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This recent question made me wonder about the scale of fantasy worlds.

My setting is mostly a scifi/fantasy mixture, so the size of the locations are very well defined, while the impact of it on the inhabitants...not so much.

Let's start with the assumption that a kingdom is founded on an entirely uninhabited planet. The scale is most likely hundreds of millions of square kilometers.

In most cases, and slightly sticking to reality, the most predictable outcome is an enormous wave of explorative "mission" of some kind, slowly but steadily increasing the area of presence (but not necessarily area of interest) of people.

However, on small time scales, and especially with the presence of magic, and other factors, it may prevent the rise in technology humanity lived through during the Age of Explorations. In other worlds, globalization may not happen.

Without that, what factors contribute to the decision that whether the society as a whole collapses, or ultimately still can become somehow globalized?

(Note: I guess Shingeki no Kyojin might be a great example for the former, at least for the "why they haven't globalized yet" scenario)

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  • $\begingroup$ I'm really not sure what you're asking. You've invoked 'magic' but haven't described what kind of magic. You haven't described how these colonists arrive or what tech level they arrive with; nor what tech level they came from. What's the culture of these explorers/settlers? I can't even start to answer your question without this kind of information. $\endgroup$
    – Green
    Jul 21, 2017 at 16:26
  • $\begingroup$ Also, what time scale are we talking about? Centuries? Decades? $\endgroup$
    – Green
    Jul 21, 2017 at 16:27
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    $\begingroup$ The level of technology and capability of magic is a critical element. Without explaining that, it's hard to answer. Easy answers would be that there are hard limits to the speed of information, but a palantir-like device solves that problem. The other factor would be speed of transportation--this is what allow the US to successfully break from the British empire--sheer distance modified by time to traverse, but magical portals would eliminate this problem. $\endgroup$
    – DukeZhou
    Jul 21, 2017 at 16:29
  • $\begingroup$ Sorry, I used "magic" tag because it was suggested instead of "fantasy" andd apparently the latter has been removed. $\endgroup$
    – Z..
    Jul 21, 2017 at 16:30
  • $\begingroup$ Your society can get fragmented, but it does not have to collapse. Look at the the age of colonization - at first, old countries vastly expanded their territory, but later most colonies got independence. $\endgroup$
    – Alexander
    Jul 21, 2017 at 17:32

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