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1500 questions
33
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14 answers
In a fantasy world where people can ride monsters and fantastic beasts, why does the horse still remain in active duty?
A fantasy staple, the fantastic mount (TvTropes). People in Fantasy Land ride giant yellow chickens, giant wolves, giant beetles, caterpilars, ants, and other insects, evolved bears, sharks, miniature dragons, wyverns, pterodactyls, and a plethora…
Mindwin Remember Monica
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33
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15 answers
How would you make a door that could still be opened a million years later?
There is underground vault built to last a few million years. The contents of this vault are all durable things, such as things carved in stone. Inside this vault is a door to an inner room. While the door is safe from "the elements", the vault…
Zags
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33
votes
18 answers
What is the best apex predator to thin the zombie herds?
A global epidemic of H1Z2 virus has rendered 95% of the population into zombies. The zombies have lost most of their frontal and temporal lobes so the following capabilities are either severely degraded or missing: decisions about right/wrong,…
Green
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33
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6 answers
How can I create a map of an underground city?
This question is, like How long will it take to form a new dialect and language in underground steampunk London?, part of an experiment I'm conducting on Worldbuilding. I'm temporarily switching gears from linguistics to cartography, because an…
HDE 226868
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33
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9 answers
What can we eat in the late Cretaceous?
Suppose there is a team of explorers sent back in time 66 million years ago somewhere before the K-T event took place, the mission is to spend no more than 3 months to retrieve a blood sample from a Tyrannosaurus rex. They will be donning a state of…
user6760
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33
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15 answers
The Witch's Broom
A very common trope in witchcraft-themed fictional narratives is the iconic Magic Broom, a magical object made from wood and straw to fly and serve as a vehicle for witches. Witches generally fly with the broom between their legs, although sometimes…
Wizard King
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33
votes
7 answers
Can archers on the ground shoot down a hot air balloon?
As a scenario, let's say that a group of heroes is traveling in a hot air balloon as a proof-of-concept for bandit-proof travel. Some particularly well-armed bandits naturally have taken an issue with this, and are trying to shoot the balloon down…
ZaWarudo
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33
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16 answers
Why would a matriarchal society practice polygyny?
In an alternative world, matriarchal society is dominated in every way that women always are number 1 position, such as empress, queen, chief, etc. Men can only become the number 2: vice president, advisors, etc. You get the idea.
But there's a…
user85788
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10 answers
How dangerous are animals with no history of human contact?
Wild animals like wolves, lions and bears rarely attack people. They behave as though they know humans are dangerous and generally best avoided.
Imagine a group of people traveling sideways in time, to a world that resembles Earth as it would have…
rwallace
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20 answers
How can my town be public knowledge while still keeping outsiders out?
My story is set in the early 1990s, and it's about various races of immortal humanoid mythical creatures living amongst humanity in secret. The main setting is a town in America that's been around for hundreds of years. It's one of various immortal…
Cyrus Drake
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33
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21 answers
Why would a land animal need to move continuously to stay alive?
A quadruped the size of a mountain tiger which never stops moving, even in their sleep they walk and wander around.
What benefit would the animal get from wasting so much energy moving every minute of its life?
user81643
33
votes
15 answers
Are 'tree waterfalls' possible?
Something like the above (Natural Springs by Ellie Cooper) - either where the water originates from atop the tree through regular rainfall, or is directed up and into the tree via the spring (or some other source) below - somehow. I'd ideally like…
Vigilant
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21 answers
Is there a way for someone to be un-cloneable?
This story takes place about 300 years in the future and humanity has since come into contact with hundreds of alien races, you get the picture. Basically, I have this character who is half human and half alien, but the issue arises in that her…
Rhysing
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13 answers
Is it reasonable to have a town that is only accessible by sea?
Let's say that in a medieval world, a town has been built on the coast, the location chosen as it has ideal conditions for a port town (natural harbor, lots of nearby resources etc.). It is a good sized town, burgeoning on the size of a…
Mike.C.Ford
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31 answers
Why would my species expose their brains through a glass dome?
The species I have created looks eerily humanlike, practically indistinguishable from human except for a reptile-like tail and an exposed brain.
The top portion of the skull is replaced with a glass-like dome, which exposes the brain. The species I…
RotNDecay
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