World Building - Blog Posts

This head cannon has been immediately adopted!

sometimes i think about how jro said that cybertronians are naturally v social and that’s why everyone on the lost light has a roommate and idk i love that bit of worldbuilding so much

This is my very messy design process for Bumblebee. I wanted to incorporate Micheal Bay’s antenna and doorwings. Which tie into to his namesake. Plus they’re very expressive, and I feel that expressiveness suits Bee.

I read Bob Budiansky g1 profile on Bee to try and understand him better. It said that he was in espionage, which surprised me since he is usually depicted as a Scout that graduates to warrior. Interestingly his weakness on the profile was being physically frail. So a small, quick ambush fighter was born.

The thing that really got the creative juices flowing was that he has good sensors for on land and WATER reconnaissance. So here is an aquatically capable Bumblebee.

His altmode is his cybertron one from the g1 cartoon. It hovers by the use of magnets since cybertron is a metal planet, this is quite handy. The magnets are the blue circles.

Bee has vents to cool his internals. His vents have the added ability to provide propulsion for liquid based travel. On his alt mode these vents serve as his front grill and back grill, allowing him to shoot forward and backward. At speed.

These propulsion vents can be used in root mode as well they’re on the back of his calf’s, forearms, shoulders, and upper back.

His door wings are on the back of his vehicle mode where they function like the tail feathers of a bird.

Mictransformations! His alt mode has one where the ‘wing’ part of his alt mode segments into four independent parts. This gives him more mobility for uneven terrain. These can adjust to currents (land, sea, EM) while simultaneously gathering information on said currents.

Overall Bee is entirely a multi terrain information gatherer. Perfect for infiltration and espionage. Which accomplishes my design goals. Also I love the fact that his alt mode looks like both a string ray and a pupa. It’s awesome!

I may have just created an imaginary family because mine is .... Interesting

Worldbuilding Tips: The Five Visitors

You’ve done it. You’ve come up with an idea for your fantasy world, but right now it’s mostly curb appeal and decorations without much else. So, you have the skin and flavor of your fictional world, but what if you’re having a bit of trouble coming up with the meat needed to make your world juicy and delicious? Well, I have a little game that can help flesh out your world.

Imagine a ship or whatever other kind of vehicle arriving on the shores or outskirts of your fantasy land and from that vehicle emerges 5 people from our own mundane world: a historian, an economist, an anthropologist, a diplomat, and a cartographer. There are some other visitors, but these are going to be the most universally beneficial.

The Historian:

This person is going to be interested in the backstory of your world. They don’t need to know every minuscule detail (though they wouldn’t turn that much information down) and just a general overview would be much obliged. Many fantasy worlds such as Tolkien’s Middle Earth and Martin’s Westeros are far more rich and interesting due to the amount of effort put into crafting their world’s histories. If you’re stumped, look to real world history for inspiration. It doesn’t even need to come from the middle ages so long as it works for your story. You should be able to answer questions like: How long has the dominant civilization been around? What are the biggest defining moments in your world’s history? What things are common knowledge that every child is expected to learn (such as George Washington being the first president of the USA) and which stuff is known more by historians and social studies teachers? And as you’re discussing the rest of the visitors, think back on how the answers you give would impact the historical aspect.

The Economist:

You don’t have to know the exact cost of every single thing in your world, but have a good guess. Be able to at least have a scale of price. If someone can buy a loaf of bread for 13 of your world’s currency, but a house costs 17, that would mean that either that bread is very expensive, that house is very cheap, or each unit of your currency is equal to a lot of real world money. Whatever you use to refer to your currency, keep not only price scaling in mind, but economics. If you have a port city, there’s going to be a lot of merchants in that area. The first primary export you’re likely to see in such a port town would be seafood, but also keep in mind the things that are closet to that port, as well as the climate. Greece for instance is a very rocky and mountainous country, so while they can grow crops, they would not have been any match for medieval French Aquitaine, the crown jewel of medieval farming territory. It’s also worth remembering that food in the middle ages was far more valuable than it is today. There was an old saying that wheat is worth its weight in gold. It was southern France’s bountiful soil that caused it to become one of the richest and most coveted territories in medieval Europe.  So, keep in mind where resources would come from and where they would need to go, as well as trade that would be useful. A seaside farming town might not have any good access to raw minerals, while a city in the frozen mountainous north might not be able to grow crops, but are bountiful in minerals. The correlation of supply and demand now opens a vital trade route between them. This becomes more complex when the topic of war comes into play. The kingdom that supplies your crops and food is at war with your oldest ally. Now there’s a dilemma between having enough food to feed your people, or betraying the trust of a long time friend. Now your world building can be used as a part of your drama and narrative tension. The economy also impacts culture. What is considered a display of wealth, or is a common status symbol? What are the living conditions of the poor, the working class, the rich, and the aristocrats? Is there upward mobility? In the middle ages, you were what you were for the most part, especially serfs: peasants tied to their land. It was illegal to leave your territory, but there was a saying in the middle ages that “city air makes you free” that once a serf made it to a city, they’d be free of the life they’ve escaped.

The Anthropologist:

Every society has a culture. The way they act, think, dress, believe, talk. It’s all impacted by culture. Beliefs tend to be tied either to what has come before, or based on the world as observed. While many modern fantasy pantheons are based on ancient Greece, it’s not the only model to live by. In a loose interpretation, religion in it’s earliest stages was a rudimentary science used to explain why things happened. A culture that developed along rivers, sea coasts, and other popular trade routes are far more likely to be diverse melting pots due to the frequent traffic of people coming and going, and the common sight of foreigners choosing to set down roots. Meanwhile, a more out of the way and isolated culture is far less likely to have widespread cultural diversity. Tying back into history, a country that has experienced a number of successful wars may tend to think of themselves as invincible, or may try to police the issues of other countries, assuming they’re always on the right side, or that they can’t be defeated. The same culture may ask a high price of any other culture that asks them for militaristic support. Ask what things your people value, be they material or abstract ideals. However, try to refrain from creating a Planet of Hats, a trope often seen in Star Trek and similar Sci-Fi shows and even some Fantasy stories where everyone of a single race all have mostly the same skills, interests, personalities, and roles in the global culture. This is also the time to start thinking about myths, legends, folk heroes, and historical people and events worth celebrating, as this may be when you start to craft holidays or celebrations. This could also lead into discussing religion, and the gods or lack there of that might be celebrated by your culture. How does your society reflect itself in art, music, literature, dance. Does the way someone dresses tell you something about their place in society? Some taboos come from simple logic. The reason it’s frowned upon to eat a cow in India is the same reason it’s immoral to eat horse in western culture. Both are beast of burden livestock worth a lot more alive than dead. Cows produce milk, a source of nutrients and health. Horses are strong and were used in just about everything from plowing fields to pulling entire families or communities a great distance. Horses even became status symbols, as even in modern culture, owning a horse or pony is still considered to be (largely) a snobby rich person thing. Understanding not only what your people believe, but even just a vague idea why they would believe it is a vital aspect.

The Diplomat:

As this landing party is your fantasy world’s first contact with our own reality. How would they react to the newcomers? If there’s more than one society in your world, how would each society, country, kingdom, race, etc. react to something completely foreign? Would they try to forge an alliance? Open trade negotiations? Declare war? Prepare a feast? How would they feel about the way we dress? act? talk? How would they react to different levels of progression in technology? Could an unbiased third party from our world help two feuding sides come to peace with one another? How would they feel about knowing of a world beyond their own? Are there actions or behaviors acceptable in our own society that are considered offensive to them?

The Cartographer:

Although it’s not necessary that all fantasy worlds have a fully designed map, it is a good idea to have at least a rough idea of where things are in relation to one another. This can tell you about climate, resources, wildlife, natural borders, natural disasters, food chains, and more. It’s worth at least taking a crash course in understanding how geographical biomes tend to be laid out in order to make your world feel more real. Some authors claim that a world map is the single most important feature, others say it’s not that important. Frankly, trust your gut based on the kind of world you have. You may need a map, you may not. It really depends on the size and scope of your world. For instance, with Disney’s

Zootopia

, the entire world doesn’t matter. The audience doesn’t need to know where in the world Zootopia is, or what climate or biome it’s in. Zootopia itself is the world being built, and the separate districts and biomes of the city explain the world that’s being focused on.

Secondary Visitors:

They may still be important to your world, but are less likely to be universally helpful to all people.

Biologist: if your world has creatures beyond those found in our real world, it may be worth exploring how their bodies work on a more scientific level in order to give more realistic weight to their supernatural abilities.

Linguist/Translator: If you feel compelled to come up with a language no matter how basic or complex, it may be worth while to consider the problems with communication. this may also extend to unique idioms, colloquialisms, and slang native to your fantasy world.

Teacher/Scholar: Regardless of whether or not there is a formal education system in place in your world, a teacher may be interested in how knowledge is passed down, and what information the culture might have that would be unknown to people of our world. Whether that’s how to keep a wild animal from charging you, to knowing how to forge a mineral that exists only in your world, being able to readily answer questions is generally considered to be a good thing.

Healer: There may be healing spells in your world, there may not, but most fantasy stories tend to involve either action or adventure, both of which tend to cause fights. And since fights tend to lead to injuries, it’s important to know what can and cannot be treated, and how readily available these healing abilities are to the public.

Hello mycologists and bryologists

I need a bit of help with my word building. In my setting several of the creatures I've come up with have a close association with fungi, lichen and moss.

For example dwarves in my setting are made out of rock (more info on that on the post below on my page) the dwarves from the upper two levels grow mushrooms and lichen on them so I need to know what could grow in low light levels and not go into too much shock if suddenly exposed to light and/ or a change in humidity/temperature.

Another example is the bird people (name pending) whose hair bears a resemblance to the moss that grows on/around the massive caves and trees in the forest they live in.

Those are just if you need a specific direction to type about but in all honesty go ham info dump as much as you want about fungi/lichen/moss/whatever. The more info the better!

Thanks!

Hey geologists I need a bit of help with my worldbuilding.

So I'm adding dwarves to my setting but not your typical short stubby fleshy dudes. But rather short stubby rocky dudes. There are three types of dwarves upper crust, mid crust, and lower crust. They grow at different levels in the earth's crust and are made out of different rocks depending on what's available at that level. Like if they're closer to the surface they're made out of rocks and gems and such that naturally grow at that level.

Small issue though I have no idea what grows- forms? At those different levels farther or closer to the surface and I also don't know in what amounts. What's rare and what's common? I imagine diamonds don't grow in the same place as amethyst.

If you guys could help me out it would be much appreciated!

P.s. I did try googling it first but I couldn't find anything.

P.p.s. a visual representation like a rock map or something would be nice but is not required.

P.p.p.s. please don't be mean to me I'm not an expert on rocks I don't know exactly what to search for which is why I'm asking for help.

Trying to get all my world building ideas down on paper is hard. my head hurts. They're all in there it's just the act of putting them down on the page that's hard cuz I'm like it's really simple there's not that much to put down. Then a little while later I look back up and I've written three pages of world building notes and I'm still not even close to done.

i just found this website that can randomly generate a continent for you!! this is great for fantasy writers

plus, you can look at it in 3d!

theres a lot of viewing options and other things! theres an option on-site to take a screenshot, so you don’t have to have a program for that!

you can view it here!

A master post of Thomas Romain’s art tutorials.

There’s not enough space to post all of them, SO here’s links to everything he has posted (on twitter) so far : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12. 

Now that new semesters have started, I thought people might need these. Enjoy your lessons!

create your own home!

i found this great site that lets you create 3d models and floor plans of custom homes! you can even put in furniture and customize wallpapers/floors!! it has everything you could ask for!! you can use it make ref pictures of your oc homes or just make your dream house!

this is what i manged to make

Every living creature's soul can best be represented by a candle, sometimes burning so strong and bright you think it'll never go out, and other times a flame so small you think it'll go out with the slightest movement of air. When that flame goes out, the soul leaves the body like smoke. Although it is possible to revive the flame once it's gone out, it must be done quickly, and even the most skilled clerics and necromancers struggle with it. Once the flame is out with no chance of coming back, the soul becomes one with the magical energy of the world, making areas where many creatures have died incredibly dense with magic.

Your stories deserve to exist in incredible worlds. Build yours from scratch with this quick guide that simplifies the sometimes intimidating process.

Read my guide here!

Stranger things AU

My note, Steve note.

Steve (Alice) Harrington (Future Hopper)

Stuck in the uspide down since he's 12 (1978)

El managed to make a mini opening years before 83 which led to Steve getting caught and stuck in the uspide down.

He was reading his favorite book Alice in Wonderland when it happened, and so he named this world after that book.

Steve friends

-3 Demodogs (He just calls them dogs) their names are, Diamond, Clover, Spade

-1 Demobats (Called Bats) Name Hearts

-The kraken at the bottom of the lake that raised Steve named Mom or Cheshire

Steve's Wonderland Reviews!

The areas and monsters that live there, with the danger level and drawings made by me!

-The lake also called neutral zone, This is mom's area, the fights are forbidden inside so it's 100% sure for me! Danger level 0/5

-The City, this is where Tweedledee and Tweedledum reign, Tweedledee and Tweedledum are not very complicated to face in 1v1 but in 2v1 it becomes complicated, if you do not kill both at the same time the other will resurrect the other one, super important area for any items or supplies! Danger level 2/5.

-The Forest, Joker Zone, constant combat, if you enter the forest it is to fight! The joker is not completely evil? But since he is more intelligent than most monsters and I can't guess his intention I can't help but be uncomfortable with him. Danger level 4/5

-The meadow, there is not really a "zone boss" in this area, just a bunch of really scary monsters, especially the cards/the voiceless, or the caterpillar, the cards just follow you silently and if you talk to them they start to imitate your voice, and if you stay too long they will start to imitate you physically. The caterpillar just hangs around in the ground, so it is advisable to stay hidden and up high in this area (I recommend trees)Danger Level 3/5

-The Rabbit Hole, over there you will find the rabbit and the hare, They both have a great hunting instinct and run super fast, unlike Tweedledee and Tweedledum they don't get along, They don't really share the area... rather they fight over it, The dormouse also hangs around sometimes, he likes to pick up the pieces of monsters scattered by the rabbit and the hare. Danger level 3,5/5

-The Hatter's Manor, down there is the second area that I recommend the least, the hatter is damn intelligent and adapts very quickly, with his dogs he is formidably scary. I do not recommend this area at all especially with me, he has a personal grudge since I stole 3 dogs from him (they came of their own free will) Danger level 4,5/5

-The castle of the Queen of Hearts, completely forbidden area, the queen is fucking dangerous and really weird, he is also very intelligent and powerful. Danger level 5/5

These were Steve's notes on this upside down world!

Steve Style

He mutated to adapt to the uspide down

Mutation: All five senses are better (especially the mouth) his heart and breathing are now super slow (almost as if he was dead) and he's faster/Stronger, and more resistant.

none of the drawings are mine, and unfortunately I don't have the artist names, because I found everything on Pinterest :( If you have them I'll take them!

People interested in a sequel? With Will's arrival, Steve's return to the normal world ?

To answer ur question, it is a prosthetic. He was grown in a vat, and after his "birth," he had too many defects, so his father did save him by implanting a whole host of cybernetics. Afterwards, however, He deemed to make more like Kaine would be a waste of resources and cancelled the experiments.

One thing I wanted to do to set my "Fur-splicers" apart was make it so they'd have to have either non augmented when they started the transition or have most, if not all, of their pre existing cybernetics removed. The Fur-spliceing process does increase ones healing factor as they transition, so most don't feel the loss.

Anyone with nessisary augments (heart, eyes, limbs) or that want them have to buy specialised ones that fit their shifting anatomy.

And Augmo Inc. (the corp that make the anthro hrt) don't make anthro cybernetics. That's a separate corp, Lion Corps.

Next character reference sheet for "Returning to our Roots"

Kaine Augmo, "son" of Adam Augmo.

The main antagonist for the story.

His father had him made from scratch. He is one of the only Anthro's who was never human. He was raised to be his father's body gaurd, and eventually, his brother's.

He is a weapon underestimated by his father, who didn't think Kaine could handle running Augmo Inc. Kaine would prove his father wrong.

There was only one other merc who could match Kaine in hand to hand combat. Unfortunately, she nolonger stalks the streets of New Bright City.

Hypothetically, what would the ramifications of a soulmate au type of system be on cultures where imperial harems, or just polygamy in general, is a thing?

More concepts

Velocitron concept sketches

Velocitron concept sketches

Caution

Super long text blocks below. They are also disorganized and unedited

Conversely, magic is helpful to your body (goes through your blood stream and increases the efficiency of blood circulation, fights infections and such because it is directed by your will and your body really wants to survive, can form membranes in place of damaged tissue, many things) and while not necessarily malicious on it's own, your body becomes reliant on it because why continue expending resources on processes that are now happening "on their own"?

Magic will do whatever you want it to do, you need only think it. However it will not continue doing something if nothing is causing it to. This has been likened to a container of gass. If you remove the balloon, the air inside will not stay fixed in the same position. And if you stop willing magic to do anything it will stop doing that thing, as there is always thought happening. Mending another's wounds can be a horrific thing to do to someone and while it might be hypothetically possible to use magic to transform existing matter into flesh to heal someone, the magic is practically impossible to remove from the wound as you would have to think about it without thinking about it.

Magic makes your thoughts better at commanding magic, but either thoughts can draw in magic without having any, or all living things have some magic that can not leave (until they die or otherwise somehow completely stop thinking? Unknown/writer's decision)

It is horrifying that a fundamental and inescapable aspect of existing makes it dangerous to think. Thankfully it will effect you less if you avoid using it.

I just thought of a way gods or spirits could work. Thoughts can rub of on magic, and over an unknown but very long time this has, and surely still is, forming magic that is capable of thought. Spiritsand gods, like magic and all other things, can never be destroyed. They can only be changed. Thus immortality. Of course will can fade from magic over time so gods and spirits need to be around thoughts, or preferably thought about, or even better worshiped. Due to this who and what they are can be affected and even controlled by how they are perceived.

Particularly Complex thought

I am not sure whether the difference between gods and spirits lies in terminology or power, but the difference between spirits or gods and ghosts I have come up with. Ghosts were alive as mortals. A ghost is what happens when someone is fully ship of theseus'ed. Once all living tissue is replaced by magic (this can be due to dying, none of the tissue is living) your entire body must constantly be held together by your mind. This makes doing anything rather difficult, so ghosts get tired out from doing things like:

Making noise

Physically existing, even partially

Particularly complex thought

Being visible

And so on. Hypothetically a ghost could become a spirit/god, but this would take a lot of people working very hard (mentally) and/or literal divine intervention.

Since magic is controlled by thought, being more magic makes you more able to control magic, a magic user is more vulnerable to magic the more powerful they are. Kinda. The more of you is magic, the more magic you can control, but the more magic there is, the harder it is to control. So while someone with more magic would be more effected by the magic in them being altered or moved they also have more to alter or move so it is harder to do so. The more firmly planted in it is the more damage is done if it's removed, but it is easier to remove if it is less attached. Of course it is very difficult to remove magic as you would need to focus on the person or object you are removing it from and the magic without just directing the magic into what you are thinking about

Some of my favorite magic side effects:

-Nosebleeds. Never gets old.

-Coughing up blood. The good ol’ “cough into your hand and pull it back to see blood” also never gets old.

-Headaches. You keep fighting as your head pounds, desperately telling you to take a break. At first they fade within minutes when you stop using magic, but overtime, they become chronic.

-Fatigue. After a big battle, you stand triumphant, and then just fall asleep on the spot.

-In a similar vein, overuse causing you to straight up faint rather than just fall asleep. Darkness begins to overtake your vision in the middle of battle, unconsciousness abruptly looming over you.

-Any of the side effects happening to another person. Maybe two close characters are connected, and whatever side effects character A would normally endure are transferred to character B. When A uses a blast of magic B screams loudly because holy shit that hurt.

-Magic gradually deteriorating your mind. Using it too much eventually caused hallucinations and an inability to retain memories, or even larger scale memory loss. 

Feel free to add more, I’m looking for some to steal

Bad world building idea: a zombie apocalypse setting but the hysteria and fear was not caused by real zombies but instead a really convincing April fools joke that spiraled out of control, everything you'd see in a regular zombie apocalypse is here like bandits, huge fortifications and scientists desperately looking for a cure, well everything except the actual zombies

Not this being the only art I have of what their little worlds/houses look like... drawing backgrounds with no characters is hard ;0; All their concerts take place in the big milk carton!

The star's homes! :0 Along with the big milk carton stadium for idol concerts :3

The star's homes! :0 Along with the big milk carton stadium for idol concerts :3

I wish more people used Magic the Gathering's Color Pie instead of D&D's alignment all of the time.

Like, saying a character embodies the selfishness and impulsivenes of Red Black offers more depth than Chaotic Evil

To the High Priest Cadion,

With all of the love of the OtherBeings, we hope you make it to the wedding of R. Darciest P. II and Elyrssa H. Kriftssues. We miss you very much.

...all of us.

But, moreover... how are you feeling? Are the views of the Hazel River as beautiful as they say? Are the people of Diordian nice? Have they treated you well?

Arleen isn't happy, she wants to know what you're doing, who you're with and where you are..... and frankly, I do too.

It's been many, m a n y, months since your last report. It's been WEEKS since your last letter! Are you okay?

I know you told me not to, no matter what, but I've sent some health-men to make sure you're alright.

I've missed you everyday since you've left for your annual spirit journey. And I've missed you even more since your last letter when you told me that you were going to stay in Diordian for an extended period of time.

All I can hope for is that you find your spirit again, and hope that the OtherBeings keep you safe, and then some.

With all of my love for anyone in the world,

Second High Priest London §

*<3*

Mountain Cartography

Sketches that came with the Magi DVD vol.7 that depict the main three going on a journey. Here’s Ohtaka’s comment:

“These are sketches that I did before the serialization. I drew them while looking at pictures of the Mogao Caves in China. At first, Magi was going to be a manga that revolves more around conquering dungeons, and so I did a lot of sketches like these.”

My artwork for a location on the new World Of Warcraft Legion Expansion Pack is now released online,

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/legion/#media

Here’s the visual development.

Harvey Nightingale

Harvey Nightingale Reference Sheet

25 years,

6’0” (182 cm),

Half Harpy (Eagle Variant) Half Human,

They/Them (Gender Queer)

Abilities

Pyrokenisis (the ability to generate and manipulate fire and heat), flight (current status; temporarily disabled (damaged wings)), “eagles eye” (simply enhanced sight.).

Want to know more about Harvey? Ask and stay tuned for more!

I've got a protagonist and an antagonist who are part of small rival kingdoms with their own armies. Guns and other such items don't exist (and I have a plausible explanation). They want to kill each other. How can I allow them to enter in combat with each other multiple times and have both of them walk away alive and able to fight another day (even if it takes a few months of recuperation) and still make it realistic? They're both trained in combat, one uses a spear and the other uses a sword. I need to keep them alive for Plot but also need them to fight for Plot and I don't know how to write them realistically fighting without dying. Also there's magic involved so healing is slightly less of a problem but necromancy doesn't exist.

So, something useful to remember about most feudal societies: There are much larger pressures acting upon the individual participants. You could have two kingdoms who want to eradicate one another, but, aren't able to because it would result in fatal reprisals from other powers.

Narratively, stories like this tend to operate in a bipolar structure (in this case, bipolar literally means that there are two relevant powers, your protagonist's faction or alliance, and those who they're arrayed against.) However, in many historical cases like this, there would be a wide array of other competing states (or kingdoms, if you prefer.)

The entire system maintained (relative) stability, because any aggressive action by one participant would leave them weakened and vulnerable to other nearby powers. In European history, this stability was further, “encouraged,” by the Roman Catholic church, whose scribes were often responsible for reading and writing the diplomatic missives sent between lords, with those communications not always, completely reflecting the original intent of their illiterate kings.

So, while full mobilization against a rival kingdom is an option, it's a very dangerous one, even if your king feels they're in a relatively strong position with their other neighbors.

And then they want to kill each other. This is pretty reasonable. However, it's very dangerous for your character.

There a lot of social structures in Medieval Europe were designed to keep anyone from killing the nobility. A bit part of that is the risk of reprisal from your neighbors, or a larger power. Defeating a hostile king on the battlefield would often see them captured and ransomed back to their relatives (or in some cases, simply held hostage for years because their relatives were happy with their new throne, and didn't want to cough up the cash to recover their lost lord.)

If your king wants to kill their rival, they're going to need a very good cover for that slaying, or they'll be branded as a kingslayer, and may face serious consequences, up to and including the loss of their title, excommunication, or a coalition of the dead king's relatives coming for them, with the assistance of other kings who aren't eager to be the next name on your character's hypothetical climb to the top.

Also, again, if we're using Medieval Europe, there are a lot relatives spread around. The nobility in Europe mingled and intermarried, creating a fairly complex web of different blood relations. So, while your character's rival may not have any relatives at home, it's quite possible that he'd have siblings and cousins in dozens of other nearby kingdoms, and potentially even be a blood relation of your characters as well.

There are exceptions to this, such as if they're a non-royal usurper, but in that case, they wouldn't have any protections, and your character would probably have a pretty easy time forming an impromptu alliance to stomp them out, before “restoring” someone with a legitimate claim to that throne. In that case, if their rival really was a peasant usurper, your character could probably get away with executing them on the battlefield with little fanfare. However, if they're actual nobility, even if their claim is shaky, that kind of a killing could have serious consequences.

So, the short version is, your character probably can't politically afford to kill their rival. It really is that simple, and they'd need to find a way to politically insulate themselves against the consequences, or make sure that their rival's death in battle looked like a normal casualty, and not a directed murder.

-Starke

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Small fantasy worldbuilding elements you might want to think about:

A currency that isn’t gold-standard/having gold be as valuable as tin

A currency that runs entirely on a perishable resource, like cocoa beans

A clock that isn’t 24-hours

More or less than four seasons/seasons other than the ones we know

Fantastical weather patterns like irregular cloud formations, iridescent rain

Multiple moons/no moon

Planetary rings

A northern lights effect, but near the equator

Roads that aren’t brown or grey/black, like San Juan’s blue bricks

Jewelry beyond precious gems and metals

Marriage signifiers other than wedding bands

The husband taking the wife's name / newlyweds inventing a new surname upon marriage

No concept of virginity or bastardry

More than 2 genders/no concept of gender

Monotheism, but not creationism

Gods that don’t look like people

Domesticated pets that aren’t re-skinned dogs and cats

Some normalized supernatural element that has nothing to do with the plot

Magical communication that isn’t Fantasy Zoom

“Books” that aren’t bound or scrolls

A nonverbal means of communicating, like sign language

A race of people who are obligate carnivores/ vegetarians/ vegans/ pescatarians (not religious, biological imperative)

I’ve done about half of these myself in one WIP or another and a little detail here or there goes a long way in reminding the audience that this isn’t Kansas anymore.

Hi guys!! Sorry it’s been a bit (I was sick for awhile, plus exams), but anyway I don’t have lamb stuff right now but I’m back into pressure soooo here’s some hive division exponents!!!

Ophelia got a slight redesign(still working on it), plus a few other stuff

(hive division is an alternative division to hadal division from the Roblox game pressure) if you have any further questions let me know! I love talking about my bugs

Warning needles