So, I'm undergoing the process of creating an universe for a saga of books I'm planning. The technology and social norms of the universe will be a blend of 1910-1940 real world timeline with Dieselpunk and Fantasy elements. All the continents and countries in this world will be entirely fictional. The God of this universe will be a proactive entity that asserts himself through some gifted humans born with special eyes that allows them to see writing and interact with objects belonging to an ancient civilization, superior intellect and lack of aging (do not get old but aren't immortal). There won't be full blown magic or fantasy races here. I intend to keep it very light. The political system of the main continent of the story consists of absolute monarchies and some republics where the political elite have power but also have to compromise with those gifted humans, who because of their condition hold immense power and prestige. I gave them the placeholder name "overseers". Due to their nature, they are also proto-religious leaders and nobles. However other continents and countries don't share the religion and they don't have the same privileges and prerrogatives there. The main plot of the saga will be a revolution triggered in one of the major countries of the continent, with the intent of overthrowing these special gifted beings, that started with a war between two different countries. The main character will be an anti-hero that changes sides more than one time. As you see, there's a lot to cover and build on, and I need some help. What did you like? What didn't you like? What needs to be improved? What am I better off scrapping and replacing with something else? Bring it on folks.
How much will technology as a theme be emphasised? Dieselpunk often makes a point of exploring the development of new technology and it's affect on society. Were do these 'Overseers' come from? Are they just born from random families? Or is it more commonly found in some families than others? Or are they a separate lineage altogether? Do these Overseers know or have a way of knowing what this god wants at all? Are they compelled in some way or have a strong proclivity to act in some fashion according to this god's desires? Or do they just do whatever they want?
I don't intend them to be a separate lineage. Just a very rare chance of being born in a random family. Like, a handful of them over a thousand year period. They won't be a common sighting. @DK3654 They will have a way of knowing what the God wants, and will mostly be compelled by society's view of them as "holy" persons, but not much else. Some will abuse their status to push their own agendas.
If they are randomly born, that opens up the possibilities of checks being done for it, people trying to somehow earn it in their children (whether or not that's possible), people not knowing they have it, and people pretending not to have it for as long as they can to avoid the complications. EDIT: I think you should probably include one or more of these things. Good.
These possibilities are interesting, and now I will make a conscious effort to implement them more fully. Thank you.
Random thoughts, which may be “yeah, I could do that, but it would destroy the whole point”: “Overseers”, to me, has a very strong implication of someone who is hired to manage slaves, often a sadistic person bloated with petty power. I vaguely see that in a religious sense it has a very different meaning, but it’s something to consider. I tend to dislike characters who are superior in many ways. Do they need to be extra intelligent and non-aging? What if all they had was the special sight? That would allow for them to struggle rather more, maybe in some countries holding authority but in other countries being a resource used by the powerful. God as a clear-cut entity eliminates a lot of mystery. Could this be rather less clear—these people see things that others don’t, and some think it’s god, some think it’s evik, some think it’s just insane delusions?
Why does god bother interacting with the world in this way? Why does he/she limit themselves to interacting only in this way?
What advantages does the average person derive from listening to the gifted people? If there aren't any, then expect to see lots of other religions, much like in this world. If the advantage is a better afterlife or reincarnation, then once more there's nothing to differentiate it from any other religion. As for those pesky gifted ones, any special powers can be explained as coming from a devil.
There will be other religions in the other continents of the world and there will be characters in the main plot from these locations. I envisioned them as unaging beings so they could be very different from the normal people, having seen the long reaching consequences of actions on the world, some will be very hard to reach, some will be aggressively controlling, and some will just retreat from social life and live as hermits. The MC will have to seek some for knowledge and to fullfill his goals. I wanted to create a class of people that are clearly special and chosen by God, but normal people wouldn't know exactly to what degree that should be taken. Some will think they are oppressive but be wary of questioning them, while others will openly advocate to destroy the status quo that makes them so privileged. The MC will have a child that turns out to be one during the saga and that will give me the chance to develop this fully.
