# Feedback on my New World



## kilost (Dec 11, 2012)

I posted the idea for my entire new world building idea on here the other day, but it was probably a bit much to handle in one go. So I'm just posting the bits I'd most like feedback on.

I've got huge numbers of worlds, all with perfectly fine gravity but small, with about the surface area of Ireland, give or take. At the start, only eighteen are inhabited, by the Founding Races of the Founding Peoples (Humans, Merfolk, Orcs, Elves, Dwarves, Kobolds; divided into at least four ethnic groups/cultures each), although many others are rumoured to have tribal-level peoples, of a wide variety of types. In between the little worlds is pure breathable air, in zero gravity, through which people can travel if they get out of the atmosphere, which takes no more than flying a few miles above the ground. This is how birds, dragons, insects and some plants make the migration regularly. There are also portals between worlds, usually not worlds in proximity, but these are often unreliable. Stable portals are very rare. Each world has two or three portals, sometimes more, sometimes less, and only one in ten or so words will have a stable portal to another world.

My question is, to what extent will the portals likely be used over flight between worlds? Also, to what extent would you have thought settlement of the weightless regions occur? In the colder regions further from the star, there are lumps of rock floating in the zero gravity, akin to asteroids but with plant growths. Obviously there's no real right answer, but just looking for a little feedback.


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## Gandalf (Dec 11, 2012)

How big would said asteroids be, exactly? If the worlds are only small?

And I like the World Portals idea. Are these naturally occurring or built?


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## kilost (Dec 11, 2012)

Gandalf said:


> How big would said asteroids be, exactly? If the worlds are only small?
> 
> And I like the World Portals idea. Are these naturally occurring or built?



Small, the largest about a kilometre across but most closer to 50 metres.

Naturally occurring, I figured, but perhaps in a far future age they could be built by the finest mage-engineers.


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## Gandalf (Dec 11, 2012)

Then maybe a small village of some kind of hardy people on the larger asteroids? And maybe the mage-engineer-people could stabilise the unstable ones in the far future?


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## Xaysai (Dec 11, 2012)

I don't think this answers the question, but my first thought as I read this was for there to be some type of conflict between the races which force them to align into 2 or 3 "factions" among the planets which all try to join forces with (or destroy) the inhabitants of planets which control portals they can use to invade their enemy.

Since the portals are so highly contested, a brilliant group of gnomes/tinkers/craftsmen scramble to find a way to fly whether it be by harnessing dragons, building rudimentary rockets or rocketpacks to control the skies!


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## kilost (Dec 11, 2012)

Xaysai said:


> I don't think this answers the question, but my first thought as I read this was for there to be some type of conflict between the races which force them to align into 2 or 3 "factions" among the planets which all try to join forces with (or destroy) the inhabitants of planets which control portals they can use to invade their enemy.
> 
> Since the portals are so highly contested, a brilliant group of gnomes/tinkers/craftsmen scramble to find a way to fly whether it be by harnessing dragons, building rudimentary rockets or rocketpacks to control the skies!



I'm sure warring would encourage non-portal-based travel. And there'll definitely be warring :L Maybe gnomes will evolve at some point, emerging from dwarves, or dwarves with a little human mixed in.


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## kilost (Dec 11, 2012)

Just as one interesting teaser: one of my human cultures is very heavily based on the Mbuti (Congo Pygmies), who are very rarely seen in fantasy as far as I'm aware  (I've also got Yoruba-based, Afar-based, Bedouin-based, Greek-based etc)


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## mbartelsm (Dec 11, 2012)

Kind of reminds me of Dragon hunters (Dragon Hunters (2008) - IMDb)


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## kilost (Dec 12, 2012)

mbartelsm said:


> Kind of reminds me of Dragon hunters (Dragon Hunters (2008) - IMDb)



Can't say I've seen it :/


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## Zero Angel (Dec 12, 2012)

From the constraints you've put on it, it seems that portal based power would be the only way for normal people to travel...unless they have space age tech?

...or can corral a dragon?


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## Xaysai (Dec 12, 2012)

Zero Angel said:


> From the constraints you've put on it, it seems that portal based power would be the only way for normal people to travel...unless they have space age tech?
> 
> ...or can corral a dragon?



Orrrrrr can launch themselves into space Punkin' Chunkin' style (catapults, for those who aren't familiar with the show)...


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## Phietadix (Dec 12, 2012)

I thing Dragons would be a good mode of transportation. Based on how this world works though I think having your people fly on their own could work too. A world like this would have air travel as crucial as sea travel in our world.


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## Zero Angel (Dec 13, 2012)

Xaysai said:


> Orrrrrr can launch themselves into space Punkin' Chunkin' style (catapults, for those who aren't familiar with the show)...



There's still that teensy issue of LANDING though  Assuming that the few miles between no gravity and normal gravity is enough to accelerate towards deathly velocities. 

@OP: Also, are there atmospheres to worry about? Is re-entry an issue? Does physics work normally and if so what is responsible for the increased gravity? In my universe magick is the fabric of the universe...the Higgs field if you will but a little more sophisticated than that...and can impart heavier gravity to otherwise normal mass objects. Do these terrestrial objects have magnetospheres as well? What's the sun(s) like? Is it a light source or a center of a universe object or is there a heavenly glow that lights up the universe equally???

...of course, you can answer all of the follow-up questions with a simple, "Physics isn't like our physics" and be done with it...

In the Faerie Realms of my multiverse, there are infinite islands spreading out from a central point but physics is different in the Faerie Realms in that anyone adjusted to living there can choose their own gravity. e.g. they can walk up walls, live on the "bottom" of the islands (decided by the High Lord), etc. Even though they can choose their own gravity, this is usually localized and they can't pick locations far away. Additionally, they still have to worry about sudden changes in acceleration (called jerk if anyone's interested in physics) although they can always default to island normal (so they can walk up a tree, jump off and land on the island (so long as they can survive the fall from the tree), if they can miststep it gets even more complicated...).


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## kilost (Dec 13, 2012)

Zero Angel said:


> There's still that teensy issue of LANDING though  Assuming that the few miles between no gravity and normal gravity is enough to accelerate towards deathly velocities.



Well yes, but that's assuming you're falling. If you've got wings, engines, a hot air balloon or some kickass magic then you're really just flying. The air doesn't get any thinner, so you just fly on up until you reach the no-gravity zone, and then fly into the next one. Kind of like pond-hopping for frogs.



Zero Angel said:


> @OP: Also, are there atmospheres to worry about? Is re-entry an issue? Does physics work normally and if so what is responsible for the increased gravity? In my universe magick is the fabric of the universe...the Higgs field if you will but a little more sophisticated than that...and can impart heavier gravity to otherwise normal mass objects. Do these terrestrial objects have magnetospheres as well? What's the sun(s) like? Is it a light source or a center of a universe object or is there a heavenly glow that lights up the universe equally???
> 
> ...of course, you can answer all of the follow-up questions with a simple, "Physics isn't like our physics" and be done with it...



OK, atmospheres: yes there are atmospheres, and if you just fell you'd START to burn up, but not completely because gravity doesn't extend that far. Re-entry is less of an issue that for us. Physics works normally in most ways, aside from the portals, the air-instead-of-vacuum, magic, the much less-extending gravity fields, and so forth. The increased gravity is just the standard for all worlds of a certain size. No, no magnetospheres. The suns work in basically the same way as ours, except their heat doesn't really extend as much.



Zero Angel said:


> In the Faerie Realms of my multiverse, there are infinite islands spreading out from a central point but physics is different in the Faerie Realms in that anyone adjusted to living there can choose their own gravity. e.g. they can walk up walls, live on the "bottom" of the islands (decided by the High Lord), etc. Even though they can choose their own gravity, this is usually localized and they can't pick locations far away. Additionally, they still have to worry about sudden changes in acceleration (called jerk if anyone's interested in physics) although they can always default to island normal (so they can walk up a tree, jump off and land on the island (so long as they can survive the fall from the tree), if they can miststep it gets even more complicated...).



Wow, mine isn't quite so variable as all that haha

There are many viable methods for travelling between worlds without portals. For example, riding dragons or gryphons or whatever, flying with your own wings, catapults and parachutes, hot air balloons, planes, ornithopters, yadda yadda yadda


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## kilost (Dec 14, 2012)

OK gents, advice needed.

I've got this strong idea of the Dwarven People being very scared of heights and deep water. This is perfectly fine in most of their environments, in mountain strongholds, plains warrens and burrows at the sides of glaciers. However, there is one culture I sort of want to put in which doesn't fit with this at all, namely Cliff Dwarves. Now, should I perhaps compromise the integrity of their People by including this race as an exception to the rule, or scratch them out? I do have five other Dwarven Cultures.

By the way, is there a good file-sharing website I could post the descriptions of worlds and races when I'm done?


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## Phietadix (Dec 14, 2012)

Just make the Cliff dwarves an exception. Sort of like the Brandybucks in LOTR.


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## Xaysai (Dec 14, 2012)

kilost said:


> OK gents, advice needed.
> 
> I've got this strong idea of the Dwarven People being very scared of heights and deep water. This is perfectly fine in most of their environments, in mountain strongholds, plains warrens and burrows at the sides of glaciers. However, there is one culture I sort of want to put in which doesn't fit with this at all, namely Cliff Dwarves. Now, should I perhaps compromise the integrity of their People by including this race as an exception to the rule, or scratch them out? I do have five other Dwarven Cultures.
> 
> By the way, is there a good file-sharing website I could post the descriptions of worlds and races when I'm done?



I think you should make just one character in the story be a Cliff Dwarf and he can be the comic relief when forced to fly (or swim) similar to how B. A. Barrakas was in the A-Team (hated flying, they always had to drug him).


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## Zero Angel (Dec 15, 2012)

kilost said:


> OK gents, advice needed.
> 
> I've got this strong idea of the Dwarven People being very scared of heights and deep water. This is perfectly fine in most of their environments, in mountain strongholds, plains warrens and burrows at the sides of glaciers. However, there is one culture I sort of want to put in which doesn't fit with this at all, namely Cliff Dwarves. Now, should I perhaps compromise the integrity of their People by including this race as an exception to the rule, or scratch them out? I do have five other Dwarven Cultures.
> 
> By the way, is there a good file-sharing website I could post the descriptions of worlds and races when I'm done?



So fear of heights and water is a racial TRAIT as opposed to a common characteristic? All dwarves must fear heights and deep water? That seems very limiting. That's like all drow have to be evil (or all non-drow elves good...). 

If you want fear of heights and water to be a common characteristic for dwarves, then it would make sense that the cliff dwarves are an exception to (well at least the heights part) rule.


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## kilost (Dec 15, 2012)

Well interesting ideas from everyone, but I'm still deliberating really, while I write up the first dwarven cultures (finished humans, elves and orcs). My reasoning behind having this (fear of deep water, dropping the heights thing) as an inbuilt trait of the dwarves, is that it will maintain a seperation in nature between dwarven cultures and human cultures, both when within one civilisation or living seperately.


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## Zireael (Dec 15, 2012)

Well, you could start by putting each race on a planet. Let's say that Elves like forest planets and Merfolk like ocean planets, and then you can build on that. What about corral reef planets? Are there sea elves, for example? Underground elves? 

Do good and evil exist in this universe? If yes, are there races that are considered "good" or "evil"? Are there offshoots of them which do not conform to the rule?


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## kilost (Dec 15, 2012)

Zireael said:


> Well, you could start by putting each race on a planet. Let's say that Elves like forest planets and Merfolk like ocean planets, and then you can build on that. What about corral reef planets? Are there sea elves, for example? Underground elves?



Each race has three planets, of very different environments, populated by at least one very distinct culture within the People. No Sea Elves or Underground Elves I'm afraid. With the Elves, I have nomadic plains elves, black-skinned imperial elves, dynastic mountain elves, forest elves, estuary marsh elves and hardcore seafaring elves.



Zireael said:


> Do good and evil exist in this universe? If yes, are there races that are considered "good" or "evil"? Are there offshoots of them which do not conform to the rule?



No, no real division of good or evil. Some races, and even some Peoples, are more violent or expansionist, but there's no real evil.


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## wordwalker (Dec 15, 2012)

Zero Angel said:


> So fear of heights and water is a racial TRAIT as opposed to a common characteristic? All dwarves must fear heights and deep water? That seems very limiting. That's like all drow have to be evil (or all non-drow elves good...).



Always a good point. Then again, I've seen writers say that dwarves have to be afraid of water because the traditional dwarven physique doesn't float. (Heights I don't know, but I expect denser flesh and shorter legs would make falls that much worse too.)

--And to be fair, the Drizzt books float the theory that drow aren't racially evil, they're corrupted in childhood by the demon priesthood, while orcs _are_ inherently evil because even their youngest kids are that vicious.


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## kilost (Dec 15, 2012)

wordwalker said:


> Always a good point. Then again, I've seen writers say that dwarves have to be afraid of water because the traditional dwarven physique doesn't float. (Heights I don't know, but I expect denser flesh and shorter legs would make falls that much worse too.)
> 
> --And to be fair, the Drizzt books float the theory that drow aren't racially evil, they're corrupted in childhood by the demon priesthood, while orcs _are_ inherently evil because even their youngest kids are that vicious.



Interesting point, I'll probably include something to that effect in the reasoning behind their aversion. However, right now I've finished their five cultures and am beginning the merfolk, who are in many ways the opposites of the dwarves.


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## Zero Angel (Dec 16, 2012)

wordwalker said:


> Always a good point. Then again, I've seen writers say that dwarves have to be afraid of water because the traditional dwarven physique doesn't float. (Heights I don't know, but I expect denser flesh and shorter legs would make falls that much worse too.)
> 
> --And to be fair, the Drizzt books float the theory that drow aren't racially evil, they're corrupted in childhood by the demon priesthood, while orcs _are_ inherently evil because even their youngest kids are that vicious.



That was my point as well with the drow. They shouldn't all be evil. In fact, more modern D&D has gotten away from even saying specific creatures HAVE to be evil. It's possible you could raise a devil to be good (although it would be an uphill battle!). I would say that the orcs are inherently savage, but not necessarily evil. I guess I just believe in free will for monsters.

Even if dwarves can't swim, I still believe that there would be dwarves that would go into water BECAUSE they couldn't swim until the point where they weren't afraid of it anymore. People can choose to have racial traits, even ones I find odd, but to avoid putting off readers that would be put off by that (like me), I recommend at least _presenting_ it as a stereotype instead of a universal law. 

Aside: as far as physics goes, I can understand dwarves being especially dense (in fact, I have that the bones of dwarves are basically cold iron...their ancestors were even less fleshy) but when you think about a dwarf, they are basically a giant set of lungs. I would wager that even with their density that the capacity of dwarven lungs was such that they could float...although not as easily as humans.


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