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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?)
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The "Daily" Worldbuilding Prompt. Chapter 2
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Orc Knight
Auror
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.
Myth Weaver
Miles Lacey
Archmage
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!
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!
Miles Lacey
Archmage
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.
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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- #166
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?)
Orc Knight
Auror
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.
Miles Lacey
Archmage
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.
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.
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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- #170
Question 92: How are guilds, or your equivalent, treated, employed and regulated?
Orc Knight
Auror
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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- #172
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?)
Orc Knight
Auror
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.
Miles Lacey
Archmage
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.
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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- #177
Question 94: Exclaves, coregions, condominiums and micronations. What political oddities can I find in your world?
WooHooMan
Auror
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.
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.
Orc Knight
Auror
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.
