Help with fantasy world and magic system

[STAG]

I’ve been liking this world I made on and off for a few weeks, and I’ve already introduced some of it in an RP so if you’re in the fellowship of the thing this is Merl’s world. The main point of the world is that there is one infinite source of power that flows through everything. It kinda causes change and growth and eventual death. It’s kind of like the power of life. Anyway some living things are “favored” by the power or have just evolved to access it. It lets them evolve to get bigger and bigger and there is no limit because the power sustains their strength and makes it so that they never reach a limit of what is too big. After many, many years there are now creatures that are bigger than mountains and trees that are bigger than skyscrapers. All these things are pretty rare still because it takes so long to grow if you were like that. On this planet, there are also humans (who haven’t needed to evolve to be like that along with most other living things) and these humans never deal with weather or storms because the big trees block all clouds, and collect the rainwater in their “leaf lakes”. What these humans DO have to deal with is the giant creatures migrating patterns. Singular creatures will come near, disturbing the leaf lakes, making it rain, and bringing up rocks, making it dangerous for people nearby. This has caused the humans to worship and fear the creatures, and obviously their culture and life is shaped around these creatures. People live in separated tribes, because if a town is bigger it is more likely to get stepped on. Every town has defenses against the creatures, giant spiked towers or catapults that will make the creature feel pain. It’s pretty much the equivalent of humans stepping on plants with thorns. The creatures will feel the pain first and pull away. The languages of the peoples vary greatly because there is little contact, but they mostly share the same religion. This religion includes having one “herald” or “rider” per great beast. They believe if they give offerings to this person that lives on the creature’s back, it will pray to the beast to not step on them, or to give them more rain. This legend comes from an ability that was lost to time, that a rider with a strong bond to the creature can communicate thoughts and feeling with the creature, or even see through its eyes. Very trained riders (they see this as their “holy duty”) can even draw that power of life that sustains the beast from them. It gives them all the strength and durability of the creature packed into their bodies. This makes them crazy strong but when they do this, the animals lose that power that sustains them for that time. If a rider were to hold the power for too long, the animal would be crushed under their own weight. Ummm, anything else? Sometimes great beasts will cross paths and the riders will spar. The riders eat fruits and stuff off the backs of the animals, but also receive offerings if an animal stops near a village. Sorry this is long, and I see how this world takes heavily from SA and SotD, but I want full criticism. Tell me what you think and what needs to change.

[Marukka]

First thing that comes to mind: People like to eat. Without rain on the surface and I guess not that much sunlight, normal farming is out of the question. Might not matter that much for your protagonist, but he or she would take things like tree mushroom farming and/or specialized lifestock and this might influence what he/she sees/experiences and what he/she thinks about.

Second thing is that I have a problem with the towns. Every little creature that is in danger of being stepped on will go through extreme measures to build its nest where this would be extremely unlikely. They build caves or the likes thereof. People might burrow themselfes into the giant trees. I mean, really big cities can afford good defenses but there is a problem if the cities are meant to be small. It would all depend on the size of the beasts compared to the city. You'd really need catapults to throw rocks the size of shopping malls to even get noticed by creatures the size of mountains, let alone to make them change their way. 

Otherwise I think the concept is fascinating. There could be a lot of unique stories be told in such a world. 

[STAG]

9 hours ago, Marukka said:

Otherwise I think the concept is fascinating. There could be a lot of unique stories be told in such a world. 

Thanks! I was thinking that there is a little rain,  but just no strong weather. They have plenty of sun, and the water that pours when creatures walk by is the equivalent to rain. I see what you are saying about the defenses being very difficult to legitimize. I WAS planning on people living mostly in caves, but if you wanted farms and herds you can’t have a creature walking there. What size would the creature have to be to have this kind of thing work?

Edit: I just realized a misunderstanding that might have taken place. I live in Hawaii where mountains are much smaller than average mainland mountains, so that makes a little bit of difference in what is probable. Then again, I want to make my creatures as big as I possibly can, so maybe it doesn’t matter that much.

Edited August 19, 2021 by STAG

[Marukka]

5 hours ago, STAG said:

Thanks! I was thinking that there is a little rain,  but just no strong weather. They have plenty of sun, and the water that pours when creatures walk by is the equivalent to rain.

Hmmm... plenty of sun is a bit hard to imagine. Depends on the trees, I spontaneously thought of a forrest since this would account for the "no strong weather" part and in a dense forrest the sunlight is somewhat rare, but maybe I just got a wrong picture in my head. Otherwise, farming and lifestock would just be adapted to the trees. Like farming mushrooms that grow on the side of the trees or bigger squirrels that can be milked or whatever... 

Also, all this might not be important for the story in itself but it might be things the protagonist encounters and it might give a rounder picture of the world. As for the size of the creatures and the defenses. Just ask yourself how big a stone or something comparable would have to be for you to change your way. Also, there could be other imaginable defenses that do not need physical applications. Meaning sound or smell "traps" but that would depend on the creatures and their own reasons for picking a path (the people do not necessarily need a deeper understanding of the creatures for some things to work). 

[STAG]

32 minutes ago, Marukka said:

Hmmm... plenty of sun is a bit hard to imagine. Depends on the trees, I spontaneously thought of a forrest since this would account for the "no strong weather" part and in a dense forrest the sunlight is somewhat rare, but maybe I just got a wrong picture in my head. Otherwise, farming and lifestock would just be adapted to the trees. Like farming mushrooms that grow on the side of the trees or bigger squirrels that can be milked or whatever... 

Also, all this might not be important for the story in itself but it might be things the protagonist encounters and it might give a rounder picture of the world. As for the size of the creatures and the defenses. Just ask yourself how big a stone or something comparable would have to be for you to change your way. Also, there could be other imaginable defenses that do not need physical applications. Meaning sound or smell "traps" but that would depend on the creatures and their own reasons for picking a path (the people do not necessarily need a deeper understanding of the creatures for some things to work). 

Dang I need to remember some of this stuff. Thanks! Great ideas.

[Truthwatcher Artifabrian]

Leaf lakes? I can definitely imagine certain animals evolving to live up in the leaves, away from the danger of larger creatures. This can then lead to leaf tribes, people who live up there eating those animals. Their problems would be less giant creatures stepping on them, and more giant creatures shaking them and causing leafquakes. Maybe one of your heroes encounters them?

[Channelknight Fadran]

...what happens when a mouse expands to the size of an elephant and just frikin explodes?

(I'm sure your magic system covers that problem but... y'know. Just in case)

Some things to consider:

• Giant germs
• Giant frikin cockroaches conquering the world
• Holy scud this is just Nausicaa all of a sudden
• Could humans live in caves? Maybe inside the giant trees?
• And how does a story work on this world if nobody ever talks to each other?

[Frustration]

1 hour ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

...what happens when a mouse expands to the size of an elephant and just frikin explodes?

I see what you did there.