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)

 

[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?

 

[Orc Knight]

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.

 

[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?)

 

[Orc Knight]

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.

 

[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.

 

[Ban]

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

 

[Orc Knight]

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.

 

[WooHooMan]

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.

 

[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.

 

[Ban]

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

 

[Svrtnsse]

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

A modern day fantasy world, but without cars.

 

[Orc Knight]

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.

 

[Ban]

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

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

Dutch scifi, based on cyberpunk principles with modern aesthetics.

 

[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 .

 

[WooHooMan]

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

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

 

[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.

 

[Ban]

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

 

[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.

 

[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.