Creation Daily

[Seonid he/him]

I'm tempted. I'm really tempted...

[Lindel he/him]

I'd definitely be interested, assuming someone takes the initiative to get it started.

[Jo and the Bush all/any]

I call the minotaurs!

[Kobold King he/him]

That. Is. Awesome!

I would definitely be interested in that!

Some very interesting races. And the dwarves, of course XD

 

Anyway it is a great idea, I would definitely join if you did that.

I'm not very good at designing races (my more innovative ideas tend to be "Elves! With lobster heads!") but if anyone wants input with the social/political component, I'm in.

I'm game too.

I'm tempted. I'm really tempted...

I'd definitely be interested, assuming someone takes the initiative to get it started.

I call the minotaurs!

 

 

Huh. And here as me thinking I'd get a non-committal "I guess" or so before getting totally ignored. I wouldn't mind starting a thread for it--I'm thinking this will be a pretty loose effort with little in the way of rules, so there wouldn't be much in the way of moderation. Just a basic map showing all the biomes, and then a free pass to anyone who signs up.

 

How does Diaemus sound as the name of the world?

[mail-mi he/him]

I'm in.  

 

I like the name. 

[+Slowswift]

Sounds like a great name!

[Lindel he/him]

Excellent! Let us know if you want any help getting things started.

[Kobold King he/him]

Excellent! Let us know if you want any help getting things started.

 

Well, I have no idea what to do for a map. Not unless y'all are fine with the Donjon Fractal World generator.

 

[mail-mi he/him]

Microsoft paint, draw a few blobs that represent continents?

[Kobold King he/him]

Microsoft paint, draw a few blobs that represent continents?

 

Well sure, if you want to set an epic fantasy world on a map that looks like this.

 

[Sir Jerric he/him]

World-scale maps are tricky, but the real world is naturally fractal. (Can't remember who suggested it originally.) I've zoomed in on a coast in Google Maps satellite, traced the outline and added my own mountains and rivers. All for RP campaign.

 

I'd be interested in participating in a collective world. Did almost the same as Kobold with my own younger brothers, and a few friends.

 

I took a Weather & Climate class in college for the worldbuilding know-how, and I'm willing to try applying it. =)

Edited September 16, 2015 by Sir Jerric

[Seonid he/him]

I don't have the time for this, but to heck with it. Count me in. Those of you who are aware of my projects (and if you're not, at least a few people have reported that they are fun looking at, so it might be worthwhile) know that I'm good for whatever you need me for. Culture and religion, though? Those are my specialties.

 

I can do mapping or climate/physical worldbuilding well enough if you want my input on that.

 

Oh, and cosmology. I like cosmology.

[Young Bard he/him]

Please, please, please...

 

That sounds awesome!

 

(Also, did anyone think of "the Hall of the Kobold King" when you read that description, or am I just a huge classical fan.)

[Quiver he/him]

Oooh, if you guys do decide to go through with this, would you mind posting it in a new thread so people can follow your progress?

 

I am -fairly well established by this point- terrible at worldbuilding, and having an on-site "how to" guide would be ridiculously helpful.

[DanTheSeamonster he/him]

 

Just testing the waters, but what would Sharders think about doing something similar here? Starting a project for a fantasy setting where different members design different corners of the world, bringing them together into a cohesive and awesome whole?

 

This sounds like so much fun! If you ever get it together, I'm totally in!! 

[Adamir he/him]

 

Just testing the waters, but what would Sharders think about doing something similar here? Starting a project for a fantasy setting where different members design different corners of the world, bringing them together into a cohesive and awesome whole?

As the Crooked Warden said, if you get it together, I'm in as well.

[Young Bard he/him]

@Adamir and the Crooked Warden: He's started a thread in the Creator's Corner called the Diaemus Project, if you're still interested in joining.

[DanTheSeamonster he/him]

Has anyone else's personal world building projects been completely hijacked by the brilliant and wonderful configuration of pixels that is the Diaemus Project? Because mine has. 

 

Not that I'm complaining. 

[Seonid he/him]

Nope!

 

I'm actually adapting a form of the Lumuole system (my original design, without Mckeedee's additions - although those were wonderful, they aren't mine, and so I don't feel comfortable porting them) for part of my Edassa setting.

 

But it certainly is running slower now...

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

The foundation of my worldbuilding was already done; now I just have to figure out how all the components fit together. Most of the details are usually filled in during the first or second draft, so now I just have to sit down and write the darned thing.  

[DanTheSeamonster he/him]

Heh, I have way too many world building projects going on. Mostly because I can't for the life of me stick to one story/world at a time.

 

It's a problem.

Edited September 21, 2015 by The Crooked Warden

[Seonid he/him]

This is why I retconned all of my worldbuilding projects into the same universe...

[Quiver he/him]

I have no idea how to world-build, so I'm mostly just following Deimos...

 

 

...But any more general or theoretical advice ya'all would be interested in dispensing would be greatly appreciated.

[Sir Jerric he/him]

I have no idea how to world-build, so I'm mostly just following Deimos...

...But any more general or theoretical advice ya'all would be interested in dispensing would be greatly appreciated.

I view worldbuilding under two categories: just for fun and practical.

The Diaemus project falls under the just for fun heading. Loads of detail all over and more being added. Fun it certainly can be, but if you aim to be a working writer then the term changes to worldbuilder's disease.

Practical worldbuilding is more the type Sanderson does. Choosing a concept that a story needs to address and focusing attention on that. This technique tends to develop worlds that read well, but have little depth under closer scrutiny.

To avoid the flaws of the practical approach, I like to build each world with two or more distinct stories in mind. This gives direction for greater depth while not being completely open-ended.

In any case the process is little more than asking questions about the costs and ramifications of making various changes, and providing believable or interesting answers.

If you think this is too complicated for you, I know a game for that.

[Kobold King he/him]

I saw a prompt on Reddit entitled "List 10 random facts about your setting," intended to give users an excuse to share the coolness of their worlds. Since I know there are a lot of dedicated worldbuilders around here, I thought it'd be awesome to repost the idea here and see what fascinating snippets people have to share.

 

 

Here would be my ten facts:

 

1. Luthings consistently rate as one of the most objectively intelligent races in the galaxy, despite never developing any form of civilization or agriculture. While their wits are valuable, most shy away from bringing them aboard spaceships, as all their massive intelligence seems to matter squat when it comes to housetraining them. 

 

2. The inhabitants of the Jewel Supernal evolved from exceptionally close-knit pack predators, and communicate by changing the colors in their skin. The exchange from thought to communication happens so quickly that lying is practically impossible--they are in practice a race of visual telepaths. 

 

3. Skordyr, also known as "the big blue bugs," have no eyes and sense their surroundings solely with a sophisticated sonar system, and thus have an incredibly hard time understanding why humans call them "big blue bugs." 

 

4. Native to one of the most hostile ecologies in the galaxy, hordelings travel in massive predatory swarms and will kill themselves with a sudden, full-body production of toxins if they find themselves separated from their fellows. This makes the study of living hordeling biology about as easy as milking a quatha, which is to say, not easy at all. 

 

5. Due to the high amounts of UV radiation the planet is bathed in, the flora of Ixion has developed special waxes which coat the leaves and deflect harmful radiation. The iridescent, almost reflective coatings make the rainforests of Ixion a true wonder to behold from space, and the Planetary Naming Commission has consistently vetoed suggestions to rename the world "Disco Ball."

 

6. Ilyena Vchera, one of the galaxy's most frightful terrorists, consistently maintained that the severed prosthetic arm she took from the corpse of a felled mercenary possessed the reincarnated soul of Genghis Khan. She would often consort with the metal limb before launching her assaults.

 

 7. On Shanshen, many banking and low-level bureaucratic positions are filled by tigers surgically and genetically altered to possess a humanoid form, a high degree of intelligence, and opposable thumbs. Despite the extensive modifications, the government of Shanshen maintains that these entities comprise part of a breeding program to extend the life and usefulness of the tiger species, and the tiger-folk are still classified by law as Panthera tigris.

 

8. Sajits, a native predator of the planet Ixion, will launch themselves through the air like projectiles, strike their prey in a patch of exposed hide, and will burrow their way into the hapless creature's flesh and devour it from the inside out. 

 

9. Related to the previous fact, a good rule of thumb for visiting Ixion is "don't go to Ixion, at all, ever." 

 

10. The plutonic engine, the source of energy that makes interstellar travel and countless other technologies possible, is so notoriously complicated and mired in subatomic relativistic physics that a common joke in days gone by was the claim the plutonic engine was powered by the souls of the dead. The silence of plutonic engine manufacturers, and the large guild of Supernalian plutonic crafters who call themselves the "Ghost Burners," are in this context quite alarming.