Questions tagged [society]
For questions dealing with how sentient beings interact with each other in a community.
2,072
questions
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20answers
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Why do people still live on earthlike planets?
Like our good SciFi prophet Isaac Arthur postulates, for a civilization with a decent space presence planets are overrated and rubbish.
They're down there in the deep gravity well.
There is no ...
3
votes
2answers
127 views
How Can People Hoard Dragons?
After posting How Dragons Can Hoard People, I decided to do a role reversal and get a different side of things. You see, humans are great at turning things around (AKA subverting devices, reversing ...
1
vote
1answer
70 views
Role Of Whirling Blades in Fantasy Society (RPG Classes)
Recap-How Classes Work: In my book, a mysterious pulse of energy sent a young man named John into another world called Alendyias. This event resulted in John becoming Rorjon, a bluish ghost-like being ...
0
votes
2answers
56 views
Why Would A Queen Strider Connect With Shadow Dancers? [closed]
Background: The Queen Strider is like a Queen Bee or Ant, except for the following differences:
She's huge and resembles a Spinosaurus, with chitinous hide, segmented eyes, antennae and horns, a ...
2
votes
7answers
437 views
How to compensate for the non-magic wielding humans, when others, such as elves, can?
So in the beginning when the world was anew, the god Sky gave life to the Elder races of elves, dwarfs, goblins, frells, and nisfelms. In the Age of Dawn, Sky gave magic to the elder races. After they ...
5
votes
8answers
3k views
How to survive a siege for fifty years?
A long and costly war is finally coming to a close. The rebels are losing territory fast and only have rolling hills to guard their last city. According to the scouts, the imperialist regime is about ...
3
votes
3answers
218 views
What Role Would Monks Have In a Fantasy Society?
Yep, I'm back with another Class-related society question! This definitely won't be the last, so you might want to buckle up. Oh, and I'll be copying and pasting parts of my last question on Classes ...
13
votes
5answers
728 views
How Dragons Can Hoard People
Dragons hoard things, they're known for it. In this setting, they're quite possessive and like hoarding.
However, some dragons have been observing humans and noticed something odd: when introducing a ...
6
votes
5answers
2k views
How would an RPG style job or class system work?
So if you've ever played an RPG (tabletop or computer) you're probably familiar with the idea of jobs or classes.
Some of these can be easily explained away as they correspond (roughly anyway) to real ...
1
vote
2answers
129 views
Dancer's Role in Fantasy Society (RPG Classes)
How Classes Work: In my book, a mysterious pulse of energy sent a young man named John into another world called Alendyias. This event resulted in John becoming Rorjon, a bluish ghost-like being (...
14
votes
4answers
401 views
How long would it take people to realise some rabbits are sapient?
Set in modern day, a small warren of rabbits randomly achieve sapience in an unremarkable, rural countryside. These rabbits become capable of thinking and self-reflection, as well as advanced ...
5
votes
2answers
135 views
Dragon Children: Bringing Them Into The Fold?
Background: Last we checked, the dragons had come up with a plan to preserve their species by sending samples of SEDNA (Spiritual Equivalent of DNA) into willing women, causing them to give birth to ...
3
votes
1answer
65 views
Dragons Rising: Subverting the Dragonslayers
After their success with the Dragon Mother and Dragonborn Repatriation projects, ( see Dragon Mothers: Recruiting? and Dragon Children: Bringing Them Into The Fold? if you're curious), the dragons ...
3
votes
1answer
61 views
Feeding Shadow Striders
Alright, so creatures in the Forbidden Forest called 'Shadow Striders' (Striders for short) are plotting on how to obtain their favorite food: humans.
These creatures have the following traits:
They'...
8
votes
6answers
2k views
Would a lobby-like system of self-governing work?
In this form of self-government, a lobby is a set of 21 people in an area. Similar to a county, but on a much smaller scale, each lobby governs their immediate surroundings. The 21 people are only ...
2
votes
2answers
71 views
Besides distance, what factors could contribute to unique societies and cultures?
My guilty pleasure when worldbuilding is creating varied and unique cultures, however, different cultures are often the result of distance between each other (which allows them to develop unique ...
6
votes
7answers
627 views
Could a city live in a money-free system in a medieval fantasy setting?
I am currently building a world based in a medieval fantasy setup. View it as if the world got a soft reset and cannot (I say cannot) go further than electricity, and I imagined a village where people ...
18
votes
8answers
4k views
What mammal most abhors physical violence?
Imagine a world of anthropomorphic animals (if you're thinking of Zootopia, that's a reasonable starting point). People in this world have a lot in common with humans — opposable thumbs, language, the ...
3
votes
2answers
35 views
How can a summoning circle dilute the effects of radiation over a wide surface area?
Summoning circles are a way to communicate with entities within the ethereal realm from beyond the veil. A mage uses the summoning circle as a bridge to bring the entity from its realm and ...
14
votes
11answers
3k views
How can massive forest burning be an entirely terrible thing?
I'm writing a story about a fantasy medieval world where flightless dragons roam vast tropical rainforests (like Vietnam or Borneo) and preys on animals and people alike. These dragons are so powerful ...
18
votes
19answers
6k views
How do you make men relevant in a setting where only women can use magic?
The setting is one where only women can use magic. All females can access it as it is naturally inborn. It requires training, some females being stronger than others. Magic takes the form of spells ...
25
votes
16answers
3k views
Symbiotic benefits for large sentient bio-machine
I’m working on a setting, and have a state I want to achieve but need to come up with a compelling reason for why it is the way it is (even if no one but me ever knows the ‘why’.) I’m after a reasoned,...
2
votes
2answers
101 views
Dragon Mothers: Recruiting?
After many years of struggling to survive against hostile humans, even traveling into an alternate dimension with the help of a powerful wizard, the dragons have come up with a daring plan to preserve ...
5
votes
3answers
158 views
How can I redirect Great Britain back to Catholicism after the English Reformation?
I, Mary the Magnificent, am the greatest and most successful queen in the British Empire. I grew up in luxury as a member of the valiant Tudor family. Unfortunately, Europe had taken a dark turn some ...
2
votes
4answers
248 views
How can a witch elf ensure that their soul is resurrected?
Drow society is broken down into houses, each with its own family. There are several royal houses which represent the political and religious power of the drow. Each house is headed by a matron, who ...
7
votes
4answers
186 views
How do my dragons hunt?
Okay, I am designing a dragon. The average adult male specimen is about 20 feet long, with an extra 5-8 ft of the tail; females are slightly smaller. Their wingspan is approx. 20 ft.
The above image ...
0
votes
0answers
8 views
What was the state of newspaper delivery in 1940's Britain to apartments? Also, how well off financially was the country? [migrated]
I am writing a story set in the winter in 1940's London. The first chapter features one main character receiving a newspaper. The building is not very grand, in fact, it's a rather dirty and slightly ...
1
vote
0answers
61 views
Avatar Inheritance: Is It Too Powerful?
Okay, so for those who haven't seen my other Avatar-related questions, here's the pertinent information:
Avatars are created from Ether, or solidified Mana, but have a real form (if it's an animal, ...
2
votes
2answers
101 views
What Effect Will This Pseudo-magic Substance Have On Early Humanity?
This world is like ours, but with the addition of an enhancing substance that comes in different colors and is found in rare (and small, no bigger than a fridge) meteorites that have been landing at (...
3
votes
3answers
169 views
Can a world completely free of violence sustain life and civilization for a long time? [closed]
I have heard the (fictional) story of the demise of a civilization with no concept of violence after they were invaded by alien and inability to resist.
But in the absence of external influence, would ...
1
vote
1answer
134 views
How Would A Society of PCs Deal With Overpowered Individuals? [closed]
Background: Through use of a reality-altering force, people were brought into a fantasy-style MMORPG (as PCs) on a whole new continent made just for them and formed a society. These people all hold ...
10
votes
22answers
4k views
What could lead humans to go extinct after a collapse of technological civilization?
A few hundred years from now, a prosperous humanity heavily relying on technology is hit by a disaster. It's not a type of a disaster that kills many people instantly, but it takes out enough ...
11
votes
13answers
3k views
Is technology a natural consequence of civilization?
Can a civilization be highly evolved as far as culture, ethics, societal norms, laws, language, literature and arts, but not ever come to develop any sort of advanced technology besides main practical ...
20
votes
7answers
2k views
How would a kitsune conceal her presence in a city?
(First question I've ever asked here, don't be too harsh on me, please!)
Suppose you have a kitsune (Ahri from League of Legends is a perfect example of what I have in mind), who loves to roam near ...
The Square-Cube Law
103k25 gold badges209 silver badges457 bronze badges
7
votes
12answers
3k views
How can an eldritch abomination hide its true form in public?
A hag is a witch deeply entrenched in the art of dark magic. This kind of magic comes from experimenting with forces beyond our reality. Over the years, her abilities and spells grow in power. However,...
8
votes
4answers
466 views
How would a population react to an AI made for the purpose of statewide surveillance using current tech?
Setting
The US is waging a failing War on Drugs where cartels are quickly gaining power.
Scenario
In the near future, say 2030, with current technology, the Texas state government is implementing a ...
0
votes
2answers
81 views
Why would humans chose to change their appearance [closed]
Now, the title of the question is somewhat misleading, but to give context. In the far future, humanity has slightly mastered genetic engineering, and many people can now live extremely long lives, ...
14
votes
9answers
5k views
Beds for people who practise group marriage
On the world of Thirdrock, the humans there practise group marriage: one to three women marry one to three men, with a maximum of four people in the marriage (or occasionally five under rare and ...
5
votes
2answers
156 views
Marriage keys for a society with polyamorous marriages
In Beds for people who practise group marriage I describe how marriage works on the world of Thirdrock: in essence, these people practise polyamorous group marriage, with a marriage consisting of at ...
6
votes
3answers
140 views
Rebuilding a collapsed empire
I am making a galaxy where humans have reached an age where everything is peaceful and paradise, like spanning thousands of planets. However, a disaster happened that caused all the worlds to be ...
6
votes
4answers
227 views
How long would it take for two (or more) groups of geographically isolated human beings to lose the ability to procreate with one another?
Primarily a biological question, but I'd also love to dig into social implications.
Here's the story -
Humans have colonized at least one other planet and trade / communication remained open for some ...
2
votes
2answers
151 views
A functional fatalistic daredevil civilization in history?
I have been reading about fatalism: the belief that all events are predetermined and therefore inevitable. It made me consider designing a fictional civilization based around fatalism, but with the ...
2
votes
5answers
210 views
why would gods allow give their mortals significant control over them?
The gods created the earth and the humans that live across it. Mankind developed their civilizations and cultures, worshipping various gods related to different aspects. Humanity worship the same gods,...
8
votes
7answers
1k views
How to sustain this sedentary hunter-gatherer society?
There is this great and dangerous forest in this world, way more bioproductive than anywhere on earth. The climate is humid subtropical, with cold but not freezing winters. There is plenty of fruits, ...
11
votes
10answers
4k views
How to limit population growth in a utopia?
In my fictional nation, the government has figured out how to provide sufficient nutrition to the entire population indiscriminately. This leaves most citizens time to explore and develop technologies ...
8
votes
5answers
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Is a utopia a necessarily aged society?
Following the issues raised in the question How to limit population growth in a utopia? I'd like to ask a related question. In a stable utopia, would the population be old-aged, compared to less-than-...
18
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14answers
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What would lead an entire country to systematically ignore home invasion, theft and vandalism from 1 particular person? [closed]
Evie is reading a book, when L. runs into her house, smashes all the pots, rifles through her wardrobe and runs off with her life savings and a bottle of red liquid. She doesn't even look up.
Carl is ...
6
votes
6answers
2k views
What would society be like, if there was infinite food and booze?
Inspired by a certain @KSmarts , based on a previous question over here, which talks about a kingdom with a super grasstato plant.
So, the kingdom is absolutely overflowing with potatoes, and it ...
29
votes
13answers
7k views
Why is this culture against repairing broken things?
This culture is approximately at the very early Renaissance levels of development. There is a cultural semi-religious taboo against repairing broken things - you are expected to take care of your ...
-1
votes
1answer
190 views
Lifetime Groundhog-Day Loop… For Everyone (UPDATED) [closed]
Four and a half years ago, IchabodE asked a very famous question about what would happen if everybody experienced a single-day loop like the one in Groundhog Day.
Recently I saw the question again (I ...
