The Home of JT's Ideas

Hehe, I hope my proliferation of ideas is not seem as spam - I get a lot of ideas and try to note down as many as I can. I enjoy world-building immensely and things like geography and history are also interests of mine...

Now, while we're at it...

Water Elemental - River Snake

The River Snake is a water elemental found in damper areas of Felarya, being most common in the Torrential Coast. However, they are still a very rare form of elemental. They are massive and especially long and appear to be a serpentine creature made entirely out of water held into this shape. River Snakes are unique in that each is in a way a miniature ecosystem. River Snakes have no way to feed themselves, but at creation, each River Snake takes into its body a variety of aquatic organisms, such as fish, many of which can be quite large themselves. These creatures live out their lives and reproduce within the moving River Snake. The River Snake, though little understood means, sustains itself on the life-force of these creatures. In return it provides them with food - the River Snake will eat almost anything, plant or animal, which then passes into its watery body and is in turn eaten by the creatures living there, wether herbivores or carnivores. River snakes grow larger the older they are, every so often returning to the water source from where they were born and taking on new water and passengers. The very oldest ones are extremely huge and contain fish that could easily gobble up an adventurer. Even being eaten by a smaller River Snake is dangerous if you are not a top quality swimmer - currents inside them flow backwards, to disperse food and keep it from escaping through the sides of the River Snake.

Ohh tiny worlds into the creature ? It's a really neat and orginal idea here

And don't worry about "spamming" the forum XD
You have a very fertile imagination indeed and most of your ideas are really well though of and valid

Added The Web Fells. As usual, please tell me if you agree with the disclaimer ^^

Of course.

This is not an new idea (one of my oldest in fact - actually, I think it may be the oldest.)

But, since it's so old, I feel it got a little dated and musty with age.

So - here are the Jotun. I hope the little edits better articulates them. I want them to be a unique culture, not so much "funny looking giantess subgroup". I also don't want them to just be a constrained race. Critique is good, but even better are questions - is there anything I forgot?

Jotun

Jotuns are a humanlike predator race found in the cold regions of the north-west. They can range from as small as about 75 feet, to up to 150 feet. Physically, they are a lot like humans, but with certain differences. They have pointed ears, tusks and a tail that resembles that of a cow. Female Jotun have smaller, more discreet tusks, while males have larger ones. Jotuns dress in simple clothes, the leather farmed from large beasts that live far to the North-west. They also collect bones and rocks in order to craft crude weapons. Jotuns like treasures above all this however, and will pick up and collect anything shiny, sometimes drawing sarcasms from other species. Jotuns use treasures to decorate their cavern, trade them with other Jotun, or give them out as small gifts. Of course, Jotun's don't have a comparative value system for human sized treasure. A Jotun may give you what they consider a shiny sword, but is in fact a powerful magical artefact. Jotuns also like to tattoo themselves and make and wear various charms and amulets.

They are tribal and live in a large cavern system in clans. They value family a lot. Thus a Jotun that has lost it's family often becomes very depressed or despondant and will constantly wander, looking for some place to belong. They are generally friendly and enthusiastic, with a love for the fun parts of life, although they have a serious side dealing with honour and family. Jotuns have a high tolerance and love of alchoholic beverages. Like most Felaryan predator species, there seems to be a much larger concentration of females in the population and the males do not really have dominance. Thus, most Jotun males keep several mates, or several mates keep them. Usually there is one male for a small clan of Jotuns.

Jotuns are a predator species and see smaller things mostly as food, anything really. Jotuns believe in reincarnation, so they don't really see the problem with eating people. (The Jotun religion states that you are reborn as an even better person if you try hard in your life. A Jotun who reaches the pinnacle of honour then gets into Jotun heaven, where there is fighting and feasting for all time). They generally aren’t fussy about what they eat, though quite a few have a taste for elves. Many, however, prefer large quantities of cooked meat to a small human-sized snack. If a Jotun is not hungry, you may be able to just talk your way out. You have to be very courteous and some flattery helps as well. If the Jotun is hungry however, then you're prey. Jotuns admire strength and intelligence - outwit them long enough and they may let you go out of respect. If they do catch you, you can still talk your way out of it, if you keep calm. There are certain things to avoid. Begging, bribing and threats get you nowhere. Above all do NOT try to offer someone else as food. Jotuns hate what they see as traitors.

Jotuns believe heavily in the concept of honour. If a Jotun gives you her word, it is certain that she means to keep it. When a Jotun fights for a cause, it can be very dangerous, as they are raised as children on tales of valour of the ancient Jotun and many strive to be as mighty as their heroes, who slew the mightiest beasts, rescued the most beautiful Jotun maidens and found the most delicious princesses to eat. Jotuns also believe heavily in the concept of freedom – no Jotun can control another or tell them what to do. This anarchist viewpoint has often led to conflict with their more “civilized” elven neighbours.

Jotuns originated in the Elifga Valley, in the mountains to the North West. If you go there, you have a good chance of running into one, especially in the Eastern slopes where their cave-dwellings are. Jotun, however, love exploring and they can be found across any colder or frozen zone in Felarya and even, a bit more rarely, in the more temperate climes. Many Jotun have even developed boats to explore the Shimmering Sea, encountering and trading with areas like Iracal Island. In Elifga Valley, the Jotun often come into conflict with their Elven neighbours. While the Jotun there do prey on smaller groups of humanoids, among other prey, they have befriended one group of humans, who forge items and weapons for their allies in return for protection. No Jotun would ever dream of breaking this oath.

added that ^^ those are nice precisions

Frost Elementals

Frost elementals are a subset of water elementals, being made up of water in its frozen, solid state. Frost elementals inhabit almost always only the colder regions of Felarya, warmer regions causing them to melt and lose control of their forms. Frost elementals, like all elementals, range in size, shape and intelligence. Most Frost elementals have some skill in cold magic and, while they can be inwardly quite emotional, are good at concealing their feelings and motives. Many Frost Elementals are good friends with Frost Succubi, or are pets to them.

Jafral

The Jafral is a small Frost Elemental that tends to travel in groups. It resembles in most respects a snow white rabbit, however, with glowing eyes and a pair of antlers made of bright blue ice. It's "fur" has the consistency of snow and is quite cold to the touch. While a seemingly harmless creature who will not directly attack a human and even seem playful, they can be quite dangerous. The danger lies in their icy antlers. Any organic material touching them quickly becomes frozen by a frost that will spread rapidly. The material becomes ice temporarily, though this will wear off to no ill effect. Brushing skin against the antlers will cause your hand to quickly freeze and, if you don't have someone to rescue you, soon your arm and eventually your whole body will be a block of ice. The most horrific part of this is that Jafrals eat ice and frozen material to sustain themselves - a frozen adventurer will suddenly be set upon by a horde of Jafrals nibbling them down to nothing. They are best handled with gloves, if at all.

Stricers

Stricers are a very bizarre and rare form of frost elemental. They resemble a roughly spider-like creature - a rough body with ten extremely long spindly legs, all made of hard ice. Their actual body is high above these legs and in snowy conditions can sometimes hardly be seen. They seem to not care much for the little things that run around their pointed feet, apparently sustaining themselves off snow (and any small flying things they can suck in with their icy breath, such a large birds or even harpies). Still, getting walked over by one can be terrifying and even dangerous, for as they grow they "molt" their outer layers of ice - which means they will drop large icicles below them wherever they tread.

--

Hloxes

The Hlox is a massive creature native only the the Elifga Valley. It is a vital creature to that area though. A hlox is a massive quadraped, dwarfing even giant sized humanoids. It is so large, in fact, that it "grazes" the tops of trees for food. It has a big body covered in shaggy hair, two pairs of beady eyes, long thick legs and a multitude of tusks and horns on its head. Hloxes tend to travel in herds, grazing forests. They are a dangerous creature to hunt, but if brought down, are an insurmountable bounty. They deliver tons of meat, bones and horns perfect for making tools and weapons, thick warm fur and hides that can be used to make clothing. It's even said that mashed Hlox liver is the one truly reliable quick cure for Kensha venom. The Jotun of the Elifga valley often hunt these creatures, even one of them providing sustenance for a long period of time. More-so, an enraged Hlox is a very dangerous enemy and an exciting prey.

--

Area - Two-Sun Prairie

The Two-Sun Prairie is a fair-sized area of grasslands located a good distance from central Felarya. It is mostly flat, with only a few rolling hills and small groups of trees to break the endless flatland. The sky is a brilliant shade of blue for most of the day and the grass and vegetation here is of almost perfect golden colour.

What is most interesting about this area is that it seems to have its own separate sky, like the Sunfall Thicket. This sky seems to have not one but Two suns in the sky, synced so that night has never fallen on the Prairie. As dusk falls on the prairie and one sun slips below the horizon, the second one can be seen to be peaking out - dusk goes directly to dawn here. Perhaps because of this, the Two-Sun Prairie is one of the places on Felarya with the highest concentration of Light Elementals, who shine even brighter than the Prairie around them. At the dusk-dawn, they stand out the brightest, glowing visages amongst the temporary shadows.

I could have sworn the wiki already mentioned Ice Elementals as a subset of Water Elementals, until we started adding more stuff to it.

Sean Okotami wrote:

I could have sworn the wiki already mentioned Ice Elementals as a subset of Water Elementals, until we started adding more stuff to it.

Hmm, I thought so to, but didn't see it in a quick review of the Elemental article's page history.

Well, I'm pretty sure it was removed. Speaking of which, I think it also mentioned something like mist or vapor elementals as well as sub sets of water elementals.

Sean Okotami wrote:

Well, I'm pretty sure it was removed. Speaking of which, I think it also mentioned something like mist or vapor elementals as well as sub sets of water elementals.

Vapyres are what they are called now.

Negav Area - Lower Tier - Dark Angles District

The "Dark Angles District" is the name for an area in the south of Negav, located in the Lower tier in the shadow of the Walls. It is an area with one of the highest percentage of Vishmitals living in it, comparative to the other areas of the city. This is evident even by the architecture, a distinctly different style from other areas of Negav, solid concrete often used for the apartment blocks here in the place of traditional Negavian stonework. While some find the shadowing, angular buildings to be grim, the Vishmitals view them with pride, adopting the name "Dark Angles" for this area even if it was originally used in a derogatory sense. Though it is not nearly as glamourous as the Higher or even Middle Tier areas, many Vishmital officers live here - in order to be closer to defense stations and transport hubs near the wall, as well as to live nearer to their own sort. As well, crime here is significantly lower compared to other areas of the Lower District - even the most wealthy houses of Vishmital officers are left untouched by robbers, for fear of gaining the wrath of the local militia here, the "Companions of the Dark Angles District", a mainly Vishmital group known for its incorruptibility and diligence. Common rumour has it they hunted down and arrested an entire street gang for the crime of vandalizing a statue of a popular Vishmital hero, located in the district's central park.

Heh, well, that last one's obsolete now.

These are some ideas I've already done, but that I feel weren't really good the first time around, or needed some tweaking.

The Elven Pantheon

The Elves of Felarya, despite the increasing dominance of humans have always been very strict and protective of their culture. The elves tend, from tribe to tribe, to worship the same five deities. Though precise details and names change, the concepts rarely do. The Elves believe these deities were the founders of the Elven Race, setting them on a path of civilization, culture and harmony. Ideally, an elf worships all these gods and tries to balance their devotion, creating an equilibrium of harmony in their lives. It is not uncommon, however, for cults to spring up around a particular deity by like-minded elves of certain interests and temperaments. Ironically, these days, the most well-known temple to the Pantheon is actually located in Negav, in the Elven District.

The Hunter

Generally portrayed as a young, handsome and fit elf male, carrying a bow, almost always with some sorts of animals companions. The Hunter is a multi-faceted god - he represents both skill at hunting at skill at avoiding being hunted. He represents the connection of the Elves to their homelands and their interdependence with nature. He is connected to the elements of wood and earth and the colours of silver and green.

The Sorceress

The Sorceress is portrayed as a calm, focused young elf mage, dressed in violet robes and clutching a scroll. She represents Magic as the birthright of Elves and the cultural manipulation and construction of Magic. She also represents study and learning, among magic and other disciplines. She represents logic and calculation and is a patron of the sciences. She is tied to the elements of ice and water and the colours of purple and the whiteness of snow.

The Witch

The Witch is portrayed as a wild elf mage, dressed in wicked looking gleaming armour and wielding a sword. She represented magic as an uncontrollable and powerful force. She is also the Elven goddess of war and soldiers and of chaos, as well as patron of smiths and metalworkers. She is the anti-thesis of the ordered Sorceress. She is tied to the elements of metal and fire and to the colours of crimson blood and chrome.

The Queen

The Queen is portrayed as an elf in a beautiful dress or gown, often holding a wooden scepter. She is seen as a representative of the majesty of Elven culture and customs and of their nobility. She presides over all the arts and the more cultural parts of Elven civilization. She is also seen as a mother figure and a protector of children and the home. She is tied to the element of air and to the jewels of sapphire, ruby, amethyst and diamond.

The Arbitrator

Portrayed as an older elf, clad in a cloak of black, strewn with twinkling stars, often shown holding a mirror. The Arbitrator is stern and without emotion. He represents Death to the Elves as well as the oldest laws. He is the unforgiving nature of Felarya and determines fate and destiny. He exists in the nothingness beyond Felarya and watches and makes judgement. He is represented in the starry robes worn by many Elven elders. The Arbitrator also signifies self-reflectiveness and self-judgement. Due to this, the Arbitrator is often connected with mirrors, which usually feature in shrines built to him, encouraging Elves to study themselves to better understand their emotions, strengths and weaknesses.

--

Negav - Lower Tier - Jazan Arena

The Arena is one of the most popular venues in Negav and arena-fighting one of the most popular forms of entertainment. Jazan Arena comprises an open-air circular fighting area, with walls all around. These "walls" are more series of arches, set in levels, stacked on top of each other, where the crowds sit to watch the spectacles. Aside from this, walkways connect to a smaller seating area with a glass floor that literally hangs over the arena - only the richest are able to get a seat in this observation deck. The arena also has an extensive underground area, with training rooms, a Healing Centre and a holding centre for animals (which also operates as a sort of zoo, charging visitors to see the strange fauna.)

There are many scheduled fights, though the arena is open to booking in off hours. It is the scheduled fights that really bring in the crowds. These are usually either ranked fights between the best arena fighter teams, or "novelty" matches that usually involve monsters or beasts of some kind. The most famous matches are those between teams from the Adventurers Guild and the Isolon Fist. Members of these institutions that do habit the arena have a fierce rivalry and the fights are always highly entertaining.

Casualties in the arena are actually quite low. It is frowned upon to use excessive force in any match. During the novelty matches some inexperienced fighters occasionally get swallowed by the "beast of the day", but are always rescued by the professional beast handlers. Besides this, the Healer's Guild of Negav uses the arena as a way to give practice to its members, meaning there is always a horde of eager healers ready to show their skills. In fact, the action in the Healing Centre draws a fair sized crowd as well (who are, of course, made to pay to watch), as flashy healers attempt to make operations more dramatic than they actually are.

--

Negav- Lower Tier - The Bastion

The Bastion is the headquarters of the Negav Police. It is here that they keep their equipment, train recruits and send out patrols. The Bastion itself looks sort of like a small castle, sitting imperiously amongst the buildings of the Lower Tier. The Bastion, in fact, is located directly over where New Chargate Prison is in the Underground and the prison can only be accessed through this building. The Bastion does have a cell-block as well, but it is mostly used to hold temporary prisoners, like rowdy tourists or adventurers who fail to pay their debts.

--

Negav - Lower Tier - Wall Rail

The "Wall Rail" is a public transportation system set up by the Vishmitals. It is essentially a series of "gondolas" that clamp onto the side of the Negav Walls, on a series of rails running up the edifice. These cars traverse the perimeter of the city at a fairly rapid place. Originally, the Wall Rail was for solely military use, moving soldiers and equipment around the wall as was seen fit. However, more rails were added that were open to the public. There are still special "Blue Rails" with distinct, blue-painted cars that are only for use by the Vishmitals, as they stop at entrance points to the wall itself.

--

Negav - Underground - Rust Town

Though connected to the Negav Underground, and technically part of it, Rust Town actually lies outside the city walls, between the "Main Underground" and where the tunnel to the Ascarlin Mines begins. Rust Town is a connecter between these two, where ore from the Ascarlin Mountains is brought in for processing, then moved into Negav. Rust Town is really just a single cramped cavern, with a bewildering array of mining tools and structures. Besides this, it contains lodging for the miners, both paid workers and indentured prisoners. It is a rough area, but always heavily patrolled - the Ascarlin Industry is too important to be jeopardized by anything.

I like the idea of the wall rail as sort of a public transport. What do you think could be used as a general public transport? I used a simple bus in my stories, since I had no idea for originality at that time.

Hrm... I'm not sure a bus would work in the busy, crowded streets of Negav. Maybe rickshaw's run by golems? A magical, literal horseless carriage? Perhaps some sort of subway system?

It's more or less a placeholder until a public transport is figured out for Negav. I talked to Karbo a little bit in private, and he said that something similar to the air cabs in Final Fantasy IX (You go in a station and select which district you want to go and it will drop you to that district's station) could work in Negav. So I guess something like that could be done with the wall rail, except you could also use it to go to districts in the middle and high tier.

Another reason for using a bus in my story was for a transport to the warp gate behind Negav. I could have used the Felarya Express, but I viewed it as a mean to go from Felarya to another world, and not to another city in Felarya, which is what I wrote.

Jætte_Troll wrote:

Hrm... I'm not sure a bus would work in the busy, crowded streets of Negav. Maybe rickshaw's run by golems? A magical, literal horseless carriage? Perhaps some sort of subway system?

There is no problem with bus as it exist bus of different size, it allows to ease the traffic as it can convoys more people which reduce greatly the need of private vehicle and are cheaper than the example you suggest. I never say they cannot exist but they work more as taxi than public transport. The subway case I am more skeptical as the size of the city is too small to host this kind of public transportation, as I can see underground train or wagon to convey goods to deliver the different factories of the lower tier, but I favor more the idea of the air cabs than it to convey people.

To move from a tier to another one elevators can be a suggestions, they are easier to control and avoid any unallowed guest to acces to the higher tier.

The bus I used was a large one. Or at least I imply that it's a large one.

well i love your elven pantheon idea

Thanks. I had the idea before but I think it needed work.

Griffons

Griffons are a large animal, having the appearance of having the front half of a mighty bird of prey and the back of a ferocious feline predator. Despite their fierce appearance, they are very intelligent animals and easily trained as mounts. Griffons are not native to Felarya and were only first seen there when imported by the Sagolian Emperors during the peak of Ur-Sagol. Griffon riding and racing became popular sports among the nobility. In fact, the emblem of the Royalty of Ur-Sagol was changed to feature a Griffon and the animal become inexorably tied to the Emperors. Battlemages on Griffins were organized to terrorize enemies of Ur-Sagol, both within and without. Today, with Ur-Sagol having fallen, there are very few of these Sagolian Griffins left. Only a small population lives in and around the ruins of Ur-Sagol. They are highly sought by hunters, seeking to make a profit off of these living relics, but Griffons are usually too smart to be discovered, let alone captured. They make their nests in only the highly areas of the ruins, inaccessible to most.

Negav - Middle Tier - The Grand Negavian Bank

The Grand Negavian Bank is one of the largest single buildings in the Middle Tier, located a short distance from the Shopping District. It's pillared front looms over the smaller Square of Commerce and its huge door take twenty servants to open every morning. The Bank is designed less like an economic centre and more like a Temple to the Gods of Money. All the offices and rooms look into the massive, imposing, mural-decorated Central Hall. Due to the fact that Negavians are distrustful of non-corporal currency, the Bank has an extensive system of Vaults laying below it for holding of various currencies. The size of these Vaults increases the further one goes down. The top levels have endless winding corridors filled with lock-boxes. The lowest levels have whole rooms packed with the wealth of extensively rich Negavians. The founder and owner of the bank, Agabos Zindaré, is a retired Magiocrat who knows full-well what a tempting target his edifice makes. The Security System is extensive, if not excessive. The guards are all inus from a single tribe that Agabos rescued in the jungle in his youth. They are unshakably loyal and entirely incorruptible, both to the Bank and, due to their tribal link, to each other. It's whispered that they would rather see their family tortured than reveal the secrets of the bank - and that their family would do the same. Their survival experience also serves them well, often allowing them to literally sniff out intruders. Even if one is not foiled by these daunting Guardians, lower bank levels are literally riddled in a mind boggling array of magical wards, detectors and traps, some seeming rather more brutal than necessary. The lowest levels are also intentionally made maze-like to further confound intruders. It's even said that the passages change shape and direction every day.

Ah, that's putting the Griffins to good use. I had no ideas for them, no good ones I mean.

gt500x wrote:

Ah, that's putting the Griffins to good use. I had no ideas for them, no good ones I mean.

Thanks. It was more just a short entry to fit them into the grander scheme and explain something.

I remember trying to bring in griffin two years ago and I got shanked by Casey.

I kinda like the bank and its excessive security.