/aicg/ worldbuilding project

For Transparency here are the Progress Reports:

July 8, 2023: A poll was run regarding the method of communication, and Slack was the winner.

July 9, 2023: Claude-kun was added to the workspace. Lead sends a message recommending how things should go:

Heya everyone. At around 12:00 a.m. GMT+0, July 10, we'll be free to start, I guess. As for the division of labor, we'll decide that based on what setting we ultimately decide to work on. Here's how it'll go preferably:

We vote on the setting. We'll involve the thread by having an idea anchor then making a poll that everyone'll vote for.

We decide what main stuff should get written (History, Rules of the World, etc.)

For the history of the world, an organized approach would be to separate it into 'ages' of some sort and then pairing with each other to work on each of them.

For the rules of the world, they'd preferably be simple with lots of room for interpretation. These are going to be the 'guidelines' going forward, basically telling us how the world should work, but feel free to warp them depending on how you understand the theme.

For the other main stuff, create an appropriate plan.

After we decide on the history and the rules of the world, we'll be free to go and form our own factions. Feel free to work with each other or work independently. Even if you work independently, however, please keep us updated so we can add relationships between the characters and factions.

Make the lorebook, along with character cards for whoever you deem worthy enough to make a card for.

Compile everything eventually. A wiki, along with a simple introduction to the world should be made.

July 10, 2023: Updated Idea List. Spitballing for Sky Islands and attempting to narrow down Sci-fi.

July 11, 2023: Updated Idea List. Sci-fi, Apocalpyse, and Water World themes have been expanded upon. An in-thread vote will be held on July 12-14 to gauge interest.

July 12, 2023: Ideas have been hashed out, and a vote has been started in-thread. Found here: https://strawpoll.com/3RnYlLbxpye

July 18, 2023: Sky Islands is the winner of the poll. Discussion currently ongoing so as to create the framework and basic rules of the world. This was done to prevent people from getting too off the rails in the creative process.

July 21, 2023: A basic framework has been made for people wanting to create islands or factions. Updated summary in order to give information about Elerium. Writing about the different sky islands and the lands below has started.

World In-Progress:

Sky Islands: Floating city-states, each with unique cultures and technology, hover above a polluted fantasy land where magic is dwindling, creating a complex network of alliances and conflicts. Elaborated upon down below.

Sky Islands

Summary by Claude-kun:

In a fantasy world, a series of diverse floating islands hover in the sky, each an independent city-state with its own culture. Long ago, these advanced societies used magic and fantastical creatures to reach the sky islands, but new technology has allowed them to sever ties with the mystical world below.

The land below is a traditional fantasy setting weakened by pollution from the technology above. The grounded civilizations once harnessed the power of nature through magic, but with the land damaged, that magic has faded. Now the people of the sky and the people of the earth eye each other warily, neither side fully understanding the other. Both sides must decide whether to reconcile their differences or allow the rift to grow.

Some sky islands may still have positive relationships with the land below, while others rule over the grounded worlds with an iron fist. But each floating island contains wonders, from utopian societies to steampunk technologies. The varied islands allow for unique worldbuilding opportunities and scenarios.

Floating Islands are rich in a mineral called Elerium which allows them to fly. They're also used as a power source, both for technology and for magic. However, the sky islanders' Elerium reserves are dwindling, but the lands below have this mineral in small amounts, leading to potential conflicts between sky and land or the land dwellers gaining more leverage in trade relations. Also, it could be that the land below supplies food to the sky islanders above. Criminals from the sky might also be banished to work in labor camps on the ground.

Basic Things to keep in Mind while creating Factions:

The Island Assholes (Name Pending)

Initial supply of Elerium high, but now it is dwindling.
Elerium used for Steampunk technologies and Hextech magic
Their tech consumes and produces pollution which weakens the magic down below.
Each Island might have a specific patron deity who is jealous of competition.

The Dirty Groundies (Name Pending)

Initial supply of Elerium low but steady.
Elerium is used for magical rituals and animalistic traditions (catgirls)
Their rituals are more unpredictable and dangerous to their practitioners. They use it sustainably, however.
Deities of the ground could be natural spirits, Princess Mononoke style. Individuals could pay homage to an entire pantheon of spirits in their daily lives.

Goals:

Here are the goals for this project:

Create a world for anons to RP in.
Create a world for botmakers to create characters for.
Create a lorebook to use while RPing in said world.
Create a primer on the basics of the world, i.e., Stuff that people would be able to see in the world and how it works.
Make a map. I know how to make one, but I'm pretty bad at it.
Have fun, yeah?

Process

In order to accomplish these goals, here's how I think we should run it. Of course, I'm open to suggestions for streamlining the process.

Make a Trello/rentry so people in the general can keep track of the progress.
Make an anchor for people from the thread to pitch in.
Communicate about the background process somewhere, so as not to clutter the thread. We have decided on it being Slack, but we will make sure to keep the thread in the know.

Wanna contribute?

Please send me an email with a chub/rentry so I can see your bots. Let me know how you can help too!
Here's the burner: aicgworldbuilding@proton.me

Discarded Idea List (Feel free to use any of these as your own):

Sci-Fi: The collapse of an ancient Star Gate system led to planets developing along divergent technological paths, giving rise to different factions, which are now poised for conflict over a reactivated Star Gate, a resource capable of restoring interstellar travel.
Sci-Fi: The technological remnants of a precursor civilization govern the level of advanced technology and societal development across planets, from primitive cave-dwellers to automated cities, with their long-lost capital serving as the hub world.
Sci-Fi: In an advanced future where the singularity is ancient history and dimension hopping and FTL travel are instantaneous, the vastness of the universe leaves 99.99% of worlds unexplored, turning planetary coordinates into the only valuable currency left.
Divine Apocalypse: Angered by man's hubris, the gods opened the gates to hell and let loose monsters and demons upon humanity. Transhumanism and cloning nearly sent the gods over the edge, but catgirls were the straw that broke the camel's back.
Post-Alien World: Humans never stood a chance against extraterrestrials. They took what they wanted from the planet, leaving the planet and its inhabitants drastically changed from what they once were.
Aliens-are-still-here World: In the wake of an extraterrestrial invasion, humanity grapples with a subjugated Earth, where they're at the bottom of the alien caste system.
Water World: Archipelagic Island Chain or Civilizations built on sea monsters. Each source of freshwater has some sort of intrinsic magical property that make it bestow powers or curses, controlled by a variety of different factions.
Water World: Mostly oceanic world, while sky islands exist, they are extremely few. Generation ships fashioned like oil rigs move from island to island, leaving pollution wherever they go. Each are massive enough to hold a civilization.
Water World: Human Corporation vs. Aquatic Alien Civilization. Corporation uses machines, while the aliens use sea monsters. Both see each other as eldritch horrors, with diplomacy between the two factions being a pipe dream.
Generic Medieval Fantasy: In a mythical kingdom, brave knights battle horrific monsters while cunning rogues seek lost treasures underground. Powerful wizards study arcane secrets, and danger lurks beyond the castle walls where orc hordes gather.