/sci/ - Science & Math

[Anonymous No.3545029]

Hello /sci/, I am planning on writing a fantasy series (or, at least, do some worldbuilding for fun). However, except from the use of magic, I want stuff to be somewhat scientifically correct. I don't really expect anyone to answer all of my questions, but I would appreciate some help. I know that this probably isn't the best board to ask about this, but I feel that this is the most intelligent of the boards. Also, english isn't my first language, so excuse me for possible headache.

Show your intelligence and willingness to help humanity, /sci/.

1.One of the kingdoms of the worlds are going to use chakrams as a ranged weapon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakram)), but is it useless against armored enemies? And also, what do you aim for? The throat? Or does it simply suck, and I should let go of the idea?

2.I thought it would be interesting with different kinds of animals in 'cavalry' between the different nations, but what kinds of animal would be plausible? It doesn't have to exist in present era (frankly, since it's fantasy, it doesn't need to have existed at all. Is anything else than a herbivore unrealistic, because of the food required for a big carnivore? I guess that mammalian herd or pack-animals are most likely due to the nature of those beasts. I guess that those facts rule out terrorbirds, huh? Crap. Feel free to come with suggestions.

Part 1/?

[Anonymous No.3545034]

3.How do I justify an agricultural people who conquers a people who practise pastoralism? Pretty large scale by the way. Historically pastoralists have been quite successful in conquering agricultural societies, but for the plot of my books I need it to be the opposite. Should I simply make the agricultural people more advanced, for example having the pastoralists using non-metal weapons, or being less familiar with the kind of magics in the book? The pastoralists live in a northern environment by the way, if it matters.

4.Molotov cocktails are awesome. I got no other reasons for wanting them in my book. They are just awesome. However, since it takes place in a kind of medieval era, they don't have access to gasoline and stuff. Are there any plausible way they could create a similar flammable liquid without drilling for oil? Also, in what ways would they use it? To inflict terror upon foes? Burn down buildings?

5.Are rideable, flying beasts just a wet fantasy that can never be made realistic? I am not talking about the traditional dragons who are aerodynamical nightmares, but creatures with a more streamlined shape. Please, help me out on their wingspan, weight and all that shit. What would be an effective way of fighting on their backs? Arrows, spears, primitive bombs, molotov's? Also, if you are going to ruin my dream of these fearsome terrors of the sky, feel free to tell me what you could use lesser versions for in warfare. Could you teach them how to drop incendiares over enemy-lines?

Part 2/?

[Anonymous No.3545036]

6.would the kopesh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sickle-sword)) be comparable and competetive to weapons from the medieval era? If you read the link, you know that the blade is designed to hook and disarm enemies. I wonder, since the weapon fell out of use in 1300 B.C.

7.What do you imagine the culture of an immortal (not actually immortal, but you do not suffer the slow death of old age, when your organs slowly shut down and all that shit. You can still die by starvation or an arrow in your chest) people would be like? Feel free to come up with plenty of suggestions. I assume that relationships with people would be a thing you would take very seriously, since you would be spending a very long time with them. Also, how do you prevent overpopulation? Are everyone allowed to reach a certain age, and only qualified people are allowed to live further? And how do you justify them having been in somewhat of a technological stasis? I guess you could solve it by them having suffered a great disaster in the past, which wiped out large parts of their civilization. I guess that would make them quite afraid of significant progress. Oh, and how do you, you know, prevent yourself from getting insane? There have been studies on time perception and how time seems to go quicker the older. Would people evolve a magic method to erase memories in order to be able to read the same books (cleverly designed for the purpose of taking in new impressions, which would be their function) over and over again as if it was the the first time? ( Based on the idea that as you take in new impressions, time often seems to go slower. I read that it might be the reason for the change in time perception between a 4 year old and a 40 year old person). This is a quite tricky subject in my opinion, so sorry if I sound like a total idiot.)

Part 3/?

That's what I can think of atm, thank you for taking your time.

[EK !EKFQOBUFnQ No.3545050]

>>3545029
1. depends how good the armour is, how thick it is, what its made of etc. maybe there is a gap between the helmet and the armour of the enemy warriors. throwing the chackram at the throat might still kill armoured targets.

2. herbivores still work, Hannibal used armoured elephants pretty effectively, they are herbivores.

..do bear cavalry! fucking awesome.

[EK !EKFQOBUFnQ No.3545080]

>>3545034
3. you could have it so that the agricultural people are like 'pure of heart and blessed by gods' or some shit, and so have magic bestowed upon them. the pastoral people taint their souls with the blood of innocent animals or something, and are magically inept. the magical advantage that the agriculturalists have helps in the war effort, and they emerge victorious.

4. there was a kind of old style molotov cocktail that was believed to be used by the greeks I think. have them use that
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_fire

5. some kind of giant eagle, that mankind managed to tame and saddle. they can be ridden, you fly on them, and drop the greek fire stuff on your enemies (rename the greek fire as something else in your fantasy story)
you can also have archers riding the eagles, that rain arrows down on the enemies from above.

[EK !EKFQOBUFnQ No.3545132]

>>3545036
6, dunno. there was probably a reason it fell out of use. maybe it wasn't particularly effective. you could always incorporate it anyway.

7. they would probably be very wise, they have had many many decades to acquire knowledge. They would likely not arbitrarily give birth like the mortals do. (or population would explode out of control too quickly, with a high birthrate and a zero death rate) therefore, the community agrees not to breed when the elders of the immortals have decided that the community is a stable size. after a significant battle, or plague epidemic, and the numbers are reduced, a breeding season is called, and all the women of the community plan to get pregnant, and spawn a new generation of immortals to replace the ones that were lost.

the immortals are in technological stasis because they believe that if something aint broke, dont fix it. why invent light bulbs if candles are okay? they are content with the first method they find of doing something, then they stick to it and do not advance, because they do not feel the need. only the mortals try to constantly find new and better ways to improve heir situation.

erm, you could just say that the immortals have superior brains and a huge memory capacity. they will never go insane, they just continually aquire knowledge.

[Anonymous No.3545239]

>>3545050
1. Yeah, of course. There is a difference between plate armor and leather. And well, you are right. Unless you are overly protected, your neck is probably a good place to aim for. Arteries are easy to damage.
2. well, I said that herbivores were most likely. You make it sound like I ruled herbivores out xd
Yeah, elephants can be pretty badass.

[EK !EKFQOBUFnQ No.3545253]

>>3545239
carnivores might be harder to train, but they could be used, potentially. feeding them wouldn't be much more of a problem than feeding herbivore cavalry.

[Anonymous No.3545273]

It sounds like you don't have much of the story planned out. Here's some general advice I'd follow if I were writing such a book.
If you need inspiration for meshing science and magic, you could take a look at the Discworld universe. Heck, even Gunnerkrigg court meshes it well..
No one is going to question the science unless you do something really whacky.
If you need a flying beast, just add it. Even if it's not plausible in the real world, chances are it will add to the story more than it detracts from the believability.
Since you're mixing in fantasy, just remember to keep it between 1 and 3 in the sci-fi hardness scale.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness
Of course, this is assuming you aren't writing a Greg Egan-esque hard sci-fi which revolves around this fantasy/sci-fi compromise.

[Anonymous No.3545282]

>>3545080
3. Well, I forgot to mention that the pastoralists have atleast the ability to shapeshift, so they are not completely worthless with magic. Guess it might be a
good idea to explain the basics of this magic.

Most magic comes from separate 'dimensions', called pockets (havent decided on what to call them yet). All these so called pockets are unique in what ability they may grant to the user. Some also contains demons and similar creatures (Not actually evil, just.. different). Discovering pockets can be very time consuming and complicated, and therefor many nations rely on a handful of greater pockets. In order to secure them from other people, those who discover a pocket will usually secure it from outsiders. That means that it is quite unlikely for example a farmer boy to gain access to magic.

There are not really 'gods' either, at least not in the traditional sense of a creator with almost unlimited power, although there are creatures within pockets who are quite powerful.

4. Oh yeah, I had forgotten about that stuff. Thank you, that is quite awesome indeed.

5. Thing is, there is this bird: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentavis)) It was only 75-80 kg heavy, and that size was enough to make some serious trouble with flying. scientists are not sure it could fly without jumping of a cliff, and then you got to remember that the bird of the size you are talking about also got a human on it's back... I guess that means no flying mounts at all. Fuck. However, teaching some kind of creature to drop greek fire would be badass. saving that idea for later.

[EK !EKFQOBUFnQ No.3545322]

>>3545282
you can say that the pastoralists are cursed so that they cannot cast any outwards magic like the others can, but their sense of inner magic (spells altering the self, but not the outside world) is still intact. so this explains why they can still shapeshift.

you can say that only those that have magical ability are trusted enough by the flying mounts to let you ride one. ordinarily a person can not fly on the mount because the combined weight of the person and the giant eagle would be too much to allow them both to fly. however, those with magic that are sufficiently trained have found a way to manipulate the currents of air around themselves. while flying, they form a strong continuous upwards current of air below the wings of their flying mount, this provides a very strong upwards force, and while normal non-magical flight on its own would be insufficient, this strong upwards force caused by the magic allows the mounts to fly with ease. It creates a strong bond between the mount and he rider, because both have to work hard at maintaining the flight for both of them. the giant eagle must fly like normal, using its wing muscles, but the warrior riding it expends mental energy to maintain the flow of the upwards air current, which is tiring.

[Anonymous No.3545331]

>>3545253
Yeah, well it wouldn't be the first time we tamed a carnivore. The diet does of course limit the amount you can have, but they could be nice as some sort of elite units/ weapons of terror. I'd hate having a bear charge against me.
>>3545273
Yeah, well I guess. It technically fantasy that I am writing, but since I like science, you want it to be correct. Even though there is magic. Yeah, contradictions, contradictions. However, it might be bull without some uncorrect stuff so. I guess I will ad my flying manticores after all. (Although they arent manticores at most points, but Our Manticores Are Different)
Damn you for linking me to tvtropes, now I won't get of my computer for hours. Kidding, but yeah. Nice link, 2-3 at the scale seems about right.

[Anonymous No.3545376]

>>3545322
Yeah, well they have only discovered that pocket which they are using for their shapeshifting, so I don't even need to curse them to limit them from using the other pockets. Even if they see the agriculturalists using other kinds of magic, these pockets are most likely sealed and locked to prevent the pastoralists from exploiting it. Having mastered the art of shapeshifting, they have been blind to the possibility of other pockets, which became their downfall.

And yeah, I could see them discovering a quite simple pocket, which only lets you alter airstreams. It would also likely be quite hard to master, but I think it is a decent idea for now. It would indeed create a bond, when they are both required to remain in the air. Synchronizing the wingflaps with the currents may be hard, but doable I guess.

[EK !EKFQOBUFnQ No.3545384]

>>3545376
Yeah, well...
have fun with it :)

[Anonymous No.3545452]

>>3545132

6. Yeah, I suppose. Although technically all weapons in fantasy have fell out of use IRL, people still write about them so I guess I'll stick to them.

7. Yeah, I imagine they would be pretty wise. However, I also suspect that they would be quite prideful, xenophobic and unhealthily conservative in some ways.

And yeah, you are right about the births. Although I don't see them as a warhungry people (Pretty much isolationists), they would most likely fight a few battles over the centuries. Children would be pretty special, I think, since they would be pretty uncommon.

Yeah, I guess that is a mindset they will most likely have about technology. I mean, if we look at our own grandparents, they often don't see much of a need to improve technology. They have lived without internet for so many years, and they survived. Didn't they?

Well yeah, I could make it work that way. But it just feels.. lazy to me (Said the person who is asking people on an imageboard for suggestions). But I guess that might be necessary. Or perhaps having them store their thoughts withing the pockets, which also compromises them. That could make an interesting plot, if someone managed to intrude the pocket.

[Anonymous No.3545464]

>>3545384
I think I will, thank you:)
Except for, you know, the endless streams of blood, sweat and tears.

[Anonymous No.3545974]

>>3545253

Not op, but fucking love that pic. Thank you.