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Found 11 results

  1. How the hell are the singers maintaining their population ? Given that none of there soldiers, scholars, Artists, or even works can reproduce? Dose anyone have any ideas, so there a word of Brandon on this, is this a world building hole?
  2. Throughout the series of Era 1, the ash is described as black: "The dry plants, the angry sun, the smoky-black sky." -Kelsier, Chpt. 12, TFE "the black flakes covered up everything beneath," Chpt. 61 and 63, HoA I absolutely love Sanderson's world building and the scenes he creates; it makes sense from an emotional point of view that things need to look dark and depressing. But the Lord Ruler should've known that black colored ash would absorb sunlight and heat up the planet more. White/reflective would've been more appropriate, though snow-like-covered landscapes might not bring as dreary a picture to mind. Perhaps gray would've been a good compromise.
  3. Ok so this is going to be a little bit of a collective free form roleplay, bit for the first 3-5 pages we're just going to do world building for the city this takes place in and the world at large. Here's the stuff I've already made (note: you do not have to join the future roleplay to world build or vis versa):
  4. I've read through some past threads regarding creating magic systems, but they were almost too specific for what I needed. So here are my questions: - What elements/themes do your favorite magic systems contain? - What types of limits do those systems have (to keep people from becoming all-powerful)? - What makes a magic system believable to you? I started creating a system based on different gemstones (different types unlock different kinds of magic, i.e. elemental, healing, arcane, etc.), but I kept running up against walls in making it work right. I'm not looking for direct advice about my system-in-development (though I wouldn't say no), just some ideas of what readers and other writers find works for them.
  5. So, awhile ago i posted a paper i wrote in a communications class. Apparently it didn't upload correctly, so i thought i would upload it again. To quote from my original post, "So, I wrote this paper a while back for a communications class... about a year back... and I promised to post it after I was finished and got the paper graded. I never did, and I apologize for that. Well, here it is. Its terrible, but if you like it let me know. If you have thoughts, please post. I'd like to see what everyone else's head cannon is and where I got it wrong. I did try and get this published in a student publication but it sadly got ignored, which stung. Please let me know what you think." Apparently i can't just upload the Word Doc, so instead i'll provide a link to the Gmail Doc. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7wrh9YZZTDhdGtEMXA1SG1XNDQ/view?usp=sharing
  6. I have to be vague on this, as it's for a major project, but I wanted to seek the creative power of my fellow community of magic system geeks. Perhaps your perspectives can breathe fresh life. The Weave System // The basis is simple. The world revolves around five types of weaves. You can almost think of these weaves as programming languages. Each language offers different effects that the other languages cannot perform. Together, they create the echo-system with live in. In this world, these languages take the form of creative weaves. Each weave architype is composed of it's own color and revolves around a focused element or idea. The challenge is that Weaves are not instantaneous. They take time to create, therefore effects the occur in the moment are mostly useless. Also note: this is a modern day setting. I had each color figured out before hitting a road block. I'm looking for suggestions. Here are the current colors: Gold // Power & Energy These weaves are used in mostly industrial situations, providing heat, energy sources, powering engines, etc. Purple // Metaphysical These weaves deal with the mind and information. It's used mostly by scholars, teachers, investigators, etc. Red // Physical Deals with living things; not plant life, but things with blood. Humans & Animals. Used mostly in medical fields. The two I'm struggling with are Black & White. I'm trying to mostly avoid Light & Dark, or Good & Evil effects. I want each weave type to have neutral alignments. I have toiled with Spiritual & Shadow, but they lack practicality or real uses. Spiritual uses seem to close to Metaphysical uses. Shadow uses seem to separate from the rest as if it doesn't belong; it lacks cohesion. I want the effects of each color to at least lightly represent what the color itself represents. That gives us: White representing Safety, Purity, Light. Black representing Mystery & Elegance. I've thought through other colors but they were all too tightly related to other colors. And before anyone suggests expansion on the system, it goes immensely deeper than all of this, but I wanted to keep the big secrets to myself. This is for a bigger project than you might assume. Thoughts?
  7. This thread is a mix of a few things all stemming from my notice of cliches built around Magic Systems and World Building. My Hopes For This Thread: To discuss everyone else's opinion on how they feel about tropes/cliches in Magic Systems and World Building. To challenge the fellow writer's out there to begin thinking differently when creating; to not settle for what's easy. To learn who out there thinks in similar ways as myself but also to learn strong oppositions. What This Thread is Not For: It is not a place to get defensive. I want myself and others to be challenged by this thread. Allow yourself to open up to opposition. This doesn't mean you shouldn't defend your stance – we want that. Just don't be upset on opposing views nor defend little things simply to defend your honor. It is not a place to attack someone. The last thing we want is someone presenting an opinion to have it attacked belligerently. This is a discussion and debate, not a place to over-react or criticism. So without further ado, let's start by talking Elemental Magic. The one thing that begun this thought process was in something I noticed in many writers abounding with desire to write fantasy. Can we move on from Elemental Magic? Don't get me wrong. I love the elements. I love the magic built around elements. Mistborn is basically elemental via metal. I am also obsessed with Avatar/Korra. But seeing "Here's my version of Earth, Air, Water, Fire." in every place you look gives me negative emotions about it. I think elements are key to magic. I think having magic perhaps based on only one element would be extremely awesome. But it feels contrived at this point. Not to mention, most writers are trying to take Elemental Magic and give their own spin on it. In turn, we only get a convoluted mess of a system that has too many powers for someone without a spreadsheet to get a grasp of. What is your take on this?
  8. Hey, I'm working on a world and, while the magic is pretty well written, my world building is somewhat lacking. Could you maybe help me flesh some things out? I've got this much figured out. I know it's not much to go on, but maybe you could figure out some places that the creatures here would choose or be forced to live. Thanks for the help!
  9. (This Feb. the exercise is writing about a dead drop) I am struggling in writing my main male character as unstable however, it just comes off as crazy. How, when, and where do I draw that line. I know in previous podcasts the fantastic four of authors have touched on how people will read things differently i.e. Angry can be misinterpreted as whiney. Examples would be wonderful! My example below: "Helio's vison darted through the insurmountable sea of bodies in the market, the slightest bump from a passerby causing him to jump and lash out."
  10. EDIT: Some information about another part of the world has been added in a new post. In a time long since forgotten, the Eidolons walked this world. But that was long ago, long before their wrath was kindled against mankind, before their children, the fledgling gods, these our Wandering protectors, rebelled, and were cast down from the Lune. Before the cycles of Skyfire began. It is a miracle that we continue to stubbornly cling to life on this blasted, scarred world we call home. Civilization should have ended that day, when our own gods turned against us. It was the children of those same gods, those beings we now call Wanderers, that came to our aid that day. Funny, how little we know of our saviors now. We rely wholly on them for our survival, just as they rely on us for our Hearts, and yet they are totally alien to us. They walk in the shape of a man, but they are as akin to a man as we to the stars, or the sun, or the Lune. It's strange to think that cities once covered the surface, where nothing but savage bands of Heartless now roam. Entire cities, built on the ground! No wonder so many historians felt the need to travel. Naelus is a world that literally rains fire and brimstone. A constant hail of deadly meteors shower the surface of the world, raining destruction upon anyone and anything unlucky enough to be caught in a Skyfire fall. Civilization as it had existed could never have continued in such conditions. The Skyfire is not constant, but it is consistent enough to make a static city impracticable, as it would be torn apart by meteors on a regular basis. The inhabitants blame the disaster on the wrath of vengeful gods, believing the Eidolons of their myths to be responsible for this terror. Anyway, civilization lives on, literally borne on the backs of a race of titans known as the Wanderers. The Wanderers are vast creatures of stone, shaped roughly like men, but towering as high as mountains. Cities are built on the shoulders of the Wanderers, who are able to safely navigate the Skyfire, keeping their inhabitants safe by constantly moving ahead of the meteors. Naelus has several moons, as well as a planetary ring dubbed by the natives the Lune. A more literal translation would simply be "The Curve" or "the Arch". The Lune can be seen as a series of closely bunched pale white bands filling nearly the center of the sky and running from east to west. Naeluan mythology often depicts the Lune as basically a "bridge to heaven", or a gate dividing the realm of the Eidolons from the mortal world. The Eidolons, the ancient gods of Naelus, are often seen as living beyond, above, or at the top of the Lune. Back to the Wandering cities. Be aware that I'm using the terms "city", "Wanderer", and "Wandering city", interchangeably. On Naelus, the word city refers both to the living Wanderer, and the city it carries. Each citizen on a Wanderer is equipped with a harness as they come of age. This harness is fused to the skin of their back, and designed to adjust as they grow. Each harness holds a single Blazeheart, a metallic sphere carefully harvested from the molten Core of the Wanderer. A Blazeheart forges a powerful connection between the person and their city. Blazehearts are what sustain the souls of the Wanderers. Each Heart bound to a city grants it a measure of power, so a city's strength is directly tied to its population. A city with few Hearts will move lethargically, while one holding many is quick, strong, and agile. This presents a danger, as a famine or war that leaves a city low on Hearts will often also leave it stranded under a Skyfire fall. When two Wanderers cross paths, they will sometimes simply ignore the other, each continuing on its way. Occasionally they will fall into step alongside their fellow Wanderer, travelling together for a time. During times like this, travel and trade between the two cities is common. Once in while, however, for reasons that unclear to their human inhabitants, the Wanderers engage in a sort of battle. When this happens, it can create massive devastation for both sides, and each fatalities meaning one less Heart to power the city. In a case like this, often the only choice is to join the fight, rushing the enemy city in an attempt to force them into surrender, bringing their citizens back as Heartless war prisoners. The outcome of these battles is generally the death of one of the two cities. For when a city has no Hearts left, it dies, no longer having anything to sustain its lifeforce. Dead cities stand motionless, their eyes, once blazing with an inner flame, now hollow and empty. The citizens of the conquered city are usually given the choice to join the new city, taking on Hearts from its Core and bolstering the victorious city's power.
  11. I was wondering, when someone wants to handle elevation when they draw they map, is there a standard way to chart specific areas that are higher than others? I presently have a couple of maps. One is for things like mountains, towns, rivers, and other typical map stuff. The second one I guess you could call a random encounter chart. But I'm not quite sure how I would determine elevation. I'm thinking more visually, not textually. Brandon mentioned that mountains come apart where ever there is a fault line. At this point I'm sort of having to guess, and maybe assume that the further away from the fault line, the lighter it becomes, and therefore less elevated. (Depending on whether you have darker be higher, or lighter be higher.) But I have the first two maps done.
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