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Post by Alma on Jan 30, 2020 17:51:09 GMT -6
There is a general description of the labs and the world the character creation thread, and the radio reruns contain some information on the world beyond the labs. What I am curious about is how you view and write the setting. You can also talk about your character's home if they are not from the city, and how that place fits into the world as well. Feel free to give as much or as little information as you want. Below are some ideas in case you need somewhere to start. -Level of publicly available technology. -Level of publicly available magic. -Is there a time period/place/style you mostly associate with the city? -Is there a predominate style of clothing or fashion? -What general knowledge is available here? -Size of the city, and what is contained within it. Libraries? Cafes? Schools? Mage tower? Healers, temples, shops and tinkers that are not the main 'official' ones? -There originally was concern about the creatures over running their natural counterparts. Does this still hold true, or are people and creatures free to travel in and out of the labs? -Are the labs 'dead' in your setting, quiet and doing nothing much? Or are they as active as they used to be? -Building styles. Are certain areas uniform, or do the buildings tend to be a mishmash of different architecture? -General laws. The labs enforces only the law that you cannot kill another being, so what enforces the other common rules? And what are the rules? -Are there criminal groups in the setting? The job system mentions a few smaller criminal jobs but no larger ones. -Labs aside, who funds the city guards, the rangers, and the like? Is it an elected council, a general service paid for by the labs, or something else? -Population. An even mix, or is one group more prevalent? -How does it affect the labs that death is not permanent as long as you have the body and the funds? -Pit fighting, breeding, antigrowthing strong-willed sentients and all sorts of things. Are pets property, companions, or is it simply up to the owner? -How do the people feel about the nonchosen sentient beings being pets or changed, like the Kair and Dash-claw? -Are there common prejudices in the city, or are the inhabitants fairly open to all due to its open nature? -In general, are there nations near the city, or merely small towns? How faraway? -What does your character do for a job and where? How does it fit in to the setting? -Do you have any IC reasoning for OoC things? Such as why characters cannot hunt wild beasts and bring them back(beyond has no system OoC), or loyalty being a trait forced into customs, or even how customs are ordered and obtained? -Do you incorporate any of the limited information that was meant to be for v3/v4? -Does the majority of the population follow the main gods(light/dark/order/etc)? If so, how do they worship or practice their religion?
And for the world: -What's your general opinion of how populated the world is? How many nations, different levels of tech, and so on. And how much wilderness(land not built and settled upon)? -Do the nations interact with the labs in any meaningful way? -How many normal creatures are left? Are the lab beasts wonders or already commonplace outside it's walls?
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Post by Riku on Jan 30, 2020 19:52:00 GMT -6
This is how I play all of this, not saying it’s what I think is for sure.
-Level of publicly available technology. I play as it being similar to what we have now, though maybe more early 2,000’s. With the robots and stuff we have, it’s easy to assume we have digital tech, computer-registers at shops, etc. I don’t play as if cell-phones are common, though. However, that’s just sorta seen as a difference economical need or desire. As if people were fine the way it was before cellphones. I think cars exist, but aren’t too common. I imagine old fords and wooden carts, when they do exist.
-Level of publicly available magic. Magical items are common, however magic from nodes is still rare - but not unheard of. Creature magic is common.
-Is there a time period/place/style you mostly associate with the city? I think of stone paved walkways in the city, and (well-kept) dirt roads in the suburbs. Lots of grass and greenery. Wooden and stone buildings. Less asphalt and concrete - not because they aren’t capable, but because the city is older and prefers that style. Some newer buildings might have concrete walls, setting them apart. I imagine old street lanterns with fire instead of bulbs. Also for style and ‘convenience’, opting not to upgrade to lightbulbs for nostalgia. I guess you could say steampunk era - but with a lot of modern technology. They just haven’t moved past the steampunk style cuz why not?
-Is there a predominate style of clothing or fashion? I feel like there’s a mix between modern clothes and old fashioned 30’s-90’s. I imagine it all. Like what we would percieve to be from 40 years ago, would just be another current style to them. As if they all co-exist. However...I think more modern clothing of our past 30 years is common.
-What general knowledge is available here? I believe there is public education, and college is common if not public/free. I believe education is encouraged and common, especially in tech.
-Size of the city, and what is contained within it. Libraries? Cafes? Schools? Mage tower? Healers, temples, shops and tinkers that are not the main 'official' ones? I believe the city is larger than it was ten years ago and still growing. People continuously flock to it, even though some do leave (or go missing). It’s a growing economy with lots of wonder. I imagine an inner city bustling with shops and cafe’s, a library, schools, guilds, etc. And I imagine that there are the closer streets (Missa Ave, Calsten, etc) that have houses from original settlers - as well as more suburban areas now that are strictly houses and branch more into what used to be the forrest surrounding the labs. I think more shops have set up, just like in a regular city, as the population grows. As such, there are smaller shopping centers outside of “downtown”, in the middle of the suburbs. New small shops, services, healers, schools, etc. In fact, Riku runs his own Healing Center, but he chose to set it up closer to “the city”.
-There originally was concern about the creatures over running their natural counterparts. Does this still hold true, or are people and creatures free to travel in and out of the labs? I think a lot of creatures over the years may have escaped and become wild, like dogs you sadly see wandering the streets in our world. However, they would live sadder lives as they were not meant to be wild usually, and would either die off or be caught by animal control.
-Are the labs 'dead' in your setting, quiet and doing nothing much? Or are they as active as they used to be? I think the labs are justas active as they used to be, but more like Willy Wonka when his factory ran for several years without anyone going in or out except the delivery trucks. I see customs and crosses as being special ordered and delivered, without much if any interaction with the scientists. Like an impersonal automated system. However, I also roleplay that a lot of my breedings or customs or crosses were found naturally or adopted and not “sent for”.
-Building styles. Are certain areas uniform, or do the buildings tend to be a mishmash of different architecture? The buildings in the city mostly match a theme, but they intentionally have different colors or structure to set themselves apart. In the suburbs, there are housing areas that may copy/paste the same few house types over and over. Other areas that were custom housing for richer folks, and areas with more property that are more extravagant. The public buildings closer to the suburbs look more modern like the houses.
-General laws. The labs enforces only the law that you cannot kill another being, so what enforces the other common rules? And what are the rules? I see that as more people came, the city became much more like a city and less like a lab-monopoly. It started around them, but people became much less dependent on them the more they became secretive and closed their doors. Now there is a stronger economy of work with shops or in local factories and farms, as well as in schools or services, etc. As such, the people took it upon themselves to establish order and rules and have created their own policing that is public and not so much Police as we know it. In other words, if you see a crime, you speak up. Otherwise, you are held as accountable as well. Rules would be obvious things like not stealing or scamming. No fighting in public. No damaging someone else’s property. I imagine that there are pseudo rules against animal cruelty and especially sentient-cruelty - but those are more person to person, and punishment is not public. The pits and lots of training methods could easily be seen as abuse, and sentient cruelty is not recognized by a lot of people, so...unofficial.
-Are there criminal groups in the setting? The job system mentions a few smaller criminal jobs but no larger ones. Like any city, poverty and thievery happen. There may be punk kids who scam and steal, and there are definitely panhandlers and scammers in the city. In fact, my new character, Adam, is a traveling gypsy. Of course, all of this is frowned upon and reported often. And when I say “reported” I mean that there are usually designated leaders or tough people for each area who enforce the ‘laws’ with intimidation and force if necessary.
-Labs aside, who funds the city guards, the rangers, and the like? Is it an elected council, a general service paid for by the labs, or something else? It started as concerned parents and shop keepers who complained about the lack of safety and service the labs gave. Many of them had left their previous lives with the thought they would have better ones here. Many established people like Alura and other original members eventually made a sort of night-watch. This become more official and respected with time. It’s sort of volunteer, sort of elected. There are official leaders, but they sort of just stepped up and took responsibility and do a good enough job to not get replaced in some rebellion. Oh! Think of how the Mods exist right now. We didn’t elect them. They either were already mods or stepped up, and sorta naturally became how they are now and we obey - even though technically if they just piss us all off and do a horrible job we could overthrow them. -shrug- But why would we do that since they’re doing so well?
-Population. An even mix, or is one group more prevalent? I imagine humans are he most common. Humanish next. Then mammalian. Ssashirk. And as for physical gender, I imagine it equal. Sexuality I imagine being less of a straight/gay thing and more of a pansexual thing. Although, people definitely have types. Some may prefer the opposite gender of the same species - but they wouldn’t really think to call themselves homo-heterosexual (homo meaning same species, hetero meaning opposite gender). I believe that even though humans are the most common, that racism is less common than it used to be. Just like how in many areas in the world, homophobia is less common. Of course, confusion and fear of different species is still common among more privileged and arrogant families. And there are areas that are known to be more human or more mammalian neighborhoods. They just don’t mistreat other species - as assault is illegal.
-How does it affect the labs that death is not permanent as long as you have the body and the funds? It’s become a huge relief to many who moved there. Many come for that reason - however, many also come from places that already had that magic available. People still die from old age, and some die from accidents or murders and are never revived. There are insurance services where you pay in advance if you were to have died by accident...as for pets, it is very convenient. And as for draconic-bonded immortals who never age, it’s still not very common.
-Pit fighting, breeding, antigrowthing strong-willed sentients and all sorts of things. Are pets property, companions, or is it simply up to the owner? It’s up to the owner, officially, however many people are against it and some entire areas will absolutely not condone abuse in more serious ways. For many, a sentient is like a humanoid child. They are recognized as having a will and right - but their “owner” is like an authority figure who has the right to do discipline (or not) their “child” however they believe to be right. Of course, just like with a child, if that sentient creature causes damage, the owner is responsible.
-How do the people feel about the nonchosen sentient beings being pets or changed, like the Kair and Dash-claw? When they are mature for their species and wild then caught, it is highly frowned upon. The officials usually don’t intervene (yet?), but they often look the other way when efforts are made by normal people to free or help the sentients.
-Are there common prejudices in the city, or are the inhabitants fairly open to all due to its open nature? There are prejudices, but assault is illegal and each public area has leaders who ensure civility. Magic is frowned upon by some. Fighting creatures is frowned upon by many. Certain races are simply misunderstood. Etc. However, most of it goes silently or with subtle remarks or staring.
-In general, are there nations near the city, or merely small towns? How faraway? The labs is surrounded by miles of wilderness of different types. There are ‘nearby’ smaller towns and nations, but you’d have to travel a good 30+ miles to get there. For some it could mean an hour or two if they have proper transportation. For some it may mean a few days, if going by foot - which isn't common. More people come than go...
-What does your character do for a job and where? How does it fit in to the setting? Riku runs the Malii Mantra, which is a Healing and Meditation center using magical items, nodes, and his Malii’s magic. Of course, right now he doesn’t have any magic of his own. This is a public service, so he runs the facility and gets paid by the city to do so. As it grows in ability and popularity, he is given the funds to expand the building and get more of a salary. On the side, he currently teaches Academics on Tuesdays and Thursdays at a local high school.
-Do you have any IC reasoning for OoC things? Such as why characters cannot hunt wild beasts and bring them back(beyond has no system OoC), or loyalty being a trait forced into customs, or even how customs are ordered and obtained? In character, the beyond exists and is ‘running’. Riku just hasn’t gone yet. Loyalty is more of a roleplayed thing than a number thing for me, so I just write customs as being more naturally open to him. And most ooc orders are casually obtained ic. For instance, his amulet familiar was a gift in the mail from an old friend. His recent cross will be native to his home kingdom which no longer exists, and found near the border of the city. Breedings are seen as biologically done, as I play as if lab creatures are not all sterile.
-Do you incorporate any of the limited information that was meant to be for v3/v4? Idk what those would be
-Does the majority of the population follow the main gods(light/dark/order/etc)? If so, how do they worship or practice their religion? Religion is not very common. It’s seen as archaic - although relevant to an extent. Meaning that some people do pray or practice in some manner, but it’s not so common. Mostly everyone believes in the gods, especially since they have effects in certain areas like the mansion or altar, but unless they directly effect something, people don’t acknowledge them. God-orientation is more private, especially since many people don't care enough to ask/listen.
And for the world: -What's your general opinion of how populated the world is? How many nations, different levels of tech, and so on. And how much wilderness(land not built and settled upon)? The labs is pretty populated now. Still growing. The world is very populated, but still huge. There are many nations, but there is often a lot of wilderness between then as they grow. Most people seem to respect and even prefer the wild stay intact. They try to settle in areas that are more barren or without thick forestation. And some wildernesses won’t allow trespassers to stay. Enchanted forests and all. As for tech, some nations are poorer or less advanced. Some are huge but rely on less tech, like farming nations that trade with others nearby. Some are very advanced but highly exclusive. Riku is from Aulador, which was an incredibly advanced civilization that had mastered magic and tech to sustain a utopian society.....however, the kindgom was destroyed in an accident. And now even the remains don’t exist. (They used their tech and magic to move the entire kingdom to another reality where the disaster never happened. So we don't get to enjoy their spoils.)
-Do the nations interact with the labs in any meaningful way? There is trade, yes. Since the labs is highly suburban, there is less farming and more need for importing of such goods. We trade some tech and services, and we have factories that other nations pay us to use.
-How many normal creatures are left? Are the lab beasts wonders or already commonplace outside it's walls? Some lab creatures are still wonders, like the more rare or regulated Tatlung. Others have made their way to other nations, like highly sought after Malii or Orbaru. ‘Normal’ creatures are still the norm - but many of what they would call normal are NOT what we would. For instance, some of the stuff found in the wild.
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Post by Morgan on Jan 30, 2020 22:37:12 GMT -6
I'd like to note that even though Morgan is played by a mod; these are not the canon answers of course. c: Canon of HxR is really complex and vague, but these are the ideas in relation to 'playing Morgan' specifically.
-Level of publicly available technology. The setting states that technology is rare, and magic is dying for the most part; but that things are starting to 'wake up'. The Labs have seemingly been written as being a bit of a hybrid between ultra-high-tech (futuristic) and hi-magic meets a hodgepodge land of mostly middle-age level Pethian societies, with some rare magic and technology mix out there. I think it depends on the culture you come from, at least in Pethia. IE: Kappers apparently have super under-ground technology, whereas the Tumai appear to be a mostly low-tech but high-society place, and Fae apparently have more access to magic somehow? It's really vague.
As for the Labs City, I think it entirely depends on how much Means your character has (credits). Lots of funds and a desire to have technology? You get a full blown mansion with electric amenities and time to do whatever the heck mad scientist knowledge hits your head, or maybe even a castle with comfortable beds and time to go out and hunt all the time. It depends on what you'd like to play. But for characters without means? It's probably dirt roads and shacks, which most non-Labs City denizens would probably be used to, seeing as the rest of Pethia seems (with some differences) to be very lo-fi.
-Level of publicly available magic. Same as the technology aspect above. Magic is 'dying' and rare, but obviously the Labs Denizens (which seem to be in a society that is healthier/bigger/industrial or something similar) have an easier entry than the rest of the world. There does appear to be an Archmage in the city, but who knows how much magic they actually have access to... Probably not a lot?
Spirit though, that scientist apparently had a HUGE access to it- I got to talk to spirit about certain character aspects a long while back when making proto-Morgan a long time ago. Magic, like technology, seems to be more easily available to the elite.
-Is there a time period/place/style you mostly associate with the city? I actually think the Labs City is a hodgepodge of all different levels of period/place/style, with an underpinning of cyber-hi-tech hidden for those that know how to look for it.
-Is there a predominate style of clothing or fashion? Most human and humanish characters have a style that appears to be whatever the user likes. As for mammalians and other races, it looks like less clothes is the norm. Makes sense, humans and humanishes don't have fur to keep them warm.
-What general knowledge is available here? I think it depends on where your character came from. As for the Labs, I think the Labs gives out pamphlets on it's species and such, and may have technical books on more in-depth traits for those willing to do study on critters (most don't seem to be). Lots of knowledge is purposefully hidden and hard to look for, but I'm sure more studious individuals can find a way to get even the most cryptic info if they try.
-Size of the city, and what is contained within it. Libraries? Cafes? Schools? Mage tower? Healers, temples, shops and tinkers that are not the main 'official' ones? Absolutely friggen huge. I think there are an infinite number of all kinds of stuff in the city, it depends on what you want to play. Morgan has, in their own story, been taught by a tutor. But they are a rich kid so...
-There originally was concern about the creatures over running their natural counterparts. Does this still hold true, or are people and creatures free to travel in and out of the labs? Morgan was born in the Labs. Morgan knows a ton about the Labs Creatures and such, basically every bit of public knowledge and a little tiny bit 'extra' from their father (who worked in the Labs way back in the day). Morgan isn't even concerned; yup, natural animals are kinda hard to come by, but not quite impossible.
-Are the labs 'dead' in your setting, quiet and doing nothing much? Or are they as active as they used to be? The Labs are BUSTLING in Morgan's storyline. Our Characters are NOT the only people in the Labs City at all, that's canon.
-Building styles. Are certain areas uniform, or do the buildings tend to be a mishmash of different architecture? Mish-mash, definitely mish-mash.
-General laws. The labs enforces only the law that you cannot kill another being, so what enforces the other common rules? And what are the rules? I personally headcanon that there is a City Sentinel that enforces the other laws. As for other rules, we already know that stealing from a shopkeeper will get you in a ton of trouble (as a member as well) and that allowing sentient pets to be their own people is HUGELY over-watched (Pets as Characters can only have 3 pets without arousing suspicion; that's telling). I think it's the general 'don't steal', 'don't kill', and 'don't do other generally reprehensible stuff'.
-Are there criminal groups in the setting? The job system mentions a few smaller criminal jobs but no larger ones. YES. I do think there are large and small criminal groups. I just don't think they'd be very open about it.
-Labs aside, who funds the city guards, the rangers, and the like? Is it an elected council, a general service paid for by the labs, or something else? I personally believe the Labs runs everything behind the scenes. But some of these were probably created by the people that wanted to do them.
-Population. An even mix, or is one group more prevalent? In the Labs: A Roughly Even Mix with less kappers, fae, and uthax than other races due to general rarity.
-How does it affect the labs that death is not permanent as long as you have the body and the funds? Just like anything else where the rich are the elite- it probably causes the poorer individuals to be very frustrated, at least.
-Pit fighting, breeding, antigrowthing strong-willed sentients and all sorts of things. Are pets property, companions, or is it simply up to the owner? Completely up to the owner, sadly. Morgan plays as if they are the caretaker to the obviously smarter than themselves Tat-lungs. The Tat-lungs practically see Morgan as a mix of (beloved) Family Butler and Little Sibling intermixed. Morgan's Harachiu is roleplayed like their daughter. Morgan would not purposefully treat anything poorly, but understands the difference between sentient (Millicent, Waar, Seimei, their 'family') and non-sentient pets (Like Nico, even thought Morgan does love Nico).
-How do the people feel about the nonchosen sentient beings being pets or changed, like the Kair and Dash-claw? Morgan would treat these Identically to other people on their own merit. However, I think the Labs probably sees them as pets like anything else for the most part... How sad.
-Are there common prejudices in the city, or are the inhabitants fairly open to all due to its open nature? People tend to be scared/hateful of things that are different to them. I guess every race would have it's fair share of prejudices against others or anything like that. Most player characters seem to not be racist though. Morgan likes to dig at people (calling Renathan 'Jackalope' to rib at him might be considered a little racy, but he digs right back at Morgan) but doesn't treat anyone differently.
-In general, are there nations near the city, or merely small towns? How faraway? No nations, but there are probably both large and small communities. That's how it is written for the entirety of Pethia. However, there are plenty of other continents with nations, some of which seem to hate the Labs?
-What does your character do for a job and where? How does it fit in to the setting? Morgan is one of the Lowest Ranking Labs Scientist. Their dad used to be a Labs Scientist, but who knows what happened to him? He disappeared a long while back, back when a lot of other labs scientist seemed to be disappearing... So far Morgan hasn't been able to find any information about that, since they are so low ranking... Mostly dropping Chemical A into Chemical B all day long and then going home. Not what Morgan expected for sure.
-Do you have any IC reasoning for OoC things? Such as why characters cannot hunt wild beasts and bring them back(beyond has no system OoC), or loyalty being a trait forced into customs, or even how customs are ordered and obtained? I believe that Labs-created creatures have an internally 'forced' system Morgan calls the Psycho-Social bond that creates the loyalty effect. All Labs-Created creatures were formulated to 'love' a master to keep them from overtaking the world. They become bound to a particularly good master due to this. I do believe that people leave and come back to the City all the time; just because there's no Beyond system due to Difficulty Behind the Scenes doesn't mean that it doesn't happen in story. ALL customs come from the Labs. Sentients are created by having 'souls' put into them... Where do the souls come from? Morgan thinks they come from cannibalizing and blending people souls together, but it's really just a guess- they don't like to think about it. Customs are probably ordered using forms sent to the Labs along with currency.
-Do you incorporate any of the limited information that was meant to be for v3/v4? VERY VERY LITTLE. I hate deigning spirit's half-baked unfinished BS any amount of dignity. I do like the little bit of insights that were given into races that don't have a whole lot of background (IE: Kappers) but everything else was half-baked at best and inflammatory at worst. :/ I am severely unimpressed. The stats system could have been okay though. I do wish that people had the option to use Spirit's 'redone' Tat-lungs if they wanted to though with no statistical differences, some of those looked so much better than the LEs and VSC's we've got.
-Does the majority of the population follow the main gods(light/dark/order/etc)? If so, how do they worship or practice their religion? I don't think that most do (lots of people migrating after all), but I think a lot do. I have no idea how people worship though, but it doesn't seem to be with sacrifice (seeing as the 'weird' deities that were put up that had sacrifices were supposed to be considered 'extreme' by the populace).
-What's your general opinion of how populated the world is? How many nations, different levels of tech, and so on. And how much wilderness(land not built and settled upon)? Probably VERY populated, and tons of nations, different levels of tech and magic, and tons of wilderness too. Honestly, every person gets to come up with their own story, so it's basically infinite.
-Do the nations interact with the labs in any meaningful way? Definitely. We've had nations request creatures to be made for their artillery/militias in the past, after all (Vespa, PHIL). The Labs at the very least has some shady dealings with some, and opportunity for war with others I'm sure.
-How many normal creatures are left? Are the lab beasts wonders or already commonplace outside it's walls? More common-place closer to the Labs City, getting sparser as they go out. But yeah, I DO completely believe they are wreaking havoc on the natural ecosystem. I mean, can you think of many RL animals that could reliably keep from being carried off/eaten whole by a Sarane, Wiurn, or Pliathor? What about that could out-eat and out-survive a Thundergug?
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Post by Renathan on Jan 30, 2020 23:11:40 GMT -6
Same as Morgan's note; only I'm going to answer the ones that are different for Renathan here. Morgan was born in the Labs-City, and has never left it. Renathan was born on another Continent, and went across an ocean and Pethia to move to the Labs-City.
Level of Publicly Available Magic: -Renathan's continent has magic in the form of Leylines, and HUGE 'sort-of nodes' that have been swallowed by GIGANTIC creatures- the magic is diffuse and not really all that powerful but very connected to the land. They worship the land, and spirits of the land (mostly creatures that have swallowed their versions of nodes- which people cannot use and diffuse outside of their continent).
-MOST members of Renathan's race actually cannot use magic and thus would have little to no reason to come to Pethia, but every once in a while someone is born able to harness it (Jacks of All Trades only). Renathan came to the Labs to seek out Draconics, originally. All members of Renathan's race that can use magic 'feel the pull' to be bonded to a draconic. Some of them, referred to as 'Empty' in their language, feel the pull but don't have anyone to bond to once they get there... A sad occurrence that usually creates a constant 'searching/empty' feeling. Thus people of Renathan's ilk do come to Pethia sometimes (it's not unheard of) and when they do, it is almost always in search of magic.
Level of Publicly Available Technology: -Renathan's homeland is SUPER High tech, since they cannot use magic. He finds Pethia really interesting and quaint.
General Knowledge in Pethia: -Laughable, Renathan is having a lot of fun figuring out stuff when there's so little written down in comparison to his homeland.
Are the Labs 'dead'? in my setting: -Renathan does note that it quiets down in the winter, otherwise it's pretty big.
Sentients: -Make Renathan uncomfortable for the most part, but he does have a few. He doesn't mistreat anyone and tries not to keep creatures against their will.
What does your character do for a job: -Renathan is actually a Jewelsmith, but since the Jewelry area is down, Renathan is currently running a cafe in the front of his establishment and running a 'high-end craftshop' in the back. There are plenty of rich folks willing to pay for Renathan to make their gallor a super well fitting fancy saddle, or build them an engagement ring, or make them a sword with a few garnets in the hilt.
Any IC reasons for OOC things: -Nope, Renathan doesn't understand a WHOLE LOT about the setting. Why some sentient and some not? Renathan doesn't want to know. He thinks that the OOC Concept of Loyalty is just him and his creatures learning how to read their body language decently, and that's how it is played with him.
Religion: -Renathan finds Pethian 'main gods' religion VERY interesting but also kinda funny. What is the point of making a anthropomorphized version of 'Light' when you could literally just find a place or thing that embodies light to worship the actual spirit? That makes no sense to him but is really interesting. OH OH, Renathan has gotten to where he Worships the Mansion's 'Spirit of the Land' actually.
Do the nations interact with the Labs: -Renathan's nation did request a few labs creature samples to be sent to them for testing, but were turned down flat. They were super interested in finding a way to help their own species become conduits of Leyline Spirits of the Land easier... Their people still go there from time to time to try to figure out the secret.
How many normal creatures are left: -Renathan has no idea actually; he didn't come from here. But there are no labs creatures where he lived before, but if he were to go back he would certainly take his own group of beasties.
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Post by Riku on Jan 31, 2020 2:52:46 GMT -6
Oooh! I wanna do what Ren did with Adam’s view and his and Riku’s home Kingdom. That was so fun to read.
Level of Publicly Available Magic: -Aulador was a Utopian society, where magic was common. However, not everyone could use it - and those who could often opted out. Just like how in our world many people CAN write or draw very well...but don’t care enough to take the time to hone the skill and make it useful. Magic was used for public service as well as in private life. Magical items were as common as our world’s technology. However, tech was also advanced. Usually it was a combination. People came from all around the world to train at Aulador’s magical colleges with their ArchMage, Cephalo - who was Riku’s mentor and teacher.
-Adam was one of those who could use magic but didn't care to. He was more gifted with the non-magical arts, and thus was sent away to another nation to learn. (Which was why he didn’t die in the accident that ‘destroyed’ Aulador.) However, now he does hate magic because his home and family were destroyed by it. -shrug- Where he trained in the arts was also a wealthier nation. Their magic was much simpler. More advanced than what we have now, but not by much. Think of how our world’s tech is better than it was 20 years ago - but we aren’t flying at lightspeed or making chilifries out of thin air yet. Their tech was advanced, though.
Level of Publicly Available Technology: -As a Utopian society, equality was huge. Everyone had access to the best devices. In theNation Adam studied, it was more like how our world is (but more beautiful) - and he was a very rich boy, so imagine a 14 year old who can afford jet packs and next years iPhone before it’s even announced. Lol (When his kingdom went boom, that all changed of course. Hence him becoming a gypsy to survive after his prepaid education reached graduation.)
General Knowledge in Pethia: -Aulador was huge with education. Everyone was taught all the basics that Pethia considers advanced and unnecessary. Also, everyone had their own personal technimagical teachers. (Think AI teachers with magic.) That is why Riku can teach in a college (he currently is working woth high school kids, though, since he’s avoiding people closer to his own age.)
Are the Labs 'dead'? in my setting: -Riku has been here four ten years. It’s grown a lot. Adam isn’t here yet - waiting on official character purchase ;) - but it’s definitely different than other places he’s visited. (Which is A LOT, as a traveling gypsy who can’t often revisit towns since he steals things and sleeps with people he shouldn’t.) However, in some ways, it’s a lot like other towns. Yeah, there are crazy creatures, and the economy and society are different (advanced compared to some and stone age compared to others), but he just sees crowds of people who lust after him and gather ‘round in wonder of his shows.....which is when he steals all their goods! Muahahaha! So yeah. Just like every town.
Sentients: -Both Riku and Adam are very lonely and have turned to sentient creatures for companionship. Riku feels more free with animals, and Adam feels like he can be more than an objectified performer or thief with them. Neither approve of their abuse. However, currently only Adam would be brave enough to speak up if he saw it.
What does your character do for a job: -Riku is trying to obtain magic so he can quit the teaching gig and become a magician’s apprentice. (Or whatever the one is that requires a node.) -Adam performs shows where he sings, dances, does tricks with his swords, etc, for money - and his sentient partner (crossbreed) steals from the audience using telekinesis while invisible. He eventually will meet Riku and choose to stay in the Labs City after realizing Riku is also from Aulador and has the same Cross as his partner. The cross IC is a very special legendary creature native to their home. It’s incredibly symbolic.
Religion: -Adam sort of hates the Gods. First of all, they’re too magical. Second of all, where the heck were they when his life went down the drain? Everything he’s had to do to survive? Forget them.
Do the nations interact with the Labs: -Yes. In fact, Adam will be arriving with a large group of traders he hitched a ride with from his past city. (He’s real close with the boss, if ya know what I mean. (Also, he definitely will be avoiding them once they arrive and likely won’t come out of hiding until they leave, if ya know what I mean.)) -Riku came to the labs because his Aunt and Uncle already lived here. His mom was the co-prime minister of Aulador, and tasked her sister and her husband to move to the Labs when it was still much newer to.....feel it out. She had a bad feeling about the place, and so Aualdor was silently keeping tabs here. That is...until they all blew up/changed dimensions. Lol So when Riku left Aulador post-accident, he made his way here. Yeah.....it’s unclear if they were going to help this place grow or invade and stop all the nonsense. They saw Spirit as a sort of toddler with magic and didn't know if they wanted to put him in time out or teach him how to play nicely. But, y’know, then they all died. Haha! Perhaps wherever they are they did eventually have a direct influence on this place...but that’s not our concern. Besides, according to Pethians, Aualador either isn’t heard of or is just a mythological land.
How many normal creatures are left: -Riku hasn’t left the labs since he came. He mainly sees lab creatures. Adam has seen mostly non-lab creatures. However, he definitely has seen lab monsters from time to time. Some cities have them drafted like Ren said. Other places have occasional gugs or seekers/etc purchased from wherever else as guards for intimidation (or sometimes dirty work). He also saw a zoo in one capital that was entirely Labs-made. Seemed rather illegal. (Reminiscent of some ooc Kennels...)
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Post by Alma on Jan 31, 2020 10:29:14 GMT -6
Thank you to both of you. You both gave such detailed and helpful posts, and I enjoyed reading them.
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Post by Riku on Jan 31, 2020 13:46:12 GMT -6
It was honestly fun and a great brainstorming practice. A lot of what I wrote was new. So thanks for inspiring us!
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Post by Silver on Feb 3, 2020 3:41:31 GMT -6
I think in order to answer this question, we first need to establish that our player characters are incredibly rich by this world's standards. Even the 'poorest' player has way more than an actual average person would have. (Like in a video game where you can buy every item out of every shop and still have money left over... it's just how games work!)
That said, I've always written the world as rather low tech, despite the fact that I guess the labs do have some high level tech... and there's all those robots and stuff. I think that kind of stuff is really limited to a few people who know about it, and average people don't have a lot of technology laying around. I just cannot believe we're carrying mobile phones and have TVs in our houses, it just doesn't seem to 'fit', but maybe that's just a me thing.
This is where it gets interesting! I think that magic is everywhere. The gardens are overgrown with weird flowers due to the amount of magic, and there's an abundance of crystals in the mines. Not to mention the mansion and the labs themselves. The world is steeped in magic. Creatures can do crazy magical things like breath fire and call lightning from the sky. They're not even that uncommon!
However, people (humans and otherwise) do seem to have trouble controlling the magic, and that's what I think is rare. The ability to, say, have a node and control magic is incredibly rare (remember, player characters are an exception, not the rule), and I think that is intentional.
Conspiracy time: what if pure magic in the form of nodes is so insanely rare around the labs by design? Is it because the labs themselves suck up all the magic in the surrounding area, leaving it dry? That would surely explain why players often come from magic rich lands but can't do magic when they come here! Interesting thought, and I think it allows for all the player characters to set their own level of magic for their home worlds without being too weird.
Not... really? Everything seems like such a hodge-podge of ideas that it doesn't really fit any place or style. Clearly everyone has their own styles they like, which is cool for me.
No, I really struggle to come up with fashion or styles for characters in the first place, so I mostly choose to ignore it. My own character wears jeans and a t-shirt. (Which is shockingly modern considering how I usually write the setting, heh.)
Considering that you have to spend skill points to even be literate, I think of general knowledge as pretty sparse. Plus, it's not like you can just google anything you want to know about Wiurn. I like to imagine huge, sprawling old libraries exist for those who want to know about stuff. As for things like 'how the labs work', I doubt very many people at all know that.
The city itself? (As in not counting the training areas, and the gardens and stuff?) I always imagine the city as huge and full of places to live, shops, and all sorts of things. If you want something, you can find it in the city. If you wander down enough scary alleyways, you can really find anything.
It is canon that the labs creatures over-run the natural creatures of the area! What follows is my version: you're not barred from leaving the labs, and things aren't stopped from coming in (I mean, where else would we get new characters?), but there are no natural (wild) animals within some distance of the labs because they are out-competed or straight up eaten by labs creatures. The labs 'tries' (I put that in quotes because it's possible they only want to look like they try) to keep creatures contained by asking the people who adopt the creatures to keep them in the Kennels where they can monitor them, but it hardly works.
I always write as if they're still working as usual. I had never considered writing as through they had died down, hmm. Also, they rent out parts of the labs and their tech to the Flea Markets! That's how they get customs, etc. (I even had a story for who ran mine, actually!)
I write it as though everything in the city is a mishmash. Styles, cultures, food, architecture, all of it! Maybe in some, newer areas of the city, things were planned out and worked together to look the same, but as you get closer and closer to the original settling point of the city, the more chaotic the building and roads and stuff become.
I always assumed there were like, regular police around, I guess. This is another one of those things that never ever comes up in my own writing, so I guess I mostly don't care.
I've always thought there were some people, either individuals or small groups, who traffic wild pets and stuff. Some old info about Mavrik used to mention that he does not talk about where the pets come from, and where they go when he's done with them. Plus, the Traveler's Emporium has always meant to seem kind of sketchy and borderline illegal, so there must be something out there.
The labs stay out of politics, and the people govern themselves. The labs is just there to make their crazy experiments, they don't care at all about... people, and what they do. They have lots of regulations about what you can do with the pets, but they don't give a crap whether or not the people are well governed.
Mostly human, small mix of other stuff. (This is another thing where the player population and the lore don't really match up, but I'm fine with that. A lot of players use being out of place because of their race as a big part of their character, too. That only works if the general populace is mostly one thing.) Death is very permanent to almost everyone, the kind of money and magic used to resurrect a creature/person is incredibly rare. (I ignore the fact that it's relatively cheap out of character to do it.) Maybe someone spends their whole lives saving up and chasing rumors to bring back someone close to them.
My character is against pit fighting and the mistreatment of sentient creatures. They've kind of built their whole life around helping and protecting creatures. They also don't consider their 'pets' (sentient or otherwise) to be their property, but instead treats them all like friends. As long as they don't pose a danger to themselves or others, they let them do whatever they want.
People will have differing opinions about this, just like a lot of moral or ethical things in the real world. Something can seem incredibly wrong to you, but other people of a different time or culture think it's totally fine and not weird at all. Same thing here.
The city culture is more open than most due to it's nature of being a huge mix of cultures, but that can actually breed more prejudice and resentment in some cases. This is another one of those things I'd say is individual a not an easy thing to make a general statement about.
I think the labs and the city suck up all the resources out of the surrounding areas so much that any settlements are quite far away.
They break and train mounts for a living. I like to think they mostly train ponies for spoiled rich kids! Since 'monster trainers' (the player characters) rarely need someone else to do that kind of thing for them.
You can hunt wild beasts and bring them back, just nobody does. ('Just nobody does' is basically my explanation for all the things you should be able to do that don't have systems.) The loyalty bonuses for customs/etc. is more that these creatures are more personal to you, and you've owned them their entire lives, so they care about you more (and presumably you, them). You're like, their parent, in a way that's slightly different to offspring/creatures you've hatched. Hard to explain I guess.
Customs, offspring, and crossbreeds are made by the labs for you specifically. That's canon. You go to the labs and order them. Creatures don't just come out of nowhere! Even offspring are not born naturally, but are made in the labs. Labs creatures are not normally fertile without serums of procreation, though I suppose you could consider any offspring to be born IC that way instead of the test tube way if you wanted to.
Probably? Spirit and I used to have long talks about the lore and where he wanted to take it, so I probably include a lot of that stuff, intentionally or not.
If you came from a far away place IC, then you probably follow the religion of your home land. If you mostly grew up in/around the city, then you'd follow the gods and holidays in the lore. (Like Vai Min Mur or whatever.) Like in real life, there's probably a large smattering of people who don't closely follow any religion, aren't really sure what they believe, or even hate religion.
Huge hodge-podge of everything. I think I imagine it like there are a lot of settlements/people separated by huge vasts of wilderness. They don't contact each other that much, so they can have wildly different tech and magic levels.
I guess so? There was that one that wanted to start a war, way back when. Like I said above, I guess I work under the assumption that various societies don't associate with each other that much. (It also explains why all the different characters with their different backstories have never heard of each others' homelands!)
In the world? Heaps! In the little 'bubble' around the labs? Not that many at all.
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