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Post by Yla on Jan 13, 2011 6:47:09 GMT -5
Anyway, the idea I had running around, roughly, is: Organization of battle-oriented magic users is strongly associated with the government of Country A, which is relatively small but a rising power. Organization kills demon and clears the path to Area B, which is discovered to be rich in Rare Ore, which has magic-conducing, -storage, and -amplifying properties. This causes Area B to be a home to a set of extremely valuable wildlife, animals and plants both, who thrive in that environment. Country C and Country D are both closer to Area B than Country A, Country E is about the same distance but more powerful, etc. War probably ensues. It's a tad generic, partly because I've forgotten details, partly because it should be adaptable. General setting and timeline could be alt-Europe pre world war, or anywhere else. Just a basic seed to build on, really. Anyone like anything, dislike anything, want to scrap it all and suggest something else? Suggestion: Area B is surrounded by a (up-to-that-point) impenetrable mountain barrier. Explorer with Nationality A crosses the mountains with one of the first motor planes and makes a landing in B.
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Post by CtraK on Jan 13, 2011 8:57:20 GMT -5
I'd add polls for all of these issues, but I think I'm restricted to one. Anyway, re: magic - I don't think there should be a masquerade, partly because I'm envisioning something closer to Tolkien than Rowling. I'm not normally a big fan of magitech, in part because I usually think magic should be a giant middle finger to physics rather than an alternative. That said, if there were several magic systems (and maybe even several forms of science), then there would effectively be a marketplace of competing laws to reality; in other words, in Fantasy-America*, this could mean that the underlying features of capitalism (plurality over homogeneity, competition over harmony, etc.) are encoded into reality itself. And hence I'm in favour; it fits. Well, that's Yla's head asploded, maybe. As for DragonDance, it's a joking George R. R. Martin reference. Although I reckon some Chinese dragons and some djinn would work in this universe, if only so I can make some club-footed allegories with them. Which reminds me: we need a proper title. If we've got one we can throw up a wiki and then things will properly roll.
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Post by Yla on Jan 13, 2011 10:13:38 GMT -5
I agree with there being no masquerade. I however think that we shouldn't have any magic outside of in-universe legends and tales. We could make these people more superstitious than RL, however: e.g. Elves don't have magic, but everyone not living among them believes they do, which can lead to all sorts of prejudices, mistrust, or opportunities for manipulation. I despise several coexisting and conflicting magic systems (not counting in-universe interpretations). Just to make that clear. Well, that's Yla's head asploded, maybe. Huh? Don't understand. Which reminds me: we need a proper title. If we've got one we can throw up a wiki and then things will properly roll. I would suggest something with '20th century'. That's the time we want to model (be it the '10s, '30s, '70s, or '90s). Even if we wind up modifying the calendar system, the title makes clear what it's about. It doesn't limit us to a specific storyline, but we can write about several happenings/people concurrently. something like: 'Chronicles of the 20th century', 'A very special 20th century' or similar
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Post by John E on Jan 13, 2011 10:43:15 GMT -5
Masquerade?
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Post by Yla on Jan 13, 2011 10:56:07 GMT -5
The common populace having no knowledge of the magic/special/secret beings/powers. I.e. how in Harry Potter most muggles are memory-wiped if they witness magic.
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Post by CtraK on Jan 13, 2011 11:21:12 GMT -5
Erm... OK. I'm gonna ask "how come?" though.
Also, I've now got an incredibly crude solution to the whole one-poll-limit, which is detailed below. Copy-n-paste-n-add-to the following:
Title? No concrete votes or suggestions so far.
Setting? Modern America - 1 Modern Europe - 0 Medieval Europe - 0 Other (please add) - 0
Masquerade? Yes - 0 No - 2
Magic? Multiple systems - 1 One system - 0 Magical realism - 0 Rumoured - 1 None - 0 Other (please add) - 0
Creatures? Elves - X* Djinn - 1 Dragons (Chinese) - 1 Dragons (Western) - 0 Other (please add) - 0
*to state "0" would be false, but I can't recall how many people are in favour.
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Post by John E on Jan 13, 2011 13:08:18 GMT -5
Okay, I'm going to officially cast my votes for:
Modern America (although perhaps not current day. Early 20th century would be fun)
No masquerade
Elves Western Dragons Goblins Ogres/orcs (Perhaps an evolutionary offshoot of humans that split off during our caveman days)
As for the magic, I could go for either competing systems or rumored. I would imagine that competing systems of magic would be kinda like competing scientific theories. I.E. there's really only one set of scientific/magical laws, but those true laws haven't been discovered, so there are multiple competing models for understanding and applying the forces of magic/physics.
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Post by Sleepy on Jan 13, 2011 14:06:29 GMT -5
I really love this overall idea, but I'm not sure how my writing will compare to that of others. I'm not going to cast an official vote yet for every list above, but I'll share what I'm debating in my head for the categories.
Setting- It's hard to choose between Modern America and Medieval Europe because each setting has its own benefits and conveniences when it comes to plot and description. I'm leaning toward Medieval Europe for now though, partly because the creatures I want to include seem silly in Modern America.
Masquerade- Tough call. I'd like humans to be aware, but I don't want magic to be an extremely common practice within their towns.
Magic- I'm really unsure about this one. I certainly support having some sort of magic within this realm. Rumored isn't as appealing because I'd like inhabitants to be aware, unless we're talking about a small, select group of outcasts where the existence of magic is rumored. Multiple systems could become ridiculously complicated, but then again, so can just a single system. I'm leaning toward a standard system that has been around for centuries but still awaits new discoveries. And like I said above, I don't want magic to be extremely common, like it is in Ronald Weasley's house, for example. Alchemy is one thing, but spells are another. I don't want a war between humans and non-humans consisting entirely of spells. I don't see much fun in that.
Creatures- Humans, elves, and dwarves are a necessity, in my opinion. I'm imagining a world where humans and non-humans have bickered back and forth for centuries. In some regions, there is peace; in others, humans remain incredibly prejudiced. There are also various monster-like creatures that lurk in the forests, though that's almost a given.
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Post by Yla on Jan 13, 2011 14:13:01 GMT -5
I included you anyway, Sleepy. For reference, my votes were World, Early20, NoMasq, NoMagic, Elves, Dwarfes
Copy-n-paste-n-add-to the following: Title? No concrete votes or suggestions so far.
Setting? America - 2 World - 1 Europe - 1 Other (please add)
Time? Turn of the millennium - 1 Early 20th century - 2 Medieval - 1 Renaissance - 0 Other (please add)
Masquerade? Yes - 0 No - 3
Magic? Competing systems - 1 Competing interpretations for one system - 1 One system - 1 Magical realism - 0 None/Superstition - 2 Other (please add) - 0
Creatures? Humans - Of course Elves - 4 Djinni - 1 Dragons (Chinese) - 1 Dragons (Western) - 1 Goblins - 1 Ogres/orcs - 1 Dwarves - 2 Other (please add) - 0
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Post by Sigmaleph on Jan 13, 2011 17:42:15 GMT -5
Title should wait until we have some sort of plot, which is hard without settling on the world.
I have no particular preference for setting.
Early 20th century sounds appealing.
Masquerade, I vote no.
Magic, I like the idea of one system with no unified interpretation (in-universe that is, authors may want to agree on basic principles magic can't violate). Magic perhaps could be affected by the user's expectations (not terribly original, I know), thus causing multiple ideas about magic to show up in different cultures, and staying around due to inertia. Magic should be distinct from the typical natural laws, so as to merit being called magic and not simply regarded as another perfectly natural aspect of the universe.
Creatures, I vote for no particular limit on them, save the ones dictated by storytelling itself. No swiss-army-knife telepathic companions that solve every problem the protagonist can't, nothing that much smarter than human (unless you actually can write a convincing smarter-than-you character), etc. Essentially, a world that, being different from ours, is populated by different things, magical or mundane.
Copy-n-paste-n-add-to the following: Title? No concrete votes or suggestions so far.
Setting? America - 2 World - 1 Europe - 1 Other (please add)
Time? Turn of the millennium - 1 Early 20th century - 3 Medieval - 1 Renaissance - 0 Other (please add)
Masquerade? Yes - 0 No - 4
Magic? Competing systems - 1 Competing interpretations for one system - 2 One system - 1 Magical realism - 0 None/Superstition - 2 Other (please add) - 0
Creatures? Humans - Of course Elves - 4 Djinni - 1 Dragons (Chinese) - 1 Dragons (Western) - 1 Goblins - 1 Ogres/orcs - 1 Dwarves - 2 Anything within reason - 1 Other (please add) - 0
A another issue to think about: Authorial property. Should, say, CtraK come up with a character/concept/setting/spell/technology/etc. and I wish to use it in my own stories, some way to have CtraK make sure I'm following his established ideas, keeping the character in-character, etc. It would suck if one writer is plotting a story that relies on Concept A introduced earlier working in one specific way in Situation B, and then comes another writer and completely screws with the idea. And, since this is a shared universe, we can't just expect no overlap to happen. Common politeness would suggest simply running a draft through the author(s) whose idea(s) you're using, and giving them the final word on the matter, with maybe some clause on unanimous vote overriding the original author, or not.
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Post by Sleepy on Jan 13, 2011 18:27:10 GMT -5
Sigma makes a good point there. I would agree to those conditions if I used a story element originally created by another author (a character, for example).
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Post by CtraK on Jan 13, 2011 18:48:04 GMT -5
Copy-n-paste-n-add-to the following:
Title Suggestions Manifest Doom
Setting? America [FCC] - 2 World - 1 Europe [FCC] - 1 Other (please add)
Time? Turn of the millennium - 1 Early 20th century - 3 Medieval - 1 Renaissance - 0 Other (please add)
Masquerade? Yes - 0 No - 4
Magic? Competing systems - 1 Competing interpretations for one system - 2 One system - 1 Magical realism - 0 None/Superstition - 2 Other (please add) - 0
Creatures? Anything within reason - 2
Specific votes: Humans - Of course Elves - 4 Djinni - 1 Dragons (Chinese) - 1 Dragons (Western) - 1 Goblins - 1 Ogres/orcs - 1 Dwarves - 2 Other (please add)
Blog? Wordpress - 2? Other (please add)
[FCC] = Fantasy Counterpart Culture. Just to make that clear. Good call by Sigma on creatures and the authorial issue. Also, I get a faint feeling that there isn't going to be a masquerade, somehow.
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Post by John E on Jan 13, 2011 21:42:21 GMT -5
Regarding Djinn: What would everyone think of having a race of otherworldly beings that could fit the general description not only of djinn but of other similar mythological beings from other cultures? They could be referred to by various names, like djinn, fairies, angels, spirits, etc. and have various (sometimes untrue) legends about them from different cultures.
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Post by Admiral Lithp on Jan 14, 2011 18:58:30 GMT -5
I am royally confused as to how this whole voting thing is working, so I'll just do this:
As I said, I like the idea of America, but if we're going to make this "fantasy version of the real world," couldn't we just expand the setting to "Earth"?
Time? Medieval or early 20th century.
Masquerade? Yes - 0 No - 5
Magic? Wary as it makes me, I'm gonna go with competing systems.
Creatures? I say, "Anything within reason."
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Post by Sleepy on Jan 14, 2011 19:06:26 GMT -5
I think I also like "Earth" better as the setting. That way we already have concrete boundaries, but we can also create and name our own lands, and modify them within reason.
Yes, no, maybe so? I dunno. Just a thought.
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