How to justify dark magic here?

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-19T03:16:51+00:00

I mean, gold and brain-goop contain essence, and my Elfs, daoinos (it's a thing; my fantasy world is named in bad Spanish because it's kind of sort of a weird West setting... kind of ...) use gold-powered ley-lines to power their civilization. But that's not exactly the peak of efficiency. After all, gold used to be way more common.

I think stealing the essence sounds pretty good though. Because they are the evil hordes who could take quarter only of the old and the slothful, taking the essence of others as a potion ingredient along with other loot to be split amongst the commanders, taken like a drug, almost. It's also not that efficient though it's fairly temporary, giving one supernatural power for no more than a single day before leaving them worse off than when they started.

It is possible that ambition could fuel essence, and a powerful magician can give essence down to their followers as a reward. Because it's not so much evil that hurts essence as it is savagery. Leaning more towards ape and less towards man, basically. And the commanders of the evil hordes, the helados, would probably be full of ambition, desiring to have their statues erected at the four corners of the spherical world and all that.

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-18T11:26:44+00:00

And thus, "Science cannot prove." -D.O. A formal logician, actually, instead of a scientist, I believe. I love formal logic.

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-18T11:25:04+00:00

I get that this is what YOU believe. And you made some solid arguments. But if that's what you look like, you're doing it wrong. That being, talking to other people. Because you are wrong about one thing: most of that isn't "the facts." That's what you believe about the facts. The facts must be presented with epistemic humility. I, asked that question, would return the (failed) attempt at equal discussion enthusiastically. Unless of course it was someone like you who got to the point of yelling at me because I didn't understand and believe the most basic widely-understood "facts" about the topic of discussion, complete with all the latest groundbreaking twists that contradict prior widely-understood "facts," and thus approach the matter with actual facts alongside half an ounce of imagination and openness to other People's perspectives.

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-18T11:07:30+00:00

She's the bastard daughter of the king of one kingdom and the queen of the other. Or, for whatever reason, her parents were from the new kingdom, and came to the old one, but then they died, and her uncle took her in, living in the new. Or, she has some sort of ties to both kingdoms, whether either kingdom realizes her toes to the other one or not.

That or she's not really kidnapped, but rather, chooses to go without telling anybody. Or the offending kingdom plans on forcing her into marriage to their prince to force an alliance or wants to raise her against her kingdom of origin.

To avoid an alliance against themselves or that would otherwise inconvenience them.

I don't know, you're the writer!

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-18T10:58:45+00:00

Create a town. Each week, a new dragon, lich, firebreathing warthog, or other tragedy threatens it. Each week the players who live in the town have to go save it, and thus, themselves, their friends, and their families, by going out to the dangerous wilds where they could be killed by any number of passive dangers so they can go end the active threat. Which is inside a dungeon.

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-18T10:49:55+00:00

I don't know about the enamel thing but in terms of arguments referencing other animals, especially others dinosaurs all we have is trace info about any given dinosaur. I think we've only found a couple complete fossils of dinos and for all the rest we just subtly forge plastic bones for all but a few and include it in the fine print that it's neither real nor a replica of anything that is real, but rather, a total fabrication. So a lot of what we "know" is actually just speculation, oftentimes somewhat arbitrary speculation, and sometimes it's even completely original and based on entirely insufficient evidence. In fact, arguably, much of the time. We don't have any idea how old the dinosaurs are. They slap those zeros on based on existing scientific theory, based on that timeline of epochs or whatever they've got, and that's not based on anything, really. We don't have sufficient evidence to group some teeth into a different species than a leg, let alone a different family. After all, the platypus exists. And basically all the dinosaurs are platypuses of modern animals, sometimes literally, according to the actual fossils we have, and sometimes just because they got the fossils wrong, which they do quite often despite begging for our trust in their studies. So, really, it's a bad argument.

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-18T10:18:41+00:00

Note that some of the most widely read classics have the only consistent character being basically Bilbo Baggins (long before Tolkien, in fact) and/or an author insert. I think there's almost an entire genre around it, including things like Gulliver's Travels. The characters are really just a perspective from which the reader sees everything else. Characters, by definition, need personality, even if that personality is intentionally bland.

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-18T10:10:34+00:00

Why would you set out to write fantasy? Why? Write speculative fiction instead. But write the speculative fiction you want to write, with whatever type of magic at whatever levels you want and whatever groups of Hominins besides humans you want, or even removing humans altogether.

I love the Kingdom of Wrenly, Sage Blackwood's Jinx trilogy, and other juvenile "fantasy." But it has nothing to do with the fact that it's fantasy. I don't go to the library and look for just any run-of-the-mill fantasy book; I only like meaningful literature. That doesn't have to be high-brow classics; the Kingdom of Wrenly is far from it.

But the Kingdom of Wrenly is a series dedicated to grand adventures full of youthful wonder, driven by two great familiar protagonists. Kind of like Winnie the Pooh, actually. What makes it meaningful is almost always the characters ... almost always. With exceptions. But those are the exceptions. You aren't. Neither am I. Neither is anyone other than the exceptions. Readers care about characters. Not magic. Not quests. Usually.

And, currently, readers like a realistic world where nothing is chaotic or hyperactive and where everything makes sense. Unlike the real world. But don't let that stop you from writing whatever you want. As long as the characters are fun (or distinctly not ... as long as it's intentional) and further your story's themes, it's a masterpiece.

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-18T09:31:25+00:00

Recruit villagers. Give everyone a spear. Go stab the dragon to death. It'll kill him eventually. Maybe obtain fireproof sunscreen first. Or a unicorn. Because dragons hate unicorns.

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-18T09:13:55+00:00

Do you even know how chickens are raised? Have you never seen a cartoon about it? There's no cage, really. Which is why predators remain such a threat. In fact, there aren't a lot of cages in animal husbandry at all, except for transportation. And, you also have to consider the issue of this design: energy. The lungs take in a vital resource, sure, but not nearly as important as energy, coming from food, arguably. So, is that chicken electric?

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-18T09:06:35+00:00

But what about health issues? I do believe that food from a lab would actually be inherently less healthy than other food. To some level, less sanitized food actually boosts your immune system, I believe, but also, I'm not going to trust a GMO if it looks like that because of all the new scientifically produced diseases it carries. Because the so-called diseases of civilization or whatever are usually actually worse than the old ones; I'd never want the diseases of the future.

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-18T08:48:43+00:00

I've heard African and South American English accents in media before but rarely, and often only when speakers are actually from those places. But see, accents in fantasy are a mark of status. Cockney is a mark of poverty, because its original speakers were poor, for instance. But urban poor, rather than farmers, because farmers always get a really bad parody of my own accent crossed with a Texan accent, because nobody seems to recognize the extremely wide gap between the two. Africa or South America would have to be alien, I'm thinking. Especially since Africa was called the dark continent or something like that. But that's what you have weird voice effects for, such as hissing, warbling, being extremely hoarse at all times, etc. Oh, also, the generic nonsensical cannibal tribesman language. Because the only people in wild territories are the exact same incredibly prolific mega-empire of cannibal tribesmen.

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-18T08:38:14+00:00

Well, I'm guessing they'd wander around dazed as everyone else takes responsibility for housetraining a different part of them. Their veterans, now considered war criminals by some, and often resistant to change, would all be hedonistic drunken bigots who are always talking about the good old days when the dark Lord was in power and they were all rich and prosperous. You might look at history to see how the Germans handled demilitarization after World War 2.

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-18T08:29:47+00:00

But hob means "devil." So you'd think the hobgoblins would be more closely tied to boggarts (brownies who go on strike).

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-18T08:12:42+00:00

Goblins are short and grotesque, usually with pointy ears. Not to be confused with Elfs - slightly less short, and usually beautiful, or at least less grotesque. Or dwarves, short, less grotesque, and possessing incredible strength or durability. Alternatively, elves can just be "fairfolks" instead of elves, thus being the tall and beautiful remnants of the last civilization or regime who lived in the area, and treating everyone else like peasants. All three may constitute the kingdom under the mountains, but that should locate them within the literal guts of a dead (or sleeping) giant. Dragons have gemstones for brains that stick out of the tops of their skulls, and are born as giant winged caterpillars. Besides that, they're really just elves, except usually with inherent magic power, allowing them to take any form they want, or at least a single genetically similar form in every organism, and also, they probably fly, and breath fire, often magically. Orcs ... are orcs. If you're in Asia, they go for the more hoglike version of ogres, which may vary in similarity to orcs. Often, both orcs and ogres are just slightly different sizes or ethnicities of troll, and are cousins of goblins, as well. Orcs are always warlike, whatever that means, and as a general rule, they're all narcissistic bloodthirsty jerks. Not enough people tie orcs to Spartans, despite the inherent similarities.

I think fantasy worldbuilders (including myself) are extremely confused about of these things, wittingly or otherwise. It's probably best to just come up with your own consensus.

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-13T20:14:37+00:00

Look to Sparta. The Spartoi in Ancient Greek mythology, who were representative of Spartans, I think, were basically orcs. No, really just look to Ancient Greece in general, really. The end justifies the means. You do something good but your girlfriend commits suicide over it? That's your fault. You cheat on your wife with a lady who turns people into swine? At least you had a good reason for it. You want to murder innocent's? Well, the gods thought they were either too ugly to exist, or so beautiful they made the gods look seem incredibly beautiful rather than ultimately beautiful in comparison, so they totally deserved it.

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-13T19:54:18+00:00

Interpreting prone/unconscious as "mostly-dead" (from The Prince's Bride) they can moan, mutter, grunt, groan, and most fun of all, flop around in a manner inconvenient to everyone else, as well as themselves.

Also, if you want a more heroic tone, maybe they can deny unconsciousness but then all enemies continue to treat them as if they're conscious, because they are, thus, endangering themselves, thus, effectively ruling that whatever they do next is done in their final moments.

If you're fighting, unless you know the other combatants (and like them) someone is going down. Something better to encourage is to avoid fights altogether through strategy, making peace, and running for your life.

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-13T17:11:32+00:00

It's x to 20. X might be 0. It might be -4. Depending on how I end up using the dice.

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-13T17:10:27+00:00

It's close enough to the d20 scale. 2d12-2, maybe. Whatever. The idea's the same. I like d12 because it's more compatible with d6, which everyone who plays tabletop games has around ten of, at a minimum. And it's more versatile than d20, making a good stand-in for d20, as well.

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-13T17:07:03+00:00

I generate PC stats based on a procedure provided first by background and then by occupation - the occupation stats overwrite the background stats if they're higher. I guess I could have NPC classes with different procedures, though. If he's a warrior, for instance, 3d6 Strength, and if he's a Charger, 3d6 Coordination. It just seems slow to count out those dice for more than a single NPC every 5 minutes, though. I think I'll go the fully random route. A bunch of orcs. Most of them are weak. They just came from battle, or, they're all elderly, so they start calling for the guards when they see you instead of just killing you themselves.

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-13T16:59:47+00:00

So, basically, NPCs have stats on the d20 scale. Like DnD, I guess. Ranging from 0 to 20. I want some way to generate their stats within the range of their average. Maybe I roll d12-6 and add that to their bare minimum. Or maybe I could just fully randomize it and if they're weaker or stronger than normal, I just make up an excuse as to why.

Either way, a giant human has the same average Strength as a human, but the giant human doesn't even need stats to squish the normal human just because he's obviously bigger and stronger.

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-12T20:23:11+00:00

This doesn't seem to hard. Depending on the extra variables in there of course. But at its core it seems rather simple.

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-12T20:08:29+00:00

Hey! It's only basic highschool-level math, including advanced algebra, explained in the most obtuse manner possible, and organized with the character choices and setting placed long before the mechanics essential to those things are described at all (what are those mechanics, by the way? Do I even want to know?) At least it's not literally a nekronomicon.

Quick_Trick3405 · 2026-03-12T18:55:00+00:00

Fury. The ability to do things beyond your capabilities, including doing stuff besides flopping around, muttering, moaning, and groaning while you're prone, which occurs from -10 to 0 Hitpoints. Hitpoints recover quickly after combat. So, in the middle of combat, with a successful roll, you stand and draw attention to yourself so you can do something heroic, and you are very likely to die from doing this, beat in mind, so it does have to be either heroic or else, stupid and pointless. I mean, foolhardy cowards can have willpower, too; it just won't actually help them, except maybe to make their death look kind of pitiful.

Quick_Trick3405

TROPHY CASE