forum Need a plot- (tropical!!!!) fantasy brainstorm

Started January 01, 2019 by @kat_i_am

tune

I can't decide.
Bc the typical government type would be a kingdom?
But I don't wanna write another monarchy
So idk

You could do a council or parliament instead. I feel like anything other than a president feels very fantasy

COUNCIL
11/10 I LIKE IT

how many people should be on the council? and should people be elected by vote or by inheritance or some other method?

6 people. Because 12 is my favorite number but that's basic so 6.
Inheritance makes the most sense in the world, but how about they can be voted out?
"councilman sean, you've been voted off the island"

does the council vote members out, or does the public have a say? also, it might be neat if you can separate all the magics into 6 broad categories and have one council member represent that type of magic.

Public for voting out and YES I LOVE THAT
and that brings in a little bit of like… divine rights or whatever
like maybe one family has an affinity for a certain type of magic and they have a spot in the council

that sounds good
also opens up the possibilities for different aesthetics for different magics?
that way designing the Nevari for each magic would be seamless

Yes exactly
I'm so glad you said aesthetics because that's exactly what I was planning on doing it

yesss so many possibilities
how about races? are you thinking human, or elves, or any other typical fantasy race?
or are you making up a race?
is the setting medieval european, african based, south american, etc? or a combination?

At first I was just like… humans. But I haven't really done a multi race series before so that would be really fun and good world-building practice

Honestly it's probably European, but that's basic
And as a Caucasian person, I know I need to do lots of research to do something based on Africa, South America, etc, but I'm afraid I'd do it wrong.

most fantasies are european based, so while it may be a little cliche, it wouldn't be bad or anything
maybe you could blend cultures, and then add your own flair?
like i had a planet once based on a blending of Japanese and urban American culture, which actually blended really well
so you could just cherry pick your favorite parts of various cultures, myths, legends, etc and mix them together

Okay that is super cool

i always enjoy mixing elements from things i like when i feel like all my ideas are just eh
most "new" things are just a mix of old things, repackaged to seem new, and i think that's great
it has a sense of familiarity but it also feels pristine

Yes that is very cool
I'll have to do some thinking about that

I think a tropical or Mediterranean setting might be cool though?
Bc every fantasy seems to be set in plains/forests/cities
but
consider
white sand beaches.
rocky shoreside mountains.
palm trees (or variations thereupon).

that would be awesome!
it'd be so refreshing to see a fantasy set in a tropical setting
it also makes it easier to figure out their main sources of income/ the produce they usually transport

Oh you're so right!!

so, what about your protagonist's family? besides the sister ig
does he have both parents? does he have a job? an education?
do the schools teach kids how to control their magic?
are there magic internships?

What kind of jobs are there even in tropical areas?
Cause it's pre-industrialization

fisherman, blacksmith, weaver, tailor, builder, law enforcer of some kind, writer, educator (and this will probably be a common job since magic probably needs to be taught kinda individually), oiler, etc

Yep definitely
and I'm thinking the currency within the town is probably like… bartering, but on a larger scale there needs to be some form of standard currency
but is education expensive? Is there standard basic edu but then magic tutoring which is expensive?

oh wait or would it just all be apprenticeships

WAIT CAN I PLEASE HAVE A CHARACTER WHO IS AN APPRENTICE TO A SHIPMAKER OR TRAVELING MERCHANT SO HE PUNS AND CALLS IT AN APPRENTICESHIP

i'm thinking that since you want magic to be so commonplace, it might be part of the core requirement of basic education?
okay wait!!
maybe the 6 main magics are taught as a prereq
and then its expensive to specialize because you have to pay for a private, highly trained tutor
so the tutors are high class essentially
and i agree, i think a standard currency is a good idea

also
let's consider
a cast
that's mostly females

I was reading the Riddlemaster of Hed, a book that my dad loved when he was younger, but tbh I found it Boring. And there were like…. NO female characters? And I realize the same is true for LoTR and I wonder if one reason I'm not a huge fan of those books is because there's no girls and it's just BORING

WAIT CAN I PLEASE HAVE A CHARACTER WHO IS AN APPRENTICE TO A SHIPMAKER OR TRAVELING MERCHANT SO HE PUNS AND CALLS IT AN APPRENTICESHIP

HAHAHA I LOVE IT
I WOULD LOVE TO SEA THAT IN A CHARACTER

i'm thinking that since you want magic to be so commonplace, it might be part of the core requirement of basic education?
okay wait!!
maybe the 6 main magics are taught as a prereq
and then its expensive to specialize because you have to pay for a private, highly trained tutor
so the tutors are high class essentially
and i agree, i think a standard currency is a good idea

I think studying ABOUT the magics will be a prereq, but they aren't actually required to do magic because it does require sacrificing something (thoughts, original ideas, memories, all that jazz)

WAIT CAN I PLEASE HAVE A CHARACTER WHO IS AN APPRENTICE TO A SHIPMAKER OR TRAVELING MERCHANT SO HE PUNS AND CALLS IT AN APPRENTICESHIP

HAHAHA I LOVE IT
I WOULD LOVE TO SEA THAT IN A CHARACTER

Update: YOU are the character

also yes please lots of girls
too many dudes is boring.
on the subject, what's the general belief system surrounding gender, sexuality, and marriage?