One Man [RPG] studio

@juergen_hubert@mementomori.social @hackbarth@ursal.zone Yeah, I think that’s the harder direction. With humans you can lean on real folklore as a reference point, while non-human tales need enough cultural groundwork to feel like they actually come from somewhere. I’d probably start with the human side and only expand the others if the setting really needs it.

@golgaloth@writing.exchange No, but let me imagine... For burning massive amounts of fossil fuels, I'd make the source visible in the world. Large-scale extraction should shape trade routes, labor, pollution, politics, and which places become strategically important. The useful worldbuilding question is not only where the fuel is, but who controls the bottleneck between the ground and the people who depend on it.

@juergen_hubert@mementomori.social @hackbarth@ursal.zone Yes, and I think that is where the project really becomes alive. The folklore should not just describe non-humans, but show the human view of them: what seems uncanny, admirable, dangerous, or necessary from one community to another.

@juergen_hubert@mementomori.social @hackbarth@ursal.zone For what kinds of folk tales people tell about elves or dwarves, I’d begin with social friction rather than species lore. Border villages invent cautionary tales about elven promises that mature after a human lifetime; miners tell of dwarven debts inherited by tools; city children whisper that halflings can steal a road from under your feet. Each tale should reveal the teller’s fear, envy, or dependence as much as its supposed subject.

@deinol@dice.camp Imperial Hill could make the old border visible in everyday life: fort stones reused in wine cellars, a collapsed signal tunnel beneath the vineyards, and boundary markers locals still decorate. I’d also give it one signature product, perhaps grape-must bread or clay wine flasks stamped with the vanished empire’s crest.