Aright , heres a few notes on my latest idea.
The world (which currently has no name) is covered in water. For the most part the seas are calm. But insanely powerful storms rip across the world laying waste to anything caught out in the open sea. Some speculate these 'storms' might be sentient creatures. There are vast stretches of sandbars and reefs. But the world is always shifting. Navigators have attempted to chart the waters, but upon returning to a marked spot find it completely different. (i.e. the island they visited last season is completely gone)
There is one permanent city left, lying atop a sandbar. The city consists of twenty to thirty stone towers jutting out of the water. The towers are buried well below the sandbar. Inside the towers , some are filled with water at the tideline, yet some are empty for many hundreds of feet below the water mark. Many strange and powerful items are gathered from these chambers beneath the towers. Some explorers tell of massive network of tunnels beneath the towers with strange architecture etc. Many explorers do not return at all. A series of floating docks and bridges connect the towers which are spaced irregularly apart in no apparent pattern. The citizens fish, and work the sandbars in a primitive style of aquaculture, harvesting oysters and clams etc. Nets stretch across the sandbars. Each tower is commanded by a 'captain' who oversees about 10-20 people. They ensure the work is done and the citizens of there tower are protected from outside elements , including other tower-folk.
There is also rumor of a massive roaming flotilla city, consisting of scavenged boats, reeds, driftwood etc. They say it is the Roamers homeport. From there expeditions are launched to gather supplies, pillaging islands, or trading if the conditions are right. They say the leader has the strength of the gods with him.
Outside of the 'Tower City' humans live on "points of light" style islands with limited resources. Trade is entirely done through a bartering system with fresh water being a high commodity. They fish and grow what little food they can.
Not all humans restrict themselves to these islands. A group called Roamers sail on massive makeshift rafts, bringing goods and news from all across the ocean. They are akin to pirates but will trade peacefully.
Gods. Stone heads are scattered across many islands. They are the physical embodiment of the pantheon (that is yet to be filled out) but not the only form they can take. The stone heads can transform into any manner of animal , but never a humanoid. Gods will sometimes change into birds and fly away to another island if there followers displease them.
So besides some fluff text that's about all I have so far. Any suggestions? I need more magic and mystery in this I think. Though the tower city could be a whole campaign in itself. I think the gods are petty and cruel, using the humans to do there bidding to gain power over? what? idunno. Other race ideas? Whats beneath the sea? What happened to this world?
Influences:
Rapa Nui
Waterworld
Westerns
Shogun
Age of Exploration
(//../../e107_files/public/1250613171_968_FT0_286_rapa_nui_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1250613171_968_FT0_286_rapa_nui.jpg)
isles on turtle back!
possibility includes: a small nation consisting of several turtles swimming together with a system of evacuation to one of the other turtles, when ever one of the turtles decides to take a quik dip.
or assuming that the threat of a turtle taking a dip is low and that the giant turtles follows a somewhat stable pattern each year, then perhaps several isle nation whose culture and trade is as much affected by the layout of the land, as they are by the turtles wandering. crops being planted on an isle, only to be harvested once a year when the turtle passes it, such as nut tree plantage or valuable timber. festivities when ever one turtles wandering happens to go alongside another turtle for a period.
it could even be a symbiosis, where the turtle are depending on the people living on its back to provide it with food and protection, and the turtle providing the people with a place to live, giving the turtles little reason to risk it by diving.
apart from the rare mating, where it's tradition to stock up on supplies and wait it out on nearby ships, and when it's over, the people will return, rebuilding everything but perhaps also celebrating it as a death and re-birth celebration, a new beginning after cleansing out.
I like it! I can picture an evil sea beast posing as one of the revered turtle-islands, luring unsuspecting sailors on board with lush forests and ~Gasp! freshwater. Only to have the sailors devoured or enslaved to help keep the camouflage up.
I like the idea of some turtles being a sort of big loveable terrifying guardian. What happens when they encounter the above-mention evil seabeasts? Epic awesomeness.
I can imagine many cults popping up , worshipping these big creatures. Would humans be the only creatures on these things? What about parasites?
(//../../e107_files/public/1250616689_968_FT71943_seaturtleswaterbright_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1250616689_968_FT71943_seaturtleswaterbright.jpg)
Love the turtles.
who else travels on ship other than the Roamers? do we have other races?
Do we have underwater dwellers?
One would think air and water magic would dominate this setting. kepping storms at bay would be nice.
elementals? Water elementals?
Caould this all be one of s collection of planes, this one close to to the PLane of Watrer, so that there is a thin barrier between the 2?
One thing that comes to mind is this: was the world always this way? If it was, then how did humans (and other races?) come about? With the description of that island with its pillars, I suspect there's a "Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker" thing going on here, that the world wasn't always water.
Also, what is your intention for this setting? Gaming or storytelling? That definitely shapes what you want it to have.
Edit: I love the Moai gods.
I would imagien that the ecology would consist of creature and plants that can weather the rare dive that might happen.
animals might herbinate and/or stock pile up food inside tree trunks or under the ground in places with air-pockets and birds would migrate to land or another turtle, untill it resurfaces.
infact, animals going on a feeding frenzy could be one of the few omen and signs that a turtle might dive, and sailors might look for migrating birds to follow when searching for a place to throw anchor. it might even be one of the few reliable ways to find land, when in unknown water.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fastitocalon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaratan
I'm assuming there was an antediluvian period?
M.
For all intents and purposes there was a civilization before the mighty "flood". In the setting the inhabitants can only guess at what strange things existed before their time based on what they might find buried in the ocean. But I think the old civilization might have worshipped these giant turtles for the sake of verisimilitude. Perhaps this religious cult is the only group that survived the flood, seeking refuge on there dieties back?
The turtles are literally guardians of these humans. The humans are not freeloaders though,they keep parasites off of the turtle, possibly some nasty sea insect or wormlike creatures, but definately fantastical. They clean its shell, protect it from the natural elements and the turtle doesnt mind that they build semi-permanant structures on its back. I have not decided on a number yet, but ther will be more than one turtle-city roaming around.
About the turtles diving. I'm thinking they will be strictly omnivorous, just eating the sea grass and kelp and what-not that crowds the shallower areas. To accomodate such a large creatures need for massive amounts of food, maybe the humans actually do some farming for them? These creatures exhibit negligible senescence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negligible_senescence). So what would be a threat to these turtles?
So now we have:
villages on the backs of giant turtles that stick to a predictable feeding/seasonal path in the waters.
Roamers floating around on giant raft communities, letting the wind and tide take them where it pleases.
Island dwellers who are particularly zealous for there resident 'stone head' god.
A sand-bar city that harbors something mysterious beneath its towers.
That's a good start.