As the title says, I already did one for character and plot development, so why not here. Just post something about your setting, and the rest of us will ask you questions so you can develop it
Well, I seem to have a great sense of timing, so looks like I get to go first here. The primary religion within the country my novel is set in is Taughfism. They believe that the world's original creator has abandoned the world, and that Taughf was either created to oversee them, or teach them to be independent.
Ok, question time! 1. Is Taughf going to be a real character in your work, or is he just a deity the people worship? Either way, is he bitter/do people perceive him as bitter? 2. What do other people in the world you've created worship? Is there some conflict between their religion and Taughfism?
(Can I post my setting too? I'm going to take a wild leap and post it; sorry if I'm stealing your thunder, @halisme .) My story takes place in 2051, fifteen years after World War III. It's a dystopian novel series that will devolve into a space opera due to the introduction of extraterrestrial technology. Most of the first book takes place in Novus London.
Just a deity, may or may not exist, may be a misinterpretation of another entity. As for other religions, the second largest religion in the country worships a being called "The Mother". Some people merge the two and interpret Taughf as being "The Father", or a being created to watch over them till The Mother returns. Others keep the religions separate and just don't talk about it. Some are hostile about it, to the point of religious extremism on both sides. In a global context, the religion is treated with hostility as, at one point, the country was a theocracy and treated any attacks on the preachers they sent out as a reason to declare holy war. At the moment though, they've mellowed out and have a separation of church and state.
1. Does Taughfiasm have a 'church', or a head of religion (not a divine, of course)? 2. If there is a 'church' how do they handle non believers? Do they have something like the Inquisition? And while we're at it, what values does Taughfism promote? Peace and co-existence? Or violently destroying heretics? 3. An religious wars Taughfism has been involved in? World War III? Sounds interesting, what were some of the political events leading to it? What was the aftermath? Is Novus London located where real London is? If yes, why is there a 'Novus London'? Is it maybe class difference? What's up with other world powers? Any of them collapsed? Maybe some new world powers came out of the war? And most importantly, what did Germany do now to start another war?
1. The Taughfish faith has a single dedicated temple in the capital, which serves as residence for the Pontiff (high priest) and administrative centre. The other temples are not purely used for worship, priest often setting up in village larders and other buildings that are used for the storage of goods or food. They help enforce the caste system, and read from "The Books of Taughf", there being one for each caste. While these contain religious instructions, they also contain guidelines for things like when to plant certain crops for the labour caste and how much water should be preserved during a drought. 2. With non-believers, it varies massively. The cult I mentioned in the character thread is left in peace. The swamp is impassable to almost all armies, so no invasion, nor has any attempt at conversion worked. The religion Taughfism replaced declared Taughfism heresy, so they are hostile to each other, but most have converted. Most other religions are allowed to live in peace, however. 3. Yes. Taughfism took over in a civil war, when the old faith tried to kill several nobles who had converted. After that there was a skirmish with the country to the south that came to a draw, known as The Proving. Then there were the two expansion wars, where the country gained new territory. Afterwards there was another civil on religion. After that, there was a seperation of church and state that more or less stopped them. To put it simply, there was a hundred year period where every war was a holy war.
I don't know how political I'm allowed to get here, but let's just say a dictator started a campaign of nationalism, expansion, and conquest in the late 2010's/early 2020's. (The book is, to some extent, a political commentary, but is intended to be a general warning rather then a reaction any certain recent political events around the world. It probably will be interpreted as the latter, however, someone, somewhere is bound to grossly misinterpret it and even more people are bound to slightly misinterpret it.) As for the aftermath: One sixth of the world's population is dead. Europe (save for Russia) is a unified state, Paris was destroyed, many major European cities were burnt or bombed to the ground, and were later rebuilt as their 'New' counterparts. North America is in ruins, and contains many rival factions that are still fighting and warring in the aftermath of WWIII. Russia is once again a dictatorship, however, this time it rules over many Asian countries as it conquered south instead of west. One of the main characters is a refugee from North America; another was one of the few survivors of the Paris bombings, and yet another lost most of his family in the war. Most of South America was rendered uninhabitable by bombings and, yes, the world is still dealing with its refugees. The Unified States of Africa arose as a successful world power after the war, as it was largely ignored during the war. Most humanitarian aid comes from Africa and Europe, and while Australia does not contribute much financially to the rebuilding efforts, she has an open-border policy for Asian refugees fleeing the Russian Empire. And poor Germany actually declared itself neutral at the start of the war, spearheaded the a pacifist movement, and did not get involved until a treaty violation saw Munich in flames. (Thanks for the questions! That was actually really helpful!)
Many cities were cobalt bombed. Cobalt bombs are theoretical (in this world, not the world I'm writing in) bombs that apparently have the power to wipe out most of all life on Earth. In the story, they were used very sparingly but to great effect, rendering most of South America uninhabitable. Cobalt bombs were all banned and dismantled after the war, though the Russian Empire doesn't like to follow the rules and built another secret one anyway. Atomic and Hydrogen bombs were also used, then they, too, were banned, though the Russian Empire does still have quite the stockpile.
Oooh, I like deeply thought out politics in a book. One sixth is a lot, I assume there is some kind of agreement in the world trying to keep peace (Like the UN, if that's still around... There was one after WWI as far as I know, but we all know how that turned out )? Which nations really really hate each other after the war? Would they be wiling to start another war right now? What's the situation in these new cities? Are they poor and look like a slum, or are they on par with cities of today? You say Africa came out pretty much unscared. What's the situation with their immigration? I assume a lot of refugees are trying to get into a prosperous nation (Did they maybe build a wall? ) Europe is one nation, eh? What's the capital of this nation? Also, I assume there's at least a little autonomy, if not, you might wanna include minor rebellions in Europe (French people want their France back! Who's wining in North America? Seems like the situation is pretty messed up there
1. What political authority does the main temple have now, after it was separated from the state? I'm drawing real world parallels with the catholic church back in the 15th century or so (my history is a bit rusty, sorry). 2. You say there are different cults. Do they strongly vary one from another? If that's true, does maybe the main temple disapprove of certain cults? 3. Greedy, Greedy people as always. Let's talk more about the religion itself. Does it have strict rules to follow or is it more lay back type?
1. The country became an electoral monarchy after the second civil war, and if the nobles cannot agree in the first vote, then the Pontiff gains three votes out of thirty-five, the equivalent to a duke. They also have a tendency to serve as power brokers, and, if they mark a nobleman has heretic and can provide proof, they will often be removed from their position. 2. The more extremist Taughfish cults are hated most of all, considered hypocritical. However, there is a tribal faith in one of the forests which is openly hostile, and the area is in a near constant state of conflict. The other cults and variations of religion are fine, so long as they do not step out of line. 3. Firstly, it enforces a strong caste system. Casteless, labourers, artisans, warriors, nobles. The casteless are those that are born crippled, blind, or generally ill. They are not permitted to reproduce and are often forced from civilization. To birth one is considered a great shame. The others are self-explanatory, however, the warrior and labourer caste intermingle as once one of the former reaches the age of forty-five, they move to the labourer caste, but are allowed to keep their falchion as a mark of service. In terms of religious rules, it's more about preaching virtues than solid laws. These include community, forethought, loyalty and dutifulness.
Right, interesting: 1. How is Pontiff generally treated? Also, I can't imagine Pontiff to be happy they were pushed away from international politics? Are they secluded these days, or are they trying their best to get involved with the outside world? 2. Do people connect Taughfish with extremists the most? Or do people of other religions consider it a peaceful faith? 3. Ouch, that's harsh, but pretty effective at getting rid of inheritable desieses. I realize this might be an odd questions, but what about gays? Are they treated the same as Castless? Is homosexuality a known "desiese" yet, or do people try their best to hide it? Any famous scenarios of it?
1.The Pontiff is the head of the state religion, and has final say over what gets added into "The Books of Taughf", with each caste having their own book. He can essentially message everyone in the entire country. In international terms, another religious war is brewing with an ally. The land to the south is a theocracy with the people believing the queen to be the embodiment of the goddess. Both her and The Pontiff are attempting to stop it, but Taughfism is proving popular with the other country's slave population due to its appreciation of those who can work, and there being no justification of slavery in the texts. 2. It depends. The country's enemies connect it with most of them, due to their many holy wars. The county's friends see it as, not a religion of peace, but one of practicality. As peace is so often practical, that is what it is. 3. Formally recognised, no. The Pontiff essentially puts his hands over his ears and goes "la la la, I can't hear you". Informally, though, it is known about. They aren't discriminated against, but they are still expected to be with a woman and have children. If they don't have a family, they're considered "off", but the same is true for anyone apart from the casteless who do not have one. The one group that escapes this is ironically, the priests. While not banned from having family's it is considered acceptable as Taughf does not appear to have one, so some consider it emulation, though most do have family in some form or another. Anyway Grotty, do you have a world to share? We should make this a back and forth.
The peacekeeping headquarters are in Copenhagen due to its proximity to the European capital, Stockholm. It's called Taskforce Earth. The only nations that really hate each other are those in the Russian Empire (internal conflict) and the remnants of the North American Empire (which split into 25-30 different nation-states after the war.) The North Americans are still warring with one another, especially being that none want to share the burden knowing that they caused the war and that there are still extremist factions who hope to start WWIV, and have it be the last of the world wars by default - by cobalt bombing the entire planet, thus making it uninhabitable. However, none of these minor wars really affect my characters, as they are relatively young and as sheltered as someone who survived WWIII can possibly be. Africa has very strict border controls and generally send refugees 'away' to Australia. They feel that while they have a humanitarian obligation to the world, the world hasn't always been that kind to them and they don't owe anyone *that* much. There is enough autonomy in Europe that each 'state' gets to decide its own local laws, but not much else, and if a law is found to be 'oppressive,' it is very quickly trashed. And with 25 warring factions in North America, no one's winning. But then again, can one say they've 'won' any war if there are casualties on either side?
Miss understood what Pontiff was, sorry: 1. Apart from the land south, are there any other theocracy's? Maybe there are orders of knights around the world enforcing Taughfism? 2. Who's the current Pontiff? Does anything make him stand out? What would you say his traits are (maybe he really wants to restore Taughfism to it's former glory)? 3. The situation South sounds interesting. Why is the queen considered the embodiment of a godess? Why doesn't she want to take advantage of it? My world... Okay, here we go: I'm concentrating all of my stories on this one peninsula, ten I'll build from there. It's called the Regnumese Peninsula because of the biggest country there (out of three) Regnum. Regnum was once a huge empire (something like the Roman Empire), but it's not but a shadow of its former self thanks to Thelion who cut them down. Thelion is the second largest nation on the peninsula, even though only a small part of it is there. The rest is on the continent (If the continent was Europe, they would be the size of Germany in it's peak in WWII). Regnum and Thelion have fought for decades, and, to solve it, the World Peacekeeping Committee (WPC) Created the third country, Savandry Duchy to keep them apart. It's basically a wall between the two. There are often fights happening in it between the Regnum and Thelion people. These two really each other. And now, with Regnum somehow acquiring large amounts of cash, and building up a huge army, it is speculated a war will soon erupt by them annexing the duchy...
Really like the karma that's happening with Africa! Is the peacekeeping force successful in its job? What's the situation in Eastern Europe (maybe even South-Eastern, since that's where i live ? Which part of it would you say is most advance, especially after the war? Do nations like Africa? In the matter of fact, is Africa more isolated from the world? Cuz' that's what it seems like Tell me about these extremist factions? Is the world paying attention to them? How close are they to their goal? Are they all around the world, or are they concentrated to one place? Why? You said South America is in deep shizz. Any hope for them? What nation did come out of the war the healthiest? How are they improving things (if they are)? We didn't seem to mention Oceania. How are things there?
There is a significant faction of the 'surviving' world (considered Europe, Australia, Asia, and Australia) who thinks Taskforce Humanity should be on the ground in North America, but the North American soldiers in every faction are trained to shoot on sight, and don't take well to 'outsiders.' Eastern Europe is still a bit war-torn, and its cities a bit in the process of being rebuilt; however, they are strong enough with the rest of Europe behind them to fight off occasional half-hearted attempts at conquest by the Russian Empire. Africa is very isolationist, which I realize is a dangerous position to put them in, but very soon the world is going to have much larger problems to face than nation-versus-nation. (Think: Mars, Jupiter, and Earth against Venus) The extremist factions are mostly concentrated in North America, but it's catching, like most forms of extremism. They are very far from their goal, however, as only one cobalt bomb remains in the world, and they don't have access to it. They barely have access to planes, and are isolated from the rest of the world in that a) the rest of the world wants nothing to do with them, and has an attitude of 'if they're going to burn, let them' and b) they lost most of their technology in the war and made the mistake of executing their intellectuals, so now it's a process of rediscovery and using the few pieces of old technology that survived. As for hope for South America, eventually the radiation will be such that people will be able to live there again, but that is decades if not centuries in the future. Oceania kind of got the least s***** end of the war stick, and is probably the healthiest surviving region. They take refugees, but lack the resources to contribute financially to the rebuilding of the world.
1.Yes actually, another Taughfish theocracy exists in an area called the Clalands. When the civil war ended, those that disagreed to decided to make their own country based around the old bloodline. In terms of knights, they are exclusive to the country to the south, which is called Tumonte. For a knightly order to exist, they need the Queen's blessing, however, their is a knightly order dedicated to Taughf, and they are partially the cause of the religious tension. They occupy a small area in the the north of Tumonte, and their relationship with other knightly orders is strained at the best of times, hostile at the worst. 2. The current Pontiff is Lucard II, known for his relaxed demeanour and charisma, but also political machinations. He's friendly towards other religions, but seeks to expand his influence via converting those he can, and befriending those he cannot. Instead of restoring the old glory, he desires to create a new glory. He's more loyal to his country, Taughfland, than he is to the church. 3. Okay, eight hundred years before the start of my story, there was the Sourcan Empire, with the Sourcan faith. They are the one's who worship "The Mother" who I mentioned in previous posts. They came from a different continent toe the north-west. They won the genetic lottery and got access to magic, used it to take over their home continent, two-thirds of another, and roughly a third of the continent my work is set on. When they started to colonise the region that would become Tumonte, the dominant local tribe had a goddess called Elena who shared many similarities with The Mother. They complied with the Empire, and the two gods started merging in to some people. Then there was the Brinewrath, were for simplicity, I'll say every mage and person in a six-foot radius of them was turned into a fish monster. This caused major destabilisation in both local governments, and the empires governments as a whole, causing the latter to collapse. This period of instability led to a brief period were the different factions within Tumonte battle it out, till those that worshipped Elena and The Mother as one deity won. "Of course, there was no way for us to win without being blessed by the Goddess, so surely, our leader must be their avatar", is basically how it went.
What's the technology level like? Who makes up the WPC? Is there a group like the Byzantines who claim heritage of the Regnum Empire, but inhabit far away territory?
This may be WAY off base from what you are interested in writing about, but it's been bothering me through reading all these questions and responses: what has happened to the plants and wildlife affected by the war? South America is host to a plethora of (what we consider to be) odd plants and animals. How many of these species were lost in the war? Was there an effort to save/reintroduce them? How are things affected, if they are indeed gone?
To the north is Taughfland, they have guns and a dedicated, well-trained army. To the west are the triplet kingdoms of Ban, Mlan and Gan. They're new players on the stage, but have proven time and time again to like each other. To the south are Niren and Cresna. The former is Tumonte's ally, the later is currently being eyed for conquest. To the east is the sea. At the moment, The Queen and Lucard spend their time planning joint wars in an attempt to keep the nation's allied. They've claimed a province of a nation across the sea from Taughfland for Taughfland, and are currently planning an attack on the The Triplet Kingdoms.
1. Are there any other religions that have roots from the Taughfish? If yes, what's their relationship with the Taughfish? 2. Looking back in history, who was the most influential Pontiff? The most tolerable? The absolute worst at everything? 3. Speaking of Pontiffs, how is one chosen? We're talking about medieval weaponry area, but, thanks to magic and such, things like astronomy are well developed. There are huge schools and acadamies teaching magic and science. The two are considered the same basically. The most powerful nations in the world (And of course, the tiny don't get a say, as always). Thelion is actually apart of it, and an elector (It's split between members and electors; the electors are top three nations, and, they always have advantage when it comes to discussions and such). No, bot far away. Thelion is a sort of Byzantine because they split off from Regnum. They're one of the largest powers on Earth, but restoring the ancient 'Regnum Empire' would be considered tyrannical. And in a Regnum vs Thelion conflict, they like to be the good guys.
There are two branches to Taughfism, one based around the country being a theocratic monarchy, they lost the war and are the ones that have left. Otherwise, the religion is too young, only being three hundred years and lacking much to argue about. The most influential was probably Reim I, first Pontiff who managed to negotiate the church's place of power, and he is generally remembered as the best.So far there have been no inept Pontiffs, due to how they are chosen, or, that's what they tell themselves. They have just been very, very lucky. The higher up priests vote on the new pontiff, with the former pontiff able to vote on his successor so long as it is mentioned in their will. How large is the Duchy that sepearates them? How do they communicate fast enough for the WPC to have any effect, not to mention mobilising of troops? What is life in the Duchy like?
