Recent content by speculativejester

I really think this idea has a TON of potential. The only hindrance I can see, honestly, is the enormous scope of the project. I feel like you should narrow down the world to a few core concepts that can be altered by the mind- otherwise, it'll take only one guy thinking "the entire world is...

Memorability of characters is really important so your readers don't forget about the uniqueness of your character (point in case being "Pants" from Twilight). However, making a character too flamboyant can hinder their abilities to perform a lot of duties. If you're a well-known assassin...

A lot of colonization is comes down to opportune timing. If your world is not already heavily populated, it's completely possible that habitable stretches of land have been left untouched by human civilization. Also, the land may just be particularly difficult to access from the region...

I think avoiding firm numbers when possible is a good idea in a narrative setting simply because most readers don't want to have to think about numbers as they're reading. However, it definitely adds a sense of realism if you're well versed enough in economic theory that the suggested values...

In my personal opinion, every aspect of world-development (especially the religions) should serve to either add more content to a central theme in the story or provide a means of achieving a desired scene. My current work features a pseudo-christian religion that has some Islamic influences...

Long travel periods are generally the plague of many writers, but the absence of a particular character allows for circumstances to occur that would not usually happen if the character stayed in that area. Also, feel free to scale your world appropriately. Though I am using a "world" map for my...

I appreciate the input, guys! @Addison, I was moreso looking for a way to restrict the talents of magi in a logical way. What determines how much fire you can spew, or how much soul you can have? Just small limits that actually places a reasonable scale among the wizards of the world.

The projection of all magic generates from the conduit and is oriented in a direction chosen by the user. Restricting the flow of magic in a certain direction is harder than letting it radiate from the conduit- therefore, many conduits come with a reflecting material of sort as to alleviate the...

Hello all! It's been awhile since I've been active. The Navy decided to pull me away with training, but now I'm back for awhile. :^) Anywho, I've been working on constructing a magic system. I really like the basis I have for it, but I'm having difficulty restricting how magic is used in the...

Well to be completely honest, I'm not even sure of the cultures of this world I have created. I build world in a top-down manner, and this is a project where the only things I really have decided are the origin of the universe, the resulting gods, the source of magic, and now finally the...

Something I've been working on for a little bit. I used the Donjon world generator and then added some of my own labels and rivers. Still a WIP, but I think it looks pretty nice.

Your definition of hexes, wards, and whatever is completely up to you. Wards are usually used to "ward off" something or someone. Hexes usually refer to harming someone with magic. Curses usually refer to hurting someone by putting them under the strain of something they cannot control (or...

1. I think there are better ways of demonstrating a human need for social structure other than using something like the Alpha Vampire. People do not need to be assigned ranks to know that there is a structure. I'm sure if you've always seen how some of your friends have more of a dominant...

Well, I think it depends on how broad you're going with the domains of the respective gods. Is there a god for everything, or just a few things? I would think people would see death as the beginning of a new life. If the existence of an afterlife is a confirmed thing, then why would any person...

Well, I've been trying very hard to avoid the whole "gods need believers" thing. I want it to be evident in my story that from a philosophical standpoint, gods are nothing more than the creation of humans. Here's what I developed thus far: As the Eien became so dense with spiritual energy...