/wbg/ - Worldbuilding General

Taken from Dr. Zahir's questionnaire

>How is the clergy organized, if there is one?

>What do people believe happens to them after death? How, if at all, can they influence this?

>What happens to those who disagree with the majority on questions of religion?

>What do people want from the god or gods? How do they try and get it?

>>50576661
>Are there monastic groups? What do they do and how are they organized? How do you join one?

>How are those who follow different faiths treated?

>What relationship do religious and political leaders have?

>What superstitions are common? What kinds of supernatural events/beings do people fear?

>>50576661
Picking one minor religion
>How is the clergy organized, if there is one?
None, interpretations on their holy book (a set of laws) are made by the Riark (constitutional monarch) and his electing council.

>What do people believe happens to them after death? How, if at all, can they influence this?
Joy and suffering are bound only to the material plane, and heaven and hell are experienced within life. At the death of the physical body, the non-material soul leaves Earth and then reincarnates or puts itself to rest. The unholy reincarnate into worms and fish, while the holy reincarnate into humans and great animals.

>What happens to those who disagree with the majority on questions of religion?
The freedom of speech is mandated by the book of law, but obscenity is banned and punished. If someone believes the book contradicts itself or the government is interpreting it incorrectly, they must present their case before the council. This becomes a particularly important issue at the focus era of the setting, as the first law written is that your actions should be to the benefit of as many people as possible, and some argue that the later laws can stand in the way of this. If someone downright defies the laws with no intention of making a reasonable revision, they are exiled or punished harshly depending on what laws they have broken.

>What do people want from the god or gods? How do they try and get it?
Their God views humanity as a collective, and punishes the whole or individuals for the actions of other individuals, demanding that humanity takes action against its wickedness. When an innocent person is murdered, it is a punishment on humanity for allowing that murderer to exist. So, the desire is to correct humanity to make it presentable to their god.

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Starting a city map. It should be a recently located city, thriving mostly on river trade

Would a cold war be a good catalyst for reviving traditional stuff?
>look at how much prettier our gothic church is than their temple

>>50578162
They're good for ideologies, and if ideologies incorporate national identity (which is most likely the case), then yes

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>>50578188
Sick.
>The height of cold war 2.0, the opposing nations ideologies were heavy on national identity as one of their core values
>this lead to the revival of traditional senses of dress and architecture, made feasible by the tech boom of the 2020s, in the west art deco rose back to poularity as well as variations of early 20th century aesthetics
So advanced/modern-ish technology, but a mix of styles.
Pic related.
i still need a set of opponents, who would be good for Britain to face off against? preferably somewhere not in europe

>>50576661
the 'clergy' is mostly druids and jap-style monks. Nobody really cares about nonbelievers, mostly because every village believes something slightly different.
Most agree that the sun is a window to the heavens, and thus the afterlife. Because of this, most festivals and revelry happen at night

>>50576661
>How is the clergy organized, if there is one?

There are Fanes, Temples, and Priories. Fanes and Temples will have a high priest (or priestess), Priories will have a brother or sister that is view as the head, normally the most senior one that is still healthy.

Each temple and so on will have there own organization. Also each temple provides "wanderers" who travel to do priestly duties away from the temples. Sometimes they end serving a area for many years, and sometimes they go on adventures...


>What do people believe happens to them after death? How, if at all, can they influence this?

Elves believe that they go to the high heavens. Most humans believe that if they follow their general religious duties the gods will make them into a type of angel. Great people are made into saints.

Dwarves think they return to the unity of their god, unless they are great, then there soul fragment will be returned to be resurrected.


>What happens to those who disagree with the majority on questions of religion?

About 5% in human/elves do no share the majority view on faith. It depends on what faith they choose. there are "Sects" which are odd faiths that do not agree with the current framework. They are thought of as misguided souls, but mostly harmless unless that sect starts to recruit powerful people.

"Cults" have a specific term to followers of "
Haraindiko" (Demons), These cults are secretive, as people assume that people get sacrificed and all sorts of evil stuff.


>What do people want from the god or gods? How do they try and get it?

What anyone wants, a healthy kids, good crops, a good spouse, to a deeper understanding on the universe

>>50578347
Assuming you're going for alt history where British Colonialism just never ended, the Chinese would be the strongest non-European contender

>>50578347
USA
>elections in Italy gets win by some crazy-right guy
>he does everything to dismantle EU
>at some point it gets obvious he's mentally ill
>in the meantime he begins a nuclear programme
>one day a nuke falls on Berlin
>American troops move into Europe, quickly capturing Italy and starting a "peace keeping mission"
>Britain wants none of this
>their King uses his formal prerogatives and brings terrified commonwealth together
>and so it begun

>>50578682
>How do they get it.
both though formal rites, and informal prayer and sacrifice.

>Are there monastic groups? What do they do and how are they organized? How do you join one?
Yes there are. Each Priory will have brother and sisters who are dedicated the god and a goal. There is usually a small group (5-7,9-11 for large ones) who manage it. The most Senior (longest serving) is the leader, and appoints new leaders as others retire/die.

To join you submit yourself, and for a year and a day you try it out. At any time in your novice period you can leave. After that you are oath-bound to the Priory for at least 10 years.

>How are those who follow different faiths treated?
Sects - as oddballs
Cults - run out or killed in most places

>What relationship do religious and political leaders have?
Some temples have large landholdings, and in most places the high priests are at least consulted. They do control one city state.

>What superstitions are common? What kinds of supernatural events/beings do people fear?


>Are there monastic groups? What do they do and how are they organized? How do you join one?

>How are those who follow different faiths treated?

>What relationship do religious and political leaders have?

>What superstitions are common? What kinds of supernatural events/beings do people fear?

- Hit a girl with a broom on her first period so she has easy childbirth
-God/angels/saints come to the world to visit, pretending to be the poor
-Saint body parts become Relics

They fear cultists, and the Haraindiko they may summon, Deathwalkers, and Sorgin, who are the children when mortals lay with Haraindiko. They also fear vampires and Were-creatures.

>>50578926
>Aussies, kiwis, leafs, islanders and bongs gang up on yankee
>>50578872
China is a current power, maybe theres tension after hong king leaves china and wants to join the uk commonwealth

>>50571810
I see. Did not know that. That being said, I doubt the UEA (and in particular France) has the military or political strength to oppose the JAAN (or the GUSA for that matter) in South America.
>>50571846
On the issue of who would support the IAT in a war against the GUSA, I think the JAAN would be against the whole issue since they like the GUSA. The UEA would be more open to the issue since they are on good terms with some IAT nations but it would be hard for them to provide direct support. Same thing with the USSR (even though they would like to support the IAT). The most likely supporter would be the UEA, which would lead to a bloody and prolonged land war. The USSR might use this opportunity to invade the JAAN or the CAN, depending on the situation.
>>50576232
>implying India would be strong enough to conquer other nations
India is also under heavy regulation and control by the world superpowers (Russia, Japan, Germany, ect...)

>>50578926
>implying trump is crazy
>implying the EU isn't fucking europe over right now
>implying trump is mentally ill
>implying that's how our military works
>>/reddit/

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Reposting from last thread

>>50579653
>>50579716
>>50578982
Get the fuck out /pol/tards.

>>50578982
You could make it a three way struggle
>China and India: the shithole alliance
>Brits with the commonwealth, minor ex-colonies and South American countries
>USA, Japan, Pakistan
Europe would be the site of the new Great Game

>>50579716
>implying Trump is a prime minister of Italy
>implying he will win the second term to be relevant in 2020s
>>>/meme central/

>>50579855
>implying that anon was talking about /pol/itics
Read the last thread retard

>>50579653
>I see. Did not know that. That being said, I doubt the UEA (and in particular France) has the military or political strength to oppose the JAAN (or the GUSA for that matter) in South America.

You do realize that France has nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them, and that they would use that since they view the space launch business as key to their economic and military well being? And that France is spends the 7th most in the world on defense?

>>50579855
>Talking about fictional politics for a basement acting session is /pol/

>>50580003
You do realize this is an althist setting right? In-setting, France underwent an economic collapse.

>>50580007
the guy talking about Trump in a discussion about alt-history Italy's prime minister is. The rest are fine.

>>50580003
Sorry that came off as harsh, but you are putting parts of European countries outside of Europe. I could understand if you said the Dutch couldn't defend their Caribbean possessions, But UK and France are #5 and #7 on defense spending and have shown they will go to war to protect their overseas possessions.

In the case of key facilities like the space launch center, (not only used for defense, but Arianespace and Airbus investments) france would go to full scale war over them.

I just assumed that you would think that South america as a whole make sense, and in some ways, if you exclude the three non-Spanish/portugese nations, they do make sense. UK and France would not let their clay be taken without a fight, and they would help the dutch with theirs as it would be a threat to their own possessions.

Part of this is that I have worked in the area, and I thus know how important it is to france.

lets say its 1980, we can change some events going from this point which leads to the UK and someone else becoming the top 2 superpowers, while the US sinks, still strong but unable to project itself as strongly in world affairs due to internal strife.

>>50580031
Even Russia when it had a economic collapse kept their nukes. The only country that gave up nukes was south africa, and they gave it up since they didn't want to give it to the black commies.

>>50580202
Argentina gets fucked over during the falklands war, leading to the brits having a grip on south american oil. Because they have access to the oil of south america, they dont join in the iraq war in the 2000s.

>>50580336
I was more so responding to the idea that France has one of the world's largest economies. They would keep their nukes of course, but I doubt they would ever dream of nuking American-controlled territory.

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>>50576661
>How is the clergy organized, if there is one?
It depends on the local cults. The hierarchy of the tetrachial religion's grassroot level is basically a wide collection of various cults with a formal religious administration on top which binds them all together. The official priesthood (i.e the members of the administrative organisation) are mostly located in the more populated places of the empire and the foreign states which have converted to The Truth. This priesthood is organized similarly to the catholic church with various ranks having a particular area of "dominion" in which they are obliged to see to the wellbeing of the faithful, root out potential heresies and manage the upkeep of the properties and responcibilites assigned to them. Such a "dominion" can include a region in which a priest is sent as a missionary to.
I have yet decided whether or not the High Priest is one office or four seperate ones with one for each god.
What further complicates my worldbuilding surrounding the clergy is that it originally was a mystery religion.

>>50576661
>>50581862
>What do people believe happens to them after death? How, if at all, can they influence this?
Most followers of the tetrarchy lack a belief in the afterlife. The official doctrine, in most times, is that when you die you cease to be and your body, which is something you have borrowed from the gods, provides nourishment for new life to come into existance. However there are some cults and heresies who hold to different believes, spanning from a heaven/hell scenario to reincarnation. Rejection of the official understanding isn't usually seen as such a big deal however, which means that most priests are fine with leaving it be. It isn't all that uncommon either for a priest to support one of these alternative ideas.

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>>50576661
>>50581862

>What happens to those who disagree with the majority on questions of religion?

Depends on the severity of the disagreement and on what the official standing is at the time.
Small disagreements are usually left to themselves and major ones are usually rooted out and persecuted as much as possible. Some emperors/high priest are more lenient than others in this regard.

>>50576661
>>50581862
>What do people want from the god or gods?
Favours and a good life.

>How do they try and get it?
By sacrifices and other ways of pleasing the gods (like having a child, spreading the faith, going to war, doing their job satisfactory) and adhering to The Truth.

>How is the clergy organized, if there is one?
Centralized education (Only a few cities have recognized religious schools) and then sent to parishes. Leadership is elected from bottom to top, ie parishes in a province would elect local leader, who will represent their province and elect country leader who will get to vote for the next pontiff.
>What do people believe happens to them after death? How, if at all, can they influence this?
They will return to the sea of soul and have their memories and personality dissolved, then return into a new body.
>What happens to those who disagree with the majority on questions of religion?
Those who disagree with the church are usually some kind of witches and while church doesn't have authority (yet anyway) local secular authority think them as undesirables.
>What do people want from the god or gods? How do they try and get it?
People who follow this religion mostly want god to return and turn the world into paradise.

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>>50581862
>>50576672
>Are there monastic groups? What do they do and how are they organized? How do you join one?
Yes there is. The other questions' answers various from cult to cult.
What I can say is that the cult known as the Holy See of Nürn is focused on predicting the future and is thus tightly associated with prophecy. People from all over the known world, even heathen unbelievers from time to time, make the voyage to this remote island to have a prophecy read about them. As a result this cult has become wealthy to a ludicrous degree and have a severe influence on the politics of the Empire of the Tetrachy. This cult only take recruits that are the fourth son/daughter of a fourth son/daughter.
After the collapse of the empire, this cult become a major geopolitical empire in the ruins of the collapse.

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>>50581862
>>50576672

>How are those who follow different faiths treated?

It depends primarily on the offical stance of the church at the time and how closely resembling the faith is to the Tetrachical one. Most faiths are actually seen as distorted versions of the Tetrachical Truth with the result that followers of the tetrachy often view followers of other faiths with sympathy in the same way you'd feel towards a childs half-understandings of things. However if the followers of other faiths become to vocal in their dismissal of the Tetrachical religion then all manner of shit can happen.
Holy wars aren't all that uncommon.

>>50580525
If the Americans invaded France (and that part of south America is viewed as part of France) then they might very well do so. A poor france would likely be even more likley to threaten nukes as it would be one of the few ways it could maintain its borders.

If you want to make south america all that, then you need perhaps to have some history that that area was taken over after a long algerian style civil war.

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>>50576672
>>50581862
>What relationship do religious and political leaders have?
The offical head of the Tetrachical church is the Emperor. He rules earthly matters in the gods' stead (deciffering The Truth is seen as an earthly matter).
Some emperors have thus been mainly focused with religious matters while others prefer to leave that area to the clergy.

>What superstitions are common?

I've actually haven't really thought about this.

>What kinds of supernatural events/beings do people fear?

The one thing that is perhaps feared the most is the god's direct intervention into earthly matters. The most notorious of these claimed events was a regional armageddon that saw to the complete destruction of the proto-tyrannian Empire by tsunamis and earthquakes that drastically changed that part of the world geography and lead to a dark age. What caused this righteous destruction was the curse laid upon that empire by the last remaining opposition of the Unami civilization.

>>50582347
The thing is, during the French economic collapse, not only were there mass riots, but the crisis spread to countries like England and Spain as well. With US support withdrawn from Europe, the French would have their hands tied (especially with the economicly-powerful Germany watching and supplying them) to make any moves to retain their territories in South America. While I don't doubt that the South Americans in French-controlled territories would resist, its hard to resist against American corporations and military pressure when your foregin support is nonexistent.

>>50582982
Okay, its your world - I am just saying that France would use nukes to defend those lands.

And even Russia in the deepest darkest failings as a state in the 1990s as the soviet union fell apart, they kept their nukes, and so would france or any of its follow up nations.

But as I said, it your world, your alt history. Perhaps have France give up is possessions in the 1960s after the Algerian and indo-china wars so there France didn't care about a former part of it in south america.

But hey, its your world - make it happen the way you want it to be :) . Just if you detail south america make a note on why france, UK, and the Dutch didn't defend their lands. Easiest way is that they gave it up before there was a fight about it as part of decolonization.

>>50583114
>And even Russia in the deepest darkest failings as a state in the 1990s as the soviet union fell apart, they kept their nukes
Yes but France isn't Russia and they were placed under different circumstances.
>Perhaps have France give up is possessions in the 1960s
France couldn't make a play to protect its holdings because it was extremely weak militarily and politically (and especially economically). I think also something that I didn't emphasize was that these regions only became American "territories" later. At the time the French were undergoing their economic collapse and recovery, American corporations infiltrated and exploited the South American economies. By the time they had recovered (with Germany's help) it was too late. The same thing is true of the UK and the Dutch.There is also the issue of Germany possibly pulling funding to support said country's funding if they make political moves they do not agree with. Their hands were tied.
>But hey, its your world - make it happen the way you want it to be :)
Ok, Mr. Passive-Aggressive

>>50583351
He just pointing out that logic is like "Well, The US was in a bad spot, so when Hawaii was taken over, the US didn't do anything"

>>50583556
There's a difference between a superpower being in a bad spot and a singular country devastated by public unrest and economic collapse being in a bad spot.

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Hi /wbg/, love lurking and reading your guys' work.

Been developing my worlds creation lore for a while now, what tips do you have for the first city of a civilization?

I'm thinking small, but more advanced than tents, since the starting 9 settlers are all demigods with unique traits. I really just want a solid base of a city that I can start running quests out of.

tl;dr what are the basic necessities of a first city?

>>50583673
Even a country devistated by public unrest and economic collapse is no going to sit around and let other countries take over a part of itself.

Serbia and Kosovo, Russia and Chechnya, Ukraine and Crimea, Eithopia and ethiopia and eritrea are all examples of countries that where basketcases of nations that still faught hard for its own land. Hell, Somalia, which is as unworkable of a nation state as you can be, still fights punt-land.

the "Mr. Passive-aggressive" is right. It a shitty idea once you realize that french guiana is a department (state) of France.

>>50583806
That isn't quite how cities form. 9 people getting together and making a settlement is a village at best. Unless they're very good at stone working and can basically make a city's worth of buildings very quickly, it'd hardly count. And why would they if there's only 9 of them?

Cities form over time in places where people gather.

Hello, /wbg/

I'm here to shill the new Evogame that just started. It's basically a collective worldbuildning exercise/game where you decide the evolution of the planet's different species.

See you guys there, If you're are interested!


>>>/qst/911768

I'm in no way affiliated with the OP, just thought some of you guys might be interested

Are there any good fantasy races that work particularly well in a Late Antiquity setting? I'm looking to have only a small number of playable races in this world, so I need to be choosy.

>>50584879
I'd say Elves might be a good fit as the declining empire of sorts, though it depends on what other focuses and tones you're going for.

I do feel that as a period of transition, the main things you would want are a race on the decline and a new one rising up, but that can apply to a lot of things.

Or, if you're after aesthetics more, then it's probably better to draw from the respective mythologies from the old and new. Pick a race from Roman mythology like Satyr, Nymphs, or Minotaur, and then pick one more steeped in Medieval folklore.

>>50584879
First ask yourself if you need them at all. How would your world be improved by adding non-human races? What can you do with fantasy races that you could not by simply making a human culture do the same thing?

As to what race to include, satyrs can be fun.

>>50584995
>tone
Definitely want to go with a "it's the end of the world" vibe. The Fey are resurgent, Hell has begun invading, and the restless, hateful dead stalk the night. The Empire is still a large and omnipresent force, but it's obviously making a death rattle sound now and it's being picked apart by civil war as much as by barbarian invasion.

>aesthetic
I like the idea of Ancient and Medieval races, and Elves as the dying Empire. My original plan was Human Empire, but that is also intriguing.

>>50585037
>why not humans
I want to make this a High Fantasy, in every way. It is an odd way to think about it, but I sort of like the idea that with the fall of the great empire, and civilization itself, magic returns to the world. Not always in a good way, and frequently in a bad way, but it returns nevertheless. And that sort of high fantasy fits well with fantasy races. I also like to leave in as much variety as possible for my players.

>satyrs
I like them aesthetically, but I feel like there's a very strong magical realm stigma there.

>>50585251
In that case, you may want to stick with humans as the baseline caught in the middle, Elves as the ancient culture struggling to hang on to power, and have a new race like Orcs cropping up aiming to be the new power in this darker world.

I would suggest more Greek/Roman equivilents, though it you're concerned for magical realm with Satyrs there aren't many alternatives.

Cyclops might be an angle to consider, though may need to be scaled down is size. They could be played up as both the ancient wise yet strong masons who forged the empire with crafts and war, or as a race that was once little more than savage barbarians, but has gained a lot of potential from the harshness of the new world and is able to withstand and prosper in it.

>>50585344
>humans caught in the middle
Like the remaining legions camped out near the frontier, or the Gothic tribes getting run down by the Huns/orcs?

I like the idea of cyclops as the ancient race, but I also find myself thinking about elves in that role. Probably old habit. What do people think about Aasimar or Tieflings?

>>50585566
I figured humans would be present both as people living under elvish rule as well as other tribes and cultures outside of it. Eseentially, have then be what other nations were to Rome, some joining to a degree, some separate, others slaves.

Tieflings would be a better for for this world than Aasimar by a long shot, and they may be a good fit for that newcomer race. Not necessarily Evil, but their demonic advantages in a dying world may give them an edge, particularly if they start being born in greater numbers and banding together to swell their ranks.

>>50583888
>once you realize that french guiana is a department (state) of France.
But Guiana literally isn't. You just have no idea how politics work.

>>50585646
Hm. Tieflings as villains sounds neat. My reason for having Aasimar as well was due to the period's abundance of religious fervor. But I really like the idea of evil Tieflings (for once).

So we got mundane humans, strong/magic/smart cyclopses of a dying empire, and Hun-like Tieflings just fucking everyone's shit up. What more do I need?

>>50586155
>But Guiana literally isn't. You just have no idea how politics work.

French Guiana (pronounced /ɡiːˈɑːnə/ or /ɡiːˈænə/, French: Guyane française; French pronunciation: [ɡɥijan fʁɑ̃sɛz]), officially called Guiana (French: Guyane), is an overseas department and region of France, located on the north Atlantic coast of South America in the Guyanas. It borders Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west. Its 83,534 km2 (32,253 sq mi) area has a very low population density of only 3 inhabitants per km2, with half of its 244,118 inhabitants in 2013 living in the metropolitan area of Cayenne, its capital. By land area, it is the second largest region of France and the largest outermost region within the European Union.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Departments_of_France

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Guiana

Want to try again?

>>50586155
French Guiana literally is a department of France anon. They are like Hawaii is for the united states. It is also one of the 18 regions of France.

So perhaps you should do basic research like google before you insist people do not understand poltics

>>50586303
I don't think you actually need much more. Maybe have another race in the same vein as humans of being caught in the middle. Maybe halflings or something else dex based so there's a sort of Fighter/Mage/Thief triangle with the non human races.

So I had this idea, and I'm going to throw it against the wall to see if it sticks.

The world is one based on Europe in the 17th & 18th centuries. There are monsters, and apostasy, and heresy and a lot of that kind of disturbing stuff. Vampires and werewolves are there, of course.

So, from time to time, a member of the clergy or the inquisition get "infected" by these creatures. Instead of giving in to the beast, they resist the influence and embrace their religion with fanaticism and an obsession with expiating their sins and gaining God's forgiveness. They still hunt monsters and heretics, but you know, in a pretty brutal manner,

How can I flesh this out? I mean, they're religious fanatics and they want nothing more than to die serving the Church and being good servants of the Lord. What kind of religious practices would be common among these people? Other than flagellation, which is pretty obvious as a sign of fanaticism.

>>50586497
Hm. I typically dislike halflings, but that'd fit pretty well.

Huh...maybe primitive Wood Elves?

>>50586308
>>50586461
You do realize mainland France and a South American territory of a previously French colony are two separate things right?

>>50586588
Wood elves could be a good fit as well. Don't need to necessarily be primitive, but in the same vein as humans where some of their lands and nations have become part of the Cyclops empire, while others have stayed separate.

>>50586605
>territory
it's a state, Anon

>>50586605
It not a french colony, it is a department and region of France. It is like Alaska or Hawaii for the united states. I am not sure why you are having a hard time comprehending that it is a a integral part of France.

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>>50586605
Corsica is part of France, even if it not part of the Mainland.

So is French Guiana.

This is of course a good opportunity to post my fave Corsican.

To sidestep the discussion about france.


http://www.mathemagician.net/Town.html

Found this useful to flesh out villages and the like.

>>50587215
I'll add this to future OPs

>>50586718
I meant primitive in the sense of Britons primitive. Or Iberians. Or really any less developed region now in a position to flex power with the Empire receeding.

Sorry about the delays btw. My cat is dying.

>>50576639
sup /tg/, I need some spell names for the following spells, they need to sound like they come from a rich magical tradition going back a jillion years, so feel free to make it long and fancy.
>Lightning Spell
>Lesser Summon
>Illusion

>>50587261
Yeah, that's fair. Essentially having Elves and Humans be 'barbarians' in the send that they aren't members of the Cyclops empire.

The main thing I'd say to keep in mind is to not draw the lines too firmly, as with so few races the should have more room to breathe in the world. Ideally, there should be members and portions of each race that have joined the empire as well as others being members of other nations or tribes.

For example, as a player in such a world, I may want to make a human who was the son of a merchant who dealt with the Empire, who fought in the Imperial armies, who was from another nation and fought against the Imperial armies, is from an isolated tribe of barbarians, or is part of a human tribe that opted to join the Tieflings to survive.

That's the sort of thing I'm trying to get across, that while the main chunks of such races exist in those places, exceptions should be rather easy to find.

>>50587295
Do you want them in D&D format, like Arcyrion's Arc? Or Morkarion's Minor Minions of Mockery?

>>50587453
Oh of course. I'm just painting broadly before going in for fine details. I imagine most of the Imperial Legions are made up of humans by this point, as are the barbarian hordes.

>>50587295
French and relatively fringe English make everything sound fancy
>Lightning Spell
Infulminate
>Lesser Summon
Evoke
>Illusion
Semblence

>>50587295
I always think using obscure languages works well. so...

Tamil

Miṉṉal naṭikarka
Kuṟainta aḻaikkiṟatu
Māyai

Turkish

Yıldırım İmla
küçük Çağır
Yanılsama

>>50587295
>Storm's Score of Striking Thunders
>Call of the Five and Forlorn
>Lies within Eyes

>>50587464
Something between the two.

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Making new math system for regional culture. Have everything down but roots.
I can't think of a logical way to do roots with this system.
Ideas?

>>50588623
Dog, turn that shit. Im not gonna break my neck over fake math.

>>50588635
Wtf.
Thought I did.
Sigh, gimme a sec.

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>>50588623
>>50588635
>>50588650

>>50588683
I guess I not sure what you are doing there...

>>50589339
Just demonstrations of math n shit with this system.
Top had value key + some visual representations of how it works since I'm too tired atm to physically write it out.
I go thru addition, subtraction, multiplication, and raising to a power.
Boxed section is me dying trying to figure out a way to make rooting work.

>>50585251
If I were you I'd go with a dwarven empire as the roman state was heavily "industrialised" and one of the reason why feudalism became a staple of the next age was due to the roman nobility abandoning state life for the reasonably autonomy of their large country latifundas, which easily can be turned into noble lines of dwarfs abandoning the state in favour of focusing on their own mine-network.
I'd cast elves as resurgent/revolting barbarian tribes from forested and remote regions such as scandinavia and britain. Humans could be the worlds version of germanians who for a long time was fully alien barbarians without much semblance of civilisation who after centuries of conflict with the dwarven empire have grown much more sophisticated and now make up a considerable amount of the armed forces of the empire in exchange for "unpleasant" topside land inside the empire.

>>50591421
Oh and centaurs would be the equivalent to arabians. Hardy nomadic people who have been used as mercenaries and allies on both sides of a century long conflict untill they for some reason unite as one and quickly overwhelm one empire while being a major threat to the other.

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>>50591421
>>50591463
Hm. I like some of this, but I think I've already settled on Cyclops as The Empire. It allows me to throw a lot more Greek stuff into their culture, if only for variety's sake, and it's an unusual choice, meaning it will at least draw attention. Hopefully I can flesh out the idea enough to be worth it.

And...no to centaurs. They're a logistical nightmare to play as (due to space requirements). I would definitely use them as monsters, but not a PC race.

Update: Cyclopian Greco-Roman Empire, Human "Gothic" tribes and Romano-British/Gaulish folk, Elven celtic remnants and berber tribes, Tiefling Huns.

The Gods have abandoned us. The tomb-doors hang wide. The forests march against civilization, and are winning. Hell has unleashed its worst upon the land. All this while Imperial armies slaughter one another to place a bloody crown upon their commander and all the great centers of learning burn before the barbarian campfires.

The church is in disarray. Enemies previously thought defeated return with a vengeance. Plague sweeps through the capitol. The weather grows colder year by year, and the crops begin to fail.

The best you can hope for is to hide a candle of civilization from the oncoming storm. There is no saving this world, only preserving its memory.

>>50591838
I think it's a pretty good setup. 4 major races seems like a good number to go with if you're trying to keep things smaller.

>>50588683
>>50588623
What kind of culture are you designing that for? Bronze age? Iron Age? Medieval? You might not even need a special symbol for "root", check out how the Babylonians did theirs. Also, you might not need roots other than square root.

One criticism right off the bat, you can tell at a glance if there are 4 or 5 bars, but you can't tell without counting whether there are 8 or 9 bars. Nobody is going to want to count that shit. Also, your numbers are too slow to write by hand. Mistakes will be made. At the very least, make a symbol for 5 units, or have an arrangement that makes it easy to tell how many they are (Babylonians used a 3x3 square for 9, for example).

Also, if you want to make math that's foreign, make is some other base that's not 10. Although do be careful with that, I once gave my players a puzzle in base 3 and it completely stumped them.

>>50592170
Going for a very advanced, mathmematical-based engineering culture in a sort of Bronze age, kinda.
Also, I do not have a special symbol for root, I just denote it as the opposite of raising to a power. Ex. C^2=36; C^2(subscript 2)=36(subscript 2)

Thank you for all these suggestions, I will take your advice on changing the base and making it clearer.

So in the south of England there a great big radioactive desert where all the robots congregate, like primordial, they build small towns, scavenge, trade parts etc. What can i call their main city? and what would a good name be for a big patriotic British war robot?

>>50594465
>Main city: Asim
>"Whys this place called asim,?"
>"Got it off a burnt book i found

general bump since it on page 8

>>50596155
I'll help out.

How would I go about building a world for my first time being a GM? I've been making a relatively serious world, but I'm not sure if doing something more lighthearted would be easier/better for my players.

>>50596226
What kind of game are you thinking of running? Any system in particular?

>>50596226
First off, it depends on the players, some people like deadly serious stuff, some like serious with the joke now and then, and others like lighthearted stuff.

Most of my stuff is "serious but with moments of humor", and sometimes you just run with stuff with the players. For example, the general store owner in my starting town was called Samford, a serious name. The players started to think it was a lot like Sanford, and asked if it was junky, and he had a well meaning son who was trying to clean up the place (As the old show Sanford and Son), so you know what, I ran with it, with him always trying to sell some sort of junk as the greatest thing ever.

The key idea for me is to be flexible to listen to the players on tone, but also just keep it internally consistent.

Also, for first time worlds, small is good, focused is good. I have done entire planets before, but the best ones are the ones (at least when I do stuff ) is a area that allows travel, but is at most a region, sometimes just one kingdom.

>>50596344
I'm of some kind of near-future/cyberpunk setting in GURPs.

>>50596387
I've been getting ahead of myself writing history, I think. A small, focused setting sounds pretty good, though.

>>50594465
Nigel Prime

>>50586954
>my favorite Corsican
>he doesn't post Napoleon

>>50596591
Alizee looks better

>>50596504
kek

>>50596504
>"WARNING WARNING YANKEE INCURSION DETECTED
>"THE LAST DOMINO FALLS HERE PRESIDENT OBONGO WILL FAIL"
>"LIVERPOOL WILL BE LIBERATED"
>"HAIL BRITANNIA, LIBERTY MARCHES ON"
>"ENGAGING YANKEE BLUE INVADERS"
>"ACCESSING HISTORICAL DATABASE: THE ONLY THING I AM AFRAID OF IS FEAR.

>>50597212
>>"ACCESSING HISTORICAL DATABASE: THE ONLY THING I AM AFRAID OF IS FEAR.
that was an FDR quote m8

>>50597279
No it was a duke of wellington quote, your thinking of "all we have to fear is fear itself"

Does anyone have a good guide or questions to answer about religion in a world?

>>50584451
>demigods looking to start a civilization
I dont see the issue here..

redpill me on animism

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page 10 save rave

>>50600587
I guess it's more that I would say a basic requirement of the first city should be enough people living there to call it one.

The Demigods can build the grandest town they want out of a mountain but that won't mean anything if nobody has heard of it or has any reason to move.

What's your opinion on emergent world building through play? It's more of a bottom-up method of design than top-down. You begin with one place where the players are, and things grow out from there, drawing from the characters, encounters, and dungeons. Something like this would likely initially emerge from rolling on table results and then grow from there. Does it result in a setting that's schizophrenic or organic in it's design?

>>50605702
I think its something every setting should have, since a GM will have to do some improv anyway.

Having a majority of worldbuilding done in game, however, is an interesting idea that I want to try and put into mechanics into some of my games. I don't know about anyone else, but as a GM I still like to be surprised about the world I'm in, even if I'm supposed to be the omniscient one of the group. I think a lot of it will depend on the skill of the GM themselves.

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Fifty years ago, theoretical physicists predicted multiversal overlap. Ten years ago, an experiment definitively proved that more than the observable reality exists, and that travel in and out of this reality is possible. It was assumed a possible source of infinite energy could be drawn from, and the experiment bore that out - explosively. Since then, strange events have been occurring world-wide. For the most part, these incidents have been expunged from public record, but things are changing. Video surveillance has shown that beings, some human-like, others disturbingly not-so, are capable of entering our reality. Moreover, they possess either technology or magic to an unknown scale. We do not know their capabilities, what they want, or how they do what they do. Some seem benevolent, helping those they encounter. Others not so much, and at least two encounters show they are easily able to overpower small groups of soldiers and escape observation.
I'm not saying it's interdimensional alien wizards, but... We know they exist, we know they have at least a passing interest in us, but we are unsure of anything else. Recorded incidents leave more questions than answers, with observed individuals differing wildly in form, behavior, equipment, and techniques for translocation observed.

What government agency would/should be responsible for dealing with this?
What would the department/project/initiative/task force be called?
Where would their headquarters be?
What sorts of protocols would be necessary for this agency, given at least one instance of mind control has been observed?

What questions do you have?

hi /wbg/ what do you use to collaborate with other people (if anyone) a wiki? something like evernote? something self hosted?

i have a setting i just started working on with an old friend and we're just using google drive / email but its easy to miss things.

>>50606690
That sounds like it would fall either more under homeland security if they classify it more like terrorism, or foreign affairs if they consider it a separate nation that happens to be dangerously adjacent.

This is probably FBI/CIA stuff, though I imagine more they'd make a new agency for it.

Name could be any anything, and might not be too public anyway. Headquarters matters a bit less of these things can appear anywhere, bit assuming they can find any sort of pattern I would expect something underground, where portals should be less common, or constantly moving on a ship, so they're harder to pinpoint.

With mind control being a possibility and small X-com style squads being less effective, I'm not sure what their countermeasures would be. You'd probably get a mix of non-lethal weaponry and things for any civilians or allies they need to subdue, while also packing rather dangerous weaponry that needs two men to operate, diminishing the odds that it'll be turned against them.

From there it's a matter of finding something that works, while also having diplomats who will try and establish contact first.

Ideally, it goes like this. They pick up some weirdness and it gets reported. Small teams of agents who are more typical diplomats/hostage negotiators/crowd control focus on getting civilians out, coordinating police so they stay out, and trying to sort out what this thing wants. If it's helpful, beg for something to use against the bad ones. If it's evil, try and delay until the squad arrives and can use flamethrowers, flashbangs, teargas, and anything else the people in the lab can think of that will at least drive it away. Assuming they can actually take it down, capture and study are the biggest priorities.

>>50607419
Thanks! I hadn't really considered DHS or emphasizing relocating potential witnesses, making contact, or capturing.

Re: incursion events: only three sites have been caught on camera - although one has since been observed multiple times. One was drone footage, one from a deer cam, and the last (9 recorded incidents) was captured by a security camera that was accidentally pointed into an alley behind a convenience market.

Soldiers nearby moved to investigate the one picked up by the drone, and combat ensued.
The other encounter with mind control involved what was assumed to be a non-English speaking ren-fair escapee who was picked up for public intoxication. The subject woke up in the drunk tank the next day, and attempted to escape by manipulating one of the officers. This resulted in a conflict that ended when the subject exploded.

>>50607658
Ah, if they explode that readily, than that's another thing to consider. They're going to have their own dedicated forensics team, and it's going to consist of the best people they can find. They're also going to test the aftermath of such areas for other things like radiation or basically anything they can detect outside of normal.

If this ends up tying into actual folklore at any point at all, expect them to bring in some mythology experts as well.

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>>50607714
Unfortunately, there haven't been enough observations to determine if exploding is normal behavior.

How would such an agency go about recruiting mythology experts? I imagine they'd look within their own ranks first, and then look at academics - but when would they decide "you know, we should really check with somebody about this."?

How would you justify the rise of mega-corporations? As in, corps clearly control most of, if not all of a government.

>>50608139
Just look at history.

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I saw this in a folder, might be useful to somebody

>>50611357
What is it meant to do? Is it for photoshop or?

>>50579816
>Soviet Union doesn't have any of its European assets
>I MUST UNITE THE AMERICAN PEOPLES UNDER ONE FLAG
>Pakistan being Soviet
>India not being Soviet
>Turkey being Soviet
>X being Soviet

>>50611950
>Soviet Union doesn't have any of its European assets
The Germans stopped them before they could.
>I MUST UNITE THE AMERICAN PEOPLES UNDER ONE FLAG
Only Mexico is a direct state of the GUSA. The rest are just territories.
>Pakistan being Soviet
Same thing as Turkey. Military take over by the Russians, not an incorporated soviet state
>India not being Soviet
India has pressures from the JAAN as well as from the USSR and UEA
>Turkey being Soviet
Turkey was taken over by the Soviets. Different thing.
>X being Soviet
This isn't even an argument.

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How does my map look, /tg/? I'm fine with the landmasses and everything, but I'm trying to give it "le olde parchment" look. A second opinion would be greatly appreciated.

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>>50611950
Yea, it a really weird map - everything from

>millennia old rivals being in the same side (Turks-Russians)
>kaliningrad not being part of Russia,
>Newfoundland not part of the GUSA
>South Africa not bringing in Nambia and Botswana into its economic fold.
>Belarus not being with the soviets
>Swiss, Swedes not being nutrual
>Russia/soviets letting Finnland into the Euro Alliance
>to the much discussed including Latin South America with the The Guyanas.

Here a map that actually sorta makes sense.

>>50616126
And this assumes that somehow the baltic states are not soviet with the soviets still around among some other things.

>>50616034
Looks a bit like the Avatar map, doesn't it? On closer inspection, these are some lovely coastlines. Good job!

The actual parchment color looks decent enough, but it's a bit homogeneous. Maybe add some stains somehow?

>>50616034
Lovely landforms....don't like the colors, but I know what was being attempted. both seem "dark"

>>50616126
This one is even worst

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Could someone help me roughly mark the biomes?
I want to include all of them, from frosty through hot to wet
The continent is in the northern hemisphere, only needs to be semi-realistic.

>>50616398
>even worst
Looks like someone needs to go back to school

>>50597009
>Alizee looks better
>impliying

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>>50616327
>Stains
The school computer unfortunately limits me to the burn and sponge tools for photoshop. Something something, administrative privileges something. I'll see what I can do.

>>50616348
>Dark
The lore of the land is a continent ravished by a hundred years of dragons killing and burning their way from the Old Continent far to the East and three hundred years of infighting/power struggle after the dragons were destroyed. Thirty years of peace after an Emperor unites the continent, only for it to devolve into another ten years of rebellion when he goes batshit insane.

I admit to liberal use of the Burn tool around the edges given the dragons and war-torn undertone of the lore. And I think that I should have made my seas darker than my land. Maybe. I'll see what I can do.

>>50616398
Well first off, bad grammar.

And what your problem with it, other then Ukraine? (which I didn't like but I was trying to fix issues.

>>50616449
I did say fave, not the most important or greatest.

>>50576661
>What do people believe happens to them after death? How, if at all, can they influence this?
it all depends on how they lived their lives and the deity(s) they worshiped.
for example those who spent their lives committing sins of a bestial nature (rape, cannibalism, etc...) will spend eternity being chased by predators and ripped apart only for it to begin all over the very next day.

>What happens to those who disagree with the majority on questions of religion?
Lord there are so many different pantheons that there is an entire codex on which dieties are socially acceptable and which are not, and the 'nots' are pretty depraved, so honestly if you are worshiping one of the unacceptable deities then you are likely already one sick mofo and are wanted for all manner of bad things.

>What do people want from the god or gods? How do they try and get it?
eh, depends on the diety, some are prayed to for bountiful harvests, some are prayed to to keep buildings from falling down, some are prayed to for children, some for victory, and some are prayed to in the hopes that the god in question leaves that person alone. as implied often it is done through prayer and sometimes small offerings.

>What superstitions are common? What kinds of supernatural events/beings do people fear?
it's a common superstition that seeing a jewel scarab is a bad omen, means something evil has recently happened in the area it was seen in.

>>50613478
Those are explanations, yes, but none of them make any sense. Regardless of the starting point, which is presumably between 1945 and 2016, nothing there makes any sense.

>>50611378
It's a decent way of making mountains.

Why is New York's harbor so important to New York's success in the pre-20th Century?

I'm trying to figure out how to make a pseudo-New York city but without Hudson Bay.

>>50619625
Most cities, if you haven't been to one, are built on some body of water. Ancient cities were built near water because water is necessary for food and..well, water.

But given a more modern setting, cities are built where trade can be made easiest. So that usually means on the coast, which allows for international trade, on a river for trade within the country, or on crossroads for local traders.

So in essence, access to the sea = access to the wealth of the world

Can someone help me out with some fantasy 'radiation' as it were?

I'm trying to make a post-nuclear holocaust war where the radiation effects do some cool stuff but I don't want it to be like...overtly insane if that makes sense?

What I have so far is mild exposure doesn't have much of a dire effect, mostly just light dizziness and agitated mood. The higher the exposure, the more agitated you get. Eventually, you become a violent sadist. After that point, continued exposure causes to lose all sense of civility and intelligence and essentially become an animal. I'd like to have more interesting effects however, cus right now I feel like I'm just stepping on fallout's usage of radiation for ghouls and such

>>50619808
But what made New York so big and important compared to Paris, London, or Constantinople?

>>50619808
you also have places like Toledo which has access to the sea and many places on the great lakes, but failed to live up to its potential. Chicago and Detroit, which are later stops on that trade route, certainly made it out much better.

Coastal cities can still fail at massive growth, but if you have access to rivers or coastline, you're going to be making them a part of your economy.

>>50620050
Simple, America is greater than France, Britain, and Turkey so its capital is bigger and more important

>>50620083
>>50620050
Sorry, I should've listed Boston or Charleston.

>>50620050

New York's port and river access are the most important things that made it a good spot for the Dutch to settle and develop trade around

>>50620050

Before the 20th century, NY was not more important than those cities. However, it was the biggest port that connected the continent of North America to the entire rest of the world. So, pretty important. Waves of immigration came from the crowded old world to the roomier new world (thanks for the breathing room, smallpox!) The US shipped massive amounts of raw materials to Europe, and Europe shipped finished goods back.

tldr: massive trade and immigration hub.

If this is the right thread, I'd like to request some maps of mine (circa 1850), or better a methodto build one.

>>50621756
What types of maps are you looking for from 1850?

>>50576639
Hey, I need pulpy fantasy names for wizards, mages, sorcerers, and their lairs. Basically I need as many names as possible that follow this format:
>[Name] the/of [optional descriptive phrase], [specialty] master from [insert name of wizard lair].

>>50579816
Umm, is this alt-history split after 1945 or before?

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This is what I've got for the country map so far. The coastline is hideous and I can't figure out how to get rid of the graph lines, but it's the best I've been able to do in the last hour.

I'm tempted to throw it at my players and just let them figure it out.

So, I got some Vampire/ Snake-ish "Elves" that ate a ton of humans, until a divine champion of man went on a rampage across their lands until they fucked off. Is this too Pelinal Whitestrake-ish?

>>50622480
Not sure what that ia, but why are they called elves instead of vampire snakes?

>>50622604
"Elves" is just a placeholder, cause I'm a bit unsure myself. The gist of it is that they are humanoid, with a few snake features, and they act sorta vampirical, by devouring humans both physically and mentally.
Pelinal Whitestrake is a crusader from Elder Scrolls who slaughtered a ton of Elves for enslaving mankind. I just don't want these my chracter and Pelinal to be too similar.

>>50622275
Just after. The Chinese Civil War is the split.

>>50622374
Sure is Not-Europe in here.

>>50622744
Doesn't sound too similar. That said, may be better to call them Naga or something and just have them be reptilian looking vampires. I think you're making up extra similarities in the stories by calling them elves.

>>50622754
Did the soviets fall apart and rebuild, or soviets never fell apart?

>>50622997
The soviets restructured following a successful Stalin assassination, allowing for them to expand and preserve.

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>>50623014
Okay a few questions then.

Easy one
1. Why is Somalia a Jewish homeland? Even if it Ethiopian Jews, that should be in Ethiopia.

2. I assume you just forgot to mark newfoundland and Greenland? (Newfoundland part of Canada, Greenland is part of Denmark)

Not so easy ones

1. You have Russian land (Kaliningrad) Not part of the soviet union?

2. Even if the warsaw pact fell, you have many Soviet republics not being part of the soviet union. (Ukraine, Belarus, Baltic states and so on)

3. Why are neutral countries that have been neutral for ages part of a alliance?

(Namely, Switzerland (1815), Sweden (1850s), and Ireland (which I forgot to mark) since it independence from the UK. In addition, Austria was non-alligned till the end of the soviet union. but if the warsaw pact fell, I could understand.

4. Why is Finland been allowed to join a Alliance? Soviets would never allow that historically. Even today with Russia today Finland is not allowed to become part of NATO.

5. Why is a part of France part of the American territories?

6. How did Germany reunify?

There are also other nagging questions, like Singapore and Australia, but those are minor vs. these major issues.

>>50623262
1, How did turkey not end up anti-soviet.
2. How in the hell did pakistan go soviet
3. Why is bosnia not part of a alliance
4. Why is serbia NOT with the soviets if they are free.

>>50622374
>Uberwald
gotcha

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rate map so far pls

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Map I've thrown together to get a handle on what the setting I'm making will physically look like.

My current setting which /wbg/ helped build the basics for so you can only blame yourselves for my autism is one on the brink of destruction. The Old Empire, founded by a race of Cyclopes, is dying. The Cyclopes are actually dying out, and their human and elven vassals are tearing the place apart in civil wars. The Trolls invade from the north, causing other human barbarian tribes and maybe a few orc tribes to flee into the Empire as well. The weather seems to be turning colder and colder, with failing crops and rising plagues making things worse. The Gods have gone silent though still empowering certain followers, the Fey are returning in force as civilization returns to nature, the hateful dead rise from their tombs, and Hell itself invades the mortal realm.

What would be an interesting type of ruin for a Cyclopian Not!Rome to leave behind? I'd like something like Hadrian's Wall, or aqueducts, or else something like a teleportation network. It's high fantasy, so most things would be cool. I just feel drained of creativity at the moment.

Any suggestions? Rate map?

>>50623513
Nice for an outline. Where are the mountains, if any? Is this an island or a continent? Anything to tell us about the world itself?

Some anon posted a picture of the Kingdom that I was working on for my setting and asked people to world build for it. I found the thread amusingly enough, but it was being torn apart for its shitty placement of cities and towns.

Admittedly I didn't put much thought into the location of a lot of places since I was just sticking towns/cities where I felt was lacking in bigger settlements.

The main problems people had were towns that were in the middle of nowhere. What are the general criteria for a town/city to be established, iirc people mentioned being near mountains, the sea or a lake. Is that all?

Also if anybody feels like it I'd be open to ideas for places since I've only established very little.

Yes I now realize that a lot of the names are actually names of places in real life. A lot of them were just created by random town generators. I'll be renaming them soon whilst I move towns/cities around.

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>>50623830
Forgot to post the fucking map.

>>50623849
How do you do your shorelines like that? I cant manage anything other than soft shores thanks to the rounded tools.

>>50623895
>How do you do your shorelines like that? I cant manage anything other than soft shores thanks to the rounded tools.
Ahh I guess the best description that I can give is I generally go with a size 3 subtract in a jagged "twitchy" movement with my mouse followed by a smoother addition tool so as to make even smaller than the size 3 which makes the jagged edges. Its far from perfect and can require doing over a few times or carving more sea out as you try get a less rounded coast.

Thats the best description I can give.

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>>50623849
I see these maps and get depressed. This is literally the best map I ever had. And it not that great.

>>50623583

Tiefling Huns ravaging the Empire from the frigid steppes would be cool. With the Gods going silent, their demonic nature is even more terrifying. If you implement them, be sure to play up the Scourge Of God mythos surrounding the ancient Huns, and have rumors of them consuming/sacrificing the souls of their victims. They'd fit the Roman/European setting nicely, and fit the grim tone like a glove.

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>>50623994
>I see these maps and get depressed. This is literally the best map I ever had. And it not that great.
I also felt that way a lot, my maps used to be utterly terrible, but the more I saw others maps the more I learned how to improve. And then I saw some anons map where he spliced stuff together, and took his style.

>This is literally the best map I ever had. And it not that great.
Your map actually looks like a proper world, and those lakes and islands look bloody amazing.

Pic related: best map that I could do before I decided to go full out on my other map. If you had seen some of the other abominations I'd made you'd have a nice chuckle.

Probably shouldnt have deleted them, the changes from one version to another were actually kinda nice seeing the evolution.

>>50606690
Well if it's true that these instances are increasing in frequency over time and that it's become harder and harder to contain these instances from public knowledge then the cat's essentially out of the bag at this point so making task force for keeping it quiet would be a waste of resources at this point. The opposite approach would be needed since these things can be appear at any time and place. There wouldn't just be one agency involved but likely several agencies in a joint mission statement. Likely one to educate the public on these threats and to encourage the public to report these occurrences as soon as they happen. A brand new agency tasked with responding to these reports with dedicated task forces that contain specialist trained for specific extra universal entities. There would be a need for a R&D think tank responsible for the study of these extra universal entities and how to deal with them with the goal of producing technology to combat this threat or to gather resource from this new phenomenon.

The agency that runs the response task forces would also include efforts to recruit the non-hostile of these entities whenever possible and be given funding to provide whatever necessary accommodations for these potential potent allies.

Lastly all these agencies would have to be working on an international level to be effective if they can happen all over the world at any time. So the imitative would likely have a sub-committee dedicated to smoothing over any potential international incidents involving these entities.

>>50624038
That's exactly what I am doing. I just called them Trolls because...I dunno. Autism?

But yeah, Tiefling Huns. And while a great big horde of them exists, lots of little Tiefling tribes are more than willing to fight *for* the Empire, for the right price.

Should I add a Byzantium-expy? A realm of the Empire still strong, but remote and culturally separate? And if so, are they still Cyclopes? Or has that faction already been turned over to their human or elven vassals?

>>50623583
Walls, forts, and aqueducts are all nice things to leave behind. You could also potentially have more arcane things like golems. Maybe play up the Cyclops angle by having some ocular constructs that either serve as cameras over long distances, or maybe as sentries that blast lasers and perceived intruders.

I think you mainly want to settle on a type of artifice and magic that Cyclops are very good and, and build around that. Stone and metalworking are easy, and stone can cover roads, aquaducts, and walls. Magic is trickier, but to me Cyclops magic feels like it would specialize in wards and defensive magic. Of course, you could go many different directions instead, but I think it's a good idea to settle on a focus for them, similar to how Fey and Elves are often good at illusions.

>>50624148
Having a separate small kingdom that's the remnants of the Empire would probably be a good call. What's more questionable is if it should be a bastion of Cyclops kind, turning away others and isolating themselves, or a last bastion welcoming anyone who wants to rebuild the empire, even doing away with some of the old traditions and having more equality among races to better stand united against the darkness.

Basically a matter of if you want them to just be yet another power that could help but won't or the last bastion of real hope.

>>50624148

This is a badass setting you're working on. Question, do Half-Elves exist, or is it impossible for Humans and Elves to interbreed? Half-Elves make good gypsy analogues.

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>>50624069
You know what, I was able to find the generation notes. Now time to (slowly) build up a world.

Project 8 has begun.

>>50623302
Not the same anon, but adding in:
-Why did Canada and Mexico allow annexation by the U.S.?
-Was there a second Korean war? Or did no country involve themself with the first Korean war?

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>>50624151
My original feelings towards the Cyclopes would be to build off their connections in Greek mythology, specifically the Smith-stuff. Forgers of Zeus's lightning bolts and all that. I feel like golems fit that particularly well...but as you said, something related to their eyes also fits well. I actually have an in-universe excuse to use Palantirs like in LOTR. That's kind of exciting to me!

But I agree, they need a focus. I think a combination of Divination and either Abjuration or Enchantment fits best. Divination would play off the prophecy angle (see: Grey Sisters), while Enchantment and Abjuration feel like the sort of spells one would find in magic weapons and armor, as I don't know what magics Golems are connected to. Do you happen to know?

>>50624187
While the first option would make setting sense as Late Antiquity is a natural "Grimdark" sort of place, I really like the idea of a last bastion that is willing to drop the old ways that aren't helping to stem the tide. Like, I *really* like it! I feel like the Western isle on the above map >>50623583 would be an ideal location, but other than that I am not sure how "Bright" I'd like the place to be. I'd prefer to avoid a Reborn Republic sort of thing, but Grimderp Despotic Hellhole would also defeat the point of it. Perhaps a Holy Empire? One whose possibly human Emperor claims descent from the Cyclopes?

>>50624238
>Badass setting
Thank you!

>Half-Elves
Unlike the usual sort of settings I run, I'd prefer to keep Half-Elves a rarity. There's not enough of them to make a real culture on their own, but as Elven and Human kingdoms seal alliances with marriage and their borders slowly encroach upon each other, there's bound to be interbreeding. I am torn between a trusted-adviser or gypsy outcast role for them. Should they be accepted members of their parent community? Or should they be a form of outlaw, in the old Anglo-Saxon manner?

I'm very open to suggestions on this point.

>>50624379
Assuming you're talking DnD, I believe Golems might fall under Transmutation. Enchantment has to do more with charms and mind altering effects. Still, Abjuration would also make a pretty good focus. It's less important to narrow them down to one school, and more to have some clear themes. Prophecy due to the eyes works, as does good warding magic, golems, and magical weaponry from their smithing skill.

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>>50623597
Oh, there are mountains, I'm just really bad at drawing them, so I haven't for now. It is meant to be one of two main continents, with the other being far larger, to the west There are however rumors of a third continent to the far north.

To the West, there are the vampirical snake-men, who are split into three main races:
The Wyldr (Wild-Elf was the original term) in the south-west, who inhabit an enormous forest. This race tend to keep to themselves despite their ferocious nature, and cannibalism is widespread amongst them.
To the north-west are the Lachaem (Sun-Elf Was the original term) more refined ones, with a very advanced civilization, whom once was subdued by the Divine Champion for their crimes against man (you know, genocide and mass-enslavement). This is by far the most bothersome race to man, whom several times have almost wiped mankind out.
The third race, the Hyldr (Man-Elf was the original term) are more like a mix between vampire-snake and common man, who no desire to devour. These usually tend to the fields of the more central parts of the continent and make for fine farmers and good drinking buddies. They also made up a sizeable chunk of the Rhailosi Empires' armies of yore.

The Human parts of the continent is not too fleshed out yet I'm afraid.

>>50624408
Tell me more about this Empire. Seems to dominate the continent pretty thoroughly. How have they not conquered the last remnants of opposition?

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>>50621756
What?

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>>50579816
>>50622275

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>>50622374
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

>>50624379
>I'd prefer to avoid a Reborn Republic sort of thing, but Grimderp Despotic Hellhole would also defeat the point of it. Perhaps a Holy Empire?

I agree, the former fits the tone better overall, though I feel like it's the sort of thing that would be cropping up in more places. You'd probably have a lot of groups of Cyclops from the dying empire carving out their own kingdoms and hoping up in forts.

The idea of the reborn empire having a sort of Holy thing going for it might work as well. Perhaps an Oracle who still claims to be able to hear from the gods has managed to rally the people, and has chosen a human emperor claiming it was their will. It doesn't have to be a perfect place, and their can be a lot of strife between races and factions, but I think it should at least be in relative stability against the outside. Just because it's the last bastion of civilization doesn't mean it has to be shining.

>>50622374
Graph lines are a setting you can change in Inkarnate on the left side menu.

>>50624406
I always forget about Transmutation for some reason.

But yes, I agree a central theme is more important than a central school. Would it be too much to assume some of their ruins use enchantment spells in their wards? I had a fun idea for cyclops statues that beamed Suggestion spells at players via eye-contact. Something like, "Walk into the nearby cage and lock yourself inside, intruder."

>>50624468
I like the Oracle angle. A nice throwback to the Old Faith of the Cyclopes. Also provides a neat plot hook if the oracle is particularly old. If they die, how is the empire or the church going to react with the (supposedly) last direct line to the divine cut off?

>>50624438
That map shows the height of the Empire, before it collapsed.
To the North, it was stopped by a coalition of Northern petty-kingdoms, during the 2nd War for the North.
To the East is the Grand Principality of Drakkenmark, well defended by a mountain range. The sorcerer-princes there also played their part when it came to defending their independence.
To the South is Skathi, whose most important and populated places already had been conquered. De facto, it worked like a puppet-state.
To the South-West is the realm of the Wyldr, a name given to all the huge forests spanning across the province. Parts of it were conquered, but the fact that the province is filled with tribalistic vampire-snakes made it difficult to advance through the thick forests. Plans of conquering it were quickly discarded.
And finally, to the North-West is the realm of the Lachaem, who worship the Dawn. The fact that the Empire managed to chip away at some of their land is a wonder in itself. They beat mankind at nearly everything, and the fact that they lost some of their land is because of the Divine Champion, whose righteous rampage brought their armies and mage-kings to their knees.

>>50624543
Hypnotic eyes or Runes that cast suggestion when read are certainly in the realm of possibility. I'm getting the vibe their magic as being very orderly, structured, and controlling.

>>50624444
>Le WWIII causes unity meme
I think not

>>50624573
So what does the Empire look like at present? Was a war with the surrounding nations the only cause for its fall?

And who is the Divine Champion?

>>50624379
I'd say go for accepted by their communities, outcast/outlaw Half-Elves is a bit of a cliche I'd say, whereas them being a small but emerging minority with growing importance in the politics, trade, religion, and militaries of the Successor Kingdoms, Duchies, and Counties of your setting(especially Half-Elves who are illegitimate offspring of nobles or are relatively low on the order of succession, their potential talents and connections are too useful to waste so they'd be directed towards areas where they can be used to their realm's benefit) could be most interesting

>>50624584
If they are modeled on smithing, prophecy, and divine-inspiration, a deeply Lawful and Ordered mindset fits perfectly the way I see it. They are, after all, Empire builders.

The elves and humans were never trusted with the secrets of such magic, and so they had to find different arcane traditions. Elves learned illusions and enchantment from the fey, and humans learned magical secrets from a variety of sources, living and dead, divine and damned.

Would it thematically fit Tieflings to use more chaotic magic? Or would it be more appropriate for them to use a very orderly sort of Hellmagic against the Cyclopes?

>>50624732
I feel like Tieflings would tend towards the Chaotic side of things, with anything more orderly being more of a a controlled detonation than anything else.

Where a Cyclops focuses on earth, stability, and defense, a Tiefling would likely prefer fire, change, and attacking. That isn't to say they couldn't have organization or be more orderly, but it'd be in ways that still fit their overall drive.

To give an example, a Cyclops smith would probably take his time and work methodically to forge a high quality blade that would serve its bearer for many years. If it was a magic weapon, he'd probably ensure it would last even longer and help protect the welder.

A Tiefling is going to go quickly, hammering out blades twice as fast as the Cyclops, and,using fire magic to stoke the flames even hotter. He cares less for quality, who cares if the blade breaks in a year? If it's enchanted, it might be something with limited uses.

Essentially, while you don't need to go fully chaotic and random with them, I feel like they would be very impatient, and that would reflect on their works. However, perhaps as things go on and they become more organized, they may become more of a dark mirror of the old empire, sort of cementing the idea that they'll be the new one. Fires will be hotter, but also more controlled and focused. They may light the streets of their cities with everything hellfire, and have their furnaces working on ever more intricate and advanced metals and armor. Almost a bit industrial in a way.

I think a healthy mix of both might qork, a bit more chaotic for the tribes, a bit more orderly for whatever armies or nations they form, but still with the overall things of fire as a driving force for cha,he and progress. Both tearing down the old and experimenting to find the new.

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>>50624650
Technically, the Empire is long fallen. Yet, it's influence can be seen across most of the human kingdoms, its fortresses, walls, cities and even the language.
A number of different things caused its fall,
by foreign raids, rebellions, failed wars against he vampire-snakes and the lack of a strong emperor.
Currently, it's successor is the Hekliri Republic, who instead adopted a senate to be in charge of the nation, and who sees it as their duty to restore the Empire to its former glory.

It is unsure exactly who the Divine Champion was; the different races of man claims he is one of their own, but what he was will probably never be uncoveredhe was a riverman. Nevertheless, all of mankind views him as their savior amd who caused the rise of the Empire.

In the earliest days of Rhailos, when the vampire-snakes had arrived, they sought to devour mankind. For decades, they waged war against the many, disunified kingdoms of man and many were either eaten or made into slaves to build the many sun-temples. One day, a man came forth, skilled in both magic, combat and armed with a divine greatsword. He led humanity to victory against the snakes and unified the kingdoms, one by one, until he had created an empire, whose might could stand against the threat from the West.

In one last act of defiance against the serpentine oppressors, he went on a murderous rampage across the snakes' lands. Thousands fell before him, until he was at last slain in the heart of their scaled empire. His body, eaten by the serpent-king and his greatsword, lost to time.


Obviously needs refined, but it's very late, so nighty night

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>>50624911
I love everything about this, and will be using it.

Another thing I was thinking about was Magic. In this setting, I was looking to do a few things. I want to mark a strong difference between Divine and Arcane magic, and I wanted to emphasize the requirement for all spellcasters to either have a Patron to teach them magic, or a Master to have taught them. But now I realize that I am not sure if there were any magic traditions in late antiquity or the early medieval period that support this line of reasoning.

I know, for example, that in the Classical period people genuinely believed in magic, and even saw it coming in two forms: Theurgy and Goethic. Essentially Divine and Arcane. And both types still were assumed to require a divine being teaching you how to do it, though the latter was more of a hedgemagic/witchcraft sort of thing.

Does anyone have experience with Early Medieval or Dark Age magic traditions I could crib from? I'm not asking to mechanically rewrite the game system I'm using, but I want to mine interesting real world connections if I can.

>>50588623
>>50593924
Didn't really look at your system but if they have exponents, a root is just a fractional exponent.

>>50625049
Good night anon. May you dream of Not!St-Patrick getting eaten by snake-vampires. Looking forward to hearing more about your setting later.

>>50625049
oh fug sleep deprivation has made me into a grammatical bafoon

>>50623849
>That's the best looking inkarnate map I've ever seen. Well done anon!

>>50625195
Fuck, didn't mean to greentext. Still, great map.

>>50611950
>>50616126
In the previous thread several ppl told him he's in a magical world. The guy, obviously, is okay with it. So w/e, it's his fun.

I got a question about rivers /wbg/.

Is there any conceivable, realistic, reason why a river would disappear underground before flowing into a sea? Are there any rivers that flow into the sea underground on Earth?

Failing that, a good reason for a river to disappear before reaching the sea.

>>50625853
If the river is on a cliff and there just happened to be a hole there already; like when some adventurers decided to divert the flow of the nearby river to drown out the cult that was hiding out in that cave.

>>50625853
Sinkhole happens to occur below the waterfall/riverbed. It leads to a cave system that flows to the sea.
Cavern system itself is of a natural/magical/dwarfish origin.

>>50626046
Oh shit I just remembered cenotes, that fits right in.

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Okay, this is the concepts I am throwing around, and wanted WBG to give feedback.

A - This will be a low fantasy world, magic is not common, and society frowns upon it.

B - I am going for a feel of say, 1200-1300. For most of it.

C. There will the the one true pagan church, but without any sort of "pope".

D. there was a empire that expanded, last long enough for a common cultural traits to be spread to much of the area, then it collapsed into ruin.

E. No halflings - there "slot" will be replaced by lizard-men who are not!argonian

Now on the map.

1. Three Kingdoms area - This large super-island was the home of the old imperial capital. It now fallen into 3 kingdoms and a few ducal areas, including one king who controls the old imperial city and calls himself emperor. It has fallen into a well organized feudal society.

2. Huge swamplands are the home of the Not!argonians

3. This area used to be empire, but fell into city states. there are a good number of rival city states in this area, each with their own ideas.

4. mostly nomadic tribes live here. not!freefolk/wildlings

5. When the empire fell, this area was the new frontier. It still runs itself based off the old imperial ways. It is still frontier.

Of course, there will be a lot to fill out more then just those five, but I want to take it in bite sized chunks.

Guild list
Any trade I am forgetting that would have a guild in a medieval town/city?

Apothecary
Bakers
Barbers (Also includes dentistry and surgery)
Basketmakers
Blacksmiths
Bowyers
Brewers
Broderers (embroiderers)
Butchers
Carpenters
Chandlers
Clothworkers
Cobblers
Cutlers
Dyers (Carpet)
Farriers
Fishmongers
Fletchers
Goldsmiths/silversmiths
Leatherworkers
Masons
Mercers (general merchants)
Needlemakers
Plaisterers (plasterers)
Plumbers
Salters
Scriveners (writers of court letters and legal documents)
Skinners
Upholders (upholsterers)
Vintners
Weavers
Wheelwrights
Woolmen

>>50627729
Glazers
Silk
Pottery

>>50625140

I'm unsure about the Magic system, but what if Tieflings were unable to use standard Divine or Arcane Magic but they had their own unique Hell-based Magic system? It would be much more destructive and demonic in nature than other Magic.

For example, Tieflings don't have a Heal Wounds spell, but they do have a Drain Life spell, and when their spells have the same effect, the ascetic is different. Black Hellfire instead of standard Arcane fire, possessing a foe's body instead of mind controlling them, and so on.

I think Tiefling mages would be more like Sorcerors than Wizards, as their magic would be much more innate than standard Arcane or Divine magic. If you with the subtle magic route for Arcane magic, Tiefling magic should be more direct and obvious, but less versatile and easier to counter given the proper equipment. That's my two cents on the matter.

Do actual Demons exist in your setting, what with Tieflings being a major power and all? If so, they're probably much more active with the absence of the Gods. Demonic cults could be an interesting addition to the setting, as it's quite grim.

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Bit of sketching again. I should probably do documentation of some firearms in setting.

>>50625140
I can't really help with those personally, but I would suggest to have a look at different magic beliefs outside of dark age Europe, unless you are strictly working with such setting in it. Oriental Magic, Seiðr ( Norse magic ), etc.

>>50628350

Nordic rune magic might work for the Cyclopses, and it would fit their enchanting motiff.

>>50627729
Cooks, coopers, tailors, netmakers, millers (though I think millers would mostly be outside the city, so maybe not).

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>>50628017
>Hell-based Magic system
The odd thing is, in researching Classical Antiquity and how they saw magic in real life, I've found that their definitions roughly align with D&D's Divine and Arcane magic system. Theurgy was the use of magic taught or gifted by the Gods/Spirits, and Goetic magic was the work of hedgewizards, tricksters, and malevolent magi. I was originally going to have Arcane magic entirely stuck with this stigma of being a lowly artform practiced by criminals and lowborn scum. PCs could obviously still pick Arcane casting classes, but there would be a serious social hit if people in civilized lands found out. More tribal or savage regions? Might not care as much so long as you don't hex *them*.

But I agree Tiefling magic needs something special in addition. As a Charisma race (in 5e), they would make excellent Sorcerers, Warlocks, and occasionally Bards. The first two already lend themselves to blaster mages, and the third is a very good mixed-caster able to fight in melee. But doing more...if I only knew what the Huns considered magic.

Then again, since they were either Turks or Mongol-related, is there anything distinct about *those* peoples' magic beliefs you think would be interesting to adapt?

>Do actual Demons exist in your setting, what with Tieflings being a major power and all?
Yes! Demons are both the architects of the Tieflings' existence and their religious pantheon. Tieflings treat Demons as a combination Ancestor and Angel worship, making sacrifices as appropriate and calling for aide in times of need.

>>50628350
>>50628399
Actually, as established, Cyclopes made great use of magical traps, runes, and wards, so Nordic magic might be a very good avenue to follow. I am not married to Dark Age magic, but I find it helpful to consider at times. A different magical tradition for Cyclopes makes a lot of sense, however.

I think I still have an OSR book on rune magic. Should bust that out.

>>50622189
Drossek the Cunning, Necromancy master of the College of the Grey Soil

>>50629519
Since you're talking 5e, I believe there is a Rune Caster prestige class that was in a UA somewhere.

That aside, Cleric and Wizard fit the best with the Cyclops Civilization, while Sorcerer and Warloxk fit best with Tieflings. Others fit better as general things that can be found everywhere.

I'm not sure what mythology the Huns actually had, though I think something more Eastern in general might fit well. That is to say, power comes from within, and spirits/gods of various power can be found in many places and have varying motivations. Normally, that's just Ki and Shinto, but for Tieflings, who literally have innate demonic power that can be honed with training, and can actually contact a wide pantheon of demons, it might be a bit more literal.

For my setting's flora and fauna, some of what I'm doing is taking lifeforms which went extinct long ago and figuring out slightly different evolutionary paths. So, for example:
>Trilobites
Like other arthropods, evolved land-dwelling counterparts.
>Pareiasuars
Now domesticated as beasts of burden. Well-liked for not requiring as much food as mammals, though at the cost of being slower and lazier, making them more common among the poor.
>Non-mammalian synapsids
Also domesticated. A creature similar to Cynognathus but with more dog-like proportions (think like an airedale or fox terrier) is a common pet.
>Anomalocaridids
Some species hunt in schools, like tuna, somewhere in the upper-middle of the food chain (and a delicacy to humans). Others are more solitary and live near coral reefs, where they're important in keeping prey populations in check.
>Cooksonia
Sort of like orchids, now often found in otherwise-inhospitable conditions, especially swamps. Their roots are harvested as a delicacy, a bit like truffles.
>Plesiadapis and other proto-primates
Haven't quite figured out what to do with these yet. I've already got a tarsier-like creature often found in cities, sort of filling the niche of raccoons. But I'd like to incorporate proto-primates somewhere.

Any other cool plants or animals that come to mind?

>>50625853
Is there any conceivable, realistic, reason why a river would disappear underground before flowing into a sea?
Yes. That's how you get underwater lakes and cave systems. If you have a big patch of soft, easily-dissolved rock (like limestone), then running water will, over the course of millions of years, burrow into it.

As for leading to the sea, the problem I see there is that if there's rock that's easily eroded by running water, it would be even more easily eroded by crashing waves. BUT it does happen, as in the Yucatan peninsula. Check out the Caves epsiode of Planet Earth, it's a really weird and cool place.

>>50629791
Whoops, forgot a >.

Also, the principal inspiration for my setting's dragons is archaeopteryx. "Ancient dragons"--the only non-humanoid animal capable of using magic--have been extinct for millennia now, but they're survived by "modern dragons", also known as wyverns. Both are, in appearance, giant reptile-birds; combining aspects of archaeopteryx and theropod dinosaurs with modern-day raptors and ratites.

Oh! One other thing: I want to come up with a term for humanoid other than "humanoid". The best I've got is "handie-dos", because they all have hands.

>>50629839
Spoken. Assuming they all speak, of course.

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>>50629839
Sapients?

>>50624911
>That isn't to say they couldn't have organization or be more orderly, but it'd be in ways that still fit their overall drive.
Maybe their systems of organization tend to be very dynamic. They create temporary posts as needed and disband them as soon as they're not. Promotions are handled swiftly and without ceremony. They avoid traditions and routines--seeing people recite the Pledge of Allegiance or play the national anthem before an event would utterly baffle them.

>>50629862
Maaaaaybe. I don't love "Spoken", but I do like the idea of it being founded on language. Most people in the world share pretty similar spoken and written languages.

>>50576661
For the Orkin Diaspora, and their dead Bone God.
>>How is the clergy organized, if there is one?
The Bargainers pass down their techniques from master to apprentice in small cells, similar in structure to a law firm.
>>What do people believe happens to them after death? How, if at all, can they influence this?
After orcs pass through the Gates of Death, they enter the Bone God's Corpse, a tremendous pile of bones. There is no other fate.
>>What happens to those who disagree with the majority on questions of religion?
Because the Orkin people are scattered across the continent without a nation, there's little orthopraxy. Orks who live in human towns have begun to assimilate into local religions.
>>What do people want from the god or gods? How do they try and get it?
The Bone God and the Bargainers negotiate service or service, trading sacrifices and the building of sacred sites for blessings. Orks prefer to increase their own abilities or instill supernatural obedience in underlings, over asking him to perform tasks for them.

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>>50629741
Unfortunately, as much as I like the Rune Caster, without more support for it, it's DOA.

I agree on the class distribution, as a general rule of thumb. Actually, due to their Charisma, Tieflings would also have a handle on Paladin. Which is a little terrifying to think about.

As to Hunnic religion: I quite like using Shinto as a base, but also looking into it I found that ancient Huns probably followed Tengrism, same as the Mongols. This faith emphasizes belief in Tengri (an all-powerful Sky Father) and something akin to the Mandate of Heaven. Combining these ideas leads me to see Tiefling faith as one ruled by Demon Lords who bestow a divine right to rule the tribes/clans based on personal strength, devotion, and sacrifice. Which means there are a lot of such Tieflings vying for ultimate kingship with their rivals.

Actually, to further their Chaotic leanings, there should be a splinter group or two with variations on those themes. While mainstream Tiefling society is run by an everchanging cadre of demonic princes and cohorts, a few tribes and clans could follow a single Tiefling who gained total control over a tribe and broke away to maintain his/her own power. Perhaps a few of them have forsaken demon worship entirely, and focus on more shamanic rituals and tenets?

>>50630040
Hm. I think that might be taking the idea a bit too far. I do agree that social structures and hierarchy are very fluid in Tiefling kingdoms, but avoiding traditions and routines might get in the way of a good story down the line. I think they should still have traditions, though often due to politics these can get sidelined easily if they're an impediment to a strong-enough leader.

>>50630202
>>50576672
>Are there monastic groups? What do they do and how are they organized? How do you join one?
No, the orks have more of a Temple Culture going on, and even if they didn't, scattered societies don't support monestaries.
>How are those who follow different faiths treated?
Most orthopraxic orks are dissmissive of other religions' worshippers as kowtowing toadies. At the same time, people like paladins or demon-worshippers who get tangible benefits out of their practice are respected.
>What relationship do religious and political leaders have?
Political leaders are actually the primary connection between your average ork and the Bargainers. The Bargainers take the position of mediators, working out the negotiations between the Bone God and the various war clans that they live amoung.
>What superstitions are common? What kinds of supernatural events/beings do people fear?
Most "superstitious" behavior is actually a transactional taboo: "Heal my daughter of the Red Shedding, and she shall wear only crimson for the rest of her life, in your rememberance."
The orks have very little fear of supernatural events. The one time their leader (from before the Diaspora) didn't like a deal the Bone God made, the orks used demonic magic to kill him. The Bargainers used to enforce the taboos with lawsuits.

>>50630392
I think a good answer may be to use several of these ideas to help play up their chaotic nature. Some Tieflings may be more structure with concerns for the head demons and various rites and rituals, others may splinter off into more barbaric tribes.

Having the Tieflings split up also helps justify why they haven't completely overrun everything. It's at the point where the old Cyclops empire is basically crumbled aside from son small pockets, but it isn't quite to the point where a Tiefling or Demon has managed to rally a large enough force to really form a new Empire yet. Some are trying, and that's the looming inevitability, but for now they are more divided.

As for Rune Magic, you could potentially justify it by having it be how Wizards write in their spellbound. Possibly have separate god-specific runes for clerics as well, but you can have it be more of a flavor thing rather than overhauling the magic system to make it work.

The Idea of Tiefling Paladins is certainly interesting, as Paladins tend to be much more orderly with their oaths.

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>>50630392
Please note, there's almost no good Cyclops art so I'm just using what I got. Consider those pic unrelated to my actual Cyclopes.

On the subject of religion:

>The Temple of Light
The Temple is the state religion of the Cyclopes' empire (let's call it Onorion Empire for now). Its main belief is that The Light is both a Divine being and an all-pervasive force in the world that is opposed by its equal-and-opposite, The Dark or the Shadow. Good and/or Lawful deeds (note the *or*) sustain the Light and ensure that at the Endtimes it will win out against the Dark, while Evil *or* Chaotic deeds will usher in the Dark. The Temple makes no mention about thoughts and intentions, only deeds. Meaning so long as you fulfill your duties, obligations, tithes, etc, you are positively contributing to the cosmos, regardless of what horrific thoughts and intentions you may harbor.

The Temple is currently suffering a schism after a monk proposed the concept that Light and Dark were two-sides of the same being, and *another* person (a Cleric this time), declared that he'd received a vision that proved The Fey were agents of the Light, and that the old pre-Temple pagan ways of worship should be re-instituted. There are also rumors of a Dark Temple that heaps offerings to the Dark itself in hopes of pushing back the Tiefling hordes and restoring the old Empire to its former glory.

There is also the issue of the Oracle. He wasn't a part of the Temple hierarchy, so they distrust his "visions", and outright condemn the Holy Western Empire for following a misguided zealot.

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>>50630517
The Tieflings, I feel, are probably in something like a Post-Atilla funk if we keep using the Hun analogy. They've pretty effectively shattered the Empire for now, and while it isn't dead, it is on life support. But they themselves have splintered a little in the aftermath as well. Perhaps they've recently lost their "Abaddon"? The one Tiefling who had managed to unite all the tribes into a single horde?

You're right about Rune Magic. It's best to leave as fluff unless someone comes up with an official or homebrew rune-casting material that kicks serious ass.

Ah, but you forget! Oath-Breakers exist in fifth edition. I imagine some of the more orderly Tieflings could found something akin to a paladin order or two, mostly loyal to the furthering of the Tieflings as a people than any one institution. And due to their chaotic nature, there's probably a lot of oathbreakers running around. Some of the Paladin oaths can be refluffed easily into something more demonic if need be as well.

Back to religion:
>The Conclave
The Conclave is a loosely organized network of Druidic and Monastic orders that share a reverence for Nature. While many of these feature respect/worship of The Light, most do not, preferring to venerate ancestors and the Spirits themselves. Oddly, while this is the official/unofficial religion of the Elven kingdoms, many Humans and even Tieflings have found their way into this faith. Indeed, the loose rules and traditions are an ideal outlet for Tiefling adherents. This freeform nature of worship means that almost no Cyclops has ever joined.

The Conclave has a, naturally, mixed response to the Fey. On the one hand, the Fey often represent an unbridled Nature, and act as guardians of many sacred groves, mountains, and rivers. On the other hand, many Fey have a clearly malevolent nature, and oftentimes even benevolent Fey will resort to unsavory methods such as trickery, deceit, and out-and-out mind control to further their aims.

>>50630712
True. Oath of the Crown might work best for the more orderly Tieflings seeking an empire, while Vengeance and Oathbreaker both work well for those more chaotic.

I do like the idea of druids and monks being a bit more freeform, though I do feel like Cyclops might do well with certain monk orders, possibly founding their own that have to do with the light. Druidism feels like the main thing they'd avoid for seeing it as barbaric.

>>50631594
I imagine that, while rare, Monk Cyclopes do happen. They probably prefer something more martial, like the Open Fist style of Monks. But as symbols of Order and Civilization, Cyclopes disdain Druidism entirely.

>>50631805
Open Fist and Sun Soul seem like the most likely, focusing purely on it as either a martial skill or an expression of the Light.

While I'm sure exceptions might exist, barbaric cyclops are probably even more outcast than orderly tieflings.

>>50631861
Hm. True.

Another issue comes up. That of names. Specifically place names. At the moment, I am leaning towards The Argent Empire, due to the Cyclops Arges from Greek myth, and due to the Latin word for silver, Argent, referring to lightning flashes or light. There's a lot of connections, but I wonder if there's a better way to make them.

>>50632533
You could go with Argenian if you wanted it to sound more like the name of a people or nation.

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>>50632656
Argenian sounds good.

Argeni
Argyn
Argonian (waitaminute)
Argen
Argenon
Argon
Argolan
Argolaron
Argenaron
Arganian
Argalion

Huh...

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>>50632656
Argenian reminds me far too much of Argies.

>>50630712

I've got an idea, what if the Tieflings were united and led by a Ghengis Khan type warlord, who died of old age after shattering the Argenian Empire and supposedly ascended to full-blown Demonhood for his efforts?

And after !Not!Ghengis Khan died, his *legitimate* children each took control of a part of the Tiefling horde, causing the Tieflings to splinter into several smaller hordes and tribes?

I feel that would fit with their chaotic nature, and if the Argenian Empire was shattered centuries earlier, it's easy to have the Tiefling fracture of power take place centuries earlier, with no one Tiefling yet being strong enough to unite them again.

Earlier, you mentioned that the Gods had gone silent. Who are the Gods in the Temple of Light? It seemed like a dualistic religion, what if the Temple Gods were individuals that managed to ascend to Godhood for extreme acts of good, order, evil, or chaos?

You also mentioned that the dead were rising, is Necromancy a thing in the setting? I don't mean to overwhelm you with questions.

>>50633119
>!Not!Ghengis Khan
While a Genghis Khan type figure would be interesting, my plans for the Argenian Empire assume its fall to be recent or even still coming. Similar to the political situation around 410-450 AD. I did plan for an Atilla-like character to have just died, fracturing the main Tiefling Horde, but there are obvious shades of Genghis in there. Notably, I like the idea of a sudden death, likely either assassination or accidental. Shakes up the Tieflings more than a coup or drawn out death by age or illness, because no clear heir was selected or ready to start the rival-slaying just yet. It also fits with a general theme of collapsing central authority throughout the world.

>Temple Gods
The exact line "the gods have gone silent" was from before I decided on a more Zoroastrian/Dual religion. I like the idea of extreme individuals attaining divinity. Feels a lot like something similar to Buddhism, in that certain ascended individuals are venerated due to becoming Buddha themselves. I imagine the Temple would only recognize those who ascended to the Light, and consider those of the Dark to be aberrations and demon-like entities, corruptions of the soul of the mortal they came from.

Actually, that allows me to break a little from following Early Medieval Catholic imagery (don't wanna clone RL shit, just borrow here and there), introducing a sort of List of the Damned to accompany a List of the Blessed/Saints. Again, if I borrow from some Eastern faiths, I can conflate these Saint/Anti-Saints with something like an Angel-Devil/Asura-Deva thing going on in the heavens. I'll write up something to post soon that explains what I'm thinking more completely.

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>>50633590
Meant to add a (1/2)

>Necromancy
Ah yes. Great disturbances both in the waking realm and in the Underworld have caused a lot of natural undead to appear. A lot of these are malevolent shades born from all the despair and hatred pervading the world currently, but many are the helpful ghosts of ancestors and benevolent spirits born from the dying light of hope in the world. These are far rarer and not as easy to increase in power, unfortunately. And far more common are the natural *corporeal* undead, such as ghouls, vampires, zombies, and revenants (zombies should get a more setting-specific name, obviously). Some of these seem to rise up in hordes of their own, commanded either by Wraiths and Ghost-Kings of old or by one of their own who has retained a fragment of their minds from beyond Death.

The school of Necromancy would fall under the Arcane/Black Magic label during the Argenian Empire. The Cyclopes disliked it intensely as a disturbance in the usual Rules of how things worked, and the old laws of hospitality and respect tend to work against such actions as raising the dead. And, just as in real life Antiquity, Cursing someone was a very real and very punishable offense. In the current climate, Necromancers can operate much more freely in the more lawless lands of the former Empire, and the plethora of bodies lying around means that Necromancers of any real power level can make themselves Kings anyway, so who's going to oppose them?

Necromancy isn't Evil by its nature, so much as everyone has some sort of problem with it outside of Tieflings and Necromancers themselves.

Other than that, I love the idea of the cold hatred of the dead, and how they covet everything the living own.

>I don't mean to overwhelm you with questions
More questions help me think through my setting, so thank you for as many as you got!

>>50633764

Glad to help. Are Necromancers capable of casting magic beyond raising the dead, or is that their only ability, as it is in Dwarf Fortress?

Have you fleshed out the Orcs yet? I think they'd make good candidates for a Viking raider culture. The idea of nearly extinct Orc Vikings struggling to compete with the Tiefling Hordes is interesting to me.

What if they followed the medieval stereotype of Vikings? Instead of being bloodthirsty marauders recklessly charging into battle against their foes, they'd be backstabbing, pragmatic rogues, and would much rather cut their enemies throats in their sleep.

That's not to say they wouldn't fight a pitched battle if necessary or profitable, just that they'd fight dirty, ambushing and skirmishing their enemies in the dead of night before ever getting to that point.

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>>50633119
>temple gods
Actually, I had another thought on this. Fluff-dump commencing.

Gods are very potent spirits born from the Light (according to the Temple), who serve as foundational Keystones to the cosmos, like living Laws. The Smith-God Castorius made four One-Eyed servant gods to help him in his craft, forging weapons, armor, vehicles, and other things for his fellow Gods. These were the Four Smiths from whom the Cyclopes actually descend. When the War of the Gods occurred, they stood with the winning side (unlike Castorius), and were rewarded for providing the Sky-Father with his wondrous lightning bolts. They were permitted to make a mortal race to emulate themselves.

The Cyclopes were originally Four Houses: Earth, Sky, Sea, and Flame. Earth was steadfast and unchanging, Sky was free and spiritual, Sea was powerful and adaptable, and Fire was passionate and Creative. Early in their history, Fire betrayed the other Houses and went to war. After a Century-long war, Fire was defeated and exiled, accursed for all time. They took their patron, The Fire Smith, with them as they left. She would carry a hatred in her heart for her siblings and their Houses forever, becoming in time the Mother of All Monsters, Urriah.

At the same time, a War in the Heavens brewed. One of the mightiest Angels broke with his brothers, choosing to rule a kingdom of his own rather than serve in paradise. Thelos was his name, though he took on that of Asmodai when he Fell. He and his fellows who joined him allied with Urriah, and so he became the Father of Monsters. They founded a kingdom in the Underworld, and called it Hell.

1/?

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>>50634059
Asmodai and Urriah’s children became a myriad of monstrous races and beasts, but the most powerful was Balor and his own Children: The Demons. Balor himself would invade the mortal realm, piercing it in one place far to the north, and there he captured and enslaved many human and elven tribes, as well as members of tribes unknown. He bred with them, and created the Tieflings in time. Balor and many of his sibling Demons ruled their own regions of Hell, including Tartarus, his own personal realm. He is uncontested, but constantly plotted against, for he alone inherited a single Angelic Eye from his father, granting him power in Heaven and in Hell.
Balor’s greatest son, Balrog, rose to power among the Tieflings, ultimately uniting them against the Empire of his distant Cyclopean relatives. He drove the Empire to its knees and nearly destroyed them. He was struck down by a bolt of lightning as he stormed the gates of the capitol itself. His horde shattered in his passing, and has yet to reunite. The Empire survives only in pockets as a shadow of its former self.

>>50634059
>>50634072

Nice Lore, did the loyal Cyclopian houses eventually merge into one united, less focused Race, or is there still a difference between houses? Are there any pure-blooded Fire Cyclopses left, or have they all devolved into monsters? Perhaps the Fire Cyclopses have attempted to forge their own monstrous Kingdom, and are revered by Darkness Cultists as demigods?

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>>50634072
Fucked up the formatting, of course I did.

As a final quick note: This all implies that Demons and Fallen Angels are separate entities, meaning either could show up at times.

>>50634058
>Necromancer powers
Using DND rules, so that includes necrotic damage and attribute fuckery.

>Orcs
While the Big Four are Humans, Elves, Cyclopes, and Tieflings, I want to allow players who want to play other things to be able to do so. That in mind, I do have Orcs. I imagine them as one of two races way, way up North, on that cold land on this map >>50623583. The other being Dwarves.

Both Orcs and Dwarves share the "Scandinavian Race" title this time around. I imagine the Orcs are more Finnish/Sami (haven't decided), while the Dwarves are more Norse in character.

I am actually tickled at the thought of super-pragmatic pirate Dwarves and Orcs, like how Vikings truly were. They aren't a major focus at the moment only because they exist ont he periphery. They occasionally raid and fuck up the Tieflings, or join up as mercenaries for the dying Empire, but overall they are a separate region PCs can come from to add a bit of character.

If you have any ideas to help build on them I'd love to hear them! And of course any other questions about shit to draw my attention to those aspects of the setting are always helpful.

>>50634182
The Earth-Sky-Sea differences are the basis of subraces among the Cyclopes. What ones are left try to trace their lineages back to the beginning. I planned on the Fire House to have either devolved into or created out of spite all the oddly-eyed monster races typical of D&D settings, such as Beholders. Other than that, I don't know how I'd like them to reappear, if at all, in the current time. Any interesting ideas?

>>50634238
You could potentially stat up the various houses of Cyclops as subraces. Perhaps Earth is known more for their crafts, steadfastness, and martial skill, Sky for their closer connection to the gods and overall wisdom, and Sea for their knowledge of more Arcane matters.

>>50634238

What if most of the Fire Cyclopses are extinct, but a handful remain, and wield godlike Divine evil cleric powers over Darkness and Fire, due to the blessings of Urriah? 'Urriah's Favored Children' would be anathema to the Argenian Cyclopses, and inspire dread in followers of the Light, and due to their epic-level clerical might, they'd make excellent bosses for your PCs.

Maybe they want to hasten the coming of the Darkness, and destroy the Argenian Empire. They lead hordes of monsters that would otherwise remain scattered, as well as fanatical darkness cultists that worship them, and while they're a much less pressing threat than the Tieflings or Undead Hordes due to their low numbers and lack of unity, they're still an enormous threat.

It would be interesting if some of the Fire Cyclopses devolved into Ogres and Trolls. Maybe the handful of Fire Cyclopses despise their degenerated kin, but lead them into battle against the more hated Argenians?

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>>50634362
I have a set of stats for Cyclopes I was planning on using. I'll post them here for anyone who cares about the mechanics.

>Cyclopes
>>+2 Strength
>>Darkvision out to 60ft
>>Powerful Build - treat as Large creature for carry capacity

>Earth
>>+1 Constitution
>>Relentless Endurance - stop at 1 hp if knocked below 0 but not killed
>>Slam Attack - add 1d6 bludgeoning to a hit, +1d6 at level 7, and 11

>Sky
>>+1 Wisdom
>>Thaumaturgy Cantrip
>>Thunderwave 1/long rest
>> Detect Thoughts 1/long rest

>Sea
>>+1 Charisma
>>Vehicle Proficiency - Ship, horse
>>Lucky - reroll Natural 1's and keep new roll

>>50634440
I really love this idea! Monsters of every shape and size flowing down from the hills and mountains, with a towering Cyclopean Warlord at their head.

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>>50634590
>dat slam attack
Fuck. Forgot to limit to 1/rest or 1/turn can't decide.

>>50634590
Those are probably decent stats, assuming Slam is once per short rest and the Sky spells require some levels to get.

That said, some extra ribbons and flavor features might not go amiss for the base race. Maybe a couple minor weapon or tool proficiencies.

Also, you'll probably want to be sure to have any evil cyclops have it readily apparant that it's the case. Maybe make them larger than normal, with horns and red skin so they won't be able to just blend in.

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I'm currently writing a Cyberpunk setting that is based off of "What if Able Archer 83 caused the Soviets to preemptively invade West Europe," because really, I don't think I've seen a single post-WWIII cyberpunk setting for RPGs. I'm thinking that after a year-ish of bitter fighting and horrible stalemates, the war goes in to a limited nuclear exchange and the subsequent collapse leads to a cyberpunk future where the two superpowers have died off and new powers are emerging from the nuclear ash.

What I'm wondering is; how viable does this current map look (It's far from done) and what else should I keep in mind for the geopolitics of this?

And yes, I am perfectly aware of the Able Archer based alternate history from the wiki, but I'm working off of a limited exchange here, not a full out general exchange.

>>50634692
>stats
Slam and Sky's spells requiring levels is the correct assumption. I'd like to add more ribbons in the tool proficiency department, but not sure what, if anything, else?

I think being actually Large sized or more is enough for Fire, but I also like the idea of some of them blending in once in a while to cause havoc.

>>50634793
Giving them Masons tools might be a good touch, maybe the Dwarven Stone sense trait if you wanted to push the architectural angle. Aside from that, proficiency with Greatclubs, maces, and hammers might not go amiss and won't be a huge deal in most cases.

>>50634870
I really like all of that. I'll work on them a bit more.

I'm gonna grab dinner in a sec, and maybe compile a lot of stuff from this thread, and then I'll be back.

>>50634709
Northern Spain is a tad wierd, maybe just make Catalonia independent. Russia also looks really wierd. Germany has lost its Bavarian people, yet gained a bunch of Poles?
Maybe add a unfied Scandinavia, since you unified Arabia?

Definitly think about adding Basque Country.

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>>50635012
I don't know much about Spain, honestly, so, yeah, Catalonia only seems good.

Russia is based off of all the areas that would gain de-facto independence if the Soviet Union was completely unable to administrate itself. And Karelia+Murmansk, which has apparently always been of questionable allegiance to the Soviets.

With Germany I was thinking they would push and occupy Prussia to gain Baltic superiority after they reunited through WW3, but now that I think of that, it doesn't make much sense. Do you know how strong German unity was circa 1983, and how WW3 would affect that?

Scandinavia unified under Sweden makes sense, as they were Neutral in the war and would probably need the resources. Would Finland and Karelia be included in that?

As for Unified Arabia, it's more of a protectorate than anything. When a limited nuclear exchange ruined the world's trade networks and such, many neutral nations invaded and seized oil fields in Arabia. After oil became obsolete, the protectorate was lifted and Arabia largely came under warlord rule.

Anyways, here's an updated map; Columbia and Alberta had a war of secession when Eastern Canada seized oil fields in the west and "dictated" what the provinces do with their oil supplies.

Austria invaded the collapsed Italy and Slovenia to secure access to the Adriatic.

I'm thinking of making the exact date be somewhere around 50 years from the Able Archer split, with a lot of the new borders being extremely tenuous and the world being a bit on edge.

>>50635012
>>50635269
>Basque Country
Fund it!

>>50579816
Why is Somalia controlled by Israel?

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>>50635352
>he doesn't know about the lost tribe

>>50635269
Maybe add Morocco, Algiers and Tunisia as one country, Mahgreb. Karelia is partly finnish, so maybe add a Finnic union with Finland, Estonia and Karelia.
Maybe do some research when it comes to African nations. They aren't exactly stable, and people always add Africa as some enormours "African Union" because of laziness.
Scandinavia unified doesn't seem like a bad idea, maybe add Finland, Karelia and Estonia for some Nordic Alliance shenanigans.

>>50635854
Estonia remained part of the USSR (Mostly do to high Soviet troop concentrations there to occupy it), but Karelia/Finland could definitely have a Finnic economic and military treaty. Unless, maybe, if the Fins went on the offensive in a place other than Karelia during the war, maybe an amphibious invasion in Estonia?

As for Africa, that's likely what I'll do last. Africa has some extremely complicated geopolitics and I really do want to avoid the typical "African Union" sort of thing you see so often. To only thing I do know is that Morocco+Algiers+Tunisia all are fairly similar due to European things.

Anyways, an open question here: Would Slovakia and Czech stay unified, or after the war would they have split?

>>50636004
IRL, they did split after the Soviets backed off. But if both nations see it as beneficial to stay together, then sure. Keep in mind, they're not the same cultural group so to speak, so cultural clashes might cause splitting.

>>50636167
I'm not sure if WW3 would give them more reason to split, or more reason to stay together. I could see them staying unified just to protect eachother against other regional powers (Austria, for one)

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>keep adding shit to the magic system
>ends up smoothing out; becoming relatively simple as fundamental principles start to appear

>>50637062

Congrats, would you mind elaborating?

>>50637356
Basically;
>started out with a dozen spellcasting classes (IE: Wizard, Sorcerer, Druid, Cleric, Paladin, Warlock, etc. D&D staples)
>spent time elaborating on their individual spellcasting methods, like belief in a higher power or applied arcane knowledge
>switched to determining what makes them "the same", rather than "different" (IE: all spellcasters use mana, all spellcasters can end their own spell effects at will, weak spells all cost around the same amount of mana)
>leads into "spells are just an imposition of will"

It makes a lot more sense laid out in my head.

>>50637473
I did the opposite. Started with a unified power source, tried to justify a bunch of different types of magic with it, and now it all just feels like a mess.

>>50637500
I've found that worldbuilding works a lot better if you start out with what you want, then make excuses for things to be as they do.

>want to include a kitchen sink of races (Dwarves, Halflings, Goblins)
>Make them all uplifted Beastmen races (Molefolk -> Dwarves, Monkeyfolk -> Halflings, Pig Orcs -> Goblins)
>Beastmen are just the "Greater" counterparts to the "Lesser" beasts, just how Elves are "Lesser" Fae

>>50637550
Hmm...that's a fair point. I feel like I started with stuff I wanted, but ended up adding too many things and getting it a bit more jumbled than I'd like.

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Does anyone else use a Cutebold interpretation of Kobolds in their settings, or am I alone?

>>50639071

In my setting, Kobolds are essentially Cutebold Gnomes.

>>50635269
Actually, as a Spaniard, I seriously doubt that Catalonia would be independent. Same with the basques. In the 80s, teh only pro-independence groups you could find were the armed nationalists like Terra Lliure, sort of like the basque ETA. So, if my opinion counts, Catalonia and Euskadi should not be independent, instead being filled with armed terrorist groups, much like they were in our TL, but in this TL of yours they shoud be more active and varied.

>>50640007
>Catalonia and Euskadi should not be independent
You *would* say that, Spaniard.

jai lai intensifies

>>50640007
Interesting, I never knew about that. Would an ongoing war of independence for Basques and Catalonians make sense, even if it was a guerrilla one?

>>50640007
Actually, let me rephrase that. There were independence movements in Catalonia, same with Euskadi, but the sentiment wasn't so strong as to guarantee independence. It was more protests and manifestations to protect their culture and language, like the Crida. Yeah, they wanted independence but they didn't have the widespread support you have today. So, independence wouldn't happen, but would be an ever-present issue. And yes, there would be armed groups.

>>50640086
Actually, I don't give a flying fuck about catalonian, basque, galician, canarian, andalusian or murcian independence. I'm just saying that it would be pretty unfeasible. Even if they gained independence, it would probably be a pretty unstable deal, with armed groups fighting to impose their views on the new states (you know, they wanted independence, but not the independence they got). Of course, that's assuming their independence was obtained peacefully. If we're talking about armed rebellion, a la American Independence, then things would be pretty chaotic overall, with the Spanish government waging a two front war against two new nations whose armies are essentially militias that at times fight between themselves for who knows what reason. Of course, Basque and Catalonian independence would give groups of Galician and maybe Andalusians and Canarians certain ideas, and you could probably find armed groups in those regions. Not really enough to be another civil war, but pretty violent nonetheless.

Of course, in the case of Galicia (or Galiza, because nationalism), it would be pretty interesting to see how the Galician narcos and "mafiosos" reacted to the whole thing.

>>50640150
It would make a lot of sense, actually. In Euskadi that was pretty much what happened. I assume in Catalonia (probably also Aragon and Valencia) could happen the same thing, if the situation became unstable enough.

Just read >>50640158 and see if you can take anything from it. I'm not an expert in the many forms of spanish nationalisms, but I have a pretty nice library nearby, so I could help a bit here and there.

>>50639071
I've played with the idea of them as an engineered species in a few settings, often appearing as a common sight in or near major human settlements. They weren't exactly cute-bombs, but they weren't hideous either.

In one setting they also appeared in armed-forces supporting a race of post-humans (long story) in a role like Grunts in Halo, along with another creature called a land-kraken that didn't talk, but would wreck people's shit if they got too close. (Land-kraken's weren't actually all that big, imagine roughly the mass of a Hunter or so, not hulking titan levels.)

So aside from the conlang guide up there, does anyone have any suggestions when it comes to designing aliens and giving them decent personal-names? Been trying to flesh-out a setting these last few days but the pieces are coming together rather slowly. Mainly the background and one of the branches of post-human races are fleshed-out enough to see a shape forming (and even then temporary names abound).

>>50640182
Not entirely related to the independence movement, but I figure I might as well get the help with Spain when I can; Spain would have joined NATO one year before the Able Archer incident, and what I want to know is would they have fulfilled their NATO duties and sent troops to the European Front? Or do you think Spain at the time would either reluctantly support the effort logistically, or straight up drop out of NATO?

If Spanish troops were deployed to the front, would it be possible that there would be any mutinies at home, or am I overestimating the fragility of the Spanish political situation circa 1980?

Also, any suggestions for what Spain would look like some years after World War Three (It would not have been a direct nuclear target) would be great.

>>50640270
Uhm. I'm not very sure about that. I don't think Spain would have intervened directly in the war, at least not at first. I would bet we would be involved in the logistical support, helping with supplies, not much differently from our intervention in Iraq in 2004. If we fought actively, there woul probably be several demonstrations, due to the fact that many parts of the country weren't all that happy with being in NATO. The terrorist activities of armed groups would be another problem. So I don't think Spain would have actively fought against the Soviets, but I'm willing to bet in our logistical support, and sporadic combat. We wouldn't drop, because that would have been a huge blow to our international status.

I don't think it would be much different after WW3, but it's possible that the terrorist groups would blow out of proportion. The government would have a lot of problems with the public, and independent groups would probably get a lot more support from the population, which blames the Spanish state for the death of spanish soldiers in a war that we didn't want.

I will discuss it with a few friends. We're history students, so we should reach a more or less realistic conclusion.

>>50640379
So Spain would end up as a fairly unstable state with sporadic armed insurrection occurring in its borders, but not exactly at risk of mass military revolt and an ensuing civil war? Its military involvement in WW3 seen as negative by both sides, either they didn't participate enough in the war, or participated too much (But still not a large enough nationalist split to encourage a third(?) civil war).

>>50640445
Yeah, more or less. A second civil war (of fifth, if you count the Carlist wars) was something that nobody wanted, so even if the government was seen as the shittiest thing in the world, it would still be preferable. So, terrorism and nationalism would be everywhere, but a civil war wouldn't happen. At least, that's what I think.

Rolled 3, 5 = 8 (2d6)

>>50640576
There were three Carlist Wars? And here I thought there was only one. I guess I need to brush up on my Spanish history. Anyways, thanks a bunch for the help, anon.

>>50640641
It's nothing. I enjoy helping people when I can,

>>50635269
Soviet, chinese and germanic splits are completely unbelievable, even assuming that US had outright won in nuclear exchange and made deutsch do another drangnahosten.

Iraq-Iran, Arabic peninsula and Egypt are hard to believe in as well.

Brazil seems to randomly disintegrate as well, all of a sudden.

>>50639071
They're cute chinese gengineered pets.

Which sounds cooler a pseudo-knightly order based on collecting and studying technology or based on restoring life to the wastes?

>>50642133
Brotherhood of Steel, or the Brotherhood of Steel?

>>50642171
the brotherhood doesn't care about the environment though.

>>50642171
I'm Drawing inspiration form the jedi/samurai, the BoS, the heroes guild and the iron banner.

>>50642193
>water purifier

>>50642278
>fallout 3
>shit tier lyons bos

>>50642308
That's why >>50642171 said "BoS, or the BoS". There are two distinct ones.

>>50642337
Ah right.

>>50576661
From my setting's antagonistic faction (because I haven't really set anything in stone concerning the organization of the "generic fantasy human religion", while the antagonistic faction is a theocracy so religious organization is the same as the organization of their whole society).

>How is the clergy organized, if there is one?
The dark elf society is ruled by the Church of Audient Void, which is headed by the Most Exalted High Priestess of the Audient Void. Below her are other high priests and priestesses, each of whom acts as the religious leader and ruler of a given temple-city. Things are somewhat complicated by there being large amount of cults dedicated to specific gods (the Church of the Audient Void being dedicated to the worship of the entire dark elf pantheon), whose leaders swear fealty to the Most Exalted One but aren't technically part of the Church.

>What do people believe happens to them after death? How, if at all, can they influence this?
The Church doctrine states that everybody reincarnates. Breaking free from the cycle of reincarnation and ascending beyond mortality or becoming one with the gods is stated goal of the Church, but one that can't be accomplished without breaking the system that keeps the cycle turning. Some cults maintain that with enough dedication, one can become one with their chosen god after death even before this is accomplished.


>What happens to those who disagree with the majority on questions of religion?
If they can find enough like-minded individuals, they'll usually start their own cult. Dark elf theology is vaque enough on the exact nature of their gods that you can easily have multiple cults worshiping different aspects of the same god very differently. Said cults often dond't see eye to eye, but the Church and the Most Exalted One seek to keep things from descending into outright warfare between them. Most of the time such fringe cults die off naturally due to being unable to attract many followers.

>>50642794

>What do people want from the god or gods? How do they try and get it?
Depends on the god. Most of the population worships the entire pantheon, praying to the god that is associated with whatever issue they have. By far the most commonly invoked god is the Allmother, for her domain includes all matters related to life and death. The Herald is a god often prayed to by people wishing to advance their own position, as his domain is considered to include ambition and acquisition of power. However, it also includes deception and trickery, and the common wisdom is "pray not to the Herald, for he may answer your prayers". The third major god is most enigmatic, and is mostly worshiped by mages and scholars as the progenitor of magic and knower of all secrets. His domain has very little to do with average person, aside from some association with travelling, and he doesn't even have a single common title (practically every cult or sect knows him by a different name).
Common acts of worship involve prayer and small sacrifices. Sacrifices in general are considered the best way to gain the attention of the gods. The Church and various cults hold larger ceremonies dedicated to glorifying the gods. Some of these ceremonies involve sacrifice of sapient being (usually slaves).

>Are there monastic groups? What do they do and how are they organized? How do you join one?
Various cults act like typical monastic groups, usually being dedicated around worshiping of specific aspect of a specific god, with their activites focused on said aspect. Activities of such cult range from thoning your fighting skills to collecting knowledge and pondering the nature of the universe.
To join such a group, applicants have to prove they possess both religious dedication and suitable applitudes. The exact methods on how this is proven vary heavily, from passing a written exam to having a trial by combat (dying means you failed the trial).

>>50642991

>How are those who follow different faiths treated?
The dark elves consider the gods other than their own to be false. They believe the "weak gods of the world" are the ones responsible of maintaining the cycle of reincarnation, in order to trap mortals in the world so that they can use their worship to sustain themselves. As such, they tend to react violently to worshipers of other gods. Any cleric or paladin they get their hands on is likely to end up sacrificed for the glory of the true gods in short order.


>What relationship do religious and political leaders have?
Generally, they are one and the same. The Church of the Audient Void is both the state religion and the goverment, with the Most Exalted one being both the head of the religion and the ruler of the nation.
The only major non-religious political organization is the Order of Mages, which is not directly under the control of the Church or any cult. Their studies in the nature of the universe have cause the mages as a whole to have a somewhat more "scientific" view on the nature of the gods, which sometimes puts them at odds with the Church. Some of their claims have even sparked accusations of heresy due to contradicting some of the core teachings of the Church, but the importants of the mages to the society has kept the two groups from coming to blows.

>What superstitions are common? What kinds of supernatural events/beings do people fear?
There are some common supersitions related to the Herald, a god considered to be the most involved with mortal affairs, acting as messanger and herald to the other gods. It is said that he frequently walks among mortals, and as such people should take care to not accidentally offend him when disguised as a mortal.
There is also a fourth major god that is aknowledged but not directly woshiped due to superstition: The Dreamer, who is said to dream the universe and all other gods. Worshiping him is avoided since it might accidentally wake him up.

>>50642226
i need to make a symbol for these guys. Any tips on how to make a good symbol for groups/factions?

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How realistic are weapons and armor in your setting?

What weapons are utilized that were not widespread or not present in real life?

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>>50645088
It's a high-fantasy setting of sort, but I do value sort of realistic look, even though application is not the most realistic.

Non-human physique might allow some use out of more exotic weapons.

>>50643479
Start with some simple idea, like what sort of thing these folk would consider central to their ideal. Just something mundane, perhaps.
Make some simple sketches, and iterate ideas. That's how I usually go.

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>Come up with details of a setting and get everything straightened out on that level
>realize that you didn't name anything
Oh fuck.

How am I going to come up with all these names? I don't want them all to be random but I might have to do that.

Would it be weird for owl people to use feathers and plumes as decorations?
It's almost the same as us humans making stuff from our hair, isn't it?

>>50646352
Don't some actual human cultures do that too? I don't think it would be too weird, but it would likely give them something of a primitive vibe.

Names for what? Cities? Monsters?

>>50646338
http://fantasynamegenerators.com/

Pick a different one of the random generators for each culture and you'll end up with something that feels planned and consistent even if it's random.

>>50646662
Good point.
While I wouldn't mind some tribal features, are there any valid substitutes for feathers that would actually fit a race of large sapient owls? Coloured cloth, possibly fur? Shiny stones?

>>50647086
What are the decorations on? Jewelry?

>>50647108
>>50647108
>>50647108
new
>>50647108
>>50647108
>>50647108

>>50647097
Jewellery, as well as ornaments on weapons and such, and dreamcatcher-like hanging decorations for their homes.