Hyperion
Veteran
För nåt år sedan hade jag tråkigt en kväll och plitade ner följande "start" på en värld i en lite speciell "high fantasy" setting. Det vore kul med lite kommentarer, någon kanske rent av har glädje av några av idéerna.
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Cloudy skies
A short description
The World
The planet is a huge gas giant of relatively low density and therefore relatively low gravity (comparable to earth or even a little less). There is no ground except perhaps deep deep down in the nethery depths of unimaginable pressure. The circumference of the giant is unknown but it is many many times that of earth.
There is a yellow sun giving warmth and life to the world and there are three large and several smaller moons orbiting the planet. For the peoples living here there is scant difference between an orbiting moon and any of the landmasses floating in the sea of the sky.
The floating land
There are huge floating landmasses that defy gravity. This is by the scholars attributed to the thick red-brown, thick and grainy fluid that runs in the ground and is called Earthblood. It is believed that the lay lines that permeates everywhere feed the Earthblood that in turn keeps the lands from tumbling into the abyss. This is also confirmed by scholars observing that landmasses tend to stay on nodes, places where two or more lay lines converge.
This might also explain why many landmasses tend to stay roughly in place even though the wind should scatter them. Minor landmasses without a node might even ”ride” the lay lines.
Bigger landmasses also seem to contain more nodes. Nodes are often places of power where magick is stronger and mystical things may happen.
The Earthblood is much sought after by magick wielders, but if they dare take to much they can upset delicate balances.
The Regions
Deep deep down lies the lower regions, where the air gets thicker and thicker, lower down even poisonous with the heavier gases not abundant higher up. The air takes on a thicker and grainier quality with an orange or green tint. Sight gets more and more limited. If you should fall or fly down here, and you manage the poisonous gasses the ever increasing pressure in the nether region below will squash you eventually.
There are huge and strange beasts living and prospering in this forbidding and poisonous region.
Even deeper below this lies the ultra pressure nether regions where no normal creatures survive.
Eternal gloom reigns and no one knows what much of what this region consists or if anything lies below.
There are stories about the strange and gargantuan monsters that live down here where nothing else can survive. Luckily they seldom rise…
Right above the lower regions lies the regions with breathable air. The lowest of these are warm and comfortable with high pressure and are where the big continents lie, hundreds and sometimes even thousands of kilometers across. Some even have seas. But the sun seldom shines in the clouded sky. And during the days there is an eternal misty quality to the light which seems to emanate from everywhere.
The huge continents that float here do not move around much and the winds are not severe. But when the storms come they are devastating due to the higher pressures. Sometimes updrafts from the poisonous regions annihilates entire settlements. There are not many of these continents and they are widely scattered, but can normally be seen on days with clear sight even from the highest settlements.
(This would be like the view from orbit of an Australia half covered in clouds)
In the middle regions above this the sun shines more often and the air is a little clearer so sight can on a good day be hundreds of kilometers.
The floating landmasses are smaller and range between a max of ~100 kilometers across down to a couple of kilometers and sometimes even smaller. The also tend to move around a little more than those below. Generally only the biggest and most furious storms can scatter them. In some places, people have anchored smaller landmasses to each other with giant cables.
In the highest settlements 150-200 km above the big continents it is freezing cold and the air is hard to breathe and the sun burns the skin and the winds rage, landmasses are seldom above a handfull of kilometers across and goes down even to really small chunks not much more than a hundred meters.
These small landmasses seldom stay in the same area for long.
Above this only a few birds and cloud people go, the often well below freezing cold and the thinner and thinner air prohibits populating. Although there are insectiod colonies and a few others that live above.
Travel
Travel on land is done by foot, horse or cart. There are a few other riding animals as well. Some places even have cable cars and other such low tech appliances.
Travel on the few seas and rivers is done by boat or ship.
Travel in the air or between landmasses that are near can be accomplished by riding griffins or even the rare dragons. But also by hot air balloon, parachuting or even hangliding kites in certain places. But none of these are suitable for longer journeys, the riding animals get tired, parachuting only goes downward except in extreme cases, hot air balloons can only go where the wind takes them and hangliding with kites is not too reliable.
The best way to travel or freight cargo longer distances is to employ the excellent but costly services of The Guild, who have sky galleons that can travel the ley lines.
There are a few other unique ways to travel, but none are widespread. These include by magical means, and with blimps or balloons to provide the lift and then drawn by birds or other flying animals.
Generally though, it is very rare with any significant military use of flying vehicles or animals. Ground forces are still the most important factor of war. Although these forces may be transported to the location by The Guild, who do everything for the right price, or by other means. A few forces have squadrons or even larger units of cavalry using aerial beasts. Scouting and reconnaissance is often done with gliders and balloons. Lesser attacks can be done from the air by these as well, but for the few who even use it, ballistas and catapults and such artillery is much more efficient.
The fundamental differences
· Aeronautical cultures
· Castles have air defenses as well as normal
· The best defense is being underground
· Flying is imporant
· The enormous distances
· No horizons
Perils
· Poisonous spore clouds during pollenation
· Raging winds and storms, even dust storms
· Poisonous updrafts in the lower regions
· Insect/insectoid swarms
The major players
· Countries – Mark,
· Characters – Kings, Emperors, Wizards, Guild masters, Pope?
· Organizations - The Guild, The Warrior Poets, The Theocracy
· Politics
The guild knows the secret to make galleons sail on laylines using Earthblood, enabling them a virtual monopoly on larger scale trade and travel.
The minor players
· Organizations -
· Characters - Heroes, Villains, Cardinals, Scholars, Dukes, Barons, Governors etc
Everyday life
· Cultures – folks
· Living conditions
Religion
· ”History”
· Pantheons – gods, godesses, elements
· Teachings
· Movements
Science
· History
· Books, literature & important works
· Discoveries and technologies – hot air balloons, primitive parachutes and hangliding kites.
· Flora and Fauna
Warfare
· Cultural weapons – sword, spear, bow
· Heavier weapons – catapult, ballista, arbalest
· Modes of transfer
· Units
· Codes of conduct – the art and etiquette of war
The other Mystical stuff
· Magick
· The five elements – the four in order of magnitude: Wind, Earth, Fire, Water, and the enigmatic Void.
· Lay lines, nodes, foci
· Famous Artifacts
· Spirits – Umbra?
Magick is line of sight oriented. If you can see it you can enchant it. Darkness and blindness hinders magick. Scrying is very powerful as is more natural means of seeing far, like telescopes. Although using only one eye or a grainy lens lowers effect. Although the nearer things are the easier it gets. Touching distance is always preferable.
The elements and their deities are important. All is considered to be alive, except the Void, which is the not the opposite, but only the lack of anything. It is The Unbeing. Void is very special in several cases.
Air – As it is a world of endless skies, air proves to be the most abundant element. She is big but has spread herself a little too much and But she has a darker side and can muster incredible devastating storms and thunderous lightning that can shatter anything. Worthy of the highest respect.
Earth – Earth is stability and power, and provides living space, shelter and all materials for the people and and the Earthblood is most potent.
Fire – The destructive rage of fire is not wholly onesided. He also gives warmth and renewal, as ashes of a burnt forest nourishes the soil.
Water – Even at the mercy of big sister Wind and the weakest of the elements, she still is a force to be reckoned with. There are few oceans, but also few deserts. She is the clouds, and can whip a furiuos rain, but she is also the life giver and all beings need her.
---
Cloudy skies
A short description
The World
The planet is a huge gas giant of relatively low density and therefore relatively low gravity (comparable to earth or even a little less). There is no ground except perhaps deep deep down in the nethery depths of unimaginable pressure. The circumference of the giant is unknown but it is many many times that of earth.
There is a yellow sun giving warmth and life to the world and there are three large and several smaller moons orbiting the planet. For the peoples living here there is scant difference between an orbiting moon and any of the landmasses floating in the sea of the sky.
The floating land
There are huge floating landmasses that defy gravity. This is by the scholars attributed to the thick red-brown, thick and grainy fluid that runs in the ground and is called Earthblood. It is believed that the lay lines that permeates everywhere feed the Earthblood that in turn keeps the lands from tumbling into the abyss. This is also confirmed by scholars observing that landmasses tend to stay on nodes, places where two or more lay lines converge.
This might also explain why many landmasses tend to stay roughly in place even though the wind should scatter them. Minor landmasses without a node might even ”ride” the lay lines.
Bigger landmasses also seem to contain more nodes. Nodes are often places of power where magick is stronger and mystical things may happen.
The Earthblood is much sought after by magick wielders, but if they dare take to much they can upset delicate balances.
The Regions
Deep deep down lies the lower regions, where the air gets thicker and thicker, lower down even poisonous with the heavier gases not abundant higher up. The air takes on a thicker and grainier quality with an orange or green tint. Sight gets more and more limited. If you should fall or fly down here, and you manage the poisonous gasses the ever increasing pressure in the nether region below will squash you eventually.
There are huge and strange beasts living and prospering in this forbidding and poisonous region.
Even deeper below this lies the ultra pressure nether regions where no normal creatures survive.
Eternal gloom reigns and no one knows what much of what this region consists or if anything lies below.
There are stories about the strange and gargantuan monsters that live down here where nothing else can survive. Luckily they seldom rise…
Right above the lower regions lies the regions with breathable air. The lowest of these are warm and comfortable with high pressure and are where the big continents lie, hundreds and sometimes even thousands of kilometers across. Some even have seas. But the sun seldom shines in the clouded sky. And during the days there is an eternal misty quality to the light which seems to emanate from everywhere.
The huge continents that float here do not move around much and the winds are not severe. But when the storms come they are devastating due to the higher pressures. Sometimes updrafts from the poisonous regions annihilates entire settlements. There are not many of these continents and they are widely scattered, but can normally be seen on days with clear sight even from the highest settlements.
(This would be like the view from orbit of an Australia half covered in clouds)
In the middle regions above this the sun shines more often and the air is a little clearer so sight can on a good day be hundreds of kilometers.
The floating landmasses are smaller and range between a max of ~100 kilometers across down to a couple of kilometers and sometimes even smaller. The also tend to move around a little more than those below. Generally only the biggest and most furious storms can scatter them. In some places, people have anchored smaller landmasses to each other with giant cables.
In the highest settlements 150-200 km above the big continents it is freezing cold and the air is hard to breathe and the sun burns the skin and the winds rage, landmasses are seldom above a handfull of kilometers across and goes down even to really small chunks not much more than a hundred meters.
These small landmasses seldom stay in the same area for long.
Above this only a few birds and cloud people go, the often well below freezing cold and the thinner and thinner air prohibits populating. Although there are insectiod colonies and a few others that live above.
Travel
Travel on land is done by foot, horse or cart. There are a few other riding animals as well. Some places even have cable cars and other such low tech appliances.
Travel on the few seas and rivers is done by boat or ship.
Travel in the air or between landmasses that are near can be accomplished by riding griffins or even the rare dragons. But also by hot air balloon, parachuting or even hangliding kites in certain places. But none of these are suitable for longer journeys, the riding animals get tired, parachuting only goes downward except in extreme cases, hot air balloons can only go where the wind takes them and hangliding with kites is not too reliable.
The best way to travel or freight cargo longer distances is to employ the excellent but costly services of The Guild, who have sky galleons that can travel the ley lines.
There are a few other unique ways to travel, but none are widespread. These include by magical means, and with blimps or balloons to provide the lift and then drawn by birds or other flying animals.
Generally though, it is very rare with any significant military use of flying vehicles or animals. Ground forces are still the most important factor of war. Although these forces may be transported to the location by The Guild, who do everything for the right price, or by other means. A few forces have squadrons or even larger units of cavalry using aerial beasts. Scouting and reconnaissance is often done with gliders and balloons. Lesser attacks can be done from the air by these as well, but for the few who even use it, ballistas and catapults and such artillery is much more efficient.
The fundamental differences
· Aeronautical cultures
· Castles have air defenses as well as normal
· The best defense is being underground
· Flying is imporant
· The enormous distances
· No horizons
Perils
· Poisonous spore clouds during pollenation
· Raging winds and storms, even dust storms
· Poisonous updrafts in the lower regions
· Insect/insectoid swarms
The major players
· Countries – Mark,
· Characters – Kings, Emperors, Wizards, Guild masters, Pope?
· Organizations - The Guild, The Warrior Poets, The Theocracy
· Politics
The guild knows the secret to make galleons sail on laylines using Earthblood, enabling them a virtual monopoly on larger scale trade and travel.
The minor players
· Organizations -
· Characters - Heroes, Villains, Cardinals, Scholars, Dukes, Barons, Governors etc
Everyday life
· Cultures – folks
· Living conditions
Religion
· ”History”
· Pantheons – gods, godesses, elements
· Teachings
· Movements
Science
· History
· Books, literature & important works
· Discoveries and technologies – hot air balloons, primitive parachutes and hangliding kites.
· Flora and Fauna
Warfare
· Cultural weapons – sword, spear, bow
· Heavier weapons – catapult, ballista, arbalest
· Modes of transfer
· Units
· Codes of conduct – the art and etiquette of war
The other Mystical stuff
· Magick
· The five elements – the four in order of magnitude: Wind, Earth, Fire, Water, and the enigmatic Void.
· Lay lines, nodes, foci
· Famous Artifacts
· Spirits – Umbra?
Magick is line of sight oriented. If you can see it you can enchant it. Darkness and blindness hinders magick. Scrying is very powerful as is more natural means of seeing far, like telescopes. Although using only one eye or a grainy lens lowers effect. Although the nearer things are the easier it gets. Touching distance is always preferable.
The elements and their deities are important. All is considered to be alive, except the Void, which is the not the opposite, but only the lack of anything. It is The Unbeing. Void is very special in several cases.
Air – As it is a world of endless skies, air proves to be the most abundant element. She is big but has spread herself a little too much and But she has a darker side and can muster incredible devastating storms and thunderous lightning that can shatter anything. Worthy of the highest respect.
Earth – Earth is stability and power, and provides living space, shelter and all materials for the people and and the Earthblood is most potent.
Fire – The destructive rage of fire is not wholly onesided. He also gives warmth and renewal, as ashes of a burnt forest nourishes the soil.
Water – Even at the mercy of big sister Wind and the weakest of the elements, she still is a force to be reckoned with. There are few oceans, but also few deserts. She is the clouds, and can whip a furiuos rain, but she is also the life giver and all beings need her.
. Speciellt kinesisk mytologi och magi. Notera det i 101 år kampanjen... Funderar på att göra något mellanting.
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