Chuubanite proposal
I apologize for the massive post; I got a bit carried away.
What is the goal of this proposal
To attempt to define chuubanite and the rules and physical laws on how chuubanite acts and how it can be used in magitech. I aim to make these limits and rules as simple as possible without allowing for obvious setting-breaking applications. I also do not want chuubanite to become too dominant for the setting. Chuubanite should be a useful resource with useful applications in certain situations, not a Deus ex machina that fixes every issue, not a magical swiss army knife that does anything and everything for the plot, and not the McGuffin the setting revolves around (too much).
To fuel the conversation surrounding the subject of chuubanite and the magi-physical laws of the setting, and hopefully, to give ideas for the thread to work with and inspire anons to come up with their own proposals, modifications to this proposal, and/or creative chuubanite applications based on this or any of the other proposals.
Starting assumptions
- Chuubanite Exists.
- Chuubanite is a resource with qualities we in our world would consider supernatural.
- These qualities are in some instances and on some level(s) tied to vtubers.
- Chuubanite is a mineral, either a metal or a rock of some kind.
- Chuubanite can exist in a solid state at room temperature. This solid state is a stable in the sense that it can be shaped without having to fear about destroying the chuubanite object or accidentally creating a massive explosion.
5.a. This particular solid state does not have to be the only solid state chuubanite can take. Unstable solid states may very well exist. - The setting is allowed to become a low-to-medium -magic fantasy.
Proposed general laws
- Chuubanite based magic is predictable, consistent, and universal, as in, the same set of actions taken in a similar environment using a similar chuubanite object will always result in the same outcome, no matter who is doing the actions. An experiment done using chuubanite ought to be able to be replicated by other people if they are able to re-create the same set of conditions. No faction should have magic that is completely exclusive to them.
1.a. In a sense, chuubanite and chuubanite based magic obeys an extended set of the laws of physics. These laws are universal and cannot be broken under any circumstance. These laws and chuubanite interactions may be able to be modeled using mathematics, but that is something I will not go into in this proposal outside of a few mentions, largely because I do not want to spend time on deriving equations for a system that has not yet been approved.
1.b. This law is a prerequisite for chuubanite alchemy. For there to be a field of “science” that studies a certain subject, that subject has to be governed by some set of rules, probabilistic or absolute ones, and there has to be a way for those studying the subject to come up with models for predicting the behavior of-, and interactions concerning, the subject.
1.c. This is also done in order to curb chuunism. Instead of ”only MY people can do this magic”, we’d have ”This exact type of magic is a secret known only to the top scholars/wisest masters of my faction (but an outsider could still learn the magic through cooperation with the faction, espionage, or independent discovery.)”
1.c.a. Each type of chuubanite can and should have unique magical properties, but these properties should all be accessible to anyone who acquires a piece of that particular form of chuubanite, as long as they know how to activate the properties. - Chuubanite interactions follow the laws of physics as we know them, and in case of there being exceptions, these exceptions ought to be well defined and understood before they are canonized.
2.a. This is done in order to prevent cheeky applications of chuubanite from fucking up the setting through breaking of important laws of physics. No energy may be created or destroyed, speed of light may not be exceeded, perpetual motion machines cannot be created, and (total) entropy (in the universe) cannot be lowered through application or use of chuubanite magic.
2.a.a. Things that are at the moment seemingly impossible but do not technically break laws of physics should be fine though. Folding of space and forming of wormholes (portals) should not be impossible in my opinion, but I definitely would not want this sort of magic to be common or widely used at all. If portals are to be a thing, I think they should be a very rare natural phenomenon, an almost miraculous occurrence, not anything a mortal can open on a whim. This is for the obvious reason that easily useable portal tech or magic would immediately break the setting by making traveling trivial, and by extension, making geographical distance and geographical barriers (any form of geography really) completely irrelevant FOR ANY purpose, including resource and city placement. This would quickly turn the world very boring. - Chuubanite deteriorates over time if left without proper care. This deterioration can be either permanent or reversible. If latter, the act of restoring chuubanite should not be a task that can be done easily and/or cheaply.
3.a. This deterioration can take on may forms. My personal proposal is that chuubanite passively radiates energy into its surroundings in the form of heat, light, and some sort of magical energy. The rate at which this radiation occurs is proportional to the surface area of the chuubanite object. As chuubanite radiates, it slowly loses mass (this loss of mass could be noticeable, or it could follow E = mc^2 in which case it would not be noticeable to anyone without access to very sensitive measuring instruments) until at some point the chuubanite has lost its available energy and it becomes what is essentially an inert rock.
3.a.a. There could be ways to slow down the rate at which a chuubanite object radiates away its energy. More on this later.
3.a.b. There should be no way to increase the rate of radiation outside of increasing the surface area of the object or the very specific (and limited) methods detailed in “chuubanite magic” section. This is so that chuubanite cannot be used in the making of nuclear weapons or their equivalent. - Chuubanite should not become the optimal solution to everything. Normal technology should be able to compete with chuubanite magic to certain extent, and in some cases, it should be able to outperform chuubanite magic. For example, in the case of using chuubanite as a propellant in guns, gunpowder would be just as, if not more, effective while also being cheaper. In the case of using chuubanite to power machinery, conventional power sources such as waterwheels and coal have the advantage of, again, being cheaper, but also not deteriorating over time like chuubanite does.
4.a. If chuubanite outperforms conventional technology in every, or most, applications, then conventional technology becomes useless, and the setting becomes a high magic fantasy, as now chuubanite ought to be used everywhere and in everything. This could be avoided by making chuubanite exceedingly rare though. In that case, chuubanite would become a sort of McGuffin or a too central of an element to the world in my opinion, since now everyone should be obsessively looking for even the smallest of shards of the stuff.
Types of chuubanite
Chuubanite can take on many forms, but the form of chuubanite you would mine from the ground is a relatively harmless and a stable one. Some anons have suggested that the raw chuubanite ore is unstable, while the refined forms are more stable. I think that an opposite idea would be better, where the raw chuubanite is safe to handle, but the refined forms are either dangerous or unstable by themselves, or the process to make them is a very dangerous or expensive. This is to help level the playing field between the more technologically advanced societies and more primitive ones. An advanced society would likely be able to turn an unstable raw chuubanite into useful refined goods far easier than a primitive civilization could. This would effectively lock primitive societies completely out of any chuubanite magic or technology since these societies would not be able to plausible handle raw chuubanite. So instead, I propose that the raw basic form of chuubanite is a stable, and the process of refining raw chuubanite into more advanced forms is dangerous with a lot of risks. From a balance perspective this would make sense: Chuubanite is useful to anyone, but those willing to take additional risks are rewarded with more powerful and useful forms of chuubanite. What these forms are should be up for discussion, but in general I think a more powerful form would have to mean a more costly and dangerous refining process.
As for the raw chuubanite, it would naturally come in forms as various as the chuubas themselves. There could additionally be a neutral type, a form of chuubanite that does not have an affinity towards any chuuba. This form of chuubanite could still have some of the basic magical properties that are discussed later on in this text, just no chuuba-related magics.
Chuubanite magic
How chuubanite of any specific affinity functions is something I won’t write about much; However I will briefly talk about the limitations I would like to propose for such chuubanite. I will then write a lot more on my proposal for universal chuubanite interactions, which would mostly concern the application of chuubanite in magitech and alchemy.
Regarding the limitations of chuubanite with affinity towards a certain chuuba, in general I would like to avoid too powerful magic. This means that magics such as teleportation, (magical) weapons of mass destruction, indestructible materials, indestructible forcefields, or any other forms of “unmovable objects”, time stopping, unlimited or unconstrained resurrection, immortality, invulnerability, anti-magic without workarounds or drawbacks, “unextinguishable fire” and any other forms of “unstoppable forces”, etc… should not be available to any faction. As natural phenomena / miracles, these could be allowed, but I’d still propose they are used sparingly in writing.
Interactions chuubanite would have with biology, be it through exposure to passive magical radiation, incorporation of chuubanite into one’s own body, or through ingestion, would be dependent on the type of the chuubanite. Ingesting Mori chuubanite ought to give different results from ingesting Sana chuubanite. Above limitations would naturally apply to these effects as well.
Furthermore, I propose that chuubanite with affinity towards a certain chuuba is 1. Extremely rare, or 2. Requires some sort of a special alchemical interaction for the powers to become awakened. This would further limit the use of magical properties of chuubanite, which would allow the magic itself to be slightly more impactful. In general, the more powerful the magic, the harder it should be to gain access to it.
As for the applications of chuubanite in magitech, I propose that in addition to their unique magic, all forms of chuubanite have the ability to produce the following forms of energy / motion in certain situations:
- Heat
- Light
- Linear motion / Linear force amplification
- Rotation
Activating these properties could be done through at least two different methods, the “Glyph-activated” method, and the “Contextual activation” method. I’m personally a proponent of the latter, but both methods could also work in together. I will now shortly explain both these methods.
Glyph-activated
Chuubanite that has been inscribed with a specific rune / glyph produces a specific reaction. For example, a chuubanite that has been inscribed with a glyph of light will start to glow brightly (while burning through energy) until the glyph is removed, the chuubanite runs out of energy, or a specific set of conditions determined by the glyph are met (for example, a glyph could cause chuubanite to produce light for X number of hours, or only when under water, or so on). Optimally these glyphs would work like a sort of “programming language” for chuubanite, giving it directions on what form of the above 5 types of energy to release, under what conditions, for how long, at what rate, and so on. For this, a singular glyph should be a very simple one, whilst a series of glyphs could be used to produce more complex reactions.
Contextual activation
Chuubanite produces a certain reaction when it comes into contact with a certain element. For example, chuubanite that is melted into an alloy with gold, or chuubanite that comes into contact with gold, could start to glow brightly (while burning through energy) until the gold is removed or the chuubanite runs out of energy (gold is just an example. Since gold is a valuable element I would advocate it’s reaction with chuubanite to be a more powerful one than just the production of light). This would create a more “alchemical” type of magitech where the interactions of chuubanite with different elements and compounds dictate how chuubanite behaves. These reactions would themselves be completely magical, and in no meaningful way caused by chemical reactions between chuubanite and the substance it has been brought into contact with. From now on, I will call the material which activates the magical properties of chuubanite “activator substance”. Each of the reactions listed previously and any reactions that are later added to the list should all have unique activator substances.
I will now briefly write about the 5 types of energy / motion mentioned above.
Heat
As mentioned before, I propose chuubanite would passively lose energy by radiation. A portion of this radiation would heat the chuubanite up to a certain limit, not much higher than the human body temperature. In addition to this passive heating, there would be a way to cause a piece of chuubanite to heat up even more, up to some limit. This could be used in the making of chuubanite based heaters or even chuubanite powered forges, depending on what temperature the upper limit to this heating is set to be. This limit should be below that which would melt chuubanite.
If the system is glyph-activated, there could be a set of glyphs that each set the target temperature of the chuubanite object to a certain value (One should not be able to stack heating glyphs to exceed the maximum temperature limit).
If the system is contextual activation, the upper temperature limit could be either dictated by the activator substance’s ability to withstand heat, or it could be set to some arbitrary value. For this, I would propose that the state of the element is important as well: Element in a solid form will produce a different reaction from the same element in liquid or gaseous form. This is so that one cannot abuse the system by enclosing the activator substance inside a vessel of chuubanite, which would then cause the chuubanite to heat up indefinitely. Now the chuubanite would only heat up to the point where the activator substance is about to start melting, and then stop.
Light
Like above, I propose that a portion of the energy chuubanite radiates away passively is in the form of electromagnetic radiation. Additionally there would be a way to increase the luminosity of this passive glow, up to a certain limit. The electromagnetic radiation produced by chuubanite would always be of longer wavelength than ultraviolet light, so that chuubanite could not be used in the creation of X-ray or Gamma ray technologies. As for the lower limit, I’m not sure. To be safe, I would advocate that chuubanite magic can only produce electromagnetic radiation within the range of visible light. Allowing electromagnetic radiation of longer wavelengths than infrared to be produced would allow for someone to make radio transmitters, radar, or chuubanite powered microwave ovens which all are things I would personally want to avoid, (even though the idea of the chuubanite microwave oven is a pretty funny one).
If the system is glyph-activated, then I propose for the glyphs to set the target luminosity for the chuubanite object. This is again done in order to avoid someone stacking glyphs to exceed the maximum luminosity limit.
If the system is contextual activation, the luminosity of the chuubanite could be determined by the ratio of surface area between the activator substance and chuubanite, and the total mass of the chuubanite object. What this would mean is that a thin layer of chuubanite coating the activator substance would glow brightly (but for a short time) while a thick layer of chuubanite would glow dimmer but a lot longer. The more chuubanite there is for each square millimeter of “reaction surface”, the dimmer the glow (the glow would always be brighter than the passive glow of chuubanite), and conversely, the higher the surface area between the chuubanite-activator substance in relation to the total mass of the chuubanite object, the brighter the glow. Using this system, I don’t think there is a need to limit the maximum luminosity, as the brighter one tries to make the lamp, the faster it would burn out. The theoretical maximum brightness could be achieved with a one atom thin layer of chuubanite covering a sheet of activator substance. This setup would burn extremely bright for a nanosecond. I believe this sort of arrangement being theoretically possible is not a problem since constructing something like this would be impossible for any of the factions. One of the brightest possible chuubanite lamps using this system would be constructed of extremely thin layers of chuubanite surrounding a sheet of the activator substance. These sheets likely burn brightly for only a few minutes to an hour before having to be replaced with new ones. The most obvious application would be in a lighthouse, (or in a solar sail).
Linear motion / Linear force amplification
Chuubanite could be used to generate a linear force that travels through chuubanite without affecting it but accelerates anything touching the edge of the chuubanite at the end of the linear path of the force. This sounds very unclear, so bear with me as I explain how this would work for both of the activation models.
In the glyph-activated system, the activation of a force glyph would cause the chuubanite to generate a force perpendicular to the glyph’s surface (if you think of the glyph being drawn on the x-y plane in a cartesian coordinate system, with the glyph’s center being at the origin, the generated force would travel towards the direction of the z-coordinate). The force would affect whatever object is in contact with the glyph, accelerating it towards the direction of the force. Each glyph would generate a specific force, with larger glyphs generating higher forces than smaller ones.
In the contextual activation system, I propose that any object made of (or coated in) the activator substance will, when coming into contact with chuubanite, cause the chuubanite to amplify the force at which the activator substance struck the chuubanite. This force then travels through the chuubanite object at the speed of sound (or slower), again without affecting the chuubanite itself. The force is then directed at whatever object is at the other end of the chuubanite object from the perspective of the struck surface. The magnitude of the amplification could either be constant for all chuubanite objects, or it could be dependent on the amount of distance the force travels through chuubanite, increasing by a factor of X for each unit of distance traveled.
Examples of application would be a chuubanite percussion cap, and an anti-armor lance. Both are pictured in the attached image, alongside a helpful picture of the force glyph in cartesian coordinates.
Rotation
This one I’m a bit uncertain on, as it is a more abusable form of energy. Chuubanite could be made to rotate at a set speed. For balance reasons, I think that the target speed of the rotation should be a constant (maybe a nice 1 rotation / second), while the maximum force (torque? I’m not quite familiar with the English words for these terms) of the rotation can be increased.
If the system is glyph-activated, then a rotational glyph inscribed onto a chuubanite object will cause it to rotate, with the center of the glyph becoming one of the “poles” for the rotation. Each glyph would generate a specific force, with larger glyphs generating higher forces than smaller ones.
If the system is contextual activation, then piercing the chuubanite object with the activator substance will cause the chuubanite object to rotate with the point where the chuubanite object was pierced becoming one of the “poles” of the rotation. The force of the rotation is dependent on the mass of the chuubanite object.
I considered including electric potential to the list, but as I realized how incredibly abusable it would be, I decided to leave it out.
Chuubanite transmutation
I propose that chuubanite of one affinity can be transmuted into chuubanite of another affinity. I shall now list a number of proposals for how this transmutation would work:
- Chuubanite can be grouped into sets based on company, group, generation, and interactions between chuubas.
- There exists a large transmutation tree where every type of chuubanite is listed. In this transmutation tree, chuubanite types are connected in chains with every type of chuubanite always being connected to at least 1 other type of chuubanite. Chuubanite that belong in the same set are connected closer to each other than they are to other chuubanites.
2.a. I shall from now on call chuubanite of X affinity which is directly connected to chuubanite of Y affinity as “X chuubanite being one step away from Y chuubanite”, or “Y chuubanite being one step away from X chuubanite”. E.g., “Mori chuubanite is one step away from Kiara chuubanite” and “Kiara chuubanite is one step away from Mori chuubanite”. - Any chuubanite can be transmuted into any other type of chuubanite that is one step away from it.
- Having a piece of chuubanite move one step into any direction in the transmutation tree incurs a cost, reducing the total mass of the chuubanite chunk by a small but not insignificant amount.
4.a. Additional costs may also be required for the transmutation. Perhaps items or materials which are connected to the target chuuba. E.g., Transforming Mori chuubanite into Kiara chuubanite would additionally require the sacrifice of a chicken or chicken meat or feathers. The number of items that are accepted as sacrifices can be unlimited, and I ask each general to come up with a list of what items would be suitable for their chuuba’s chuubanite. These costs should not be too expensive however, and when they are, there should be cheaper alternatives available. This proposal make chuubanite alchemy a lot more alchemical.
Attached are EXAMPLE pictures of 2 different incomplete transmutation trees for hololive chuubanites. Each red line is equivalent to one step. These images are only examples, the real tree may look very different. The images also do not include any of the connections arising from the interactions between the chuubas themselves, outside of the single example in the circular tree. I will go into more detail on these connections and interactions between chuubanite and real world events in the “Chuubanite meta interactions” section. Briefly, these connections should allow threads for chuubas that are close to each other or interact a lot with each other to gain easier access to each other’s chuubanite and, by extension, magic a lot easier. This would also just make a lot of sense.
Transmutation following above rules allows one to gain access to any type of chuubanite given enough time and materials, although through inefficient means. This is important for balance reasons.
Chuubanite economics
Chuubanite is a limited resource, but the exact amount of chuubanite on (or inside) the planet of /vt/ is unknown. New chuubanite could also arrive on the planet in the form of meteors.
If the rate of deterioration of chuubanite is proportional to the surface area of the chuubanite object, then the optimal shape for storing chuubanite is a sphere. Optimal shape for transporting depends a lot on the goals of the one carrying chuubanite as his cargo, but it isn’t necessarily a sphere since it would not be the most space-efficient shape.
There could be ways to slow down the deterioration of chuubanite. Perhaps some materials are reflective to the magical radiation of chuubanite, so carrying your chuubanite in a box the inside surface of which has been coated in this material would significantly reduce the rate at which your chuubanite deteriorates, while also protecting the environment from the more magical effects of chuubanite radiation. Obviously this would not stop the heat or electromagnetic radiation emanating from the chuubanite.
If transmutation is approved, and if additional costs (e.g., chicken feathers for Kiara) for transmutation are approved, then the items or materials that are used in transmuting chuubanite ought to become considerably more sought after.
Chuubanite itself is a valuable resource, so I believe a complex network of chuubanite trade would be present in the world. The ability to transmute chuubanite increases the utility of every type of chuubanite, especially chuubanite that is connected to a lot of other chuubanites in the transmutation tree. With increased utility, I would expect increased demand.
Changes in chuubanite energy levels and behavior would also likely affect the prices of chuubanite goods on the global market.
For /nasfqg/ specifically, the coins would pretty neatly translate into stockpiles of chuubanite, or perhaps shares owned in chuubanite producing or refining facilities, or any other chuubanite related goods. Do consider this in your lore.
Chuubanite meta interactions
Chuubanite could be one way how we could connect the /vt/ world to the real world and the chuubas the board was made for. I propose that events such as a vtuber going on break, releasing an important stream, or going through some drama would all affect chuubanite in various ways.
Is your oshi on hiatus? The light of her chuubanite dims and its powers weaken, sending “Your oshiania” into chaos and turmoil as their magic and technology begin to fail.
Did your oshi just release an important stream/video? His chuubanite enters a particularly high energy state, glowing bright and warm, causing a boom of economic growth and celebrations all across “Your oshiania”.
Is your oshi currently experiencing some drama? Her chuubanite enters a state of instability, and all magic and technology relying on her chuubanite become more erratic and unreliable (for a short time).
Has a new chuuba just debuted and they have gained a thread on /vt/? Scholars, pilgrims, and immigrants travel to the location where a previously unknown type of chuubanite has been rumored to been unearthed. Some of them decide to stay and become a new nation.
Graduations / terminations / quitting would also affect chuubanite, but this would be on a very case by case basis.
In addition to this, chuubanite of any particular type could somehow inherit the personality of its respective chuuba in the form of how the chuubanite acts. Perhaps Kiara chuubanite is considerably warmer than other chuubanites. (Just an example, the respective threads of each vtuber should be the ones to discuss these effects).
I believe the above would also affect chuubanite economics. Chuubanite that often weakens in power or chuubanite that is particularly prone to periods of instability may not be as demanded by the global chuubanite market as the more stable ones are.
Besides how the real world would affect a specific chuubanite, it could also affect the transmutation tree. As vtubers become friends with each other, interact with each other, gain new friends, grow more distant with old friends, or join / leave groups, new connections in the transmutation tree are formed and old ones are broken. Two vtubers who interact a lot or who are friends should be considered to being 1 step away from each other in the transmutation tree even if they are from different groups, generations, or even companies.
End of the proposal. Feel free to do anything with what I’ve written, disregard it entirely, use pieces of it in your own proposal, accept it, suggest changes. Either way, thanks for reading, please discuss.