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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
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Originally Posted by
Beleriphon
Anthropological linguistic stuff
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Originally Posted by
Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll
Lots of stuff on grammar.
Oh man, this is awesome; thank you! I'll probably go with Galliyuun, or something like that.
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Originally Posted by
Beleriphon
As for combining Semetic and Gaelic what exactly is being combined? Because the two as far as grammar goes don't share much in common.
I haven't entirely decided yet. For now, only the names are important, as I don't intend to make the language. If I need to include it for my players as a document or something, I'll use some semitic language on Google translate.
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
Well, I was planning on doing a "Beethoven was an alien spy" thing for my Dr. McNinja-y RPG setting, and I wanted to run it by ya to see if it's too horribly offensive.
It invovles Alan Turing, the computer genius who some of you may know of as having quite the tragic life, ending up chemically castrated for his homosexuality and eventually ending up comitting suicide.
Well, in this setting, things went differently. Namely, Turing turning himself into a cyborg to better protect himself, and building a small robot army, at first to keep the authorities (Who were more determined than ever to make an example out of him) from capturing him, and then to take vengance on the human race which had so spurned him.
He's made himself more and more robotic over the years, each iteration using the asthetics of the sorts of robots popular at the time, until; as of now; the only thing human left about him is his memories.
Cyber-Turing'd be a combination of the "Tragic villain who's lost sight of his original reasons" archetype and the "Robot lord leading robot army against mankind" one. So, would this be okay, or do you think it'd be too offensive to the man's memory to do?
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
tbok1992
Well, I was planning on doing a "Beethoven was an alien spy" thing for my Dr. McNinja-y RPG setting, and I wanted to run it by ya to see if it's too horribly offensive.
It invovles Alan Turing, the computer genius who some of you may know of as having quite the tragic life, ending up chemically castrated for his homosexuality and eventually ending up comitting suicide.
Well, in this setting, things went differently. Namely, Turing turning himself into a cyborg to better protect himself, and building a small robot army, at first to keep the authorities (Who were more determined than ever to make an example out of him) from capturing him, and then to take vengance on the human race which had so spurned him.
He's made himself more and more robotic over the years, each iteration using the asthetics of the sorts of robots popular at the time, until; as of now; the only thing human left about him is his memories.
Cyber-Turing'd be a combination of the "Tragic villain who's lost sight of his original reasons" archetype and the "Robot lord leading robot army against mankind" one. So, would this be okay, or do you think it'd be too offensive to the man's memory to do?
Honestly, I think that would be awesome. Especially if you played up the "this didn't have to happen" thing, where if the British Crown hadn't prosecuted him, there wouldn't be a robot army rampaging across the world.
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
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Originally Posted by
tbok1992
. So, would this be okay, or do you think it'd be too offensive to the man's memory to do?
any more so that abraham Lincoln, vampire hunter, or Jesus Christ, Superstar?
no, not really. go ahead, make it. it'd be cool. does he still pass a turing test?:smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin:
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
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Originally Posted by
Storm Bringer
any more so that abraham Lincoln, vampire hunter, or Jesus Christ, Superstar?
no, not really. go ahead, make it. it'd be cool. does he still pass a turing test?:smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin:
I imagine the latter example won't appeal to some people. So there's possibility it can be offensive. Like maybe to a admirer or family of Turing. But, well, offensive and bad are different. There later only true if there's someone to be offended. So, if you and your group like the idea, why not?
That said, I also think it is a cool idea.
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
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Originally Posted by
Salbazier
I imagine the latter example won't appeal to some people. So there's possibility it can be offensive. Like maybe to a admirer or family of Turing. But, well, offensive and bad are different. There later only true if there's someone to be offended. So, if you and your group like the idea, why not?
That said, I also think it is a cool idea.
my point was that people have done this sort of "playing with a historical character" thing before, and not been drowned in complaints, even when dealing with someone as potentially touchy as Jesus Christ.
At the end of the day, it's not the idea as much as it is the execution that really matters. if done well, he's going to be a memorable and interesting villain. If not, their going to forget him soon anyway.
Also, only you know your players and what they are like. most groups I know would not be offended by using Alan Turing as a villain (though they might complain if he's unsuitable for the setting(.
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
A question to all the ethnologists and those learned in that field:
What exactly is a curse? What's the cultural meaning and how is it supposed to work? Often every place that is home to something supernatural gets called cursed, but why is that?
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
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Originally Posted by
Yora
What exactly is a curse? What's the cultural meaning and how is it supposed to work?
"San Quentin, may you rot and burn in Hell
May your walls fall and may I live to tell"
~ Johnny Cash cursing the San Quentin State Prison
A curse is an utterance that can come true. It's a "words have power" thingy, though it applies only to unpleasant words. For pleasant words, see: wish.
The gist of it is that if you get mad at someone and say "I hope he dies!" or "may he never see another day!" or "a pox on him!", there's a chance that it will actually happen, simply because you said it out loud. A sorcerer might offer to utter such a curse with increased chances of success, via some form of ritual or another, but basically the words ARE the ritual.
In many European languages, the word for curse literally means "speaking ill", descending from Latin or Greek and related to the word malediction or blasphemy, respectively.
For this reason, there have been many taboos preventing people from "speaking ill". When these superstitions were prevalent, no one would casually exclaim "drop dead!". And even if it weren't phrased as a wish, if for example someone said "my brother will inherit the house when father dies", he would immediately perform a quick apotropaic ritual to prevent the words from accidentally coming true. (Sample rituals: biting your tongue, getting up from your seat and turning round, spitting, knocking on wood.)
In some traditions, a curse was more likely to work when the one who uttered it had been horribly wronged (so he had justice on his side), or was a blood relative, especially a parent (because bloodline has power), or was otherwise consumed by emotion (you can't just say "Crucio", Harry, you have to mean it!).
A link to the supernatural was another factor - your curses could be more powerful if you were a priest, an oracle, a witchdoctor, a ghost, a fey creature, etc. But make no mistake, curses weren't for special people only. Simple farmers held their tongues, lest their own, rash words came true when they didn't really want them to.
Sometimes people thought the words were powerful on their own, and sometimes they imagined an intermediary entity (a deity, a personification of fate or ill fortune, an evil spirit) hearing the words and making them come true. And at some point, you didn't even have to specify an outcome, you could abstractly curse someone and just expect bad things (TM) to happen.
Finally, note that deities could speak too, and speak ill for that matter. So occasionally the whole concept got mixed up with divine punishment, anathema, and damnation. "Cursed by a deity" is more formidable, and often larger scale (an entire city, a country, a valley, a huge group of people, etc).
As for cultural significance, I don't know what's there to say other than the [very predictable] perception of language as a thing of great power (its' a spell! :smalltongue:).
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Originally Posted by
Yora
Often every place that is home to something supernatural gets called cursed, but why is that?
I'm not sure about that, because I've never heard the word cursed, in any language I know, referring to something supernatural but benign. If we're talking about supernatural + spooky, then it makes sense to me. It's either meant literally (someone actually cursed this place in the past and now it's haunted / infested with monsters / brings bad luck), or a simile (it's as if this place were cursed, it functions as such - so basically, RUN).
An acceptable synonym of "cursed" would be "under a bad spell". Because a curse is a spell by definition - a verbal spell. No somatic or material components are strictly necessary. Only words. (You cannot apply the Silent Spell feat to it, and Spell Failure Chance is totally random. :smallsmile:)
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
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Originally Posted by
HeadlessMermaid
... Because a curse is a spell by definition - a verbal spell. No somatic or material components are strictly necessary. Only words. (You cannot apply the Silent Spell feat to it, and Spell Failure Chance is totally random. :smallsmile:)
Not true. They can be written, e.g. curse tablets. I think there were norse curses which involved setting up horse skulls on posts. Writing and objects can be magical and hold curses.
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Yora
A question to all the ethnologists and those learned in that field:
What exactly is a curse? What's the cultural meaning and how is it supposed to work? Often every place that is home to something supernatural gets called cursed, but why is that?
As commonly used in English, a curse is generally any type of nonspecific malign magic. I say nonspecific in that it generally manifests through bad luck, rather than any direct action on the part of the curser. So making somebody's milk cow dry up is a curse, but casting fireball on them is not.
Also, calling a place accursed has become kind of a general term for any vile locale (which can be supernatural, but doesn't have to be, at least in common modern usage). That's different from a place that actually has a curse on it, like a tomb that will cause all defilers to die early.
Finally, the things that fall under the catch-all heading of "curse" derive from a wide variety of folklores. There are gypsy curses, celtic curses, norse curses, native american curses, egyptian curses, etc. So that's why it's such an imprecise term.
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Yora
A question to all the ethnologists and those learned in that field:
What exactly is a curse? What's the cultural meaning and how is it supposed to work? Often every place that is home to something supernatural gets called cursed, but why is that?
Curses from a purely ethnological point of view are negative effects that generally occur over the long term rather than having immediate effects. They are usually supernatural or at least paranormal in nature. A curse can attach to a person, place or object. Those that attach to places or objects tend to affect every person that approaches the place or object. They can be specifically invoked or it can be caused by any of a variety of other sources.
As to why I think its human nature to want to associate bad luck with something other than random happenstance. Its easier to blame a "curse" than sheer coincidence for most events. We see and find patterns by our very nature so seeing curses are a natural extensions of that. Then there's the aspect that if you can cause good things to happen (eg. heal the sick) there's nothing to stop you from using a similar ability to cause bad things to happen.
Examples include The Curse of the Pharaohs (note Egyptian priests did have curses on the entrances of tombs written in hieroglyphics), the Bambino's Curse whereby the Boston Redsox shall suck forever (broken in 2004), or The Presidential Curse (US presidents elected in years ending in 0 die in office).
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
One of the interesting things about curses is they often have a retroactive element to them; something happens anditsattributed to a curse. In one of my anthropology textbooks it was described as so: my porch collapses and i am injured. It couldn't have just happened, I must have been cursed by a witch. Which its unfortunate for the poor social outcast who gets accused of witchcraft.
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
Does anyone know anything about the cost of maintaining naval forces in antiquity or medieval times compared to ground forces? Or know of any resources I can use to make some sort of comparison (or better still, someone who's already done so)?
I'd be particularly delighted to see some figures on this both before and after Augustus, to see if the ratio changes with an increasingly professional army.
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
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Originally Posted by
hymer
Does anyone know anything about the cost of maintaining naval forces in antiquity or medieval times
Sufficiently high that many/most kingdoms didn't maintain one. They would conscript merchant ships/hire mercenaries as needed. And plunder/spoils of war would be a means of off-setting the costs (and rewarding the crews - until very recently, captured ships and their cargoes would be sold off and some/all of the proceeds distributed to the captain and crew of the ships involved in teh capture).
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
Assuming a weird kind of 'desert', one that is only a true desert (low/no precipitation) for around half a year and frequently showered by snowfall and rainstorms during the other half, what kind of crops and farm animal probably would suit best?
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
How warm is it, and how good or terrible is the soil? Is there sufficient ground water to irrigate during the dry season?
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
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Originally Posted by
Salbazier
Assuming a weird kind of 'desert', one that is only a true desert (low/no precipitation) for around half a year and frequently showered by snowfall and rainstorms during the other half, what kind of crops and farm animal probably would suit best?
Probably camels would be a good choice. They're good animals in a wide variety of conditions both hot and cold. They can eat damn near anything if necessary (including bones) and are pretty tasty as far as that goes.
Crops you'd probably be look at cactus. There are few types that have edible flesh and fruits.
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Salbazier
Assuming a weird kind of 'desert', one that is only a true desert (low/no precipitation) for around half a year and frequently showered by snowfall and rainstorms during the other half, what kind of crops and farm animal probably would suit best?
I think what you're talking about is a monsoon climate. Look up Kharif crops, like rice, sugar cane, millet, and peanuts.
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
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Originally Posted by
avr
How warm is it, and how good or terrible is the soil? Is there sufficient ground water to irrigate during the dry season?
Err, I'm imagining it as 'less hotter than Arabia but just as dry (or more, if it's not impossible)'. Maybe around 30 to 35 at day? Soil is really bad naturally but fertilizer is easy to get (magic, basically). Undergound water reservoir is rather deep but it is feasible to made wells of it. There are also some major rivers passing through the region, suplied by Himalaya-like mountains in the desert edge. EDIT: Also thanks to magic, irrigation capability is probably comparable to modern RL.
If there's something about my decription of the climate that doesn't make sense climatologically, please don't mind it. A wizard did it. :smalltongue:
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Originally Posted by
Beleriphon
Probably camels would be a good choice. They're good animals in a wide variety of conditions both hot and cold. They can eat damn near anything if necessary (including bones) and are pretty tasty as far as that goes.
Crops you'd probably be look at cactus. There are few types that have edible flesh and fruits.
They can eat bones? Camel it is then. Curious, you said it tasty. Have you ever tried one? I always want to try camel meat...
About cactus, can they survive snow and rainstorms? I've heard of cactus died because of too much water.
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Originally Posted by
Jeff the Green
I think what you're talking about is a monsoon climate. Look up Kharif crops, like rice, sugar cane, millet, and peanuts.
Argh, can't believe I didn't thought of that before. Guess, I'm too fixed on the 'desert' part.
Thank you you two :smallsmile:
Edit: Wait, correct me if I'm wrong. Isn't monsoon wet in summer and dry in winter? Kind of the reverse of what I'm imagining (long dry summer and long snowy winter preceded with a short rainstorm season)
Edit2: In case you are wondering why I need to ask despite my location, it is because I do think of seasons in the tropic in terms of 'summer' and 'winter'.
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
@ Wardog: Thanks. I knew it wasn't an easy question, and I know that the cost of maintaining a navy was pretty high. When the Romans took over a Greek fleet after a peace settlement, most of it was scuttled. So apparently maintenance compared to building was surprisingly high. Possibly the salary for the rowers was the real problem in that regard.
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
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Originally Posted by
hymer
@ Wardog: Thanks. I knew it wasn't an easy question, and I know that the cost of maintaining a navy was pretty high. When the Romans took over a Greek fleet after a peace settlement, most of it was scuttled. So apparently maintenance compared to building was surprisingly high. Possibly the salary for the rowers was the real problem in that regard.
Galleys were relatively cheap to build, but expensive to maintain. The cost of the oarsmen had to include the logistical requirements for them too (food and water). The nature of galleys meant that only few supplies could be carried on board, which meant a whole system of supply bases.
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
@ fusilier: True. The network of bases was already in place, though. Its cost would go up more if you wanted to expand the network than if you wanted to have more ships serviced by it. Those ships could be spread out over a vast area to avoid undue stress in any particular place until such a time as they were needed.
So building or maintaining bases shouldn't be the major cost factor in taking over the Greek navy.
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
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Originally Posted by
Salbazier
They can eat bones? Camel it is then. Curious, you said it tasty. Have you ever tried one? I always want to try camel meat...
About cactus, can they survive snow and rainstorms? I've heard of cactus died because of too much water.
Yes cactus can die from over exposure to water, but they still need some amount of water to live. As for camels, I'm not personally sure but the meat is eaten and the milk is definitely drinkable.
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Salbazier
Assuming a weird kind of 'desert', one that is only a true desert (low/no precipitation) for around half a year and frequently showered by snowfall and rainstorms during the other half, what kind of crops and farm animal probably would suit best?
What you're describing actually exists; it's called a Mediterranean climate rather than a true desert. So you'll get a savannah or shrub/scrub biome, most likely, with some forested areas in river valleys or other low-lying areas with the water table close to the surface. Which means a variety of grazing animals are possible, along with various grains or fruit trees. Probably not a lot of succulents, which would need more water throughout the summer.
So in terms of agriculture, anything that would fit in the dryer parts of the Mediterranean region should work. Goats, horses, sheep, or maybe cattle would probably be your typical livestock, and your crops would probably be drought-tolerant grains, along with things like figs, olives, and nuts. You can supplement that with irrigation, though. You could do worse than making this region look a little bit like Greece or Israel, really. You could also populate it with semi-nomadic herders or a horse culture, if you were so inclined.
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
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Originally Posted by
hymer
@ fusilier: True. The network of bases was already in place, though. Its cost would go up more if you wanted to expand the network than if you wanted to have more ships serviced by it. Those ships could be spread out over a vast area to avoid undue stress in any particular place until such a time as they were needed.
So building or maintaining bases shouldn't be the major cost factor in taking over the Greek navy.
Usually there was a center for the ships, which was capable of easily supplying the crews with everything they needed (in later times, places like Venice, a big city, could house the whole fleet with little strain). So it wasn't a matter of needing to spread the ships out to reduce the logistical burden. Instead, what happens when you need to send your fleet somewhere quickly? You can't send enough food with the fleet -- the galleys can't carry enough. You might be able to send some supply ships, but they will slow the fleet down. Instead, you have prepared bases that are kept well stocked with food and water, for just such an emergency. The fleet can hop from base to base until it gets to its destination.
The bases have to be maintained from the logistical point of view for the oarsmen. They have to be well stocked with food and water for the galleys that are dropping in on them, and, depending upon the location of the bases, they might have to have those supplies shipped to them. If you disband the navy, the extra cost of shipping and maintaining supplies to all these bases can also be dispensed with.
It still boils down to supporting the oarsmen, but it's not simply a matter of paying them -- the logistical network to support them could be quite complex. [This is the way it was in the middle ages -- ancient Rome and Greece may have been different]
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
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Originally Posted by
TheStranger
What you're describing actually exists; it's called a
Mediterranean climate rather than a true desert. So you'll get a savannah or shrub/scrub biome, most likely, with some forested areas in river valleys or other low-lying areas with the water table close to the surface. Which means a variety of grazing animals are possible, along with various grains or fruit trees. Probably not a lot of succulents, which would need more water throughout the summer.
So in terms of agriculture, anything that would fit in the dryer parts of the Mediterranean region should work. Goats, horses, sheep, or maybe cattle would probably be your typical livestock, and your crops would probably be drought-tolerant grains, along with things like figs, olives, and nuts. You can supplement that with irrigation, though. You could do worse than making this region look a little bit like Greece or Israel, really. You could also populate it with semi-nomadic herders or a horse culture, if you were so inclined.
This is quite fit. Thank you.
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
Trying to figure out how my elemental users can sense the elements (fire, earth, water, wind). They need to sense the elements to manipulate them. I just need to know how. I need a bunch of different ideas, because I've had some but haven't liked any of them totally. You could do it by the five senses, or telepathically, or something else. Any ideas?
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
They literally feel the energy the elements exude. Each element leaves a faint metaphysical trace of itself on the skin of a practitioner. Fire makes the skin feel warm from within, like a sunburn. Earth feels like a pressure on the skin. Air feels like motion; like the psychic equivalent of a breeze stirring the hair on your arm. And water feels cold, like a raindrop hitting the back of your neck.
The more present the element is, the stronger the sensation. And of course, the sensations combine when more than one element is present. A skilled elementalist can decipher the various sensations and determine the nature of the element(s) present with remarkable precision. For everyday work, you could just hold your hand out, maybe turn it thoughtfully like you're testing the wind, but master elementalists engaged in demanding magic practice naked, or near-naked, so that clothing won't interfere with their senses and they'll have as much surface area as possible to sense subtle changes.
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
I guess I should say that the elements are also philosophical terms for much bigger groups, and cover reactions and physics.
Fire = Plasma and Heat, Earth = Solid and Still, Water = Liquid and Cool, and Wind = Gas and Motion.
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Re: Random Worldbuilding Questions (Biology, Geography, Society, etc.)
To clarify, I got that. I wasn't suggesting that an elementalist just senses the physical element. It's a feeling in the skin that's halfway between a physical sensation and a sixth sense, and allows an elementalist to sense both the elements and the reactions in detail. The best the elementalists have been able to describe it to non-practitioners is what I came up with, but they would agree that it's woefully inadequate.