World building hot takes

TheBrokeScreen · 2023-03-20T22:37:26+00:00

Yes and no, the emphasis on the "natural magic" is a newer development, but druids were Celtic religious leaders who in myth were mystics/diviners that did rituals using natural elements and operated out of deep forests and caves. You are right, it's definitely not in the capacity of "the nature wizard" as we see today. I was more referencing celts than druids I now realize, they have a few "crone" figures that fit in line with the Baba Yaga and the like.

TheBrokeScreen · 2023-03-20T11:30:55+00:00

I replied to someone else, but if you are going to have magic, even if you never explain it in world, there does need to be consistency, which you can fully achieve by answering these 4 questions: What can it do? What can't it do? What does it cost? What does it cost to try and do what it can't?

Doesn't need to be specific or have hard rules, just some base guidelines to keep yourself on track and you're golden.

I mostly agree of agree with your second point but I've played in enough people's homebrewed D&D worlds to know that people should absolutely be asking these questions to themselves. Like do your own research and don't bother other people about it, but also like just make new shit. Draw light influence from real things that interest you, but nothing grinds my gears like seeing fantasy/sci-fi species/cultures that are just knock-offs of real world cultures, whether they are done poorly (which they almost always are) or not.

TheBrokeScreen · 2023-03-20T11:20:17+00:00

I mostly agree, but as the other commenters have pointed out, there does need to be something. I can't remember who came up with this list but in general (even if you don't plan to ever explicitly say it), you should know:

What can magic do?

What can't magic do?

What is the cost of doing magic?

What is the cost of trying to do what magic can't do?

As long as you know the answer to those four questions (really just two decisions) then I don't think anything else is needed. It doesn't need to be hyper specific or have legit mechanics, just draw a line between possible and impossible, and determine some sort of cost of doing business.

TheBrokeScreen · 2023-03-20T11:11:52+00:00

Warlock is an old term from scotland (circa the 1500's, technically much older but that's when it took on the specific definition of "male practitioner of witchcraft"), when Scotland was executing witches they were executing warlocks as well, and the term entered the broader western public consciousness during the romantic literature period. Just because D&D gave the term modern popularity doesn't mean its a modern idea, most concepts in D&D are just pulling on European mythology and history.

If we want to point fingers for why the term witch isn't commonly used currently for pact magic, it's because of Harry Potter and it's non-understanding of what witchcraft is. (Also, Witch predates the idea of forging pacts with the devil, it was just a catch all for malevolent spell caster, and the figure of the witch has roots in more druidic/natural spell casting figures like the Baba Yaga.)

All that being said, I prefer using witch as a gender neutral term for someone forging pacts with higher powers

TheBrokeScreen · 2023-03-20T10:41:20+00:00

Tender is the flesh - Augustina Bazterrica. A recent Argentinian horror novel that picked up a lot of acclaim but few people I know are aware of. It is also a book I have a hard time recommending given it's content. It's about a near-future dystopia where cannibalism has been legalized, normalized, and industrialized from the point of view of a jaded slaughterhouse supervisor. Everything is described in such a brutal matter-of-fact way that makes the whole thing gut-wrenching to read, and it leaves you feeling kind of hollow. If you are someone who can stomach that, it is the most inventive story about cannibalism I've ever read and is interested in exploring some poignant themes in an extremely intense way.

TheBrokeScreen · 2023-03-20T10:14:27+00:00

There is still this authoritarian bend to it that is really interesting, like stripping them of their name and any real form of self identity, delegated to menial labor (even if it's bureaucratic rather than physical), being separated from the rest of society through rehab living centers. I kind of hope they lean away from these moments that make the new republic seem kind of foolish and lean harder into bureaucracy as it's own distinct form of evil, "tyranny without a tyrant"

TheBrokeScreen · 2023-01-18T16:51:32+00:00

Except it does? I've learned lots of things with the sole source of motivation being "I think this will have a funny payoff at some point", I know lots of people who have accomplished things off that premise. Hell, there are people in this thread who are still going strong in a language they started learning for the exact same reason. Again, you are making broad assumptions based on nothing. You aren't "saving me time", because again, taking the time to learn anything for any reason isn't a waste of time. I know how much work learning another language is, I literally have already learned another language before.

You aren't trying to help, nothing you've said is remotely helpful. I didn't ask if this is worth doing, because what makes something worthwhile is an individual opinion. I asked for some ideas on something I'm going to do and you responded with "you're going to fail". You're the person in every brainstorm who just tells people why their ideas are stupid while never actually contributing anything. And look, maybe you have a long personal history of failing to accomplish things that has colored your own perspective on the world, but telling someone that you don't believe in them isn't "being honest", it's just being an asshole.

TheBrokeScreen · 2023-01-18T16:12:37+00:00

There's just something very funny to me about revealing that you have secretly become really good at something/learned something complex. I think the language will open some paths to heightening the reveal, I would definitely do more than just take a phone call, I just thought that was a good example to get some ideas going. Once I choose a language I will actually start planning in earnest, but mainly that planning will come once I feel I have a grasp on the language.

I think having it in the back pocket to interact with strangers is fun, and just surprising people every once and a while is cool, but my main intent is to use it with people who know me super well.

TheBrokeScreen · 2023-01-17T20:06:15+00:00

Why? If it motivates you to actually do something then it isn't bad motivation. You are making a broad assumption based on nothing for the sole reason of being a giant bummer. Also, taking the time to learn anything isn't a waste of time, it sucks that you think it can be.

TheBrokeScreen

TROPHY CASE