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1500 questions
36
votes
8 answers
Alternatives to "humanoid" as a category in fantasy?
Not that political correctness has ever been an important theme in fantasy, but I've always found "humanoid" a strange category in settings that include, say, men, elves, orcs, dwarves, goblins, and other beings.
Yes, the reader/player/audience is a…
Itolet
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36
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9 answers
How would tattoos fare on reptilian scales?
In a world with humanized (or at least tool using) reptiles, how long would a tattoo be able to last on the scales? Would the tools need to be much different than what we use today?
Would it be possible for a reptile to get a tattoo of a human?
Linkyu
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36
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15 answers
Why do deities need to gain belief?
I've read many posts discussing the method of creating a religion, or the way that a god gains the belief of people (Here's an example).
These discussions have caused me to wonder the why of gaining belief, not just the how.
In my plot, the…
fairytale
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36
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8 answers
What would be the effects on the human body if the oxygen level increased by a lot?
How would the human body be affected if oxygen levels increased by a lot?
Our air is 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen. If it increased to 30% oxygen, what would the effects be and how long would it take for the effects to affect us.
CrazySlayaNinjaBear
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36
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21 answers
How could a species survive on just luring in and eating humans?
In a question about mermaids, it was proposed that they might have evolved to look like humans to lure them in and prey on them.
How could a creature survive on a diet of nothing but lured-in humans?
As I see it, there are two problems: finding…
Joe
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36
votes
6 answers
Are hoofed bipeds feasible?
Satyrs, fauns, pan, and even the devil are commonly depicted as humanoid bipeds with goatlike unguligrade hooves for feet. However, common as such beings may be in fantasy and mythology, I have been unable to unearth any paleontological evidence…
ckersch
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36
votes
5 answers
Is diamond armor better than traditional armor?
A medieval alchemist (from Europe) has figured out how to crystallize any object and turn it into diamond. Would diamond armor (e.g. chain mail and plate armor) and weapons be superior to their traditional counterparts? They would be lighter…
Ovi
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36
votes
20 answers
Why would a magic world be stuck in medieval times?
This is related to Must magic be tied to medieval tech?, but not the same.
So the setup:
There are two worlds, one is Earth, as it is now, with all its history. The other is a magic world, with an earth-like planet, that is entirely separated from…
DonyorM
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36
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7 answers
Could a large bird be used as transportation?
Sometimes I reminisce about the giant eagles from The Lord of the Rings and two things come to mind:
Boy, I wish I could have my own giant eagle!
Could a bird even carry something that heavy on its back?
How big would a bird have to be in order to…
jackwise
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36
votes
8 answers
How will our world change if all men suddenly die?
In a world... with today's technology and level of development there is a Mad Scientist. A woman, to be exact. One day she concludes that men are responsible for all evil in the world and starts to bioengineer a virus. Super advanced virus, because…
Stimpack
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36
votes
10 answers
Anatomically Correct Medusa
Medusa is a legendary myth about a woman with snakes for hair that turns anything she looks at into stone. How can I achieve both of those features in an animal realistically? And how would these features evolve?
A list of all of the Anatomically…
TrEs-2b
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36
votes
10 answers
Could a technological society develop without agriculture?
Before the advent of agriculture, humans fed themselves by hunting and gathering. Hunter-gatherer societies tend to function quite differently from agricultural societies. Arguably, historically, with agriculture came kingdoms, wars, slavery, and…
gerrit
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36
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5 answers
Can a planet realistically have multiple suns?
Several science fiction books I have read (including, IINM, Nightfall by Asimov) have featured planets with several suns. Some worlds where this happened wrought interesting effects on the inhabitants of said planet; for example, in a world that was…
Shokhet
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36
votes
7 answers
I'm stranded on an alien planet. How can I tell what's good to eat?
Survivor, Season 435 (teaser trailer): The holocamera pans over the night sky, revealing an utterly unfamiliar set of constellations. A blur, familiar to viewers, starts to disturb the seeming peace of the night, and the characteristic blueshifted…
Serban Tanasa
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36
votes
10 answers
No newborns on Earth. How much time to find a cure?
Pretty much what it says on the tin:
It's the beginning of 2016. Due to a fast-spreading virus, humans have lost the ability to reproduce themselves. The virus makes current artifical fertilization techniques useless as well. As a result, the…
Andrea Jens
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