World-Building
A place to collaborate on constructing imaginary locations as settings for stories, or just for fun.
Date: February 21, 2010
Categories: Fiction, poetry, and fanfiction, Ideas
Comments RSS TrackBack 89 comments
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Enceladus
in February 21st, 2010 @ 18:09Yay! Worldbuilding!
Ok, Sudo. We’re working together. *grabs*
What sort of world do you want? If we have magic, I can do that. I took a MIT Splash! course on magic systems for dummies.
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SudoRandom
in February 21st, 2010 @ 19:11Ouch. Stop grabbing me. Magic is good, if you want. I made a few sketches of a world, once, when I was bored, but I don’t know if we want to use them or not. It basically looked like some big round chicken thingy. Not exactly the best for a serious world, but could definitely work for a Discworld/Prussenia world. Should our world be large, or small, or somewhere in the middle? Mostly water, mostly land, or somewhere in the middle? I think it would be fun to have it mostly water, and everyone would go around in ships, or if it’s a smaller world, it could all be connected by various bridges. Or it could be a partly underwater world. What do you think?
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Enceladus
in February 21st, 2010 @ 19:31Yes! A world that’s a giant, flying chicken! It should live in a giant chicken coup, with other giant chicken worlds on a giant chicken world farm…
The citizens would have to be used to chicken baths…
Probably large, because both of us and LBK are working on it.
Also, it’s Prussiania.
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SudoRandom
in February 21st, 2010 @ 20:15Thanks, I was wondering about that. It’s not exactly a chicken, just a mostly spherical bird-like creature. I can send in some pictures, if you like. Would you like mostly water?
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Enceladus
in February 22nd, 2010 @ 14:11I think an even mix of water and land would be best. If we divide it up, to make the world, can I have the wings? Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease?
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LittleBasementKitten
in February 22nd, 2010 @ 16:00I want the head/beak/neck area!
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SudoRandom
in February 22nd, 2010 @ 16:55Teehee, designing the wings would be fun. Fine, you can have it.
Fine, you get the wings, I get the body, and LBK gets the head. Although the body is sort a large area to cover… Maybe I’ll just be doing a majority of the land, but if you two want to contribute, you can.
*idea*
There should be all sorts of life crawling around inside the chicken, sort of like overgrown parasites.
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LittleBasementKitten
in February 22nd, 2010 @ 17:17Oh, yeah, cool! Would the chicken be mobile or–wait, I just had a great idea! A normal earth chicken, viewed from microscopic scale!
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Enceladus
in February 22nd, 2010 @ 18:18Ooh, flammy sounding.
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SudoRandom
in February 22nd, 2010 @ 18:27But then we couldn’t have water…
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Enceladus
in February 22nd, 2010 @ 18:33Chicken sweat?
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SudoRandom
in February 22nd, 2010 @ 18:43I suppose…
I had also pictured it flying around in space, but this is good too.
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Enceladus
in February 22nd, 2010 @ 18:52I agree… flying around in space is a bit cooler.
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LittleBasementKitten
in February 23rd, 2010 @ 16:52Okay, flying around in space it is. Would the chicken be normal sized, and viewed from a microscopic scale? Or as big as a planet?
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Enceladus
in February 23rd, 2010 @ 19:57Big as a planet, I think.
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SudoRandom
in February 23rd, 2010 @ 20:16agreed.
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LittleBasementKitten
in February 24th, 2010 @ 05:07Agreed.
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SudoRandom
in February 24th, 2010 @ 14:06I had an idea today, but it is on your turf, Enceladus. What if the sun was smaller than the chicken, and was some source of light that started on one wing, and when the chicken flapped their wings up, they touch just enough for the wing to be transfered to the other one? Then the wings flap down and touch again, transferring the light back? This would make the orbit very elliptical, further from the chicken when the wings were fully outstretched, and closer when they were touching at top or bottom. Also, this way a day is equal to a flap. I was thinking this could make the wings some holy ground, or something like that, but this is all up to you, Enceladus.
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Enceladus
in February 24th, 2010 @ 14:14I think that sounds good.There probably won’t be people living on the wings, then.
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SudoRandom
in February 24th, 2010 @ 14:46Well, I don’t want to take away your people, so you could do something like that’s where the temples are, or that’s sort of like the planet’s “heaven on earth”, where good people live, or whatever. You can make something up. Or, they don’t even have to be holy. I don’t want to keep you from making a civilization, so it’s your choice.
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LittleBasementKitten and Mayl (->-) and Kityera (^>^) with various characters on RPGs
in February 28th, 2010 @ 05:31Are we gonna start soon?
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LittleBasementKitten
in February 21st, 2010 @ 18:27Okay, I’m going to build my separate “dream” world. Here goes;
Name: Cyrr (pronounced SEE_er)
Location: Galaxy name Luana, approx. 2.5 million light-years away from Milky Way.
Continents: 2, Ja-el and Sisera (don’t ask why)
Oceans: 1, Ocina (o-KEE-na)
Reigning species: A form of cat-like, bipedal creatures. Some black, some yellow, some red, some patterned. White is rare and magical.
Gatherings?: Tribal.
Language?: YesThat’s all for now, I have to go take a shower. I’ll try and post more tomorrow. So far, I like it.
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cromwell
in February 21st, 2010 @ 18:37Ja-el and Sisera? Seriously? Come on. Have some creativity.
Is there racism between colors on this planet?
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LittleBasementKitten
in February 22nd, 2010 @ 05:32No. Just that the color white is sacred, more o that later. And those were the first names that popped into my head.
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Enceladus
in February 21st, 2010 @ 18:58Ok, I’ll make a separate world too. Then we can all work on one superplanetoid.
Name: Retara (re-TAR-a)
Location: Andromeda galaxy. Near the center.
Oceans: 4. One calls enself “Soraqua” (so-Qua-ra), another “Cora-cor” (CO-ra-cor) , another “Elitimo (el- I- ti-mo) and finally, “Sisiara” (SI-si-a-ra). The animal species don’t have names for them.
Continents: 1. No name.
Sentient species: There are two,
#1: The oceans. There are chemicals in them, that act like neurons in the human brain. They are vastly intelligent, since the oceans are very large. The animal species can communicate with them in a way I’ll explain with them.
#2: A species of bipedal creatures. Also very intelligent, because all of the cells in the bodies act as neurons. The bone cells are rigid, and transmit messages quickly. The blood cells process info, while carrying hydrogen sulfide (Retara’s equivalent of oxygen). They live in a very mechanized world. Also, they are completely contained in a metal suit, as their cells, though strong, are very fragile. They communiacte and meet by touching each other, and they reproduce like that too (except more involved). They communicate with the oceans by removing their metal suit and submerging themselves in the ocean. Their minds can access the others. Unfortunately, if they spend too long in the ocean, they lose themselves and are absorbed into the ocean.
Language: No, they can access almost anything in the other’s brain. That’s why they don’t have names for anything.I’ll draw a map and pictures of some cities soon.
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oxlin
in February 21st, 2010 @ 19:08That reminds me of Solaris by Stanislaw Lem. There is a planet with one ocean like creature in that book.
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Loreena Chatheng (AP)
in February 21st, 2010 @ 21:40There’s also a movie. It’s awesome!!!
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LittleBasementKitten
in February 22nd, 2010 @ 05:34Can I steal your form of communication? I really like it, but I’ll come up with something else if you don’t want me too.
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Enceladus
in February 23rd, 2010 @ 14:51Nooo!! It’s mine! All mine! Mineminemineminemineminemine!
Sure, you can use it.
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LittleBasementKitten
in February 23rd, 2010 @ 16:50
I used it, but kind of expanded on it.
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oxlin
in February 21st, 2010 @ 18:42I love world-building. I’m currently working on a world. I’ve drawn its map out in my notebook. I know quite a bit of its history.
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fireandhemlock1996
in February 21st, 2010 @ 18:56I’m working on a worldseries right now.
Basically, there’s our world- The Mortal Lands, a sort of in-between world, where the faerys and pixies live- The Lands Between, and the world where the Elves, Centaurs, and other mythical/magical creature live- The Lands of Magic.
I’ve got a pretty good description of it somewhere. I’ll dig it up.
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POSOC
in February 21st, 2010 @ 19:50I think I’m gonna work on one myself. This post is going to be the header. I don’t even have a name yet, but I think I’ll work from a concept first.
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POSOC
in February 21st, 2010 @ 20:14So, some of the biggest questions first.
Genre: I’ve been wrestling with a sci-fi setting for the past few months, so I think I need a break. I’ll go with fantasy- but a bit more like low-magic and mundane fantastic.
Non-humans: Still undecided on this one. If so, probably very rare.
Themes: The idea of new life emerging from decay is one that enchants me, and so I think I’ll be putting it to use in this world. The phoenix is a classic symbol of resurrection, but it’s overused. A scarab, like the Egyptian god of sunrise (Khepri) would be cool. Plus, scarabs are just awesome.
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POSOC
in February 22nd, 2010 @ 16:13I think it’ll be in the aftermath of a fallen magical/technological empire.
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POSOC
in February 22nd, 2010 @ 17:45All I’ve got now are some random thoughts about genii loci, Jormungandr, and other serpents. I’ll look up Patricia C. Wrede’s stuff.
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Koppar
in February 21st, 2010 @ 19:54Now I have this tremendous urge to go draw a map, and create civilizations for it, and mythologies for the civilizations, and so on, and so forth. *wanders off to find paper and pencils*
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Cat's Eye
in February 21st, 2010 @ 21:23Anybody else found Patricia Wrede’s Worldbuilding Questions? They’re like genius in mortal form. I’ve written eight straight pages based entirely on them on a made-up civilization. Sample:
The alien species that landed on this planet long ago brought their gods with them, and as there wasn’t magic on any of their home planets, magic is not a fundamental part of any religions. There are four human religions: one believing in a single sun god, one believing in a god and goddess that represent the duality of life, one believing in the trio of maid, mother, and crone, and the only true one, with multitudes of gods. Only the polytheistic one and the duality one accept magic as a natural part of life. The sun religion forbids magic actively, but the trio religion distrusts and discourages it. There is a polytheist god of magic and magicians, and his priest is required to be a senior magician. The duality religion allows magicians to hold office, but the sun one forbids it, and the trio one says they allow it but no magician has ever been a trio priest. However, most people are either dimly superstitious or a straight atheist, especially magicians. It takes twenty years to learn enough magic to get by, and fifteen to know enough about magic that one won’t get killed if they try to work it. Magicians are viewed with respect and distrust by rural people, like any very well-educated person such as a professor might be. In urban areas, they are viewed with respect and a little fear because of their power. Magic is not just a job, but an art and profession. Magicians are organized in two systems: firstly, the hierarchy of the universities they must remain by, which have headmasters, professors, head boys and girls, prefects and ordinary students; and secondly, by the Magicians’ Guild. If the head of the guild is killed, the people two levels below him elect someone from the level directly below him within the next month. Anyone can become a magician if they have the money, intelligence and patience for the education. All intelligent species can use magic, as well as unicorns. Dragons, werewolves, and other magically affected species use magic constantly. Universities hire out magicians to villages to make money, giving them a supply of magic-power-giving powder that will last just long enough for the journey. This allows universities and the magicians living in them to live well, as magic is expensive. The Guild of Magicians is a powerful force in politics, both as a bargaining chip and as a voice in its own right. They often get their own way, as it is dangerous to cross a magician, but mostly what magicians wish for is money and to live comfortably. They are prepared to sacrifice individual magicians to the wants and needs of politics for the good of the overall guild. Once magicians have completed their training, they are given a license by the guild. Few government workers are magicians, as most people distrust magic. Students of magic are not let out of the university because the amount of knowledge they have as compared to the amount of knowledge they need is very dangerous. However, students who are sufficiently advanced or ignorant enough not to be dangerous are allowed to go with some hired magicians on business. There is very little scientific inquiry in this world, and technology can vary anywhere from the Victorian industrial thought in the southwest to the very behind, nearly primitive technology in the south-eastern jungles.
Like I said, genius questions. And that’s just one section!
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oxlin
in February 22nd, 2010 @ 00:41Yup, I have. I bookmarked it.
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Rosebud2
in February 22nd, 2010 @ 10:52*Bookmarks*
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Errata
in February 21st, 2010 @ 21:24I’m writing a story set in a world based on a combination of the Terenika RRR, and the Muse Legendarium. I read a bit of each of them, and came out inspired. The information on it so far:
World of Four
A world with four sections, one for each element. In the center is a city, perfectly balanced between all of them. The city is ruled by a council, and patrolled by four Watchmen, each a master of their element. Each Watchman has a chamber, surrounded by their element. They also walk the streets daily. Upon the death of a Watchman, a native of one of the elements is chosen to start training to be the next Watchman of that element.I’m debating whether the sections that aren’t the city are complete chaos, a fourth of it watery chaos, a fourth air, etc., or more orderly lands that involve quite a large quantity of their element.
If it’s orderly, the city will stand on a section of ground, mostly flat, with perhaps a hill towards the center. To one side, the land will plunge deeply down, to a windswept plain, with high cliffs and and pinnacles. To another, will be an ocean dotted with islands. A third side will have high mountains, carved through with passages in the distance, with green hills closer.
I’m not sure about Fire yet, but probably volcanos will be involved.
The city is mostly stone, mossy and possibly some parts in ruins.That’s pretty much all I have so far. The names of all the current Watchmen, and the original ones.
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Errata
in February 21st, 2010 @ 21:25Cake. The link was only supposed to cover Muse Legendarium. HTML gnome?
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Errata
in February 22nd, 2010 @ 08:44Thank you!
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muse-Man
in February 21st, 2010 @ 23:19Ready to work on this together, other half? OK, here goes. You can add some of your own suggestions.
This planet is called Yjkprl. There is no actual official spelling because the natives do not have a written language, but this is an approximate phonetic spelling. The natives in question do not believe in a deity, they simply accept that everything in the world as they know it just is. They have had no contact with other civilizations, but it is a well-known fact that they exist and they are being monitored remotely, especially by their celestial neighbors the Plorjadians.
The natives speak a language that is almost unique in the galaxy, save for the remarkably similar dialect of the Likmar. Many scholars believe that these two societies are somehow related, but there is still no explanation as to how they managed to get 678,000 light-years away from each other. Some native plants include the Kprtd tree (also a rough phonetic spelling), whose sharpened bark proves extremely useful in hunting tiger-like Trfqw, and Pvnbf flowers. These flowers produce pollen that works as a powerful sedative when inhaled, and the natives often use them as anesthetic.Any suggestions are welcome…
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muse-Man
in February 22nd, 2010 @ 20:46No one wants to give me any suggestions…
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Enceladus
in February 23rd, 2010 @ 17:29Make the names pronounceable? That’s what sorta scared me off.
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muse-Man
in February 23rd, 2010 @ 18:19Well, their dialect fits the way their mouths work! Which is much different from humans’, by the way.
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LittleBasementKitten
in February 22nd, 2010 @ 06:16Okay, continuing on mine:
The bipedal-cats call themselves the Nyrin (neer-EEN), and haven’t had human contact yet, so they are relatively unspoiled by civilization. Their mythology has two beings, known as Gyntr (GIN-ter) and Rtnyg (ar-TING). Gyntr represents good, and Rtnyg represents evil, and they came together to make Cyrr, with some good and some evil.
I need to get ready for school, sorry it’ so short!
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LittleBasementKitten
in February 22nd, 2010 @ 14:40SFTDP, I’ll continue with my post:
The Nyrin live in tent-like things made with the large leaves of the Naolab plat. They take a few, wrap them together, and lick the seams. A chemical in the leaves reacts with the spit and acts as a superglue. Then, they cut a hole for the door, and line the inside with fast-growing, downy Lunn plant, which acts as both insulation and bedding. The “tent” is completely portable, and only needs to be replaced when the leaves wear out, about one Earth year, which to the Nyrin, is not very long. The women, mostly yellow or red, do as much hunting as the men, and the babies are able to fend for themselves. Some of the things they hunt are the Mishtukanti, a sort of red and blue, galloping chicken-type-thing, except with four legs and a snout like a rat, and the Respids, a large, many-limbed land-octopus, for lack of a better word. The Mishtukanti are about 10 feet tall, which is only 2 feet taller than the Nyrin themselves, and the Respids are about 4 feet tall, and poisonous. Like an Earth octopus, it has a beak, but unlike an Earth octopus, the beak is on the front (think cartoon), and has the power to snap a fully grown Nyrin in half like a toothpick. Hunting them is mainly the men’s job, and the women hunt the Mishtukanti, mostly. On the subject of colors, a sacred white is always a female. The only male white, according to legend, was Oliko, or as the invaders called him, “That *censoredcensoredcensored* leader!!!” (the invaders had been visited by humans) Olinko led a charge against the invaders, outnumbered 5 to1, and beat them! But he was struck down in combat during the process. This is only a legend, of course, but still…Anyways, when a white Nyrin is born, it is taken to the leader, who is usually a white Nyrin also, and a prophetess. The older Nyrin raises the young one, helping her learn what her magic is. There are three types of magic. The first, a battle cry that makes the enemies or wild animals run in fear, is the most common one. The second-rarest one is drawing and bringing to life. And the rarest one is being able to make oneself impervious to damage. Once the young Nyrin knows her magic, she must defeat the old Nyrin in combat, which is usually to the death of the old one. Funerals are very simple; A pit is dug, and the dead Nyrin is placed in it, along with some articles for the journey to the Realm of Gyntr and Rtnyg.
1.1.1-Sorry, I started my own world because I didn’t get a reply on the Suggestions Thread if I could work with you or not. A giant flying chicken world?
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Thanks For All The Fish42
in February 22nd, 2010 @ 17:18When I saw this, I thought it was a reference to HG2G.
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Koppar
in February 23rd, 2010 @ 16:02If a planet had two moons orbiting it, how would that affect the tides?
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Piggy
in February 23rd, 2010 @ 16:48That would depend on how each moon orbited. If two moons of the same mass were exactly on the opposite sides of the planet and moved at the same rate, I’d imagine the tides would be similar to Earth’s tides, but much more drastic. If they orbited at different rates, which is much more likely, the tides would follow a pattern much more complicated than the simple up-down-up-down of Earth. And if the moons were different masses, it may not be any recognizable pattern.
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SudoRandom
in February 23rd, 2010 @ 18:39I was going to post basically this, but had to leave. One thing that I would add is that if the two moons formed a 90 degree angle with the earth, it would be like our tides, only less drastic.
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LittleBasementKitten
in February 23rd, 2010 @ 16:4513-I think they would probably be more frequent, say, every 3 hours instead of every 6. That’s assuming that they are in “opposite orbits,” of course.
Continuing my world:
The Nyrin do have a written language, but it is hardly ever used. The only time they write something down is birth and death records, and since the individual tribes are so small, there’s hardly anything to write. Also, there’s no money, only a barter system controlled by the prophetess. Here’s how it works; You bring something to the prophetess, say, a spear, and she holds it until someone comes wanting a spear. She takes the other item, a vase, for example, and notifies the first Nyrin of what the second Nyrin is offering. If they both agree, then the trade is made.
Language is written, but not spoken. Rather, the Nyrin touches the ground, which is like a living creature, and tells it what it needs to, along with the Nyrin-to-recieve’s name. The ground transmits the message to the other Nyrin, as long as it’s touching the ground.
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Errata
in February 23rd, 2010 @ 17:32My as-yet-unnamed world now has two and a half pages describing it, including quite a bit of information on two different religions, what the true religion that nobody knows about actually is, the history of the one civilized city, a few descriptions concerning different aspects of the magic, and a detailed description of the landscape.
(By the way, I believe the landscape is fixed, resembling what I described earlier, but with flying blobs of other elements coming along now and then.)
You probably don’t want to read all my ramblings, though I find them interesting.
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SilverLeopard
in February 23rd, 2010 @ 19:12The name of the world is Shyem. There are 5 continents: Cowhem, Faal, Nimma, Jipsu, and Kiplar. Cowhem is a world of plains. The people there provide most of the food. Faal is the center of technology — they provide the computerized gadget that make most of the work easier for the people. Nimma is a water world, built on oceans. People there are the heads of trade and transport. Jipsu is all about forestry and mining, providing the raw materials needed by the Shyemites. Kiplar is a wasteland, the product of the last empire, the part that wasn’t rebuilt. Kiplar hides the fugitives and refugees. All of the continents have cities and towns, except for Kiplar, which isn’t considered part of the Shyem empire.
There are advanced humanoid creatures that live on Shyem, and their goal is to create a society more perfect than the one they live in for the next generation. They’ve manipulated the world so it doesn’t change, eliminated other “unneeded” species, found cures for many of the diseases, changed the work system so everyone has a job, genetically perfected themselves, and accomplished many other feats. The people currently work on healing damaged relationships between themselves and stopping discrimination. It’s somewhat of a utopian society, but the people are missing the meaning in life, and don’t really know what “evil” is. The people of Kiplar are left out of the main society, and though they are the same species as everyone else on the planet, they don’t enjoy the luxury of the other people.
The people all have the gift of telepathy, and history is recorded sparingly in an undeveloped written language, because everything is the same most of the time.I’m thinking I’m going to write a story that takes place in Kiplar, where the people there survive as the main society collapses.
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Jadestone
in February 23rd, 2010 @ 20:09
I have many worlds inside me.
Maybe I’ll put them down on paper, someday.
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LittleBasementKitten
in February 24th, 2010 @ 05:07COOL!!!!!
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You Are Never Safe Without A Towel
in February 24th, 2010 @ 20:11Very very very amazing!!!
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Ambystoma Maculatum and Joolb (~)_+) (10 Wung Points)
in February 24th, 2010 @ 17:56Can I claim part of the chicken? Maybe the tail, or or part of the inside with the giant microbes? The brain, possibly?
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SudoRandom
in February 24th, 2010 @ 20:44Maybe! Depends on what everyone else thinks. They might think the chicken is getting too divvied up, they might not.
On the subject of the chicken, farming would probably be at the…. nether regions…. of the chicken, because the… dirt… there would be very… fertile… If you get my drift.
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LittleBasementKitten
in February 25th, 2010 @ 05:12The poo, you mean. *doesn’t giggle*
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Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in February 25th, 2010 @ 07:06What does the chicken eat?
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POSOC
in February 25th, 2010 @ 09:37Interstellar hydrogen, with the occasional moon. Sort of like a ramjet.
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SudoRandom
in February 25th, 2010 @ 16:42That makes sense, I guess.
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fireandhemlock1996
in February 25th, 2010 @ 09:44o.0
Yucky.
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LittleBasementKitten
in February 26th, 2010 @ 12:28SR, Enc, and whoever else, what will the chicken be called? Also, I don’t think the chicken is getting too divided up, so I don’t mind if you join, Amby.
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Enceladus
in February 26th, 2010 @ 14:31How about The Great K’la K’li?
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LittleBasementKitten
in February 26th, 2010 @ 18:09Okay! *says brightly*
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bluefire27 and Drake (-_-)
in February 28th, 2010 @ 16:42Is it okay for me to join? I wouldn’t like to claim any part of The Great K’la K’li, but I would like to offer suggestions and opinions on others’ ideas. And I could do some designing, and whoever likes my ideas can use them. Just a thought.
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Ambystoma Maculatum and Joolb (~)_+) (10 wung points)
in February 26th, 2010 @ 17:4219.1 – That sounds good. It’s obviously Discworld inspired, but the whole project is.
What part of the chicken should I have? I’d like the brain, but would settle for anything.
Would the life forms within the chicken be intelligent? If so, would they have contact with the people on the chicken’s surface?
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LittleBasementKitten
in February 26th, 2010 @ 18:091. I’m fine with anything, although I have the head, so…
2. Yes
3. I say yes, but whatever everyone else wants.
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bluefire27 and Drake (-_-)
in February 28th, 2010 @ 16:20All of this was invented by my friend Luke and I for an alternate universe in a book we were writing. Enjoy.
A character of mine:
Name: Donn DiLoog
Age: 28 Alphan years (37 Earth years)
Height: 20.4 Altic Units (5’11â€)
Weight: 240.5 Pondic Units (185 Lbs)[his last name was discovered by the note his mother left, in which she called herself ‘Ms. Anneke DiLoog’]
[P.S. the average life expectancy for Alphans is about 1.5x that of humans, so they usually live to be 120 of their years]Donn was born on the streets of Alpha 3, a rugged, back-alley style moon, to a prostitute who could not have afforded a child. Like many, Donn was dropped off at the nearest orphanage with a note. He grew up mostly being picked on because of an inherited disorder from his father, whose identity has remained a mystery, that gave him some trouble seeing and focusing on images in front of him [Vor’toyaa’s Syndrome, usually affects males from ages 3 to 8, disappears on its own]. He also suffered from frequent illnesses as a child, which ended up strengthening his immune system. It was among these bullies that he learned to stand up for himself and become tough. His only source of comfort was his one friend, Jesse, as well as the nun in charge, Sister Brelairr.
At age six, he joined what may be considered his first of many gangs. At this point, his routine would be to sneak out of the orphanage at night to cause trouble. He was caught by security forces more than once, but did not stop because he loved the thrill of breaking the law and getting into fights, a huge contrast from the suppression he had to face at his orphanage. He was sent to four different Juvenile Detention Centers between ages six and thirteen, which seemed to have some reforming effect on him, but not significantly. At age ten, he committed his first armed robbery, sticking up a worker at a nearby loading dock with a two-shot handgun and stealing a full barrel of Chromium as a part of a dare. He was later caught and sent to his third detention center. He conducted his first assassination when he was twelve, stabbing a law enforcement officer who tried to arrest him and his best friend, Harley Oewiht, for stealing food from a diner. He was haunted by guilt and remorse for weeks without counseling (it was at this point that Sister Brelairr had been dead for two years).
On his fourteenth birthday, he was forcibly sent to Military School on Alpha 1, since it was expected the brightest future he could hope for was serving in the Alphan Military (the main reason for this was that shortly before, he critically injured three other thugs during a brutal fight, apparently taking them down all by himself). It was here that Donn was taught respect and discipline, as well as strengthened himself physically and mentally even further. At 16, he was sent to serve with Unit 83 in its efforts to put an end to fighting and protests between the extremist sects on Alpha 6.
At 19, he deserted his Unit after he killed a fellow soldier, and was detained and to be taken back to Alpha 3 for permanent incarceration. He left the shuttle he was on in an escape pod, setting off a Detpack that severely damaged the shuttle and killed everyone else onboard. After two years of being a vigilante-esque assassin/theif and wandering the Alpha moons, he hijacked a whole freighter full of Chromium, which he then traded for a top-of-the-line space cruiser. Donn did his work on his own, but also worked as a hired hit man/thief.
Donn is afraid of needles. He once wrestled a spiny trelaxu (a bear-like creature; see “Wildlife” below) to death naked without the use of any weapons (he had been ambushed and captured by a younger Norikken and used as a gladiator in an arena on Alpha 3), but refuses to be injected with anything by a needle. This is possibly from a traumatic experience he had as a child.History:
Millions of years ago, the planet of Alpha was a new planet, with all life on it only a few steps above the base of the evolutionary scale. After some time, a comet crashed into the planet’s surface, reducing it to about 75% of its original mass (still 10 times the size of earth) and causing the core to partially implode. Seven pieces of the planet were scattered into space, but for some unknown reason, stopped and formed their own atmospheres and gravitational pulls around Alpha, which became uninhabitable, as it would stay for the next something-million years. One Eventually, the atmospheres on all of these moons would wear away, and by this time the Alphan Council will hopefully have found ways for the people to survive on Alpha.
Eras:
Pre-Time Era (???? years ago – circa 6000 years ago)- Evidence of an existence of an ancient race exists beneath the surface of Alpha 1, Alpha 3, and Alpha 7. A subterranean network of caves and structures spanned throughout a large portion of Alpha 1, apparently the remnants of an extremely advanced civilization that must no longer exist. Dated to be over 9000 years old, although it is thought that these people were around even before that. This is known as the ‘Pre-Time Era’ because these caves were, until recently, not known to exist, and the Barbaric Era was thought to be the earliest point of advanced life.
Barbaric Era (circa 6000 years ago – 3800 years ago)- Nomadic civilizations, separate from one another, began to emerge on Alphas 2, 4, and 5. Mostly a very primitive time, but advancement was made slowly. The ones on Alphas 2 and 4 mostly disappeared over time for unknown reasons.
Early Era (3800 years ago – 3100 years ago)- Emerged when the self-proclaimed Lord St’Ernefhits laid the first brick for the city which he named after himself, declaring the ‘Start of Civilization.’ This first city was from the dust of the tribes of Alpha 5. The City of St’Ernefhits soon became the Capitol for Alpha 5, and existed for centuries until the Tyrants arose.
Tyrants’ Era (3100 years ago – 10?? years ago)- A revolt from within the St’Ernefhits Committee (a council of elected individuals whose job it was to advise the Lord of the City) gave way to a new era. Initially, three main conspirators had planned to overtake the throne and rule “all of our planet,†however one was assassinated and one of the survivors murdered the other out of suspicious. The lone remainder, the first Tyrant, Mopaal, issued a series of totalitarian decrees which served as an example for future Tyrants for the next 2000 years, which were years of mostly oppression and crushed revolts too numerous to count. This was, however, the era during which space travel was discovered, the methods of which have been lost to time. Most of the Alphan moons were monopolized during this time.
Nomadic Era (???? – 847 years ago)- The Final Tyrant, Barnem, who ruled for exactly ten months, was assassinated by a hit man hired by members of his Advisory Senate, in which dissent was growing. For about 200 years, various smaller ‘empires’ sprang up on most of the moons, and space travel was improved. This was also the time when Alpha 4 lost its atmosphere, causing a great deal of panic.
New Republic Era (847 years ago – 2 years ago)- A board of intelligent and respected individuals congregated on Alpha 1, with the intention of uniting all the moons and the people who lived in them together, and hopefully someday making inhabiting their planet, Alpha, a possibility. This ‘Supreme Board’ evolved into the ‘Alphan Council’ after about 200 years, a form of government which has successfully united all of the moons, in some form or another.
Civil War Era (2 years ago – )-Alpha and its moons:
*= no longer exists
**= possibly made-upAlpha- Atmosphere contains high gravity and high concentrations of gases that make life there impossible.
Alpha 0**- The Scientist Brykston Drull, who was widely considered to be quite mad, and known mostly for his savage experiments he conducted on people and animals, believed in a “dimensional rift,†in which another moon, ‘Alpha 0,’ existed, orbiting Alpha closer than Alpha 1. He claimed the only way to enter was to self-destruct a cruiser in close proximity to the planet when the moons were aligned in a certain position. He never succeeded, and died in an insane asylum.
Alpha 1- Desert moon, has a very small population. Closest moon to planet Alpha. The original Capitol of the New Republic was here, over 800 years ago.
Alpha 2- Capitol moon, Capitol City Metropolis. Metropolitan, like a big city.
Alpha 3- Ghetto-like, a rough place to live. Atmosphere is cloudy, and the Alphan Council often overlooks its inhabitants’ poor conditions. Government does not realize the moon is inhabitable, according to the government, many criminals who live there do not exist (including Donn).
Alpha 4- Once a swampy planet. Now barren, rocky, no atmosphere. First moon whose atmosphere has totally disintegrated (its atmosphere was stable until Erlean’s rule, nearly 3000 years ago now).
Alpha 5- Never had a natural atmosphere; Artificially altered in the last 50 years with a man-made atmosphere controlled by generators. Now, has deserts, grasslands, beaches, etc., an ideal vacation resort.
Alpha 6- Alpha 5’s “sister moon,†similar to Alpha 5 but with a natural atmosphere. Fewer beaches and more swamps.
Alpha 7- Irregular orbit keeps it tilted away from the sun at all times, the farthest moon from Alpha. Almost uninhabitable, like Siberia. During the darkest years of Tyrants’ Era, most criminals and those who opposed the Tyrants were exiled here. Likely the next of the Alphan moons to loose its natural atmosphere.
Alpha 8*- Much like Alpha 7, but dry rather than cold and icy . It was destroyed by the final Tyrant during his attempt to rid the system of all his enemies.
Alpha 9**- Stories which predate the formation of the Original Capitol in the Early Era speak of an ‘Alpha 9,’ which rotated not only around Alpha, but around all of the moons, as well. An ancient extremist known as ‘Pryns’ apparently seceded, pushing Alpha 9 away from the others to find ’The Omega System,’ a separate solar system he believed to be the earthly form of heaven, using an unknown method of propulsion. This may be nothing more than a myth.
Alpha 9 II**- In records kept during the infamous Tyrant Deonas’ 75-year reign (he was the 29th of 34 Tyrants), he claims to have constructed another moon, naming it ‘Alpha 9 II,’ but it was destroyed by his enemies within his Advisory Senate, forcing him to conduct what is now known as the Genocide of Deonas, in which he had some number upwards to 4,000 people killed. However, more accurate historical records say he was simply mentally ill, looking for an excuse to slaughter thousands, and ‘Alpha 9 II’ was most likely made up.Units of measurement:
1 ft = 3.4 A/u = Altic units (height)
1 lb = 1.3 P/u = Pondic units (weight)*/u = metric increments as milli-, centi-, deci-, deka-, hecto-, kilo-, etc.
Wildlife:
Trelaxu
TrelaxidaeDescription: Brown to black and furry endothermic reptomammal; short snout, sharp teeth; small, black, beady eyes; small ears; large black nose; large, muscular limbs, clawed paws, round feet with tiny (almost vestigial) claws, walks using two or four legs; lives in burrow
Common trelaxu
Trelaxus vulgharis
Average height: 23.8 A/u
Average weight: 423.8 P/u
Habitat: temperate forest, grassland
Diet: omnivorous
Distinguishing attributes: Solitary;Greater trelaxu
Trelaxus magnus
Average height: 30.6 A/u
Average weight: 588.9 P/u
Habitat: temperate forest, rainforest
Diet: chiefly carnivorous, though will eat berries or other plant matter if necessary; sometimes cannibalistic
Distinguishing attributes: Solitary; large sizeLesser trelaxu
Trelaxus aliqantis
Average height: 10.2 A/u
Average weight: 163.8 P/u
Habitat: savannah; desert
Diet: worms, other burrowing animals
Distinguishing attributes: Lives in colonies; enormous underground burrows connect to make “citiesâ€; small sizeSpiny trelaxu
Trelaxus cuspisilex
Average height: 22.8 A/u
Average weight: 405.6 P/u
Habitat: lush rainforest
Diet: chiefly herbivorous
Distinguishing attributes: Solitary; spines, located used as a defense from predators like Greater trelaxuWe’re working on some other animals, but we really spent the most time on these so far.
(I’ll also post this on the Books in Progress thread.)
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POSOC
in March 9th, 2010 @ 23:32I’m back.
Due to my recent science fiction kick, I think I’ll start developing a sf world.
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Cat's Eye
in March 10th, 2010 @ 22:47Cat’s Eye goes Dark Ages! (And, for some unknown reason, is speaking in third person again.)
My newest project, which is currently in the planning stages, centers around a European-Dark-Ages-esque kingdom called Rosland, which is actually a collection of islands: the Eires, Llaffyd, and Rosland herself. It has an uneasy relationship with Draconce, its mainland neighbor, which throughout history it has either been fiercely allied with or fiercely at war with. It has come out of the latest war with a treaty: there will be peace, and to unite them morelike, Rosland’s youngest prince, William, is joining the Draconais court until Rosland requires him.
Meanwhile, their rich neighbor, Castel, is ruled by aging King Henry, who is near death. His only offspring, Princess Matilda, has been left large amounts of land but under Castelish law cannot inherit the throne. Henry has named as his heir Prince Stephen of nearby Anogal, but Anogal is the continent’s weakest power, and the Castelish throne is viewed as “up for grabs”. As such, the second Roslandish prince, Richard, is “visiting” Castel, along with the second Draconais prince, John. However, the High Priest of the accepted religion has made it clear that he Disapproves of this, and will only religiously accept that either country gets any Castelish land if one prince or another marries Matilda.
Also meanwhile, the previous heir to the Roslandish throne, Edward, has died in a war with Salicia, a city-state of the nearby peninsula of Fione. According to Roslandish law, the next oldest child, Princess Eleanor, is princess heir. However, due to cultural bias, many believe she is unfit to rule because of her gender. Always a sickly child (though remarkably intelligent), her health has steadily worsened, and as the castle healer has been called away, the only one taking care of her is Prince James, the next oldest child. If Eleanor dies, he will become the heir.
The final Roslandish princess, Maud, is heir to a large part of Rosland whatever happens. She is madly in love with the youngest Draconais prince, Charles, and he with her. Neither Eleanor, James, Richard, nor William wants Draconce to get any Roslandish lands, and Draconce doesn’t want Rosland to benefit from the match, either. However, if the two do marry, then one can rest assured that both Rosland and Draconce will do everything in their power to get both Maud and Charles’ lands for themselves.
Oh, and did I mention that the king of Draconce, George, has just died? The “young king”, Michael, is viewed as too immature and weak to be able to do anything serious, though those who know him warn that he may be a more stern, stubborn, and strong king than his peace-loving father.
Expect this to get even more complicated as time passes.
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Errata
in March 16th, 2010 @ 12:27Hm… A network of countries, all with their own spies and none of them in the right, all out for themselves, alliances, betrayals, succession, death…
That sounds like an amazing setting to work in. I might just have to do something along those lines…
I think you must write stories very like stories I would write. I keep being inspired by your fragments of ideas. I believe I also stole a fragment of idea from you for my MuNo. The first post on one of the BiP threads. About a setting where those who could work magic were enslaved…
I hope you don’t mind… I promise I won’t take anything more than the basic idea.
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Cat's Eye
in March 17th, 2010 @ 23:37Ah, don’t worry, that story (about magic enslavement) failed epically. I think I’m like a lot of people in that I have ideas and don’t follow up on them. That’s what the Writer’s Notebook thread was for, right?
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Errata
in March 18th, 2010 @ 08:37I think so.
And I have ideas, try to follow up on them, they die, I stuff them into a corner and usually forget about them, and maybe pull them out once or twice.
I need to work more. Especially on the Gray City. My sister’s off inventing mythology, and I’m not doing much. She has much fewer stories. But she concentrates on them much more.
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Errata
in March 16th, 2010 @ 12:12My sister and I have started our own world, together for a change. The basic concept has its roots in a discussion we had over homemade Chicken Salad, and one of my stories on Writing Challenge: Theme With Variations.
There’s this city, the Gray City, floating in the air over a world of no technology, and only a small portion of contact between cultures. The ground is mostly my sister’s. Chiefly because she’s more interested in it.
I have the Gray City. It’s ruled by a race that looks human, but isn’t. The race brainwashes everybody in the city into thinking that this life is perfect, and in some ways, it is. They’re all too brainwashed to do anything against the rules, or anything. So life is peaceful.
The flip side of the brainwashing is that all art has been removed from the culture. All of it.
We haven’t worked out the magic system yet, but we know it’s linked to art, which gives the near-human creatures incentive for removing art.
Dragons fit into the picture somehow as well. As the collectors of all art, and great magical beings.
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SudoRandom
in September 7th, 2010 @ 19:38I’m designing a world, and I can’t decide whether to make it a gas giant or a normal solid planet. Pros of the gas giant include that I have opportunities to make super cool life-forms (for example, giant jellyfish-esque plants that collect moisture with their tentacles and sun with their sails, keeping afloat by attracting sun to heat the air under their sails (photosynthesis is done in the actual sail, so that’s green, but the tentacles are black and so trap heat which rises and is trapped under the sail) lifting them up like a hot air balloon.) Cons mostly being that I can’t develop many civilizations. (Pros and cons of landbased world being about the opposite.) Comments? Opinions? I can’t think of a good way to combine these ideas, so I’ll probably have to choose one or the other unless someone has an idea.
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POSOC
in September 7th, 2010 @ 20:43Go with gas giant, but make the dominant civilization the Strangers; descendants of the inhabitants of a destroyed moon, who drastically modified themselves to survive in the hydrogen atmosphere and crushing gravity. As useful materials are extremely rare in gas giants, and all metals have to be imported from the rings and orbiting small moons, the Strangers are fanatical about recycling; anything that breaks down is rendered for parts and useful chemicals, including the Strangers themselves. They live in large airship-cities that slowly circle the planet. Perhaps they sell helium-3 fuel to passing starships.
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Enceladus
in November 20th, 2010 @ 12:02*REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE*
Anybody want to help me with this world? It’s an earth or earthlike setting, with many different regions divided by ideological group. Here, a demonstration is easiest.
Romanticists: Reject technology, mainly using simple tools (pre-industrial revolution) Artisans.
Agriculturalists: Use as much technology as possible (think hydroponics), but only for work, leisure is much like 1700’s or early 1800’s. ((Could also be biology based technology))
Industrialists: Use only mechanical technology, no electricity or oil. Mostly Victorian inspired culture, with some differences.
Mechanists: Use only oil powered technology, with a society based off of 50’s and 60’s suburban ideals.
Orientalists: A society based off of Ming dynasty ideals. ((Not sure about technology levels, but a jade covered computer would be amazing)). Isolationist
Expansionits: Space faring group, only group that found colonies. However, some have been sold to other groups ((Just for the awesomness of Victorian Space))
Fascists: Isolated, mysterious group that not much is known about. Destroys dissent.
Urbanists: Live in huge mega cities with as much technology as possible (think nanotech)
Economists: Wealthy group with not much land. Funds and manipulates all the other groups so they remain in powers. ((Think hundreds of Mycrofts with lots of money))Anybody like to help? I certainly want a map, and perhaps even a story line (Now that I think about it, November probably isn’t the best time to post this.)
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POSOC
in December 27th, 2010 @ 17:26Well, the first thing I think of when reading this is: why are there sharp technological divisions like this? What forces are keeping them separate and preventing the more advanced from conquering the less so?
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POSOC
in December 27th, 2010 @ 17:25I’m considering a future setting with a twist on the “alien invasion” trope. The assumption is that any civilization capable of star-faring on a large scale is probably going to be able to alter a planetary system to suit its needs. Why would they want to conquer poor little Earth? They’ve got a whole slew of planets, planetoids, comets, and assorted rocks to play with.
Also, none of those have a population of irritable little bipeds with lots of hydrogen bombs. They could exterminate us if they had to, but they prefer not to waste ammunition. And if they need anything from us, they know that we’ll exchange it for any little trinkets they have no further use for.
Things I Need To Decide:
The alien species. What do they look like? What is their psychology like? What environments do they need to survive? Which planets have they colonized? How have they changed them to suit their needs?
Our species. How far in our future is this? What effects has the non-invasion had on our society? What trinkets have the aliens given us, and what did we give them in exchange? How have the trinkets affected us? Have we been able to replicate or understand them, or are they rare and inexpressively valuable relics?
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POSOC
in December 27th, 2010 @ 18:11I will address the aliens first, because they are what’s going to define the rest of the story.
They’re starfaring. This suggests a powerful and advanced culture which is expanding in our region of space (the reason we haven’t heard from them is simply because we haven’t been listening on the right frequencies… also because they were only using radio that we might be able to detect and understand for about a hundred-year window, long before Marconi). Starfarers are probably going to be a little dissatisfied with their lot back home, otherwise they wouldn’t have, y’know, left for another solar system. They’re going to be intrepid and resourceful, equipped with the best their world has to offer. But they also might be a little unhinged, and that’s by the standards of an alien culture.
So to start, I will build their “mainstream” culture, and from there devise a splinter group that would want to settle in an out-of-the-way backwater place like Sol.
From a writer’s perspective, most fictional aliens seem to fall into two chief groups:
(1) Ridiculously humanoid, with scales, weird-colored skin, or a rubber forehead
(2) Bizarre, disgusting monsters that look like overgrown insects or octopi
I don’t want to fall into either of these categories here.
A member of an intelligent, high-tech, spacefaring civilization would need a reasonably large brain, some kind of organized society, and appendages with which to manipulate its environment.
I briefly considered some kind of exotic life (ammonia instead of water?), native to gas giants, but with the paucity of heavy metals and the strong gravity, it seems to me that Jovian life wouldn’t go spacefaring. For the sake of simplicity, I’ll just go with carbon-based for now.
Note: That doesn’t mean that it can survive on Earth. With even a few different amino acids, it would be unable to get the nutrition it needs from human food.
I’ll approach the problem from a different direction. If I put them on Mars (which has always captivated the human imagination), then it follows that they should be of a type capable of surviving on Mars with some modifications made to the planet. They’d have to be adapted to a low-gravity world. But so it’s not too easy for them, let’s say they came from a hot, wet world rather than a cold, dry place like Mars.
Getting water to the planet might not be a challenge for such an advanced species (plenty of icy comets drifting through the sky), but how might they heat it up to suit themselves?
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POSOC
in December 27th, 2010 @ 19:37As for structure, I think I’ll make them hydra-esque beings with multiple heads and long, flexible necks. They use lips/trunks/some other flexible extrusion from their faces to manipulate things, ala Niven’s Pierson’s Puppeteers. They will probably be quadrupedal and somewhat amphibious… they can survive in dry places, just as we can survive outside warm grasslands, but they feel most at home near water.
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KaiYves
in April 1st, 2013 @ 22:02Attention, Bibliophile, I have a query I think you can help me with!
Okay, so I found a roleplayer who plays the yeti inside Disneyland’s Matterhorn, and he was talking about his “cousin” in Disney World’s Expedition Everest ride, and I was thinking that with how different they look, they’re probably subspecies of the same yeti species.
So I decided to give them each scientific names because the section of the Disney fandom I’m in is big on mythology and exposition. I don’t know much about scientific names and I haven’t taken Latin for two years, so I don’t know how professional these look.
Overall Yeti species: Dinanthropoides nivalis (One of several proposed names for the Yeti in the event that it is discovered to be real in the real world.)
Alpine (European) Yeti: Dinanthropoides nivalis occidentalis/europeus (The one in the Matterhorn)
Himalayan Yeti: Dianthropoides nivalis orientalis (The one in Expedition Everest)
Cascadian (American) Yeti: Dinanthropoides nivalis americanus (Provisional name in the event an creature based in American bigfoot folklore ever appears in a Disney attraction. Those legends are associated with the Pacific Northwest, so it would be “Cascadian” for the area’s mountain range, by analogy with “Alpine” and “Himalayan”.)
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Bibliophile
in April 1st, 2013 @ 22:49The names look fine to me. Are they actual blood cousins, though? Because the thing about subspecies is that they generally don’t interbreed, and while it is technically possible, their offspring can’t really be assigned to either subspecies because they’re a crossbreed, and at least one of them would have to be one of those. That doesn’t apply if you’re using the word ‘cousin’ figuratively, though.
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KaiYves
in April 2nd, 2013 @ 06:30Oh no, he meant it metaphorically, hence the quotes.
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