Dystopia

[Soup Nazi]

I'm actually surprised you kept steam power, but given the expense of things like ioun power I can see why it still sees use. No public transportations system makes me wonder though. BZ seems like it would really benefit from such a thing, with her multiple large cities.

Impetus technology has got to be my favorite thing thus far. Just to satisfy my curiosity, is it like a simple program that can be etched onto various tools and machines? Is it a mark of some kind, like a stamp, or a rune?

Ioun Power seems pretty fantastic, but what kind of energy does it produce? Heat, light, electricity, all of the above? Is it like a nuclear fuel cell, or is it more like a glow stick. How are they used and what are they used in?

I like the biotech through and through. I really don't see any flaws although I do have a couple questions. How much do people know about this stuff? Is it quite common, or is is still new and revolutionary? What about the clone/flesh golem things (sorry forgot the name off the top of my head), are they all over the place, or are there just a few here and there.

I still get the Blade Runner feel from BZ, but that's quite alright. I LOVE that movie, and you should rent it, because I'm certain you can draw parallels from it, and use them to feed your imagination.

If I think of anything else, I'll be sure to stop in. Excellent job so far. You've kept the fantasy feel, and it was a marvelous move to develop tech that has no real world equivilent. Bravo!

-Nasty-

P.S. You should realy consider chatting with Xathan on some of this stuff. He's got some great fantasy/sci-fi feeling tech ideas, and I bet you two could benefit greatly from one another.

[SA]

Ah, I totally forgot about public transport, and yes it exists in Baennet Zzar.

Impetus technology is runic, while the meme crystals that power ioun engines are glowing stones of various colours that hum when acivated.  A meme crystal produces "resonant potential energy", which is harnessed by the ioun engine to produce any true energy possible in physics, and a few energies that do not technically exist.  The Syadravyste is an example of the latter energy type, as it harnesses "cyclonic counterpoint energy", which the Daedathed actually invented themselves.

Bio-manipulation has been around for over two centuries, so the technology is pretty refined.  As one must attend a university in order to become a certified and practised mentalist (unless they are a wilder, in which case the ability may be innate), and because it requires a great degree of discipline, the average person has no idea how to do it, but it is nevertheless common.  A "chirurgeon" is someone who performs bio-manipulation as a medical profession, and can be equated with a doctor, while a "transmogrist" is someone who uses the technology to alter an individual, perhaps adding new parts or modifying existing ones.  Chirurgery has already replaced "conventional" medicine in most places, and even out-of-the-way villages ususally have a single practicioner.

Mockeries exist in unknown numbers, because they look and potentially act like normal ulvenir and can therefor evade attention.  As the technology used to create them becomes more refined, they may replace ulvenir as cannon fodder in Baennet Zzar's armies; something the proud warriors of the Ziddra Daer would not tolerate.

I'll add these bits to the technology section when I have the time, and there will be even more technologies when I detail Das Dramurr.

[Xathan]

Ok, so more thoughtful feedback than just gasming allover the place. :P

I'm going to focus on Ioun power for now. Some questions I have about it:

Weaponization. It is stated that Ioun powered weapons were used in the past. How powerful were they, expressed in kilotons (to give a standard of comparison), and how refined are they? Could you use an Ioun weapon to take out an individual, or only to take out cities? How about international treaties governing the usage of Ioun wapons? Do other nation have it? If not, why hasn't Baennet Zzar just taken over with Ioun technology.

Feedback: Does Ioun energy produce any sort of waste, similar to radiation? if so, what form does it take? If not, is Ioun power energy without cost? (i'm a big fan of really powerful magic having a cost beyond just 200,000 gp and 25,000 xp.)

Also, what are the limits to what can be done with Ioun energy? Could you power a suit of armor with it? An artifical heart? A spaceship? A city? A country?

Those are my questions for now: More to come later. Again, I reiterate, awesome stuff. :)

[SA]

Weaponization. It is stated that Ioun powered weapons were used in the past. How powerful were they, expressed in kilotons (to give a standard of comparison), and how refined are they?

Could you use an Ioun weapon to take out an individual, or only to take out cities? How about international treaties governing the usage of Ioun wapons? Do other nation have it? If not, why hasn't Baennet Zzar just taken over with Ioun technology.[/quote]if[/i] the apparatus in which the engine is fitted was properly formatted to serve as a conduit for the energies.

Beyond the Syadravyste and a few other restricted technologies, ioun weapons are generally cannons utilising conventional projectiles, or swords, bows and crossbows augmented by ioun power to employ extra force (generally represented as enhancement bonuses).  The warfare section of Baennet Zzar (which is not up yet) will explain this clearly.

There are no international treaties governing its use since no other nation has access to it, but a number of factors prevent Baennet Zzar from world domination: firstly, Das Dramurr has crazy technology of its own - technology that is rather unwholesome - and the elves of Ka'ath serve as the de facto protectors of the Sunset Isles with their disturbingly prophetic understanding of the future (they can basically anticipate anything).  The samkhan mastery of, and preoccupation with fire prevents the Clerics moving east, and the Yntaroum climate is generally hostile to humanoid life.  And no-one wants to take over Ehrune...

Besides which, the Clerics know that they do not need to take over the world.  While the ulvenir are inherently warlike, they are also, for want of a better word, humane, and understand that the other peoples of Myr have no desire to dwell under the rulership of the Zzari.  For the time being Baennet Zzar is content to keep the Praetors of Das Dramurr in check, and to extend their reach interdimensionally rather than internationally.

Feedback: Does Ioun energy produce any sort of waste, similar to radiation? if so, what form does it take? If not, is Ioun power energy without cost? (i'm a big fan of really powerful magic having a cost beyond just 200,000 gp and 25,000 xp.)

perceived[/i] distances, producing "white noise" that sounds like real conversation, and so on.  The Thought Constructs of the IoValde, being larger than cities, can tangibly alter reality for thousands of miles.
[spoiler]Recently, scientists have attempted to harness RTC, as it bears subtle resemblance to plasmoclastic energy and may theoretically provide "infinte hypothetical energy" or "trump power".  Such endeavours have been met with derision; not only because trump power is arguable unquantifiable, but because the eventual disaster of the Plasmoclast Cataclysm is known to all.

Oddly enough, the Clerics have not yet forbidden its research.[/spoiler]
The direct cost, however, is simply the materials necessary to create the engine, including the meme crystal, which generally provides enough energy for one year per cubic centimetre.

Also, what are the limits to what can be done with Ioun energy? Could you power a suit of armor with it? An artifical heart? A spaceship? A city? A country?

theoretically[/i] be powered by it, but no-one has any real intention of making spaceships any time soon (travel through the Aether is easier).  Most Baennet cities rely on ioun power for lighting, plumbing, heating, powering public transport, keeping the more preposterous architecture standing etc., and the national communication network relies on it as well; so in a sense Baennet Zzar is powered by ioun tech.

As explained in the technology section, a sufficiently complex ioun engine could do just about anything, but the power required (and the necessary size of the meme crystal) would be phenomenal.

Those are my questions for now: More to come later. Again, I reiterate, awesome stuff. :)

Thanks.

[Kindling]

This setting just gets better and better and better and better and better and better and - Ahem. Excuse me. Momentarily lost myself :)

[SA]

Glad to see that you like it.  More is assuredly on its way.

[SA]

Woot!  The intro to Das Dramurr as well as its history are now up for perusal.  Enjoy.

(Das Dramurr is the tenth post)

[Kindling]

Well, Das Drammur is awsome, but your history section leaves me gasping to know what happened to Heaven after it was conquered.

[SA]

That is the question, isn't it? :cool:

The destruction of Heaven will be detailed in Naovine, when I get around to it, but that's a long way off...

[Soup Nazi]

Keep the Das Drammur stuff coming. I've been curious about it since you first mentioned it to me a while back. I really want to see what kind of subtly horrific ideas you can come up with for the place.

Does it lean more towards necromantic undead kind of evil with twisted ghosts, haunted mansions, and cults of wicked men, or does it lean more towards the alien evil kind of thing like strange alien plagues (like the plague of sorrow), nightmarish dreamscapes, and government cover-ups. Maybe it's a blend of both.

I'm sure descriptions of the architecture, and the weather, and the tone of the nation would really help with a place like this. Given that those very things seem to be one of your strongest points in world building, I can't wait to hear what you come up with.

I'm already getting images of gothic cathedrals, brick row houses, and misty warfs covered in soot. I can envision crazed arsonists, cunning surgically talented serials killers, and horrific conspiracies and cover-ups by the authorities. I've got visions of terribly horrible working conditions in dirty foundries, and factories, and rampand prostitution. Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself here, but this is feel I'm getting. If this is the kind of direction you are heading in, I'm going to be a happy camper.

-Nasty-

[Epic Meepo]

Does it lean more towards necromantic undead kind of evil with twisted ghosts, haunted mansions, and cults of wicked men, or does it lean more towards the alien evil kind of thing like strange alien plagues (like the plague of sorrow), nightmarish dreamscapes, and government cover-ups. Maybe it's a blend of both.

Oh, definately both.  That's my vote.

[SA]

Let's just say both, plus more, and then some, although the latter (strange alien plagues, nightmarish dreamscapes, etcetera) will feature in greater prominence.  As a bit of a hint, the Most Ancient Lord is an effigy of an Elder God (a la Cthulhu).

Actually, some of the ideas you've come up with are things I haven't even thought of.  I'm intentionally going to avoid some of them, though, as I don't like the Victorian Era and I don't want Das Dramurr to become a cheap World of Darkness ripoff.  I do like Gothic elements, though.

[Kindling]

Yay for Lovecraftian elder deities! Makes me want to get on with the "Gods" section of my own world.

Anyway, yes, please do get some Cthulhiana influences, it would be great.

Also, I'd reccomend reading some C. L. Moore, for another take on the whole sinister, alien deity/occult thing, so it doesn't end up as a straight Cthulhu-mythos rip (not that I think it would anyway, given your unique creativity and writing style)

[SA]

C. L. Moore... I shall have to check her out.

[SA]

The Wild, Voht'Yaltet, Att'Sold, Geongensia and Naovine now have fiction intros!  Check 'em out.