Basic Ideals (NOT RULES):
No pace or post requirements, you post when you can and as long as we can understand you, grammar isn't an issue. Dedication to an appropriate degree IE happiness, health and work comes first, once you tick those boxes, write to your hearts content. Be comfortable with friendly discussion, apposing arguments and criticism, these can help fuel a successful train of creativity.

Structure: Continent/Fantasy/Five Races/Mixed Geography/Historical Events/Hidden Organisation of the surface/Elements of Magic/Creatures/Natural cycles

This is a basic layout as I want to start from the bottom and work up from there in stages. The ideals I listed are similar to expectations, but you should not feel like you are confined to a set of rules, you are part of a team and as such we exert no pressure to produce pages of work, contribution in any form is appreciated. The structure includes sections to cover in general, there will be much more to add in detail as this project moves forward. Progress made will be recorded in this post and in the character tab, depending on the subject, stories to be told can be found in the IC.

- MonstrousMan

---

To start things off I propose that we condense our world into three islands (bodies above water, not a typical desert or tropical island). This way we have seperate locations for biomes, cultures and so forth.

Secondly, as a race of sentient fungi was suggested as a possible addition to the world, most likely found in swamps or underground, I will be the first to throw some ideas out there.

They are all linked together somehow, through connection under ground or chemical communication through the air. They most likely infest the bodies of creatures they can use, with motor functions and brain capacity enough to transport them from A to B. The fungi race could also be split into sub groups, perhaps some fungi can actually move and interact with other sentient life forms, while another has the sole purpose of consuming food to produce energy.

To start things off I propose that we condense our world into three islands (bodies above water, not a typical desert or tropical island). This way we have seperate locations for biomes, cultures and so forth.

Secondly, as a race of sentient fungi was suggested as a possible addition to the world, most likely found in swamps or underground, I will be the first to throw some ideas out there.

They are all linked together somehow, through connection under ground or chemical communication through the air. They most likely infest the bodies of creatures they can use, with motor functions and brain capacity enough to transport them from A to B. The fungi race could also be split into sub groups, perhaps some fungi can actually move and interact with other sentient life forms, while another has the sole purpose of consuming food to produce energy.

What if the fungi was one organism? That could act as a primordial God of decay/rebirth/fecundity for future cultures. Maybe the sub groups of fungus could be off shoot gods like in greek myth or something? Not sure I'm getting my point across as I'm on mobile. Maybe write up something when I get home tonight or brainstorm some ideas on an arthropod race.

To start things off I propose that we condense our world into three islands (bodies above water, not a typical desert or tropical island). This way we have seperate locations for biomes, cultures and so forth.

Secondly, as a race of sentient fungi was suggested as a possible addition to the world, most likely found in swamps or underground, I will be the first to throw some ideas out there.

They are all linked together somehow, through connection under ground or chemical communication through the air. They most likely infest the bodies of creatures they can use, with motor functions and brain capacity enough to transport them from A to B. The fungi race could also be split into sub groups, perhaps some fungi can actually move and interact with other sentient life forms, while another has the sole purpose of consuming food to produce energy.

3 things. First one being wouldn't the term of "continent" work better for the islands? No disrespect.

Second, I'm down for this mushroom race. Sounds friggin amazing.

Third, how about a nation of skeletons? Not necessarily "hostile" skeletons, but rather treated like normal people.

<Snipped quote by MonstrousMan>

Wouldn't the term of "continent" work better for the islands? No disrespect.

I think "landmass" is most appropriate.

Also, I suggest we include human as a race, with two or three subraces, just so things don't get too weird. Like, one civilised kingdom of humans, secretive pockets of halflings, and "primitive" humans, with very little intelligence, but who are kept as livestock by some of the other races.

As we move forward, I would like to point out that we can establish elements of our world through roleplaying those who live within it. I will likely begin to do so once we establish the "landmass/continent" areas and races.

@Polybius

I'm not sure that having Gods physically existing in the world will be beneficial. Perhaps if there was a mothership-esque giant fungi, which gives life to other fungi whilst simultaneously looking to decay the environment to its advantage, deconstructing the trees and lifeforms until it can feed or alter them to serve its will. This giant Shroom may be the conduit for a god of decay, at its core lies the ancient shrine to its benefactor, whom grows in power as its parasitic minions spread their taint.

Thoughts?

@MonstrousMan Works for me.

I think we need to answer some basic worldbuilding questions before we go on.

1) What era of the world is this? I.e. are there things that came before that shape the way the world is right now? This is good for verisimilitude in the setting and roleplay and helps avoid the cliche of having every element of the setting feel like it suddenly 'POOFED' into existence.

2) Speaking of gods, we should decide if the gods are very present or very distant in the setting at some point.

3) As for geography we should figure out if we want to have a map drawn up or leave it until later. Either way has its pros/cons. If we make a map now we are constrained to the shape of the landmasses. But we can always add or change things later. If we wait until everything is done, it will take a very long time to figure out what goes where and why. Maybe just make it as we go along? Or section off parts of the world for each player to take and shape as they please?

Let me know if I'm thinking too much into this thing. I realize this is in the casual section after all. But I just want to avoid any problems we might run into as I've tried this sort of thing before in one form or another.

@Polybius

The Gods should probably be a variation of distance and interaction. For example, the "main" entity of God level power is likely passive for the most part, but the God of Fire, if there is to be one, can be constantly fighting to burn everything in its honour.

I imagine that the world is in a similar stage to our medieval reality, in that societies history only goes back a few thousand years, and races have developed and become extinct ages before any of the current life forms were emerging. Basically, fantasy Iron Age? I'm not sure of historical eras and so forth.

We can make a basic map of that is suiting to everyone.

You are not thinking too much into it.

Wouldn't it be cool, if its a medieval that followed after the collapse of a much more advanced civilization?

So you have all these magical gadgets and technology no one knows how to use, and could be jury-rigged into other things. Could even be a lost age of culture and knowledge.
If information was stored magically into other devices, and books of the era have long since turned to dust, future inhabitants would have no way to discover this knowledge. It'd be like several chapters missing from the history books.

@BurningDaisies

Awesome idea. Are these life forms that came before humanoid or otherwise?

Could be that the races that are left are descendants of these fallen civilizations.

Maybe these older races tried to overcome a magical/cultural singularity event and failed?

Maybe they created some sort of magical plague or blight that destroyed them?
Maybe magic is uncontrollably rampant in some places and absent from others, and causes strange mutations and corruptions of normal creatures?

@MonstrousMan

I think that, throughout history, races should be a mix of humanoid and not, so it's not too intimidating to the reader/player/writer/whomever will be using the world after us.

Could be that the races that are left are descendants of these fallen civilizations.

Maybe these older races tried to overcome a magical/cultural singularity event and failed?

Maybe they created some sort of magical plague or blight that destroyed them?
Maybe magic is uncontrollably rampant in some places and absent from others, and causes strange mutations and corruptions of normal creatures?

Is it weird that I think birdmen would fit this?

@MonstrousMan

I think that, throughout history, races should be a mix of humanoid and not, so it's not too intimidating to the reader/player/writer/whomever will be using the world after us.

I think thats a good idea, not necessarily for other potential players but for depth in the writing. Speaking of writing, why don't we get started? Anyone have anything specifically they want to work on or are particularly good at? Let's get rolling already. What I surmise from 14+ posts of brainstorming:


"Our world has three landmasses and is inhabited (or has been) inhabited by both humanoid and non-humanoid creatures. The gods are distant, but powerful. Magic exists and may have had a hand in the destruction of a progenitor race."

Does that sum up everything we've accomplished so far? @Banana@BurningDaisies@MonstrousMan

@Polybius
Yep.

@Polybius
I've always been fond of creating stuff from the ground up, literally. Design the environment, drop in creatures, determine how environment affects creatures development, culture, and language, determine influences of culture on environment and other species, and forming a regional history over the course of a given time frame.

I have to use this anthropology degree for something. xD

I propose the world be called "Inanise". Inspired from the Latin "inanis es" which translates to "empty art". As this project is to be a work of art in its intricacy and beauty (you know what I mean), then I hope we can change empty to full, and paint a picture we can all admire.

@MonstrousMan
but what do we call it after we get a world developed?