The "Daily" Worldbuilding Prompt. Chapter 3

[Orc Knight]

Any terrifying combination is usually not much of evolution so much as the drow asking the question 'Can we mix these things together?' and then proceeding to try it. Thus chimaera's, owlbears, manticores, hydra's and other such mixtures are all their fault. Though the natural one is the griffon, the gods elf and green hit beasts, as they prey on them.

There are lot's of other natural beasties, including aforementioned squid and octopi in the jungles and swamps, kraken that can walk and godzilla monsters in the sea's. The herder dwarves have bred a Battering Ram, which is a ram the size of an elephant used to break castle gates. There's also still dinosaurs about, though not fully recognizable as we would know them and as deadly as the world around them. There's the root boars, which are like normal wild pigs and boars, but with a much worse temper who borrow or hang out in cities in the sewers and kill and eat anything they get ahold of. Delver dwarves blind hounds, which are a version of great danes with no eyes. The giant riding parrots for the dark elves (drow) of Tit'allia as a part of their very colorful air force. The Bronze Boars, a mythical sort of boar in the jungles and ridden by trolls that has metallic skin of sorts after reaching a certain age and eating lot's of heavily magical things.

The Shadow Wolves, an orcish breed of riding wolves that can cut through the shadow realms and are more vicious then the regular riding wolves and often called Wargs. The War Pigs of the north also for the orcs and part of the riding clans, possibly cousins of the Bronze Boars. The Red Aurochs, which are bigger then old aurochs, and also red and very fighty. And the requisite killer rabbits. They do exist.

An Edit: I also forgot the Great Hinds and other deer and elk of the Fea and Sylvan forests that are used as mounts. The greatest of which is the King of Forest which is often used as a mount for the current wood elf ruler of the time. And the overgrown shellfish along the coasts and super gators and crocodiles. Really a lot of the world is full of oversize animals and prehistoric beasties like mammoths in the far north. Strange beasties in the jungles and strange featherless birds along the coasts that aren't reptiles or dinosaurs. So, there's a lot of general weirdness about.

 

[Gotis]

Question 107: Land-Oysters, Sea-Giraffes and Flying-Bears. What sort of strange and terrifying evolutions have you subjected real world animals to in your worlds?

I've got unicorns and winged reindeer. Some animals are altered by mages/alchemists. Dog fighting is fairly common. These dogs are fed potions designed to beef them up and also to guard against mind control magic.
Not quite an animal but, the "zombie ant fungus" has been mutated and can now control animals and people. It was an experiment by an Elven government to control enemies on the battlefield. It didn't work out like they planned.
Edit to mention: Many mix and match creatures from folklore don't naturally exist in my world, but a skill necromancer can make just about anything.

 

[Miles Lacey]

Question 107: Land-Oysters, Sea-Giraffes and Flying-Bears. What sort of strange and terrifying evolutions have you subjected real world animals to in your worlds?


(Yeah I read the chat Svrt and Orc. Sneaky buggers )

The flying tiger is perhaps the most fearsome predator in the Tarakan Empire. Flying tigers are mostly found in the mountains where they prey on small mammals and birds. They occasionally attack humanoids if they venture too close to their young. The flying tiger is about half the size of tigers in our world. In the Tarakan Empire it is illegal to hunt them and they also feature on both the Imperial coat of arms and the Imperial flag.

 

[Devor]

I've done tons of this in the past, but I'm just going to look at Smughitter.

First, I have the three creatures that have been infused with seelie magic: The Wolpertinger (winged rabbit), the Peryton (winged deer), and the Swan. But all of those are pretty standard folklore. There's also a range of insects they use for magical purposes, but I think the only physical change comes in a celtic knot pattern on their back and wings.

Next I have the more monsterous creatures, beginning with the Barghest and Nightjar, but stretching out into a variety of far more warped creatures. These "taisidhe" creatures, as I'm calling them, have "ghostly" fairy fire properties that allow them to pass through objects, change their shape for a bit, and leave blue fairy fire in their footsteps. Each of them are based on folklore, but some are pretty warped, like the Domartch, which has a dog face, bat wings, three fish tails, and no hands - it just skips and flies across the top of the water. All of these creatures represent a warping of seelie magic and are drawn to places where seelie magic leaks.

Finally, I have my murloc-class race.... the Dhobar. These creatures are based on the stoat (forest floor), the badger (burrows), the marten (treetops), and the otter (rivers). They're about four feet long, only semi-intelligent, and can use tools when shown how. Now I know I compared them to murlocs, but this is where the comparison ends. Dhobar can be taught to improve their select habitat. They were once trained just to prevent fires or clean up the rivers, but recently people have realized this can be extended dramatically, and the otter-type Dobhar has been used to maintain water filtration plants inside most cities.

 

[Ban]

Question 108: From elephants to fighter fleets. What's the most awe-inspiring form of transportation around? (Is it awe-inspiring due to its size? Its sound? Is it state-of-the-art or long-established?)

 

[Maker of Things Not Kings]

I'm working in a very minimalist, agrarian world. Walking, ox carts, barrows, and river skiffs are the main forms of transport. But there is room for ingenuity and advance and the mining folk, the Grogochs, have found they could make a little extra coin running handcars designed and refitted to transport folk and goods from north to south on the old narrow lode car lines. So, in this world, it's awe inspiring because of it's novelty and convenience and has led to an additional east/west track being laid for only the transport of goods/folk, allowing the central village, once just a stopover camp on cross-land travels, to become the emerging, commercial hub of the land.

 

[ThinkerX]

Question 108: From elephants to fighter fleets. What's the most awe-inspiring form of transportation around? (Is it awe-inspiring due to its size? Its sound? Is it state-of-the-art or long-established?)

two candidates, one a bit low key, the other just starting to be developed in the aftermath of the Traag War.

The low key candidate is the bicycle - clunky single speed beasts with iron frames and solid tires. However, despite their limitations, bicycles did triple the amount of miles a Solarian Legion could cover each day, especially given that nations excellent system of stone paved roads. With the wars end, bicycles are everywhere. New designs are appearing, some that feature actual gears, others three wheeled beasts intended to tote passengers or parcels.

The brand new and still experimental candidate is the steam locomotive, developed during the war for industrial use in Equitant, center of Solaria's technological revolution. Currently it is being tested at factory complexes and mine sites, though some dream of railways extending for hundreds of miles. The limitation will be fuel, as the planet has no coal, which means burning either still scarce fumar trees or tapping into the worlds modest petroleum deposits.

A third candidate, showy, but not truly developed yet, are hot air balloons, usually employed for military observation. The military also has a secret program making use of what we'd term 'hang gliders,' but these are regarded as unreliable and extremely dangerous.

 

[Orc Knight]

Question 108: From elephants to fighter fleets. What's the most awe-inspiring form of transportation around? (Is it awe-inspiring due to its size? Its sound? Is it state-of-the-art or long-established?)

So many choices. Plenty there to inspire awe, from sandworms to airships. Though Zukal does have entire flying cities (or, did, they now have one) and fleets of airships. They also have their golem horses and even golem elephants and their alchemically tinkered beasties. There's sea elf coral ships and other live ships like the Sea Queen. She actually flies too and tends to be very impressive and awe inspiring when it slams into a war zone. There's the military wyvern and dragon flights can be quite impressive. Same with griffons when they aren't busy trying to eat people.

A Peach Knight on a hydra or a manticore is quite impressive, especially if they have an alchemist on another neck with explosives and there usual amount of chemicals. There's giant spiders and wolves and really lot's of stuff I named last go, including the dinosaurs again. At least one queen has rode on a Render into battle, which is the unicorn equivalent of a carnivorous homicidal maniac that breathes fire and acid and scares dragons. There's the horseless carriages powered by magic and steam in Zukal too, one even floats. They also have land ships.

The dwarves at one point had an entire underground ship fleet they used to launch an attack on Paradise. The drow now use it as museum pieces around the city. They also have their full steel ship fleet they get around the sea's with and are used with magic. The drow have submarines and the human fleets are often almost as impressive. As I said, there's a lot.

 

[Miles Lacey]

The plebs can take the train, the tramp steamers or even a plane or airship but a discerning aristocrat like you will travel by adama. That is, a flying horse.

 

[Gotis]

Question 108: From elephants to fighter fleets. What's the most awe-inspiring form of transportation around? (Is it awe-inspiring due to its size? Its sound? Is it state-of-the-art or long-established?)

Probably the pterosaurs used by the dark elves. The snow elves use flying reindeer. It inspires awe because very few have been able to tame a flying creature.
There is also a man called Sarrel the Necromancer who rides in a cart pulled by a team of zombies. It inspires terror which might be a form of awe.

 

[Ban]

Question 109: Hush... we shouldn't be seen talking, but let's say I wanted someone to 'disappear' in your world, who should I ideally approach? (And who would I actually approach?)

 

[Gotis]

Question 109: Hush... we shouldn't be seen talking, but let's say I wanted someone to 'disappear' in your world, who should I ideally approach? (And who would I actually approach?)

Well if you go to the inhuman section of Amber City, there is Gret. She's a Goblin and quite good at what she does. She's not cheap though.
If you find yourself in the heart of The Gnoman Empire I'd suggest a man named Theopolis or Boss Theo. regardless of who you hire, you'll want his blessing. Just keep in mind, the Gnomes were named after the city, not the other way around. You don't want to look like a tourist.
Speaking of Gnomes, you might be able to convince a Red Cap. They don't care about money. They're a group of murderous Gnomes who hate humans. Of course don't approach them yourself if you are human.
There's always Sarrel the Necromancer. He doesn't care about life at all. He'd even raise the body to be your servant if you want. Payment would merely be some ghastly future favor.
You might try for an audience with Count Bellathorn. He rules over a small area called Lugosia. He's a vampire, but an honorable person. As long as you're not trying to off one of his subjects, you might convince him to add your target to his next meal. He does prefer feeding on the wicked. You're not wicked are you?

 

[Orc Knight]

Question 109: Hush... we shouldn't be seen talking, but let's say I wanted someone to 'disappear' in your world, who should I ideally approach? (And who would I actually approach?)

Usually the easiest way to do it is to tell a wood elf that whoever you want gone insulted their battle prowess. The elf is likely to even eat the evidence too! A foe offed and a dinner as a reward.

On the other hand, for the disappearing of (mostly) more subtle ways, one finds the way to the Assassins Guild in the White City nowadays. It will be properly reviewed by Gennia D'Chen and may even go all the way to High Queen Titania and the Council of Four and passed into the Greenkin Ruling Councils. If it's for something petty then you're more or less left with the thug route or the above wood elf way. If they all find it perfectly viable, not a threat to the current rulers and not going to hurt them in the long run then it will not take long and you'll find your target gone quite abruptly.

You can also contact Slum Lords and other thugs, but the only way to get a full professional is through the Assassins Guild as ruled by the Assassin Queen. Which will cost you plenty of money. Which you hopefully have after getting your writing job with the cook books and crime drama's while living in the formerly empty house you took on as your own.

 

[Miles Lacey]

Question 109: Hush... we shouldn't be seen talking, but let's say I wanted someone to 'disappear' in your world, who should I ideally approach? (And who would I actually approach?)

If you want to make someone disappear you've got all sorts of options. A shady Captain of a steamer could always arrange for them to "dine with the naga". There's a number of gangs that will provide "permanent dirt naps" for the right price. A more effective way that costs nothing is to accuse them of heresy in a letter to the Catechism then arrange for some incriminating evidence to back it up to be found in their car or home. Some people offer "murder for hire" services. Just be careful: plain-clothes police officers and agents of the Ministry of Internal Security (MIST) are very good at sniffing out dirty deeds being done, especially if they're done dirt cheap.

 

[Ban]

With that ghastly business out of the way...

Question 110: What's a typical autumn meal? (Bonus: Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks?)

 

[Orc Knight]

With that ghastly business out of the way... Question 110: What's a typical autumn meal? (Bonus: Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks?)

Give me a second, I'll have to stew over this one. Certainly no pumpkin spice lattes. But as it is fall, soups, stews and heavier meals become the forefront of many meals. Chili's and chowders and the like. It is, as always, whatever is at hand during the season. So in the north, apples and other fruits for many a pie and such. Pastries and applejack come out and many an animal finds itself butchered, salted and stored. Ciders come to fore as things like lemonade and sweet tea's go to ground. Hot tea's and coffee also become more prevalent along with seasonal beers.

Given it is the harvest season, everything one imagines is typical of it comes about. Though it is different on the Southern Continent, where it means the rainy season is coming in and their food variety quite a bit more tropical. Though it still get's chilly and the like, one needs more stew and soup style things too. As for an autumn meal example. I'll use an orcish one from the plains, because why not? It's likely the only meal that works for you because it'll fill you up for a couple of hours at least.

Breakfast: Trencher breakfast, a meal of eggs, sausage gravy,served on a large plate size bread bowl, with a side of apples and oats and a breakfast ale, tea or milk.
Second Breakfast: A light warmed sandwich, usually with cold cuts or fish and milk, tea or coffee.
Lunch: Second meal ale of the day, sandwiches soaked with the leftover sausage gravy of the morning and cold vegetables.
Tea Time: Some light cookies and tea (warm, but some orcs take it cold).
Snacks: Jerked and salted meat and boiled eggs are fairly common, along with cheeses.
Supper/Dinner: Usually a roast and veggies that have been cooking all day, if you're real lucky, it's a dinosaur haunch and therefore you can have it on your sandwiches for lunch the next day. Third and fourth meal ale/beer/beverage of your choice.
Dessert: Berry and fruit pies, more tea. Roasted or sugared nuts.
Midnight Snack: A quick roast sandwich or three and a night cap.

 

[Miles Lacey]

Question 110: What's a typical autumn meal? (Bonus: Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks?)

There's no autumn as such because virtually all of the Tarakan Empire is in the tropics but fish, rice, root vegetables, citrus fruits and various spices make up the majority of the diet.

BREAKFAST

Mojo soup made from rice, coconut milk and certain fruits.

LUNCH

Usually an assortment of various vegetables, fruits and rice wrapped in eatable leaves. Usually spices will be added.

DINNER

The biggest meal of the day is spent with family. Rice, steamed or baked vegetables, fish and meat are served. Desserts - such as fruits, small cakes and dairy products - will be served.

 

[Gotis]

With that ghastly business out of the way...

Question 110: What's a typical autumn meal? (Bonus: Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks?)

I'm not sure about specifics. I suppose it would be harvest time, so veggies dishes and pies would be common. Tea is a staple. Coffee and hot chocolate would be special treats as they aren't native. Folks would also be prepping for winter. I imagine there would would be some sort of feast for harvest followed by more conservative eating.

 

[Ban]

Question 111: What is something from our world that people in your world couldn't care less about? Why?

 

[Svrtnsse]

Question 111: What is something from our world that people in your world couldn't care less about? Why?

The price of gas - because while it's a modern-day world, there are no cars.