Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Buttercup" data-source="post: 712095" data-attributes="member: 990">I’ve been thinking about towns and cities.&nbsp; Specifically, towns and cities that use the remains of past civilizations…or creatures…as building materials.&nbsp; It was common practice in medieval times to cannibalize old structures for their stone or other reusable material, such as in England after the Roman withdrawal.&nbsp; And we know that some prehistoric humans used mammoth tusks and/or bones as a framework for their shelters.But since we’re talking about a fantasy world, there are lots of other possibilities.&nbsp; For example, what if a region is an ancient sea-bed, and is littered with giant lightning whelk shells, like the one I’m attaching.Maybe the people could use their tools to cut the shells apart for use as tiles.&nbsp; But maybe the shells are so thick that only minimal alteration can be done, like punching a few holes for windows.&nbsp; Naturally such a community would look very different from the first glance.&nbsp; But I think that our lightning whelk town would end up having social structures that took advantage of their peculiar living quarters.&nbsp; For example, maybe certain parts of the shell, let’s say in the middle, would be lower status, because they wouldn’t have as much access to air and light.&nbsp; Maybe the shells would be positioned so that the narrow part stuck into the air and could be used as a chimney.&nbsp; Or maybe individual clans would inhabit each shell.&nbsp; Or what if there was only one giant shell?&nbsp; Maybe it would be a temple, and pilgrims would come to gawk at the amazing gift of the gods.&nbsp; Or maybe scholars would come to study the shell, and then enterprising folk would come to provide services for the scholars, and maybe bring their families. Or maybe both scholars and priests would lay claim to the shell.&nbsp; Pretty soon, you would have a town.&nbsp; And that town would form a government to protect, and perhaps restrict access to, their most important resource.&nbsp; Maybe mothers would pay to take their infants into the shell, believing that it would impart some special blessing on the child.So what other ideas can everybody come up with fantasy building materials, and what implications can you imagine for their use?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Buttercup, post: 712095, member: 990"] I’ve been thinking about towns and cities. Specifically, towns and cities that use the remains of past civilizations…or creatures…as building materials. It was common practice in medieval times to cannibalize old structures for their stone or other reusable material, such as in England after the Roman withdrawal. And we know that some prehistoric humans used mammoth tusks and/or bones as a framework for their shelters. But since we’re talking about a fantasy world, there are lots of other possibilities. For example, what if a region is an ancient sea-bed, and is littered with giant lightning whelk shells, like the one I’m attaching. Maybe the people could use their tools to cut the shells apart for use as tiles. But maybe the shells are so thick that only minimal alteration can be done, like punching a few holes for windows. Naturally such a community would look very different from the first glance. But I think that our lightning whelk town would end up having social structures that took advantage of their peculiar living quarters. For example, maybe certain parts of the shell, let’s say in the middle, would be lower status, because they wouldn’t have as much access to air and light. Maybe the shells would be positioned so that the narrow part stuck into the air and could be used as a chimney. Or maybe individual clans would inhabit each shell. Or what if there was only one giant shell? Maybe it would be a temple, and pilgrims would come to gawk at the amazing gift of the gods. Or maybe scholars would come to study the shell, and then enterprising folk would come to provide services for the scholars, and maybe bring their families. Or maybe both scholars and priests would lay claim to the shell. Pretty soon, you would have a town. And that town would form a government to protect, and perhaps restrict access to, their most important resource. Maybe mothers would pay to take their infants into the shell, believing that it would impart some special blessing on the child. So what other ideas can everybody come up with fantasy building materials, and what implications can you imagine for their use? [/QUOTE]

Verification