DC Lore AMA

[TJ09]

How is it that Pumpkins can breed with Pygmies but Mints (which appear to be much smaller) can't? Would it be possible for both Mints and Pumpkins to be able tp breed with Pygmies and other dragons? That would make for some interesting lineages.

Pumpkins are pygmy-sized. Hence they fit inside (large) pumpkins.

 

Mints are not pygmy-sized. They would not fit inside a pumpkin.

 

The size of the sprite is only loosely correlated with the size of the dragon.

[TJ09]

Do the words, Valkemare, Galsmeir, Aurax and Cirion have any special meaning in the DC world's language? Or named for gods or figures in legends and myths? Do dragons have their own unique terms for these?

Yes, dragons have their own names for things.

 

Humans have their own names for places that were either named before humans and dragons openly communicated (which was some form of "long ago), or were named by factions that are mostly anti-dragon. So they have a mix of human and dragon names whose mixture varies by region.

[TJ09]

When a dragon "speaks" telepathically can they choose who hears it? For instance if they're talking to two dragons would they be able to speak privately to one or the other in addition to being able to speak to both at the same time?

And would long range telepathic communication be possible?

Private communication is possible. As for range, as with all things magic in DC, it's just a matter of how much energy/mana you put into it.

[MessengerDragon]

 

 

 

I kind of like this idea......

Or maybe some great mage had an April Fools joke get a bit out of hand...

[Dawnwing]

Does mana get "used up" when you use it (like when you light a fire, you can't use a log again once it's burned), or is it permanent? And when it gets mined/extracted/whatever, does it grow back in the same spot, or is it a finite resource?

[TJ09]

Does mana get "used up" when you use it (like when you light a fire, you can't use a log again once it's burned), or is it permanent?  And when it gets mined/extracted/whatever, does it grow back in the same spot, or is it a finite resource?

It, like any other method of storing energy, is indeed finite in that once used, mana is gone.

 

Someone asked whether or not more mana was being "produced" somewhere, and I decided to leave question open for now.

[angelicdragonpuppy]

Someone asked whether or not more mana was being "produced" somewhere, and I decided to leave question open for now.

Let's hope it is, otherwise things are gonna get pretty bleak at some point in the planet's existence ;____;

[TCA]

It could be neat if used mana evaporates but eventually coalesces somewhere back into a usable form. I dunno.

 

What would mana taste like if you decided to drink it (which is probably unwise, but still)?

[The_Bucket]

It could be neat if used mana evaporates but eventually coalesces somewhere back into a usable form. I dunno.

 

What would mana taste like if you decided to drink it (which is probably unwise, but still)?

Like the water cycle, but the mana cycle? I think this would work. Maybe mana vapors cause mutations in existing genes which is where new breeds come from?

[Dewdropmon]

Or maybe some great mage had an April Fools joke get a bit out of hand...

Maybe his or her joke created humor mana.

[MyaMouse]

I haven't solidified any of the mana-warped sub-races yet, but I can imagine whatever death mana does to the body, it probably isn't pleasant.

 

Necrosis and decay come to mind.

Esko's in for an earful. >:3

 

Got any changes to this?

[TJ09]

It could be neat if used mana evaporates but eventually coalesces somewhere back into a usable form. I dunno.

 

What would mana taste like if you decided to drink it (which is probably unwise, but still)?

I imagine it'd be very bitter and a bit thicker than water.

[TJ09]

Like the water cycle, but the mana cycle? I think this would work. Maybe mana vapors cause mutations in existing genes which is where new breeds come from?

But in the water cycle, you aren't extracting energy from the water that you use. That would break it down into oxygen/hydrogen and it wouldn't be in the water cycle anymore.

[TCA]

I imagine it'd be very bitter and a bit thicker than water.

 

is this what happens if you try to drink it anyways

[Daydreamer09]

Having two different moons would mean solar and lunar eclipses would happen twice as often, taking into account distance and size would allow them to completely block the sun as ours does.

 

Do these eclipses affect magic and mana at all?

[TJ09]

Having two different moons would mean solar and lunar eclipses would happen twice as often, taking into account distance and size would allow them to completely block the sun as ours does.

 

Do these eclipses affect magic and mana at all?

I hadn't really planned on having mana being tied in some way to the sun. Especially since mana is frequent deep within caves where solar light is uncommon.

 

Though, if the moons have mana on them, their positioning and alignment would actually affect things.

[Mondat]

One word: shapeshifting. How common is it in Valkemare?

Is there a shapeshifter community(humans who were exposed to raw mana who developed this ability, or "natural" shapeshifters that co-exist)?

Are there half-dragon humans?

[TJ09]

One word: shapeshifting. How common is it in Valkemare?

Is there a shapeshifter community(humans who were exposed to raw mana who developed this ability, or "natural" shapeshifters that co-exist)?

Are there half-dragon humans?

I'm not sure which element of mana would be thematically most likely grant shapeshifting abilities. Perhaps Magi/neutral Change.

 

Half-dragon humans that are actually half-dragon? Probably not. Humans that have some dragon-like qualities thanks to mana? That's possible, but under my current view of mana transformation, each type of mana causes a certain set of qualities to be expressed. So one would have to be able to come up with a combination of them that results in a reptilian appearance.

 

Unless I allow unique pairs of mana to have distinct effects from the individual elements. e.g. earth mana = thick skin, stockier build; water mana = gills, fish tails; water + earth mana = something completely different.

[olympe]

Thinking about it...maybe neutral / secondary dark makes sense?

 

Though that'd still mean they don't breed Avatars (neutral primary alignment).

Not trying to shoehorn in on anything, but maybe "time" and "change" would be fitting, too?

 

After all, the stuff Heartstealers "borrow" does change owner - kind of. Plus, Heartstealers do return their loot after some time. They also choose a certain time for their heists so they won't be seen.

[Leidarendi]

Is the Lagmonster from the world of Valkemare?

[Gusearth]

Are there any set "towns" or places where people live in this world yet? Or are we all vagrants? Thanks Herk!

 

EDIT: Also, would it be helpful to put a little summary in the first post, so that you aren't answering the same (or similar) questions repeatedly? Maybe just a little information in sections like "Magic", "Dragons", "Environment", etc.

Edited February 22, 2015 by gusearth1

[Herk]

Are there any set "towns" or places where people live in this world yet? Or are we all vagrants?

 

EDIT: Also, would it be helpful to put a little summary in the first post, so that you aren't answering the same (or similar) questions repeatedly? Maybe just a little information in sections like "Magic", "Dragons", "Environment", etc.

You mean like:

 

The humans of Valkemare have established a variety of settlements, ranging from lakeside villages to large cities.

 

Which is a direct quote from the Dragoncave World page linked on our scrolls/encyclopedias?

 

I'm also pretty sure TJ mentioned names of the largest citiein this thread... goes to look

 

Edit1:

There is organized society, with towns and cities. It's not all just one giant frontier (specifically the main continent has several cities; the one on the lower left with the volcano probably has some settlements, the lower right one might be unsettled? I forget).

 

The government (and this is where I'm making things up on the spot) is probably some combination of a monarchy and a republic. e.g. a king/queen with some elected council.

From page 1

 

Edit2:

As a note, this would be fun to add some location names to the biome map.  Just saying.  tongue.gif

That requires naming a bunch of things, which will eventually happen but has not yet done so in a useful capacity.

From page 2

 

So I might have been mistaken about reading names for cities here

 

For any FURTHER information you might want to skim through TJ's posts on pages 3 up to here...

Edited February 22, 2015 by herk

[TJ09]

Is the Lagmonster from the world of Valkemare?

No, it is not canon in any form.

[TJ09]

Not trying to shoehorn in on anything, but maybe "time" and "change" would be fitting, too?

 

After all, the stuff Heartstealers "borrow" does change owner - kind of. Plus, Heartstealers do return their loot after some time. They also choose a certain time for their heists so they won't be seen.

That's...a bit of a stretch. Not everything that "changes" (in that it has different beginning and end states) is related to the change element, nor does "time" apply to everything with a temporal component.

[zaverxi]

Does mana have a physical as well as incorporeal 'energy' form? Like for instance, all these mana crystals we collected over the holiday. When you use the mana, do the crystals vanish, or do they become spent and turn into simple nonmagical crystals? And can they be 'recharged' from a source? It'd be really cool if they retained physical form, they could make excellent magical foci.

 

If they do become physical, maybe the crystals are formed from a certain concentration of mana, so the fact that people find sources of mana and tap into it prevent the crystals from forming. And if they can be recharged, each one is only capable of storing energy from their original type of mana, so trying to collect from a different source wouldn't do anything.

 

It's more likely a dragon would be able to come into possession of one due to their very nature as magical creatures, and I doubt any dragon would willingly part with such a thing. Therefore, the chances of a human or other being collecting/finding one is slim. Dunno about anyone else but I don't think I'd want to fight a dragon for a mana crystal!

Edited February 23, 2015 by zaverxi