# The "Daily" Worldbuilding Prompt. Chapter 2



## Ban

*Welcome to chapter 2 of the Daily Worldbuilding Prompt. To read the questions asked in this thread, you can download the file linked below. This file contains all 50 questions of chapter 1. *

If you're a worldbuilder like me, there's little you like more than rambling on and on about your worlds at every opportunity you can find. Isn’t it just great to share and compare your ramblings with the ramblings of fellow worldbuilders? The problem is, that sometimes there's no question worth rambling on about.

Now wouldn't it be fun, if there was a thread around to give you a daily prompt for just that purpose? Luck would have it, that this is exactly where the Daily Worldbuilding Prompt thread comes in. Each and every day, I'll ask you a question for you to answer.

Each DWP thread runs for 50 days (and 50 prompts), after which a new ‘chapter’ will be opened to discuss the next 50 prompts, and so on. This is done to keep the discussions somewhat organized. Don’t worry however, you are still free to answer all of the questions from an old thread at any time. If you see one, two or however many prompts that interest you, hop on in and answer them at your leisure.

Have fun!



(To read the previous DWP thread please go here: The "Daily" Worldbuilding Prompt)


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## Ban

*And so it continues...

Question 51:* From knights of virtue to pirates on the seven seas, what types of people have been romanticized in your world?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *And so it continues...
> 
> Question 51:* From knights of virtue to pirates on the seven seas, what types of people have been romanticized in your world?



Knights, pirates, pirate knights (I'm sure there's at least a few), bards, prince, princess' and kings and queens. There's at least one knight and pirate also in a romance. There are things from barbarian warriors and amazons and mages and wizards. Adventurers and their like or ilk, be they protectors of citizens or glorified tomb robbers. There's probably at least one romanticized story about being a bartender in a port city.

Though a lot of the current romanticization (and romance stories and erotic stories) revolve around the current powers that be. Be they drow slash fiction involving the current Three Queens and their supposed love lives or stories of how cool Boris the Blue is (along with the constant question as to why he never has any women around him) or tales of Liza. Given half the things these people have done are borderline ludicrous or nigh on impossible, sticking to the mundane like love lives is easier to comprehend.


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## Ban

*Question 52: *A complex series of murders has been committed, and it has become aware that the rank and file police won’t be able to solve it. Who is sent to solve the case? (And will they succeed in finding the killer?)


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 52: *A complex series of murders has been committed, and it has become aware that the rank and file police won’t be able to solve it. Who is sent to solve the case? (And will they succeed in finding the killer?)



Depends on who's being murdered and why. The current run of murders and killings, particularly of nobles and high class people is all sanctioned through the assassins to keep the current peace. So, no one's going to look into those at least. If they do they'll get a pleasant meeting with the Assassin Queen and told to not bother and just take the money and leave off.

On the other hand if it's poor people or lower class and middle class the guards will bring in outside help of some sort. The Hearth Knights can go look into it or if it's determined that it's a Red Cap (wood and snow elves who've gone off the deep end even for for them and become serial killers) then the bounty goes out and hired killers are sent out to kill them. Though they mostly rest in the domain of the few assassins left to kill them off. There are also other detective sorts, but they mostly use the stuff they know to find them. The killer will likely eventually be found and killed in turn.


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## Vaporo

*Question 51:* From knights of virtue to pirates on the seven seas, what types of people have been romanticized in your world?

Traveling merchants, especially seafaring merchants. They like to tell their customers embellished stories about where and how they obtain certain items, and those stories have spread. If you don't think about it too hard, their jobs do seem rather exciting. Traveling to distant, exotic lands to obtain rare and valuable items and seek your fortune and such. There are countless popular novels featuring Indiana Jones-style merchants.

Of course, anyone whose had more than passing dealings with an actual traveling merchant see it all as pack of lies designed purely to drive prices up.

*Question 52: *A complex series of murders has been committed, and it has become aware that the rank and file police won’t be able to solve it. Who is sent to solve the case? (And will they succeed in finding the killer?)

I actually have a subplot similar to this planned out, but with a smuggling ring instead of murders. In this case, the Chief of the City Guard decides to import a law enforcement concept from the south: detectives.

Until now, the City Guard has never had a dedicated investigative unit. They saw themselves more as a brute peacekeeping force, and in the past most cases seemed so open and shut that a truly deep investigation was rarely necessary. Strong martial traditions also made them resistant to new ideas. However, cities have grown, technology has advanced, and criminals have gotten smarter. Too many cases are going unsolved, or obvious perpetrators are being released because their lawyers found a vague hole in the evidence.

If all official investigation failed and you truly needed a new recourse, then who better to find a criminal than another criminal? There are a number of smugglers and fences known to the Guard who are either too petty or too clever to arrest. Most of them have enough ties to find just about anyone you want in the criminal world.

And if even all that fails, a magical solution is possible. While magic is rare to the point that most people, including the Guard, don't think that it exists. However, very rarely they have run across people with very unusual, very specific abilities. Things like the ability to make any person you touch pass out, or the ability to make people forget that they've ever see you. It's possible that they've kept tabs on someone with such abilities who may be able to help.


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## Ban

*Question 53:* Can you give me an overview of your world’s most popular beverages?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 53:* Can you give me an overview of your world’s most popular beverages?



Beers and tea's are the top running for most popular beverages. Coffee's making it's way up there but it doesn't have the current branding and advertising force behind it as the two currently do. Though the drow are well on the way to making pop (soda). Which is working it's way into the world as well. On the coasts it's rums and in the center area's it's ciders. Really a lot of it's down to what's available to drink in the local area.

Though one is likely to find a bottle of Pink's Brand beer even in places where one wouldn't expect it and then the Jade Dragon tea's are the most common tea varieties around. Both companies are run by dragons.


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## WooHooMan

Ban said:


> *Question 53:* Can you give me an overview of your world’s most popular beverages?



I'm honestly not sure.  I know a few (of the many, many) brands of beer: Jormungander, Kausik Sutra, Breckinridge, Devendra, etc.  Gadan Distolled's dry gin also exists.  I also know Bluherbo and Mariachi are popular brands of tequila.  One of my main characters owns a bar so brand names of alcohol are thrown around a lot.

I'd assume coffee is the most popular drink of all.  As is soda, to a much lesser extent.
Tea is also making a comeback though it's more of a niche drink.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 51:* From knights of virtue to pirates on the seven seas, what types of people have been romanticized in your world?
By far the most romanticized people in my world are the hosts of the Eternal Ones. Not only are their stories told in myths and legends, but countless scholarly books and philosophical meanderings have been written about them. The most famous of them all is Aasha, former host of the Eternal One Dream. 

*Question 52: *A complex series of murders has been committed, and it has become aware that the rank and file police won’t be able to solve it. Who is sent to solve the case? (And will they succeed in finding the killer?)
*sigh* Another question that I have no idea how to answer, since generally speaking, no one harms anyone in my world, and there's no police. However, if I tweak the question slightly to 'attempted murder', and add the gods of disbelief into the mix, I might be able to. 
So, let's say that the gods of disbelief [yes, that is what they are] are stirring up trouble again, as usual, and try to "dispose of" the Eternal Ones somehow, in an attempt to prove the Eternal Ones' nonexistence [the gods of disbelief are known for their...peculiar...form of logic]; perhaps using a star trap like Arkanus Major so infamously used on Dream [long story]. If they chose Dream, Life or Reflection, the tricksters Coyote and Raven would be 'on the case', since they frequent the area where the gods of disbelief live, and are friends with Dream. Being the intrepid duo that they are, they would look for clues around the area. If they chose Awakening...well...I'm sure the gods of disbelief would mysteriously vanish soon afterwards, to have a little private chat with Dream.  

*Question 53:* Can you give me an overview of your world’s most popular beverages?
Hee hee. Ooh, I like this one. 
Typically most people drink water or tea, but it is typical of others [especially those from the universe of Wyrd] to make all sorts of weird and unusual drinks. By far the most dangerous, as the name suggests, is the Quantifier. The recipe is a closely guarded secret, and unlike most other secrets in the OmniCosmos, only a handful of people know it. Only Eternal Ones or the recklessly inclined drink it. Dream is credited with inventing it, and often goes to drink dispensaries to have a [often overly large] cup and 'hang out' with their aforementioned friends Coyote and Raven.


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## Ban

*Question 54: *Can you describe your world in 10 words or less?


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## Svrtnsse

Ban said:


> *Question 54: *Can you describe your world in 10 words or less?


A modern day fantasy world, but without cars.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 54: *Can you describe your world in 10 words or less?



Let's see. Post-apocalyptic fantasy that breaks and bends The Narrative and cliches.


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## Ban

I'll have to catch up on a lot of questions, but this one will be easy.



Ban said:


> *Question 54: *Can you describe your world in 10 words or less?



Dutch scifi, based on cyberpunk principles with modern aesthetics.


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## Vaporo

*Question 53:* Can you give me an overview of your world’s most popular beverages?

There's hron beer, for one. It's actually a kind of wine, but it's a deep amber color and foams like beer, so people started calling it beer. It's brewed from the fruit of the hron tree, and like most hron products it's almost supernaturally good. The fruit ferments _very_ quickly under controlled conditions, less than a day if you do it right, and the resultant wine is incredible potent. At the upper end the alcohol content can edge out some hard liquors. It is very sweet, with none of the bitterness or sourness that may be present in other drinks. Considering this along with with how cheap and readily available the fruit is, it's obvious why it's so popular.

In Kumbaska, a popular morning pick-me-up is jalapeno or habanero juice. It wakes you up AND purges your sinuses at the same time. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic varieties are available.

Coffee is available in warmer climates around the world, and is appropriately popular. Various teas are similarly popular.

*Question 54: *Can you describe your world in 10 words or less?

Double planets with mind magic linked by a destroyed doorway .


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## WooHooMan

Ban said:


> *Question 54: *Can you describe your world in 10 words or less?


No fate, chaos or order.  There's groove, funk and jive.


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 51:* From knights of virtue to pirates on the seven seas, what types of people have been romanticized in your world?

Gangsters and mobsters are often romanticized in seedy novels and moving pictures.  There's even trading cards of real life mobsters that people can get if they want.  Dragon slayers and roc hunters are also very popular in fiction among rural audiences.  

*Question 52: *A complex series of murders has been committed, and it has become aware that the rank and file police won’t be able to solve it. Who is sent to solve the case? (And will they succeed in finding the killer?)

Local rank and file police officers don't handle murders or rapes in the Kharran Empire.  They are dealt with by the Serious Crimes Bureau (which is something like the CIB in the New Zealand Police).  The SCB has a very high success rate (95%) because they network with the various Branches of the Ministry of Internal Security.

*Question 53:* Can you give me an overview of your world’s most popular beverages?

Mammoth's Piss - a very popular brand of cheap beer.
Bashir Vocola - an alcoholic cola drink that's popular with youth.  It's similar to vodka and Coca-Cola in taste.
White Gold - a popular cold drink made from citrus fruit (usually oranges or mangos) and goat's milk.

*Question 54: *Can you describe your world in 10 words or less?

No but I can do it in less than 12 words.

Planet, two moons, 1930s technology, Middle East/S E Asian type society.


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## Ban

*Question 55: *How is light taken care of at night? (Candles, torches, electric, magic. Who keeps them lit?)


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 54: *Can you describe your world in 10 words or less?
A spiritual genre-busting omniverse looked after by eight celestial beings. 

*Question 55: *How is light taken care of at night? (Candles, torches, electric, magic. Who keeps them lit?)
Easy--either bio-luminescent crystals, or a bunch of Glyphs, are used to light houses.


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 55: *How is light taken care of at night? (Candles, torches, electric, magic. Who keeps them lit?)

Gas or animal fat is used on some remoter islands for lighting in homes but electricity is used in the majority of places.  

Street lighting is usually gas or electricity.  The gas lights are often lit by unranked mages who are deemed to be too stupid to handle spells more complex than ones that allow them to do such trivial tasks.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 55: *How is light taken care of at night? (Candles, torches, electric, magic. Who keeps them lit?)



Magic, oil, torches, candles, natural lights and glowing plants and other such things. As electricity isn't really a thing, light bulbs aren't really a thing. Or, some people ignore lights all together and just don't bother with them at all. Night vision is a great thing.


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## Vaporo

*Question 55: *How is light taken care of at night? (Candles, torches, electric, magic. Who keeps them lit?)

Ooh. This is actually a good one for me. My world is a tidally locked double planet system composed of two earth-like planets. In other words, two planets that orbit each other and always, have the same side facing the other. They orbit on a 24-hour cycle, and there is no other moon, so there is no concept of a "month." There are also no stars, so the opposite planet is the only natural source of illumination at night. On the side of each planet facing the other, there is no truly dark night. The opposite planet will always be at least half-full at night, providing huge amounts of illumination because of how near it is. In these parts of the world, artificial nighttime lighting is practically never needed.

As you move outward towards the "edges" of the illumination, nighttime lighting becomes more and more necessary. Typically, you'd use a simple fireplace or torch, or whale oil if you're a bit wealthier. On the opposite side of the world, where the other planet is never visible, night is true black. Many predators avoid hunting at night simply because it is so dark that they can't see. There are also a variety of creatures that have developed bioluminescence.

The continent of Tule is in this dark part of the world. Many Tulvian tribes make mixtures from crushed bioluminescent insects to provide light. Many are also aware of magic and use it to provide illumination. For regular use, though, most just have a large fire burning in the center of their village. Tending the fire is one of the most sacred duties among the Tulvian tribes, since if the fire goes out you have bathed the village in blackness and it is usually dangerous to try and relight the fire before morning. Some tribes impose a death penalty upon those who let the fire go out on their watch or even leave the fire unattended. As a result, the duty is typically shared among two or three people, so that one may leave without leaving the fire unattended.

For a very short time, one city in the subcontinent of Halgol actually had electric street lamps and electric lights in wealthy homes. There was a university that had been researching the properties of electric current. When a few wealthy merchants gained a monopoly on the city's supply of whale oil the university proposed a solution. They would dam up the river and build a hydroelectric plant. Then, they could install electric lights wherever they pleased. Naturally, the merchants were rather upset at this since they had just spent a fortune creating this monopoly. So, they brought their grievance before their various kings and formed a collective army to storm the city. The dam was destroyed, the lights smashed, the electrical research burned, and anyone who may have the knowledge to re-invent electricity executed. Thus, the electrical age was put on hold.


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## Ban

*Question 56: *Can you give me a proverb or two (or more) from your world?


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## Svrtnsse

Ban said:


> *Question 56: *Can you give me a proverb or two (or more) from your world?


As subtle as a shark in a chicken coop.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 56: *Can you give me a proverb or two (or more) from your world?

Reality is in the eye of the beholder.

The dream and the dreamer are one.


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## WooHooMan

Ban said:


> *Question 56: *Can you give me a proverb or two (or more) from your world?



"Saying it three times makes it true" (usually said sarcastically when someone keeps making a false assertion)
"If you drink like a fish, you're going to get battered"
"A tangled mind tangles the body"
"Nothing goes on forever, it just loops back to the beginning"
"Just because you don't see the wall that doesn't mean you can walk through it"
"What is, was once and will be again" (this saying is sometimes reffered to as 'The Eight Words')


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 56: *Can you give me a proverb or two (or more) from your world?



"Everything's lunch."
"Trust a drow. You know where they stand." (Usually with a knife in your back, or at least in the old days)
"Never owe money to a dwarf or drow."


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 56: *Can you give me a proverb or two (or more) from your world?

The best teachers are the survivors.

It matters not how much you gush.  It requires only one sperm to create life. - Elvish proverb

Those with nothing left to lose make the deadliest adversaries.

Beautiful people don't lead revolutions.  - Occidental proverb

A true warrior is one who dances as passionately as he wages war.  - Nada the Victorious.


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## Ban

*Question 57: *I’m invited to the grandest event of the year. What is it, and what should I wear? (And what would I wear if I were a woman? Or another species? Or…)


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 57: *I’m invited to the grandest event of the year. What is it, and what should I wear? (And what would I wear if I were a woman? Or another species? Or…)

The yearly party at the House of Dream is probably the qualifier. You can pretty much wear whatever you want, as there's no rules. If you don't like loud noises or crowds, you can always hide in the kitchen or garden.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 57: *I’m invited to the grandest event of the year. What is it, and what should I wear? (And what would I wear if I were a woman? Or another species? Or…)



Probably, once again, the Victory Feast. Which, unless you're military or rich, generally is fairly relaxed about dress codes. Rich do whatever the fashion is and the military people are stuck in dress uniforms. And depending on location, dressing for the weather. Be it frosty, mild or tropical and beyond. Though Val Royale counts it's Summer Ball as the event of the year. But given it's a city ruled by a pirate, the dress code is also fairly relaxed. Except with whatever fashion the nobs think is in.


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## Ban

*Question 58:* What’s the greatest trick pulled in your world’s history? (You have free reign to determine what “great” entails)


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 58:* What’s the greatest trick pulled in your world’s history? (You have free reign to determine what “great” entails)



Depends on so, so much. Though most will point at the drow and their goddess queen Lolth for any of that tricksy stuff. Given their tricks and jokes often get anywhere from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of people killed for fun, they are kind of lethal jokesters. They've done everything from starting the Arthurian Mythos and human chivalric orders to Lolth as Spider tricking Bastet and her people to help free humans. Though the one they teach in their schools is War of Love. In which they acted out a wood elf and a delver dwarf falling in love (very much forbidden at the time between the races, much less even thought about) and they managed to make them go into (for the wood elves, yet another) centuries long war. The drow thought it was great and didn't tell anyone until a long while after the fact.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 58:* What’s the greatest trick pulled in your world’s history? (You have free reign to determine what “great” entails)

Well, there was the time the seventh Eternal One sealed an entire universe away, but it wasn't really a trick and more of an act of self-sacrifice. [Long story.]
Hmm...
I must investigate tricks.


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## Ban

*Question 59: *When broken down to its essence, what do the biggest religions in your world believe in? (Bonus: How do they treat eachother?)


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 59: *When broken down to its essence, what do the biggest religions in your world believe in? (Bonus: How do they treat eachother?)



For the most part, it was War, Martial prowess and sheer Power. That's changed a bit with the deities of those Domains taking a back seat (or being punched to the back, because the gods have not failed to notice there's still a lot of mortals about that could kill them outright and have for messing with them.).

As of right now the rising stars in the pantheons are the Protectors and those who are compassionate and loving. And old enemies, or at least watched from a distant sorts are getting together to help make things work with the mortals. If the Lich Wars taught anything it was not only that gods and their religions can be killed, it was also that unity works best. Not all of them have gotten that message, but Hestia and Lolth are teaming up to beat and/or teach that lesson.


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## Devor

Ban said:


> *Question 59: *When broken down to its essence, what do the biggest religions in your world believe in? (Bonus: How do they treat eachother?)



In most of my settings religions work a little differently because nobody would question if the gods are real, and the question is more about how do you feel about their antics.

In my sprite setting specifically, the otherworld fairy realm is ruled by a seelie court, which has often sought to develop the sprite kingdom (for want of a better word) directly with powerful magical artifacts.  Fairies, for their part, have an instinct to create mischief and to trick people, something that's built into their languages and even the way their magic works.  As time has gone on they have sought to varying degrees to try and control this instinct, and to fit in with other races, which of course leads many people to rebel against that and embrace this instinct and believe it's their natural calling to humiliate people.  There are also a handful of the seelie court's immortal members acting as demigods in the mortal world, but they mostly give the fairies a bad name even if they sometimes do contribute amazing things to the world.

In the same setting there are other races with other otherworldly realms and other immortal deities with their own rules.  At one point in my outline, which may or may not change considerably, I have the characters being offered a deal with an orc god, whose otherworldly warcamp appears through a doorway in city ruins.  The orc gods treat the orcs as mercenary slaves and trade them by the clan to kings and other deities in exchange for whatever favors the god wants.  In this case, the god wants to trade an orc assault on a city in exchange for certain items.  The orcs for their part just want bloodlust, to greet their gods through a ruined city, and the rewards of a slaughter well done.


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## WooHooMan

Ban said:


> *Question 59: *When broken down to its essence, what do the biggest religions in your world believe in? (Bonus: How do they treat eachother?)



The biggest religion, Olympianism (which makes-up some 60-70% of the world's population), stress the importance of the inherent duty and moral obligation people have towards each other to keep their shared society operating smoothly.

No person is totally autonomous.  All people are connected by a greater connection; biologically, spiritually or by relationship.  But people, being autonomous beings with freewill who natural operate in self-interest, need law or otherwise some kind of system in place to keep those relationships running smoothly.


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## Ban

*Question 60:* What about weddings? (Who officiates? Where are they typically held? How many people are invited? How significant is marriage in your world? What would be an ideal wedding?)


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 60:* What about weddings? (Who officiates? Where are they typically held? How many people are invited? How significant is marriage in your world? What would be an ideal wedding?)



They happen. The officiate is usually a priest, priestess, Captain or even rulers and sometimes no one officiates at all. They are usually held in the Love Temples or the Hearth Temples when they happen. As for the guest list, it can range from a few family members or close friends or an entire kingdom to come. For significance, it's usually a big deal for the royals and nobles, if only securing alliances and the like. Little less so for those below them. For the Greenskin's weddings aren't really much of a thing anyways. Simple affairs of calling mate(s) and doing a few tangos. Drow hold nothing really sacred and the closest they come is the Matriarch taking a significant other or a harem. As for the ideal, while it varies, again between races and certain beliefs.

For some like humans and certain elves, it's a grand day of celebration, even if it is just a political affair. The Greens and gold elves make it a community thing and most happen during the feast times. Then for the drow, the ideal is to get wasted and be found in the bed of someone your not marrying by the marriage partner. Ideally traditional, for drow anyways.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 59: *When broken down to its essence, what do the biggest religions in your world believe in? (Bonus: How do they treat eachother?)
There are no religions, and everyone shares the same spirituality because the Eternal Ones do exist in fairly obvious ways. However, I can talk about the god of disbelief, and his one man [god?] quest to make the Eternal Ones not exist by denying their existence. Specifically, in the early days of the OmniCosmos, he made a cult for that very purpose, and tried to force it on anyone he met. spreading distrust and fear all over the place. It got so bad that the Eternal Ones had to personally appear to every single being.

*Question 60:* What about weddings? (Who officiates? Where are they typically held? How many people are invited? How significant is marriage in your world? What would be an ideal wedding?)

In the OmniCosmos, the term is 'bonding', and two [or more] beings who are 'bonded' are called 'bonding partners' or 'lifemates'. There's just a simple little ceremony, with no legal stuff, and are often held outdoors. Close family and friends are invited, but rarely exceeds twenty people, if that. Bonding is a vital part of how most beings live. 
An idea bonding ceremony would mimic the symbiont-host relationship that the Eternal Ones partake in, with the personification becoming the symbiont, and an incarnated being becoming the host. In other words, an idea bonding ceremony would acknowledge a sacred truth: that everyone is divine, and love is seeing the divine in another.


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## Ban

*Ho! Ho! Ho!*

*Question 61: * A Jolly old man with elves and reindeer in tow comes riding into your world, bearing gifts. How does your world react?


(I'm really glad to see that this thread is still going strong and people are still enjoying it. I haven't responded to many posts directly, but I do read them all  )


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 61: *A Jolly old man with elves and reindeer in tow comes riding into your world, bearing gifts. How does your world react?

Well, if they ended up in the universe of Wyrd, no one would react much, since weird things happen there all the time.
Anywhere else, though, most beings would be very welcoming and probably have a party.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Ho! Ho! Ho!
> Question 61: * A Jolly old man with elves and reindeer in tow comes riding into your world, bearing gifts. How does your world react?



He better watch out, he better not shout. He better not cry, I'm telling you why. Many of the elves will be incensed that other, tinier elves (but still elves) would be toiling under some human (magical or not). Others would think it's a front for some sort of scam and many would look askance at the offered Coca Cola. Still others would think it's a special food delivery with tiny appetizers, a round roast and lots of legs. With strange things in a few bags.

Really, Santa's putting his life on the line on Eld and Tim Allen's not there to take over. Strange things do happen there, but there's probably a perfectly good reason he don't show up.


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## Ban

Ban said:


> *Ho! Ho! Ho!*
> 
> *Question 61: * A Jolly old man with elves and reindeer in tow comes riding into your world, bearing gifts. How does your world react?



In 2080, people would be surprised to say the least, and many folk would rightfully question their sanity. A brief moment of awe and wonder will wash over the present audience, followed by the realization that noone besides them will ever believe them. In 2080, audio and video evidence has been made worthless on account of masterful fakery, thus anyone who wasn't present will simply write the sighting off as a case of mass delusion.

 Those people who were around when the santa sighting happened, will likely create some support groups in the years to come, to deal with them having seen something the rest of the world hasn't. Conspiracy theories will spread as a result, some nutters online will believe the santa-sighting stories and some mindnumbing articles will be written on gossip sites, while the rest of the world shakes their collective head. 

Silly conspiracy theorists.


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## Vaporo

*Question 58:* What’s the greatest trick pulled in your world’s history? (You have free reign to determine what “great” entails)

In recent history, it would probably be the shenanigans regarding the Antisan line of succession. Prince Frenn III is the firstborn child of King Frenn II and Queen Medreva. Queen Medreva was born Medreva Ikla and is the niece to the Iklan king. Their second child was Princess Ava and third child is Princess Ectra. Antisa follows male primogeniture, so Frenn III was in line to succeed Frenn II. However, Frenn III discovered that he vastly preferred training with the military over the tedious treachery of court politics. His sister Ava, on the other hand, reveled in court politics. Frenn III confided his misgivings to his sister, whom he was very close with, and together the devised a plan that would allow Frenn to dodge the throne.

They sifted through books of Antisan law until finally the found a decree from centuries-dead Antisan King: "No son of Ikla shall ever sit upon the throne of Antisa." Apparently said in responses to one of his advisors suggesting that he take an Iklan wife to seal a treaty. Since queen Medreva was Iklan, Frenn was technically a son of Ikla. The decree barely counted as law, and if they had brought it before Frenn II he would have nullified it with a word, but it was enough. Frenn III's rule would be technically illegal, and Ava was next in line for the throne.

When Frenn II died, Ava brought forth their discovery. In reality, Frenn could have defeated Ava's claim with a few simple arguments, but together they made a great show of a legal battle, even going so far as to gather soldiers to their causes as though in preparation for a war of succession. However, as planned Frenn relented, claiming that he wished to avoid a civil war. Ava would be queen and Frenn would be free to pursue his military interests.

However, there was a third player in this game. Queen Medreva had never lost her loyalty to her homeland of Ikla. Ikla and Antisa are ancient rivals, and her family instilled her with a hatred of all things Antisan from a very young age. When she learned that she was to be married off to the Antisan king as part of their treaty, she was incensed. But, she held her tongue and did her duty. At least, superficially. She played her part exceptionally, convincing Frenn II that she had truly fallen in love with him, pretending so completely that she cared for her half-Antisan mongrel children that not even they realized her internal disgust. However, the whole time she was searching for an opportunity. Some exposed artery that would cripple Antisa without bringing their entire military wrath down on Ikla. In the succession, she found that artery.

Medreva's third child, Ectra, was what an irrational part of her had once believed would come of a union between an Antisan and Iklan. Where her other two children were intelligent and friendly, Ectra was stupid, angry, and demanding. She failed in virtually all of her studies, and she never had a tutor that lasted more than half a year before quitting. She spent most of spare time in her personal dining room screeching at servants gorging herself on all manner of expensive food. Even in adulthood, she would throw tantrums if someone brought her the wrong flavor of ice cream. Everyone had given up on her ages ago and figured that she was destined for nothing more than marrying off in a minor political trade as soon as they found someone who hadn't heard of her bad temper.

So, when Medreva learned of her children's plan, she began preparations. She found a variety slow-acting poisons and found ways to sneak them into Ava's food and drink over the course of a week, to prevent any one symptom from giving her away. Outwardly, Ava kept up appearances, assuming that she would recover in a few days, but she grew weaker and weaker until just a day before the coronation Medreva fed her a dose large enough to kill her. Then, Medreva faked her own suicide. She found a recently deceased corpse that resembled her and threw it off a roof, making sure that its face was destroyed so that nobody could actually identify her. Nobody would expect a quiet, loyal woman who killed herself out of grief to poison her own daughter.

It happened too fast for Frenn to do anything. Once Ava died, all of the legal shenanigans they had pulled were inherited by Ectra, a woman barely competent enough to take a walk in the garden on her own. She was crowned queen and Frenn now spends most of his time in court cleaning up his sister's messes.


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## Vaporo

*Question 59: *When broken down to its essence, what do the biggest religions in your world believe in? (Bonus: How do they treat each other?)

The largest religion in the world is the Amul. The Amul believe that the ancient Alstalia (wizards) who ruled the Amulkine Empire were sent by the divine to lead the world until it was threatened by the Fel, at which point they selflessly gave themselves up to seal the Fel on the world of Gen. They believe that the Alstalia are still out there fighting the Fel and watching over the world, but that some day the Alstalia will return, and with them the Fel. At that time, the Alstalia will defeat the Fel forever, and then they will lead the world on the path of righteousness once again.

They generally believe in unity over all else, and that it's often more important to move as one than to move in the perfectly correct direction. Their core tenets are pretty straightforward: don't steal, don't murder, listen to the priests, etc. They ask that come to the temple weekly to pray and offer a percentage of your income to the priesthood, and that you remain vigilant against the Fel, who are believed to still stalk the world between the gazes of the Alstalia.

Amul is actually surprising compatible with other faiths, although practicing other religions in addition to Amul is rather frowned upon by the priesthood. Because the core tenants are so basic and it's never actually officially said which divinity sent the Alstalia, many people have developed their own interpretations.


The tribes of Tule openly worship the Generals and await their return. Exact methods of worship vary wildly across the continent, but the core belief is generally the same: When the Generals return, there will be a war to end all wars. The Generals' victory is inevitable, so the only way to survive the war is to join the Generals.


In Untia, most follow a sort of highly structured form of animism. It evolved from the beliefs of the native peoples that all of reality is formed from the fragments of another, and that all of the people in that previous reality came with it to give form and spirit to this one. When the Unts arrived, they found their faiths to be surprisingly compatible, and thus they merged to form the modern religion. The faith has no proper name and exhibits a lot of variety, but generally it follows as such: some mighty divine being was shattered by a council of dark gods, but then the pieces were brought together and molded by another divine in order to create this world. However, as a divine the shattered being was not totally destroyed and can hear you if you pray hard enough, and since this being literally is the world it will sometimes answer.


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## Vaporo

*Question 60:* What about weddings? (Who officiates? Where are they typically held? How many people are invited? How significant is marriage in your world? What would be an ideal wedding?)

In Unita, marriages are typically held at temples or shrines and officiated by priests or low-level government officials. It can be as simple as a man and woman walking in, saying their vows, and walking out, or an elaborate party to which half the city is invited. It all depends on the means, traditions, and wishes of the betrothed and their family.

Given that Untians, Antisans in particular, tend to value brevity, I imagine the ideal wedding would look something like this:


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## Vaporo

*Question 61: *A Jolly old man with elves and reindeer in tow comes riding into your world, bearing gifts. How does your world react?

Well, if he rode _into_ the world from somewhere else, the Generals would start searching for whatever hole he exploited to get in so that they may follow. Most regular folk would be confused, but thankful. The likes of the Amul and Raldan the Immortal would immediately mobilize to track down this strange intruder to take his apparent space and time warping powers for themselves, or at the very least convince him to serve their cause. Failing that, the Amul would likely decry him as some sort of Fel trickery and demand that all of his gifts be surrendered for burning. Raldan and the agents of the Generals would leave him be until they determined how this new wild card hindered or helped their causes. One of them would probably try to kill him if and when they decided that the risk of his space-warping power falling into the hands of their enemy was too great.


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## WooHooMan

Ban said:


> *Ho! Ho! Ho!*
> 
> *Question 61: * A Jolly old man with elves and reindeer in tow comes riding into your world, bearing gifts. How does your world react?



Nobody knows that an "elf" is so they'd probably assume they are child slaves or something like that.  I'm sure someone would report him to the police.

Other than that, a magic fat man riding a flying sleigh and giving gifts is nothing out of the ordinary.


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## Ban

*Question 62:* The sight of a lit-up christmas tree makes me think of a warm home, and good food. What are some cultural touchstones in your world, that makes people think of warmth, merriment and so forth?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 62:* The sight of a lit-up christmas tree makes me think of a warm home, and good food. What are some cultural touchstones in your world, that makes people think of warmth, merriment and so forth?



The hearth, naturally enough. The place where people gather and during the cold seasons it is roaring with fire and even when not cold it is where food is made.  It is probably the most iconic of symbols for that sort of thing. Merriment doesn't usually have a symbol as such, due to it coming in various ways throughout the year. Though maybe a bottle or jug of wine and the Feast Halls. In still other places the forges are such places, though still a second to the Hearth.


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## Ban

*Question 63: *Is there anything your peoples eat and drink exclusively on days of celebration?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 63: *Is there anything your peoples eat and drink exclusively on days of celebration?



The Solstice used to be primarily a time to eat venison, boar and drinking of ciders. Though since it became the Victory Feast, it's an all out buffet of whatever foods they have at the time. Because for several decades both before and a while after the Lich Wars food was scarce and even Eld has it's limits when remembering cannibalism it had to use to survive. So food and drink in abundance and there is no longer any exclusion as it was originally sacrifices for the hunts and harvests.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 62:* The sight of a lit-up christmas tree makes me think of a warm home, and good food. What are some cultural touchstones in your world, that makes people think of warmth, merriment and so forth?

*Question 63: *Is there anything your peoples eat and drink exclusively on days of celebration?

I'm not sure about either. Hmm...
I must investigate.


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## Ban

TheCrystallineEntity said:


> *Question 62:* The sight of a lit-up christmas tree makes me think of a warm home, and good food. What are some cultural touchstones in your world, that makes people think of warmth, merriment and so forth?
> 
> *Question 63: *Is there anything your peoples eat and drink exclusively on days of celebration?
> 
> I'm not sure about either. Hmm...
> I must investigate.



Go forth and scour the omniverse for answers!


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## Ban

*Question 64:* What symbolism do various colours have in your world’s cultures?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 64:* What symbolism do various colours have in your world’s cultures?



A multitude. Red can symbolize blood as much as it can heroics or a fiery temper. White can be purity or death. Black can be Evil or just symbolic of shadows. Green is forest or leaves or fields or orcs and such. And it just kind of keeps going in that general direction.


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## WooHooMan

Ban said:


> *Question 64:* What symbolism do various colours have in your world’s cultures?



Color symbolism is actually the most important part of my mythology.  To the point where I mentioned it in a previous response.  To recap...
Red: the color of passion, gumption and willpower.  Also overcoming obstacles.
Blue: opulence and indulgence.  Ego and pleasure.  Also both (shallow, momentary) joy and (deep, profound) melancholy.
Green: knowledge and tranquility.  Striving for a higher purpose and gaining new insight.
Gold: the color of power and authority.  Also mercy and grace.


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## Ban

*Question 65: *_Ain’t no mountain high enough_… or is there? What are the greatest natural barriers in your world?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 65: *_Ain’t no mountain high enough_… or is there? What are the greatest natural barriers in your world?



The Dragons Spine mountain range is supposed to be a pretty good natural barrier. Most greenskins make their homes deep into the range. Most natural barriers are only such for those who have problems with such barriers, though many find ways around or through them. Or in some cases, break their way through them. The only truly natural seeming barrier is The Mouth, which is pretty much Eld on drugs. Everything is bigger, hungrier and harder to kill. It is said even angels and demons dare not tread there. And there's even been wars recorded within it. Because letting something like bigger nasties get in the way of a war just isn't going to happen.


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## Vaporo

*Question 65: *_Ain’t no mountain high enough_… or is there? What are the greatest natural barriers in your world?

The Barrier Between the Worlds - Not really a natural phenomenon, but too important not to mention. The Barrier is a magical construct that blocks the gateway between the planets of Dor and Gen, isolating the Fel from humanity.

The Aghat Mountains - A rocky oceanic mountain range that was practically unnavigable until recent times. The range extends over a thousand miles into the ocean and is over a hundred miles wide. There is no continental shelf. The crags jut straight up out of the sea floor, so coral can usually only form in thin bands near the shore or in relatively shallow passes between the mountains. As a result, even fish are scarce. The passes between the mountains are riddled with rocks and coral heads lurking just below the surface, waiting to gut any unfortunate ships brave enough to try crossing. The sheer cliffs, poor fishing and almost complete lack of arable farmland mean that there are few towns, so going around the range is going to be a long, slow, stormy haul. The range was long considered to be the edge of the world by Untian sailors, many of whom believed the mountains went on forever. The range is named after the first mate of the ship that first successfully crossed it.

Katasor - The desert on the southern edge of Untia. A thousand miles of hot, flat, dry _dead_. Easily the most arid place in the world. Many parts haven't seen rain in living memory. Few have dared make the crossing. There is one known oasis, and there is no natural landmark to indicate its presence.

The Arvus Ocean - The ocean to the west of the Aghat Mountains, it is named after is discoverer. It is a very stormy region. The cyclones that batter Untia often regain their strength crossing this ocean, making sailing across very dangerous and often a one-way trip.


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## Ban

*Question 66: *I’ve spent some time in the city, and decide to travel to the countryside. How does life differ? (Specifically, how does life differ in ways I wouldn’t expect as an earth resident?)


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 66: *I’ve spent some time in the city, and decide to travel to the countryside. How does life differ? (Specifically, how does life differ in ways I wouldn’t expect as an earth resident?)



The whispering in the wind get's a lot more intense and it's a little easier to talk to the local spirits. The locals are fairly friendly but no less dangerous then the city folk. Some may be more dangerous, though it's variable. You'll find some local dukes and land lords who might be an ass, but no more or less then the usual. Those who are particularly corrupt or treat the peasants poorly no longer last as long as they did.

Most farms are communes and ideally try to share as best they can under whoever the local lords. Though most of all, you'll find a lot of wide open spaces and empty land due to the Lich Wars and a lot of post apocalyptic scenery. Be careful where you poke around and always be on the lookout for bandits, gnolls and centaur war herds. And you may run into the odd redcap home. In which case, run away. Far, far away. Elven serial killers are a bad thing. Report it to your nearest sheriff or local assassins guild outpost. The other thing to watch out for is undead, especially when you're poking about in ruins without adventurers or trained fighters (same thing really). Of course there's also the odd broken tower about, remnants of a world long gone.

That's about country wise for Eld, with the usual warnings about the folks about in it. All in all, life is a little slower, it's still as dangerous and you'll likely meet more dragons and the odd religious cult that's in hiding because it's a front for a Lich. Such is the way of things.


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## Ban

*Almost forgot to post another question today. 

Question 67: *If you were to travel to your world, what would you do? (Where would you work/live/go for a drink?)


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Almost forgot to post another question today.
> 
> Question 67: *If you were to travel to your world, what would you do? (Where would you work/live/go for a drink?)



Hahhahahaha. Try not to die and I hope I end up in more of the modern age of it. And head for orcish lands as quick as humanly possible. Hopefully survive the trip and take up a job that will probably end up going back to farming or something.


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## Ban

*Question 68:* What’s the average lifestory of a wizard? (How did they start? Where were they taught? What did they do most their lives? Etcetera.)


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 68:* What’s the average lifestory of a wizard? (How did they start? Where were they taught? What did they do most their lives? Etcetera.)



For starters, there is no owl post informing them that they are one of the magical sorts. Most people on Eld have rudimentary sorts of magic to help with those little things through life and maybe help in the local bar fight or on the battlefield or even in the county faire pie eating contest. It helps to have magic in more then one form and a fair amount of power to back it up. Magic itself is not overly costly, but they will be hungry after using a lot of it because it is still energy being tossed about.

So, unless Eld is being completely dramatic and they aren't about to put into a story or song, most come into it young and into the teens (This often involves something being set on fire, as it is cliche). A truly gifted child among humans will have eyes the color of metals and precious metals, bronze being the starting point for a decent magic user. Others come with unusual colored eyes or their base eyes, but with fire coming out of them. So, once something like that comes up, depending on where they where born or live, they either take up with the local Hedge or get sent to one of the many guilds or Zukal if they're on the southern continent.

Hedges usually only have a little magic and go around sometimes doing party tricks (sometimes some are just magicians who are good at slight of hand, but any good magic user in the wizard/witch/mage category is fine with slight of hand), but can teach magical basics. Others are taught by a master and apprentice system or several if they join up into the guilds like The Hats to get taught. In Zukal, they have their main magical academy and several others for younger children before they get up to the place of higher learning. That has a small chance of killing said magic user if they do something daft. They've cut it down to twenty to thirty deaths a year, so it's not too bad.

As for what they do for their lives? Many take up positions in courts, work in villages and cities or go forth to do battle. Or build a tower of their own and shut out the world to do magical research in peace, only occasionally coming out to blast someone being annoying. Or they take up their roles in the songs and stories (that they have no choice in) and get to become Good and Evil as Eld tells them to take their place and their role. Or die. Terribly. Still others rise to great power and try to change the world through their own force of will. Or with politics and armies and such. Some take up hunting witch hunters (it's an equal opportunity killing game) and others go about trying to bring their idea of justice. Some set up bars. Still others sit and send adventurers off to faraway places, sometimes for a giggle and to see how many make it back. Some experiment and join up with alchemists to make things explode or change and reshape.

So, lot's of things for them. Though there are some other conditions with magic itself. Eld doesn't really do the whole 'squishy wizard' thing too much. Since magic takes a lot of energy to toss around and use, one has to be in pretty damn good physical condition too. Mage Knights are almost a standard as are other sorts of warriors. Even the local Hedge can trounce a few bandits without much issue.

Wizardry is also not restricted by race/species, so there are variations on them, but they still follow some of the same line. Just unlike humans, many of the others have such natural magic that they take basics as they grow up and come into it. Thus, they don't have to study and work more into it. Which is probably why humans have magical robot armies and everyone else doesn't.


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## Ban

*Little early this one, and an early happy new year to all of you!

Question 69: *Fireworks, parade balloons, contrail art and chinese lanterns. How do your peoples decorate the skies? (And why?)


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## Vaporo

*Question 66: *I’ve spent some time in the city, and decide to travel to the countryside. How does life differ? (Specifically, how does life differ in ways I wouldn’t expect as an earth resident?)
Not much variation from what you'd expect. You'd be more likely to be working a hron orchard than growing potatoes, but otherwise it's a pretty regular country life.
*
Question 67: *If you were to travel to your world, what would you do? (Where would you work/live/go for a drink?)
First of all, I'd find a house far away from any hron orchards, since I know they bring eventual destruction to all who are near. Then, I'd teach the Untians how to smelt iron and get rich off of my "discovery." I'd also seek out Raldan the Immortal and impart him with all of the dark eldritch secrets of the universe, since he's likely the best equipped to handle them.

*Question 68:* What’s the average lifestory of a wizard? (How did they start? Where were they taught? What did they do most their lives? Etcetera.)
Magic is granted almost entirely at random when a Gift is absorbed into a person's mind. Most never realize that they even have a Gift and never utilize more than its most superficial abilities (immunity to alcohol, perfect memory, improved concentration, etc.) Since there are 1100 Gifts, there are never more that 1100 wizards in the world at a time, and due to the random nature of the power there are no major magical institutions except for the priesthood of the Amul. So, those that realize their potential are usually self-taught.

Since the cost of magic is the deletion of your own memories, most use their power very sparingly. It is possible to take the memories of others, but there are few who will give them up willingly. Since there is no other way to obtain memories other than blatant theft, most keep their power a secret since they know that they will soon become scapegoat for anyone in town who ever forgot anything (I didn't sleep with him! The wizard must have mind-controlled me and made me forget what happened.) or be otherwise ostracized. But, some who learn to use their Gift will let themselves be known publicly and sell services as such.

It is possible to pass the Gift on to another person, so sometimes a person may give their Gift to their child and instruct them in its usage, but this is rather uncommon since passing the Gift on requires that you give up the Gift yourself.

The only true magical institution in the world is the priesthood of the Amul. The Amul decry the Gifts as demonic trickery that can only be wielded by the most devoted of priests. Anyone who shows signs of magical power is brought forth and forced to surrender their magic to the priesthood. To be allowed to use a Gift can take decades of study and intense trials to prove your devotion. One may buy their way into a low-ranking position, but to advance beyond that you must actually study and work your way up the ladder. Most who are allowed to use the Gift are of modest origins, often starting out as a child or young adult who acted as an assistant to a local priest. Even after you've spend your entire life studying, you will still likely only be allowed to use the power occasionally to complete a specific task and then be required to return the Gift afterward. Only a handful of monks and priests are allowed to keep the power permanently, provided that they take precautions to return their Gift before death lest it be cast back out into the world.

There is also another class of magic that is unrelated to the Gifts. All magic in my world is based on the mind, and wizards are "Those who have turned their minds sideways and learned to think outward instead of inward." Those who learn to do this without the assistance of a Gift will usually have a very specific, often rather mundane sort of power, such as the ability to tell when people are lying. They will often obtain their power after receiving head trauma, or having an out-of-body experience. The Amul have monasteries dedicated to cultivating these sorts of people, where the monks spend almost every waking moment meditating and attempting to "turn their minds sideways." What these people choose to do with their power is highly dependent on the nature of the power. Someone who can always tell when people are lying may not even realize they're doing anything magical and exhibit their power openly. Someone who can kill anyone just by thinking their name could be in for a life of ordering people around and threatening anyone who gets in their way. Or hiding it and desperately hoping that they never trigger it by accident.

*Question 69: *Fireworks, parade balloons, contrail art and chinese lanterns. How do your peoples decorate the skies? (And why?)

At the coronation of a new king or queen or a royal wedding, Antisans will send out a barge filled with a half-circle of flammable material. Since Gen sits almost perfectly half above and half below the horizon, for half the night it will be totally dark. The ceremony will be held either in a large pavilion on the shore on on a large party barge, so when the half-circle is lit it will replace Gen for the half of the night that it is dark. The tradition comes from when a (rather insane) Antisan king ordered that Gen shine for the entirety of his wedding night. Luckily, this satisfied him, and it has been the tradition for large royal ceremonies ever since.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 69: *Fireworks, parade balloons, contrail art and chinese lanterns. How do your peoples decorate the skies? (And why?)



With really big paint brushes. Not really, just, sometimes. They do have fireworks and very creative uses of fireballs. And imagers using image magic. Or using meteor storms and astroids. Pieces of literal stars and the aurora's and other light magics. Also use dragon, wyvern and others in groups like the Blue Angels, maybe even actual angels and demons putting on flight shows. Some may be literally blue, because why not.

As for why? Sometimes it's military stuff, victories and feast days or someone got a hold of a drow party cannon or they were bored and decided the sky didn't really need to be blue today.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 52: *A complex series of murders has been committed, and it has become aware that the rank and file police won’t be able to solve it. Who is sent to solve the case? (And will they succeed in finding the killer?)



I'll limit this one to Solaria, the largest nation and biggest beacon of civilization on the main world. 

Constables, under the direction of Sheriffs, keep order in the countryside and smaller communities, though criminal investigation really isn't their forte. Imperial Agents - a assortment of groups collectively known as the 'Eyes' act as a semi-secret police.  They can and do investigate unusual crimes.  Crimes involving magic are the province of the Church, who send forth Inquisitors - often spell-casters themselves to pry into such matters.

The largest cities do have police forces of sorts: Athnor, the Holy City, is patrolled by the II Liberators - aka the 'Head Breakers,' notorious for brutal suppression of riots and demonstrations.  The Head breakers boast special units skilled at infiltrating deviant groups.  Other large cities have 'Urban Cohorts' or 'Vigils' - a sort of paramilitary police/firefighting force.  They operate in squads whose behavior ranges from thuggish to refined, depending on what part of the city they're in.  More difficult crimes are the province of the Inspectors - detectives of a sort. 

As to solving a complex series of murders...the answer is they'd almost certainly find a politically suitable culprit who might even be the perpetrator.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 53:* Can you give me an overview of your world’s most popular beverages?


'Carbone Red' (wine) gets mentioned fairly frequently.  Melon-berry wine (more fruity than alcoholic) is also cited.  Plus various teas and ales.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 54: *Can you describe your world in 10 words or less?



Hmm...

'Lovecraftian entities collide with a quasi-roman empire.'


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 55: *How is light taken care of at night? (Candles, torches, electric, magic. Who keeps them lit?)



The lower orders (plebes, serfs) mostly make do with candles or lanterns or go without.  The upper classes employ spiky twigs from hot burning 'fumar' trees or more sophisticated lanterns.  There are also 'storm-lights' employed by scholars and sailors entering dark holds: sealed lanterns that glow when two chemicals are combined within them.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 57: *I’m invited to the grandest event of the year. What is it, and what should I wear? (And what would I wear if I were a woman? Or another species? Or…)



Toughie. Probably Saint Mithras Day - the Winter Solstice.  Big feasts (differing menus depending on caste.)  People do turn out in their best duds, which can be anything from fur cloaks to togas.  Lots of singing, story telling and whatnot.  The menfolk are supposed to hold an all night 'vigil' to welcome the rising sun, but usually drink too much and pass out.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 59: *When broken down to its essence, what do the biggest religions in your world believe in? (Bonus: How do they treat each other?)



The Solarian Empire tolerates but a single faith - the True Church, which has its origins in a mishmash of Christian and gnostic faiths from the late 2nd century AD on earth (when Solaria's ancestors were moved to this world).

The Church is monotheistic: one God, who judges all souls, and is attended to by a plethora of angels and saints.  The church is split into scores of saintly orders, each founded by charismatic preachers whose followings grew so large they had to be either incorporated or suppressed.  There are multiple doctrinal differences between the orders. 

Other faiths - especially the old pagan religions - are deemed false.  Missionaries attempt to convert the heathens, but conversion by the sword has ample precedent.

One partial exception: the Church acknowledges that God, being universal, can be active outside the church.  Pagan deities whose teachings align with the Churches are sometimes deemed 'Angels sent to prepare the way' and are incorporated into the faith.  Biggest example is Mithras.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 68:* What’s the average lifestory of a wizard? (How did they start? Where were they taught? What did they do most their lives? Etcetera.)



Wizards are (usually) descended from people (not always humans) who were tampered with by the Ancient Aliens.  The 'AA's' technology had a strong psionic component, so they genetically enhanced that trait in their favored servants.  The AA's are mostly long gone. 

Something on the order of one person in a few thousand (varies) has sufficient psi talent to be worth training.  Many don't; they go through life with knacks for finding direction, calming/influencing wild animals, lucky at dice, or orientation or some such.  Most of the others are snagged by the Church, and live a sort of cloistered life, healing and making potions and what not in one or another of the Orders.  (Saint Fabia's is one of the more important).  Worth noting that most people regard magic as the True God's personal property that he will sometimes lend to authorized users (priests).

The rest are a mixed bag from diverse backgrounds ranging from entertainers to bards to peasants to with special knacks to scholars.  The vast majority are trained at one of the four Academies: Mystic Mountain, Solaces University, the Library in Hermosa, or one of Corber Ports petty institutions.  Many remain at these places; others travel about spending a few months in this or that town casting petty cantrips in the marketplace or seeking patronage from the local gentry.


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## Ban

*Question 70:* How does a package or message arrive from one place to another?


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## Mel Syreth

I'm loving this kind of challenge threads. Let's see...


> *Question 51:* From knights of virtue to pirates on the seven seas, what types of people have been romanticized in your world?


Funnily enough you just actually answered my question. Then again, it is supposed to be a more downplayed, idealistic take on certain creatures and backgrounds.



> *Question 52: *A complex series of murders has been committed, and it has become aware that the rank and file police won’t be able to solve it. Who is sent to solve the case? (And will they succeed in finding the killer?)


If the incident is that severe, most likely case will be that it will be a cooperative action issued from Belleport that encompasses all of the city's guilds to work with the guards. Nearby settlements may be alerted and most likely join on the hunt as well. It's in nobody's interest to upset the balance that they fought so hard for. As for getting caught, question most often is not 'if' but 'when'. That's what I think would happen, at least.



> *Question 53:* Can you give me an overview of your world’s most popular beverages?


Ale and rum for the pub-going humans, tea for the more sophisticated ones, and virgin blood for the vampires.



> *Question 54: *Can you describe your world in 10 words or less?


Victorian Magical Bermuda Triangle



> *Question 55: *How is light taken care of at night? (Candles, torches, electric, magic. Who keeps them lit?)


There is like... one lit street in Evera at night, which uses these old cubic lanterns with yellow glass (most broken at least in one panel). Jack the night-guard is responsible for those, being one of the few vampires in town as far as I know. It's mostly the villagers put their candles by the windows. As for Belleport, they mostly use gas but there has been a few of these new luminescent crystals (named Aurorium) that can create lots of light with a small infusion of mana. It was a project of the Arcantists' Guild to help the humans at Frostholme not burn down their own wooden houses by accident.



> *Question 58:* What’s the greatest trick pulled in your world’s history? (You have free reign to determine what “great” entails)


Some pirate and her small crew of friends spent months getting the trust of Mainland authorities and then successfully stole the prototype of the biggest battleship ever built, turning it into their own sea fortress.



> *Question 59: *When broken down to its essence, what do the biggest religions in your world believe in? (Bonus: How do they treat eachother?)


Not an expert so don't quote me on that one, but as far as I know:

*Lilithism *is the belief that Lilith created the blessing of vampirism: a way of eternal life by simply drinking others' blood, which the demented beast Sygian corrupted and malformed into a curse before The First Childe (Lilian) could spread it. Lilith eventually defeated him but she couldn't reverse the curse as Lilian has turned everybody she came across into vampires, succubbi and other parasitic beings, unaware of the events. Later she was turned against and hunted down, and she became a demi-god after executed thirsty for revenge or something like that.
Humans have a strange religion where there are six gods and each god stands for a different aspect of life (work, harvest, conflict, healing, etc...)



> *Question 60:* What about weddings? (Who officiates? Where are they typically held? How many people are invited? How significant is marriage in your world? What would be an ideal wedding?)


Typical normal weddings, I would say.

Whoof, that's all I could muster up for now. Will do more if I can next time.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 70:* How does a package or message arrive from one place to another?



General post offices do take care of it, though it is still a relatively confused post system. No one's really sorted through it yet as there's still probably warehouses full of mail and boxes that ain't been delivered since before the Lich Wars. There were and are certainly other ways for post to go through, though even the private companies are getting back on their feet. However in Zukal and it's surrounding kingdoms they have the golem post, which has been very efficient at getting mail and packages and war machines to places quite quickly.

The Celestial Lands have another very efficient national post of sorts, with riders, runners and golems and animal deliveries. It's still well operated even despite the Lich Wars, then they weren't hit at hard in the infrastructure as on the Western Fea world. So while the west has to get it's act together and get mail delivered, most everywhere but the great Red Sands Desert have very efficient mail systems. And even in the Red Sands, someone will find a way, usually delivery by sandworm. It'll just take a couple months to get there.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 70:* How does a package or message arrive from one place to another?



Imperial Post Office - literally. (for physical letters and parcels).  Originally established as a military/government courier network, grew over time into a actual postal system with bundles of mail tossed onto ships or loaded into caravan wagons.  Of note here are the Dispatch Cutters, long narrow sailboats engineered for speed.  This network is post office to post office only, with many delays along the way.

For short messages, there are the signal towers, a network of semaphores begun in the reign of Emperor Fabius more than two hundred years ago.  It consists of some 4000 towers perched on hills and prominent points, each with a staff of about half a dozen. (Worth noting - many of these people are female, it is among the few socially acceptable professions for women).  Priority is given to government/military messages, including a sort of 'bullet point' news announcements.  Messages are kept short, with many cryptic abbreviations.   The last major leg of the network, a two thousand mile stretch (500+ towers) along the southern coast of the Mare Imperium, built by the II Equitant Legion during the Traag War in an astonishing two year time frame.


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## Vaporo

*Question 70:* How does a package or message arrive from one place to another?

The various governments of the world usually have an official courier system for the delivery of official messages and packages. The common folk rely on courier companies unassociated with any government.

Government couriers usually travel on horseback for maximum travel speed, but courier companies may rely on slower methods, such as travelling by river barge.

In the time of the Amulkine Empire, there were magical portals connecting almost every corner of the world. The portals were available for public use and could be used to ship a message or package anywhere in the world within just a couple of days. If you were wealthy enough, you could have the portals opened outside of their usual schedule and travel almost anywhere instantly.

I also have a character who has re-learned something of the ancient Amulkonian portals and uses the power to smuggle goods in and out of Antisa.


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## Ban

*Question 71:* Can you tell me about one of your world’s secret societies?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 71:* Can you tell me about one of your world’s secret societies?



After some thought, why stop at one when there's two competing secret societies. Who, really aren't that secret, but secret enough. The Cult of the Spider and The Order of the Holy Light. The former is dedicated to Lolth, though most only have sneaking suspicions of such at first and the second is to the Lich the Lady of Light. The latter is by far the more dangerous.

The Cult of the Spider, in being a drow based cult and secret society has made sure to never have one group exactly the same. In fact, simply getting a hold of one of their books can either lead to the truth or far more likely end up being a joke book, a raunchy erotic novel or a decoder for a drow's family recipe of their favorite ribs. The cult itself is usually buried beneath layers of subterfuge and fakes and patsy's. Though eventually even those ones will become just another part of what is probably a long running joke or find deeper meaning in Lolth. Or just go with the general hedonistic vibe that eventually comes with being part of the drow. The cult is often in flux and often suspected of being everywhere (they kind of are) and usually meant to be burned out and any who are in it killed on sight. The cult still thrives and survives despite it and the wood elf elite calvary of the Widowmaker's are often a part of it. Also often suspected of it due to their connection to spiders.

The Order of the Holy Light is one Liches long term plans and part of her original plans to become *The* Goddess of the Sun. This plan kind of fell through due to matricide by way of her daughter who would replace her as High Queen. But being a Lich has at least got her the fairly immortal part of the whole becoming a deity plan. Her cult spreads through the general light and sun worshipping folks and seems very benign and almost as helpful as the Hearth Temples. Unlike the Hearth Temples however, she ensnare's people and their souls with a spell that originally was used for creating very powerful seconds. This Chosen spell has a multiplication effect that all rebounds back to her and to make her more powerful as she takes the souls. Entire temples are found with poor souls soon to be undead and outright undead just waiting to be sprung upon an unsuspecting person. Living minions are sent out to preach and create more temples before reaching their ultimate successfulness and then becoming a minor lich for her. Any temples found are burned and destroyed when found on contact.

And to make matters more fun, the two are technically at war with each other. For all the ribald and more earthy tendencies the Order of the Spider have, they do not take people against there will and are quite welcoming. Then again, it is expected of the drow. They also do not like their role of being deceitful (formerly backstabbing and money grubbing) arses taken over by some mystic enslavement cult. So they wage a secret war through the shadows against this light. And sometimes do it very explosively. Slightly fruity explosives, but still explosive. Can't win a war against uptight undead pricks without a clown that throws exploding peaches.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 71:* Can you tell me about one of your world’s secret societies?


not so much what's going on now (time frame of most of my stories) but what happens over the next few generations.

Specifically, wizardry and social development.

During the Traag War, the Solarian Empire was vastly outclassed by the enemy in the magic department.  Traag's sorcerers conjured demons that decimated entire legions.  To counter this, Grand Marshal Titus Maximus ordered a census and training program for all magically talented individuals within the empire - over the churches vehement objections.  The result was the majority of people who had arcane talent received (non-church) training, then sent off to the battlefields, where they died in droves - but did play a significant role in Traag's defeat. 

After the war, a anti-magic faction within the Church assumed temporary prominence, arguing that 'magic stolen from God' (mortal mages in general) was an offence that needed to be remedied with a purge.  So began a pogrom against those independent imperial sorcerers who survived the war, unless they had powerful patrons - like the army or noble families.  True wizards became scarcer.  Many went underground.  The purge eventually ended, but many sorcerers elected to remain in hiding, joining harmless sounding civic groups - todays equivalent of the Rotary Club or some such, screening the rank and file for suitable apprentices. 

That's the magical end.

Socially, the imperial government was broke at the end of the Traag War, and offered citizenship and land in lieu of coin to almost all veterans, regardless of time served - a massive spike in the equestrian or middle class that caused social chaos.  Time passed.  The aristocracy passed putative laws intended to keep the new middle class 'in their proper place.'  The citizens being oppressed organized in secret, again using 'Rotary Club' type groups as fronts.

(massive social change and industrialization are key themes in my stories)


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## Vaporo

*Question 71:* Can you tell me about one of your world’s secret societies?

Oh, boy. My world use to have about a million secret societies, but most of them stopped existing, changed roles, or became so large that they weren't really "secret" anymore (See: The Amul). Let's see... Do I even still have any? Hmmm...

I suppose that I could talk about the Var Grat. Like all Grat, the Var Grat were created by the Generals by mutating mortal creatures to assist in besieging reality. While most Grat were functionally living siege engines, the Var Grat were spies and assassins. Biologically, they are basically just humans with a few added genes for improved secrecy, deception, and loyalty. They are also one of the few types of Grat capable of reproduction.

After the war ended and the Grat were accepted as part of the world, the Var Grat lived publicly for a while, but over the centuries became gradually more secretive until they finally closed themselves off from the rest of the world entirely. So, to this day they live secretly throughout human society, never revealing their true nature except to other Var Grat.

They hide simply because it is their nature to hide their true nature. They enjoy quietly plucking on the stings of society, so many prominent political figures and noble houses are secretly Var Grat.


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## Ban

*Question 72: *Can you give me an overview of what could be found in your world’s black markets?


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## Ban

Ban said:


> *Question 72: *Can you give me an overview of what could be found in your world’s black markets?



This one I can answer right away for once, courtesy of post-it notes. I'll explain the simplified model that only takes All imports and exports to and from Europe in consideration.

The big boys on the European black market, the ones everyone is concerned about, are the same ones as today: drugs, guns and people. With the advent of the synthetic revolution, the drug market has gone through a renaissance, where drugs of all types, doses and flavours can be found. Druglaws are determined on a nation by nation level in the 2080 EUCPL, which in reality has led to a continental "tolerance policy" based on the dutch model. Drugs are still illegal, but buying and selling drugs in designated shops is permitted, while producing and trafficking is not. A silly policy but arguably necessary, seeing as the drastic move away from drug-growing to drug-brewing (along with some other world developments attested to before) has shifted the production as well as the consumption market of drugs to Europe, with smaller, less voracious markets in the wealthy Russian states and Federal China.

Guns are similarly under a semi-stable tolerance policy. A sharp increase in violent crime, with an equally sharp decrease in conviction rates, has shifted public opinion in favour of owning weapons for self-defense. Still, official weapon stores are not permitted in any member-country other than Italy and Albania, the two weaponry-making powerhouses. The various Italian crime organizations play a vital role in equalizing the distribution of weaponry, but the highest quality can be found in the stocks of Albanian embassies, where wealthy gunlords have established a semi-legal walhalla of high-grade weaponry. The average citizen who wishes to be armed has to suffice with one of the many millions of surplus firearms still in circulation from the mediterranean and south-east asian wars. Ammunition is legal for purchase in Spain, as well as the previously mentioned two, but is usually also pedalled by gunlords and mafias.

Human trafficking and people smuggling has remained the same as it is today, an immense and terrible industry, that stays relatively quiet. Snakeheads operate from the chinese opportunity states and peripheral countries, but various counterparts from other countries are also at large and making a killing. Rarely does this industry lead to all-out-war between streetgangs or well-publicized assassinations, so the public knows little about it.

Counterfeit goods have remained a quiet powerhouse, and mostly come from Maghreb, Mashriq and Egypt. Exotic, genetically-manipulated species of animals and plants are made in the Russian states. Organ trade and internet trade mostly comes from the indian successor states. The world of 2080 has shifted from wild, unstable internet, to the impregnable (and easy to monitor) zyphernet system. Online criminal practices are impossible on the zyphernet, so many criminals, freedom-lovers and other folk interested in not being spied on, are happy to buy their ancient computers and internet from the indian markets.

Sub-saharan Africa has long been used by Eurasia and the Americas as a dumping ground for products, including electronic junk. This, combined with the ongoing warzone spanning from the DRC to Angola, which has received trillions of euros and quadrillions of pesos worth of weapons, has led to a blossoming black market in junk. Metal and bioplastic can be bought in bulk for cheap here.

Finally, there are the cybernetic and bio-engineering markets. As I have writtern previously, both industries are illegal in the EUCPL, but that does not mean that individuals do not want to play god. Chinese triads provide excellent bio-engineering services, while Scottish milkmen (not-quite legal representatives of corporations) do the same for cybernetic implants. If those are too expensive, individuals can contact their local american streetgang, who may know a guy who knows a guy.

This brings us to trafficking and distribution. Distribution of drugs and counterfeits is in the hands of the booming streetgangs, which come in all forms and sizes, but are increasingly dominated by Brazillian and American gangs created by migrants from the warzones there. More established networks are present in all countries, notable amongst them being 'the salon', a society of Dutch criminals  from long and illustrious criminal families, that lays claim on all Randstad import and export. These type of societies are rarely involved in the day-to-day distribution, manifacturing or trafficking of goods, they simply demand their share from anyone operating on their turf.
Trafficking of russian animal and plant species is firmly in the hands of Swedish gangs, whereas trafficking of drugs is in the hands of private contractors, wandering cults and more notably, motorgangs. Few folk would brave the highways of the EUCPL willingly with a manual vehicle, seeing as driving one can be enough ground for being driven off the highway by the highway-gavels. The many transnational motor-roamers are more than willing to fight these lawmen if need be, and as such have built up a strong and reliable reputation with the many criminal syndicates that operate in the EUCPL.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 72: *Can you give me an overview of what could be found in your world’s black markets?



Pretty much everything and anything.  Books deemed heretical by the Church or subversive by the government.  Printing presses for that matter - movable type, until the aftermath of the Traag War, was the jealously guarded domain of the government and church, with penalties ranging up to execution for violations.  'Blue Dust' - a semi-legal narcotic used to keep slaves docile - but also popular amongst the lower classes.  Artifacts salvaged from the ruins where the ancient aliens once flourished.  People - slavery is an accepted practice in the southern empire, but sublegal at best in the north (part of the whole social upheaval theme).  'Advanced technology' from Equitant - everything from farming equipment to crude cameras to extremely simple electrical devices to hang gliders to explosive powder - used to be largely banned outright elsewhere in the empire and is still tightly restricted, but these toys and others grow in popularity anyhow - again, the social upheaval theme, the conflict between human (slave) power and technology.

Best place to find such dubious goods is among the ten thousand stalls and shops of Corber Ports infamous 'Low Market.'


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## Ban

*Question 73:  *What’s the most legendary artefact lusted for by adventurers and scholars alike?


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## Svrtnsse

Ban said:


> *Question 73:  *What’s the most legendary artefact lusted for by adventurers and scholars alike?


The hearts of dragons.
Dragons are rare creatures. They're powerful, and they often do not last very long after they appear. Once the dragon disappears, so does the heart - unless it's already been removed. It's said that the heart of a dragon enables a weaver to create stronger and more complex magics. It's unclear how much truth there is in that, but due to the scarcity of dragon, not much research has been performed - and what little has been performed is generally kept secret.


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## WooHooMan

Ban said:


> *Question 73:  *What’s the most legendary artefact lusted for by adventurers and scholars alike?



The Seven Treasures of Demiurgus.
The god of Mystery, Demiurgus, made seven objects (a chain, a helmet, a sword and some other stuff) that each granted the owner god-like powers.  This was part of an experiment of his to foster the creation of a 'self-made' god.  He deemed the project a failure (as there's a world of difference between a true god and a super-powered immortal) and threw-out the objects.

Some guy named Levinus gathered them up some 4,000 years later and, with them, nearly took control of the world.  Since his death (killed by the god of Might), the seven treasures have never been at the same place at the same time.  To this day, some consider Levinus to be the 'god of governance and idolatry' and many powerful figures want to get their hands on the Treasures.

Needless to say, these are meant to be quest goals in an rpg campaign.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 73:  *What’s the most legendary artefact lusted for by adventurers and scholars alike?



Not so much 'adventurers and scholars,' but during the Traag War, Emperor Morgan DuSwaimair II directed a special branch of his intelligence agencies ('Eyes of a sort') to track down any and all 'unique objects' that might help counter Traag's demons.  The intelligence agency in question recruited everybody from legion scouts to thieves (sometimes minutes before their executions) to rogue wizards (a few of whom were broken out of Church prisons) to artisans to scholars and sent them in small groups across much of the world - where most of them died in droves. While they collected no few arcane relics, their main focus became functioning relics of the ancient aliens.


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## Mel Syreth

Here we go, round 2.


> *Question 61: * A Jolly old man with elves and reindeer in tow comes riding into your world, bearing gifts. How does your world react?


Probably a little befuddled how he made it onto the island intact, thankful for the gifts, and then a week or so later, life returns to normal.



> *Question 63: *Is there anything your peoples eat and drink exclusively on days of celebration?


For vampires, blood.
For fairies, the dew of deathshade flowers (it's not as deadly as it sounds)
For humans... there is a lot. Mainly because they have celebrations for everything.



> *Question 64:* What symbolism do various colours have in your world’s cultures?


Eh, I haven't really thought about that.



> *Question 65: *_Ain’t no mountain high enough_… or is there? What are the greatest natural barriers in your world?


There is a great chain of mountains that separates the northern and southern parts of the island, with a few passages here and there. We only call them 'The Mountains' but I'm sure humans have given it some weird name because they give weird names to everything.



> *Question 66: *I’ve spent some time in the city, and decide to travel to the countryside. How does life differ? (Specifically, how does life differ in ways I wouldn’t expect as an earth resident?)


Culture shifts from (mostly) vampiric to (mostly) human, which means using more coins and less 'favors' in the shops, more foods and beverages, less spots for literature and arts, et cetera.



> *Question 67: *If you were to travel to your world, what would you do? (Where would you work/live/go for a drink?)


That is so meta I think it might destroy the universe.



> *Question 68:* What’s the average lifestory of a wizard? (How did they start? Where were they taught? What did they do most their lives? Etcetera.)


Assuming 'wizards' as in 'humans with inherited magic': At young age they do some weird mishap, then they either learn to make use of it growing up or just don't bother with it (because it's not shooting fireballs from their hands by instinct so why bother am I right?). Either way they usually live their lives with the humans, as humans.



> *Question 69: *Fireworks, parade balloons, contrail art and chinese lanterns. How do your peoples decorate the skies? (And why?)


Straight from the last question, the whole of 'fire snapping' (fireworks) came from a human like that a few decades ago. Basically it's a large amount of energy condensed in a tiny projectile shot from fingertips and then popped with a snap of a finger. There are wizards and vampires who has a sort of part-time job putting up firesnap shows in celebrations like that.



> *Question 70:* How does a package or message arrive from one place to another?


If it's a normal message or package it's mostly by trading wagons. If it's urgent then couriers. The Arcantists' Guild have been trying out prototypes of enchanted pairs of parchments that can copy words written on them onto the other parchment via runic linking. It's like two tin cans tied together with a rope... just with paper... and magic.



> *Question 71:* Can you tell me about one of your world’s secret societies?





> *Question 72: *Can you give me an overview of what could be found in your world’s black markets?


There is none.


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## Ban

*Question 74: *Can you tell me about the hermits of your world?


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## Mel Syreth

> *Question 74: *Can you tell me about the hermits of your world?


Yeah, there is this weird kindred woman living in a ran-down manor somewhere in the pinewood forest by Evera. She claims to be spending her days with 'art and literature' but she can't draw or paint well, and most of her books are filled with empty pages.


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## WooHooMan

Mel Syreth said:


> Yeah, there is this weird kindred woman living in a ran-down manor somewhere in the pinewood forest by Evera. She claims to be spending her days with 'art and literature' but she can't draw or paint well, and most of her books are filled with empty pages.


Man...this hits close to home.


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## Orc Knight

Internet has been out, thus not being able to answer, so, to answer.



Ban said:


> *Question 72: *Can you give me an overview of what could be found in your world’s black markets?



Chocolate and cane sugars are the biggest ones at the current time. All brought in and approved of by the Sea Queen of course. Slaves now and again, though this is being disguised as other things, indentured servitude and such. Though if found out someone is still liable to break heads, legalish or not. Then there's the relics, left overs from the Lich Wars and before that may not always be legal and a lot of it quite dangerous in any hands (especially those not knowing what to do with them). Hence why most end up on the black market, even if it is legal to go out and find them. Just some you might not want to touch, due to something or someone taking mind, body and soul. And others just having you for lunch, though that's also just a regular sort of danger too.



Ban said:


> *Question 73:  *What’s the most legendary artefact lusted for by adventurers and scholars alike?



Anything Lich related. And it's not really lusted after so much as wanted so the Liches can't have it and it may be properly disposed of, if it can be properly disposed of. Which usually involves a lot of fire (heaven or hellish fire, both work right well). And then getting purified and burning the area it was found in and then purifying the now burned area. It's a lot of work to deal with Liches and it's not helped the most ordinary of things end up being relics and artifacts, near to the point of annoyance.



Ban said:


> *Question 74: *Can you tell me about the hermits of your world?



Not really, they like to be left alone.


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## Vaporo

*Question 72: *Can you give me an overview of what could be found in your world’s black markets?

Drugs, naturally. Most typical earth narcotics are banned within most city limits, so an addict must acquire then illegally. Stolen goods, particularly valuable, easily identifiable stolen goods taken from another city where they would be difficult or impossible to sell due to their high profile, such as the jewelery of the wealthy. Outside of Antisa one will find hron beer in abundance for cheap on the black market, since Antisa puts huge export tariffs on the stuff. Human trafficking does exist in very small amounts, mostly in remote areas, but the majority of smugglers find the idea so repugnant that if contacted by a trafficker they'll refuse to provide services and happily rat them out to the authorities.

*Question 73: *What’s the most legendary artefact lusted for by adventurers and scholars alike?

Likely the Felstone. Largely believed to be myth, the Felstone was created by the wizards of the Amulkine Empire to entrap the entire Fel army. Their plan was successful, and the stone now has over fifty thousand Fel bound within. It appears as a polished gray stone orb that can fit in one's hand. It is desired because it is believed that its owner can unleash the Fel army to do their bidding. In reality, only one Gifted with Alstaliance can draw the Fel out of the Felstone, and even then good luck trying to bind all fifty thousand enraged Fel to your will at once.

*Question 74: *Can you tell me about the hermits of your world?

In the mountains south of Untia there are several people living happy lives in isolation from the rest of the world.

In a more cosmic sense, there is Mandula, the former goddess of mass and physical matter. She has lived in the Land of the Gods for nearly five thousand years waiting for to doors to the plane of reality to open back up so that she may visit Goss, the god of thought, who is her former lover. She has tamed a small piece of eldritch landscape to be habitable to her now mortal body, and she spends her most of her time farming her plot, studying the plane of reality to find a crack large enough that she may slip in, and watching the Generals mill around the gates.

She technically has the authority to call the Generals off of their mission to destroy that plane of reality, as she was part of the pantheon that gave them their original orders, but she has never tried to do so. Without her incredible cosmic power as a signature, the Generals have no way to verify that she is the real Mandula, so at best they would ignore her, and at worst they would torture her for information. Plus, she figures that her best bet for getting into her lover's plane is when the Generals eventually force the gate open.

Gaaaaaah! I've got to think of a proper name for this plane of reality. Saying "The plane of reality where the bulk of my world building takes place" is starting to get a bit clumsy.


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## Ban

Nice catching up! 

*Question 75: *What's the currency of your world? (How did it come to be used? What preceded it?)


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 75: *What's the currency of your world? (How did it come to be used? What preceded it?)



The basic D&D set up of coppers, bronzes, silvers and golds (and sometimes some platinum). The silver standard I guess. The golden crown being the most valuable coin, most of the time, with the silver talon being the next most valuable. The bronze bezents and copper pences being among the most common around. And since I am not good with economy and money, this is all I have for it.


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## Vaporo

*Question 75: *What's the currency of your world? (How did it come to be used? What preceded it?)

Boring old coins composed of precious metals. When the Untians first came north, precious metals weren't really available in great supply, so salt, whale oil, and other commodities were the main currency if a currency was in use at all. Some remote areas still use such commodity currencies.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 74: *Can you tell me about the hermits of your world?



Well, most student mages spend anywhere from several weeks to a couple of years in near total isolation, learning meditation and how to focus their minds to better control their psychic energies.

Apart from that, there are more than a few mentally damaged veterans of the Traag War who have become involuntary hermits.



> *Question 75: *What's the currency of your world? (How did it come to be used? What preceded it?)



In the old Agban domains, currency consists of 'Ral,' beads of copper or silver, worn on necklaces.  Supposedly, this system was established by the ancient aliens.

Solaria was founded by people brought here from ancient Rome, and uses a mangled version of roman currency. 

Bottom of the heap are copper and brass 'bits,' with the brass bits being double the value of the coppers.  One copper will get you a slab of bread or a cup of cheap wine; a brass bit will get you a spot in a dormitory or a bowl of stew. 

Ten copper bits or five brass ones are equal to one silver 'Dinar' the standard unit of Solarian money - there are coins with greater value, but that value is expressed in terms of dinar. 1-2 dinar is considered a fair daily wage for an unskilled laborer.  Soldiers, artisans, teamsters, and the like make something on the order of 5-10 dinar a day.  A months rent in a bunkhouse or hovel runs 10-15 dinar; a cottage or relatively decent apartment is 30-100 dinar a month.  That's all general; some parts of the empire has much higher or low expenses.

Solaria's Church also mints its own coins, copper and silver both.  The coppers (tithing bits) are regarded as interchangeable with Imperial coins.  The Church insists its silver coins are equal in value to Dinar, but in practice are valued at around 8 coppers each.


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## Mel Syreth

> *Question 75: *What's the currency of your world? (How did it come to be used? What preceded it?)


Vampires use favors and mutual trust instead of countable currency like the gold coins humans use. Centauri and Fae don't have much beyond exchanging items, if they want something they can usually make it themselves. Though given how the cultures started to blend together it's never a bad idea to have some coins (and a notebook) wherever you are.


----------



## Ban

*Question 76: *Who or what's on top of the food chain?


----------



## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 76: *Who or what's on top of the food chain?



The elves and trolls and their kin are top of the heap on Eld. The elves have shown slightly less restraint about it then the trolls. This is generally not just the regular food chain but the magical one as well.


----------



## TheCrystallineEntity

I need to catch up!


----------



## Vaporo

*Question 76: *Who or what's on top of the food chain?

The Al Grat is by far the largest living organism in the world. It resembles a crab or turtle the size of a small mountain and served as a vast and mobile base of operation for the Generals. Its shell contains a vast network of tunnels where countless lesser Altanrat Grat sleep. Most Altanrat Grat have an animal-like intelligence and work to maintain the Al Grat by cleaning its shell, defending it from parasites, dressing wounds, etc. However, they can also be released as cannon fodder foot soldiers to overwhelm an opponent. The Al Grat currently hibernates in the jungles to the west of Untia.

Every one and a half to two millennia, the Al Grat must awaken to feed. When it does, the Altanrat Grat will leave the shell to attack the surrounding jungle. They uproot trees, bushes, any sort of matter that is biological and contains energy, and bring it back to the Al Grat. When it is done, there will be practically nothing left except for mud and heavily packed dirt for thirty miles in every direction. The Al Grat will then stand and move to a new section of jungle to go back into hibernation.

The Al Grat has awoken three times throughout history. The first time, the region was practically uninhabited, so there are only a few vague legends of this feeding. The second time, the Amulkine Empire had just collapsed, and a recently-built Amulkonian city was unfortunate enough to be within range of the feeding. However, most passed this off as a particularly brutal attack by the Fel, which were common at the time. The third feeding happened relatively recently, within living memory. The region was again mostly uninhabited, but word from the indigenous tribes eventually reached the Untian nations. Explorers found the remains of the jungle, and to this day scholars are baffled as to what happened.


----------



## Ban

*Question 77: *What are your clowns, jokers, jesters and/or comedians mocking your world for?


----------



## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 77: *What are your clowns, jokers, jesters and/or comedians mocking your world for?



I'd say pretty much everything is fair game. Though the main game is jokes on Queen Inivia. Usually well out of earshot of the Queen herself. Most royalty and even petty nobles will feel the sting of it at some point in time. But they've been well on their way to portraying her as nothing more then dumb muscle with a temper and frigid in bed, if one could get her into a bed. As much as she is often the butt of jokes, few will actually tell the jokes to her. It's a survival thing. Most of the other humor stuff comes from the drow, which means it's killer humor.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 64:* What symbolism do various colours have in your world’s cultures?

*Question 65: *_Ain’t no mountain high enough_… or is there? What are the greatest natural barriers in your world?

*Question 66: *I’ve spent some time in the city, and decide to travel to the countryside. How does life differ? (Specifically, how does life differ in ways I wouldn’t expect as an earth resident?)

*Question 67: *If you were to travel to your world, what would you do? (Where would you work/live/go for a drink?)

*Question 68:* What’s the average lifestory of a wizard? (How did they start? Where were they taught? What did they do most their lives? Etcetera.)

*Question 69: *Fireworks, parade balloons, contrail art and chinese lanterns. How do your peoples decorate the skies? (And why?)

*Question 70:* How does a package or message arrive from one place to another?

*Question 71:* Can you tell me about one of your world’s secret societies?

*Question 72: *Can you give me an overview of what could be found in your world’s black markets?

*Question 73: *What’s the most legendary artefact lusted for by adventurers and scholars alike?

*Question 74: *Can you tell me about the hermits of your world?

*Question 75: *What's the currency of your world? (How did it come to be used? What preceded it?)

*Question 76: *Who or what's on top of the food chain?

*Question 77: *What are your clowns, jokers, jesters and/or comedians mocking your world for?


I don't know how to answer any of these except maybe #74, and even then, the Empty Thought Monks are just a little background joke. 


*sigh* My world is either way too specific or not fleshed out enough.


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## Mel Syreth

TheCrystallineEntity said:


> My world is either way too specific or not fleshed out enough.


Nothing wrong with that. You don't need to think of every detail when it comes to building your world when you don't want to. A good story can be played out in just a tiny village or even a single house, while even the largest, most expansive worlds can have boring stories told within them.


----------



## Ban

*We're at the point where I can no longer make the questions general enough for everyone, or perhaps even most people, to participate in all of them. Between some folk not being obsessive worldbuilders (outrage!), and specific worlds being specific, only some people with extensive worlds (Hi Orc, hi Vaporo ) are able to answer all of these. Before the end of this thread at prompt 100, some questions may still come along for you to answer Crystal.


Question 78: *Breakfast, second breakfast, elvenses... What are the eating times in your world?


----------



## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 78: *Breakfast, second breakfast, elvenses... What are the eating times in your world?



You've got the regular times for meals, which means breakfast can be anywhere from before the crack of dawn by several hours or at least until noon. Some do believe in second or third breakfasts and failing that there's always a proper brunch. Then lunch from around noon on. There's always time for tea's or tea breaks and the such between times. Or a generalized sort of snack time that involves something stronger then tea. Of course supper/dinner as the evening meal and maybe a bout of tea or liquor before bed. Then maybe a midnight snack, though not exactly at midnight.

Granted, that's an extensive one for those who have the food and the time to eat like that. Many eat two or three times a day, though with some snacking. Breakfast and Dinner being the big ones. Still others have no timing schedule at all and eat whatever whenever.


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## Ban

*Question 79:* Astronaut, fireman, rapper. What's the profession that your kids (and adults for that matter) tend to dream of becoming?


----------



## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 79:* Astronaut, fireman, rapper. What's the profession that your kids (and adults for that matter) tend to dream of becoming?



The most common seems to be a knight, though that may be a bit of bias. It hasn't exactly been waning and as it is generally titled towards the gentry not many seem to think they can get into it. But wood elves (for all that they are) will give way on martial things and if you prove yourself worthy of knighthood before the rulers you are likely to get it. Even humans. The Golden Queen has made a habit of turning even the most base into knights because they impressed her enough. And kicking off several lines and orders of knights she trained from former damsels in distress.

Some others are bard and pirate, both due to heavily romanticized stories surrounding them. Though many figure becoming a bard is an easy way to get laid and the pirate a decent way to get coin, not knowing what goes into them. There are also those who want to be great warriors and among the greenskins, warrior poets or among the great defenders. Or even one of the great librarians and knowledge seekers.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 79:* Astronaut, fireman, rapper. What's the profession that your kids (and adults for that matter) tend to dream of becoming?

Yay, a question I can answer!

Generally speaking, since magic is at the heart and soul of the OmniCosmos, almost literally, many children wish to become wizards. The most ambitious children wish to become hosts of the Eternal Ones, and since the Eternal Ones only have one host a time...

I'm not sure how to work this out.


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## ThinkerX

> *Question 76: *Who or what's on top of the food chain?



People... (sorry, obvious answer)

Rachasa cat-people pride themselves as supreme hunters.  They're far stronger and faster than humans, capable of jumping 12-15 feet straight up, or 20 - 30 feet horizontal from a standing start.

Wyverns and dragons are also formidable, but extremely rare.



> *Question 77: *What are your clowns, jokers, jesters and/or comedians mocking your world for?


[/quote]

aristocrats doing stupid things are a frequent butt of jokes, as are the more pompous priests.  However, such individuals do take affront occasionally.



> *Question 79:* Astronaut, fireman, rapper. What's the profession that your kids (and adults for that matter) tend to dream of becoming?



Imperial legionary is a fairly big one among lower class boys - because military service is one of the few ways out of poverty.  More and more boys - and a growing number of girls, though, are aspiring to be engineers or 'practical natural philosophers,' owing to the incipient industrial revolution.

Knights were a popular aspiration for highborn boys, but this is fading with the advent of explosive weapons.


----------



## Ban

*Question 80:* A great calamity has occurred, be it fire, flooding or kaiju attack. Who is sent for clean-up and repair?


----------



## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 80:* A great calamity has occurred, be it fire, flooding or kaiju attack. Who is sent for clean-up and repair?



Seeing as Eld doesn't have official fire brigades or that, might have to lose a few blocks or wait for someone with powers to match to take them down. The clean up crews are going to mostly be peasants and those hired on to rebuild with whatever budget the local ruler has. As for the kaiju's and other big nasty beasties, the Butcher crews come in (they're usually following whoever happens to slay them) and turn them into food for the entire place for months to years on end. Then it falls back on those who were stated above to go about their business. Someone ambitious may even take it as a chance to clean up the neighborhoods or towns in question to turn it to their vision too. Get in a few architects and artisans and bam, new neighborhood that won't accommodate those who formally lived there.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 80:* A great calamity has occurred, be it fire, flooding or kaiju attack. Who is sent for clean-up and repair?


Kind of figures in with the plot of the WIP I'm rewriting now.

Short answer: the military, specifically one or another of the legions, who spend a great deal of time building roads, fortresses, aqueducts and civic structures.  Currently the II Equitant ('the Builders'), renown for their engineering skills, are tasked with rebuilding Kitrin and Avar on the far side of the empire - a chore that keeps them busy for most of a decade.  When the riots in Corber Port started to overwhelm the urban cohorts (vigils/police/firefighters) the Church was allowed to dispatch the II Sancti ('Divine Head breakers'), a legion of troops employed by the priests to keep order in their domains.


----------



## Ban

*Question 81:* What sorts of headgear do people wear? (And why? Is it functional? Ceremonial? Prestigious?)


----------



## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 81:* What sorts of headgear do people wear? (And why? Is it functional? Ceremonial? Prestigious?)



Hats and helmets be the most common. Though the latter mostly only in war time or for those who have need of them. A sort of fashion statement towards staying alive. Hats vary, as they will. The nobs tend to make theirs quite pretentious and elaborate when the mood or high fashion strikes again. This in turn makes for target practice among elves who find it funny to shoot at them. Many hats are also for function, still others are for religious reasons. A lot are just to keep sun and other weather out of ones eyes. Hoods are also pretty common, especially if one wants to get suspicion planted firmly on them when hoods are up at odd times. Otherwise plenty of headwear abounds.


----------



## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 81:* What sorts of headgear do people wear? (And why? Is it functional? Ceremonial? Prestigious?)



In Solaria, those who work outdoors often wear floppy hats with broad rims for shade and a modicum of protection from rain - almost like present day cowboy hats.  Legionaries have metal helms as part of their kits; the inferiorly equipped Liberators usually have thick leather skullcaps instead.  Women often wear colorful scarves.  Artistic types and academics often wear soft, shapeless hats (name escapes me at the moment.)  Scribes, carriage drivers, and a few other professions have billed caps as part of their attire.

Jeweled hairnets and circlets drift in and out of fashion amongst the upper caste women.  Likewise, a minority of men go with wigs.

Elsewhere: Chou peasants are fond on conical straw hats.  The elite there have a fondness for elaborate, mask-like helms worn both to war and for ritual purposes.

Peasants in Cimmar wear either floppy, broad rimmed hats or fur caps.  The elite wear fur caps that includes the heads of the various animals.

Commoners in Agba and Traag tend to wear turbans - a trait shared by some commoners in Marfak (nomads who settled in Solaria).  The old aristocracy and sorcerer elite in these realms favored masks, or helms that resembled masks for military/ceremonial purposes.


----------



## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 80:* A great calamity has occurred, be it fire, flooding or kaiju attack. Who is sent for clean-up and repair?
Whenever the NoBeing rampages, the Eternal Ones have to use the power of their Spheres to repair the OmniCosmos. It is rumoured that once there were eight different Eternal Ones who turned into NoBeings and devoured the OmniCosmos, whereupon Dream rebooted everything...

*Question 81:* What sorts of headgear do people wear? (And why? Is it functional? Ceremonial? Prestigious?)
Most beings don't seem to wear hats. I guess it looks much more dramatic when your hair streams around in the wind.


----------



## Ban

*Question 82:* Who’s making the big bucks in your world? (Bonus: What’s the difference between the old and newly rich?)


----------



## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 82:* Who’s making the big bucks in your world? (Bonus: What’s the difference between the old and newly rich?)



Currently it's those in certain smuggling business' and those working on the rebuilding of the world. Those with food and he means to make it and those who purify the lands (and can do so without too much risk) are also doing good as the populations begin to rise again. Most the war production has cooled, so the old military weapons forges have had to start investing in new things. Those that haven't gone cold in some way or another.

As for the difference between old money and new money? More new money coming in and most the old money is dead and running out due to not adapting with the changing world. And having been the sort of old money that charged helpfully into battle. Also a lot of the old money are becoming funders to the Liches. Some without knowing it, so their money is being being drained and watched. And most the old money has been sitting in their fortresses and manors and only coming out for the big events while the new money is out and about and attempting to set new trends.


----------



## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 82:* Who’s making the big bucks in your world? (Bonus: What’s the difference between the old and newly rich?)


Another part of the 'social turmoil' theme in my world, or at least Solaria.

Used to be, if you were wealthy, you were also a member of the aristocracy or closely connected to them.  Most parts of the world, that's still true, though daring merchants from the Free Cities and Gotland have amassed impressive wealth in short periods.

The Traag War changed that equation for Solaria: high war taxes and huge numbers of peasants drafted into the legions leaving fewer to work the fields put deep holes in the pockets of the lesser aristocracy.  Meanwhile, Equitant's inventive artisans and clever merchants saw their coffers swell from wartime contracts; to the point where the wealthier ones are literally buying defunct noble estates, titles and all.  The old aristocracy views this situation as a catastrophe, and are equally alarmed by the vast numbers of discharged veterans granted land and citizenship, swelling the middle class and further eroding the aristocracies wealth and power.  Equitant's merchant princes and the burgeoning middle class, for their part, are starting to view the aristocracy as outdated, citing lengthy periods in the old empire where most of the current aristocratic offices were elected rather than hereditary.


----------



## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *We're at the point where I can no longer make the questions general enough for everyone, or perhaps even most people, to participate in all of them. Between some folk not being obsessive worldbuilders (outrage!), and specific worlds being specific, only some people with extensive worlds (Hi Orc, hi Vaporo ) are able to answer all of these. Before the end of this thread at prompt 100, some questions may still come along for you to answer Crystal.
> *




*Figured this is worth a response.  I could have answered all or almost all of the questions thus far, but for me this is a 'when I remember to get to it situation,' not something I follow all that closely.





			Question 78:
		
Click to expand...

*


> Breakfast, second breakfast, elvenses... What are the eating times in your world?


breakfast at dawn, dinner at sunset/twilight - because work needs to be done while there's daylight.


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## Ban

ThinkerX said:


> *Figured this is worth a response.  I could have answered all or almost all of the questions thus far, but for me this is a 'when I remember to get to it situation,' not something I follow all that closely.*



That's good to hear. Hopefully the questions haven't become too specific yet then.


----------



## Vaporo

*Question 77: *What are your clowns, jokers, jesters and/or comedians mocking your world for?

Well, the idea of a jester, that being a person in the employment of a lord whose job is specifically to make jokes, dance, and perform, has never really been widespread in my world. If they have guests, they may hire a musician to play something during dinner, but it's rarely a permanent position. In fact, self-deprecating humor is extremely popular in the Untian nations, so it's not terribly uncommon to see a noble doing a small stand up routine in front of their guests. Wealthier taverns and inns may hire a semi-permanent band or performer. A comedy routine performed in this setting would usually resemble a modern stand-up routine. Tell a funny story about the farmer you met on the road, or a relatable one about how your wife always buys the wrong kind of cheese that neither of you like, that kind of thing. Or, if the audience demands it, just resort to low-brow humor. Whatever makes them laugh.

In the Untian nations, not much is off-limits when it comes to humor. It's probably not too wise to insult a village's local fertility spirit in front of said villagers, but other than that you can crack jokes about basically whatever you want. In Kumbaska and other areas ruled by the Amul, it's best not to make fun of the Amul. They believe that they are on the ultimate holy mission: to prepare the world for the return of the Fel and the Alstalia. While it often depends on the temperament of the local priest, most tend to see humor as a distraction from their mission.

*Question 78: *Breakfast, second breakfast, elvenses... What are the eating times in your world?

Antisans usually have breakfast just before sunup and supper just after sundown, but often eschew lunch altogether and just increase the size of the other two meals. In an equatorial nation where night is total and you usually _can't_ work or travel after dark, you generally want to get as much done as possible during daylight hours. Many people would see a noonday meal as an unneeded distraction.

*Question 79:* Astronaut, fireman, rapper. What's the profession that your kids (and adults for that matter) tend to dream of becoming?

The city guard (which are basically just a police force) is always an attractive career to youngsters. Countless novels have romanticized traveling merchants, so a lot of children are drawn to it until they realize that the job is actually only moderately lucrative at best. Most children eventually end up apprenticed to a bronzesmith or other such tradesman, or just take over their parents' business. While more and more people are finding the money to send their children to school, there's no formalized education system, so any reading, writing or mathematics are usually just what is learned from parents. As a result, more advanced job opportunities are a bit limited.

*Question 80:* A great calamity has occurred, be it fire, flooding or kaiju attack. Who is sent for clean-up and repair?

Well, the Untian nations are regularly battered with massive hurricanes, but people are generally expected to survive those on their own since they're so common.

Fire? The local bucket brigade would do what they could, and if fire got far enough out of hand the city government would probably do something, but there's no public service meant specifically for fighting fires. Some Antisan cities actually do have a very limited pressurized public water system, so that may be utilized if necessary.

Earthquake? Untian buildings already tend to be rather sturdy and squat to survive hurricanes, so even large earthquakes aren't usually too much of a problem.

Flooding? Other natural disaster? Well, unless things get _really_ bad and the national government decides to send in support, it's usually up to the city to figure out what to do about cleanup. If you're not in a city, then you're usually out of luck. It's whatever help you can get from your neighbors and that's it.

Kaiju attack? Thanks to the Grat, it is actually does happen on very, very rare occasion in my world. Even then, though, a Grat is usually just passing through while looking for more interesting prey. Why bother with tiny morally questionable morsels that poke you with sharp sticks when you could be hunting whales or elephants? While surrounding cities _might_ send some aid, most would look at the level of destruction and say "Yeah... uh, you're on your own for this one, guys."

My story will actually be set right after a horde of Fel rip through Antisa's capital city, burn huge swaths of land the ground, and kill a huge portion of the population. Since it's the seat of the government, they do get more help than they would probably receive otherwise. The Fel weren't interested in money, so the national treasury vaults were untouched and the Antisan government has enough money maintain a semblance of operation, in spite of the tragedy. Food is a bit scarce at first, but eventually farmers and merchants overcome their superstitions (or have them forcibly overcome by what is left of the military) and start bringing food into the city again. The river still flows, so water isn't an issue. Really, though, other than that there's not really too much they can do but clear off the roads, tear down as many of the destroyed buildings as they can, and hope that people eventually start moving back in.

*Question 81:* What sorts of headgear do people wear? (And why? Is it functional? Ceremonial? Prestigious?)

Most Untain nobles wear long, flowing headdresses adorned with items that are important to their power when in a public setting. For example, a lord or lady whose money comes from a hron orchard may wear a headdress made out of links of hron wood and adorned with baubles shaped like hron fruit. The headdress itself is not usually sacred in any way, and will change many times throughout the noble's life. Ectra, the current queen of Antisa, has already changed her headdress fifteen times in the first two years of her reign.

Because of how varied they are, the exact politics of headdresses used to be very intricate. However, it eventually became so hard to keep track of who would take offense at what headdress decorations that about a century ago many stopped engaging with headdress politics altogether and just wore whatever they thought looked nice. Certain rules of etiquette still apply, though. It would be very rude to arrive wearing an enormous, garish headdress that clearly outclassed those of superior standing, and could even be seen as a challenge under the right circumstances.

However, what's old is new again, and in the last few years headdress politics have started to come back into vogue again.

Naturally, soldiers wear helmets and people working outside wear wide-brimmed hats to keep the sun off. I suppose the priests of some Untian shrines may also wear hats as part of their apparel.

*Question 82:* Who’s making the big bucks in your world? (Bonus: What’s the difference between the old and newly rich?)

Anyone running a large hron orchard is practically summoning money from thin air. Hron trees grow so fast and are so easy to maintain that it's almost impossible not to turn a profit. Everything hron related has blown the Antisan economy out of the water. In a good way, of course.

On the less legal side of things, a lot of crime rings have popped up to take advantage of the booming economy in their own way.

The Untian nations have a thing for mercantilism. If someone or their family has enough money and connections for long enough, they may actually be granted a noble title.


----------



## Ban

*Question 83:* Where, and by whom is healthcare taken care of? (What of specialized care? Dentistry, physical therapy, eye care, palliative care. And what of alternative medicine such as acupuncture and chiropractic care.)


----------



## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 83:* Where, and by whom is healthcare taken care of? (What of specialized care? Dentistry, physical therapy, eye care, palliative care. And what of alternative medicine such as acupuncture and chiropractic care.)



No universal healthcare program as yet, but in Solaria...

the doctors of Solaces University did join with the army to institute a crude vaccination program for the military. Likewise, in Solarian military encampments, the latrines and wells are at opposite ends of the camp, a practice usually but not always mandated for civilian villages.  Nowhere near comprehensive, but encouraging.  Likewise, Equitant's chemists have developed a few crude, powerful drugs that can stop some ailments.  Eventually, these will be employed on a broader basis - part of the technological transition than makes magic even less reputable.   For most people, though, they hope they have enough to pay the herbalist or hedge doctor.  More dubious treatments involve opioids from the jungles of the Black States,


----------



## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 83:* Where, and by whom is healthcare taken care of? (What of specialized care? Dentistry, physical therapy, eye care, palliative care. And what of alternative medicine such as acupuncture and chiropractic care.)



The standard health care center is either a local healer, the local Hearth Temple or healing deities temple, traveling surgeon or plague doctor (good for things like plagues and disposing of bodies). There are also plenty of military doctors and battle surgeons about, willing to ply the old trade and usually hang out with adventurers stupid enough to tangle with the undead. One can also go to a herbalist or an alchemist for the bottled cure. There's also the hedges, who are kind of a combination of all sorts of the above. Also some mages ply the healing arts. If one is fortunate (stretching it perhaps to it's limit) there are always drow healers. They are quite competent and kind of mercenary. They also come with the downside of doing operations for fun and having a willingness to experiment without consent.

As for specialists, they are coming about, but it's a slow road. Most every doctor/veterinarian has to be an all around sort. And be able to cut hair in a pinch sometimes. And such things like acupuncture and the like aren't really alternative so much as just different and from different lands. They do have things like spa's and those other sort of relaxing places too. But it's mostly for those with the coin to toss at them to go relax after a tough day in their manor. So, that's the medical diagnosis for Eld.


----------



## Ban

*Question 84:* It’s been a long day at work, what would your people do to wind down? (Bonus: How does this differ between social classes?)


----------



## Mel Syreth

> *Question 80:* A great calamity has occurred, be it fire, flooding or kaiju attack. Who is sent for clean-up and repair?


Humans... naturally.



> *Question 82:* Who’s making the big bucks in your world? (Bonus: What’s the difference between the old and newly rich?)


Heroes, doctors and those willing to put their (un)lives on the line generally are owed a lot, both literally and figuratively.



> *Question 84:* It’s been a long day at work, what would your people do to wind down? (Bonus: How does this differ between social classes?)


Depends on race and gender, some go to a pub and drink themselves to the ground, others choose the company of their family, still others take some time off appreciating the finer arts, or creating them. Lots of choices here.


----------



## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 84:* It’s been a long day at work, what would your people do to wind down? (Bonus: How does this differ between social classes?)


Depends on ones social caste. 

Bottom level, slaves some serfs, break out the Blue Dust or equivalent and let everything turn into a dreamy haze.  Ale and other species of booze are also popular.   Dice and cards for coppers or other tokens are immensely popular.  Group sing-alongs and story telling are also popular among the lower social orders. 

More educated or wealthier types listen to bards, play strategy type games resembling checkers, or indulge in any number of hobbies.

Luring the opposite sex into bed, of course, is a universal favorite.


----------



## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 84:* It’s been a long day at work, what would your people do to wind down? (Bonus: How does this differ between social classes?)



For the working classes it usually means a stop at the bars and taverns for a drink before heading home for the nightly meal. Or going to the social house or local inn in the country or small villages. Then they might do some reading or storytelling or it happens the entertainment happens. Of course, if sailors and military are on leave, they head out to spend some (or all) the money in the dens of vice and sin. Still others go and play games and gamble and such.

The higher class military tends to do much the same, though more likely to be at an officers bar or the like. Or another higher class joint that caters to them. Unless they are on campaign, then it's to the tents for some food and some drink. If they've been allowed tents.

For the nobs, some of which might have done a hard day of drinking, go out to do a hard night's drinking (and partying). Others may go out for dalliances and to theaters and other such things. Some may go to the study with a nice scotch, a good book and a pipe to wile away the night hours. For Royalty it is much the same, though some among them take more common approaches or unusual ones to winding down. Such as the High Queen going down to the Under City to hang out in the drow bars. Or the Sea Queen among the Crab Shack to dine and drink and be the pirate she used to be.


----------



## Ban

*Question 85: *What do your farmers (or your equivalent) harvest?


----------



## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 85: *What do your farmers (or your equivalent) harvest?



Grains, cereals, fruits, vegetables, products from animals, animals and other such things. The occasional golden goose egg. Silks and the like. Spices. Really whatever sort of things you can think go on farms and ranches and orchards.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 85: *What do your farmers (or your equivalent) harvest?



Depends on where they are at.  Central Solaria is mostly grains, with a heavy side of veggies and a lot of apple orchards. (one baron in a war devastated area went for cabbages.)  North of the empire, barley type plants and more veggies, with an emphasis on root crops - carrots, onions, and potatoes.  Carbone - olives and grapes.  Nomos, south of the Mare Imperium, dates, figs, and sometime grapes.  Niteroi - cotton (big slave worked plantations).  Black States south of the empire: all sorts of oddball tropical fruits and veggies.  Cimmar, east across the Cauldron from Solaria, a mix of barley, potatoes, and veggies.   Hobgoblin Hegemony is big on desert agriculture.  Chou, south of that, rice, fruit, and veggies.


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## Ban

*Question 86: *How far does social mobility extend? (Can a lesser noble become a king? How about a merchant, or a miller?)


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 86: *How far does social mobility extend? (Can a lesser noble become a king? How about a merchant, or a miller?)



Due to how Narrative works, there is a decent amount of upward mobility in the social context. Though some of it relies on lost parts of bloodlines and peasant farm kids and other bastard lines from time to time. Some places it is very hard, the Celestial Lands, for instance, due to the caste system in place that tends to mean your born into it.

And this is perhaps one of the few things semi-decent about the wood elves. One can rise through merit, mostly in battle. Though the downside is that still others gain rank by killing the previous holder of it. There are even rules to taking the place of higher nobles and king's. Even a farmer can challenge the ruler and take over. It's happened before. The sea elves are more merit based, but through merchant enterprises and piracy (sometimes one in the same) and one can rise up. Though it has been stifled a little since most the big merchant houses have made their guild's the ones to go through and aren't fond of competition. None of the Merchant Prince's can really go beyond that though, as the current ruling House (House Wave) isn't going to let them join in the rulership that the Sea Queen has solidified under her rule.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 86: *How far does social mobility extend? (Can a lesser noble become a king? How about a merchant, or a miller?)



Outside of Solaria and a few 'oddball realms' like the Free Cities, upward mobility pretty much doesn't happen.  Agba and its successor states were pretty much literal caste societies; your social station at death was the same as at your birth.  Cimmar, a realm founded by Gotlander conquerors...well there is/was a hard upper limit on how far non-Gotlander's could progress (gets into the social upheaval thing)

Solaria was originally not so socially stratified - many elected offices, and enterprising plebes could become quite wealthy.  That changed with the collapse of Solaria V1.0, when most offices became hereditary and the aristocracy frowned on commoners accumulating wealth.   This situation changed again with the reestablishment of Solaria some 150+ years ago: the new dynasty were of 'barbarian' stock, more inclined to merit than birth status.  Still, a not-quite hard caste system lingered on, until Emperor Franklin did two things:

First, he abolished 'private' armies held by various nobles in favor of the legion model, and granted twenty year veterans of the legions land and citizenship.  Most of the new army recruits came from the bondsman/serf category; twenty years service jumped them up over plebes to actual citizens.

Second, the emperor relaxed a huge slew of trade regulations applied to the lower orders, spurring a large amount of commerce.  He then made the infamous 'forced loan' on these newly prosperous merchants, extracting a huge amount of money for his projects in exchange for citizenship.

This set two precedents - rise by service, and rise by wealth.

Later - the period immediately before my stories - Emperor Morgan DuSwaimair II granted land and citizenship to all veterans, not just those who'd served twenty years, plus (because he needed the money that badly) he relaxed the caste commerce rules even more.


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## Ban

*Question 87: *Greasers, punks, goths and tunnel snakes who rule. What subcultures do rebellious youth join in your world?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 87: *Greasers, punks, goths and tunnel snakes who rule. What subcultures do rebellious youth join in your world?



As the world comes back to it's own, there are more subcultures coming about. Though many are based on the old military traditions, some of which the youth don't fully understand. The equivalent of bikers and greaser gangs wander about, training mounts like wolves and boars though not joining any of the military orders that use them even as they copy them (with sometimes disastrous consequences when facing insulted veterans who faced undead and regular warfare and understand their appropriated subculture itself). The nobs are also into horse riding and hunting clubs in the manner of the old school versions though with at times less life threatening hunts and trying for the knighthood knock offs. Since they are nobs, they tend to get less hurt then others. Though it doesn't stop actual knight orders from beating them down either. Several of them are actual gangs with a facade and there are still others that are military veterans taking pieces of the big cities for themselves and starting new gang wars that will get them put down.

For what amounts to goths, one has to look towards the magic community. Particularly anything to do with The Hats guild and anyone within it that deals with the necromancy end. Very stylized and with a more artistic end to it at times. They like the blacks and primary colors and talking with spirits and dead. Still other offshoots among them dealing with other ends of magic.

Among the gold elves, there are vegetarian sub-sects, very little gaining much ground. They've also been around forever, though they'd have more luck in their cousins countries over in the Celestial Lands. The Fea West mostly mocks them and continues to eat meat as they always have. The drow hold most the LGBTQ sub-cultures and other ones concerning sexual mores the rest of the above grounders either pretend not to notice or persecute, though they've also helped change perception on it a lot. Though with no trouble on the greenskins end with it.

There are also several intellectual subcultures coming about, mostly with books and new coffee houses. Along with beer snob clubs. And food appreciation groups. Following new self styled supreme celebrity chefs, cooks and bakers. Or those who didn't want the celebrity but got it anyways. With the delver there are more trying to go back to their old ways and celebrating it (often violently) as they get involved in settling old grudges and taking back the old mountain fastness' and fortress monasteries. Which has helped divide the delver culture and may make things worse in the long run. Mostly for themselves. And with them rises many more like it who are insistent the old ways were the best ways and to go back to them. With the wood elves this has meant a lot of smack downs and even sheer offs of more hardcore groups from the main ones.

Really, there's probably a decent amount among the main cultures. Some good, some bad and some hungry.


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## Orc Knight

As an addition, concerning the Adventurers culture and sub-cultures of Eld. They've always had a certain following of fads for clothing, gear and weapons of choice. The more successful of the groups that become guild's like the Sword of Dawn's can set their own trends and sub-culture's within it. Which at the time meant a lot of light themed adventurer groups and an influx of high elves taking up the call of adventure. Though with the world remaking itself, adventurers becoming undead hunters and toughs for hire, they sub-cultures have changed. The big one is flame themes and fire motifs along with religious iconography (that involves fire) and a bit of a pyro sub-culture of sorts. Those with firepower can take make undead killing a little easier, disposal more so. Thus it's adapted to it. As for the ones that go thug for hire, they've taken on a gangster sort of look and compared to most other adventurers, they are likely to stay among the less powerful.

Still others go back to the old way of getting cash. Guarding caravans, merchants and fighting bandits with the odd jobs that involve mysteries they aren't prepared for and struggle through them. Or die. Others guard breweries and fields and have started taking roles as hunters and trappers. Those with actual experience tend to take jobs filling in as house guards and like and all of these sorts consolidate as the sort of classical adventurers who are strapped for cash and take whatever job they can get that doesn't involve too much bodily harm, though might still lead to it.

And a 'new' sub-culture is monster adventurers, though they've been around a long while, just not acknowledged. As any mixed group of orcs, trolls, goblins and other 'monster' sorts was usually considered not an adventuring group, but a threat. Thus perpetrating a cycle of violence between the two groups that were really just out for some money and some fun. Though the monster groups were more likely hunting adventuring groups that had done wrong to their kind and going out to murder the murder hobo's. So most monster adventurer's are geared for killing those who kill them. Nowadays they just try to avoid each other on threat of powers greater then them wiping them both out with nary a thought.

Then there's the retired adventurers and their like or ilk who take up as bartenders or tavern owners and dispensers of information for the wet behind the ears newcomers. They tend to be cut from the same cloth and got enough cash to do something after they get taken out of the game or just have had enough of the bloodshed. Others retire when they've taken rulership of some village or city and offer quests or go out and keep their skills honed, though they too mostly are after undead and the more natural problems, so they help create the demands for the specific sub cultures.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 87: *Greasers, punks, goths and tunnel snakes who rule. What subcultures do rebellious youth join in your world?


Gangs, mostly, especially for the lower orders.  (bandits in the countryside)

More industrious types join one or another of the 'colleges,' academic or semi-academic groups dedicated to everything from engineering to team sports. Others are little more than excuse for lewd parties.

Traditionally, many better off Solarians take a 'grand tour' of the empire and sometimes neighboring nations (supposedly to scout out potential alliances and opportunities).  Some of these folks are returning with strange ideas and companions.


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## Ban

*Question 88: *What sort of armour and weaponry can I expect to find if I was inspecting the warriors of your world?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 88: *What sort of armour and weaponry can I expect to find if I was inspecting the warriors of your world?



All sorts. But don't inspect too hard, someone may get ideas. From plate armor and calvary swords to leather armor that's a bit questionable as to whether it's armor or a fetish thing (though nothing stopping it from being both). Just figure it's already a fantasy kitchen sink, so there's plenty of things that show up that might not even be normal to the vaguely European setting it starts off in. There's guns and magic power armor too, though both have became rarer since the Lich Wars, as with most things. War machines like golem horses, cannons and old siege style weapons that, while not entirely obsolete, aren't used much due to the mortal versions of such things. Though the most common for the moment is chain and leather as the prices for the heavy stuff and the training has shot up again. The most basic of weapons abound as they were mass produced for the all out war that took place.

And of course, nothing is stopping the above from being enchanted, cursed or talking. Some with specific spells layered into them during forging or creation. Just because someone has a sword that starts itself on fire doesn't mean they're the hero/ine. Usually just means they know a guy or got lucky in weapon finding or weapon giving.


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## Vaporo

*Question 83:* Where, and by whom is healthcare taken care of? (What of specialized care? Dentistry, physical therapy, eye care, palliative care. And what of alternative medicine such as acupuncture and chiropractic care.)

While medical knowledge is fairly advanced in Untia, there's little to no organized health care system. That may be slowly changing, since medical schools and hospitals have started popping up in major cities, but for now people rely on their local healer's shop for most of their healthcare needs. These healers usually aren't total incompetents and won't usually practice bloodletting or similarly ignorant practices and most will own a few medical encyclopedias and reference books, but you'd be lucky to find one who was professionally educated. Their knowledge usually comes from experience, borrowing or buying medical textbooks, and the teachings of whoever they were apprenticed to. A few healers specialize in things like dentistry, but most are generalists and will work on whatever health condition walks into their shop.

In Kumbaska and other nations ruled by the Amul, medical care is much more rigidly structured. The Amul have large medical schools, which most of their priests attend for at least a year or two. While their knowledge isn't nearly as advanced as that of the Untian nations and often rooted in poor traditional understanding of the human body, they are still generally very competent and do much more good than harm. Many non-priests attend these schools as well, and these people are typically the ones who go on to become true physicians, including specialists. The Amul have encouraged the construction of hospitals, and working in a hospital is seen as the most prestigious position for a graduate of a medical school. Most people would not trust a doctor who was not trained in a medical school.

*Question 84:* It’s been a long day at work, what would your people do to wind down? (Bonus: How does this differ between social classes?)

The Untians really, REALLY like their alcohol. If you're not going to the local tavern, you're relaxing at home with a bottle of hron beer in your hand. While upper classes usually have their own bars, the basic idea remains the same. The upper classes may go to a theater or something equally intellectual, but no matter what alcohol will usually be involved.

*Question 85: *What do your farmers (or your equivalent) harvest?

Oh, boy. You asked for it.

While most in my world people harvest things like corn, rice, wheat, and other such grains, the Antisans' staple food is fruit of the marvelous hron tree.

The hron tree appears similar to a combination between a baboaba and a willow, with a short trunk and wide canopy and long, hanging palm-like leaves. The almost supernaturally useful in practically every way. It grows incredibly quickly, reaching maturity within a year and full size within seven to ten years. The wood is incredibly light, incredibly strong, and very slow to catch fire, making it an excellent building material. However, when it does catch fire it will burn hot and long, making it an excellent fuel as well.

The fruit looks a bit like a long, thin mango or a fat green straight banana and is produced in absolutely enormous quantities. The flash is a deep brown color and contains many small, black seeds in the core. The seeds are small enough to be easily eaten, to the point that some first-time eaters assume that it doesn't even have seeds. When grown in the tropics, the tree will have thousands of fruits growing at all times. In more temperate climates, the tree can produce three to four harvests in a single growing season.

The fruit is, like everything else related to hron, incredibly useful. It tastes something like a combination between a mango and a strawberry and can be brewed into a brown, frothy wine called "hron beer." It can be refined into sugar, dried into chips, pretty much anything you can imagine be done with a fruit. Even the skin can be dried and milled into flour.

The tree has only a few real downsides as a crop. First of all, it's primarily a tropical plant. While it has a mechanism to drop and regrow leaves during winter, it struggles in climates where the temperature dips below freezing. You wouldn't want want to grow it much further north than Florida. Second, it only has one pollinator: hummingbirds. Insects avoid the tree like the plague, which is good for pest control but means that bees and the like can't really be relied on to pollinate them. Since hummingbirds exist almost exclusively in Antisa, it's the only place in the world that the tree can grow. Third, the tree has a rather short lifespan, usually twenty to twenty-five years at the most. However, considering how fast the grow this isn't too big of an issue.

But, now we get to the actual supernatural stuff.

The Smet were created at the end of the war with the Generals to act as gatekeepers to the land of the gods. They maintained the gate and worked to prevent the Generals from reentering. The hron trees were as a sort of "body" for the Smet to anchor them to the physical world, so that they would not be true creatures of the land of the gods and thus would be protected from the worst of its horrors. A single Smet is not bound to a single tree. Instead, each tree adds "living space" to allow more Smet to exist. The trees were always meant to be appealing to humans, but not nearly to the degree that they are today.

However, when the Generals were expelled from the world they created a plague among the Fel, which were created alongside the Smet from the same template. The plague drove the Fel mad, causing them to lash out and potentially kill hundreds before they finally collapsed and died. The corruption was rare at first, but slowly adapted until, two and a half millennia after the end of the war, it spread to the Smet. While the Fel were eventually cured of the plague by the Alstalia, most people were unaware that the Smet even existed. Even more learned people such as Raldan the Immortal didn't realize that the Smet were infected until centuries later.

The plague drove the Smet mad, but did not kill them. Soon, all of the Smet were infected, turning them into servants of the Generals. When the war between the Fel and the Alstalia of the Amulkine Empire ended, the last few hundred Fel were driven to the planet Gen. The Alstalia then sealed the bridge between the worlds, unintentionally killing most of them in the process. Then, the Generals contacted the remaining Fel through the Smet and offered them a deal: if the Fel would bind themselves to the Smet they, and by extension the Generals, would help them get revenge on humanity. Most Fel are emotional and irrational creatures to begin with, and as consumed by rage and desire for vengeance as they were every single one of them accepted.

Every few years, the Smet would gather the Fel together and whip them into a rage. Then, they would draw the Fel to the world of Dor by pulling the Fel slightly outside of reality, thus circumventing the Barrier between the Worlds. The Fel would have one night to attack humanity before the Smet would lose their strength and the Barrier would draw the Fel back to Gen. However, this whole process kills billions of Smet, as they were not meant to interact with the physical world in such a direct manner. It takes a few years for them to replenish their numbers before they can do it again. Each attack erodes the Barrier more and more, and eventually it will fall entirely.

However, in order to draw to Fel to Dor the Smet must have a physical anchor point on Dor. Which is to say, hron trees.

Eventually, the remnants of the Amulkine Empire banded together and realized that the attacked regions were always among the world's largest growers of hron. It took them centuries to figure out the connection, and centuries more to do something about it since it honestly sounded insane. They're attacking us because of our _orchards_? I mean, come on? But, eventually there was too much data to deny, and a plan was implemented.

While cutting down all of the wild hron in the world was impossible, killing their only pollinator was doable. All across the world, orchards were burned and poisoned hummingbird feeders were set up. Within a few decades the world's hummingbird population had dropped below the critical mass necessary to sustain wild hron, and because of the tree's short lifespan it quickly became rarer and rarer until it only existed in a few scattered and isolated groves. And, of course, the Fel attacks stopped. 

Fast forward a millenia and a half and the Antisans have rediscover hron growing in an isolated desert oasis. However, the Generals used the intervening time to modify hron into the almost supernaturally amazing tree that the Antisans know today. The Antisans are completely unaware of the tree's history and grow it in masses, boosting their economy and making Antisa the dominant Untian nation.


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## Vaporo

Whoa. Had to split this up into two because of character limits.

*Question 86*: How far does social mobility extend? (Can a lesser noble become a king? How about a merchant, or a miller?)

In most Untian nations, nothing there's no true limit to upward social mobility except practical ones. Wealthy folk with enough connections can be raised to nobility, and any financially savvy person can become wealthy. While becoming king is a bit of a stretch since Untian nations use male primogeniture as the default for determining inheritance, a king could declare someone aside from his first son to be his heir. Maybe if he really hated his kids and you were his best friend he would consider it, but I don't know that it's ever actually happened.

*Question 87*: Greasers, punks, goths and tunnel snakes who rule. What subcultures do rebellious youth join in your world?

The old standby of getting mixed up in crime. Many young people together into "dock gangs," which prowl the more seedy shorelines to extort money and goods out of hard-working captains and warehouse managers. Most of them are just small-time thugs, but a few become successful enough to purchase a boat. From there, they can evolve into pirates or smugglers, or go into more legitimate business as sailors. Or, they stick to the docks, but eventually become large enough to attract the notice of a larger crime ring. This can be bad or good, depending on the disposition of the crime ring and how they attracted its attention. In the bad case, they're promptly offed by thugs for cutting into their profits. In the good case, they're approached by the crime ring and asked to work for them. If they refuse, it usually just turns into the bad case again. Some will also just join the larger crime rings directly.

*Question 88*: What sort of armour and weaponry can I expect to find if I was inspecting the warriors of your world?

Pretty standard designs for the most part. Spears, shields, swords, armor, bows. However, the Untians are a bit of an oddity in that their stuff is always made of bronze or copper.

The entire region of Untia is practically devoid of iron. As a result, they never learned how to smelt it and only recently became aware of its existence through trade with Halgol. While the Untian nations are otherwise the most technologically advanced in the world, having recently invented steam engines, they are seriously behind in this regard.

At one point, I plan to have a character get pitted against a Kumbaskan warrior wearing steel armor and wielding a steel sword while he is stuck there in bronze. He bends his sword trying to penetrate a weak point and is forced to go for a stranglehold to choke him into submission.

During the war between the Amulkine Empire and the Fel, the Alstalia constructed specialized magical armor and weapons designed specifically to be effective against Fel. However, they are also pretty effective against humans and are greatly prized by the rich and powerful.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 88: *What sort of armour and weaponry can I expect to find if I was inspecting the warriors of your world?



With the Solarian legions, and professional soldiers elsewhere (including hobgoblins), armor is a sort of long scale shirt, with the scales being made from fumar tree 'bark' and sewn with wire into a leather under-armor.  Troopers wear a thick cloth shirt (gambeson) under this.  Most trooper have bracers on their arms and metal plated boots as well.  Not so well off knights in Solaria and elsewhere are armored much the same; better off knights go in for plate.  Standard legion kit includes a thin metal shield with a wooden back or braces. 

Solarian Liberators and ordinary soldiers elsewhere have leather armor and shields...some of the time.  Troops in hot climes, including Solarian legionaries, use leather instead of metal armor.  Barbarians and the nomads of the plains use a mish-mash of leather and hide.

The old Solarian legions were equipped with short swords, javelins (2 each), and sometimes bows.  These days, spears have replaced the javelins, and increasing numbers of troopers count crossbows among their kits.  Very recently (wake of the Traag War), elite troopers are being issued with explode on contact crossbow bolts, and crude pistols are starting to make an appearance among the officers.  Knights use lances, broadswords or long swords, and sometimes maces or battleaxes.

Very basic single speed bicycles became standard issue for Solarian legionaries during the Traag War.  Standard legion kit includes, but is not limited to cup, bowl, entrenching tool, water skin, bedroll, and 10-15 days worth of bread, dried fruit, meat, and other food, plus gear for five man squad.


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 61: *A Jolly old man with elves and reindeer in tow comes riding into your world, bearing gifts. How does your world react?

They'd all place bets on how long they will survive before the rocs (huge birds of prey), dragons, aristocrats on their al-buraq (flying horses) or the fly boys and girls of the air force kill them.

*Question 70:* How does a package or message arrive from one place to another?

Telegraph, telephone, teletype, mail car, aircraft, airship or carrier pigeon.  But al-buraq is the coolest way to deliver mail.  Seriously a Dear John letter delivered by flying horse is still awesome!


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 72: *Can you give me an overview of what could be found in your world’s black markets?

Mages go for black magic items such as blood staffs while ordinary folks who can't do magic tend to go for drugs including the infamous moonshine.  And by moonshine I don't mean that puddle water Americans call moonshine.  Think of a drug that tastes like the most powerful Russian vodka mixed with crystal meth and looks like something your dog threw up and you'll get a rough idea of what it is.

Being a maritime nation with lots of islands (literally thousands) just about anything illegal can be traded somewhere for the right price.  Don't get caught.  For drug or slave trading the authorities take the view the death penalty is too lenient....

*Question 80:* A great calamity has occurred, be it fire, flooding or kaiju attack. Who is sent for clean-up and repair?

With the Kharran Empire being in an economic depression the moment a major disaster happens people who need work will flock to the disaster site to assist any way they can.  Mages are often on the scene first so they tend to get on with healing the most seriously injured until medical teams and mages from other areas can move in and offer a co-ordinated disaster relief effort.  

*Question 79:* Astronaut, fireman, rapper. What's the profession that your kids (and adults for that matter) tend to dream of becoming?

Many kids hope they will be gifted with the Spark and become a powerful mage.  Others want to join the air force and fly airships and planes around the world.  For my protagonist she wanted to be the greatest nutball champion in the Empire and be inducted into the Nutcracker Hall of Fame.


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## Ban

*Question 89:* How does the balance between civilization and nature hold up in your world? (Does one overwhelm the other? Do they struggle against or compliment one another?)


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 89:* How does the balance between civilization and nature hold up in your world? (Does one overwhelm the other? Do they struggle against or compliment one another?)



Nature and civilization are pretty in balance for many parts of the world. It does make things easier when you can actually talk to it. Entire parts of infrastructure and building can be done pretty cooperatively. Which tends to make for some cities that are fairly clean and country side that's not too roughed up when industry gets big. Back in the day it went back and forth, particularly when humans did something stupid like cutting down the wrong tree and having the wood elves kill the entire village for it. Even the other races had their issues with it from time to time. Mostly when the wars became those of attrition and resources were used heavily on any end. The most recent tipping out of balance led to the eventual Lich Wars. So their settling accounts now and trying to regain the previous balance.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 89:* How does the balance between civilization and nature hold up in your world? (Does one overwhelm the other? Do they struggle against or compliment one another?)



key thing to keep in mind (with both the primary and secondary worlds) is that they are the product of terraforming tens of thousands of years prior to the stories.  Prior to that, the highest lifeforms were, well, pond slime.  The ancestors of EVERYTHING else were imported by the Ancient Aliens - plants, trees, fish, animals, and people.  In some places these transplants succeeded pretty well, resulting in large forests and seas full of aquatic life, but there are also huge swaths that are either grassland/scrubland, or just out and out desert. 

That said...

Much of eastern Solaria used to be forest country...but most of those trees were chopped down in the first empire, and what's left are managed groves.  The same fate almost befell the immense Kirkwood in north-central Solaria, but the barbarian Avar invasions put an end to the large scale logging.  Tree cutting started to take off in the Kirkwood after the reunification, but Emperor Franklin (in what the aristocracy denounced as a massive power grab) made the forest an imperial preserve.  Logging and hunting still takes place, but only with imperial permission. 

Elsewhere (on the primary world), rivers are the key.  Civilization, agriculture, and forests tend to be found within a ten or twenty miles of the rivers, past that is a sort of wildish grassland/desert broken only by the occasional road or fortification. 

Aquas (chief secondary world) is dominated by a massive ocean that thrives with marine life from a number of different worlds.  It possesses one fair sized continent where strife has gone on for so long that the wild country is starting to overwhelm the devastated inhabited regions.  Aquas's other main landmass is the Strand, a ribbon of land usually on the order 12-25 miles wide (with assorted 'knobs' and 'narrows') that extends clear around the world, a distance of some 25,000 miles.  This is a world of confederacies and city states, each of which claims a swath of the Strand.  Some manage a decent balance with nature, others fight it continually.  There are also long unpopulated stretches, usually, but not always desolate.

Quick mention:  (Carcosa - working name).  another terraformed world, though far more poorly done than the first two.  This is a small world with a thin atmosphere that is breathable only at the bottom of deep basins.  Lovecraftian entities rule here, and have imported 'samples' of various lifeforms for various projects, generally kept in different regions.  These (control) subjects have planted forests, crops, and whatnot, but these are fragile, marginal operations at best.

Reluctant quick mention because it's still in development - the 'Eldritch World' - a mostly barren, mostly dry planet with fertile patches here and there, mostly created by Lovecraftian powers and occupied by...people of a sort.  Eldritch world does have a much higher tech level than the others - roughly mid 20th century.


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 86: *How far does social mobility extend? (Can a lesser noble become a king? How about a merchant, or a miller?)

The monarchy is not hereditary and it's illegal for any member of one of the seventeen regional dynastic families from running for the job so nobles from non-ruling families can apply for the job.  Because the applicants for the throne have to fight each other to the death it's not exactly a sought after job.  Real power lies with the Prime Minister and it's that job that anyone with the time, money and influence can run for.

Social mobility can and does happen, especially for those who join the military or get a job in the government.  However the biggest advances socially is when a poor person is gifted with the Spark (ability to cast spells) because mages are a class of their own and they're near the top of the pecking order once they reach the Adept level.  Social mobility also goes the other way: if a heir to a regional throne gets the Spark they forfeit their aristocratic titles and right to rule.  At the moment there is an economic depression and not even the wealthy have been spared from going just and joining the poor.

*Question 89:* How does the balance between civilization and nature hold up in your world? (Does one overwhelm the other? Do they struggle against or compliment one another?)

The world is highly complex and even within the area which the story is set in the balance varies.  In some areas urbanisation has all but destroyed the natural environment and the animals that relied on it have either died or left the area.  Most of the predators have moved with their prey.  In many areas nature calls the shots.  Even with machine guns, anti-aircraft guns and aircraft you don't mess with a group of rocs or dragons defending their meeting areas during the breeding season.  This is a world where some breeds of rabbits are carnivores and huge birds of prey (rocs) could pick up and carry away a mammoth.  

*Question 85: *What do your farmers (or your equivalent) harvest?

Being the tropics for the most part the Kharran Empire's farmers harvest rice (which is the staple diet), tropical fruits like citrus fruits and bananas, coconuts (for playing the national sport of nutball rather than for food), root vegetables, berries, edible grasses and fungi and livestock of which the domestic mammoth is the largest.  The Empire was founded on spices including hoochie.  Hoochie is the world's hottest spice and is so strong that the police feed it to suspects to extract confessions.  To give you an idea of how potent it is the usual form of execution is to force the condemned to eat three hoochie plants.  Most never survive the second one.  If you can eat three of them and live you're pardoned.  So far only five people in the last ten years has been pardoned this way.  

*Question 83:* Where, and by whom is healthcare taken care of? (What of specialized care? Dentistry, physical therapy, eye care, palliative care. And what of alternative medicine such as acupuncture and chiropractic care.)

In remote areas mages, including temple priests, provide healing for injuries and illnesses where traditional medicines using herbs, spices and other natural ingredients don't cut it.  In the built up areas doctors deal with the more serious medical problems while mages deal with the more minor things.  In hospitals mages and doctors often compliment each other's skills with the result around 90% of people who get treatment in a hospital will be completely healed.  Mages and doctors usually charge fees so the poor will often go to a shrine overseer or temple priest because they are free and also because they can be found in even the remotest areas.  As a rule temple priests will only deal with serious problems because their priority is spiritual health, not physical health.


----------



## Ban

*Question 90:* How is gambling handled in your world? (Is it legal? Is it organized? Is it lucrative? Who or what controls the gambling scene? What’s the public perception on gambling?)


----------



## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 90:* How is gambling handled in your world? (Is it legal? Is it organized? Is it lucrative? Who or what controls the gambling scene? What’s the public perception on gambling?)



For most parts of the world, much like prostitution, gambling is legal. And it is mostly organized and as in most things, the most likely culprits behind it are the drow. Though they're kind of hands off about it and look for other opportunities. It's not an excessively popular vice, though card games are quite popular along with dice. Haven't exactly rolled out slot machines and the like. There's also the usual gambling pools that pop up for fights and even back when, taking bets on who'd win certain battles or wars.

None of it's overly regulated and fall under house rules. Easiest way to find them is to look in taverns or in the Rose Districts or the Under Cities of most places. As for the public perception, there's always those that don't much like it (some just because of association with drow and some criminals attempting a racket) and those who don't care. There's always a vice and someone willing to pay for it. Someone might as well take their money.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 90:* How is gambling handled in your world? (Is it legal? Is it organized? Is it lucrative? Who or what controls the gambling scene? What’s the public perception on gambling?)



Dice and card games are played in military encampments, rude taverns, and high class establishments.  Betting on horse races, athletic events, and sometimes even the weather is not unknown.  Organization varies substantially, from none to literal business enterprises.


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 90:* How is gambling handled in your world? (Is it legal? Is it organized? Is it lucrative? Who or what controls the gambling scene? What’s the public perception on gambling?)

Gambling (which includes speculation, share trading and other high risk investing) is legal but the government is banned from assisting or bailing out gamblers.  Gambling is okay as long as the gamblers pay the bills and feed the family first.  People can and do gamble on anything if they have the money.  It is said that if two snails began to cross a major highway they'll gamble on the outcome.

*Question 87: *Greasers, punks, goths and tunnel snakes who rule. What subcultures do rebellious youth join in your world?

They hang around in smoky bars playing pool while listening to that filthy Neanderthal swing and jazz music while gyrating like... like... deviant animals!  Or they ride around in loud cars with V12 supercharged engines.  DISGUSTING!  BEING BACK CONSCRIPTION I SAY!


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 73: *What’s the most legendary artefact lusted for by adventurers and scholars alike?

Throughout history there has been talk of the Staff of Hira, perhaps the most powerful mage's staff in existence.  It is said that if a mage gets their hands on it they will be granted the power to concentrate all the powers of the Gods to create or destroy worlds.  It will also allow the mage to become the Mage-King (or Mage-Queen) and rule the world as the Chosen One.

Depictions of the Staff in fiction show it as an elaborate golden staff with a huge (and rare) blue diamond resting on a cradle mounted at one end that looks like a hand.  If a non-mage gets it they're granted the powers of a Master Mage. 

Many expeditions have been launched in search of it.  Most of the people who set off to find it go insane....

*Question 74: *Can you tell me about the hermits of your world?

Hermits head for the sea rather than the mountains.  They tend to be mages who've become too old or weak to do spell casting.  They survive by fishing or smuggling.  A few turn to raiding small boats for food, water and other provisions.  Hermits are often called hobos but that is not an accurate term.

*Question 66: *I’ve spent some time in the city, and decide to travel to the countryside. How does life differ? (Specifically, how does life differ in ways I wouldn’t expect as an earth resident?)

The key difference is that humanoids are not at the top of the food chain.  Elves, Neanderthals and Humans may have weapons capable of mass slaughter but if you use a Penny gun (a gun not unlike a Gatlin gun) on a roc you'll only piss it off big time.


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## Ban

*Question 91: *What's the relation between mortal and divine? (Do both exist? What do you define as divine? Can one become the other? Is there anything the divine envies the mortal for?)


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 91: *What's the relation between mortal and divine? (Do both exist? What do you define as divine? Can one become the other? Is there anything the divine envies the mortal for?)



They're on a break, at least many of them. With The Accords of the Heavens and Hells after the Lich Wars, they can no longer influence or send out avatars or even get down and smite willy nilly. This was more a scapegoat by the mortals as they needed someone to blame for the undead coming about and some of the gods and demons had played a direct role or influenced the people to do so. It was a pact that was signed by almost every pantheon too and they had to stick to it or face consequences. Those who did not sign, such as Lolth, were well instituted with their followers and on good (or really good) terms with them.

How to define the divine is getting fuzzier. They usually have powers that the mortals don't, but at this point in time, many mortals may almost be divinity themselves. Due to how it (possibly) works, mortals can achieve the god/demon hood crowns. Given the recent spats of god killing (within living memory) that have happened and even the Elder have been killed, no one's really impatient to get into the whole god or devil racket anyways. Since mortals weren't supposed to be able to kill them originally, it's definitely not becoming a thing to climb up to their realms anymore. Their realms are a separate plane of (an already questionably stable) reality, most of which could be accessed one way or another. Usually through portals and the such.

As for the last question, some of the divines can be envious of mortals. Except they can't really respond by smiting or doing any of the old cruel things they used to. That, and to use Lolth again (who's usually behind it), many think it's good to see the gods take a few hits and eat some humble pie. Jealous gods are unthinking gods and that makes easy targets. And Lolth is ever ready to use it to her advantage.


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 91: *What's the relation between mortal and divine? (Do both exist? What do you define as divine? Can one become the other? Is there anything the divine envies the mortal for?)

There is a belief in Fourteen Gods but as scholars are more heavily influenced by science, reason, logic and facts there is a growing suspicion that the Fourteen Gods are not divine but a very advanced race of aliens who terraformed the planet, raided other planets including Earth to find things to populate it with and meticulously recorded their actions and their views on many things,  much like the captain of a ship would've done.  The Spark, however, mystifies them.  It is random and it comes from the heavens so maybe the divine does exist...?

*Question 75: *What's the currency of your world? (How did it come to be used? What preceded it?)

The Kharran Empire uses dinars.  There are 100 shekels to one dinar.  The dinar was the currency used by sea traders and, being a maritime Empire, the Kharran Empire adapted it as their currency when they became independent.  It is the third most powerful currency in the world.

*Question 78: *Breakfast, second breakfast, elvenses... What are the eating times in your world?

There are no set eating times.  Any food eaten after dawn but before eleven in the morning is viewed as breakfast.  The resting is a period between about eleven and one when people retreat indoors to get out of the stifling heat and snack.  The big meal of the day takes place in the early evening before sunset.  This is called the evening meal or the banquet if it's a formal meal.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 91: *What's the relation between mortal and divine? (Do both exist? What do you define as divine? Can one become the other? Is there anything the divine envies the mortal for?)


It depends on how you define 'divine.'

Extremely powerful Lovecraftian abominations with strong influence over the souls of the departed lurk in the background.

There is also Solaria's 'True God,' an entirely spiritual entity who interacts with the mortal realms via a hierarchy of angels and 'saints' - former mortals.  (something of a steal from Gnosticism, which is no great surprise considering the Churches origin.)


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## Ban

*Question 92: *How are guilds, or your equivalent, treated, employed and regulated?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 92: *How are guilds, or your equivalent, treated, employed and regulated?



They are guilds. And as such, obeying certain rules of Fantasy in general. They are the corporations of sorts, from the mundane like the Smithing Guilds to the less mundane like any of the adventurer and magic guilds, though for the world, I guess that makes them mundane. They are generally treated pretty well, because money helps smooth things along. Of course, any guild that tries throwing muscle and hirelings to make rulers or crowns obey have a bad habit of ending terribly when found out. As for regulation, they mostly regulate themselves. Or pretend to.


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## Ban

*Question 93: *Who do the people of your world look to for wisdom and spiritual advice? (Are they a special class of people, a lifestyle, or perhaps simply the local elder?)


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 93: *Who do the people of your world look to for wisdom and spiritual advice? (Are they a special class of people, a lifestyle, or perhaps simply the local elder?)



Mortal wisdom is usually dispensed with by anyone who's managed to survive to old age on Eld, usually against peoples wishes. Of course most this wisdom is usually of the 'how to survive' sort. So a lot of it would count as the local elder, even if said elder is no more then forty or fifty years old. Some go to the Hedges or the longer lived magic peoples for it. Some to seers or the clan shamans or the witch doctors.

As for spiritual advice, that's what the temples and the priestess' and priests are for. Though pick the temple with care. If you go to a War Temple, expect the spiritual advice to be along the lines of killing someone or going on a hunt to find your inner warrior and do a blood sacrifice for the war deities. The blood shall fill your spirit and make you a better killer. The Love temples will give decent advice for romance and the like, while also hinting that getting laid helps. And it goes on and on with them. The Hearth Temples are probably the only ones that come close to sanity for wisdom and spiritual advice.

For the surprise advice bit, going to a lone troll will net a good meal, good advice (as long as you're not an elf with a grudge planning to kill said troll) and be allowed to let the troll vent frustrations about the rest of the damned world because your company. Might be able to borrow a few books too.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 92: *How are guilds, or your equivalent, treated, employed and regulated?



Guilds, in the medieval /AD&D sense, don't really exist.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 93: *Who do the people of your world look to for wisdom and spiritual advice? (Are they a special class of people, a lifestyle, or perhaps simply the local



local priest, sometimes family elders.


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 93: *Who do the people of your world look to for wisdom and spiritual advice? (Are they a special class of people, a lifestyle, or perhaps simply the local elder?)

It depends on where they live.  In clans and tribes they go to respected elders.  In built up communities they go to a temple priest or shrine overseer (who could be male, female or transgender).  Mages tend to go to Arch-Mages at a local Mages college.  Arch-Mages are administrative rather than clerical people so they are more likely to offer real life advice rather than quote Scripture.


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## Ban

*Question 94: *Exclaves, coregions, condominiums and micronations. What political oddities can I find in your world?


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## WooHooMan

Ban said:


> *Question 94: *Exclaves, coregions, condominiums and micronations. What political oddities can I find in your world?


Borderless military dictatorships and theocracies with complex systems of fealty .  Kingdoms are almost unheard of in this day and age while democratic republics are a pretty new idea.  Also, some psuedo-megacorporations but those are usually folded into the military dictatorships.
My general rule of thumb is that nations are built around the governing bodies rather than the other way around.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 94: *Exclaves, coregions, condominiums and micronations. What political oddities can I find in your world?



Depends on the world.  In the main world, most of the political oddities stem from the fall of the original Solarian Empire and the fall of Agba...

Arcos, a mercantile island nation in the Shadow Sea, was once Solaria's westernmost outpost.  Present day Solaria could retake the isle, but finds its independence politically useful.

The Free Cities were once imperial provinces on a large peninsula that jutted eastward into the Cauldron (only real ocean on the planet).  When Emperor Plotinus in the first Solarian Empire gave his subjects a year and a day to convert to the True Faith, these people 'left the Empire and took their lands with them.'  Been on and off warfare, trade pacts, alliances, coups, and revolutions ever since.

Other Solarians affected by Emperor Plotinus's decree did leave the Empire altogether: they managed to 'acquire' (steal) much of the imperial fleet and crossed the Cauldron, founding the Archon States.  Decadence and corruption caused these states to collapse, eventually being annexed by Cimmar.

The old Solarian Empires attempted (repeatedly) to invade the elven realm of Sinaleal to their north, only to be defeated time and again by potent sorcery.  The elves, for their part, had great difficulty matching the imperials organization. Eventually, Emperor Octavos Maximus came to terms with the elves, establishing a buffer zone - the 'Faerie March' - between the realms.  The March is a thick buffer of independent towns, Freeholds, and miniature 'kingdoms,' matriarchal states ruled by the capricious 'Faerie Queens,' powerful outcast elfin mages. 

Demons and desertification destroyed the Agban heartland many centuries ago; Traag was the last gasp of its eastern reaches.  Agba's western province of Celthania fared better through clever negotiation and geography, persisting 'until the current time' as a sort of 'preserved in amber' fossil of that realm. 

Aquas, the secondary world...well the extremely long ribbon like 'Strand' is a long string of oddball states and enclaves situated amongst other realms.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 94: *Exclaves, coregions, condominiums and micronations. What political oddities can I find in your world?



Not too many political oddities. A lot of straight up monarchies, one big empire (albeit, like most the world, kind of broken), a slightly theocratic magocracy kingdom that is trying to empire build again. Lot's of communes of sorts around, mostly of the farming type. The Amazonian Matriarchy on the Everember Islands (that you won't get to) and also their colonies and forts around the world. The remaining merchant princes guarding what they have left and rebuilding their controls and monopolies among the shipping lanes. A few enclaves and such of die hards of the remaining religious sorts. The Greenskins democratic councils over their own. And last but not least, whatever the hell it is the drow do. Technically ruled by a Matriarch or Matriarchs, with a heavy merchant caste and ruling houses and such. As with all things drow, not much make's sense, but they make it work. Some sort of weird ass form of the light touch from above but willing to crush when it needs to. Helps with Lolth hanging out in the palace.


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## Vaporo

*Question 89:* How does the balance between civilization and nature hold up in your world? (Does one overwhelm the other? Do they struggle against or compliment one another?)

Nature is a thing that exists in my world. Some people like nature. Most people don't like it when too much nature gets in their house. Untia has a lot of jungles that are brimming with nature that needs cleared away before anything can be built. Most Untians who live near jungles will advise you to stay out, or to follow the road if you absolutely must go through. Most people associate jungles with savagery and uncivilized peoples. Some Grat with animal-like intelligence have adapted to exist in the wild and most are seen as pests that destroy crops and kill livestock. 

*Question 90:* How is gambling handled in your world? (Is it legal? Is it organized? Is it lucrative? Who or what controls the gambling scene? What’s the public perception on gambling?)

Most gambling is a seedy affair in Untia. Gambling is frowned upon by the middle and upper classes and is shunned as such. Most gambling parlors are little more than run-down taverns or brothels that also happen to host card games. Such establishments usually only resort to gambling as a last resort to appeal to low-lives when their business has no other recourse remaining.

The Amul preach against gambling, but do nothing to stop it. In contrast to Untia, Kumbaska has huge casinos in almost every major city. Throwing money away for a cheap thrill indicates that you have cash to burn, so being able to gamble is seen as a status symbol.

*Question 91: *What's the relation between mortal and divine? (Do both exist? What do you define as divine? Can one become the other? Is there anything the divine envies the mortal for?)

Oh boy. Here we go again.

The "divine" beings in my universe are mortals that were given power by Existence in order to defend it from Nothingness. Each divine being derives power by embodying some aspect of the universe, be it a physical property such as light or a more abstract concept such as interpersonal connections. There have been 15 divine beings throughout history. The original fourteen that were created by Existence gave themselves up to Nothingness in order to protect the land of the gods, and a fifteenth came to be later on. However, instead of killing them Nothingness erased their memories and planted corruption in the mind of Light. It then returned them to the land of the gods where they eventually wandered back to the world of O.

O was the first and only world created by Existence. Under the corrupted rule of Light, the gods ruled as bored cosmic despots, rearranging continents on a whim and creating strife however they thought was most amusing. As you might imagine, the relation between humanity and these gods was not a good one. If they heard your pleas at all, the gods were just as likely to turn you into a pile of ash on the spot as to help you. However, two among their number, Thought and Time, felt that something was amiss. In secret, they were uncomfortable with how they treated humanity and could detect the subtle influence of Nothingness on Light. So, they rebelled against the other twelve, but were inevitably defeated.

Since they couldn't be killed, Light exiled the rebels to the land of the gods. However, the two had learned some old powers during their rebellion and had rediscovered the mold from which the world of O was cast. So, they poured their memories into the cast to create a second plane of reality, which contains the double planet system where most of my worldbuilding takes place.

For three thousand years they lived in relative peace in their new world. They didn't interact with the humans of this new world very much, but maintained physical presences with which people could come to converse. They kept no secrets and readily explained their history to anyone who asked, but believed that humanity was meant to grow and thrive of its own accord and so kept out of the way. Some worshiped them, and they didn't suppress such worship, but they would tell their worshipers that they were being rather silly and that the two of them were not gods, but simply extraordinarily powerful spirits. They also didn't suppress the formation of other religions, since they honestly didn't know if most of them were true or not. There are things in the land of the gods that even Thought and Time can't comprehend, and they too believe that there are unknown powers much greater than themselves at work in the universe.

When the other twelve gods found about the new plane of reality, they were incensed. Since they were unable to attack this new plane directly, they created the Generals and sent them into the world to besiege the twin worlds. However, the Generals were ultimately expelled into the land of the gods by Thought when he severed his link with the world, and thus his memories. Thought became little more than a cosmic vegetable, and without his brother Time's power in the world is extremely limited.

Today, people in my world worship little most than shadows of the past, or whatever higher power the Thought and Time believed in. The distinction is often rather vague.

*Question 92: *How are guilds, or your equivalent, treated, employed and regulated?

Guilds used to be very prevalent in Untia, but have fallen out of favor in recent years. The purpose of the guilds were basically to create a monopoly on a particular product. One of their primary functions was to come up with agreed-upon minimum prices, so that nobody could undercut anybody else by too much. Every craftsman was more or less required to be a member of the guild, lest they be run out of town. In some cases, operating without a guild license really was illegal, since the guilds usually had strong political footing. However, international trade has opened up in recent years and with it more competitive pricing. The guilds were complacent and didn't realize the threat at first, but soon experienced sudden and serious shortages of finances. When the guilds were unwilling to change their ways, many craftsmen decided to ignore guild mandates in order to keep their pricing competitive. There were very few tangible things that the guild had to offer, so by the time the guilds lowered their prices to be competitive too many craftsmen had left for them to totally recover.

King Frenn I also took note of these events and realized how much guilds were hurting the Antisan economy (since economic theory was just invented and all the rage at the time) and took steps to weaken the traditionally strong ties between the guilds and government.

*Question 93: *Who do the people of your world look to for wisdom and spiritual advice? (Are they a special class of people, a lifestyle, or perhaps simply the local elder?)

Untians would usually look to whoever maintains the shrine to whatever spirit is locally worshiped. Exact traditions vary wildly throughout the region, but usually they will be a village elder or the like.

Amul priests are considered to have a monopoly on wisdom, and that any other wise person has derived their wisdom from the teachings of the Amul.

*Question 94: *Exclaves, coregions, condominiums and micronations. What political oddities can I find in your world?

The small island of Dantan is in a strategic position that could allow whoever holds it to police all sea traffic in the region. During the Antisan-Iklan-Keflatian war, almost every Untian nation took the opportunity to stake a claim on the island. When the war was over, however, nobody was actually sure who had won the island and everyone had a seemingly legitimate excuse to say that the island was rightfully theirs. So, to this day almost every Untian nation claims the island as their own, but nobody dares build on it since it could bring the ire of literally everyone down upon them.


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 94: *Exclaves, coregions, condominiums and micronations. What political oddities can I find in your world?

The largest country in the world is mostly a barren polar region made up of self-governing entities that move around in the course of a year.  These self-governing entities led by religious tribal leaders.  Only the central government and a few territories remain in one place.  This country is the Confederstion of Northern States.

The story is set in a non-hereditary constitutional monarchy called the Kharran Empire.  When the throne becomes vacant candidates go to the Stadium in the Imperial capital and fight it out using swords.  Whoever is left standing at the end of it is crowned Monarch.

The State of Ascot is a fishing village with 1072 people living in an area of 163 hectares.  It was created by a a cartographer who was distracted.  A squiggle was out around the map.  When it was presented to the parties holding peace talks they thought the mark was a proposed border and agreed to it!  Ascot charges only a 1% annual residency tax so many businesses set up their head office here.  To date there's 7508 businesses here.  

An aircraft carrier that was abandoned by one of the navies in the Great War was found by refugees and proclaimed the Republic of Salvation.  It has an elected government, a standing army of 100 soldiers and a population of 4568 people.  It survives by salvaging shipwrecks in international waters.  It's also internationally recognised as a nation and there are 17 ambassadors on board.


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 92: *How are guilds, or your equivalent, treated, employed and regulated?

They're treated the same as a professional association as that is what guilds have effectively become.


----------



## Ban

* Question 95: *What about funerals? (How are they performed? Who is invited? How significant are they? How are the dead honoured? What happens to their body? Are they given a stone, a cross, a...?)


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> * Question 95: *What about funerals? (How are they performed? Who is invited? How significant are they? How are the dead honoured? What happens to their body? Are they given a stone, a cross, a...?)



Most are burned nowadays. It's easier to keep them from popping back up. A hard learned lesson from the Lich Wars. Some still bury or entomb their dead, but they are mostly holdouts. Most of the dead are usually well honored, though it used to be an honor to eat them too. That's kind of gone to the way side. The big nobles, kings, queens and others get big parades and all before they go to the pyre. Sometimes, dead are dead. Nothing more, nothing less.


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 95: *What about funerals? (How are they performed? Who is invited? How significant are they? How are the dead honoured? What happens to their body? Are they given a stone, a cross, a...?)

Death is seen as a transition from a temporal to spiritual realm and the longer a body is left unburied or unburned the  longer the spirit of the deceased is left in limbo.  Thus the faster the body is buried (if a person is good or too young or "simple" to be judged) or burned (if the person is bad) the better.  Thus, funerals as we know them are pointless.  Instead family, friends, colleagues and well wishers of the deceased will turn up to a wake where they eat a feast, drink a lot of toasts and tell stories about the deceased.  State funerals as such don't exist.  Instead the day after a Monarch or some other person of importance dies is made a public holiday and mourners are invited to partake in festivities.

Why party?   It is believed that when a person dies they will go to the underworld where Hadis will decide if they join the gods in Paradise or wander the Cosmos forever.  "Why mourn when they're off to be with the Gods?" is a common refrain.  Wakes can often last for a few days.

A fruit tree will be planted where a person is buried and a shrine carved in the likeness of the person will be placed in front of the tree.  That will make the deceased more real than if they simply had a cross or stone put on their grave.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> * Question 95: *What about funerals? (How are they performed? Who is invited? How significant are they? How are the dead honoured? What happens to their body? Are they given a stone, a cross, a...?)



Depends.  A funeral for an upper class patrician is as much a political opportunity as it is a memorial. 

For common folk, it's a time to move on, mourning the dead overmuch gets in the way of living. 

Usually, the custom most parts of the Solarian Empire (and elsewhere) in internment - digging a hole, and dropping the corpse in, with or without a coffin. Some imperial cities - notably Corber Port - rest atop immense labyrinths of catacombs.


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## Ban

*Going back, I see I asked about breakfast, but not about the other two main meals of the day. Shame on me.

Question 96: *What will be served for a typical lunch and/or dinner?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Going back, I see I asked about breakfast, but not about the other two main meals of the day. Shame on me.
> 
> Question 96: *What will be served for a typical lunch and/or dinner?



How dare you not ask about the other, wait, two? Just two other meals? I suppose they are the 'main' meals. Lunches are a fairly light affair, at least for the world. Sandwiches, cheeses, crackers, beer and ales or harder stuff. Fishes and the like too. Just as long as it fits the light. Supper/Dinners are the quite heavy, more so if one is richer. Meats are plentiful as per the heavily carnivorous population. Most the time, anyways. It's going to be a big one to sleep on with.


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## Ban

Orc Knight said:


> How dare you not ask about the other, wait, two? Just two other meals? I suppose they are the 'main' meals.



I've been informed on occassion that variating between zero and eight main meals is not normal. Let's stick to the standard three for now


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Going back, I see I asked about breakfast, but not about the other two main meals of the day. Shame on me.
> 
> Question 96: *What will be served for a typical lunch and/or dinner?



Depends where you are at and what your social status is.  Coastal areas, fish or some other form of seafood is usually on the menu.  Poor folks in Solaria's biggest cities - the 'dolemen' - get a daily ration of bread and grain, frequently with dried veggies. Meat for these folks, apart from the rare sliver of fish doesn't happen for dolemen.  Fruits - pomegranates, dates, apples, and what not are popular where the appropriate groves are located.  Fruit that travels well or can be dried turns up on lunch and dinner platters through the empire.  Fresh meat is uncommon for the lower orders outside of cattle/ranching areas, but salt pork/jerky is practically a staple for soldiers and travelers.  For commoners, the food is washed down with weak wine or an herbal tea.


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## Miles Lacey

*Going back, I see I asked about breakfast, but not about the other two main meals of the day. Shame on me.

Question 96: *What will be served for a typical lunch and/or dinner?

The Kharran Empire has a major emphasis on keeping its population fed and, to ensure this, the poor are given what is called "Rice Loaf" which is basically rice, cheap fish and shredded vegetables like onion and carrot wrapped in seaweed.  

Everyone else will usually have a large meal around 6pm which will consist of dishes consisting of assorted breads, fruits (bananas, citrus fruits, plums, peaches, pears), vegetables (usually carrots, onions, lettuce, sweet potatoes, taro, rice), fish (usually shark, tuna salmon or trout, seafood (crab, lobster, crayfish), seaweed and meat (usually chicken, beef (for the wealthier), mutton and mammoth meat).  Most of these foods will be flavoured with an assortment of spices based on where a person lives.  Peppers are used in most cooking.  Alcohol and assorted non-alcoholic fruit based drinks are also served.

(Note that the amount and types of food served will depend on location and wealth of family.)

Lunch tends to consist of smaller portions and is usually made up of uncooked foods.  

A late evening meal (usually served around 9pm) will consist of a soup made up of leftovers from the main meal of the day.


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## Ban

*Question 97: *From Batavians to bikers. Who are the rough and tough folk to be weary of in you world? (And do the myths hold up?)


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 97: *From Batavians to bikers. Who are the rough and tough folk to be weary of in you world? (And do the myths hold up?)



The biggest and often considered most badassest (and generally asses) are any number of the wood elves. They can often back up their claim due to thousands of years of warfare (one of their records held is a hundreds of years long three way war, that they also had a civil war in the middle of) and just general nastiness to the other races and peoples. That and they have constantly and consistently ate their enemies and cannibalism was an accepted standard. Any dryad who serves with them tends to be the same way. They have calmed much since the Lich Wars, but even the tamest among them considers a bar brawl as entertaining (and a possible bloodsport) and blood sacrifice of something to be the norm. They're also on a war time out due to their population suffering massive losses.

Tagging into a close second to them is the Herder Dwarves. Dwarven Hun or Mongol style goat riders with an aggressive policy of enslavement, raping and pillaging that makes the northern viking style ripoff clans look positively tame. Their gods are more demonlike and they give off a menacing vibe. Due to their rapacious ways they can corrupt themselves into satyr's and to them it is a good sign. They are often fighting centaurs and orcs for territory to put their herds on and get weapons from their mountain dwelling cousins when they aren't raiding or fighting with/against the wood elves. They also tend to go after trolls, even if the trolls didn't do anything to them.

The third on the tough guy act is the orcs. They can back it up, it's just they're rather tired of doing so. They've got worse press then the elves who eat people, which says a lot. At some points in time the Hordes they created were little more then pissed off farmers tired of getting hit by raiders and crusader sorts going after them. That and adventurers trying to use them as fodder. The rest of the greenskins fall in with them. Just want to be left the hell alone. And if not, they can use a hammer bigger then most the people they face. If only the Narrative went their way.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 97: *From Batavians to bikers. Who are the rough and tough folk to be weary of in you world? (And do the myths hold up?)



I will assume that 'weary' is actually 'wary.'

Rachasa - cat-like humanoids about a head shorter than humans.  Tribal.  Savage. See themselves as superb hunters and (often) everybody else as prey.  Typical rachasa can jump straight up almost twenty feet, jump 40 foot horizontal without a running start, and is stronger than all but the toughest of humans and hobgoblins - in the Traag War, some of the strongest specimens threw fully armored knights.  They have retractable claws that can punch through armor.  Actually a human/alien hybrid made by the ancient aliens as a sort of scout/security force.  (Very) fortunately they are mostly organized into small tribes and packs...on the primary world.  On Aquas, some have developed civilizations of sorts; almost invariably either brutal dictatorships or loose confederations bound together with common laws and code of honor.

The rachasa are one of several races (others including humans, goblins, hobgoblins, and even elves) on the primary world that roam the 'Great Unknown Southern Plains' - unknown to civilized scholars because of the vast tribes roaming the area (originally fugitives/outcasts/rejects from the races gathered by the ancient aliens.)  These nomads constantly test the borders of the more civilized realms, and occasionally gather into vast hordes that have destroyed, crippled, or founded major nations.  One such barbarian horde effectively destroyed central Agba (but decided a cursed wasteland was no place to settle).  Another horde forced ancient Chou's scattered city states to unite into an empire; later the Chou (barely) drove off a second horde that went on to found the Hobgoblin Hegemony.  And it was one such assemblage, the Marfaki Alliance, that effectively killed the first Solarian Empire. 

That said, the Solarian Legions have damn tough reputations of their own.  In the old days, these troopers conquered most of what became the Solaria, more recently, during the Traag War, they went toe to toe with Traag's armies of hobgoblins, rachasa, and infernal entities.


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## Ban

*Question 98:* What sort of biomes and landscapes are found on your world, that are rare or even alien to ours?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 98:* What sort of biomes and landscapes are found on your world, that are rare or even alien to ours?



Not too much that would count as completely alien to us. The natural environments are such that you'll not suffer overmuch for startling differences. Sure, there's world tree's and such, which are their own sort of environment (when not being burned down by wood elves). True, the drow have several caverns and such that have been not really terraformed as such, but turned into tropical paradises. Much can be found that is ridiculously huge around the world in general.

The natural caverns or the dwarf tamed ones have the giant mushroom forests and such, lot's of glowing things and an entire ecosystem of blind animals. Be they the root boars, slugs, moles or wyrms among them. One can also find dinosaurs about in many places. Massive mountain ranges with things hidden in, on and within them. The oceans are as alien at times as Earth's oceans can get. Sure, there's squid and octopi in the jungles and swampy forests of the south and some of the plant life is carnivorous, particularly lately with Audrey's starting to try to infest new empty places. For the positively weird, one has to manage to get to the moons. For upon them they will have forests and the like, but inside some of them, one can find the proto creatures and beings inside the tree's. Just, seeming to be there, almost as if the moons are waiting.

For something.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 98:* What sort of biomes and landscapes are found on your world, that are rare or even alien to ours?



Primary world:

Chovos - once a basin with an intruding arm of water from the Sea of Dreams, a seat of the ancient aliens powers, where they delved deep into the etheric realms.  The aliens made missteps, resulting in semi-permanent connections with the etheric even as their civilization faded and they became ever more dependent on their servitors - humans, goblins, hobgoblins, rachasa and others.  Certain of these servitors were imbued with potent psi abilities (psi bing part of the ancient aliens nature and integrated into their technology).  These gifted servitors began striking deals with etheric entities, and developed ambitions of their own.  Then they contacted the wrong entity, the powerful demon-god later named Kato-Siva or Three-In-One.  That act permitted the demon partial access to the world, mangled Chorvos's landscape, and almost ended in a dead or dying planet but for last ditch measures taken by the ancient aliens even as their civilization imploded.   Essentially, Chorvos became *the* link between the mortal and demonic etheric realms, a realm where powerful wills could sculpt the terrain.  It's very existence also made demonic conjuration possible across the globe.  Ultimately, the connection thinned, and was ultimately severed with the dissolution of Kato-Siva.

Gawana - Much of the ancient aliens technology was biological, not mechanical. Much of the time, they didn't so much 'build' a house as 'grow' a house.  Gawana is a supersized example of that, a living labyrinth a thousand miles across, grown from a seed the size of a chest.  A lingering remnant of the aliens 'planted' the seed and removed all constraints from its growth as a desperation measure to counter Agba's demon dominated armies, who were encroaching upon valuable storehouses.  (Demons find these living constructs disorienting and tortuous to enter.)  The measure worked to well, creating an entity regarded as a god by it's denizens.

Aquas - the Strand, the 20,000+ mile long ribbon of land that circumnavigates the entire globe, rarely more than a few dozen miles across.  This weird landform is artificial, a creation of the ancient aliens, who manipulated tectonic plates (among other things) to create it.  Of especial note are the 'Shrines' - potent reservoirs of psi energy they stationed at regular intervals, places where wondrous things can happen (a bit too wondrous for many folks, as most of the shrines have small populations.)


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## Orc Knight

Forgot something for the last question and couldn't edit.

The Mouth. Lot's fantasy and even sci-fi has some area in the world that's named like The Maw or The Mouth of the World or The Hell Mouth. Eld's version is one that is fairly alien and almost normal at the same time. Between the sharp and steep mountains, among the largest in the world, there is a constant storm system that makes it look like a giant sharp toothed mouth, hence the on point name. Far to the north, it starts out regularly enough. Pine forests, chill winds, statues of surly dwarves looking down upon you disappointed and orc statues that look to be rallying armies. The usual sort of ruins, maybe a giant or two chilling out and ready to give you the Holy Writ of their Elders and such. Mammoths and such, so a bit like Skyrim. Hot springs.

The further in you get, pending you don't get killed by any number of the predators, big or small. Or the plant life that surprises you. Then kills you. Or stumble across a secret lair of some villain a century or so behind or a mad alchemists lair or even an aspiring world leader with golems all within the giant range. The griffons within it are as big as small dragons and persistent hunters and the dragons get big themselves. And as you go further, it goes from temperate forests to slowly turning into ferns and fern tree's and other things that are very out of place. It's there you'll run into your first northern dinosaurs, which many may try to kill you. Then the Lost World sort of tribes (maybe even one on a plateau) and make it past that, well, there's a hole that bores down deep into the planet. Possibly the core. Or one of the Hells. No one's too sure, because not many make it beyond the pine forests.


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## Ban

*Question 99: *I arrived to your world from ours 99 questions ago. By now I've spent a lot of time in your world, but I've become homesick. If I aired my grievances to the people of your world, would my story be believable to them? (What would the reaction be?)


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## CupofJoe

Ban said:


> *Question 99: *I arrived to your world from ours 99 questions ago. By now I've spent a lot of time in your world, but I've become homesick. If I aired my grievances to the people of your world, would my story be believable to them? (What would the reaction be?)


No, they would think you insane and if you were lucky you'd be chased out of the village before you spoiled the Harvest.
If you were less lucky you might be thrown in to dank cellar and sold to the Slavers next time they visit. Always good to have something/one to trade in case they start looking around...
If they REALLY didn't like you, you'd be tied to a stake and burnt to scare off any evil spirits.
That is all because you are a stranger and they don't know you.
Not much of a tourist industry in this place...


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## Mel Syreth

> *Question 99: *I arrived to your world from ours 99 questions ago. By now I've spent a lot of time in your world, but I've become homesick. If I aired my grievances to the people of your world, would my story be believable to them? (What would the reaction be?)


Not really, but all the same they wouldn't think much of it. Everybody who arrives here ends up with blurred out memories and once they realize there is no way to actually leave the island they go a little cray-cray for a short time. It's normal.


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 97: *From Batavians to bikers. Who are the rough and tough folk to be weary of in you world? (And do the myths hold up?)

Dark mages are feared the most because their magic involves dabbling in necromancy and other forbidden spell casting.  Their bad reputation does have a valid basis but not all dark mages are bad people.  Some are possessed by the spirits of those condemned to wander the Cosmos forever so they are (sometimes) pitied.

Ahabs - A derogatory name given to pirates.  Pirates are ruthless looters and killers whose lack of mercy has made them feared almost as much as the naga.  They often go for smaller vessels that are less likely to have guns or armed crew members.  For this reason ahabs are viewed as cowards.

Primal Neanderthals - While Neanderthals are seen as humanoids by many people others see them as animals and primal Neanderthals are the reason why.  They often live in jungle or very remote areas and live by raiding travellers who stray off the main highways, farms and small villages.  Some are even rumoured to be cannibals.

Quids - Gangsters not unlike the Prohibition-era Mafia in the U.S.

*Question 99: *I arrived to your world from ours 99 questions ago. By now I've spent a lot of time in your world, but I've become homesick. If I aired my grievances to the people of your world, would my story be believable to them? (What would the reaction be?)

They would have some sympathy but a lot of your problems would mystify them.  Internet?  Television?  Smart phones?  Never heard of them.  Your favourite foods back home?  Stop your whining and make them there.  Pizza has yet to be invented so you'd probably make a killing.  Some of the issues like corruption and bad leadership will get you nods of approval.  Just don't insult the Monarch.  Rant about how you miss Christianity and start talking about Jesus and an agent from Branch IX will take you aside and... let's not go there.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 99: *I arrived to your world from ours 99 questions ago. By now I've spent a lot of time in your world, but I've become homesick. If I aired my grievances to the people of your world, would my story be believable to them? (What would the reaction be?)



Well, you could complain about it, but there are bigger worries then someone who ended up there against their will. It happens so often that they don't generally bat an eye. There are ways to escape of course and well not everyone will believe things you tell about our world, you do have a sympathetic ally in the drow. Several of their Rangers are well acquainted with Earth in some way, shape or form. And for a fee could get you back. Though, first you have to know about things, which may mean some more paying to get secrets. Even if to the drow it's an open secret.

Either that or someone smart will distract you with cheese and beer. Probably well before you think of getting homesick or to forget about it on the way.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 99: *I arrived to your world from ours 99 questions ago. By now I've spent a lot of time in your world, but I've become homesick. If I aired my grievances to the people of your world, would my story be believable to them? (What would the reaction be?)



Depends on who you aired your grievances to.  To ordinary people, and even most educated ones, the notion of 'other worlds' (apart from the afterworlds) is absurd.  Complain overmuch about the way the societies are set up, making comparisons with conditions here...well you might be regarded as a madman, or be seen as a revolutionary. 

Those in the know - specialized church and government officials, wizards, scholars, and others might accept your account - isolated travelers from other worlds are not unknown, and these people are aware that their ancestors 'arrived from elsewhere.'  (I have a number of characters like this, mostly in 'Empire.') Whether or not they'd help with your return is another matter.


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## Ban

*We have arrived at the last question of the thread. I think we all did well and I've read a lot of interesting responses. On my part, It has been more difficult to come up with questions this time around, but I hope everyone still enjoyed answering them. A Chapter 3 may open later, but for now we will take a bit of a break. Also, a file with all the questions asked in this thread, will be attached to the first post later on. 
*

*Question 100:* How do your people think the world began and will end? (Are they correct?)


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 100:* How do your people think the world began and will end? (Are they correct?)

It is implied in the Book of Zuyus that Mubarek (the name of the planet) was terraformed by the Gods.  It has even been suggested that the Gods were actually from a highly advanced alien race.  

The truth is the planet was terraformed but not by advanced aliens.  A group of refugees in fourteen spaceships, including a de-registered terraforming ship, escaped from an ambush.  They needed refuge and found a barely liveable planet they could terraform and take refuge on.  To avoid detection they avoided all but the most basic things.  The Gods were the captains in charge of the fourteen ships.

As for how it will end?  The Gods will return in the flesh and take away the righteous to join them in Paradise.  The others will perish "when all will be returned to rock".

The reality?  Terraformed planets have an average shelf life of 20,000 years.  It's Year 7445.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 100:* How do your people think the world began and will end? (Are they correct?)



They don't really think, so much as know the world got started by the Elder (as the Elder can and have often confirmed it). Some are willing to put it onto the gods, but even those still put the blame on the Elders. As for how it will end? No one's quite to sure, seeing as they've had plenty of apocalyptic scenario's. Moon attacks? Well, a wolf eats it and cancels that particular one. Then several wars that eventually escalated to scorched earth tactics. World still lived on. Then big magics came around with people throwing astroids at the planet and rearranging mountains and coasts. World still lived. Then came the unbalancing of Eld's natural balance and the undead. World survived that. The current feeling is that since it survived all that, it's going to take the Elder to unmake it. And as far anyone knows, the Elder aren't touching it. They too can be killed by mortals. They'll leave well enough alone.


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## Vaporo

*Question 95: *What about funerals? (How are they performed? Who is invited? How significant are they? How are the dead honoured? What happens to their body? Are they given a stone, a cross, a...?)

Given that the Untian culture originates from fishing villages, they often prefer aquatic burials. The remains of sailors will often be sent out to sea on a simple sailboat with small holes drilled in the side. The body will be weighed down so the boat and body will sink to the seafloor together, so that the sailor may continue sailing forever.

Another common practice is to cremate the body and have close friends and relatives toss the bones over the side of a boat. There's not really much deep symbolic meaning to this. It's simply a way to let everyone have a final goodbye, since there will be quite a few bones to toss overboard.

If there is no body of water nearby in which to dispose of remains, then they will revert to the old standby of burying the dead. While the grave will almost always receive a marker, many villages only have one or two people who can barely muddle their way through written language, so the marker will usually just be a square cut stone inscribed with the name of the deceased. More elaborate burials may also have the stone inscribed with images of things that the person enjoyed in life or were otherwise meaningful to them.

Most cities are built near the ocean or a river, so their inhabitants will use some sort of burial-at-sea method as described above, but some landlocked cities may have an elaborate system of catacombs to store the dead.

*Question 96: *What will be served for a typical lunch and/or dinner?

I don't ever think that I answered the breakfast question, so I'll do that here as well.

A typical Antisan breakfast consists of hron fruit. A common preparation method is to section the fruit and roast it over a fire for a few minutes, then sprinkle a bit of sugar over top. It's quick and easy, perfect for starting the day.

Many Antisans will skip lunch entirely, since they see it as an unneeded distraction from work. But, when applicable dried hron segments are a goto snack that's easy to carry with you on the job.

And for supper, Antisans will have (You'll never guess it. I'm sure that you haven't picked up on the recurring theme of Antisan agriculture by now.) hron pie served with hron beer.

Of course, hron is just the most common food. Other crops such as wheat and rice are grown in vast quantities and are still staples of the Antisan diet, and the meat industry has been booming thanks to the fact that hron leaves can be used as feedstock.

*Question 97: *From Batavians to bikers. Who are the rough and tough folk to be weary of in you world? (And do the myths hold up?)

I mentioned dock gangs once before. Ragtag groups of thugs and small time criminals. Usually, they just extort money out of shopkeepers and leave everyone else alone, provided that everyone else leaves them alone. However, there's a reason for their reputation, and they won't hesitate to beat you to a pulp in a back alley if you get on their bad side.

The tribes in the arid valleys north of Halgol are notoriously violent. The valleys tend to funnel rain storms between them, so your neighbor's crops may get absolutely drenched this year while you barely see a drop. As a result, the tribes are in a constant state of war with each other. When a valley-dweller warrior wanders into them outside world, the will sometimes be completely incapable of interacting with anyone simply because they're so used to killing anyone who is not part of their tribe. The violence was so bad that Halgol instituted a near-total isolationist policy that stood for centuries, since they came to believe that all outsiders could only be barbarians. They only recently loosened the policy when they came into contact with Untia in order to open up trade.

*Question 98:* What sort of biomes and landscapes are found on your world, that are rare or even alien to ours?

If it's on Earth, it's probably somewhere on Dor or Gen. The only really "alien" places would be the scars from the war with the Generals. Reality around the land the Generals took would become fragmented and inhospitable. When the war ended, some of the land never quite healed.

Buy rights, many of the scars should be jungles. Some of them are literally in the middle of a jungle. However, there just something _wrong _with these places. Seeds refuse to germinate, and plants brought into a scar eventually die. Animals avoid them. Migrating birds flying thousands of feet in the air will go out of their way not to have to fly over a scar. The lack of plant life has left the soil in the scars loose. In many, it's been washed down the slopes into valleys form enormous mud pits. In others, it's blown away entirely.

*Question 99: *I arrived to your world from ours 99 questions ago. By now I've spent a lot of time in your world, but I've become homesick. If I aired my grievances to the people of your world, would my story be believable to them? (What would the reaction be?)

They'd probably call you a crazy lunatic and go about their day. A few learned folk may diagnose you as some sort of traveler from the land of the gods, but when you fail to produce an even remotely accurate description of the land of the gods they too would probably dismiss you as insane.

*New* *Question 100:* How do your people think the world began and will end? (Are they correct?)

In Untia, most follow some variant of the belief that the world came to be when a mighty divine being was shattered by a council of dark gods and the pieces coalesced into the world that they know today. There is no common ending myth, other than some vague stories that the dark gods may come to shatter the world being once again.

The Amul believe that the ancient Alstalia will one day be unable to hold back the Fel any longer and will return to the world. They believe that the world must then band together under the Amul to defeat the Fel, so that the Alstalia can once again lead the world into an age of prosperity. If the Fel are not defeated, then they believe that the few survivors, if any, will be doomed to live short, crude, ignorant lives hiding from the Fel.

The Tulvian tribes believe that the return and victory of the Generals is inevitable, so the only way to survive is to join with them and hope that they will be merciful when the time comes.

In truth, the world was cast from the memories of Azizzi: god of Time, and Goss: god of Thought. They created the world to spite the other twelve gods after they were kicked out of their pantheon. When they found out, the other twelve sent the Generals to besiege and destroy the new reality, but they were repelled when Goss gave up his connection to the world, and thus his memories, to expel the Generals to the land of the gods. The Generals have been slowly gaining influence over the last five thousand years and will eventually be able to return. When they do, Azizzi will have no power to combat them except to make the same sacrifice as Goss. When they have brought the entire world under their shroud, the Generals will have the power to destroy the world and complete their mission. While it is possible that mortal armies could outmaneuver and defeat them, it's a long shot. However, a chance of survival does exist.

Beyond that, there is the vague possibility that Nothingness could eventually rise up to consume the land of the gods, causing all of existence to simply cease to be.

Aaaaaaand that's it! It's been a fun thread. Might go back and answer some that I've missed, now.


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## Mel Syreth

Great thread. Unfortunately I couldn't answer the last few of them but that's okay. Will be looking forwards the next one.


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## Ban

Chapter 3 has started if anyone feels the worldshowing urge: The "Daily" Worldbuilding Prompt. Chapter 3


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## Gotis

Ban said:


> *Question 55: *How is light taken care of at night? (Candles, torches, electric, magic. Who keeps them lit?)


Among the Dwarves, light-stones have changed their society in the last 50ish years. It's a specific type of rock that is magically treated then cut up. one piece is known as the source-stone. As long as it is exposed to a light source, the rest will glow. Most light-stones are rented out, though wealthier folks might buy their own. The lighting companies buy land on the surface to keep the source-stones exposed to sunlight. This causes some resentment with surface dwellers.


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