, so I'll discuss that. The Empire covers a very large geographic area, and as such, has many kingdoms within it, each with their own regional cultures, practical issues, and customs prior to annexation. As such, inheritance practices are decided by the royal families themselves-- By default, the Empire uses agnatic primogeniture, but through a lengthy and tedious bureaucratic process, regional royalty can apply to change their preferred method of inheritance.
>What's the preferred crop in one or more of your societies? How does crop rotation work? Do the peasants still practice subsistence farming or is there a more advanced method?
In most of the area I've developed, einkorn, emmet, and barley are the grains that are primarily grown. Three-crop rotation is generally in effect, with peas, beans, and lentils in widespread use as enriching crops. Agriculture is carried out under systems similar to sharecropping and manorialism, which vary by region.
(end)
>>46081541
Thanks senpai. Those should go nicely.
Now to get to work.
>>46081833
*three-field rotation
Sell me your setting and the initial campaign pitch like I'm some random asshole you managed to grab for the campaign that weekend.
>>46079506
>How many languages have you created?
None. Canonically, the universe is affected by the Tongues spell, so haters gonna hate.
>How were things like the Pythagorean Theorem and other mathematical formulas developed in your world?
The Dwarves were historically the first mathematicians, as they have always been hard-asses about keeping track of goods sold and ingots of metal mined. This eventually evolved into architecture and physics.
As for the sciences, the southwestern Theocracy has developed elaborate alchemical processes which might evolve into modern chemistry.
>Does your world have a calendar? Do different civilizations have separate calendars? How many days does it have? What are the names of the days? How is the year broken up in your societies?
The universal system for determining months and years is just the moon and sun cycle. One day/night cycle is a day, one Moon cycle is a month, and one "Season" cycle is a year.
The cycles are very consistent, due to how the cosmology is set, so a Day is (on average) 12 daylight/12 night hours, a Month is 30 Days, and a Year is 10 Months.
Summer and Winter are longer than the "transition" months of Spring and Autumn. Summer and Winter last 3 months each, and Spring and Autumn last 2 months each.
>What's a common idiom in your world?
If you say someone is "turning crimson", you're implying that they're preparing to engage in illegal or "morally-evil" activities. For instance, if someone is mentioning how their (relative/younger sibling/child/etc) has turned to banditry or thievery, they would say "they turned crimson".
This can be used as a warning to someone who is about to be consumed by anger, warning that they might do something they would regret.
This came about from the Orcs under the Crimson Empire having their skin dyed from green to red, prior to enslaving the other mortal races.
cont
>>46082435
>Let's talk about inheritance. Do the royalty in your societies prefer absolute primogeniture, or agnatic primogeniture, or male/female preference primogeniture? Gavelkind maybe?
In most nations, the Firstborn are given special treatment over their younger siblings. Likewise, in polygamous nations, the Firstborn of the first Wife has the right to most of the inheritance.
Obviously, this can change if the Firstborn dies, the Wife falls out of favor within the family, or the Firstborn decides to become an Adventurer instead of taking over whatever the family business is.
In regards to someone having magic-blooded immortal or nearly-immortal children, these children will likely end up becoming the head of the family.
In particular, the royal family of the northern Draconic Kingdom are all immortal Dragonborn, who have been in charge of the Kingdom for centuries.
>What's the preferred crop in one or more of your societies? How does crop rotation work? Do the peasants still practice subsistence farming or is there a more advanced method?
Each society has a preferred crop or crops based on their climate. Most "Earth" crops have their fantasy equivalent (aka direct copies).
Most villages have a resident Druid who uses their magic to fertilize and improve crop yields, so "starving peasants" aren't a common sight. There would probably be an overpopulation problem if villages weren't so prone to getting wiped out by goblins, wild beasts, or lycanthropy.
>>46082314
You're press-ganged by the grimdark Byzantine inquisition to fight crime.
>>46082314
A count in France wants you to guard his tax collector as she goes from village to village collecting tithes. One thing leads to another and you're thrust into the middle of an international struggle between secessionist Spaniards and the loving union of the French prince and Spanish queen who wish to see their lands united.
And if you decide this is fucking stupid, there's always the endless intrigue of the Drachenstaat! You'll have the option to go there for work by level 7.
>>46073485
What maths are more basic than arithmetic?
>>46071119
>How would a city state dedicated to education defend itself from a city state dedicated to war and conquest? What about a trade city?
How did Athens defend herself from Sparta?
>And Merchant city is largely based on medieval Italy, ancient Carthage, and Constantinople.
Funnily enough, Carthage and Constantinople used a very similar one to what Athens used.The strategy is "have a big wall and also a port".
>>46071223
If you came up with something on your own, even if they had a group by that name, you wouldn't be ripping it off.
>>46082314
Bad news. A Dragon has conquered the northern kingdoms, there are only ~4 full blooded elves left in the world, the goblins are launching a socialist uprising, the Emperor is dead so all his kids have kickstarted an eight-way multi-continental civil war, magic seems to be dying, the giants have started eating people again, the dwarves are selling gatling-cannons to anyone with the coin and no sense, the Lizardkin empire just invaded with a flotilla of War-Dinosaurs, and a cadre of dark sorcerers are on the brink of unleashing the Old Gods back into the world, which will begin with the Sun exploding. That's not even bringing up murderous court politics, more murderous Church politics, or the somehow even more murderous Spellcaster politics.
But Good News! That all means you have work!
Pic Related:Don't piss off anyone who even vaguely looks like this guy.
>>46072596
>the Dutch IRL
>maintaining independence from the HRE
What?
>>46075705
Neither newts nor crocodiles are lizards.
>>46083098
>mfw the DM puts a Richelieu into the campaign
I fucking love it when the ineffectualCNking has an extremely competentLEminister who *actually has the best interests of the country* in mind during his administration.
>>46076330
>so being educated doesn't raise your intelligence?
No, it increases your knowledge.
>>46083177
Dubs prove it.LEMinisters the best.
>>46079506
>How many languages have you created? What's the one you're most proud of?
And completed? Zero. I only really make the parts I need for names and some tie-ins.
>--> How many genders does this language have (keep in mind that gender does not necessarily mean male/female when it comes to languages)?
>-->Is it tonal or pitch accented?
I don't worry about shit that just makes things harder for my players to understand.
>-->How many words do you have for this language?
Like two dozen maybe.
>-->What is the word order of this language?
Subjects are noun adjective preposition, predicates are adverb verb, and optional expletive. It's more complicated than that but additional details are pretty much impromptu.
>-->What is the morphology of this language?
Basically indo-european in layout but all the morphemes are made up.
>How were things like the Pythagorean Theorem and other mathematical formulas developed in your world?
Elves say they did it.
>Does your world have a calendar? Do different civilizations have separate calendars?
The Sun and Moon have different calendars, and sometimes people fight over which to use when, but they generally have a different set of holidays that don't interact. The Moon has auspicious times for war, raiding, gambling, and business, while the Sun is the calendar used for farming and daily life. The Earth also has a calendar but nobody really uses it aside from the dwarves (who he made it for) and Earth priests since it doesn't use days as the fundamental unit.
>How many days does it have?
The Sun has 360 days per year, divided at the solstices. The moon generally only uses months; though many festivals are on many-month cycles, those are usually only kept track of by Moon priests, the No Moon and Full Moon are the ones common people know best.
>What are the names of the days?
Dawn, Lugn, Mart, Merec, Huev, Vernes, Dusk.
The night between Dusk and Dawn is especially sacred to the Darkness.
>>46083747
>Let's talk about inheritance. Do the royalty in your societies prefer absolute primogeniture, or agnatic primogeniture, or male/female preference primogeniture? Gavelkind maybe?
The Sunlit Kingdoms are each primogeniture, but they elect an Emperor from among their neighbor with one vote per king. Besides ruling them, the Emperor has dominion over the Imperial City and over all land and people without masters. There's a lot of the latter, because only high nobility may impose the death penalty and most communities have at most a knight or two. There's very little of the former, because few kings would like to lose claim on land.
The Rhom, or the Basilaeic people by they own tongue, are strongly dynastic and use seniority succession.
Grey elves are gavelkind, black elves are gereontocratic, there's a theocracy which I guess is a knock-off of the papal state in this way as in others, and the barbarians have no real records in-setting so I can make shit up as I need to.
>What's the preferred crop in one or more of your societies? How does crop rotation work? Do the peasants still practice subsistence farming or is there a more advanced method?
The humans love Wheat, which they believe to be a gift from the Sun. The Gnolls have herd animals and don't really farm. Legumes are quite popular in other places. Plums are in incredible vogue right now, and fruits in general go through trends fairly quickly. A lot of magic goes into blessing crops, so larger cities are able to be supported than in a historically accurate medieval setting.
>>46081270
How was your world created? What is its nature? What is the nature of divinity in your setting? Don't just make a laundry list of gods without considering their reason for being.
>>46063312
>What's the name of your world? What does it originate from?
I had one but forgot it, it was some bastardized mis-remembering of some proto-germanic term I read on wiktionary once.
>Do different cultures have different names for your world?
Most people don't think about their world as something that needs a name, so if you asked them they'd probably say something lame like "the land".
>How much time do you devote to worldbuilding?
I really just think in the background while doing other things, eventually inspiration strikes and things sort of just come together.
>What are your main inspirations (book/tv series, comics, historical events, etc)?
It's an amalgamation of everything I like, nothing specific stands out.
>What's the most fun part of worldbuilding for you?
Big ideas, figuring out the systems of how everything works.
>Have you ever spent a bunch of time and energy on a world, just to have your group end after a couple of sessions? Or do you worldbuild for a book/comic/just for the fun of it?
Sadly, I've never had a group to play with.
>What's an idea that you wish you had come up with?
Not sure what you mean here.
>What is the most crazy, whacked out religion in your world?
There are cults based on solipsism and the notion that the natural state of the universe is meaningless chaos. The crazy part is that they're actually RIGHT.Provided an external observer, i.e. God, does not exist. That question is left as open-ended as in the real world.
>What are some of the gods/goddesses in your world?
Bit of a trick question, this. There are certainly entities worshiped by religions of various sizes, but they're really just powerful spirits that exist within the confines of the world itself. The major religions have different interpretations of the Source Of All.
What are other words for 'spirit' as in a magical watcher over the land? I don't need names for other types of spirits like djinn or gnome or anything like that, just an alternative for 'spirit'. I feel like it's overused, and I'm tired of using it.
>>46063312
>>46083822
>Do you have any religions with a common root, like the Abrahamic religions in our world?
Yes, in fact the most popular religion in the setting is directly descended from an older religion that's still popular in foreign lands. Which in turn was heavily influenced by an even older, now nearly-dead religion.
>Continuing from the last point, are there any subtle crossovers between religions (like the connection between gods like Zeus and Indra from our world)?
Well, all the major religions are really different interpretations of the same phenomenon: a universal observer that gives reality any meaning to it.It's presumed to exist, because without It the universe could randomly decide to stop existing any time because of how magic works.
>What are some of the rituals/ceremonies from the religions in your world?
Hm... Hadn't actually given much thought to the specifics...
>How have your different religions shaped the history of your world?
Ah, another trick question for me.You know how some continuities split into alternate timelines after a certain point? Well, imagine that in REVERSE. I've got alternate pasts that merge into a single present.
>>46083933
>a magical watcher over the land
This was actually the original definition of the word "Daemon".
>>46083933
Eidolon?
>>46084087
Unfortunately, it can never be used without having the 'horns, wings, spikey tail' connotation any longer. It's a good word, too.
>>46083933
Basically any synonym for ghost if you mean a non-physical thing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost
Do you want an actual word that is a synonym for spirit but still English? You could try looking at spirit/ghost/phantom in various languages and see if one catches your eye.
>>46083933
Sounds like "kami" to me.
Describe at least one clade that is unique to your world from each of the following taxa:
>Mammalia
>Lissamphibia
>Aves
>Archosauria (excepting Aves)
>Lepidosauria
>Craniata (excepting all of the above)
>Gymnospermae
>Angiospermae
>Bacteria
>>46084068
>>46079506
>How many languages have you created? What's the one you're most proud of?
None, although I've stolen a few language families.
>How were things like the Pythagorean Theorem and other mathematical formulas developed in your world?
By people who naively assumed the world's geometry was Euclidian, but ironically 'flattened' it out through force of skepticism.
Or, alternatively, the knowledge originated nowhere and was passed down by time loop.
>What's the preferred crop in one or more of your societies?
Hardy grains are popular, but also tubers like potatoes. Typical farm animals, with some more 'unusual' varieties thrown in here and there.My favorite is the "toothy chicken".
>How does crop rotation work?
Peasants traditionally cycle fields fallow for a few years "to appease the spirits of nature". But more "forwards-thinking" lords have attempted to put an end to this practice...
>Do the peasants still practice subsistence farming or is there a more advanced method?
Subsistence, mostly. There's a bit more to go around than there would be in real life, though; general population has been kept in check through forces other than famine, for the most part.
>>46084150
You should try it, though. Say that all the preconceptions the players have are just common superstitions, perhaps even dogma perpetuated by a church that wants nothing to do with magic.
I am pretty good at drawing lands, but I really suck with cities. PS fails me when it comes to roads and houses.
Is there some sort of opensource tool for painting and/or generating interesting cities?
Do any of your kingdoms haveanthems or marching tunes?
>>46076889
>There's no way for a contemporary author to develop a reasonably well thought out European setting without veering into cringy Eurocentrism and propaganda and everything else would just be derided as generic fantasy schlock, no matter how faithful to real history it would be.
>>46084292
Nigga I don't know what any of that shit is.
I'm a wealthy adventurer.
After slaying the dragon and getting married to the love of my life, I decide to settle down and start a family. With my immense funds, I decide to buy or order construction of a pleasant villa out in some choice countryside... But where?
What country should I build my villa in, and why?
Bonus Round: I decide to buy a mansion instead, and choose to get it in one of your setting's cities. Knowing my intentions (raise kids in retirement) and assuming I'm looking for the usual in a city, where would I live and why?
>>46085877
Serbia
>>46085877
It's going to be a balancing act of getting away from major urban centers, but not TOO far away.
Major urban centers are so rife with disease that more people die in them than are born. (This is historically accurate for pre-1800s civilization.)
But on the other side... If you aren't on a well-traveled path, you may find it harder and harder to find your way back to civilization. Space-time warps when nobody's around to observe it, and if you're not on a map then people following one are less likely to find one even by accident.
>>46083039
I get that, what I mean is that l'd rather avoid settled nominative real estate.
>>46083192
You're aware Intelligence as it relates to RPGs, the topic of this discussion, is largely determined by knowledge?
>>46084087
I thought it meant a source of creative genius that each person had, or did the watcher over the land meaning come before that?
>>46084150
Not entirely true, the His Dark Materials series used it to mean a spirit-like animal companion (closer to the Roman idea of daemon) and it was never confusing. If you redefine a word initially, you can claim it regardless of outside connotation.
>>46079506
>How many languages have you created?
None, that would be a gigantic waste of time that wouldn't really matter to anyone unless I some day become a famous fantasy icon with nerds worshiping me across the globe.
I've actually deliberately stuck to English as much as possible. No made up words or names unless they sound English.
>How were things like the Pythagorean Theorem and other mathematical formulas developed in your world?
By wizards and other nerds. Math and physics are important in magic, and a lot of super-intelligent wizards have hobbies on top of that. Including architecture.
>Does your world have a calendar? Do different civilizations have separate calendars? How many days does it have? What are the names of the days? How is the year broken up in your societies?
They all should, but it's one of those things no one will ever remember or pay attention to, so no.
>What's a common idiom in your world?
I'm definitely gonna have to come up with some. That's a great idea.
>Let's talk about inheritance. Do the royalty in your societies prefer absolute primogeniture, or agnatic primogeniture, or male/female preference primogeniture? Gavelkind maybe?
Gavelkind sounds like a tumblerite who's spent a little too much time in courtrooms. That said, it differs depending on the kingdom, but absolute primogeniture is most common in those cases where inheritance isn't arbitrarily decided by the last king.
>What's the preferred crop in one or more of your societies? How does crop rotation work? Do the peasants still practice subsistence farming or is there a more advanced method?
Potatoes (eat it, historyfags) and various fantasy crops. I don't understand crop rotation, I just make vague references to it when I feel like it. Subsistence farming is common in some parts of the world, but the closer you get to the centers of learning and magic, the bigger the farms get. It's still an extremely labour-intensive field.
>>46079506
>How many languages have you created?
None and I have no intention of trying. That shit be hard.
>How were things like the Pythagorean Theorem and other mathematical formulas developed in your world?
SCIENCE!
Independently by elves, humans and dwarves I suppose.
>Does your world have a calendar? Do different civilizations have separate calendars? How many days does it have? What are the names of the days? How is the year broken up in your societies?
Dwarves have the oldest calendar. Their days run on a 48 hour clock because they're workaholics and don't see enough sunlight to care much for a normal day cycle. I imagine they'd break up their year by trade good cycles, so I guess vaguely like everyone else?
Elves have a calendar year that takes four times as long as everyone else's, but only back in their homeland where that's how long it takes for seasons to cycle. They were really thrown off when they migrated and time suddenly started moving very quickly. Some still use it to track birthdays so you may find the occasional 160 year old elf claiming to be 40.
>What's a common idiom in your world?
Mudrocks, a derogatory term used to refer to goliath who live sedentary lives/no longer migrate with the mammoth caravans
>Let's talk about inheritance. Do the royalty in your societies prefer absolute primogeniture, or agnatic primogeniture, or male/female preference primogeniture? Gavelkind maybe?
Mostly primogeniture I guess. Occasionally gavelkind happens, but rarely does it work out. It's usually the subject of ancient legend: the dwarven empire was once divided among four sons, then reunited through conquest by one.
Orcs follow a meritocracy where they have a tournament to decide the new ruler. Lesser issues are likewise decided by who's toughest.
>What's the preferred crop in one or more of your societies? How does crop rotation work? Do the peasants still practice subsistence farming or is there a more advanced method?
lol I dunno
>>46081361
>They were actually very quick to figure out the physics behind flight, for one thing.
So have they been driven mad by the impossibility of their own existence?
>>46085877
If you wish to buy a villa, there are many lands you might choose from.
The Imperial Enclave is likely the best bet, as it is a human land with a pretty good standard of living for those whom can afford it and is rather secure against attack. Beyond that, it has much beautiful scenery, with many mountains, lowlands and jungles. Best not to settle too close to the Creeping Jungle though, its basically got Kudzu and you don't want your villa getting overgrown I presume.
As for an urban center to build your mansion in, there are 4 major choices. Provided you're not an elf, then the ''Labyrinth of Stemoor'' would be a luxurious and enjoyable place to settle to live out the last of your days enjoying fine foods, wines and gorgeous weather. For those of a religious bend, their is the Divine City of Caerne, where you would enjoy grand cathedrals and rousing sermons, safe in your piety but lacking in true luxury for the most part. For those whom like exotic goods and such, there is the city of Basa, a desert based trading kingdom where, if you have the money, any luxury or vice can be indulged. But, if you want to settle in the heart of human civilisation, where the real power and wealth of humanity is concentrated, you would find no better place to settle than the city of Wyewick. All would be fine places to raise a child, depending on how you wish to raise them
>>46090489
Nope, because I'm doing everything I can to make them seem like biologically plausible creatures. They're still extraordinary by Earth standards, but so's a lot of the fauna of this world I'm building.
Tell me about some of the iconic weapons of the various factions, races or other groups in your setting
>>46093796
Would iconic weapon be a weapon used in actual warfare and general combat, or could that include a specific sword or other weapon that is vastly known throughout that one kingdom, such as Excalibur?
>>46093959
Well, I intended it to mean what weapon people assume members of the faction or whatever use but either works.
Say, someone sees a dwarf going to war. What is the weapon it would be logical to assume they're using?
>>46094006
If dwarf, most likely a hammer or ax of some sort. More about strength and if anyone has armor they can blow through them without a problem. Also easy to trip people if the feeling arises if they use the longer ax type with the large hooked end on the bottom of the blade head (forgot what it's actually called).
>>46094085
I think the term is bearded axe.
Sounds good to start out, simple but practical. What about other factions and groups in your setting?
>>46094085
might be a godendag?
>>46094163
that's a club with a metal spike at the end.
>>46094142
yeah it's a bearded axe.
>>46094142
Considering I'm an unoriginal sack using the Palladium map, factions tend to use similar things in combat. The only real difference is that the southern kingdom has the ability to enlist airships for combat due to a desert town between the southern kingdom and another to its north recently being placed under the command of a demon mostly allied with the southern kingdom.
However the demon doesn't actually care for politics and simply wants to make the desert town really fucking awesome and a huge trade hub since it's smack in the middle on the route between both kingdoms. The airships part is from the town having built an airship dock and having the know-how to produce them well.
My 'world building' has just been on this town and some items, as well as names and things from the donjon.bin.sh site.
>>46093796
>Valis (navy raider scum Not!Iroquois/Tlingit with a bit of Aztec influences)
hatchets, throwing axes, longknives, pistols, grenades, harpoons, some long clubs or hooks for (ship-to-ship melee)
>Ahigbeni (imperialist scum Not!Benin)
rifles w/ bayonets, sabers, daggers (as a ceremonial sidearm), long pokey spears, a variety of batshit insane throwing knives that look like they're reject WIPs straight out of Hell's smithy
>Sharac (math worshipping, caste system Not!Aztecs)
bolas, compound bows, multi-crossbows, mounted ballistae, mounted multi-ballistae, revolver pistols (sidearm), steel bladed macuahuitl (ceremonial sidearm for officers, see pic related), tower shields carried by slave soldiers
>Tyvanians (swamp goths)
muh Zweihänder/muh Flamberge (they don't fight a lot of wars, but duels are all the rage among noblemen, and bigger sword means manlier swordsman etc.)
>>46093796
>Cõi-rồng (tribal dragonborn with some native american and vietnamese influence)
Hatchets, thowing axes, a variety of war clubs and crossbows
>Svanir (Not!Vikings with bear cavalry and great mead)
Swords, axes, shields, spears, bows and the occasional molotov cocktail.
>Khazadum (Warhammer dwarfs meets LotR dwarfs plus extra welsh elements)
Axes, warhammers, maces, picks and bows
>Caham
Spears, swords and shields mostly
>>46093796
One of the most iconic weapons in my Dull and Uncreative Milquetoast setting is Dwarven crossbows. They are manufactured in strict standards in large numbers. Due to this these weapons have found themselves in wide usage across the southern kingdoms.
>>46097283
More like this.
Picture is mechanism of Qin-dynasty made crossbow. They where manufactured in standardized patterns in large quantities for the soldiers. Those crossbows in your picture are too fancy for my setting.
>>46094006
In my world, you'd most likely see a dwarf mercenary wielding a wicked hybrid of halberd and kopesh as a primary weapon, with a good old-fashioned stabbing sword as a backup. They use their small size to sneak under their opponents' guard and stab them from below. Expect guerilla-style warfare and fighting with every dirty trick from fire to poison.
Of course, that's mostly a stereotype; dwarfs are as culturally varied as humans. The two societies don't have much interaction.
>>46094006
Lets bump with purpose
When the Dwarven of my setting go to war the normal Dwarven Infantry is well armored and armed invidual. Having their gambesons underneath their mailles and lamellars or plated mail if the invidual is more richer. Head is protected with spangenhelm which has aventail. Legs have splint vambraces. Shield is elliptical and tall and dwarven is carrying 3 metres tall spear with sword or axe on his belt. Usually they also carry fighting knives and extra bolts for crossbow armed inviduals. Some Dwarven units do carry darts which they throw in mass before charging or to disturb enemy charge.
Pic kinda related, the inviduals in pic needs to be shorter and more stouter.
>>46099827
Wait, 3 metre long spears? You know 2 metres is like more than 6 feet, right?
How do you guys come up with coastlines and the shape of continents? Random generators? I can't figure out how this New World continent should look.
>>46099924
I do this. It seems like a lot of other people do the same.
>>46099924
I just make up shit until I get some that looks good.
I really like drag queens for their attitude and powerful self-image (despite what most people may think, it has nothing to do with perversion), but have no idea how to incorporate them into a world where the beings that inhabit it have no gender or sexual organs at all.
>>46100032
*something
>>46099886
3 Metres, 10 feet is not that long distance when you start thinking about it. The usual spears IRL where between 1,8m-2,5m and pikes 3m-7,5m.
In the setting Dwarven Infantry fights quite methodical battles in form of phalanxes with heavy crossbow and scorpion support. When fighting becomes too close the spear is dropped and hand weapons drawn. Idea is that the first four rows can engage the enemy with their long spears.
pic related, number 2 resembles Dwarven Mine Guards who are the standing defense of dwarven holds/mines.
>>46100249
How tall are your dwarves? If they're like 3-4 feet, you might want to consider classifying them as pikes instead of spears and having them operate similarly to Alexander the Greats phalanxes.
Then again, your call. Certainly sounds a scary force to face on the field.
>>46100348
Dwarven are not that short! They are not balls! The average height of them is about 1,3m-1,4m and with tallest being 1,5m. Compared to normal humans they are about head shorter with the average height being about 1,6m-1,7m.
The way they fight resembles the Alexander the Great way of fighting. Drafted levies being the slow moving anvil that catches the enemy troops and holds them in battle to allow heavy infantry to strike in flanks. Then add heavy usage of giant mountain goat drawn carriages with scorpions and chariots with same animals pulling them. In short the armies usually deploy in this way with about 4:2:1 ratio of troops with support elements being behinds them.
Chariots<-->Heavy Infantry<-->Levies<-->Heavy Infantry<-->Chariots
Pic somewhat related, more beard and less height and you could have dwarven levies.
>>46100902
Fair enough. I usually do mine a bit shorter, hence the confusion.
What enemies do they face most frequently? How do they fight?
>>46085752
Fortunately Eurocentrism is pretty well received in western culture.
>>46063312
>>What's the name of your world? What does it originate from? Do different cultures have different names for your world?
Haven't come up with a name yet, and I don't find it really important to have one for the planet besides something akin to "earth" as it's a low fantasy setting.
>>How much time do you devote to worldbuilding?
Quite a bit, allthough the majority happens when I'm lying in bed awaiting sleep.
>>What are your main inspirations (book/tv series, comics, historical events, etc)?
My setting is heavily inspired by the historical roman empire and the book series A Song of Ice and Fire. Abercrombies works are also a highly inspirational aswell as any historic happenings I find intriguing and interesting. Scipio Africanus and his rejection of the kingship that was offered to him by his army is the perhaps the one big historical inspiration as the whole notion of an emperor in my fantasy world stems from my NotScipio accepting the kingship offered to him.
>>What's the most fun part of worldbuilding for you?
Inventing the history of the different states, especially that of my notRoman Empire called the Tetrarchy (or more formally the Empire of the Tetrarchy as the tetrarchy is the name of their pantheon. The emperor basically acts as their steward on "earth").
>>Have you ever spent a bunch of time and energy on a world, just to have your group end after a couple of sessions? Or do you worldbuild for a book/comic/just for the fun of it?
The goal with my worldbuilding is to write books about it but I primarily do it for the fun of it.
>>What's an idea that you wish you had come up with?
The way the Assyrians used their insanely harsh treatment of enemies as propaganda to maintain their empire.
Doing some brainstorming for worldbuilding in a post-apocalyptic Gulf of Mexico setting. The focus is more on the military aspect, but some more general setting input could liven it up.
>>>/k/29304213
>>46101004
It is rare sight for Dwarven armies to fight, mainly due to everybody knowing it will be hard battle and no point wasting men against them. See Switzerland as an example. But when they fight it is mainly against neighboring human kingdoms. Dwarven mines in north do have to fight more, mainly due to lack of stable human kingdoms, against barbarian hordes, grey men and trolls. It is more common for bands of Dwarven mercenaries to fight alongside of their human employers, but when this happens they cannot properly employ the phalanx.
Human kingdoms fight in pretty usual way. Reference point would be late 14th to early 15th century. Losses against human kingdoms usually comes from charge made by dismounted knights and men at arms.
Against other human factions or tribes victories are more or less certain, but if dwarven general fucks up losses happen.
Against Elven Kingdoms wars are mostly 50/50 situations. Elven cavalry if given change will in most situations win the day for them. Elven armies are mostly made from their pikemen and archers supported by crack cavalry. The not!serbian elven usually employ a lot of cavalry, but they have left the nearby Mine alone.
I will leave grey men and trolls for later.
>had a nightmare that someone stole my idea and name
>woke up in a panic
>immediately check /tg/ to convince self it wasn't real
>see thread is asking for its name
That's some weird coincidental shit right there.
>>46101680
I'm happy someone is using the Druzhina and other culture of old Rus'. It is usually not the case.
All right, /wbg/, pick a nation in your world. Any nation. But you'll probably want to pick the most interesting one you've got, because I've got some questions.
>What is this nation like, in a few words? Feel free to use the "X meets Y" format.
>What is their seat of government? Where is it located? What makes it a capital worthy of traveling to?
>What is their cultural flashpoint? When did they stop being a bunch of disparate individuals and start thinking of themselves as one people? What defines them as a common society?
>What stereotypes exist about your nation's people? How true are they? Why do the stereotypes exist in the first place?
>How large a player are they on the world stage? Do they possess a significant military? Who are their chief rivals for territory and influence?
>What are their chief exports? What are their chief imports? Is their culture a major export?
>Finally, and most importantly, see pic related.
>>46066466
robot philosophy
>>46071717
Awesome. Did you draw that? Do you have any more drawings of armour or people in your setting? I absolutely love that kind of stuff.
>>46103779
>What is this nation like, in a few words?
They're warhammer dorfs meets LotR dorfs, plus an extra dash of welsh and german.
>What is their seat of government? Where is it located? What makes it a capital worthy of traveling to?
The King rules from Kharazir. Its a mighty stronghold built into a mountainside, with the main above-ground protrusion being a tower of black stone. The city is home to great wealth, a might arena and fine feasting halls, as well as impressive architecture and many statues of noble heros and such from the holds history.
>>What is their cultural flashpoint, etc.
The flashpoint occurred when the mines above which the capital was built were overrun by goblins from within. A wise dwarf rose up to organise resistance and lead the people to reclaim it and, over the next few decades, fortify it and secure the supplies it needed by annexing and fortifying farming territory and such. Then, deciding his task was accomplished, he named an heir, declared his retirement from the throne and descended into the mine armed with meager weaponry to do battle with the remaining goblins until he found one that could best him. His body is interred in the foundations of the palace. As a society, they are defined as a people of hard work, harder parties and vigilance. They have fought hard to hold their lands and will not see them taken by outsiders.
>What stereotypes exist about your nation's people, etc.
They are stereotyped as xenophobic, boisterous and hard working to the extreme. This is largely true. The stereotypes are born from the experiences of the few merchants allowed to enter Kharazir to trade for dwarven goods before being hurried out of their lands. They do always provide an escort to their border though so they are also known for being courteous.
>>46104360
>How large a player are they on the world stage, etc.
They are highly isolationist unfortunately. They have a strong standing military and a proud militia tradition to back it up. Their main rivals are the nearby land of Pontyd, the ruler of which covets their resources.
>What are their chief exports, etc.
They mainly export high quality dwarven arms and armour, as well as some fine gemstones and jewelry. As regards imports, they only import luxury items as they pride themselves on national self sufficiency. Their culture is somewhat of an export, as all whom witness their halls have it deeply impressed upon them, but these people are few and far between so the effect of this is quite limited.
>Do you have a flag?
Yes, of course. It flies most notably on top of the tower which acts as the entrance to their capital. It consists of a valknut with crossed mining picks behind it, rendered in black on a slate grey background.
>>46103779
>What is this nation like, in a few words?
highly pious & superstitious, matriarchal Iroquois/Tlingit with guns and whaling ships that are organized in guilds, and will raid your ships at least once a year.
>What is their seat of government? Where is it located? What makes it a capital worthy of traveling to?
Ven Val, a natural secluded harbor in a crater, filled with the ruins of stone-carving precursors. it's pretty close to the equator (closest point to it on the mainland in fact), which makes people call it the middle of the world. it's also located just at the edge of the eternal storm that makes sailing the central ocean difficult in summer and downright impossible in winter. since Ven Val is where all their trading networks are connected, it is one of the world's greatest marketplaces, although it shuts down completely for several weeks in winter/monsoon season for both religious and practical reasons.
>What stereotypes exist about your nation's people? How true are they? Why do the stereotypes exist in the first place?
that they will listen to whoever can invoke the most Saints, that they are loud and uncultured, that they are too stupid to know fear, and that touching their Saint idols will literally cause nervous breakdowns. most of that is an exaggeration of real attributes: you do need to be knowledgible in religious rites as a Captain or Admiral, because it is your duty to carry out these sacred rites. their language does not lend itself to soft whispers and employs several shrill sounds that can be heard even during a storm at sea. it also sounds like a bunch of nonsense to foreigners and tends to always sound brash and reckless to them, hence the assumed stupidity and fearlessness. and mindlessly laying your hands on an idol is about the rudest thing an outsider can do short of spitting at someone in public or the like.
>What are their chief exports?
whale oils, whale fat, whale everything. and raids.
>>46103779
>What is this nation like, in a few words? Feel free to use the "X meets Y" format.
It's like if France met the Pope and got frisky.
>What is their seat of government? Where is it located? What makes it a capital worthy of traveling to?
That would be Mirabel, the grand city of the Kingdom of Chalon. It's located on lush grasslands by the Pontou River which flows out into the Silver Sea. A lovely port city of towering marble architecture and stunning cathedrals filled with stained glass and the smell of incense. The White City boasts numerous statues and fountains, with wide boulevards fit for a march as much as a market. It is a place of glory, of peace and plenty.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue-ER61uE_o
>What is their cultural flashpoint? When did they stop being a bunch of disparate individuals and start thinking of themselves as one people? What defines them as a common society?
That would have been during the Unification Wars, also known as the Years of the Blazing Sun. Originally a collection of petty kingdoms, the region that would know encompass Chalon was conquered by two divinely-mandated heroes, Lothaire de Carhaix and Arnauld d’Ariége, who set aside their petty titles and formed a dynasty worthy of Soleil, House Hérault. Chalesian society is unified through their worship of the Sun God Soleil, and see His Divine Champion, the Solaire (typically the anointed heir apparent to the Throne) as his mightiest servant. Beyond the religious, Chalesians are a fertile sort interested in the arts of agriculture and land cultivation, as well as the more military matters of chivalric pursuits.
>What stereotypes exist about your nation's people? How true are they? Why do the stereotypes exist in the first place?
The stereotypical Chalesian is a hopeless romantic; whether enamored with warfare or chivalry, of a fair maiden or agriculture, a Chalesian is seen as the sort that adores the *idea* of a thing, rather than the actual pursuit of it.
>>46104805
>>What is their cultural flashpoint? When did they stop being a bunch of disparate individuals and start thinking of themselves as one people?
mythologically speaking: when the First Grand Admiral Kamavela had all other fleets' admirals banished to the Salt Isle and united the fleets, creating the Valse Navy and defeating the allied forces of the Sun-Emperor and the Alliance of the 12 Cities in the Battle of Vei Rasnr Bay.
historically speaking: during a tense period of wars among rival mercenary leaders and clan chiefs, the city of Ven Val served as a sanctuary for exiles and clans robbed of their lands, among them the remains of the Resna Empire's disgraced royal navy. over two centuries, the city's cultures blended together and formed a shared council and military, with the rise of the Grand Admirals signalling their growing military prowess as a naval power. basically it's a long period of badly treated people slowly getting less uncomfortable with each other. the guilds that were established during that time served as a way to break up existing ethnical groups and form new ones based on shared labor/profession.
since I spent over a trillion hours in Adobe Photoshop CS6 making a chart on the origins of these fictional ethnicities, I'm gonna attach it. >inb4 autism.jpg
>What defines them as a common society?
their navy (everyone has at least one family member currently serving in it), their guilds (and sometimes blind loyalty to them), their language, and their Saints (protector demigods, one for literally every occasion). also the fact that they consider Ven Val to be the only proper city on the planet.
>Do you have a flag?
they don't do flags.
>>46105176
do they use the incense to get high once in a while? are there merchants selling fir branches to rich people who want to smell something fresh and natural once in a while?
>>46103779
>What is this nation like, in a few words? Feel free to use the "X meets Y" format.
Krolestwo Brzeg i Morze, Kingdom of Sea and Shore is one of the southern Kingdoms. People who lives there can be described as Poland meets Portugal, a not!polish seafaring people.
>What is their seat of government? Where is it located? What makes it a capital worthy of traveling to?
Kozsalin is their capital city and it is located in eastern parts of the kingdom next to river leading from Elven lands. Kozsalin has population of about 40 000, but there is quite lot of traders and travellers in the city. Kozsalin also houses the Shipbuilders Guild and has one of the biggest shipyards in the world. If you want ship and ship accessories Kozsalin is the place to be.
>What is their cultural flashpoint? When did they stop being a bunch of disparate individuals and start thinking of themselves as one people? What defines them as a common society?
not!polish people followed the Crownlanders of today during migration period and inhabited in hills near city of Plonsk. Tribe like other tribes where still firmly in stone age (about 8000 BCT, before counted time) and it took them two millenia to properly spread around the coast with their primitive rafts. During the migration period they formed their own language as off shoot from the Elven language. Most tribes didn't have much contact with each other until late stone age-early bronze age (4500 BCT). It took to 500 BCT for the Kingdom to be formed first time as Kingdom of Sea. Kingdom of Sea managed to acquire personal union with one smaller kingdom and they captured rest of their current area at 300 CT (counted time). Kingdom has fractured, been captured and ravaged multiple times until 2400 CT from which Kingdom of Sea and Shore has been a thing again. So for 700 years Kingdom has been standing more or less on its own legs, not counting few decades of being occupied.
1/2
map is WIP
>>46105213
>What is their main import?
lumber, preferably in the form of already constructed ships. Ven Val has no natural forests anymore due to the sheer demand for wood to use in shipbuilding. this is also why they keep raiding helpless seaside duchies and kingdoms up Northwest. they literally blackmail locals into letting them build their ships on their shores.
>>46100902
>The way they fight resembles the Alexander the Great way of fighting.
I find that difficult to picture if they don't have world class cavalry. Chariots really don't cut it
I feel like the Swiss would be a better inspiration for the Dwarven pikemen army than Alexander's Macedon
>>46064723
But what do you do when there are multiple languages in a setting?
>>46105276
...Nowadays thanks to heavy influence of traders most port cities have quite large foreign influence
>What stereotypes exist about your nation's people? How true are they? Why do the stereotypes exist in the first place?
Most common stereotype is that they smell like fish and reeds. This is partially true, but most population lifes firmly inland tending their fields. These stereotypes usually come from the fact that the Kingdom has so close relationship with sea. Otherwise the common folk doesn't differ from others that much. They do worship the God of Sea and Water more than other gods of pantheon.
>How large a player are they on the world stage? Do they possess a significant military? Who are their chief rivals for territory and influence?
Currently their naval power can be countered only by Elven Confederation of Tal against which they have fought multiple wars over control of trade and sea lines. Due to that Kingdoms military focus has been concentrated on their naval forces. Their land elements are somewhat behind times compared to others as they rely heavily on peasant levies and not so much on men at arms. Their fleet is biggest in world with 50 heavy galleys and over 100 galleys. These ships are supported by over 300 other naval vessels that are rated to be used in naval actions. As said Elven Confederation of Tal is their biggest enemy, but they have had conflicts with about every neighbour they have. Currently everybody is at peace after the 7th War Against the North, but it shouldn't take long for factions to start looking at each other.
>What are their chief exports? What are their chief imports?
Ship and ship accessories along with fish are their major exports. Due to their location they more or less control the trade and tariffs of that area and due to that most trade between Free Cities and Southern Kingdoms go through them.
>Finally, and most importantly, see pic related.
no flags yet. Think three blue fish on green reed background
>>46105176
>What stereotypes exist about your nation's people? How true are they? Why do the stereotypes exist in the first place?
The stereotypical Chalesian is a hopeless romantic; whether enamored with warfare or chivalry, of a fair maiden or agriculture, a Chalesian is seen as the sort that adores the *idea* of a thing, rather than the actual pursuit of it. In less flattering circles the Chalesian is a drunkard or lustful miles gloriosus, desirous of conquest whether in the bedroom or battlefield. There is some truth to this, as the Chalesian is known for their daring outfits and cosmopolitan views on sex and sexuality, as well as their obsession with tournaments and the "knight-errant", or wandering adventurer. Indeed, a knight who can prove themselves on the roads is seen with the same regard as one on the field. The Chalesian is also seen as a fanatic, which has to do with their belief in being the "chosen people" of the Sun God.
>How large a player are they on the world stage? Do they possess a significant military? Who are their chief rivals for territory and influence?
They are one of the major power players in the continent - while their knack for diplomacy is naught to sneeze at (as Solar Gauthier was the chief advisor in the union of Solaire Alderic and Queen Maria of the Kingdom of Palencia) their military is the stuff of legend; noble levies and mighty retinues of knights form the bulk of the military, united in esprit de corps that belies their often disparate origins. Their primary rival on the continent is, and always has been, the Drachenstaat, the Dragons who once sought to conquer their lands now fight for influence on the Republic of Vandorme, a recently liberated duchy and a valuable trading partner.
>>46105472
>>46105176
>>46105472
>What are their chief exports? What are their chief imports? Is their culture a major export?
The most internationally recognized product of Chalon is its wine. Chalesian wine is considered the finest in the world, known affectionately by nobles the world over for its rich flavors, delicate aromas and deep burgundy coloration; the most prized vintages have a bright, almost luminescent golden hue known as “Chalesian Sunshine.” Textiles (of all variety) and dyes are also significant exports, as Chalon is nothing but a pioneer in high fashion.
Major imports include spices, gold and silver, things in extremely high demand due to the booming economy and large population of nobles. Other imports include exotic woods and fine steel goods, made from the swordmasters of distant Gevalia.
>Finally, and most importantly, see pic related.
See pic for the heraldry of House Herault (variations include a golden sunburst on a sable field, or numerous starburts on sable.)
>>46105264
>do they use the incense to get high once in a while?
Of course! Incense is not technically "required" for religious ceremonies, but it shows off the wealth and power of the Church while incentivizing filthy peasants to go and pray once in a while.
>are there merchants selling fir branches to rich people who want to smell something fresh and natural once in a while?
Fir branches, citrus, all sorts of things that having a sharp, pleasing aroma are highly desired.
Speaking of sharp...
>Perhaps not as recognized outside of Chalon, is the wide variety of cheeses produced by the Chalesian dairy industry, with flavors, textures and scents that range from the delicately nutty to “acquired.”
>>46103779
>What is this nation like, in a few words?
The United Kingdom of Orelle. They're kind of like the USA merged with France, if you can imagine that.
>What is their seat of government? Where is it located? What makes it a capital worthy of traveling to?
Their capital is the city of Galinsel, which is pretty much like New York in terms of scale and layout. It's located at the mouth of the river Estrom, and its position with access to the sea has made it a major crossroads for international trade.
>What is their cultural flashpoint?
That'd be the unification of the kingdoms of Falle and Riette, each occupying the land on opposing sides of the Estrom. The name for the new United Kingdom is derived from an ancient word for the land as a whole, and the name of their common language.
>What stereotypes exist about your nation's people?
Orellians are typically held to be pompous and proud, with a live-in-the-moment sort of attitude. To do something "in the Orellian fashion" is to do it quick and forcefully (and yes, "screwing like an Orellian" is a phrase).
>How large a player are they on the world stage?
Orelle just got licked in a total war against the Republic of Ehreist, their chief rival on the continent, and due to their status as the loser of the conflict, they've been forced to downgrade their military presence. Hasn't stopped them from remaining a major economic player.
>What are their chief exports? What are their chief imports? Is their culture a major export?
Orelle is a well-industrialized nation, so they export a lot of manufactured goods. In return they import a lot of foreign foodstuffs and raw materials (they're not the most oil-rich nation, for one). They're also an imperial power, so they've spread their culture quite far, already.
>Finally, and most importantly, see pic related.
Yes, indeed.
In a feudal system, I understand the lord/vassal system. What I don't know is what a lord's vassals are called if you want to refer to them as one group. I don't think they are called his house. Are there terms for this from history, or do I have to make something up?
>>46101386
I'm trying to work out polities with this post apocalyptic Gulf Coast.
The Ingall's shipyard in Huntington is probably a key strategic point.
I could see NOLA turning into a Venice type of situation, since I'm not sure the levees and river control systems would hold over a few decades of neglect and chaos.
Texas, with its independent power grid and all that crap is probably its own nation and doing comparatively well.
However, I'm trying to figure out what sorts of ships would be available for pirates or protagonists.
Another aspect of this post apocalyptic economy I'm trying to wrap my head around is fuel. I was thinking that a combination of biodiese plantationsl and control of the oil rigs would determine a chunk of a nation's naval power.
Any ideas for this fucked-up version of the Gulf of Mexico.
Also
>Just on this brainstorming session, I'm coming to sketching out some characters.
>I think one character should be a older guy, who maybe participated in one of the battles of the Collapse. He might have had another ship sunk by the enemy submarine, so it's his "white whale." This might be better split into the grizzled veteran guy and the white whale guy. The grizzled guy could be the carrier captain and the white whale guy could be the skipper of the submarine that serves as the eyes and ears of the flotilla.
>Another guy might be a young prince/aristocrat type who's only on the boat more because of his birth than merit. Not an entitled shit, just out of his depth.
>Feel free to suggest ideas for other people on this boat
>>46106116
>What I don't know is what a lord's vassals are called if you want to refer to them as one group.
It's vassals all the way down, lad.
Vassals and courtiers.
>>46106172
>Any ideas for this fucked-up version of the Gulf of Mexico.
Cartel submarines.
>>46106174
But say you wanted a name for Lord Jimmy's group of vassals. It sounds pretty dull to always refer to them as "Lord Jimmy's vassals." There has to be something else to call them, r-right?
>>46106244
>There has to be something else to call them, r-right?
Nope, Lord Jimmy's vassals are referred to as Lord Jimmy's vassals. Or Lord Jimmy's Court, hence courtier.
>>46106299
I see. I guess I'll use X's Court for this faction's hierarchy. It isn't trying to be an exact replica of feudal systems, but it takes inspiration from it, and I'd rather use a term that has some root rather than pulling it straight from my ass.
Thanks.
>>46106233
Already in; I mentioned them in the /k/ thread.
I'm thinking of writing a story about a freighter/aircraft carrier and its escorts carrying a cargo (maybe palm oil for biodiesel) from South America to the Gulf Coast. Facing them are pirates and a mysterious submarine (the white whale I mentioned).
NOLA is going to be a retched hive of scum and villainy, which might be a locale to visit
>>46105716
I love that flag
>>46106412
Thanks. Was trying for something that wouldn't be out of place in a modern setting. It's got the Kingdom's history integrated into it, too.
Silver was the color of Riette, which was on the western side of the Estrom, while gold was the color of Falle on the east. The current flag uses both hues, along with the blue representing the Estrom. The griffon was a symbol of Falle, and traditionally faced west, but when the kingdoms were unified, it was reversed, as there were no longer any foes to be found in that direction.
Ended up getting a map made of this.
>>46106701
Holy crackers that's amazing!
>>46106701
You got that commissioned? If so, holy shit, my dick is diamonds over how beautiful that is.
>>46106795
nah i bought it from the artist's etsy. best investment i ever made.
>>46103779
space opera setting so... gonna just go ahead and apply these questions to one of the alien species... we'll go with the Kanin...
>What is this nation like, in a few words? Feel free to use the "X meets Y" format.
Mad Max in space
>What is their seat of government? Where is it located? What makes it a capital worthy of traveling to?
they really don't have a good answer to that, they are mostly clans ruled by various warlords.
> What is their cultural flashpoint? When did they stop being a bunch of disparate individuals and start thinking of themselves as one people? What defines them as a common society?
they never actually did... they only made it onto the interstellar scene after a starship crashed on their planet after which they killed the surviving crew and reverse-engineered the ship's components, including it's FTL device.
>What stereotypes exist about your nation's people? How true are they? Why do the stereotypes exist in the first place?
the leading stereotype of them is that of hyper-violent psychos and war-mongers. which is derived from details like how their homeworld is in the grips of it's 3rd nuclear winter, and piracy is completely out-of-control in systems they hold. is it accurate... well... there are fringe members of the species and social deviants, but even they will begrudgingly admit they are few and far in between.
>>How large a player are they on the world stage? Do they possess a significant military? Who are their chief rivals for territory and influence?
well they are a concern to nearly everyone within a close proximity to them and collectively their armies would rank as being in the top 5, fortunately they are far more interested in killing each other and really only really attack others to get money and material.
>What are their chief exports? What are their chief imports? Is their culture a major export?
they mostly will try to import (more often raid) weapons from other interstellar empires, and export extortion.
>>46106678
Yep, its definitely something that wouldn't look out of place in 19th century Europe onward
Not the whole world, but the known world for this particular campaign. I try to keep all of our various false starts of campaigns in the same world, but with big time/location jumps between them.
The adventure takes place on the eastern continent, soon after the Empire has finished conquering from coast to coast. Because of the empire's rapid expansion, there are still huge cultural differences across the continent.
The Empire is a magocracy, and has been for the last few hundred years, ever since the queen's royal wizard usurped the throne. Recent metalworking discoveries, however, have resulted in the rise of clockwork technology. There's going to be some conflict over that soon.
The main hub city near the west coast is a place where the gods actually walk the earth.
>What is this nation like, in a few words? Feel free to use the "X meets Y" format.
Like communism for magic instead of money.
>What is their seat of government? Where is it located? What makes it a capital worthy of traveling to?
The geography is based on Georgia, and the city is really nothing special aside from the Towers Of The Common Man, where mages reside and (according to a cynic) ignore the plight of the common man.
>What is their cultural flashpoint? When did they stop being a bunch of disparate individuals and start thinking of themselves as one people? What defines them as a common society?
They used to be ruled by a sorcerer king who fucked around a lot and did a bunch of "wizard did it" shit. Before that they were ruled by elves, who were experimenting with colonialism at the time, and their magical tradition takes a lot from that.
>What stereotypes exist about your nation's people? How true are they? Why do the stereotypes exist in the first place?
They tend to be loud, physical, and cheerful. They're religiously unusual in that they consider the Sun to be more masculine than feminine, but are seen as generally kind of godless. Part of that is because they overthrew monarchy and rely more on mortal magics than divine works, which isn't that popular among humans.
>How large a player are they on the world stage? Do they possess a significant military? Who are their chief rivals for territory and influence?
They're not that big. The main play area of my setting is a newly discovered continent, and they send some colonists but only have one colony where they're a majority. The tend not to get along well with dwarves, who consider them to be idiots and who they consider to be rudely unwilling to abide by manners of good humor and cheer.
>>46108117
>What are their chief exports? What are their chief imports? Is their culture a major export?
They're not very rich. Sometimes they export major magical rituals, since harvesting thaums from the peasantry allows great efficiency. Sometimes they even do this on purpose and get paid for it. They have enough food to get by, as they devote large parts of their magical resources to that, and they have ample ores, so the main thing they lack are luxuries. The majority of those are black market imports, because the registration process is very inconvenient.
>Finally, and most importantly, see pic related.
I don't do flags much, but the heraldry of their nation is all on a field of red, and each commune emblazons its own emblem (often in blue and yellow) on it for their own local stuff.
>>46106701
Is that a map of Lovecraft's dream world?
Nice, man.
>>46071717
>>46104299
Seconding, I really want to see some more drawings of yours
>>46106701
I suspect that Alien world would have much more color to it, no?
