Ok here's the setting:
Think of a fantasy setting brought into the late 18th/early 19th century. The overarching idea is centered on five small and differing nations who are on the verge of a colonization race over a large continent, using government sanctioned Corps of Discovery. The nations themselves don't need to much tweaking, it's the wide open spaces of the continent I need to fill in. To get the ideas flowing I have two ideas I really like so far:

Mole People: They're moley, they live underground, and they're the most populous natives on the land. Why?

Large and Dangerous Mammals above ground: I tip my hat in the direction of Silverlion in making a pulp connection. He suggested dinosaurs, but I think that huge freaking bears and wild cats can be equally cool.

I do have one caveat, no lost super-civilizations, too played out for my tastes. Otherwise the rest is a blank canvas, feel free to brainstorm as much as you can and I try to keep up when I go to and get back from work today.

Quote from: JamesV... I do have one caveat, no lost super-civilizations, too played out for my tastes. Otherwise the rest is a blank canvas, feel free to brainstorm as much as you can and I try to keep up when I go to and get back from work today.

What about ruins of lost super-civilisations?  Are they ruled out as well?

Quote from: AkrasiaWhat about ruins of lost super-civilisations?  Are they ruled out as well?

Sure. At first I was wary including it, but why limit myself too much.

Here's a few possible why's.

Mole-people are the most populous because their habitat is the most common. I.E earth covers the majority of the planet, with the only oceans being hideously deep, not sprawling affairs. This could result in large dry interiors, however. So maybe the Oxygen in the atmosphere is at much larger levels than today. This would explain big beasties also (as they have more oxygen in their systems, they can grow bigger). When the oxygen gets mixed with the earth, there are more and larger burrowing animals, giving the mole-people much more to eat and thus sustain and grow a large population. Given the larger quantity of oxygen, i would presume a large amount of the land is still rain forest (EDIT: And by extention that the land masses are near the equator or the planet is generally hotter than is usual). So the fringes of continents will be lush jungles and the interiors dry, hot plains or desert. A bit like a planet sized Australia (nearly anyway!).

As most of the planet's surface is land, most discovery journeys will be huge overland affairs troubled by gigantic beasts and as these huge beasts cover the surface of the land, they have put a natural limiting factor on the above-ground societies, thus limiting the population growth and explaining why the mole-people are the most populous.

How the hell a largely oceanless planet with huge areas of jungle and dry plains, all of which inhabited by huge beasts would effect technoligical & societal growth in a faux 18-19th century, i have no idea. But you asked!

Giant Sloths.

RPGPundit

Quote from: JamesVSure. At first I was wary including it, but why limit myself too much.

Well, I guess that I would make that my main 'hook'.  The advanced-but-small nations discover this new continent, populated with (to them) strange creatures (sabre-tooth tigers, mammoths, giant sloths) and weird mole-people.

But in addition, there are these scattered ruins.  Not too many, but clear indications of a past, advanced (how advanced I leave to you) civilisation.  Some advanced race/species lived here once, eons ago.  

But what happened to them?  Where are they now?  Do they have any relation to these weird mole-people?  If so, what is their relation?  Are the mole-people degenerate descendents, survivors of a slave-race, or what?

And then there are the ruins themselves.  They are built in weird patterns, with strange, incomprehensible symbols.  What could these mean?  Perhaps further exploration will reveal additional artifacts, powerful ones?  Clues to the nature of the civilisation?  More needs to be learned about this ancient, lost, unknown people.

Perhaps ... just perhaps ... they are waiting ... somewhere ...

Well, that's what I would do.  

Mole people have the definite advantage that they'd survive stuff that would obliterate other species. So maybe they're the only remnants from a past age, where humans (or other races) lived on that land, too. So you just need something that wiped those out, probably without a trace. Maybe it was some kind of plague.

You had these aztec-like people who thought themselves greater than the gods. Then disease took them. The mole people were just a poor servitor race, but now they took on the task of making sure that something like this never happens again. They smashed the ruins and hid everything underground. Most of it is destroyed, but some few treasures might remain ("Caverns of the Mole People"!). The radioactive, jade-like substance that was the power of some of the marvels of the past civilization might be the reason why the mole people are so numerous now...

And -- of course -- the mole people recognize something from their former masters in the new arrivals. They try to prevent them from coming together with the few remnants of the old race. Peaceful, if possible. But the wrath of the gods might be close again. And who knows whether they'll be spared this time?

Quote from: RPGPunditGiant Sloths.

RPGPundit

Damn. I was going to say that.

I am going to use them for my Atlantis Found book. I will be using them both as dangerous wild animals but also the "Elephants" described by Plato.

Giant sloth are cool and heavily armored. Make them territorial and you could easily have a "dragon" lite monster for encounters. Combined with some f the super cats and you have a nasty place.

Bill

In addition to Bears, add Cave Lions or American Lions (Panthera Leo Atrox), sloths yes! Maybe examine someother giant mammals--Wolves and boar/pigs, Rhinocerous ancestors.


Since lost civilization are out, add geological/natural resources in dangerous environments--perhaps an element used in magical manufacture needs stone from "fresh" lava beds. Perhaps the best sulfur is that taken from the mouths of active geysers.

You might want to add some giant birds too--toothed things  the size of condors.

Also consider the fur markets of the prehistorica mammals--people may be wild for the savage teeth of Smilodons, or the claws of giant sloths, or the pelt of wolf the size of a cart.

Okay, this stuff is great! I'm definitely pleased that going with large mammals is fertile ground, I mean the idea of a fur trade is a wicked great and simple extrapolation, giant birds get the nod too.

As for my mole people, I'm going for something more organic. I'm trying to make a set up so that they are an intelligent species that is largely adapted to living underground. It will be dim to stone dark underground, the moles learning to use smell and touch to navigate. They'll have a strong stone-age vibe, wearing chipped stone 'gloves' to reinforce their claws as digging and fighting tools. They'll build fairly large and towering molehills of stone and packed earth to ventilate their warrens, making an impressive impact on the land. As for magic, I see them as elemental worshippers, being capable of summoning earth beings to do the above ground work they feel too uncomfotable doing in the wide open above ground.

You know, I like the idea of taking fantasy races and adapting them to an ecosystem. Maybe I can put kobolds in jungles and orcs on the plains. :hmm:

A very cultured, very structured, very civilized Greco-Aztec network of city-states, subsisting on trade of goods, services, and slaves.  They have a complex social structure of philosophers, artists, engineers, merchants, warriors, etc.  Maybe even a kind of informal bureaucracy.

And they're cannibals.

Dammit Doc, not only you do you blithely walk around with my 'no lost civilizations' rule, but you have to do it with ideas that drip with coolness.

You're a lose cannon Rotwang! I want your keyboard and Thomas Dolby collection now! And if I see you within 100 miles of the Greek-Aztec Cannibals, I'm gonna make sure the DA gets your day-glo bandannas, comprenday!?

In other words, any cool/weird civilizations are up for discussion too.

I have also come up with another civilization that meshes nicely with the giant mammal scene.

A Stone-age race, orcs maybe, roaming the plains with stone spears and axes trying to gather, hunt, and occasionally spear a big ass elephant for hides and meat. It's taking some classic cliches and twisting it. It's also fertile ground for native peoples vs. coloniztion drama.

Quote from: JamesVDammit Doc, not only you do you blithely walk around with my 'no lost civilizations' rule, but you have to do it with ideas that drip with coolness.

Oh my.  I'll mop up, sorry.

HEY!  I never said they were lost, there, Beardy!  They know EXACTLY where they are.  Maybe they're just cut off, or gaining in power, or one of the 5 nations.

Or the chief opposition.  :naughty: