Joseph I
Acolyte
Still working on mine, post yours.
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Describe your favorite world that YOU created.
- Thread starter Joseph I
- Start date
It's flat. It has three moons… one of which orbits randomly. (And if I meant "erratically," I would have said it.) Bits of a fourth moon still fall from the sky from time to time, and a fifth was turned into its sun accidentally, by some gods that weren't trying to achieve that specific result. Life was also an accident, though the gods considered it a somewhat more pleasant surprise. Well, most of them did. In fact, by and large, anything the gods try to meddle with ends up producing unexpected results of at best dubious desirability.
I'm afraid the rest of the backstory runs to 98k words and counting, so you're probably going to have to wait until it starts seeing print (if ever…) for anything resembling complete details. And yes, that is "backstory"—even that barely gets up to two thousand years before present, and is little more than summary as it is. (Actually, since it began as a RPG setting, it would require considerable revision before it could be made useful: in particular, it suffers from the standard RPG flaw of including vast numbers of species that couldn't possibly exist side-by-side for any length of time and sustain breeding populations without annihilating one another. But that's nothing that can't be overcome.)
I'm afraid the rest of the backstory runs to 98k words and counting, so you're probably going to have to wait until it starts seeing print (if ever…) for anything resembling complete details. And yes, that is "backstory"—even that barely gets up to two thousand years before present, and is little more than summary as it is. (Actually, since it began as a RPG setting, it would require considerable revision before it could be made useful: in particular, it suffers from the standard RPG flaw of including vast numbers of species that couldn't possibly exist side-by-side for any length of time and sustain breeding populations without annihilating one another. But that's nothing that can't be overcome.)
Ophiucha
Dark Lord
I have two, since I have two projects in the works right now.
One is a world inside the shell of a mollusk, where everything is dark and water encroaches always upon the lands. Elves, dragons, faery, and a fair few hybrids between the two (some of which were indeed made through such illicit means as crossbreeds may imply, as this is not a world with rigid scientific standing). Creatures are made of either earth, magic, or flesh. The dragons are earth, the faery are magic, and elves are flesh. Flesh is mortal, so are elves, and the hunt for immortality has motivated much of their history. Culturally, the elves are the only sentient enough to form a true culture, and theirs is of "absolute freedom" where anything is allowed as long as it does not remove freedom from others. Murder, for instance, is fine if the other person consents to it. Best to get that in writing, though.
The second world is also one of many waters - I guess it's kind of a thing for me. It's a world of one continent (and many, many small islands), a continent which wraps entirely around the world. There are many canals, but no natural rivers, and at the widest points there are vast deserts that would take a month to travel, and at the thinnest, jungles of creatures that could kill you before you walked an hour through them. Some areas are a bit more savannah-esque, but those are few and far between. The creatures are mostly Earthen, elephants and dogs and herons and jaguars, but they do draw a lot of influence from Egyptian and Meso-American mythology. There is a dog with innumerable hands, elephants the size of mountains, herons born of flame, and even a few sphinxes wandering the deserts asking riddles.
One is a world inside the shell of a mollusk, where everything is dark and water encroaches always upon the lands. Elves, dragons, faery, and a fair few hybrids between the two (some of which were indeed made through such illicit means as crossbreeds may imply, as this is not a world with rigid scientific standing). Creatures are made of either earth, magic, or flesh. The dragons are earth, the faery are magic, and elves are flesh. Flesh is mortal, so are elves, and the hunt for immortality has motivated much of their history. Culturally, the elves are the only sentient enough to form a true culture, and theirs is of "absolute freedom" where anything is allowed as long as it does not remove freedom from others. Murder, for instance, is fine if the other person consents to it. Best to get that in writing, though.
The second world is also one of many waters - I guess it's kind of a thing for me. It's a world of one continent (and many, many small islands), a continent which wraps entirely around the world. There are many canals, but no natural rivers, and at the widest points there are vast deserts that would take a month to travel, and at the thinnest, jungles of creatures that could kill you before you walked an hour through them. Some areas are a bit more savannah-esque, but those are few and far between. The creatures are mostly Earthen, elephants and dogs and herons and jaguars, but they do draw a lot of influence from Egyptian and Meso-American mythology. There is a dog with innumerable hands, elephants the size of mountains, herons born of flame, and even a few sphinxes wandering the deserts asking riddles.
Draconian
Apprentice
Well the one i'm currently working on has one continent with a desert that NOTHING lives in (well nothing alive anyway) forests filled with mental monsters, dire wolves, sniders (not spiders) and the rivers and lakes are home to sea serpents, and raptor sharks and a few other things.
sashamerideth
Scribal Lord
My favorite is a science fiction pre-story to my fantasy novel, it takes place on a space ship, population of 5000,I only slightly bend the laws of physics, nothing other than hibernation that we can't achieve today, so hard science fiction. I have had real fun doing the research for it.
My main world has been nearly destroyed in a magical war. The beasts chimaerological breeded for this war are still roaming the land. Making it near impossible to be inhabited by humans. Only in small enclaves humans managed to survive.
The war is over for a couple of years, mainly to the fact that no human powers are left to continue it.
There will be no big "Save The World" plots, because there is no single big enemy. Save your home town from one danger and the next three will come right along.
At the moment I am concentrating on one city. This city is claimed and guarded by a battle mage whose plot purpose is to establish an area of relative peace in a hostile environment. My focus is on the struggle of survival of the inhabitants. Made a lot easier by previously mentioned battle mage, butt still has it's dangers, larger then we commonly have them on earth.
The war is over for a couple of years, mainly to the fact that no human powers are left to continue it.
There will be no big "Save The World" plots, because there is no single big enemy. Save your home town from one danger and the next three will come right along.
At the moment I am concentrating on one city. This city is claimed and guarded by a battle mage whose plot purpose is to establish an area of relative peace in a hostile environment. My focus is on the struggle of survival of the inhabitants. Made a lot easier by previously mentioned battle mage, butt still has it's dangers, larger then we commonly have them on earth.
In the year 4020 AR, the city of Ordinem thrives under the glorious reign of the Nine Gods. These Nine Gods are powerful beings of unknown descent that do not wear, but appear to be glimmering crystalline sets of armour. Through their guidance, technological advancements occur daily, building Thaumic contraptions capable of wondrous feats.
Under this thoenomy, there are two groups of people, the seers and the workers. The seers are thusly named because of their ability to see, in an omnidirectional manner, thaumic activity. The workers are second-class-, or rather, non-citizens, who, by nature, love working, and want to serve the great seer nation, and by extension, the Nine Gods.
Unfortunately the world is much sourer than most seers believe. The glorious nation lead by benevolent Gods only truly exists in the propaganda spread by the priesthood's ministry of information. The workers live a subdued life of pain, with only day after day of gruelling labour to look forward to. The belief that technological innovations occur regularly is a fabrication, the technology is constantly held at a renaissance-like level, and anyone who resists this to try and further technology has to answer to the mysterious ministry of inquisition on claims of high heretical treason. The Nine Gods spend almost all of their time in the Glowing Palace, at the center of Ordinem, preparing for something.
Just a short summary of a significant phase of the world Denuos.
Under this thoenomy, there are two groups of people, the seers and the workers. The seers are thusly named because of their ability to see, in an omnidirectional manner, thaumic activity. The workers are second-class-, or rather, non-citizens, who, by nature, love working, and want to serve the great seer nation, and by extension, the Nine Gods.
Unfortunately the world is much sourer than most seers believe. The glorious nation lead by benevolent Gods only truly exists in the propaganda spread by the priesthood's ministry of information. The workers live a subdued life of pain, with only day after day of gruelling labour to look forward to. The belief that technological innovations occur regularly is a fabrication, the technology is constantly held at a renaissance-like level, and anyone who resists this to try and further technology has to answer to the mysterious ministry of inquisition on claims of high heretical treason. The Nine Gods spend almost all of their time in the Glowing Palace, at the center of Ordinem, preparing for something.
Just a short summary of a significant phase of the world Denuos.
Not really a world. It's a system that's built around the pulp era science fiction/fantasy. So one planet is very tropical, one is colder with tundra and mountains and the other two are binary orbiting each other. Still working out some things but have some short stories based there.
Tom
Istari
I don't really have a favorite. All my worlds are pretty cool in my eyes, and it's hard to pick the one I like best.
However, I really like my new one, which is flat, and revolves around a magical center called the Well of Light. The middle region of the world is desert, with a couple of small seas on its outskirts. To the north are cold, dark pine forests and mountains, and to the south are rocky badlands of canyons and scrub, and tundra even further south.
There are several races in this world. The two human ethnic groups, Donarri and Rythela, live mainly around one sea in the north of the desert. The elf-like, magic-sensitive Ilzaaren live in the northern forests, and the horned Gumir in the southern badlands. In the seas are Mereline, or merfolk, and in the cool, dark network of caverns under the desert are the Vumane, or lamias.
The Ilzaaren, Gumir, Mereline, and Vumane came into being when the Mage Council, now gone for nearly a thousand years, used magic to enhance human beings--to make them stronger, faster, more magic-sensitive, and more able to adapt to new environments. The magic went rogue, however, and turned the enhanced humans into the inhuman races they are today. This caused a great outcry among the people, and the Mage Council was forcibly dissolved. Use of magic on human beings was outlawed, and still is to this day.
However, I really like my new one, which is flat, and revolves around a magical center called the Well of Light. The middle region of the world is desert, with a couple of small seas on its outskirts. To the north are cold, dark pine forests and mountains, and to the south are rocky badlands of canyons and scrub, and tundra even further south.
There are several races in this world. The two human ethnic groups, Donarri and Rythela, live mainly around one sea in the north of the desert. The elf-like, magic-sensitive Ilzaaren live in the northern forests, and the horned Gumir in the southern badlands. In the seas are Mereline, or merfolk, and in the cool, dark network of caverns under the desert are the Vumane, or lamias.
The Ilzaaren, Gumir, Mereline, and Vumane came into being when the Mage Council, now gone for nearly a thousand years, used magic to enhance human beings--to make them stronger, faster, more magic-sensitive, and more able to adapt to new environments. The magic went rogue, however, and turned the enhanced humans into the inhuman races they are today. This caused a great outcry among the people, and the Mage Council was forcibly dissolved. Use of magic on human beings was outlawed, and still is to this day.
Heads up: Another necro'ed thread. Which is fine here, but we want people to know it's old.
Terry Greer
Mystagogue
A generation spacecraft made up of a number of o'neil habitat cylinders (Rama-like if you prefer) - in which the inhabitant's have forgotten that they're on a spaceccraft and treat it as the world having regressed to a ston eage tribal subsistance level (due to an accident in the remote past).
Story centers around one of the characters gradual awakening to the real nature of the world and the the peril that they are all in.
Oh yes - there are also intelligent rats.
Story centers around one of the characters gradual awakening to the real nature of the world and the the peril that they are all in.
Oh yes - there are also intelligent rats.
Gurkhal
Scribal Lord
I love all my worlds so I can't pick. 
Itzaya - wanted to do a ancient Near Eastern world but decided against it on the reason that I would need to write some colored people, due to an absence of white people, as pretty unsympathic and decided not to get dragged into that swamp.
Autumn Lands - essentially an Medieval world with a pretty heavy Norse-theme
"Roman Empire" - an idea to have the Western Roman Empire survive but being Germanized and feudalized, but still around into the High Middle Ages and possibly Late Middle Ages. Julian the Apostate would have been much more successful and so on with different historical changes.
Itzaya - wanted to do a ancient Near Eastern world but decided against it on the reason that I would need to write some colored people, due to an absence of white people, as pretty unsympathic and decided not to get dragged into that swamp.
Autumn Lands - essentially an Medieval world with a pretty heavy Norse-theme
"Roman Empire" - an idea to have the Western Roman Empire survive but being Germanized and feudalized, but still around into the High Middle Ages and possibly Late Middle Ages. Julian the Apostate would have been much more successful and so on with different historical changes.
Necro'd or not, here I go. Just call me Dead Thread Fred.
I have only created one world, Altearth. It is Earth whose history rolls along perfectly normally until the late 4thc, when instead of barbarians invading the Roman Empire, it's goblins. That threat is no sooner diverted than orcs come. There follows dwarves, elves, trolls, the whole kaboodle. With magic, of course.
What I wind up with is a world in which every fantastical story from the Middle Ages can be true, plus I get to make up more of my own (e.g., Richard the Lionheart was called that because he's a were-lion). Since I'm a medievalist by training, it's like having my own personal playground. Plus I've got explanations for the Scientific Revolution, where steampunk really came from, and a much better version of the Great War.
With two thousand years and a whole continent, I've got all the stories I could ever wish to have.
I have only created one world, Altearth. It is Earth whose history rolls along perfectly normally until the late 4thc, when instead of barbarians invading the Roman Empire, it's goblins. That threat is no sooner diverted than orcs come. There follows dwarves, elves, trolls, the whole kaboodle. With magic, of course.
What I wind up with is a world in which every fantastical story from the Middle Ages can be true, plus I get to make up more of my own (e.g., Richard the Lionheart was called that because he's a were-lion). Since I'm a medievalist by training, it's like having my own personal playground. Plus I've got explanations for the Scientific Revolution, where steampunk really came from, and a much better version of the Great War.
With two thousand years and a whole continent, I've got all the stories I could ever wish to have.
Brian Scott Allen
Dark Lord
I am having fun with a future Earth where non-magic people discover that magic is real, which came about because of a massive war.
But right now a favorite of mine is in its infant stages. I have only two things created, but I am excited about this world. First, the magic system. It's based off of common law principles. This is the most basic outline of it: Tort law says what you can do with your magic; property law delineates how much power you have; contract law makes all contracts compulsory and binding. The other thing I have created is a basic rundown of the legal system in that world and a few basic points of society. I love this world. I created is as an experiment to create a magic system based off of something that is ridiculous. And I can assure you, when I started this the magic system based on common law was ridiculous. But when it came into being I saw a lot of potential.
But right now a favorite of mine is in its infant stages. I have only two things created, but I am excited about this world. First, the magic system. It's based off of common law principles. This is the most basic outline of it: Tort law says what you can do with your magic; property law delineates how much power you have; contract law makes all contracts compulsory and binding. The other thing I have created is a basic rundown of the legal system in that world and a few basic points of society. I love this world. I created is as an experiment to create a magic system based off of something that is ridiculous. And I can assure you, when I started this the magic system based on common law was ridiculous. But when it came into being I saw a lot of potential.
Feo Takahari
Dark Lord
It's called the People's Democratic Republic of Hope, and it's run by capitalists. They're still fighting with the communists, who ran it back when it was called the People's Republic of Hope. Before that, it was unofficially theocratic and called the Democratic Republic of Hope. And before that, it was just called Hope Colony and was a constitutional monarchy run by an offshoot of another land's royal family.
Most of the people don't even care who rules at this point, but they have no choice but to care about what all this fighting is doing to the land. Between a decades-long drought from excess magic use, extensive deforestation, and a balloon in crop-eating prey species after the extinction of the local breed of dragon, Hope is so thoroughly wrecker that it's barely worth fighting for. The only resource left that's worth trading is the formerly extensive magic wells, and even those are dangerously close to drying up.
As for the magic in question, it's pretty much all magitek. Self-repairing mechsuits, machine guns firing magic bolts, incredibly fast magical vehicles . . . It's a Fallout/Fist of the North Star sort of fantasy, where well-armed folks with literally magical weaponry kill each other while the folks without mechsuits keep their heads down (or enter the fray themselves with what they've scavenged from dead mercenaries.) The biggest difference is that the rest of the world is still intact, shipping in more weapons and even soldiers to back whatever faction aligns with their current foreign policy goals.
Most of the people don't even care who rules at this point, but they have no choice but to care about what all this fighting is doing to the land. Between a decades-long drought from excess magic use, extensive deforestation, and a balloon in crop-eating prey species after the extinction of the local breed of dragon, Hope is so thoroughly wrecker that it's barely worth fighting for. The only resource left that's worth trading is the formerly extensive magic wells, and even those are dangerously close to drying up.
As for the magic in question, it's pretty much all magitek. Self-repairing mechsuits, machine guns firing magic bolts, incredibly fast magical vehicles . . . It's a Fallout/Fist of the North Star sort of fantasy, where well-armed folks with literally magical weaponry kill each other while the folks without mechsuits keep their heads down (or enter the fray themselves with what they've scavenged from dead mercenaries.) The biggest difference is that the rest of the world is still intact, shipping in more weapons and even soldiers to back whatever faction aligns with their current foreign policy goals.
shangrila
Grandmaster
My favourite world is more a region than a fully fleshed out world. It's wild west-esque but with steampunk technology, monsters and the lingering effects of magic.
Essentially two nations, Thule and Gilead, went to war. During it they discovered a crystal-like substance nicknamed glim (shortened form of "glimmer", originally from a quote by the founder who said it was "greater than all that glimmers and shines") with powers. It could create massive amounts of energy, for example, and it revolutionized both nation's industry. But it also had unmatched destructive power, able to pierce any metal armour or wipe out an entire city, so it was put to use in the war. After a while though people began to notice the land was going barren, that monstrous creatures from legends long forgotton were re-appearing.
Both nations pulled back as supplying their forces became harder, leaving a no man's land seperating them. But there's still money to be made there for the desperate willing to brave the dangers; recovering war relics, digging for glim or gold. Bandits make their hideouts here as police forces aren't willing to risk chasing them and sometimes people just end up out there, because they're too poor or they're running from something. It's a strip of absolute freedom with no laws or taxes, but for the most part no protection either from monsters or rogues.
And that's where the main character comes in as a wandering gunslinger that takes on odd jobs, hunting monsters and the like. I created the world originally to make the writing challenges easier, since I'd always have a setting I could use and was doing monster of the week types of stories. But I always liked it since it's just a mish-mash of everything.
Essentially two nations, Thule and Gilead, went to war. During it they discovered a crystal-like substance nicknamed glim (shortened form of "glimmer", originally from a quote by the founder who said it was "greater than all that glimmers and shines") with powers. It could create massive amounts of energy, for example, and it revolutionized both nation's industry. But it also had unmatched destructive power, able to pierce any metal armour or wipe out an entire city, so it was put to use in the war. After a while though people began to notice the land was going barren, that monstrous creatures from legends long forgotton were re-appearing.
Both nations pulled back as supplying their forces became harder, leaving a no man's land seperating them. But there's still money to be made there for the desperate willing to brave the dangers; recovering war relics, digging for glim or gold. Bandits make their hideouts here as police forces aren't willing to risk chasing them and sometimes people just end up out there, because they're too poor or they're running from something. It's a strip of absolute freedom with no laws or taxes, but for the most part no protection either from monsters or rogues.
And that's where the main character comes in as a wandering gunslinger that takes on odd jobs, hunting monsters and the like. I created the world originally to make the writing challenges easier, since I'd always have a setting I could use and was doing monster of the week types of stories. But I always liked it since it's just a mish-mash of everything.
Miskatonic
Dark Lord
Been brainstorming a mad max type of world, where the world population was massively reduced due to an epidemic as well as warfare. The upper class were evacuated onto these massive spaceships that were created to be cities in space. Now those of the lower class work only to provide resources that are sent up to those space cities and are watched over by the big brother type government, being bombarded with propaganda about how being a loyal citizen will eventually get them to one of the cities amongst the stars. The major cities are like these massive winding towers with different levels based on economic status or status with the government.
Saigonnus
Dark Lord
Reminds me a bit of Elysium. The rich live on a space station, leaving the earth to fend for itself, and of course it is a shit hole.
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oh well...
I used to have a dozen plus fantasy worlds. Down to two now.
Most of my stories are set on 'Char' - an arid world with a single true ocean (landlocked) and a number of landlocked seas. Main region is utterly generic, a sort of resurrected quasi-feudal roman empire featuring distinct 'Greek', 'Ancient Egyptian,' 'Old Roman,' and semi Celtic regions among others. Scattered along the coasts of the ocean are a semi Viking type realm, a nation roughly patterned after Old Russia, a empire with a passing similarity to ancient China, and a sort of 'African' region, among others. (Like a large nation of militaristic hobgoblins). Generic, and intended to be easily relatable to prospective readers.
Other world is almost the opposite. It's the one I want to spend more time in, but can't quite manage it. Aquas is a world of water - just two major landmasses. The first is a large isolated continent I couldn't squeeze into the other world. The second is what makes Aquas unique: a narrow ribbon of land on a rough NE/SW axis, seldom more than a few dozen miles wide (and frequently much narrower) that makes a literal ring around the planet. Cultures, some weird and some generic dot this 'Strand' at intervals. Tech ranges from the stone age to super duper alien gizmo's. Pilgrims attempt to walk the full circumference of the Strand, performing rituals at 'points of power' along the way.
I used to have a dozen plus fantasy worlds. Down to two now.
Most of my stories are set on 'Char' - an arid world with a single true ocean (landlocked) and a number of landlocked seas. Main region is utterly generic, a sort of resurrected quasi-feudal roman empire featuring distinct 'Greek', 'Ancient Egyptian,' 'Old Roman,' and semi Celtic regions among others. Scattered along the coasts of the ocean are a semi Viking type realm, a nation roughly patterned after Old Russia, a empire with a passing similarity to ancient China, and a sort of 'African' region, among others. (Like a large nation of militaristic hobgoblins). Generic, and intended to be easily relatable to prospective readers.
Other world is almost the opposite. It's the one I want to spend more time in, but can't quite manage it. Aquas is a world of water - just two major landmasses. The first is a large isolated continent I couldn't squeeze into the other world. The second is what makes Aquas unique: a narrow ribbon of land on a rough NE/SW axis, seldom more than a few dozen miles wide (and frequently much narrower) that makes a literal ring around the planet. Cultures, some weird and some generic dot this 'Strand' at intervals. Tech ranges from the stone age to super duper alien gizmo's. Pilgrims attempt to walk the full circumference of the Strand, performing rituals at 'points of power' along the way.
Miskatonic
Dark Lord
Is that the one with Christian Bale? Haven't watched it yet.