Forums » RP Discussion » Designing a Fictional Universe (Help Wanted)

Hello again, everyone!

It's me again!

This time I've agreed to take up yet another, even bigger project. I'm going to attempt to build a fictional universe from scratch. That's right! An entire universe! For writing and gaming purposes only, of course. I'll get into the specifics of that later. But first, let me share with you what I have written down so far, because I'm probably going to want some help for all of it. But just so you know ahead of time, this is an original creation of sorts; and a work in progress. This may turn out to be a long-term project, so please don't expect quick results on this, as I have lots and lots of work to do before it will be RPG-ready for IC exploration. Here is a roughcut # coded layout of how I want this fictional universe to look when it's finished:

Each # symbolizes 'how many' and 'which one' each # represents (as well as its 'location' on the map). For example: there are going to be at least 32 earth-like or 'inhabited' planets altogether in this realm/universe. So the above chart shows Planet#32 (the 32nd planet) as being located in System#32 (a solar system), in Arm#32 (galactic spiral arm) located in Galaxy#16, in Group#8 (group of galaxies), which is in Sector#4, in Supercluster#2, which is itself located of course within the Universe#1 (the realm). If that sounds too complicated, try this diagram instead:

There are 2 superclusters. Each supercluster has 2 sectors (for a total of 4 sectors altogether). Each sector has 2 groups (that's 8 groups altogether). Each group has 2 galaxies (which makes 16 galaxies). Each galaxy is a spiral galaxy with 2 arms. Each arm contains a solar system (32 star systems). Each system contains at least 1 habitable or earth-like planet (for a total of 32 major planets altogether). That's a lot of planets! And one big universe.

The 32 planets will be categorized into different RPG genres and sub-genres. So far, here are the ideas I had in mind for this giant fictional universe. Keep in mind though, it's still very early yet so some of these planet details might change over time:

The last 6 planets on the above list are marked with "Earth" in the description. That is because I'd like for those 6 planets to represent our most relatable world (planet Earth), in all of its many forms. Therefore, those last 6 planets on the list above will be more Earth-like than all the others on that same list. The very last one, Planet#32 (modern/realistic) will be the most Earth-like and closest to our own reality.

So, now that I've provided a very basic layout of my fictional universe; does anyone want to help me build it? lol - If so, just leave me a reply, or else send me a PM, and I'll give you a specific job or task to work on. If you don't know how to help but you have questions about anything, please ask (because it does help when people ask questions; it helps us to invent the answers). I'm looking for original creators, designers, artists and writers to help me with this project. So if you want to take part in this creation, let me know. Thanks for reading!

Sounds like an interesting concept, but what would I be doing specifically?

Hello Dtwishy!

To answer your question, you would be helping me to create and design. I need names and descriptions of each planet. Names which seem to suit the theme or genre of each planet. Original names, which aren't so common. This is just the beginning. Every planet needs inhabitants. So you would be doing me the service of designing the 32 aforementioned planets, allowing me to focus on designing other parts of the universe. World builders, loremasters, creative writers, that's what I'm looking for. Specifically, you'd be picking up my slack and helping me to create this fictional universe. Every nook and cranny. Basically.

Aight, it sounds like an interesting write, creating a world from scratch. How can I get started?

Oooh!! I'd love to help!

I'm not the best, but I'd love to pitch in ideas!

Invent names for these planets. Then invent a brief summary or description of each one:

Planet (pirates/buccaneers)
Planet (angels/demons)
Planet (nes/sega/pc/mac/atari)
Planet (gods/titans)
Planet (zombies/necromancers)
Planet (peaceful/natural)
Planet (vikings/assassins)
Planet (wizards/warlocks)
Planet (light elves/dark elves)
Planet (vampires/werewolves)
Planet (ice ages/stone age)
Planet (chinese/japanese)
Planet (westerns/shooters)
Planet (godzilla/king kong)
Planet (star wars/star trek)
Planet (marvel/dc/capcom)

Invent names for these planets. Then invent a brief summary or description of each one:

Planet (pokemon/digimon)
Planet (aliens/predators)
Planet (afterlife/graveyard)
Planet (war/military)
Planet (action/adventure)
Planet (love/romance)
Planet (mystery/crime)
Planet (drama/suspense)
Planet (fantasy/magic)
Planet (gothic/horror)
Planet (Earth; prehistory/ancient)
Planet (Earth; medieval/myth)
Planet (Earth; history/steam)
Planet (Earth; future/scifi)
Planet (Earth; modern/fictional)
Planet (Earth; modern/realistic)

Planet (Earth; medieval/myth)
Name - Fondas

The planet is primarily governed by a kingdom named Viskas. Viskas' capital city is named Neifton. Neifton, a port city in the middle of a sparse forest, is the main hub of all trade within the world and it sees all sorts of races travel to it on a daily basis. The population is primarily human, however. To the west lies seemingly endless plains. The poor farmers usually live here and overall it is a pleasant life.

To the north of that lies a scorching hot desert with a lone settlement in it. This settlement is somewhat smaller than Neifton, and is a gateway to exotic goods and spices. The settlement's populace is very seedy and is mostly comprised of humanoids who like to keep their identities concealed by wearing very protective robes.

North of the desert is the demon kingdom, to which Viskas is at war with. The region lies in almost eternal darkness and its populace is the demon. The non demons who live there are normally slaves. The demons tend to attack Neifton pretty infrequently, but when they do, it is devastating.

South of the plains lies the mountainous region. Here many outlaws live side by side with dwarven folk and this region is a close ally of Neifton as they both offer each other goods and services not offered anywhere else.

West of the plains is a heavily forested region is looked over by elven folk. Travelers tend to avoid this region due to the sheer density of the trees, not to mention how badly the elves love a good prank.

The rest of the planet is mostly ocean, with few major islands scattering the seas. It is mostly unknown to anyone on land as seafarers usually navigate by the coastline.

This planet is covered in mostly forested regions. The world was once war-torn but, a peace treaty had been signed, dividing the world into two sections. Vampires and Werewolves. The vampire region is covered in stone castles and medieval-styled architecture for the bigger clans, and small towns for the smaller ones. Although the same race, Vampires often have wars between clans. The Werewolves side is more natural, and has mountain ranges and alpine-like features.

The history of the war is quite simple. Although their planet is full of a variety of plant life, there is no meat sources, which for a long time, forced the vampires and werewolves to eat each other. This wasn't much of a problem until a well-known vampire had run out of his private blood supply. This forced him to hunt for the richest blood of the werewolves: an alpha's blood. The alpha that he chose happened to be Klyn, the alpha of the most powerful pack in their world: The Ambersky Lake Pack. Nicodemus, the Vampire, killed Klyn, outraging the werewolf society. A second werewolf, name unknown, had killed Nicodemus in his fit of rage. This reaction forced the Vampires to war with the Werewolves. The war ended when one Vampire, Ravette, realized she could access Earth, and steal humans for food. She spread the word to officials, who shared the information with the werewolves. This discovery forced them to stop the war, because the problem had been solved.

The once sacred ritual, had become a disturbing game. They transported the humans to their world, shortly after forcing them to fight and kill each other. The ones that were killed, were eaten, and the victor would be turned into either a Vampire or a Werewolf. This decision is not chosen by the victor, but The Council, who regulate the world. This 'game' would happen monthly. One human could feed about 30-40 vampires, making their blood very common. Their meat could feed about 10-20 Werewolves, who tend to be a smaller population than Vampires.

This, of course, can be edited if you don't find it suitable!

Planet (war/military)
Name - Abteranth

A world lost to thousands of years of conflict. Constant war has forced many technological advancements to be made. Space travel has not yet been achieved but soldiers on the surface are now beyond using projectile based weaponry. There are three main factions that have emerged. "Unification" is by far the most organized one, seeking to bring the world out of eternal war and into an era of peace and prosperity for citizens. Known by those who seek to stay out of the war as the "Saviors of Abteranth" their followers are mostly those sick of the endless feud. They have mediocre skills and number, but have excellent leadership and organization.

The second civilization is that of a brainwashed population. Endless streams of propaganda flow through the streets ruled by the "White Flames". Their people are told to be merciless and cruel in nature to all who oppose them. They seek to conquer the planet by means of exterminating their enemies. They are the smallest of the three factions, but make up for their size in strength. Their leader is a well-studied man who knows what he wants and has a thirst for power that will only be quenched when his people rule the world.

The third major faction is composed not of organic beings, but of machines. They call themselves the "Troiks". The Troiks are determined to achieve a perfect world. Unlike the Unification, they desire as efficient a world as possible. This means any trace of inefficiency shown in creatures will be wiped out. They are relentless in their quest to do so and will try thousands of ways to get something right. They are by no means exceptional fighters but rely on sheer numbers to overwhelm their enemies. As for leadership, there is no real leader. They work together as a collective.

The planet is smaller than that of Earth and is comprised of mostly land. Battlefields stretch for hundreds of miles and are littered with bodies of the fallen. In the wake of battle lies a growing faction of scavengers. They claim to have no allegiance, however, they are partial to Unification and will often sell them back supplies and report on their enemies locations.

Planet (peaceful/natural)
Name - Aphuriaa

A mostly tropical planet left alone for millennia. The wildlife is sparse despite the vegetation. The temperature is mild and weather shifts between hot, humid summers to cool, low humidity winters. The only signs of intelligent life on this planet are the various ancient stone temples. The temples were once used by a peaceful race of monks that came to this planet from the unknown reaches of space. They mysteriously died out over the years and thus the temples fell out of shape, being overgrown with much vegetation.

As for the planet itself, there is not much solid land, only somewhat big islands and a vast array of islands peppering the rest of the oceans. There are many caves that lead to many valuable ores, untapped by man. The ocean is generally on the shallower side, but in the deeper parts lie the Kozimos, an intelligent fish said to have been of celestial origin. Their power is immense, but they have rarely been documented. The rest of the ocean is an abundance of coral reefs teeming with schools of fish.

Any major activity by man would likely destroy the ecosystem as a whole. The fauna lives peacefully until that day approaches, if at all.

Planet (gods/titans)

Name-Tatawna

One planet, overlooking all others in the Universe. Shared by beings who'd destroy one another in the end, leaving no one to be at peace, nor at war. Constant battle horrified all residents, and tore the planet apart. The titans had created the gods, along with this planet, in which they hoped to live in harmony, and prosper for years to come.

The planet seemed to have a golden aura surrounding it.


((to be continued tomorrow.))

Both of you are doing wonderful jobs. Excellent writing to both of you. Thank you so much for helping me with this project. Keep up the great work!

I'm sorry, I forgot to say this before. Any planet labeled "Earth" in parantheses, like (Earth; medieval/myth) are actually our Earth, the planet. Sorry, I meant to tell you that. One of the 32 planets is like the one you described here. But I crossed it out. The fantasy world has already been created, so we don't need it any more. The planet you have here should have been Earth, but with a medieval theme. Don't discard what you have here though, as you could use it in another project. Just redo it and this time make it Earth.

(Earth; medieval/myth) means the setting is Planet Earth during the Middle Ages; it's not fantasy, but not quite reality either. This parallel Earth should be surreal, with myths and legends. Perhaps there are tales of dragons, but no actual dragons on the planet. Just like our historical Earth.

Perfect. I love it.

The only issue I have is with the vampire/werewolf war. They were eating each other and that was okay? I don't see the difference between the war and hunting. It's kill or be killed, either way. Could you maybe fix that? Or elaborate a little bit?

Excellent job. Looks good.

Needs more lifeforms.

Planet (fantasy/magic)
Name - Mythardia

Mythardia is a giant blue-green planet the size of Jupiter, covered mostly in water. It has one giant super-continent called Lorendor (mainland), and one tiny mini-continent called Barrendor (island); between the two continents there is only one giant Ocean which covers the whole planet. Lorendor is sometimes called Vellusia, while Barrendor is sometimes called Tellusia, and the subterranean underworld at the planet's inner core is called either Narrandor or Lunaria.

Mythardia has one golden white sun called Solsken, which has a blue ring around it which can be seen at dawn or dusk. Mythardia has one silvery Earth-like moon called Muneon, and from outer space Mythardia looks almost like the blueish grey planet Neptune.

Mythardia's surface is 79% water. The land is diverse with frozen tundras, hot lava pits, ice sheets, dry deserts, lush rain forests, dense jungles, murky swamps, green fields, golden plains, vast mountains, freshwater lakes and rivers, green hills, dark caves, and an abundance of unique species and rare wildlife.

Lorendor, Barrendor and Narrandor have some similarities and differences. Although variations of the same species do exist on Mythardia, there are many racial and cultural differences between them. Elves, drow, goblins, trolls, gnolls, gnomes, dwarves, hobbits, dragons, warlocks, wizards, unicorns, vampires, werewolves, wererats, werecats, kobolds and shroomfolk, treefolk, giants, amazons, barbarians, vikings, pirates, druids, witches, ghosts, demons and demigods all inhabit this magical world. But none are so numerous or as diverse as the human races.

[To be continued...]

Planet Earth: (modern/fictional)
Name - Farone

All kinds of fantasy creatures are accepted and loved and they live peacefully with humans. There are few conflicts but plenty of advancements in technology, medicines, and other things. If info about this planet is taken I will find a different planet to give information on.