Worldbuilding Stack Exchange
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1500 questions
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29 answers

What properties of a magic system would delay its discovery into the late first industrial revolution?

I've noticed that most magic systems appear sometime between a civilization's Bronze age and Medieval period, sometimes as early as the stone age. What properties would a magic system need to have for its discovery to come much later in…
Beefster
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Finding Earth on a star-map

One day, I am randomly teleported to somewhere else where I meet some aliens. These aliens are very technologically advanced and after figuring out communication, we establish a rapport. The aliens, being the benevolent type, want to help me get…
Dragongeek
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Could a well versed archaeologist understand and speak languages that are 3000+ years old?

I have an archaeologist who specializes in ancient ancient Northern European civilizations. Due to some handwavy mumbo jumbo, he is brought face to face with a supernatural being which still speaks fluent Proto-Celtic and/or Proto-Indo-European…
Nosajimiki
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How to handle a tri-gendered race

I'm working on a story set in a world with a tri-gendered race of intelligent creatures, the protagonists in the story. I want to be able to explicitly describe sexual intercourse among other things. I'd love some suggestions on how this might…
Richard Ellwood
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4 answers

If it wasn't maintained for hundreds of years, would the Channel Tunnel collapse?

The title says it all. If it wasn't maintained for hundreds of years, would the Channel Tunnel collapse?
Alexandra Eagle
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How to become a dictator by travelling to worse realities?

Let's say I'm a normal person, in my thirties, having the ability to travel to alternate realities. These realities are similar to ours, but they get worse each time. New wars, disasters, greater overall suffering etc... I can only travel forward,…
Keelhaul
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Is it possible for nature to create bubble wrap?

Bubble wrap is a synthetic packing material featuring small bubbles that are designed to provide cushion to the protected object and pop in place of damaging the object under excessive stress. They also make a lovely crackling sound when popped. But…
Frostfyre
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How is warfare affected when armor has (temporarily) outpaced guns? How can guns compete?

This a follow up on the previous post that asked how strong graphene armor would be and the general conclusion is that we have no idea sadly. So in this post I will ask a more relevant question. If we have made armor with advanced, light-weight…
Seraphim
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Lighthouse Alternatives

In my pre-electricity world, fast communication is achieved by means of lighthouses, each being able to direct strong and precise beams of light towards distantly visible lighthouses. However a problem is encountered whenever the weather turns. Many…
A Lambent Eye
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How many years before enough atoms of your body are replaced to survive the sudden disappearance of the original body’s atoms?

A magician summons a person to the material world to be their servant. Their body is not made from true atoms per se, but is some kind of force projection. In most ways though, they act as a person and experience the laws of physics as if they were…
Piomicron
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Of strange atmospheres - the survivable but unbreathable

Most gases that are toxic to breathe also do nasty things to the skin when they're in the atmosphere at dangerous concentrations - and one is walking around without sealed protective clothing; sulfur and nitrogen oxides cause chemical burns when…
Ash
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Is there a hypothetical scenario that would make Earth uninhabitable for humans, but not for (the majority of) other animals?

I'm trying to think of a scientifically plausible reason for humanity to be forced to abandon earth that would leave animals and plants largely untouched. Is there any natural disaster that would have such an effect? If not, is it possible for…
Andrew Clark
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35 answers

How can guns be countered by melee combat without raw-ability or exceptional explanations?

I'm writing a science fantasy setting for a tabletop game. Its major influences are Dune, Final Fantasy 7, and Borderlands. My goal is to give a universal account why swords, spears, etc., equal or even best guns between fighters of equal skill. Let…
The Necessitarian
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How to sabotage a blacksmith production?

The city's main weapon and armor supplier has lost his contract arming the city's guard because the quality of the last batch of its products is awful. The swords break at the first clash, the armor doesn't hold together under a couple of blows. How…
NewGM
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The Heisenberg Uncertainty Ray - A Hyper-Scanning Doomsday Weapon

From what I know about the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, one of its consequences is that when you learn a great deal about the position of a particle, you greatly increase the uncertainty of the particle's momentum. This got me thinking about a…
TheNewGuy
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