Worldbuilding Weirdo

[luna-azzurra]

Something neuroscience-y that helps with prose: attention is selective. A character will not notice everything in a room. They will notice what matters to their goal, fear, desire, training, wound, or obsession. A jealous character notices hands. a hungry character notices food. A soldier notices exits. A lonely character notices pairs. Description becomes character when attention has a bias.

[worldbuildingweirdo]

"The thing is, reality is layered-"

"Like an onion?"

"...kinda, if the onion was made out of cake. Or if a layer cake was in the shape of an onion? What I mean to say is that between realities are non-realities, void, nothingness so nothing that we can't look at it because there's nothing to look at."

"The onion frosting?"

"The onion frosting. To people that have only experienced cake their entire lives, frosting is so unknown and strange that they can't even perceive it."

"In the case of frosting, sure, but in the case of non-reality, I can't say because I don't know what non-reality is. It explicitly *isn't*.

"A horrible existence, really."

"Without frosting? Yes. But in the case of non-reality nobody knows. It's unknowable by definition. As a concept, it just... *isn't.*"

"Unlike us, which *are*."

"Exactly."

"So, if we wanted to get through to another reality, we'd have to pass through something that isn't there."

"Pretty much."

"... Now I'm jonesing for a slice of cake."

"Dammit, me too. We can keep talking about this later, I need my sugar."

[worldbuildingweirdo]

What if the reason Kryptonite hurts Superman isn't because it has some sort of radiation that weakens him, but because it absorbs the solar energy he has within him? Like, what if there are some microbes on the Kryptonite that absorb solar radiation like Kryptonians but do so so extremely that they can suck it out of Kryptonians if necessary.

[worldbuildingweirdo]

Worldvuilding for a playable species in a ttrpg I'm passively working on.

Tuskr are humanoid rodent people that live all across the world. They are short folk, averaging 4'2" with a 6 inch degree of variation (excluding outliers). Their weight ranges drastically from bone thin to "I could bounce you like a basketball", though surprisingly these people don't have any issues regarding it.

Tuskr live in small colonies, and can be found anywhere there's a source of clean water and food. They're hardy folk. These colonies are lead by Matriarchs, often the oldest women of the colony, though some abstain and let their eldest daughter take the role. Matriarchs are commonly the grandparents or great-grandparents of the youngest, and are quite wise in their old age. The title typically passes on only with the death of the current Matriarch, but some colonies have allowed their Matriarchs to retire before death and enjoy their last few years without the stressors of rule, which, in this case, is more like herding cats than beurocracy.

Tuskr have incredibly good memories, even into old age. This has given them a notoriety for being quite uncanny, having remembered something that you yourself forgot you even said. At the same time, they have a reputation of being incredibly kind and thoughtful, or ruthless and vengeful, depending on who you talk to.

Mages amongst Tuskr are revered for their connection to the Arcaeon, spirits of the world. They're often employed as assistants to the Matriarch, completing tasks that would otherwise be major projects in mere moments. Tuskr, in general, do not recognize Magecraft as a learned art, only allowing those with talent to practice it. This is, of course, a generalization.

The cultures of Tuskr colonies vary wildly from colony to colony. While one colony is made up of the friendliest farmers you've ever met, another could be shy, timid folk who deny strangers from coming close. Yet others are nomads, seeking adventure across the wilds.

When making a Tuskr character, imagine how they relate to their colony/family. What was their colony like, and how did that affect them? Do they have a connection with their family still, or have they drifted apart? How did the colony react to your character practicing Magecraft?

[pondnaravit]

[iamtheconfusedman]

Her speech physically dropped me to my knees.

[worldbuildingweirdo]

Working on a TTRPG rn and I think I've come up with a decent dice rolling system.

3d6+Attribute. Characters have attributes ranging from -3 to +3, with 0 being the average. When you roll for a test, you roll the three d6 and add the value of the relevant attribute. This roll is also modified if you're using a certain skill.

Skills are just a Yes/No binary on if the character is good at it. A response of Yes represents them having training, fluency, talent, or just a certain knack for that skill. No means that they lack that special something. If you have a No in a skill (probably just represented by not having the skill listed or not having it bubbled in on your character sheet) then you instead roll (4d6k3)+Attribute. Basically, your roll four dice, find the three with the lowest values, and add those together with your attribute. This makes it so that people that don't know what they're doing have a harder time succeeding, but can still do it.

I'm also throwing around the idea of a "beginners luck" mechanic where succeeding on a skill roll you aren't good at gives you an experience point for your troubles, or maybe the opposite to represent a learning experience?

[worldbuildingweirdo]

Worldbuidling time~

The Killopad tree is native to the equator regions of (insert world here), specifically in dense swamps. It has a massive trunk, upon which are multiple large branches that each support a single "leaf". This leaf is shaped like an earth lily pad, but with two key differences. One, they have a large lip along the edge that drops into spouts at two or three places. Two, inside the leaf is a dense network of sprouts and floating flowers. I say floating because the Killopad tree stores water in each of its leaves, allowing the water to trickle down their branches and down to their roots. The water helps cool their leaves and ensure a constant supply of fresh water, which is sometimes in low supply in the brackish bog they reside in.

During the rainy season, the leaves overflow, creating beautiful cascades down their sides. It's at this point that a local variety of fish takes advantage. This species is adapted to climb the tree, much like a combination of salmon and mudskippers. In the dense network of sprouts in the leaves, the fish find a place to spawn their young away from predators. While there, they also help pollinate the flowers, which will then sink under the water and begin to create a fruiting body.

When the fish spawn matures, they slide out of the spouts and into the swamp below. Their movements help to jostle the now ripe fruit from their stems, where the fruit will flow into the swamp to be eaten by the local fauna, excreted, and begin the cycle anew.

Killopad trees can live effectively until they are killed. The oldest was found to be over 400 years old, and only died when a large storm destroyed its branches, leaving it incapable of creating energy. It was approx. 37 feet tall and covered an area of 40 square feet. It had six leaves, one at the very top and multiple cascading into one another below.

[parakeet]

if you go looking for doom and gloom all you will see is doom and gloom. if you go looking for reduced items at the grocery store you may find a littol treat

[autistobrat]

this too shall pass but the fuck was that for

[worldbuildingweirdo]

Throwing around the idea of a Jurassic Park inspired story and one of the scenes has the tour group heading towards a low security zone and the park owner says "and here we have the gigantospinosaurus enclosure" and everyone starts freaking out because they heard "spinosaurus" but when they go inside it's just a bunch of stegosaurids. Like, still scary when one comes up and bumps the tour car, but she's just being friendly.

[worldbuildingweirdo]

Incoming hot take: I believe that it should be a right for employees to be in jobs that they're good at, and for employers to have employees in jobs that they're good at.

I currently work at a large chain store that sells cheap products of all kinds. I help stock shelves; I'm typically able to stock one u-boat of stuff per 4-hour shift (the amount that that is fluctuates, but it's a good estimate). I am not good at this job. My body is slow, fat, and generally unfit for physical labor as of right now. The employer expects me to get 6 u-boats done per shift. Nobody can get that done, and nobody, not even my boss, seems to care. That's fine.

My problem is that it's inefficient. If someone else was doing my job, they could probably get two or three u-boats done per shift. At the end of even a four hour shift, my body is sore. I spend a good chunk of time just trying to recover from the pain in my feet and lower back. That's not fair to me or my employer.

The system we have now is broken, and I know that, but if we're going to be moving forward with it anyway, we both deserve better. What sort of system would be better, I can't say. Unhelpful, I know. Just... if everyone was in a job they exceeded at, so much more would get done with so much less suffering.

[worldbuildingweirdo]

Tossing over an idea in my head for dice rolling in a ttrpg I'm cooking up.

3d6+X, where X is an ability modifier. Adding more dice just makes the probabilities skew more towards the center, making dice rolls more average. I don't know if I like that, but it might be something that can only be determined through playtesting.

My thought is that any modifier you get is no more than +6, 5 for a maximum stat and an additional 1 for a temporary buff. That'd make it so that, on average, that character would roll a 17.

With the way that the probabilities work out I don't know what the standard for "a normal difficulty" would be. 8? 10? 10 is on the lower end of half and up...

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[valtsv]

i feel like if you stabbed an angel the blood trail would look like this

[amazoogle]

[seth-whumps]

hear me out: leaders who are also healers.

(this got away from me a little bit. but trust me.)

first medic and front liner. your team relies on you for direction, for support, so you'll be whatever they need.

you call the shots as they are. you're the final say on every plan. they look at you and it's with respect and a raw kind of innocence; the weight of which rests on your shoulders alone.

(you better not let them down.)

if things go wrong, it's your fault, and it's your job to fix it in every way that matters. next plan, next exit, next improvised solution.

then you're on your knees in the dirt with bloody hands and steady, steady, steady fingers. you're the field sergeant and field medic. both roles get your hands dirty.

you almost prefer the killing to the healing, at this point. you've nearly killed them so many times now.

(you can't fail them.)

take a shot and walk it off, hit the ground and up you get, your pain is expendable when the team calls your name, begs for your aid.

they don't need to beg, because you'll be there. always.

when they need a cool head, you give it. when they're wounded and need help, you give it. when they need someone to lean on, to cry on, to vent to, you give it.

when they need someone to blame, you can take it.

you can take it. you always have. you'll be there, you'll take the shots and you'll get the fuck back up, because it hurts, but you can't fail them. you can take it.

(until you can't.)

if this prompt inspires you to create, please tag me!!!

[worldbuildingweirdo]

Saving this for later.

[worldbuildingweirdo]

Future Sci-fi worldbuilding my beloved

In 2042 world governments finally decided that global warming was a major issue, however due to their sluggishness it had already ravaged the Earth substantially. The governments then decided to build Worldships, massive spaceships that are capable of sustaining a massive population. They loaded the Worldships with half of the human population and escaped to the asteroid belt...

Meanwhile, back on Earth, because all the people denying the science were gone, the scientists that remained were free to enact policies to help the Earth recover. All energy became green energy, and the planet slowly recovered, though never back to where it had been.

A thousand years later, Earth contacts the Worldships to let them know of the success, but finding that the Worldships are ruled by greedy dictators, disallow them to return to Earth.

Dunno what happens next. That'd be for an actual story.

Other notes:

The worldships are in the asteroid belt to harvest resources, and over the 1000 years are able to mine a substantial chunk of them.

Beds in Worldships are tiny, like they're just a small pod for you to get into and sleep in. Claustrophobes beware.

Political messages, duh.

[worldbuildingweirdo]

Okay so already off brand from this blog but here we go.

(TT)RPG idea! Players are a group of mages that explore the wild world they're in! Fantastical adventure awaits in lush forests, mountainous chasms, searing deserts, anywhere where magic and life abounds! They travel with Archon, magical creatures that live symbiotically with mages, and are capable of summoning great spirits for aid.

Each mage has a pool of Unaspected Mana that they can use to cast spells. When they do so, the mana doesn't go away, it just becomes aspected according to the spell's element (so something like Fireball would aspect some of their mana to fire). That aspected mana can then be used by creatures called Archons, magical creatures that can turn Mana into Soul. They act as like, special moves, as they have abilities that activate when they're used. Once a mage has Soul, they can use it to cast a Summon, a more powerful elemental being or deity that responds to the offering of soul and grants you aid in whatever hardship you're overcoming.

It's heavily inspired by Golden Sun, specifically the one on the DS.

Some other small notes:

You can re-aspect mana at a 2:1 ratio, so if you need Earth mana but you've used all of your unaspected mana, you can convert some of that already aspected mana at a cost. The excess mana is "burnt" and cant be used for anything until you've had a chance to rest.

Once an Archon shifts your mana to soul, it's untouchable. You cant get it back except by resting or using a Summon.

After you use a Summon, the soul used for it goes back to being unaspected mana.

The only way to ever lose mana irretrieveably is by burning it, but even that comes back with some good sleep and a hot meal.

Meant to have cozy vibes, a bit Pokemon, a lot Golden Sun, and a bit Ryuutama if you know it.

Lots of random generation, like for Archon and Summons, since sometimes you cant prep for a player making friends with a spirit in the middle of the woods.

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

[worldbuildingweirdo]

Me for real. I haven't even written anything (that has been published).