What if Antarctica Stayed Green? (Fantasy Antarctica)

[Mechalich]

Maybe its just me, but taking Antarctica out of the Antarctic circle, kinda removes a lot of the novelty of using Antarctica in the first place. Like the Aurora Austral-is, the verdant green summers, and bleak winters are part of what makes the continent special. Moving it 45 degrees north just makes it a more temperate Australia.

Yeah, at that point you just have an alternate continental configuration, which while a perfectly plausible thing to do as a matter of turning the clock backwards or forwards in terms of plate tectonics, doesn't really change anything unless you're really interested in trying to model alternative global climate dynamics (generally this is a bridge too far for most world-building efforts).

[Jendekit]

Revisiting this idea and I've been putting together the lore to turn it into a Genesys setting, and I thought I'd provide an update and a question or two for details that I'm struggling with.

The current list of of species include the fungal Mycons (split into Dream and Rot mycons, depending on when their spore germinated), the imperial Tylar (based off thylacosmilus), the pseudo-undead Dharkyl, and humans. Magic is divided into 3 forms: Light (direct, to the point, offensive), Shadow (misdirection, illusions, corruption/curses), and Dream (ephemeral, enhancing, transformative).

Politically I'm focusing on a small section of the map, as the entire thing is several times bigger than Europe with it's crazy number of kingdoms and empires throughout the years. The two dominant powers are the Tylar Imperium which rules in the coastal region of the map, while the Ahkryn Dynasty rules deeper inland, overseen by the Corpse King Antar Dharkyl. Together they rule ~1m m², a little smaller than the Roman Empire at its peak and less than 20% of the continent.

Spoiler: Species

Show

The mycons don't rule any nations, and their reproductive cycle doesn't really lend itself to a communal life. Every six months, when the sun either dips below or rises above the horizon for the first time, their bodies undergo a short period where they develop spores and then essentially have sneezing fits that last for 3 days. For the greatest dispersal, and thus chance for their spores to grow to maturity, they tend to avoid other mycons as the seasons come to a close. Whether a spore develops into a rot or dream mycon depends on how much light it is exposed to during its six month development period: rot mycons are those that have little sunlight during their development while dream mycons are those that have an abundance. Haven't yet determined physical appearance beyond basic humanoid body-plan.

The tylars hase a strict, regimented caste based society. Three castes exist: Crafter, Scholar, and Warrior. Crafters are the commoners, if it involves producing any kind of good or product they are the ones responsible for it. Scholars are the leaders, priests, and bureaucrats. Warriors are rather self-explanatory. Physically they resemble fantasy-typical catfolk with saber-fangs and "sheathes" protruding from their lower jaw.

Dharkyl have the oldest continual nation in the land, the exact numbers haven't yet been established, but in their early history they were a living people that were forced to take drastic measures in order to survive some great cataclysm. Those measures involved a great deal of magic and turned the population into a people neither fully living nor undead but bearing traits of both. Functionally immortal, most dharkyl go insane and go something that results in their death after their third or fourth century, but on rare occasions an ancient ruin will be found inhabited by a dharkyl that was trapped for upwards of a thousand years. Leaning towards a centaur-type body plan with a gaunt, nearly skeletal appearance.

The humans are a minority in the land, both in population and political power. The extreme day and night cycle can play havoc on their mental faculties, leading them to be their most productive during the short twilight periods that resemble the day/night cycle of elsewhere in the world. Rare is the human in a position of power outside of being the "pet" or curiosity of a noble of another race.

Spoiler: Magic

Show

The three forms of magic are based on the cycles of the seasons and the subconscious mind.

Light magic draws upon the notions of the summer day: life, growth, clarity, rejuvenation, but also fire, heat, and storms. Spells of Light magic tend towards direct, overt effects or revealing hidden things. Most powerful during the summer, weaker during the winter.

Shadow magic draws upon the aspects of the winter night: cold, decay, darkness, secrecy. Spells of Shadow magic are more subtle, illusions and manipulative curses are their bread and butter. Most powerful during winter, weaker during the summer.

Dream magic is ephemeral and seemingly without limits. Visually resembling the auroras that dance across the sky, practitioners of Dream magic are less predictable than other casters, and many possess the ability to take on other forms. Not strengthened or weakened by the seasons.

The biggest issue I'm currently having can be described with one word: time. I have no idea how the people of this land would keep track of time, when even at the northernmost reaches a day is basically a year. At first I thought a type of sundial type method, but that doesn't work year-round and I haven't got anything else.

[Tom Kalbfus]

Revisiting this idea and I've been putting together the lore to turn it into a Genesys setting, and I thought I'd provide an update and a question or two for details that I'm struggling with.

The current list of of species include the fungal Mycons (split into Dream and Rot mycons, depending on when their spore germinated), the imperial Tylar (based off thylacosmilus), the pseudo-undead Dharkyl, and humans. Magic is divided into 3 forms: Light (direct, to the point, offensive), Shadow (misdirection, illusions, corruption/curses), and Dream (ephemeral, enhancing, transformative).

Politically I'm focusing on a small section of the map, as the entire thing is several times bigger than Europe with it's crazy number of kingdoms and empires throughout the years. The two dominant powers are the Tylar Imperium which rules in the coastal region of the map, while the Ahkryn Dynasty rules deeper inland, overseen by the Corpse King Antar Dharkyl. Together they rule ~1m m², a little smaller than the Roman Empire at its peak and less than 20% of the continent.

Spoiler: Species

Show

The mycons don't rule any nations, and their reproductive cycle doesn't really lend itself to a communal life. Every six months, when the sun either dips below or rises above the horizon for the first time, their bodies undergo a short period where they develop spores and then essentially have sneezing fits that last for 3 days. For the greatest dispersal, and thus chance for their spores to grow to maturity, they tend to avoid other mycons as the seasons come to a close. Whether a spore develops into a rot or dream mycon depends on how much light it is exposed to during its six month development period: rot mycons are those that have little sunlight during their development while dream mycons are those that have an abundance. Haven't yet determined physical appearance beyond basic humanoid body-plan.

The tylars hase a strict, regimented caste based society. Three castes exist: Crafter, Scholar, and Warrior. Crafters are the commoners, if it involves producing any kind of good or product they are the ones responsible for it. Scholars are the leaders, priests, and bureaucrats. Warriors are rather self-explanatory. Physically they resemble fantasy-typical catfolk with saber-fangs and "sheathes" protruding from their lower jaw.

Dharkyl have the oldest continual nation in the land, the exact numbers haven't yet been established, but in their early history they were a living people that were forced to take drastic measures in order to survive some great cataclysm. Those measures involved a great deal of magic and turned the population into a people neither fully living nor undead but bearing traits of both. Functionally immortal, most dharkyl go insane and go something that results in their death after their third or fourth century, but on rare occasions an ancient ruin will be found inhabited by a dharkyl that was trapped for upwards of a thousand years. Leaning towards a centaur-type body plan with a gaunt, nearly skeletal appearance.

The humans are a minority in the land, both in population and political power. The extreme day and night cycle can play havoc on their mental faculties, leading them to be their most productive during the short twilight periods that resemble the day/night cycle of elsewhere in the world. Rare is the human in a position of power outside of being the "pet" or curiosity of a noble of another race.

Spoiler: Magic

Show

The three forms of magic are based on the cycles of the seasons and the subconscious mind.

Light magic draws upon the notions of the summer day: life, growth, clarity, rejuvenation, but also fire, heat, and storms. Spells of Light magic tend towards direct, overt effects or revealing hidden things. Most powerful during the summer, weaker during the winter.

Shadow magic draws upon the aspects of the winter night: cold, decay, darkness, secrecy. Spells of Shadow magic are more subtle, illusions and manipulative curses are their bread and butter. Most powerful during winter, weaker during the summer.

Dream magic is ephemeral and seemingly without limits. Visually resembling the auroras that dance across the sky, practitioners of Dream magic are less predictable than other casters, and many possess the ability to take on other forms. Not strengthened or weakened by the seasons.

The biggest issue I'm currently having can be described with one word: time. I have no idea how the people of this land would keep track of time, when even at the northernmost reaches a day is basically a year. At first I thought a type of sundial type method, but that doesn't work year-round and I haven't got anything else.

The evolution of the Eocene climate began with warming after the end of the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) at 56 million years ago to a maximum during the Eocene Optimum at around 49 million years ago.
Here is a map:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...rth_50_mya.jpg
And the Wikipedia article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eocene