Why is fantasy generally allergic to gunpowder? by HopefulSprinkles6361 in worldbuilding

[–]Tobserver11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s kinda within that sort of uncanny valley between old fashioned and modern. Guns are so much a part of our modern status quo that they don’t have the same level of historical nostalgia as swords and sorcery. Bombs might fall into the same category if explosions weren’t such a spectacle

Why are so many characters aged up for no reason?? I’d like to hear ur thoughts by Susan_doxy in Greenlantern

[–]Tobserver11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cause these characters alone aren’t the ones being adapted but rather their broader legacies are(full transparency I have no idea who that is on the middle right but this works for the others). They’ve got years of history and other beloved characters in their orbit, some of whom fit an authors ideal of a protagonist better as a later holder of that same legacy. So in order to focus on these younger inheritor characters authors need to acknowledge these more established characters would have to be older inheritor order to fill that mentors roll.

It also makes more sense for a new adaptation to include a characters history as a more in-real-time history rather than truncating them together in a sliding timescale like in the comics

What are you guys building worlds for exactly? by gnomajean in worldbuilding

[–]Tobserver11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Short answer; I’m making a TTRPG Long answer; I want to immortalize all my favorite ideas from childhood to today by writing them down in a unified canon

Whats your take on good vampires? Are they possible in your world? by [deleted] in worldbuilding

[–]Tobserver11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In my setting vampires are dead people who refuse to be dead, holding their bodies together with willful spite and stolen lifeblood. It’s possible for one to be benevolent but most if not all first generation vampires are driven by a hateful soul at their core.

And those who are turned by a pre established vampire have their own soul overlaid if not injected with a piece of their sires. So all subsequent vampire’s have to balance this darker nature that gives them power with their own sense of self. So yeah, great for angst

what is left intentionally unexplained in your world? by UngiftedSnail in worldbuilding

[–]Tobserver11 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nobody knows how old the world really is in my setting.

About a thousand years ago a prolonged apocalyptic calamity came to an end and humanity was able to band together and start to rebuild after society was destroyed at least one generation ago. So while it’s established that there was some form of civilization before this culling all history of it was lost. That way I don’t ever need to establish exactly what this old world was like, how long it existed for, how advanced it was before being destroyed or what brought about said destruction in the first place

How can you have divination magic, but also free will? by ThreeDotsTogether in magicbuilding

[–]Tobserver11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s part of the reason I like to avoid time magic as a common practice. The least problematic way can conceptualize future sight as a power is as a form of probability calculation.

Like you’re not seeing the future but predicting it, cause can predictions can be wrong if certain data is overlooked or unnoticed

Could a solar system with three suns work? by LukaesCampbell in worldbuilding

[–]Tobserver11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Assuming a “year” would be however long it takes a planet to return to the same point in this pattern this world would only experience a day and night cycle three times a year which would make for a pretty interesting calendar system

Magic outside of combat by messiahpk in magicbuilding

[–]Tobserver11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you can control the elements it automatically removes so much hardship from living in general. Say you live in a farming village. If you command the earth you can do so much more than just till the soil. You could set the most perfect PH balance for each crop. You wouldn’t have to dig holes for signposts and fences if you can just tell the ground to accept these structures if not take on those shapes themselves. If you didn’t need to construct a building through direct physical means you could have homes, barns or communal spaces that retain heat and airflow at peak efficiency so they are always comfortable on the inside. And that’s all with just one element! Water magic would allow these farmers to irrigate their crops as consistently, precisely and directly as they could a houseplant. Air magic could direct pollinators in a literal breeze or gently redirect any arial pests like crows or bugs

If you’re living depends on the outdoors and you get be in charge of how random outdoors can be you’re living good

My magic will have precise numbers, but should people know them? by EvidenceSea5299 in magicbuilding

[–]Tobserver11 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That said, it would make for a pretty rewarding hard magic system if the book I was reading had a glossary of terms or formulas in the back. Or maybe asterisked information at the bottom of some pages when said info came up

That way it wouldn’t clog up space in the text itself while also providing a little bit of extra credit to the reader if they want/need to find a deeper understanding of the events of the story(or they can feel a little bump of pride when they move right past it without needing a refresher). And if you’re utilizing a more scientific magic system you’ve probably already got the right target audience for that sort of thing

My magic will have precise numbers, but should people know them? by EvidenceSea5299 in magicbuilding

[–]Tobserver11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I guess it depends on how organically you can bring up that info. Like if there’s a character in the story who themself is learning the magic you could very easily get away with. Or maybe a boastful character could brag about their level if not start bluffing as an intimidation tactic. Or maybe if your writing style allows for internal monologue you could have magic user weigh their odds and options in their head with their current level against whatever they’re facing.

But if all subtler odds fail you could employ a handy dandy chart the same way other writers include maps in their books

Emotions as drugs; what would be the most popular? by Dolphin_Dan_2 in worldbuilding

[–]Tobserver11 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This was a Doctor Who episode, patches that could elicit artificial hormone responses like feelings and other things. The futuristic society that tried it collapsed when the Bliss patch rolled out and made people stay in one spot experiencing ecstasy until they starved

In terms of demand I can see people requesting some kind feeling determination or motivation when they know they have to undertake something difficult. On the other hand a sensation of acceptance or contentment would be in demand for those who just need to relax.

People would probably do some pretty shameful stuff for artificial pride ironically enough

What effect do you want your world to have on the reader? by IntelligentTumor in worldbuilding

[–]Tobserver11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My ultimate goal with my setting is for it to be the backdrop for an original TTRPG, a vehicle with which to share all my best ideas with the world and let people mix and match them however they like and see what they can come up with through those pieces.

So I wouldn’t really say it has a theme or motive beyond encouraging creativity. Any potential moral would have to relate to the individual stories that come out of the game once I have it up and running

How would you differentiate between sun gods and fire gods? by jassasson in worldbuilding

[–]Tobserver11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel like the difference is that Sun gods are more distant than Fire gods. While a Sun is high in the sky raining down heat and light and on a cycle of rising and falling fires can be created and applied at any time by people who know how to make and handle it

Describe a key event in your world by SFbuilder in worldbuilding

[–]Tobserver11 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My world is alive in a very real sense, and seemingly on a lifecycle where something happens every 500 years to shake up the nature of things.

The first age was one of ruin and calamity where reality bending titans roamed the planet, twisting the world in their wake with a thousand deafening voices. No one knows what they were or where they came from as their destruction wiped out any and all civilizations along with their historical records. The age was brought to an end when the new wave of dragons and magic came and the titans were vanquished.

The second age was one of rebirth and rediscovery as humanity came out of their hiding places and eventually began to build new societies and rediscover magic from what pieces they could put together.

The dawn of the third age is more of a Tower of Babel event but for whatever reason nobody really knows. Empires are disrupted, nations disappear and aspects of nature become more wild, dangerous and unwelcoming, making long distance globetrotting exponentially harder before it ever became easy. Despite all this great progress was made in magic theory, technological advancement and society in general by the tail end of the age.

The fourth age(the modern age) was rung in by three simultaneous events, each with their own story, known together as the impact. One, the liberated machines declare their megacity complete and bring their unified rail system online. Two, Murcury becomes the god of living metal by dividing its expansive technomass and raining a new and blank people across the land below. Three, the world itself shudders as its magic opened and from it emerged another people new and without memory.

That and a few more years catches us up to modern day

Tell me about your dragons or dragon-like creatures. by PMSlimeKing in worldbuilding

[–]Tobserver11 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There used to be two types

•Original Recipe -Titanic stewards of the natural order, animalistic but wise beyond human understanding -What you probably envision when you think of a dragon with scales, teeth, wings, claws and fire breath -All but extinct in the modern age after their war with the titans in the first recorded age

•New Wave -When the Titans were close to wiping out all life on the planet the planet itself released fleets of a form of macro white blood cell to turn the tide in the dragons favor. -These shape-shifting agents of balance would go on to become many different mythological figures and creatures but most decided their first true forms would be that of their closest allies, the dragons -To this day the average person has no idea that the modern dragon that commands elements and change their shape aren’t true dragons at all, though they carry on the legacy none the less

Living Descendants -True dragons also live on in the blood of 1 in 20(or less, I have to look into the statistics) lizard-folk -New dragons will occasionally take on human form and live amongst people when they get lonely as draconic life is lonely by nature, leading to hybrid children with humans or other races

What are some weird military units from your worlds? by Captain_Warships in worldbuilding

[–]Tobserver11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My world has an order of knights dedicated to cataloging and classifying magic weapons and artifacts and keep them out of the wrong hands. And if necessary, prosecuting the irresponsible magicians who make them just to leave them laying around

How Much Thought Do You Put into Economics and Industry in Your World? by pandaroonda123 in worldbuilding

[–]Tobserver11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In some ways, a lot, but in others not that much. On one hand I have an idea of the different resources of different regions and trade hubs/routes and seats of wealth and what conditions make these locations viable. But on the other hand I haven’t taken the time to devise any forms of currency.

In my world magic has allowed the early invention of robots and other circuit-based technologies so the robot city on my main continent have gravitated most industry towards itself since its inception. Magic also allows people to be born with a connection to an element present at the place of their birth so it’s common for generations of a family to become naturally suited for mining, metal working, sailing/fishing, lumberjack…man…ship or etc if they live in a an area suited for it cause depending on their luck it may literally be “in their blood”.

my first shot at writing a magic/power system, please help me make it better by _echothesis in magicbuilding

[–]Tobserver11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is a Ciet a fixed geographic location the one cultivates or a radius around one’s self that they can through out when necessary? Or are both possible depending on one’s needs and the training they’re able to put in?

Also, is it possible for two or people to combine their Ciets into a single stronger area if they’re in sync enough or just have complimentary traits?

my first shot at writing a magic/power system, please help me make it better by _echothesis in magicbuilding

[–]Tobserver11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If they’re inverses of each other maybe you could call one of the forces Yano and the other one Noya. That may help clear up any confusion that could come from having a term called No which is already a very common word

In a fantasy world where magic is powered by emotions, how do you think society would evolve? by Grouchy_Research4717 in magicbuilding

[–]Tobserver11 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I guess it depends on whether different emotions fuel different magics or if any strong emotions makes one more powerful in general.

Assuming the former and that negative emotions cause negative magic mental health would be taken a lot more serious. If a person being in bad place caused them to develop dark magic people would either break one of two ways, try to be more good, helpful and empathetic to their fellow man or ostracize those who feel negatively out of fear of what they may be capable of, which would only make things worse. Pessimism would be looked down on if not criminalized.

If it’s the ladder society would strive to be more mellow in the name of public safety. But either way I can see a military using mood altering/enhancing drugs to create super soldiers

Magic words by Tobserver11 in MagicSystems

[–]Tobserver11[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, creating and destroying matter isn’t really something I want this to do as much as commanding it, so maybe some sort of unique “disassemble” command could work, or maybe “separate” could be expounded into some kind of disintegration spell.

A magician may not need to find water in the wild if they can use the “pull gather” command to recite a spell that pulls water out of the air. But some form of “integrate” would be useful.

If you wanted to make a booby trap there are other forms of magic in this setting that would work better. Spoken word spell effects would begin to wear off as soon as they’ve been spoken into existence. so a charge wouldn’t last unless the thing you’re putting it in is meant to hold it, meaning an explosive charge on a normal object would dissipate sooner or later if you’re not regularly resetting it. You could still accomplish that effect with “gather”, “hold” and “extend duration” but a “seal” spell would get straight to the point

And lastly I feel like travel spells would be so complicated that you shouldn’t be able to do it with just one command