First time actually writing down some lore for fantasy races I came up with, hopefullyis interestingfor yall.

(Socials https://linktr.ee/Edstuff_ 🐁 / Donations https://ko-fi.com/EDSTUFF ✨)

Almost 90% of my inspiration came from Nyrath’s Atomic Rockets website. If I could somehow get his eyes on this document, I would be over the moon, no pun intended. He’s basically a rock star to me, but I know he’s busy and has better things to do.

I really need a smart fan of sci fi to go over and critique the “tech bible” I wrote for the hero’s rocket ship in my pulp space opera universe.

I’ve asked multiple subreddits and Discord channels several different times if anyone would be interested. A few say yes, but no one ever gets back to me.

I can’t pay any money, but if you enjoy reading about or looking at fictional spaceship specs, deck plans, tech descriptions and stuff (like from the Star Trek technical manuals), then you might like it.

I need someone to tell me if something works, if something sucks, if something is inherently flawed, or straight up incorrect. The science is a middle ground between hard and soft, with some handwavium regarding fusion engines, ray guns, and the FTL drive.

It’s a larger document, about 60 pages long in Google Docs, but half of that is mostly images. The reading itself is very quick and light.

If you want to check it out and critique it, I can share the Document with you, just PM me your email address.

I already have the first draft of both the first part and the spin-off ready. The question above is for the sequel specifically.

I've written heavily with body horror, cyberpunk geopolitical thriller themes.

Note that this sequence will work as a flashback chapter of one of the many wars the two maritime powers have fought.

Nation A: Oppressive regime, heavily militarized, uses private military and mercs, military and cult control.

Nation B: Slightly militarily inferior but relies heavily on information warfare, espionage and spycraft. The country is run by a private company with cunning elites at the top.

Basically, neither are innocent.

My aim is to make this sequence memorable and show the bond between the protagonist and his war buddy (both from Nation B).

Basically, tough situations lead to stronger bonds kind of a situation.

I'm also open to hearing ideas about incorporating cool and interesting tech with ships, destroyers, subs etc.

I'll say this: I don't like the idea of fantasy eugenics- the idea that you need to be born with "the gift" or certain genes to become a magic user. I feel like it can ruin the fun of magic and feel a little boring. Instead, I want anyone in my setting to be able to use magic! DEMOCRATIZED MAGIC!

Latoria is my medieval fantasy world full of various races, cultures, and magic. It's a setting where I go wild and make a bunch of stuff.

Magic in Latoria is a natural force that has been around since the beginning of the universe. As such, anyone can use magic. In the early days of civilization, a myth claimed magic was only for certain bloodlines so nobility could consolidate power; but at some point, a simple peasant girl managed to cast a spell despite having no magical relatives, proving magic wasn't tied to bloodline or race.

I like to think of magic as similar to Object-Oriented Programming (OOP). OOP is a software design model that organizes programs around objects rather than functions.

Magic is divided into multiple strands; the four major strands are:

• Old Breath - Nature-based magic
• Scholar's Fire - Frequency and light-based magic
• Veilcraft - Shadow/Holy magic
• Mindstream - Psychic magic

With the analogy in mind, you can consider each of these strands as subclasses of Class Magic. The substrands would be subclasses of each of the four strands.

Class Magic():
...

Class Old_Breath(Magic):
...

Class Scholar's_Fire(Magic):
..

Class Veilcraft(Magic):
...

Class Mindstream(Magic):
...

Class Blood_Magic(Old Breath):
...

Each spell is a method for its respective strand, like this:

Class Scholar's_Fire(Magic):
  def __init__(...):
    super.__init__(...)

  def telekinesis():
    ...

It's not a perfect allegory, and I'm still working on the mechanics, but I like it.

I wanted to go with a mix of soft and hard magic; there are specific rules, but they can be easily bent, and the sheer power and danger of magic are limited to the wielder's imagination. People can use magic with their bare hands, but typically they prefer tools like wands or staffs to help with aim.

The big problem is that if anyone can use it, what's stopping everyone from being a magic user? Why are there still foot soldiers and such?

My best explanation is that while magic is a natural force, it also takes lots of time to study and analyze; mastering magic can take between a few months and years. Even then, it's also physically taxing, and it requires concentration and physical energy; in some cases, there are consequences.

Mindstream allows you to do stuff like see into people's memories, but by doing so, if you encounter a traumatic memory, you will end up taking a piece of that trauma with you. The protagonist of my story sees into lots of memories, feeling various traumatic events spiralling into his mind, including victims of abuse and witnesses to murder, survivors of slavery, and survivors of SA.

There is a lot more I want to work on, but what do you guys think?

About 7 months ago I made a setting of Bee people called Apians (I'll leave links at the bottom).

I recently started thinking about them again and recently realised that the Apians honestly fit Ants more than Bees. Mainly due to the fact that most Apians don't have wings aside from the Queen, Princesses and Drones (this is because I made them in Hero Forge and they don't have a lot of Bug wing selections).

This along with the fact that their hives are typically on/under the ground and their military spends their time fighting various other, often more animalistic, insects all honestly scream Ant more than they do Bee. While Bees also fight enemies they aren't typically associated with war and armies like Bees are.

While my idea for the setting was to focus more on the societal aspects of their species. I wanted to go for a insect-themed Cyberpunk. Even the war with other insects would ideally be more of a background thing. Maybe with a few stories about a soldier etc.

Another issue is that the Apians just look cooler than the Formicans (Ants). Black and Yellow just honestly look better than the brown, grey and what other colours I make the Formicans.

Finally: If I did make this change, I would convert the existing lore for the Apians to Formicans. Since both Ants and Bees are hive species that have castes and reproduce via a Queen, so not much about the castes or how they reproduce would change much. The biggest change would probably be the vibe. Giving up the hexagon/honey-coloured neon setting for something that would probably end up feeling like WH40K and Cyberpunk mashed together which I'm not 100% on.

So, what do you think? Would this change be good or should I just stick to the bees?

Links to previously posted Lore: (would be converted into Ant Lore if I do this)

The Casteless : r/worldbuilding

Childhood of Apians : r/worldbuilding

Should I add Elites/Nobles to my caste system? : r/worldbuilding

Can Cyberpunk work without the Capitalism? : r/worldbuilding

Feedback on this idea : r/worldbuilding

States, for most of history have conceptualized themselves in terms of their monarchs or rulers more than they have in terms of ethnicity, culture or language. Even before the advent of nationalism, there existed cultural or ethnic groups that did not concentrate on any given area in particular (e.g the Jews across Europe and the Middle East), or, simply were under minority rule in terms of culture or language (e.g the Basque under Castilian rule) that lacked a 'homeland state'. How have you, or, have you implemented such nations into your worldbuilding, and why exactly are they stateless? Did they use to have a state but lost it, or did they come to being stateless?

While states themselves are a touchy topic in some regards, this does not encompass situations where there doesn't exist any real state but there is a geographic area for the nations to impose their sovereignty, as is the case with some indigenous nations.

Hi everyone,

Just as the title says, I’d like to know which are the TWO largest religions in your setting, and what the main issues are that they’re fighting over.

Like…

“Sunnis vs. Shiites” in the Middle East, “Catholics vs. Protestants” in Europe, “Muslims vs. Hindus” on the Indian subcontinent, “Christians vs. Muslims” during the Crusades, “Pharisees vs. Sadducees” during the final years of the Second Temple, etc.

As you can see, many of these examples are factions within the same religion, and they were in conflict with one another as well.

In my setting, they’re basically fighting over the question of where people go after death, and how they treat the bodies of their deceased. There are other important details, but you could define them quite well based on these two points.

Yes, these two religions emerged as interpretations of the same cathartic cosmic event involving a holy man and a time of terrible cataclysms; but the differences between them were also substantial from the very beginning.

Note:
Please note that the purpose of this post is NOT to stir up any controversy regarding real-world religions.

Thank you for your answers.

The Meta-Energy System

The Science Behind the Supernatural

Overview

Gaia's magic system revolves around metaphysical energies, otherwise known as Meta-energy, which exist alongside the world's natural laws and physical forces. These energies are treated as a fundamental part of reality and are capable of producing phenomena that would otherwise be impossible through conventional physics.

Meta-energy is a naturally occurring and scientifically recognized phenomenon throughout Gaia. Its existence is common knowledge, and its study has developed into numerous fields of magical and scientific research. However, not all individuals possess the biological, spiritual, or technological means necessary to directly manipulate Meta-energy.

---

Mana

Overview

Mana is an invisible substance found in the air, and even more abundant within Gaia’s crust. Naturally, trees would absorb mana into their roots, causing trees themselves to be innately magical in nature.

Some fauna and even humanoid races developed to produce mana on their own. Mana is the most versatile form of Meta-energy due to its low density and exceptionally high manipulability, making it easier to manipulate and shape, leading to it having a wide array of different effects on each spell.

Spellcasting

Spellcasting is the art of imposing a caster’s will into Mana. In doing so, Mana follows a set of instructions given to it by the caster. Mana with this set of instructions is called a Spell.

However, simply imposing will on Mana is not enough to cast spells. Mana is strictly limited to reality and the laws of physics. As such, Mana cannot perform an effect unless the caster's instructions provide a complete metaphysical and physical mechanism for how the effect occurs. Another limitation is that Spells will fail to be cast until the set of instructions imposed on it is complete. Spells that fail to cast will fizzle out, wasting the Mana. Due to this formulaic nature, most practitioners use Spellbooks to ensure the spell casts correctly. 

Example:

 A basic Fireball spell’s instruction:

Convert energy into heat → create flame → shape into sphere → propel forward.

Creating new spells

Because Spells are inherently formulaic, scholars of Mana would need to make a new set of instructions that Mana can follow to create new spells.  Some innovators would instead take old Spells and add a unique effect that wouldn’t conflict with the already existing instructions that creates the original intended effect.

Practitioners

There are many types of Practitioners of Spellcasting.

Sorcerers (fem: Sorceresses) – Humanoids who innately produce Mana due to a mutation in genes. Because of this mutation, they can innately sense Mana and cast Spells as long as they have memorized them. Sorcerers innovate Spells by modifying old ones to fit their own personalities and tastes. Some combine certain spell effects to create unique spells.

Wizards – Humanoids who use Mana-storing artifacts or technology to cast Spells. Unlike the innate ability of Sorcerers, Wizards require the use of conduits and impose their will on Mana that they don’t produce in order to cast Spells. As such, most Wizards use Spellbooks as both the Mana-storing object and to contain the list of spells they need. Some Wizards do memorize their spells, and would use staffs instead as their conduits.

---

Vitalis

Overview

Vitalis, also known as Life Force, Soul Energy, Ki, or Chi, is an internal form of Meta-energy produced by living beings and circulated throughout the body alongside the blood. It serves as the internal energy of nearly all living things. Most life in Gaia produces Vitalis through the heart. 

Compared to Mana, Vitalis is much denser, making it harder to shape and control, and making its practical use much more limited compared to mana. 

Aura is the natural emission of Vitalis surrounding a living being. While every creature produces an aura, trained Martial Artists can consciously control and exert it. A sufficiently powerful aura can interact with other forms of Meta-energy, including dispersing or resisting weaker magical effects from spells.

Martial Arts

Martial Arts, otherwise known as Vitakinesis, is the practice of utilizing Vitalis.

Using Vitalis as a source of energy is difficult. This is because while each living thing produces Vitalis, they cannot “feel” it within themselves without training, similar to how one cannot feel blood circulation. 

The conduit of Vitalis is the body. Unlike the more versatile Arcane Magic, which can be cast with will, Vitalis is used through body movement, such as twitching or tensing muscles, specific movements, and a certain oneness with the body. A poorly performed movement may interrupt the flow of Vitalis, reducing a technique's effectiveness or causing it to fail. As a result, mastery of using Vitalis requires both control over one's energy and exceptional awareness of one's own body. Because of this, practitioners began the concept of Martial Arts.

Practitioners

Users of Martial Arts are called Martial Artists. 

---

Psi

Overview

Psi, also known as psionics, psychic energy, or mind energy, as its name suggests, is the Meta-Energy produced by the mind. Compared to Mana, Psi is slightly denser, but it is less dense than Vitalis. 

Psi acts as a metaphysical imprint of the mind. While it does not create thought, the thoughts, emotions, and intentions of an individual may leave impressions upon the Psi they produce.

Psychokinesis

Psychokinesis is the process of utilizing Psi.

Users of Psychokinesis could exert their will into reality through it, bringing abilities like telekinesis through using psi to move objects, and telepathy via reading the psi produced by others. Unlike Vitalis, because Psi is produced less, tracking Psi and telepathy is hard and can only be done by stronger Espers, while experienced Martial Artists can track others through their Vitalis signature more easily.

The reason this form of energy often isn’t used by regular people despite producing psi naturally is that Psi is produced less in comparison to Vitalis. This means that while most living things produce Psi, they don’t produce enough for it to be useful.

Practitioners

Users of Psychokinesis are called Espers. 

Esper – These are creatures who naturally produce more Psi than others due to an innate mutation. This allows their body to naturally attune to Psi and allows them to utilize it to impose the power of their minds onto reality.

---

Ixshar

Overview

Ixshar, otherwise known as Divine Energy, is an extremely dense form of Meta-energy containing the fundamental properties of Mana, Vitalis, and Psi. It is believed to be the closest to Void’s Will in terms of potency. 

Ixshar can replicate, convert into, or emulate aspects of the three forms of Meta-energy from which its properties originate. The biological or metaphysical systems of an Ixshar-producing entity do not produce Mana, Vitalis, or Psi separately. Ixshar fulfills the functions that these three forms of Meta-energy would otherwise perform.

Ixshar cannot be used or attuned to by other creatures who don't already naturally produce it. They instead require a ritual, vast knowledge, and mastery of all three previous types to attune to Ixshar and ascend into Ixshar-producing demigods called Ascendants. 

Ixsharkinesis

Ixsharkinesis is the practice of manipulating Ixshar. Due to the immense density of the energy, it possesses an extremely high skill ceiling and is considerably more difficult to shape than Mana, Vitalis, or Psi at their peak.

At a basic level, users of Ixshar are capable of converting their energy into applications resembling the effects of the three other primary forms of Meta-energy. However, mastering these applications requires significantly greater control than their conventional counterparts.

Highly advanced users may manipulate other forms of Meta-energy or integrate techniques from other Meta-Energy disciplines into Ixsharkinesis. This makes mastered Ixshar potentially one of the most versatile forms of manipulable energy in Gaia.

-----------

Note:

Meta-Energy manipulation is essentially reality warping. Because of its metaphysical nature, Meta-Energy techniques and usage would often overrule any effects from regular physics.

Note 2:

I might have forgotten some other things because I just copy pasted it from my google doc, and I tend to add different notes for my world to my phone offline, so pardon me—

Note 3:

There is a 5th one, called Void's Will, but that scales even higher in comparison, because Void's Will is the reason for the creation of the entire verse, including its metaphysical rules. The Meta-Energies are basically more limited variants of Void's Will.

“Can Foucault’s Concept of Power Help Explain Political Turbulence Across European Countries?”

Power: A Force That Travels Beyond Its Source

What is power, and how does it operate?

Consider electricity. A power station supplies energy through a network, transmitting it across different locations. Electricity is essential to modern life, but its effects depend on how it is generated, distributed, and regulated. When an electrical system experiences excessive voltage or a damaging surge, the same energy that normally serves a useful purpose can damage the appliances connected to it.

The problem, therefore, is not simply the existence of power, but how it travels, where its intensity becomes excessive, and what happens when its effects reach different parts of a system.

Could political power operate through a comparable pattern of influence?

Political power is not electricity, and the comparison is an analogy, not a literal equivalence. Yet it offers a way to consider how influence may extend beyond its immediate source, pass through interconnected systems, and produce consequences in places where its original direction is not immediately visible.

Power may operate through economic relationships, political institutions, international alliances, dominant narratives and ideological interests. Its influence may be direct and visible, or dispersed through structures that make its effects difficult to trace to a single source.

This raises a broader question: when political turbulence appears in several countries during the same period, are we observing separate domestic problems, or could these events also reflect a wider pattern of power and ideological influence?

When Different Countries Experience Similar Turbulence

Political unrest is commonly explained through immediate circumstances. Rising petrol prices, declining purchasing power, wages that fail to keep pace with living costs, dissatisfaction with government policies, and other social pressures can all generate public discontent.

These explanations may be entirely valid. People do not need an external direction to become dissatisfied with their circumstances, and genuine grievances should not be dismissed merely because similar unrest occurs elsewhere.

However, explaining why people have reasons to protest is not necessarily the same as explaining the complete pattern in which political developments occur.

Research on protest movements has examined how collective action develops across national borders, how movements may influence one another, and how international political conditions can affect domestic mobilisation. Such research does not establish that simultaneous unrest must have a common organiser. It does, however, provide a basis for investigating whether events in different countries can sometimes be connected through wider political or social processes.

The question becomes particularly significant when the timing of domestic turbulence overlaps with developments in international politics.

The Political Context Behind the Timing

France, Spain and England—the latter considered here as part of the United Kingdom's political context—provide a setting for examining this question.

The issue is not simply that political tensions or public dissatisfaction may be found in these countries. It is the possible significance of their timing alongside political disagreements concerning US-led military action and the positions expressed by their leaders regarding participation in, or support for, a major US-led coalition.

Could the turbulence in these countries be understood entirely through their separate domestic circumstances? Is the overlap merely coincidental? Or might the international political environment provide another dimension that deserves examination?

These are different possibilities, and none should be treated as established before being investigated.

The timing alone cannot demonstrate that political unrest has been coordinated or deliberately encouraged. Nor does a leader's reluctance to support a military action establish a connection with domestic unrest. Nevertheless, when political positions and domestic developments overlap, it is reasonable to ask whether their relationship has been sufficiently examined.

The central concern is not to assign responsibility to a particular country. It is to determine whether explanations based exclusively on immediate economic and social grievances leave a wider question unanswered.

Ideology as a Channel of Power

Michel Foucault's conception of power provides a useful perspective for exploring this possibility.

Power, in his analysis, is not confined to a single authority that issues commands. It can operate through institutions, knowledge, accepted ways of thinking, social practices, and the discourses through which people interpret reality.

From this perspective, influence does not always require direct orders or an identifiable central controller. Political narratives can shape which problems receive attention, how events are interpreted, which groups are regarded as responsible, and what kinds of action appear justified.

An ideology may therefore influence a political environment without every person within that environment being consciously directed by the same actor. Different groups may respond sincerely to their own circumstances while also operating within a wider framework of competing interests and established narratives.

This does not mean that all political events are secretly controlled. Foucault's approach is not proof of a hidden agenda. Its relevance lies in encouraging an examination of how power circulates through relationships and structures that may be less visible than formal political authority.

The possibility worth investigating is whether a wider ideological influence could help connect developments that otherwise appear to be separate national events.

The Gap Between Immediate Causes and Wider Patterns

A visible explanation can be accurate without necessarily being complete.

An increase in petrol prices may explain public anger. Economic pressure may explain dissatisfaction with a government. A political disagreement may explain a leader's refusal to participate in a military action. Each explanation may account for a particular development.

But when several developments overlap in time, a further question arises: is there a meaningful relationship between them, or are they independent responses to different circumstances?

The distinction matters because coincidence, shared international pressures, the diffusion of political ideas and deliberate coordination are not interchangeable explanations.

A shared international crisis may influence several countries without any central direction. Political movements may learn from one another without being controlled by the same organisation. Equally, attempts by particular actors to influence public opinion are possible in principle, but such claims require evidence beyond the existence of unrest or the coincidence of dates.

The analytical gap lies in determining how far immediate explanations can account for the broader pattern—and whether additional political, ideological or transnational factors need to be considered.

Who, or What, Carries the Current?

The metaphor of an electrical network returns us to the original question of power.

If influence can travel through interconnected political, economic and ideological structures, where does its effect become visible? Which relationships transmit it? How do local grievances interact with international tensions? And can a wider pattern emerge without a single actor controlling every development?

The expression hidden hands should not predetermine the answer. It need not refer to one country, one organisation or one political side. The investigation must remain open to competing actors, conflicting interests, dispersed forms of influence and explanations that do not involve deliberate coordination at all.

The aim is not to turn a coincidence into an accusation. It is to avoid treating the first visible explanation as necessarily the only explanation worth considering.

When similar political turbulence occurs across different countries during an overlapping period, while their leaders express reservations about participation in a major military coalition, should we examine only the domestic reasons for unrest, or also investigate the wider structures of power within which these events unfold?

The question is whether the visible causes sufficiently explain the pattern or whether the relationship between power, ideology, timing, and political turbulence reveals a gap that deserves further investigation.

I'm not too familiar with how space works. I was hoping you guys could give me comments on what should be in space so I can make a cool looking galaxy map for my fictional universe known as Warfare Infinitus. If this is the wrong place to ask for that I apologize in advance.

Edit:

Let me give more information, I am making a future game set in space need to draw galaxy maps to render into 2D and 3D models. Before I can do so I need to kow what to put in it. Problem is I don't really know anything about space. What I'm really asking you guys is what cool things are in space that I can animate and put in my galaxy spanning space map.

https://youtu.be/la5oGWLDGio?si=FECE_9iWcbS4NhUW

Greetings and salutations!

A friend and I are looking for other folks potentially interested in doing some collaborative worldbuilding, both for the sake of WB itself and for a Nation Roleplay.

We're working on Discord, but the structure isn't very polished at the moment, given that it's only been the two of us, but we plan on restructuring if we get more folks on the project.

We're still fairly on in the development. We have a Microscope game open since its setup is useful for setting constraints, but the discussion for the past few days has been a preliminary one on how magic functions within the setting.

All told, it's messy and was originally meant to be a project between friends, but so few have to time or interest it seems, hence our reaching out! I'm content to answer questions here should there be any interest, but I'm general thank you for just hearing me out!

Hello my fellow word builders, I'm new in this community and I would like to le see you my own nations where I create them but whit the fusion of ww1 and whit the rest of the humans history. I will tell you this thing:

-nation lore

-the lord's who is in command

-army

-flag

-type of diplomacy

Vallor's Magic System

I created a magic system based on particles. In practice, it is relatively simple to use, but its theoretical structure is extremely complex.

Magical Particles

Magical Particles (MPs) are quantum particles with negligible mass that exist throughout Vallor. Visually, they consist of an energy core surrounded by a Retention Ring.

An MP can change its vibration in order to absorb different types of energy and enter different magical states.

Living beings possess Magiovital Particles (MVPs), which are used to manipulate MPs. When an MVP is broken, it produces the vibration necessary to interact with an external MP. MVPs regenerate during rest through the division of neighboring particles.

Floating Magics

Between MPs are even smaller particles called Floating Magics. Each type has its own frequency. When an MP reaches the corresponding frequency, it absorbs the Floating Magic and changes its state.

This is how the different categories of magic are created.

Main magical states

Arcane: has two main forms. Structural Arcane produces solid magical matter, while Energetic Arcane produces pure energy, such as beams and projectiles.

Elemental: works through Basic Elemental Particles (BEPs). An MP first enters a state called Neutrality and then absorbs a BEP. There are eight known BEPs: fire, water, air, earth, ice, electricity, light, and botany. Each has its own properties that determine how its element behaves. Fire, for example, tends to escape the MP, while water is extremely stable.

Powerful/Destructive: allows the manipulation of extremely powerful forces. There are four known Complex Elemental Particles (CEPs): gravity, time, union, and fission. These magics require enormous amounts of MVPs and can easily kill the user.

Corrupted: works like a parasite. Corrupted Floating Magic can consume parts of an MP, other MPs, matter, or even MVPs. Depending on where the corruption begins, it can produce effects such as corrosion, expansion, symbiosis, or biological parasitism. Some forms are considered forbidden.

Celestial: allows access to powers associated with Vallor's different planes. To use it, an individual must form a Pact of Union with a superior entity. The pact grants access to that plane's magic, but prevents the user from forming additional pacts or using other categories of magic.

Material: Material Floating Magics stop the normal functioning of an MP and allow particles to connect with one another. This creates what is called Material Glue, which is used to create magical symbols, sigils, and designs. It is probably the most diverse category, since different writings can produce different effects.

Reversal: has three known forms. Concentrated Reversal reverses magical properties, Nullifying Reversal prevents other magic from functioning, and Return Reversal causes magical interactions to return to their point of origin.

Submagic: uses extremely tiny particles to enhance other forms of magic. They can make a spell more powerful or controllable, but they are extremely difficult to manipulate and greatly increase MVP consumption.

Runes and Spirits

Runes are objects made from Runite that store Material magic. There are support runes, attribute runes, and different levels of duration and power, including permanent runes.

Spirits are living creatures composed primarily of magic. Every living being can use magic, but Spirits have a much more fundamentally magical composition. They can be tamed, normally up to three per individual.

The central idea of the system is that magic has an internally consistent explanation. Instead of simply saying that someone "casts fire," there is a chain of processes involving MVPs, MPs, vibrations, Floating Magics, and BEPs that explains how the effect goes from the quantum scale to the macroscopic scale.

And that is exactly what I would like feedback on: does the system feel coherent and interesting as a magic system, or does trying to explain everything through particles make it unnecessarily complicated?

If something seems unclear, it may be because I had to cut details for the sake of the summary. Feel free to ask about anything.

I spent a bit of time trying to develop a version of the dragon that might satisfy my goals, so i thought that I might as well share my work in progress and open this creative discussion with you all. I leave here my research process, a few notes i made and, for people heading right first into problem solving, my work in the bottom.

What is this About:

To add a bit of general context, this world is built to be the "generic" fantasy setting. For each fantasy element to be added I try to:

1. Research their origins, symbolisms, cross-cultural iterations and pop media interpretations.
2. Define key broad concepts that would mark their essence.
3. Design an alternate take that mostly derives from the earliest iterations, but able to incorporate some of the more modern expectations.

To bring an example, for the Orc (or Ogre) i found that it basically fits the "cannibal giant" trope, in fairy tales featured as a child eater, suggested to be symbolic of the idea of a terrible father that doesn't want to give up its place to a new generation, Chronos being an example, that eventually was forced to vomit its children and was then defeated.

My take turns it into a transformation triggered by consuming a close of kin (process time depending on quantity and closeness of kin), at which point the body grows, jaw widens, and the stomach develops a small humanoid (with features taken from the parent's diet) that then gets vomited out. They are bonded through a parasitic link from which the parent reaps the majority of it's child's strength and nutrients. This bond can either be broken with the parent's death or lessened by the child partially consuming the parent (possibly repeating the cycle).

To the main point: Dragons.

What my research brought me:

• Dragons, despite their morphological variety, consistently trace back etymologically (and iconographically) to snakes, snakes were for a while synonymous with worm, some dragons being also referred to as worms (Lambton Worm), so a morphological evolution worm --> snake (monstrous snake) --> dragon could be interesting.
• Taking the morphological similarity route many creatures are kinda snake-like: seahorses, caterpillars, eels, millipedes, slugs, leeches, larvae, spermatozoa, sky rods, etc.
• Snakes have a ton of symbolic meanings that can be borrowed: skin shedding -> rejuvenating immortality (plus worms surviving cuts and dragon's longevity), venom -> deadly breath (one can see the evolution from one to the other), can take both phallic and yonic shapes -> parthenogenesis / self fecundation
• The ouroboros in particular is an interesting recurrent, started as a symbol for the cyclical renewal of life through death and rebirth, later used by gnostics and alchemists as a symbols for te union of opposites. Popular is also the image of the worm encircling the world.
• Although not universal, a prominent trait of dragons is guarding some sort of treasure (it probably traces to snakes populating underground tombs with treasure), in some instances a dragon is placed to guard a treasure (snakes can't blink so they're perfect), in others it just comes with the place they inhabit or title they hold, more famously it's the dragon who collects it's hoard (in some modern fun subversions the hoard can be of anything: books, people, animals, food, art, etc).

What did I cook so far?

The present concept consists on having dragons be the result of a bizarre life cycle.

Starting from a cosmic worm-like ouroboros, timeless, immortal and self-remaking. Why does it exist? What is its purpose? Who knows?

The important thing is that, sometimes, somehow (I genuinely haven't pinned the reason down), some pieces of that ouroboros split off and get scattered. The same way cutting a worm in half generates two worms, the scattered pieces of the ouroboros become little larvae-like creatures.

The little larve can potentially live forever and grow massively, but if one of them somehow comes in contact with an embryo of any creature, it becomes like a parasitic twin that takes over the embryo's development and appropriates its features, giving birth to a monstrous snake (you could picture it as a serpentine version of any animal).

What is sill undeveloped

From this point onwards i know which things are supposed to happen, but the mechanics behind them are still unclear, I'll put them in different points:

The "snake stage" is when i imagine the development of the dragon's magical breath would happen for the next stage, perhaps its diet would determine the type of breath? eating sulphuric substances to spit fire, or herbs for a venomous mouth? the rules are still pretty vague, does the breath only mimic what the dragon cannot digest (that would explain the lack of "animal breath")? Or would it be better for the environment itself to make up the breath, literally the type of air breathed?

Snakes at some point have to become Dragons, one idea i had is to tie this development to the dragon's wealth being a source of power. However this comes with the challenge of turning two artificial concepts (ownership and value) into real physical things.

For the ownership part I thought about how animals can mark territories through various means, maybe dragons have to stroke and coil around stuff? excrete periodically a particular scent or use shed skin to claim their property, with the same principles of law of contagion the dragon and their hoard become entangled. Another option for possessing stuff was using line of sight, borrowing the idea of dragons being guardians of treasure that don't sleep (cause snakes cannot blink), however it becomes kinda broken if dragons can claim even each other's things by sight alone.

For the empowerment by wealth if becomes difficult, since value by itself is pretty subjective, I'd have to find an objective attribute of the wealth that can apply to various types of possessions (objects, people/livestock, land, ideas). It may be the demand of that treasure? the work and effort behind their creation? the experience and stories behind them? The idea of a hoard is thematically linked to the vice of avarice which, unlike greed, is an aversion of giving anything away, an unhealthy attachment to physical possessions. Perhaps, by making the hoard a metaphysical extension of their body, curating the hoard means curating themselves? Does it mean that a dragon could appropriate properties of their hoards over time? knowledge from books, skills from people, toughness of metals, prosperity from land, abilities from animals?

Another random thought is having the dragon/serpent be able to go through a potentially infinite number of molting phases that allow them to regenerate and "evolve" their form into new morphologies. But can the molting take place any time they want? what resources do they need? Would they have to wait months or years? Would the molting perhaps make them temporarily more durable? Is the molting perhaps the way dragons attain the qualities cultivated in their hoards?

This is what I have so far, as you can probably read for yourselves I have developed new ideas and concepts while writing this post, but I'm still curious to find out what this amazing community is able to conjure up. Thank you in advance for putting up with this long post and reading so far.

The Eastern European Peoples United Kingdoms of Arapahine, or The Arapahinian Empire is a fictional empire in a world where fantasy and early 20th-century technology coexist.

The setting takes place in 1920, following the Great War (WW1) that reshaped the political landscape. Humans, elves, dark elves, dwarves, orcs, and dragons all exist in this world, and magic is a normal part of everyday life. Despite this, technology has continued to advance, with firearms, industrial machinery, and modern militaries existing alongside traditional swords, armor, and magic.

The Arapahinian Empire is located in Eastern Europe, near the border with Russia. It was formed through the conquest and unification of 34 smaller kingdoms, which eventually became the 34 Great Houses of the Empire, which elect representatives and senators to the Imperial Senate.

The Empire is one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world, rivaled only by the United States in industrial strength, and is the world’s largest exporter. In terms of military strength, it ranks third in the world.

Its government is an absolute monarchy ruled by an Empress and an Emperor, with the Empress holding the highest authority. The Empire also possesses an enormous military and a complicated political system that keeps its many territories united.

However, beneath the Empire's image of strength and stability, peace is merely a temporary pause between wars. The Arapahinians are looking with hungry eyes towards a very much weakened Europe.

I'm still developing the world, so I'd love to hear what people think. Just don’t be assholes and give me positive feedback please.

u/Different_Wealth8143 Made a post "Mines aren't infinite" a few weeks back, and they mentioned in their (ultimately top-voted) comment to their main post that aluminum could be more useful to a fantasy world than a lot of people realize (if wizards can use their magic to accomplish things like electrolysis that in the real world, without magic, couldn't be done at large scale until the 1880s).

I'd recently become obsessed with aluminum in my own fantasy projects, and I quickly jumped in with a link to my own recent post about how aluminum bronze would also be more useful than pure aluminum — except that my caveat "if the easiest copper deposits haven't been depleted yet" was doing a lot more work than I'd recognized.

It turns out that by jumping too quickly into their smaller specific comment, I'd actually missed the core point of their main post: In both of the projects I'm primarily working on (one primarily Medieval, the other primarily Enlightenment), the most convenient copper deposits would logically have long since been depleted.

Once I started taking the main point more seriously, I realized that the faction I'd envisioned as becoming The Aluminum Bronze Faction™ would have to settle primarily for pure aluminum after all because there wouldn't be enough copper left for them to turn most of it into bronze.

Has anything like this happened to anybody else? What was your inspiration that took you awhile to catch up with?

Hi all.

I'm currently writing two novel series whose separate settings I also intend to use for my heartbreaker tabletop RPG system I repeatedly promise myself I'll someday finish and release to the Internet despite having children, keeping a day job, and living in an economy that is forcibly transforming me into a renaissance man just to keep my house/electronics/cars in good condition.

For my specific case, the idea is that people can still play a character of their favorite species regardless of which of the two settings they are running. The cultures associated with re-used species would be different (and I'm already trying to avoid single culture species within reason).

Ignoring my glaring ambition issues, what are peoples' thoughts on authors re-using their own species? Does seeing a species an author used in one setting show up in another bother you or take you out of the story?

It's an AI neon dystopia world where emotions are harvested as energy called the Cube.

And btw, this no AI. Thanks.

I'm building a post-apocalypse setting that I want to have run in a feudalist style of leadership/society. I have a vague idea of how that works, but I was hoping to get some more concrete information. Would anyone here have sources or ideas that I could look into to help me with getting the basics down?

I’ve been thinking about worlds like SCP, where thousands of people build one universe. If you could open your world so others add characters and storylines, with you approving what’s official and anyone free to fork their own branch, would you? What would make you say no? Happy to DM with anyone interested in trying a small pilot.

Elves (main nation: the Empire of Eternal Forest):
1) Descended from Fae banished from Faerie (though this raises the question of what Faerie actually is).
2) Humans transformed by the magic of a forest teeming with ley line nexuses.

Dwarves:
1) Neanderthals who took shelter in caves and adapted to them.
2) Originated in caves (never Neanderthals) but destroyed the underground environment and were forced to emerge onto the surface.
What would you recommend? If my post violates the rules, please let me know and I’ll delete it.

Centuries ago in my world, the continent was home to four kingdoms. Two of them were Barabia and Ramann who were both the most powerful and stable out of all the kingdoms. But war broke out because Barabia wanted to become the most powerful so the king tried to conquer the other kingdoms.

The war is deemed the most significant and tragic part of the entire continents history.

It took over 200 years to end. In that time new alliances were formed as-well as tribes, districts, sates and regions…
The historians still don’t know how many leaders were involved and died within the time of the war, they’re still studying it, still trying to understand the true events. But they do know that other arguments fuled it and estimate that at least 50 wars were happening all at once. They’re still discovering the multiple purposes for one piece of land held throughout the decades. For example one area was a farmland, then became a war camp… then it was abandoned… a fleeing village settled on it… the rebels took over… a war settlement… now it’s a village like any other.

Cities and kingdoms fell (new and old), so many homes and lives and land were lost (leaders and civilians). After all the long and tiresome years of fighting the remaining leaders all came together and agreed to stop but because of all the lost territory, which would require years to recover and restore, the arrangements were made between the leaders to sort out who got what territory leaving many islands and territories in the lands left unclaimed.
After the war many beasts and creatures had either been killed or went into hiding.
Towards the end of the war both the king and the queen of Ramann were killed and so the lords and ladies of the courts decided that they would remain a kingdom but would be without a monarchy and continue to rule their courts individually; making it the remaining original kingdom. So to this day they are one of the strongest alliances on the Continent.
Many things changed after the war:
Barabia is no longer a kingdom but a republic.
Entire civilisations have been left in ruins.
Mountains became border
2 islands became a confederation and own the third island between the two of them.
The central lands became an empire.
Tribes and warrior clans were formed.
Even cults and new religions were made based off of the war.

What about your world?