Worldbuilding Stack Exchange
Worldbuilding Stack Exchange

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1500 questions
79
votes
7 answers

Spiders In Space: How to design a space suit for an arachnid?

In my stellar empire, the sapient life of the home world are arachnids. Due to an oxygen-heavy world with certain evolutionary characteristics, spider-like beings developed intelligence and formed society, leading them (eventually) to start looking…
GuidingOlive
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Are flying plants possible?

Is it possible for a plant to have the ability to fly? More exactly, the plant would either need to live without having any roots (and it would never need to touch the ground), or with the ability to re-root itself in another location from time to…
Vincent
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Why would society not cremate its dead in a world where necromancy is possible?

Necromancy is a type of magic that forces a soul back into a body after it has been killed. Through a dark ritual, the soul is forcefully removed from its eternal rest in the afterlife and is anchored back into the mortal world. The soul is under…
user32862
78
votes
32 answers

How could an apocalypse kill off all adults -- leaving only those under the age of 18?

I've been trying to write a book for years about a post-apocalyptic society entirely run by children, in which all of the adults died off and the children have to figure out how to survive and, eventually, rebuild. However, I cannot figure out a…
McKenna Fussell
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How do I make an alien technology feel alien?

In a lot of science fiction series, such as Halo, Mass Effect and Gears of War, they show alien technology that is flatly human with a few added-on bells and whistles. It lacks the awe or feel of truly alien technology. How can I make an alien…
TrEs-2b
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6 answers

Are geographically typed planets realistic?

In many science fictions we see planets which are designated by a particular terrain type. For example, Dagobah is a swamp planet, Tatooine is a desert planet, and Kamino is an ocean world. However, Earth has a much more varied and interesting…
Liath
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How can a pacifist country protect itself?

Think of a more or less traditional medieval fantasy world: multiple races, magic, some alchemy/magitech that is of comparable power and reliability to ordinary magic. And in this world there exists the Loveland, where all the people are pacifists…
Alice
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I'm on the Titanic, what should I do to survive?

I time traveled to the date of April 14th, 1912 with my time machine. It’s evening, 6:00 PM to be exact and my location is the deck of the ship Titanic. We all know what is going to happen not too long from now. I need to survive. So my question is:…
DT Cooper
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33 answers

If magic is real, can it be true that rational scientific thought should exclude it?

"Magic and science coexist." A tired phrase by now, because it's found in so much fiction. But can it make sense? Assume a world broadly parallel to our own. It has experienced its Age of Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution. There is also magic…
Tristan Klassen
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"Slow" teleportation

I've got a new invention which I think could revolutionize the transportation of people and goods: it's a teleport unit, which can transmit matter from one portal to another regardless of what is in between the portals. Unlike most teleports,…
Matthew
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11 answers

Anatomically correct "XKCDius lethalissimus"

Inspired by today's XKCD comic How could a creature, momentarily called XKCDius lethalissimus, evolve to have the following features: Be radioactive (intended as more radioactive than the environmental background) Give high voltage hazard Emit…
L.Dutch
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7 answers

Is there something like "Open Source Elvish"?

I am preparing world for my novel. One of the races in my world is elves. To make my world believable I would like to incorporate the Elvish language. I am big fan of Tolkien or Sapkowski's Elvish language. However as their work is copyrighted I…
Martin Hlavňa
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20 answers

How could an ancient race warn the future in a universally understandable way?

Let's say that an ancient race of beings locked away some sort of evil that could destroy the world if unleashed. Let's also say that unleashing it would be relatively easy to do if not warned of danger. Using only Aztec or Ancient Egyptian level…
Ely Miller
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31 answers

Why would a God of Murder be worshipped by a society?

I'm currently writing up a world where every thing and concept imaginable is represented by an immortal Being/God. Assuming Gods don't grant powers to their worshipers, but may interact with them; why would people devote themselves around a clearly…
Sword Knight
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Can Communism become a stable economic strategy? How?

In a capitalist Society, you work, you earn money and you buy a shovel to dig a hole In a communist Society, you are given a shovel and told to work Alt History Hub Communism was a major rival of capitalism, both being on opposite side of the…
TrEs-2b
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