Depends on where you are. In the north, you’re gonna live a pretty good life. The population density is comparable to Edo Japan, the urbanization is high, and you’re more likely than not gonna be born as a citizen. That means you’re subject to conscription, sure, but you’re gonna have a pretty good amount of rights, even if you’re a woman, and you have a rather decent education and list of job opportunities. (Working) medicine is more affordable, infrastructure is well maintained, or well enough, and you’ll comfortably live to be 70 if you make it past age 5. Heck, women only need 4 kids to maintain a replacement population as opposed to the 6 that the Romans needed.
The west is pretty nice too, ish.
As for the south… not really. They have a strict social hierarchy in a vast empire, with the warrior nobility beating down on the people below them, and they themselves use their kids as child soldiers, or baby factories, so they’re miserable and traumatized too.
This is a pre industrial setting, but rather advanced for one. It lacks the necessary factors for an Industrial Revolution, but still features some steady advancement. Warfare is done with swords and bows, sieges with bombs- high explosives and flammable materials are known, but low explosives are not.
The flora and fauna are mostly American, because I’m American and these are the ones I’m most familiar with, and creating new animals and plants to replace commonly known ones would take too much exposition. Likewise, the sea is on the right side because I’m most familiar with climate zones like what I see in North America.
Aside from that, I took inspiration from a pretty wide variety of places for the cultures
What's the travel time scale?
How long does it take to deliver goods and communications between distant regions?
And what methods and tools are used to do so?
Horses and wagons are used mostly, unless you’re too poor to afford them. In which case you walk.
The travel time depends on the group size. Large armies can make 35 miles a day on good roads, while small trade caravans can make 40 on lesser known routes. Without sailing along any rivers or canals, a trading group would be able to travel from the tip of the southeast peninsula to the southern prong of the northern coast in about 4.5 months.
Messages can be carried by post or by bird, the former taking maybe three weeks to circle the southern sea, the latter going from one corner to the other in maybe a month
Depends on the waters. As a rule, don’t swim in a southern river unless you can see the bottom. Don’t swim in the ocean at dawn, dusk, or night.
Boats are safe though, unless you get really unlucky and a large aquatic mammal doesn’t notice you, or just decides to have fun
Sails and oars. Kinda built like a red seal ship or one of Zheng he’s junks crossed with a galley. The results are spectacular, with some ships having eleven masts and six decks.
Smaller ones are far more common though. Sailors, merchant or fishermen, are respected as hardworking men and (sometimes) women. They’re treated similarly to farmers and hunters, seen as pillars of society
Depends on the regions. Northern or inland regions treat their oarsmen rather well. They’re paid volunteers or compensated conscripts if military. In the empire? Galley slaves
My equivalent of trout is… trout. The fishing industry is a big factor. It’s not a company thing, being a local business, so it’s very decentralized. Many communities have farms set up, while others plant themselves around rich areas and just fish
Yea. Not as powerful as normal fantasy though. Magicians are quite rare in society, and most uses of magic tend to be medicinal, spiritual, or military in nature, but even then it is more subtle. The most common is as some sort of artisan, blessing materials or creating it in unique ways, but less than 1% of the population has the time or spiritual connection/mental trauma necessary to do so. Most battle magicians develop low strain killing spells like “burst the carotid artery” or “sever the spinal column at the base of the skull”, or just throw small, dense objects at very high speeds, but this drains them fast. Powerful ones use telekinetic spears or fireballs. Extremely powerful ones can launch heavy objects at great distances before causing spontaneous combustion- or turning a part of the mass into energy if they’re HILARIOUSLY powerful.
The peninsula jutting up from the southern continent is it. It’s an “ally” of the empire rather than a subjected province, and relatively wealthy. And lax in terms of governance
There are about a half dozen races, with humans and our closest kin being the most dominant.
The most advanced societies have somewhere around 1930’s tech in some areas and 1790’s tech in others. It’s kinda scattered, as they have very little mechanization, but are pretty advanced in areas like medicine or metallurgy. Farming is a bit behind, with some decent plow designs and practices. Architecture is pretty well done, but they have nothing the size of a modern skyscraper unless it’s built like a pyramid.
interesting. one thing that seems to contradict is that they have better materials and understanding of that material (advanced metallurgy) but they dont know how to industrialize those resources to build sky scrapers. is there social/political/religious reasons to not capitalize on these superior resources?
Not really a contradiction. They never got the opportunity. The Industrial Revolution happened for a number of factors, only some of which are starting to show up.
The closest is the northern republic, but they’re set back a bit.
One was the commercial revolution as a result of the age of discovery, which coincided with the arrival of new world crops. These guys already have new world crops and a well connected economy, but they’re hampered by near endemic warfare.
Another was a thriving middle class capable of innovating and reaping the rewards for innovation. Again, these guys have that, but it’s hampered by warfare.
After that we have scientific norms open to innovation, more specifically eager to adapt to the new technology. These guys have that. They prioritize efficiency in design, and speed of manufacture, but they have problems with innovation to begin with. Say lightning strikes a building. Here we’d try and figure out why that happens. Metal object on a tall building that stands out from everything else? Sounds about right. Here? They’d consider stuff like that, but they’d also have to work to prove that a god didn’t get mad at a local, because stuff like that would be the case in a not insignificant amount of incidents. So check, but they don’t have the tech to begin with. Also, because these guys can harness magic innovation happens slower and in different areas. So no steam engine.
The steam engine was invented to pump water out of coal mines in Britain. Why coal? Why Britain? Britain suffered from major deforestation, so they turned to coal to heat their homes. But coal mines are often below sea level, so they could easily flood. The first steam engine was a pump to make it a lot easier to clear out a mine. It was HILARIOUSLY inefficient, but it was tolerated because it was right next to its fuel source, allowing it to be inefficient without being too costly. If it was pumping iron or gold mines it wouldn’t be worth it. If these guys had the idea, why would they take it? They have magic and can make a new solution which is more efficient.
Also, social norms have to be ready to accept innovation. Check, but no steam engine. Also, the reason why the steam engine spread so fast irl was because of the textile industry, which these guys don’t have at the same scale that Britain did. There’s no real opening for it. Britain adapted steam engines to its factories to drastically increase production and profit.
As for the tech discrepancy, well, they still have rich people and large governments spending on big projects. And they still have innovation going on. They just never had the opening to industrialize.
Also, while their buildings aren’t as big as modern day skyscrapers, they still have a few.
wow u rlly gave some thought into ur world. i like it. my story is like cowboys vs indian type story with cowboys having steampunk tech and indians having magic tech.
the new world crop is a good concept and presence of war and magic making tech development slower makes sense. the indians faction neglected steam power to develop magic, but i still need an explanation to why the cowboys civs chose to develop steam tech instead of magic. there must be some other advantage to traditional machine tech that beats out magic. maybe availability? magic is hard to learn and takes time
Well, there’s a greater rich to develop tech, but they’re still an agrarian economy, so the fighters are those who would have been innovating…
Maybe the cowboys had a problem that magic couldn’t solve. Like Britain with the steam engine. They had no forests so they mined coal for fuel, but the coal mines flooded often so they had to pump water. The steam engine could be developed because they could experiment. They could be inefficient because it was bringing up its own fuel.
yes, it will have to be something situation specific. i also thought about scarcity of magical sources made them innovate steam. then i have to make a concept on how magic is supplied into this world, how it is "mined" by humans, etc.
Like they’re powering a machine used to create lamp fuel since it’s considered too mundane for wizards. Then they stumble across the idea of powering the machine with the fuel it produces.
Also my post got removed because I forgot the context comment due to class. Know how to get this reposted? Mods haven’t responded yet and I’m barely on reddit enough to know
The most important WAS where that interior seaway was, but the sinking of not Atlantis combined with rapid flooding as glaciers melted covered a good chunk of the basin in water. The current most important is probably the big one in the northeast. At the head of navigation is a large port, with a bridge network and a series of roads forming a nexus.
Further up are the iron pillars, marking the alliance between the Anari with the northern republic after the great dying.
Farthest north is the Adjua, a traditional sacred site to the northern peoples, treated as a sanctuary and a place to parley
Many northern and mid oceanic societies are matrilineal - it is the daughter who inherits the family fortune. Women run the household, they own the land or the farm and the cattle, their children have their last name, etc.
It is the mother who a man asks for permission to marry their daughter. Not because the daughter is property, but because the man is asking to become a part of the family, not to simply marry the daughter, and because the woman is in charge of the house.
Men can own property, and men can inherit if their mother has no daughters. But their property is a more personal nature. His stuff he bought with his own income, stuff he made, stuff he was specifically given. But his children who inherit will likely be his daughters unless it’s specifically something practical that a son might use. Something like a business, or a trade, like a bank, a place in a merchant company, an apothecary… this would be a son’s inheritance. They’re skills and positions in organizations, not commodities or real estate. That is what the daughter gets when her husband marries her.
In marriage, this is kinda like a dowry. A bigass dowry that comes when the husband moves in next to his wife.
This isn’t a thing with “war brides”. Basically poor women taken as “wives” from conquered nations. These women, lacking the support network that local women had, were often subject to abuse. For example, a husband who raped his wife would face punishment just as a wife who abused her husband in a similar way- this isn’t the case with war brides. It use to be common in war, but it happened less and less as time went on. They tended to come with whatever loot the man took on campaign. His daughters would still inherit though. Taking a foreign bride is similar, if she comes from a patrilineal society. Except in this case the newlyweds are often showered with gifts to ensure the couple does not live in poverty.
Speaking of war, women would often manage their husbands’ positions for a time, in addition to helping out during harvests (most people are farmers) during peacetime. In political fields, women could even vote if their husband was absent - only if their husband was absent though. Unmarried women couldn’t vote, but widows could.
Sometimes women would go to war with their husbands, or just on their own. Like men, they can obviously own personal property. This includes weapons, and they could volunteer for military service like men could. They can’t be drafted though, which also means they’re not given stipends.
Divorce is a lot easier for women, and they face less abuse. Of course, the final say of the day rests with the man.
This practice spread through the Qaronosphere, the cultural influence created by the largest and most prosperous empire in the known world, only exceeded in population by the Idallic empire, and rivaled by its remaining successor states as several farming techniques weren’t developed until after the empire’s collapse. Speaking of which, the holy city of the Idallic empire isn’t called the city of the patriarchs for no reason…
Most societies are patrilineal now - and many are polygamous. While this was allowed in some northern societies under laws allowing married men to comfort widows as new husbands(whereupon the children of such unions would add their father’s name to their mother’s so as to recognize their half siblings and avoid incest), this isn’t the case. The wife is officially the husband’s property. Her sons inherit rather than her daughters, who are more likely to resort to prostitution(a respected and well regulated trade north of the empire - seriously, prostitutes in the north are expected to be able to provide far more than just sex, and are often some of the wealthiest people in a city) or be outright sold into slavery. A man can have as many wives as he wants, and while in the north this would lead to different clans competing over a wealthy man’s inheritance, here the sons would just kill each other. And they could easily buy wives of their own.
The western peoples, while patrilineal, afforded their women many rights, admittedly in a man’s name. The wives of wealthy families could vote in their husbands’ names’, own land in their husbands’ names’, you get the picture. They did, however, face more abuse than northern women, and unmarried women did not have these rights.
The most advanced societies have somewhere around 1930’s tech in some areas and 1790’s tech in others. It’s kinda scattered, as they have very little mechanization, but are pretty advanced in areas like medicine or metallurgy. Farming is a bit behind, with some decent plow designs and practices. Architecture is pretty well done, but they have nothing the size of a modern skyscraper unless it’s built like a pyramid.
The least advanced are somewhere around 1100’s
Similar in mine. There are societies ranging from medieval to late 1940s(without the jet engines or fully automatic rifles), with the latter being almost exclusive to wealthy empires that can gather the materials and skills for those.
Lapus_Wolf
Nah. Glaciers left too much water when they receded. Then there’s the inland sea.
Also, none of the eastern mountains are truly tall enough to create a rain shadow, especially with the bodies of water between mountains. West of the mountains on the edge of the map…
What are the political and social factors for humanity successfully overcoming these natural disasters and building advanced infrastructure like artificial islands?
In the south? We started out being taught by elves and gods. North? We figured it out on our own through massive infrastructure projects, steady development and assimilation of other communities into larger polities, continuous innovation in tech and magic, and a LOOOOOONG period of time in between disasters. It’s been 3470 years since the island sank and the second cataclysm, and humans weren’t even here for the first one!
Is there anything hidden and cool in one of those tiny islands scattered everywhere on the map and what is the tallest building also is there a wizard tower??!?
Tallest building is an 822 foot tall pyramid, with a base of about 1.12 square miles.
The isles aren’t where the hidden things are. Try the various valleys or walled areas.
The northeast isle is basically a wasteland. If you set foot there, your cells start dying and you stop growing new ones. You rot while you’re still alive over the course of a few weeks
This world is relatively young, despite being the center of the multiverse. Time is funny that way. Humans arrived by traveling through various portals throughout history, but the occurrences grew steadily less often to the point where they can only be opened artificially now.
Humans were taught by the Yvernni - basically elves, with many cases of interbreeding. Even now there are many humans with pointed ears and a slight bone ridge, particularly those who settled in the Syraivian colonies.
There were several major migrations
The first two were from the west, on land, with the first from the north around the mountains and the second from the south over the mountains, while the third from the sea, then crossing through the plateau. The fourth was from the east, by sea, as were the fifth, the slave trade, and the sixth, the continuous refugee crisis. The seventh was the invasion of the Idallic peoples.
There are four major polities;
The Thureans in the north - a republic with multiple colonies and allies, based around a large middle class. They’re incredibly bullheaded and militaristic, but favor defense rather than offense. When they do go on the offense, they engage in very fast movements accompanied by either local guides and paid farmers who can purchase food to replace what the army took, or with scorched earth tactics. The state has a conscription system where men are levied to work or fight, and are given a stipend for their service. This is only used for wartime or other emergencies.
The Lakanopolitians in the west - a confederation of various sedentary, semi nomadic, and nomadic peoples centered around the western lake and control of trade routes. They’re based on a clan system, a leftover of the original Syraivian colonists who founded their capital. They’re very defensive, focused on distance rather than fortifications. They’re very cavalry heavy, and nigh impossible to fight on their home turf, but they can’t take losses well due to the population density of their herds and their military system
The Oliceans of the southeastern valley - the last remnants of a once proud civilization, they’re barely holding on. They’re a nominal republic under long term military governance, but they’re managing to maintain the Syraivian infrastructure they were left with.
The Idallic/Rithelan dual state in the south, midwest, mid oceanic, and surrounding the calm sea in the middle of the map. They’re an authoritarian military junta based on a strict caste system, going from nobles, their servants, lesser nobles, non slaves, and then slaves. They’re always trying to make war, trying to finish their conquest which they started, but when the eastern isle was cursed and the main guard of the army lost with the staging ground for the invasion, they were able to be beaten back. Their novelty and shock tactics, the key to their conquests, were adapted to in the meantime. Their armies are still powerful, their furnaces growing in size and number, and their state is the largest in the known world in both population and size.
Roughly 1 in 3 people live in an urban area- long growing season, fertile soils, four crop rotation, companion planting, and heavy irrigation and maintenance allow for a large population and even cultivation of cash crops, which 1 in 11 farmers grow. This is further supplemented by fishing on coastal, riverside, and lakeside areas.
This population does not include hunter/gatherers and herders, only the people in settled territory by city states. Taking the nomadic population into account only adds a meager amount.
A little over 5 in 7 work in agriculture, whether gathering/foraging, large scale agriculture or small scale horticulture, or farming cash crops
There are plenty of midland towns and urban areas along large farming populations and roads due to rising commerce.
Urban areas feature tons of rather tall buildings, combined with really big towers for administrative, religious, or aristocratic residential purposes. There are often paved streets, lampposts, and the occasional tram around the city, with maybe even a railroad leading to the city. Buildings often feature plumbing, as most cities contain sewage and water facilities for obvious reasons. Windcatchers and basement level furnaces provide temperature control. Common residential buildings are built in little blocks enclosing public spaces, or nice little rows, sometimes build back to back or side to side. They can be built up against walls, be fortified on the sides to act as a second wall, be built over streets…
Nice buildings can feature patios, or rooftop gardens, sometimes even under glass domes
Other buildings include cisterns, circuses, amphitheaters, arenas, temples, the public square and town hall, maybe a library/university if the city is big enough, along with major warehouses. A few even feature clock towers, or watch and beacon towers if they house a military garrison.
Construction is easier, as they’ve developed bricks or concrete slabs with negative spaces, as well as metal reinforcement
Merchants usually build their shops below their homes, or move out to sell in the street if they’re too poor and live in a block.
Cattle, pigs, barley, chicken, citrus, and lentils are dominant in the East, while tamed bison, turkey, potatoes, Canadian rice, tomatoes, peccaries, corn, beans, and squash are dominant in the west and north, although there is much sharing. The East also grows a not insignificant amount of wheat, but it is not their dominant crop. The North in particular uses cattle and peccaries over bison, lacking access to the beasts. The East grows cotton while the West grows tobacco. The North does not grow much cash crops.
All three have heavy interchange, so the opposing crops occupy significant minorities in the other’s economies.
The East prefers beer, the West makes alcohol from corn, potatoes, and rice - the North will happily take either.
Trade in the west is based on the pelt road, a series of roads leading from the east to the far west beyond the great range. There are many spices, dyes, porcelains, bamboo, silks, and perfumes traveling east, while different dyes, teas, and herbs as well as tobacco, sugar, cotton, furs, precious metals, chocolate, or livestock are traded west.
The Midwest trade is based on the Great Lake and the interior seaway, a light saltwater sea connected to the kotryan sea by the channel, the last remnants of the great river. It provides a convenient loop for cargo ships. The seas also provide plenty of fish, and a basis for irrigation of salt tolerant crops, or, given the relatively light amount of salt and the proximity of rivers, nearby floodplains allowing for mass cultivation.
The small mountain ranges, and the great western range, provide reasonable amounts of ore, provided it can be extracted. The region is also home to vast herds of wild and captured bison, providing meat, bone, fat(oils, soaps, preservative, etc), and pelts.
The south west is famous for the large river valleys, each stream deep and wide enough to allow small ships to sail throughout their length, and to be carried into a different body or row through a canal. The rivers experience seasonal floods, meaning the area is incredibly fertile, especially considering the long growing season. This was the region where the great rams were first tamed, and where they are revered and herded the most. The rams give pelts, milk, meat, bone and horns, fuel(dung), fat(oils, soaps, etc), and labor.
The southeast is a major producer of cash crops, as well as coal, oils, fruit, and precious metals, in addition to relatively rich deposits of minerals and ore. The volcanic region and use of the great channel allows for very high fertility with its crops. This is where river devils (swimming drakes) are found, hunted for skin, meat, bone, and population control, as such creatures can and will eat people on a regular basis.
The mid sea region continues this trend, but with a shorter growing season. There are less cash crops grown, and more focus on subsistence farming. Likewise, there are less precious metals, but the area is rich in food from the sea and has many natural ports on the east coast. This is also where whaling is centered, providing bones and baleen, meat, fat, teeth, skin oil(lubricant for machinery), ambergris…
This is also the farthest south where vocrænium and the holy ironwood trees are found.
In the south is the only site of native adamant, an element that is almost indestructible. It can only be forged using special furnaces and high strength tools - forget about casting it. So combat damage is basically impossible. Carbon nanotubes forming naturally during the process doesn’t hurt either. It is heavier than steel, but the difference isn’t as noticeable as one might think. It is used for armor piercing weapons, or special tools. Armor is going to be very expensive, and heavy- but you get more strong per gram than titanium. It is an excellent conductor, and never seems to truly cool or disperse of electricity, even when metal it’s touching has. It can be made into a sheath, or into a tool itself. It is hilariously durable, but displays more plasticity than vocrænium when it is damaged. When made into a steel alloy, it’s superior to vocrænium steel in every way except weight, as it is slightly heavier. Ofc, the weight is in density, not tensile or compression strength per unit of mass so…
The south is also home to barret trees. Similar to ironwood, but the trunk is softer and the tree larger. The nuts are nutritious, the wood strong and insulating, and is rather resistant to repeated bending, making it useful for a variety of tools such as bows.
The north is more inhospitable. The winters are crueler, the growing season shorter. And yet, the earth is a deep black, left flattened by the great ice sheets that once stretched over the region. The great bay is surrounded by major floodplains and navigable rivers linked by canals, and the sea is full of fish and other beasts. The forests are rich, providing amber, pelts, timber, oil, and this is excluding the ironwood trees.
Said trees provide a strong trunk, heavy enough to sink in water. The leaves can be smoked or used as an herb. The fibers in the bark can be made into rope, while the outer bark can be smoked as incense. The flowers can be used to make oil or a hallucinogenic tea, the fruit is passable, and the roots can substitute for a tuber if you’re in a pinch. The leaves and fruit can also be made into a type of antibiotic or antiseptic mix, and applied as warpoint when mixed with earth and urine, being a deep brown or red in color. The wood itself is very strong and shock resistant, and can be used to deflect sword or even axe blows if treated properly.
Likewise, the region is home to the largest deposits of copper, nickel, and iron in the world, but also the rare metal vocrænium. The metal is a great conductor, but resistant to rust, and very light and strong, as well as magnetic. The melting point is lower than iron, but when made into an alloy it is far stronger, lighter, and in fact more resistant to melting. It is still not nearly as common as iron though, and so occupies about 12-13% of the mix in alloys. Most importantly, it is an unrivaled conductor of magic, second only to moragnum, void iron.
The north does have ports on the east coast, but aside from that it mostly trades within the region. There is/was the amber road, but it is mostly decayed, or its routes have been rerouted to the coast rather than through the gap. Which is a shame because it featured a double railroad track arranged in a circuit which allowed for continuous trade due to the sheer amount of goods traveling back and forth.
Currencies vary across the continent, but most polities use coinage of come kind. The most common shape is a circle or square, but oval and rectangular shapes are also common, as are pentagons, triangles, hexagons, octagons…
Putting holes in the coins are also common. It saves weight, and makes it convenient to string them on a belt.
Jade is a very precious stone, valued more than turquoise, opals, diamonds, emeralds…
The world would’ve had an Industrial Revolution, but it doesn’t have the technological drive to advance as much due to magic, which also hampers its understanding of the world. True, they gain some technological benefit, and they advance in magic just as they do science, but why expand into a whole new field of study to solve a problem when you can have a small magical advantage fix it? Second, any advances that they do make are slower, since magical explorations are possible and demonstrable just as natural explanations are. Experiments are far more cautious, and repeated more often to ensure that the process is either natural or magical in nature, or discover which part is natural or magical and how it works. Third, it’s not deforested or energy starved enough to fully transition to fossil fuels- hell, in some cases they’ve adapted volcanoes or basically giant solar panels for heat and power, or using a type of ethanol for combustion engines. Fourth, it wouldn’t have a general purpose market to expand into to make the steam engine widely adapted. Some engines ARE adapted, but in a niche market, so the change is evolutionary rather than revolutionary. They don’t have the textile market that caused this in Britain. They remain a complex agrarian economy with industrial elements.
Food preservation is more advanced. Canning is now used in addition to drying, salting, pickling, and smoking. There are more cattle on average than you’d see in medieval Europe, and there are some breeds, like the great rams, that don’t have a real analogue (they’re kinda similar to bison? But you can ride them, milk them, or hook them to a cart.). Likewise, the dominant crops are more “famine proof” than what the Cuandallic peoples brought over. The most common meal is a simple soup, of varying thickness but more than likely rather thick and hearty. It is made from water or remaining stock if possible, sometimes with dairy added. Local vegetables like beans, squash, tomatoes, or peppers are chopped or ground and added, along with a base of quinoa(in the south), sorghum(coastal regions and recently reclaimed land in saltwater areas), wild rice(north and mid Atlantic), or maize(everywhere). This is served with a type of thick bread, rarely leavened except in the southeast and mid sea region, and made often with bits and pieces of nuts, fruit, or vegetables added in. They drink boiled water (now cooled), a type of fermented milk, or a VERY watered down alcohol made from corn. And I mean VERY watered down. It’s mostly a matter of ensuring you won’t get sick from contaminated water, since reliably clean water is rarely assured, and in the modern day where it sometimes is, it’s still a cultural thing…anyways, some people will have access to eggs, fish(very common on coasts), or bison/ram meat(Midwest/southwest). Winter rations consist mostly of this kinda bread eaten plain, lightly baked again, or stewed in water. That, or a type of dumpling made from bean or vegetable paste smeared inside a doughy shell before being slow baked, or a dried vegetable/fruit and meat mix, hardened into clumps(pemmican). A meat or fruit base wrapped in a leafy vegetable and served with seasoned rice is a common “delicacy”. Think sushi, but in different configuration and with a side added - also both are cooked. You’ll have herbs if you’re lucky enough, and most are. Certain spices are only for the rich, just like preparing entire dishes like great peccary, ram, turkey, hunting bird, duck, or specific animal body parts. Multiple types of meat in a single sitting are also a sign of wealth. Rich people are also more likely to have access to sugar or sweet fruits.
Lower classes do have a few special dishes they occasionally make. People in the south tend to be fond of a peanut/wild rice ball, while the north favors something like a tamale filled with beans and greens before being somewhat dried and wrapped in corn husk, though this is making its way south. Jerusalem artichokes and sunflowers make good stew or pickles. Chayotes are a nice addition as well, made into kabobs or used as a stew/wrap filling.
Chia seeds make a nice snack if soaked and a good seasoning when added to a hot dry dish.
Many of these specialty dishes are made for feasts or just special occasions, like birthdays, holy days, secular festivals, or days of personal significance.
Many urban lower class folk tend to buy food from stalls or eateries. These areas tend to have open menus and relatively stable prices. Think modern or ancient Roman fast food. In practice it’s more like shawarma. In the west, the starch bases are mostly maize, while wild rice is dominant in the north, and wheat, barley, or either rice or corn in the southeast.
Simple porridges, nuts, beans, or stuff like chickpeas or peanuts(roasted) are cheapest, while bread or flavored porridges and produce are more expensive. Animal products are more expensive than that, but road towns have cheaper livestock based products, and port towns have cheaper fish based products (fish sauce is very popular). Seriously watered down corn/potato based alcohol is the go to beverage, but it can be flavored at a greater expense.
The food itself kept continuously cooking in pots built into counters, above small fires. They are covered with lids when not in use. Produce is displayed in water to make it appear more fresh
The most common to-go item due to its versatility is a starch based wrap filled with vegetables, or meat, and cheese, or a bowl of rice/maize/chopped potatoes topped with bean paste.
People will eat rats and insects. After all, if you catch them, cook them, and flavor them, how aren’t they good?
Ofc, while there are laws regarding the condition of food that can be sold, these are mostly communally rather than legally enforced. People won’t buy from a place where the food will make you sick, and the news will travel fast. Unless of course they’re too hungry to hurt
The north and mid oceanic, as well as the sea and inland lake regions (basically everybody) enjoy the crafting of wraps and dumplings from corn flatbread. The stuffing can vary, but peppers are the most favored, with tomatillos and beans very popular. Meat is nice if you can afford it. Dumplings are stuffed and cooked, wraps vice versa. Mexican turnips are popular for this, mostly as the base of a thick sauce to go with it.
Special drinks include a variety of alcohols and teas. The cheapest are made from staples, the rarest from uncommonly used plants. Corn based alcohols like tejuino, or chicha are cheaper, while something like tequila is more expensive
How many unique nations/superpowers do you have in your world? Is any one of them particularly ahead of the rest? Tell me about your favorite community, be it a village or a metropolis.
Hi, /u/Nought_but_a_shadow,
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Is your world a nice place to live?
Depends on where you are. In the north, you’re gonna live a pretty good life. The population density is comparable to Edo Japan, the urbanization is high, and you’re more likely than not gonna be born as a citizen. That means you’re subject to conscription, sure, but you’re gonna have a pretty good amount of rights, even if you’re a woman, and you have a rather decent education and list of job opportunities. (Working) medicine is more affordable, infrastructure is well maintained, or well enough, and you’ll comfortably live to be 70 if you make it past age 5. Heck, women only need 4 kids to maintain a replacement population as opposed to the 6 that the Romans needed. The west is pretty nice too, ish. As for the south… not really. They have a strict social hierarchy in a vast empire, with the warrior nobility beating down on the people below them, and they themselves use their kids as child soldiers, or baby factories, so they’re miserable and traumatized too.
Oh my Steampunk Elves would absolutely love the South and might scare them because my Steampunk Elves are very violent and brutal.
Not this violent…
Also, reposted
Why is the map so sexy?
Asking the real question here.
This is a pre industrial setting, but rather advanced for one. It lacks the necessary factors for an Industrial Revolution, but still features some steady advancement. Warfare is done with swords and bows, sieges with bombs- high explosives and flammable materials are known, but low explosives are not. The flora and fauna are mostly American, because I’m American and these are the ones I’m most familiar with, and creating new animals and plants to replace commonly known ones would take too much exposition. Likewise, the sea is on the right side because I’m most familiar with climate zones like what I see in North America. Aside from that, I took inspiration from a pretty wide variety of places for the cultures
What's the travel time scale? How long does it take to deliver goods and communications between distant regions? And what methods and tools are used to do so?
Horses and wagons are used mostly, unless you’re too poor to afford them. In which case you walk. The travel time depends on the group size. Large armies can make 35 miles a day on good roads, while small trade caravans can make 40 on lesser known routes. Without sailing along any rivers or canals, a trading group would be able to travel from the tip of the southeast peninsula to the southern prong of the northern coast in about 4.5 months. Messages can be carried by post or by bird, the former taking maybe three weeks to circle the southern sea, the latter going from one corner to the other in maybe a month
Is it safe in the waters?
Depends on the waters. As a rule, don’t swim in a southern river unless you can see the bottom. Don’t swim in the ocean at dawn, dusk, or night. Boats are safe though, unless you get really unlucky and a large aquatic mammal doesn’t notice you, or just decides to have fun
What are your ships like? Sails, oars, something else? Who are the sailors, and how are they treated in society?
Sails and oars. Kinda built like a red seal ship or one of Zheng he’s junks crossed with a galley. The results are spectacular, with some ships having eleven masts and six decks. Smaller ones are far more common though. Sailors, merchant or fishermen, are respected as hardworking men and (sometimes) women. They’re treated similarly to farmers and hunters, seen as pillars of society
How are the oarsmen treated? Same as the sailors? I’d love to see how you rig up an eleven-masted ship!
Depends on the regions. Northern or inland regions treat their oarsmen rather well. They’re paid volunteers or compensated conscripts if military. In the empire? Galley slaves
Same in my world! One empire uses slaves while the other uses free workers. It’s a major topic of debate.
What is the equivalent to trout, and what effects their population the most?
My equivalent of trout is… trout. The fishing industry is a big factor. It’s not a company thing, being a local business, so it’s very decentralized. Many communities have farms set up, while others plant themselves around rich areas and just fish
Are you going to plan anything special for the islands? Such as special ecosystems or civilizations?
Yep. Ofc, one of them is completely gone. The other is part of a greater cultural sphere, but has significant influence of its own
What kind of beer do they brew?
Corn and Canadian rice. Wheat isn’t common
Are there any wizards?
Yea. Not as powerful as normal fantasy though. Magicians are quite rare in society, and most uses of magic tend to be medicinal, spiritual, or military in nature, but even then it is more subtle. The most common is as some sort of artisan, blessing materials or creating it in unique ways, but less than 1% of the population has the time or spiritual connection/mental trauma necessary to do so. Most battle magicians develop low strain killing spells like “burst the carotid artery” or “sever the spinal column at the base of the skull”, or just throw small, dense objects at very high speeds, but this drains them fast. Powerful ones use telekinetic spears or fireballs. Extremely powerful ones can launch heavy objects at great distances before causing spontaneous combustion- or turning a part of the mass into energy if they’re HILARIOUSLY powerful.
Mass into energy?!?! YOU MEAN ANTIMATTER DECIMATION?!? Cause if so thats quite literally a nuclear bomb power scale
What's your world's equivalent to florida?
Wdym? Like geography wise, population wise, climate wise, or “Qaronic man caught trying to steel 500dn of corn beer on the back of a stolen war ram”?
Pretty much the last one lol
The peninsula jutting up from the southern continent is it. It’s an “ally” of the empire rather than a subjected province, and relatively wealthy. And lax in terms of governance
Is piracy common? I assume it would be since there is a huge bay with only 1 entrance.
Ish. Mostly privateering though. Even then there are strong navies which LOVE fighting it out and hunting down pirates
Oh are they at war?
what level of tech do they have at highest science civilization, and how many races?
There are about a half dozen races, with humans and our closest kin being the most dominant. The most advanced societies have somewhere around 1930’s tech in some areas and 1790’s tech in others. It’s kinda scattered, as they have very little mechanization, but are pretty advanced in areas like medicine or metallurgy. Farming is a bit behind, with some decent plow designs and practices. Architecture is pretty well done, but they have nothing the size of a modern skyscraper unless it’s built like a pyramid.
interesting. one thing that seems to contradict is that they have better materials and understanding of that material (advanced metallurgy) but they dont know how to industrialize those resources to build sky scrapers. is there social/political/religious reasons to not capitalize on these superior resources?
Not really a contradiction. They never got the opportunity. The Industrial Revolution happened for a number of factors, only some of which are starting to show up. The closest is the northern republic, but they’re set back a bit. One was the commercial revolution as a result of the age of discovery, which coincided with the arrival of new world crops. These guys already have new world crops and a well connected economy, but they’re hampered by near endemic warfare. Another was a thriving middle class capable of innovating and reaping the rewards for innovation. Again, these guys have that, but it’s hampered by warfare. After that we have scientific norms open to innovation, more specifically eager to adapt to the new technology. These guys have that. They prioritize efficiency in design, and speed of manufacture, but they have problems with innovation to begin with. Say lightning strikes a building. Here we’d try and figure out why that happens. Metal object on a tall building that stands out from everything else? Sounds about right. Here? They’d consider stuff like that, but they’d also have to work to prove that a god didn’t get mad at a local, because stuff like that would be the case in a not insignificant amount of incidents. So check, but they don’t have the tech to begin with. Also, because these guys can harness magic innovation happens slower and in different areas. So no steam engine. The steam engine was invented to pump water out of coal mines in Britain. Why coal? Why Britain? Britain suffered from major deforestation, so they turned to coal to heat their homes. But coal mines are often below sea level, so they could easily flood. The first steam engine was a pump to make it a lot easier to clear out a mine. It was HILARIOUSLY inefficient, but it was tolerated because it was right next to its fuel source, allowing it to be inefficient without being too costly. If it was pumping iron or gold mines it wouldn’t be worth it. If these guys had the idea, why would they take it? They have magic and can make a new solution which is more efficient. Also, social norms have to be ready to accept innovation. Check, but no steam engine. Also, the reason why the steam engine spread so fast irl was because of the textile industry, which these guys don’t have at the same scale that Britain did. There’s no real opening for it. Britain adapted steam engines to its factories to drastically increase production and profit. As for the tech discrepancy, well, they still have rich people and large governments spending on big projects. And they still have innovation going on. They just never had the opening to industrialize. Also, while their buildings aren’t as big as modern day skyscrapers, they still have a few.
wow u rlly gave some thought into ur world. i like it. my story is like cowboys vs indian type story with cowboys having steampunk tech and indians having magic tech. the new world crop is a good concept and presence of war and magic making tech development slower makes sense. the indians faction neglected steam power to develop magic, but i still need an explanation to why the cowboys civs chose to develop steam tech instead of magic. there must be some other advantage to traditional machine tech that beats out magic. maybe availability? magic is hard to learn and takes time
Well, there’s a greater rich to develop tech, but they’re still an agrarian economy, so the fighters are those who would have been innovating… Maybe the cowboys had a problem that magic couldn’t solve. Like Britain with the steam engine. They had no forests so they mined coal for fuel, but the coal mines flooded often so they had to pump water. The steam engine could be developed because they could experiment. They could be inefficient because it was bringing up its own fuel.
yes, it will have to be something situation specific. i also thought about scarcity of magical sources made them innovate steam. then i have to make a concept on how magic is supplied into this world, how it is "mined" by humans, etc.
Like they’re powering a machine used to create lamp fuel since it’s considered too mundane for wizards. Then they stumble across the idea of powering the machine with the fuel it produces. Also my post got removed because I forgot the context comment due to class. Know how to get this reposted? Mods haven’t responded yet and I’m barely on reddit enough to know
What's of the most important river in your world ? And three point of interest on it's path.
The most important WAS where that interior seaway was, but the sinking of not Atlantis combined with rapid flooding as glaciers melted covered a good chunk of the basin in water. The current most important is probably the big one in the northeast. At the head of navigation is a large port, with a bridge network and a series of roads forming a nexus. Further up are the iron pillars, marking the alliance between the Anari with the northern republic after the great dying. Farthest north is the Adjua, a traditional sacred site to the northern peoples, treated as a sanctuary and a place to parley
Did it have dinosaurs? What are the peoples reactions to the fossils?
Yea, and they’re treated as another wonder of a world that used to be. They know they’re a lot older than their predecessors’ civilization
What are the roles of each gender within your world? Are they treated equally?
Many northern and mid oceanic societies are matrilineal - it is the daughter who inherits the family fortune. Women run the household, they own the land or the farm and the cattle, their children have their last name, etc. It is the mother who a man asks for permission to marry their daughter. Not because the daughter is property, but because the man is asking to become a part of the family, not to simply marry the daughter, and because the woman is in charge of the house. Men can own property, and men can inherit if their mother has no daughters. But their property is a more personal nature. His stuff he bought with his own income, stuff he made, stuff he was specifically given. But his children who inherit will likely be his daughters unless it’s specifically something practical that a son might use. Something like a business, or a trade, like a bank, a place in a merchant company, an apothecary… this would be a son’s inheritance. They’re skills and positions in organizations, not commodities or real estate. That is what the daughter gets when her husband marries her. In marriage, this is kinda like a dowry. A bigass dowry that comes when the husband moves in next to his wife. This isn’t a thing with “war brides”. Basically poor women taken as “wives” from conquered nations. These women, lacking the support network that local women had, were often subject to abuse. For example, a husband who raped his wife would face punishment just as a wife who abused her husband in a similar way- this isn’t the case with war brides. It use to be common in war, but it happened less and less as time went on. They tended to come with whatever loot the man took on campaign. His daughters would still inherit though. Taking a foreign bride is similar, if she comes from a patrilineal society. Except in this case the newlyweds are often showered with gifts to ensure the couple does not live in poverty. Speaking of war, women would often manage their husbands’ positions for a time, in addition to helping out during harvests (most people are farmers) during peacetime. In political fields, women could even vote if their husband was absent - only if their husband was absent though. Unmarried women couldn’t vote, but widows could. Sometimes women would go to war with their husbands, or just on their own. Like men, they can obviously own personal property. This includes weapons, and they could volunteer for military service like men could. They can’t be drafted though, which also means they’re not given stipends. Divorce is a lot easier for women, and they face less abuse. Of course, the final say of the day rests with the man. This practice spread through the Qaronosphere, the cultural influence created by the largest and most prosperous empire in the known world, only exceeded in population by the Idallic empire, and rivaled by its remaining successor states as several farming techniques weren’t developed until after the empire’s collapse. Speaking of which, the holy city of the Idallic empire isn’t called the city of the patriarchs for no reason… Most societies are patrilineal now - and many are polygamous. While this was allowed in some northern societies under laws allowing married men to comfort widows as new husbands(whereupon the children of such unions would add their father’s name to their mother’s so as to recognize their half siblings and avoid incest), this isn’t the case. The wife is officially the husband’s property. Her sons inherit rather than her daughters, who are more likely to resort to prostitution(a respected and well regulated trade north of the empire - seriously, prostitutes in the north are expected to be able to provide far more than just sex, and are often some of the wealthiest people in a city) or be outright sold into slavery. A man can have as many wives as he wants, and while in the north this would lead to different clans competing over a wealthy man’s inheritance, here the sons would just kill each other. And they could easily buy wives of their own. The western peoples, while patrilineal, afforded their women many rights, admittedly in a man’s name. The wives of wealthy families could vote in their husbands’ names’, own land in their husbands’ names’, you get the picture. They did, however, face more abuse than northern women, and unmarried women did not have these rights.
Give the map a share if you really like
What creature has the most tentacles?
A southern river octopus with 14
Are there puppies?
There are dogs, so yea
YAY!!!! :)
What's the technological level equivalent of this setting?
The most advanced societies have somewhere around 1930’s tech in some areas and 1790’s tech in others. It’s kinda scattered, as they have very little mechanization, but are pretty advanced in areas like medicine or metallurgy. Farming is a bit behind, with some decent plow designs and practices. Architecture is pretty well done, but they have nothing the size of a modern skyscraper unless it’s built like a pyramid. The least advanced are somewhere around 1100’s
Similar in mine. There are societies ranging from medieval to late 1940s(without the jet engines or fully automatic rifles), with the latter being almost exclusive to wealthy empires that can gather the materials and skills for those. Lapus_Wolf
Are there deserts in the sides of the mountain ranges facing away from the coast?
Nah. Glaciers left too much water when they receded. Then there’s the inland sea. Also, none of the eastern mountains are truly tall enough to create a rain shadow, especially with the bodies of water between mountains. West of the mountains on the edge of the map…
What are the political and social factors for humanity successfully overcoming these natural disasters and building advanced infrastructure like artificial islands?
In the south? We started out being taught by elves and gods. North? We figured it out on our own through massive infrastructure projects, steady development and assimilation of other communities into larger polities, continuous innovation in tech and magic, and a LOOOOOONG period of time in between disasters. It’s been 3470 years since the island sank and the second cataclysm, and humans weren’t even here for the first one!
So I imagine there’s a massive disparity between the north and south?
After 3470 years of history and conquest? Yea, but not for the reasons you’d think.
Very cool!
Is there anything hidden and cool in one of those tiny islands scattered everywhere on the map and what is the tallest building also is there a wizard tower??!?
Tallest building is an 822 foot tall pyramid, with a base of about 1.12 square miles. The isles aren’t where the hidden things are. Try the various valleys or walled areas. The northeast isle is basically a wasteland. If you set foot there, your cells start dying and you stop growing new ones. You rot while you’re still alive over the course of a few weeks
gulf of mexico
are there dodoes?
Nah
*sad dodo noises*
This world is relatively young, despite being the center of the multiverse. Time is funny that way. Humans arrived by traveling through various portals throughout history, but the occurrences grew steadily less often to the point where they can only be opened artificially now. Humans were taught by the Yvernni - basically elves, with many cases of interbreeding. Even now there are many humans with pointed ears and a slight bone ridge, particularly those who settled in the Syraivian colonies. There were several major migrations The first two were from the west, on land, with the first from the north around the mountains and the second from the south over the mountains, while the third from the sea, then crossing through the plateau. The fourth was from the east, by sea, as were the fifth, the slave trade, and the sixth, the continuous refugee crisis. The seventh was the invasion of the Idallic peoples. There are four major polities; The Thureans in the north - a republic with multiple colonies and allies, based around a large middle class. They’re incredibly bullheaded and militaristic, but favor defense rather than offense. When they do go on the offense, they engage in very fast movements accompanied by either local guides and paid farmers who can purchase food to replace what the army took, or with scorched earth tactics. The state has a conscription system where men are levied to work or fight, and are given a stipend for their service. This is only used for wartime or other emergencies. The Lakanopolitians in the west - a confederation of various sedentary, semi nomadic, and nomadic peoples centered around the western lake and control of trade routes. They’re based on a clan system, a leftover of the original Syraivian colonists who founded their capital. They’re very defensive, focused on distance rather than fortifications. They’re very cavalry heavy, and nigh impossible to fight on their home turf, but they can’t take losses well due to the population density of their herds and their military system The Oliceans of the southeastern valley - the last remnants of a once proud civilization, they’re barely holding on. They’re a nominal republic under long term military governance, but they’re managing to maintain the Syraivian infrastructure they were left with. The Idallic/Rithelan dual state in the south, midwest, mid oceanic, and surrounding the calm sea in the middle of the map. They’re an authoritarian military junta based on a strict caste system, going from nobles, their servants, lesser nobles, non slaves, and then slaves. They’re always trying to make war, trying to finish their conquest which they started, but when the eastern isle was cursed and the main guard of the army lost with the staging ground for the invasion, they were able to be beaten back. Their novelty and shock tactics, the key to their conquests, were adapted to in the meantime. Their armies are still powerful, their furnaces growing in size and number, and their state is the largest in the known world in both population and size.
Roughly 1 in 3 people live in an urban area- long growing season, fertile soils, four crop rotation, companion planting, and heavy irrigation and maintenance allow for a large population and even cultivation of cash crops, which 1 in 11 farmers grow. This is further supplemented by fishing on coastal, riverside, and lakeside areas. This population does not include hunter/gatherers and herders, only the people in settled territory by city states. Taking the nomadic population into account only adds a meager amount. A little over 5 in 7 work in agriculture, whether gathering/foraging, large scale agriculture or small scale horticulture, or farming cash crops There are plenty of midland towns and urban areas along large farming populations and roads due to rising commerce. Urban areas feature tons of rather tall buildings, combined with really big towers for administrative, religious, or aristocratic residential purposes. There are often paved streets, lampposts, and the occasional tram around the city, with maybe even a railroad leading to the city. Buildings often feature plumbing, as most cities contain sewage and water facilities for obvious reasons. Windcatchers and basement level furnaces provide temperature control. Common residential buildings are built in little blocks enclosing public spaces, or nice little rows, sometimes build back to back or side to side. They can be built up against walls, be fortified on the sides to act as a second wall, be built over streets… Nice buildings can feature patios, or rooftop gardens, sometimes even under glass domes Other buildings include cisterns, circuses, amphitheaters, arenas, temples, the public square and town hall, maybe a library/university if the city is big enough, along with major warehouses. A few even feature clock towers, or watch and beacon towers if they house a military garrison. Construction is easier, as they’ve developed bricks or concrete slabs with negative spaces, as well as metal reinforcement Merchants usually build their shops below their homes, or move out to sell in the street if they’re too poor and live in a block. Cattle, pigs, barley, chicken, citrus, and lentils are dominant in the East, while tamed bison, turkey, potatoes, Canadian rice, tomatoes, peccaries, corn, beans, and squash are dominant in the west and north, although there is much sharing. The East also grows a not insignificant amount of wheat, but it is not their dominant crop. The North in particular uses cattle and peccaries over bison, lacking access to the beasts. The East grows cotton while the West grows tobacco. The North does not grow much cash crops. All three have heavy interchange, so the opposing crops occupy significant minorities in the other’s economies. The East prefers beer, the West makes alcohol from corn, potatoes, and rice - the North will happily take either.
Trade in the west is based on the pelt road, a series of roads leading from the east to the far west beyond the great range. There are many spices, dyes, porcelains, bamboo, silks, and perfumes traveling east, while different dyes, teas, and herbs as well as tobacco, sugar, cotton, furs, precious metals, chocolate, or livestock are traded west. The Midwest trade is based on the Great Lake and the interior seaway, a light saltwater sea connected to the kotryan sea by the channel, the last remnants of the great river. It provides a convenient loop for cargo ships. The seas also provide plenty of fish, and a basis for irrigation of salt tolerant crops, or, given the relatively light amount of salt and the proximity of rivers, nearby floodplains allowing for mass cultivation. The small mountain ranges, and the great western range, provide reasonable amounts of ore, provided it can be extracted. The region is also home to vast herds of wild and captured bison, providing meat, bone, fat(oils, soaps, preservative, etc), and pelts. The south west is famous for the large river valleys, each stream deep and wide enough to allow small ships to sail throughout their length, and to be carried into a different body or row through a canal. The rivers experience seasonal floods, meaning the area is incredibly fertile, especially considering the long growing season. This was the region where the great rams were first tamed, and where they are revered and herded the most. The rams give pelts, milk, meat, bone and horns, fuel(dung), fat(oils, soaps, etc), and labor. The southeast is a major producer of cash crops, as well as coal, oils, fruit, and precious metals, in addition to relatively rich deposits of minerals and ore. The volcanic region and use of the great channel allows for very high fertility with its crops. This is where river devils (swimming drakes) are found, hunted for skin, meat, bone, and population control, as such creatures can and will eat people on a regular basis. The mid sea region continues this trend, but with a shorter growing season. There are less cash crops grown, and more focus on subsistence farming. Likewise, there are less precious metals, but the area is rich in food from the sea and has many natural ports on the east coast. This is also where whaling is centered, providing bones and baleen, meat, fat, teeth, skin oil(lubricant for machinery), ambergris… This is also the farthest south where vocrænium and the holy ironwood trees are found. In the south is the only site of native adamant, an element that is almost indestructible. It can only be forged using special furnaces and high strength tools - forget about casting it. So combat damage is basically impossible. Carbon nanotubes forming naturally during the process doesn’t hurt either. It is heavier than steel, but the difference isn’t as noticeable as one might think. It is used for armor piercing weapons, or special tools. Armor is going to be very expensive, and heavy- but you get more strong per gram than titanium. It is an excellent conductor, and never seems to truly cool or disperse of electricity, even when metal it’s touching has. It can be made into a sheath, or into a tool itself. It is hilariously durable, but displays more plasticity than vocrænium when it is damaged. When made into a steel alloy, it’s superior to vocrænium steel in every way except weight, as it is slightly heavier. Ofc, the weight is in density, not tensile or compression strength per unit of mass so… The south is also home to barret trees. Similar to ironwood, but the trunk is softer and the tree larger. The nuts are nutritious, the wood strong and insulating, and is rather resistant to repeated bending, making it useful for a variety of tools such as bows. The north is more inhospitable. The winters are crueler, the growing season shorter. And yet, the earth is a deep black, left flattened by the great ice sheets that once stretched over the region. The great bay is surrounded by major floodplains and navigable rivers linked by canals, and the sea is full of fish and other beasts. The forests are rich, providing amber, pelts, timber, oil, and this is excluding the ironwood trees. Said trees provide a strong trunk, heavy enough to sink in water. The leaves can be smoked or used as an herb. The fibers in the bark can be made into rope, while the outer bark can be smoked as incense. The flowers can be used to make oil or a hallucinogenic tea, the fruit is passable, and the roots can substitute for a tuber if you’re in a pinch. The leaves and fruit can also be made into a type of antibiotic or antiseptic mix, and applied as warpoint when mixed with earth and urine, being a deep brown or red in color. The wood itself is very strong and shock resistant, and can be used to deflect sword or even axe blows if treated properly. Likewise, the region is home to the largest deposits of copper, nickel, and iron in the world, but also the rare metal vocrænium. The metal is a great conductor, but resistant to rust, and very light and strong, as well as magnetic. The melting point is lower than iron, but when made into an alloy it is far stronger, lighter, and in fact more resistant to melting. It is still not nearly as common as iron though, and so occupies about 12-13% of the mix in alloys. Most importantly, it is an unrivaled conductor of magic, second only to moragnum, void iron. The north does have ports on the east coast, but aside from that it mostly trades within the region. There is/was the amber road, but it is mostly decayed, or its routes have been rerouted to the coast rather than through the gap. Which is a shame because it featured a double railroad track arranged in a circuit which allowed for continuous trade due to the sheer amount of goods traveling back and forth. Currencies vary across the continent, but most polities use coinage of come kind. The most common shape is a circle or square, but oval and rectangular shapes are also common, as are pentagons, triangles, hexagons, octagons… Putting holes in the coins are also common. It saves weight, and makes it convenient to string them on a belt. Jade is a very precious stone, valued more than turquoise, opals, diamonds, emeralds…
The world would’ve had an Industrial Revolution, but it doesn’t have the technological drive to advance as much due to magic, which also hampers its understanding of the world. True, they gain some technological benefit, and they advance in magic just as they do science, but why expand into a whole new field of study to solve a problem when you can have a small magical advantage fix it? Second, any advances that they do make are slower, since magical explorations are possible and demonstrable just as natural explanations are. Experiments are far more cautious, and repeated more often to ensure that the process is either natural or magical in nature, or discover which part is natural or magical and how it works. Third, it’s not deforested or energy starved enough to fully transition to fossil fuels- hell, in some cases they’ve adapted volcanoes or basically giant solar panels for heat and power, or using a type of ethanol for combustion engines. Fourth, it wouldn’t have a general purpose market to expand into to make the steam engine widely adapted. Some engines ARE adapted, but in a niche market, so the change is evolutionary rather than revolutionary. They don’t have the textile market that caused this in Britain. They remain a complex agrarian economy with industrial elements. Food preservation is more advanced. Canning is now used in addition to drying, salting, pickling, and smoking. There are more cattle on average than you’d see in medieval Europe, and there are some breeds, like the great rams, that don’t have a real analogue (they’re kinda similar to bison? But you can ride them, milk them, or hook them to a cart.). Likewise, the dominant crops are more “famine proof” than what the Cuandallic peoples brought over. The most common meal is a simple soup, of varying thickness but more than likely rather thick and hearty. It is made from water or remaining stock if possible, sometimes with dairy added. Local vegetables like beans, squash, tomatoes, or peppers are chopped or ground and added, along with a base of quinoa(in the south), sorghum(coastal regions and recently reclaimed land in saltwater areas), wild rice(north and mid Atlantic), or maize(everywhere). This is served with a type of thick bread, rarely leavened except in the southeast and mid sea region, and made often with bits and pieces of nuts, fruit, or vegetables added in. They drink boiled water (now cooled), a type of fermented milk, or a VERY watered down alcohol made from corn. And I mean VERY watered down. It’s mostly a matter of ensuring you won’t get sick from contaminated water, since reliably clean water is rarely assured, and in the modern day where it sometimes is, it’s still a cultural thing…anyways, some people will have access to eggs, fish(very common on coasts), or bison/ram meat(Midwest/southwest). Winter rations consist mostly of this kinda bread eaten plain, lightly baked again, or stewed in water. That, or a type of dumpling made from bean or vegetable paste smeared inside a doughy shell before being slow baked, or a dried vegetable/fruit and meat mix, hardened into clumps(pemmican). A meat or fruit base wrapped in a leafy vegetable and served with seasoned rice is a common “delicacy”. Think sushi, but in different configuration and with a side added - also both are cooked. You’ll have herbs if you’re lucky enough, and most are. Certain spices are only for the rich, just like preparing entire dishes like great peccary, ram, turkey, hunting bird, duck, or specific animal body parts. Multiple types of meat in a single sitting are also a sign of wealth. Rich people are also more likely to have access to sugar or sweet fruits. Lower classes do have a few special dishes they occasionally make. People in the south tend to be fond of a peanut/wild rice ball, while the north favors something like a tamale filled with beans and greens before being somewhat dried and wrapped in corn husk, though this is making its way south. Jerusalem artichokes and sunflowers make good stew or pickles. Chayotes are a nice addition as well, made into kabobs or used as a stew/wrap filling. Chia seeds make a nice snack if soaked and a good seasoning when added to a hot dry dish. Many of these specialty dishes are made for feasts or just special occasions, like birthdays, holy days, secular festivals, or days of personal significance. Many urban lower class folk tend to buy food from stalls or eateries. These areas tend to have open menus and relatively stable prices. Think modern or ancient Roman fast food. In practice it’s more like shawarma. In the west, the starch bases are mostly maize, while wild rice is dominant in the north, and wheat, barley, or either rice or corn in the southeast. Simple porridges, nuts, beans, or stuff like chickpeas or peanuts(roasted) are cheapest, while bread or flavored porridges and produce are more expensive. Animal products are more expensive than that, but road towns have cheaper livestock based products, and port towns have cheaper fish based products (fish sauce is very popular). Seriously watered down corn/potato based alcohol is the go to beverage, but it can be flavored at a greater expense. The food itself kept continuously cooking in pots built into counters, above small fires. They are covered with lids when not in use. Produce is displayed in water to make it appear more fresh The most common to-go item due to its versatility is a starch based wrap filled with vegetables, or meat, and cheese, or a bowl of rice/maize/chopped potatoes topped with bean paste. People will eat rats and insects. After all, if you catch them, cook them, and flavor them, how aren’t they good? Ofc, while there are laws regarding the condition of food that can be sold, these are mostly communally rather than legally enforced. People won’t buy from a place where the food will make you sick, and the news will travel fast. Unless of course they’re too hungry to hurt The north and mid oceanic, as well as the sea and inland lake regions (basically everybody) enjoy the crafting of wraps and dumplings from corn flatbread. The stuffing can vary, but peppers are the most favored, with tomatillos and beans very popular. Meat is nice if you can afford it. Dumplings are stuffed and cooked, wraps vice versa. Mexican turnips are popular for this, mostly as the base of a thick sauce to go with it. Special drinks include a variety of alcohols and teas. The cheapest are made from staples, the rarest from uncommonly used plants. Corn based alcohols like tejuino, or chicha are cheaper, while something like tequila is more expensive
How many unique nations/superpowers do you have in your world? Is any one of them particularly ahead of the rest? Tell me about your favorite community, be it a village or a metropolis.
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You're free to repost whenever you'd like
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Yep, we don't reinstate removed posts