Recent content by Chad Lynch

With magic there should always be a how (it works/ is done), a source for the power, and a cost. The first and the last can sometimes be combined. Perhaps the light from a burning sacrifice can provide more power than sunlight. Greater power, but the cost can be terrible.

I must admit to liking the corrupt civilized evil races of late more than crude savages. Fritz Leiber had a race in one of his stories that were basically humans, but they had translucent skin. All you could readily see were their skeletons and hair. They were an ancient, decadent people who...

I think you need to decide the ethics of the world first. How you'll frame the religious aspect should flow from that. For instance, though Martin's Game of Thrones first few books are excellently written, I soured on it exactly because it is amoral and none of the character's actions really...

The idea of having a super-volcano repeatedly erupting over the course of history is a good one, unique. A good backdrop. A thing to keep in mind, for pre-industrial societies, resources mean first and foremost arable land. Not only do you need warm weather and enough water, but woods are...

I recall reading something like this in a Vinge story. Towards the end, the MC's are traveling from the outer edge of the galaxy to somewhere closer to the core to rescue a couple of kids stranded on a late middle age tech level alien planet. The MC's find something like what you're talking...

The answer seems obvious. Just like those that would like to stop the burning of flags, invent a material that explodes when exposed to flame, then print your book on it, or make your flag out of it. Eventually the natural process of negative feedback will end the unwanted practice.

I'd suggest the following. Fire represents the energy of the universe, the energy of creation. By creating things, either with their hands or through their magic, they share in that primal act of creation. This creation brings them closer to the Creator of the universe. I would suggest if...

If it's all she's ever known she would probably just call it the forest, woods, or the bush. Assuming she's not well traveled she wouldn't know pine barrens from chilly red woods from steamy jungle. The mix between open spaces and woods/under growth seems right. There's actually a relatively...

First of all, is there any counter to this supernatural evil, or any hope at all that the mortals of the world can stand against it? A Lovecraft story can be great fun, but remember, they are almost always a supernatural horror short story. While Martin's Game of Thrones is pretty dam good...

A race raised on a frozen planet would be used to dealing with the normal dangers of such a place. Still, it could be interesting to combine the two. Why not have some aquatic creature who surprises its prey by breaking the lake/sea's surface ice under its feet? Have the hunting party walking...

In addition to powerful rulers establishing cities for mostly personal reasons (see Tamerlane, Alexander, Constantine... and I'm sure others that don't immediately spring to mind), there are also cities established or maintained when they might otherwise have faded away for purely religious...

Yea, unless hung so that the wound is the low spot on the body, like the way an animal is hung to bleed during the slaughter process, then the wound would fill with a pool of blood if laying down, draining in a steady, diminishing stream if sitting up.

Like attracts like, unless it is used as some sort of payment for the thing summoned.

It might also be worth remembering that societies seem to be more dynamic in terms of military, culture, economics and even science when they have prominent religious beliefs. I suspect the reason you find people sans religion only far out in the jungle or some similarly remote locations is...