Creation Daily

[+Slowswift he/him]

35 minutes ago, Darkness Ascendant said:

Then....Fritz...hmmm

Is your character similar to an aviator?

Fullermeister?

Maestro?

Aileron?

 

Ooh, I like those...

Yes, sort of. He does thing in space, I think. World is still in early development.

[Darkness Ascendant he/him]

Just now, Slowswift said:

Ooh, I like those...

Yes, sort of. He does thing in space, I think. World is still in early development.

Aileron means "small wing" btw

Some others in this case

Wyre? 

Indus

Aeros

Apollo

Marco

[+Slowswift he/him]

Just now, Darkness Ascendant said:

Aileron means "small wing" btw

Some others in this case

Wyre? 

Indus

Aeros

Apollo

Marco

I like the air travel theme. Aileron is still top of the list. 

Also, forgot to mention, Fritz is short for Frederick/Friedrich.

[Darkness Ascendant he/him]

4 minutes ago, Slowswift said:

I like the air travel theme. Aileron is still top of the list. 

Also, forgot to mention, Fritz is short for Frederick/Friedrich.

I thought you might pick Aileron

[Oversleep]

At first when Soulsmiths were only a vague idea, I often thought how to combine different plots in the story. You see, I've never seen two different themes together. For example, imagine a standard story of alien invasion. It will be about humans developing technology to fight them, or being enslaved by them or trying to destroy their mothership, those kinds of things. But imagine that the alien invasion causes mages to end masquerade and fight them. Two themes : aliens and mages.

If the setting is lovecraftian it will be about people going insane, Eldritch gods devouring reality and so on. But it will never be political fiction.

If the setting is medieval fantasy with tyrannical God-Emperor, it will be about revolution; not about a heist scheme (although Mistborn comes close) or brilliant inventor trying to get funding for his research.

I know that the setting is there to be used, but I feel a little tired of setting being there just so the story can revolve around it. Not every story happening in the world has to be the most important to that world. What I try to say is that the setting is inert as long as protagonists don't get involved in it.

Imagine a story about vampires. Protagonist is given the task of hunting down one of their own kind who commited something they consider a crime (maybe stealing some artifact). Normally nothing worthy of mention goes on in the world. But how about setting the story during Cold War with its spies and communist paranoia? Or during suffrage movement? It doesn't have to be a crucial part of the story.

[Darkness Ascendant he/him]

(I want more feedback on this, so i copied and pasted from the Magic System thread to here)

Ok guys. This is going to get REALLY complicated. 

I've been working on numerous magic systems which I surprisingly find easy to make. All I really need is initiative and motivation. So one day after prayer when our imaam was speaking of action and intention and how our intentions can justify our actions in some cases or the opposite etc etc. And then I came up with this monster of a magic system. I hope people get inspired by it but don't copy it.

In my world, every object has an Intention, Purpose, and Potential.

The object determines Potential

The user determines Purpose through Intention and can control it

The Purpose is what the object was created for. The Reason for Existence*. It influences how the object can be used and sets it's Potential parameters

E.g A person cannot Take a door's Potential an Intend it to make him faster when it's Purpose is to separate two things but make them accessible

That same person, however, can use it's Potential to teleport somewhere. Where you can teleport is determined by the amount of Potential it has. A glass, automatic door has almost no Potential compared to an ancient, wooden locked door's Potential. But again, It's Purpose may interfere with the Intentions. The glass automatic door would allow you to teleport anywhere instantaneously however, if someone is chasing you, they will know where you have gone as the glass would reveal your destination. The locked door is trickier however as you may have to Expend** (* means see spoiler) to harness it's Potential. But once you have "unlocked" it's Potential you may be able to Teleport, Switch realities, jump dimension, or just walk to the other side of the door. The PossibilitieThis post has been reported for attempting to skirt the rules are unlimited. Plus you may be able to lock the door behind you if you know how and force whoever is chasing you to Expend to unlock the door again or to just give up. Or you can Expend to barricade the door and make it inaccessible from the other side. 

The user can harness the Potential and Intend to teleport as they are Fulfilling it's Purpose**** 

Spoiler

*Reason for Existence. Your Fate, why you are here. It is just as dangerous as a True Name and can similarly be harnessed to gain ultimate control over sentient beings. This is how we can harness an object's Potential as by creating it we also give it a Reason for Existence.

**Expend. Expending is using one's life-force to manipulate Potentiality. Do not do so often as your life-force takes time to regenerate 

***Possibilities. This refers to what the object has the Potential to do

****Fulling Purpose. Why we can only do what an Object's Purpose indicates, however there are loopholes....

There is one side-effect. When you Take a, say, a paperweight's Potential, It's Purpose becomes your Intention, and so the Paperweight itself has no Purpose anymore as it's Purpose has been Fulfilled, so it becomes the opposite of it's Purpose, as light as the paper itself, essentially useless. Using this one can cancel out the effect an object can have in the world. Using what I will state shortly one can turn a bomb which Purpose is to explode useless by taking it's Potential and make it your Intention. You can manipulate this as it is now YOUR Intention and say, make Intend it to explode only where no one or nothing will be damaged, then you can Return it's Potential and give it a "new" Purpose.

One can use their Intention to manipulate an object's Purpose for the Purpose is Imprinted by the Creator, but the people who use it can redefine it's Purpose with their Intentions like how you can use a bottle as a vase.

Taking and object's Potential, just to store it, renders the Object useless or turns it into the opposite of what it was created for depending on it's Purpose. And lastly a word of caution. Taking say, a Kevlar Vest's Potential to make your skin like Kevlar but continuing to wear the same Kevlar vest cancels the whole operation and can be fatal if used improperly. If you take too much Potential out of an object and continue using it, it can become unstable over time and Potentially Dangerous*

Spoiler

*Potential Danger. The amount an object's Purpose has become corrupted, rendering the Potential unstable. If the Potential is unstable enough, it can break down onto itself until it is a pinprick of energy and then explode with the power of a firecracker to a Supernova, ripping holes through Time, Space and Reality. This has happened numerous times before (How do you think the Loch Ness Monster suddenly appeared in Loch Ness?)

[Quiver he/him]

What if a city was a God?

Not sacred. Not special or important or culturally significant, like Atlantis, Camelot, Shangri-la, or Uritheru.

I mean, an actual, worshipped as an actual God.

 still thinking the implications of that through, but it might be interesting...

[Kobold King he/him]

1 hour ago, Quiver said:

What if a city was a God?

Not sacred. Not special or important or culturally significant, like Atlantis, Camelot, Shangri-la, or Uritheru.

I mean, an actual, worshipped as an actual God.

 still thinking the implications of that through, but it might be interesting...

 

The immigration forms are hell.

[Eagle of the Forest Path he/him]

5 hours ago, Kobold King said:

The immigration forms are hell.

Not to mention the sewage system.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

11 hours ago, Kobold King said:

 

The immigration forms are hell.

 

6 hours ago, Eagle of the Forest Path said:

Not to mention the sewage system.

So what does this say about the social and religious status of pencil-pushes and sanitation workers?  

[Kobold King he/him]

1 hour ago, TwiLyghtSansSparkles said:

 

So what does this say about the social and religious status of pencil-pushes and sanitation workers?  

 

Plumbers are priests who wave toilet plungers around during religious ceremonies.

[Zathoth]

20 hours ago, Quiver said:

What if a city was a God?

Not sacred. Not special or important or culturally significant, like Atlantis, Camelot, Shangri-la, or Uritheru.

I mean, an actual, worshipped as an actual God.

 still thinking the implications of that through, but it might be interesting...

More seriously the house being a god is one of the interpretations of House of Leaves and Clark Ashton Smith wrote a short story about a a lake that was alive.

I havent actually read this in a while, so I'm not sure how helpful it will be, but hey, it is Clark Ashton Smith, it is good either way.

[Mestiv he/him]

I'm preparing to write something for the NaNoWriMo Camp and I have an idea I really like about the world I'll write in. I don't want to write too much about the world itself, as it's still under construction, but there is one thing I want to consult. Technology in this world is, more or less on our current level. They have airplanes, they even have means to send first humans to their moon (if there was one, haven't decided yet). They don't have anything like Internet however, but that's not that important.

How do you think it would affect the world, if having any marks/tattoos/signs/dirt on your skin was taboo?
You play with a pen, you accidentally draw a line on your finger -> you have to go wash it as fast as possible. You'd feel like if you weren't wearing any pants in public.
Woman cannot wear any make-up, how would they enhance their looks? Would the fashion evolve differently?
Bullies in school would chase others around with pens and draw something on their skin.
Jobs, that are often dirty in our world, like coal miner wouldn't really exists in this culture... or would be delegated to slaves/workers from other cultures... or would require full body suits to protect from the dirt.

What do you think?

 

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

1 hour ago, Mestiv said:

I'm preparing to write something for the NaNoWriMo Camp and I have an idea I really like about the world I'll write in. I don't want to write too much about the world itself, as it's still under construction, but there is one thing I want to consult. Technology in this world is, more or less on our current level. They have airplanes, they even have means to send first humans to their moon (if there was one, haven't decided yet). They don't have anything like Internet however, but that's not that important.

How do you think it would affect the world, if having any marks/tattoos/signs/dirt on your skin was taboo?
You play with a pen, you accidentally draw a line on your finger -> you have to go wash it as fast as possible. You'd feel like if you weren't wearing any pants in public.
Woman cannot wear any make-up, how would they enhance their looks? Would the fashion evolve differently?
Bullies in school would chase others around with pens and draw something on their skin.
Jobs, that are often dirty in our world, like coal miner wouldn't really exists in this culture... or would be delegated to slaves/workers from other cultures... or would require full body suits to protect from the dirt.

What do you think?

 

One beauty standard I thought of was that of ancient Greece. They prized natural beauty, and for one reason or another, they considered unibrows to be part of that natural beauty. So, if a woman didn't have a natural unibrow, she'd use animal hair to give herself the appearance of one. 
If makeup in this world is taboo, I think that focus would shift to other aspects of a woman's appearance—form, hair, eye color, facial features. Hairstyles might become quite elaborate in this world; curls, braids, pieces to make the hair look fuller and bigger than it is, enormous and ornate hats, powder to enhance or even change hair color, hair extensions, jeweled hairpins—I think all of these would be major aspects of the fashion industry. Similarly, jewelry would probably become more popular and more of a status symbol; I imagine wealthy women with dozens of delicate interlinked bracelets covering their bare arms. It's up to you whether this jewelry would be big and heavy or small and light, or which metals would be used to create it. Or if metals would be used at all. Colored beads and wood might be more common materials, given the need for miners to extract metals. Of course, this doesn't mean every woman would wear jewelry; if it's popular, some women could make a statement by eschewing it altogether. Conversely, if it's not popular, a woman could make a different statement by wearing as much jewelry as humanly possible. It's up to you whether this would be considered bold and daring or hopelessly gauche. 
Clothes would make more of a statement than they do in our world. This doesn't necessarily mean they'd have to be elaborate; the current fashion could be similar to that of the late 1960s (bell bottoms and peasant tops, long dresses and fringe) or the early 1990s (plaid shirts and torn acid washed jeans) but without makeup, women would make a statement through what they wore. And, naturally, fancy clothes would be even more important than they are now. Without fancy eyeshadow or lipstick, women would rely more on clothes to show the effort they put into their appearances. 
Additionally, different aspects of a woman's appearance might be considered desirable. Modern makeup ads emphasize the lips, eyes, and cheeks, since those are where the most makeup is usually applied, and in the greatest varieties (think of all the different shades of lipstick, blush, and eyeshadow). Greater emphasis could be placed on eye color, with women whose eyes aren't naturally a desirable color changing their eyes with contact lenses. Depending on how entrenched the taboo against skin markings is, an especially daring woman might even paste small jewels directly onto her skin, causing a ripple of controversy similar to that when a woman in our world shows a lot of skin. 
On that note, how much skin is permissible to show is another thing you'll want to consider. Is a bare midriff considered desirable or dangerous? Do women show off their unmarked skin, or do they cover it up for safety? Are piercings allowed, and if so, where are these piercings placed? Do women enhance their natural faces by adding nose, cheek, lip, and eye rings—or is that considered too close to skin markings for comfort? Are piercings even legal? 
Feet and hands are another thing you'll want to consider, odd as that sounds. What sort of hands are considered desirable—small, large, delicate, or strong? Long fingers or short? Is nail polish taboo? Do women grow their nails out, or cut them down to the quick? Are gloves popular, and if so, what kinds? How about feet—small feet or large? Slippers, boots, tennis shoes, ballet flats, high heels—what does a woman wear when she's out on the town? Are bare legs considered beautiful, or would no woman be caught dead outside the house without a pair of stockings? If stockings are worn, are they plain or adorned, patterned or solid color, skin-toned or bright, sheer or opaque? 
Finally, what body type is considered desirable? Are women told they ought to be slender and boyish, or full-figured? Is extra weight considered a sign of poor health habits, or of wealth? Women's fashion will be geared toward enhancing or giving the appearance of the desirable body type. For instance, if women want narrow waists and full busts, corsets might be common; but if a slender and boyish figure is all the rage, women with large busts might use stays or bindings to flatten their chests. How safe or dangerous are these tools? 

And that's a lot more questions than I thought I'd write.  Hope it helps. 

[Mestiv he/him]

@TwiLyghtSansSparkles I think this emote describes my reaction best: 

That's a huge amount of things to consider. I'm impressed you analyzed it so deeply, thank you! 

However, if I decide to share the results of Camp NaNoWriMo, you might be disappointed... the post you've just written is probably more interesting than what I'll create  I've never written anything longer than a RP post here on the shard 

 

[Zathoth]

I ended up asking myself a similar question when I was writing Skyverea.

"Whats the fashion like?"

I ended up mixing steam punk with the more angular forms of retro futurism. It looks pretty cool in my head.

[Lindel he/him]

I've got this magic system concept that's been bouncing around in my head for the past couple days. It's based on actual illusions and magic tricks. Basically, your power in the magic is based on other people's beliefs about what you can do with the magic. It grows as people's subconscious "awe" for your power grows. The more people you can trick, and the more convinced they are of your powers, the more powerful you become. So in order to gain more power, you have to continuously create the illusion of doing more with the magic than you actually can do. People must be convinced that you're more powerful than you really are. The most powerful magician's true level of power is cloaked in mystery, and they have to continuously race to outdo themselves, always trying to pulling off more impressive tricks and illusions in order to exceed their reputation.

Also, on a different note, I'm working on a world building project set in an alternate reality where the Union lost the American Civil War, and the United States splintered into several nation states, with the District of Columbia ending up in control of just a few States in the North East. It'd be a ton of research to do this well...       

[Darkness Ascendant he/him]

2 hours ago, Lindel said:

I've got this magic system concept that's been bouncing around in my head for the past couple days. It's based on actual illusions and magic tricks. Basically, your power in the magic is based on other people's beliefs about what you can do with the magic. It grows as people's subconscious "awe" for your power grows. The more people you can trick, and the more convinced they are of your powers, the more powerful you become. So in order to gain more power, you have to continuously create the illusion of doing more with the magic than you actually can do. People must be convinced that you're more powerful than you really are. The most powerful magician's true level of power is cloaked in mystery, and they have to continuously race to outdo themselves, always trying to pulling off more impressive tricks and illusions in order to exceed their reputation.

Also, on a different note, I'm working on a world building project set in an alternate reality where the Union lost the American Civil War, and the United States splintered into several nation states, with the District of Columbia ending up in control of just a few States in the North East. It'd be a ton of research to do this well...       

THE SHATTERED STATES

as for the magic system, how many people can do it? If it's a secret power then what you said would make sense. If it's common, then people would always know it's an illusion and your powers would break

[Lindel he/him]

4 hours ago, Darkness Ascendant said:

as for the magic system, how many people can do it? If it's a secret power then what you said would make sense. If it's common, then people would always know it's an illusion and your powers would break

I'm undecided. If it's common, then it could be based on people thinking that you're more powerful than you really are. In this case, you really can do magic, and they know you can, but you use illusions to embellish on your powers, making them believe you're a more powerful magician than you are, and thus maintain your power through deception. It's a balancing act between going too far and breaking the illusion, and reaching high enough to maintain your power. Or it could be a secret power, based directly on what people think you can do, so everything you can accomplish with the magic has to start with a convincing, but entirely mundane illusion, and the belief is what makes it real. I'm trying to decide which is better. 

[Lindel he/him]

4 hours ago, Darkness Ascendant said:

as for the magic system, how many people can do it? If it's a secret power then what you said would make sense. If it's common, then people would always know it's an illusion and your powers would break

I'm undecided. If it's common, then it could be based on people thinking that you're more powerful than you really are. In this case, you really can do magic, and they know you can, but you use illusions to embellish on your powers, making them believe you're a more powerful magician than you are, and thus maintain your power through deception. It's a balancing act between going too far and breaking the illusion, and reaching high enough to maintain your power. Or it could be a secret power, based directly on what people think you can do, so everything you can accomplish with the magic has to start with a convincing, but entirely mundane illusion, and the belief is what makes it real. I'm trying to decide which is better. 

 

4 hours ago, Darkness Ascendant said:

THE SHATTERED STATES

Is that in reference to something specific, or just a cool sounding name? 

[Oversleep]

On 24.06.2016 at 3:00 PM, Mestiv said:

@TwiLyghtSansSparkles I think this emote describes my reaction best: 

That's a huge amount of things to consider. I'm impressed you analyzed it so deeply, thank you! 

However, if I decide to share the results of Camp NaNoWriMo, you might be disappointed... the post you've just written is probably more interesting than what I'll create  I've never written anything longer than a RP post here on the shard 

I can't help by wonder how this taboo came to be. Since first humans who were hunters/gatherers the activities which produce food require getting dirty in one way or another. So how do farmers work? How people do anything without getting dirty? I mean, getting dirty happens way too often to be taboo. Or maybe it's only about markings which seem purposeful, like tatoos/signs/writing and so on?

[Mestiv he/him]

@Oversleep it began as avoiding marks that had sharp edges (like tattoos). A smudge of dirt was fine at first. Then, as technology moved on, world became cleaner, farming was done using machines, the taboo expanded.

That's a bit like in our world, women in some Arfican and Sout American tribes walk freely topless, with their breasts visible to anyone, while it's unthinkable for a woman from Europe to do so. Even if she's surrounded only by people from this tribe, she'll still wear her top.

Some cultural taboos can be quite weird, like covering your left hand

Edited June 25, 2016 by Mestiv

[Eagle of the Forest Path he/him]

@Mestiv What about birth marks?

[Mestiv he/him]

Those that can afford it remove them surgically. Those that can't try to hide them. If it's too big or from some other reason not hideable, they live like people with body deforming diseases, as social outcasts.

[Oversleep]

What about moles? Do they count?