The Player Test!

[Soulserenity20]

Greetings! RULES - PLEASE READ Order of Business

• 
  
  WORLD/SETTING/WORLD MECHANIC WORKSHOP
  *Waves*
  Hello there, friend.
  
  I've been on iwaku for a couple of years now and I'd like to think I've learned a thing or two about a thing or two. I've been GMing one long term RP for 2 years on this site, though its been up and down for 3. It took about a year for it to catch on the way it did here.
  
  In my short, humble time as a GM I've learned a few things. Okay, I've learned A LOT of things. But the most significant of all is this:
  
  No matter what you do, how much you plan, or what rules you follow, nothing tests your world like having it put into action. Nothing will test the quality of the fabric of your world like having a bunch of players prodding at it with burning torches and pitchforks.
  
  This simple exercise will be aimed at getting you one step ahead of the game when it comes to world building. It is here *jabs flag into ground* that I will offer you allllll the annoying questions that you may very well get in your roleplay when your first wave of players come barreling in to see what's what.
  
  You might think this is dumb. You might not.
  But I'll tell you this: when I had players asking me things like "what do the buildings of this town look like, and why?" I realized I hadn't developed the town. When I had players asking me "how long would it take to reach this place by foot or on horse back?" I realized I hadn't developed a scale of my continent. When I had a player ask me "can I use blood in place of water for my water magic?" I realized my players were crazy and I crawled into a hole for a bit. While I was in that hole, I realized I hadn't explored the extent of my mana system and its capabilities.
  
  Let me be that crazy player.
  
  Here's how it works!
  ​
  • You post your description of your setting or world or world mechanic. ​
  • I ask questions you aren't going to like.​
  • You answer them.​
  • You gain development points for your world! Yay you!​
  
  I will be posting another of these into the cultures and race section of the world development forums so look there if you have questions about race and culture, etc.
  
  
  
  
  You'd be surprised what you don't know about your world until people start asking questions.
  ​
  Note: I encourage you all to ask each other questions about what's posted as well. After all, the more opinions offered, the better this whole thing becomes!
• 
  NEW (and old) RULES:
  
  1. 1000 word maximium. I'll give you 150 words of leeway, because I understand word counts suck.
  2. First come first serve
  3. I will only offer up to a secondary response. (i.e. You post original, I ask questions, you answer, then I will respond once more.)
  4. Keep this to world building please! Try not to post too much regarding specific character development or anything else.
  5. Second submissions are fine, but you'll be put on a list like everyone else.
  6. I will only deal with one person at a time. This will prevent me from getting overwhelmed. This is also part of why I'm limiting it to a maximum of a secondary response.
  7. I love you all. Thank you for your worlds.
  
  
• 
  Post by AsGryffynn
  

 

[Soulserenity20]

@Zackymas
I've started reading and I have a few questions already. What planet do these planes exist on? How can they be north and south etc of each other if they're planes? Planes of existence are all supposed to be simultaneously existing in the same place at the same time. But these appear to be depicted more as world's or countries. Can you explain your world mechanics a bit more?

The next thing that immediately drew my eye was the fact that there are elves in the first two planes. You say the three god entities created the life on the planes. Did they simply insert premade races with intelligence and culture? Or did they evolve into the races that exist today? If they evolved, how did there end up being elves in two planes? what do the dark elves in the vampire realm eat?

If the gods put the races there, as is, why did they put the races where they put them? Why are there elves on the vampire plane and in the werewolf plane?

Do your vampires follow standard form? (I.e. Drink blood, sunlight issues, super strength, changed from humans, killed with a wooden stake, etc.) If not: why? And how do they work? (How do they survive, what hurts them, what do they eat, what can they do.)

I'll have tons more questions but my break at work is over lol



E. D. I. T.

In the Damascus realm you write things like "you could find caravans" and "no one has ever managed to return..." But from my knowledge nobody can traverse the planes. So where are they returning to and from? Who are they? Who run the caravans? Who buys the goods they sell? And my question about the elves pertains to this realm as well.


Could you explain how all the folk on atheneas have mastered the arcane arts? Mastered indicates the development of skill. If they're born with absolute expertise I wouldn't say they "mastered it." If they did develop the skill to mastery I wouldn't say "all of them" because that is impossible.


Questions about the creative forces;



How could darkness create hatred without life? And murder? If there's no life, there can't be murder or hatred. Nor any of the other creations you listed. Those are all aspects of life.


Also: your creators seem to be makers of emotion. None of them seem responsible for anything physical. Who is the maker of rock? Who is the maker of existence? Who made the elements? And with each question: why?

 

[Soulserenity20]

Okay that's my first round of questions @Zackymas

 

[Mr. Hybrid]

Alright! This is exactly what I needed at the moment! I've been doing quite a bit of world-building as of late to give the stories I write a stage. So here's what I've got so far.

The Wereverse (portmanteau of werebeast and universe) as a series technically takes place both inside and outside the titular Wereverse (referred to as such in-universe by certain individuals). It is one of many within the Multiverse and the primary setting of the various stories, with the Void Between Universes (Shortened to "The Void" or just "Void") being the secondary location (primary after the Wereverse ages into the Degenerate Era)

The history of this universe largely correlates with our own, right up to the history of the human race. Continuity diverges in the 1930's, when the discovery of Asuras occurred. An Asura is a layman's term for any individual that shows any sort of power that isn't normally possible, such as pyrokinesis or typhomancy, named after Hindu mythology, where the earliest mention of the name refers to all deities and powerful individuals as Asura. The term "Human Asura" is sometimes exchanged for Superhumans out of convenience. However, humans aren't the only individuals with powers, since the rediscovery of Atlantis, Shangri-La, and Agartha in 1948 revealed various other species with their own empowered Asuras. The aforementioned locations have since declared themselves to be their own countries and have so far resisted attempted invasions.

Many political changes took place after the 1930's. Canada becomes the third largest military superpower and reclaims Alaska as a Canadian Province due to being the first to allow Asuras citizenship, thus allowing them to save money on their military by supplanting guns and tanks for Asuras with various powers. Similarly, Texas successfully secedes from the U.S. of A., though its economy is currently failing due to having to rely largely on exports and imports. Hawaii's secession had a much more successful effect on its economy when they figured out geothermal and solar power in addition to their large tourist economy. North and South Korea were unified when Asuras overthrew the North Korean government and it just became known as Korea. Detroit's economy has collapsed completely, it is nothing more than a squatter city, as state government could no longer afford to keep people employed and they were forced to completely shut down. There isn't a functioning power grid and the infrastructure, though largely intact, is now abandoned, save for a few homeless camp-grounds and later on, Impetus hideouts. Ukraine's Chernobyl is still abandoned, but while recent tests for radioactivity show a slow and steady decrease, new dangers have forced them to reconsider future plans for fixing it up. Due to an underground facility testing a form of exotic matter for use in portals (more on that below) that was relying on the Chernobyl reactor, there are now random instances of portals partially opening randomly throughout the city, and on the very rare occasion that a portal fully opens, occasionally something comes through from wherever they lead. Most of the time, whatever appears tends to disappear through a series of atomic portals opening simultaneously due to ontological instability, but some are stable enough that they can affect the environment, and sometimes not always in a good way.

Scientifically, numerous advancements in quantum physics and Non-Standard Model Physics happened, especially during 2011, during the FTL Neutrino Anomaly that resulted in the discovery of a new form of exotic matter (Diracium) with the ideal properties for forming a Dirac Sea or Portal, and an investigation into post-eruption Mount St. Helen that revealed another form of exotic matter that could control the first form (Obsidium). One of the major discoveries was a seventh Fundamental Force (Dark Energy was at this point considered the sixth and the Higgs Field was the fifth, due to the discovery of their respective bosons [The Acceleron and the Higgson]) that was referred to as Mana. It was labeled as such due to the fact that it is an all-pervasive energy field that permeates the Universe, it is the only force shown to have sentience, and it is likewise one of a number of ways to tell the difference between psychic powers and magical powers. Various other discoveries have led to some advances in technology, such as quantum computing and the discovery of the Weylon (massless fermion) allowing for the first real experiments in cellular nanotechnology. Other technological developments include the discovery of the Nyktos force, thought to be a counterpart to electromagnetic force (light) and the discovery of its boson, known as the Nycton, thus changing what scientists knew about Shadow manipulating Asuras. However, what is considered the discovery of the 21st century is the discovery of the Spirit and the Soul, and its constitute "particles." This opened up new branches on science devoted to studying the physics-defying nature of the Soul, such as Spiritual Thermodynamics, the study of the energy of the Soul. Ghosthunting was likewise taken more seriously as the discovery of additional dimensions reveal previously overlooked "dimension-like" layers of Spacetime & Void referred to as Realms.

The study of Asura powers, as well as the super-category for most powers, falls under the term "Psychodynamics." At this point, powers are either categorized by the manipulated element/energy/property/etc... or are categorized into either Psychokinesis or Psychomancy due to the presence or absence of Mana as the fuel for the power. The Psychomancy super-category involves the presence of Mana as the energy for an Asura's powers. The Psychokinesis super-category involves the usage of Ki, a form of energy generated by an individual Asura's Astral Realm, as the energy of their powers, and as such has no Boson. It is believed in many scientific circles that Ki, Mana, and many other forms of Exotic Energy may be derived from the same source. Weres mythology and some Indian religions point to Chakra as the source of these energies. Asuras are not considered to be their own species, but rather a sort of divergent evolutionary path that many species have in common. The powers an Asura has are not always passed on to their children nor are those powers always the same as their parents. That said, the powers within a lineage tend to be semi-consistent in some way, such as a Pyromancer's (ETH Fire) child being a Heliomancer (ETH Plasma), and the latter's eventual great grandchild being Typhokinetic (ESP Smoke). Depending on their category of power, Asuras are classified as Espers (Extrasensory Powers/Ki) or Ethers (Ergothaumic Powers/Mana).

As mentioned earlier, there are multiple species, not just humans. There are: the Ostarans (derived from the name for the Pagan holiday, Ostara, used as the species name for itself), known among humans as Therians (refereing to Therianthropy), Wereforms (scientific term for them), Werebeasts (a racial insult), and Werecreatures (layman's term); Kitsunes; Tanuki; Centaurs; Minotaurs; Driders; Gorgons; Nagas; Vampires; Dhampyrs; Harpies; Shapeshifters; Maboni (derived from the Pagan holiday, Mabon, species exclusive name), also known as Merforms (scientific name), Merbeasts (racial insult), and Mercreatures (layman's term). This entire list only consists of living creatures found on Earth, because the human race is only the new kid in the interstellar neighborhood. However, the reason it took so long for us to find life elsewhere is due to something referred to as the Great Silence.

The Great Silence is a policy instituted by one species known simply as the Roswellians. They are an entire species of Asuras, having largely committed genocide against their non-powered counterparts long ago, and are one of the oldest species in the universe. Because of that, an overwhelming majority of the Roswellians felt entitled to the Universe and decided to control evolution throughout it by appearing to many alien species as deities. This allowed them the opportunity to implant genetic markers that would forcefully evolve various species to meet the needs of the Roswellians. Earthen species such as Humanity and the Ostaranity were the first species that evolved too quickly for the Roswellians to intercept, forcing them to sit back and observe, with weapons readied to remove them if they became a 'problem.' However, the launching of the Voyager I probe wasn't noticed by the Roswellians, and its message remained somehow undetected by them, allowing many, many other species oppressed by them to receive the message. Even before then, many had heard about humanity and its seemingly mythical defiance of the Roswellians, in part due to an insurgent group within calling themselves the Greys, who would likewise share information about the human race, hence why many species speak languages derived from Earthen languages. On Mars, a robotic species that had migrated from Earth to rebel against attempts to control them with "Asimovian Safeguards" known as the Cyborians marks the second species to resist the Roswellian Iron Fist. This was the keystone that started the Silent War, a war that was fought in what we perceive as the Zone of Avoidance, places in the night sky obscured by our galaxy that hid the war from Earth for a long time. The Tabbyans were a casualty of the war, annihilated by the Roswellians when they found out that the Tabbyans were constructing a Dyson Swarm around their star (KIC 8462852), which they perceived as a superweapon. The war ended after Earth and Mars, having recently solved a conflict between each other, were forced to become involved in the war, giving the Singers (the term used by the rebellion, they held the belief that the skies would no longer be 'silent' and instead everyone would know that they existed) the last push needed to win the fight against the Roswellians.

Moving back down to Earth for a while, there was mention above of a facility that was testing potential portal technology and using the Chernobyl reactor for power. This facility was owned by a private business referred to as the Darklight Foundation. Originally founded prior to the Cold War after a staggering discovery that Nyctodynamic Asuras (Shadow Manipulators) were liable to go extinct, they'd moved to include other scientific fields as well. This happened to include harnessing Diracium in the hopes of building either a feasible Alcubierre Drive or a Portal Network. The Darklight Foundation was a pioneer in scientific research into the 21st Century, competing with a similar business called the Chromotech Corporation. Darklight personnel who survived the destruction of Site A56 would often say that the Darklight Foundation's greatest success was the first fully synthetic Asura, right down to the very Soul being synthesized from pure, untouched Phasma (phantom plasma) just like the body was synthesized from pure, untouched Primordial Fluid that had 'survived' under Mount Everest for a very long time. This Asura was a Felis Ostaran (werecat in layman's terms), a Nyctokinetic who was known among her adopted family as Sasha Finch. The Celestial Dragons would occasionally refer to her as Bast Nightstalker, since her DNA was technically modeled after another Nyctokinetic from medieval times by the name of Nyx Nightstalker. Sasha's Soul, though artificial, shines brighter than most due to having the "Kiss of Life," which is a Chakra power used by one of the Celestials to ensure her Soul's stability, which had the unfortunate side effect of awakening Nyx's killer, an Elemental Phantasm that tried to kill her by growing another Elemental using her Soul as its sustenance. This didn't kill her, but her Soul's luminosity was brought down to the same level as everyone else's. She currently protects the survivors of a great cataclysm from the Impetus.

The Impetus is a group of Pyrodynamic Asuras that arose some time after a number of planets and esoteric stars were moved into the Void following the Universe's decay into the Degenerate Era. They were led by Monstrum Ignis (Meaning "Monster Flame"), a Kitsune related to one of Sasha's close friends, Fira. They formed sometime after Cerberus's rampage, triggered by a small group of human puritans attempting to legalize the genocide of all Asuras following the Silent War. Cerberus's rampage left a supernatural storm that permanently obscured part of New Sol's light, as well as enough latent Pyrodynamic Energy to try and force their prisoners into becoming Pyrodynamic Asuras to induct into their group. They fight various Phantoms (Entities created from the physical part of the Soul corrupted by virulent Phasma), but actively try to shut down any technology that they find working unless it's their own technology. Monstrum Ignis used to be the leader, but even with him dead, the Impetus are still active and organized, in part because they found Chromotech's then defunct attempts at cloning technology and use that to increase their numbers. They're at odds with the group known as the Vanguard, of whom Sasha is a member of.

They've been mentioned a few times, but until now, I haven't said much about the Celestial Dragons. Long story short, they are the deities of the Wereverse. They are descendants of the Primordial Entity, known only as Primordius. The Celestial Dragons each have three "aspects" linked to them: Avatars, Vessels, and Embodies. An Avatar is a type of Asura who draws upon the Chakra of a Celestial to transform into their Ki or Mana. A Vessel is a type of Asura that can call the Celestial in an incorporeal form into their body and allow the Celestial to "take the wheel." An Embody is the Celestial in their own physical form, which can best be described as a weredragon for lack of a better term. While essentially deities by any other name, they can still be killed. Prophecy, Destiny, Omar, and Wraith are four Celestials, albeit not native to the Wereverse, but were killed off following their attempted invasions of the Wereverse, acts that corrupted the Phasma of their Souls and created the Phantoms. There is one Celestial native to the Wereverse that was killed off, Magna (Debauchery & Brothels), after an attempted power-grab. The surviving Celestials are, in order of character conception: Natura (Life), Necrona (Death), Solaris (Plasma), Lunaris (Dust), Polaris (Force), Ontolon (Spacetime), Magycka (Magic & Science), Arcana (Knowledge & Power), Thauma (Runes & Talismans), and Amara (Dreamlands). They each possess a type of Soul known as a Caelestis Soul.

There are many types of Souls, some of which can be changed in some ways. Every Soul holds the skeleton of a personality, and it is up to the individual the Soul empowers to properly flesh out their own personality. The different types of Souls are: Sapien (Animals and Nonsentients); Dharma (Individuals with Karma, which affects the way Sapiens receive them); Avalon (Generally 'mythical' creatures such as Kitsunes and Tanuki); Prana (Any individual who uses Mana); Ki (Any Ki user); Machina (Sentient machinery); Caelestis (The Celestial Dragons); Primordialus (The Primordial Entity, Primordius); Anti (Homunculus); Daemon (Colossus); Mindless (Animated inanimate object, also known as Blank, subset of Partial); Memo (Memories only, subset of Partial); Persona (Mindset only, subset of Partial); Animus (Emotions only, subset of Partial). While some say that there is an Anima Soul, this is incorrect. Anima is simply an esoteric energy that is usually exclusive to the Ostaran Asuras, and is only used when they activate their Berserker forms. Souls are comprised of Vitae, Orgone, and Phasma in the Physical Realm, but in the Spectral Realm, they are an Astral Realm tethered to an orb of Psionic energy with a balance of Aethereal and Nethereal energies all held together by a skeleton personality.

The Various Realms mentioned are part of the Layered Reality that is the Wereverse. The Spectral Realm is where one can find all matter of Phantasmagoria. The Astral Realm is a realm tied to each individual with a Soul, they can retreat into this realm should they have the willpower to access it, and those close enough can cause their Astral Realms to intertwine. The Dreamlands are essentially the Realm that is mentally traveled when asleep, with the Psyche Realm being another name for it. The Afterlife is where the deceased Spirits go either to take up permanent residence or temporary residence or to be reincarnated. The Datastream is an artificial Realm caused by the creation of a pocket universe of programmable matter intersecting with the entirety of the Internet. The Dominion of Nevermore is the Realm that the Celestials live in when not directly interacting with the Physical Realm. The Limbo of Damnation is the literal Nothingness after Death, Souls sent there aren't even aware that they exist, as they aren't even unconscious, which can be caused by their Spectral Soul being damaged somehow.

I'll accept any questions you may have and attempt to answer them to the best of my ability.

 

[Soulserenity20]

Okay I'm going to ask that all posts for review be put in spoilers lol. Toooooo many walls of text!

I don't know how much I'll be able to ask on this one haha. It seems like you already did a great job developing it, and the use of the term asura is interesting in this. (*is a religious studies major and addicted to eastern religions*)

I'll finish reading it tonight and ask what I can! Very cool twist on our world's history so far and it presents a good understanding of historical events as well as scientific news and even conspiracy theories. I look forward to finishing it'

 

[Zackymas]

@Zackymas
I've started reading and I have a few questions already. What planet do these planes exist on? How can they be north and south etc of each other if they're planes? Planes of existence are all supposed to be simultaneously existing in the same place at the same time. But these appear to be depicted more as world's or countries. Can you explain your world mechanics a bit more?

This is hard to answer really, not because I haven't set it (Which I did) but because there is no standard definition of 'existential plane.' I mean, we could follow the religious definition by which planes of existence are simply different layers of the same reality (Physical, mental, spiritual). We could as well go with the parallel dimension theory, in which all 'planes' are simply different versions of each other.

Here I decided to make my own 'theory/rule' for it because what they are doesn't fit neither of those, nor it fits putting them as 'planets.' One can't call them 'planets' or 'solar systems' because there is no physical barrier between them. One can't call them parallel realities because they are different realities, not various versions of the same. They aren't the planes of existence defined by esotericism because those only have one layer (There's no physical presence in the spiritual plane) whereas here each plane possesses a physical layer (there's no 'spiritual' layer or something of the like).

I could define them as physical spaces that exist in different areas of the energy layer (universe, cosmos, etc.), what separates them is not physical distance, but spiritual/energy one within said layer. So let's say you have the best telescope ever created; doesn't matter how much you zoom, you can get to see the other plane (Because there's no physical distance in between).

This 'spiritual/energy' layer is where The Darkness, The Spectrum and The White Star live/are/rest/whatever. From here is where the Galopes River comes, it's the path of energy that connects each plane to each other, serving as a channel for transportation, through the Galopes, it's the only way physical objects (Persons, weapons, etc) can travel through the energy layer.

Also, something I want to clear out. I made a misconception when I wrote that no one can transverse between the planes. Beings can and do travel from one plane to the other, but not everyone can do it. Entering to the Galopes requires an extreme use of energy (both magical and physical) so not everyone can do it (Unless you use the vampire method, by which literally physic objects become pure energy; something similar to the real-life teleportation theory, but this method is not recommended in mortal beings) (Here I define Mortal as beings that can die by natural means, i.e. disease, age). I haven't edited the doc with this yet because I'm trying to find a simpler way to word it.

The next thing that immediately drew my eye was the fact that there are elves in the first two planes. You say the three god entities created the life on the planes. Did they simply insert premade races with intelligence and culture? Or did they evolve into the races that exist today? If they evolved, how did there end up being elves in two planes? What do the dark elves in the vampire realm eat?

Yeah. Races were created with a basic knowledge of what they are, who made them, and where the place they live in (But just the first ones, new generations must learn this through education). Culture is something each race has developed on their own.

Elves are the pure representation of their creators. They are literally energy made physical. Dark elves were created by The Darkness; they are the pure representation of the Darkness' energy. Light/high elves are the total opposite, created by the White Star. Humans were created by all three entities, in an effort to create something that it's vulnerable to all three of them. Werewolves and vampires will be explained in the next question.

If the gods put the races there, as is, why did they put the races where they put them? Why are there elves on the vampire plane and in the werewolf plane?

Dark elves exist in Chronos along vampires because of The Darkness' influence in the creation of the plane. Elves aren't endemic of Lupin, some travel from Chronos, Damascus, Atheneas and Euphoria because Lupin is simply a better place to live or any other reason. But the deities did not create elves in Lupin.

Vampires exist in Chronos because they are immortal; Chronos is a place that plays with time, thus those who live there must be immune to time. Not only that, who better to investigate time than those who don't suffer from its limitations?

Werewolves are protectors; they were created with the purpose of protecting Lupin. The Spectrum knew there were going to be beings who would want to exploit the plane's resources (From here comes the Werewolf/Vampire conflict), that's why he created them.

Do your vampires follow standard form? (I.e. Drink blood, sunlight issues, super strength, changed from humans, killed with a wooden stake, etc.) If not: why? And how do they work? (How do they survive, what hurts them, what do they eat, what can they do.)

Vampires here, as said above, are timeless/immortal, but that comes with a drawback. Vampires live on energy; they are timeless because the energy in their body can keep them in perfect shape for extremely long periods of time. As it decays, they will need to feed on energy to keep their bodies fresh, thus they must drink blood. Any blood really.

If a vampire recurs to cannibalism (Drinking vampire blood) then they will gain an extreme amount of energy, but the other vampire will decay/die incredibly fast. The more energy the subject has, the more time will the vampire be able to live without needing to feed. A problem with this is the Drinker syndrome. If a vampire drinks blood even without needing it, they suffer the risk of becoming extremely addicted to it, being driven mad and murdering all they can in order to drink their blood. Vampires that suffer from this disease usually die in about three weeks; they consume so much energy that the power of their age (This will be explained later) burns their bodies. The Drinker Syndrome is also one of the reasons Chronos' land is so dead, in the early days the vampires would simply consume and consume, to the point they killed all fauna in the plane. This also almost produced the extinction of the vampire race.

My vampires don't follow any other stereotypical stuff, so no sun problems, nor super strength, etc. Vampires are born in Chronos. But let's get to the funny stuff, if a vampire is born outside Chronos, and with born I mean if a vampire in Chronos died then her energy fed Euphoria and there that energy goes into a non-born human to make it a vampire. Then that vampire can turn others into vampires by drinking their blood. This breed is not timeless, thus they can't use the power of their age and will die around the age of 150~200 years. They are also much more sensible to the Drinker Syndrome.

As any other physical being, they can be hurt with pretty much anything, they can speed up their healing process in exchange of their energy, but that's it.

Vampire casters are usually some of the most powerful; as vampires, they have a natural control over time-related magic (I haven't really developed my magic system so bear with me) and the amount of energy their bodies posses allows them to cast for prolonged periods of time.

Finally, vampires (except the 'impure' breed) can use something they call the 'Power of age.' This is a transformation which makes them temporarily vulnerable to time. This is done by tapping on the energy that has been saved in their bodies through centuries. When this transformation is used, the vampire's body becomes something in between physical and energy/spiritual, increasing their magical prowess and giving them a weapon of choice entirely made out of energy. Vampires can only use this form for so long, since they risk aging after using it.

As said in the document, the vampire society is incredibly advanced technologically speaking. But their technology took a turn different from ours. They use mechanisms and magic as the main elements in their development (Imagine clockpunk+ middle fantasy+ low-level cyberpunk). As machinists, vampires create the already-mentioned Blood Decoders to travel to other planes and gather 'samples' for the vampires to experiment with and feed on every now and then.

In the Damascus realm you write things like "you could find caravans" and "no one has ever managed to return..." But from my knowledge nobody can traverse the planes. So where are they returning to and from? Who are they? Who run the caravans? Who buys the goods they sell? And my question about the elves pertains to this realm as well.

Well as explained all the way up, some beings are able to travel. Regardless, they aren't your normal caravan shopkeepers. The caravans that travel all the way to Damascus are groups of excelling warriors, thieves, sharpshooters and magicians. They aren't mercenaries, they are indeed caravan shopkeepers, but they trained and studied, preparing themselves especially to go to Damascus.

The biggest and wealthiest caravan is the South-Empire Trading Company; they control most of the market in Euphoria and are known for the quality/rarity of their products and the excelling skills for 'defending the cargo' their employees have. They've made their popularity selling goods made from minerals gathered in Damascus, Chronos and Lupin.

Their competition is the College of Universal Research and Blacksmithing. Contrary from the South-Empire Trading Company, the College wasn't founded with the means of trading, but they didn't get enough currency to keep their installations and researches running so they had to turn to using their knowledge to make a living. They use more common materials and try to not go too deep into other planes besides Atheneas. They are quickly growing and gaining popularity thanks to the advanced quality of their crafts and the immense power their magic items have.

Who buys the goods? Anyone willing to pay the price, and some minor shops.

Dark elves exist in this plane because of The Darkness. The Darkness created it thus it's obvious its race would populate it. This was the first plane to be created, which means Dark Elves are actually the oldest race in existence.

Could you explain how all the folk on atheneas have mastered the arcane arts? Mastered indicates the development of skill. If they're born with absolute expertise I wouldn't say they "mastered it." If they did develop the skill to mastery I wouldn't say "all of them" because that is impossible.

Yeah you are right. They did develop the skill to mastery, but all of them having done it it's pretty much impossible.
Just like vampires, inhabitants of Atheneas are born with a natural talent for magic, but it's their responsibility to develop it. Going to correct that asap.

How could darkness create hatred without life? And murder? If there's no life, there can't be murder or hatred. Nor any of the other creations you listed. Those are all aspects of life.

To quote on the document: "Out of boredomness, looking to expand what it is, the Darkness decided to bring life, to end its solitude in existence. From there it created Damascus."

The Darkness did create life, but even before that, it was already a vile entity. The Darkness created Damascus and the lives in it with the only purpose of making said lives (And any other life that dares enter that plane) suffer. From there, all the aspects of life mentioned before were brought into scene.

Also: your creators seem to be makers of emotion. None of them seem responsible for anything physical. Who is the maker of rock? Who is the maker of existence? Who made the elements? And with each question: why?

The creators in my project are the creators of everything.
"This plane was created by the Spectrum along the Darkness in order to bring peace to the spectrum of time, and to have a place where science could develop at its best."

"The Spectrum, along the White Star created this plane to bring balance to nature, fauna and flora needed a place to live in peace."

"The Darkness created this plane to satisfy its mad desires."

"This plane was created by the White Star in order to fight against all what the Darkness had set in Damascus."

"All three titans of creation created Limbo in an effort to stop the cycle of traveling energy in existence."

The only thing that wasn't created by The Titans of Creation is Euphoria. This plane created itself from the energy all the other planes ditched into existence. After this, the Titans decided to create Limbo in order to avoid other plane being created without their consent.

When Damascus was created, all other things were created as well (Rock, animals, plants, air, etc), but all of these were in disorder. Thus the Titans created the other three planes (Atheneas, Lupin, Chronos), in order to bring existential peace to the different aspects of the planes (Time [Chronos], Life [Lupin], Morality [Atheneas]).

I hope that answers your question :D

 

[Mr. Hybrid]

Okay I'm going to ask that all posts for review be put in spoilers lol. Toooooo many walls of text!

I don't know how much I'll be able to ask on this one haha. It seems like you already did a great job developing it, and the use of the term asura is interesting in this. (*is a religious studies major and addicted to eastern religions*)

I'll finish reading it tonight and ask what I can! Very cool twist on our world's history so far and it presents a good understanding of historical events as well as scientific news and even conspiracy theories. I look forward to finishing it'

I look forward to any questions you do have. Also, apologies for the text walls, I may have gotten a bit carried away.

 

[Soulserenity20]

Update:

I've had a busy weekend with some more computer issues -_- my drivers are causing hell for me lately. This week my son is visiting his great grandma and so I will be infinitely less busy in the evenings when I'm done work. I hope to get through all the current material left on this thread :) thanks for your patience! Happy Writing!

 

[Zackymas]

Update:

I've had a busy weekend with some more computer issues -_- my drivers are causing hell for me lately. This week my son is visiting his great grandma and so I will be infinitely less busy in the evenings when I'm done work. I hope to get through all the current material left on this thread :) thanks for your patience! Happy Writing!

Take thy time ;D

 

[CandyPrincess]

Even though I don't currently have a world developed to throw into the fray I think this thread is amazing!
@Soulserenity20 the amount of effort and time you put into this to help others is tremendous, and you deserve a hundred million cookies for it!!
Everyone else: your ideas are incredible. Don't ever give up on them. The world needs more unique stories and you all could provide them. I believe in you! <3

 

[Soulserenity20]

Even though I don't currently have a world developed to throw into the fray I think this thread is amazing!
@Soulserenity20 the amount of effort and time you put into this to help others is tremendous, and you deserve a hundred million cookies for it!!
Everyone else: your ideas are incredible. Don't ever give up on them. The world needs more unique stories and you all could provide them. I believe in you! <3

Lol I'm so charmed by a visit and some kind words from the candy princess ^_^ that was super cute. Thank you for your enthusiasm and encouragement!

 

[Zackymas]

Small update @Soulserenity20
Added Dark/Light Elves and Vampires to the Races in the doc. There I added a few things to both elves and explain deeper on how does a vampire's system/body work :3
Note: There's nothing regarding culture there, just how the race usually works; their perks and gimmicks, etc.

I'm trying to give each race something that sets them apart from their stereotypes, am I doing it right? :D

*Frenziedly works on werewolves*

 

[Soulserenity20]

Awesome! I'll read them over once I get through hybrid's world tonight ^_^ ill respond to your answers to my first set of questions and add some more for the races once I get a chance. Hopefully by tomorrow!

 

[Soulserenity20]

@Mr. Hybrid can I start by just saying that this is the most advancely developed world I've seen in terms of history and culture? lol good job there. Now I have a bunch of questions, but I need to sit down tonight and go through and quote each part and ask questions like that, but unfortunately I don't have time at all today, so it really must wait until the evening.

Now I do have some simple, preliminary questions for you:

You're using a LOT of Hindu terminology. Why? Why did this world take on Hindu terminology and do different governments have different names for things? Why did the world call them Asuras? The term asura tends to indicate a malignant deity, as opposed to Suras which are benevolent deities. Is this race evil by nature? Or did humanity simply perceive it as such. Why weren't they called demons? I know you'll have an OOC reason, but you need an IC reason too as to why the Hindu religious terms took over instead of other potential terms. Also: do the Asuras have demigodly powers or are you aligning these more closely with Siddhis?

Now, you also use the term Chakra. I'm guessing that in your world, kundalini yoga has already run its course and been developed as it normally would and that this is the source of the terminology. After all it certainly existed before 30's. Are you using the religious annotations that come with it or are you redefining the term to suit something different. If this is the case, what exactly defines chakras.

Now, in terms of your world, I have a few questions related to how it differs from RL earth.

Are there major geographical changes that have occurred? If so, which and why?

Who are the largest political powers? What is the most predominant religion? Is the environment still under threat?

I have to get to work now but expect more questions tonight. It's going to be a big chunk of text you get because there is SO much to go through! I'm going to get my boyfriend to help and we'll question you inside out!


Have a great day!

 

[Soulserenity20]

Canada becomes the third largest military superpower and reclaims Alaska as a Canadian Province due to being the first to allow Asuras citizenship, thus allowing them to save money on their military by supplanting guns and tanks for Asuras with various powers.

What led to this? Why did Canada go from a peace-keeping nation to a heavily militarized nation?

when Asuras overthrew the North Korean government and it just became known as Korea.

Why did the Asuras decide to do this? You said the Asuras were discovered in the 30's. What were they doing before then? Why were they hidden? Why did they decide to start taking part in global politics once they were discovered?

but some are stable enough that they can affect the environment, and sometimes not always in a good way.

What are the origins of these portals? How do they affect the environment?

One of the major discoveries was a seventh Fundamental Force (Dark Energy was at this point considered the sixth and the Higgs Field was the fifth, due to the discovery of their respective bosons [The Acceleron and the Higgson]) that was referred to as Mana

This is SUPER beyond me. lol I'm sorry, but from what I'm gathering is that you've twisted some RL discoveries, added your own discoveries, and given them implications for things that would otherwise be unexplainable, i.e. mana? Does this mean mana was not usable prior to this discovery? Or was it always in existence and always used and simply not understood by society until this time?

the difference between psychic powers and magical powers.

So what are the differences? How do these powers interact with the world? Who has them? Can they be attained? How do they manifest? Of the various asura abilities listed above, which are psychic and which are magical?

The study of Asura powers

So did the asuras agree to be studied? Were they taken against their will? Are they more powerful than any form of human weaponry? Can they be subdued by man?

Pyromancer's (ETH Fire) child being a Heliomancer (ETH Plasma)

So does this mean that these powers are genetic?

there are multiple species, not just humans.

Where did they come from? Why are they on earth? Do they have countries they own?

This allowed them the opportunity to implant genetic markers that would forcefully evolve various species to meet the needs of the Roswellians.

So put these into context for me: when did they come into existence, where are they from? Does this mean that the history of the planet is not at all like how it actually is since this would mean there are a higher race of beings that are genetically manipulating evolution?


OKay I have to pause this but I will continue on when I get a chance!

 

[Mr. Hybrid]

@Soulserenity20 Thank you for the compliment, I try my best. And as I said I would, I'll answer these questions to the best of my ability. Fair warning, I don't see myself as an expert on any of this (I've barely scratched the surface of quantum physics and only know so much about Hinduism), so feel free to correct me as needed.

I decided to follow your suggestion and put my answers under a "folder" tag just in case. I hope these answer at least some of the questions you had.

Post

To answer the preliminary questions:

(OOC)

The use of Hindu terminology is largely because I like the way the words sound, though I tend to research my terms beforehand if I'm considering using them. It may have gotten lost in the text walls (apologies, again), but I think I mentioned that the earliest use of the term Asura was as a "catch-all" term for all lords and beings such as Indra. That said, I was aware of the term's later usage to denote malevolent beings and decided to use that to my advantage. Essentially, I am using the word to have a connotative dual-meaning. In the context, some of them do have demigodly powers, some are more along the lines of Siddhis, others are kinda uncategorized.

I am aware of what a "Chakra" is, but for this world, the term has been redefined slightly in the context of the powers behind all powers, though the original meaning still remains in New Age beliefs.

The geographical changes in this world are minor. There is a trio of islands in the Atlantic Ocean where a majority of the supernatural creatures and individuals were discovered: Agartha, Atlantis, and Shangri-La. Agartha is a largely forested island inhabited by the five Ostaran tribes (named: Felis, Canis, Ursus, Vulpes, and Lupus). Atlantis has a small part of itself located on the surface, while most of the country's population and technology is located underwater and inhabited by the Maboni. Shangri-La has forests, but primarily its structures are temples and towns where these temples are located, the rest of the mentioned mystical creatures inhabit this island.

America and China are still the largest military superpowers, but Canada is coming close. Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism are the largest religions. The environment is still under threat, but the threats are either changing or decreasing due to new technologies.

(IC)

The use of Hindu terminology is mostly due to Hinduism becoming one of the larger religions. During the 1930's when they were discovered, one of the scientists on the team who discovered the first clues of their existence was of the Hindu beliefs. He had a friend who was a History Major with a Minor in Religious Studies. His friend had informed him about a discovery of his own concerning the term "Asura." This discovery eventually led to the entire science team using it to refer to empowered individuals after the Hindu scientist had first used it. This would later become a widespread layman's word.

Now, despite that discovery, many people initially saw the Asuras as malevolent entities, due to the term being practically synonymous with "Demon" in the Western World. In the modern era, many people still do live in fear or hatred of Asuras if simply for that reason alone. Because of that, other terms were invented for Asuras: Superhuman (tends to only apply to humans despite Asuras being found in most sentient species); Ubermensch (based on the German word for "superman"); Demigod (Some religious groups see them as such); Angel (Some believed them to be such); Demon (See "Angel"). The term "Sura" was actually considered briefly, though the reason why is unclear.

Canada militarized quickly because it allowed Asuras citizenship early on after their discovery, and many ended up joining the military due to a lack of jobs to support them. While not their immediate intention, the Canadian government did show their appreciation for a stronger military. The then-current monarch began to express an interest in reacquiring Alaska, and the U.S., not wanting to get into a war with the Asuras at the time, negotiated a treaty that made Alaska a province while ensuring that Canada would be an Ally.

Post

To answer your main questions:

Answer 1: As mentioned above, Canada militarizing quickly was more of an accident, but in context, many consider it a happy accident.

Answer 2: Prior to the 1930's, they were in hiding. However, because we're just so good at finding things out, they weren't hidden for long. The overthrow occurred post-Cold War, after their discovery. The interest in politics only occurred because some members of various governments were Asuras already in a position of power, they just wouldn't reveal it until after the 30's. Many got removed from their positions after they revealed themselves in some governments, which has started various campaigns for Asura rights.

Answer 3: These portals were caused by one of the Darklight Foundation's facilities by accident. The facility was located underground near the Chernobyl Reactor and was using it to power their various attempts at harnessing Exotic Matter for portal creation. The malfunctioning portal technology caused by the reactor meltdown generated a dome-like field of diffuse Exotic Matter to appear over Chernobyl, which causes portals to randomly open throughout Chernobyl. The entities that come through the portals can be quite varied in many ways. An example would be an entity comprised of Strange Matter, who's very presence would cause all matter it touches to transform into Strange Matter (no such entity has been recorded, this is purely an example).

Answer 4: Mana was always around, but rarely used and unknowingly overlooked quite often. It wasn't actually recognized and understood until some time after the discovery of the Higgs Boson (Higgson as I called it) and the Acceleron that we discovered its boson, the Magon.

Answer 5: The difference between psychic powers and magical powers is determined by a couple factors: Fuel & Flexibility. Psychic powers are fueled by Ki, the body's internal spectral energy, but tend to be very simple and straightforward. Example: A Psychokinetic Asura (known as an Esper) can use their Ki to temporarily manifest (for example) Light Claws or fire Light Beams, which drains their energy. It recharges overtime as the Soul produces more Ki, so the Asura could wait until they had enough Ki, or drain sources of their power to convert into Ki, such as a Photokinetic draining light from various sources. Magical abilities are fueled by Mana, which is present in the environment and throughout the universe, and they tend to be complex and/or indirect. Example: A Psychomancer Asura (known as an Ether) can use the Mana around them to cast a spell that transforms (for example) Light into a sword or a shield and they can hold it as long as they have the Mana to fuel it. Mana is unaffected by entropy, so the Mana used simply returns to the environment and can be siphoned into another spell as needed.

Answer 6a: In context, test procedures require that the tester informs the subject of what they are doing for the test. Most of the time, Asuras are asked about being studied, and these studies are mostly non-invasive, generally being just demonstrations and questions. Te first clue to their existence came due to the scientist team mentioned above being brought in to study a corpse involved in a murder case where the corpse had demonstrated unusual abilities that was scaring the coroner. They discovered the Psionic System (more on that below), but whether that could be considered studies against one's will or not isn't really clear. While the Darklight Foundation makes it clear that scientists ask Asuras before attempting to study them, the Chromotech Corporation (mentioned in my other post) tends to ignore standard procedure and is most likely behind a number of missing persons, but no-one has been able to prove it yet.

Answer 6b: The level of power varies between Asura. They are ageless as long as they actively try to stay alive (eating, resting, not getting shot at, so on and so forth), but no matter how powerful an Asura is, they are "mortal" in the sense that they can still be killed. To a less extreme extent, Asuras can be subdued the same ways a human or animal can be subdued.

Answer 7: Powers can be hereditary. However, this is limited to powers that aren't physiological, such as Nyctomancy and Nyctokinesis. Physiological powers are not passed on, such as super strength or super speed. Those kind of powers aren't actually passed on, only the potential is passed on, such as the ability to metabolize lactic acid for speedsters. All nonphysiological powers are channeled through the Psionic System, a sort of Nervous System specifically for channeling powers.

Answer 8: These other species that I mentioned evolved on Earth and thus are natives. Most humanoids within the Wereverse evolved from Homo Erectus. Whereas the genotype is the genetic make-up of an organism and the phenotype is the organism's observable characteristics, the theriotype is a sort of genetic ability that allowed a majority of the "mythical" beings to exist as humanoids with animal characteristics, it also allows for humans with a theriotype present to become Asuras. Agartha, Shangri-La, and Atlantis comprise their home countries, individual islands located in the Atlantic ocean, each one between the size of the United Kingdom and Sweden.

Answer 9: The Roswellians were the first to evolve sentience in the universe. Their home-planet was located within the Zone of Avoidance prior to their star's death. By the time their star died, their home planet had already been drained of its natural resources and was nothing more than asteroids since it was their first attempt at planet-cracking. Their encounters with Earthen species were purely observational, due to most sentient Earthen species having evolved into multicellular organisms and had developed their own mythology faster than the Roswellians could intercept, mostly due to the Asuras. History is not a lie (unless you factor in that history is written by the winners), it played out in this reality more or less the same way that ours has, meaning various events still played out the same way.

 

[Soulserenity20]

@Zackymas If you want to work on your races a bit, we could move this conversation to my sister thread in the race and culture development section. It's also called the player test. There I can offer you more specific questions about the races if you reallllly want to grind out details about their culture, history, etc. :)

 

[Zackymas]

@Zackymas If you want to work on your races a bit, we could move this conversation to my sister thread in the race and culture development section. It's also called the player test. There I can offer you more specific questions about the races if you reallllly want to grind out details about their culture, history, etc. :)

Thanks, I'll move there once I actually start developing those XD I first want to finish writing all the races overview. I'm sure that you noticed that I just wrote the race's main characteristics (physical traits, abilities, etc). I also want to write my magic system before moving to history and stuff :p

Feel free to ask me anything about what it's already on stone ;)

 

[Kagayours]

Is there going to be another wave of questions for mine? I was hoping to get a look at the blog posts I linked to in my earlier response.

 

[Soulserenity20]

I have to go

Is there going to be another wave of questions for mine? I was hoping to get a look at the blog posts I linked to in my earlier response.

I have to go home after work and make myself a list of "what's next!" So that I can keep track :P once that's organized I can ask more questions or look at something else you've got :)

 

[Ner0]

As prophecied, I have arrived.

Armageddon has come.

So, Senpai, I would ask first that you notice me and second that you take a look at Entries 5,6, and 7 in the following blog. IwakuRoleplay.com

This a complete telling of the history of my world as it is now (Excluding recent history), after that I would be glad to be bombarded by your seemingly unstoppable army of questions GM's hate answering.

Just know that my world is a citadel, with years of development and rehashing under its belt. I come to you with the hope that you can reveal flaws that I am blind too.

I wish you luck as I ready my defenses.

I would only ask that you refrain from asking questions revolving around the physical properties of the world, as that is all covered in Post's 1 and 2.

And trust me my dear Senpai, we will get to that *evil grin*

Edit: Feel free to focus on a single topic within one of the blog posts, perhaps we could move forward Age by Age, as the entirety of History is a bit much of an undertaking.