Uncommon Nonsense

Video games, books, and day-to-day drivel

9.20.2006

Writing: Setting

So I've been working on developing a fantasy world for which I'd like to write stories (maybe books someday) and create at least one module for the upcoming Neverwinter Nights 2. I've always been a huge fan of pulp fantasy books (like DragonLance, Forgotten Realms, and many other series), and I think I'd like to try my hand at a little worldbuilding. It's an incredibly large task, so I've gone forward thusly: first I laid out some of the big details behind the world. Next, I'm working on finding the Grand Adventure for my world, filling in details as I write. It's going to start as a short story and we'll see what happens from there.

Here are some details on setting:
-A running theme is that humanity is much older and more widespread than many believe.

-This setting involves two planets, both very different, both inhabited by humans (or races similar enough to all be classified as human)

-One planet (where we won't initially visit) is an older, smaller world, with one main landmass. Resources are abundant. This planet has one government. There have been no wars in any recent history, and the culture is technologically advanced. Their main concerns are overindulgence, political schemes, and the enormous asteroid headed toward their planet. They see it coming from quite some distance and have time to prepare for several hundred years, and develop a means to leave their doomed world and set out for the nearest inhabitable planet (they hope).

-The second planet is a young and volcanic world. It is many times larger that Earth, and consists of five main landmasses. Each of these landmasses has its own culture and society. The world is poor in most resources, and the people are far less advanced than those on the other world. In this world, the humans have learned to harness an energy produced by the planet that allows them to manipulate the outside world to some extent (an interpretation of "magic", because what's a fantasy setting without some?). This is not widespread and is treated differently in every culture. The offworlders cannot harness this power at all. The seas on this planet are vast and dangerous, full of storms and undesirable creatures. As of the crash, only one group of the natives had been able to cross a small segment of the ocean.

--Continent One: A cold northern continent, full of pine forests and vast expanses of tundra. The people here are spread far apart and are primarily tribal in nature at the time of the crash. They are not affected by the newcomers for quite some time. Their magic-users are few and far between, but when they do occur they are often incredibly powerful; the stuff of legends. In history, a great lake, frozen solid, occupied the northernmost tip of the continent. A corrupting power dwelled beneath this lake, and warped many tribesmen that lived nearby. A man was able to band nomadic folk from many tribes together to conquer this power, and now a great city exists at the northernmost tip of the lake - they hold the corrupting power in bondage, forcing it to provide energy for their society.

--Continent Two: The largest continent on the planet, situated between the others. The other continents are likely the product of seismic and volcanic separation over many years from this one. This large continent is almost entirely untamed; there exist no people but a few extremely tribal and aggressive bands of people who live on its edges. The people of continents Two and Three set sail to escape this wild land. Here, energy is chaotic and rampant, and many dangerous creatures thrive. The interior of the continent is entirely volcanic. The people and creatures who live here are often affected by the chaotic energies erupting from this place.

--Continents Three and Four: Where my first story will take place. These peaceful farmers and shepherds (or herders of whatever creatures) are the descendants of escapees from Continent Two. They have a close-knit society that eventually spread througout the two small continents. They have one government ruled by a council of elders, all elected to represent each capital settlement (the land is divided into states). They are users of the energy of this planet to aid in farming, animal husbandry, and healing and medicine. They are not warlike, but are a fiercely loyal people. Trade between the far-strung cities makes a rich merchant class.

--Continent Five: This continent's main feature is an enormous and ancient city. The city spans over half of the huge continent - a massive urban sprawl that dates back to what the inhabitants think must be the dawn of all time. It is speculated that this city was the first habitation of mankind on this planet. It is likely that volcanic and seismic activity broke this continent from continent Two a very long time ago. There may be corresponding ruins located on that continent. No one ventures within a great many miles of the coastline in the city - there are hundreds of miles of ancient city that is no longer inhabited and is rumored to contain mysterious and evil forces. The people of the city are highly religious. They use the planet's energy in meditation, worship, and mechanical tinkering. The portion of the continent not covered in city is a deep jungle-like climate, in which religious devotees craft enormous temples and places of worship or training. Political intrigue plays a large role in this society as well. There is a powerful religious warrior class.

-The offworlders crash into the city on Continent Five. This causes all sorts of chaos and religious and political uproar. First the newcomers are considered demons, a punishment. The offworlders are forced to flee into the jungle and attempt survival. Their numbers dwindle. Eventually they become somewhat established in the far reaches of the jungle. They are all interested in escaping this planet, but don't have the resources. As time goes by, they invent a method of travel across the treacherous oceans of the world. They make contact with many of the other peoples over the years, but are never warmly received - they are mistrusted and disliked by most of the natives they meet. In some places there is unstable peace, in others outright war. It is once they offworlders are established firmly on the planet that the first story takes place.

Alright, that's enough setting right now. I could probably go on and on and on, but I don't have time for that! I'll update occasionally with characters, setting information, and story ideas. There's so much here that it's kind of overwhelming. Even writing a pretty generic fantasy world is kind of difficult.

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