Worldbuilding Stack Exchange
Worldbuilding Stack Exchange

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1500 questions
33
votes
20 answers

What projectile weapon can replace a bow under the following circumstances?

I have a race of elf-like humanoids that live in a forest. One of their best methods of travel is what you may call "forest running". They are attuned to the harmonic movement of the forest from a young age, they can predict the movement of branches…
Kaiannae
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Where in Europe can I detonate 100 kt (non-nuclear) not to harm anyone?

Reality check: Protagonists of my story have a scientific device of a peaceful purpose. Unfortunately, despite the peaceful purpose, activation of the device, as a side-effect releases about 100 kilotons equivalent of energy, mostly thermal. No…
SF.
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Best places to be on Earth when an all out nuclear World War III breaks out?

This is a world building question in a preventative context because those people or countries would be left fully functional while others are gone and the safe areas are where the world building would begin. What countries would be the least likely…
Muze
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18 answers

How would a ship defend against a sea creature, and possibly win?

I have a Viking-inspired race living on a harsh ocean based planet with very rough and cold seas. In these seas there are giant creatures, not unlike kraken who frequently attack ships. I was thinking long and hard without an answer on how a ship…
Legonnaire
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2 answers

Gravity on a Minecraftian world?

I'm curious what the gravity would be like on an infinite area flat world. The plane of the world would have some finite depth but be infinite in all cardinal directions. This is, in effect, a Minecraftian world. This is expanding on the ideas…
Samuel
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16 answers

How useful is an impregnable castle?

When we place castles on our fictional maps, lots of effort is often made on how to make those castles virtually impregnable. Walls, moats, defensive weaponry etc. But one aspect is often overlooked in fiction: How much use is my super-strong castle…
Guran
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14 answers

Why would nature spirits be naked?

In the world I'm writing about, nature spirits such as dryads and nymphs are real. I want them to appear undressed to those humans who encounter them. In the course of the narrative, one of the dryads is asked why she doesn't wear clothes, but I…
user53051
33
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10 answers

What are the most salient aspects of a decaying world caused by the disappearance of everyone?

You are a normie on 2019 Earth and suddenly you can't find anybody. You've searched for a few hours, tried spamming out emails, random phone calls - no response. What would be the most jarring evidence that everyone in the world has disappeared? You…
Dave Babbitt
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14 answers

What methods of transportation could be used to get ground vehicles onto an island surrounded by sharp rocks in shallow water?

My island is in the Indian Ocean, surrounded by a ring of very sharp rocks. The water is, at most, a few meters deep. Since a large ferry could not reach the island, what real-world methods of transporting vehicles could get a few (Let's say 7; 3…
SealBoi
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3 answers

What efficiencies make a realistic food chain?

I'm trying to design a food chain. For the sake of argument lets say it's based on flying creatures over a particular mountain range. Sun Plants/Fungus etc Tiny Insects Small Birds Hawks Large Apex Predator However I'm struggling with getting the…
Liath
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If a patch of desert were magically displaced to the middle of a forest, what would happen to the whole forest after certain periods of time?

First of all, I am tagging this with the magic because this phenomena is not a result of something natural. What would happen to a whole forest region if a patch of desert magically appeared at its center? Below is an example of what I am trying to…
Bwrites
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8 answers

Does my Fast-as-Light travel method run afoul of causality or relativity?

I am writing a hard science fiction story and I want to avoid violating known physics, while still enabling some of the classic mainstays of science fiction under the auspice of sufficiently advanced engineering. To that end, I have developed a…
TPK
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8 answers

What would poverty be like if there was an infinite supply of food?

Taking into account a medieval-ish lifestyle, one of the most important things, I would imagine, correct me if I am wrong, is food. If you could eat food, you were probably also not poor. Now, imagine a kingdom, such as the one depicted here, with…
grimmsdottir
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8 answers

If there are water oceans, must there be oxygen in the atmosphere?

I am trying to create a planet that either has no oxygen in the air, or it has very little; i.e. not enough to sustain humans without the use of a breathing apparatus. Large portions of the planet (approximately 50-60% of the surface, compared to…
ECP
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How could polycephaly evolve as a byproduct of natural selection?

Why this question is different from existing questions... The closest question to mine is Anatomically Correct Cerberus. It is clear from the answers to that question and indeed it's axiomatic to the scientific community at large that polycephaly is…
Arash Howaida
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