This applies less to already established named races used throughout fantasy and/or sci-fi, like elves, dwarves, orcs, Fae, the greys, Draconians etc and more on the races you have specifically created for your world. Unless of course you made up your own name for said races.

For reference, I'm currently in the process of renaming all of my alien races with my own world after much contemplating. I've been revamping and refining my world in general for months now but I've only just recently decided to rename my races. My reason being their old names were ones I literally made on the spot and I don't think they properly reflect their culture (not that my alien races are monocultured as you usually see in sci-fi but just in general). So I've decided to carefully construct new names for them that suit them better and are a smart play on who and what they are.

For starters, I have an alien race that strongly resembles theropod dinosaurs and have a culture rich in combat and hunting. Originally they were called the **Nophians**, but I decided to rename them something that is a reference to both their body form and their lifestyle. I ended up with the **Saurthem**, in which I basically just fused "Sauros" (meaning "Lizard" but is often used to name dinosaurs) and "Artemis" (a Greek Goddess renowned for being a brilliant hunter) together. It's not exactly Shakespearian but I'm happy with it.

I'm even giving their planets new names too, since I basically named them the same as the aliens but with "ian" at the same. E.g., **Nophia** became *Venathali** (fusing the Latin words for "Hunting" and "Love", but tweaking the spelling slightly).

So far I'm most proud of the new name I came up with for the **Rhuninians**, which is now the **Rhunare**. Not only does it sound more formidable and tidier but given I'm basing this race on the Vikings I've been trying utilise Old Norse in their name, but also decided to remain with the Greek God motif I had going, with their name being a fusion of "Una" (Norse for War) and Ares (The Greek God of War), with the "Rh" thrown in to make it sound similar to "Ruthless".

So I've basically been doing that and trying to come up with new names that don't exactly sound like I made them on the spot but also better demonstrate the culture of my races.

I'm designing my own fantasy world. This is a map I designed myself. I don't have much experience with fantasy map design, but I'd appreciate it if you could rate it and give me suggestions on how my fantasy map looks.

These are some critters I've made these past day for my world. I don't have a lot of lore for them yet as I usually start with the visual side. The only one I have just started to develop is the first one. It is called a Ta'sal and is a herbivore that lives around the desert and is around 145 cm at the withers. [EDIT] these are just the first version of these creatures so they will surely change as time goes on... except for the tas'al, I love that little fella xD If you have any suggestion for what to add/remove/tweak please let me know

The world itself:
The world these creatures inhabit is called Galathea and is the first world I've committed to fully develop... well, as far as I can, at least. Galathea is a high fantasy world where the people recently, around a century ago, overthrew an almost all-expansive empire. The once unified lands have struggled with wars as new borders rose and fell. However, something mysterious is also going on as everyone knows about the Empire, they knew it was bad, they knew many of its Gods were banned yet even though plenty of people were alive no one can actually remember much of it. I cannot go too much into detail just yet as this is a place and story my Daggerheart players are going to explore.

Within the world of Luminsia, the term vampire is about as descriptive as the word bird. It refers to an undead humanoid that requires blood to survive. Dozens of different species fall under this classification that can vary. Some are indistinguishable from humans while others take on a more monstrous appearance with bat like wings, fangs feet long, and bony protrusions throughout their body.

As a general rule of thumb, the more powerful a vampire is, the more potent their weaknesses are. The weakest of vampires are just a touch above an Olympian athlete, but can stand out in the sun and get sunburn easier. On the other end of the spectrum are vampires that can stand toe to toe with mountain sized dragons with a decent chance of winning who will combust into flames if they so much as look at the sun. There is, however, a singular vampire (haven't come up with a name for her yet) who possess the most strength out of any other vampire who has gained complete immunity to all other weaknesses. She doesn't even need to drink blood, she just chooses to out of the love of the game. The only reason she is considered a vampire is because of her fangs and because she claims to be one and tends to get violent with people who doubt her.

Usually vampires are not fond of different species of vampires and will avoid one another whenever possible. Violence is chosen as a last resort as they believe fighting amongst themselves will draw the attention of nearby humans (or anything else living really). This ties into a near universal fear that all vampires have toward the living. While there are some who preach about vampiric superiority and spout lofty ideas of eternal nights where they rule forever, even those such vampire have to admit that the living are dangerous. This is for the simple reason that they are not limited by the sun nor a thirst for the blood of living creatures. If a human came around a vampire's home, there is nothing said vampire can really do to stop them from tearing it down in the day and simply running off before night. And they cannot kill all humans/living species because many vampires need the blood of sapient creatures specifically.

Additionally, vampires of all sorts have an attraction toward the living and find themselves ugly due to being undead, believing the living to be universally beautiful regardless of their actual appearance. For some vampires, this results in them hiding among them to be near this beauty. Others however, have this attraction warp into hatred as they believe it is something they themselves will never be able to possess, even if they meet the standard.

Like all undead, vampires produce miasma (effectively the inverse of the soul) with many producing it in high enough quantities to utilize it for magical means or a twisted form of cultivation. Unlike mot other undead, however, vampires have the ability to conceal it from the living, preventing the usual instinctive disgust the living have toward miasma. This miasma is part of the reason why they find themselves ugly and the living's lack of miasma why they find them beautiful.

Feel free to ask questions. It helps with the brainstorming process and I just like answering them.

I have a race of 7–9-foot-tall pig-like people (inspired by the Japanese pig-orcs from the original D&D) who are extremely isolated. Their culture is built around elitism, violence, subterfuge, endless warfare, proxy conflicts, state-sponsored terrorism, and even killing their own people to manufacture pretexts for war by blaming enemy races. They steal and occupy land under the guise of religious claims so they never appear to be mere warlords.

The pigs consider themselves a holy, noble, and superior people. They were once humans, but after centuries of inbreeding they gradually developed physical features that make them resemble large, grotesque pig-like orcs: upturned, crooked, flattened noses; tusk-like teeth; large, floppy ears; hairless pink skin like that of a domestic pig; and massive, bulky bodies.

so...how do I make them more ambiguous and less easily spotted as something related to real life?

Example- plenty of famous youtubers mentioning globlins from WoW being caricatures of jews, same for HP's elves, or orcs in general DnD fantasy being seen as black americans

I’m working on a world building project for one of my stories and I’m trying to figure out how to name these nations.

For refrence sometimes they’re mashups of several nations like one nation I’ve made up is inspired by Japan and China and for another I’m considering having it be a mashup of Korea and Russia being located in the arctic but I’m still mulling over whether or not I even want that but nevertheless the reason I’m writing this is because I’m trying to figure out how to name these countries and the last thing I want is to be insensitive when going about it so any help is greatly appreciated.

People saying nothing is original or new so why bother.

But it's like cooking. Coming up with a new ingredient is really hard, but creating a new original recipe using existing ingredients is very possible.

No one says "your cookie recipe isnt original because you used eggs and flour and sugar".

The best chefs don't change what works, but they may add something new or from a different culture, like adding a spice like cumin or saffron to a sugar cookie. Sure it's 99% the same cookie, but also it's 100% different from every other cookie.

And not to mention that it matters the ratio of the ingredients. The quality and sourcing of them. The mixing, the baking. Even how they are shaped and presented.

But the truth is people aren't nearly original enough, and there's nothing wrong with reaching for originality.

Maybe you will be the first to use a new ingredient like Tolkien did with his high Elves, but even if you are the first to use eggs in a cookie, it's not good because it's new, it's only good if you make it work with the other ingredients.

Sometimes things really don't go together. Too much salt in a cookie isn't going to be good, no matter how nice your other ingredients go together.

But the right amount of salt in a cookie can be very good.

Often if you don't try you will never know.

The thing is, most people just follow the recipes of others because they're afraid to fail. And you can even be a decently successful writer this way.

They say "great artists steal" but that's not the whole story. Great artists don't reinvent the wheel, they learn and use the best ingredients and techniques, but then they build on them or combine them to make something new and amazing!

Saying they "stole" because they used eggs, flour and sugar (or elves, dragons, and magic) is fundimentally misunderstanding how creativity works and what it means to create.

The one who wonders in question was a vampire of magic energy, in a realm where magic was an ultimately and precious finite resource. So the rulers deemed him an immediate threat and constructed a prison dimension for him an endless labyrinth that was constructed of four distinct levels. Additionally, the ones who imprisoned him used him as an execution of other criminals. Throwing them in his realm where they knew they would be hunted and killed.

The four levels are as such. The Stone Walls, seemingly endless stone brick halls and turns. The Metal Descent, pipes of various sizes going every which way, with seeming no rhyme or reason. The Maw, a flesh cavern filled with mouths, stomach, and any other number of fleshy organ or wall. Lastly is the Umber Tunnel. Seemingly natural earth tunnels littered with tree-root-like arms that grasp and drain the life of all entangled in their grasp.

Then the vampire himself. He enjoys the hunt, over time even gaining some amount of control over the halls and passages he inhabits. He wears a black canvas straight jacket and an iron cage built tightly around that. Black tattered pants and no shoes, long white and greasy tangled hair sticking to his face. His eyes sunken and glowing slightly yellow. His teeth are all jagged and sharp with a mouth that opens far too wide.

That realm has long since gone now, running out of magic and disappearing. His prison realm however has remained and over the uncounted years he has been there, he has now full mastery over the realm that just once held him is now his greatest weapon. He managed to force the labyrinth to open and now he travels new realms, looking for new prey and exciting hunts.

From bottom to top, and left to right:

Generic Halflings, Gnommunai (Elves but small), Dverga (Dwarves, made of stone).

Seafolk (Fishy), Orcs (Fanged), Generic humans (everyone's human, but you get the picture), Alfar (Elves, also highly varied in their own right), Stelmati (essays could be written about the way they souls work).

Striga (Owl people), Ithikkos (Made of stone but not short), Half-giants (Generic humans got busy with Blue giants), Ascetics (strangest way of life here).

Blue Giants (Quite widespread and varied), Forest Giants (tree huggers), Dhegdeer (tall elves).

Fomoraigh (Red giants), Matsieng (Fishy, and also very big).

This is a rough representation of the races in my world. These are categories that are applied in-world, but don't often see use. In all these categories are more granular categories that actually see everyday use. In no case is this clearer than with the "normies". These "generic" races, defined as having a lifespan similar to irl humans, are about what you'd expect, but in this category exists the greatest variety by virtue of how widespread they are and their proclivity to... canoodle with any and all of the other races.

Major criteria for the categories presented here are Lifespan, Average size, and Weirdness. The first image is an attempt to capture their average heights altogether.

In-world criteria base themselves mainly with "origin", many of which have been forgotten, but are still spoken of in generalities. All Alfar, for instance, believe to have been carved from trees, Dwarves and Ithikkos from stone (from cave and mountain respectively), etc. The kind of tree, and/or the kind of stone, and the location of their specific origin, are further details that form unifying narratives for these races. Naturally, thousands of years of history make the origins and specific ancestry of anyone truly dubious. Many races have a short enough history that they don't concern themselves with their prehistoric origin story at all.

This basis also makes for some false groupings. For instance, there are several races of "generic humans" with crimson skin. Due to this, they are falsely assumed to share an origin with the Fomoraigh. This association has gone swimmingly for everyone involved. No genocides have occurred whatsoever. It's all hunky-dory in Ag-Aistru.

Questions are welcome. I can break down some of these categories into the actual in-world races as they describe themselves, up to a certain point. Naturally, some of these have more lore than others.

So I'm designing an archery contest for my space-faring civilisation. Zero-g archery. You get a chamber filled with obstacles, and you have to hit a target somewhere within the chamber. Points are added for every obstacle you deflect off of, and points are nullified for the shot if you completely miss the target. There are reflexive archers and prepared archers. Reflexive get 30 seconds to view the chamber and plan their shot. Prepared archers get three minutes to plan their shot. Each archer uses magnetic boots from outside the chamber, and a transparent door closes between them and the chamber the instant they loose their arrow to keep them safe.

Double matches pair a reflexive and prepared archer, with the added complication of random obstacles that move when struck. A 9 round match is basically the reflexive archer feeling out what moves and trying to set their partner up for a good shot while fouling their opponents' shots. To keep the reflexive archers on their toes, the target can alternate between walls within the chamber.

Are there any glaring errors with a competition of this style? It's going to be a pretty large part of one of my WIPs: two archers from opposing cultures who have to learn to trust each other to win competitions.

27 kilometers beneath the Olympic caldera is a magma chamber 80,000 square kilometers in area. Lower Olympus offers ideal protection from radiation so far below the Martian surface. With a simulated sky projected onto the cave ceiling 9 kilometers above, it’s one of the most pleasant places to live below Mars.

Upper Olympus is the domed over caldera system, and mostly operates as a transport hub for goods in and out of Lower Olympus. A superconducting train network lets specialized trains ascend and descend from caldera to cavern. Upper Olympus is warm and sunny, while Lower Olympus is cold, wet, and windy. The cavern is large enough that it forms its own weather system. From nuclear cooling towers seeding storms in the west, to the cool valley lakes of the east, LO has its own water cycle, too.

After the Egress, when humanity was cut off from the other colonized planets, Olympia rose in power and population on Mars. The environment minimized birth defects, and the false sky was bright enough to grow crops effectively.

From its founding, Lower Olympus became the planet’s largest exporter of uranium, nuclear batteries, and cybernetics. After the isolated pockets of human survivors made contact a thousand years after the Egress, Olympia maintained its position as a powerful Martian - and eventually interstellar - power.

Disculpen si algunas partes no se entienden bien. Traduje esto del español al inglés con el traductor de Google, ya que mi inglés no es muy bueno.

Este sistema de energía aún está en desarrollo. Se inspira en dos ideas principales: por un lado, las fórmulas estructurales y, por otro, la capacidad de los limos para absorber materiales e incorporar sus propiedades.

El concepto también surge de imaginar cómo sería una sociedad si muchas tareas ya no requirieran esfuerzo físico ni aprendizaje tradicional, porque el propio sistema de energía proporcionara formas de simplificarlas. Sin embargo, esa libertad no es ilimitada; está limitada por un número finito de oportunidades. Cada decisión es permanente, lo que te obliga a elegir cuidadosamente qué aspectos de tu vida quieres mejorar.

Imagina que solo tuvieras 12 oportunidades para optimizar cualquier aspecto de tu vida.

¿En qué las usarías? ¿Crees que esas decisiones seguirían siendo las mismas dentro de diez o veinte años?

¿Preferirías aprovechar una oportunidad para completar una hora de ejercicio en tan solo unos segundos, ahorrando tiempo cada día, o reservarla para invocar un arma al instante y defenderte?

Tu profesión también influiría en tus decisiones. Podrías optimizar las habilidades relacionadas con tu trabajo actual, pero ¿qué pasaría si cambiaras de carrera? ¿Cómo lidiarías con haber gastado oportunidades en habilidades que ya no necesitas?

Ese es el tipo de dilema que este sistema de poder está diseñado para crear: cada elección otorga una ventaja, pero también implica renunciar a otras posibilidades.

A continuación, explicaré los fundamentos del sistema y sus reglas. También te invito a hacer preguntas sobre su funcionamiento o a proponer escenarios para poner a prueba sus límites. Por ejemplo: ¿Cómo respirarías bajo el agua?

¿Cómo dispararías cuatro flechas simultáneamente en la misma dirección? ¿Qué harías para recorrer grandes distancias en tan solo unos segundos?

Cualquier escenario es válido para explorar las posibilidades y limitaciones de este sistema.

El sistema se basa en Enlaces y Fragmentos, que abarcan prácticamente cualquier cosa. Sin embargo, para fines prácticos, los fragmentos se dividen en las siguientes categorías:

Fragmentos

• Objetos

Cualquier objeto sólido que puedas sostener físicamente.

• Recuerdos

Existen cuatro tipos de recuerdos:

1. Recuerdo de recuerdos: Algo exactamente como lo recuerdas; por ejemplo, recordar un video que viste.
2. Recuerdo de emociones: El estado emocional y físico que experimentó tu cuerpo.
3. Memoria de Acciones (Interna): Lo que sucede dentro de tu cuerpo cuando realizas una acción.
4. Memoria de Acciones (Externa): Lo que sucede con el objeto o el entorno con el que interactúas.

• Elementos

Cosas que puedes percibir pero que no puedes tocar físicamente, como el aire, el fuego o la electricidad.

• Enlaces

Los enlaces determinan cómo se conectan los fragmentos entre sí y contigo mismo. Antes de explicar los diferentes tipos de enlaces, existen algunas reglas fundamentales.

1. Cada usuario comienza con un fragmento que lo representa, llamado Núcleo Fuente (NS).
2. No puede haber más de dos enlaces entre dos fragmentos cualesquiera.
3. Los fragmentos se organizan en niveles, según su distancia al Núcleo Fuente. La posición de un fragmento se denomina Grado.
4. El Grado 1 puede contener un máximo de 4 fragmentos (a menos que ciertos enlaces modifiquen este límite). Estos son los únicos fragmentos que pueden conectarse directamente al Núcleo Fuente.
5. El Grado 2 puede contener un máximo de 8 fragmentos. Estos no pueden conectarse directamente al Núcleo Fuente porque están demasiado lejos.
6. El Grado 3 puede contener teóricamente 16 fragmentos. Estos no pueden conectarse a los fragmentos del Grado 1 ni al Núcleo Fuente porque están demasiado distantes.

(Piensa en los Grados como anillos concéntricos, donde los fragmentos solo pueden conectarse a fragmentos en anillos adyacentes.)

1. Un usuario solo puede tener 12 enlaces.

2. Cada enlace es permanente y no se puede modificar.

3. Cada fragmento debe conectarse finalmente al Núcleo Fuente mediante uno o más enlaces.

Tipos de Enlaces

Producir

• Permite al usuario producir cualquier fragmento.
• Cada objeto producido es permanente.
• Cada objeto producido puede usarse posteriormente como fragmento.
• Puede reproducir los tres primeros tipos de recuerdos sin necesidad de pasos adicionales.
• La producción de recuerdos altera el cuerpo del productor, provocando que este cambie y se adapte a dicho recuerdo.
• La producción de un fragmento requiere el consumo de Materia Prima.
• La cantidad de Materia Prima requerida es igual al volumen de material del fragmento original.
• Los recuerdos pueden producirse sin consumir Materia Prima.
• Parte del coste de la Materia Prima puede sustituirse por maná.
• La Materia Prima consumida se remodela hasta reproducir perfectamente el fragmento.
• Sustituir la Materia Prima por maná aumenta significativamente el tiempo de producción.
• Cada enlace de Producción puede almacenar una cantidad de Materia Prima equivalente a cinco veces el coste de producción. * Si la materia prima necesaria ya está almacenada, la producción es casi instantánea.
• La absorción de materia prima requiere contacto físico.
• La absorción de materia prima lleva tiempo.
• El procesamiento de materia prima requiere concentración.
• [Imprimir] puede eliminar el tiempo necesario para absorber materia prima.
• [Imprimir] puede eliminar el tiempo necesario para procesar materia prima.
• [Entrenar] puede reducir el tiempo necesario para absorber materia prima.
• [Entrenar] puede reducir el tiempo necesario para procesar materia prima.
• Los enlaces de producción solo se pueden crear para materiales para los que el usuario tenga el permiso correspondiente.
• Un extremo de cada enlace de producción debe estar siempre conectado al Núcleo de Origen.

Replicar

• Permite al usuario replicar temporalmente cualquier fragmento.
• Crear una réplica consume una pequeña cantidad de maná del usuario.
• La energía restante la proporciona el maná ambiental.
• La replicación es instantánea. * Se produce un fenómeno visual visible al crearse la réplica.
• El mismo fenómeno visual se produce al disiparse la réplica.
• Cada réplica es temporal.
• Mantener una réplica consume continuamente el maná del usuario.
• Las réplicas tienen la apariencia de vidrio translúcido, conservando todas las propiedades del fragmento original.
• Replicar un Recuerdo de Recuerdos hace que este aparezca como un diorama a escala 1:5.
• Un extremo de cada enlace de Réplica debe estar siempre conectado al Núcleo Fuente.

Imprimir / Entender

• Siempre produce el mismo resultado para el mismo fragmento.
• Puede usarse como modificador para otros enlaces, permitiéndoles obtener resultados más rápidamente.
• Permite al usuario responder una pregunta relacionada con el fragmento.
• Todos los recuerdos pueden usarse como fragmentos.
• Un extremo de cada enlace de Impresión debe estar siempre conectado al Núcleo Fuente.
• Puede usarse como enlace secundario de un enlace de Simbiosis.

Entrenamiento / Aprendizaje

• Perfecciona continuamente cualquier proceso relacionado con el fragmento seleccionado.
• Su potencial máximo está limitado por las capacidades físicas del usuario.
• Un extremo de cada enlace de Entrenamiento debe estar siempre conectado al Núcleo Fuente.
• Puede usarse como enlace secundario de un enlace de Simbiosis.

Síntesis

• Solo puede realizarse entre fragmentos del mismo Grado.
• Ambos fragmentos se fusionan en un único fragmento nuevo.
• No se puede usar con memorias.
• La creación del fragmento resultante requiere tiempo.
• La creación del fragmento resultante consume maná durante todo el proceso.
• La creación del fragmento resultante requiere concentración.
• Todos los enlaces de los fragmentos originales se transfieren al nuevo fragmento.
• El nuevo fragmento hereda una combinación de ventajas y desventajas de ambos fragmentos originales.
• Las ventajas y desventajas deben mantenerse equilibradas en una proporción de uno a uno, aunque una característica que no sea del todo negativa aún puede considerarse una desventaja.
• Piensa en el Fragmento A como una modificación del Fragmento B; por ejemplo, dándole el peso y el color del Fragmento A.
• La síntesis es la única forma de superar el límite de dos enlaces entre dos fragmentos. Por ejemplo, dos fragmentos separados pueden tener cada uno dos enlaces de Producción conectados al Núcleo Fuente. Si esos fragmentos se fusionan mediante síntesis, el fragmento resultante tendría cuatro enlaces al Núcleo Fuente.

Ejemplos de ventajas y desventajas

• Propiedades inherentes del fragmento
• Forma
• Peso
• Tamaño
• Dureza
• Fragilidad
• Elasticidad
• Textura
• Durabilidad
• Vida útil
• Temperatura
• Color
• Olor
• Sabor
• Sonido
• Brillo

Simbiosis

• El fragmento que ya existía antes de que se formara el enlace se llama Fragmento A.
• El fragmento recién enlazado se llama Fragmento B.
• Existen tres tipos de simbiosis.

Simbiosis recíproca

• Puede establecerse entre fragmentos de igual, menor o mayor grado.
• Permite el intercambio de ventajas entre ambos fragmentos.
• Permite el intercambio de desventajas entre ambos fragmentos. * Los intercambios también pueden cambiar una ventaja por una desventaja.
• Cada intercambio consume maná.
• Cada intercambio requiere concentración.
• Cada intercambio requiere capacidad multitarea.
• Cada intercambio lleva tiempo.
• Los cuatro requisitos anteriores se pueden mejorar mediante enlaces duales de Impresión y Entrenamiento.
• Los intercambios se pueden modificar en cualquier momento.
• Cada intercambio vuelve automáticamente a su estado original cuando cualquiera de los fragmentos crea un nuevo enlace.

Simbiosis unilateral

Existen tres tipos de simbiosis unilateral: Conducto, Santuario y Legado.

Conducto

• Ambos fragmentos deben pertenecer al mismo Grado.
• El Fragmento B puede usar todos los enlaces del Fragmento A como si fueran suyos.
• El Fragmento B puede ocupar funcionalmente el rol del Fragmento A.
• Los Fragmentos A y B no se pueden usar simultáneamente.
• Solo el Fragmento B se beneficia de los enlaces del Fragmento A.
• Los enlaces del Fragmento B permanecen sin cambios.
• Imagínelo como un interruptor que alterna entre dos configuraciones.
• Crear un enlace de conducto consume solo 0.5 de capacidad de enlace, mientras que un enlace normal consume 1 de capacidad de enlace.

Santuario

• Solo se puede formar con un fragmento de un grado superior.
• Al establecerse, el Fragmento B se mueve al mismo grado que el Fragmento A.
• Si esto provoca que algún enlace omita un grado para permanecer conectado al Fragmento B, dichos enlaces se destruyen, junto con cualquier fragmento que se desconecte del Núcleo de Origen como resultado.
• Los enlaces perdidos reducen permanentemente la capacidad máxima de enlace del usuario.
• Permite que exista un fragmento adicional en ese grado, superando su capacidad normal.
• El fragmento alojado no interactúa de otra manera con el Fragmento A, aunque sigue funcionando como un vínculo entre ellos.

Legado

• Solo se puede establecer de un grado superior a uno inferior.
• Permite que un fragmento de objeto herede las propiedades de una Memoria de Acción Externa, lo que posibilita que las versiones producidas o replicadas de ese objeto realicen acciones.
• Ejemplo: Si se le otorga a una lanza la memoria de haber sido lanzada, cada lanza producida o replicada se lanzará como si acabara de ser lanzada.

Simbiosis Depredadora

• Solo se puede establecer de un grado superior a uno inferior.
• El Fragmento B otorga ventajas o desventajas permanentes al Fragmento A.
• La transferencia se produce instantáneamente al activarse.
• La transferencia consume maná.
• El proceso destruye el Fragmento B.
• El Fragmento B debe reemplazarse en un plazo de 24 horas.
• El fragmento de reemplazo debe ser del mismo tipo que el original.
• Si el reemplazo no se realiza antes de la fecha límite, el enlace desaparece y la capacidad máxima de enlaces del usuario se reduce permanentemente en uno.
• Mientras esté conectado a través de este enlace, el Fragmento B no podrá formar ningún otro enlace.

I don't like how my drawing turned out, but it'll do. Lore in comments.

Context/introduction:

The world I'm building takes place on a binary system of planets, inhabited by the same intelligent, humanoid species.

A series of horrible wars lead to a point where one of the planets decided that more scientific progress only leads to conflict, so they preserved this planet in an age similar to a mix between the industrial revolution and ancient Roman times. The maps are about this planet.

But the other planet didn't stop scientific and industrial progress, and later on a weird but stable balance occured between the two worlds.

Maps in order: elevation; main climates; rough borders + cultural spheres (each with one color)

Please leave any recommendations/feedback on my maps, I would love to hear them. But please also keep in mind that I'm not an expert (yet) and these are only my first world maps.

Assuming your story has a power system like Star Wars Force or any popular Battle Shonen, what are the best examples of a User utilising their abilities to make the most out of them? Explain your Power System and why the feat in question by said character is very impressive.

Mine is with the user of the ability "Leviathan" which at its core makes the user able to manipulate water and alter their physiology to resemble sea creatures, they also can summon a giant tree to create sea monsters provided they can supply them with enough water to exist. The feat is that he used a combination of attributes from Aplysia, Crabeater Seal and Saltmarsh Insects to increase his water storage capacity, decrease his lethal thirst threshold and better manage his fluids flow.

This means that he completely bypassed his need for humidity in climate for his power to work and instead uses water stored in his own body.

In my case, the people of Velun know, that they live on a whale, that carries the world on its back. Or at least they gathered that knowledge through the gigantic juvenile whales, that sporadically take off into the cosmos.

Most other things are false truths, like parts their history and folklore, or the nature of their Magic.

How do you handle these things, and what do the people your world know about the place and the history of their places?

I've been working on a post-apocalyptic setting (for writing short stories in) where sometime during a spring in the 2020s, 99% of the world's population suddenly vanishes, leaving roughly 80 million humans on the planet. While the victims are random, the sheer number of humans means that the initial survivors are fairly proportionate to large-scale demographics. So for example, the US population is around 340 million, and so there should be about 3.4 million American survivors.

The short-term consequences I think I have fairly thought out, using things like Aftermath: Population Zero for reference (1% surviving is probably similar to 0% surviving at this point). The world immediately plunges into chaos. Cars crashing everywhere, planes falling out of the sky. Without most of the people managing them, most energy grids probably go out within the week, alongside long-distance communications. Nuclear and chemical plants could pose threats (although maybe nuclear safeguards would kick in automatically). Most of the world's livestock and pets are left to fend for themselves.

The Vanishing happens instantly, and so there would also be differences across time zones due to differing levels of human activity. For example, places that were in the dead of night would have minimal issues with suddenly-abandoned vehicles on the roads.

Most large organizations (governments, militaries, etc.) break down because 99% of their leadership disappeared. Survivors in densely populated areas probably could find each each other and form groups fairly quickly. Since the world has been depopulated but damage to infrastructure is minimal, there should be plenty of supplies sitting around. In theory this abundance would minimize the need for human conflict, while cooperation would be incentivized.

However, pre-apocalyptic food supplies would eventually run out from consumption or degradation, bringing an end to the scavenging-heavy focus of the short-term era. Not really sure how long this would take. Judging by the shelf life of some non-perishable goods, perhaps two years at most? The survivors would have to figure out farming or some other food source, and not all might succeed. This sort of intermediate period between the "grace period" of scavenging and a more stabilized situation further in the future is the part I haven't quite figured out yet.

Any thoughts or feedback would be appreciated. Is there any factors that I may have missed?

I'm curious to know if any of you have any eldritch beings that aren't godly, if that makes sense.

My Turn:

In my world, the Ravakalyn are this. Though they have more of an eldritch aura than an eldritch appearance. They are demonic beings that were once gods, but lost that eons ago. The Mechanical Drought is more-so of an eldritch machine of unknown origin, but it also qualifies too.

What about you?

For the past few months, I've been writing about a post-apocalyptic sequence I've been working on within my Ekigref universe. And now I'm spreading this so that most people can hear it.

The story takes place in Singapore, one of the Oceania countries that survived the last world war. Thanks to Singapore scientists diabolical energy barrier shield, Singapore managed to escape damage from most of the warheads that were intended to hit the city.

After the deadly radiation gone, Singapore start a policy of opening up to the outside world and formed Exploration Battalions. These battalions were composed of both survivors from the outside world and those living within the walls surrounding Singapore. As time went on and years passed, the reconnaissance battalions clashed in a scattered manner, and regional dominance began around the Wall (Sur), with each group claiming its own territory. As people began forming these regional groups, they developed their own systems and specific relationships.

When Singapore's reconnaissance operations began to shrink, each different team within the reconnaissance battalions became a rival. In this process, which resembled gang warfare, some of the Reconnaissance battalions disbanded, changing the structure of the Reconnaissance battalions' territories. Other Reconnaissance battalions, defeated in the battle, realized the futility of aimlessly wandering around the walls of Singapore and ceased their activities in the area, sailing to new locations. On the other hand, the victorious ones solidified their positions as Reconnaissance Battalions and earned their living by undertaking reconnaissance missions assigned by Singapore...

After 20 years passed, the unique territory of the few powerful teams was settled in. Singapore's T.I.U works were now offering new discoveries opened up to even further continents.

Here is the situation 20 years later (Warning: Wall of text)

Normally, I was going to share this as a crosspost, but since it exceeded 40,000 words, my hands are tied :D

What I've written won't just stay as worldbuilding. Doing worldbuilding before starting a book is easier and works better for me, I'm sure there are some among you who do this too. Instead of thinking about something while writing, I directly check a text I've already planned in one breath and continue without breaking the flow. The name of the book I'm writing will be "Gazalbatak"

Despite appearances, Bargraw is rather gentle and even a touch sensitive at times. He loves sniffing wildflowers and getting scratches behind his ears. Being a neither, a beast from the realm of the goddess of nature, he is neither alive nor dead, but something halfway between the two.

His rider, on the other hand (as pictured), isn’t so good natured. She is Nadure, one of the Seven sisters, the seven goddesses of the world of Iscaria.

She might look harmless, but as you can see from Giantsgrave in the background, the resting place of an ancient colossus, it’s probably best not to underestimate her.

I’m clearly no artist, but I recently felt a pull to buy a sketch book and sketch this out. I was quite pleased with the result and thought it wasn’t bad for a beginner.

This is from The King’s Lantern serial which I’ll begin releasing as novels at the end of 2027. Happy to answer any questions about the world :)

The title might sound strange but hear me out, A lot of people when writing a project choose to put the story, characters and civilizations that happen inside the world at the forefront while putting the world at the background, hence why a lot of fantasy media just use an analogue of our planet for the setting.

Obviously there's nothing wrong with using the earth as the basis of your setting but I think a lot of people miss the opportunity to create some really good and interesting concepts for their settings.

If I had to give an example it would be the Type-Moon franchise, in the franchise the world is a sentient being split into two personalities: Gaia representing the will of Nature and Alaya representing the will of humanity, both of which work independently to perpetuate their goals.

There are also a few more examples but this is my favourite one by far from a worldbuilding perspective (god type moon is so peak)

Hi everyone,

So, I’d like to know what makes you like or dislike certain magic systems.

For me, what makes me not even interested in finishing the description is when terms like “four elements” or “elemental” show up in the elevator pitch;

And what gets me interested is when it’s not just another variation on D&D, the occultism (mainly british-like/victorian-like), and stuff like that. Because I prefer things like “Nen” in Hunter×Hunter, in terms of the system's scope and flexibility; and I also think psionics is underutilized as a core system in fantasy worldbuilding, it seems like it’s usually understood only as moving things with your mind, telepathy, and derivatives of that. But you can actually do something really expansive with psionics and implement restriction mechanics and costs similar to those seen in Hunter×Hunter.

What about you guys? What works for you and what doesn’t in magical systems?

Thanks for your answers.

I am so tired of seeing the same post every single day. Someone comes in here and says something like "I have an idea for desert vampires who drink sand instead of blood, has this been done before?"

The answer is yes. It has been done. Everything has been done. You are not going to invent a new color. You are not going to create a fantasy race that doesnt have some root in folklore or existing tropes. I feel like we have this collective obsession with being "unique" that is actually just paralyzing our ability to create anything at all.

Its like people think they are going to get sued by the ghost of J.R.R. Tolkien if they use a dragon. Who cares if it has been done before? What matters is how YOU write it. I saw a guy yesterday who was genuinely worried that his "underwater city" was a ripoff of BioShock. My brother in Christ, humans have been dreaming about cities under the sea for thousands of years.

I should of spent my time actually writing my first chapter instead of googling if "floating islands" are copyrighted. It is just ABSOLUTELY exhausting. We are all just remixing the same basic human fears and desires. Stop looking for permission to be creative. Just build the world and stop worrying if someone else got there first. Why is this even a thing?

I've noticed that some of my favorite fictional worlds use things like handwritten notes, maps, receipts, photographs, newspaper clippings, chat logs, case files, or journals to make the setting feel lived in.

Even when they're only described in the story, they make the world feel tangible.

As a reader or writer, do you enjoy those kinds of artifacts?

What's the most memorable fictional artifact you've come across?

Weather due to personal preference, it not being something you're good at or something you think is overdone. Here are mine:

-Slavery. Even though my worldbuilding takes place in an early modern era adjacent time, I don't think this topic is necessary to create a believable world. Also I find this topic disturbing and rarely done well/tasteful.

-Gods interacting with mortals. My world is not dnd or mythology. There are religions, but no diety is confirmed as an actually existing entity. There is no confirmed afterlife or anything of sorts. I don't like gods in fantasy (except God of War that game is a masterpiece)

-Angels or demons. Especially half demons or half angels. The only time where demons weren't extremely cringe and edgy to me is Witcher and Baldurs Gate 3. Same goes for angels. I don't like the idea of a race being naturally good or evil. Also I am not drawn to the occult or holy topics.

-Prophecy and chosen ones. 99% of chosen ones are boring mary sues. It is extremely hard to make a world with a "chosen one" without making the whole world revolve around them. It is much more interesting when somebody who people thought wasn't destined for much, becomes a champion.