140
votes
Is there an evolutionary advantage to having two heads?
In this world, bodies are more durable than intelligence.
Imagine mineral creatures who accumulate bodies of crystals, metals and minerals. It takes a really long time to grow a good body and lots ...
- 306k
116
votes
Accepted
How do I begin to explain that my orcs may survive by eating soil?
Starting from the ground up: how much caloric energy even exists in the things orcs eat? Energy metabolism for aerobes involves combining oxidizable with oxygen - in essence burning them. One can ...
- 306k
115
votes
What projectile weapon can replace a bow under the following circumstances?
Consider the lowly sling. A couple of lengths of string or leather lace and a pouch, from which one hurls stones or cast shot.
The sling was one of the earliest weapons created by man, and it was ...
- 9,750
107
votes
Accepted
Why do gargoyles have wings when they can't fly?
Targeting.
Your gargoyles are the modern descendants of creatures whose main mode of predation was dropping from trees into the heads of unsuspecting passers by. The wings don’t aid in flight but, ...
- 66.5k
92
votes
Accepted
Justifying why a troll's skin would turn to stone in sunlight
Their skin contains a set of proteins that will bind to each other and harden when exposed to certain wavelengths, much like dental composite polymers:
Composites are placed while still in a soft, ...
- 142k
91
votes
Accepted
How could medieval ships protect themselves from giant mermaids?
Employ mermaid escorts.
They are smart.
They like stuff we have because they accept it in payment from ships crossing their territory.
Presumably they can deal with criminals of their own kind.
...
- 306k
90
votes
What's a possible justification for orcs not taking over the world?
You say to avoid political factors but realistically it is ALL about politics.
Specifically Orcs cannot sustain political authority or more precisely loyalty. Orcs are loyal to the most charismatic (...
- 43.3k
89
votes
Cyclops - depth perception issues
Supposedly birds (those with eyes set on the sides of their heads) compensate for monocular vision with rapid head movements, their brains stitching together images from multiple angles into one 3d ...
- 306k
87
votes
Accepted
Why would a race with high longevity but low numbers be aggressive and warlike?
They're immortals, they've had thousands of years to hone their skills. They don't die easily. They're all veterans of countless battles and know when to retreat. For humans losing mere dozens out of ...
- 26.4k
78
votes
Accepted
Realistic, logical way for men with medieval-era weaponry to compete with much larger and physically stronger foes
I think you have unfairly disregarded the Phalanx
Whilst other answers are correct about focusing on ranged weaponry and fortifications, they are primarily defensive measures. You need to be able to ...
- 8,123
76
votes
How poor does Elven fertility need to be in order to keep the ratio of humans to elves constant?
The different causes of death are the biggest issue here.
Humans will lose a lot of children to disease, elves don't seem to suffer from this
Humans lose fertility early then die fairly young, again ...
- 118k
75
votes
Most practical method for a secret demographic to get its news?
Create a online platform to answer computer related questions. Once it becomes popular, start using the platform to answer other questions that are not related to computers. As the topics become more ...
- 2,819
72
votes
Ensuring an endless war, and an endless stalemate
What your son wants, and in fact you describe /and when their opponent is vulnerable for the final blow, will say: "See you next time" and go home./ is counting coup
Any blow struck against the ...
- 306k
70
votes
Accepted
How big is my Giant?
Square-Cubic Law tells us that at some size the neck of our giant breaks under its own weight(2), but how large is a giant that has a ring that fits a forearm?
Our Giant's finger's diameter is the ...
- 17.2k
67
votes
What is a logical explanation for why a race of stone humanoids wouldn't become the dominant race on the continent?
If they don't need to eat, drink or sleep what motivation do they have? Most of our technology was created to help achieve one of the three. It sounds like they should have basically no technology, no ...
- 82.6k
67
votes
Accepted
How to tell that you are a giant?
What you're looking for is largely the opposite of what we saw for the 1mm tall robots.
Surface tension of water is a noticeable thing, there's a clear bulge that would seem smaller than memory ...
- 118k
66
votes
Accepted
How to verify or establish identity where shapeshifters exist
Dogs, Fasting, Passwords and Tokens
Modern IT has a similar issue. It is generally handled by having a physical token and a user known password that changes regularly and is unique for each user and ...
- 1,562
66
votes
Any examples of headwear for races with animal ears?
If the creature needs its ears to function well in battle, or for ritual or cosmetic show offs, you need holes. Helmets for military dogs have them:
Otherwise, do fold their ears:
- 142k
65
votes
How can changes in personality/values of a person who turned into a vampire be explained?
The mind and body are less separate than most people seem to think. Changes to body chemistry can greatly change how, and even what, we think:
Alcohol is well-known for its disinhibiting effects and ...
- 7,389
63
votes
Cold-blooded intelligent race: Is it possible?
Their brains would be in low-power mode when cold and only reach the full intelligence when warm. They would operate mostly on instinct in low-power mode, just like real reptiles. But when heated by ...
- 1,397
61
votes
Accepted
How does a gorgon sleep?
Deeply.
In fact, in Ovid's metamorphoses, Perseus tells that he found Medusa (and the snakes) sound asleep, a condition that canceled the petrifying ability of the monster, thus making it easier for ...
- 3,476
59
votes
Justifying why a troll's skin would turn to stone in sunlight
Another classic trait of trolls, is a tremendous regenerative ability. Sometimes to the point where only fire can kill them.
So I'd suggest trolls create a chemical in their body that boosts their ...
- 2,769
59
votes
Accepted
What do fairies wear and how can they evade detection by our cameras?
They paint their wings like giant butterflies
Rainforests house many colorful butteflies, some with wingspans of 4-5 inches. With painted wings and carefully chosen clothes and a bit of bodypaint, ...
- 16.4k
59
votes
Travel for fairies
They soar.
Your fairies fly 5 minutes, straight up. By timing their ascent to the right time of day the lightweight fairies can climb to altitude using thermals to give them a boost. Then they open ...
- 306k
57
votes
Accepted
How to Keep Winged People Where They Belong?
Hire Caer guards. If they are cheap, hire plenty of them. If they are expensive, hire one or two squads of them and use cheap lookouts. (riff raff, children, low grade guards,...).
Once the lookouts ...
- 2,067
57
votes
Where's the 'centaur of mass'?
Centaurs have a permanent curse by horse standards, they are, by design, permanently very heavy on the forehand.
Let me fix that for you.
Centaurs have a permanent curse by horse standards, they are,...
- 142k
56
votes
Accepted
How can drunken, homicidal elves successfully conduct a wild hunt?
The elves have handlers.
Here is Theodore Roosevelt on safari. He and his buddy there are the great white hunters. Do you see all those other people? Usually they are moved out of the picture but ...
- 306k
56
votes
What would an "excessively sober" dwarf look like if they need alcohol to function?
Someone already had this idea -- it's called knurd and was invented by Terry Pratchett in his Discworld universe. It's basically described as feeling stripped of any comfortable illusions one might ...
- 669
55
votes
Accepted
Would a satyr wear horseshoes?
Short answer, no.
A horse’s hooves are monodactyl; single-toed. This means they consist of a single large digit.
The hooves of a goat (or other ruminant) however, are cloven: they consist of two ...
- 8,691
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible