OOC: World Building

[ch00beh]

Genius. I knew I kept you around for a reason.

[Hamuu]

[ch00beh]

They say that the creatures of the Dark Fringe were a sorcerer's failed attempt to bring back his deceased child. They say that when he pulled his child's soul back from the land of the dead, he forgot to close the door, and was soon killed by malevolent spirits. The evil poured fourth into the physical realm, entirely destroying the city of ____________ before a band of magicians stopped them, closed the gate between life and death, and, unable to kill what was already dead, simply banished the spirits into the Dark Fringe.

This is an old tale which may or may not be true. What we know is true, however, is that every so often a piece of the Fringe falls from the sky, bringing with it a small band of gruesome creatures that attack anyone nearby. If they fought to kill, we might be relieved, for death makes everything so much simpler. However, these creatures, no, these monsters, have been known to ensnare and eviscerate without taking life, instead taking unwilling prisoners back with them to the sky. Our only saving grace is that these attacks only consist of a handful of monsters. Unfortunately, each individual is worth five men in battle. They are hardened and fireproof, as evidenced by their ability to ride a flaming rock to the surface.

This is what we face. This is what you will face. Welcome to the _________ of the Falling Sky.

I can't decide if I like Shepherds of the Falling Sky or Order of the Falling Sky or Legion of the Falling Sky. Still working on a Badass Creed.

About the Order/Shepherds/Legion:

The Falling Sky keeps a large observatory near the peak of _______ (the big mountain) that continuously watches Aleta's ring for any signs of falling. Also, scattered throughout the main continent (ie not the islands) are towers which house a small number of soldiers and much simpler telescopic arrays. Should any of these bases see a piece of the Fringe coming to the ground, they immediately use sending glyphs to contact the nearest tower to ready a defense.

The Shepherds/Order/Legion are known for their any-means-necessary outlook when fighting the creatures. Though many members still consider chemistry taboo, some individuals have chosen to use explosives and rifles when fighting. Many of the mages practice blood magic, which, while not flat out taboo, is still considered a risky science due to the potential health problems when eating ______ crystal.

Every soldier has a glyph tattooed over his or her heart and a gemmed knife. If one is about to fall in battle, he or she will often commit suicide rather than get taken back to the sky. Stabbing the glyph with the knife transfers their remaining life force to the gem, which can then be used by still living members of the order in their fight. Besides enchanted weaponry, several golems have been constructed, though powering the behemoths requires a good deal of souls.

EDIT: I think I'm going to cancel out "Legion" because these guys also act as astronomers and are responsible for star charts and such. Maybe Seekers of the Falling Sky? Keepers? So many possibilities.

[ericnox]

A lot of good ideas while I have been away. The turtle thing is freaking amazing. Though, they should probably live longer. 300 years being the base line of age really. I would guess they could live 500-700 years really. A whole long time so that way a really strong ecosystem can be born, a whole kingdom made upon its back. Perhaps even they are weak to magical effects, control and the like. Make them move to places and rest while they load up on things they might want. Metals, stone, food, water.

[ch00beh]

ok, telaen live for 600 years on average. Gg.

so biscuit and i discussed this lightly on formspring. It's now down to Order and Shield of the Falling Sky. He mentioned that they'd be the baddest of the bad, and I agree, though like I said about the questionable methods, I'm thinking that they're not 100% trusted by the major powers, or even by the people. They're grudgingly respected, or something.

As far as the normal populace, biscuit mentioned tunics and togas and armor. I'm not a fan of togas. That's too specific to a certain time period and people. Tunics are cool, though. Pants are pretty cool too. Maybe one kingdom does togas.

lolkilts

[The Evil Biscuit]

I dig the questionable methods. Sort of a 'freedom at any cost' outlook.

And with that in mind, it really works for the kind of enemy we're fighting. How do you engage an enemy that doesn't play by the rules? How do you scare an enemy that knows no fear, can't be broken or routed? When every demon that touches ground can only slay an massacre until it is stone dead, what other choice do you have but to fight them as close and as brutally as possible? Perhaps they were commissioned by the world powers to be the heroes they could not themselves be; or they're a whole organization of Batmans. Loved by some, hated by most, a secret order of men and women who exist not because they're wanted, but because they're needed[\i].

And if not secret, then maybe a society like Masons or Knights of Columbus.

[ch00beh]

YES. BATMANS. da na na na na na na na

They're not secret, though, because they've got outposts everywhere. Maybe their actions are played up, though. Or maybe they do try to keep secret to hide the threat of the skies from the general populace. Hm, no, they'd probably be at least slightly visible so that they can call upon aid should the need arise.

And with such little overall support, they'd probably be willing to take whatever help they can get, meaning they get a lot of criminals. Doesn't matter if the criminals are atoning or if they're running, but the point is, that does terrible things for your reputation.

Hmmm... trying to decide which is more badass to say. "I'm a member of The Order" or "I am one of the Shields"... probably the latter.

Shields of the Falling Sky it is.

Now that I've realize that there are a lot of criminals in there, I'm wondering how many of them have the resolve to stab themselves in the heart if they get captured. Hm.

Ok so that mental image of a Shield morphing into a giant eagle, flying over a Fringebeast, demorphing in midair, and landing on the creature's head with his hammer has now added an extra motion. Since that hammer will probably at best daze the creature, the Shield immediately drops the hammer instead of going for another long wind up, pulls out two pistols and starts shooting the shit out of it. Too bad there are no automatic weapons in this world. Looks like this move is being reserved for Rie.

[The Evil Biscuit]

Well, I meant more of a home guard sort of society more than a secret thing.

Like, there's a major organization in the heart of Aleta, that trains troops and furnishes heavy weapons, specialized training, equipment, things like that, but their branches are spread out all over Aleta and they recruit locally; like a militia or a volunteer fire department.

So if a Fringebeast comes down at Whistling Cove (made up name) and the closest major outpost is maybe three towns over in Thunderclap, an alarm sounds at the Cove branch and every Shield member in that town drops what they're doing and suits up to fight them off. If it's a large scale invasion, they're expected to hold the line until heavy reinforcements arrive.

Members are just working-class individuals who do like any other volunteer emergency service and work shifts, hold meetings, train weekly.

[ch00beh]

I like the idea, but the Fringebeasts (seeing someone else type it makes it look a lot dumber) are like ridiculously strong which is why Shields need the specialized training. A town would probably be more concerned about evacuating and hiding if shit went down. The local militia probably would try to fend them off, but they'd probably get destroyed.

I'm gonna say that rock drops don't happen frequently enough that everyone is in constant fear. They're like children's tails that just happen to come true. "Timmy, if you don't drink your milk, the fringebeasts are going to take you away! *BOOM* What was that sound?"

[ericnox]

Fringebeasts huh? Nice idea. Creatures like ogres, orcs, and the monsterous humanoids.

If a fantasy setting, it would be win. Creatures above what the average soldier can handle, and would scare the hell outta any one.

[ch00beh]

I was actually thinking things that would make you shit yourself harder than if you saw an Orc. Like a spider with a human torso for a head and 4 naked bird wings and exposed lungs.

[ericnox]

So magic f***'d monsters... Basicly.

Cool

[Hamuu]

I liked Shepard's but I guess I didn't get here in time. I really really really like it though. That's probably one of the most badass things so far!

[ch00beh]

I figure Shepherd is really really tranquil sounding, and these guys are warriors, and they are definitely not all about being warrior poets. There could be another order of Shepherds. Maybe like one of the major religions in Aleta. A badass religion. Of tyranny. Shit.

I'm trying to figure out how to make the Shield's soul-forfeit a mechanism rather than a ritual. I was thinking a metal button over the heart that's basically a self-destruct, but that would give the Shields a weak spot. Or maybe... A glyph on the hand, a metal pad over the heart. On touching the hand to the metal pad, it transmutes the pad into a spike, skewers the heart, and transfers the soul to a bracelet or necklace. (dogtags)

I was also thinking that they don't turn away criminals, but they DO give everyone a couple years training from hell. Intermediate magic study, advanced combat training, advanced astronomy, etc. Make all the new recruits memorize the night sky on any given day so that they can call out disturbances. In exchange for this, a Shield's past is legally dismissed and various other benefits, maybe like being able to operate outside the law during a Fall. So I guess it'll mostly be criminals who are atoning, or who did REALLY bad things. Or it could even be the equivalent of the death sentence in one kingdom.

[ch00beh]

A manuscript sent in for editing

The Fundamentals of Magic
by Dr. Thomas Perennial, Ph.D.

Chapter 1 – An Introduction

At its most basic, what we call “magic” is simply understanding and manipulating the underlying flow of the world. Take, for example, something we all take for granted nowadays: turning on the lights. You walk into a dark room, grope for the light pad for a minute, then press it, and suddenly the room is no longer dark due to a floating flame. But what goes on behind the scenes? How does that flame appear and sustain itself?

In this text you will learn all this and much more as we study the fundamentals of magic and their applications in the real world. This chapter will give a brief overview of the types of magic.

Part 1 – Magite

Magic would not be possible if it were not for the existence of one relatively rare resource: magite. Magite is a naturally occurring mineral found throughout Aleta that causes the world's “flow” to change directions. Perhaps the best way to describe “flow” is that it is the laws and equations that govern how the world usually works. However, careful application of magite can bend these laws and change these equations in a predictable manner.

Part 2 – Symbolic Magic

Turning on the lights is simple application of symbolic magic. On contact with the lightpad, a symbol drawn with magite takes the energy from your palm striking the surface, plus a small amount of body heat, and turns it into a large spike of thermal energy where the lamp is located. This energy would be nothing if not for a secondary glyph drawn inside the lamp that continually moves ambient oxygen and hydrogen particles into the flame to burn. Editor's note – what the hell is oxygen and hydrogen?

This is the most basic form of magic. Symbols are drawn using magite chalk, and through the shapes and lines drawn, the flow can be altered. If you were to look at your light pad and your lamp, you would see that the symbols are all arranged along a triangular shape. This is the fundamental form of symbolic magic. It signifies change, and the three points act to focus and contain the magic. Of course, there are more complex shapes available to use for more specialized purposes. Chapter 2 goes more into the basics of symbolic magic, detailing how the more commonly used glyphs work to alter the flow.


Editor's Note – You are so cliché with writing on a recycled bag. We have better paper than that!

Part 3 – Mind Magic

The second most common type of magic one may come across is magic cast from the mind. A man gifted with strong mental prowess can direct the flow by focusing through a raw magite crystal. Studies have shown that this happens because a man's thoughts harmonize in certain ways with the crystals. Years of study and meditation are required to make any practical use of this type of magic. As with all forms of magic, one must have a deep understanding of how the world works. However, unlike symbols drawn on a surface, the mind is prone to change. One must be able to focus on symbols and words with perfect clarity or else a spell can go horribly wrong. More often than not, a mage performing mind magic will use incantations and gestures to focus his mind. Chapter 10 covers the basics of mental magic.

Part 4 – Movement Magic

The third most commonly used form of magic is Movement Magic. This type of magic uses the physical movement of magite crystals to alter the flow. Unless in possession of complex mechanisms, magic done in this way is less flexible than mental magic and less intricate than symbolic magic. However, it is much easier to cast spells with movement than with the mind, and one is not bound to a hard surface in order to draw. Chapter 7 goes into more depth.

Part 5 – Harmonic Magic

Though not common in any sense of the word, one noteworthy way of casting spells lies in the mentioned ability to harmonize with magite crystals. Gifted bards have been able to cast spells simply by singing or playing an instrument and harmonizing their music with the crystal. This is outside the scope of this text.

Part 6 – Blood Magic

Ingesting magite in any kind of way is generally a poor idea. It has been known to cause hallucinations, mental retardation, insanity, and even death in not so rare occasions. Milder symptoms range from fevers to mood swings. However, upon consumption, and once the magite has dissolved into the blood stream, a mage becomes a walking occurrence of magite. He can perform movement magic without needing a crystal in his hands, and he can draw glyphs using his blood. Unlike what is commonly spread in rumor, blood magic is not more “powerful” than the other forms. It is slightly more flexible, but at great cost. This is also outside the scope of this text.

Editor's note – Are you sure you even want to mention this shit in here?

[ch00beh]

Advanced Combat Magic – A Look Into Chaos
by Magister Nadia Ferumdoit
Pelantesque Court Spellsword

Using magic in war requires a slightly different mindset than when using it every day. Mundane use of magic usually consists of very controlled spells, carefully calculated and applied beforehand. This approach can work when fighting; for example, the basic fireball simply requires a glyph for heat, fuel, and movement. However, if an enemy were to be on the receiving end of such a spell, he would at best suffer a major burn. Where did the great battlemages get their power to devastate entire armies?

In early magic classes, a young mage learns that the triangle forms the basis of most utility spells. The three points and three edges provide a stable base while symbolizing change. Later on, one learns that adding or subtracting a point, thus forming a quadrangle or a bar, creates a symbol for constraint. What happens when one more point is added to the square? One creates a pentagon, the symbol for chaos.

Application of chaos, rather than application of control, forms the basis of most combat magic. Let us examine the fireball example again. If one were to create the heating glyph with a pentagon, the air might flash a series of sparks of differing intensities as opposed to simply raising the temperature. Using a pentagon for fuel would throw out the equations for the flow of oxygen and hydrogen, causing possible explosions as fuel levels in an area fluctuate wildly. What about applying the pentagon to the movement spell? You already have been. Have you ever wondered why you never connect the arrow's head to its tail?It is because movement is inherently chaotic, and by leaving the pieces unconnected, you create five points with two missing edges. Connecting these last two edges causes movement to become highly erratic in most cases.

Of course, these effects just seem dangerous. Knowing where and when not to apply chaos is very important so as not to hurt unintended people. In this text we will cover the theory behind offensive spells and ways to successfully use them without killing yourself.

Various notes on the different types of magic.

Due to the time requirements for setup, symbolic magic tends to be used solely for enchanting weapons and traps. Usually, the spells are triggered by kinetic force, either by friend or foe. Mind magic tends to only be used by devoted spellcasters behind the frontline where they can concentrate on their spells. Spellswords usually rely on movement magic, powered either by magite bracelets/anklets/collars/rings or blood magic because muscle memory is generally very reliable in the thick of battle.

---

An excerpt from the chapter on Movement Magic from the Fundamentals of Magic by Dr. Thomas Perennial

Movement magic usually requires an “activation” of some sort that causes the magite to start vibrating, signaling that a spell is about to be performed. The user has freedom to choose however he causes the activation, so long as the crystals vibrate at the right frequency. Many simply touch two glyphs together to produce a sustained vibration. Several bards have been able to hold a note while moving to cast a spell.

[ch00beh]

Updated Map! When did this change from "Hey let's all build a world!" to "hey! let's let ch00bs do everything for us lazy poops!"? >:{

Look at me using my touchpad to adjust landmasses and create borders for to-be-filled-kingdoms and shit. good gosh if ch00bs can do this with a touchpad, everyone else must be able to contribute too!

The pink areas are the Free Territories. There's no central government, but none of the other kingdoms want to make a push in there because of treaties/resistance. In the case of Mount ____________ there is a treaty with the monks that no one but they can claim the aquasphere and no one wants a dangerous desert or rainforest with savages in it. The Archipelago up top I have no idea what's going on there but no one claimed it.

I increased the size of the northern island, if anyone noticed. Now it is almost like a second continent.

[The Evil Biscuit]

Oh hey, that makes things easier.

I'll take that orange hunk if nobody wants it.




Also, spoiler'd:

SPOILER: Click to show

choobs stop being a total doucher and have patience or you'll self-destruct this thing before it ever gets off the ground I mean seriously just take a breath and relax

[ch00beh]

no uuuuuuu D:

ok fine i'm going to play video games.

[The Evil Biscuit]

lulz


[this space reserved for worldbuilding]

[ch00beh]

The northern mountain range around the big mountain is called the Aequians. The mountain can be Mount Aquarius. y/n

SPOILER: Click to show

I'M SORRY I CAN'T GIVE IT A REST

[Ninety]

Jun 20, 2010 16:15:31 GMT -5 ch00beh said:

Hmmm... trying to decide which is more badass to say. "I'm a member of The Order" or "I am one of the Shields"... probably the latter.

"I'm a Shield." No need to lessen the badass quotient by making it seem like you depend on others.

------

Have we discussed how topworld visits bottomworld and vice-versa? I just read through this whole topic while watching TV so I might have glazed over it, if so. I'd like to think there are a small number of holes in the continents since traveling to the edges of one side then to the interior of the other sounds extraordinarily difficult. Some of the holes could have water drain through them to provide the interior of bottomworld some more water. Then again, I like the idea that the exterior of bottomworld provides the interior with the water they need; good dynamics.

I think scale needs to be discussed a bit, too. In 3D space as well as 2D. How high does the dominant mountain rise? How high above that is the waterball? How high above that is the, teehee, Lifestream? How far away is volcanoworld? How high (low) is said volcano? Since our continent(s) are basically the entire planet + bordering ocean I feel like that landmass needs to be at least as big as a flattened Earth, preferably much bigger. Working out the distance to volcanothemusical is a bit weird for me. Maybe like, the distance satellites are from Earth. Close enough that it's at least feasible to reach, barring Stephen King bugs and inclement weather, but far enough that it's still quite a feat if you do get there. Again, before you even take into account the space lizards and such.

It's almost three in the morning and Office Space is on so I'll expunge some more stuff later.

[ch00beh]

Hm. Cave system might be kinda cool. Stuff always happens in caves. Maybe most of the topside doesn't know about the bottom side and there are just a couple villages/towns at the entrances to a handful of caves or something.

I'm all for having a couple drainage holes in the middle of the ocean where there are whirlpools and shit that sailors never come back from because they get crushed and spewed out the bottomside. Or instead of getting crushed they just get horribly lost/disoriented/captured/assimilated.

In terms of scale, I'm not quite sure for everything. I like the idea of the world itself being gigantic. Would Everest be a good baseline for the main mountain? Although I imagine having a monastery that high up would suck. I'm suddenly thinking about Ringworld, where there's a gigantic mountain higher than Everest that is actually a meteor impact in the back, so at the top of the mountain is just a giant hole to space. I don't really think that would be particularly effective in this world though.

Hm. Maybe Everest isn't a good baseline because of that whole "water freezing" technicality. Thinking about these specifics is putting all these holes in stuff. Boo.

I like your scale distance for volcano land. Feasible to get to as part of a ridiculous roadtrip, but quite a feat to get to.

Still need to decide what actually exists in volcanoworld. Dreams? Afterlife? Nothing?

[Tout-Perd]

An idea that I can't use for my world, but maybe it'd make sense here:
A location where the plants are ambulatory and move around to pursue better lighting throughout the day, and where the animals have adapted to be anchored and eat from the plants that pass by them.

It's only a rough idea, but maybe some sort of "suspended ecosystem" would justify the idea.

[Ninety]

Well, we can always bend physics and stuff to suit our needs. Like, let's say the troposphere equivalent is much larger than Earth's own. That way we can have the mountain be even larger than Everest yet still have the waterball. Plus, magix. We could say that different strains of these crystal deposits have different effects on the climate around them. Like, alone they don't have much of an effect other than being warm or cool in your hand but in large (see: huge) deposits they affect the way the air/magic/chi flows around the world in such a way as to cause climate patterns and such. That way we don't have to take make the suns and currents and stuff like that exactly perfect. I mean, being grounded in science is fine but since these people aren't sticking to our science we don't need to either. That could also be an explanation for why bottomland is broken up and stuff. The crystals there are either different or in smaller quantities than those on the surface. That could be why the natives respect them so much and the cause of the tension between them and the miners. Maybe topworld has a bunch of regulations for the mining/gathering of it. It could even be a renewable resource like trees; yeah, it comes back but if you take too much at once shit happens.

Your meteor reference made me think. What if there's a spot on the world where a sizable asteroid hit the world so it's full of these asteroidemons? I'm thinking along the lines of the Savage Land from Marvel comics. Basically, a place apart from the rest of the world where bigass monsters roam. Maybe there's a group dedicated to keeping them trapped there as there are too many critters to be killed outright. PROPHECY TELLS OF A MAN WHO WILL RISE FROM THE SAVAGE LAND TO RID IT OF ITS INFESTATION. Or something like that. I like the idea that the "demons" are coming from "heaven" (asteroid belt) and that means that their "heaven" is volcanoland, which would probably first be considered for "hell." As far as afterlife goes though, I'm kinda stumped. Reincarnation's always neat to work with. Volcanoland could just be souls in limbo waiting for peeps to get born'd so they can float back up. Maybe they have tests/trials/shit they have to do to get back to the living realm. I don't really like that though since that would imply only the best people are alive at any given time. We need some freaks and losers. And since it's a physical place that's home to spiritual beings how do we rectify the space issue? People die a lot. Maybe volcanoland is more like Valhalla where only the best and the bravest go. The rest just sort of become one with the universe or something.

I'm open for el volcano de sur being something else though. Like, home to some super race or the gateway to something. I dunno.

[ch00beh]

I was actually thinking that little green spot would be a small military kingdom. Maybe that's where the asteroid hit. Giant crater there, and maybe the monsters have some kind of magic shrine that pulls down more asteroids in that location at regular intervals. I like DA's Legion of the Dead quote: "Your nightmare is my every day." Shield boot camp can be there. If you survive just living in the place for a year, you autolevel to badass.

Also another LotD quote: "That's all I have to say about us. To say more would invite judgment, or worse, imitation." lolol. (tho LotD is pretty hardcore in that the warriors hold their funeral as soon as they join instead of after they die)

So anyway, at the top of the big mountain, we say there are lots and lots of crystal outcroppings. There's snow, but there are some avenues where water does not freeze.

Anyway.2, volcano land being limbo is neat. Maybe it's not even a volcano there but a fountain of spiritual energy.