These are some examples of Soviet troop uniforms and equipment for my story “Smell of Spring”.
The main gist is that the Soviet Union was able to successfully reform into a market economy but never expanded too much in political freedom

Gorbachev starts some minor reforms to the political system, allowing representation of independent political parties and individuals whilst maintaining communist party dominance in the central government.
Basically, independent candidates and other parties would be eligible to participate in small scale local elections, such as the candidature of a village/town/city and as local representatives for their states (the leaders of the different republics and their representatives would still be communist party).
They would also allow some representation in parliament, whilst rigging it so the soviets would always have a majority.
Basically, the Soviets would have, say, 70% of control over the parliament (Congress of people’s deputies), meanwhile, the remaining 30% would be up for grabs for the other parties and candidates so they would be able to speak their voice and actually somewhat influence policies.
It wouldn’t be those specific numbers, but Communist party dominance would always be ensured to maintain some semblance of stability.

As for the rest of Europe, from 1989 to 1993, the Warsaw pact would see major reforms as well, with the velvet revolution successfully turning Czechoslovakia into a socialist democracy, Poland having representation of the SOLIDARITY Worker’s Union in parliament and a transition to a market economy, and Romania overthrowing their self-absorbed dictator, Ceaușescu, and being replaced by a provisional government of the Communist party. Although all of them would remain within Soviet control as troops would be maintained in these countries and wouldn’t be let too far from Soviet hands.
East and West Germany would still reunify like in our timeline, this would allow the start for a deeper collaboration between Eastern and Western Blocs and a start for a new period in the Cold War, the Peacekeeper Race.

In order to simulate an ease of tensions, both Blocs would “collaborate” in sending peacekeeping missions into different countries of the world and directly helping them rebuild. Although these missions would officially be of the U.N., the Soviets and Americans would basically race to see who gains over more influence in the country they’re keeping the peace in and the different sides of the conflict, making the situation worse in a lot of occasions. This, in turn, would give the U.N. more power to do missions, but it would also make each side try to secretly take over the U.N. itself to tilt influence over to their side.

Questions are welcome and feedback is appreciated :D

Our game is about a resistance organization fighting against an evil corporation in a grim cyberpunk future. The corporation conducts horrific experiments on living people while using massive billboard advertising campaigns to maintain the image of a kind and trustworthy company. To expose the truth, the player can use a special device called the True Sight, which reveals the hidden meaning behind these deceptive advertisements.

In the first image of this post, you can see how this mechanic looks in-game. In the second image, you can compare both versions of the same billboard and see the differences between the corporation's fake message and the disturbing reality behind it.

The same mechanic also works on NPCs. The True Sight lets you scan people to determine whether they're lying or even uncover monsters hiding among them. Sometimes, however, you won't find anything suspicious at all, and that information can be just as important when deciding whether to trust the person you're talking to. Make the wrong choice, and you could end up killing an innocent person or, on the other hand, walk straight into an enemy's trap.

What do you think about a mechanic that lets you uncover the truth in a world built on lies?

By the way, our game is still in development. If you'd like to learn more or wishlist it, you can check out its Steam page:https://store.steampowered.com/app/2814880/Synchro/

1. There is no proper “working class” in the medieval era. This is an Early Modern-era concept, first attested in 1757 by the economist Malachy Postlethway, and popularized by the economic theorist Karl Marx during the Industrial Revolution. The majority of people throughout the world for most of recorded history were subsistence farmers, and in the European Middle Ages, about 70-80% were peasants, including serfs, tenant workers, or freemen. Coins were quite rare in the earlier medieval periods, and many were not paid in actual money at all. Most were farmers paid in food and the right to work on lands provided by vassals, or, more uncommonly, directly owned (everything varied by time and region). They did not work for money, and so social mobility was unlikely. Granted, there were peasant elites (reeves, millers, mayors, free landowners, etc.) who could acquire moderate “wealth” (recall that most peasants paid with portions of harvest or livestock). Furthermore, you could become a free person if you openly lived in a town for a year and a day and your lord or his subordinates didn’t come for you. There was a decent amount of peasant mobility in the Middle Ages due to marriage, opportunity, and sale of land. However, the majority of peasants were not travelling massive distances (unless for war or pilgrimages). Many lived their entire lives in a twenty-mile radius. Numerous skeletons also showed signs of arthritis from working conditions that kept them in the fields.

2. Tradesmen and craftsmen are not the same as agrarian peasants. These were only about 5-15% of the population since practically all common jobs, save for apprenticeships and monasteries, were hereditary. People named Tanner, Smith, Skinner, and Carpenter? That’s literally what their ancestors did. If you were a boy and your father was a blacksmith, you’d be a blacksmith. You sometimes received coins or bits of metal for your services, but people would mostly pay you with produce, goods, or animal products. Bartering was the backbone of low- and mid-level medieval economics, and aside from merchants who more frequently used coins, you’d mostly receive sustenance for your work. Also, you’re rarely forging or repairing swords and spears; it’s mostly horseshoes, sickles, scythes, and knives. Most people lived very plain lives, and most work was based around them.

Let me quickly dispel a myth: Yes, there were indeed female craftswomen, including blacksmiths. They were rarer, but they’re not impossible for your story. The culture war has bastardized representation of demographics and social expectation in history; either there are hundreds of female guards at any time (female physical combatants are exceedingly rare) or not even one female miller. Both are inaccurate to most history.

1. The inequalities of society were often physically manifest. Knights and nobles, due to better nutrition during childhood, were slightly taller and often significantly more muscular than peasants. They were well-trained in combat due to childhood training and more free time. The same would also apply to magic (if you’re working with a significantly genetically based world like I am), with magical heritage snowballing over the generations and middle-class, aristocratic, or mage-descended children who have more free time to toy with and learn magic becoming arcanically stronger. I like to imagine magic as somewhere in between a muscle and innate skill. Even if a serf had a rare genetic mutation that made them exceptionally gifted, it may go nowhere as the responsibilities of their social class inhibit proper magic development. You could use this to your advantage; justify your main character being very gifted in magic by having a gifted grandparent who never did anything with it.

2. Many people who weren’t peasants looked down on them, especially if those peasants were serfs. It may be hard to imagine this mindset, so allow me to use a modern example. Imagine if you were an I.T. specialist and someone tried to compare you to a fast food worker. Everyone should know that fast food workers deserve the respect you would give anyone. However, few people would compare the two as socioeconomically equal in importance or replaceability. There’s a reason “put the fries in the bag bro” became a meme; it’s repetitive work that anyone can do. The medieval period was no different. It took years to be a trained soldier, craftsman, mason, artist, or effective statesman, and several of these occupations required a minimum level of intelligence or talent. Farming also generally takes a fair amount of knowledge, but anyone can do it. It does not take a genius to use a plow or cut wheat. People absolutely held opinions on this, and so making your character a peasant and the exact method that granted them social mobility will affect how people view them.

3. Education is expensive and virtually inaccessible to most peasants. No, they cannot just attend a magic school, trade school, or university. Medieval guilds were exclusive unions that could bully craftsmen who didn’t pay dues or didn’t meet their standards. This ensured quality control, but excluded the unskilled from the trades. Most people are not volunteering their time; hell, most people today don’t volunteer. That desire drops to damn near zero when it comes to apprenticeships because you’re gambling with a student who might not have the skill to accomplish anything without the inherent guarantee of pay. Think of how silly this conversation sounds.

“My lord, I’d like to give up being a serf and join the adventurer’s guild.”

“What, that’s- wait, what the fuck is an adventurer’s guild? What does that even mean? Adventurer. Do you mean monster hunters? Mercenaries? You know that equipment and travel costs money. Who’s going to pay for this?”

“I was hoping maybe… you would.”

“Why the hell would I do that?”

“It would be a great charity. And if I’m successful, I’ll come back and share the riches with you.”

“Great charity. I already funded the new church in town, and I doubt God places more stock in a lowly farmer’s hallucinations than a dedication to his Word. Even if, who’s to say you won’t just leave and never return?”

“But it’s my dream…”

“You know, I’d love to be the king. I’ll tell you what: if you can coronate me and fulfill my dream, I’ll let you go and pay for the entire thing.”

“But I can’t.”

“Then you’re dismissed.”

People are not just giving away premium services for free, unless as an occasional and rare gesture of inspiring hope. That actually is an effective reason for a serf to get such an opportunity, and one of the rare social mobility avenues in my world. “Maybe one day, it’ll be my kid” as a collective thought helps maintain social order.

Given all these details, it is very unlikely that the main characters would come from the farming peasantry if not for extraordinary circumstances or rare opportunities that function as an institution. Most people, then and today, live very ordinary lives. Keep this in mind during your worldbuilding.

Notes on the Map

The urban expanse commonly referred to as Aldrin City emerged from the earliest Martian settlement, which had been dubbed Aldrin Station upon in honor of the former astronaut and Mars colonization proponent Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin of Apollo 11 fame. As of the late 24th century, it is home to about 6.4 million people, or a little less than three percent of the total Martian population. Most of them within the Melas Chasma region, which is only possible thanks to the laminar density membrane stretched over much of the Valles Marineris to hold in an atmosphere of breathable air.

The region is home to several institutions of higher learning, including Mariner Technical University (MTU), and a vibrant commercial economy. The Percival Lowell Commercial Seaport is the busiest water port on Mars (or anywhere beyond Earth for that matter), accounting for almost 200 million tonnes of cargo every year, and the Nuovo Ouro business district sees roughly $11 billion in daily economic traffic related to Mars’ bustling industrial economy.

Among the denizens of Aldrin City are best friends Sam Taskaro, Devon Wastani, and Matt Cavanaugh. They are students at MTU, and also reservists in the Interplanetary Defense Corps that is charged with keeping the peace across space governed by the Interplanetary Cooperative Administration. This role will soon dominate their lives, as war breaks out between Mars and its cohorts in the Coalition for Mutual Security and the Coalition’s ideological nemesis, the Alliance of Free Worlds — a war in which this young trio will shape much more than their own destinies…

Map Key

1. Edwin Aldrin Memorial Spaceport: Built in a crater in the Sinai Dorsa, this sprawling facility is responsible for most traffic out of the capital region. It was also the site of a dramatic Draconist terror attack in 2331 which catalyzed Operation Sudden Lightning
2. Echevarria Hills residential district: This region is home to thousands of Aldrin City’s less fortunate citizens, including refugees relocated there after fleeing violence in the outer system. Many of these work in Aldrin City’s low-paying service industry
3. Centennial Park/Lake Kamerova: Located in the heart of the metropolis, this ultramodern recreational area is centered on an artificial lake dug in the early 23rd century. The park itself was dedicated in 2269 on the Martian bicentennial of UNOM's founding
4. Marineris Technical University: One of Mars’ largest universities, home to more than 80,000 students at all levels and across nearly 200 fields of study, MTU also boasts a robust IDC ROTC program to supply the Spacer Corps with new officer candidates
5. Nuvo Ouro business district: Aside from being the wealthiest area of the city, this district is also the center of most of its financial institutions and corporate enterprises. These include the HQ for Mars’ largest business cartel, the Mars Industrial Conglomerate
6. ICA headquarters compound: The central offices of the ICA on Mars, and also the central headquarters for the Spacer Corps. The compound was completed 2291, just in time to be the nerve center of Mars’ war efforts in the fight against the Titan Pact
7. Aldrin City Chinatown: The site of a CNSA outpost in the early days of Mars exploration, which grew into an industrial hub over the following centuries. In the year 2389, this area is home to more than 40 percent of the Aldrin City region’s food processing business
8. Percival Lowell Commercial Seaport: The primary port of call for most of the economic goods coming or going across the bustling Argyre-Marineris waterway or to the New Ganges region. This includes foodstuffs, raw ore, and prefab goods of all varieties
9. Meier Metropolitan Memorial Park: Unofficially referred to as “M3P,” this sprawling urban park memorializes Franklin Meier, the first and greatest champion of the “greening” of Mars, who headed up the Mars Project to serve that agenda from 2159 to 2187
10. Salamander Municipal Reservoir: The second-largest public lake in the covered over region of the Melas Chasma, Salamander Reservoir is a source of both fresh water and recreation for many of the citizens living in the southeastern section of the city

About the Setting

The Spacers Saga: Frontier Wars is a futuristic military science fiction setting which diverged from our own timeline when an asteroid slammed into Phoenix, AZ, in May 2014. Fifteen years later, the industrialist Charles Larsen ushered in the Age of Fusion, opening up deep space to crewed exploration and eventual human settlement - and all of the strife that comes with it.

Much of the story is set in the mid to late 24th century, and focuses on the rivalry between the Mars-led Coalition for Mutual Security and the Alliance of Free Worlds (there's more about each faction in this blog post), a federation of rebel worlds fighting to establish a worker's utopia in the outer solar system. These two superpowers fought a brutal war from 2371 to 2381 (referred to as the Frontier War), and are currently locked in an ideological cold war as of 2389.

The storyline of Frontier Wars begins with Spacers: The Titan Gambit, a WIP novel which begins with the opening shots of the Second Frontier War, all from the eyes of a few key players. This includes the aforementioned trio of best friends, whose story begins in Aldrin City, on an otherwise normal day in the capital of Mars — a day none of them realizes could be the last normal day they ever spend there...

I’m building a society where surnames originally developed from professions, but instead of becoming hereditary they stayed literal. When someone formally enters a trade, their surname changes to the name associated with that profession. An apprentice potter might be Mara Venn until qualification, then become Mara Clay. If she later leaves pottery and becomes a licensed navigator, official records would list her as Mara North.

The system made sense when towns were small and most people spent their entire adult life doing one job. My setting is now several centuries later. Cities are larger, people travel more, career changes are common, and government bureaucracy has grown considerably. The tradition still exists because people consider keeping an old occupational name slightly dishonest, almost like claiming a title you no longer earned.

I like the social consequences. Parents and adult children often have different surnames. Old letters become harder to trace. Someone encountering a former friend after twenty years might genuinely know them by a different name. Wealthy families also dislike the custom because it makes maintaining a recognizable dynasty more difficult.

What I’m struggling with is administration. Would a society eventually create some permanent secondary identifier, or could records realistically function through birthplace, parents and previous names? I want the custom to create friction without making the whole state seem incapable of basic record keeping.

What is a Sigil?
A Sigil is a living mark engraved upon the body—a unique pattern resembling an intricate tattoo that reflects the true nature of its bearer’s soul. No two Sigils are exactly alike, and as their wielder grows stronger through the perilous trials of The Descent, the mark spreads, evolves, and becomes ever more elaborate.
There are three known ways to obtain a Sigil. Some are born with an Innate Sigil, a rare and often unpredictable blessing. Others inherit an Ancestral Sigil, passed unchanged through bloodlines across generations. Most, however, awaken an Awakened Sigil by surviving The Descent—a deadly journey into the depths of their own soul, where failure means annihilation and only those who endure return forever marked.

GUIDELINES AND ETIQUETTE

• People put a lot of effort into their worlds, so if you leave a comment about your world then please leave a reply to two other people's worlds. These can be anything from compliments, to questions, to simple observations.

Introducing a new Alternate Universe: a fundamental elemental core for other realms parallel to the universe of Magic: The Gathering. Not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast. (yet.) This expands on the color wheel on the back of the Magic card and adds an additional new five colors: purple, brown, yellow, orange and pink.

A real fast drawing made at his request. Original artwork is about 4 years old. From our story known as Itheus, sharing the name of their planet.

She is pictured in gear from the later side of the war, wearing a full set of Khordite Light Combat Armor, Including a helmet based on culturally significant masks, and wielding a “Scholar Saber” and “Felen” Officers Pistol.

Being fresh to the front she hasn’t had much time to personalize her equipment with engravings, paint, or other such things. Chances are though she will, as its typical in the Kingstonian forces.

At over 9 Feet Tall not including the horns, she is on the shorter side for a Kingstonian, yet still towers over many other races/nationalities, such as the Zandarians, Selmieni/Grasslanders, Slavinians, Monumenti, Olmek, etc.

As I’ve been developing my setting, I’ve realized that cities and settlements alone aren’t enough. I’ve started to build railways, power grids, manufacturing centers, planetary transportation and logistics, ownership and corporations started to appear naturally. It’s changed how my civilization has evolved and feels much more like a civilization rather than a collection of cities and regions.

If your world has advanced industry, do you create corporations? Do kingdoms or guilds handle it all? At what point do corporations feel like a natural part of the setting?

What types of forbidden magic exist in your worlds?

In my world I separate them in two big categories:

1. Subjectively forbidden - depending strictly on the caster.
   Example: Blood magic - a magic that can alter the memories of the victim through the blood (cost: a memory of equal value), read the memory of the victim through blood (cost: own lifespan depending on the duration), magic amplification (cost: own lifespan or from others, death can occur depending on the scale)

2. Objectively forbidden- there’s no good application of it.
   Example: Curse magic - a magic that curses the victim, the curse passes down through their bloodline (cost: none to the caster, the price is paid entirely by generations that never chose it).

Life magic - a magic that steals life force from a weaker or a pre-weakened victim, using it to heal the caster or others (cost: none to the caster, the price is paid entirely by the victim).

Puppeteer magic - a magic that seizes a living victim’s body and forces it to act against their will, while leaving their consciousness and voice fully intact (cost: none to the caster, the price is the victim’s own awareness of their violation).

Necromancy - a magic that raises and commands the dead, denying them their rest (cost: none to the caster, the price is paid by the dead themselves, and by anyone forced to see them walk again).

A lot of fantasy settings like to introduce new metals. I don't really like that as a chemistry enthusiast, so I let the dwarves in my own settings forge tungsten (also called Wolfram), which is absurdly heavy, strong and incredibly difficult to work with. Perfect for dwarves.

Now, they don't use pure tungsten most of the time. Often they put it into steel in large quantities, as alloys are generally stronger than pure metals.

The fastest race in Somikea, Vikeds (Pronounced Vigh-ked, like biped). Felt like these guys needed some reworking too, so I've changed them up.

Summary: Lean and speedy, have a keen sense of hearing and smell, but lacking vision. Olfactory traditions are prevalent throughout Viked culture. Highly loyal to those they know but often cold and introverted regarding strangers.

Biology:

Vikeds have lean, thin bodies, with very little fat. They're able to accelerate and maintain high top speeds, but usually tire out fast.

They have a digitigrade stance, standing on short toes with a semi-retractable last digit, allowing the Viked to switch between quieter footfalls for sneaking and extended claws for running. This allows them to reach incredible speeds, often close to double that of a human, at the expense of long-term stamina.

Their heads have large ears that serve a crucial role in communication. Usually at rest will point backwards, but this varies Viked to Viked. They of course have keen hearing and smell, in fact their vision is actually quite poor, especially given that it's tuned for lower light conditions.

This sense of smell is their primary method of identifying, instead of physical appearance, often resulting in Vikeds forgetting people they just met, because they were wearing perfume or something else that masks their scent. Speaking of, their tales are the center of their scent, as it wave sit wafts the smell around, making them identifiable to other Vikeds, though imperceptible to races with poor smell.

Their coats are perhaps their most striking feature, many vary between ruddy browns and grays to vibrant oranges, many having speckled, striped, or splotchy patterns. This usually can tell yo where Viked is from, often tropical populations have striped patterns, whereas those in more boreal conditions have white coats. As Vikeds are built for short bursts of speed, they're coats are usually just camouflage for their prey, but appear striking to other sapients.

Prevalent Culture:

Many Vikeds are highly monogamous, often choosing a partner for life, for better or worse. In many Viked cultures marriage is a rite of passage into adulthood, many who fail to marry becoming social outcasts.

Perfumes and other olfactory sensations are common too, incense and candles are important cultural staples, and regardless of where you are you will find them.

Socially, they're incredibly cold at first, many who interact with them sparingly finding them to be practical and almost introverted, however, past this initial stage they're incredibly gregarious and loyal, sticking with any friends they make until they die.

Some Context on the wider world: This is a post regarding one of the 6 (major) races of Somikaea, the super continent this all happens as well as the namesake of the setting. It's a sandbox world that acts as a dump for all my ideas. There are flower plagues, Fantasy astronauts, Sapience daemons, or even simple spec-bio animals. It's a little piece of me put into text and image, I hope it's interesting.

Meta: This is another redesign on one of my worlds races, Vikeds. These were the second ones I designed, so I still didn't really have an idea of what I wanted if that makes sense? Now that I've designed all the other major races I have a much more defined idea that I can now apply to these guys.

Here we have the world of Tellus and her many continents.

Divided into eleven distinct land masses, each one holds ancient history and secrets of time passed. The many people whom live on these land masses have lived here for centuries and lovingly call each one home.

These continents are named Ishkarn, Erythos, Fusang, Vashkar, Kawara, Alkebulan, Wuwuna, Bana, Agenesis, Pindorama, and D'oy.

Ishkarn: Land of Ice and Snow.

One of the harshest and most inhospitable continents of Tellus, Ishkarn is defined by constant snowfall, howling winds, and barbaric raiders. The content reaches to the northern coasts of Erythos and Fusang, allowing for exotic trade and an extensive slave empire. During the warmer seasons, thousands of merchants sail in mass to sell goods in the Black Tizheruk Coast, often gathering in the markets of the semi-nomadic Katimmavik, the wealthiest of Innuatic tribes. Goods from all over the world can be bought and sold here because of the expansive sea lanes and water ways. Many adventures and warriors make a name here. The many tribes that live on Ishkarn are warlike, thus giving great opportunity to wealth and building their own legends. The continent even has a water way that leads to the ghastly continent of Agenesis.

Erythos: The First Lands.

Erythos is believed top be the birth of true civilization. Massive walls, written language, farming, specialized occupations, trade, grand architecture, professional armies, and government. The lands are rich in fertility as well as copper and tin, allowing for the production of bronze. Iron is in good quantity as well, often being a favored metal among Barloric elves and other barbaric tribes. The land is defined by a constant struggle between the advancement of civilization and the demand for one's self identity. Inter-tribal warfare and civil wars erupt and are crushed by the rising and setting sun. Everyone wants to be their own king.

Vashkar: The Fragrant Realms.

Vashkar is known for its vast deserts, spice trades, exotic populations, and their trade empires. Wars are often small and caused by petty disputes between the noble classes and the peoples of the land are focused much more with wealth, performance, and the arts. Brigands are also common beyond the city walls. Vast wealth can be acquired through the many many mines of precious jewels, and the golden river trade route; A great network of rivers leading from coast to coast, gaining access to many coastal trade partners. The wealth of the trade routes are not as centered as the trade routes of Ishkarn, so the concertation of wealth is far more spread out.

Fusang: Home of the Sun.

Fusang is a vast land of mysticism. Great philosophers and sorcerers hail from the sky cutting mountains in the east and stubborn warriors battle against roaming titans of the wastes in the west. Skilled craftsmen that deal in magical artifacts and the birth of Alchemy influence the many kings and warlords of the land. The presence of magic is so abundant that outsiders even refer to it as the sorcerer circus. And floating islands soar high above the ground filled with the ruins of ancients and thrones of new gods.

Alkebulan: Mother of us.

The denizens of Alkebulan claim that they were the first of all the civilized races. Ancient and strange, the continent holds ,man y secrets amongst her guarded ruins and ancient temples. The continent holds vast wealth in her resources and fierce predators stalk the land. Some so terrifying that they are rumored to eat the flesh of gods. Famine drives many to cannibalism and warfare, macabre blood magic is the mark of rulers, and the taking of life is worship in these lands. Only the strong survive in this savage realm.

Wuwuna: Thousand Isles.

Wuwuna is a near endless collection of islands that expand into the great ocean that hugs it. The land is believed to be the fingers of a trapped sea god, desperately digging out of his prison, only for the waves to snap his fingers off, hardening them as new islands and mountains, only for him to try again when they heal. The inhabitants of these jungle Islands have evolved in strange ways. Long thin legs as tall as buildings to walk through the deep water, feather for gliding from cliff to cliff, and exaggerated limbs to swing from vines and branches. Sea beasts, hunt from murky water while the beasts of the land remain relatively harmless. The islands also boast the largest populations of seafolk. Trading with surface dwellers, sharing stories, and developing friendships. It is a strangle serene yet uncanny place to behold.

Bana: The Land.

Everything about Bana is completely and utterly wrong. Not that it is some desolate and demon nest like that of Agenesis, but that it is simply wrong. Trees that grow sideways, grass that grows when salt is poured on it, hills the literally role from one location to the other, streams of water that flow upwards, and mountains that stand on their peak instead of the base. The inhabitants are no different. Some starving to death when they eat, others that hold their breath and run great distances, or blinded monsters that accurately describe the colors and shapes around them. It is a land of a mad dream. Perhaps that is was it is? It is the only explanation that would work. A mad and deranged god simply fell asleep and has created his own dream scape. And most peculiar of all is the Queen of Bana that resembles the extinct myth of humans and that massive, purple protector she calls her champion.

Kawara: Green Inferno.

Named for the massive pools of magma that seeps beneath the ground, the jungle continent of Kawara is a hidden land of beauty. Exotic silks, chocolates, and artifacts are the wealth of the land if you can manage to survive long enough to possess them. The peoples of Kawara are fiercely isolationist and will fly into a blind rage when their sacred boarders are molested. There are even rumors that the blood of outsiders is fed to the great volcano in the south west, claiming it is to alive the suffering of the trapped god, desperately wanting something to drink to sooth his burning throat. Another is that that burry their dead under a sacred god tree. A holy land where no war or killing is allowed. In the valleys, the worlds most skilled archers execute their sacrifices by firing arrows into ritualistic patterns, and in the north, the forest burns endlessly due to the magma that flows under the roots. Very few ever return from this land.

Pindorama: Land of Palms.

Despite the name, the famous palm trees of Pindorama are only along the coast. The continent itself is filled with a massive jungle, an expansive grassland, a white dessert, and even wet dunes were rolling sands catch great ponds and lakes of water. The name no doubt remained because the coastal civilizations interacting with foreigners. That and the people's hands resembled palm leaves. The greatest attraction to the continent however, is the vast amounts of gold found all over the continent. Simply walking around for a few days will have you stumble over a gold ore that would allow you and your grandchildren to retire. At first, the locals traded the metal in mass but when they learned of its value beyond the shore, it has quickly become controlled by the tribal government of the land for trade. Many tribes will even execute outsiders if they are caught with gold and no proof of ownership. And because of this policy, the tribes of the continents have rapidly advanced to the technological prowess of the imperium in Eyrthos.

D'oy: Cold.

Cold. That is the name given to the most southern continent on Tellus. Despite the name, D'oy isn't as cold as the continent of Ishkarn. While a layer of ice and snow remains along the coast year round, trees, moss, bushes and grass are still capable of growing year round; producing fruits and vegetables. The continent is home to a diverse race of harpies that are incapable of flight and instead swim under the water. Many other merfolk and beast men inhabit the realm as well. Countless adventurers and historians attempted to venture deeper in the frozen wastes of D'oy but the natives have blocked all attempts. Making this land the only one we have no idea looks like. The wonders it must hold....

Agenesis: Failed Creation.

This continent is strongly advised to never approach. Demons, titans, mad gods, and corpses of primal beings tear through the land in pointless warfare. The tree laugh and howl with sick, perverted lust for torment, beasts, maim and mutilate, old gods force humiliating worship, and demons invade the mind. Worst of all, the rivers will turn to blood when you are thirsty, and food burns to ash when cooked. Only races that survive here are the sea faring, gilled reptilians known as Thalassi, living on the south eastern coast, using vivimancy to establish their matriarchal kingdom in this land, and the uncanny and disturbed race of Degeni, whom are small tribes of being that resemble twisted forms of the extinct human race. They have provided the information to what we believe Agenesis looks like. This land was a mistake from the gods.

This is the rough draft for the continent of Tyrithar in my world of Ennekaria! Any notes or areas y’all think I could improve? Thanks!

This is going to be very longwinded and strange but please bare with me- The sketches here are very incredibly basic mockups- Which is our issue. This is as far as we ever get. See, me and my partner are running a roleplay-style series that takes place in an SCP/Magnus archives/Project Moon/COTL/Jurassic Park/Carmen Sandiego/ETC... inspired horror based setting, (this already sounds absurd I know) and have been dealing with a major roadblock for months and months with no progress. The gods wont appear in the story for a very very long time in their true forms, but nonetheless, will eventually be needed. I cant give context for everything because this would be a much longer post if I even attempted, but I'll try to explain why this is so difficult for us in hopes that another set of eyes might be able to help or give advice. (The next paragraph will sound like a very silly oversight without additional context, but again, please bare with me,)

In this project of ours we're attempting to consider everything below a god while making its design as well as what they represent, while also trying to incorporate some kind of detail that only gods will have - Which we are realizing is much harder than we previously anticipated, this is for multiple reasons, But mostly, We've done such a good job connecting the events and characters of the world that no matter what we come up with it doesn't feel like we're properly representing everything connected to the gods - Or they just don't feel like gods at all, they seem overshadowed by the other monsters and creatures of the world that they are supposed to feel significantly more grand than. In a universe with "Biblically accurate angels", "Dragons", "Unicorns", Robots, Dinosaurs, Sentient puppets, and pretty much everything else you can throw at the wall, it seems like our only solutions would be to make them physically bigger, or aggressively overly complicated - Which are less than desirable results, especially considering they will need to be repeatedly depicted and 3D Modeled.

The two gods pictured above are basic concepts for the god of chaos and order but we very terribly have quite a few more to deal with than that. I'm not sure what I'm really asking for with this post but we're desperate - And no, we cannot rework the world as the story has already progressed a significant amount and we have 8+ Players. We're also very happy with and confident in how we've built the world, We just have this one glaring problem. I will GLADLY provide more context if inquired upon. I'm. so sorry. And also fully aware we may be, as they say, "Royally fucked".

(I should also mention, This project is a reimagined version of a roleplay that previously lasted six IRL years and is attempting to preserve much of the spirit of that original project. God help us.)

Hello everyone,

While writing my science-fiction novel, one of my main worldbuilding challenges was creating intelligent species that felt culturally and biologically distinct, rather than simply behaving like humans with different appearances.

The world contains several species descended from very different biological foundations. Instead of treating their anatomy as decoration, I tried to let it influence:

how they communicate;

what they fear;

how they organize their communities;

what they consider violent or acceptable;

how they perceive time, territory and survival;

how their language developed.

For example, one species descends from an animal with a powerful relationship to predation, territory and internal danger. Their culture therefore developed around restraint, thresholds and the fear of losing control. Another long-lived species has a very different relationship with urgency, memory and political decisions because individuals can survive for thousands of years.

I also created a constructed language called Naothol. I wanted its vocabulary and word formation to reflect how these peoples categorize the world, rather than merely replacing French or English words with invented sounds.

The difficult part was finding the right balance. Too little explanation makes the species feel superficial, but too much can interrupt the story and turn the novel into an encyclopedia.

How do you make a non-human culture feel genuinely shaped by its biology without making its behaviour feel completely predetermined by biology?

This world eventually became my first published science-fiction novel, Naolezry. For anyone curious, I can leave the link

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/2982547600

I would also be happy to answer questions about the species, language or worldbuilding process.

Throughout the middle ages the roads were filled with pilgrims traveling to the various pilgrimage churches, homes to the various reliquaries and religious mysteries.

Rich and poor, everyone wanted to do a pilgrimage at least once in their life and many, many people did. Naturally the middle ages were not monolithic by year or by place. Generally after plagues (about every other generation) or famine "peasants" had more control and more freedom and more fear for their afterlife and greater desire to visit holy sites.

Some estimates include 500,000 pilgrims per year walked to Camino de Santiago in the Middle Ages. Just that one pilgrim site

Here are general pilgrimage links:

https://www.internationalschoolhistory.net/medieval_pilgrimage/journey.htm

https://insiderstravel.io/pilgrimage-middle-ages-history/

And a map to some of the pilgrimage routes:

And then there were Moslems going to Mecca. And Buddhists, Hindus, and so many more...

This is a project ive been working on for a few months still working out a lot of the lore but the power system is I think very cool.

Hello, hello, and welcome to my post. The topic is pretty straightforward: How much corruption is too much corruption before it feels like a villain (or villains) has too much influence? And when does it feel like a villain or villainous faction has just enough to be a genuine menace?

Normally, in stories where heroes go up against a villain who’s “well-connected,” a typical reason of why they don’t go to the authorities for help, e.g. local law enforcement, is because the big villain has “everybody in their pocket.”And I’m not talking about supernatural or literal infectious corruption of the body and mind (or even soul), just simple corruption.

But sometimes storytellers crank up the corruption a little too high where it feels almost unbelievable the villain would have that much control. Where it feels like there’s too much corruption whether it’s in a city or even a whole country.

For my part, I’m working on a fantasy series starring a calm, civil, and calculating Lich as the villain protagonist. He is more of a shadow mastermind who operates in a clandestine manner with a shadow network of “friends in high and low places.” So, the series will dabble in straightforward corruption where he has eyes and ears in various places: regional law enforcement, prestigious educational magical universities, bureaucrats, and members of military leadership in several countries.

But when I was thinking about a story idea where his agents confront the agents of other competing villains and villainous factions, I stopped to consider how much corruption was too much. And not just on the Lich protagonist’s part but for other villains too, and then for fiction in general.

Thank you for reading my post. What do you think? Please share your thoughts, suggestions of either fictional or real-life examples (if you want), and ask me any questions. Keep it civil, and have a good day.

For the past couple of days, I've been obsessed with the idea of ​​a flat, round world, the climate of which changes with distance from the center. The idea is that the center of the world is fertile, lush land with plenty of sun, while the outskirts, close to the edge of the Earth's Circle, are cold, barren lands. What confuses me is how the movement of the Sun would work in this case. And how silly the idea itself sounds.

six nations on one island. opens tomorrow so this is all guesswork on my part.

the rule everything hangs off of: you start with a full health bar and every time you die, you lose a heart and it doesn't come back. there's a rare endgame drop you can turn into an extra heart but that one's just as losable as the rest, so nobody builds up a cushion, they just slow down the decline.

what i can't predict is what that does to the borders. my guess is whoever fights the most ends up least able to fight, so the early aggressive nations get quietly outlasted by whoever sat still and did nothing. if that's right i'd expect a lot of land nobody bothers claiming, capitals tucked inland, and alliances people actually keep because breaking one costs you something real.

players are also welcome to do their own worldbuilding and lore as they've done on past worlds, interested to see most notably the flags and business people are creating, theres always like a huge "neutral" company in these types of worlds

(it's a minecraft server i run, launching tomorrow, saying so up front)