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1500 questions
54
votes
30 answers
How can humans be important enough to be the deciding factor in the war between gods?
Imagine a world with many gods that have been in constant battle with each other. However, the gods are exactly equal in strength, the very nature of godhood enforces a sort of balance in their strength, meaning neither side has been able to defeat…
dsollen
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54
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23 answers
What possible scientific reasons could there be for a vampire to only be killable via wooden stake to the heart?
This excludes metal stakes, knives etc. to the heart, it's not the bleeding out that's the issue. Just for some reason, a wooden stake to the heart ends a vampire. Why?
Assume the type of vampire that is common in fiction (can't go out during the…
Jose Dzireh Chong
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54
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27 answers
What circumstance would produce a society filled with parents willing to let the children be exposed to life-threatening Danger?
My world has a school dedicated to the teaching of magic. Nearly all parents who can send their children to the school do so. The school, as part of their teaching method, exposes their students to life threatening circumstances. They do try to…
Bryan McClure
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54
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4 answers
Is there an effective way to design a realistic religion for a world?
When building any fictional world, perhaps especially a fantasy world, the whole question of religion is bound to come up. What are the gods? What do people believe in? How and where and why do they worship? And what effects or implications will…
CAgrippa
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54
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10 answers
Is there any organization to a shantytown of storage containers?
What is the layout (or physical arrangement) of a shantytown made of storage containers? It is meant to be chaotic, but are there any organizing principles I should be aware of?
The cargo containers are different sizes and designs of intermodal…
wetcircuit
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54
votes
10 answers
How to be hidden from world for a year
Question inspired by a book I just finished: Dan Brown's Inferno
Suppose I am a wealthy billionaire who wants to hide from the outside world for a year.
Plot twist is, that the world's anti-terrorist organizations think that I might be wanting to…
Pavel Janicek
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54
votes
15 answers
Alien number systems - Is the decimal system special?
Is there anything about the decimal number system that conveys any advantages over any other number system?
So is it any more likely that some other alien race would use base-10 numbers in everyday life or are they just as likely to use say...…
Samwise
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54
votes
7 answers
How would law enforcement be different if we could talk to the dead?
There are many application of being able to communicate with the dead but in the interests of scoping I'm interested in law enforcement and sentencing. The method would be scientifically proven communication and no trick or belief required however…
Liath
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18 answers
In an atheist alien society where bodily functions (reproduction and waste elimination) are not taboo what would be used to curse?
Most human swearing and cursing is based on either bodily functions (notably reproduction and waste elimination) or on religion. In an alien society where there are no taboos along those lines and where there is no religion, what might take the same…
Tim B
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54
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10 answers
How to appease the Goddess of Traffic Lights
Disclaimer: The following question is an in-Universe question for a wip project called "The gods of ordinariness"
My friends, I am in a spot of trouble. On my daily drive to work, I have to pass a grand total of 34 traffic lights. This of course…
Amianas
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54
votes
5 answers
How horny can humans get before it's too horny
Trying to create horns which are both ornamental and defensive, I've read somewhere that beards evolved in humans because we punch each other so much that even just a minuscule amount of hair cushion can make the difference between you dying with a…
user104995
54
votes
18 answers
Could you design a fighter plane for a centaur?
It's the Great War, and all the nations are having a good time of it, painting their biplanes flashy colours, as they shoot into their own propellers!
But over in the corner, lonesome and dejected, the centaur nations had no planes at all.... They…
Johnny
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54
votes
30 answers
Despite slain monsters continually yielding gold coins, why does gold's trading value seem to remain constant over the years?
Set in fantasy medieval times, monsters can be seen loitering around the kingdom. People discovered that the slain carcasses of these monsters contain a certain quantity of gold coins. The rest is history.
It seems these monsters continually…
user6760
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54
votes
20 answers
How would an order of Monks that renounce their names communicate effectively?
In my fantasy world there exists an order of monks known as the Noncara/Non Cara (haven't decided which form looks better). The Non Cara practice a theology based solely on works. By this I mean: they believe in works/deeds alone. How this…
Celestial Dragon Emperor
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54
votes
27 answers
If a large space ship crashes on a planet, what could kill passengers without obliterating the ship?
The situation I'm considering is as follows:
A large research vessel with a crew of about 100-200 attempts to land on a potentially habitable planet, but something goes wrong during the descent. A few crew members who happened to be close to the…
Anthony
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