Intermitent brainshowers.

[Steerpike]

Swapping body parts is a cool idea, and I like machine races.  One thing gives me pause - you call them "organic machines."  How is this different than a living organism (I tend to think of all living organisms as organic machines...)?

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

It's tricky, even I'm not entirely sure.  I think I see organisms as just having too many tiny complexities for parts-swap.  The heyaafoura are "organic" in the sense that they have the more fluid and dynamic structure of organisms, but they're "machines" because their systems are still more straightforward than a pure organism.

[Steerpike]

Okay, makes sense.  A matter of degree - actually the most useful way of making a distinction between machines and organisms that I can think of.

[Ghostman]

Maybe they would be considered "machines" because they are artificial beings without any natural way to reproduce; instead of being born or hatched, they are constructed in factories?

[Steerpike]

I can think of theoretical self-replicating creatures that might be considered machines and sterile life-forms that wouldn't be considered machines, but that definition works too.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

No, they can reproduce: if two of them combine "starter" from their cores (the essential part, like their brain, they can't replace it) it will grow into a new core.

At least, that's the method I state if I really cared.  I'm not entirely sure the issue of whether or not they can reproduce is important to my worldview of heyaafoura.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

So that's definitely five groups of beings:

Mask: Energy creatures that must possess undynamic (i.e. unliving), reasonably solid masses in order to interact with the material world, and prefer using masks for ease of interaction with material beings.
Shihnn: Shapeshifters.
Yoka: Animals given intelligence by symbiotic colonies of microorganisms.
Heyaafoura: Arthropodic living "organic machines" capable of swapping out body parts.  Their appearance depend upon what parts they have on their bodies: they can be large and hulking or smaller and thin; they may utilize any number of their appendages as legs; color can vary, but is often either a sandy gold or dark blue-grey.  The exchange of parts is a simple procedure: the heyaafoura enters a "trance" and then can just tug out a part and place in a new one.  The only limitation to this procedure is that the "core" (essentially the brain) of the individual is irreplaceable.  And their reproduction is surprisingly simple method given their "biology": each mating individual, and there can be more than one, produces a "seed part" from their core which can then be attached together and grow into a new heyaafoura.
Endaan: The collective name of all panian races.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

On second thought the heyaafoura run into a really big obstacle: they feel forced, they don't fit in naturally.  Mask, Shihnn, and Yoka can all take up fantasy roles.  Multiple fantasy roles.  But the heyaafoura are just these big weird insects.  It might be fine for a sci-fi race off in the corner somewhere, but they just don't make a good main race by my standards.  I know you like them, Steerpike, but they just feel like an afterthought to me.

[Steerpike]

Fair enough.  Consider them stolen.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

You'll do better with them, I know.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

Hmmm, so where should I start building my setting from?

Everyone starts with cities, at least the published settings which I can keep straight in my head.  A city's not a bad place to start, anyway, I like the stuff that can go on in a city.

Sundrenched seaside, I'm a sucker for the tropics (even though I hate light, heat, and humidity).  Stone and brick buildings.  Gonna need a palace (even if it's not a seat of government they make one heck of a cool historical monument), this one comes complete with a couple flying islands for just a little cool factor.  What should the interior be?  I'm torn between near-tropical forest and savanna grassland.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

I think I've got it this time:

Title: Ah'rem: Epic Adventures for Non-Epic People

Game System: Cartoon Action Hour: Season 2 (follow the link to find a free demo version)

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

Dragon's Pearl, capital of the Grand Middle Kingdom
The closest point of land to Ah'rem's center, Dragon's Pearl is the hub through which everything else passes in Ah'rem, whether it be books of great knowledge from the East Kingdom, the precious goods found or swindled by fortune-hunters in the West Kingdom, the exotic things discovered by adventurers in the North Kingdom, and the simple produce of the South Kingdom.  City of maritime merchants, adventurous travelers, and their system of support and supply.  The city is watched over by the legendary Coral Palace, with its famous Floating Gardens atop islands of flying earth, from which rules the baffouonish yet kindly king Great Oak the IX.

So that's my central city in brief.  Anything anyone can see the summary needs?  Anything you'd like to hear about?  I know at this point I have say something about the Middle, East, West, North, and South kingdoms.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

So now it's time to pull back and look at the world briefly in Big Picture Mode:

The five kingdoms mentioned (North, South, East, West, and Middle) are by no means the only ones on Ah'rem.  They aren't even as Grand as they claim, having the most sway over the Middle Sea and getting to brag to everyone that passes through.  There is still lots of area left for everything from isolated settlements in wilderness areas to giant nations eager to gobble up their neighbors.

Because of its magical technology the world itself is visually part sci-fi.  The closest comparison would be the 80s cartoon He-Man, where there's definite use of vehicles, view-screens, cybernetics/robotics, some laser weapons, etc, but most of the world is still very much fantasy.  It's the closest, but not exact: for example Ah'rem makes greater use of computer-like devices and general electronics, but doesn't have any sort of car equivalent.  What difference this makes to typical fantasy is mostly in the area of medicine and communications.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

(remember all names are tentative)

Jin-Nas
That panian species of Ah'rem, made of two sub-groups: the more hominid Nas and the more zooanthric Jin (the latter should not be confused with the foreign zooanthric species known as the Tek).  Each sub-group is then often further divided up by the shared appearance of regional groups (though these divisions are cultural and not indicative of genetic inclination).

Nas variants
True Elves: Bow-and-poison hunters from the arid fossil deserts of the north.  They are wirey, with very long, pointed ears that stick out to the sides and red-brown skin skin tone.  They consider the term "dark elf" derogatory, as it was given by their half-breed oppressors in an attempt to connotate dark skin with lowness.
Half-Elves: The light-skinned descendants of True Elves -- having the same form but different coloration -- and light-skinned Nas variants migrants.  For a time they ruled over their darker-skinned kin as a "chosen few", but they were usurped and many fled to other lands.  Some prejudiced groups still believe in the doctrine of "light makes right".
Dwarves: Short, compact people from the arid yet mineral-rich western mountains who have a peculiar cultural belief: they are the souls of the dead, given new life by the gods to "guard the path of the dead".  Different dwarven clans interpret and carry it out this command differently, though often martially: from preventing outsiders from entering their lands to quests to destroy magic related to death.  Unfortunately some dwarven clans have taken this belief as an excuse to conquer orc tribes because they see the latter's necromantic religion as "refusing to let the dead rest in peace".
Orcs: Nomads of the western plains who practice a shamanistic form of necromancy that "calls the ancestor to assist the living".  They are frequently at war with dwarven clans over the issue of their religion.  They are tall and brawny, heavily built, with greyish-green skin and large canine teeth that sometimes protrude from their jaws especially in males.

More to come.............