[OOC] Starless - Unique Fantasy RP

[FantasyChic]

Ok I am off of work tomorrow after 8 days of nonstop work, I will post then

[jasonwolf]

Also I hope I can do at least 1 day (two would be nice) of IC stuff without messing up any plans. I wanna do a feast kind of thing, and for that Mark is going hunting. I can make it happen in one day, but if I had 2 then it'd be more reasonable for the characters.

EDIT: also finally got the wilds marked on the map. will upload soon.

[Kingfisher]

Second post is up if anyone has any feedback /constructive criticisms.

[Dextkiller]

This week is my finals week as well. But most my projects are finsihed, so I should be able to post tonight. The plan was to post yesterday but I was too busy finishing up hw. @ravendivinity I posted a map a few pages back of some locations for Daen. I'll look at that later and put his exact location there. But from the information you already have, he's somewhere in the middle of the sea exactly due north of the Golden star on my earlier map. If you need more detail I won't be able to do it till late tonight, as I'm in class today and will be till 10.

Edit: my map is on page 10, 2nd post from the top.

[jasonwolf]

Putting together some fauna for the wilds. Looking at prehistoric mammals largely. After all this is a magical world they fit in rather well. Any suggestions?

[Tuujaimaa]

@ravenDivinity I've updated the lore document with Dormeria's information and included a little more embellishment on the Order of the Skyward Eye and solidified "the Heartlands" as being the land that would eventually become the Republic of Cynderia. :)

Feel free to edit whatever of it is necessary in order to fit your own imagining of the lore!

[Kingfisher]

@ravenDivinity Jaralia is at wherever Ahak is on the map.

[jasonwolf]

Alright since Raven has said the beastiary has to be democratic. Here's my suggestions.

Beastiary

The Wilds:

Predators

Dire Wolf img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb2014020611..

Sabre Toothed Cat igs.indiana.edu/images/fossilsandtime/..

White Rend Owl

Herbivores

Wooly Mammoth upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons..

Glyptodon upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons..

Megatherium media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/99..

Elasmotherium upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons..

Ancient Bison joevenusartist.com/Images/Anchient-Bis..

Domesticated

Mesonyx usercontent1.hubimg.com/7169030.jpg

Wooly Rhino wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/4..

Dire Wolf (Very rarely)

[DeltaV]

My only complaint is in regards to the 'domesticated' animals. There's no way that a society stuck in the medieval era would be able to tame and confine rhinoceros or what Wikipedia tells me is a five-foot-long wolflike predator.

[jasonwolf]

@DeltaV a magical fantasy world medieval era. You give a society 40000 years either way and I dont see why they couldn't.

If that's the consensus then ill give in of course, but i think it's fitting.

[Guilty Spark]

@DeltaV a magical fantasy world medieval era. You give a society 40000 years either way and I dont see why they couldn't.

If that's the consensus then ill give in of course, but i think it's fitting.

@jasonwolf

Based on that logic, we should have FTL drives. We simply can't use "Their civilization is 60,000 years old" as a justification for anything because, by the very nature of medieval fantasy, we've already distorted that reality beyond relevance.

Also, I'd rather make up fantasy beasts than copy-paste prehistoric animals, it's really immersion breaking to use dinosaurs. I mean, why bother?

[jasonwolf]

@Guilty Spark I was more looking at how domestication actually works with the number of years. with 40,000 years since the founding they would have 8,000 generations of animals to work with. Find the most docile one and start breeding them.

The other point I feel is valid, but coming from a background of D&D where prehistoric animals are actually a frequent monster I like using them. If I had the time I'd probably make original ones, but at the same time they'd likely be similar to these. I wanted a distinctly big and bulky animal for the wilds to use as their main cattle, and while looking through cryptid reports I was reminded of the wooly rhino. Considering the wilds are the northern most nation they'd have animals similar to this. I figured why not use them.

Also I'm starting to notice a big difference in how fantastic I've been seeing this world. I've been imagining magic to be at least semi frequent (the wilds likely having a solid number of druids throughout its history). Why can't that magic be used here? Need be I could go back to when mark is around and have a myth of him helping to tame the rhinos to feed the people when he isn't there.

[Dead Cruiser]

The thing is that most animals simply cannot be domesticated. There's a reason that we have our couple-dozen species of domesticated animals out of the vast animal kingdom. In particular, there have been attempts to domesticate rhinos as beasts of burden, but they've consistently proven to be far too stupid and stubborn to pull it off.

This really isn't a high fantasy setting; it's more akin to swords and sorcery, sort of Howardian. Magic is a secretive and dangerous domain, practiced only by rare and exceptional individuals. That is to say, mostly our characters. It largely serves to set apart our characters as mythical heroes and champions compared to the common stock.

[jasonwolf]

@Dead Cruiser I'll be honest I have no clue what howardian means

I still would prefer to not have generic oxen and such. I want something distinct for the hardy wildkin an animal that matches their tenacity and unusual nature. If new animals are needed overall fine, but since this idea seems largely disliked could I get some help coming up with some? Considering the core of the Wilds is its natural bounty the flora and fauna are very important to me to get right.

[Charzy]

This is a civilisation that, in 60 000 years, has made zero technological progress. Let's face it, their capability to apply their minds long enough to do anything even remotely inventive can't be that high.

Here's a map of Zhan's travels so far, from the ruined city of Kai to the city of Shi.

Hider

[Dead Cruiser]

@Dead Cruiser I'll be honest I have no clue what howardian means

I still would prefer to not have generic oxen and such. I want something distinct for the hardy wildkin an animal that matches their tenacity and unusual nature. If new animals are needed overall fine, but since this idea seems largely disliked could I get some help coming up with some? Considering the core of the Wilds is its natural bounty the flora and fauna are very important to me to get right.

@jasonwolf

Behold.

Here's my advice: Markiel lived over 40,000 years ago, yeah? Perhaps in his time, he taught the people to tame and ride such mighty beasts as the mammoth and the rhinoceros, but after his death, the old ways slowly died with him. Over the span of many generations, the megafauna were hunted or otherwise driven to extinction. The modern Wilds may tame the feral forms of common domesticated creatures (aurochs, wolves, falcons, wildcats, etc), but it could be a point of personal tragedy for Markiel that the fearsome creatures he once reigned over are all long dead.

This is a civilisation that, in 60 000 years, has made zero technological progress. Let's face it, their capability to apply their minds long enough to do anything even remotely inventive can't be that high.

@Charzy

It's basically been our assumption that the continent is constantly subjected to apocalyptic wars, plagues and other such disasters (that our characters usually are either the cause of or deliverance from), that Ansus is too frequently in a state of sociological flux to make any significant forward progress. Some areas may be considerably more advanced than others, and then the roles may be reversed a century later depending on how the die is cast.

[Kingfisher]

Military general making soup and giving zero shits

[Guilty Spark]

@jasonwolf I'll send you creatures as I find them. Here, have this colossal load-bearing beast from the arid plains north of the central mountain ranges.

http://hamsterfly.deviantart.com/art/Siege-Craft-540855116

Edit: And this Album of miscellaneous fantasy creatures.

[jasonwolf]

@Dead Cruiser ah that'd explain it never was too big into conan. As I said my fantasy background is D&D where you almost always find a cleric and sorceress on your side while there seems to be a nercomancer every other week.

It is a solid thought, but a think a little compromise can be made here. I'd be willing to drop all the animals as now extinct, and the only remaining mega fauna is Teloceras en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teleoceras . Yes it is a kind of rhino, but it has the tiniest little horn ever, it's smaller than the previous examples, and when comparing it to the boars we managed to tame I think it is comparable. It keeps the kind of idea of the old ways dying and all that's left is this fat lazy unintimidating thing that's supposedly a rhino.

Might be a good analogy to how the wildkin have become a bit lax. I mean they joined with the southern nations, the same ones Mark spent 350~ years fighting to keep the wilds strong and free as well as nature pure. Mark has some choice words for them on that matter.

Note this is if other fantastic options aren't viable.

EDIT:

@Guilty Spark

Alright so I think I've been thinking a little small now. All in favor of two Wildkin forts pulled by one of those each say Aye.

Aye.

[Guilty Spark]

@jasonwolf That is acceptable to me, although it would have problems traversing the forest. The only thing I don't like is anachronistic animals, it's perhaps a pet peeve but prehistoric creatures are an entire different genre to me and I don't like them mixed in.

For future reference, edited in [@Mentions don't provide notifications.