/wbg/ - Worldbuilding General

Anyone have info about double crossbows, repeater crossbows, and other strange projectile weapons in medieval times?

Yes. This needs a bump.

>>52839711
Chinese had crank-operated "repeating" crossbows.
Double crossbow would be feasible too, though nobody really bothered making one because crossbows were not knights weapons. And nobody would waster fine engineering on anything lesser than knights.

>>52839615
My main setting features Elven colonies. Inspired by the Norse Vikings, my Elves frequently raid other races, and then settle near them in exchange for trade and not raiding them anymore.

They kill the natives until the natives can pay them off, and then as rulers they slowly assimilate into the dominant culture.

They colonize in order to get away from their homelands, which are inundated with Fucking Fey Courts. It's a real nightmare.

File: 1489884374229.jpg (64KB, 810x531px) Image search: [Google]

64KB, 810x531px

>balls deep working on a 270 x 216 inch map
wew

>>52844826
I need to see this monster.

File: wipasfuck.png (97KB, 1018x892px) Image search: [Google]

97KB, 1018x892px

>>52844894
selection is 8"x10", basically just got started. not sure whats going on in the north there, its basically blank for a reason

File: 1490906964191.jpg (4MB, 3223x3479px) Image search: [Google]

4MB, 3223x3479px

>>52844935
Looks cool though. What sort of setting is this? I immediately got a Bronze-Age Egypt vibe from the map, but since it isn't finished...

File: wipasfuck2.png (143KB, 1167x924px) Image search: [Google]

143KB, 1167x924px

>>52844967
It's a sort of Central Asia, high steppes and mountains kind of deal. Inland sea with no outlet and marshes, like the Aral before it started to evaporate. Low-ish fantasy, early dark ages. Lots of bandits, warlords, trading caravans. But also a lot of mythical creatures, and a bad problem with necromancers, to the point where there's a steady trade in bodies. Not a whole lot of magic beyond alchemy and raising the dead, unless you're really willing to put some work in.

This is the core of what I've done so far, just the mountain pass into the area really.

File: osr_setting_taelonia1.png (515KB, 1452x1220px) Image search: [Google]

515KB, 1452x1220px

Does anyone else feel constant dissatisfaction with their worlds???

>age 13 I make my first D&D world
>it has a load of autistic names including one city suspiciously close to being called "cunt"
>but despite not having much interesting, I do develop shit for it
>run an 8 year campaign in it
>join a new group when I turn 18 as well
>run adventures in another part of that world
>but I never really worldbuilt much, I just made maps and wrote what the kingdoms were like, instead of interesting details
>a couple years ago, I draw out a huge map on a sheet of printer paper with 328 labeled cities
>get this retarded idea I'll create the whole world
>start campaign in this world
>start dragging my feet and hating the setting
>world seems too big and developed like there is nothing really for the characters to change
>want my world to be affected, so I make something much more sparse and low-powered
>hate those settings too
>decide to "clean up" my original setting a bit since that one at least has an identity
>my ideas are spread across three different settings and some of the kingdom names and ideas I liek are stuck in one, so unless I cannibalize it and destroy a world I am currently running a campaign in, they will be doubled-up.
>really want an OSR hexcrawly-type world with a lot of frontier shit, btu most of the ones I make suck
>so many worlds I've seen just feel real because of how messy they are yet mine just feel like shit

I don't know what to do anymore.

File: steppeworld map sideways.jpg (2MB, 3507x2550px) Image search: [Google]

2MB, 3507x2550px

>>52845122
Holy shit. You're me. I did that exact setting once! Never got to play it though, as my players basically start throwing feces at the wall if we don't play Forgotten Realms.

But it still sounds exciting!!! Is it a human-only setting?

>>52845306
I actually haven't decided yet. I'm leaning towards yes for this region, no for the world as a whole. I wanted to do a backwater and build the rest as I go. It's kind of the same thing with the magic, like what if it was crazy impressive that some guy can shoot fireballs?
But at the same time, who knows what's out there in those mountains.

>>52845505
Mmmmmm. I love the small-town vibe. The idea that wondrous adventure lies just over the next hill (which no one from the village has crossed in a generation), and if it weren't for the damn harvest needing to come in, you could almost walk over to it.

What do you mean by Early Dark Ages? Are we talking something like RL Fall of Rome? Charlemagne? Or do you mean Norman keeps, chainmail and shield walls?

File: map v neth.png (4MB, 4420x3294px) Image search: [Google]

4MB, 4420x3294px

>>52845201
Generally goes like this
>feel map is too small
>add new land
>don't fully detail everything
>feel map is too small
>add new land
>don't fully detail everything
>map now full of placeholders and super unfinished areas
>feel map is too small

Now it's big enough that it will always grow faster than it can be detailed. I'm not too upset about that anymore though, it's in constant improvement.

>>52845595
Talking like post fall of Rome, but pre-Marco Polo Silk road. There's this trade route that used to see some good traffic, but things are fucked on both ends so it's just fallen into lawlessness. But at the same time, its not like civilization ever really took root here in the first place.
Basically, I wanted to make a world that's still figuring itself out. There was some semblance of order once, but its gone. I always find myself making these huge worlds with these long histories, but this time I figured, why not just start from the beginning?

File: 1466103197178.jpg (250KB, 487x673px) Image search: [Google]

250KB, 487x673px

>>52845807
Sounds pretty good. I went with an Elven Alexander analogue, bringing the whole world under one flag before dying suddenly and having the whole thing fall apart. A coup among the gods leading to Nature becoming Overpowered didn't help matters much, leading to a world where the evidence of ancient empire still stood, but was slowly crumbling before an approaching ice age and a sudden upswing in megafauna.

Hence the giant skull-spider in the map I drew. :3

>>52845807
Forgot to mention: Rome to Marco Polo is, like, 900 years apart. Seems like a long, long ass time to fill. Just saying.

>>52846056
Nice, the whole megafauna and steppe thing go well together I think. Warlords riding mammoths, that kind of thing.

>>52846178
It's just in the sense that there was this trade route that really isn't getting that much traffic anymore. Europe and China pretty much forgot each other between the fall of Rome and then, and it took the Mongol invasion to open things up again. This is just kind of inspired by that lost period in between

File: 1484863079021.jpg (444KB, 688x931px) Image search: [Google]

444KB, 688x931px

>>52846178
>>52846271
It's not like there were significant technological development in this period, you can just go with typical chain mail and lamellar armor and that's it

>>52846271
Gotcha. I was just saying that 900 years covers a lot of distinct areas and time periods. It would be a good idea to read up a little on some of them.

>>52846383
I got inspired by a real world time and place but the setting has taken it's own direction at this point. I'll look at historical events for inspiration maybe but this is a world filled with liches and manticores, they've got there own shit going down at this point.
>>52846377
For sure, this is a world that's been static for awhile, which makes that time period perfect.

File: _tc__terraformed_venus_map_by_morbiusgreen-d2r3hew.jpg (164KB, 1264x632px) Image search: [Google]

164KB, 1264x632px

>>52845201

There is an inevitability of feeling jealous or insecure about your map after you see others. Like at first glance I really like >>52845738 and how large and varied it is. And it makes me self conscious of mine. However without meaning offense as I really do like his map, I can start to consider that it's a bit too fractal for me and too island-y (depending on the scale of the map). So I tried to follow more of the earth world model in my case.

But that doesn't mean his map isn't realistic - if you look at terraformed mars it's basically a single continent that has no separation from the north (or south) pole. If you look at terraformed venus it's the fractal island sort you see in his map.

And like that guy said, make your map and world big enough that you can always add to it. That could be in the form of leaving part of it off-map (Like barbos there), or if he's focused on Mashiadanu's region for a story then he could easily change SW Makkal/Zynakazin dramatically in the future without worry.

Also always bear in mind that the map serves the story, not the other way around. If a story is good people don't really give too much of a shit about the map being off or fakey or just a ripoff of Earth. The most popular contemporary fiction right now has two continents at a fucking 90 degree linear angle.

>>52846638
> the map serves the story, not the other way around
Wish I could think like that. I can only start to go more deeply in a story if I first autistically spend weeks on at least the continent were said story is set

>>52846638
>Zynakazin
If you're feeling insecure about your map, you should know that you know just as much about Zynakazin as I do, I haven't even noticed it for weeks. It exists only as a geographical shape and a name. Eventually that shape and name will inspire more (most of the map is developed starting with placeholders in the same method), but I couldn't give less of a fuck about Zynakazin at the moment.

File: FICTION MAP TAKE #4 - EAST AND CENTER FLATTENED POLITICAL MAP.jpg (2MB, 4653x4032px) Image search: [Google]

2MB, 4653x4032px

>>52847035

No worries, it's something of the same way for me though I'm at a stage where that is the case for pretty much all my states or ethnic groups. But that's entirely okay - you do not need nor should you (or any of you) feel a need to chart out every little intricate detail of every thing state or ethnic group or whatever in your world. It's more a case of triaging priority based on geographic proximity or relevance to the main theatre of your setting/story/gming. Ideally one wouldn't neglect the periphery like say GW and the other humans of the fantasy warham world but if your story is of say the crusades then details on your version of India or Ethiopia or Vietnam is of minimal necessity.

Mine right here being a WIP in placing the ethnic groups or polities and since I expanded the map I have to edit Arazala and others but a similar deal where I have just a vague concept of a historical parallel/inspiration/reference that may only go so far as visual or wargamey.

>>52846847

It is easier said than done, I mean it more in an end-goal sense. I haven't begun to think of the story because I need the political map done as I operate from a international affairs kinda of mindset and doing so will shape development of religions and trade and so on. But again, that concept of triage and level of detail necessary. I just mean to caution to not worry about filling in every single detail geographically or informationally about peripheral states or entities which won't be relevant to the story you're going after.

I mean technically I'm being hypocritical - my map is literally defining my story, but that's because I am weak in storytelling. But once the map has set the foundation, it takes a subordinate role. I won't bother hashing out every little intricate detail of states/regions until they become relevant to the main story. So over in Niravahnam if I end up having Dhvasya being the dominant Niravahni entity I'll start to flesh out political and cultural features

File: grimmworld 1.jpg (1MB, 3300x2550px) Image search: [Google]

1MB, 3300x2550px

How's the style of this one look to you anons? Is it clear? Distinct? I like to make a map early in my process so I can best visualize the setting, so I don't have too much beyond this and some general feelings and ideas.

>Name Pending
>The world was once a magical place, until it wasn't
>There were once empires of incredible might and majesty, until there weren't
>Like Middle Earth, Magic in this world suffers one-way entropy as a function of time, and the world is old indeed
>What little magic is left will hold out for...who knows? Maybe forever, though considering what the Ancients could do...
>Most of the old peoples are no more
>The Dwarves got with the program centuries ago and made peace with Humans
>The Elves pushed their luck too far, and now there's almost none of them left
>Sure, Half Elves still exist, but what do you expect of immortal mules?
>And the Orcs survived. Of course they did. They survive everything, except grapeshot to the center of mass
>The Sixth Age of the world is beginning, promising those who can survive within it a world of wonder, and oblivion to those who cannot

File: 1446066864978.jpg (855KB, 3000x1705px) Image search: [Google]

855KB, 3000x1705px

>>52848788
What I am essentially going for is a soft-apocalypse world. A place where magic has all but left, though means of gaining it are by no means absent. You just have to cut a deal for it. Be it with GOD, the Devil, or something in between, the only real avenue left for spellcasters is to sign up with something from beyond the limited universe.

The setting would vaguely look like the 30 Years War. Knights and Arquebuses, Pike and Shell. The Old World and the New, Feudal and Modern. I don't want to limit it to those things specifically, but those are things which spring to mind most readily.

Since the magic is the most developed stuff so far:
>The Church teaches a form of magic that draws from their Deity (or his dimension, it's a contested philosophy) and seeks to moderate and balance the world. These mages called Adepts are like a cross between traditional Clerics and Wizards. Religious Scholars and Spellweavers of the highest degree.
>Practitioners of the Old Faiths draw upon the vestiges of their Old Gods. They believe they are tapping into the native mana of the world, and that the loss of magic overall is simply a cycle and that things will recover naturally in time. These Witches are usually hunted down by the Church, who worry about the universe truly falling apart with so much magic usage when "the well has run dry". These guys are Druid/Sorcerers.
>Magewrights think both sides are idiots, and simply manipulate trace elements of magic still within objects and people to work their skill. They are an educated, professional guild similar to pure Wizards in some fantasy. Nobles like they because they aren't automatically beholden to the Church, and they are the best at crafting items (magical or simply higher quality than mundane).

File: 1489706976107.jpg (578KB, 1280x780px) Image search: [Google]

578KB, 1280x780px

>>52848788
>>52848920
Question to bump the thread:

What sort of motifs and visual elements can I add to this setting to give it the "Dying Magic" feel for my players?

Would cyberpunk work in space? It seems that 'naturals'vs enhanced' seems to be a key theme but that doesnt feel like it would really apply in space

>>52848788
>>52848920
>>52849978
You could try adding in historical elements that hint at magical knowledge being lost, like maybe a kind of Library of Alexandria incident that many practitioners of Magic refer to. Such as a wizardly college or archive of tomes on how to use greater magics than we know of now being destroyed because the wizards that lived there wouldn't side with either party of some conflict, and didn't have the magical power to fend off the army sent to destroy them.

Which could also be the catalyst for people no longer believing Magic to be a force to fear. Like in the times before this age, knowing there was a Mage in the enemy's ranks would be terrifying, but having your own would double your army's might, but now having even a whole cabal of mages is seen as inefficient when you could potentially bring another group of cannon to the field.

File: rock forest.jpg (144KB, 640x424px) Image search: [Google]

144KB, 640x424px

I'm trying to run a West Marches game, and I'm planning on giving each PC a rumor they've heard about the town that will be their base of operations. I want to be delicate about using them to tie characters into the world and add flavor without imposing too much on backstories and characterization and the like. What do you guys think about the list so far-- can you get a good feeling for the setting from the questions alone?
Here's some for the races, next comment will have some for the classes.
Human: Your brother was also an adventurer. All you know is he volunteered for an expedition beyond Fort Shallows and never returned. Apparently, he left you in his will the rights to all his worldly possessions, including his magic helmet Vaktmester. He had been wearing it as he rode north.
Elf: Your ancestors are said to have been born into this world far to the north, and there may still be remnants of their civilization on the ice. On the way, you hope to see the storied Summers without Night, and pray that you’ll be done before the Darkness without Respite.
Halfling: You know the Yeghiyan Kings brought disgrace and destruction upon your people through their decadence, but you don’t know the specifics. If you can find their ruins, maybe you can find the true origins of the curse upon your people.
Dwarf: The Court Geologist of Kaybakh offers a 500 gold crown stipend for life for the first Dwarf who discovers a viable sapphire mine in the Northern Woods. You intend to collect.

>>52853122
>Paladin: Your chivalric order’s former leader, the Lost Lord Torgov of Skea, disappeared in the north on his final pilgrimage.
>This was over five hundred years ago, but knights still go “searching for our Lost Lord” if they wish to cleanse a great dishonor.

>Barbarian: Your blood-brother sent you a letter from Shallowtown saying that he had discovered something truly terrifying in the marshes to the east of town.
>The letter was dated from last year and you haven’t heard from him since.

>Ranger: A friend of a friend came back rich from bounties on goblins.
> You hear than northerly Halfling communities give you fifteen gold crowns for live ones.
> That may sound like a real fortune, but goblins don’t come quietly, and they make you work for those coins.

>Rogue: You hear that there is a really tempting complex of tombs to the north of Shallowtown. >Maybe you could nick some high quality china, bronze or art, and send it back to the city?

>Fighter: Your grandparents are from a village that was said to be somewhere south and west of the confluence of the Synetucko and Torgov rivers.
>You’ve always wondered why they refuse to talk about what happened to it.

>Bard: Some truly beautiful songs have been sung about the old peoples of the world.
>Many of these make reference to a fallen people in the north.
>You’ve collected all the research you can about them, but to know any more you’ll have to find their ancient ruins, rumored to be somewhere north of Shallowtown.

>>52853153
>Wizard: At your college, you remember seeing a truly ancient, decrepit map of the Synetucko river with a number of marked towers in the far northwest.
>You believe there to be ancient mage towers along its banks, though the river may have shifted quite a bit since then.

>Cleric: To the west, especially to the northwest, are a number of ancient tombs and settlements.
>The few who have been that way claim that horrible creatures warped by mad magics make them home, and that the dead rest no longer.
>You have taken it upon yourself to restore the order of being.

>Druid: The spirits of the land are strong here, malevolent and benevolent alike.
>You hope to encounter the latter, and to find the old Elven shrine to your god which is said to lie to the north of Shallowtown.

>Monk: A great imbalance
>dreams of death, greed and valor
>fire flooded mountain

>Sorcerer: You have heard many tales of dragons and their tyranny, and of their capacity for terrible and awesome magic.
>If there is any place that dragons live unbeknownst to man, it is to the north of the Kingdom of Kaybakh.
>You marvel at what they could teach you.

>Warlock: You have heard the screaming in the early hours of the morning.
>It comes from the north, somewhere far away and barely audible, but it’s there every night.
>No matter how far south you went, it never dimmed...
>But now, as you turn to the snowkissed northern woods, they seem to be growing stronger.
>You must quiet those restless souls!

>>52846638
>The most popular contemporary fiction right now has two continents at a fucking 90 degree linear angle.

??

File: cambriamap2.jpg (3MB, 3600x4800px) Image search: [Google]

3MB, 3600x4800px

>>52845738
That map's fuckin awesome, friendo.
Yeah I think in my case it's a mix of "map feels too small, add to it, map feels too large"

But anyway, here's the map from teh campaign I'm running right now. I am trying as we speak to detail Rovanlor to be a bit less autistic. I feel like removing a lot of the villages will help with that.

File: 32688c4ae37250b7020ddb5f53537e8c.jpg (2MB, 2803x2500px) Image search: [Google]

2MB, 2803x2500px

>>52853672
I assume he means Westeros from ASoIF. See picture.

>>52854062
Oh yeah that is a bit awkward looking. Especially from the thumbnail. Thanks for clarifying
.

File: 1464716670655.jpg (1MB, 3222x2136px) Image search: [Google]

1MB, 3222x2136px

>>52854062
that map is pretty off

>>52854084
what the fuck

>>52839615
>Are there colonies in your setting?
There are.
>Who or what races colonize the most?
Goblins for sure, elves used to do that in the past, but their enormous colonial empire came crashing down.
>How do they handle natives?
Like dirt. They look for ways to exploit them, and if there's no apparent way to do that, they exterminate/resettle them and invite goblin settlers.
>Why do they colonize?
Because they like being wealthy and don't like working. It also makes them feel better than everybody else.
>And what do they build first?
Uh, forts? Are there any other options?

>>52854062

Yeah I meant it. Also Westeros itself is ireland and scotland or ireland and Britain made vertical. Your map wouldn't be so bad, but it is more like >>52854084

Similarly the stupid layout of mountains in Hyboria doesn't impact people's enjoyment of it.

>>52851866
That seems like a fine idea. I'd post what I'm thinking in that regard, but I'm on my phone.

>>52846271
Considering that most wars between romans and sassanians were directly or indirectly caused by these same trade routes, you're just full of bullshit.

>>52839615
I'm sending my characters to "discover America" (although geographically it's closer to be Asia) and into a rush race with a rival power to reach a distant empire before them so they can't block trade via east like they did in the west. They bring some militarymen and civilians with them and may be the starters of a prosperous colonial empire.

>>52851842
Purely in space or from planet to planet?
I feel like megacorps would buy up entire star systems, asteroid clouds and monopolies on hyperlanes, along with everything that comes with it.

One question to you all: In region where human settlements are dotted all ove the place (kinda the "beacon of civilization thing Forgotten Realms has/had too) and the setting is medium to highish fantasy, how would you rationalize that humans wouldn't form raiding parties to eradicate small monster settlements (let's say... goblins) close to them which attacks them from time to time?

I mean... humans have superior technology and therefore better armour/weapons, better food supply because of farming, are better organized military wise and have at least similar magical prowess. Shouldn't be *that* difficult to do when you are stronger in so many regards.

>>52855704
Planet to planet. So megacorps with monopolies on space mining and shipping and station security, fucking over people to make profit, since one of the themes of my setting is a space cold war then corporations have some degree of pull with the space states as they could be the guys producing weapons, ships, drugs etc. on behalf of their patron nation.

>>52855815
Money? its cheaper to pay some random dude to go nick some candles from the kobold mines, doesnt mean villagers/commoners wouldnt.

Imagine a soft sci-fi setting with the following parameters:
>Faster-than-light travel is possible but is a highly destructive process. Massive generators are required in order to sustain the protective measures for the duration of a journey at FTL speeds. This means that all FTL-capable ships are large and expensive.
>Despite this, being on board a ship going at FTL speed is hazardous for mundane humans. The symptoms are similar to that of severe decompression sickness and it's almost always fatal. The only away around this for mundane humans is heavily shielded cryonic preservation. The procedure of preparing a person for this sort of preservation takes a little over a week and the process of (safe) resuscitation takes up to a month, making it highly inconvenient.
>An expensive form of in utero gene therapy allows for the development of humans that are able to withstand the exposure to the elements involved in FTL travel, experiencing little more than vertigo. In addition, their physiology is adapted for interfacing with ship systems. They are vital on board FTL-capable ships that cannot rely on the decision-making of AI and require human input, such as military vessels, science vessels and cargo vessels that carry valuable contents. Attempts to breed with mundane humans always fails and never produces a live birth. They are capable of breeding with each other however, creating dynasties of pilots.
>FTL-capable ships are very expensive and someone that is able to pilot a FTL-capable ship without dying horribly is either a long-term investment and expensive or it's hereditary. As a result, you end up with bloodlines of pilots that act as the faces and the swords of isolated communities, putting them in a position of power as the sole couriers, merchants and warships of their colonies and habitats.

Is this an adequate method of creating a situation similar to feudalism in a soft sci-fi setting?.

>>52855904
that sounds cool my dude.

>>52853122
>Vaktmester
Is this supposed to be Bizarro German? Cause it sounds like it.

>>52855863

Yeah, in terms of "why do adventurer exist, instead of a military, to kill monsters" that's my solution too. Basically they're are mercs.

But my problem here is another one: once to monster "spawning points" are eradicated, humans would doinate the area and have an even easier time to keep it that way. Civilization would spread fast and cohsive kingdoms/nations would be all over the place and monsters pushed to the inhabitable areas whre humans wouldn't want to go anyway. Adventuring would be unnecessary within a few generations.

>>52855815
Any small monstrous creature that hopes to compete with humans will need an edge. Goblins and kobolds are clever, cunning, and outnumber nearby humans 10 to 1, minimum. Closer to 100 to 1.

>>52854210
>Uh, forts? Are there any other options?
How about houses, piers and a fence like in the real world?

>>52855815
Have your monsters live in swamps, mountainsides, overgrown forests or bushland, or any other difficult terrain that would make organised attacks difficult. Give your monsters some kind of physical or cultural adaption to these environments so they can easily live and move around in them while humans cannot. Look at how real world premodern societies felt with dangerous animals; they might hunt wolves, lions, elephants and other dangerous wildlife, but before the modern age it wasn't very feasible to just wipe them out (which might also have had negative ecological consequences), except maybe in the most advanced and organized societies like Rome or China, but those are exceptional. If your monsters are more humanlike, you can give them cultural adaptions or different social organizations that allow them to occupy environmental niches beyond human reach. Look at the way antagonistic cultures with hugely different levels of development have often lived side by side for centuries; the Anglo-Norman colonists and native Gaels in Ireland, Europeans and native Americans, sedentary Arabs/Persians and nomadic Bedouins/Turks, etc.

There are other ways you could do it too, like maybe have the monsters serve some economic function (maybe the make good metal, or maybe their skins are worth a lot) which makes it unwise to wipe them out, despite their threat. Maybe the monster settlements, despite their small size, band together with other monster settlements when threatened allowing them to fend off human attacks. It really depends on what kind of monsters you're making.

>>52855355
so what does that have to do with what happened afterwards

>>52839615
There are many colonies in my setting, as well as ongoing colonization of new landmasses that had previously been uncolonizable. Colonization is occurring for much the same reason as it did in our world so that countries could gain direct control over valuable resources to help fuel the industrialization that's currently going on.

If the colonized race is human, than the predominately human colonizers will leave them alone or attempt to integrate them usually.

If the colonized race is non-human, usually they're either put on reservations or exterminated to make way for human colonists.

Coaling stations are extremely important, and are usually the things that towns are built around when they're first built to lay claim to a territory.

>>52856172
>>52856595

>edge
Yeah, that's exactly what I'm looking for. Needed some inspiration for different edges some monsters could have.

>being clever/cunning
Well, humans are petty clever themselves. But giving them the same attribute would level the playing field more of course.

>outnumbering
Always a good route to go, especially with small creatures like goblins or kobolds and one which I intend to implement. I just shy away to be bold with that, because if you make the monster population to big, they could kill the humans themselves again. That's a fine balance which could tip very fast.

> any other difficult terrain that would make organised attacks difficult
Great aspect! Of couse it relies heavily on the local terrain. I'll make sure to put monster concentrations in those areas and try to build the bigger, more cohesive kingdoms into areas which don't have many of those. While I'm aware that maps should also serve the story, I also try to build a topography which makes at least some sense.

>Give your monsters some kind of physical or cultural adaption to these environments
Good addition to the prior point, I shall think about building those into their rules a bit.... cultural adaption is more flexible, but will have my attention too.

> before the modern age it wasn't very feasible to just wipe them out
Oh, hitorically speaking that's a hot topic. For example, the impact humans had on the *really* big mammals when they immigrated to North America is still discussed and those were hunter gatherers. Though the discussion moved much more to a smaller impact lately. But I get your point. Especially for less specialized and smaller predators you're right and I guess for more intelligent monsters same would be true.

>>52857149


>Look at the way antagonistic cultures with hugely different levels of development have often lived side by side for centuries
I will do that. Europeans and Native Americans are difficult in that regard for a number of reason, but I'll look for the Gaels and middle east societies.

>economic function
Should work for many types of monsters, interesting idea. Monster getting more organized when severly threatened is a nice approach too and I'm kinda amazed I didn't thought about that myself yet xD.

You two alone gave my some things to think about and work with. Thank you!

>>52856195
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Netherland_settlements

>>52857149
>if you make the monster population to big, they could kill the humans themselves again. That's a fine balance which could tip very fast.

Ah. I see. You don't understand then.

Allow me to quote something:
>"Sometimes in history there would come a great villain who just didn't get with the program. The Classical example is the Assyrians. Those bastards went around from city to city stacking heads in piles and levying 100% taxation and such to conquered foes. They became... unpopular, and eventually were destroyed as a people. That's the law of the jungle as far back as there are any records: if a group pushes things too far the rules of mercy and raiding simply stop applying. Goblins, orcs, sahuagin... these guys generally aren't going to cross that line. But if they do, it's okay for the gloves to come off. In fact, if some group of orcs decides to kill everyone in your village while you're out hunting so that you come home to find that you are the last survivor, other humanoids (even other evil humanoids like gnolls) will sign up to exterminate the tribe that has crossed the line."

Simply put, genocide never really happens that often, and when it does it is met with equal measure. Goblins won't wipe humans out, because then THEY would be wiped out. Don't rock the boat.

File: world map template U&U.png (2MB, 6200x3034px) Image search: [Google]

2MB, 6200x3034px

so i was making a shitty map but i realized it was too small and the coasts weren't detailed enough. I'm making the coasts again and i added some more land but how do i make my map look interesting but not messy

And how do I make my maps look good like >>52845738 ? I just opened paint one day and drew random shapes for the continents and filled the rest with blue

File: Screenshot_2017-04-23-17-24-17.png (147KB, 1080x1920px) Image search: [Google]

147KB, 1080x1920px

>>52856011 you were pretty close.

Fantasy games need more magic helms, they're all over in the myths but I've never seen one in game.

File: grimmworld 2.jpg (1MB, 3300x2550px) Image search: [Google]

1MB, 3300x2550px

Which mountains are better? This one >>52848788?

Or pic related?

>>52859163
Pic related.

>>52859189
Afraid someone would say that. I went to a lot of trouble mimicking some of the artstyles of older maps. Guess I'll stick to my brushes.

>>52858472
>Simply put, genocide never really happens that often, and when it does it is met with equal measure. Goblins won't wipe humans out, because then THEY would be wiped out.

Aaaah... yes, you're right I didn't really catch your drift there.

Even though I wrote "kill", genocide wouldn't be necessary to create a situation problematic to play in. If the players can't have a civil base of operation, where will they get their tools from, who will be able to pay them, where will they be able to interact socially, etc. So if the centers of civilized culture is "dominated" or "subdued" by comparatively wild/barbaric (speaking in labels here) group of monsters it lready would be quite an issue....

or....

no...

wait...


What if, maybe in a more backwater region, the power balance shifted and said Goblins gained dominance but did more than being simple pillaging murderhobos? What if they followed the rule of "don't cross the line" you mentioned?

They could have attacked and steamrolled a couple villages, maybe even a small town, but instead of leaving only scorched earth they chose to leave a good portion of the infrastructure intact so they can collect tribute from the humans?
Basically this is a common role reversal, nothing to fancy but still a different take on the matter. I wouldn't like it to be the norm but could prepare this to shake the usual patterns up a bit. :D

>>52859241
I agree with >>52859189

For one simple reason: the mountains in pic 2 are easier to identify as mountains. In pic 2 they could be anything. If you prefer to use pic 1 then you should colourize it to make it more visible.

File: grimmworld 1a.jpg (2MB, 3300x2550px) Image search: [Google]

2MB, 3300x2550px

>>52859317
That's a good point.

How would this look then? Better or worse than >>52859163? Further coloration to follow, of course.

>>52859269
Yeah, that would work AND make sense.

>>52859389

It's a start. Naturally a topographic map needs all the different colours. I know this will take time to do, so keep working :)

>>52846377
>It's not like there were significant technological development in this period

>>52859029
meant
>>52856071

>>52855904
Why specifically feudalism? That sort of shit could lead to megacorps, caste systems, weird new strains of apartheid and all sorts of crazy shit. Why focus on feudalism?

File: bf607beffb0f34db1e877678373642a0.jpg (88KB, 736x1013px) Image search: [Google]

88KB, 736x1013px

>>52860598
>you can just go with typical chain mail and lamellar armor and that's it
It's obvious I was referring to a more military perspective, and it's generally only what the players care about. During all this period people were fighting with a very similar type of equipement, the stuff that developed during this time frame that could be relevant to the anon I first replied is like, gunpowder and maybe equestrian related technology. I doubt he'll be going in depth about mills, and the naval and textile industries

>>52860598
name 10

>>52858800
help

>>52860995
1000 Ambulance
1000 Bars of Soft Soap
1000 Cauterization
1000 Clothes Iron
1000 Gold Leaf Thread
1000 Grenades
1000 Kayak, Parka
1000 Longbow
1000 Modern Sundial
1000 Pizza
1000 Portable Flamethrower
1000 Thimble
1000 Toothpaste
1020 Parabolic Mirror
1025 Sugar Extraction
1041 Movable Type
1050 Artillery
1050 Mechanical Calendar
1078 Tidal Mill
1092 Mechanical Clock
1100 Buoys
1100 Lead Glazed Pottery
1100 Paper Money
1100 Seven Colour Printing

File: 1410533630255.jpg (59KB, 500x504px) Image search: [Google]

59KB, 500x504px

so for my medieval fantasy setting I've added some anachronistic technology:

>Vulcanized Rubber, rendered from dandelion sap
> lead-acid batteries, medieval people knew of lead, and sulfuric acid (they knew it as "oil of vitriol")

what other materials might these technologies make available? It doesn't have to be in industrial quantities, just enough that they can do something with it.

File: jim_lee_batman_friends.jpg (119KB, 1024x768px) Image search: [Google]

119KB, 1024x768px

For a setting based on DC comics, but with more realistic geography (not a ton of places named ___ City), what midwestern/great lakes cities would make good analogues for Metropolis & Gotham City?

I'm leaning towards Chicago/Metropolis & Detroit/Gotham or just Chicago for both. From a worldbuilding perspective, which of these (or your own suggestion) sounds more interesting?

File: Map making Guide 327482842.pdf (2MB, 1x1px) Image search: [Google]

2MB, 1x1px

>>52858800
>>52861932

Follow a tutorial. I do not have his, but I have mine >>52847686 without the political blobs I will posti n a moment.

First is the tutorial. Check cartography https://www.cartographersguild.com/forum.php for other tutorials that catch your fancy. Check the Tutorials/how to section at the bottom.

Skip the ocean part except for doing the initial cloudy layer and blue overlay. I will explain why in a second

File: RIVER GUIDE.pdf (1MB, 1x1px) Image search: [Google]

1MB, 1x1px

>>52865350

Let me clarify that is not my tutorial. I just used it, I am not the author. You skip the ocean portion where you draw out shelf beneath the sea because of how inevitably you are going to add on and on to the map. You do the ocean part when you are 100% done.

Also

SKIP THE RIVER PORTION IN >>52865350

Otherwise follow his tutorial. Follow this tutorial for rivers, referring to this album for how to do it: http://imgur.com/a/7mwR8

When it comes to the continent portion, I forget how he advises it but I believe it involves a brush. You can and ought to still do that but another option is:

-Check the river album. See how the white splotches look like islands?
-Copy over a few shapes you like, paste them on a layer separate from your tutorial's land/grass/ect. layers Just a plain blank layer with white splotches. Position them so they form the outline of your continent. Magic wand outside them, select inverse, copy. Go to your land layer, alt left (right?) click the black and white box next to it you set up during the tutorial at >>52865350 and paste.

File: FICTION MAP TAKE #4 - EAST UNFLATTENED (POST EXPANSION v1).jpg (2MB, 4653x4032px) Image search: [Google]

2MB, 4653x4032px

>>52865567

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwYUexL0zGS_WG9lNHktb0JWUlk - that is my workshop file. If you open it you will see 8 layers.

If you want to do island stuff, you just make threshold 1 visible and make layer 1 or 3 or 4 visible. Then filter - render clouds. Adjust the threshold level in Threshold 1 (double click it, a properties window should open up). Higher threshold and you get more black, less white. Lower reverse.

If you want more shapes that are not edged (where they have a flat 180 degree break) just make the image resolution larger and then regenerate the clouds.

When you see shapes you like, right click any layer and flatten image. Magic wand the white splotches you like.

Now the last trick is a bit more complicated, but when you get to doing mountains, if you want a real jaggy look:
-Enable only terrain base and mountains layer in my workshop
-select the BW thumbnail. Filter - render difference clouds. Do it as many times (Control + F to insta-do the last filter you did) until you see mountains you like.
-Press control L to enter the levels screen. In the input levels section - dragging the black arrow to the right will make lower parts of the mountain disappear. Drag white to the left and it makes the highest parts of the mountains get bolder. Grey left or right..does something I can't articulate. Fiddle with it until you see what you like mountain wise.

>>52865679

-Select the lasso.
-make sure you have the feather set to 5px or 10px or anything like that. This is so you have a more natural, but still needing editing, edge to the cropping.
-Select the mountain you like with the lasso.
-Alt left click on the B&W thumbnail for mountains.
-Copy, then have in a separate window have your map open. Go to mountains level. Alt left click the BW thumbnail. Paste yourtransferred thumbnail.

Bear in mind once you click away from the B&W thumbnail wherever the selection is idling over will 'wipe out' that area. So if you move it, the area it had hovered over will become pure black or pure white depending on your palette.

The solution is to paste your mountain selection in a pure black ocean area when pasting it. Then switch to the non B&W thumbnail for mountains. You will still have the mountain selected and can move it wherever you wish. Make sure you turn off feathering when you are done.

Most of those mountains >>52865679 , like 99%, have been done by hand. Just on those northern islands did I paste them like this. So you will want to do the tutorial's advice on mountain building (with a brush) too.

How can I make my space fantasy setting more cosmopolitan? Right now I have world's for some of my races, but it's all very segregated right now.

>>52863879
Well, I'm no chemist, but isn't electrolysis required for refining Aluminum? I have no idea if a Lead-Acid Battery is going to make enough power to refine Aluminum Ore, but it's possible.

>>52866191
Then desegregate. Make planets that have large, multispecies populations. Think Illium from Mass Effect. It's technically an Asari world, since they founded it. But in practice it's an independent Criminal/Megacorp planet.

>>52866642
OK but what sorts of planets does that make sense to be desegregated?

>>52839711
>>52843148

Really wasn't that great in practice. The chinese repeaters were basically too big to be carried, and were mostly used in sieges (defense and offense) as a result.

They did have a "quick-crank" mechanism for lighter or hunting crossbows which is rarely depicted these days, and was sometimes permanently attached, unlike a wheel-crank. It kind of made the crossbow into a lever-action weapon, but there was no "magazine" as is often depicted in fantasy "repeating" crossbows

>>52867301
>They

meaning medieval/renaissance Europeans, I don't know if the chinese had it or not

File: notus__the_wind_guardian_by_xlxbetoxlx-d8rzczj.jpg (149KB, 1166x686px) Image search: [Google]

149KB, 1166x686px

>>52839615
Where should I put cities other than on the mouths of major rivers?

>>52867558
In forests, on top of hills overlooking plains, mountain sides, coasts, aroud the mouth of a lake.

File: underwater city.jpg (111KB, 1192x754px) Image search: [Google]

111KB, 1192x754px

>>52867558
In the ocean

>>52856195
You have no idea what a fort is, do you.

>>52839615
>Are there colonies in your setting? Who or what races colonize the most? How do they handle natives? Why do they colonize?
Back in a day, TotallyNotRomans (Actually, more Byzantine, probably) unified entire Southern half of the hourglass-shaped continent and decided to venture North. They set up two colonies.

First they went to the Eastern part, populated by nomadic people. They walled them off and brought in their superior agricultural technology and made the land great and fertile. Then they went to the West where they landed on a small island and conquered local TotallyNotIrish population. But before they ventured any further the heartlands themselves were destroyed by zombie orcs.

In the present day, Eastern colony struck a good bargain with nomads, many of whom choose to settle countryside and their leadership becoming military elite, like feudal lords, giving the city dwellers monopoly on trade which turned out to be quite profitable.

Western colony however turned in Apartheid South Africa where small colonists population resorted to drastic measures to protect themselves from natives.

File: sdfs.png (211KB, 1174x929px) Image search: [Google]

211KB, 1174x929px

>>52858800
>>52861932
What I've been doing is I'll draw a first draft, sort of what you've got now, blow it up, fix all the edges that got fucked, but then go back in with a one pixel brush and kind of go with the flow. I'll alternate between (in this example) the land and the see, let the mouse do its own thing and kind of go with the flow. It helps it feel natural but also interesting, like sometimes my mouse will get stuck and I'll have this big jagged part come out but then I'll roll with it. That becomes an integral piece. In some cases that's where the map becomes the most interesting. When I'm doing topography, unless it's mountains I try to keep it a lot smoother.

On my current map I'm working a little differently but that's just because of the size. I started with pic related actually and it's progressed to a little bit further than what I have here:
>>52845122
>>52844935
I knew the pass was important to me and I wasn't working with coastlines really so I had to switch it up, so I started with a shitty little drawing, did a little topo work at 8"x10", and gradually worked the canvas size up, tracing what I had with a fairly large pixel brush before working my way back down and tackling it one piece at a time.

>>52863879
Anyone else have any input? Please?

>>52863879
Copper is a good conductor. You could do something with electricity like lightning rods.

>>52839615
>https://mega.nz/#F!AE5yjIqB!y7Vdxdb5pbNsi2O3zyq9KQ

I'd like to thank /tg/ for incorporating my /omg/ library into your worldbuilding stuff.

For Western magick systems, check out Euro and Grimoires (the latter looks a lot like pact/warlock systems). Academic for most other of you guys' purposes unless there's some kind of highly specialized thing you wanna do (enochian port w/truenames or something, i dunno).

Shamanism for precomplex cultures, etc., etc.

>>52858472
>Simply put, genocide never really happens that often

Genocides happen all the time.

As for the risk of reciprocity, nations often overextend themselves or overestimate their own ability to avoid retaliation. The Hutus struck the way they did in part because they believed that if they were thorough enough, the Tutsis would never be in a position to retaliate at all.

Also don't forget the "demographics is destiny" thing. A population with an annual growth rate of 2% will double in about 36 years. A population growing at 6% will double in about 12 years, which means that 36 years later it will be 8x as large. So if the faster-growing population is the minority, then you can go from a 20/80 split to a 50/50 split in just one generation.

So yeah you do have to worry about monster populations, because the math can make even very small differences decisive in very short order.

Populations aren't stable over the very long haul. Otzi the ice man's genetics demonstrates the issues, because even seemingly stable areas can be beset with wave after wave of conquest, migration, integration, and division.

(OTOH if you want lots of stable divisions, pastoralists in mountainous regions seem to do well for that. Self-reliant, stubborn, and with lots of natural borders, such areas end up balkanized all over the world-- not just in the balkans).

File: FW.jpg (72KB, 1708x888px) Image search: [Google]

72KB, 1708x888px

What do you guys think?

>tfw commissioned art is coming any day now

I'm nervous as fuck and keep compulsively checking my email. It might not even come today, I'm just working myself up like the autist I am.

>>52873513
How much did you pay and for what?

>>52873548
This is the second round of sketches on designing the main character. 90 for the first round, 60 for the second round. I'd show the first round of sketches off if I could.

File: map2.jpg (2MB, 5000x3750px) Image search: [Google]

2MB, 5000x3750px

none of these biomes make sense

>>52845738

I used to feel that way, and then I realized that the problem was that a map will always be the size of your screen. So making a bigger map just shrinks the stuff you already have, at least to your eye.

If you want a greater sense of scale, then you need to add more depth and detail to what you have. Even a very small world can feel huge when you use details and history to provide a cue as to the scale of it.

>>52875895
but it looks fantastic

File: sai_2017-04-24_15-52-52.png (838KB, 999x662px) Image search: [Google]

838KB, 999x662px

>>52876370
thanks, I made big red plateaus that people think are made of/saturated with blood and that they fertilize the valley between them and their bases.

also the stone dick forest now has glittery opals and stuff you normally see used to make tourist jewelry in beach towns

>>52876546
Did you draw that by hand? Looks very good.

>>52876587
yeah, everything is by hand on this map

File: HeroForgeScreenshot (5).png (195KB, 1280x694px) Image search: [Google]

195KB, 1280x694px

>>52839615
What kind of armor is good for cold temperatures? I'm thinking of adding a holy order of knights who are also basically vikings, but knights are typically heavily armored, so I need to know how heavy armor can get while still allowing for proper clothing to keep warm in the frigid weather.

>>52876932
Sorry for the ignorance but what kind of colors do you use that doesn't overpower the pencil?

>>52877089
I just have the lines and colors on separate layers, all of the color is below all of the lines so in the end, the lines stay on top

for some of the stuff that I want to overpower the lines (town names and facades mostly) I have the line art layer set to the overlay mode which lets it get overwritten by ligher shades, which is why all of the names and facades are done in colors that have a maxed out brightness value

also I put clouds because I think the lore for this map is its all out of scale, but its drawn with artistic renditions of the landscapes that loom over all of the regions they are present on, and this oasis in the desert being so lush that it gets its own fucking clouds is p memorable

>>52875895
>>52876546
How long did it take you to draw this and where do I learn the color theory to make pleasing color palettes like this?

>>52877346
Ah, I thought you drew that on a piece of paper and later scanned it but I get now that you drew that straight on your PC!
Great job and thanks for the explanation, I wish I knew how to draw like that.

File: sai_2017-04-24_16-36-08.png (255KB, 441x322px) Image search: [Google]

255KB, 441x322px

>>52877475
I created this file on march 17 2015.

I mostly was just dicking around though, in the last 2 months this has gone from basically just the outline of the coast and I've added everything else in now that I have a use for it though, so if I had been working like this the whole time it would have taken like 4 months maybe

And the color theory thing, keep everything on different layers and use the HSV editor to fine tune shit, when you can mix and match forever you start seeing patterns in what looks good and its easier to start off closer to your mark, or even dead on.

>>52877559
pff, hell no I didn't draw this on paper, who do you think I am?

File: ss+(2015-03-21+at+01.41.54).jpg (60KB, 807x769px) Image search: [Google]

60KB, 807x769px

fun fact, this is the first sketch that I ever did of this map

Oh fuck I think I just found a fun way to make maps
>Fap
>Nut on towel or napkin
>Do this a few times, I honestly lost count
>Hold up to light
>Trace outline
And viola! You have a map with irregular coastlines and if it's crumpled up just right you even have mountain ranges. Different 'layers' can also give you topography.
I'm trying to decide which one to use right now.

>>52878698
go to church

>>52878226
>HSV
Sorry for sounding retarded, but what's this stand for?

>>52879252
Hue saturation and value

Hue being the actual color, of the color
Saturation being how colorful the color it is, or in its absence, how much it looks like a color from a jason statham movie
And value being how bright it is, with a lower value correlating to a higher percentage of black present in a given portion of the color blue, or whatever.

TL;DR

Hue is the color
Saturation is how much the color pops
Value is how bright or dark the color is

>>52879284
Thanks for the clarification! I didn't know what the abbreviation meant, but I'm familiar with those three things individually.

>>52880085
oh rad, I figured I would be thorough just in case

File: hahaha.jpg (766KB, 2984x1613px) Image search: [Google]

766KB, 2984x1613px

>>52879012
You doubted me but I deliver

>>52880659
thats nasty, but I like it, I can see potential

File: sai_2017-04-24_19-59-15.png (385KB, 1063x584px) Image search: [Google]

385KB, 1063x584px

the trench is chasms now but with caves that let out in the hills north of them

I like caves

>>52881211
Nice.
What's the scale of the map?

File: sai_2017-04-24_20-12-59.png (598KB, 1857x707px) Image search: [Google]

598KB, 1857x707px

>>52881291
I drew the continents and then pasted a map of earth on the canvas to line them up in the same kind of aspect ratio (because the image was a square at that point I didn't care about poles)

distance wise everything looked alright, the distance between the continents was sort of similar to on erf, my araaaabiaaaaaan niiiiiights desert was about as big as the sahara, most of my deep dark jungles were around as big as the amazon, the only thing really out of whack is that big ass swamp but hey, I like swamps.

What i'm saying is its about the same scale as earth.

pic related is the world-spanning two-month sea journey and one-month walk my party is going on, and then crudely related to real life distances.

we met an old druid in the woods and scared him off, then while we were rummaging through his shit our rogue saw a symbol that tied into her backstory so she investigated it was a letter.
fast forward a year and shes been pen-pals with a princess whos kingdom was stole from her whos on the run, she convinces her to sail to her and bring them back and we'll do hero shit and then get our on fiefdoms and whatever.

>>52863879
Complete armors with vulcanized rubber in the joints and under some of the plates. Also like some anon said, some aluminum could make for lighter armors.

Maybe some crude electrical device. Medievalpunk watchtowers/beacons that serve just to warn the country giving a light edge in communication.


Maybe nobles can afford electrical illumination in their manors.

File: sai_2017-04-24_21-06-52.png (21KB, 410x339px) Image search: [Google]

21KB, 410x339px

does this look like quicksand or a fuckin butthole

>>52882473

Quicksand Golem's butthole.

>>52873728
Jesus dude that better be good

>>52882473
Looks like the skin of a person splattered by a truck or some shit.

Like a carpet the villain from the Texas Massacre would have.

File: bump.jpg (3MB, 3300x2550px) Image search: [Google]

3MB, 3300x2550px

Gonna bump with a map. Started adding country borders based purely on rivers and mountains. Once I finish, I'll go over and add irregularities and merging/slashing countries to make it feel more lived in.

Was considering the Warhammer Fantasy RPG for this world. Mostly for the low fantasy vibe.

Any suggestions to the map itself? Or new thread questions to help me start thinking of stuff?

Does anyone know about typical seasonal migration patterns of nomadic peoples? I'm aware they herd their flock of animals around to different pastures in different seasons but how far do they travel?

File: ´60r65euw468.jpg (251KB, 1024x768px) Image search: [Google]

251KB, 1024x768px

Tell me anything about your fantasy mega-cities. Anything.

>>52873191

It's got potential anon.

File: 24.jpg (46KB, 200x200px) Image search: [Google]

46KB, 200x200px

>>52886254
I don't know anything about anything but that looks like 1 country/Kingdom to me, not an entire continent of nations.

The map kinda looks like Greece, I like it.

File: full color without edits.jpg (5MB, 3300x2550px) Image search: [Google]

5MB, 3300x2550px

>>52887053
It's meant to be a small region of the world, filled with rival feudal kingdoms. Pic related is updated.

I liked the look of the Witcher maps, which felt like it wasn't as big of a region as you'd think, but it was still chock full of places. That's similar to here. I originally aimed for the vague shape of Siberia and northern China/Japan area before I ended up with this exact shape.

I guess I can see what you mean by Greece lol. I can see it too now. Though I did imagine a far colder climate.

I want to make a setting with a complicated, semiunique magic system. I'm not quite sure how to go about exposition. Should I introduce a novice character so other characters could explain things to them? Other options?

>>52887339
A novice or uninitiated character is an old mainstay for this sort of thing, and no one will seriously gripe about it unless you suck.

I would also recommend introducing the magic via actions/combat. I don't know your system, so any advice on how to do this is going to be vague and unhelpful.

>>52887504
Alright, thanks.

>>52886639
Okay, prepare to recieve my poorly translated brain-splooge. It's not quite a mega-city, it's not fully thought out, but I think it'll suffice.

Now, everybody here is probably bored to death with giant cave complexes, with all of your Underdarks and Exiles, yet that's where my city is. The giant cave in question has two peculiar features:
1) its' "ceiling" is quite low, about 1 km in average;
2) the rock that is too far from water or certain "stable" areas flows chaotically, like a viscous liquid, never quite leaving its' "natural" borders, yet crushing everything that digs too far into it. In these flows, monsters are born, the strongest of whom dig out to the caverns.

So, the city is located over an underground ocean. It is a giant head carved out of a collossal stalactite, its' beard of long, thick mangrove roots reaching all the way down to the water, its eyes of yellow light serving as both a lighthouse and a landmark for ships leagues away. Captains dock in the thicket of the beard, their crew and wares lifted up by a complex system of pulleys and levers. All the way up to the chin there are platforms woven from giant spider's silk, constructed of wood, molded from stone by powerful and rare magic of a reclusive sect, where merchants and city customs conduct their business. On some of those there are even public houses and inns for seamen who don't have time or need to ascend into the city proper.

The "head" itself is not a densely populated zone, as it is allocated for the rich and powerful, their warehouses, their workshops, their soldiers, and their immediate servants. Most of the city's population lives in the "ceiling", always wary of the rockflows and the monsters that earth occasionally lets lose into their passageways.

Imagine a post-apocalyptic setting similar to that of the Walking Dead, 15 Monkeys or I Am Legend. Monstrous creatures are optional, but the bottom line is that society as we know it has collapsed catastrophically.

How long would it take for ammo to run out and become a rare treasure, only found in a few rare, undisturbed caches?

I feel like a societal breakdown would disrupt industry so severely, that we would quickly lose the resources (and possibly even the know-how) required to manufacture modern ammo and firearms. Is this accurate?

Even an expert in the fields of metallury and firearms wouldn't be able to produce a modern cartridge in his workshop without access to industrially-manufactured chemicals and materials, right?

>>52886639
My megacity has a plague that turns people into clockwork automatons and a race of hattifattener-like questionably sentient creatures who inhabit every nook and cranny, but are ignored by the locals.

>>52889935
If it's in America, then never. We have a lot of bullets, and a lot of people here make their own.

File: 5e22bf6dd83645fa7a2ebfb76810a5ad.jpg (117KB, 564x1100px) Image search: [Google]

117KB, 564x1100px

Hows this sound?
>In the year 2030 a few years after the discovery of more exo-planets within the alpha centauri system using a Luna-based telescope the Edenia corporation ran by not-elon musk began construction of a massive ark ship with top of the line helium-3 and cryostasis technology, as well as a few accompanying vessels, the ship launched in 2037 but was thought lost with all hands after a solar flare. Turns out they made it.

>>52890369
I guarantee these people don't make their propellant and primer from scratch. That shit will run out.

>>52889935
Just have a conventional WW3 take place AFTER the apocalypse.

That should clean out the ammo storages pretty good.

>>52889935
I don't believe manufacturing ammo is this hard. Modern firearms maybe, if you can no longer set up a conveyor.

File: biome.png (180KB, 2636x794px) Image search: [Google]

180KB, 2636x794px

Is this a decent idea for a biome? I just needed somewhere for bioluminsescent plants to grow, so i could put them in rich cities or castles and shit
6000000 hours in MS Paint

>>52893546
Kind of barebones, but if you're going for the description of a biome, it's good enough.

>this plant comes from a forest to the east where....

>>52893546
I'd make them grow in caves, a very thick forest can be dark, but to the point a bioluminescent plant can attrack insects ? Plus you can have spooky giant monsters in this cave to drive up the price.

I posted these in the Discord a while ago, but I think they're kinda neat.

Adventurers very much enjoy the use of trade terms when discussing their work; it’s said that since their life expectancies are on the short side, it’s a way of maintaining a heritage and a continuity between generations. Attached are the terms used for common-ish specializations among adventurers, specifically those who use magic in a significant way.

Doll. Dolls specialize in the use of defensive magic, usually seals and charms, to protect themselves and allies. The term of art comes from an old joke that they’re trying to “protect their pretty faces”.

Ledger. While most spellcasting adventurers memorize a small number of spells and cast variations on that small number, ledgers tend to carry manuals with them so they have a wider variety of spells at their disposal. They tend not to be very effective in direct combat, but are useful for tasks such as scouting treasure or traps, and often use a variety of divination spells. “Ledger” is shortened from “ledgerkeeper”, referring to the book or books they carry.

Sleight. Sleights are experts in misleading and diverting attention. Many are former intelligence arcanists, and there is a lot of overlap in the relevant skills. The term of art comes from sleight-of-hand performers, whose performances use elaborate trickery and misdirection to create the illusion of performing tremendous feats of athletics, magic, or both.

>>52894085
Temperance. An adventurer with medical training, though not always a true healer. While most adventurers rely on simple bandaging until they can get to a proper healer, or just retreating as soon as they suffer a severe injury, a temperance can perform quick-and-dirty repairs, often with corporeal magic. Most adventurer terms are for fighting styles or strategies seen fairly often, but temperances are quite rare. It’s a generally held truth that those who become healers are not those who would become adventurers, and vice-versa. The term of art comes from a centuries-old military joke (predating the formation of the Crown) that the only sober person after a victory was the healer.

Weaver. A weaver uses spellcasting--most often generation, destruction, and kinetics--in conjunction with the use of weapons and armor. The term of art is derived from the craft of weaving--a weft of arms, a warp of magic. Not exactly rocket science, that one.

Vandal. Usually the most common spellcasting adventurer, a vandal uses magic to directly blast and hamper enemies and obstacles. Vandals are often former warmages. The term of art refers primarily to a common prank of adding popdust to some of the lanterns used in the Lantern Festival, causing them to explode unexpectedly.

>>52866618
Refining aluminum requires a shit-ton of electricity. As in, it's most cost-effective to just ship pretty much all of the world's aluminum ore to wherever electricity is cheapest (Iceland).

There's a reason aluminum is so much more likely to actually be recycled than other recyclables.

So no, a lead-acid battery would not be enough.

File: abyr eye genotypes.png (430KB, 1656x3030px) Image search: [Google]

430KB, 1656x3030px

What parts of your setting are noticeably more detailed than what is typically expected?

How do you know when you've gone too far and lost the initial focus of the world you're trying to make.

I wanted to make a not-spelljammer campaign that's also deeply inspired by Kill Six Billion Demons, but using random tables to largely generate system I ended up more with a massive dungeoncrawl in space with planets that are like rooms, with like one thing to do in them.

I'm not entirely certain if im satisfied with it, but i've done so much work I don't want to scrap it.

How can I salvage this, into something more to what I was looking for, a more cosmopolitan and metaphysical thing, where the corpses of gods float in the void, preyed upon by scavengers and bleeding nebula.

>>52839615
what are the conditions needed for a steppe to form?

>>52898239
Just enough rain to allow grasses, not enough for anything denser and especially not trees.

That's about it really, although the classic Eurasian steppe is temperate or cold in terms of climate (mostly cold) this is not mandotary as hot steppe biomes do exist.

>>52898239
step 1: be inhabited by horsefuckers
congratulations u have a steppe now

>>52896140
Well, your planets should have more things to do in them, that's for sure. And if you keep to the "planet of hats" style, then all the overspecialization should stem from a planets' extensive ties to other planets, so there should be huge extraplanetary presence. This should give you solid grounds for cosmopolitan feel. I think that your planets should also feel ancient, with bizzarre, barely explained rituals, customs and phenomena taking place - bonus points if there are hints of them being interconnected.
But it's not like there aren't huge, mostly barren spaces in KSBD, so don't weed all of them out.

>>52839615
Is there any mapmaking site that isn't complete dogshit?

>>52898736
Inkarnate can look nice with effort.

Otherwise, no.

File: origami-owl-for-kids1.jpg (30KB, 340x302px) Image search: [Google]

30KB, 340x302px

Lately I've wanted to make a pulpy space opera setting with a few alien races. Here are my ideas:

>robots formed from conglomerated technology of two warring civilizations, one AI of each cooperating in each single body
>giant, ageless intelligent worms that pick apart the genes of whatever they consume, splicing together slaves to care for them
>reptillian nomads that have pillaged a thousand worlds, taking what works and leaving wreckage in their wake
>jellyfish race that walk around in 7 foot mecha, basically just a biological nervous system chilling in a robot
>insectoid slave race that recently inherited their masters' economic empire after a massive plague and now struggle to maintain the galactic economy

Which are good and which are bad?

>>52863879
You know, you should check out Joerg Sprave's channel on youtube. Maybe it'll give you some ideas.

>>52899517
They seem good, even though I personally dislike the "eat shit - get genes" trope.
Are nomads monoculture?
What happened to the civilizations that spawned the AIs who turned on them I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream, videogame-style?
What do the jellyfish dudes eat? Do they breathe?
I hope insectoids aren't some sort of commentary on Nelson Mandela and the likes.

>>52900353
>They seem good, even though I personally dislike the "eat shit - get genes" trope.
There maybe as few as a dozen actual worms in the entire galaxy, each a nation. They are artificial organisms mass-produced billions of years ago, programmed to consume a very rare resource scattered across the stars. They are extremely intelligent, but have no free will, slaves of their nature just like the slaves they produce.

>Are nomads monoculture?
Yes and no. There have been various "junctures", forks in the road on their path of pillaging where some go one way and some go another. Because they are raised in a culture with few overarching goals and a poor understanding of what they do, most are trapped in a cycle of violence and ignorance within the main fleet.

>What happened to the civilizations that spawned the AIs?
Wiped each other out ages ago. An unidentified signal set their dormant war machines free. There was not enough viable hardware left for either side to leave the planet and find the source independently, and over time they merged so that one agent could efficiently use both. They are pretty chill dudes who mostly focus on exploration and archaeology.

>What do the jellyfish dudes eat? Do they breathe?
A symbiotic algae photosynthesize through the cockpit glass. Like a spacesuit is filled with air, the machine is filled with water for them to breathe; it must be cycled every so often.

>I hope insectoids aren't some sort of commentary on Nelson Mandela and the likes.
Took me awhile to even realize what you meant. I was thinking more like the HRE. Maybe vassals instead of slaves. Also chill dudes who see themselves as legitimately responsible for way more than they bargained for, trying to stay chill in an uncaring universe.

>>52901678
>slaves of their nature just like the slaves they produce.
That's almost like Vangers. I think it's cool.
>Yes and no.
So they just kill everyone then go on, without ever adding to their horde? That may be just a bit too much of a stretch for me.
>A symbiotic algae photosynthesize through the cockpit glass. Like a spacesuit is filled with air, the machine is filled with water for them to breathe; it must be cycled every so often.
So they're completely self-sufficient? Like some sort of space mystic hermits in big fuck-off mechas? I can dig that, but I bet they're more active and cohesive in your setting.

>>52898736
Photoshop and patience is basically the only option if you want a realistic looking map.

>>52902153
>So they just kill everyone then go on, without ever adding to their horde? That may be just a bit too much of a stretch for me.
No, they don't set out to commit genocide. They just take whatever they want or need and leave the survivors to make do. They're an exceptionally virile species and while they aren't above taking slaves, they don't really need to fill out their ranks.

>So they're completely self-sufficient? Like some sort of space mystic hermits in big fuck-off mechas? I can dig that, but I bet they're more active and cohesive in your setting.
Well, they do have to change their water every so often and can still get sick, and their walkers can break down.

In general they prefer to live mostly independently in small, loose communities. The entire community is devoted to studying a specific thing. A settlement of 100 may exist solely to studying hot spring bacteria on one island of some backwater planet, for example. They grow larger as they learn more, but the standard suit is ~7'; they just fill it up more and more. The limbs are modular and can be changed for different purposes.

Other races view them as reclusive, single-minded and eccentric. They mostly consider others annoying, shortsighted and careless.

>>52898736

Photoshop and a tutorial is not that bad. Alternatively random generate maps with no fog of war for Civilization and use them.

gmworldmap.com/ Just googled this. Far as I can tell it generates an endless world of continents and islands. Scroll to where you like continents and islands, crop out.

Fairly fresh to world building, and I'm trying to put something together for a D&D game- I had originally planned on building it as we went. My problem is that I feel like I'm not getting anywherw. Are there any guides on that type work?

>>52886639
>Tell me anything about your fantasy mega-cities.
It's hardly a "mega city" but with an estimated population of 21,000 it's not small either.

the city was founded over a huge iron deposit, big, like within the city walls there are five active mine shafts and in the many generations that the city has stood not one has ran dry.

Water is drawn into the city from three aqueducts, their sources are also established cities under the rule of the same royal family and ensure that the springs which feed the aqueducts are not tampered with.

Food for the 21,000 residents is grown within the city walls in "the great Conservatory" a marvel of architecture and hydroponics, this multi-story greenhouse looks like a termite mound made of stone and glass.

these reasons alone mean that in theory, during a siege the city could expect to hold-out indefinitely.

The city also boasts an impressive library containing books the royal family has collected throughout their reign, and guttenburg-style printing presses in the library basement ensure that multiple copies are available both in the library as well as disseminated throughout the kingdom.

As this is meant to be a medieval period sewers as we know them are not a thing, but the city's main avenues and streets are lined with shallow channels covered over with iron grates, these channels draw waste and refuse out of the city and into the city's moat. still quite sophisticated for it's period.

just about all the city's densely-packed town houses and tenement halls press against the sides of the streets while the solar of the town houses extend out over the streets. these buildings are all constructed from heavy ashlar stone frames and the walls are made with coursed rubble and mortar, all capped by steep, terracotta gable roofs. many have fruit-bearing vines covering their sides.

I don't have a picture to quite capture the city's image.

Thoughts?

>>52898605
>Well, your planets should have more things to do in them, that's for sure

Some planets are straight up just ruins for dungeons. Others are totally primal things like Lost World or very primitive. The least numerous are the planets with spelljamming civilization on them, and they're very seperated from one another physically, except a few surrounding an evil star that compels them to fight each other, and a secluded pocket beyond a massive nebula storm.

>>52904562
There's some resources linked at the top of the thread, other than that discussion can often help. When you say that you feel like you're not getting anywhere, how do you mean? Have you had a few sessions, has much / any of the world been fleshed out yet? If so, what have you established?

File: cummap + 6000000 hours in paint.jpg (741KB, 5080x1964px) Image search: [Google]

741KB, 5080x1964px

>>52880659
kek I tried doing something with it it, wish I had photoshop and a tablet to work better.
I drew those outlines on the right so people can use it for reference with the arctic and tropical lines.

Does any mega nerd here know what types of architecture inspired Tolkien elf architecture? Trying to find the original source.

>>52905939
Do you mean the art used in the preproduction for the Peter Jackson movies?

>>52904605
Not mega enough!

>>52906636
That'll work, thanks!

>>52908384
it's as close as the setting gets.

How would you go about creating a better Underark, /wbg/? I'm currently working on an Underark replacement with a more realized ecology and different little underground colonies. A Sword and Sorcery Metro 2033, basically.

>>52894085
>>52894104
Very good work.

File: 1493153778621.jpg (4MB, 3488x5380px) Image search: [Google]

4MB, 3488x5380px

>>52911809

>>52912547
So, albino Tucker's Kobolds with crude, obnoxiously loud and powerful rifles? Also, probably pitbull sized salamanders for cattle and mounts.

>>52911809
Make it weird. If the players feel like they've stumbled into Cthulu in Wonderland, you're doing it right. Underground seas, Myconid forests, reality warping drugs, caves where gravity doesn't work right, etc.

>>52839615
Fun evolution facts to inspire you:

Life probably originated thanks to pyrite formation around hydrothermal vents.

There's a bunch of big impression fossils from before the Cambrian, known as the Ediacaran Fauna. They only left impression fossils and don't seem to have any descendants. To this day we have no idea if they're early animals, fungi, lichens, or what.

Just about every modern animal phylum showed up in the Cambrian Explosion. Rotifers and a couple other microscopic animals are the only other phyla from any time sooner.

When vascular plants first evolved in the Carboniferous, Oxygen shot up to 30-35%. Combined with the fact that nothing could digest lignin yet, there were basically several million years of constant forest fires until lignin became digestible and the number of plants and the oxygen percentage stabilized.

The flat face of humans may actually be a more ancestral trait than the sloped brow of Neanderthals, if the fossils of Homo antecessor are any indication.

Neanderthal DNA in European heritage is linked with mood disorders, depression, and tobacco use.

Alright /wbg/, what traits would you associate with a race of beings whose evolution was affected by magic from the Plane of Order?

Hardmode: no fascists

>>52913377
What gene is responsible for making you want to have a fag?

>>52913537
I'd read up on Legalism, I'd bet they would be naturally inclined towards this.

>>52913565
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6274/737

>>52913565
Presumably the one that sends pleasure chemicals to the brain when you smoke

>>52913570
Of course--but what about physical traits? Would a predisposition to conformity produce beautiful beings of symmetrical-faced grace, or uniformly plain, ugly ones? Strong to serve the community, or weak, drawing strength only in numbers?

>>52839615
My setting is based entirely around colonization efforts from 3 major civilizations within the setting; A majority human nation ruled by a xenophobic theocracy, the elvish kingdoms neighboring the unclaimed lands, and the mixed race southern kingdoms in the midst of a magic/industrial revolution of sorts.

The Natives are the Yuan-ti and their enslaved kobolds, and they are HIGHLY aggressive towards outsiders. The kobolds see the other races as liberators of sorts.

As for reasons, the northern theocracy and the elves both see it as their rightful clay, and the southern industrious people more or less just wanna make a buck and expand their industries (for the most part. The Warforged cult that operates here has its own agenda).)

>>52913651
To expand a bit more, the elves have the most legitimate claim to the land as it used to be theirs back in antiquity, and the humans are kinda being real dicks about it. They claim it as their holy land and the birth place of their god (which is what fucked over the elves who used to live there in the first place).

The land itself for millennia was sealed behind an impenetrable magic barrier or shield, which disappeared almost overnight one day around 50 years before the campaign takes place, setting off a mad rush to colonize it.

There are a LOT more intricacies and shit but I'm not gonna bore everyone with the details.

>>52913537
I could imagine their government being a complete beurocratic nightmare with miles and miles of red tape to do the simplest shit. That one race from the Marathon games comes to mind (there's like a piece of fluff in the game about the some guy trying to build a bridge and having to go through person after person to get approval for approval for pre approval on the design. Shit like that.)

>>52913616
>Of course--but what about physical traits?
their physical forms probably will vary wildly to more optimally perform their given job.

>>52913991
Perhaps a strict caste system reflected in genetics--maybe a eugenics program to enforce this?

Thanks anon that sounds like a comfy idea

Just need to create a base of physical traits for them, then

File: 1446660954849.png (91KB, 408x327px) Image search: [Google]

91KB, 408x327px

I'm working on a setting for Ops & Tactics' fantasy splatbook, and I'm trying to keep the evolution of the settings' races as non-magical as possible. The humanoid races mostly follow the "out of Africa" history, but I've hit a wall with the reptilian races (dragonbreed, kobolds, and sslythen/snakemen). What sort of conditions could plausibly allow sapient, bipedal reptiles and their abilities to arise? I've explained away the dragonbreed breath weapon as chemical-spewing glands (similar to that of the rinkhals spitting cobra), but beyond that I have nothing.

>>52914590
The same way a shitty monkey turned into us. Could say their progenitor race was some kind of lizard with strong hind legs well suited for sprinting, environmental shifts or their main prey dying off caused them to have to shift tactics, and pressures favored those more suited to bipedal locomotion (prey that lives in low trees, fruit, etc.). This of course frees up their front legs, brains grow due to high protein diet, evolution favors those skilled at tool use due to easier access to food, lack of competition due to large distance between evolving humans and them, and the rest is history.

>>52914590
>>52914987
Of course, that'll work for one race, but not all due to competition. You'd need to figure out a way one race didn't kill off the others like we did the Neanderthals.

Maybe give them one common ancestor and due to the environment their development diverged at some point.

For instance, some members of bipedal progenitor race made their way to the mountains, food was all living in caves, so evolution favored smaller more lithe creatures, (kobolds), jungle could have favored snakes, plains or swamplands the Lizardfolk and so on.

Regardless, you'd want them to develop separate from the humans, like on a different continent. Less hand wavy that way.

>>52914987
>>52915062
That might do. I'm not exactly an evolutionary anthropologist, so I was at a loss. On the plus side, the splatbook's notes provide info about the races' diets and ages of majority, so I can make decent estimates of how their population would grow.

Also, since Ops & Tactics is made to be THE gun game, I'm also working on plausible origins for the settings' numerous firearms. Based on a weird logical train of thought, the dwarves invented the AK rifle pattern, and exported the design from there.
>Cave dwarves need subsonic cartridges for the sake of safety in acoustically complex, echo-y caves
>Game's main subsonic cartridge is 9x39mm, a Soviet cartridge
>9x39mm weapons like the AS Val assault rifle are based on the AK pattern
>So surface-dwelling "hill dwarves" invented a basic assault rifle pattern for themselves and corresponding subsonic cartridges and suppressed weapons for their subterranean comrades
Does that make sense?

>>52913744
Sounds pretty good so far anon.

>>52913537
I'd go the opposite of the other anon. Have them be incredibly efficient problem solvers. Purely, mathematically, efficient.

However, I did do the bureaucracy route for one lame race of daemons. They were theoretically capable of unlimited power, but they had to draft their magic into laws with restrictions and contracts and prerequisites first in order to comprehend it. They effectively had to write their own rules.

Does anyone have advice on the logistics of a prison colony? Assuming no magic, what might the ratio of overseers to prisoners would be required? In my world there's a plague that causes people to go mad and sometimes mutate, kinda like Bloodborne. One country ships them across the ocean to harvest resources and build an infastructure so that regular people might move there eventually.

>>52919348
I think that plan has other logistical problems, such as trying to use a bunch of insane plague carriers to build a national infrastructure. Even if they somehow DID manage such a thing, wouldn't the regular people just move in and contract the plague that has been spread, before their arrival, to every corner of the area they are expected to inhabit?

>>52919458
You're right. It'd make more since for it to just be a mining colony. The disease itself I want to be something that you can avoid catching with precaution, plague might not be the right word. The overseers and PCs would be able to protect themselves from it with the right clothing or equipment.

>>52864146
As a Chicagofag both of those are definitely viable. It's a five hour drive between Chicago/Detroit.

But saying Chicago is both at the same time works very well, with the stark difference between the Loop and the North Side, and the industrial and often brutal South and West Sides.

>>52904605
That's not mega at all
Just look at Constantinople
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_urban_community_sizes#Middle_Ages
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_European_cities_in_history

>Are there colonies in your setting?
Every human settlement was originally as colony from the first landing of humans from outer space.
Subsequent colonies of the current era have been organised by adventurers, nobles and merchant companies hoping to exploit and control parts of the wilderness of the southern lands.

>Who or what races colonize the most?
Humans and humanoid monsters(in a chaotic method) have done the most colonising.

>How do they handle natives?
Depends on the type of natives, dwarves were paid off to allow trading posts on the coastline of their mountain redoubts, haflings were absorbed by human settlements and used as cooks and cleaners, Orc tribes have been eradicated as far inland as possible.

Elf lands that have been invaded by the evil empire have been mercilessly treated, dead elves are ground down into magic ointments and talismans, the magical shrines they protected have been drained to provide magical energies for the empires war machines.

>what do they build first
Religious settlements build fortified monistaries, adventurer settlements build wooden forts and merchant settlements build trading posts and Inns for travellors.

File: Goh-Zhu-Song Worldmap.png (6MB, 3830x3014px) Image search: [Google]

6MB, 3830x3014px

We still posting maps? Judge me.

I have a pretty bad WoW syndrome. Essentially all the biomes, kingdoms, etc being split up into neat little segments. Anyone have some advice making everything feel more organic and less blocked out? Mountain/river placement, etc.

Also my sense of scale is fucked. I left the little placeholder settlement markers in to show it a little better. Where you'd probably only be able to get to the ones closest together in the same day. Or is that leaning on too big?

>>52923098
I dont see biomes???

File: nowwithterriblecolors.png (5MB, 3830x3014px) Image search: [Google]

5MB, 3830x3014px

>>52923327
That's because I forgot to turn that layer on when I saved it
Obviously it's not even close to done. Considering I marked one forest and river. And the super generalized, hopefully self explanatory, color coordinated geography.

Either way what I have already isn't that important, I just meant to post the shape and scale of what I've got so far. I was more wondering if someone has a guide or something to that sort of thing.

>>52923098
I like this quite a bit. Interesting land shape. Is the diamond ocean shape a hint at a non-standard earth shape?

File: anmfv1-1-6scale_001.jpg (61KB, 529x398px) Image search: [Google]

61KB, 529x398px

>>52924267
Kind of.

Although it's safe to assume it's not perfectly to scale. It shouldn't necessarily be that easy for someone to sail off the edge of the world.

>>52924530
Fair enough. But the odd shape is always gonna draw attention, so just be aware of that.

Speaking of alternate earth shapes, I've been thinking: would there be any logical way that a planet's equator could be located closer to one of the poles? So, say, the North pole had an inhabited landmass that was generally tropical, a broad swath of sea around it is near boiling, and the lands beyond get cooler as you go south until it's just a vast, freezing expanse?

>>52924590
The planet would just be sideways, like Uranus.

;^3

>>52924574
Good point. Maybe I'll leave that out. I just wanted to illustrate the whole "built from a heavily decayed giant corpse". It is distracting though, yeah.

>>5292459
Intelligent design. Answer to everything.
>But why would it be tropical so close to-
>gods did it

File: uranus_orbit.jpg (19KB, 432x234px) Image search: [Google]

19KB, 432x234px

>>52924600
I know Uranus rotates on it's side, but I was of the impression that it wasn't in a way that would produce that effect

>>52924652
Maybe it's tidally locked too.

>>52924701
Tidal locking! That's the mechanic I was looking for and unclear on the workings of! That should work quite well :D

>>52905747
Noice. Especially the Steppes, I had a similar idea.
Since you put in the effort I'll clean up the outline and maybe add more details.
The ??? was an error I was too lazy to fix. It's very annoying aligning a cum crusted napkin a small tablet.

Tell me about your cosmology.

>>52925786
Serving as a metaphysical backdrop of reality is the astral sea. Interacting most directly with it is the Positive Energy Plane, which siphons raw energy from reality itself. This energy, in turn, is channeled through the elemental planes, and where those energies collide, a Prime Material Plane exists. Any given prime material may vary wildly from the next, but the common factor is that, over a span of eons, the prime material becomes too glutted with energy. The bubble "pops", so to speak, and that prime material is shattered and begins to be reabsorbed back into the astral sea. Consciousness and force of will seem to be enough to hold chunks of reality together within the astral foam though, and lost adrift are relics from realities long passed and forgotten. Pocket realities wage wars of conquest on other pocket realities, and the vast empires of heaven and hell are massive extraplanar armies that largely define the nature of reality in their controlled regions.

To anyone in a given prime material plane, the world they will inhabit will typically be orbiting a star and possessing (or being) a moon. Other planets are likely within the system, and possibly other solar phenomena. Should they look up at the night sky, there will be other stars with other worlds.

>>52925786
All of Creation is composed of five elements, Fire,Earth, Water, Air, and Ether. The planetary systems and those within are those elements divided and organized. Each system is contained in crystal spheres, which divide them from the turbulent elemental place known by names as Astral, Chaos, and Void. Whether these are natural divisions or the works of gods one cannot say, as the gods cannot answer for their corpses float in the Void, picked apart by godeaters or made shrines by pilgrims.

>>52926414
>Elements
>Astral, Chaos, Void
AHHHHH THE CREATIVITY IT BURNS

File: kyoung-hwan-kim-catom.jpg (60KB, 600x823px) Image search: [Google]

60KB, 600x823px

is there a good guide to populating a setting with different races/species?
i always get stuck thinking about what to include in my setting.
also does anyone have advice on how to make one race more meaningfully strong than a +1 to str checks or whatever. like how do you greatly imbalance things without making it so that a certain class can only really be a certain race?

>>52926525
Are you mocking or being sincere?

In any case I never claimed it was original. It's directly inspired by Spelljammer and Kill Six Billion Demons, and their inspirations.

>>52926721
Mocking my dude

>>52925786
There is no objective reality -- the whole world is a churning sea of thought and memory called "soul". It is retroactively constructed by a future God-machine, who felt its way from its nonexistence in a potential future to build the world out of its own unreal memories, thereby ensuring its own creation and allowing it to do all the above.

Much of the world's constructions are the remnants of another reality's failed attempts at singularity. The catacombs below the earth do not obey the above-world's laws of space -- this is because they were built in another reality, by beings who catalogued the world with such precision that they found objective reality. This broke the world, and their reality collapsed into a new one, which rationalised itself by burying their engineering deep below the earth.

The catalogue was rationalised as the God-machine's memories. It is so precise that to change it is to change reality. There is an endless space of filing cabinets below the catacombs. Well, that is how mortals usually see it.

The stars are the horrifying product of true ascension. By transcending the world they cut out their mortality, twisting them into perfect beings who must feed off humanity at its peak -- heroism, villainy, turmoil and tragedy. Their transcendence was of such power that they became fundamental to the universe, so they retroactively became eternal.

The primal gods are pillars of isolated mortality. One god is the god of hunger, another of cold detachment. They do not change, they do not technically move; the whole world moves around them, although it may appear otherwise. They are the discarded cuttings of the stars, and as such are equally eternal.

>>52926691
I mean, if you're going to give a race 20str from the jump everyone who wants to play barb is going to pick that one.

Give them like, expertise in strength checks, on top of a racial +2, carrying cap of a creature one size larger, and maybe change their cap for str to 22?

Sounds fairly OP to me, if you have a decently high strength you'll basically never fail a check and you can slightly break the game by having a stat above 20 without needing any sort of magical items, or to be a level 20 barb.

Maybe even go as far as to say like, they have a fixed strength of at least 15, and if you dont roll any stats higher than 15 you can turn your highest roll into a 15 as long as you put it into strength?

>>52844935
>not sure whats going on in the north there, its basically blank for a reason

Bethesda had this same philosophy in mind for their last three TES games

>>52877070
Lamellar or brigandine, with lots of insulating clothing. Partial plate is good too.

How urbanized is you world?

>>52932198
*Your

>>52928999
I like it, sounds cool. You going for a fantasy-type genre?

>>52932525
Thanks. It goes through lots of history, so it starts firmly bronze-age fantasy (like Glorantha) but ends up post-apocalyptic science fantasy. And there's a lot of genre shift on the way.

Genre shouldn't be something you consider desu. It should be something other people apply to your world, rather than something you limit your world with.

>>52932631
>Genre shouldn't be something you consider desu. It should be something other people apply to your world, rather than something you limit your world with.

I would actually disagree with this, I think it's important to know what sort of genre of game you intend to run and reflect that in your world design. If I was gearing up for a vehicle-heavy fantasy game, like some sort of Pathfinder Mad Max, I would design the world very differently than if I was building for what amounted to a fantasy version of a 1970's Jackie Chan movie.

>>52934957
I sort of agree. You should build a world which does Mad Max or Jackie Chan in the way you want to do it. You shouldn't be guiding your world based on the conventions of a genre, you should only be guided by what you think works well and what you think doesn't work well for your chosen aim.

For example, the core of "Mad Max" doesn't depend on post-apocalypse at all. You could do the same sort of thing in certain parts of 80s Africa, and that might be closer to what YOU want to do.

>>52934957
Exactly! In fact, the "Mad Max" game I was prepping for at one point wasn't post-apoc at all, it was just disparate city-states and assorted warring tribes, different cultures had just developed different magic traditions that frequently were able to be worked into vehicles.

I still like the Gnoll Necrocycles I made for that. They ran off meat.

bumpo

double bump

Is there anything that a modern town should probably have that you guys think are often overlooked?

>>52939800
Waste disposal.

Basics of the setting I'm working on:

>set inside a giant, hollow sphere made of rock and earth
>gravity always points away from the center
>light comes from a large number of miniature suns, most of which orbit the center of the sphere
>each sun lights an area roughly equal to the size of a small country, depending on its elevation
>some suns orbit around giant stone monoliths embedded into the ground
>the interior of the sphere is magically heated
>lit areas are filled with plants that grow and die quickly
>dark regions are filled with forests of faintly glowing blue fungi

>in this setting, most humans are nomadic, and fairly low-tech, following wandering stars, with a handful monoliths controlled by considerably more advanced human empires.

>most monoliths are controlled by nature-loving races (elves, dryads, etc.), who have turned the areas around them into massive, overgrown forests

>there's also a mutant breed of humans that have adapted to the dark, and are blinded by the sun. Most of them live far away from the other races, and not much is known about them

>Dwarves inhabit a vast network of tunnels beneath the ground, and are often the only way to secure passage between lit regions

>Halflings are an offshoot of dwarves, and resemble human, half-elven or elven children, depending on the breed. They are extremely susceptible to suggestion, and are often used by the dwarves as their eyes and ears on the surface, often without the halflings' knowledge

What needs improving/changing?

>>52942567
you'd be surprised how much can come from how a city disposes of it's waste.

I was reading about how in 14th century England Sewers weren't a thing, Monasteries had a kind of proto-sewer but outside of that there were just ditches and gutters that drew waste out of the city and people would just dispose of their own waste and refuse into whatever body of water happened to be nearby.

At the time I thought about how most Dwarf settlements tend to be underground so for them disposing of waste and sewage must pose a particular problem and thought how easy it would be to say that one such Dwarf city might just dump all their waste and sewage into just this "bottomless pit" just outside the city, except it's not really bottomless and at the bottom of this underground chasm might just happen to be a Drow city. Now you have a bunch of pissed-off Drow that want to lay waste to this Dwarf city because they are sick and tired of these Dwarfs quite literally dumping their shit on top of them.

How do you guys stay motivated to worldbuild WITHOUT forcing yourself to do it?

Seems to be my biggest hangup right now.

>>52943789
I'm not really dedicated to having something done. Instead of actively working hard to come up with everything for my setting, I just mark things down as they come to me. It should be fun to have a sudden strike of inspiration and lose yourself writing notes for two hours. Otherwise you're probably doing something wrong.

>>52943861
It is, and I do get those strikes.

Two, maybe three times total. And then never again, until I start over from scratch months later. Nothing coherent beyond a broad concept. I lose the thread.

>>52943789
I'm between jobs, so I have the wonderfully dangerous freedom to completely lose myself to worldbuilding. I've barely been in the real world at all for the last few weeks.

>>52943789
I do it for the hope of one day inflicting it on the unsuspecting population.

>>52943789
Why do you masturbate? It's just fun. There's no great goal to it; it is the goal.

If you don't enjoy it, you don't enjoy it.

Oh gosh I was hoping this was an actual general on /tg/ and I hadn't just imagined it. I started working on a fantasy setting purely on a whim one day, not even for anything /tg/ related, just for my own amusement. I was seriously hoping to get some ideas from here for it.

Unfortunately the biggest issue right now is it all feels a bit too simple, a bit too idyllic. Due to the creation mythos everyone gets along a bit too well even in the fucked up circumstances they exist in. A shame its almost 6am and I'm hardly in a state to get started here on it.

>>52946040
Post a summary when you've collected your thoughts and I'll see what I can say about it

>>52946040
>Due to the creation mythos everyone gets along a bit too well even in the fucked up circumstances they exist in.
Then change it you dongle.

>>52945198
>it's just fun
Maybe to you.

>>52947026
That's who he was asking nigger

Need some quick suggestions.

I am building a world, where the characters are part of a larger colony adventuring into unknown lands to settle.

The idea is that they'll meet a lot of creepy as fuck creatures straight out of cthulhu mythos.

The intention is to keep social interactions to the settlers, and have the "natives" be almost impossible to communicate with.

The settlers are all humans, from a human only world. I keep thinking I should include some fey-like creatures that are non-hostile to the settlers, or at least be reasoned with.

Yes/no, and how easy should they be to approach, and how human like should they be? If I'd prefer being only vaguely humanoid, even if at least 2 of the players will likely try to fuck them regardless. There will be language barriers at first, no matter what.

>>52947049
I'm the person he replied to in the first place.

File: Arthur Rackham, The Frog Prince.jpg (179KB, 800x1173px) Image search: [Google]

179KB, 800x1173px

>>52946040
>a bit too idyllic
Why don't you just go with it? It would be cool to have something more light hearted for a change

>>52943760
>dwarves happily dumping feces thousands of miles down into the earth where it eviscerates anyone caught under it from the sheer speed and size of dwarven shit logs
>3% of all drow civillian deaths are from falling shit
>there are areas cordoned off because the correspond with crude sewer systems or popular dumping spots and shit comes down almost constantly
>a nearly deafening whud can be heard from within 15 or so feet of the barrier to the shitstorm zones, the drow mages also constantly conjuring fireballs and other destructive magic to dispose of the waste
>some of them without fail try to mage hand/telekinesis throw the shit back to the dwarves, but its impossible

the best setting

>>52947144
For some reason I imagine pale humans with tikki masks for heads. Make them act like those motherfucking tree spirits from Princess Mononoke.

>>52946109

The 2 chief deities are the Sun and the Moon. The Sun is the goddess who spreads light across the land to give strength to its creatures and people to survive the night, and the Moon is the god who holds the night upon his back to prevent it from crashing down on the world. The two gods were husband and wife who, upon seeing the suffering spread by the Long Dark (basically space), cast themselves up into the sky to keep it at bay. Now they eternally cycle through the heavens, both doing their part to protect the mortal people.

The Long Dark is the source of horrible creatures called Pales, who seemingly spawn from the shadows during the night, and relentlessly attack anything they find. They're sickly looking, misshapen things whose forms can warp and change constantly, armed with long needle-like teeth and razor sharp claws. The only real defense from these monsters are the Ward Magisters, an order of mages who developed a form of magical field that prevents Pales from spawning in its area of effect entirely. Ages ago one such mage lead a great expedition to spread this strength to the other nations of the world, building Towers that emitted this field over massive distances, finally creating truly safe havens.

File: Mapswereamistake.jpg (932KB, 2960x3472px) Image search: [Google]

932KB, 2960x3472px

>>52950730

The present state of the setting have its people living in this state of relative peace for over a millennia. While significant distance and danger separates them, daylight and proper defense still allows for trade and travel between them. The use of magic is relatively commonplace, and technology has advanced in several ways as a result of its use (especially in terms of metalworking, as metal is one of the primary elements magic is capable of manipulating). Its regularly used for transportation, construction, and even simple utilities such as cooking and heating.

On my baby's first horrible, horrible MSPaint map I've got a general vague basis for the layout of things. Haven't figured out the exact scale of things and nothing's exactly finalized, but what can I say for a few hours work just randomly doodling it as things come to mind. One thing not included is a section further north I need to add on, where a meteor crashed into one of the Kingdom's Towers, obliterating both of them in the end, and creating something of a hazardous wasteland full of various nasty things that often encroach on the rest of the land.

File: sai_2017-04-28_14-42-46.png (661KB, 828x612px) Image search: [Google]

661KB, 828x612px

Swampy jungles and ugly slavers across the devils bridge

just close enough to utopia for the nobles to look at with pity, which is oddly enough, a pity.

File: sai_2017-04-28_15-06-01.png (196KB, 646x587px) Image search: [Google]

196KB, 646x587px

>>52951819
fuck that landmass, we badass shrouding mountian cliff thing now

gotta do shit in private

ill stop until someone says I should start again so I dont spam

bunt

Anyone know of a system similar to Diaspora's system generation where you roll (either solo or in a group) to create the world your characters will live in?

Diaspora's uses Technology/Environment/Resources as the primary attributes, but think it'd be interesting making something similar for other setting types.

Who here is having oodles of fun worldbuilding? I'm so happy with how things are beginning to shape, even if it's pretty crap right now.

What the fuck do normal people eat during the Middle Ages?
Are there any places where I can read about this?

>>52955371

I'm 90% sure you could google it pretty easily.

I want to create a science fantasy setting, but run into a problem. Whole galaxies I find too big, Planetary systems too small. Is there a middle ground?

>>52956580
Spelljammer?

>>52956580
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_cluster

>>52914590
What >>52914987 anon said.

I'm working on a setting as well for Ops, and I used different planets to divide them.

I've been strangely entranced by Siberia's coastline these days. I want to make a setting that uses that shape, but I keep feeling like a fraud for wanting to copy the shape directly.

File: newmap shaders.jpg (5MB, 3300x2550px) Image search: [Google]

5MB, 3300x2550px

New map colors and shades.

What's a good alternative to "Pope" besides "Patriarch"?

>>52959680
Holy Father?

>>52959777
>777
Well. I guess that settles that.

DEUS VULT

>>52943723

You mentioned half-elves, where do they fit in to all of this?

>>52959680
Pontiff that is basically more obscure way to say "Pope".

File: MAGA tits.jpg (102KB, 1024x838px) Image search: [Google]

102KB, 1024x838px

>>52959777
praise kek

File: 1475353402052.jpg (354KB, 1280x1705px) Image search: [Google]

354KB, 1280x1705px

>>52961817
Feels more like a synonym to me. I'll sleep on it.

In the meantime, a strawpoll!

https://strawpoll.com/bc9yzy9

>>52955371
The staple food of European peasants through the 9th to 17th centuries was pottage - a thick soup of pretty much anything they could acquire, usually including vegetables like onions, turnips, cabbage, green peas and fava beans, and boiled for at least for a few hours, as raw vegetables were considered to be unhealthy. Some of the pottage was left uneaten, and cooked the next day along with a new batch of ingredients. Common herbs like parsley and mustard were used for flavoring. Meat and fish could also occasionally be added - the occasional slaughtered pig or chicken, but never game, for example. Verjuice, which is an acidic concentrate of juice pressed from sour fruit, could also be used to flavor pottage and otherwise as a condiment.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pottage

Rye, oats and barley were the most important grains of the commoners, and could be added to the pottage, baked into bread, or turned into porridge. Pasta and noodles were also consumed at least in Italy and the Arab world. Commoners drank second pressing wine daily in the Mediterranean, and beer or ale further north where grapes weren't cultivated, while the rich preferred to drink first pressing wine all over Europe.

If you're going for full not!Europe, remember that there are no potatoes, tomatoes, kidney beans, coffee or tea, and that sugar was seen as a spice and was very expensive.

>>52962791
Off topic, but modern pottage is damn tasty

>>52962463
>all those snowflakes choosing grey
You're not special, you just lack taste.

>>52962463
>10 /wbg/-anons
Kek'd. I guess that's all.
>>52964532
I'm sorry I can't taste anything in the total blandness of green. I wish I haven't seen them every-fucking-where. It's gotten so bad that even Tolkien's orks surprised me when I re-read some shit - they're kind of a far cry from the vaguely neandertalian migrating hunter-gatherer d&d orcs.

>>52965102
Go on r/worldbuilding. It'll cure any good will you might have towards those who want to be different for the sake of being different.

Your actual answer is:
I T D E P E N D S
Green and grey have wildly different connotations/effects. For example, green orcs in the jungle are different to grey orcs in metal caverns. You'll have to choose based on your world, not the spasms of ten guys on a Millenarian ditch-digging palaver.

>>52965133
I, uh, did not start that poll.
The setting I'm making doesn't even have orcs.
I am, apparently, le ebil millenial libtarded shitter who shuns the perfectly good canonical tropes any good worldbuilder should use.

>>52965245
>he doesn't even know who the Millenarians are
pleb t b h

Shunning tropes is exactly the sort of shit you should never do. It's like you think you're avoiding what you -imagine- all those hackneyed plebs shit out, but you're not -- all those hackneyed plebs are """"subverting"""" or avoiding those tropes, because they think skin-deep uniqueness is a good substitute for creativity.

>>52965282
Sure, sure. Variable orcs are must, I get you, anon-sama. I just should not make them Tolkienesque. That's poor form.
What are the other things that are mandatory? Please advice.

>>52965369
Basic literacy is pretty mandatory -- not just for worldbuilding, but also in every-day life.

>>52965409
Uh-huh. Noted. What else?

>>52965424
Being a huge faggot is usually frowned upon.

File: asdfasdf.png (165KB, 1212x866px) Image search: [Google]

165KB, 1212x866px

>>52929778
ayyyy

its coming along though, there's always been a plan in place here. Kind of going for a high rift valley in between mountain ranges

>>52965452
Yeah, that makes sense. Is there more?

>>52965490
I think that's enough to get you started.

>>52965512
So, to sum up:
1) Your setting must have orcs.
2) You must have basic literacy.
3) Being a huge faggot is a no-no.
Did I get it right?

>>52965553
No sorry. You should do the second one first, although maybe the third is what's holding you back.

>>52965581
Oh, so there's a specific order to these rules? I didn't know, it was nice of you to clarify that. So it should go like that, then:
1) You must have basic literacy.
2) Your setting must have orcs.
3) Being a huge faggor is a no-no.
Is that right?

Holy fuck would you shut up or start talking about worldbuilding holy shit

Why do these threads always turn into autism competitions

>>52965660
Dunno, it seems to be that it's more useful to create a thread with a specific question, rather than asking here. But it's a good map-making thread.

>>52965660
>worldbuilding
>not autism incarnate
Though they should just shut up and work on the exact number of funeral rites of their settings.

>>52965636
Whether or not you use orcs should be independent of whatever smug delusions you have about whatever anyone else is doing.

>>52965982
I'm sorry, that's not an option. If I won't use the orcs, I'll become like those people on r/worldbuilding, and that's a terrible fate.

>>52966167
Not that anon but you should probably let go of your butthurt now

then again it's past bump limit so go crazy I guess.

>>52966167
Man you can choose to make a shitty world with no depth and no interest if you want. It's still gonna be shitty, it's still going to be shallow, and whether or not you think that is kinda irrelevant.

>>52966217
Well, I asked that anon what rules should I follow to make a good world, and doublechecked them with him, and, apparently, orcs are mandatory. He didn't object to that point.
Or is he wrong?

>>52966271
I AM that anon, and you are very butthurt. Was subverting Tolkien the whole basis of your world? Then today's exchange may have served a little to right your course.

File: 1493242906840.jpg (248KB, 1021x1457px) Image search: [Google]

248KB, 1021x1457px

Are the succubi in your settings thicc?

>>52966407
It's not based on christian mythology, so there are none.

>>52966407
No! They are lithe and athletic, because they are dancers. And they are cute!

Think bangles and silk and knives. They really want to drink your fluids.
>>52966468
Mine are based on Hindu/medieval Indian Buddhist mythology, get on my level.

>>52966481
Tell us more about buddhist succubi.

>>52966481
>my setting isn't based on x
>my setting is based on y, get on my level!
This thread is getting retarded.

>>52966501
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakini
In combination with other shit like Asrapa
>>52966555
My point's that you can have succubi without drawing everything from Christian mythology. Anyway, I just mean my succubi are based on this, not my whole setting.

>>52966580
If by succubus you mean "female sexy demon", then yes.

>>52966804
Female sexy demon who sexes with people to do bad things.

>>52966818
I think the impregnation part in your dreams is the important thing about succubi/incubi.