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onlyanotherusername · 1 year

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Locations in A Fantasy Setting (Pt. 2)

I really enjoyed making the last part-- I'll try my hand once more, maybe with things a bit more ambitious. I might update this post with some extra ideas if something good comes to mind but don't bet on it:

A town that fits in a singular building, everything in town from the grocery store to the mayors office is in this building.

The border or transition between two countries that differ in extreme ways (whether it be laws, culture, belief) and rarely interact. If it's a transition what norms are carried over and slowly lost, is it frowned upon to cross the border? (Additionally, are the two counties opposing, or peaceful?)

A forest with trees made entirely of shimmering crystal or other unorthodox material native to several unique flora and fauna, perhaps fairies, spellcasters or dragons inhabit this land. Why is the local flora so strange, was it always like this or did something cause it? Additionally, perhaps the crystal trees carry something important, such as memories or potential fortunes.

An unstable terrain, ever moving (perhaps it's magic, the ground itself, or other natural or unnatural factors)

A massive volcano that never erupts but constantly emits a bright flame from its mouth. The flame is said to be magical in nature and is rumoured to grant immense power to those brave enough to harness it.

A once desolate location turned tropical forest by magical means in which the terrain (whether it be rocks, trees, the ground, or other mundane surroundings) attempt to guard the sanctuary of the spellcaster that restored the land by any means necessary.

Try turning something like Penrose stairs or the impossible waterfall (ie, basically any impossible shape) into the layout of a location. Then figure out why it's made that way, and if anyone inhabits this location.

A paradise in the middle of a desert, where everyone is happy. That is until someone discovers large gold reserves (or any other valuable equivalent). (Does the group know about the outside land, do they fear it, or see it as freedom? Are they truly perfect, or is the paradise secretly under corrupt rule?)

A literal ghost town: pretty simplistic on the surface, just a town full of ghosts, but why are they dead?

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onlyanotherusername · 1 year

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Flora for a Fantasy Setting

It's a minor detail, that in many cases isn't required but having unique nature within a setting among other things can really add to a worlds immersion (in personal experience). I wanted to try creating some flora mainly for fun:

A lot of these are pretty deadly, and some are my personal takes on common "fictional flora" tropes. (some minor addendums at the bottom of the post discussing other advice to bring the flora in your setting to life, if these prompts don't cut it seeing as they've got an obvious theme)

Prompts

Pretty basic for fantasy plants, but giant Venus flytraps that eat larger animals instead of bugs are always pretty neat.

Similar to the above but instead is perfectly still until a creature steps on it, the plants leaves, which were previously on the floor wrap around and cocoon the unfortunate soul. The plant could have a glue-like substance that keeps the victim in place, or has naturally adapted to have resistance to sharp weaponry through evolution (such as swords, spears etc.) after adventures who would get caught in the plant would cut through it's leaves.

A plant that disguises itself as a different plant to attract bugs, birds and/or bees to it, to which the "pollen" kills the animal in some way (perhaps it's venomous to a specific species etctec) the animals corpse (depending on what it is) either decomposes and serves as fertiliser or is absorbed. (This plant could also disguise itself as animals ie. a moth or butterfly to attract birds)

Another one I've seen in some form, but I think can be further adapted, is that one plant that grabs you by the legs and pulls you in to which it eats you or something similar depending on the media. Similarly to point 2, I feel like over time this plant would evolve some form of immunity against sharp objects after people keep cutting them to get away. Maybe the leaves have restoration properties, or they've adapted to be razor sharp, or if the plant has more intelligence, it's learnt to aim for the hands instead so it's harder to cut them, regardless there are a thousand different ways to take this particular flora I see in media and give a unique spin.

A plant with a large food yield when cut from the ground that evolved to excrete a hallucinogen gas that causes paranoia, hallucinations (duh) and/or other symptoms as a defence mechanism to chase away predators, furthermore, does this hallucinogen work on other animals?

Or.. A plant with a high food yield that intentionally attracts humanoids to further spread it's seeds.

An invasive fungus that's seeds are exceptionally small and stick to skin, leather, feathers etc and has been killing the local flora due to it's absurd and unhealthy abundance.

(This one kinda of combines 1, 3 and 4) A plant that disguises itself as a berry bush, a fruit tree or any other appealing flora for an unfortunate adventure to come across. As soon as it's triggered to (either by hearing humanoids within range, feeling a fruit//berry get picked off with significant force, having sensors that detect humanoid movement, etc) it launches vines of sorts in the approximate direction and starts dragging whatever it latches onto into the ground to eat. This plant would be aware of itself to avoid latching onto itself.

A hollow plant that feeds on the leftovers//waste of small birds//mammals and intentionally acts as a shelter to gain extra food.

Pretty basic, but a plant with nocturnal properties, there are several interpretations though so I'll go through a few, like a plant that gains energy from moonlight instead of sunlight (do note, that doesn't make scientific sense irl though due to it being the same light reflected on the moon, pretty obvious note but figured I'd say it anyway), or it blooms in the dark (see irl night blooming flowers), or maybe it has some kind of sunlight vulnerability (could be tied to vampires if your setting has those) and has adapted to sit under bigger plants like trees and large bushes.

It's common knowledge plants like water lilies float on water, why not have plants with magical (or realistic) properties that can cause it to float on other liquid or gas surfaces.

Other Advice (For when prompts don't cut it)

In all honesty though, nature in real life is full of some pretty bizarre stuff and you can get load of inspiration from those if none of these ideas appeal to you (which is understandable for a multitude of reasons, one of which being that deadly isn't the motto of everyones settings).

I actually did some searching myself, so I'll list some stuff that I found cool (some have been previously mentioned)

Night-Blooming Flowers (common on coastlines and in deserts)

Drought resistance // Extreme weather resistance - Desert plant adaptations are a particular point of interest here.

If plants aren't helping, try looking at animals, as said above nature is weird and it can be a good jumping point if flora doesn't cut it

(Less research-y but I'll put it here anyway) ...and if the above isn't working take a step back and look at the environment of your setting, is it cold, hot? Underground? Lots of water or very little? How would a plant logically adapt, and would // should magic play into it? What are the main threats to the flora in question, and how does it overcome it (Basically)?

I'm no expert, so hearing constructive criticism or better yet improvement on my takes from someone more researched or experienced is encouraged.

Cheers-

#worldbuilding #writing #story development #plot ideas #prompts list #plantlife #flora #flowers #plants #greenery #story writing #plant life

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onlyanotherusername · 1 year

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Locations within a Fantasy World

I struggle to find prompts that give ideas for locations, maybe I'm bad at finding them, idk. So I wanted to try and make some of my own

(I'm by no means an experienced writer though, so poor//stereotypical ideas ahead)

A city in the sky, it usually can't be seen from the ground by the naked eye. There is a giant hole in the ground, from the land the city pulled up.

A landmass created from the bones, structure or body of a large, powerful being within your world (ie, a dragon, dead deity etc.). Is there a way to reawaken them?

A forest with a heavily invasive fungus/animal that kills all the flora and fauna that comes close//handles it improperly. Is it spreading out the forest? Are there people//creatures nearby attempting to contain it or does it have applications for fictional bioweaponry?

A location in which time is perceived to go much slower//faster then it truly is.

An area with a commonly used pathway, that is home to a (magical or otherwise) fungus (plant?) that steals energy from the people walking the path instead of the flora in it's surroundings.

A civilisation or city that has full control over it's surroundings (weather, temperature, land etc.). However, the magic//technology used to control these aspects has been malfunctioning, leading to mass//minor panic.

A highly secure facility in a remote location that is one of the few gateways to a distant location//realm//dimension hopping etc. (whatever works)

An area in which magic tends to be under/overpowered, fluctuate, malfunction, or any other number of horrible things.

A town/city that travels across the sea and in reality is several large ships connected with ramps, robes or other fitting things.

A seemingly infinite//physics breaking train (or other method of travel) that crosses the entire world, but tickets for said train don't have a set price, and can be obtained through trade only with the conductor//driver

A location in which the inhabitants have adapted to living in pitch black (or any other extreme condition, such as extreme cold//hot, high//low altitudes, frequent natural disasters etc.).

#prompts list #worldbuilding #writing #writing ideas #writing prompt #story prompt

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onlyanotherusername · 1 year

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An Attempt at Describing a Fictitious Setting in My World - (Constructive Criticism Please?)

(I'm not a particularly good writer, so cringe awaits ig) - for context this is set in a very stereotypical medieval, fantasy setting and is the capital city of a country, a port and trading hub but this more so focuses on the port aspects.

(I will also note that this technically isn't a novel I'm writing, it's more of a collection of locations, characters and organisations amongst other things, it's not really supposed to be anything subversive nor spectacular, I figured I would describe some locations for no particular reason, I do not write frequently.)

Anyway here it is:

"The haggard ship, hardened from battle crawled through the water, into the orderly harbour. The smell of salt and dew filled the crews senses and the movement of the blemished vassal slowly drew to a close. As the sounds of the city drew near. Chatter of the common folk, ever filled the air, the bustling crowds interweaved and shifted across the creaky wood. The crew docked, and the tidy stone architecture of the wide, lengthy street came into view."

#writing #worldbuilding #story development #character development

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