The Woodlands (please help me think of a better name)

[Ray Mitchell]

 
A big dense woodland area with villages every now and then, but the villages are just like a ghost town with a town old coot, lol but any way the villages placed in the only clearing in the world ( can change if need should come up) the clearing is in the shape of an arrow. There are 7 villages in the clearing 3 are in the arrow head all spaced apart, then in the middle of the arrow’s shaft there sits one village all alone it acts as a check point/ resting place for travelers and merchants that are taking the main road that connects the 7 villages together. That town has a general store so that travelers can restock, and an inn with a bar on the ground floor, these are here for clear reasons, for rest and meals, also the bar can serve as a meeting place as well.
 
                As for the other 3 villages 2 are located in the feathers and the arrow and the last is found in the very back of the arrow. All but the villages except the one in the middle look all the same. (Can change over time and players actions).
 
                The forest that surrounds everything is home to all types of animals that look a lot like earths animals, but they’re not. They are more intelligent and more skilled specialty in fighting. They are the world’s main army and strongest. However that’s only when the creator calls for it like for a war for the forest lands between the humans and the beasts. War is an unpleasant sight for the land and inhabitants but it’s necessary and expected from humans.
 
                The forest is also a
 
The Woodlands, in a rough estimate is the size of mercury.
 
The world is a Member expansive;
 
                There is a constantly moving portal that warps to different area around the Arrow part of the world.
 
The Villages aren’t as protected as the Woods are, and can be attacked and ‘respond’ in the next topic.
 
Animals that can speak are quazi-immortal when in the woods, and when one exits, it wears off.
 
The woods are divided into four sections, and each section has a different magical property (or properties) to it. The entire mapped area is around 200 miles; and the first sections magical property is magical rainfall, with lots of ponds and lakes that appear in the areas; and animals can use water magic.
 
The Second sections magical property is Extreme Growth, and giant things are often grown. There are also poisonous and semi-intelligent plants that are often hostile and lure you in with scents.
 
The Third section deals in Eternal Night, and is riddled with spirits and dead things. Dark or otherwise maligned magic rules here.
 
The Fourth section is Fire; and is always hot, and everything fire based resides there.
 
There are 4 other portals that randomize where you walk in each of the section.
 
A great portion of the woods have gone unmapped.
 
Anomalies are a common occurrence. It’s a discoverers dream and worst nightmare.
 
The God has a huge pull over the world.
 
-_-_-_-_-_-
 
The Hierarchy of animals in the Woodlands:
 
The Commander of the Animal Forces is a huge black bear with brown stripes. He wears armor, and wears a crossbow at his hips.
 
There are 4 generals; The two bears black and brown, a Loch Ness Monster, and a Phoenix; each with troops and command specialized to their element; Birds are Air Force, Navy is Loch Ness, and The special forces and the infantry are Black and Brown, respectively.
 
*Fish can breathe out of water.
 
This is a rough outline of the Army; which often comes around when needed.
 
 
Explorers and Discoverers can Teleport back to town when wounded. Treasures to be found, enemies to face and creatures to discover.
 
Magic is a Strong, and Common occurrence.
 
This World is Low Tech; however magic is widely used by everything.

[Ray Mitchell]

Sorry for the Miss spells and fragments but here is my ruff draft any ideas?

[Riley Oran]

I'll address all my questions first, then my criticisms, and then my exonerations.

QUESTIONS
First: you mention a clearing in the shape of an arrow. How large is this clearing? Assuming that it contains several villages, I would assume it to be of grand size.

Do the animals have thumbs? Dumb, but necessary to ask just for reference.

Second: What of the villages? How large are they? Do they have names? If they are ghost towns, then what happened to the people that built them? Who built them? How does the middle one differ from the others-- you say they do, but no exact detail is given to indicate the kind of difference. Is it a matter of size? Architecture? Content?

Who is the creator of the world? Do you speak of it's God? Why does he call for war?

What do you mean when you say the villages can respond to attacks in the next topic? Wouldn't they respond to attacks then?

What caused the anomalies? What kind of pull does the god have over the world?

Is this world a pocket dimension?

CRITICISMS
There really aren't that many things to tear apart save for basic critiques of detail, but that is to be expected at the start of a proposal. So, I'll skip those for now and as this goes on, I'll be sure to revisit them.

The only major criticism I have is that animals have Quasi-Immortality. Even if it is limited to a forest, immunity to death is something that not even most Gods have. I'll let you decide how to handle that, but immortality in any form is essentially an absolute. Outside of Gods, you'd be hard-pressed to find immortality-- I'm not saying that it doesn't happen, but a planet full of beings blessed with situation-based immortality seems to be stretching it.

EXONERATIONS
I enjoy the uniqueness of this world. Talking animals from the get-go, a promising premise, and a mysterious forest world full of magic and wonder. I like the pre-existing dynamic of humans versus animals, even if it seems more passive than all out war. I wonder about the different areas and the beings that live in them, but that can come with the bestiary I suppose.

[Ray Mitchell]

75 mils thats how big the felid is 
the middle vil is where all the trading takes place 
the people are still there in all the vils but they wont talk to new people 
and the animals don't have thumbs but it don't matter they have no need for them there smart enough to do without
the animals can't be killed easily they are in the army best one person can do alone is knock them out for a wile they can die but why would you want to kill them but its up to you if you say they die or not
and the anomalies they had to evolve to live 

(i will explane more on the god when i make her)

and yes it is a pocket demotion 

 the middle vil was explaned but i lost that copy i will fix that though

[Riley Oran]

In order of questions, just because me asking them help you develop a better understanding of the world too and we both win in that regard.

Why don't the villages talk to outsiders? Is there a specific reason? Is it literally all villagers or just specific ones?

Without thumbs holding weapons and wearing armor becomes extremely difficult, let alone fastening straps, operating doorknobs, crafting items, and holding simple objects. Just a heads up. The world is still in the planning stages, so if the animals are intelligent then thumbs might benefit them (unless that's the intention).

That's pretty close to an absolute, and sound fairly unreasonable. It's entirely possible that a person (or even multiple people) exist that could stand on even ground with animals regardless of how difficult it usually would be. Even if it's a rare occurrence, it should be acknowledged as one I think.

Becomes some people are either "evil", destructive, or need to do so to survive. Pick a reason, because there are dozens.

Alright, take your time with that bit. Gods are fairly complex so be sure to give us as much detail as you can, that way the community can make a fair judgement.

What do you mean the anomalies had to evolve to live? Explain that in greater detail.

As for a name, I would suggest looking to other languages to come up with something, or busting out a synonym dictionary. It's not the most original, but it can give you insight and knowledge to construct an original name if you don't decide on a direct foreign translation.

[Ray Mitchell]

ok there animals they already have weapons but i see your point there weapons are like claws and talons and what ever a normal animal would have 
there are three posable ways that you would be able to kill an animal 
1 need of food (if this is the case its fairly easy ) 
2 using the opposing element to where that beast lives in
3 if the animal is unlawful/ evil if that is so they are not protected by the goddess and there for can be killed ( will be hard because they are strong enough to defy the goddess. 

The residents (humans) all of them don't like to talk to strangers because they have been raided and pillaged in the past by Vikings. only in the middle village will any residents talk to you (this is where you can learn about the new news in the forest) 

now for the anomalies What I meant about that was the animals in the 4 parts of the woods because of the harsh environment they had to evolve to live. 
as for the 4 parts of the forest how they got to be the way they are today I'm open to ideas for that part but i would like for it to be magic related 

oh yah I forgot If you are evil and want to kill an animal you can quite easily but be prepared to fight a lot more than one. 

and here is a list of names for the world 

Beastly forest 
Forest of Elemental Wonders
The Woodlands 
Arrow of the Forest of Order 
and last but not lest 
Forest of Adventures

[Riley Oran]

Alright, so it would seem that the Goddess of this realm highly favors animals to humans. So, now the obvious question regarding that. First: I'll state that it seems odd that animals can't be simply defeated by physical force. Or is it that they can be beaten by physical force, just not killed? If so, what would happen if I took a sword and proceeded to dice one up into hundreds of pieces? Would it survive, and reform? Would it just exist as different pieces? Understand that this is only one (somewhat extreme) example.

She gives all these privileges to the animals, yet not to humans. Why did she allow humans into the realm in the first place? What was her reasoning? Given the Goddess' disposition, it seems unlikely that they wondered in there on there own. Not to mention, if there were accidental there would be more... randomness to the population, given that the literally infinite Omniverse has vast potential to allow more than just humans to accidentally stumble into a pocket dimension.

With that asked the other question that must be posed is Why Only Humans? If she wanted the animals then of course she targeted those to bring them over, but why humans? Is it possible that she brought them over as animals, and they evolved into Humans naturally? If so, how did they lose her blessing?

Why would Viking raiders deter them from all visitors? It would be plainly visible to most that clearly not everyone is a Viking. For them to be so paranoid, there would rationally and logically have to be a deeper reason for them to flat-out refuse to speak to strangers, especially given that if Vikings raided the villages they would never need to vocally interact beyond gathering information during the raids. It more or less sounds like the raids would simply make them wary of new faces, but that's just my input.

Evolution to adapt to harsh environments isn't exactly an anomaly, especially given the nature of the world. It seems rather in line with how the world functions.

If it's a pocket dimension, it's possible they were created that way. Unlike a normal (living) dimension in which the infinite galaxies, solar systems, and planets form into the most current state over extremely long periods of time. For pockets dimension, a powerful being (usually not a true God, but an entity powerful enough to be capable of masquerading as such to mortals) creates a sectioned reality. The world is formed as is, with the creator of the dimension holding priority over it, and being able to control and shift it at whim. They literally become gods of the worlds they create. 

How you constantly refer to such acts of killing an animal as evil is confusing-- what do people eat? Are they purely vegan? Also in regards to this, please read this to help you with understand good, evil, and in general assist with character building: https://genesisproject.rpg-board.net/t13-alignments

Not going to lie: I'm really digging "The Woodlands" as the name, but that's ultimately your choice.

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