Dan's Random Ramblings

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Dakarne
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Dan's Random Ramblings

Post by Dakarne »

Now, one of the most difficult things to do whilst worldbuilding, I've found, is naming places. I can name characters, deities, and a few other things to some extent; but I just cannot name places. I mean, it's tempting to create a slew of Doom Mountains and Black Gorges and a few Caves of No Return, but being truly creative is a bit difficult.
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'For the moment, mortal, they find the thought of killing me more desirable than that of killing you.'
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Re: Dan's Random Ramblings

Post by Soban »

You could always take one ominous-looking region and just put "Here Be Dragons". It's not creative, but it's fucking awesome. It also tells the reader that you just don't go for a stroll in that sort of realm.
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Re: Dan's Random Ramblings

Post by Destructionator »

Naming places is nearly impossible - almost every name for a place I have is stolen from (I mean 'paying homage to') another work for that reason. (And the others are generally lame.)

Though what I did with the planets might be good: create a few root words in a fictional language, then jam them all together to make new names. This makes many of the names similar sounding, but that is easily explained by being based on the same language. Now you only need to make up one syllable for most new places.
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Re: Dan's Random Ramblings

Post by Dakarne »

It's quite tempting to do 'here be dragons', but I'd have to make an actual map for that. :P If anyone can find a good way for me to do that which doesn't require much work, I'd get right on it, actually...

In other areas, I've thought a bit about technological and societal advancement of E&D based on an SDN thread. I haven't taken most of that seriously, because a lot of that in the thread is filled with quite a lot of overly-exaggerated bollocks. But it did get me thinking a wee bit. Firstly, that I haven't actually taken most of that stuff into account, secondly about how far one could technologically stretch a fantasy setting and keep it within the realms of a completely recognisable fantasy setting, and thirdly about how it might affect my burgeoning plots and stories. I was originally taking the more easy 'don't think about it' approach, but when am I known for keeping things simple for myself?

The first and most tempting method is to take the Warcraft, Arcanum or Eberron typed approach and have a high level of technological advancement that is very much stable but not recognisable to our own modern Earth. Steam-power or magic would be the order of the day, though I would limit myself to the simple caveat that I will avoid using much in the way of guns in this particular setting; I don't particularly like guns, aesthetically-speaking, though I'd have them as a very mildly possible necessity of logic. In any case, this is one I'm considering seriously as it doesn't really contradict much of what I've already put down, it just adds an extra layer of fantasticism and I'm all for that.

The second method is to take the approach of A Song of Ice and Fire; everything's very grim and gritty despite the presence of the fantastical. All of the crap associated with the mediaeval ages is piled on all good and thick. Probably not going to do it; I wanted a fantastical and whimsical setting, and making it dark via this method is not what I had in mind.

The third method is to take the approach of Just Ignoring The Problem Until It Goes Away. I'm not doing that, either.

There is also a fourth method (officially resurrect the Crimson Chronicle and write that) but let's go with Project Magitech. Which I'll probably turn into its own thread at some point. Essentially, turn the fantasticism up to eleven. I'll begin working out the details of Magical Technology in a wee bit. Note that I am not going to follow much of a logical progression, and none of it will be fully modern. Though it might end up being so, I haven't yet fully decided.
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'For the moment, mortal, they find the thought of killing me more desirable than that of killing you.'
'And what are their chances?'
'The answer to that is evident in how long they've been hesitating, wouldn't you think, mortal?'

-Anomander Rake and Ganoes Paran in Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
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Re: Dan's Random Ramblings

Post by Somes J »

I know this is ancient, but this seems a low traffic enough forum that I can bump it. My apologies if I'm being obnoxious.

There are a couple of ways I can think of to solve this.

1) Simply make up a decent-sounding gibberish word (assuming your people speak a foreign language).

2) In a primitive setting, a good approach might be to think of what notable landmarks the place might have, or what significance it would have in the minds of the people who live there. For instance, there's a place mentioned in the Bible called "Jawbone's Flight" because it's supposedly where Sampson slew a bunch of Philistines with an ass's jawbone. A seaside village next to a big rock where birds nest might be called Bird Rock. This approach can be a nice way to add those neat details that characterize a really well-done job of worldbuilding.

3) Name the place after the founder or discoverer. This should be common in colonial settings, so it would be good for a space sci fi setting. Jamestown, Stevens River, Mount Hammond etc. Also, for a space setting, in real life astronomical objects are often named after mythological places and figures.
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Re: Dan's Random Ramblings

Post by Dakarne »

Aye, it's just that coming up with a whole host of people who explored and where they explored and why and when is a bit difficult sometimes. :P But thanks for the advice, and I apologise I didn't get around to replying sooner. I've been a tiny bit busy working on another setting that I've had cooking up in the back of my mind for months now, something to replace the effectively-dead Crimson Chronicle.
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'For the moment, mortal, they find the thought of killing me more desirable than that of killing you.'
'And what are their chances?'
'The answer to that is evident in how long they've been hesitating, wouldn't you think, mortal?'

-Anomander Rake and Ganoes Paran in Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
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