Miles Lacey
Archmage
Computers. They haven't got the need for them. If they need information they go to libraries and if they need to communicate with others they send letters or telegrams or they call them. Or visit them.
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The "Daily" Worldbuilding Prompt. Chapter 3
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Computers. They haven't got the need for them. If they need information they go to libraries and if they need to communicate with others they send letters or telegrams or they call them. Or visit them.
Orc Knight
Auror
Probably cars. Though Eld does a whole cheat thing when they get invaded by aliens and already having airships and trains of sorts, the personal vehicle is not something that would ever even really occur to most of them. Except the drow, but the drow have shown no particular love for them either. Otherwise magic more or less helps make it more like the modern world and beyond in time. And with the eventual reappearance of portal and gate systems and cross dimensional travel and teleportation, cars are just kind of a waste of metal.
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- #63
Question 112: If I decided to move to your world, and you wanted to keep me out, what fact would you bring up to scare me off?
Orc Knight
Auror
I want to just say 'It's Eld' and figure that should be enough. But if you're coming at it from an ignorant view and all you see is a lush fantasy filled world then I guess I would say, "You're dinner for the elves. Also everything else might be trying to kill you. The greenkin are pretty nice for the most part though."
This is a really difficult question for me. I haven't implemented anything in particular that's really all that harrowing it could be used to dissuade someone from moving there. It's a fairly standard fantasy-world, but in modern-day times. The reasons you wouldn't want to move there would be about the same as the reasons you wouldn't want to move here.
One thing though, portal magic is illegal, so if you moved there, you wouldn't be able to legally move away again.
WooHooMan
Auror
There’s millions of genocidal human-hating demons pouring into the world everyday. There’s also widespread religious wars, fungi that use mind control magic and “zombie” outbreaks throughout half the world and brutal military dictatorships and civil unrest in the other half. And, for the love of god, stay away from the ocean.
But the real thing that should keep you out is the high cost of living in the “civilized” parts of the world. Seriously, the property tax in some areas is absurd!
But really, in this setting of mine, life is pretty good for the average joe. Mostly because they don’t know about all the crazy stuff going on behind the curtain.
Gotis
Scribe
There are many ways to die, or worse in my world. There are a few different types of dragons. Most you'll meet are about the size of a bear, but you can find bigger. The three moons each cause a different variety of were-creature. When those moons align you don't want to be outside.
There are two types of zombie. There is the fungus controlled variety, highly infectious with no cure. There is also the undead variety. Skilled necromancers can cobble together horrific abominations. Speaking of the undead, Vampires skulk in the night looking for their next meal. Ghosts are real and dangerous. You may be able to reason with one, but most don't care about the living.
Watch out for the graspberry bush. I looks harmless and it's yellow berries enticing, but it will grab you with its thorny vines and pull you into it's gaping maw. Any baker or wine maker will pay good money for the berries though. They're to die for.
Add to that several cults that practice humanoid sacrifice, crazy red-hatted gnome assassins, and worst of all governmental bureaucracy.
My world is, as a great Q once said, "... wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross; but it's not for the timid."
Myth WeaverQuestion 107: Land-Oysters, Sea-Giraffes and Flying-Bears. What sort of strange and terrifying evolution's have you subjected real world animals to in your worlds?
(Yeah I read the chat Svrt and Orc. Sneaky buggers)
Bearack - furry bear sized beast, six legs, tentacles growing out of its back. Omnivore, but easily ticked off, capable of hurling armored warriors a good dozen plus yards.
Vree - smaller dog sized version of Bearacks, hunt in packs. Considered pests.
plus the descendants of once ordinary animals mutated either by Shub-Niggurath or during the Time of Passage, when the Demon Star draws nigh. Mostly, though, these are one-offs.
Miles Lacey
Archmage
"So you want to visit my world, eh? You do realise that some places have laws that would put even apartheid and Jim Crow laws to shame? Or that many parts of the world still rely on untrained mages for health care? Perhaps the ship smashing nagas, airship tearing rocs and car crushing mammoths might not be to your liking? And some of the spices here are so strong that you'll be on intimate terms with the toilet for the next few weeks."
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- #71
Question 113: Can you give me a rundown of some of the more peculiar military traditions found in your world? (And what's the reasoning behind them existing?)
In Smughitter guardsmen are all over the place, but their role is a little different. Their chain of command skips the local leaders and goes to the king, and from there they're assigned to different locals. Their standing orders, in order of priority, are:
- Survive and report.
- Guard the peace around them.
- Obey the civilians and rules of the post they're assigned to.
Their national loyalties are maintained by relocating them every nine months so that they're in four (out of twelve) different commands over the course of a three year tour. After the three year tour they would look to get promoted to a more stable position.
They started this after some of the local soldiers and lords got carried away and dragged them all into a nasty war.
I suppose the biggie would be the very existence of the Church 'Liberator' legions. Way back when, most of a millennia ago, the Solaria empire legalized the cult of the True God, a monotheistic religion. The cult grew over the next century or so, making deep inroads into the old pagan faiths - who bore a frequently violent dislike for the newcomers. Consequently, the more able members of the True Faith developed martial skills. Then, came a massive barbarian invasion from the east, which saw the western realm overrun inside of a decade and threatened the rest. Desperate, the reigning emperor, Anthony Plotinus, cut a deal with the Church - save the empire, and he'd make them the official religion. It worked, though ill trained Liberators died by the tens of thousands. The Church has maintained seven legions of Liberators to 'protect the faithful' ever since. Compared to the state legions, Liberators are have substandard equipment and training - leather armor and spears instead of scale armor and swords, plus their pay is a pittance and they have no land grant to look forward to at the end of their hitch. But what they do have is fanaticism.
Among the state legions, the II Equitant is worthy of note - they have the reputation of the best military engineers in the Empire, and developed or field tested everything from bicycles to hot air balloons to hang gliders to crude cameras.
Gotis
Scribe
I've mentioned the Dog-Kin before. They're a small part of the current Orcish army. They consider their dogs equal to any soldier.
There is also the Dark Elves who ride Pterosaurs. It's still in a concept phase.
The Smil (Saber-toothed cat-folk) They change their personal name during times of war.
Miles Lacey
Archmage
The Tarakan Empire is a maritime nation so much of its military traditions relate to the sea but most of the traditions listed here apply across all branches of the military.
Some of the traditions include:
Soldiers always honour the war dead of their enemies because it is believed that soldiers who fall in battle have a special place reserved for them in Paradise.
Military personnel are never stationed in the areas they were born and raised in or where they signed up in. This is to ensure that if they have to crush a rebellion where they are stationed they won't be tempted to join it.
Soldiers are trained in sign language so they can communicate with each other without making a noise. At night soldiers wear black gloves coated in a powder that can only be seen with an ultra-violet light built into their helmets. This is done because elves have such sensitive hearing they can hear soldiers whispering.
Helmets are never worn during parades. It is considered bad luck and an act of cowardice. In the Book of Artemis that the Goddess was raped by a soldier so she cursed all "cowards who hide under the armour of the warrior". It is believed by some people that a General who reviewed his troops while wearing a helmet cursed the soldiers of the Tarakan Empire and cost them the war as a result.
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- #76
Question 114: Can you give me the rundown of a (in)famous comedic work from your world? (Bonus: How did it conquer its place in the cultural memory?)
Gotis
Scribe
There is a series of plays known as The Centaur Follies. They are ribald comedies that rely on stereotypes, portraying them as savage, randy beasts. The most popular is "The Centaur's Harem." It is about a horse breeder who only has mares and a centaur who...erm...saves the farm.
Centaurs take offence because it dehumanizes them. (so to speak) Humans have also pushed centaurs off their land for years. These kinds of plays tend to ease the conscience of humans.
Miles Lacey
Archmage
The Story of Edo is a story about one of two girls who were both gifted with the Spark (the gift of magic) on the same day in the same town and temple. One girl was branded by the Gods and marked out as a Prophet while Edo got a tattoo that was identical to the brand. The story is a ribald account of Edo's life as she lurches from one crazy situation after another because of all the people who confuse her for the Prophet. Edo and the Prophet finally meet when they're thrown together into the same cell before their execution. It turns out that the Prophet had spent all her life following around Edo because she thought Edo was the Prophet! The story became an instant bestseller because it made fun of the antics and gullibility of the self-righteous and the overly pious.
Orc Knight
Auror
I don't think the Due to the Dead is particularly unique, but it is quite common through out Eld. Though it can have a unique twist if your military unit or order has a necromancer or death priest/ess on hand. Then you can give your due with the dead. It is unwise to do it with the undead however.
The Queen's Farce. Though it rarely played outside of Paradise it was the thing that would end up cementing that the Golden Queen was nothing more then a dumb brute in the public consciousness. It would also add in that she was considered quite oblivious to most things and completely fails to notice several of her knights and rescued damsels hitting on her or trying to declare their love for her. They lucked out in that she was not much of a patron of the theatrical arts (there were things to be hit and a rivalry to get on with) and missed it more or less. She would eventually see it and much to the actors in it's relief, she didn't destroy the theater. She found it faintly amusing at best.
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- #80
Question 115: How nationalized is identity in your world? (Do people buy into the imagined community? Has there even been attempts to create them so far, or is personal/regional loyalty common? In case national identity exists, has it gone so far as to create a civil religion? How is this represented?)
Imagined community - Wikipedia
Civil religion - Wikipedia
Imagined community - Wikipedia
Civil religion - Wikipedia
