Worldbuilding Stack Exchange
Worldbuilding Stack Exchange

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1500 questions
38
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11 answers

Stumped: How can I get a huge Earth-like planet?

I hope this isn't too broad. I would like an Earth-like planet for November's NaNoWriMo that is just enormous, but plausible. Then I started to get into material composition, proximity to the star, trying to achieve the right densities - well, you…
Mikey
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How do ballistic trajectories work in a rotating cylinder world?

For the sake of fixing some image in your mind, imagine you want to practice some sport in a rotating cylinder world: whether it be launching a javelin, strike a tee at the golf club or scoring a 3 points shot on the ball field, some sort of…
L.Dutch
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20 answers

Realistic, logical way for men with medieval-era weaponry to compete with much larger and physically stronger foes

I am currently writing/hard-core procrastinating on a fantasy novel that includes a race known as Orthaks. Basically an amended version of Orcs, they range from seven to nine feet tall, weigh between four to six hundred pounds, and are significantly…
LoganP98
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17 answers

What can plausibly explain many of my very long and low-tech bridges?

I have a very large developed (relatively rational) fantasy game world which mostly has medieval technology with some Renaissance technology, and some low-powered magic. In it, when I was much younger, I mapped a great lake with several islands…
Dronz
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13 answers

What does the view outside my ship traveling at light speed look like?

World Rules: Travelers are able to move at the speed of light without disruption of their lives. Time passes "normally" for them. They think, breathe, love, cry, and steer the ship as if they were merely crossing the Atlantic. Whatever allows the…
JBH
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11 answers

Can a space-faring robot still function over a billion years?

This short story, which I've already written, is set in the FAR, FAR FUTURE, where a robotic space probe is exploring as much of the known universe as it can, despite its AI not knowing if its creators--humanity--still exists as a species. The exact…
Nathan Hopp
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29 answers

How can I explain that a time travelling apparatus moves itself through time but appears in the same location?

For the purposes of this question, let's ignore the causality issues of time travel itself. Suppose our hero, or an accomplice of our hero, has invented a time travelling apparatus. It works like this: a person steps into a chamber, sets some…
user
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What kind of a unit/army would prefer fighting from a low ground position?

It's a well-known fact that attacking or defending from a high ground gives a wide range of advantages over an opponent occupying a lower position. I'm DM-ing a campaign where PCs are about to defend their freshly acquired castle and the village…
LordMarkus
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21 answers

Are "Midas" swords useless for warfare?

Are swords, spears, and arrows that turn slain enemies into pure gold useful, in medieval combat, or are they useless aside from free money? Notes about the weapons: flesh wounds don't turn people to gold; they need to be killed it also works on…
Seraph Myrmidon
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24 answers

Explanation as to why Male/Female Wizards have sexy bodies

I know that RPGs employ eye candy tactics to players of their preferred sex in order to entice the players into the game. Male Wizards are sexy and muscular. Female Wizards are sexy and have big boobs. Aside from that, is there any other practical…
Meiji Marts
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8 answers

How can a defecting pilot improve their odds of survival?

A bit of context first, this question is inspired by the famous North Korean pilot No Kum-sok, and his defection to the United States during the Korean war. A quick summary, he breaks formation, flies to a South Korean air-force base, and lands…
Razmode
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6 answers

Planet wide seasons: Possible?

I was reading a World Anvil article which has a world that experiences world wide seasonal changes. Specifically quoting the article, During the month of Frimense, the Frostkin thrive, as the whole world descends into 49 days of winter. However,…
DevourerOfStars
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18 answers

In a cemetery, what evidence could be found that humans were intelligent and had technology?

So, a group of archeologists from the year 4978 have uncovered something strange. They’ve been searching for the missing link between them and their primordial ancestors, and they seem to have found something interesting. Their was a a large stone,…
MindX
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15 answers

The Infinite Sea, how narrow can that be?

I have a Roleplay setting on the books. It's a constructed pocket universe that the Dragons built to hide from the Great Old Ones; because of its structure, there are vast bodies of water, potentially millions of kilometres, of deep, open ocean…
Ash
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In a post-fossil fuel economy, what could natural gas pipelines be used for?

The United States (as well as many other countries) is covered in a vast network of tubes: These tubes vary greatly in diameter. Some could hardly fit a baseball, while others are large enough to comfortably fit a prone human. In a future world…
Pink Sweetener
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