I love this definition of science fantasy from TV Tropes!
Science Fantasy works, on the other hand, take traditional Fantasy and Science Fiction tropes and throw them in a blender, purposely creating a setting that has the feel of both. Expect to see a lot of classic Fantasy tropes (e.g. warriors with swords, dragons, wizards, castles, and elves) and a lot of standard Science Fiction tropes (e.g. spaceships, aliens, lasers, scientists, robots, and Time Travel). In any event, it's bound to include Sufficiently Analyzed Magic, Magitek, Functional Magic, Magic from Technology, and probably Scientifically Understandable Sorcery. Sometimes, it may cont…
"Euron has this really nice ship nowadays, with 500' of clear space you can land a dragon on. problem is, he's kinda stuck out there short on provisions with no way to get back to a friendly port. Take these ten tons of supplies, strap them to Drogon's back, ride out to his ship, and land on it."
Hey @FutureHistorian, question here: how would things be different if we focused on infrared weapons and countermeasures instead of bullets and missiles?
@Shalvenay Interesting. Very interesting.
You know science fantasy pic from TVTropes reminded me a bit of the movie Dragon Wars.
Yeah, just something in Media so the main character can protagonist and stuff without the military just swooping in and being competent, cause Heaven forbid that happen, ha.
It was not like the past ones or something, also that Godzilla was small. Or something... Though to me, military was incompetent. Helos should not be doing what they did, Subs should not have done what they did...
I liked Pacific Rim 2 Youtube comments, ha. From stressing scientific realism like, give up on that to "When is this becoming Transformers" to Power ranger memes.
How would a modern military proceed?
Background:
In my world, unbeknownst to humanity, all of mythology is essentially true, just exaggerated. There are many realms, and at times through history, those realms meet. Egyptian, Norse, Japanese, and Native American (and all cultures) myths all stem...
@Shalvenay? Did I get that thing to be weird and unique enough to be interesting?
I am currently trying to get a better quality version done as a solid for a friend of mine.
Now, here is one thing that is interesting. Those four jaws are actually outer jaws for grabbing small prey.
Inside them are the inner jaws that work with two sets composed of two semi-articulated jaws, one set made for eating plants and the other meant for eating animals and other types of meat.
Now, they can also emit ultrasound waves when using auditory communications.
Oh and I am thinking that their ancestors were probably ambush predators, so that helps in their development as an intelligent creature.
And they are already fast creatures by Kepler 442b's standards, despite the fact they would run more slowly compared to Earth, so.........does this mean Earth's gravity would allow them to run faster?
Because from what I can guess.......oh oh.
@FerretCivilization? Human vs Visitor in hand to hand combat. Winner?
NOTE: The Visitors need spores to reproduce and the life cycle is like that of a jellyfish.
Which come to think of it.......this means I need to change the English translation for Xwlnyn, since "Supreme Mother" implies genders exist for this species.
So, I will change it to "Supreme Guardian" as a more accurate translation, since.......well, Visitors do NOT have genders as a result of their unorthodox reproductive system.
So, Xwlnyn as "Supreme Mother" is probably a human mistranslation.
@dot_Sp0T? How is the claws for their four thick, muscular legs going to help in combat against the humans?
Considering that by Kepler 442b's standards, they are fast creatures, would they be faster on a planet with lower gravity like Earth?
Or would that be a problem for them?
For example: a small squad of organic Visitors equipped with more advanced versions of conventional weapons (particularly self-guiding bullets) engages a human platoon's worth of infantry (equipped with comventional weapons). How would their thicker claws for their thick, muscular legs benefit them on a planet like Earth, if at all?
@James? Is this assessment accurate: "The Visitors' thicker claws on their four thick, muscular legs would be an advantage over humans in combat, since they would run faster on Earth compared to Kepler 442b, since they are fast by that planet's standards already."?
".....Therefore, they could be able to move around the battlefield faster than their human opponents. Examples include taking cover faster than humans, faster mobility on the battlefield, making it harder for humans to kill them with ease, and this could mean an emphasis on mobile warfare tactics much more efficient than those of humans; not even Hitler's so-called "Blitzkrieg" tactics would be able to match the Visitors' mobility across a battlefield."
"Combined with tactics that emphasise air and orbital superiority, as well as superior firepower, any combat scenario between an organic Visitor and a human would end poorly for the humans, exacerbated only by the initial Invasion force's reliance on robotic troops and drones."
Most alien... one I've been working on is a sentient, parasitic hydrozoa type creature with the ability to bond with other (alien) species (like us) and can influence the host through thought/mood projection, which gets stronger the more integrated that it becomes with the host. closest analog in fiction I can think of is the Venom symbiote.
By hydrozoa like, I mean that each creature is made of many smaller individuals, which join together into something larger, and the more individual creatures there are, the bigger it can become. It mostly needs a host to grow and incubate, but once it gets big enough it can survive on it's own without a host.
Where it differs from the venom symbiote is that it is mostly internal, vs external, unless it is preparing to leave the host, at which point all of the individuals gather together into a single creature, which then exits through the mouth. Depending on how integrated the parasite was with the host, the host's body could shut down at this point, or the creature may attack and kill it's former host for food before heading off to find new hosts to infect.
Once individuals join together they become linked and can share thoughts and memories. They can also share with other creatures without linking, making it into what amounts to a single hive mind which occasionally has stray thoughts running around.
Well, other creatures and infected hosts.
They are weak to light, which hurts larger organisms and outright kills individuals. So it mostly hunts at night or in dark places, and encourages hosts to stay out of the sun, which slows it's growth/reproduction.
A typical outbreak starts with a single individual that comes into contact with a creature that is large enough to survive on its own, and stays in contact with it long enough to become fully infected. The organism then encourages the host to seek out cool, dark places to rest during the day, and begins exercising control at night by encouraging the host to go out and pursue their baser instincts.
It does not have the ability to force control of the host. The host is always in control, and the parasite only influences through subtle prodding of thoughts and emotions.
But because it encourages pursuit of pleasure and base instincts, it can be hard to resist, since it's what you want to do anyway.
@FutureHistorian Anyway, that's what I came up with.
On a side note, it doesn't do well with regard to infecting animals. This is partly because animals are nothing but base instincts, and so getting them to do something unnatural is hard, and partly because animals seem to sense that something is wrong, and will often self terminate, or attack an infected member.
@James Yup, I replied. This weekend would probably work, tomorrow being the best. Next weekend should be fine too, except for Friday night. Middle of next week could probably work, if it comes down to it.
We seem to have a fair few Rocheworld style questions accumulating over the years. Is it worth having a tag for them? Would enough people even recognise the tag for it to be meaningful?
Also, this is a neat saying about magic and science (and I know someone here is going to scream foul very quickly!):
“technology lets us harness the laws of nature; magic allows us to break them" Science discovers the rules, technology uses them, and magic breaks them.
Makes sense right?
Counting down to when the screaming and rioting of the naysayers start.
How would a modern military proceed?
Background:
In my world, unbeknownst to humanity, all of mythology is essentially true, just exaggerated. There are many realms, and at times through history, those realms meet. Egyptian, Norse, Japanese, and Native American (and all cultures) myths all stem...
The Factory Floor
The Factory Floor