zompist bboard

I've done enough complaining about my conworld (in fact, I've done so much it's clear I have to do something drastic about it). I've decided to change Calara.

Old concept:
1. High sea-level
2. Enormous trees called thales that grow out of the ocean where people live
3. Two intelligent races, the Aluns (hairy egg-laying people with big triangular ears and tails) and the Lentucs (bipedal elephants with aardvark ears)
4. No magic

What I'm changing it to is this:
1. Sea level a little lower, somewhat more landmass
2. Thales exist, but they are not the home of either the Aluns or the Lentucs, but a third race, the Clapas
3. Aluns are hairless except the top of their heads. More human-looking, but they still lay eggs and the males still carry the babies in pouches. Losing their tails and they can't brachiate anymore. Lentucs unchanged.
4. Maybe magic, no one knows.

I love the idea of the thales, but supporting a civilization with technology in them is just not viable I have found (after years and years of pondering). The Clapa are perpetually primitive, think very intelligent gorillas (actually more like spider monkeys). They have language, but they are hunters-gatherers only.

In the East there are two continents, Istaren and Arcufel, separated by the Satranc, a giant dry lake/salt flat, an ex-inlet that has dried up and left nothing but salt and sand. South of it is the Turmen desert. The rest of the continents around the world are small and islandy. The thales grow on the continental shelves of the rainforest regions: basically a band of rainforest extends from both land to the sea around the equator. The Rasuir, an island cluster off the west coast of Istaren on the southern outskirts of the thale forest. That's where the Uscans live, and the Imuthans.

That's all I got so far.

Sounds like fun. I like the idea with the giant trees. Just how big are they?

I can't really imagine bipedal elephants. What do they do with their forelegs/arms? Or they don't have any at all?

I'll show you an illustration soon.

I changed my mind again, though. Aluns are humans, brought to Calara as an experiment by the Selacer, an ancient reptilian race that has long since left the planet.

oooo yes I remember the Thales concept. Please keep showing this stuff off.

uh ... can you pull this off without magic? What are you hoping to gain by adding it?
I ask only because having some kind of magic appears to be a kind of conworld Just Cuz ...

Yeah, I don't think magic will be there. I'm in the process of rethinking this from the ground up. I've been so unhappy with the way it worked out that I just had to change it.

The thales pretty much work without magic if you add a hint of suspension of disbelief. But the gist of this change is that the thales are no longer the main issue here. Working history around them is too difficult.

Yes, I like the thales. I think you should have a land equivalent. And the land equivalent are much smaller but still useful and all the while the Clapas are trying to take over the land thales from the land races.

I think giant trees sounds more realistic than many things you find in people's conworlds. After all, "giant" is in relation to the inhabitants, and there are after all plenty of animals that do live in trees.

What are the main points that discourage you from developing something in the thales?

The lack of access to stone, metal and fire makes most early development, and most later development close to impossible. I have thought of multiple scenarios where these things come from elsewhere, but it just does not seem plausible. Hunting/gathering in giant trees makes sense, agriculture, metallurgy or even just making simple tools is quite difficult. And if an intelligent species were to actually leave them for the open ground where there is access to stone and metal, and they can use fire, why wouldn't they stay there? It just didn't come together for me. Calara was like this for the past four years, and in all that time I have not been able to produce anything substantial besides languages, mainly because I'm frustrated with basic things. That's why I'm making changes.

Yes, I know the idea of the thales is awesome. But then what? The answer, after four or five years searching for it is: Nothing I can work with.

Reading my name knowing in this context it has another meaning is REALLY awkward. Did you get the word for the giant tree from the greek name/verb?

Also, I don't see the whole problem with it. I mean, there's no way AFAIK technology could evolve in trees ("yay, fire! oh shit out house is burning ohshitohshit"), but some of the races could have evolved in/on/near them, using them later on as houses ou dormitories, and later they become a central parte of the race(s) culture(s).

I mean, they could hold them as sacred and only gather wood from smaller trees or naturally-fallen thales(es? i? ae?).

Also, why couldn't they evolve without magic? Sequoias are pretty damn colossal, so why can't another world have ever bigger trees (throwing a bone here, conworld pros)? Aside from having a very developed forest system, I can't see why.

OMG you're called Thales ??? I feel I ought to genuflect or something.
Seriously, if that were my name I would just stand in front of the mirror being awesome.

[And getting annoyed by the aerospace/defence/transport company, obviously]


/geekness

My conworld is basically set in a world with something like thales, except on land instead of in the sea. The people live in the trees, with occasional foraging/hunting below. I haven't had any problem coming up with culture / civilization. Is it the sea that makes it difficult? I'm not sure how though - there are plenty of things you could do with hardened wood, fish scales and bone, and so on. I don't see how metal is required at all - you just need something that will fulfill its purpose.

The word thale /θeiɫ/ is an Anglification of the Uscan word zal /tsɐl/. It seemed to flow better than to use zal, which isn't obvious how to pronounce. Sorry, Thales.

Anyway, yeah, the idea that the trees come out of the ocean was part of the problem. And just moving them to land creates other problems. I decided I can't work with them, they're not making me happy.

vecfaranti wrote:I decided I can't work with them, they're not making me happy.

Bottom line, right there.

Good luck with the change! Hope it gets the creative juices going again.