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>>98156615
Unique is a strong word. Perhaps notable or thematic would be better.
What makes your map or world shine its own colors?

>What unique landmarks or map markers do you have in your setting?
I'm thinking if I'm going to go with the staged nuclear bomb test I would want to make that testing site a memorial garden or park, with areas walled off with glass to protect from 'extremely dangerous invisible particles'
I wonder where in Germany/Europe would be an ideal place to test a nuclear bomb

>>98156684
Any Eurovision contest theatre would be great.

>>98156684
You'd probably do an underground nuclear test since there's no way to safely test a nuke anywhere near habited areas.

>>98156615
>What unique landmarks or map markers do you have in your setting?
Meatwad planet.

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>What unique landmarks or map markers do you have in your setting?

Giant engraved standing stones of Cyclopean origin, also the remnants of giant stone castles.
In truth, they are the ruins of the cyclopean cattle herders who inhabitet the lands thousands of years ago and their mundane carved memory slabs on which they left messages for other cyclopes who might come looking for them, telling them where they had gone in the meanwhile and which lands they are moving to.

>>98156787
It's going to be a staged nuclear test using smoke and mirrors to get a gaggle of the world's leaders to believe the ultimate weapon has been achieved and may already be in their cities.
I guess I'd have to check a 1930s map of Germany to find what areas are even remote enough to fake something in

>>98156915
It's not the united states or russia, no place in germany is that remote.
best bet is conducting the test in the north sea, even then its a problem.

>>98156940
Maybe letting Russia in on the plan would make it possible. Would give them leverage over Germany as it forms the European Alliance to cede territory in the east

>>98156978
Perhaps letting people see a massive explosion and spread the word themselves as well would be effective.
>do it in Germany
>somewhere with a view of a valley
>build a special bunker designed to trick the occupants more than actually protect from a real nuclear blast
>don't let the viewers leave for hours because of the harmful particles
>show severely burned prisoners as if they were damaged by radiation
>poison the earth before hand
>magnesium balloon tethered high up in the sky to simulate height and bright flash
>cover the ground in oil that will create hot smoky updraft
>design the bunker to make the occupants shake and ears pop

>>98157023
That idea is utterly idiotic, it would involve a lot of effort, a lot of people to do a huge scam that relies entirely on everyone involved believing it and not requiring any repeated evidence.

Not to mention a single mole or involved person spilling the beans would leave it as an utterly wasted effort.

>>98157212
And here we enter the alt part of the history, where we get to make up how the people respond

>>98157303
Perhaps the world is itching for peace more than war at this point, and a strong unifying force is enough to spark an explosion of peace that would usher in the mass industrialization and growth the game is around

It's interesting but watching people play videogames and reading up on hexcrawls it seems like they cater to two very different players. People who explore in videogames tend to like seeing visible landmarks or points of interest, getting blurbs, and just feeling like they're uncovering a fixed world where everything can be categorized, organized, and tracked.

With hexcrawls it seems a lot more random and procedural. You may or may not come across a landmark, and it may or may not have worldbuilding behind it to make it a part of the living landscape. You might just find a random ruin occupied by goblins and kill them for loot. Maybe the DM explains there's a history behind the ruin that explains why there's some silver nuggets in a hearth, but it doesn't actually need it and players may not want it.

What drives this difference and would you consider it "worldbuilding" for a DM to roll on a table to figure out what encounters you have in a certain hex?

>>98157023
Underground is easier for the deception. Detonate a huge cache of explosives, spread uranium powder around the cavern to generate radioactive readings, and fake statistics. When you're running a scam, you want to hide as much as possible.

>>98158560
It's a scam but it's still meant to be a show. A magician stuns the audience by doing what he does as out in open as possible. How can an event be fake if there's a whole memorial park there?
Regarding a mole and leaks, that is a potential threat but one that can be minimized. I reckon the Manhattan project faced similar issues

>>98158560
Although I like your idea for a follow up demonstration, claiming to not want to poison too much land above ground, reinforcing that concept to the diplomats

>>98156615
Kys d*scord cancer.

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There any other major examples of sci-fi desert nomads besides tuskans and the ash wasters from necromunda? I'm a big fan of those kinds of guys and wanted to make my own and I was trying to work out the details of how such a society could exist

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>>98159134
What are you trying to go for specifically?

>>98159007
Kys spamming faggot. Adding a new link for your continued retardation.

>>98158546
>What drives this difference and would you consider it "worldbuilding" for a DM to roll on a table to figure out what encounters you have in a certain hex?
Mostly because it's a different medium and interactivity in video games is nice and fun and you also get a visual along with it.
And no, it aint worldbuilding. Woldbuilding would be o spin a backstory for the random rolls or anything relevant. The rolls dont worldbuild for you. They are props that help you with it or let you avoid it completely if you are one of those hardcore osr types

Repostan because why not. Plus I like that anon's setting.
>>98137247
Just had a passing thought, what if it isn't cybernetics per se?
That is, what if it isn't based on electronics which, in conditions like deadly radiation, wouldn't function anyway.
What if instead it's something organic? Like a engineered radiotrophic fungus, which functions as both shielding and possibly a nutrient source.
IIRC fungal networks could, theoretically, be an alternative to the neural substrate present in other factions' equipment and mounts.
I know it's a bit of a cliche to have "fungal undead", but I think it would detract from the biotech focus of the world to have cybernetics in any significant amount.

You'd still have the same "brain in a jar", but instead of metal, it's surrounded by compacted fungal tissue.
One of the species present, namely the one serving as the signal network, could extends filaments into the brain to connect with the shell.

It's structured like a mushroom lasagna:
Innermost layers are all about control and brain life support. Middle layers provide structure and biological functions to the colony.
Outer layers are radiotrophs, hull and armor-forming species. Each such "body" is basically a large and diverse colony that merges with the brain placed inside it.
Think reverse Cordyceps, wrapped with a bunch of other species that provide locomotion, circulation, waste management, nutrient production, and other various functions.

Possible armament includes aggressive species that rapidly grow and consume the target, breaking it down for consumption as a form of external digestion.
Toxic or radioactive spore dispersal, area denial, biochemical warfare, weaponized Cordyceps relative for making thralls, otherwise an emphasis on ambushes and scavenger pack tactics.
If you can't have your own mobile units, you may as well try and hijack someone else's, and fungal colony isn't exactly mobile on it's own.

>>98159134
That tank would be debilitatingly awkward to walk around with

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Lets try this again but with autist-proof talking points covered so people don't get their jiffy in a spiffy again.

>Divinely mandated governship in your setting?
In my setting Gods are undeniably real and active. They have limited interactions with the mortal realm but they have regular communication and their blessings are real and noticeable.

As such it is paramount that the ruling individuals are if not ordained by the divine then at the very least approved.
That comes with boons and drawbacks.
A Baron is the highest representative of the domains gods, however he is not the spiritual authority. The position is mostly a ceremonial one, observing the holy days and celebrations of each deity, blessing temples and shrines, inaugurating clerics and friars.
Furthermore, nobles are expected to observe high standards of education, hygiene and work ethic.
It should not be confused with divinely ordained rule or the divine right to rule, rather it is a divine approval to govern, as such the rulers mind and body has to be fit for purpose.
The ruler is not wise, strong and healthy because the gods chose them, the gods approve of their reign because they possess those traits and virtues. With blessings and guidance those traits might be improved and increased but not instilled. Similarily a poor ruler won't be struck down with lightning, but they will be denied the blessings and guidance of the gods.
The severity depends on the rank of the ruler. Where a landed knight or lowly magistrate will be expected to have basic education and a honest disposition, their approval or disapproval by the gods will only be subtly felt. However a great Duke or even King will be expected to fulfill much greater standards, and their divine approval will be felt much stronger.

The people of the setting are aware of this, the Clerics are in regular communication with their Gods and will counsel the rulers on their deities wishes.

I would contribute but my setting is origonal character donut steel.

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What are some mundane animals that are considered supernatural in your setting?
>Water Buffalo
>primarily encountered in the swamplands (considered cursed and dangerous)
>can be highly aggressive depending on season
>known to tip over swamp barges and fishing boats which can be a death sentence in the deep swamps
>unfit for consumption due to countless parasites
>appear out of the fog like ghosts, considered semi-spiritual specters by the natives
>encountering one is considered a bad omen as people think they are the witches cattle herds.
>ironically swamp witches do tend to them at times, but to harvest leeches and other parasites for their potions and tinctures

How do I make it clear that my race of overpopulated, chronically poor and often criminal monkey people are not based on any real world ethnicity?

>>98160510
you have their culture be derived from a large number/variety of cultures and ethnicities from around the globe

>>98160365
Horses are only seen in dreams and in ancient symbols, as my world doesn't have a natural habitat for them.

>>98160306
Not a completely foolish thing to do. However, you can make a thought experiment; imagine explaining another world from a different IP in a thread like this.
>Final Fantasy
>Kenshi
>Witcher
>Lord of the Rings
Threads are only good for advertising, not for proper presentation.
You can fairly safely give us a piece of your mind and rest assured that we can't replicate all there is within the framework of 4chin.

>>98160281
>In my setting Gods are undeniably real and active.
Do they all agree on their origins or are their some who believe in a creator?

>>98160732
Thats kinda funny. Literal Nightmares.
Horses must be freaky as shit if you've never seen how goofy they are irl.

>>98160815
Gods have varying origins. Some are former mortals, some are primordial entities that shaped reality. Some are extradimensional intruders who just like to mess with reality.

>>98160843
I see, so "gods" is a catchall term

>>98160853
For our purposes here yes, the people do differnetiate between the tiers and types of deities.
But in the focus region there's 7 openly worshipped gods, 1 god that was once worshipped alongside them but has since been forbidden and forgotten, only worshipped by secret cults.
There's also the 9th god who was brought alongside foreign invaders and is accepted but not officially worshipped in the pantheon and the unnamed "10th god" is reserved for personal house gods and any patron that people individually choose to worship not already represented in the pantheon. But theres hundreds of gods. If you count minor nature deities and spirits there'd be countless.

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>>98156615
>Thread Question: What unique landmarks or map markers do you have in your setting?

I had to think up a bunch of landmarks when I made this map, though I propably went a bit overboard with them.

>>98159836
The world isn't blanketed by radiation persay, the issue that has reduced the City into the last refuge for life is tied to the esoteric "magic" system of the setting, chiefly humanity messing with that "magic" and causing a catastrophic event that led to the situation they exist in. Life beyond the City ends up suffering from what resembles radiation sickness not because of there being actual radiation, but simply because if you go too far from the City, your DNA gets damaged and ultimately torn to shreds.

The "magic" of the setting is a bit of a convoluted bs via which I've justified both the state of the world itself, as well as various technologies within the setting. The basic gist of it is that helical structures have inherent "sacred" geometry to them that links them to an extradimensional "orgone field" in which they generate waveforms which in turn interact with these structures. What humanity manages to do after discovering this element of reality is first use it for hyper efficient wireless energy transferring, but the side effect of this tampering is that the artificial waveforms humans generate to transmit energy begin to damage natural "waveforms" within the field tied to dna of living things, which in turn causes the dna of lifeforms to be degraded over time. The City itself originated as a place where humanity was trying to study this effect as well as preserve earth's degrading biosphere. Ultimately humanity's tampering with this field leads to a sort of cascade of "noise" waveforms within the orgone field that grows out of control, with the radiation sickness like issues becoming rampant. The City was able to survive and grow after this event because of the barrier field systems they developed to shield their biosphere preserves.

>>98161090
>>98159836
The way this all ties to the cyborg liches idea is that some smaller enclaves of humanity could have perhaps endured beyond the City by using different approaches to shielding technologies from the "noise" in the orgone field than the City. The primary idea I have is some sort of "farday cage" systems in which whatever one wants to be shielded from orgone waveform interference is encased in some sort of structure composed/incorporating helicoid microstructures into it's makeup which absorb the waveform interference and shield whatever is within it. Thus theoretically, entire bunker complexes could have been shielded from the orgone waveforms. However this approach would have been inherently more limited in terms of space and resources than the barrier fields of the City (which essentially create sort of "bubbles" within the orgone field itself, and absorb waveform interference from outside of these "bubbles"), barring perhaps energy demands as barrier field generators require a lot of energy to function.

The shielded bunkers in turn, could have allowed for small groups of humans to survive beyond the City, but be essentially solely limited on mechanical instruments for venturing beyond their bunkers & be reliant on the systems of the bunkers to survive long term. The Cyborg lich idea comes in from an idea I had of what if they created sort of surgically altered explorators who are essentially just a brain and a spine encased in a sort of "faraday cage" black box housed within an otherwise mechanical frame designed to explore the world outside of the bunkers along with their mechanical drones, while maintaining the life functions of the organic bits stored within the frame and shielded from the waveform "radiation" blanketing the world.

>>98161090
Thats a fancy map, how long did it take ya?

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>>98156615
What do you mean by unique? I know where a sacred mountain and a sacred volcano are, I have a prominent waterfall, and I have a few major cities that I can put on the map, but these are things you could find in any fantasy map.

Do you mean what are unique landmarks that people will travel to or navigate by?

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Having landed on the idea of causing the massive change in the world (and the solar system) by having the chunks of an alien god thing fall on the planets of the Solar system, I'm leaning into Half-Life in regards to how parts of the world are essentially near uninhabitable due to mutated animals and plants.

What would be a good candidate for a mutated creature that generally stalks the mid-western part of the US and is dangerous enough people have radio broadcasts of their comings and goings and warrant a full on profession of bodyguard/hunters

>>98162314
If I recall correctly I worked on it for about a week or so. I made it with clip studio paint.

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Boats the float over the sand like jaba's thing from rotj or a boat like a trirene that has rows of oars (magically) pushing it through the sand like water?
I like the idea of land navies so I'm trying to make one for my desert elves, and I already have flying boats so I wanted them to have a slightly different propulsion system than straight magic makes it fly

>>98163563
How do the normal magic boats work?

>>98163563

What would the oars even do?

>>98163563
Desert bayou elves using wind magic powered desert swampboats

>>98163665
They're magic oars, don't worry about it

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>>98163563
Why not oars with little sails that fold out on the pull, basically pulling themself through the air rather than the wind pushing it.
Sort of like a birds wings on wooden poles, hundreds of them.

>>98162326
>What do you mean by unique?
Yeah unique is a strong word. Perhaps prominent would be better. Anything that sets your world apart from purely generic, or something that is esteemed and brings life to the trope.

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>differences between social classes in a setting

Its most apparent in how betrothals are conducted and treated.

For peasantry betrothals happen in large celebratory feasts where several villages meet to agree on betrothals between several eligbible candidates across several families. This process is overseen by the priesthood who make sure bloodlines aren't being inbred too closely, keeping genealogical records the peasants themself can not.
However the betrothal is only a declaration of intent, the peasants can not marry until both the local Lord and the Clerics give blessing to the union.

With the citizenry, its more private. Family heads meet, usually allowing the to be betrothed to get to know eachother. Altough Citizens do not require permission to marry from a local lord, they still have to report their intent and have it officially recorded. The priesthood is less involved in citizenry betrothals altough they still require the formal blessing of the priesthood to finally conduct the wedding as the clerics have the final say wether the bride to be is mature enough to wed and bear children.

For the nobles the betrothal process is a very much political choice, it is rare for the betrothed to have met before, as they are promised long before they ever even consider marriage as a prospect. Their betrothed often remains a distant name only, sometimes meeting first on their wedding day. The clerics have the final say in these cases aswell.

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>>98162328
>What would be a good candidate for a mutated creature that generally stalks the mid-western part of the US and is dangerous enough people have radio broadcasts of their comings and goings and warrant a full on profession of bodyguard/hunters
>Dominant large species of US mid-west are white tailed deer, black bears and moose
>Dominant predators are bobcats/coyotes
>Dominant cryptids are mothman/dogman/frogman (fucking Ohio/Illinois with their originality)

I would suggest to go with something that explores alien weirdness:
>Large herd of mutated moose that turned into invasive opportunistic predators. They not only cause havoc by being half-ton (metric) aggressive predators, but give them environmental twist ~ Spreading alien miasma that contaminates/seeds parts of god they carry within them
>Small packs of coyotes that behaves more like "the thing", breaking/merging apart in reaction to threat, capable of tackling ten hunters, or one truck, depends if they have time to re-arrange
>Mothman-like cryptid that passes through country, its presence altering probabilities, causing statistical outliers to happen, basically walking bad luck
>Deer evolving human like shapes to act as mimicry when stalking lone humans, playing the skinwalker cards straight

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>>98167707
Primo idea. Eversince getting into the idea I kind of want to avoid the typical trap of using typical crytids as monsters but a roving band of hyper violent/actively carnivorous mutant moose seems like a unique monster to deal with.

Best part is you can still eat them (the god stuff is in everything and everyone so it doesn't matter).

OK, I’m working on a swords and sorcery inspired setting. Most of the people are living in iron age style technology.

The planet is tidally locked to its star, with a significant degree of eccentricity, so the sun rises and falls in the terminator zone, moving about 20 degrees in the sky. Deep sunward - past the 35 C threshold at which humans can’t live - are a technologically advanced race of tall, four-armed alchemists, who have completely tabooed traditional magic and have developed their alchemical arts to a great degree. (Also, they have an alphabet instead of an idiographic language like the locals, so they have the printing press.) Now, some of them come iceward as conquerors. Does this fit?

>>98167948
I had to go out of my way to figure out what the terminator zone was so, if I'm understanding correctly, there is a part of the world that is basically eternally night and cold?

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>>98167960
>I had to go out of my way to figure out what the terminator zone was so, if I'm understanding correctly, there is a part of the world that is basically eternally night and cold?
Basically, yes, but people don't generally live there. The sun appears to move in the sky as the planet goes in its orbit, but it doesn't go from horizon to horizon, it just wobbles back and forth over a roughly twenty degree span (hold both hands out in fists, touch each other; the breadth is about 20 degrees in your vision).

There's basically no Coriolis effect, so the wind moves around more between climate zones, so the immediate iceward region does have people, but they basically have to live like the Inuit off fish and stuff that get shoved iceward by winds and currents produced by the constant heat differential. But past like 10 degrees into the eternal night, it becomes completely uninhabitable like Antarctica.

Anyway, imagine Conan or John Carter or the like, going up against a 10' four-armed race of alchemists who completely taboo magic. In, or out?

>>98167948
That's pretty random infodump, are you malfunctioning LLM anon?

>Most of the people are living in iron age style technology.
Good reference point, established technological expectations: Persians, Roman Empire, regional and continental nation-states, logistic networks, advanced engineering, long-term planning, etc.
>The planet is tidally locked to its star, with a significant degree of eccentricity, so the sun rises and falls in the terminator zone, moving about 20 degrees in the sky.
Is everyone on the planet aware of this information? Is this somehow relevant to players when creating characters or designing their stories? Wouldn't be "world of eternal twilight that always border between scorching wastes and frozen nocturnal tundras" be better suited for SS inspired game?
>Deep sunward - past the 35 C threshold at which humans can’t live - are a technologically advanced race of tall, four-armed alchemists, who have completely tabooed traditional magic and have developed their alchemical arts to a great degree.
Again random bit of lore, but how are you expecting players to use it? Are they the only advanced civilization? Other civilizations are rolling with magic builds, while Alchemists fuck them over with their alchemical engines/weapons? Is the four arm thing of any significance?
>(Also, they have an alphabet instead of an idiographic language like the locals, so they have the printing press.)
Interesting trivia, I assume this has importance to highlight their ability to quickly spread information about alchemy, creating early scientific revolution?
>Now, some of them come iceward as conquerors
Nice hook, so they are the main opposing force that should shape your players agenda? Are they conquerors that should be repelled by players? Or they are untouchable gods that fuck primitives from twilight band into submission?

You have an idea anon, maybe give it more thought to make it an interesting idea.

>>98168108
There's a 2000 character limit, this is the stuff specifically relevant to the one faction, duh. It matters that the planet's tidally locked because they are from inhospitably (for humans) far sunward.

They are basically the "technologically advanced culture" trope that's common in fantasy in general (e.g. Dwemer, Priest-Kings, half the races in Warcraft), but trying to manage something that can maintain a plausible homeostasis (where the locals are, in GURPS terms, TL1 and these guys are roughly TL6-8 through alchemy) for a relatively sustained period.

And, yes, they are a bunch of conquering iconoclast foreigners with centuries of tech on the locals; obviously, they are an antagonist race/faction.

>>98168038

It's a good start. More John Carter than Conan (perfectly fine, mind you, but my understanding is that shit like Conan is more apt to game in more traditional groups because it kinda has a more "common" starting ground in pseudohistory. No time spent thinking about how your culture is weird as fuck, you're just not!Egyptian, start playing)

>>98167948
Why would they go iceward and how do they know it's worth it? What kind of trade or cultural exchange crosses the terminator in both ways?

>>98168616
I've been thinking about it a bit, and my current idea is that (most of) the ones who go iceward are freebooters/filibusters. Their civilization proper is relatively stagnant; their alchemy let them conquer old age and most disease, so they are ruled by gerontocrats not interested in upsetting things. (Maybe matriarchal, too, to really emphasize their risk-averse, insular tendencies.)

Still, young people can be problematic, so they're allowed to cut loose by going iceward to find fortune (steal people's gold, women, etc).