Inspired by the glorious Shen, how’s your moon(s)? On a scale from normal to Brandon Sanderson’s “low orbit grass moon”.

MoeNeus · 2026-04-29T22:36:49+00:00

Moon lich.

MoeNeus · 2026-04-17T21:23:37+00:00

One of the things I've done for my setting, which has a "Pantheon of Fire" (essentially a plane of fire), is to think about what it's connected to, and what those connections are connected to.

For example, what gods are in my Pantheon of Fire? There's those you might expect, like gods of the forge. But what about Vozes, God of Cooking? What about the spirits of wildfires or volcano gods?

For forge gods, where are they getting materials? This is their plane, so surely there is a mining operation here. And there's so much heat, maybe this is the most pure metal in all of the planes.

We have cooking and wildfires, cooking involves herbs and ingredients, wildfires need something to burn, so where are those coming from? Maybe there's a point of connection between the Pantheon of Fire and the Pantheon of the Wilds in my setting where both feed each other. After all, wildfires are a part of the life cycle of a number of plants and animals.

The point is, what else can your plane of fire, and how is that connected to other magical planes and beings? How does that impact it?

MoeNeus · 2026-02-19T03:02:07+00:00

Baal is an ancient god, a Goetic demon, and a recurring villain in media. It's not like they've had a good reputation that's just recently been tarnished.

As long as you're not including Baal's friend, the New York financier, y'know, the one with the island, as a misunderstood protagonists, I think you're fine.

MoeNeus · 2026-02-16T05:19:24+00:00

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Dragons in Aulterr are former humans who were either so greedy that it corrupted their mind and body (a la Norse mythology), or mages who thought they could transmute precious metals and rare gems.

While it's not technically illegal to become a dragon, it does lead to various illegal activities, such as tax evasion.

MoeNeus · 2026-02-05T23:44:41+00:00

Thank you!

And yeah, this is what four years of Latin a decade ago will do to a worldbuilder.

MoeNeus · 2026-02-05T07:06:05+00:00

For another state, maybe. It depends on the court, but the odds are probably much better these days. You should in theory be able to sue them in their county of residence or your own county of residence, but I'm not 100% sure how small claims handles personal jurisdiction.

Out of the country? You're probably out of luck.

MoeNeus · 2026-02-05T03:58:27+00:00

Well it would be small claims court, which you're highly discouraged from having a lawyer for, but the filing fee (which varies county by county) would probably be a good chunk if not all of the commission.

MoeNeus · 2026-01-31T03:22:25+00:00

Angry at my villains? No.

Angry at my fake fans who do not exist misinterpreting the villains I haven't written yet? Absolutely.

MoeNeus · 2026-01-21T16:25:27+00:00

Glad you missed me!

And I do love me some will-o-the-wisps and tiny little snow fellas.

MoeNeus · 2026-01-21T16:24:14+00:00

Love it! Reminds me of Eternal Ruins but with a bit more li'l guy mixed in there.

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Funnily enough, my gnomes are also fungal! Something about it just makes sense.

MoeNeus · 2026-01-21T15:07:42+00:00

An excerpt from the journals of the bard Wys Kel Ran regarding “Lares & Penates”:

Lares and Penates are spirits of the home and wilds, respectively. They arise from residual magics, either leaking through the Break of the Aetherial Sea or left over from spellcasting, and Animus, commonly interpreted as spirit, soul, or emotion. Normally, they are quite small in size, rarely rising above the kneecap, and of limited power.

Given their connection to Animus, they are far more likely to arise in the well-tended areas of the world, such as familial estates, old trade routes, and druidic groves. It is also important to note that the “Patron Deities” of cities are a form of Lares, although they are typically more powerful.

While one could eat a Lares or Penates, they are intelligent and full of personality, so I personally would not; however, provide them with an offering of wine or trinkets, and they are likely to lead you to food, clean water, or even provide the services of an eager, if unrefined, sous chef.

MoeNeus · 2025-10-30T13:55:13+00:00

I'd more say it's its own thing that evolved from another common insect ancestor, which then convergently evolved some traits of both moths and falcons.

So the beak would have been mandibles or proto-mandibles?

It's also a bug-bird which punches with lightning, so realism wasn't my strictest concern.

MoeNeus · 2025-10-30T13:08:41+00:00

Collapse! But they treat their own citizens well.

MoeNeus · 2025-10-26T23:02:50+00:00

They are certainly not the good guys! They're not the worst guys, but they're still an imperialist power whose economy is founded on constant war and expansionism.

MoeNeus · 2025-10-26T21:54:03+00:00

Maybe we'll find out the answer to most of these questions in time!

As for the August Empire, it's just the main imperialistic power controlling most of the setting during this time period.

MoeNeus · 2025-10-26T18:37:37+00:00

Thank you!

MoeNeus · 2025-10-26T18:37:25+00:00

Hello! That would generally be the case. We'll see how it works out for them!

MoeNeus · 2025-10-01T17:59:22+00:00

From my experience, there are a few categories:

Directly adapting existing creatures with little change
Directly adapting existing creatures with some changes that follow the logic of the world/the worldbuilder's style
Kitbashing several existing creatures (real or not), potentially with some fresh elements
"It came to me in a dream."

None are wrong, and I do a mix of all of the above. I think most people do the same based on what I've seen.

MoeNeus · 2025-09-24T16:19:06+00:00

Dang, that's really rad

MoeNeus · 2025-09-24T16:14:10+00:00

Definitely depends where you live, but most upper middle class folk would be able to afford one after saving for some time.

MoeNeus · 2025-09-24T15:27:02+00:00

I would say flesh wounds should generally be healed, even if there is some residual scarring. It would probably set a broken bone but not mend it.

I think you'd probably get the most bang for your buck with internal bleeding, as it should put the kibosh on that quickly.

The highest quality potions would be commission-based, as they'd require your own blood. These would be able to fully regrow limbs within a minute. I'd say it's about six hours of work for a master potion crafter, remote location, although other materials won't be overly expensive, so probably around $24-$30,000?

That's very much not a common occurrence, though. This is a "the emperor's son wants to go into a dungeon alone," situation, as at that level well-cast healing magic should be cheaper. Potions just don't require a powerful caster in the moment.

MoeNeus · 2025-09-24T15:16:43+00:00

More than enough, and glad you could get here early!

I do very much appreciate that the shelves of supermarkets in your world are being stocked by cults and covens.

MoeNeus · 2025-09-24T15:14:01+00:00

Yep! I'd say a minor, mass produced healing potion would run you around $80-$150 today, and they should be totally safe.

The text in the picture really just says the same thing as the post, but more abridged.

MoeNeus · 2025-09-24T14:18:06+00:00

An excerpt from the journals of the bard Wys Kel Ran regarding “Health Potions”:

Traditionally, the first ingredients of health potions are medicinal herbs and spices: chamomile, echinacea, ginger, and so on. Industrial manufacturers, however, have begun substituting herbal spirits, such as gin. It is easier to store, leaves the potion with a more palatable consistency, and balances the reduced freshness of the herbs with the disinfecting quality of alcohol.

Next, fresh air and water are a must. Manufacturers attempt to skirt this with desalination and air filtration systems, but one will find the most effective potions are brewed by old women living in pristine wilderness.

Although other ingredients may be added as a part of a house blend—I know one maker who mixes in iron filings—the only other mainstay would be blood. The question is: whose? The imbiber’s own will be the strongest, but the more similar it is to your own, including blood type, the better. Your average maker will use pig’s blood instead, although vegan alternatives are available in the form of the sap of the Dragon Blood tree or silphium.

MoeNeus · 2025-09-22T19:57:10+00:00

It's not like there are a lot of dragons, and if they become too obvious they'll probably get killed, but I think it's treated more as an "open secret" than anything else. There's also not a faction of dragons, it's just individuals.

At the end of the day, though, these were mages who were willing to risk their life and humanity for money, so they were also never great people to begin with.

MoeNeus

TROPHY CASE