World Geography

[soltakss]

Originally Posted by Atgxtg

As for size, well it one were built for our sun at 1AU (93 million miles/150 million km) from the sun, the sphere would have an area of 7.07x10^16 square kilometers, and a volume of 1.41x10^34 cubic meters. The Sphere would have a diameter of 300 million km, and would only curve 1º every 833,333.3 kilometers--thats close to 21 times the diameter of the Earth!

So, it has approximately 70 million times the surface area of the earth.

I thought that Ringworld was just too big. A Dyson Sphere is far too big for my tastes.

[Atgxtg]

We say a lot of things here. That is the point.

Its what we put in the actual supplment that counts.

Otherwise we should do all this in secret so players won't discover something that we don't want them to.

[soltakss]

I was wondering about the Geography and History of a Shared World.

Does the Shared World have actual deities that can come and go and interact with the mundane world or does it have theoretical deities that cannot be seen and don't interact with the world? I am assuming that the world has deities of some kind.

Also, what about the physical world? Was that created/shaped by deities or powerful beings? Do we have mountains created by the gods, forests planted by the Earth Queen, rivers shaped by the Water Serpent and so on? Or does the geography come first and explanations come later?

Do people have myths about how their culture/race/people was born? How strong are those myths? Are they based on real events or are they just stories? Do some cultures have real myths and some have fake myths?

Just wondering.

[frogspawner]

Originally Posted by soltakss

I was wondering about the Geography and History of a Shared World.

I'm still sold on the Sphere idea (obviously we'd only define a tiny portion), so I'll give answers accordingly:

The deities are actual, and all have chosen roles/forms/realms for themselves according to their own whims/interests, some of which may clash. There are thousands or even millions of 'gods' (but not that many will be interested in the part of the Sphere we develop). All have effectively limitless power but they cannot interfere so much with other realms/interests that it spoils the other gods' fun - or they will get banned from the forum, sorry world. They can come and go, can leave forever or new ones happen by (probably only over quite long time-scales, by mortal perception, though).

The physical world was created by all the gods together, as their toy. Some may have created the mountains/rivers/whatever in the region(s) they are interested in if they so wished.

I'm sure most peoples will have creation myths, either true or false and as powerful as the gods of their region have let them become. (One limitation I can see, though: mortals cannot become gods).

Hopefully this view doesn't have too many limitations to hinder author creativity.

[Atgxtg]

Originally Posted by soltakss

So, it has approximately 70 million times the surface area of the earth.

I thought that Ringworld was just too big. A Dyson Sphere is far too big for my tastes.

Oh, It's freaking huge. I suggested it because it means that we could develop a section and have a lot of room for expansion, or even a restart somewhere else. Personally I wouldn't want to use anything much biggest that, Australia, and preferable something only about a third of that. A vaste wasteland that takes up area is okay, but I think the smaller the area the more detailed it will be.


Personally, I'd prefer to keep the Sci-Fi and Fantasy setting separate as I feel they usually don't mix well. Either requires a certain degree of suspension of disbelief, and usually both is too much.


Personally I'd rather set things up along the idea of the Mediterranean with a bunch of mostly coastal cultures that trade, war and otherwise interact with each other. It could be the center of the world and the major nexus for activity. Yet it is wide enough and diverse enough to give us all enough freedom to desgin cultures, and even a couple of neighbors without stepping on each other's toes.

Metaphorically speaking, Rurik's Ancients could be the Atlanteans and we could be the Greeks, Egyptians, Etustcans, Phoenicians, Romans, Carthaginians, Scythicans, Ibernerias, and Nubians.

We could even draw our maps that way, with lots of details about the lands we know and the info getting more sketchy the farther out we get from the center.

[Trifletraxor]

Hmm... I'm also feeling maybe we should return to fantasy (yeah, yeah, I know I brought up the sci-fi in the first place).

Maybe to kick something off, we could working on some examples, with some rough drawings, put it up on the wiki (version A, B, C, etc.), and develop it from there, see what we get? Then modify it regularly till we find something we agree upon?

SGL.

[frogspawner]

I don't see anything so far that's incompatible with fantasy. Trying to stick to the principle of 'never reject an idea', and it's ok so far.

I see no reason why we can't have a semi-historical 'fantasy mediterranean' (a good quick-start basis, btw), bordered by The Green and Asherayne, and other less-known lands receding into the distance, all on a tiny part of a Dyson Sphere, with stationary sun (screened to fade into a 'moon' with stars at night) and bridged moon, magic-rich, with any gods imaginable, at least one skyborne city (powered by liftwood psychically-linked to it's million sparrows) - all on/near the edge of a thousand-mile high plateau with mountainous icicles hanging off it...

Ideas are gold dust. Keep 'em all. Reconciling them is the fun bit, and where myths can come from. Maps - yes, by all means!

[frogspawner]

PS: Oh, and (didn't I say?) The Sphere is one very huge living ship, plowing through space, looking for more specimens and a soul...

Maybe there's the occasional hole (two? ten?) thousand miles deep, to the outside - look down and see stars going by in one direction: "My god it's full of stars".

[Trifletraxor]

The world was vastly older than man. Everyone knew that. It has been home to many different races, many extinct today. Most notable of the ancient races are the ones who are only known as “the ancients”, an advanced race which lived in a city of wonder, and created magical artefacts that the best enchanters alive today can only dream of. After a summoning that went wrong, much of their city fell in ruins, and nearly all the ancients was killed, either by the demons they had accidentally summoned, or by their human allies who turned against them after the demons were defeated. Only a few are still alive today, hidden away in their towers. Survivors of the demon race still plague the world, but not in numbers high enough to control more than small selected areas. Other elder races still live on though, though none as advanced as the ancients. The underworld is home to many, as are the deep forest and the deep seas. Some live in friendly coexistence in the same areas as man, while others are hostile and fight for their territory.

It is believed that the world was created by the gods, but it is not sure if it was created by any of the gods alive today. The gods war too, and history records several older gods which are not alive today. The last godswar was more than 40 generations ago. It created a lot of changes, but nearly ended the world itself. Many gods, empires and even entire races were destroyed, as the gods always bring their followers when they go to war. Today, the gods stay put in their strongholds where their powers are greatest, and use their subjects and worshippers to do their biddings.

In the middle of the world is the sky mountain, which reaches all the way up to the sky. Within it lives the sun-god, who appears on the top of it every day to let his power be known to the world. He is the most powerful of the gods, and even during the gods war, none dared attack him while he resided in stronghold, only when he went away from the mountain. Surrounding the sky mountain is a vast and hot dessert. During the day, water evaporates from the seas close to the sky mountain, and later falls as rain in the zones further out. The heaviest rainfall occurs in during the night in the Green, a zone of extremely dense forest. The further out from the sky mountain you get, the colder it is. Towards the end of the world, the temperatures are freezing, and even the oceans have turned to ice. According to the snowtrolls, a group of powerful explorers, protected by magic, found end of the world 3 weeks after the point where your blood would usually turn to ice. Enormous ice cycles hanged down from the edge, pointing down to a black, endless void.

EDIT: Submitted to the wiki as "World suggestion A: Pure fantasy".

[Trifletraxor]

Originally Posted by frogspawner

I don't see anything so far that's incompatible with fantasy. Trying to stick to the principle of 'never reject an idea', and it's ok so far.

It's not incompatible at all, it just that a dyson sphere is so big it could serve as a basis for GatesWorld. It kindoff feels too big, but that's just my opionion, as we could maybe limit us to one area of it.

Could somebody maybe write up a "World suggestion B: Fantasy (with sci-fi background)" article in the wiki?

SGL.