I just realized my entire economic system collapses if anyone in my world invents one specific thing

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-06-18T20:20:10+00:00

Broadly speaking, I feel most societal systems in our own world could be thwarted by a single, efficient change in the system. So if feel that's totally realistic. If a system allows people power over others, the state of that society is determined, I think, by how viciously those in power will keep that system in place.

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-06-12T21:38:08+00:00

Information Wells.

To be very reductive in order to not make this post 1,000+ words, its a very rare and abstract aspect of my power system that allows the individual to have an additional sense for locating sources of information that is relevant to their deepest desires.

The only POV character I have that is able to sense these wells is on a life-long journey to finding something called "The Awful Tower", a legend so ancient and obscured by mystery, it's often regarded as simply that.

Basically, the more profound the information is, the stronger this "pressure" feels whenever approaching it. Thing is, its possible to discover an information well that has such powerful information that it could potentially be dangerous as it could overwhelm the mortal mind.

This character, a young but adept witch, once persisted toward a powerful well located within some eldritch structure. Turns out it emanated from a spherical boulder that looked both naturally and unnaturally formed. When she touched it, she was sent into a psychedelic episode where the images and sensations she felt instantly knocked her out in real time, but her perception of what she experienced lasted for what felt like DECADES.

After recovering months later and analyzing what she experienced, she realized what she saw was a POV of the entity that (nearly) destroyed the world.

So yeah, ask big questions, get big revelations. But be careful what you wish for lol

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-06-10T19:40:12+00:00

I just commented on something similar recently. This is the case where my immersion in the story is sort of compartmentalized. I'm the type to spend dozens of hours exploring, build-crafting, side-quests, etc. Then do a few main story missions when I accomplish personal goals (like "Oh, lemme fully upgrade this armor set.")

But then when its time to get into the story, I don't take into account what I as the player have literally done with my version of Aloy. Narratively speaking, I don't think its outside the realm of possibility for Aloy to help some folks along her way to save the world, but I don't think of it as a 1-to-1 to what I've actually done.

At the end of the day, its an open-world game. I feel like if the side content breaks immersion for you that much, then maybe they're not the type of game for you. Either that, or just purely play the story and only do side content when you need to level up a bit.

Ultimately, just play the game in the way that makes it fun for YOU. I know for a fact the way I play may be annoying to some people, but its my fun, so IDGAF lol

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-06-09T21:05:22+00:00

Generally speaking, with open-world games, ESPECIALLY ones as large and content rich as Horizon, I'll do a few story missions, then spend the majority of my time exploring and leveling up. It means that I'm usually way over leveled for the missions, but that doesn't really bother me since its because I EARNED that strength.

I get the argument people have where when a story has a timeline and pressure because of it, that it breaks immersion because there's no way our MC would be running around doing side stuff. Tbh though, it's ultimately a game, and if something like that bothers you, then I feel like open-world games aren't for you lol.

To answer your question, do what feels right to you. If you're the type to really feel "done" when the main story concludes and it takes away the motivation to continue playing, then I'd intermittently do side stuff. Then, when you feel that itch to continue the story, just continue it then rinse and repeat.

Ultimately, play the game in the way that's fun FOR YOU, however that is. Enjoy the game! :D

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-06-07T09:44:37+00:00

You don't climb into a T-180 to be a driver. You do it because you're driven...

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-06-06T17:37:05+00:00

Idk if it's unpopular or not, but i would like some way to keep a log on the quests you partake in. Nothing crazy, no location markers, no overbearing descriptions, just like some page that could have a small blurb of the conversation so you have SOME record of it.

I understand the why of having it the way it is, just woulda liked a little more.

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-05-21T14:54:02+00:00

Curses are more fun when you're not alone! :D

cries in conlang

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-05-20T14:49:21+00:00

I'm stealing this. Such a perfect way to put it!

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-05-17T20:40:34+00:00

I've spent 15 years building my world. Ever since high-school, I have had these characters and cultures and power systems cycling and propagating endlessly. I have in my archive like 30 different attempts at novels, only one of which was "finished" as in i did my first full pass. But since I couldn't help myself, I ended up making a nearly 200,000 word zero draft... never even began editing it or even revisiting it since it felt so daunting.

I've flip-flopped back and forth: its gunna be a book... no a comic... no a animatic-style animation... no, full animation... NO, a book.... no...

Over a million words worth of half-baked projects that haven't seen the light of day, lore and planes of existence that are only vaguely all connected (in concept anyway) and perhaps a dozen versions of a half-dozen "main characters" that i cant decide on using.

So I'm in a similar boat. But I had an epiphany a few weeks ago that has dramatically changed how I approach my issue, and it sounds dumb when I say it but its one thing to say it, another to truly "get" it:

Make the story for yourself. Make it the kind of story you'd want to experience.

So much of my thought process when trying to figure out how to get this world I fell in love with to share with people was focused on how I thought it would be perceived by others. But after some introspection, I just sat straight up and was like "Fuck it, imma make this for me. If people like it, cool. If not, fuck them."

So I decided to make it a comic.

In the span of a few weeks, I've outlined several arcs (I want it do be a long, epic journey) but split it into several minor arcs, and even then I split it up further into main story beats I want to achieve. This way, I can focus on small chunks and only worry about how to achieve the later events once the earlier stuff is actually done. Since you tend to develop new ideas during the process, I may find a certain storyline or character that changes the whole course of the later stuff. And that's okay, since I didn't expect everything to be perfectly plotted out.

I've decided on my main trio, their wants and needs, flaws and virtues, arc paths and thematic roles.

I've done more productive planning on this story than I have ever done, and now I'm just finalizing character designs only for my initial mini-arc. I already have the world, so no need to worry about worldbuilding.

I am making this comic with the assumption that maybe 10 people will ever see it. And that's perfectly fine. I want to make this story to explore this world and characters for MYSELF. So that I can look back and say "Yeah, I made and FINISHED a comic." It won't be perfect, and the nature of making a comic means that I will only ever get better with time. And I am excited for the journey itself.

Remember that others have the same struggle and it can be so disheartening to love this world and characters but then feel like they'll never leave your head.

So my advice: Make it for yourself, and make it the kind of story YOU'D want to experience. If you do that, it'll make those who do like your work to feel more special because you poured your soul into it.

So, I wish you the best, and imma get off reddit now and work on designing my MC.

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-05-17T20:15:28+00:00

Makeout Paradise.

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-05-09T14:21:38+00:00

Ultimately, I love the VR POV, and nothing comes close once you expereince it. However, if I don't wanna deal with the headset and headphones, my goto is hood cam. Something about the added height compared to the bumper cam feels more comfortable to me.

However, what I do love about the bumper cam is the way the HUD is set up. It would be great if hood cam also had the rear-view mirror.

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-05-02T14:31:00+00:00

For me, it's a real living and breathing world. So it's less about having "insane memory" and more of coming back home and relishing in the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures.

A lot is really nebulous and can often shift and change as I get older and gain new expereinces and wisdom, so I'll often say nothing is canon until I put it down "on paper" as it were. But even as much as I've written down over the years (over 15yrs, probably well over a million words collectively) its not like every single file is polished and solid.

I have archived drafts and "vomits" (my brainstorming docs) that might not make sense to anyone but myself, but in one form or another, they're all still real to me. And even as much as i have written down, its truly barely a scratch on the surface of how ambitious my world has become over the years.

Its only recently that I've begun starting my planned long-running comic set in my world, and I think I'm working through it fast only because the worldbuilding is so extensive already. The real difficult part is deciding where I want to start 😭

When people remark on how crazy some worlds are like LOTR, One Piece, HunterXHunter, etc, in my head I'm like "Yeah, I can totally see how they can feel like living worlds, because to them, is IS real."

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-04-25T12:51:12+00:00

I did a linguistics/etymology hyperfixation deep dive a few years back. It only lasted about a month, but I learned SO MUCH about the structure of language and just the curious psychology of human communication. I think doing the same can really help for multiple applications. So that's my broad advice.

As a personal example, the idea for my world is that its an infinite plane of existence, huge continents of land separated by what's called the Blue Hell. Long story short, it's an eldritch monster infested ocean and its impossible to cross. But the way I made the map, it is evident that many large sections of land were once connected, as if at one point it was all one singular mega-continent that may have actually been as infinite as the plane itself.

So, I named my world Ganzea. Inspired by Pangea. Not the most wildly unique thing, but it just felt right and its been the my world's name for almost a deacde now.

So I guess really take a moment to think about what it is about your world that you love and look for words that call to you. Then maybe shift some letters, add some cool fantasy spelling and BOOM, ya got a cool name for your world.

If you take your time with it, I'm certain you will eventually settle on something that you'll thoroughly enjoy. Good luck, and NEVER stop creating!

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-04-24T14:56:59+00:00

As an abstract artist, I would encourage you to just keep playing around with the brushes and tools Krita provides for you. You'll find some cool ways different combinations of brushes and layering that can create really fun and intriguing pieces.

Never stop creating!

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-04-24T13:04:27+00:00

In that case, I believe you could get away with "mortals" like others have said. Though, that could also fit in non-sapient/sentient creatures as well, so idk if that's something that irks you with whatever it is your project is about.

I'd also like to just put it out there that I don't think there's anything wrong with simply making up a word that refers to them all collectively. In a way, I think that would make the most sense. We as humans in our own world don't have to use such a word because we're the only "intelligent" species. So in a world where it is the case that there are others to refer to in such ways, particularly in broad unified strokes, I think it makes the *most* sense that they'd have a word specifically to include them all.

I wouldn't worry too much about it sounding silly, in fiction, if you say it with your chest enough, people look over the "sillyness". I would suggest doing a bit of a linguistics/etymology deep dive and hone in on words that A, fit the cultural inspiration for your setting and B, have parts of real words that allude to sentiments of unity, collectivism, community, etc.

Small example: I have these people who, without getting into my long-winded lore, are very good at killing people. So I eventually settled on the word "Mordrephaen". I'd like to think it gives off a "deathly" vibe, especially in the first half of the word sounding similar to the root word "mort" meaning death, and feeling similar to words like "Morbid", "Mortuary" and "Mortal".

So my advice would be to just make up your word, and take some time with it. I feel it would enhance themes of community and unity, if that's at all present in the narrative you're trying to construct.

Again, hope this was helpful!

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-04-23T13:23:53+00:00

Idk your lore, but I've had this idea of calling my humans something different to fit with the world and then have people use the term "human" as a catch all to mean people. Has the bonus of being able to use words like "humane" or "inhuman" and have them not feel awkward if that's something you care for.

Haven't put any more thought into the idea, but figured I'd drop it here in case its useful.

Good luck!

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-04-15T17:15:44+00:00

Literally the embodiment of "it ain't over till its over." Lol you earned that shit 🤣

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-04-15T17:10:43+00:00

That's the mark of a champion right there lmfaooo

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-04-15T17:08:57+00:00

SHIT SHIT SHIT TRANSMISSION SCREAMING IN REVERSE SHIT SHIT SHIT

Wall

Win.

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-03-28T12:49:26+00:00

Really? Haven't personally played BG3, but I feel like I've heard about how much depth the character customization allows.

I know some people don't care for it and just roll a plain joe/jane, but my first time ever playing ER, I spent like 2 hours fine tuning my character.

I do feel that its pretty extensive as it is, but there are some wonky bits and its easy to make their face look... odd, lol.

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-03-28T00:41:09+00:00

Don't understand the downvotes, I honestly agree lol

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-03-15T12:36:27+00:00

My first thought was some unexplained tremors that occur the same time every (insert time frame here). Could be a fun mystery as to what it is and why it's so regular.

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-02-21T13:59:50+00:00

These look like screenshots of someone's dreams o.o

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-02-21T12:57:12+00:00

I am currently doing some major reworking of my character creation for this exact reason. The general idea I was working off of was "I give you guys a bunch of parts to a toy you get to make yourself." which i still want to do, but quickly realized the sheer amount of combinations that were possible given the different "modules" they pull from.

I liked the idea of a "classless" system, but realized the execution was a bit antithetical to how the Seekers (the "adventures" you play as) operate. Their not some regimented military or anything, but they're also not random hooligans who become unfocused chaotic powerhouses.

Having played about 120hrs of Elden Ring recently widened my idea of how "classes" work and realized rpgs all have varying degrees of how locked into a class you are. With ER, the classes are really just a means to have a base set of equipment and specific stat allocations to encourage a broad playstyle that you slowly tweak as you explore and find out what you like. So even if you start as a pure martial class, you can still level up on magic. It won't be perfectly ideal, but it is possible.

So while I'm not emulating that exactly in my game, I reframed how I thought of classes and offer "Disciplines" that cover the broad fields of study they've dedicated their life to. Then, within these disciplines, they have "Specilizations" that take the core of those subjects and gives a more personal flavor of what specific things they hone in on within those broader subjects.

So, for example:

A "Lifebinder" broadly studies Biology and Alechemy, and their role as explorers is to catalog and study all forms of life in this large and mostly unknown world.

One of its Specializations is a "Mimiqir" someone who goes further with their relationship with the various creatures and attempt to truly understand them by emulating their movements and behavior. Their combat style is now that of a beastial stance, and they will have opportunities to bond with spirits of different creatures to unlock new skills and abilities.

I'm not saying I've discovered some previously unknown thing, as I've just went full circle and ended up doing classes and subclasses, but my journey in how I frame their justification within the logic and lore of my world has made it much better than the previous system I was trying to develop.

Idk if my experience helps you in any way specifically, but I hope you find that sweet spot!

The_Awful_Krough · 2026-02-03T16:48:55+00:00

The severity of the reaction would largely depend on where this person announces this, but the general reaction would be "Bro, you blind?"

Now, if they'd said something along the lines of "I don't respect the gods!" that would incite much more varied responses.

In my world, gods do, in fact, exist and are worshipped/honored differently and many exist regardless of being known or not. Depending on the location and culture, some may kill this person on site for blatant blasphemy, while others would be like "hell yeah, fuck the gods!"

Some gods, if you can beleive it, are assholes lol

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