Felarya
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.

Felarya

Felarya forum
 
HomeSearchLatest imagesRegisterLog in

 

 If you could change something

Go down 
+12
Sigurd
Ilceren
Darth_Nergal
jedi-explorer
Stabs
DarkOne
gwadahunter2222
ravaging vixen
Nyaha
parameciumkid
Shady Knight
Karbo
16 posters
Go to page : 1, 2, 3, 4  Next
AuthorMessage
Karbo
Evil admin
Evil admin
Karbo


Posts : 3812
Join date : 2007-12-08

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeSun Mar 09, 2014 6:07 am

Well imagine if you could come back in time and change one thing, fundamental or not, in Felarya as an universe. Something that always bothered you or that you think would work better otherwise. What would that thing be ? :3

Please let's keep the discussion calm, civil and constructive and don't use it to troll..  Also don't expect the things to necessarily change, it's more of a theoretical question ^^
Back to top Go down
http://karbo.deviantart.com/
Shady Knight
Lord of the Elements
Shady Knight


Posts : 4580
Join date : 2008-01-20
Age : 34

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeSun Mar 09, 2014 8:08 am

You brought it up before in the past, but personally, I would have changed the whole immortality granted from the soil to just increased longevity thanks to the soil making everyone super healthy. Something about basically being unable to die from old age in a safe environment like Negav brings up some issues, the most obvious being people that witnessed and survived the Great Destruction, and are still alive to this day, having made a family that is expanding to this day. I am aware there have been arguments that even in Negav people die from accidents and criminals, and those would definitely happen in the underground or the Cremona Maze, but excluding those places, things like that don't happen in a daily basis, and so you can get something like someone's great-great-great-great-great grandfather still being alive, along with all the other grandfathers and relatives, which needless to say, can get a little crazy.
Back to top Go down
http://shady-knight.deviantart.com/
parameciumkid
Hero
Hero
parameciumkid


Posts : 1201
Join date : 2011-11-21
Location : SPAAAAAACE

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeSun Mar 09, 2014 8:16 am

I probably would have had a better idea some other time, but because I saw The Desolation of Smaug recently I think maybe Felarya could use a few dragons after all. We have sphinxes, yes, and I think there's some kind of dragon girl, but not EVERY intelligent predator needs to be a taur.
Felaryan dragons of course have to be extra-big and extra-terrifying so as to maintain their proper place in the food chain.

Actually, edit: If I had made up Felarya I would have made it round and an actual planet somewhere, although perhaps inside a maaagical nebula that does what the Felaryan sky does with the whole sun portal thing. With the vast size of the universe and the nebula blocking the view, it would be virtually impossible to find by conventional means, so portals would remain the principle means of travel in and out, and through these Felarya could still be a hub between disparate civilizations scattered far away from one another in space.
Back to top Go down
http://helia.net63.net
Shady Knight
Lord of the Elements
Shady Knight


Posts : 4580
Join date : 2008-01-20
Age : 34

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeSun Mar 09, 2014 8:23 am

Oh, there are dragons. Some are weirder than others and are listed because of that, but there would be classical dragons. It's easy to forget, but Felarya is supposed to be comprised of all sorts of creatures from different universes, so it wouldn't be out of place to run into something like a tiger or both eastern and western dragons. The way I interpret the wiki's fauna and flora section is that it lists species that seem native to Felarya or at least are extremely prominent. Since typical animals and classic creatures a well known to everyone, there's no point in listing them. That said, I would have made a mention in a the main fauna page that listed down are native Felaryan species or something and brought attention that typical animals are indeed present in the weird ecosystem.
Back to top Go down
http://shady-knight.deviantart.com/
Nyaha
Eternal Optimist
Eternal Optimist
Nyaha


Posts : 3845
Join date : 2007-12-09
Age : 31
Location : Canada. ^.^ Goooooo Snow!

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeSun Mar 09, 2014 8:59 am

Personally, I always get upset whenever I read about species in Felarya that were eaten to extinction. But at the same time, I kind of get it - humans have done the same thing, after all, on our own world. So as much as I'd like to have things like that not happen, maybe that's not what I'd change, if only because it's kind of organic to the setting...


To be honest, I love Felarya a lot the way it is. I know of the problems that other people have pointed out and I agree with some of them, like the guardians simply being a tool to maintain status quo, but I never really noticed anything I didn't like on my own.
Back to top Go down
http://tanoshiiatsu.deviantart.com/
ravaging vixen
Moderator
Moderator
ravaging vixen


Posts : 504
Join date : 2010-02-07
Age : 32
Location : Rocky mountains

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeSun Mar 09, 2014 9:30 am

Shady Knight wrote:
You brought it up before in the past, but personally, I would have changed the whole immortality granted from the soil to just increased longevity thanks to the soil making everyone super healthy. Something about basically being unable to die from old age in a safe environment like Negav brings up some issues, the most obvious being people that witnessed and survived the Great Destruction, and are still alive to this day, having made a family that is expanding to this day. I am aware there have been arguments that even in Negav people die from accidents and criminals, and those would definitely happen in the underground or the Cremona Maze, but excluding those places, things like that don't happen in a daily basis, and so you can get something like someone's great-great-great-great-great grandfather still being alive, along with all the other grandfathers and relatives, which needless to say, can get a little crazy.

That is something I've been wondering with for a long time, I wasn't aware it made you totally immortal, that's something i would have changed along the lines of what Shady said. It Just seems to me that living forever is a problem for safe places. I was thinking Humans should be living for some to half a century to a full millennium and that other races longevity would be growing from relativity to where they came from (ex. Neko's could live longer [Or shorter] than humans. Elf's are intended to live for several Millennial, and vampires still have indefinite immortality) That's how you can make up "grandfather" stories and more elusiveness and mystery to the past of Felarya. While at the same time, that's what would have been keeping it interesting to the current generation.

The only Other things i would have liked to change was probably the vastness of what type of civilizations should be seeing. If The main continent (known Felarya) is as big as you say it is, bigger than america, Then I should be seeing all sorts of pockets of different kind of civilizations. Because right now, i'm seeing a lot of fantasy esque (which it's very well intended to be like that.) in a lot of villages and towns that are spread when in reality, people of all types of civilizations with their own technology should be somewhat present and sort of a "every once in awhile thing" occurrence. Saying that, I should be seeing towns that focus on modern or better than modern technology, steampunk, around spirits and medallions. That's probably something i would have focused on if i were at the communities's  inception. But I guess this can still apply today with creative thinking, I dunno Razz

But like nyaha said, I like a lot of the way it currently is now.


Last edited by ravaging vixens on Sun Mar 09, 2014 9:12 pm; edited 2 times in total
Back to top Go down
gwadahunter2222
Master cartographer
Master cartographer
gwadahunter2222


Posts : 1842
Join date : 2007-12-08
Age : 40

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeSun Mar 09, 2014 11:59 am

I agree about the word immortality can be misleading contrary to extended longevity or maintain to your prime, explaining the consequences positive and negative can show the limit of the process.

Living longer can have some drawbacks like a low birth rate it's not like people become sterile but just they don't see the need to have many children. In addition of being in a prime youth longer increased risky behavior and quest for new experience to avoid a monotonous and boring life. The fact some civilization are eaten to the last on can be a consequence of the healing soil, after all keeping people healthy and young for an extended time make they are eternal fresh meal for the local predator. The longer a living body are exposed to the magical radiation, it can grow more vulnerable Predator sense after more than a century for a human his longevity is no longer biological but more magical. Showing Felarya healing soil can be double-edge need to be expanded after all many medical solutions can both save you or kill you.
Back to top Go down
http://gwadahunter2222.deviantart.com/
Shady Knight
Lord of the Elements
Shady Knight


Posts : 4580
Join date : 2008-01-20
Age : 34

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeSun Mar 09, 2014 12:21 pm

Well, the wiki outright states that you won't age, apparently past a certain point, and you don't suffer from the effects of age. If I could change how the soil works, it would go something like this. I ripped it from the Felaryan Ground page in the wiki.

"Felarya is known across many dimensions not only for its strange dimensional particularities, but also for its legendary treasures, especially its greatest treasure of all: its soil.

The ground of Felarya is a wonder that revitalizes living beings through simple contact. Any non-lethal wound you sustain will completely heal in just a matter of weeks or days! Moreover it greatly strengthen one's resistance to diseases and it becomes very difficult to fall ill under normal circumstances. A common misconception is that Felarya's soil cures all disease on contact, when in actuality, it merely helped the body recover naturally much faster. Creatures who have spent a long time on Felarya or were born there tend to grow taller than their off world counterparts.

However, while the soil can help guard against some types of harmful things, there are things it cannot protect against. Among these are parasitic and fungal infections, poisons, venom, curses, hexes, and morning breath. Rumors of drawbacks to some of the beneficial effects circulate as well. For some reason, the Felaryan soil prevents the use of any form of necromancy. Interestingly, the soil of Felarya will lose 80% of its regenerative ability when outside of Felarya, no longer granting immortality. Fragments of the soil are still powerful healing ingredients though, keeping their healing properties for years or even decades depending how long they were in contact with the rest of the soil.

The water in Felarya is magical as well, as flowing rivers dissolve a lot of minerals from their beds, which means that their waters contain a significant amount of magical soil. Thus the water possesses a similar, though weaker, healing effect. An interesting implication is that it means humanoids drinking water in Felarya become, in a sense, magical as well. The consequences of this are unknown, but it's safe to assume it makes such creatures are more magically potent and have an increased lifespan. Even people who do not extensively practice magic live much longer on average than on other worlds and rumors say some of the longest living humanoid beings in Felarya have bones that are made entirely of magical elements. A common theory is that the Sagolians became a society of magic users because they lived for a long time on the banks of the Shard river and Jadong lake, which are both heavily magical."
Back to top Go down
http://shady-knight.deviantart.com/
DarkOne
Survivor
Survivor
DarkOne


Posts : 967
Join date : 2012-04-27
Age : 39
Location : Smart predators don't reveal their positions

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeSun Mar 09, 2014 12:55 pm

If I could change anything, I would have encouraged writers to put less emphasis on characters dropping in from other worlds.

I know they make writing the setting more easy since they can easily be prey (or be used by the author to explain things to the reader from this new person's experaices) but more often than not, these complete strangers hog the spotlight away from the characters who actually live in Felarya.

Personally I find the idea that characters who have no history with the setting gets more attention than the people who are actually do have the history sort of heartbreaking. And it simply reenforces bad story practices, In many stories I've seen, the complete strangers are the heroes, the predators (either canonical or orginal) are quickly reduced to comical sidekick/sexual object and the local humans are just there to make the stranger to look good (either by saving the helpless populance...or mowing down faceless evil soilders)

And it doesn't matter if the stranger only has been in Felarya for a few days and doesn't understand the world's historical context, only his opinons on issues are the ones that matter, and he's almost always right (as far as the story is concerned)

To me, it sorta insults the setting as a whole.

As far as I am concerned, a Felarya story should center most it's attention on either a predator race, or one of the local prey races that are actually involved in the ongoings of the world. I am not saying there can't be an story about an outsider's view of the world, and it can be done very well in the right hands, but I think it should at least be kept at arm's length and not allowed to over shadow the setting we all came for.
Back to top Go down
Stabs
Moderator
Moderator
Stabs


Posts : 1875
Join date : 2009-10-15
Age : 34
Location : The Coil, Miragia

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeSun Mar 09, 2014 2:26 pm

Same way I've always been: making it more dangerous, handicapping "intruders" some more, creating more hooks for people to end up stranded in Felarya, trying to add both to the mystery and the sense of reward for those that stay, and maybe teaching science to people while I'm at it.

But if I had been at the start, I think I would've suggested some more hybrids that are clearly extremely capable with violence and obviously not naturally evolved. Maybe I would've had it so some preds had the ability to invade other worlds for dessert, or are somehow responsible for the dimensional disturbances. I might've wanted to make those girls crazier or meaner, too, though I know that wouldn't have taken well. And I would've wanted to throw in some more attention to worlds outside 'larya.

Then there's the whole currency thing, the gold, the diamonds, the stuff that makes still no real sense to me... I would've avoided that, or made it so that it was sacked out of some other less fortunate worlds by some jerkoff at some point. All the more reason for other worlds to send people in. Anything to make it so that other worlds can't keep their mitts off the forest.
Back to top Go down
jedi-explorer
Felarya cartographer
Felarya cartographer
jedi-explorer


Posts : 1474
Join date : 2011-12-06
Age : 36
Location : Fantasy Land ^_^

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeSun Mar 09, 2014 7:29 pm

Okay first I'm going to put what I'd change and you all may look at me crazy like, buuuuut...Akaptor Desert. Honestly I can't get a foothold there. On one hand I like the idea of people getting warped into the past by the sand....but on the other it makes it hard to put anybody there, but stilt walkers and predator's born there and immune to the effects of it. Or to just put random rock "islands" so characters can stand and fight, no pun intended, but honestly it's just too much over thinking copared to areas with special conditions. I can more easily write a story about Miragia Forest than Akaptor Desert. ^_^; Hmm otherwise I rather like it there. Good setting, unique and it's a thrill to RP or write there. It feels as close as you can get to a "happy" death world.

Ravinging Vixens wrote:
The only Other things i would have liked to change was probably the vastness of what type of civilizations should be seeing. If The main continent (known Felarya) is as big as you say it is, bigger than america, Then I should be seeing all sorts of pockets of different kind of civilizations.

I agree. I would like to see more small cities, bases and other settlements listed on the map. Not all clustered mind but at least in as RV says here small pockets all over the place. They don't have to be Negav or Torin level cities, though there is plenty of a room, but small ones like Safe Harbor or even smaller areas would be nice.

DarkOne wrote:
If I could change anything, I would have encouraged writers to put less emphasis on characters dropping in from other worlds.

I know they make writing the setting more easy since they can easily be prey (or be used by the author to explain things to the reader from this new person's experiences) but more often than not, these complete strangers hog the spotlight away from the characters who actually live in Felarya.

This I don't agree with. I mean I kinda see that you don't like millions of random OCs being more the focus than Delurans,Vishmitals, People of the Bowl and such but didn't some of all the races/cultures in Felarya begin as simular concepts? Just a character dropped in here a civilization displaced there. It makes good sense to me. I will admit people tend to not write enough about natives, but to be fair I think they're all hopping to make you fall in love with their characters and not somebody elses. Me personaly I have a character from every faction, culture and race in the wiki as well as some that aren't there but are a part of a Felarya none-the-less. Just haven't gotten published as a world/race yet.
Back to top Go down
Darth_Nergal
Hero
Hero
Darth_Nergal


Posts : 1175
Join date : 2012-06-05
Age : 32
Location : Someplace north Tonorian Hive, south of the Chordoni Waterfall, east of the Kuwuni bridge, and west of the Lataran Temple

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeSun Mar 09, 2014 9:33 pm

If I could change one thing it would be the destruction of Mathreemi. The Tinies have it hard enough as it is, what with being on the bottom of the food range. Plus they're so tiny that I'm pretty sure giant preds can't see or sense them, meaning they probably get squished sometimes. *shivers* Wonder how many tiny settlements have been crushed under the tails of giant nagas.
Back to top Go down
http://www.sithlordnergal.deviantart.com
Shady Knight
Lord of the Elements
Shady Knight


Posts : 4580
Join date : 2008-01-20
Age : 34

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeMon Mar 10, 2014 6:14 am

I think what DarkOne is trying to get at is to make it clear that humans do not crawl out of the woodwork in the jungle.  Pretty much everyone and their mother believe that humans and such are deposited by the millions where the millions of giant whatever can have a feast of wriggling humans all the time.  The whole idea of outsiders ending up in Felarya really boils down to two kind of people, people who came of their own will, usually adventurers who heard rumors of great treasure, or people along the lines of having contact Negavian trades, thus could move to the city if they wanted to.  These are the most common.  The other kind of people are those who found themselves stranded against their will.  These are nowhere as common.

Even in the case of the former, people still make the mistake of having the adventurers trudge through the jungle, on their lonesome, with only their shoes on, like it's a picnic trip.  I've even seen native Felaryan do that on multiple occasions (looking at you, Aisu)  That doesn't make a lick of sense.  If you want to have comedic picture, sure, but otherwise, show some common sense, show that the guys outfitted themselves and formed a party.  Their equipment may not be adequate for Felarya, but even in a real jungle on Earth you would make preparations before venturing there.  Show that these people made such preparations!

As far as more settlements beyond just Negav and such, keep in mind that those settlements will be much smaller and won't have adequate protection against the giant beasties, thus their best bet is to hide themselves.  That's the whole reason why they're not on the map and not well known, cause they're hidden.  It wouldn't make sense to expose yourself to all those dangers if you didn't have a way to deal against them.
Back to top Go down
http://shady-knight.deviantart.com/
DarkOne
Survivor
Survivor
DarkOne


Posts : 967
Join date : 2012-04-27
Age : 39
Location : Smart predators don't reveal their positions

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeMon Mar 10, 2014 10:36 am

Shady Knight wrote:
I think what DarkOne is trying to get at is to make it clear that humans do not crawl out of the woodwork in the jungle.  Pretty much everyone and their mother believe that humans and such are deposited by the millions where the millions of giant whatever can have a feast of wriggling humans all the time.  The whole idea of outsiders ending up in Felarya really boils down to two kind of people, people who came of their own will, usually adventurers who heard rumors of great treasure, or people along the lines of having contact Negavian trades, thus could move to the city if they wanted to.  These are the most common.  The other kind of people are those who found themselves stranded against their will.  These are nowhere as common.

Exactly, but ultimately it really depends on the kind of story you are going for. This sort of thing is fine if your writing a 'Alice In Wonderland' kind of story about someone mysteriously turning up in this completely alien world that he can not possibly relate to, and the world can't relate to him, because the likes of him doesn't just drop in everyday.

But it certainly doesn't work in a anti-predator strories where the main character who is going about Felarya giving predators the "Humans are people!" Speech, this guy doesn't even know where he is, he doesn't really know the locals that he claims to be repersent nor is he ever seen interacting with them other than the bandits and soilders that he mows down with little hesitation. It just makes it look like the character is only making the arguement just to save himself....which I don't think is the most sympathetic way of portraying this kind of story and makes the story's message weak and timid.

See what I mean? Not saying outsider adventurers can't work, but they need to to be reserved for storylines that actaully require the extremely unlikely event of someone just dropping in. They shoulden't be thrown in willy-nilly


Last edited by DarkOne on Mon Mar 10, 2014 11:16 am; edited 1 time in total
Back to top Go down
Shady Knight
Lord of the Elements
Shady Knight


Posts : 4580
Join date : 2008-01-20
Age : 34

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeMon Mar 10, 2014 11:01 am

When you boil it down, that's just people being shitty writers. Still, there should be a better effort to hammer it down that humans, demi humans, and the sapient giant predators rarely encounter each other. In fact, that lack of human contact is supposed to be the reason why they tend to think they're very rare preys, and maybe why certain predators go out of their way to get them. It won't stop people from writing shitty stories, but at least those who actually make the effort to do the research and actually try to write quality narrative will be better informed.
Back to top Go down
http://shady-knight.deviantart.com/
ravaging vixen
Moderator
Moderator
ravaging vixen


Posts : 504
Join date : 2010-02-07
Age : 32
Location : Rocky mountains

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeMon Mar 10, 2014 4:03 pm

Shady knight wrote:
When you boil it down, that's just people being shitty writers. Still, there should be a better effort to hammer it down that humans, demi humans, and the sapient giant predators rarely encounter each other. In fact, that lack of human contact is supposed to be the reason why they tend to think they're very rare preys, and maybe why certain predators go out of their way to get them. It won't stop people from writing shitty stories, but at least those who actually make the effort to do the research and actually try to write quality narrative will be better informed.

Maybe you should elaborate this more on a different thread >.> . I wouldn't mind using someone else's opinion on having a guideline for becoming a better writer for felarya stories when it comes to character and setting interaction. Also, the other fact that this has more to do with how people would and should be writing more then fundamentally and hypothetically changing something. Lol "stay on target"  Razz .
Back to top Go down
Shady Knight
Lord of the Elements
Shady Knight


Posts : 4580
Join date : 2008-01-20
Age : 34

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeMon Mar 10, 2014 4:22 pm

I was planning on making a thread that just explains how I personally view Felarya, cause lord knows I can't keep things to myself.  I was mostly pointing out that the cliché of human outsiders crawling out of the woodwork and a handful of them being your typical Mary Sue is fundamentally bad writing rather than bad world building.  But back on target, there really isn't much I'd really want to change besides how the soil works.  There are many things I would change in the wiki if I could, like get rid of races I think nobody uses and are just gathering dust, but that's not exactly a change to the setting, so I don't count it.
Back to top Go down
http://shady-knight.deviantart.com/
parameciumkid
Hero
Hero
parameciumkid


Posts : 1201
Join date : 2011-11-21
Location : SPAAAAAACE

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeTue Mar 11, 2014 1:48 am

I personally view Felarya as the fantasy world that eats Mary Sues... often literally. It's so full of a mixture of other Mary Sues, overpowered predators, and unstoppable forces of Nature that characters who would classify as a Sue anywhere else are hardly more than redshirts.
Back to top Go down
http://helia.net63.net
jedi-explorer
Felarya cartographer
Felarya cartographer
jedi-explorer


Posts : 1474
Join date : 2011-12-06
Age : 36
Location : Fantasy Land ^_^

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeTue Mar 11, 2014 8:51 pm

parameciumkid wrote:
I personally view Felarya as the fantasy world that eats Mary Sues... often literally. It's so full of a mixture of other Mary Sues, overpowered predators, and unstoppable forces of Nature that characters who would classify as a Sue anywhere else are hardly more than redshirts.

I laughed so hard inside when I read this. Okay something this reminds me of people seem to take for granted: Felarya is one of the few places I can think of where one can be all powerful one second and then lunch the next. It's also one of the few places where undere powered red shirts survive allot more than usual. French Snack once told me that Isham was a red shirt. He really didn't know he was going to keep him alive. I had the seem feelings with Tamlin when I made her up. She was 100% killable, but somehow she managed to not only survive ,against all odds, but if became infamous for doing it over and over again! XD Alas she's only my own fanon I know but I still like to use her as an example.
Back to top Go down
DarkOne
Survivor
Survivor
DarkOne


Posts : 967
Join date : 2012-04-27
Age : 39
Location : Smart predators don't reveal their positions

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeWed Mar 12, 2014 8:32 am

Well as far as the overpowered thing goes it really depends if the author has put any thought into what their story is even surposed to be about, because that can make the differance between making a superpower a necessity or a crutch.

Ideally, if you're character has a trait, then the plot should actually explore it. Where did the character get this ablity? Does a character's superpower cause more problems than it solves? Is it something a heroes needs to have restraint with? Could it be something that could prevent others from getting close to him? Is it something that he could potentiality lose control of if he uses it too much? These are very classic ideas and they worked in well known stories because it created drama and conflict in a natural and fluid way. That's when a overpowered character is a neccessity

It becomes a cructh when it's obvious that the character only has powers because the author coulden't be arsed to think a better way for his characters to solve their conflicts.

It's up to the author to think about what the story is actually about and if it actaully requires a very powerful character in the first place. Don't just drop them in just because you think it's the only way for someone to survive against Felarya gaints (You want to make it a fight for survival, not a magical version of a dick measuring contest)

Shady Knight wrote:
Personally, I would have changed the whole immortality granted from the soil to just increased longevity thanks to the soil making everyone super healthy.  Something about basically being unable to die from old age in a safe environment like Negav brings up some issues, the most obvious being people that witnessed and survived the Great Destruction, and are still alive to this day, having made a family that is expanding to this day.

Yeah this seems to be an issue for me, personally I am more concerned how the Magiocrats deal with this. The Magiocrats are the most well defended people in Negav, so surely the chances of one of them dropping dead can only happen once a blue moon or something.

Now put that up against the amount of potential Magiocrats being produced out of the university of magic. Now not all mages can become as powerful as Magiocrats, but even if there's only three emerging every decade or so, that means after fifty years there will be fifteen new mages who have all the skills to become Magiocrats and lead the city....but can't because there's no demand for them because the previous generations haven't drop dead yet, so they get stuck in juniour jobs serving the older Magiocrats, wondering when the heck they are going to get a go at running the place. And the group of frustrated 'Juniors' only gets bigger and bigger with every passing decade.

There must be a crazed stampede when one of the older generation finally does die.

"I should be on the council! I've waited fifty years!"

"Get in line kid! I've waited for one hundred and twenty nine years!"

"Well I've waited for two hundred years, so I think I get should the placement."


Last edited by DarkOne on Wed Mar 12, 2014 10:20 am; edited 1 time in total
Back to top Go down
Ilceren
Moderator
Moderator
Ilceren


Posts : 677
Join date : 2012-05-10
Age : 33
Location : Spain

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeWed Mar 12, 2014 9:32 am

I had a problem with Felarya long ago, and it was that I couldn't really conceive how did Motamo river and the Myriad river branch off and flow opposite ways. I have investigated since and found out it happens in nature too, and after thinking about it, it does make sense if certain conditions meet.

However, I have found another flaw with the two rivers' flows. The Myriad river has a short flow into some kind of a delta, normally meaning that the river doesn't have much inclination before it meets the sea. On the other hand, if we follow the other branch, Motamo river, we find ourselves with a cliff the river goes down in a waterfall. Besides, it's not the sea it falls to, but another piece of land that goes along for a while before the river finally meets the sea. I therefore find the two flows contradictory, since a river cannot flow upwards against gravity (unless Felaryan magical waters enable it to, I guess), and so can't gain enough height to fall down a cliff later. The description of the Myriad river doesn't make it seem like a piece of land with a significant inclination to compensate, either, so if I could go back to the Felaryan first days, that's what I would change.


Personally, I don't find the immortality of the soil an issue, though I wouldn't oppose if it was changed to an increase of lifespan of several thousand years, either. I would support, however, the idea of it not making you automatically immune to diseases. I would vow for a system that, the more time you spend in contact with the soil, and the more minerals you take into your body due to the water, the less likely you are to fall ill. After all, it makes sense that a person who has been living in Felarya for hundreds of years and has plenty of magical minerals in their bodies and bones is more resistant to illness than a newcomer who has just stepped onto the soil an hour ago and has had its first drop of water right now.

As for childbirth, I've always thought that immortality/extended longevity doesn't affect the fact that human females would find themselves menopausal after reaching the fifty/sixty-year-old mark, giving humans a natural birthrate control in Felarya. From what I've read, dogs and cats don't reach such a state, so maybe Nekos, Inus and Kitsunes wouldn't suffer from menopause and therefore be able to produce offspring throughout their extended lives. In any case, I think that population control is an issue the government of Negav has to deal with if they don't want their city to overflow with excessive population. Birth control laws such as "only one child per married couple", Chinese style, would help quite a bit, in my opinion. Maybe two children in the Higher Tier only to avoid House merging and eventual unification under a single House.


As for bad and good writing habits such as those mentioned, I don't feel this is the right thread to discuss them, honestly. Still, I agree with most of what has been said.


Last edited by Ilceren on Thu Mar 13, 2014 6:43 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : Meh, typo.)
Back to top Go down
jedi-explorer
Felarya cartographer
Felarya cartographer
jedi-explorer


Posts : 1474
Join date : 2011-12-06
Age : 36
Location : Fantasy Land ^_^

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeWed Mar 12, 2014 3:30 pm

DarkOne wrote:
Well as far as the overpowered thing goes it really depends if the author has put any thought into what their story is
Shady Knight wrote:
Personally, I would have changed the whole immortality granted from the soil to just increased longevity thanks to the soil making everyone super healthy.  Something about basically being unable to die from old age in a safe environment like Negav brings up some issues, the most obvious being people that witnessed and survived the Great Destruction, and are still alive to this day, having made a family that is expanding to this day.

Yeah this seems to be an issue for me, personally I am more concerned how the Magiocrats deal with this. The Magiocrats are the most well defended people in Negav, so surely the chances of one of them dropping dead can only happen once a blue moon or something.

Now put that up against the amount of potential Magiocrats being produced out of the university of magic. Now not all mages can become as powerful as Magiocrats, but even if there's only three emerging every decade or so, that means after fifty years there will be fifteen new mages who have all the skills to become Magiocrats and lead the city....but can't because there's no demand for them because the previous generations haven't drop dead yet, so they get stuck in juniour jobs serving the older Magiocrats, wondering when the heck they are going to get a go at running the place. And the group of frustrated 'Juniors' only gets bigger and bigger with every passing decade.

There must be a crazed stampede when one of the older generation finally does die.

"I should be on the council! I've waited fifty years!"

"Get in line kid! I've waited for one hundred and twenty nine years!"

"Well I've waited for two hundred years, so I think I get should the placement."


Oh I think Terry Pratchett's solution with Wizards in the Unseen University can be applied. How did it go? "When a Wizard has gotten tired of checking for glass in his food he's gotten tired of living." XD If that don't work just hire an assassin! Seriously I'm sure Negav is crawling with them. o.o;

Dark One wrote:
It's up to the author to think about what the story is actually about and if it actaully requires a very powerful character in the first place.

Yeah this is pretty true. Not all OCs need awesome power to solve problems. It's the "normies" VS Jedi theory all over again. Most say that the Star Wars universe leaves normies in the dust and makes Jedi the heroes everytime. Have people forgoten that without Han and Leia Luke wouldn't have been able to blow up the Death Star? It was Han's Melinium Falcon who took him there in the first place, not mention hid him from inferior imperial scanners with it's awesome smuggling compartments, and Han even took out some Storm Troopers and managed to distract a huge patrol of them to help Luke and Leia NOT BE CAPTURED! XD People tend to forget that though when they remember how Han couldn't take out Vader cause he "caught" Han's blaster bolts. *Rolls eyes* So what?? He can't take out the big bad, that's Luke's job! I think some writers may forget about the team dynamic here. Your party is there for more reasons than to follow you around on the screen and make you look like a centipede. <.<;;

Also if one has complaint about OP characters I ask you to do a "Luffy". In One Piece Luffy's abilities never grow in power but rather are used more dynamically each time. Personally I think this is a better a dynamic for "power battles". Another one is Bleach and Naruto compared to DBZ. Yes both are famous for explosions and OP galore, but Bleach and Naruto both have used "dynamics" over sheer force when dealing with bad guys (and sometimes good guys) and often in Naruto the bad guys out class Luffy not in sheer power, but in how they can use it! Heck Crocodile nearly killed him just cause he couldn't be psychically taken out by Luffy in the way's he was used to...Not even with vore XD

The same can be applied to Felarya's "Naga VS Mage" concept. Don't just select Bahamut or Flare or Mega Doom Spellaga, but think of how you can defeat your foe while minimizing the retaliation factor. Another awesome idea? Use a native race that isn't stereotypical. Like Delurans always being so techy smart gizmo crazy, that's like always picking an Orc and make them a Barbarian or Warrior class. Boriiing. I mean it works but it's kinda cliche' and oh too easy. I once made up a Deluran sharp shooter named Wyatt Desperdo who I deliberately made less brain smarts than street smart. He was purely a marksman with some extra skill to make him more heroic and slightly over powered hand gun (not a cannon or machine gun, just a very explosively powerful pistol). In a encounter with with over confident predator I had him look up and chew on his little straw while she smiled and licked her lips stereotypically. He used about four explosive rounds, all of which she laughed at thinking her "bullet proof skin" would save her, then she looks up comically as the branch cracked loudly snapped hittiing her on the head hard enough to give her a concision and he ran away, not sticking around to see if it was super effective or not XD. Good example of not only using dynamic battle skills but also thinking outside the box and actually trying to use the environment against her. I won't say that'll work every time,or any time I may be breaking some rules of reality there but this is Felarya after all, but honestly it doesn't hurt to try something wild and unpredictable like that without relying heavily on super powers. Of course that does bring up an issue most don't think of cause they mostly make OCs with magical OP: Should you limit your OPed gear? Normally I'd say just give it a "one shot" rule like I do for any "ultimate" item in RPGs but in Felarya I don't think it's always a bad idea to have your OCs have one primary OP weapon and a secondary that's a little less Op but still can give your character an edge. Now I'm not talking magical swords, but more down-to-Terra stuff like that explosive bullet shooting pistol of Wyatt's or a average light-saber-look-alike. Just something awesome but believable or functional and versatile. Most people don't even both looking at the Vismitali as a weapon even though it's a fold-out-double-ended-spear!! Seriously cool and effective especially in groups!  Very Happy  But people tend to want a magical sword or cross bow than can shoot light magic and I'm not saying they're bad but high tech can be simple but effective and semi-believable.
Back to top Go down
Ilceren
Moderator
Moderator
Ilceren


Posts : 677
Join date : 2012-05-10
Age : 33
Location : Spain

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeWed Mar 12, 2014 6:33 pm

I'd like to remind you that high-tech in Felarya is limited to a few isolated groups, plus maybe random off-world adventurers. Negav focuses much more in magic, and as such, a magic sword is just as believable or more than a lightsaber-look-alike for a native Felaryan.
Back to top Go down
ravaging vixen
Moderator
Moderator
ravaging vixen


Posts : 504
Join date : 2010-02-07
Age : 32
Location : Rocky mountains

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeWed Mar 12, 2014 9:58 pm

Ilceren wrote:
I'd like to remind you that high-tech in Felarya is limited to a few isolated groups, plus maybe random off-world adventurers. Negav focuses much more in magic, and as such, a magic sword is just as believable or more than a lightsaber-look-alike for a native Felaryan.

If that is the entirely the case then that's one other thing that i would like a change to see in Felarya. I was talking with Stabs about an idea for people coming from on higher tech worlds with the same feeling as being desperate as you would in the jungle while still having the adventure filled in, just geared more so (but not by huge out of whack imaginative proportions) for them. So as you know people look for "magical" Artifacts as something of treasure. I believe high tech constructs or inventions from more "techie" worlds could be treated with the same kind of mentality. So basically what i'm saying is that Felarya in my opinion should have balance between high-fantasy and expandable science fiction while retaining the open worldness, adventure, and the vore aspect the same. A few sci-fi examples would be derelict stations that would constantly stay up in mid-air in while big enough to explore or find things lurking in there like maybe a predator from such a world like that themselves. Underground subterran cities that are for some unknown reason still lit up by electricity (or what ever fictional equivalent people come up with) meanwhile all the denizens that used to populate it have vanished but left interesting items of culture behind. (a technological contrast of Ur-sagol if you will) along those concepts. Your compare and contrast in your quote Icle made me think that writers (including Karbo) could be taking advantage of that to flesh out the world on both ends of the spectrum while still keeping it's feel as Felarya. Kind of on the lines of what Jedi was suggesting.
Back to top Go down
Shady Knight
Lord of the Elements
Shady Knight


Posts : 4580
Join date : 2008-01-20
Age : 34

If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitimeThu Mar 13, 2014 6:13 am

You know, this thread pretty much highlights every problem that arises when you make a setting as you go along, rather than have an idea that's set in stone from the get go.  A lot of the changes people here would like to do are great, but let's be honest, it's impossible to realize them all without disappointing others.  Vixen wants a Star Wars feel, others want a more traditional fantasy feel.  One thing that seems to be at the source of it all is the whole interdimensional aspect.  Sure, it opens up a lot of possibilities, but at the same time, it makes it harder to establish boundaries, cause once you use the multiverse card, anything, and I mean literally anything is possible, so technically, all those Mary Sues that can punch out giants by themselves with their bare hands like it's routine, or having a full-scale invasion of assholes in giant super robots are legit cause of the whole multiverse deal.  Really, I wish there was a more clear cut definition of what the setting is about, how clear is the ratio of magic vs. super science in the setting as a whole, and all of that jazz. I always get the feeling the place is trying to appeal to everyone, but just ends up shooting itself in the foot as a result.
Back to top Go down
http://shady-knight.deviantart.com/
Sponsored content





If you could change something Empty
PostSubject: Re: If you could change something   If you could change something Icon_minitime

Back to top Go down
 
If you could change something
Back to top 
Page 1 of 4Go to page : 1, 2, 3, 4  Next
 Similar topics
-
» Can a leopard change its spots?
» Soroxas2's OC: Opdogstra the Slug Girl
» Change list
» Change to Golden Harpies...
» Suggestions for a Change to the disclaimer.

Permissions in this forum:You cannot reply to topics in this forum
Felarya :: General forums :: General discussion-
Jump to: