<Snipped quote by Vordak>

As to the first point, I do agree that any strange and unusual abilities that are created must have an underlying (and well thought) explanation. There has been a lot of debate in the past day about realism-vs-creative license. I guess the limitations depend on whether we are building an alternate Earth or a unique world.

The second point is a very clever idea. I like it. Using one tribe as our perspective to travel and discover the world around them. It establishes a point of view from which to begin.

I think the best idea would be to start with a human tribe on an alternate earth. If we go off on something completely different we'll all go off the rails. We can always add something later.

I think the best idea would be to start with a human tribe on an alternate earth. If we go off on something completely different we'll all go off the rails. We can always add something later.

I don't disagree. Start with the familiar and allow them to discover the unusual.

I'm thinking of making a post soon, most likely formatted as a quote from a history book as there's little chance of us having any sort of writing at this stage presumably.

Anyone got a name idea or should I make one up?

EDIT: The names I have right now are the Lerus, Selna, Ateacia and Domus.

I'm thinking of making a post soon, most likely formatted as a quote from a history book as there's little chance of us having any sort of writing at this stage presumably.

Anyone got a name idea or should I make one up?

EDIT: The names I have right now are the Lerus, Selna, Ateacia and Domus.

For my part, I like "Selna" best. Not married to it by any means, so if everyone else likes something else better, that's fine, too.

<Snipped quote by ClocktowerEchos>

For my part, I like "Selna" best. Not married to it by any means, so if everyone else likes something else better, that's fine, too.

We can always use it as a culture name (ie Roman & Latin) or just rename them later on.

I'm planing on calling them something more... primal for their tribe name for the time being. Their "final" name can be decided upon when they decide to get settled.

I'd like our nomad tribe have eastern vibes to its name: something like Zott, Pirkaj or Yoruks - a few names i picked up while reading wikipeidia articles on gypsies. :P

I'd like our nomad tribe have eastern vibes to its name: something like Zott, Pirkaj or Yoruks - a few names i picked up while reading wikipeidia articles on gypsies. :P

The current name I'm using is the Sarasaric but I might actually change it to sound more Mongol rather than Mesopotamian.

Hi. Just popping in to say my two cents.

The participants are given utmost freedom in their creativity, as long as it comes with respect for their fellow writers: use whatever formats you want, whether it be diaries, encyclopedic texts, biographies or legends; create whatever content you think will deepen or further the plot.

This is the sentence that got me interested and should be followed. I suggest a NARRATIVE format post and a Encyclopedia type post. You could post a short story involving different elements of the setting or an encyclopedia type entry describing a single thing in the setting. Hooks for future stories and objects/people/places/etc. could be left for other players to pick up. Don't forget that histories are often contradictory and multiplicitous.

As i said in the above post, we need some momentum going, so deciding the geographical specifics can be left for later

Makes sense.

I'm hesitant about magic, it could easily fuck things up real easily not to mention all the other stuff that could entail.

I think we should just go normal route

I disagree. I think magic is a great tool to make the world interesting, more vibrant and readible. The 'cool' factor if you will. Writing a world that is just renamed real-world pseudo-cultures doesn't exactly appeal to me (or anyone else reading it for that matter) what we need are hooks and plotlines just like any good novel. Instead I think we should all agree on a set rule of law for magic.

I also think we should wait on using a map until more of the setting is understood/written. Thoughts?

I disagree. I think magic is a great tool to make the world interesting, more vibrant and readible. The 'cool' factor if you will. Writing a world that is just renamed real-world pseudo-cultures doesn't exactly appeal to me (or anyone else reading it for that matter) what we need are hooks and plotlines just like any good novel. Instead I think we should all agree on a set rule of law for magic.

I strongly agree with this. I'm considering the options, but again, this depends somewhat on the level of development...Can these people read? Can they write? If not, they certainly aren't sitting in libraries studying. Is magic learned or inherited? Where does it come from? If we agree that it exists at all....In an early civilization, if magic was to be taught, it would be an oral tradition, I should think. But it still had to come from somewhere in the first place, which is, I think, the point of writing a history...to answer these questions. And if I've just confused everyone else as thoroughly as I have myself, then it's going to be one of those days!

<Snipped quote by Polybius>

I strongly agree with this. I'm considering the options, but again, this depends somewhat on the level of development...Can these people read? Can they write? If not, they certainly aren't sitting in libraries studying. Is magic learned or inherited? Where does it come from? If we agree that it exists at all....In an early civilization, if magic was to be taught, it would be an oral tradition, I should think. But it still had to come from somewhere in the first place, which is, I think, the point of writing a history...to answer these questions. And if I've just confused everyone else as thoroughly as I have myself, then it's going to be one of those days!

<Snipped quote by clocktowerechos>

I disagree. I think magic is a great tool to make the world interesting, more vibrant and readible. The 'cool' factor if you will. Writing a world that is just renamed real-world pseudo-cultures doesn't exactly appeal to me (or anyone else reading it for that matter) what we need are hooks and plotlines just like any good novel. Instead I think we should all agree on a set rule of law for magic.

I also think we should wait on using a map until more of the setting is understood/written. Thoughts?

I propose a magic system that's like the warp from 40k.

There is a separate "realm" where all the ideas, emotions and thoughts of all living things become real, for now we can call this is Arcanum. Once you have enough people doing a certain thing or believing in a certain thing, it will happen. So if one group of people have complete zealous devotion to their god or pantheon, said god will become real in the Arcanum. If there are a series of incredibly violent, bloody wars, there will be a god of war or bloodlust which will be formed.

This way, all living beings have a connection to the Arcanum but their minds "clouded" in the way that because they do not focus on a single idea or belief for long enough, they have little effect on it but can study/meditate/train to "tune" their minds thus becoming more powerful. There are also individuals who are naturally gifted with this "clear of mind" and can have greater access to the Arcanum without much training.

In terms of spells, this means that the more people you have focusing their minds on something like a fireball spell, the stronger it'll be because they are all believing in the power of the spell and are all focusing their efforts on making the spell a reality.

Something else I just thought up of, should the landscape be realistic or more fantasy (ie epic waterfalls, floating islands, etc)?

I prefer to keep the actual, literal way things work more vague ala Tolkien at first. I'm not saying that specific brand of celtic/nordic folk magic with elves and rings and orcs and inexplicably peaceful hobbit-towns and shit but the idea that the nature of magic is mysterious, perhaps unknowable? At least at first, if say later someone wants to flesh things out-I think if we just namedrop a lot in early posts, and let other players take off with ideas then it will all come together. This works democratically too-the less popular ideas will be less fleshed out, the more popular ones will be re-visited again and again.

I'm mostly worried about everything becoming a bureaucracy and tied up since people can't decide over things or just putting stuff off until later :\

There is a separate "realm" where all the ideas, emotions and thoughts of all living things become real, for now we can call this is Arcanum. Once you have enough people doing a certain thing or believing in a certain thing, it will happen. So if one group of people have complete zealous devotion to their god or pantheon, said god will become real in the Arcanum. If there are a series of incredibly violent, bloody wars, there will be a god of war or bloodlust which will be formed.

This way, all living beings have a connection to the Arcanum but their minds "clouded" in the way that because they do not focus on a single idea or belief for long enough, they have little effect on it but can study/meditate/train to "tune" their minds thus becoming more powerful. There are also individuals who are naturally gifted with this "clear of mind" and can have greater access to the Arcanum without much training.

In terms of spells, this means that the more people you have focusing their minds on something like a fireball spell, the stronger it'll be because they are all believing in the power of the spell and are all focusing their efforts on making the spell a reality.

I'm against tying magic and the realm of emotion and mind - aka "noosphere" - into one single entity; it may greatly limit what we can do with it down the road. A bit busy right now, but i'll try to provide a magical system of my own ASAP, as an alternative to be taken into consideration.

<Snipped quote by ClocktowerEchos>

I'm against tying magic and the realm of emotion and mind - aka "noosphere" - into one single entity; it may greatly limit what we can do with it down the road. A bit busy right now, but i'll try to provide a magical system of my own ASAP, as an alternative to be taken into consideration.

Mind if I ask how it would "greatly limit what we can do with it down the road"? I'm curious on how exactly something like the War/Noosphere/Arcanum would limit us.

<Snipped quote by Vordak>

Mind if I ask how it would "greatly limit what we can do with it down the road"? I'm curious on how exactly something like the Warp/Noosphere/Arcanum would limit us.

Well, it restricts use of potent magic only to those capable of zealous belief, obviously, that's one thing just off the top of my head. It also becomes difficult to draw a line between an actual science, with an underlying logic, and just plain superstition, if belief is all that is needed to interact with magic. Those two aspects are something we may or may not want, depending on the setting: it is fitting in WH40k, since that universe benefits from a grimdark setting with mad zealots, devotees, pious religiousness and constant war, but i don't think it's applicable to everything.

Also, i must correct you - the noopsphere is a concept strictly related to thought and has nothing to do with magic on its own; thought of course, we can choose to establish a connection between the two.

EDIT: no, really. is that passive aggressiveness oozing from your post, or is it just me being too touchy?

<Snipped quote by ClocktowerEchos>

Well, it restricts use of potent magic only to those capable of zealous belief, obviously, that's one thing just off the top of my head. It also becomes difficult to draw a line between an actual science, with an underlying logic, and just plain superstition, if belief is all that is needed to interact with magic. Those two aspects are something we may or may not want, depending on the setting: it is fitting in WH40k, since that universe benefits from a grimdark setting with mad zealots, devotees, pious religiousness and constant war, but i don't think it's applicable to everything.

Also, i must correct you - the noopsphere is a concept strictly related to thought and has nothing to do with magic on its own; thought of course, we can choose to establish a connection between the two.

EDIT: no, really. is that passive aggressiveness oozing from your post, or is it just me being too touchy?

Knowing me, its most likely a combination of both, probably stemming from the fact this hasn't gone exactly the way I thought it would and that's the best way I can kind of explain it without going full on aggressive/mean.

There's also a bit of ignorance on my part as I've never read Tolkien so I wouldn't know about LOTR magics that people are suggesting. Basically I don't really know what people mean by Tolkien-style magic which is hidden but people know about it or something like that.

<Snipped quote by Vordak>
There's also a bit of ignorance on my part as I've never read Tolkien so I wouldn't know about LOTR magics that people are suggesting. Basically I don't really know what people mean by Tolkien-style magic which is hidden but people know about it or something like that.

Sorry Clock I simply meant that the way we refer to, inference and use magic might best be left vague like Tolkiens work, not literally like THIS IS HOW MAGIC WORKS AND NOTHING ELSE approach.

<Snipped quote by Vordak>

Knowing me, its most likely a combination of both, probably stemming from the fact this hasn't gone exactly the way I thought it would

I don't know what to tell you except let's all work together. No singular vision will prevail.

<Snipped quote by ClocktowerEchos>

Sorry Clock I simply meant that the way we refer to, inference and use magic might best be left vague like Tolkiens work, not literally like THIS IS HOW MAGIC WORKS AND NOTHING ELSE approach.

So basically stuff like prophecies and miracle-like stuff that happen once in a blue moon?

<Snipped quote by Polybius>

So basically stuff like prophecies and miracle-like stuff that happen once in a blue moon?

No I mean think meta for a minute about it. For example in medieval Europe all of these bad-ass Roman things kept popping up. Weapons, books, bath-houses. The people in Britain had no clue that an ancient Empire once colonized their Isles, no idea the level of sophistication and invention. The Britons literally thought giants had created all of that stuff, that magic was the source. Or in Conan the barbarian stories, magic is seen as something mysterious, Conan has no idea how it works-actually fears it most of the time, but you know the limits of the magic in the stories. H.P. Lovecraft does the same thing. I'm afraid I've gone off course trying to explain this...Am I making any sense?