Let's Build a Setting! "The Verdant Fissure"

[DuctTapeKatar]

Well, it's about time that I threw this out there. For anyone new to Let's Build a Setting, this thread is a world-building exercise where people take turns posting and adding new additions to a world. The first post establishes a main concept or trait of the world, and then additional posts add the flesh-and-bones to the first, creating a fully-fledged setting.


BASIC RULES: PLEASE READ

1. Do not contradict previous posts. Modifying said posts is acceptable, but don't modify it to death.
2. Here and Now (to a degree) rule: Additions are recommend to be set in the current time-frame of the setting. Going into ancient history to explain why the world is the way it is adds absolutely nothing to the thread, and cheapens the experience of an original, unique setting. However, backstory can be important to provide context, just don't go too far into why a civilization worshiped chickens, or something.
3. Balloon Corp. Rule: No absolutes (EX: monopolies, only one magic-capable race, etc.) This is mainly so that there are no hangups down the road and so that there are as many possibilities for adding things as possible.

1)

The Verdant Fissure

This world is primarily a massive desert. Nothing but a landscape of Sahara-like dunes and small oases covers the land, except for a massive canyon-valley system wide enough to hold individual lakes and rivers (possibly even a sea). Because this world doesn't follow the typical atmospheric qualities of Earth (by the powers of allplied DM-tonium!), this valley, known as the Verdant Fissure, is home to dozens of kingdoms and civilizations that go back for eons. It is a landscape of long valleys and canyons, intersecting and weaving like the cracks in dried mud.

The Verdant Fissure is split into three main levels: Ground level (the nasty, inhospitable sands that nobody lives on anymore), the jungles of the plateaus and cliff-faces (15-30 kilometers down below the ground-level), and then the level where everyone lives, where the aforementioned forests, plains, and typical river-valley typography is. It is technically possible to go down even further, where the temperature goes into sub-zero, but at that point you'll be in dark, dangerous ice-caves, and even further leads into god(s)-know-what. Other climates and biomes are possible, but the trend is that most of the Verdant Fissure is consisting of forests and prairie, with some of it being prime for farming.

The Verdant Fissure is typically wide enough that it takes a two-day trip to reach one end to the other on average, but it is possible for some areas to be thin enough that traveling to one end to the other is less than thirty minutes tops or wide enough that the opposite wall seems to be only a few meters tall. It is very, very long. Rivers can flow for miles before ending in small lakes, and it has been widely accepted that the Fissure is much larger than it seems (nobody inside the Fissure can easily reach ground level, since the sides of the canyons tend to be sheer cliffs, and even then, most of what's up there is desert, so there is little reason to climb all the way up there to get a good look at the landscape). Traveling across the Fissure is difficult if one wants to enter into a different valley or elevation, since one of the greatest obstacles tends to be the rock-face of cliffs and plateaus, though these can be remedied with the expensive excavation of tunnels through possibly dozens of miles through rock.

This world is that of low-magic: The magic should be, well, arcane -- somewhat mysterious, strange, and possibly completely aberrant in the worst of cases. It'd be too easy for magic to be used to bypass a lot of the difficult landscape that is the geography of the Verdant Fissure, as well as the problems that said geography provides, so keep it on the down-low. If any magic can do this, like teleportation, it should have some side effect or cost to balance it out.


NOTE: I was thinking this as a more economics-based setting, think Spice and Wolf or some parts of Game of Thrones, but, even if this is taken that direction, there would still be space for some combat and political specific themes (caravans need protecting from bandits and mercenaries, and nobles love to mess with other noble's caravans, and kingdoms tend to hate each other for existing). Horror elements, although I'd like to keep on the down-low, could be included. Travelers love campfire stories, and the Donner Party Expedition was a thing, so some things to keep potential players on edge could be entertaining (if done sparingly).

[Lleban]

2. Travelling across ground level can be quite perilous, at the height of summer the temperature can get as high as 100 C and as low as -10 C on the coldest nights. The ground level also experiences frequent sandstorms that can last up to 6 weeks at a time.

3. Rumor has it that beneath the icy caverns lies a massive ocean.

[Razade]

4. It's said the fissure isn't a natural formation, something vast and terrible having formed it long eons ago. What it might be, if it was even a single something, is unknown but rumors abound of strange lights in the frozen caverns and a sense that something is watching anyone who sets foot on the ground level.

5. Veins of mysterious ore riddle the entire fissure that pulse with a living creature's heart beat. The ore is unsuitable for processing into anything durable due to a a low melting point (carrying it in the ground section during summer is likely to turn anything made of the metal into a puddle) however when alloyed with various other metals it provides great flexile strength to the object. Ingesting trace elements of the ore causes severe nightmares filled with eldritch abominations and those who work smelting and refining the ore often go mad and disappear.

[Newtonsolo313]

5. Veins of mysterious ore riddle the entire fissure that pulse with a living creature's heart beat. The ore is unsuitable for processing into anything durable due to a a low melting point (carrying it in the ground section during summer is likely to turn anything made of the metal into a puddle) however when alloyed with various other metals it provides great flexile strength to the object. Ingesting trace elements of the ore causes severe nightmares filled with eldritch abominations and those who work smelting and refining the ore often go mad and disappear.

Did you just create eldritch gallium/mercury/lead
Anyway I think we should come up with a name for it

[Balyano]

6. Along one narrow and steep side fissure lies the valley of the Areptorich. These gangly quadrupeds possess hollow bones and can unfurl a membrane between their limbs to safely glide from great heights and land soft as a feather, though they lack the power of true flight. Due to their large surface area Areptorichs are more susceptible to extremes of temperature and are known to avoid extreme heat and cold when possible. If they must enter such environments they generally make their dissatisfaction know with incessant reminders to their friends about how uncomfortable they are. Their culture is particularly focused on things that are shiny.

7. Bambgorot, the largest settlement of the Areptorich is a maze of natural caves, carved tunnels, and rocky overhangs connected with poles, ladders, and extremely narrow walkways that can be hundreds of feet in the air and are built to a quality best described as ''rickety''. Few members of other races would dare to step foot upon them. The quickest way to move to a lower platform is to simply jump, not a problem for the Areptorich, not a great option for anyone else....or the stability of Bambgorotish architecture.

[Newtonsolo313]

So here is my proposal for how magic could work in this setting
1) How strong magic is is based off geographical location
2) Magic that people can use is best suited to altering materials(making stronger steel, softer cloth, and shinier glass)
3) it's possible to kill with magic but due to point no.1 its not a good idea too have that be the main mode of attack
4) Most magic is done over the course of minutes to days
5) Magical "spells" are weak to the point that being able to do the equivalent of a first level spell in a average level magic zone is enough to be a professional mage, second is enough to have people come to you for your services, and third is enough that people will call you an "archmage"
6) Natural magic effects can be orders of magnitude stronger than even the most powerful archmage.(so there could be a fountain of youth or whatever but no mage can replicate the effect)

The point of this is make it so trade routes can form between high magic zones and lower magic zones, make mages less of a warrior and more of a craftsman, and prevent mages from making challenges obsolete with a single spell

[Jonagel]

I like the magic idea! Is it your intention to create these population/wealth hubs centered around magic? Sometimes if in a fertile place great for food growth that means an obvious city or super affluent populace would be there (at least the potential for such). So long as don't assume every high magic zone is the best place to live im a fan.

It makes invasions and big military things less likely (at least in high magic zones given the likelihood for more bloodshed) -- you can have natural defensive areas as well as magic hot zones where a group of wizards can hold a fort by themselves maybe.

Anyway to make magic seem more mysterious or strange per the first post? Maybe people who are able to use it are apparently chosen at random? Maybe animals are chosen at the same rate randomly too making random animals in certain areas become magic beasts so to speak? Or maybe the magic zones can change location/potency? Not sure if that makes it mysterious though... Just throwing out ideas, none of this is confirmed or in place!

[Xuc Xac]

So here is my proposal for how magic could work in this setting
1) How strong magic is is based off geographical location
2) Magic that people can use is best suited to altering materials(making stronger steel, softer cloth, and shinier glass)
3) it's possible to kill with magic but due to point no.1 its not a good idea too have that be the main mode of attack
4) Most magic is done over the course of minutes to days
5) Magical "spells" are weak to the point that being able to do the equivalent of a first level spell in a average level magic zone is enough to be a professional mage, second is enough to have people come to you for your services, and third is enough that people will call you an "archmage"
6) Natural magic effects can be orders of magnitude stronger than even the most powerful archmage.(so there could be a fountain of youth or whatever but no mage can replicate the effect)

The point of this is make it so trade routes can form between high magic zones and lower magic zones, make mages less of a warrior and more of a craftsman, and prevent mages from making challenges obsolete with a single spell

I like it especially number 4. What about this?
Magic is easier than mundane effort but not faster. A mage can sharpen a blade without a whetstone, but he still has to spend several minutes chanting a sharpening incantation and waving his hands over the blade. A mage can forge a lump of metal into a sword bare-handed without tools or a forge, but it still takes just as long to shape and temper the metal. Magic doesn't save time--there's no *poof* and it's done--but it saves a lot of logistics. An arcane craftsman doesn't need a workshop full of tools to accomplish things. This makes industry more portable. It could even reverse the usual pattern of things. You could have nomadic industrial tribes moving from one magic site to another to create manufactured goods to trade with the settled people in cities.

[Razade]

Did you just create eldritch gallium/mercury/lead
Anyway I think we should come up with a name for it

Basically yes.

[Newtonsolo313]

I like the magic idea! Is it your intention to create these population/wealth hubs centered around magic? Sometimes if in a fertile place great for food growth that means an obvious city or super affluent populace would be there (at least the potential for such). So long as don't assume every high magic zone is the best place to live im a fan.

It makes invasions and big military things less likely (at least in high magic zones given the likelihood for more bloodshed) -- you can have natural defensive areas as well as magic hot zones where a group of wizards can hold a fort by themselves maybe.

Anyway to make magic seem more mysterious or strange per the first post? Maybe people who are able to use it are apparently chosen at random? Maybe animals are chosen at the same rate randomly too making random animals in certain areas become magic beasts so to speak? Or maybe the magic zones can change location/potency? Not sure if that makes it mysterious though... Just throwing out ideas, none of this is confirmed or in place!

So a magic rich area isn't going to necessarily be a population hub because magic just isn't a primary industry. You can't conjure food with it or anything so your better of putting the capital in a fertile area or something. Also I think having higher magic could be a bad thing and weird things could happen there.
On the topic of war magic, Magic wouldn't be as offensively specialized as dnd so it's like trying to kill people with a bunch of vinegar, possible but it's better to use weapon. a force of armed men could easily defeat mages of equal skill even without factoring in armor.
I do like the idea of there being magical beasts especially if number 6 applies to them so they can have abilities beyond that of normal people. I think it would be cool if it wasn't exactly random but people didn't know what changed the odds so some towns might have a lot of mages and others might have none. Also it could be more mysterious in that people who do magic don't really understand it.

I like it especially number 4. What about this?
Magic is easier than mundane effort but not faster. A mage can sharpen a blade without a whetstone, but he still has to spend several minutes chanting a sharpening incantation and waving his hands over the blade. A mage can forge a lump of metal into a sword bare-handed without tools or a forge, but it still takes just as long to shape and temper the metal. Magic doesn't save time--there's no *poof* and it's done--but it saves a lot of logistics. An arcane craftsman doesn't need a workshop full of tools to accomplish things. This makes industry more portable. It could even reverse the usual pattern of things. You could have nomadic industrial tribes moving from one magic site to another to create manufactured goods to trade with the settled people in cities.

I was more thinking of magic as another tool so for instance a blacksmith might use magic to get a sharper edge on a blade, a tailor might use magic to make the cloth soft, and a carpenter might use it to get a glossy finish.

not to either post in particular:
So my idea of magic is that it's the sort of thing that's people just have a knack for doing it without understanding how. So mage might move his hand after a tingling in there left foot and that makes sure the end product comes out right but they don't know why that it
Edit: it's sort of like how old people know it's gonna rain because of the tingling in their knees

[Lleban]

8. Sphinx - Originally created to protect humanoids, their purpose has since been perverted to limit humanoid growth. Thus, these powerful magical creatures are plagued by a duty to both cull and cultivate humanoids. Legend has it that Jaraza The Great, taught three arch magi, destroyed a dozen cities, and challenged an innumerable amount of travelers to a contest of riddles.

[Balyano]

9. Spellcasters can rush through their spells and complete them in half the time, but the results are sub-par. Brittle blades, leather that rots, oblong wheels, and animal speech translated into the wrong language are all possible outcomes from the shoddy workmanship of hurried magi. Beware of unscrupulous hucksters peddling potions, often the snake oil has a quality equivalent to having been cut with equal parts water. Due to this a caster with a good reputation can demand a higher price for magical service.

[Razade]

10. Spellcasters can ingest the strange ore that runs through out the fissure to "boost" their magic to create dazzling and dangerous displays of power or craft long lasting effects, some of which are still present to this day. Ingesting the ore, often through a potent beverage understandably dubbed "Mage Tea", carries with it all the dangers of working with the ore. Mages who use the tea are driven mad and some species find that the tea causes catastrophic morphological effects.

11. Elves dwell on the fissure floor and have through long ages worked their society up along the ravine walls to form a variety of kingdoms. Elves have a variety of skin tones ranging from pale alabaster to burnt caramel, hair tends towards browns and blacks and their large expressive eyes which are adapted to the gloom of the fissure floor are most often black. Elves have no innate magical abilities of their own and are somewhat resistant to other race's magic. Elves have a form of ancestor worship where individual families venerate various ancient patriarchs. The Kings of the Elven Cities are universally worshiped by those dwelling within their confines. The Elven people are great lovers of other cultures however due to their long lives take a more "viewer" relationship to other races, collecting and enslaving these peoples and treating them more like spoiled pets than actual members of society. Other races however are free to travel through Elven cities, a complex series of laws governing how one can become a "thrall" of an Elven family.

12. Elves have for centuries learned to craft various magical items from the strange native ore of the Verdant Fissure though how they do this with no magic isn't well known. Those who have escaped their cities speak of "singing groves" where Elven Crafters, twisted by the ore, are bound motionless to the ground as they slowly turn into trees and other plant life. The most well known item the Elves craft are Thrall Collars, artifacts that bind the will of sentient creatures to who ever owns the collar.

13. Another race of the Fissure are the Dwarves, squat chubby beings with similarities to moles. Dwarves have shovel like hands with four large taloned fingers, poor eyesight and powerful "tremorsense" that allows them to see vibrations through air and dirt. Dwarves are covered in thick dense short fur save for their faces, where their eyebrows and beards grow nonstop. The Dwarves, while shrewd business-folk, are not particularly bright and while they possess the ability to travel through the Fissure with their powerful digging they much prefer to dwell within their warrens which are dug deep into the walls and even into the city climes of the caverns below. Dwarves are fond of things and view those with the most stuff as powerful and wise, which has created a society around trade with other races, particularly brilliant members of their societies using these hoards of objects to become the kings of their respective warrens.

14. The Dwarves worship an entity, or entities, they call The Deep Shine. While most aren't articulate enough to describe this entity beyond "Colder than frost. Teeth that glitter", a few Dwarven leaders have been suitably bribed to give a more accurate view. These Dwarves describe at least one being with multiple limbs covered in crystal growths it trades to the Dwarves for meat, often other Dwarves, with teeth as long as spears. They say the being (if it is truly one such creature) exudes an aura of cold and speaks through the minds of other beings instead of an actual language. They also claim that it can "enter the dreams of mortals" and that this is how it often contacts Dwarves when it hungers.

15. The Dwarves speak of caverns beneath the ice layer where The Deep Shine dwell that are not cold. Few have returned from these realms to report on what lies bellow the ice layer.

[Newtonsolo313]

Ok so I'm getting good feedback from my proposal so I will implement it
16) The more significant "schools" of spell-casting are as follows
Shaping- Allows one to shape raw materials into a shape (think fabricate)
Alteration- Allows one to alter a material giving it special properties (for instance make cloth softer)
Divination- allows for the learning of information through magical means
Illusion- allows one to lie to the five senses through magic
17)necromancy and creating something from nothing is generally considered to be impossible for mortals(no create food and water spells)
18) Spells resembling enchantment(both types) and abjuration are possible but generally more complicated and are less reliable when compared to the primary schools
19) Spells usually take anywhere from minute to days to cast
20) There is no hard cap to how many spells a mage can cast but casting spells is does require time and can be tiring when there is not much ambient magic

[Zorku]

4b) That's because this world was just like the forgotten realms until a mutant mummy turned the surface into his vast and empty kingdom.

I don't understand what you mean by some big long rivers ending in small rivers. Is that supposed to make sense along mundane lines, or is it some kind of strange quasi-magic "the river just gradually stops being a big river" thing?

21) Although natural rivers are responsible for most of the verdant nature of the fissure, wide proliferation of qanat technology, combined with the typical lay of the land here, allows nearly any people on good terms with a few dwarves to irrigate just about whichever arid plot of land they desire. Depending on the length of tunnel required this typically involves a generations long contract to repay the dwarves, but at this point in time qanats fill most of the space where they are possible and needed, so farmers instead make periodic payments to local dwarves for basic maintenance or minor expansion, if they can't find somebody claiming to perform a passable job for cheaper.

*Since English is generally said to not include words that begin with q without an immediate u following them, I'll explain wtf a qanat is:
A qanat is a sort of underground canal, serving as a water source for communities on or near foothills. The idea is that you dig a well into the water table, up on the hill where it's higher, then very gradually slope it down until it emerges onto the plains as a nice artificial stream, which you then control in the typical irrigation ways. There are a series of other well shafts dug every so often in order to facilitate construction and maintenance, some of which actually serve as wells for hillside communities, and a variety of other technologies that stem from having a bunch of cool underground water flowing nearby, like primitive air conditioning and freezers that store or produce ice despite the above-ground climate.

When these ones are actually dug into the cliff face they probably take some special dwarven ingenuity to not tear themselves apart, but the overall slope present in this setting should make them rather broadly useful anywhere that you wouldn't want above ground canals, and maybe in a few places where you've already got above ground canals anyway.

[Jonagel]

I assume the Sphinx live in the desert/ground level...?

22) (Per the intro) though no one lives on the inhospitable sand swept ground level, people do still travel to the ground level from time to time. Some travel to satisfy wanderlust, some travel hoping to be explorers our find new mysteries, the focus of this entry is on those people that travel to the ground level for plants.

As mentioned, the horrific sand storms and inhospitable conditions make life on the ground level near impossible, except at the occasional oasis. These oases are short lived due to the sandstorms, and as such never grow to the tall lush green oases Earth's deserts may contain. Instead, these oases contain smaller sturdier plants, plants which do not grow in the comftorable biomes of the Fissure. These plants are exceptionally rare, and dangerous to obtain, thus making them very expensive (their uses as medicinal supplements, delicious spices, and peculiar poisons aside).

**I am thinking these are spices, a few poisons, and a few medicinal plants (like Aloe!). If a well equipped team with a good amount of luck spots an oasis somehow, they might only end up having to work a few weeks to have enough money to live comfortably for a year (like sailors that go crabbing during the stormy season in Alaska, but 1000% more dangerous and lucrative).**

[DuctTapeKatar]

I don't understand what you mean by some big long rivers ending in small rivers. Is that supposed to make sense along mundane lines, or is it some kind of strange quasi-magic "the river just gradually stops being a big river" thing?

That might be a typo on my part, sorry. The "river" bit should be lake. Just think of this place to look like a bunch of Grand Canyons covered in forests inside even larger Grand Canyons covered with jungle.

I have also corrected the typo. Thanks for catching that.

[Jonagel]

23) Magic and Animals
In summary:
- Sometimes animals become magical, but no where near as frequently as humans/intelligent creatures
- Magical animals seem to obtain magic at random, and per the setting it is tied to a location (so if an animal migrates or leaves the location their magic powers go away)
- Magical animals are able to use more powerful magic than humans/intelligent creatures, as animals fall under the 'natural' magic post from earlier (e.g. naturally occurring magic can be more powerful than what humans/intelligent creatures can cast).
- Different cultures react differently to magic animals (some might worship magic animals, some might seem as trophies, etc.

Some examples of magical animals include:
An exceptionally large python from the jungles that seemed to have obtained alteration magic enabling it to warm or cool it's body temperature at will when it descended from the jungles down to the third level and begin consuming smaller humanoids on the outskirts of several villages. (Think the real life inspiration for Jaws)

A deer that was able to change its colors to match its surrounding as it walked, like an octopus/chameleon through illusion magic. The local community saw this deer as a physical manifestation of one of their deities, leading to a strict no kill policy and near sacred status attributed to deer (think cows in Hindu or cats in ancient Egypt).

A boar with tusks sharpened finer than any metal blade. After an extravagant hunt, the mighty beast was slain and his tusks taken as trophies. These trophies eventually became family heirlooms and the pivotal part of a crest of a kingdom.

[Zorku]

That might be a typo on my part, sorry. The "river" bit should be lake. Just think of this place to look like a bunch of Grand Canyons covered in forests inside even larger Grand Canyons covered with jungle.

I have also corrected the typo. Thanks for catching that.

Alright. Now I'm only a pinch confused about why all the rivers don't find the next level of fissure and shoot down that way, or maybe most of them do? If there's like a lot of jungle canyons, a several plains canyons, and then just a few ice caverns, then I 'get' having lengthwise rivers whenever there's not a lower canyon to dip into, but I get the impression that it's supposed to be this one big jagged wound in the planet.

23) Magic and Animals

As I read this entry I'm having a hard time identifying what it actually says.

• Animals mostly act like animals
• Magical animals are weirder than mundane animals
• People react or do not react to magical animals
• Here's four examples of very boring* magical animals.

*Maybe you meant something else when you called them mundane?

I think I'd actually like entries for individual magical animals, especially if you kind of tied them to locations. Folks haven't established a lot of locations along the fissure to reference yet, so you've kind of already done as much as you could with the blade tusks, but how does the closest society react to Mrs. octopus camo deer?

24) The Vaoruhpti

After a series of bloody conquests, this offshoot valley has recently been united under a single ruler. Geographical barriers have proven to make continued conquest impractical, at least for several generations, so their ruler is struggling to quell their warrior tendencies, and has had some success by turning their aggression and need to prove themselves towards organized sports.

The Vaoruhpti worship a pantheon of gods that others consider to be flamboyant, though this is largely due to the variety and abundance of simple pigments that grow in the area. What constitutes royal or otherwise high status colors for their neighbors are just another basic color to the Vaoruhpti, and they consequently have a much broader vocabulary for specific hues and shades, to the point that their neighbors think they actually have some kind of special sight.

The Vaoruhpti are approximately human, but they're more lanky on average, and various lineages have small patches of scales or leopard spots or similar, which they associate with particular heroes from ages long past.

e: And for the sake of establishing relative locations, their branch valley is about a 3rd of the way down the primary canyon.
e2: Instead of a primary canyon, we will say they are about a 3rd of the way down "Canyon A," until anyone comes up with a better system.

[Jonagel]

As I read this entry I'm having a hard time identifying what it actually says.

• Animals mostly act like animals
• Magical animals are weirder than mundane animals
• People react or do not react to magical animals
• Here's four examples of very boring* magical animals.

*Maybe you meant something else when you called them mundane?

I think I'd actually like entries for individual magical animals, especially if you kind of tied them to locations. Folks haven't established a lot of locations along the fissure to reference yet, so you've kind of already done as much as you could with the blade tusks, but how does the closest society react to Mrs. octopus camo deer?

Thanks for the clarifying notes and questions! Your list is spot on, and my use of the word mundane isn't the most accurate. I'll edit my entry on that word, and make a summary at the beginning for ease of understanding. I'll also edit the three animal examples to give a bit more flavor to potential locations (that anyone can of course build on)! Moving forward, people can then add entries for other animals. =D

[DuctTapeKatar]

Alright. Now I'm only a pinch confused about why all the rivers don't find the next level of fissure and shoot down that way, or maybe most of them do? If there's like a lot of jungle canyons, a several plains canyons, and then just a few ice caverns, then I 'get' having lengthwise rivers whenever there's not a lower canyon to dip into, but I get the impression that it's supposed to be this one big jagged wound in the planet.

It is more like a bunch of intersecting wounds spread out over a large area. That's what I tried to convey, anyway. However, making it just one long line would make things difficult. For example: Kingdom-A wants to trade with Kingdom-C, but Kingdom-B is in the way and really hates Kingdom-A. I wanted to give it a bit more leeway, so that trade wouldn't be so easily blocked off (I mean, it's supposed to be difficult enough already).

[Zorku]

It is more like a bunch of intersecting wounds spread out over a large area. That's what I tried to convey, anyway. However, making it just one long line would make things difficult. For example: Kingdom-A wants to trade with Kingdom-C, but Kingdom-B is in the way and really hates Kingdom-A. I wanted to give it a bit more leeway, so that trade wouldn't be so easily blocked off (I mean, it's supposed to be difficult enough already).

When it's typically 60ish miles wide and sometimes substantially wider than that (all of which I presume to be measurements of the forests&plains level,) that didn't look like such a big problem, but more of a spider web layout does seem easier to work with in every way except figuring out how to describe where things are in our entries.

[Jonagel]

Spider web more like cracked earth, but with with variation in width of cracks
https://www.google.com/search?q=crac...w=1920&bih=975

Mapping this out/saying where is what will certainly be hard. I think that's kind of addressed 'in world', via this sentence from the first post:
Rivers can flow for miles before ending in small lakes, and it has been widely accepted that the Fissure is much larger than it seems (nobody inside the Fissure can easily reach ground level, since the sides of the canyons tend to be sheer cliffs, and even then, most of what's up there is desert, so there is little reason to climb all the way up there to get a good look at the landscape).

I say we keep moving forward with building the setting. If it ever starts too feel too confusing or convoluted we can take a step back to discuss describing location/mapping?

[Nifft]

Years and years ago, I found this image of a partially terraformed Mars:



I used it as a D&D campaign setting. Some of what I did may be useful.

Basically, the big equatorial canyon was a verdant fissure. The highlands were very high altitude (i.e. sparse atmosphere), but the rock was very porous and riddled with winding caverns.

The canyons were all the result of rivers, an the rivers all flowed north to the arctic sea. The biggest canyon -- the most verdant fissure -- runs east-west, and it's practically equatorial, so it's probably some of the most productive land on the planet, with a year-long growing season. Jungle, basically.

Around the arctic sea were some extensive low-lands. They experienced seasons which were relatively mild, but the 200-day-long winter meant the northern lowlands were not nearly as good land as the verdant fissure.

All those holes that look like meteor craters? (IRL are craters of course.) In this setting, those were where a large cavern's roof had collapsed, often due to water erosion. They functioned as oases to those traversing the desert highlands, and as food & light sources to those living below ground. Some were isolated from more porous rock and became salty little inland seas -- aboleths liked those, so smart travelers avoided them.

Sometimes it wasn't water erosion, though: volcanic activity could also cause a cave-in. Volcanic areas were dangerous (obviously), but rich in resources, so adventurous people braved the fire-subtyped monsters and hazards.

Anyway, the inhabitants:

- Bone Elves ("totally not albino drow") controlled the verdant fissure and the nearby caverns. They kept humans as slaves (because with that whole daylight blindness thing the Bone Elves didn't like working the fields). They liked spiders.

- Humans who had escaped lived on the northern plains. They were basically horse-nomads. During the winter, when daylight was sparse, the Bone Elves would sometimes raid them.

- Monsters associated with alien environments were found in this setting: displacer beasts, yrthaks, etc.

So. Not sure if this is what you're looking for in this thread. I can delete it if it's too far from the topic.

[VoodooPaladin]

economics-based setting

Then we'd best get some trade goods in here, eh?

(25) Pistonweed: A moderately large and fast-growing plant found wild in the dark recesses of at least three of the Four White Pits. They move of their own volition, expanding and contracting constantly along their bulky trunks. Though they are extremely resistant to cold, attempts to transplant them into the sub-jungular region failed miserably, as they refused to metastasize local fertilizers. This led them to being classified as "spellweeds" for decades because they were theorized to be a magical effect in solid form. The fact that pistonweed can be grown even in low-magic and dead magic regions would seem to dispute this, but no Archmage has as-yet ever lowered themselves to using their full mystical faculties to examine a houseplant.

(26) Tourmorguine: A small and dusky gem that is slick to the touch, famously compared to a snail's skin. Legend holds it can raise the dead, but the vageries of such a process are equally legendary. Part of the royal regalia of the lost empirate of Caquerkies was said to be a solid silver suit of armor, studded with prize-cut tourmorguines and blessed by gods. When worn by a daughter of royal blood, the armor would make its wielder invincible, while if worn by a son, it could be combined with the rest of the regalia to raise their legions from bone and bring about apocalypse. The popular "Caquerplica Cult" phenomenon has led to a high number of fake armors, shields, swords, and stranger things made using Tourmorguine, raising demand for them in select cities a thousandfold.

[Xuc Xac]

Then we'd best get some trade goods in here, eh?

(25) Pistonweed:

What use do those plants have? Why are they trade goods?

[Xuc Xac]

When it's typically 60ish miles wide and sometimes substantially wider than that (all of which I presume to be measurements of the forests&plains level,) that didn't look like such a big problem, but more of a spider web layout does seem easier to work with in every way except figuring out how to describe where things are in our entries.

Spider web more like cracked earth, but with with variation in width of cracks

The term you're looking for is "anastomosing river". It's essentially many parallel rivers connected by channels that flow between them to create a lot of islands. If the canyon was cut by a large anastamosing river, the "islands" would become massive towers or plateaus that divide the canyon into many smaller interwoven canyons. It looks similar to a "braided river" which has many small islands of sediment such as sand bars, but an anastomosing river has more permanent islands of solid material (or sediment with a lot of plants to bind them together so they don't erode and change like sand bars do, but that's not relevant to our canyon).

Spoiler: Anastomosing river

Show

[Lleban]

27. Valley of Suta- Suta is a wealthy mercantile kingdom, Suta is famed for building walls to section off certain areas of valley. The walls serve as both a means of protection but also a way to centralize authority by controlling the mobility of the people.

28. Red weed oil- Red weed is a plant with rusty red wooden stalks that secrete an aromatic oil during periods of severe cold. The oil can be used as both a cooking tool and a disinfectant. The trade in Red weed oil spans several valleys and has supplied many families with great wealth. Unfortunately there also exists a thriving trade of forged Red weed oil.

[ReaderAt2046]

29: The Jinn.

Creatures of living magic native to the surface deserts, the jinn (both singular and plural, both noun and adjective) are powerful, inscrutable, and alien. They require neither food nor water, and neither the sun's heat nor the cruel desert storms can harm them. Even the least of the jinn can work feats of magic that utterly transcend the work of mortal mages in both scope and speed, conjuring sandstorms or turning mortals into frogs in an instant. Similarly, the jinn seem to possess access to sources of knowledge that utterly transcend divination magic. Legends say that a jinn could tell you how many grains of sand there are in the endless desert, or describe the full extent and geography of the Verdant Fissure. But conversely, they are bound by an equally mysterious code of laws and rules, one almost completely opaque to mortals. Some jinn are benign, some cruel. Some enjoy making bargains with mortals, some do not. Their personalities vary as wildly as mortals, and their powers are equally varied. There are hints in legends and traveler's tales of a civilization among the jinn, though what manner of civilization it can be mortals can only speculate.

There are four limitations that are known to apply to all jinn: Firstly, no jinn can ever deliberately speak an untruth. Likewise, if they promise to do something, they must do everything in their power to complete that task. A jinn who speaks a lie or breaks its given word will be wiped utterly from existence by the backlash of its own power. Secondly, each jinn has a true name that binds its essence together. If a mortal learns that name, he or she gains near-total power over that jinn, able to command it to do anything in its power, or destroy it with ease. For this reason, the jinn always adopt titles such as "The Candlemaker" or "The Balance" when dealing with mortals. Thirdly, no jinn can directly interfere in the work or doings of another, nor enter another's territory without permission. Like the first rule, violation of this rule will cause a jinn's own powers to turn on it and destroy it. Fourth, no jinn can enter the Verdant Fissure, nor work any magic that extends into it. Some tales state that this fourth limitation is a mere subset of the third, and that the Verdant Fissure is itself the creation and territory of a jinn, one of such power as to transcend even the desert jinn.

30: The Balance

One of the jinn most featured in legends and stories, the Balance claims a relatively small stretch of territory that borders the Fissure, at the head of one of the rare comparatively easy routes to the surface, and uses its power to maintain a small but fertile oasis for the convenience of visitors. It generally takes the physical form of a giant ibis-headed humanoid holding a set of scales in one hand. Any mortal may come to the Balance and request a boon of it. The Balance will almost always grant that boon, though it may not if it feels the boon is too ambitious or if granting it would violate the mysterious laws of the jinn. However, if it grants the boon, it will also bestow upon the petitioner a curse that it feels is of equivalent weight to the boon. This curse may or may not have anything to do with the boon.

Some examples of boons and curses documented in legend include:

• A farmer, starving due to a famine, who requested food for his family. The Balance gave him a magical chest full of foodstuffs, which refilled itself whenever emptied and lasted until the famine broke months later. The farmer was cursed to see the world upside down for the rest of his life, as though the ground were the sky and everyone was walking on the ceiling.
• A king who requested the wisdom and compassion to lead his people through every crisis. The Balance caused his intelligence to thereafter change from day to day, shifting from superhuman genius to drooling idiot and anywhere in between, entirely at random. His empathy likewise changed from day to day, inversely to his intellect.
• A man who sought The Balance after the death of his wife. All memories of his wife were erased, and he was rendered unable to hear her name if others spoke it. It is unknown whether that was the boon or the curse.
• A girl who sought healing from a condition that had left her unable to bear children. Her curse was that she was thereafter unable to see colors.
• An explorer who asked for the ability to understand all languages. His curse was that he was rendered mute and incapable of writing intelligible words, forcing him to communicate only through pantomime.

[VoodooPaladin]

(30) The Spirotaph: A single line of text covering a pillar the size of a mountain. It says in fractal text, infinitely repeating: Fear Jinn blood. It destroys Names.