Shoutout To The Gay Couple At The Grocery Store Where I Work That Were Staring At The Shelves And Shelves

I think my absolute favorite kind of game has to be class-based co-op horde shooters. Games where you, preferably in a party of friends, mow down waves of enemies, but specifically where you've picked a particular class, so you have abilities or gadgets that others do not.

A great example of this is Deep Rock Galactic, or DRG, where the gadgets of each class compliment and work with others. For example, the Engineer has a platform gun, which can be placed on cave walls, so that the Scout, with the grappling hook, can get those previously unaccessible resources.

Another example is the Borderlands franchise, though the classes less "work together" and more "have different ways of slaughtering as many enemies as possible." In Borderlands 3, one character has helpful pets that draw attention away from the player, with skills that focus on critical hits, survivability, or upgrading your pet. Meanwhile, another character has a large, tanky mech suit, with skills that focus on high damage output, explosion damage/radius, or becoming a glass cannon.

However, as much as I love these types of games, to a certain degree, you are locked in. You choose the class which you enjoy playing the most, and are locked into that in your party for the extent of either the full story or that particular round/mission, only helping in the ways your class can.

So I have an idea. I want a fantasy, class-based, co-op, PvE game that allows you to have multiple classes.

Let's say you the maximum party size is the four, as is common in these kinds of games. Before you jump in, you each get to pick three specialties or proficiencies out of a long list, perhaps 20-30 or so. Each "class" is simple, having a few small perks, but you're free to build your character however you want. Progression works by playing with that class equipped, and your abilities in that class slowly grow stronger as you play with it and they level up.

Some classes would also naturally compliment one another, but you could mix it up for variety in case you want to do multiple things. For example, you could dedicate yourself fully to support, picking three classes which specialize in 1. party-wide healing, 2. single-target healing, and 3. offensive buffs. OR, you could mix it up, picking 1. single-target healing but also 2. bulkiness (for health and armor) and 3. self-buffing defense, to become a benevolent healing tank.

Parties could customize the skills they want to take in a particular session, working together to make something overpowered with every person playing what they want to play, without being limited by whatever the class' intended limits are, instead deciding for themselves what pros and cons they want to live with. The classes would be locked in, but there would be opportunities to swap them out at regular intervals so you weren't fully stuck. Customize, make the fantasy character of your dreams with all the features you want!

(Side note: this could also apply to a sci-fi setting as well, but I personally like the idea of a fantasy setting more).

Alright, so, uh, hi! Intro post time.

I'm Ophion, he/him, and I am a gargantuan fucking nerd. I love good worldbuilding or interesting concepts, and because of that I have often found myself obsessing over tv shows, games or movies with awful fandoms. I liked their ideas, don't judge me.

My main hyperobsession is Pokemon, though (yes, I'm neurodivergent. ADHD diagnosed, high probability of having autism as well). Probably because I'm a biology nerd, and I'm studying Bio in college right now. I play a shit ton of video games, and read a LOT of fanfictions. Mostly the ones trying to tell a good, cohesive story, though. You could hold me at gunpoint and you could not force me to read anything unsavory.

I'm mostly planning on posting my worldbuilding ideas for either those media bits or personal worldbuilding projects. Or just inane ramblings somewhat related to those things.

You've been warned.

Rock types and Ground types are heavily intertwined in both public perception of them and in biological terms (referencing several species, namely from the far East in regions such as Kanto and Johto), as many argue there was no need to separate them at all, and in fact, exist as the same typing. Yet, that glosses over the reason why they were separated in the first place. 

Granted, both typings control and manipulate inanimate earth, or generally parts of the Earth’s crust. However, considering the two the same declines both types the nuance which gives them distinction. Yes, species of both types often have tankier, more defensive battling styles, sometimes even coming paired with overwhelming offensive capability. However, it’s what part of the earth that is manipulated which provides the distinction, as well as some biological factors regarding the aforementioned defensive capabilities.

Rock types focus on what is completely and utterly solid. Stone, crystals, fossilized remains, or in one particular case, tar, of which this is the main exception. Rock types embody these solid, sturdy traits and require serious offensive power to either crack their rock bodies or pierce their thick, stone-like hides. Meanwhile, Ground Types control earth, but the more particulate kind, sand and soil being the primary examples. Ground types are just as defensively oriented, but are more bulky with their flesh as opposed to the natural armor of rock types. For example, a Coalossal may be covered in large coal blocks that shield it from harm, but a Seismitoad is bulky and has a thick layer of fat to help absorb direct hits.

What’s especially interesting is how this makes the two, at least in a defensive standpoint, complete opposites of one another. Rock types, with their thick armor, are more adept at shrugging off more piercing, slashing, or energy-based hits, while taking severe damage with blunt collisions that could crack their armor. Meanwhile, Ground types with their bulkier builds are better made for countering those same blunt attacks, while slashing and piercing, as well as energy-based attacks, do significant damage. 

Despite the differences, this is still a heavily debated topic in the scientific community, and yet another reason as to why the typing system is in desperate need of maintenance and reform, as to better classify all Pokemon within its bounds. 

So I watched the new Spiderverse movie a couple weeks ago and all of my friends just immediately wanted to make spidersonas (I had no idea what that was at the time lol). Anyway, their little sketches ended up inspiring me to make my own!!! Basic idea behind this guy is that in his universe, it’s the not-so-distant future and the world kinda ended? But like everyone lives underground in cavern cities now. To counteract the gloomy atmosphere of subterranean NYC, most of the lights are all neon, to make a really pretty nightlife. Also, the whole city runs on chemical energy, so it fits the vibe. Anyway, this guy here also fits the vibe of the city with a funky neon suit! Also maybe neon powers? IDK I’ve barely figured out their powers or the whole worldbuilding lol But yea, I’m not very good at art, so I’m really proud of how this turned out!!! I think it might be my favorite piece of artwork I’ve ever done, so I hope you guys like it too!

The Hybrid Fossils

This "fossils" pokemon are not revived from bones, but rather they are cloned from prehistoric blood samples, recovered from another fossil pokemon

This ancient Bug/Rock pokemon can be found and revived, to extract blood samples with which you can re-create the ancient pokemons, however, the blood samples recovered from the mosquito are usually deteriorated and to create a complete DNA sequence you will need to mix 2 samples. There are 4 diferente Blood samples: Mammal (Ice), Reptile (dragon), Bird (Rock) and Fish (Water)

Mammal/Reptile becomes Ice/Dragon, it is based on the inostrancevia alexandri the largest species of Gorgonopsid

Mammal/Bird becomes Ice/Rock, it is based on the Aepyornis maximus known as the "Elephant Bird", the largest terrestrial bird that ever existed

Fish/Reptile becomes Water/Dragon, it is basd on the shastasaurus sikanniensis, the largestest species of Ichtyosaurus

Fish/Bird becomes Water/Rock, it is based on the Palaeeudyptes klekowskii, the largest penguin to ever live

The man in charge of this experiment of prehistoric splicing is Professor Marrow, an expert on "Paleogenetic" and the one who discovered the whole process

Professor Marrow is based on a mix of John Hammond from "Jurassic Park" and Dr. Moreau from "The island of Dr. Moreau"

Poison types already had a bad rap before the Rocket Age, despite what many seem to claim. Poison types are widely considered to be an “evil” type, among Dark and Ghost types, for the reason that many species of poison types naturally have “toxic” personalities. These species are considered reclusive, territorial, and in some cases, sadistic, taking enjoyment out of the suffering of their prey or enemies under the influence of poisons, toxins, or venoms.

However, this is a stereotype that has been unfortunately applied to all poison types, regardless of demeanor, especially after the infamous Rocket Age, where the grunts primarily used specific normal and poison type Pokemon, which were known for reproducing easily, or were extremely common at that point in time (Grimer and Muk being prime examples, as many cities at this point in time were struggling with pollution and litter). As a result of this, and several other terrorist organizations to sprout up in the following years, such as Galactic and Flare, poison types gained a horridly bad rap that the public could not shake off.

Despite this, poison types, while often considered difficult and mostly suited for highly skilled trainers, are mostly comprised of loyal Pokemon, if not completely average Pokemon, that simply use poisons, toxins or venoms in their arsenal. For example, one of the most loyal and incredibly beginner-friendly Pokemon is the Nidoran lines. If you bond well to a Nidoran, it will often carry young trainers through at least their first few badges, if not well into the League (there have been quite a few documentations of Indigo Conference participants having Nidokings or Nidoqueens on their rosters).

Another incredibly beginner friendly Pokemon is Gulpin and Swalot. These Pokemon have gelatinous bodies, which are not actually poisonous at all. Instead, their poison comes from their incredibly potent stomach acids, which is one of the highest grade acids on the globe, with a pH of 0.04. Despite this, all you need to win a Gulpin’s loyalty and affection is a steady diet of basically any kind of food or organic substance that tastes remotely good (most of the time, they’re not picky, though they do appreciate better tasting foods). As many have described them, they are a budget Snorlax. Be warned though, while Gulpin are mostly safe, Swalot does upgrade its poisonous capabilities by sweating out excess stomach acid it generates, which can be weaponized.

But the point stands, poison types are incredibly versatile, and do not deserve the reputation they have garnered by human factors. 

Humanity’s Place in Pokemon

Ok, hear me out.

Humans are weak as hell.  Compared to Pokemon, they’ve got no semblance of a chance in a fair, one-on-one fight. Pokemon can breathe fire, or control nature, or shift the earth with merely a thought. Humans? We can... punch, I guess. Kick. And it’s far weaker than any fighting type.

When humans evolved in a world of Pokemon, they needed to find other ways to even the odds. Tools, first. Then makeshift weapons. Then machines. Civilizations sprung up out of necessity, specifically in places where humans could have a chance of surviving: breeding grounds. Fertile areas, full of resources, food, and great places to nest made these little areas less prone to extremely strong Pokemon, places like the Indigo Regions, or Hoenn, Unova, Kalos, etc etc.

And that’s probably it. These little places on the coasts of great continents, carved out of the wilderness with back-breaking effort and so so much time are the only bastions humanity has against the terrifying, powerful depths of whatever lies outside the borders. Crossing the wilds is unthinkable, it’s suicide. The only option for travelling between regions is by sea, or by air (excluding Kanto-Johto). So these regions are all that humanity has. Little islands of safety in a world of unimaginable power and strength.

TL;DR: Humans are survivors, and had to MAKE their place in the Pokemon World, because otherwise they would have gone extinct a LONG time ago. 

We've lost a lot to the onslaught of enshittification but I can think of none more brazen than Discord getting rid of the send button

So I've been playing Deep Rock Galactic a lot lately (for those unaware, it's a horde shooter game about space dwarves in an alien planet) and it's got me thinking.

Space dwarves, in this universe, exist. Obviously. So do elves, because the dwarves constantly mention "leaf-lovers." Space elves. The voice over at Mission control is likely a human, owing to the lack of a beard and very different accent/tone. Goblins are also implied to exist via voicelines, though it's only like one or two mentions (via insults in case of friendly fire).

Now, of course, this is just one game. There have been other cases of elves or dwarves or similar-looking creatures in sci-fi, such as Warhammer 40k, with the Eldar, and the Orks.

But it's the first instance (that I am aware of) where true fantasy races, with no augmentations, reached technological advancement high enough not only reach space, but develop their own intergalactic or at least interstellar civilization.

If all the classic fantasy races went to space, what would they all be doing?

The dwarves would be miners, obviously. Like in DRG, they'd like their weapons, have an eye for precious metals and gemstones, and love mining and underground locales. It's in their blood.

On the other hand, the elves might be more nature-centric. They might be more dedicated to protecting planets that are full of life from expansion and industrialization, mostly by humans, as humans do what humans do: expand, conquer, wage war, all that jazz. They showed this to a certain degree in DRG's seasons 1 and 2, with a gargantuan rival incursion. While it's not stated who runs the rival company, it's likely humans, due to how advanced the tech is, and the fact that they only use tech. No living organisms are sent down into the planet's caverns.

Orcs? They'd probably continue to wage war. Question is, would they be like the Orks of Warhammer 40k, with eyes only to destroy and conquer other peoples, or could they be hired? Say, "we'll give you a shit ton of gold and riches and in exchange you go kill off anything bad on this planet, ok?"

That's just my ideas, though. Who knows, maybe DRG will expand upon this lore in later seasons (I sincerely hope they do).

A tutorial on a (bit cheating) way of creating fictional maps.

Open your editing software (RECOMMENDING Krita, since it's free and it's very good).

Step 1: Google "X country silhouette" and copy it.

Paste it onto the canvas.

Step 2: Separate the silhouette from the background you copied with it! You can do that by using magic wand selection tool or by making a gradient map with black on 49,9% and transparent on 50% on the slider.

Step 3: Repeat several times with numerous countries and/or islands, cities, municipalities, communes, continents et cetera.

Step 4: Combine, mesh, stretch, rotate, mirror - go ham, make it work.

Step 5: Erase and add.

Step 6: Have your map outline ready, copy/paste it several times in the same doc on different layers and edit in different ways like biomes, kingdoms, mountains and other.

Step Mountains+: To figure out mountains, make another layer on the doc and do something like this:

-and then in every polygon you add an arrow.

Where arrows meet or transfer onto continents, add mountains.

Color the sea with a couple layers of depth and you're done :D