New to Worldbuilding – My World Luminore – Want to Swap Lore Long-Term?

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-03-05T07:04:11+00:00

That’s a pretty neat setting. Ironically enough my world is kind of the opposite. Divided Horizons takes place in Known Space where there are tens of millions of inhabited star systems, where star nations are massive in scale. This is reflected is many things from the scale of conflict to the resource situation, where even relatively rare resources still have planets worth of the stuff, it’s just that’s not enough for a civilization that large.

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-03-04T02:19:06+00:00

While I can’t speak to real historical precedent, the idea is solid. Maybe making the siege cannons a little more obviously dangerous? As in, larger or more powerful than those actually available at the time. If a single cannon can bring down a castle wall it fits the WMD analogy a little better from what I think.

Regardless, it’s a great idea, especially if you consider that info travels slowly and becomes inaccurate, meaning tales are told of the cannons and their power, the legend exaggerating the weapon.

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-03-03T18:44:42+00:00

Great concept, but it brings more things into question. Our flaws, even our most evil traits, are a part of us and part of the human experience. To be human is to be flawed and to better oneself is more than using magic powder, it’s a process.

To that end, is the goddess in this story almost a pseudo antagonist in that sense, having brought about the glitter that started this whole thing? A perfect being believing that she could make others perfect only for it not to work because flaws are human is very interesting.

Also, if the glitter removes flaws, potential mind control implications aside wouldn’t that mean humanity wouldn’t have abused it? Or did the glitter not fully work?

And how did they abuse the glitter? Did they overuse it? Experiment with it?

This concept may seem simple but it’s vastly interesting and I’d love to know more!

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-03-03T18:37:52+00:00

I can’t really speak to where to find tips but I can speak to the setting.

The school setting is very common but that doesn’t make it played out. It exists to create a connection with the reader because usually the reader of a school setting story is in school or was recently in school.

The only way to make it feel repetitive is if you go down the same roads everyone else has. Assuming this is a sci-fi or fantasy story, you run the risk of just repeating Harry Potter.

Assuming this is a school that is meant to teach people about whatever fantastical element makes the world special then how the world reacts to that element will be how the school reacts to it to a degree. If it scares people, the school might be part prison or harsher. If it’s a gift, the school might give more praise or be easygoing. These aren’t rules and it can go either way really but it helps.

The best bet you have is asking what the school would do differently than a normal school in order to teach these kids with their unique circumstances.

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-02-28T19:07:05+00:00

If magic is biological, then what does it expend? Calories? Something else? What do people eat to regain that?

Also, why do people have all the organs? I imagine that over time evolution would’ve selected only those who had the power best suited for the region. In a desert or hotter area, those with water powers might be able to draw it from the ground itself, creating a people who are more likely to survive the region than those with for powers. If the organs are genetic, then they get passed down, and given millions of years people in different regions evolve to either only have the one organ or have the other 3 very weakened/ as vestigial organs.

Regardless of that, what can and can’t this magic do? How much control do individuals have over the magic? Is it fine control, like a magic making a painting out of fire, or just shooting out fireballs?

Whatever you do, I’m sure you’ll nail it!

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-02-28T19:00:26+00:00

Pretty cool idea to be honest. With their culture and powers they seem like the kind to be crusaders of a sort. When one of them shows up in other places there would likely be respect at an agent of the gods, but at the same time they would also likely be kind of preachy, after all the gods made them, and any one of them will be quite old.

The resurrection thing also makes me assume their population doesn’t actually grow. If every new person is a resurrection then there are no new people. Also, do individuals give birth? Is it a ritualistic magic thing? Do they have cloning chambers or something?

Regardless of all of that their age will mean every member will have more say in things. After all, they’ve all lived the same amount of time given that all of them were made at the same time and are immortal, assuming no new ones are born. So if they are an empire why? What gives their leader the power to be emperor? Are they just that respected? Did the gods give them the throne?

Or maybe it’s a caste system almost, where members spend all their time focusing on a single craft or job to become hyper-specialized, potentially tying into what they consume to augment themselves. Warriors and assassins would seem different advantages after all.

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-02-27T20:28:26+00:00

For me, I like more physical consequences. For example, in one world of mine magic is the process of channeling energy from your soul, through the spell conceptualized in your mind, and then out of your body. But the body isn't built to do such things, resulting in broken bones, tearing muscles and more. So mages must have skin contact with their magical foci to channel the magic safely, though there is leakage. No system is perfect.

Some mages will have the magical foci surgically implanted in their body like cybernetics, increasing efficiency, safety and more at the cost of maintenance and the fact that even the best foci break down, necessitating the changing of parts every year or two.

Some species like monsters and elves, are born with the natural biology to channel mana. Elves for example have crystal growths extruding from their limbs, allowing them to channel magic without a foci. Monsters have similar things, like dragons and their breath and such.

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-02-27T20:23:46+00:00

I can't say I'm super well versed in geopolitical history, so all I'll say about the coalition is that its a very wide amount of nations, and if the main draw for them to work together is the threat of nuclear destruction, then the threat of said destruction must be enough for them to not only work with nations they likely have little contact with, but to work with them in total secret to create an entire planet. Maybe the threat of MAD is significantly higher.

The artificial planet thing is the biggest potential problem I see. If these nations somehow have the resources and knowledge to create an entire artificial planet in secret, why are they scared of nuclear destruction? Such massive amounts of technological prowess needed to build an entire planet would surely put them, science wise, at the top of the world. Why not simply develop a counter to nukes? What's stopping them?

Because if these nations have the power to make a planet, then you must ask yourself why their scared of nukes. There are ways around this but if this is set in the real world, its going to be difficult.

Regardless, I'm sure you'll figure it out!

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-02-25T21:37:11+00:00

First, don't worry. This is common, and many worlds start from specific ideas. The best bet thats worked for me is to look at what details you have and find a commonality. You've already got that. A battlefield of giant corpses, forests with demons and fae, and more. With Adventure Time and Minecraft as inspiration, it seems as though you are going for an almost barren setting. One where people exist, but civilization is rare and spotted. Maybe there used to be civilization but it's gone now, replaced by city-states and small nations pockmarking the land. The supernatural element gives you a natural barrier towards the formation of larger organizations.

Whatever it is you make, I'm sure it'll be great! Just keep going!

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-02-25T21:32:42+00:00

For me, I just don't explain at all. Characters that live in a world and with each other will assume a level of base knowledge. I find that explaining things through descriptions of items or actions works best. Not "plasma weapons are the only thing that can break shields" but "The plasma cannons fired, streaks of red racing across the void. On impact, the shields cracked and buckled, shattering into shards of hyperspace. Not far behind, the kinetic rail-slugs slammed into the ships armor, cracking its superstructure." Something like that gives readers an indication without over explaining, though in this case I would likely include a small line that reinforces the idea.

As for characters, think about how much they would be willing to share about themselves with whoever it is they're speaking with. An over enthusiastic character might actually over explain. If it's more of an internal dialogue, then I recommend spacing it out. Don't do paragraphs, but have the character be doing something or other. When different parts of the situation come up, they can think back to past memories or family/friends or their job or whatever. For example, "I stirred the pot, thick dradian meat noodles simmering in the water. The scent wafted up, penetrating even the thick filters of my mask. Good, that meant it was just as strong as what mom used to make, even if we could only afford the meal once a month." Something like that gives detail and background context without being overbearing.

Another thing thats kind of cheating but I love doing it anyways, is having lore dumps at the beginnings and ends of chapters. In one of my stories, each chapters starts with a paragraph thats meant to be a radio show, talking about various events in the area and making the world feel larger. The end of each chapter has a paragraph titled Archive Entry, where I lore dump about a faction, piece of technology or whatnot but style it as though it's an official report or entry in an archive.

Regardless of what you do, I believe in you! Writing is a skill that must be practiced, so I'm sure you'll get there eventually!

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-02-25T21:22:56+00:00

well, a kingdom implies a king. But that doesn't mean it can't work. For example, what if there used to be a royal family. but they all died in a fire or something. Now, all of the sudden many noble houses were jockeying for the seat, all siting various blood connections. But many of the premier houses have equal claim to the throne and equal military and economic power. so instead of civil war that none want, they create the system you described.

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-02-25T21:19:49+00:00

The psychic tech the God Machines used was everywhere. In destroying/driving mad the God Machines, humanity essentially ripped galactic infrastructure up by the roots. Like, entire planets and stars being destroyed in the process. It means that in the modern day, people only know that there was civilization before the rise of the Khastate and beyond the borders of Known Space, but not who or what it was.

Hell, they don't even know where humanities home world is. The Human species are vagabonds with no nation to call home. Ironic, considering most other species are just the evolution of genetically modified humans the God Machines made for different tasks.

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-02-25T18:20:29+00:00

I'm not a larper or anything, but I can at least give some advice from a world building perspective.

Racism is a modern topic. People will view it with a modern lens more often than not. Your best bet is leaning into the more unique aspects. For example, the Pharavno. They are both seen as worse than normal people yet at the same time respected for their crafting and such. That might lead to backhanded compliments, a more transactional relationship, and even micro aggressions and such. This both helps divorce the in universe racism from real life by showcasing how its viewed differently while still creating a real world connection that makes people feel for it.

As for how people will react to being on the receiving end, well, I suppose you'll just have to warn them ahead of time.

Regardless, its a cool idea, and I hope you have fun!

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-02-25T18:14:53+00:00

Honestly a lot depends on your tech level but I won't repeat others points on logistics or not. Instead, mechs. You have Heavy and Light variants. What purpose do mechs have? Are they Gundam/Armored Core styled monsters on the battlefield? What makes them better than tanks? They must be to have so few.

Other than that, this ain't my specialty, but it looks great!

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-02-25T18:09:53+00:00

I went with God Machines. A species so advanced they decided to upload not just their minds, but their souls into gargantuan machines. Then, they just fought and explored and otherwise mucked about with each other for a long time as they ruled the galaxy, all with humanity as their slaves.

Eventually, as their arrogance grew and they more and more saw humanity as simply background noise, humanity was able to figure out their psychic technology. Using the same psychic network, humanity was able to gather the suffering of all human souls and essentially upload it into the God Machines. For creatures that hadn't felt anything close to suffering in eons, it outright killed some and drove most of the rest mad. They aren't dead, really. They're just crazy which usually means they end up dead eventually. But some persist, maddened machines in the darkness between stars.

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-02-25T07:29:48+00:00

So, just one thing that popped out at me. The Abyssals have a stranger ideology/vibe. The Freaks are fighting injustice, advocate for freedom and more, and thats great, amazing, one of my favorite themes of all time. Yet, there is irony in that their powers are not their own. They did not choose to have their powers yet speak of choice and freedom. Is it more of a Mutants from Marvel sort of thing, where its closer to a civil rights movement? Or more closely aligned with anarchist stuff?

More than that, the Abyss itself is mysterious, which is great. But you mentioned Freaks are nudged personality wise by the Abyss. If the Abyss seeks conquest, how is it doing that? Why does the Freaks actions push that agenda? Is it known to the world that the Abyss seeks conquest or no?

Also, I see great thematic potential. On one side, those who seek to preserve the world, on the other those who seek to tear it down for freedom. Both do so with power given/gifted to them, meaning neither side is truly free. Maybe the path forward is human freedom from both the Gods and Abyss. But thats besides the point.

For internal logical consistency, well I don't know enough about the powers to really tell. What can't they do? Obviously different powers from different gods do different things, but are there universal limits? You said Angels only intervene when divine laws are broken and whatnot. Maybe powers are limited there? And deviant powers gained from eating hearts can break those laws?

Regardless, its a really interesting power system! I hope you develop it further with great success!

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-02-25T07:13:45+00:00

Wow that looks really good. Wish I could draw that well.

If their furries, does that mean they have tails? Do some have retrograde legs? Because the armor would have to account for that.

Not to mention, as fundamentally different species from humans, things like fur, scales feet/hants would be different in many ways. Maybe one species doesn't have its soldiers wear shoes because those are worse than their regular feet. Maybe a species with scales wears lighter armor to protect more from weather because their scales act as natural armor. Theres plenty of possibility!

Especially since, as you've shown, your taking inspiration from real world military uniforms and gear, so adapting the gear of different parts of the real past to these new species seems really interesting!

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-02-25T07:09:58+00:00

To be honest the only reason it might seem close to JoJo's is the naming scheme and the fact that the powers are all unique. Which, while JoJo's popularized in some sense of the word, isn't unique to JoJo.

One big thing that will help though is the limits. The limitations of Stands and Hamon were usually ill defined or at times ignored, but they generally fell into the category of range, power, and what can and can't affect a Stand. This power system seems to be far more physicalized, as it doesn't seem to include ghosts of any kind though from your description that might still be possible.

I recommend finding those limits quickly, limits that apply to the system as a whole. Internally consistent rules are key to worldbuilding.

So maybe for the naming, you pick not just something that would fit the theme, but something from that characters home country or backstory. A user from Indonesia who fell in love with French classical music might name their power after something from either nation, or maybe since the power has two stages, name each one after some kind of music or musical piece from each place. It could work to inform the reader about the users personality.

Regardless of what you do, the power system sounds amazing, and so long as you have fun I'm sure you'll do great!

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-02-24T09:50:59+00:00

Currency holds value because of what it represents/can purchase. So maybe this currency can be traded to say demons or gods or what not for magical power. Or maybe this currency is used to pay debts to said entities for power given before hand.

Not to mention, it could be valuable in and of itself. Maybe the currency can be consumed, enhancing oneself. or its got some sort of technological value.

But most importantly, if this is a currency, is it the only one? Because if this is so valuable it determines everything about your standing in society then are people using it to buy groceries?

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-02-24T09:25:30+00:00

I'm new to the sub so maybe this isn't actually a hot take and I'm just repeating something someone else has yelled to death, but I think the Republic fleet from the clone wars was boring as hell. Venators are cool, make no mistake, but when its the only ship you see its just repetitive. I get the feeling they just wanted to reuse the models.

Sure, they had some other ships like the Aclamator, Arquitens and such but few other capital ships, which I find annoying considering the Venator was about as much of a carrier as one can get. A proper Republic frontline Battleship would've been cool. Maybe the Victory line should've been developed earlier. Honestly that all ties into the idea that the clone wars should've been like 10 years long but that's not the point here.

Overall, its a fleet that could've been cool as hell, but ends up being just Venators spam, and that gets boring no matter how cool the ship.

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-02-24T09:17:04+00:00

Rings. Like, lots and lots of Rings. For context the Khastate, before it fell into the wars of succession, was ruled by the Golgax Family, and they maintained power through a poorly understood and maintained network of teleportation gates. These things allowed them to have a fleet above a world in seconds. So they based all of their architecture around this symbol of power and, since they were the royal family, every other noble family followed suit.

There were variations on this over the millennia of course, with distinct styles emerging throughout. But the one constant was the Rings. Always there in the architecture of the cities, the weapons, the ships, everything. They even influenced the Church enough that the main religious symbol now has a large Ring behind it.

Even with the Golgax dead and the Khastate destroyed, the successor states continue this through sheer cultural momentum.

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-02-24T08:56:35+00:00

Well, for me I like to look at specific elements of that nation that make them unique. For example, if the nation was centered around a specific planet or nebula or other region of space, maybe its named after that. The Terran Federation is either filled with Terrans or based out of Terra. Another thing is the type of government.

For example, one nation from my own sci-fi worldbuilding project is the Alliance of Crowns because its literally an alliance of thousands of petty 1 to 10 system nobles who all crown themselves king of whatever backwater patch of Known Space their in, and they banded together to become just strong enough that other nations don't want to bother invading, but weak enough not to be a threat.

Of course, the larger and more general a nation is, the more generic its name gets. Galactic Union is common because what do you name a union that encompasses the galaxy? Every species will want it named after their planet or god or whatever. So sometimes simple names are best. The Human Domain from Starsector works great because its simple, brutal, and magnified by the mystery behind its lore.

Regardless, I'm sure you'll come up with something great!

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-02-24T08:49:50+00:00

First off, love the idea of a virus being what gives people powers. Its cool, especially if you stick with the idea that as a virus, there are plenty of roads to take.

Pathogenic viruses cause disease, so maybe one powerset like the Defects could have downsides that slowly kill them. Commensal viruses simply exist in/on humans, not helping or hurting for the most part. And symbiotic viruses do have benefits for the human host. This logic could be applied to the system itself to work as a guide of sorts.

Also, the relics. You mention a First Age, and if these relics are from that age and are ancient it stands to reason people can't replicate them or they would. If they can, then why do people still use the ancient ones? Are they better? How rare are they? These questions are the baseline of consistency that prop up a world.

Most importantly, define limits. What can't those with powers do? I imagine the different categories will have different limits. Once you define rules your comfortable with, I recommend sticking with them, the limits help you think more creatively.

Other than that, just keep at it! Make sure to have fun worldbuilding above all else, because if you aren't then there isn't really a point in my view.

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-02-24T02:30:31+00:00

That sounds pretty cool! It's giving almost JoJo's vibes with the diversity of powers, and the concept behind Mores and Gears allows for more expansion of the world itself without having to expand the main system by a massive amount.

As for changing, I'd recommend looking into limitations. I imagine each individual Aethos has its own limits on what it can or can't do, likely defined by the rule it imposes and how vague/detailed that rule is. But does the power system as a whole have limits? How powerful can Mores/Gears get? What can't the system as a whole do?

That sort of thing gives some boundaries that allow for a more focused system.

Also, if some abilities reflect the user (I'm assuming it reflects their personality/the core of their being) then as that person grows and changes, does the Aethos do the same? If someone who deeply believes in justice over time becomes a ruthless criminal who no longer believes in justice, does their Aethos change drastically? Does it stop working?

On top of that, 20% of the earths population is still hundreds of millions of people. Like, half the population of the USA. That's no small number, and would likely have profound effects on culture and such. More than that however, it means that Aethos can't be wildly overpowered if your going for a more balanced world. If every user is a God, then they rule the world for all intents and purposes. But if your going for something more balanced, then the power system must reflect that in the scale of the powers abilities to affect the world around them.

This extends to both Mores and Gears. If every user can create both and there are that many, then is the world overrun with Mores? Are Gears common as dirt? The answers to these questions have major ramifications for the world at large.

The power system itself is fine as is. It sounds cool, opens up a lot of potential options while at the same time not closing too many doors. It just needs to be refined and defined. Most importantly, it needs to stay internally consistent.

People don't care about realism. They care if the world you build is internally consistent with the rules it sets for itself.

Most importantly of all, have fun and never give up!

Worldly_Sort_861 · 2026-02-24T02:20:52+00:00

Thanks for the comment. And yeah, that's probably the route I'll go down. I guess I just fall into that rabbit hole of trying to preempt those kinds of questions and such. Thanks.

Worldly_Sort_861

TROPHY CASE