Questions tagged [society]
For questions dealing with how sentient beings interact with each other in a community.
1,763
questions
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1answer
40 views
How would a mountain range jutting out of an ocean affect the ocean and land masses around it? [closed]
So, 1st I'd like to say thank you. Next, I hope I do this right!
My question is how would a mountain range roughly the size and shape of the Andes jutting out of an ocean roughly the size of the ...
24
votes
14answers
6k views
How does a religion based around destroying the world attract followers
How would a religion centered around summoning a god of destrucion to destroy the world attract new members?
What incentives or arguments would convince a mostly sane population to go along with ...
4
votes
2answers
132 views
How Would Forced Relocation Affect a Community [closed]
In a dystopian setting where people are separated into a caste system of sorts, the lowest caste, know as ship-ins, gets their nickname from a peculiar treatment: if an offense escalates to a level ...
21
votes
17answers
6k views
How can conflict be conducted between nations when warfare is never an option?
Our world is surrounded by a magic barrier that keeps out eldritch abominations that exist in the void, such as Cthulhu. However, this barrier is fairly sensitive and easily damaged. The violent, ...
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8answers
3k views
How do I limit the use of projectiles in a high fantasy world?
This is a follow up to: How can society based on strict gender roles be "fair and balanced"?
Basically in this world, women have magic and men don't. In order for men to not be useless, ...
1
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4answers
134 views
What would make mana-batteries an unsuitable alternative to mages combining their power?
Orgone, also referred to as Mana, is the conduit through which the power of the cosmos flows, focused through a sorcerer's will. Ritual practitioners must draw on this reserve of power in their souls ...
35
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6answers
7k views
Why is dwarfism considered an advantage for jobs in space?
First, a clarification:
Dwarfism is the umbrella term for 200+ medical conditions that result in short stature. Since this is Worldbuilding, my question refers to human beings with genetic dwarfism (...
0
votes
1answer
48 views
Effect of non evolutionary origin on species [closed]
I have fantasy world (same like here), it's something about XVII/XVIII century in terms of technology and ideas (European). This world is of course populated by many typical races from fantasy worlds, ...
5
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11answers
863 views
How can society based on strict gender roles be “fair and balanced”?
House Kardashian is a large clan in westeros that is made up of different clans, each further broken down into different families. Members of this house have genes which allows them to access Mana ...
4
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5answers
1k views
What role can lineage play when males have no legitimate heirs?
House Kardashian is a large clan in westeros that is made up of different clans, each further broken down into different families. Members of this house have genes which allows them to access Mana ...
3
votes
4answers
237 views
How would a limit on the number of lies a person can tell change society? [closed]
Say that, through magic, a limit to the number of lies someone can tell is imposed on each person when they are born. You can't ignore this limit--it's not a law or a rule, it's an inborn mental ...
13
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14answers
2k views
Feasible explanation to the continued existence of dangerous magical creatures in a modern setting
The setting is based on the Earth during the 60's, but with two big changes:
Magic exists (although somewhat limited to humanity).
And so do all sorts of magical creatures (Dragons, dryads, ghouls, ...
2
votes
6answers
235 views
How can I protect a cannibalistic ritual from corruption?
This country is dominated by witch covens, who celebrate a holiday every year called "the great feast". Each coven selects 7 witches from their community to participate in a ritual that ends with a ...
3
votes
6answers
138 views
Building transcontinental railway through many different countries
Let's have fantasy world with XVIII European century technology, also let's have technology of making really big trains and rails for them (big like 2.5 meters track gauge). What I want is railroad ...
4
votes
7answers
240 views
What advantages would broomsticks have over mage craft?
Enchanting is a form of study for witches that involves ascribing runes to a particular object in order to give it certain properties it would not have normally. Through this method, objects can be ...
2
votes
2answers
144 views
How would humans live in a world made primarily of glass?
Setup: Earth developed in an alternate universe with small oceans and little water. A little before animals first left the oceans and began to walk on land, when all of Earth's land was barren sand, ...
3
votes
2answers
157 views
How many gangs (criminal and non-criminal) can fit in a fictional crime-ridden New York City?
So, I'm writing a fictional story about gangs and the city I'm using as the setting is loosely based on New York. More specifically, the size of New York City, and the population. I checked on Google ...
2
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3answers
176 views
What would be a reason for taking over the Washington Space Needle in a Post apocalyptic world battle [closed]
In the last battle of a story I am working on the last battle to be over the Space needle in Seattle Washington and I need a strategic reason why...
The Set up:
Two groups are fighting over the Space ...
10
votes
6answers
1k views
Places LEAST likely to be looted in an Apocalypse [closed]
In an pist appacolyptic earth quake zombie infection, what places that might be over looked in the first 3 week by looters and survivors?
Big places such as Walmarts and Costco's are bound to be ...
2
votes
7answers
188 views
how can harvesting slaves be made more preferable than the use of slave markets?
Magic is performed through a series of steps. A mage sits in the center of a drawn invocation circle, surrounded by the various ingredients needed to perform the spell. The mage then utters the ...
8
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20answers
2k views
How could mages regard fast magic as a form of evil? [closed]
There are 2 forms of magic in this world, the first of which is performed through a series of steps. A mage sits in the center of a drawn invocation circle, surrounded by the various ingredients ...
5
votes
4answers
170 views
Would 5 years be long enough for a small society to start producing a surplus of food?
Would a community of around 300 people be able to start producing plentiful food in ~5 years post a civil war and plague?
They were an isolated quite wealthy community, in a sub-tropical area, mainly ...
7
votes
7answers
141 views
How would/could a communal society introduce currency?
So I've been working on the history of a particular fantasy world and one of its main societies. Specifically how it rebuilt after a civil war that destabilizes government and destroyed larger cities ...
3
votes
7answers
305 views
Why there are messed up teens in a world where everyone can be designed to be perfect
I have a book where in the future a sterility disease spreads across the world making people unable to have children. Then, a company rises to power and using CRISPR are able to make babies again. ...
2
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0answers
289 views
How to make my matriarchal society more realistic [closed]
So I am playing with idea of fantasy matriarchal society. I want it to be realistic and coherent. This is what I have so far:
Aim
I wanted to avoid a simple patriarchal flip, where social structure ...
1
vote
2answers
81 views
How could I make Mercenaries function in a contemporary fantasy world?
My fantasy project of ''Diggoran'' ( pronounced as Die-Ah-Ran ) is set on the continent of Diggoran which is a large and fictional continent located on a fictional planet in its own universe with no ...
2
votes
3answers
170 views
How to make a long lasting peace at the Medieval ages?
as known in the medieval ages wars and death were a normal thing and wars were frequent, in my world, there are two super nations with equal power, but I want to eventually unite them against a third ...
5
votes
7answers
196 views
Convince happy nomads to settle down
The population of my world is well fed and water can be plentifully scavenged from the plant life. We live in a wonderful tropical utopia that boasts a large nomadic population. The weather systems ...
7
votes
9answers
1k views
Immortal Passing Ritual [closed]
On a different planet, humanoid creatures called immortals have achieved immortality.
The society is built specifically for these immortals, so in general, the immortals enjoy and cherish their lives....
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2answers
99 views
How close to the modern day can Scientology be established to make it a mainstream faith? [closed]
Ron Hubbard founded a religion in the 1950s called scientology. This faith celebrates individualism and mastery over one's own mind and will, establishing that all human beings are ultimately divine. ...
2
votes
5answers
672 views
Interstellar war tactics with no FTL capabilities?
I have tried to conceive the most realistic hard sci-fi human/alien conflict scenario without invoking FTL magic. By realistic, I mean “War is the wrong answer but we do it anyway”. Im not trying to ...
1
vote
3answers
179 views
Introducing currency in a barter trade society
I am writing a book where I have a main character who comes to a young civilization. The young society only works through barter trade, and he wants to introduce a form of currency, such as money. ...
13
votes
14answers
3k views
how can I enforce the prohibition on love potions?
Amortentia is a powerful aphrodisiac that creates an intense feeling of love or obsession in the person who drinks it. There are different kinds of these love potions, each designed to have various ...
1
vote
2answers
78 views
Could a dystopian society control non-perishable foods to prevent escape / mutiny?
Here are some sub questions:
Are there habitable earth environments where non- perishables (even raisins and honey) are hard to discover?
Are there agents that could be added to make foods more ...
3
votes
1answer
101 views
Climate in an hypothetical Planet [closed]
Let there be absolutely none, exactly 0 axial tilt. Let the earth's orbit around the sun be a perfect circle with 0 eccentricity and a surface to surface ( constant) radius equal to the harmonic mean ...
4
votes
1answer
96 views
Would a society of totally colourblind fare better than a society of people without a sense of smell? [closed]
There's two isolated islands, each big enough to support a population of millions and with all the natural resources they need to advance to the industrial era. But there is one hereditary flaw in 100%...
2
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2answers
96 views
Building a society of “fungus people” where humans have developed a symbiotic relationship with a parasitic/fungal organism [closed]
In this universe, humans discovered a previously unknown fungus. Similar to the cordyceps fungus, this particular organism uses its spores to enter the body of its host, and grows within it. It will ...
9
votes
7answers
768 views
Designing society for happiness
I’m designing a utopia but there’s one problem remaining.
The setting is one of a highly advanced human society. We’ve eliminated disease and allowed the natural environment to replenish. ...
4
votes
3answers
201 views
How would martial arts be different for a winged race?
TL;DR I have a race of half-dragons in my near-future scifi story. I know that having wings and a tail would affect my characters hand-to-hand fighting abilities, but I'm not sure how. Additionally, ...
18
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15answers
10k views
How would a young girl/boy (about 14) who never gets old survive in the 16th century? [closed]
In fantasy setting, in medieval time, there are a disease, curse... for simplicity in this scenario, let's call it "vampire".
The victim who is afflicted with this "vampirism" does not get older. So ...
2
votes
0answers
107 views
Native American Society in a World Where Beringia Is Still High and Dry
Multiple times in Earth's geological history, a bridge connected Asia to North America, bringing in an influx of colonists. Without Beringia, North America would never have the iconic Triceratops or ...
25
votes
16answers
6k views
How can an immortal member of the nobility be prevented from taking the throne?
Necromancy is a time-honored profession that goes back thousands of years. A necromancer is prized because of the gifts they can bestow to wealthy individuals, specifically the noble class. When ...
1
vote
1answer
69 views
What should I call the troops in my world where the US military consolidated into a single, unified force? [closed]
So basically, for some backstory, rising sea levels and a viral pandemic known as the Black Plague both killed off billions of people in 2015. During that time, due to the collapse of every country ...
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votes
1answer
108 views
Why am I measured against points? [closed]
Why are we suddenly in a didgital 'social' heirachy..where my questions and answers are based on how I PLEASE u! Why do i want to stay in a world like this?
4
votes
3answers
1k views
Small sizing in the military
People recently discovered an amazing technological - medical procedure, that allows them to shrink a living creature proportionally by a factor of 18.
Lets call it small-sizing. It shrinks all organs ...
3
votes
4answers
170 views
How can I desensitize my audience to participate in a bloodsport? [closed]
I, Rex Machismo, am the host of a bloodsport called deathbattle. In this show, contestants go through a number of trials in different environments to fight for their survival. These contestants would ...
14
votes
7answers
3k views
Is it plausible for a certain area of a continent to be/remain/become uninhabited for a long period of time?
If is plausible, what are the most reasonable factors to bring to bear?
I have a large continent where a number of races/cultures are present in the present day, but I want the one in the south to ...
5
votes
4answers
140 views
Environmental factors that would result in my fantasy creature's traits and appearance
Have this hoofed biped with pale nearly furless skin with a bit of thick blubberyness. I imagine a bit like some of our sea mammals. Green blood can be seen somewhat through the skin. Around human ...
2
votes
4answers
194 views
How can the vagrant mafia use pigeons to deliver messages?
My name is the Bowery King, the ultimate information broker in my City. My plan to take over the criminal underworld involves using homeless people as spies and informants. This network would keep ...
1
vote
1answer
176 views
Direct Consequences of Powered Armor [closed]
The Question
What are the direct consequences of powered armor being practical?
Background
In the setting I have been working on, humanity has invented a man-machine interface, bio-mechanical cells ...
