Forging a World

[TechnOkami]

Forging a World

Hello everyone! So I've been writing bits and bobs of a world that I want to create. The purpose of this thread is to not only act as a dumping grounds for all my thoughts and ideas for what I wish this world to eventually become, but so I can bounce ideas off of you guys and listen to any suggestions you've got.

Anyways, let's get to it. Fair warning though, the information is very... oh how to say it, "everywhere" at the moment.

Basic Magic Mechanical Functions

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Gods & Pantheons

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So, in this universe, I'm contemplating that aside from Nature Magic, all magic & power is derived from the subconscious intelligent psyche, this is to say from anything and everything with an intelligence of 3 for example. The majority of this power is expressed through the general intelligent brain (not limited to humans) as well as individuals who either understand the complexities of this world, or simply believe in something strong enough to cause that thing to be. Thus, the good and bad parts of the human psyche as collectively pooled by the myriad of cultures throughout the world are represented through angels and demons, for example. However, this is far from the only expression of human duality. The concept of Gods then are only so because enough people believe in the Deity to make their theoretical existence tangible to the point of affecting the real world. So a myriad of Gods/Angels/Demons exist because intelligent creatures collectively believe that they do. I feel that in this equation of belief, the Gods themselves are the only things truly subject to variability (in the sense of people suddenly not believing in a particular God, for example), but that their creations will remain.

Beasts & The Natural World

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Nature, however, runs on its own energy, as collected from bestial minds and plants, elements, nature stuff & such. A lot of if not all of this energy collects and manifests into "The Twilight", a realm of golden light and nature at its most natural & supernatural states in unison. It's kind of like an afterlife for naturestuff, but it's more like a place where all their power goes, and thus can be drawn from. It would have to be derived from "Nature Spirits/Souls" being a different kind of energy from intelligent creature souls to make some more sense, and hold a bit of distinction between the two. People in tune with The Twilight or nature in general strongly enough can become Druids, and they derive their power from this Golden Plane of Existence.

The Intelligent Mind

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I want there to be some kind of "philosophical nature magic" that isn't derived from The Twilight, where Fire's (and other elements') use can be derived and expressed in ways not just in replicating its natural state in any particular scale. Fire can be beautiful, and thus add to one's sensuality or charismatic presence. Fire is destructive & all consuming, and thus potentially very powerful. The only way I can currently think of this power functioning is by having intelligent creatures express their will over a particular element and then extrapolating it to do specific and certain things. This could be bridged with the idea of the intelligent consciousness having power in the sense that certain strong willed individuals understand (to varying degrees) how this "intelligent mind magic" works, and express their will on things to do with it what they will in a way that makes some kind of sense. I think this "Intelligence Magic" will essentially be Arcane Magic without being called Arcane Magic, but instead of having the equation be "Manipulation of Arcane Energy to create Lightning and Fire Balls", it's more like "Exert Will over a single Concept or Element, Create Effects Appropriate to That One Element". Maybe a deeper examination of this power can cause a sort of correlation between the Intelligence Magic and the various Topics that its power can be expressed through, and eventually be seen as a piece of the literal Universal Foundation (which then would cause the Magic to become like Arcane Magic looks in Diablo 3, what with throwing Galaxies at people, but the concept of the power transforming into a World Building Power intrigues me, because it's like Arcana but in a different way. As someone who doesn't like the idea of Arcana as a universal power, I think I like this view of it much better.

Misc

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So collective belief is like Charisma, and can make Gods.

Understanding and Wisdom can lead to power through Nature.

Strong minds can exert their Intelligence over things to make it do, well, More than Normal.

Note: The Charisma/Collective Belief Magic has a darker side to it, because while the concepts of good and bad exist and manifest themselves, so too does madness and fear, thus opening the door to baddies like Eldritch Horrors & the such. Also, in D&D terms, Demons and Devils are the same damn monster in my book, perhaps the more rabid horde of Demons being more akin to its D&D equivalent while Demons resembling Devils are the more intelligent or domineering among them, and thus hold control and sway of the Hell(s), sort of speak.

Alrighty, let's hop into where I originally started this crazy train.

Races

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Giants

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Giants are monolithically huge and towering creatures, as large as mountains, beings of flesh and an element with which they are tied to. Frost Giants are literally walking glaciers. Fire Giants are living active volcanoes. Storm Giants are akin to unending storms, both through tornadoes and hurricanes. I'm not sure about Sea Giants yet. But Giants are very elemental in nature and power. In this description of them, a creature such as a half-giant could not be created through normal sexual means. Perhaps Giants can bestow some kind of Nature Magic Blessing/Imprint onto a woman while the child is unborn. But to do this, the mother would have to be close to the Giants in some way, such as being a Shaman or Priestess of Giants of a particular element.

Goblins

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Here's a fun one I hope you guys like. Goblins are like the Pathfinder Goblins fused with Yordles from a game called League of Legends. Look up "Ziggs" with Google, and then replace his head with the head of a Pathfinder Goblin, add fur and big cat ears to the head, and you're gold. Now, Goblins are going to be interesting because of one big thing: Goblins were once Orcs. Back in days gone by, Orcs used to have a very Rome-like Empire and essentially ruled the world. However, in their days of being cocky and power hungry, they somehow came in contact with an Eldritch Horror or a Madness Deity, one I think could be derived from the Human Consciousness rather than the Orcish Consciousness. Hell, perhaps Orcs enslaved Humans way back when. Anyways, contact with this power literally caused the whole stinkin' race to transform into these mad & adorably fuzzy creatures with pensions for carrying dangerously sharp knives, stabbing things, launching themselves out of catapults at their enemies & being completely safe on landing (like cats), and stupidly wonderful culinary skill.

Humans

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Ok, so we exist, complex and complicated as usual. Who would have thought? I'm thinking that perhaps Humans were recognized by a greater race and raised to higher levels in a more efficient time than normal, this race being...

Dragons

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I think Dragons will hold an interesting place in this world, as being creatures with the faculties of an Intelligent creature, but also having very expressively Nature & Elemental bodies and perhaps reactions/emotions. They were able to recognize that Humanity had potential as a species, and took them under their wings, taught them, shaped them. I'm not sure if I want Dragons of this world to have the same lust for power or gold as they stereotypically do, but perhaps that could be a reason Dragons decided to help Humanity along. They saw a little bit of themselves in us, and empathized.

Well, that's all I've currently got on the table. I think the next thing I'll do is put down some characters that either could or I would want to have exist in this world.

Also, if it wasn't apparent yet, I don't have a name for this world yet.

[brian 333]

Giants seem to be a bit over the top for a race that will interact with PC's. Not that it's a bad idea to have them as you have described them, but as one of the core races of the world, they seem a bit out of scale.

Here's an example of what I mean: the giant is to humans very much as the flea is to us. Too small to be noticed, much less interacted with, unless there is an itch to be scratched.

It seems to me that they could be scaled down, say, to be about the size of dragons. In this case, they would still be immense, but if a human spoke to one it might hear him.

[TechnOkami]

Giants seem to be a bit over the top for a race that will interact with PC's. Not that it's a bad idea to have them as you have described them, but as one of the core races of the world, they seem a bit out of scale.

Here's an example of what I mean: the giant is to humans very much as the flea is to us. Too small to be noticed, much less interacted with, unless there is an itch to be scratched.

It seems to me that they could be scaled down, say, to be about the size of dragons. In this case, they would still be immense, but if a human spoke to one it might hear him.

They aren't "core" per se. They simply exist in the world. The concept of a half-giant, while much rarer in this world, is closer to being a core "race", although in D&D Terms it would be a template.

[TechnOkami]

I though that I should clarify something.

I know that I've been expressing a lot of ideas presented with D&D terminology, but that's honestly just so I can more easily convey my ideas as well as have them be a little more streamline. I don't actually wish to use this world as a D&D setting (although I'm not opposed to the idea of it, or others using it). I intend to have this world be the setting of, basically, stories I might want to write.

[Everyl]

The giants you describe remind me of Shadow of the Colossus a little bit. That game should give you an idea of what fighting a living hillside would be like for a human, at any rate. Also,

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it's ultimately about the origin of what might well be a line of half-giants... or perhaps half-demons.

[TechnOkami]

The giants you describe remind me of Shadow of the Colossus a little bit. That game should give you an idea of what fighting a living hillside would be like for a human, at any rate. Also,

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it's ultimately about the origin of what might well be a line of half-giants... or perhaps half-demons.

I disagree.

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It's not the origins of a character that's going to meal or break this story, it's the sh!t I'm gong to put this character through that will. More importantly though, although he's a very important character to me, he won't be the only character by far.

Thanks on the Colossus idea though. I suppose that is an influence, even if I wasn't thinking if them directly at the time.

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Oh, sorry. Thought you were making a prediction comment on my story, not Shadow's story. Yes, I would completely agree it sparks the stories of a line if half-... ...things... hence Ico.

[FallenFallcrest]

Reading your outline gave me several good ideas, I hope they help:

I have an idea about the gods and supernatural. How about the gods and other entities don't just exist because of belief, they exist as representations of ideals. If the collective intelligent minds form a connection, what if the ideals of like-minded thoughts (the power that the collected thoughts contain) create avatars that represent the thoughts and convictions of a large group of people. The form of the gods are based on strength of belief, in the god, bit also in the ideal.

Angels and other entities represent smaller, more specific aspects of the deities. They represent the details, which not everyone who thinks similarly would agree upon. But all of these smaller aspects still serve the greater purpose of the deity. (which makes a great deal of sense if you consider this mind connection blurring the literal and metaphorical.) Unless, a servant of the god gains more power than the god itself, then that angel may either split off from the group or usurp the power of the deity, depending on what is reflected on the mortal plane. This would also clarify the role of the greater deities (if they exist in your world) like in D&D how there are many major draconic gods, but they all still are sort of commanded by Io. Or why many gods will join together for common fights, they are serving a greater purpose, like good vs evil or for the sake of draconian mortals. The lesser deities can be considered angels to greater deities and the angels can be considered deities as well, but with smaller domains.

Because of course, with everything being connected, the force of the totality is drowned out by the noise of the many parts. (If you want, you could even have the whole psychic connection be embodied by some over-deity, who cannot, and/or does not really do anything, but still is a real entity.) There are ripples and negative connections, ideas that are not compatible, so there are gods that war, which inspires man to do war, which strengthens the gods. The whole system waxes and wanes. The gods have their own self awareness because they are connected to mankind, so they use what influence they can to preserve their own existence (meaning, they defend the moral that they stand for, which keeps them alive and strengthens them further).

You also might want to think carefully about how the afterlife interacts with this psychic plane. The ghosts could serve the gods or animate the gods or live with the gods, or they could be totally separate or interact in a totally different way. Would the minds of the dead contribute to the psychic plane anymore?

The animal mind plane (and/or) afterlife could also be adressed. It might give rise to primal entities like the intelligent mind plane gives rise to deities. (please make up names for these two planes. It is getting hard to me to type them over and over. Just kidding, but you do need names). Can sentient beings interact with the primal mind field? How about vice-versa? (Then you could have some kind of super field of all living beings, but nobody usually would be able make the connections between the two.) Do non living entities have magic/psionics/miscellaneous power within them? Are they connected too? (With their own beings, like elementals, or something?) These are all questions for you to answer.

If you like any of that, feel free to take and edit what you want. I would be happy to talk about world building anytime.

[TechnOkami]

@FallenFallcrest:

I haven't forgotten your post, I'm just trying to understand it better. I don't quite grasp it all yet, so it's stewing in my mind at the moment.

On World Building Stuff...

So very recently I nostalgia'd myself out and played through Warcraft III (currently working on The Frozen Throne), and thoroughly enjoyed the story once more. I realized though that something of an overarching theme that I enjoy amongst the stories I read (ranging most evidently from the (Dark) Souls series to Game of Thrones to Darksiders to old Warcraft) is that Dark Fantasy really appeals to me. The relevance of this though is that I'm not sure what kind of story I really want to write honestly, just bits and pieces of the world and how I want it to function are slowly assembling. My literary knowledge is so-so at the moment, but two authors whose books I've read which are very dear to me are George R.R. Martin (ASoIaF) and Patrick Rothfuss (The Name of the Wind).

What I liked most from ASoIaF was the interplay of various characters, digging into their minds and how they thought, and how this intricate web of characters made his world breathe. I'm fairly sure the kind of story I want to write will not be quite as heavy a story about medieval politics and historical narrative as it will be a focus on the lives of various characters I want existing in my world.

The Name of The Wind... how to put it... I've never felt so completely engrossed and felt so strong a need to read a book before. Bouncing back and forth between the future (where the main character is telling his life story) and the past was an excellent narrative tool, but the interaction of the main character with the vast flight of other characters in the book was just so excellently done. Like I said, it hooked me and kept me reading, and I've never had that happen to me before.

Essentially what I want to do is write from multiple perspectives like Martin does (thus making the world feel organic and alive) but with the... effortlessness that Rothfuss both tells stories and keeps people so easily engrossed.

Ok, enough on the rough how's of what I intend to have the damn thing written, more about the genre of book it'll be. I think I want it to be Dark Fantasy, but at the same time it might just become Fantasy, and I'm not too sure which it will end up being. To try and express what stories I'll be writing about though, I'll be writing small synopses of characters that will be existing in this world. It'll probably be the next post, once I get to it.