|
Post by Yla on Jan 14, 2011 19:28:26 GMT -5
I probably already said this, but I too support extending our playgroung to the whole planet.
Also, there is no reason the highest developed regions should be Europe and NA. If we go with a magic system that enables us to have one of (!) the pinnacles of civilisation in deepest africa, then I'm totally retracting my vote for 'no magic'.
|
|
|
Post by Sigmaleph on Jan 14, 2011 21:58:40 GMT -5
Whole planet[FCC] does sound appealing. I'm changing my vote from nothing to that.
"Manifest doom," which I presume was Ctrak's suggested title unless I missed a prior post bringing it up, seems good. If nothing else, as a working title.
|
|
|
Post by John E on Jan 14, 2011 22:02:29 GMT -5
I'm changing my vote to early 20th century, whole world, as well.
|
|
|
Post by CtraK on Jan 15, 2011 10:32:50 GMT -5
Whole planet[FCC] does sound appealing. I'm changing my vote from nothing to that. To reply to this and several other related comments - the one thing that bothers me about a whole-world setting is that we're potentially underestimating the scope of such a thing, and get the feeling that, somewhere down the line, somewhere is going to get ignored, like the Caucusus [FCC] region, or parts of Eastern Europe [FCC]. And if editing is going to occur by default, it might as well occur by design. Still, I'm probably going to be outvoted, and that's fine, because it wouldn't be a collaboration if I wasn't from time to time (or even much of the time). Also, the "world" thing suggests expansion rather than replacement. I'm just asking whether it's too much. "Manifest doom," which I presume was Ctrak's suggested title unless I missed a prior post bringing it up, seems good. If nothing else, as a working title. Only problem is that "Manifest Doom" is obviously for an American [FCC] project, unless it's for an American [FCC] C20th [FCC] hegemonic world (i.e. 1945-1999), which as Yla said, doesn't intrinsically make sense in a world with magic.
|
|
|
Post by Sigmaleph on Jan 15, 2011 13:43:51 GMT -5
Well, having the setting be Whole World doesn't actually require us to cover the whole world, it only leaves the possibility open. So, it just might be that most stories take place in alt-Europe and alt-America, but should someone want to describe how the events in alt-Germany affect their trade with alt-Japan, they can. No reason to artificially limit that.
|
|
|
Post by Sandafluffoid on Jan 15, 2011 16:13:35 GMT -5
I also vote for the whole world and competing systems of magic, and no to the masquerade.
How closely alt are we talking though? Do people want basically our world but if it had evolved with magic and fantasy creatures in it?
|
|
|
Post by CtraK on Jan 15, 2011 17:52:55 GMT -5
Just to order and update the voting:
Copy-n-paste-n-add-to the following:
Title Suggestions Manifest Doom
Blog? Wordpress - 2? Other (please add)
Setting? America [FCC] - 2 World - 4/5?* Europe [FCC] - 0 Other (please add)
Time? Turn of the millennium - 1 Early 20th century** - 4 Medieval - 2 Renaissance - 0 Other (please add)
Masquerade? Yes - 0 No - 6
Magic? Competing systems - 3 Competing interpretations for one system - 2 One system - 1+1*** Magical realism - 0 None/Superstition - 2-1*** Other (please add) - 0
Creatures? Anything within reason - 3
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)
[FCC] = Fantasy Counterpart Culture. *there's a spanner in the works named Sleepy (no offence) which makes me unsure about this, as I'm not sure if she had previously voted or not. Given that her apparent vote is clearly ahead this isn't an immediately pressing issue. **the distinction of early C20th seems odd to me; when does it become mid C20th or late C20th, or does it simply mean "before the 90s"? ***my estimation of Yla's changed vote. Yla, feel free to change as necessary.
So what's coming together so far is this:
- an FCC of the world in general in the early(?) 20th century; - there is no masquerade; - just about anything that isn't outlandish or story-breaking exists in creature terms, and there are most likely gonna be elves; - magic is uncertain; - title of the whole thing is uncertain; - venue is mostly likely on Wordpress.
I think my original thoughts, when trying to think up a story, was to Tolkeinise America - not in the shallow sense of "fill it with elves and wizards", but to add a mythology to it (I know America has folklore, but it doesn't, to my knowledge, have myths - England at least has St. George and Beowulf) and to kinda recast it as an "old country", as it were. Of course, this might, like my previous post, be severely overthinking it, but that's my take nonetheless.
|
|
|
Post by Sleepy on Jan 15, 2011 18:49:43 GMT -5
CtraK, I'm not sure if you copy and pasted Yla's most recent voting record or if you went through and counted everyone's individual votes for clarity (I'm guessing the former of the two). Just to double check, I'll post my official votes now.
Setting- World
Time- Medieval
Masquerade- No
Magic- One system that awaits discoveries, contains imperfections, and is rumored by some, discounted by others, etc.
Creatures- Anything within reason, elves, dwarves, and humans more specifically
I've never used Wordpress, but my professor, who is pretty damn tech savvy, said she had difficulties with it. She was attempting to create a blog that her students could access to share and discuss ideas for research papers. Just a thought.
|
|
|
Post by Sigmaleph on Jan 15, 2011 22:12:25 GMT -5
the distinction of early C20th seems odd to me; when does it become mid C20th or late C20th, or does it simply mean "before the 90s" This seems relevant, since it would seem that early 20th century FCC world is winning, I'd rather we were clearer on what that is.. I suppose this means human technology at 1900 levels or thereabouts, actual geography the same as real world, though the politics might mean different country boundaries, or even entirely different countries. And, of course, a history that reflects the fact that magic exists openly (since no masquerade seems to be winning as well). CtraK's idea of "old country" seems to match what I had roughly in mind, but in general we might want something a bit more specific. Or not, maybe just use that as rough guidelines, get to writing, and see what happens. Thoughts?
|
|
|
Post by John E on Jan 16, 2011 0:49:41 GMT -5
What I like about the idea of setting it in the early 20th century (roughly 1900-1930s) is that it was a time when there were still a lot of unexplored places, cultures, and history in the world, which makes fertile ground for adventure/supernatural stories. (see Mummy, Dracula, Lovecraft, etc.) That's also why I changed my vote to "whole world." I think it'd be good if our characters and stories were based in America & Western Europe, but had the option of venturing out to exotic locales.
On another point, I think we need to at least determine what the most common sapient beings in our world are, rather than just say, "Anything goes, within reason." This is just my personal opinion, but I find that too many different creatures makes a fantasy setting feel unbelievable and clunky. For example, there seems to be a general consensus on elves and dwarves. We could have humans, elves, dwarves and one or two other beings as the go-to creatures, that are common-place, and whatever other creatures we decide to include, we treat as localized species or exotic rarities.
P.S. I never got any feedback on my idea regarding djinn/fairies/spirits. Whadda y'all think?
|
|
|
Post by Yla on Jan 16, 2011 8:06:50 GMT -5
What John E. said.
Officially my vote is still for 'none'. I attached a caveat to the change, as you may recall. But it doesn't matter anyway, as we have a clear majority on competing interpretations, whatever the underlying reality may be. I propose that we first sketch the systems in more detail, before we decide one way or another.
My proposal: - Sentient beings consist of the trinity of body, mind and soul, the mind being foremost the seat of the conciousness, and the interface between the subtle impulses of the soul and the executive body. Mages have the ability to extend their mind beyond the boundaries of their body and mold and reshape everything subject to it. This is usually only a few centimeters, so most spells are only touch-ranged. - Furthermore, a 'spell' is not a magic atom, but a naming convention for a useful, efficient set of actions to achieve the desired effect, taught to magic users and honed by centuries of tradition. - Magic is not a replacement for knowledge. If you want to harden a beam of wood, you need to know about the interior structure of wood, and how to strengthen it. - In the same vein, medical and anatomical knowledge is required to heal. - Mages are inherently shape-shifters. Likewise, they need to understand how their body works to survive the act and not end up without a lung. - A long-range spell is not a magic act by itself, but instead a summon/creation of something that is able travel a distance by itself and then trigger/create the desired effect. Needless to say, they are rare and difficult. - Djinni and ghosts would be aberrations, an mind without a body and a soul. If they are magic users, it would be their only way to affect their surroundings and they would likely be quite proficient with it. However, they are soulless, and thus completely void of emotions (but not afterimages of emotions) and development. - Different cultures might have different names for their mental powers. Some may deny the existence of a soul, other make a distinction between the body-inhabiting part of the mind and the extensions. Some mages have explicitly learned the needed lore, others developed an implicit understanding.
Edit: Additional clarification(s): - Transformations are permament. The new material might be unstable however, inherently or because of an error.
|
|
|
Post by Sigmaleph on Jan 16, 2011 14:25:58 GMT -5
My proposal: - Sentient beings consist of the trinity of body, mind and soul, the mind being foremost the seat of the conciousness, and the interface between the subtle impulses of the soul and the executive body. Mages have the ability to extend their mind beyond the boundaries of their body and mold and reshape everything subject to it. This is usually only a few centimeters, so most spells are only touch-ranged. This seems OK, though I'd leave the actual nature of the mind/body/soul division a matter of interpretation. I'm mostly OK with all of these. Now a few questions/ideas: Since magic involves extending your mind outside your body, what happens when two mages extend their minds and they overlap, or one mage extends their mind into the body of someone? Nothing, mind-reading, mind-modification? I'd suggest: Whenever two minds "touch", be it inside or outside the body, there is a possibility of reading thoughts and, if you're skilled enough, modifying them. Keeping your mind inside your body gives you home ground advantage, so to speak, so it makes it much more difficult to read/influence, but it is still a possibility. Magic transforms things. How long do the transformations last? Do they revert automatically after a while if not sustained, are they permanent, are some spells permanent and other temporary? Is there some form of energy that is required to power spells? If so, is it simply physical strength (using a spell tries you the same as physical exertion), something entirely magical (some sort of reservoir of mana each mage has, which they spend when they cast a spell and replenish resting or in some other way), something else?
|
|
|
Post by Yla on Jan 16, 2011 14:51:17 GMT -5
I like your ideas about what happens when two minds touch. I haven't thought about this. Mind (heh), it doesn't need to be forceful mind reading. Likely, in 99% of happenstances, it will be used for simple telepathy.
- Transformation are permament. The new material might be unstable however, inherently or because of an error.
If this were entirely up to me, I wouldn't employ any endurance limiters beyond normal tiring, just what happens when you do the same mental task for hours. But I don't have a strong opinion on this.
|
|
|
Post by CtraK on Jan 16, 2011 15:58:56 GMT -5
Name of UniverseManifest Doom (Other suggestions welcome) Blog?Wordpress - 2?; Other (please add) Setting?America [FCC] - 2; World [FCC] - 5; Other (please add) Time?Turn of the millennium - 1; Early 20th century - 4; Medieval - 3; Other (please add) No masquerade - 7 votesMagic?Competing systems - 3; Competing interpretations for one system - 2; One system - 2; None/Superstition - 1; Other (please add) Creatures?Anything within reason - 4 Specific votes: Humans - default; Elves - 5; Djinn - 1; Dragons (Chinese) - 1; Dragons (Western) - 1; Goblins - 1; Ogres/orcs - 1; Dwarves - 3 ______ I've got rid of any option that has no votes - they were "Renaissance", "Europe", "Yes" and "Magical Realism". To answer anything that's been implicitly or explicitly lobbed in my direction: Sleepy: did she use Wordpress.com, or Wordpress.org? Wordpress.org involves downloading software, hosting your own site, coding to add features and a whole load of other things I indeed wouldn't bother with. Wordpress.com I've never had an issue with, although I'll admit I've never had to add more than one user. Sigmaleph/John E (time issue): 1930s could be good; I figured that the story that is vaguely coalescing in my head would work best in the 1960s or 1970s, but I think 1930s technology could suffice. John E (creature issues): perhaps. I've looked for cross-cultural similarities and the closest ones I can find are between djinn and the aos si, which, considering that they're from Islamic and Christian cultures respectively, give quite some cover without stretching credibility. I personally never regarded my conception of dragons as being sapient (at the very least, I don't want talking ones); if the same's true for Western dragons, that leaves six races, which is probably a decent limit. Maybe seven, but certainly not double figures. Yla - only problem is, djinn do have minds, souls and bodies. If we had a name for the universe (and my apologies, I've been calling it a "title" up until now, which gives totally the wrong impression), then we'd have a wiki and we'd have a somewhat less messy setup for that kind of detail. Not that I'm pushing this... no, wait, I am pushing this. But it is pretty much the last of the basics.
|
|
|
Post by Yla on Jan 16, 2011 16:20:11 GMT -5
The 1900s till 1940s were a time of great changes. 'A shifting world' 'Shifts' (could be interpreted as a pun on the 'Rifts' setting) 'The new century' (relies on that our calendar has centuries)
re: sapient creatures: I would consider even six too much. But yes, we can continue that on a wiki.
|
|