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1500 questions
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18 answers

With some exceptions, what makes the most powerful mage on the planet, not kill a merchant and steal his goods?

So I am the most powerful mage on the planet. A merchant offers me an artifact that is too expensive for me to buy. With some exceptions, what makes me, the most powerful mage on the planet, not just kill the merchant and steal his goods? Important…
Bwrites
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Would 'magic' muskets be a significant advantage over actual muskets?

In my world I have one side armed with 'muskets' which utilize a simple form of magitek. Their 'bullet' is actually a magical 'blast' of condensed magic from the air. Despite being magical in theory, I am modeling them off of early muskets (at…
dsollen
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How to study magic that isn't objective

It has been said that any reasonable kind of magic would be possible to study and thus, would be like just another branch of science. That is, unless it makes absolutely no sense. I have created a setting where magic is present everywhere, but not…
Xonok
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20 answers

Possible Long Term Effects of Frequent Teleportation

This is a follow-up to my previous question, based on one of the comments that was made. While the answers to the original make it quite reasonable that there will be no permanent effects manifested in the short term from a teleportation*, I am now…
Mad Physicist
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Would bigger space war ships be actually better or not?

Space battles, with huge/gigantic space ships shooting lasers, missiles and projectiles at each other, there's a lot of material regarding space battles (Movies, books, games), but there's something that's been bothering me for quite some time…
Kevin fu
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23 answers

How can I make sure there is only one direct descendent over a thousand years?

Long story short, a thousand years ago a man killed himself halfway through a ritual, which stopped it in half (think Jumanji). In order to complete the ritual, the bad guys need the direct descendant of the original (his wife and kids survived).…
Matrim Cauthon
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8 answers

Anatomically correct multiarmed humanoids

Humanoids with more than 2 pairs of arms weren't an unknown concept in human culture. From ancient mythology, there are the hundred-armed Hekatoncheires (who have their own thread here) and six-armed Gegenees from Greek myth, the many Hindu deities…
MarqFJA87
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How does an ordinary person announce major discoveries?

While this is a hypothetical question, I am actually looking for a 'real-world' answer. This is my first time here, so please let me know if I should ask it somewhere else. So, let's say I am an ordinary person (i.e. not famous, not a scientist or…
Seth
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21 answers

Warrior caste in an utopian society: what would keep them peaceful for centuries?

There is an Earth-like planet with human-like inhabitants. After almost destroying the ecosystem with weapons of mass destruction, toxic waste and such, the civilization changed to survive and an almost utopian society was created. I know how…
Yuriy S
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How far can a time traveller go into the past before his electrical equipment becomes unchargeable?

My time traveller has a maybe 20-minutes-into-the-future smartphone and laptop. They can store large amounts of data, on the Petabytes level or higher. The time traveller can effectively store the entirety of the current day's internet and library…
Eric
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19 answers

How do I prevent flight in a cyberpunk future?

~200 years into the future, most of mankind has been wiped out by war. The remainder lives in walled supercities, to protect them from the hazards of the wastelands - including a nation of machines intent on human extinction. I've been thinking of…
Lu22
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What would limit the size of a sail-powered sea cargo ship using modern (or near future) technologies, and how big could we go?

Fossil-fuel-powered shipping is obviously much better than old-school sail-powered ships for moving cargo around. But if winds were predictable, fossil fuels rare and solar/nuclear power not an option (for whatever reason) how big could we build…
Seamus
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7 answers

Trade Unions VS Guilds: semantics or is there a 'real' difference?

Quick Question: I have looked at both separately but can't find a clear answer that compares them side by side and clarifies what the actual difference is. There seems to be a large overlap between the two. Trade Unions appear to be modern 19th…
EveryBitHelps
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What would be the most effective melee weapon against heavily armored opponent?

In my world front line assaults are done with Mechanized Assault Vehicles, or MAVs. They are kind of like the vehicles in the Mecha universe, but more armor than weapon, more humanoid, than purpose built. Think Pacific Rim only on half the size…
Steve Mangiameli
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Economic reasons to put people on Mars?

I am working a hard science fiction story and I cannot come up with a really good reason to put people on Mars. I need people on Mars for the story to work, but there is no reason for them to be there. Drones can do anything people can (often better…
GreenFox
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