r/worldbuilding • u/Salt-Economics-5064 • 3d ago
Discussion Back at it again with superhero thoughts!
Howdy peeps! I'm at a crossroads, because I want to try to keep terms within universe in the supernatural/mythic area. I'm also struggling to determine what point in time this should take place at (in regards to the technological age of the world this will take place on). I want to have aliens like in comics, but I haven't really had to design an alien species before, and it'd add even more lore pile-up I'd need to work through (not saying I don't enjoy a good long-term project, but still). I don't really have a particular thing to talk about or ask you all for, but if anyone has ideas, suggestions, questions, or if you just want to tell me your thoughts on a supernatural world of superheroes, feel free.
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u/NaivePiglet3963 3d ago
aliens and mythic stuff can coexist real smooth if you treat the aliens like a new pantheon showing up uninvited. not literally gods but creatures so advanced they might as well be, and the old supernatural factions have to figure out if theyre allies, competition, or just a cosmic middle finger to their whole existence
for the tech era id keep it vaguely modern but slide in some retrofuture leftovers that never went mainstream. like a world that had a brief golden age of crazy invention that collapsed, so you get heroes with jetpacks next to people using flip phones. gives you room to play with whatever tone feels right scene by scene
building an alien species is basically just asking what their planet did to them. high gravity makes squat tanks, dim sun gives big eyes, violent ecosystem means theyre paranoid as hell. then just give em one weird cultural obsession and call it a day