Well, it's been 24 hours and there are no new votes, so Round 2 is now ended! The results:
Cause of the Cataclysm: 1 Planar Catastrophe.
Nature of Skylands: 1 The Cataclysm created new materials that keep the skylands aloft at differing heights.
Technology:
1) There is some anti-gravity or flight-enabling material around that can be mined or gathered and used for airships or similar devices (and as plot for sinking islands). Kyslite is one option, Liftwood and Levistone are others.
2) Airships are slightly uncommon. They're expensive to build, but all major countries have a fleet of them. It's still pretty exciting to see them, though.
3) Permanent Teleportation are very rare. They tend to only exist in large cities or, occasionally, in ruins leftover from older times. There is a guild that runs them and ensures what is or isn't brought between cities.
4) There are winged mounts of various sorts, but they're not the only means of transport.
5) There are still sea ships, but some of them may also be airships as well.
6) Carriages exist and if you're not traveling by airship, you're probably traveling by carriage (if you can afford it).
7, 8) There are no trains of any sort.
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1) Skyland Size
There should be a maximum size skylands can get before bad things happen (sinking being the main one, though it’s possible earthquakes could happen with increasing severity until the skyland rips itself apart). The following sizes are for continuous land (that is, land that is in contact with itself) and not a bunch of smaller lands that are a few miles apart but make up the same size overall. When voting, keep in mind that there will need to be enough room for agriculture and industry.
A. 250,000 km^2 (97,000 sq mi). Examples: Greenland, New Guinea, Borneo, Madagascar, Baffin Island, Sumatra
B. 100,000–250,000 km2 (39,000–97,000 sq mi). Examples: Newfoundland, Victoria Island, Ellesmere Island, Cuba (main island), Iceland (main island), Great Britain
C. 20,000–100,000 km2 (7,700–38,600 sq mi). Examples: Ireland, Hokkaido, Tasmania (main island), Vancouver Island, Timor, Sicily
D. 10,000–20,000 km2 (3,900–7,700 sq mi). Examples: Bananal, Sumbawa, Flores, Jamaica, Hawai'i (Big Island), Cape Breton Island
E. 5,000–10,000 km2 (1,900–3,900 sq mi). Examples: Prince Charles Island, Cyprus, Puerto Rico, Crete, Bali, Trinidad
F. 2,500–5,000 km2 (970–1,930 sq mi). Examples: Kolguyev, West Falkland, Long Island, Gotland, Saaremaa, Réunion
G. 1,000–2,500 km2 (390–970 sq mi). Examples: Navarino Island, Alor, Biak, Skye, Tahiti, Smyley Island
H. 500–1,000 km2 (190–390 sq mi). Examples: Maya Karimata, Santa Cruz, Guam, Phú Quốc, Coiba, Rothschild Island
2) More Technology
Airships and teleportals were mentioned early on, so got the first vote. This round of technology will focus on more common items. This isn’t going to be a comprehensive list, but I think it should cover the types of technologies that could cause problems or might be in existence even if they’re in the background.
A. Alchemical Items
a. No Alchemical Items are available.
b. All Alchemical Items of 10 gp or less are available.
c. All Alchemical Items of 50 gp or less are available.
d. All Alchemical Items of 100 gp or less are available.
e. All Alchemical Items of 150 gp or less are available.
f. All Alchemical Items of 200 gp or less are available.
g. All Alchemical Items of 250 gp or less are available.
h. All Alchemical Items of 300 gp or less are available.
i. All Alchemical Items are available.
j. Alternative top gp (20, 30, 70, etc). Please state what the highest-priced Alchemical Items should be.
B. Firearms (multiple choice is allowed except with guns)
a. No Guns
b. Very Rare Guns
c. Emerging Guns
d. Commonplace Guns
e. Guns Everywhere
C. Miscellaneous
a. Items that mimic electric lamps exist.
b. Items that mimic refrigerators exist.
c. Items that mimic toilets exist.
d. Items that mimic record players (Victrola-style) exist.
e. Items that mimic telegraphs exist.
f. Items that mimic radio exist.
g. Items that mimic television exist.
h. Items that mimic central heating exist.
i. Items that mimic central air exist.
j. Horseless carriages exist.
k. Factories exist.
3) Flora (multiple choice)
a. Most (or all) Earth-like plants exist.
b. Some Earth-like plants exist.
c. Few Earth-like plants exist.
d. Almost no Earth-like plants exist.
e. Flying or floating plants exist.
f. Darkwood, Liftwood, Living Steel, and Wyroot exist.
4) Fauna (multiple choice)
a. Winged variants of terrestrial creatures exist. These creatures resemble their earth-bound counterparts except for having a set of wings.
b. Gryph variants of terrestrial creatures exist. Gryphs have the forequarters and wings of an avian, and the hindquarters of a mammal.
c. “Flying” sea creatures exist. Things normally associated with the sea (such as whales, sharks, man-o-wars, and so on) can fly at a rate equal to their swim rate. The process keeping them aloft is a supernatural ability. In the case of fish and similar creatures, they gain the amphibious quality.
d. Most flying fantasy creatures (rocs, giant eagles, etc.) exist.
e. Dragons exist and are True Dragons.
f. Dragons exist but are Feral Dragons.
g. Standard Pathfinder animals and magical beasts exist.
5) Guilds (multiple choice except for e)
a. There is a wayfarer’s guild that controls the teleportals.
b. There is a skyfarer’s guild that controls the airships.
c. There are magical guilds that deal with magitech.
d. There are regular guilds (miners, crafters, etc.) that control their respective profession.
e. There are no guilds.
6) Deities
a. There are no deities.
b. Deities were weakened by the Cataclysm. Few remain.
c. Deities were weakened by the Cataclysm, but many remain.
d. Deities were affected by the Cataclysm, but they are recovering.
e. Deities were unaffected by the Cataclysm or have regained their former strength.
7) Healing magic
a. Reserved for only divine casters.
b. Can be used by both arcane and divine casters.
quick thing about floating islands, and ignore this if you want, but a combination of altitude sickness and what is effectively sea sickness in the air (because of the floating) could make life suck unless everyone is being somehow magically protected from things like that.
1) A
2a) I
2b) E
2c) all
3) A, E, F
4) C, F, G
5) A, B, C, D
6) A
7) B (we already have the bard doing it)
1: C as I have said before nothing larger than Ireland and most islands are actually smaller than that.
2: A-i No restrictions to Alchemy.
B-c Emerging guns while most still use older bows and swords.
C-yes to everything except g but much of it occurs with greater frequency in more advanced societies and may be rare at best in the more rural zones.
3: b, e, and f
4: Yes to all. Flying sea creatures probably have a gland filled with lighter than air stuff (Helium Sac, Levistone in their gall bladder, ect)
5: a, b, and c. There should be more than one airship guild. Perhaps with each airship guild specializing in a different sort of airship. Perhaps even glider like airplanes. Engines being Magitech or bound elementals... petroleum would be unlikely to form on such a world and so modern fuel or plastics would be impossible.
6: I am torn... so I vote for either c or d whichever one has the most support.
7: Pathfinder standard here.
I doubt sea sickness would exist. People can adapt easily to the floating motion and since everyone is born under such conditions it probably would only happen in the rarest cases.
Pressure sickness is another matter. I imagine you would need Magitech devices to go very high above the clouds or very deep into the lower maelstrom.
1) Skyland Size
C. 20,000–100,000 km2 (7,700–38,600 sq mi).
I see only half a dozen (not all of which may be known to civilisation) being this big, most being a range of the smaller sizes; there would be quite a lot in categories D-F.
2) More Technology
Airships and teleportals were mentioned early on, so got the first vote. This round of technology will focus on more common items. This isn’t going to be a comprehensive list, but I think it should cover the types of technologies that could cause problems or might be in existence even if they’re in the background.
A. Alchemical Items
i. All Alchemical Items are available.
B. Firearms
c. Emerging Guns
Cannons should definitely exist though, being standard equipment on skyships for the more advanced nations.
C. Miscellaneous
i. Items that mimic central air exist.
3) Flora
b. Some Earth-like plants exist.
e. Flying or floating plants exist.
f. Darkwood, Liftwood, Living Steel, and Wyroot exist.
4) Fauna (multiple choice)
a. Winged variants of terrestrial creatures exist. (some)
c. “Flying” sea creatures exist. (some)
d. Most flying fantasy creatures (rocs, giant eagles, etc.) exist.
e. Dragons exist and are True Dragons. (But away from the main inhabited areas)
g. Standard Pathfinder animals and magical beasts exist. (but not all - no need to cram in everything from every bestiary!)
5) Guilds
a. There is a wayfarer’s guild that controls the teleportals. - just one international guild, which is probably related to a magical school
b. There is a skyfarer’s guild that controls the airships - probably two-three of these.
c. There are magical guilds that deal with magitech - again related to arcane schools (necromancy providing skeleton workers etc. - skeleton ponies would be very efficient in mines)
d. There are regular guilds (miners, crafters, etc.) that control their respective profession. - yes, but probably local to each nation or city state
6) Deities
b. Deities were weakened by the Cataclysm. Few remain. (not a strong preference, however - second choice would be e.)
7) Healing magic
a. Reserved for only divine casters. (i.e. I see no need to change from the Pathfinder standard for this).
I doubt sea sickness would exist. People can adapt easily to the floating motion and since everyone is born under such conditions it probably would only happen in the rarest cases.
Pressure sickness is another matter. I imagine you would need Magitech devices to go very high above the clouds or very deep into the lower maelstrom.
Agreed.
On earth we exist happily from sea level up to around 28,000 feet if we have a chance to adapt.(8.5 km or 5 miles). Certainly exploring the highest skylands would be problematic, though there would be some species (both PC and non-humanoid/beasties) that are better adapted to high altitudes.
1)B If you’ve ever played Sim earth, all small islands is a headache.
2) Ai I’m in favor of more powerful acids and fires existing.
----Bc Meaning cannon and flintlock are common while shotguns and shells are treasure like in Outlaw Star.
----C No j. I prefer chariots, wagons, coaches, ect. Flying ones are rare.
3) a (none of that “You can’t say you’re a Limey because there are no limes” garbage!)
----e yes
----f only if they have the floating mineral in them.
4) g. Also h for homebrew. My floating eyeballs, Ooglers refuse to be ignored!
5) a-d
6) e but some died in the cataclysm.
7) a except for nonstandards such as vampiric touch and my idea for negate deathblow.
Abjuration may be hated and feared. Their school may be hidden in the storm clouds near the ninja villages. Nonstandard schools like elemental and the time school may have influence. Especially if a wizard from the future warned of the cataclysm.
Goth Guru cast the last vote for this round yesterday, so unless there's some more voting this round will end at midnight tonight. The voting thus far:
1) Skyland Size
C has two votes
B has one direct vote
B with a few A has one vote
A has one vote
2) More Technology
Ai has five votes
Bc has four votes
Be has one vote
C (all) has three votes each (except G and J* which have two votes each and I**, which has four)
*I’m not sure if Goth Guru means all the other techs exist except j. **I’m assuming sgriobhadair only wants I.
3) Flora
E and F both have five votes.
A has three votes.
B has two votes.
(none of that “You can’t say you’re a Limey because there are no limes” garbage!)
This is exactly why I provided option A.
only if they have the floating mineral in them.
Since plants tend to metabolize the minerals around them, my assumption for flying plants was that some plants have the floating mineral in them to the point they can fly around (that or it’s somehow magically become a part of them). I imagine they’ve developed roots that can filter in moisture from the air. Since minerals generally don’t exist in the air much, most of them are probably carnivorous, though there could be some that filter feed on microbes with their roots. I’m not sure how ‘flying, carnivorous plants’ might strike people, though. I can imagine players would not be pleased to have their characters die from being eaten by a giant, flying Venus flytrap or flying assassin vines with corpses around anchored to its roots in the air.
4) Fauna
G has five votes.
C has three direct votes and one qualified vote.
D and E have three votes each.
A has two direct votes and one qualified vote.
F has two votes.
B has one vote.
H (homebrew) has one vote.
Flying sea creatures probably have a gland filled with lighter than air stuff (Helium Sac, Levistone in their gall bladder, ect)
*nods* They’d probably be hunted for such. If the flying whales have oil, it could provide the magical lift needed and work as either an ingredient in, or the whole of, flying and levitation potions and oils (whether it provides flight or levitation probably would depend on the percentage of oil used).
but not all - no need to cram in everything from every bestiary!
I have real issues with settings that try to cram in the entire fantasy kitchen sink of creatures. Ecology and evolution will not allow it. That said, I do not want to hold a vote for every animal and magical beast. I really doubt true dragons could exist close to the main areas without there being major issues.
Also h for homebrew. My floating eyeballs, Ooglers refuse to be ignored!
Option B was also going to involve some interesting homebrew, so never fear including them—the eyes can have it!
On reflection I probably should have put dragons as a separate option to allow the “no dragons” option. Oh well.
5) Guilds
B and C have five votes.
A and D have four votes.
With the guilds there is likely at least one of B and C in each nation, possibly a couple rival guilds of each. D is likely to vary on exact guilds by nation, but as sgriobhadair mentioned, there will probably be a couple within a nation. A may or may not be international. If there is some sort of rivalry with A things could get ugly.
There should be more than one airship guild. Perhaps with each airship guild specializing in a different sort of airship. Perhaps even glider like airplanes. Engines being Magitech or bound elementals... petroleum would be unlikely to form on such a world and so modern fuel or plastics would be impossible.
*nods* That certainly makes sense and it reflects a lot of actual history where guilds were often in charge of very specific things. Plastics and petrol would probably not be needed with magic around anyway.
6) Deities
D has one direct vote and one supportive vote (since no one else voted for c).
E has one direct vote and one second-choice vote (since no one else voted for b and the vote for b is not strong).
A has one vote.
If D and E remain as they are, I’m going with some deities died in the Cataclysm, but overall they have since recovered.
7) Healing magic
A has four votes (with one stipulation allowing non-standard things such as vampiric touch)
B has one vote
Not knowing ahead of time what the state of the deities (who tend to be the source of healing magic) was going to be, I felt it would be a good idea to float the possibility of having arcane casters with access to healing spells. As has been mentioned, Bards and Witches are both examples of arcane healers. On a personal level, I’ve never understood why wizards (who study the planes) can access the negative energy plane but not the positive one. The only explanations tend to revolve around people simply not liking the idea to the “deities did it”. I tend to prefer explanations that don’t involve invoking deity fiat and "just because" isn't better.
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So many options... failing Fortitude check vs. paralysis.
Consensus looks pretty good. I've already spoken on the subject of guilds; suffice to say, I like the idea that guilds are the real power in the setting (governments cave under their weight and influence).
Yes, I was voting for all of them except J. Cars, like trains, require a large landscape to be worthwhile.
1: A can work, but there should be a very small number of islands that size. Most should be smaller, probably much smaller.
2A: H.
2B: C.
2C: All exist, but some are rarer than others.
3: A, E, F.
4: All.
5: A, B, C, D.
6: D, and they are all trying to finish their recovery.
7: B.
I think this takes the latest votes into account. Let me know if I seem to be off:
1) Skyland Size
C has two votes
B has two direct votes
B with a few A has one vote
A has two votes
2) More Technology
Ai has five votes
Ae has one vote
Ah has one vote
Bc has six votes
Be has one vote
C (all) has four votes each (except G and J which have two votes each and I**, which has five)
**I’m assuming sgriobhadair only wants I.
3) Flora
E and F both have six votes.
A has five votes.
B has two votes.
4) Fauna
G has six direct votes and one qualified vote.
C has four direct votes and one qualified vote.
D and E have three votes each.
A has two direct votes and one qualified vote.
F has two votes.
B has one vote.
H (homebrew) has one vote.
5) Guilds
B has seven votes.
A and D have six votes.
C has five votes.
6) Deities
D has two direct votes and one supportive vote (since no one else voted for C).
E has one direct vote and one second-choice vote.
A and B have one vote.
7) Healing magic
A has five votes (with one stipulation allowing non-standard things such as vampiric touch)
B has two votes.
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So many options... failing Fortitude check vs. paralysis.
Consensus looks pretty good. I've already spoken on the subject of guilds; suffice to say, I like the idea that guilds are the real power in the setting (governments cave under their weight and influence).
It's okay. I tend to get a little intense when it comes to world-building. I also figure if I'm going to have votes, there should be plenty of options.
*nods* Governments could be unofficially ruled by guilds (or even officially ruled in some places). This could make for interesting possibilities in cases of corrupt guilds or folks trying to break the stranglehold guilds have over the government and economy.
Yes, I was voting for all of them except J. Cars, like trains, require a large landscape to be worthwhile.
Okay, I wanted to be sure, though I might point out that B and C-sized land masses can and do have trains and cars on our world. That said, this is an essentially sky-based setting. Keeping folks on land defeats the point.
Gone this weekend. :(
Still posting thoughts if they might help.
I counted them in since technically Gwaithador extended things by voting for two, even though I'm not sure what that means.
I'd want the large islands to remain stable. Now, are there any in orbit? A slow, piloted floating-city sort of island fortress as per Malazan Book of the Fallen would be extremely fun.
I don't see why not. The repulsion force of kyslite can't be too great or the whole setting comes apart. There's already been suggestions of island wrangling, and if the skylands can form stable orbits like moons around a planet, then there could be some very interesting set-ups.
These are all baselines. Different cultures should have different strengths and relative tech rarities - maybe the High Fantasy, mystic island has a lot more magic and never needed to develop their science, while those with less magic made more tech; et cetera.
*nods* I'm not saying these are necessarily universal technologies, but I wanted a good feeling for what people would be willing to have here. I think these cover most of the "modern" sorts of technologies that could be around.
I dislike (a) and (b) but will support them only for pegasi and gryphons. No winged bunnies. I *strongly* support (c) and believe their young should be incapable of flight, being raised in sky oceans. Was also thinking of the gas sacs, actually. Dragons should be unique enough to be extinct or dying out. Tentatively (g), standard PF animals and beasts, unless it would not make sense for several to be around.
C and G have the most amounts of votes while A and B have the least. I don't see any reason their young couldn't start out in floating oceans - probably in safe places. Like I said, I don't want a fantasy kitchen sink of critters, but I don't want to have a vote for every single beastie either. I think having a sensible number of critters from the Beastiary works.
Weakened deities make for so much more plot material - what happened to most, and what will the survivors do? What will the people do on their own? (b) is a strong choice. There could be cults and temples worshipping deities that are dead - that, too, can be used. What if something took the place of a dead deity and people never noticed? What if several fresh sources for power appeared, creating multiple opportunities for ascension?
*nods* Things replacing deities could explain the powers behind Witches. I'm going to hold a vote for the amount of deities and I can put the ascension and alternative powers in too.
I don't believe everyone and their mother should be able to spam Resurrection (is that healing?), cheapening what life loss feels like.
I would never argue Resurrection should be easy. Frankly it annoys me how often heroes and villains in comics get raised from the dead. It cheapens heroic sacrifices. As I mentioned earlier, my only objection to disallowing arcane casters from healing is that they can cast from the negative energy plane and theoretically ought to be able to research how to cast from the positive energy plane as well. There's never a good explanation that they can't.
C (all) has four votes each (except G and J which have two votes each and I**, which has five)
**I’m assuming sgriobhadair only wants I
Yes ... I'm not a big fan of widespread magitech, but given the nature of the world, chaining elemental power to keep air moving seems kind of appropriate.
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I don't think people realize just how big Ireland actually is. For you people in the US that is roughly the size of Indiana. Yes big enough for train and cars... and capable of massive amounts of agriculture. This is why I didn't want anything bigger. If you get any bigger then being on a sky island is no different than a normal campaign setting. I mean if all of Golarion is one island and all of the Sword Coast another island... then it kind of spoils the setting for me.
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I don't think people realize just how big Ireland actually is. For you people in the US that is roughly the size of Indiana. Yes big enough for train and cars... and capable of massive amounts of agriculture. This is why I didn't want anything bigger. If you get any bigger then being on a sky island is no different than a normal campaign setting. I mean if all of Golarion is one island and all of the Sword Coast another island... then it kind of spoils the setting for me.
To reinforce Aranna's point ... medieval Ireland contained EIGHT kingdoms (and five city-states). It would take a medieval army on foot (est. 18 miles per day), forced marching every day, not needing to forage, around EIGHTEEN DAYS to cover that distance. For regular travellers, it would take more like a month unless the roads were excellent. Even for a well supplied cavalry regiment it would take around eleven days.
The skylands need to be somewhat limited in size because otherwise there would never be significant reason for trade and travel between them.
change my vote for 1 to D, they have a compelling argument.
So many options... failing Fortitude check vs. paralysis.
I know!
And I can't believe I didn't find this before now! INDAGARE WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE... D:<
Anyway:
1) A-C; if it's a "hard limit" on sizes, I'll go with "A" - if, on the other hand, we're talking about typical sizes, my answer is somewhere in the range of B or C.
2) Ai, Be, Ca-k
- the availability of Alchemical items is a bit misleading, as what I'm trying to root for is that governments and guilds with lots of resources can afford things purely based on their financial power that most people would never come close to being able to touch
- Firearms: sky pirate alchemists. SKY. PIRATE. ALCHEMISTS. eeeeeeeevrywheeeeeeere
- Household Tech: Yes, all those things exist. Maybe even mp3-players or iPod-style players (i.e. small metal bits that use a pre-recorded suite of ghost sounds/songs on command)
3) a, e, f
- Flora: all of it. ALL THE FLORA. EDIT: *
4) b, c, f [caveat: I am envisioning creatures of the dragon type*], g
- Fauna: as noted above, I'm envisioning the other creatures of the dragon type rather than true dragons (which may well exist, but be entirely relegated to the depths below for "reasons"), though things like Behirs also would count (and would get something like a lesser version of the half-dragon template, probably blue dragon, and thus could fly, because that's kind of important; otherwise they'd likely be found on only a few islands, or where foolish wizards had exported/imported them; as for the normal PF menagerie, I would suggest they exist, though probably at least somewhat limited by location and mobility; GRYPHS RULE THE WORLD (secretly)
- EDIT 2: also giant eagles and other large raptors as mounts make a lot of sense
5) a-d
- Guilds: yes, they all exist, probably, though some might be greater or less powers than others; I kind of like the Eberron idea of Dragonmarked houses, actually, for the way in which these guilds work
6) c
- Gods: I am envisioning lots of very minor spirits and powers, as well as rather minor gods and godlings (or rather greatly weakened gods); the Lar, for example, would be relatively common things, and rather typical of the kind of thing I mean; Telthor as well, for that matter. There would be genuine deities, but they'd probably be relagated to mythic creatures with the divine source stuff (and a single legendary item as something related to their symbol/weapon); these are actually ideas I'm using in my own recently-crafted home-brew setting, so they're things I'd kind of like to see proliferate a bit
7) a, c
- only divine spellcasters have healing magic (outside of evil effects), but also "c" is for Other: alchemists (and artificers, if they're separate) can heal; further, divine healing is necessarily limited, by virtue of the deities being so much weaker; on the other hand, I could be swayed by this, but if so, I'd vote for a radically divergent style of magical stuff: I could see bards and witches being "the arcanists casters", while most other casters were banned (though maybe druids or similarly oddly-themed casters remain?). Anyway, barring interest in the latter style of ideas (if not specifics) my vote is for a/c.
* EDIT: This brings up an interesting point, though: sources of water in the world at large. While clouds are suspended water, too much of a good thing is too much: that much constant cloud activity everywhere, plus the amount of precipitation necessary to maintain a solid and diverse biome on a flying island could well cause problems with minor radiation (it's been years since I've seen anyone actually look ; it's also not likely that people will run into many standing bodies of water; it's also very likely that people will not be able to have ever seen waterfalls. But I like my overly-diverse floating island biomes and iconic floating-island waterfalls, dang it!
Thus, I propose two solutions: one a form of parasite that eats radiation. It's probably got a certain preferred altitude, and for that altitude, it consumes radiation in a very large area, thus mitigating or outright negating any problems that come with it. This can be in the background so people don't have to worry about it... but it can also explain why people don't go below the cloud-cover, for, in addition to other dangers, there's this mysterious poisonous light that destroys and wastes everything it touches, corrupting and harming all (save those who are naturally resistant to it, of course, such as True Dragons... who are also kind of dependent on it to exist...)
The second is actually substantially more banal and even outright obvious in terms of game mechanics - it could very well even be that such things were purposefully place by some sort of water-elemental-touched benevolent deity, explicitly so that mortals (and all creatures) could continue to survive and flourish across the world. Of course, that means that if the wrong disjunction goes off at the wrong time, an island or continent may well find itself exceedingly short on water supplies.
Also, they can now have standing water and waterfalls. Dang it. :D
Also, some important re-posting of ideas that mine are at least somewhat based off of. EDIT 2: or at least are inspired by.
#9 has got my imagination going quite well, on a number of areas.
I envision some kind of magical ore or mineral; let's call it kyslite. Large masses of kyslite repel each other, so a continent which contains a lot of kyslite in its rocks would be repelled from the core of the planet, and settle at an altitude where the repulsion of the kyslite is in equilibrium with the attraction of gravity. This same repulsion would prevent continents from drifting into each other.
The kyslite could be mined and used as a source of buoyancy for some flying machines (although others would be directly levitated by magic, and some carried by a group of flying creatures in harnesses). There may be an older continent that was over-mined and started to sink, being abandoned by those who could, leaving the rest to fend off the nightmares they discovered down in the lower clouds.
It's the 'field' surrounding the kyslite that creates dense clouds and mist, so that each large continent is always surrounded and sits upon hundreds of miles of cloud.
With similar logic, a large continent would likely have one or more satellites, at most big enough to only hold a nation or two, orbiting the main continent at a more-or-less fixed distance, probably a few hours' flying by suitable methods from the nearest 'shore'.
The drift of the main continents relative to each other would be predictable; so we might expect our main continent to see a couple of others over the space of a year, remaining within reach of flying animals for a few days at a time. Academics who studied and predicted exactly what landmass would be within reach when, would be in high esteem. Occasionally an unknown landmass (or one that is only seen every so-many-years) would show up.
It might be that a large mass of rock buds off from the planet's molten core and rises relatively quickly through the clouds to take up a high altitude as a new island or continent; but over hundreds of millennia the kyslite decays, so younger continents are higher up, and gradually sink over expanses of time. Ancient creatures like dragons dwell on the oldest continents that have sunken into the clouds (but the odd one might appear in the upper lands, flown up from the depths).
The largest continents will probably have some lakes or even seas on their surfaces, although full-scale ships are probably quite rare.
... but how without the earth-shattering kaboom? SCIENCE!
Fascinating stuff behind Sgriobhadair's ore theory for #9.
Of course, lots of this shouldn't be exactly known to many inhabitants in the area, who'd think the continents float due to mystical/magical reasons.
Some more thoughts behind how 'Kyslite' might work...
Repulsion is still necessary, although a few more things are needed for this to function correctly without everything floating out of control. Firstly, Kyslite itself must exert its effect at very specific altitudes. So beneath altitude Y it becomes extremely buoyant, and above this altitude it has a normal weight; the mineral for each island is 'keyed in' to different altitudes through a harmless process of decay.
Building on that floating ore idea, I'd think it needs to be water-soluble. And, combined with a second ore, it forms a solid-permeable compound. Why is this, you ask?Well, mostly since water runoff and soil erosion go hand-in-hand. Over only a few decades, precipitation can wash arable soil down mountaintops, which is why deforestation is such a large issue in third-world mountain communities. If you were to create a self-sustaining ecology floating in the sky, some mechanism needs to exist that prevents water from leeching soil down from these sky islands.
This brings us to water-soluble 'Kyslite.'
What does this do? When dissolved in water it creates a suspension only slightly more viscous than normal water, but amplifies water cohesion greatly on a large scale, and grants the suspension the same buoyant properties. Also, it's harmless for most creatures, which excrete the mineral rather quickly. That's okay; just a few more weird things water does.
So how would this affect geography?
You could have floating mini-oceans filled with dissolved Kyslite, anchored to their respective land masses by massive amounts of adhesion. So excess water pools out for a few kilometers around the island and evaporates like normal. Convection brings the suspended minerals back to land, where it forms deposits like limestone.
One brief following mechanism: Sky island rises too high -> Kyslite gains weight -> Washes down with water -> Deposits at base of island -> Island sinks -> Kyslite gains buoyancy -> Rises through soil+stone to top of island, repeat cycle.
Some of the local flora might metabolize the stuff for food, sequestering it with another mineral into a compound... which is where things could start going wrong for plot-related reasons. Say, for example, that Kyslite can only permeate inorganic solids while in the form of this compound, and that's why sky islands float - all the soil and minerals contain trace amounts. When exposed to sunlight, the compound breaks down into Kyslite and this Mineral 2; and the sunlight activates the Kyslite, renewing its properties.
Still with me? The island runs into problems when sequestration doesn't happen - maybe the plants die, or Mineral 2 is extremely rare and therefore mined by greedy people, or Kyslite deposits are extremely rare and also mined, like the melange from Dune. It could take centuries before the Kyslite becomes inactive, but taking solid Kyslite from rare deposit sites removes it from the picture.
Which leads to sinking sky-islands.
Which, since people don't like the mini-oceans works relatively well when combined with my idea of artificial water then driving the cycle. Especially if you put some sort of semi-artificial (though probably not caused by the inhabitants in most cases) wind-system that can catch, fragment, and possibly re-transport cloud systems up (I dunno, something like a combination constant gust of wind effect and a wind wall or something, maybe). Barring that, it's possible the the kysilite is constantly produced by, say, a mythic major creation or, even better, since we're going with planar calamity as a theme, perhaps some sort of extended/mythic shades () effect continuously generated. Perhaps it's generated as a subconscious reaction by the parasites I mentioned above, as a manner of keeping themselves alive... though I guess that's kind of weird and unrealistic, because it would mean that all mortals actually are kind of super-reliant on an alien organism they know nothing about... wait.
Regardless, I tend to favor the kyslite over, say, levitate, because kyslite can be explained away as having properties different from levitate that doesn't have that magic's strict limitations, and the island won't be likely to crash, quake, or break apart with an errant dispel magic... unless we want magic to be wild, dangerous, and frightening outside of it's technological bounds, in which case that's my vote. :D
I think what Katydid is getting at is that the various islands rise and fall gradually over time, but keep an average altitude thanks to a compound formed of kyslite and some other mineral. These are both located in all soil to some degree, but they also go into water so that each floating island also has a floating ocean around its edges. Eventually evaporation happens, breaking down the compound, recharging kyslite and redepositing both so the cycle starts over.
Both the kyslite and mineral x are needed to keep the islands from sinking. Mining deposits of either one removes it from the natural process and thus can cause bad things to happen (the most obvious of which is the island permanently getting lower).
The overall idea seems to be that while kyslite might repel, it's not strong enough to tear the islands apart bit by bit (which may be due in part to the second mineral).
Good reading comprehension. EDIT: which is to say, that's basically what I got out of it it, too. :)
Round 3
1.a
2.A-j
2.B-e
2.C- a thru k
3.a & e
4.a,b,c,d & g
5.e
6.e
7.b
If most Skylands are too small for cars and trains being needed, the idea won't catch on.
I don't remember a vote on floating bodies of water. They could have a solid core of kyslite or coral with the active material locked up in their bones.
High magic fallout could be the radiation that recharges kyslite, causes mutation, and is toxic only to pure strain humans. If you find a magic lamp, don't wish for your skyland to rise, just up an ability by 3. The fallout will recharge the kyslite just fine.
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Indagare - time for round 4?
I only just discovered these ... some larger versions might be a fun navigational hazard
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/bestiary3/flumph.html#_flumph
Indagare - time for round 4?
I only just discovered these ... some larger versions might be a fun navigational hazard
linking the flumphy, flumphy goodness
Indagare - time for round 4?
I only just discovered these ... some larger versions might be a fun navigational hazard
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/bestiary3/flumph.html#_flumph
It is. I want to tally everything and then I'll start it. At least one of the items will be the skyseas. Sorry for the delay, I've been busy.
|
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Indagare - time for round 4?
I only just discovered these ... some larger versions might be a fun navigational hazard
linking the flumphy, flumphy goodness
Only just discovered these? Adam would be sad
I don't understand the appeal of flumphs.
:(
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The final votes for round three are tallied! Thanks for being so interested so far!
1) Skyland Size
C has two direct votes [Aranna, sgriobhadair] and two supportive votes [Tacticslion, Katydid]
B has two direct votes [Goth Guru, Katydid] and two supportive votes [Cr500cricket, Tacticslion]
A has one direct vote [scary harpy] and three qualified votes [Cr500cricket, Evan Tarlton, Tacticslion]
D has one direct vote [Air0r] and one supportive vote [sgriobhadair]
The largest number of skylands are in the C-sized range. B-sized skylands exist but are not as common, and not generally much larger than Iceland. Most of the qualified votes for A argue that the number of A-sized skylands is limited, perhaps no more than 2-4 of them in the whole world. These huge skylands are likely rumors or myths and have specific names.
2) More Technology
A. Alchemical Items
I has five votes. [Cr500cricket, Air0r, Aranna, sgriobhadair, Goth Guru, Tacticslion]
E has one vote. [Katydid]
H has one vote. [Evan Tarlton]
J has one vote. [scary harpy]
All alchemical items exist.
B. Firearms
C has six votes. [Cr500cricket, Aranna, sgriobhadair, Goth Guru, Katydid, Evan Tarlton]
E has three votes. [Air0r, Tacticslion, scary harpy]
Firearms are an emerging technology.
C. Miscellaneous
All [Cr500cricket, Air0r, Aranna (sans G), Goth Guru (sans J), Evan Tarlton, Tacticslion, scary harpy]
I [sgriobhadair]
Katydid –no vote
Most types of technologies we know in modern times exist as magitech or magic items. This is only true in certain areas, and some far-flung realms don’t necessarily have these.
3) Flora
E has nine votes. [Cr500cricket, Air0r, Aranna, sgriobhadair, Goth Guru, Katydid, Evan Tarlton, Tacticslion, scary harpy]
F has eight votes. [Cr500cricket, Air0r, Aranna, sgriobhadair, Goth Guru, Katydid, Evan Tarlton, Tacticslion]
A has seven votes. [Cr500cricket, Air0r, Goth Guru, Katydid, Evan Tarlton, Tacticslion, scary harpy]
B has two votes. [Aranna, sgriobhadair]
All Earth-like plants exist, as well as flying plants, as well as exotic-material plants.
4) Fauna
G has nine votes. [Cr500cricket, Air0r, Aranna, sgriobhadair, Goth Guru, Katydid, Evan Tarlton, Tacticslion, scary harpy]
C has eight votes. [Cr500cricket, Air0r, Aranna, sgriobhadair, Katydid, Evan Tarlton, Tacticslion, scary harpy]
A and D have five votes. [Cr500cricket, Aranna, sgriobhadair, Evan Tarlton, scary harpy]
B has four votes. [Aranna, Evan Tarlton, Tacticslion, scary harpy]
E has four votes. [Cr500cricket, Aranna, sgriobhadair, Evan Tarlton]
F has four votes. [Air0r, Aranna, Evan Tarlton, Tacticslion]
H (for home brew) has one vote. [Goth Guru]
Pathfinder animals and magical beasts are going to exist where appropriate. This covers a lot of things (such as pegasi, hippogryphs, and others). Dragons are going to be relegated to the far-off corners.
5) Guilds
B and D have eight votes. [Cr500cricket, Air0r, Aranna, sgriobhadair, Goth Guru, Katydid, Evan Tarlton, Tacticslion]
A has seven votes. [Air0r, Aranna, sgriobhadair, Goth Guru, Katydid, Evan Tarlton, Tacticslion]
C has seven votes. [Cr500cricket, Air0r, Aranna, sgriobhadair, Goth Guru, Evan Tarlton, Tacticslion]
E has one vote. [scary harpy]
Though the exact guilds probably vary from area to area, most common types of guilds are present, and there are one or more skyship guilds. There is at least one guild that deals with the teleportals (there may be more), and there are guilds that deal with magitech.
6) Deities
E has two direct votes. [Goth Guru, scary harpy] and one strong supporting vote [sgriobhadair]
D has two direct votes. [Cr500cricket, Evan Tarlton] and one supporting vote [Aranna] (since ‘c’ has only one vote)
B has two direct votes. [sgriobhadair, Katydid]
C has one vote. [Tacticslion]
A has one vote. [Air0r]
Deities were affected by the Cataclysm, but they are almost recovered. Some of them died in the Cataclysm, however.
7) Healing magic
A has six votes [Cr500cricket, Aranna, sgriobhadair, Goth Guru, Katydid, Tacticslion]
B has three votes [Air0r, Evan Tarlton, scary harpy]
Only the usual classes with healing magic will have access to healing magic.
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I try to go by interest or to make sure to address any glaring logical issues. If you feel something should be addressed, let me know and I'll include it in a round of voting.
*
*
I) World Features
1) Skyseas
A) Do not exist.
B) Exist only around skylands.
C) Can exist on their own.
D) Only exist on their own (never near a skyland).
2) Layers*
A) All layers of the world (from inner core to exosphere) are habitable.
B) The most habitable layers range from roughly the outer core to the thermosphere.
C) The most habitable layers range from roughly the mesospheric mantle/lower mantle to the mesosphere.
D) The most habitable layers range from roughly the asthenosphere/upper mantle to the stratosphere.
E) The most habitable layers range from roughly the lithosphere/crust to the troposphere.
*I am very specifically not giving either the miles or kilometers this would cover. In first place, the size of the world has yet to be determined. In the second place, I am not sure that the usual definitions for these would work for a setting with a broken world. I am open to suggestions by folks more knowledgeable than myself in such matters.
3) Planet size
A) The planet is small(.1 - .5 Earth masses).
B) The planet is medium (.5 - 2 Earth masses).
C) The planet is large (2 - 10 Earth masses).
D) The planet is huge (10 - 50 Earth masses).
E) The planet is gargantuan (50 - 100 Earth masses).
4) Seasons and weather (multiple choice)
A) Deities are responsible for the weather and seasons experienced by the skylands.
B) Metaphysics (self-contained planar breaches, spell-like effects, etc) is responsible for the weather and seasons experienced by the skylands.
C) Natural phenomenon (water cycle, microbes, etc) is responsible for the weather and seasons experienced by the skylands.
II) Deities and Planes
1) Pantheon(s)*
A) There is one, world-wide pantheon with mixed races.
B) There are several pantheons with mixed races.
C) Each race has its own pantheon, but that pantheon is the same world-wide.
D) Each race has its own pantheon, but that pantheon varies from region to region.
2) Planes (multiple choice)
A) There are Outer Planes.
B) There are Inner Planes.
C) There are Transient Planes.
D) The Prime has also become a type of Plane thanks to the Cataclysm.
*The number and types of deities and planes can be voted on in the next round.
III) Astronomy
1) Sun(s)
A) There is one sun.
B) There are two suns.
C) There are three suns.
D) There are four suns.
E) There are five suns.
F) There are six suns.
G) There are more than six suns (please indicate how many).
H) There are no suns (something else provides illumination, please explain what).
2) Moon(s)
A) There is one moon.
B) There are two moon.
C) There are three moon.
D) There are four moon.
E) There are five moon.
F) There are six moon.
G) There are more than six moons (please indicate how many).
H) There are no moons. (it's a space station)
3) Other (multiple choice)*
A) There are guide stars (like Polaris).
B) There are constellations.
C) There are other planets.
*The number will be determined in the next voting session.
I) 1B, 2E, 3B, 4C (though metaphysical spellstorms should exist, too)
II) 1B, 2ABC
III) 1A (not sure how a binary+ system would work), 2G (the moon was shattered by the Cataclysm), 3ABC
I) World Features
1) Skyseas:
A) Do not exist.
OR C) Can exist on their own.
IF C: are probably very rare, odd natural phenomena, caused by krylosite being absorbed by large amounts of water; generally repulsed from krylosite islands (though not necessarily always), that are probably often cloudy (due to movement and evaporation) may well require some sort of constant sustaining element (like bottles) and are more likely in lower zones (if they exist).
2) Layers [VARIABLE ANSWERS WITH SUGGESTIONS]
A, B, or C with the CAVEAT: but not by all creatures equally (thus humans would die at certain layers, while some of the lower-layer creatures would die at higher layers)
- A) All layers of the world (from inner core to exosphere) are habitable.
- B) The most habitable layers range from roughly the outer core to the thermosphere.
- C) The most habitable layers range from roughly the mesospheric mantle/lower mantle to the mesosphere.
D or E without that CAVEAT
- D) The most habitable layers range from roughly the asthenosphere/upper mantle to the stratosphere.
- E) The most habitable layers range from roughly the lithosphere/crust to the troposphere.
*I am very specifically not giving either the miles or kilometers this would cover. In first place, the size of the world has yet to be determined. In the second place, I am not sure that the usual definitions for these would work for a setting with a broken world. I am open to suggestions by folks more knowledgeable than myself in such matters.
3) Planet size
B-D (I dunno, it just feels right; "larger is better", to a limit...)
- B) The planet is medium (.5 - 2 Earth masses).
- C) The planet is large (2 - 10 Earth masses).
- D) The planet is huge (10 - 50 Earth masses).
4) Seasons and weather (multiple choice)
A unique combination of A-C; the deities (among their other duties) are the forces that help contain the various metaphysical elements to allow the natural phenomenon to function; there are occasional lapses (for all sorts of reasons), as Detect Magic notes, while deities and some other powerful entities generally curtail the most destructive elements of the natural phenomena.
- A) Deities are responsible for the weather and seasons experienced by the skylands.
- B) Metaphysics (self-contained planar breaches, spell-like effects, etc) is responsible for the weather and seasons experienced by the skylands.
- C) Natural phenomenon (water cycle, microbes, etc) is responsible for the weather and seasons experienced by the skylands.
II) Deities and Planes
1) Pantheon(s)
A) is true as a meta-pantheon, but most mortals don't know this; B and D are otherwise the order of the day (sometimes differing racial pantheons, sometimes mixed-race pantheons)
- A) There is one, world-wide pantheon with mixed races.
- B) There are several pantheons with mixed races.
- D) Each race has its own pantheon, but that pantheon varies from region to region.
2) Planes (multiple choice)
A-D
- A) There are Outer Planes. [generally in-accessible; these are bounded by either the astral sea or the maelstrom, or both]
- B) There are Inner Planes. [somewhat blended with the world, thus D]
- C) There are Transient Planes. [three: dark, ether, and spirit]
D) The Prime has also become a type of Plane thanks to the Cataclysm.
III) Astronomy
1) Sun(s)
- C) There are three suns.
OR
- H) There are no suns (something else provides illumination, please explain what).
2) Moon(s)
- G) There are more than six moons (please indicate how many).
[one was shattered, but there are multiple other lunar objects orbiting the broken world]
3) Other (multiple choice)*
A, B, C
- A) There are guide stars (like Polaris).
- B) There are constellations.
- C) There are other planets.
*The number will be determined in the next voting session.
I) World Features
1) Skyseas:
C) Can exist on their own.
2) Layers:
I choose not to vote on this part because i am going to straight up admit I don't know what most of that means.
3) Planet Size
E) The planet is gargantuan (50 - 100 Earth masses). I select this because in my mind, a bigger world gives more to explore. this way planar travel isn't the first route to make the world bigger, the world itself starts out that way.
4) Seasons and Weather
B) Metaphysics (self-contained planar breaches, spell-like effects, etc) is responsible for the weather and seasons experienced by the skylands.
C) Natural phenomenon (water cycle, microbes, etc) is responsible for the weather and seasons experienced by the skylands.
II) Deities and Planes
1) Pantheons
B) There are several pantheons with mixed races.
2) Planes
A) There are Outer Planes.
B) There are Inner Planes.
C) There are Transient Planes.
D) The Prime has also become a type of Plane thanks to the Cataclysm.
III) Astronomy
1) Suns
B) There are two suns.
2) Moons
C) There are three moon.
3) Other
A) There are guide stars (like Polaris).
B) There are constellations.
C) There are other planets.
It's worth noting that, on pantheons, I like the ideas of B and D better... however, I voted A as a meta-religious concept because of the idea with the gods keeping the world together, and the idea that they have recovered to full strength (which I'm presuming means something along the lines of a deity's strength in, say, Pathfinder). Even if the latter isn't true, I'm not going to change my vote... but the fact is, that, in my mind, A doesn't mean what it seems to imply (that the gods are all one big communal happy family/place that all know and worship in singular mega-churches of All), but rather that the gods are varied an all over the place. They just happen to all be gods, all be viable, and more or less worshiped (possibly because they're are more or less present) in different areas. So, most strongly, I lean toward B and D. I keep A to be consistent with the other themes that I voted for. :)
I,1,C
2,A I want my Underdark.
3,B
4, All of the above. Divine science is where one or more gods created science and magic to run the details. It’s only when control weather is over used that the weather gods have to fine tune things.
II, 1, A but was C. Every race had a pantheon, Every element had a titan, and every animal type had an elder beast. Over time, Bastet, Gia(Titanesse of earth), and others joined the human pantheon. After the elemental apocalypse, a new pantheon was formed of the survivors.
2, A, B, and C (Theme from The Prisoner plays.) Due to the cataclysm, the Land of the Dead has ripped open spilling corporeal undead onto one of the skylands. That and the first world should be included in the next round.
III, 1, A
2, G, 7, one of them is a broken down death star.
3, A, B, and C
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The final votes for round three are tallied! Thanks for being so interested so far!
1) Skyland Size
C has two direct votes [Aranna, sgriobhadair] and two supportive votes [Tacticslion, Katydid]
B has two direct votes [Goth Guru, Katydid] and two supportive votes [Cr500cricket, Tacticslion]
A has one direct vote [scary harpy] and three qualified votes [Cr500cricket, Evan Tarlton, Tacticslion]
D has one direct vote [Air0r] and one supportive vote [sgriobhadair]The largest number of skylands are in the C-sized range. B-sized skylands exist but are not as common, and not generally much larger than Iceland. Most of the qualified votes for A argue that the number of A-sized skylands is limited, perhaps no more than 2-4 of them in the whole world. These huge skylands are likely rumors or myths and have specific names.
Weren't we voting for maximum size rather than typical size? Given the nature of the options (i.e. a range), perhaps the outcome for maximum size could be the median or mean value of the votes?
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I) World Features
1) Skyseas
A) Do not exist.
* Rainfall is pretty frequent in most layers of the atmosphere, giving plenty of streams and lakes on the skylands. It gets dryer as you go up, so upper skylands are more likely to have deserts.
2) Layers
A) All layers of the world (from inner core to exosphere) are habitable.
E) The most habitable layers range from roughly the lithosphere/crust to the troposphere.
* All layers are habitable by *something* but typical PC inhabitants struggle at the lowest, and can't go to some higher levels.
* Dragons (and any other similar huge fliers) may rely on the thicker air in the lower layers in order to be able to fly.
* While all PC races should be comfortable in the main habitable areas of the world, certain races may be able to survive (or have fewer penalties) at lower or at higher altitudes than humans.
3) Planet size
C) The planet is large (2 - 10 Earth masses).
* I think the physics/arcane physics and logistics probably work out better at with this size.
4) Seasons and weather
C) Natural phenomenon (water cycle, microbes, etc) is responsible for the weather and seasons experienced by the skylands.
* Mostly C), BUT B) and A) also apply - the deities and powerful spellcasters, spellstorms or interplanar tremors can affect local weather.
II) Deities and Planes
1) Pantheon(s)
B) There are several pantheons with mixed races.
* This (or with no races) as far as the inhabitants are concerned; but there is only one 'set' of Gods (some of whom probably belong to multiple pantheons under different names and guises).
2) Planes
A) There are Outer Planes.
B) There are Inner Planes.
C) There are Transient Planes.
* (Mostly happy to stick with Pathfinder standard for this).
III) Astronomy
1) Sun(s)
A) There is one sun.
2) Moon(s)
B) There are two moons.
* (not a strong preference; I wouldn't vote against any of the options).
3) Other
A) There are guide stars (like Polaris).
B) There are constellations.
C) There are other planets.
* While I'm voting for these options, I also feel that the misty/cloudy nature of the world means unobstructed views of the sky are probably rare -virtually never happen in the lower lands, if at all, and only rarely in the main inhabited lands. This could give natives of the upper skylands a quite different perspective on the universe and their place in it than the average. Upper inhabitants study the constellations; lower inhabitants don't know that they exist (or glimpsing them is a major event).
It would also be useful to determine how thick the skylands are. How much depth is there for mining or creating tunnel complexes? I envisage
- the bigger the area of the skyland, the deeper/taller it is likely to be
- the biggest ones are probably in the range 2-3 miles high
- it would be damn scary if you tunnel out through the bottom
- the smallest skylands may have extensive tunnels (while not removing too much buoyancy - though miners would sometimes get this wrong) so that inhabitants live in them more than on them.
In round 5, I'd love us to take a vote on what the main sentient races of the world are.
I
1-A We need to seriously rethink Kyslite for floating water to work. And while upward flowing waterfalls sounds cute it doesn't really add anything.
2- Um... I think habitability would highly depend on the species. Dwarves could exist lower while elves could exist higher or similar situations.
I picture this world as a gas giant... ok a miniature gas giant with a molten core and layers and layers of gasses above it. The density at the lowest levels would press gas into super hot liquid (a great place for young sky islands to form or old ones to dissolve). Above the molten sea would be thick wet dense crushing layers where visibility is impossible and only the most elemental creatures can exist. Next upward would be the Maelstrom of everlasting storms. Islands are not normally stable in this layer and would be rising young ones or sinking old ones. Many of your deep races from dwarves to drow and illithid would find this layer habitable. I can envision an artificially stable drow island floating down in the maelstrom. Next up is the normal cloud layer puffy clouds and weather fronts shifting about the surface intermingling with sky islands above and below; majestic and beautiful opposed to the frightening maelstrom surging far below. All races can survive in this layer and it happens to be the agricultural layer where most of the food is grown. Next far above the clouds is the ice layer. Thin cold air where the only water is snow like flakes of frozen water tossed up occasionally by storms below. Avians, surface elves, and other light thin boned beings can survive here. And lastly the final layer where only the smallest and lightest sky islands can rise briefly (unless artificially held here) you have the layer of stars. The air isn't breathable and no water or weather can interrupt it's eternal peacefulness floating on the edge of space with the vast sea of stars above and the churning weather far below. Only outsiders can naturally exist up this far.
3-C or D whichever gets more votes. Since this IS a miniature gas giant and I want stable physics.
4-B and C working in tandem keep everything going. Although I suppose a deity could probably alter weather here and there if motivated to do so.
II
No preference here.
III
1-A (although B might be fun too creating weird seasonal patterns)
2-G (I like the destroyed moon idea) The planet has a ring of debris with pieces of varying sizes from the dust of the rings disk up to numerous tiny moons.
3-Yes to all.
* While I'm voting for these options, I also feel that the misty/cloudy nature of the world means unobstructed views of the sky are probably rare -virtually never happen in the lower lands, if at all, and only rarely in the main inhabited lands. This could give natives of the upper skylands a quite different perspective on the universe and their place in it than the average. Upper inhabitants study the constellations; lower inhabitants don't know that they exist (or glimpsing them is a major event).
This as well.
1-A We need to seriously rethink Kyslite for floating water to work. And while upward flowing waterfalls sounds cute it doesn't really add anything.
I don't think it would result in upward waterfalls. Rather water bonded to kyslite would simply float away in particle form to reach it's "appropriate level", chill, then, as it does, it would run into other water-bonded-to-kyslite, and stick together (as water is wont) to create the floating seas. At least that's how I picture it.
The tendency for air to destabilize/evaporate would cause the tendency toward it looking mostly like misty "spraying" clouds.
I'm not trying to knock your vote, but rather to explain what I'm looking at. It's the individual particles of kyslite bonded to particles of water that make those particles (which might be as large a "fine") fly. That would mean that small elements would float, but larger elements would not.
The land would have a heavy concentration of kyslite, creating a field-effect, yes, but also being naturally more stable.
Unless I'm missing something in the descriptions? I'd be interested to hear.
Kyslite was described as repellant to itself. And since deposits of the ore can levitate millions of tons of rock... no trillions of tons, you guys did want super huge islands it has a LOT of repellant force to keep the islands apart. If you dissolve something like that in water it wouldn't ever join up with other drops it would just stay mist (I suppose you could use magic to stick it together... but it wouldn't exist naturally ever).
True. I suppose I was thinking of it more as a lightly self-repellent (that can be overcome by, say, breeze), heavily gravity-buoyant element (who's buoyancy is dependent on radiation absorbed)? I kind of thought that was a thing. Blarg. I might be mixing up things due to all my world creation and confusing some of my own ideas with the actual elements of the world. EDIT: clarity
Could just go with each island enacting its own gravitational field, thus "locking" water in orbit. When the water runs off the land, it becomes trapped in a "sea", which then evaporates to form rain in a sort of mini-atmosphere.
Puts on my "Stop knocking kyslite!" tabard.
If floating oceans win, then we can vote on how they happen.
I like sky coral in their center. Kyslite molecules linked to water molecules to form light water is also a possibility. Another is that kyslite part of a mass will repel only other masses, and attract kyslite part of the sea or skyland it is part of.
Flying machines need as much thrust landing as taking off.
I guess we should really vote on whether to keep Kyslite then. Because turning it into some idiotic material whose properties change completely depending on the plot of the moment is a deal breaker for me. I LIKE having such an interesting material as a repulsive metal ore. Are we throwing science out completely? I sure hope not. I like normal looking lakes, rivers, and waterfalls; not the floating balls of water some of you want.