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A Truly Dark World

I began writing my world as if it were the most perfect place to be...The people are sort of like plants. They get energy from the sun and most don't even need to eat, I didn't have an economic currency but I'm thinking of implementing one...called Xecsals, the issue I've run into is that during the world building process I looked back and I realized that this world may be too dark...their are no animals...but there are creatures...and the 'humans' are at the bottom of the food chain...the weather is deadly and although they can grow crops excepts only a certain race eats food. So it's ultimately pointless...is this bad?


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RedAngel

Minstrel
It does not sound too dark at all. I would like to hear a little clarification.

Are the humans plants?
What are the creatures?
Do the various races not barter anything with goods or services with no currency?
What is stopping the race that needs to eat from killing the plant based society for food?
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
What sort of society would such creatures form? With no scarcity of resources, there would be no competition, no struggle. From time to time, they get sort of harvested, or raided, but they are utterly defenseless against it. Something like rabbits.

There would be no civilization. Probably no cities. These humanoid creatures might live in herds or warrens, but that'd be about it. Without conflict, there's no story. All I'm seeing is a bunch of hapless victims.

Also, there has to be animals. You don't have an ecology without them.
 

Gurkhal

Auror
What kind of story and what kind of themes does you story revolve around? Without such knowledge its impossible to say if your world is to dark or even to bright to support the story you want to tell.
 
What sort of society would such creatures form? With no scarcity of resources, there would be no competition, no struggle. From time to time, they get sort of harvested, or raided, but they are utterly defenseless against it. Something like rabbits.

There would be no civilization. Probably no cities. These humanoid creatures might live in herds or warrens, but that'd be about it. Without conflict, there's no story. All I'm seeing is a bunch of hapless victims.

Also, there has to be animals. You don't have an ecology without them.

There are creatures like animals but they exist differently...and the people aren't defenseless exactly but they aren't the top of the food chain...the story doesn't revolve around that point though...I was just stating that it probably needs more then that...that do appear as hapless victims of you think of it that way lol...the animals and the people exist separately though


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What kind of story and what kind of themes does you story revolve around? Without such knowledge its impossible to say if your world is to dark or even to bright to support the story you want to tell.

The story really has no need for animals but I would probably introduce them as their own thing...it doesn't revolve around the animals at all.


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Gurkhal

Auror
The story really has no need for animals but I would probably introduce them as their own thing...it doesn't revolve around the animals at all.


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If such was the case then I would probably not worry to much about animals except so far as they moves into the story. You don't need to understand the whole ecosystem for creatures not taking part in the story.

But yes the world does sound kind of dark and despairing. But for a dark story or a story about light in the darkness, it sounds just fine.

However you go with it, good luck! :)
 
It does not sound too dark at all. I would like to hear a little clarification.

Are the humans plants?
What are the creatures?
Do the various races not barter anything with goods or services with no currency?
What is stopping the race that needs to eat from killing the plant based society for food?

Well the humans aren't exactly plants but they get food and nutrients through a process similar to photosynthesis so eating food isn't particularly a necessity...the creatures are called Qualla that only really exist at night and feed on anything 'alive'...
Bartering exists currently but I will introduce the currency at some point. The ones that need to eat are actually ones born without the ability to process the sunlight into natural energy. They are generally weaker, preventing that.


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There are creatures like animals but they exist differently...and the people aren't defenseless exactly but they aren't the top of the food chain...the story doesn't revolve around that point though...I was just stating that it probably needs more then that...that do appear as hapless victims of you think of it that way lol...the animals and the people exist separately though


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I realized I didn't not fully answer the question...it is an action space fantasy the world is post apocalyptic society in recovery so they have some progress to still make.


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If such was the case then I would probably not worry to much about animals except so far as they moves into the story. You don't need to understand the whole ecosystem for creatures not taking part in the story.

But yes the world does sound kind of dark and despairing. But for a dark story or a story about light in the darkness, it sounds just fine.

However you go with it, good luck! :)

Thank you!


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