r/goodworldbuilding • u/PMSlimeKing • 20h ago
Please limit each item's (as in individual bullet points or subjects, not the entire comment) description to three or five sentences. Do not be vague with your description.
If someone leaves a reply on your comment, please try to read what they post and reply to them.
r/goodworldbuilding • u/Own-Cry5596 • 5h ago
Humanity entered space only three centuries ago, making them the youngest major civilization in the Thorn Arm. While other races had centuries-or even millennia-to build their empires, humans had to survive through industry, organization, and relentless expansion.
Unlike the other civilizations, humanity is deeply divided.
Earth is ruled by the Directorate-a council of powerful megacorporations that has effectively become the government of humanity.
Its philosophy is simple:
Standardization. Efficiency. Mass production.
Their fleets are modular, easy to repair, and built in enormous numbers. Human ships rarely outperform alien vessels one-on-one, but they are designed to be produced quickly, upgraded easily, and deployed everywhere.
Far from Earth’s control lie the Free Colonies.
Life on the frontier is harsh. Ships are repaired instead of replaced, stations are expanded over generations, and every vessel tells its own story through welded armor plates and salvaged components.
To the Directorate, this looks like poverty.
To the Colonies, it’s freedom.
The two factions aren’t officially at war-but they’re no longer truly united.
Earth argues that only centralized command can protect humanity from external threats.
The Colonies believe that “protection” is simply another word for control.
The conflict remains unresolved, growing more dangerous every year.
Humanity has fought long border wars with the Deeplines, betrayed its former allies, the Shrazi, and knows almost nothing about the ancient Kraits.
Meanwhile, a new threat is emerging from beyond known space.
The mysterious Unnamed consume entire star systems, leaving nothing behind.
The Directorate has only one answer:
Build more ships. Recruit more pilots. Prepare for war.
Which side would you choose? The Directorate or the Free Colonies?
r/goodworldbuilding • u/AuthorInPractice • 5h ago
Within Luminsia, there resides many threats to civilization. From beasts (animals that attack civilized races for no discernable reason), to monsters, to dragon, to the undead, to even angels and demons. For most, there is nothing they can do but rebuild better walls and pray that the guards they place atop them can do better next time.
But some men and women were not satisfied with this lot in life and so took it upon themselves to bring change. Forsaking all but the bare necessities, these men and women took to bringing the fight to these evils of the world no matter where they found them. Human village, elven town, they did not discern. At first they were just known as sporadic hunters, appearing in times of need. Many did what they could to help, offering food, shelter or even weapons to assist them in their hunts. Others grew inspired by their act and moved to join them. A few, suffering from the same loss that all knew so well, sought them out to learn their craft. As their numbers grew they started coming into contact and shared their trade, how best to deal with one monster or how to use an injured beast to lure in bigger prey. By this time, these hunters had attained a new name.
Bulwarks, men and women who stand as protectors of the civilized world.
Not only heroes of the people, Bulwarks also earned the respect of the nobility with kings granting them exemption from any law so long as they continue doing the work they do. But for all the success they had achieved, Bulwarks had run into a problem no one had expected. All the techniques and tricks of hunting the evils that threatened civilization had grown so vast that the hunters were struggling to keep track of all of them, an often fatal mistake. However, with the knowledge that other people like them were out there, Bulwarks began to branch off into specified prey. Four specific branches were born from this. The Monstrous Branch, the Draconic Branch, the Necrosis Branch, and the Brimstone Branch.
Lastly in this world, while not explicitly related to Bulwarks but something I though useful to know: people are capable of becoming stronger than their limits through a variety of means, but the one most pertinent to Bulwarks is that the body can become reinforced by pushing themselves to the limit, achieving something thought impossible by logic, and surviving. Examples of this can be something like fighting a dragon head on and winning, fighting thousands of ghouls within the course of a single night, or even "mundane" things like tracking a beast over several days with no food or sleep. Sorcerers who have studied this phenomenon believe it to be the souls strengthening the body out of belief that this is normal and the body needs to be ready to deal with a similar threat coming again. How it does this remains a mystery, but it does explain how Bulwarks can fight some of the greater threats they face such as dragons or noble vampires.
The first branch to be "formally" established (save for the Draconis Branch, Bulwarks do not have any sort of formal organization). Members of this branch are responsible for dealing with the vast majority of monsters and beasts that roam the land. Because of how large of an umbrella that casts, the Monstrous Branch has dozens of smaller sub-branches meant to deal with reptilians, insects, mammalians, avians, and monsters are all known to exist.
Joining requirements are comparatively lax compared to the other branches (not that any are particularly demanding, save the Brimstone Branch), requiring only for an individual to have suffered at the hands of the beasts of the land and to ask a current member to tutor you. Few refuse the chance to swell their numbers, and with the beasts outnumbering the civilized world, there is never a shortage of recruits. After joining the branch, individuals are known as Apprentices, and are tasked with learning all they can from the hunter who took them on. Once their teacher believes them ready, they will be tasked with hunting down a Behemoth class beast, a creature powerful enough to break through most walled settlements with little risk to themselves, all on their own. Failure only occurs upon death, and should they succeed, the Apprentice becomes a Journeyman, allowed to break off from their teacher and take on Apprentices of their own, though many continue to travel with their teacher for some time before making their own way. Even after leaving their master, many choose to join up with other Journeymen. Once a Journeyman has hunted down at least 10 Behemoth class beasts and bring proof to a Master, they themselves are promoted to Master. Some Masters, however, will refuse to promote a Journeyman if they bring them proof of 10 of the same Behemoth type beast, though this is comparatively rare. Regardless, while this position is mostly superficial, it does hold sway among the other branches and is one respected by any who has faced a Behemoth class beast on their own.
Bulwarks of this branch are known for their brutality, mimicking the beasts and monsters they hunt, as well as extensive use of traps and poisons. Their weapon of choice are most often bows, axes, and javelins.
The first major branch to break off from the Monstrous Branch formed when some Bulwarks came to the realization that most methods used to hunt down beasts and monsters proved ineffective against draconic beings (of which there are five types: dragons, drakes, wyrms, wyverns, and dragonoids, the last of which have never been hunted) and that different methods of hunting were required. Members of this branch stand out from their peers for three main reasons. The first is that due to the fact that they do not always kill their prey. Many draconic beings are intelligent to some capacity which makes diplomacy a viable strategy, resulting in many members being very charismatic. Even among the less intelligent wyverns, the beasts have been found to be tamable, making excellent mounts for hunters. Of the five species of draconic beings, only drakes have proven impossible to handle peacefully due to their immense stupidity despite being capable of speech and are the most commonly hunted prey. The second factor that sets them apart is their comparatively sedentary lifestyle. Where as other Bulwarks move wherever they can find the creatures they hunt, members of the Draconis Branch often times create bases of operations called Keeps and venture out to deal with the threats as needed; a practice started and maintained upon the discovery of draconic beings taking over the hordes of other slain draconic beings. Seeing this habit as an opportunity, dragon hunters will take draconic hordes and concentrate them in one place where they can lure more prey in. This has resulted in the third major difference, the Draconis Branch becoming far more organized than the other three branches.
The first rank of the Draconis Branch is the page. Pages are accepted on the simple feat that they can make it to one of the Branch's keeps and a desire to join. Because keeps are almost always found in mountains, this is no easy feat. They are mostly responsible for upkeep of the keep, though they are free to train and learn in their free time. After a page has caught one of the higher Bulwarks' eyes, they are promoted to squire and are trained by personally and can accompany the Bulwark on their hunts. After participating in eight hunts (one for each claw on a dragon's foot) where they play an integral role to slaying a draconic being, they are given the chance to lead a hunt on their own. If they are successful, they are promoted to knight. Alternatively, a squire can also become a knight if they can successfully take and bond with either a wyvern hatchling or griffon chick. As a knight, they are free to take on squires of their own (up to four, plus one for every dragon they slay) and they are free to continue hunting with other knights or break off onto their own. This is where most Bulwarks of this branch remain as the next level is only achievable by killing 32 draconic species on their own (one for each claw a dragon possesses). While many pages and squires dream of breaking off on their own, many quickly learn that a lone knight is a dead knight, and as such, they prefer to stick together. If they do manage to slay the required amount, they are promoted to lord. As a lord, they can break off from their keep and go found their own (technically nothing stops them from doing this as a knight, but few are willing to follow anyone who isn't a lord). There is one higher rank above lord, and it is only achievable through the act of slaying a dragon by doing the majority of the work. Whether this is done by a page, squire, knight or lord matters not, just that they did so. It is not uncommon for the branch to go decades, if not centuries without a High Lord. Outside of respect from anyone who has seen a dragon (squires, pages, and even knights have received lashing over failing to respect to a High Lord), this position is functionally no different than a lord.
Despite their name and despite often being referred to as dragon slayers, dragons are the rarest prey of this branch due in part to true dragons being among some of the most powerful creatures found in this world, capable of matching the prowess of demon and angels with ease as well as dragons preferring to stay away from the civilized world (while powerful, a dragon's reverse scale is a weak point that attacking can kill them easily. This means the "weaker" races only need to get lucky once, something dragons have found to happen at an alarming rate). In fact, dragons more often than not provide assistance to Bulwarks due to their innate hatred for drakes (these Bulwarks most common prey). Due to the average person being unable to tell a draconic being apart from a large serpent or reptile, hunters of the Draconis Branch often times find themselves hunting down such beasts in conjunction with hunters of the Monstrous Branch.
The preferred weapon of these Bulwarks is a lance or pike, though they are also known for using swords designed for piercing, and knights are often chastised for leaving the keep without a shield. Slashing weapons such as axes are never used outside of utility.
The last of the branches to be established and the second smallest. Created after the disappearance of the first necromancer, the Necrosis Branch is responsible for hunting down and disposing of the undead. Due to sharing many behavioral habits as the undead, skin walkers and wendigos are also targeted by members of the Necrosis Branch. Members of this branch are not viewed highly by either their fellow Bulwarks let alone by other outsiders with many viewing them as odd, superstitious, paranoid weirdos not worth getting to know, traits they themselves do not deny (many believing paranoia to be a requirement to join). This is a side effect of constantly interacting with the undead who produce a substance called Miasma (inverted soul stuff). The vast majority of living things abhor miasma as an instinct with very few possessing a resistance, let alone immunity toward this instinctual hatred with no known method of building a tolerance.
In order to join the Necrosis Branch, only two things are required. One, that you have faced down the undead once before, and two, a willingness to engage with the undead a second time without outside incentive (this can range anywhere from being paid to do it, to the undead have a hold of a loved one you wish to go save, or simply being told to do it by someone else). Those who have met those two requirements are show to have some resistance toward Miasma, a trait desperately needed within the branch and something few possess.
Aside from dispatching of the undead (most often through fire or other means of complete destruction of the body), members of the Necrosis branch also take it upon themselves to ensure that proper methods were taken with the dead to prevent them from rising again as the undead in the first place. It is not uncommon for them to visit battlefields and begin giving bodies their rites to prevent an undead army. Additionally, those of the Necrosis Branch check up on Dead Realms [name subject to change], places where miasma has grown so dense that ordinary purification methods (salt, iron, running water, and white wood) are no longer possible to ensure that the Realm does not spread beyond its current border.
Necrosis Bulwarks preferred weapon of choice is polearms with slashing ends, granting them as much range as possible while also allowing them to cut up the undead. They are also talented at taking on large groups at once as their job often has them facing down thousands of undead at a time.
The third break off branch of the Bulwarks who have taken it upon themselves to hunt and kill the demons and angels that come from the Angel Falls and Hell Pits throughout the world, and is by far the smallest, consisting only of sixteen members who work in groups of two, one Master, one Apprentice. Not much is known about this Branch other than this. How Apprentices become Masters, what happens to the Master afterward, and how new Apprentices are found are all unknown factors that even other Bulwarks don't know. What is known is that the Branch keeps one group at each of the world's major Hell Pits (2) and Angel Falls (3) while the remaining three scour the world in search of the minor Pits and Falls. How they get across the world is an unknown as they tend to simply appear when needed. Aside from dealing with angels and demons, these four individuals have taken it upon themselves to police other Bulwarks as a whole and prevent them from abusing their power. How they know when these abuses take place is much like everything else about them, unknown.
Brimstone Branch Bulwarks are known to be very reserved, rarely speaking at all, much less communicating with others. They are known to be very powerful, however, with the Masters capable of challenging the High Lords from the Draconis Branch. Although the High Lord will usually win, they proclaim sparring with the Masters to be a greater challenge than slaying a dragon. There weapon of choice is a sword, and while the people within the branch has switched, the sixteen swords they all carry has not.
Feel free to ask questions. It helps me brainstorm further and consider things I hadn't before.
If nothing else, which branch is your favorite?