forum I can ask questions to help you worldbuild!

Started February 07, 2020 by @Potato_the_cat group

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I have a love of asking questions. I find that the best way to build up a system or character is to ask a question about it (such as "why are all magic wands wood?"), then work and find an answer ("woodworking/carving is very important in this culture.").

If you describe something to me, I will ask as many questions about it as you want. If you want a specific kind of question (such as "ask about their past") just tell me.

This is one of my favorite things to do, so don't feel bad if you need a lot of questions, or have specific guidelines! :)

Hey, are you okay with getting questions for races or species? I’ve got a few that I need to strengthen!

ill ask questions about anything! Races are super fun for me in particular! :)

Alright, sick! I think my strongest one is my werewolves rn, so I’ll pop them in! It’s a lot of information, I’m sorry!
—
Appearance
For starters, note that like humans, werewolves are neither a hive mind nor from one collective nation or continent. However, werewolves all share a few defining characteristics. All werewolves have at least large canines, however werewolves with a more “pure” bloodline will have big, dog-like teeth. Many are naturally tall, the average height being around 6’5”. There seems to be a shared predisposition for strength and high muscle growth. Werewolves share incredibly pale eyes, although there are a few cases of werewolves born with deep brown eyes. Many cover up their paler eyes with color contacts in an attempt to hide their werewolf identity.
Shift Cycle
A shift cycle is generally caused by a spike in testosterone production. A shifting period can last anywhere from 12 hours to a week, and it is nearly always excruciatingly painful (bone structure changes, muscle spasms and adjustments, etc). Werewolves generally shift every 29-30 days (Roughly 4 weeks), although it depends on both what subset of werewolf they are and just genetics, although a number of exterior factors can affect a werewolf’s shift as well (diet, shift cycle of those around them, if they’re taking hormones or not). Werewolves will generally be ravenously hungry before and after shifting, given that they burn so many calories. There are two widely accepted categories of werewolves: the “primal” werewolf (your stereotypical anthropomorphic wolf), and the “feral” werewolf (a large creature, wolffish in appearance- more akin to a giant wolf). The “feral” werewolf seems to be the most common, with entire packs made from that one subset alone.
Why do werewolves exist?

• Often times a werewolf bloodline stems from far-back genetic mutations, but there seems to be a small amount of purely werewolf bloodlines reaching far back into history.
• Two humans can produce a werewolf, but the opposite is not true.

What are werewolves like socially?

• Again, werewolves are not hive minds. However, like dogs, it’s better for a werewolf to live and work with others, and they quickly form pack bonds.

• Personality-wise, of course gullible and dumber werewolves exist, although a very survival driven and family driven personality tends to be most common.

How do werewolf packs function?
- Like a wolf pack, werewolves see other pack mates as equals, rather than the stereotypical alpha and beta. (Denmothers and fathers exist, generally the founders of the pack). Werewolves see packmates as siblings and family, not friends (and especially not lovers). It’s not uncommon for a group of werewolf friends to group together and form their own pack.

• Packs generally share one home or apartment, but larger ones will split apart into homes within close proximity.

• The largest pack in America, the Dog City Devils, has roughly 40 members.

Health and Diet
A werewolf’s diet can be anywhere from entirely human to entirely animalistic, with most falling somewhere in between (usually leaning towards the former). Most werewolves are able to ingest a number of “human” foods, mainly those that are safe for dogs (i.e.- blueberries, rice). Werewolves should, however, have a diet mainly consisting of lightly to non-seasoned meats, preferably raw. The absolute safest diet for a werewolf is strictly raw meats, often human, although they can have select human foods every so often. Most werewolves, while they can and do drink alcohol, are incredibly lightweight with a low tolerance.

Werewolves are prone to a number of health problems later in life, mainly having to do with improper nutrition. They are more at risk for things like hip dysplasia, arthritis, and in extreme cases, a permanent shift. This would occur when a werewolf, of course, doesn’t come out of their shift, generally stuck in their more animalistic form. Taking hormones doesn’t seem to increase the risk of this, as it seems to be somewhat genetic, however many werewolves on hormone treatment will have an increase in shift levels, especially those who take testosterone. Most werewolves die before reaching 65, whether it be health-related issues, societal issues, or both.

Named for the mythical dog, Cerberus Syndrome is one of the only conditions that solely affects werewolves. It’s a sort of polycephaly, technically. A werewolf will be born with two to three heads, the extra being permanently stuck as either a more human-like form, a werewolf’s head, or somewhere in between the two. Most werewolves born with this do not survive past a few months. Cerberus Syndrome can be caused by a variety of factors, but, just like polycephaly, it is the result of a malformed embryo.

more info just means more questions!

–Appearance–
Is it possible for something like a were-hyena or were-fox to exist (or eventually exist)?

Due to rapidly growing and then shedding hair when shifting, would the hair fall out in patches? What happens to the hair on their head? If its long, does the wolf form have long hair as well?

Are there limits on fur color and patterns? are certain patterns/colors more common in certain kinds of people? Are these things genetic? How common are certain patterns/colors?

are the women also 6 ft 5? that would be very noticeable. How would they hide that they're a werewolf?

If a person has tattoos or piercings, how does this effect their wolf form? What happens to prosthetics?

–Shift cycle–
If someone were to take enough anti-testosterone medication (it does exist), could they prevent themselves from shifting at all?
are werewolf cycles synced up to period cycles? (both run on about once a lunar month cycles)

in order to deal with calorie burn, couldn't the person just eat as many calories as they physically can before hand? (think carbo loading for racers!)

would someone with a large amount of fat deposits not have as much hunger afterwords due to the transformation burning the fat?

If someone has malnutrition, can they die from the transformation?

Do people take painkillers for the transformation? if they don't, why not?

If a person is wearing jewelry (say a wedding ring), could they hurt themselves due to the jewelry cutting off blood flow?

–health and diet–

humans cannot process raw meat very well (most carnivores/omnivores don't get food poisoning), how do they eat raw meat while in human form?

how are the werewolfs getting all their vitamins in? You would have to be very careful with stuff like iron levels, vitamin C levels, etc. (vegans have to carefully track vitamin levels to make sure that they're getting everything they need)

Are there any popular dishes for werewolfs? raw meat without any seasoning doesn't taste good to most people, and people also just like making new dishes!

How would a malformed embryo cause the syndrome? this disease is most similar to conjoined twins, caused by one egg not fully splitting. You'd have to have a egg try and fail to split into 3 to do this. how rare is this disease? From how I described it, it would be rarer then having triplets!

I love how you do werewolfs! :) please answer the questions I ask so that I can ask more (if you want more questions that is. if not please answer anyway, im a curious person!)

apologies for taking so long btw

It’s no worries! These are amazing questions, tbh. I have a few answers for some of them, but a lot of these are gonna take some thinkin’!

thanks! I like to ask questions people don't immediately know the answer to. :)

Ok, answer time!
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Honestly, I’d thought about that, and they’d probably still fall under the ‘werewolf’ umbrella. It’s kind of hard to explain, but technically a werewolf’s ‘human’ form isn’t a human, so their ‘wolf’ form isn’t technically a wolf. So, in short- yes! I’d assume that it’s just another mutation, possibly having to do with adaptation to a certain environment.

For the hair question- yes, it falls out in large chunks, which can definitely be a little stress-inducing, ha. If a werewolf has long hair pre-shift, then the hair on their shifted form will be long in certain areas, usually around the haunches/shoulders.

This is a tough question to answer, the one on the fur colors. Certain kinds of people are prone to different colors and textures. Patterns and colors are genetic, with either a solid coat or an agouti coat. Brown and black tend to be most common, with whites being the rarest, mainly just because not many people have naturally white hair. This means that pelt color is linked to natural hair color, not dye. Dyed hair tends to stay, though it’s grown out at the roots during a shift.

Women tend to be shorter, which I definitely should’ve mentioned. Average is about 6’1-2”. Still incredibly noticeable, but easier to brush off as ‘tall family’ genes.

Tattoos don’t impede hair growth. They’re simply on the skin, so tattoos will only be covered up with fur/hair. Prosthetics often don’t fit an animal like they would a human, so most of the time they’ll just fall off. Piercings stay where they are, though they may not fit the wolf form comfortably.

Shifting questions! My favorite! So, yes- that is something that happens. It is possible to take enough anti-testosterone medication to halt shifts. Shift cycles are somewhat irregular, unlike most people’s period cycles. It’s not uncommon to hear one werewolf say that they had one shift one month and three the next.

Most werewolves do carbo-load. It’s a lot to eat, but it makes things loads easier in the long run. I’m going to lump in the fat deposits question here- yes. That’s entirely normal, but that also means that transformations can also bring weight loss.

It’s not uncommon for malnourished werewolves to die from a shift, which means there’s a lot more pressure on werewolves than others to stay healthy.

Painkillers are available, but they’re strong. Most werewolves just tough it out, mainly because the painkillers given to werewolves in shift aren’t like your everyday Tylenol, they’re more like morphine, meaning they can absolutely get a werewolf hooked no problem.

Yes. Most people remove jewelry as soon as they begin their shift for this reason. There have been cases where werewolves lose fingers or toes because they didn’t take off rings.

Diet time!
I should’ve explained this bit better. When a werewolf looks like a human, they are still not a human, they only look like one. Werewolves are meant to eat meat, only supplementing with other foods. This means that lycanthropy isn’t contagious or transmittable, only something you’re born with. Vitamin A can be gained through eating the liver of their prey, and calcium from the bones. Like other carnivores, werewolves are able to produce their own vitamin C.

Yes, there are! Many popular dishes include ginger, basil (and other herbs), garlic, and other spices.

Ah, the malformed embryo bit was because I didn’t want to go incredibly in-depth about polycephaly. Polycephaly itself is caused by two separated embryos incompletely fusing. This means, of course, Cerberus Syndrome is caused by two to three embryos fusing. So yes, you’re right- it is rarer than triplets!

If you’re ever tired of werewolves, I have a few more species to show off if you’re interested!

ooh! I have a few more werewolf questions, then we can switch.

For the people who have prosthetics, do they/ can they have prosthetics for their wolf form? how common would this be?

It's possible to pass out from pain, especially those with low pain tolerance (speaking from exp). Do werewolfs have to worry about this, or do all werewolfs have good/amazing pain tolerance?

What do werewolfs in urban/contained areas do while a wolf? I imagine it could be boring/ dangerous to your possessions to be a werewolf stuck in an apartment flat.

What do werewolfs do with the wedding rings when in wolf form? I know a lot of people are very uncomfortable without theirs. Would they put it on a (very loose) necklace for wolf form, or is there another way that werewolfs work around this (like a wedding piercing or necklace)

how does hair dye stay? its in the hair, not the skin, thus it should fall out in the areas where the hair completely disappears.

oh! and one more, How do they deal with their condition in the workplace? not all jobs allow for around 1 week a moth vacations. Some don't allow vacations period!

Prosthetics for wolf forms aren’t too common for a number of reasons. First of all, it would be a nightmare to try and get a prosthetic onto someone during their shift, given that they’re somewhat feral. Second, it just isn’t widespread. Many people don’t want to fit prosthetics for a wolf form for a variety of reasons.

Yes, passing out from pain is fairly normal. Most have a high pain tolerance, or they’re at least used to it, but younger werewolves are no strangers to passing out.

Two words: strong kennels. You can’t just let a werewolf loose into the streets, at least during the two extremes of the shift. The safest bet is literally just to get large, incredibly sturdy kennels and cages to lock the werewolf up in, just for safety. That, of course, is for werewolves who don’t live with others. Solitary werewolves usually either stay inside or just go out, simple as that.

A loose necklace is the safest option. Generally mariner chain is the best option for its strength, but curb and cable necklace chains are also very popular!

It’s simple- hair dye doesn’t stay. It falls out like the rest of the hair in those areas. In spaces where hair doesn’t fall out, the dye stays, it just looks more grown out.

As for other species.. I have spirits, demons, vampires, and reanimated corpses, if any of those strike your fancy!

oh! and one more, How do they deal with their condition in the workplace? not all jobs allow for around 1 week a moth vacations. Some don't allow vacations period!

It’s tough being a werewolf in the workforce! Legally, employers are supposed to give their werewolf employees at least a few days off for their shift (it doesn’t have to be paid). The best bet is just to find a werewolf-owned business, somewhere where they’ll be more sympathetic, but obviously that isn’t always attainable.

oooh! ill take demons please!

Sweet! They’re taken from a number of cultures, so I tried to add a fair amount of wiggle room in terms of.. everything.

Appearance
Demons appear in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Sometimes their appearance will be totally human, because they use a vessel, but other times it will be much more obvious. Assuming that a demon does not use a vessel, as many do not, there are a few things that make them stand out. A demon’s skin tone is usually anything but natural-looking. It will usually be a color, ranging from red all the way to purple. Warmer colors tend to be the most common (reds, oranges, and some yellows). Some demons will have tails, but most all of them have some type of horn(s). Wings are less common than people think. Demons are usually of extreme height, whether that be short or tall. Teeth are usually more extreme as well, occasionally even protruding like tusks.

Demons may have extra limbs, fingers, or toes. Nails tend to grow longer, sharper, and faster than a human’s. It is not particularly uncommon to see a demon with 3+ eyes or heterochromia.
Vessel Health
If a demon chooses to take a vessel, the process is fairly similar to possession. The vessel essentially loses consciousness, becoming nothing more than a meat suit for the demon until they choose to leave. Vessels still need sleep, food, water, and shelter. Demons, however, do not, and even when they take a vessel, still don’t feel these needs. If a vessel dies from lack of care, the demon is expelled from the corpse. If a demon chooses to leave before their vessel dies, the vessel won’t really be the same person that they were before. Often they become little more than a shell of a person.
General Knowledge
Not all demons are created equal. Abilities and forms are different from demon to demon, mostly reliant on their country of origin. Some demons can control fire, some can control water. Elemental demons are incredibly common. This doesn’t leave out demons like succubi/Incubi, however! These demons are able to enter dreams and play with their victim’s mind.

These are a little less fleshed out than my werewolves, so they could use some work!

–Appearance–

If the teeth protrude by tusks, wouldn't drooling become an issue? Or are the lips different to how humans are?
Can they have fluffy tails? Can they have multiple?
How big do horns typically get? how fast do they grow? if there are an even #, do the horns tend to mirror each other in appearance, or are they unique? How easy are they to break? what do you do if they break? Is it like a chipped tooth where you can get it "filled"? If you have heavy horns and one breaks, it could cause neck/back/skeletal issues!
if someone has multiple eyes, can they get glasses, or are they stuck with contacts? What eye colors are common?
Due to the extra limbs situation, how does fashion work? do they have tailors to alter purchased clothes to fit the demon? Are all clothes custom made?
do they like to decorate their horns? if so, how? if not, why?
Do they have patterns? or are they monochrome? Are fur, feathers, and scales common?
how does laying down work? if your horns are large, it could be difficult/impossible to lay down.

–general questions–
What are the most common powers/kinds of demon?
Can demons eat food if they want? If so, do high class/rich demons eat a lot of food often to show off their wealth?
Do powers pass along genetically? Do certain powers tend to have certain physical traits? (water magic demons being purple or blue) How do you learn what powers you have and how to use them? How would schools teach the variety of powers? Would you have tutors?
Why would you want a vessel? Is there any reason they'd want to look human? Is it considered a crime to do this to someone?
What powers CAN'T they have? What are the limits? Are there some things demons struggle with or just straight up can't do?

the demons seem to be very loose! Id recommend making subcategories! Having a large amount of variety in a species is good, but too much and the members can look/act SO different from each other that the idea that they're the same species kinda weakens.

Yeah, they’re a loose category. Thanks for the subcategory suggestion! Honestly, my whole thing with them was to make it difficult to strictly define a demon so that they tend to blend with spirits, and there’s a little bit of overlap there.

Drooling’s actually not an issue, and here’s why- a demon’s body isn’t technically a “body” by most standards. They’re just a shell, really (they can get damaged and wounded, but it won’t affect them like it would a person). It gets complicated because technically demons don’t have organs. Cut one up, it’s just a mass of ‘meat’, in a way. But this means that demons don’t really drool, blink, or have nerves.

They can have fluffy tails. The most common animal tails tend to be foxes and cats. Multiple tails are rarer, but not unheard of.

Horns! The largest “hornspan” ever recorded stands at roughly 2.5 feet long. They don’t grow, given that a demon doesn’t have a growth cycle like how we think of one. Once they’re created, their appearance doesn’t really change. Even numbers of horns often mirror each other, yes. Asymmetry isn’t incredibly common in demons’ horns. Strength-wise, they’re not easy to break. It’s hard to assign numbers, because they can vary in width, shape, and size, but it’s easier to break a femur than an average demon’s horns. Chips are not common, but they can be patched with work. The horns don’t like to adhere to the patching agent, though, so it takes a fair bit of work. For extreme breaks, say a horn is snapped in half, it’s easier to just snap the other one instead of trying to stick it back on. Painful and damaging to the psyche, but easier.

Getting clothes custom tailored can be expensive, but it’s not rare. Many brands have lines specifically for multi-limbed creatures, though. Horn decoration is a thing, yes. Many demons will decorate their horns with bangles and long necklaces, although some will find or make small flower crowns for their horns.

Any patterns are generally limited to the arms, torso, or face. Uncommon, but they exist. Scales, feathers, and fur generally don’t exist on demons. The closest you’ll get to that is just exceptionally tough and ‘scaly’ skin.

Laying down is a feat on its own if you have horns. Many demons that have large horns simply don’t lie flat on their backs or stomachs. The best option for these demons is just to sit back on a low incline, so that their horns aren’t completely impeding them.

The most common type of demon is the elemental. These control one of the 6 elements: earth, air, fire, water, wood, or metal.

No. Demons don’t have stomachs. Even if they wanted to, demons can’t eat. Wealth is generally flashed through things like horn jewelry and clothing.

Yeah, the whole “demon life” thing is a something I should’ve elaborated on. Demons don’t have a gene pool, because they’re created, not born. But yes, certain abilities tend to have traits that reflect them. Earth and wood demons often have more flesh tones in their skin, along with greens. Water and air demons will be on the cooler end on the color wheel, so blues, purples, along with soft whites. Fire and metal demons have warmer skin: warm flesh tones, red, oranges, yellows, and greys to blacks.

Demons are sort of “born” with an innate sense of their powers. There’s a small amount of control that they have from the get-go, but it can be cultivated with the help of other demons to explain, as it’s nearly impossible for schools to teach this. As for limits on powers, there aren’t many. No demon has the ability to alter time or reality (only the perception of it), gravity, or the abilities of other demons.

Vessels are used for a number of things! When demons and humans first lived together, vessels were mainly used to get close to humans. A demon may want to take a vessel for a variety of reasons, such as experiencing food, or even just because they don’t like their original form. Yes, it’s a crime, but the taking of a vessel is a hard crime to charge.

As I answered these, I realized I had actually gone through some of these questions in my head, ha. Sorry for the long & late response!

Hey! apologies for how long it took me, but thanks for the elaboration! I imagine that tattoos would be popular as well, you can use ink colors that contrast against the skin color! plus doing ritual or sigil rune like symbols would be appropriate (a lot of people used to think you could see if someone had been influenced by a demon if they had a 'mark')

I have a few more questions, then we can choose another one!

is it possible to file down horns? I imagine those who's horns impede their ability to function or people who just don't like their horns would do something to them.
You said they were just solid meat all the way through, would it be possible for one to just be hollow?

Id love to do the vampires next! vampire lore is fun!

I don’t mind the wait, don’t worry! Sorry for how late this response is, I had some things to do.

Yep, you can file down horns? It’s tough and time consuming, as the things are weirdly strong, and it’ll strip the exterior, but you can definitely file them down!

It is! I’m actually working on a new subset of demon that would deal mostly in work “beyond the veil”, who would be near completely hollow.

As for vampires- yea! I agree, it’s almost as fun as werewolf for me, lmao- just a side note that I should’ve mentioned: werewolves are really my only species that are fully fleshed out right now. Vampires are still getting some work done, but I think I have a good base! I’ll post them in a separate comment, if that’s okay!

Hello! that works for me, and don't worry, Im here to help you figure out how to flesh them out! (it helps that i know a bit about vampire lore from all around the place)

Oh, that’s perfect! I need to offer more distinction, but here’s what I’ve got so far:

Appearance

Vampires tend to look exactly like humans, save for the longer, sharp, canine teeth, of course. Some may have retractable fangs that they can extend at will, and an even smaller few have teeth that are all fangs, in a sense. Vampires are not all pale, contrary to popular belief (just like humans, they come in all skin tones) but they all seem to have a fair amount of trouble gaining weight. Most vampires find themselves to be incredibly thin, actually. Facial features tend to be on the more angular and pointed side, although just how angular depends on where the vampire is from. Vampires generally do not have a shadow.

Health and Diet

Vampires are not carnivores. While they do need a steady supply of blood (blood from a living creature/human is better, but many can drink form the dead without falling incredibly ill), vampires can eat a fully omnivorous diet. Yes, they can live off of blood, but many stick with a normal, human-like diet for many reasons (societal pressure, monetary reasons, legal reasons).

Health-wise, vampires aren’t prone to that many diseases. Vampire immortality is an urban legend that stems from their unusually long lifespans, especially when compared to how long humans usually live. Most vampires live up to around 95 to 100, although the oldest living vampire is roughly 157 years old.

Abilities

A vampire’s abilities are not uniform. They generally stem from their genetic heritage and the traits adapted by vampires there. In some cases, vampires are transformed later in life, while some actually become vampires after their initial death. However, the most common theme is vampires that were simply born that way.

Yes, vampires can see themselves in photos, although they tend to look somewhat blurry and out of focus or washed out. They do not appear in mirrors, however.

Some vampires have the ability to take the form of creatures, the most common being birds, bats, wolves, fireflies, and flying insects (bees, moths, butterflies, and flies). Some vampires have incredible senses, strength, speed, or healing ability. Some may be able to speak to animals or be telepathic.

Hello! school starting up has delayed me a bit, so here's a ton of questions to make up for it!

How do vampires obtain a steady supply of blood? Is there some kind of blood bank that they can get "pre packaged meals" from? Is it a volunteer thing? Or something else entirely?

Can vampires have issues with straight fangs? would they need some kind of braces? how would this work for the retractable fangs?

Since vampires come in all colors, how do darker skinned vampires get vitamin D? Do they need it? if it harms them, wouldn't darker skinned vampires be able to stay in sunlight longer than paler ones?

You said vampire immortality is a urban legend, what are some other misconceptions about vampires from the rest of the world?

How do vampires get along with each other? how do they get along with other species?

Could a random mutation cause a new kind of ability to appear? How do new vampires learn these abilities? through schooling? From their parents? By themselves? What influences which abilities a vampire turned later in life/ after death gets? How common is it for a vampire to have a vampire kid?

How do vampires fight hypothermia in colder climates? their lack of body fat also means that getting hit can do a lot more damage and hurt a lot more. How do they protect themselves from this? Is weight gain a common thing to attempt in the vampire community? (think those "how to lose 20 pounds in a week!" articles in magazines, but the opposite)

Since vampires get blurred in pictures, does the same happen for video? How does this affect security systems? Its hard to catch a criminal when all recordings of them are all blurred out. Can they see their reflection in other reflective surfaces? (like water, or shiny metal?)

Are there any common jobs that vampires tend to go for?

How do vampires show off wealth? What are some fashion trends in the community?

Do vampires hide what they truly are, or are they open about it? Why?

Oh and a big one: What weaknesses do/can vampires have?

here are some weaknesses of vampires throughout their lore:
-Sunlight (can weaken, burn, blind them, or turn to them dust)
-Wild roses (if put on/around an entrance or exit, they cannot go through)
-Garlic (can burn them, repel them, or just nauseate them if ingested)
-Holy water (burns upon contact)
-Proximity to/contact with crucifixes (can weaken, cause headaches/nausea, burn, etc)
-Requires an invitation to enter an area
-Silver (burns)
-Running water (they can't cross through or over it, whether its a small trickle of water, or a stream.)
-drinking vampire blood (will cause severe vomiting)
-Arithmomania (an old trick to avoiding vampires is to toss a bunch of rice in front of them. they are compelled to count each grain one by one. You can run while they are stuck like this.)
-Salt water (same concept as holy water)

Hope that helps! :)