Activity for Mephistopheles
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Question | — |
Would caves in general be practical lairs for a dragon? So, I was writing an outline for the battle between a dragon and a bunch of humans. However, a key component of the humans' battle plan was to place a hidden stash of ballistae near the entrance when the dragon was away. Then, raid it during the night, corner the beast in his own cave, and pepper him... (more) |
— | almost 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
How could the display technology of self-rewriting books work? Oh yes, it's Artifact Time! with Best Dad and Ozen the Immovable! If you watched Hairy Plotter and the Gas Chamber of Secrets, you probably remember the scene where the Horcrux of Adolf Hitler is communicating with Hairy via his personal diary, the original Mein Kampf. One interesting aspect of the ... (more) |
— | almost 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
A good discerning visual feature for female lizardfolk So, when it comes to humanoid races, this has been a problem for me for quite some time. Sure, mammals (werewolves, gnolls, minotaurs, centaurs) are a no-brainer. I even decided to give tengu something. Though fairly small and don't have to be censored, as they are just two round sacs that produce an... (more) |
— | almost 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
What should my kaiju eat? So, strength is a bit unusual in that though he's a kaiju that's clearly inspired by Godzilla, he's completely artificial and was created deliberately to serve as a mobile fortress in The Union's (no, not that one) war effort. Strength looks something like this, though smaller and less... daring S... (more) |
— | almost 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
Could a dragon scale mail be made from shed skin? So, Georgie, the paladin who's still unsure about going down the path of lawful stupid, decided not to kill the dragon. Now, this means they can finally use The Orb of Dragonkind for something after it was collecting dust on that shelf for centuries. So, we have a dragon that has to follow their ord... (more) |
— | almost 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
How can I make phonological constraints without strangling myself? There are three main languages in this world: Draconic, used by the "old" races, i.e: tengu, dragons, lizardfolk, etc... Abyssal, used by both demons and angels: Initially was a low-level language where the description of basic concepts could fill books. Later, a renowned demon collected the most c... (more) |
— | almost 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
How can my dragons follow your movement with their eyes? So, dragons. They're omnivores and, while they would be potentially formidable hunters, mostly scavengers. This requires them to be more sparing with their energy. Still, they fly and flight needs good eyesight and good eyesight needs this: Well, if I want my dragon to be able to track your movem... (more) |
— | almost 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
How could a ballistic mask provide full protection without compromising the wearer's singing voice? So, I'm having trouble with one of my character designs. Guardian angels are former humans who died in such dumb ways that Heaven simply couldn't let them in, not before they proved they can prevent a person from dying if they had to. They rarely materialize in physical form, and when they do, they ... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
How could an underground city hide its existence for potentially thousands of years? After the fall of the lizard empire, most of the lizard people fled to Node to avoid genocide (This is in the Lovecraft universe, racism is mandatory). In short order, this former bomb shelter became the permanent residence for the refugees. So, Node is an awesome place. Since its designers couldn't... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
How could a dragon-proof toy work? So I was outlining the part of the story where Gyvaris, a dragon, almost gets killed, when I realized I glanced over something. You see, Gyv had a human friend before and they used to play games to pass time. Gyvaris' mother taught him the basics of close-quarters combat through various games. She'd... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
How can I make the supporting pillars of an underground city less obstructive? Node is the last active city of the lizard people. Node was built to be a self-sufficient city and a nexus of an interconnected bunker system. It was a vanity project from the peak of the lizard empire, so they designed Node to be as spacious as possible. The problem is with the pesky supporting pil... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
The most suitable martial art for birdpeople? Tengu are a race of upright, humanoid creatures with the ability to fly and other avian characteristics to a varying degree. Konoha-tengu (foliage tengu) are six-limbed humanoid avians. The bird species they resemble varies, with the most prevalent being corvids but there are tengu that resemble bir... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
How could medical petrification work? So, turning people into stone. You only have to add reversibility to the mix, and it becomes the BEST paramedical tool available. But, what does petrification need to accomplish to become just that? Well, it has to "freeze" (read: prevent its molecules and cells from decaying) the body as it was a... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
My characters have been killing the same demons over and over again. How come the demons never adapt to them? There are three "worlds" in this setting: Heaven, Hell and Midgard, Midgard being Earth and the entire Milkyway galaxy. When a demon or an angel enters Midgard, they can't just walk there, as they need a body to be able to interact with it. If the body is destroyed, the demon is sent back to Hell wi... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
What would a house, designed to accomodate a dragon, look like? So, when you use a dragon for military purposes, it's probably for the best to keep them close and keep them happy. Which means building them a place they can call home. Now, housing a dragon is quite difficult, you have to proof the place against hissy fits when the dragon start flipping tables, yo... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
How can a "magic" mirror flash blind people? My "magic" mirrors are purely technological and are only able to transmit light. More precisely, they can display the visible and infrared spectrums, and communicate via radio waves. They're basically glossy phone screens without any bezel. Now, there are obvious uses to these, but there's one unort... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
How to prevent people from ever using the Founder Titan again without rendering it inoperable? So, If you're familiar with the anime GATE (not to be confused with Stein's Gate) or A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, you probably know what's going on and why I have a boiling hatred towards earthlings One day, in the middle of your fantasy world, a gate opens up to another world, i.e: ... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
A sound reason for vampires to be weak to sunlight? So, vampires here are created from humans with the help of a stone mask. Now, they're supposed to be weak for two things: Having their brains destroyed Prolonged exposure to sunlight The first is obvious, for the second I came up with the following excuse, presented by Kyubey Mephisto: "W-wha... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
How could dragons use their forepaws as hands? So, I want my dragon to be able to do stuff like open doors and whatnot. Using the wings is kind of awkward and takes up considerable space, and because of the coronavirus, the mouth is also a no-no; plus it wouldn't be able to do fine manipulation. So, I decided to go with the forelegs. My Dragons ... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
Dragons and fall damage You know, dragons like myself are no strangers to falling. It's a natural part of flight and I used to do it a lot when I was a tiny and very adorable wyrmling. The problem is it hurt, and sure it's gonna hurt now that I'm larger (though not heavier) than your average saddle horse. My scales are li... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
Could spasmoneme muscles be useful for a living creature? I got an interesting answer to one of my questions and I would like to know some additional info. A myoneme (or spasmoneme) is a contractile structure found in some eukaryotic single-celled organisms, particularly Vorticella. It consists of a series of protein filaments that shorten rapidly u... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
I want my gryphons and birdfolk to have facial expressions. How? So, Both birdfolk and gryphons have a head structure, similar to that of birds of prey, i.e: forward facing eyes. Sure, the color of the plumage and the beak-type can vary, but one problem is still present. While gryphon and birdfolk character often express anger, I don't want them to look grumpy ... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
Lizardfolk and the problem of balance and anatomically sound tails So, lizardfolk are humanoid (and, so, upright) creatures with reptilian features and are also part-time endotherms. They're well-adapted to living in water and on trees to a degree. One adaptation for of that is a large tail that can be used for swimming. Of course, they can and will use their arms a... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
A dragon, a gryphon and a tengu are flying toghether. How can they actually communicate? One problem, I think writers often overlook, is the problem of flying creatures communicating with each other. I call this the "I can't hear you over the sound of the f@cking headwind!" For my world, this problem is present in three different species: Tengu, a race of humanoids with many bird-like... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
So, how do I put the extra muscle, needed for flight, into a large flying creatures like dragons? I've been thinking about this the whole day. At first I thought it was an easy fix, given my dragon's bones have a tensile strength of 3-6.5 GPa and an elastic modulus of 50-140 GPa, depending on the reinforcing fiber's orientation. For limpets, this fiber is goethite, for my dragons, I take the risk... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
The curious case of tengu, the "geometric anomaly" of their human disguises and how they can overcome it Tengu are humanoid creatures with many avian features, including wings and beaks. Now, this is a problem when it comes to disguises. Disguises in this setting work by covering one's body in utility fog, which can accurately mimic just about any common material, as far as shape, texture and feel goes... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
Facial expressions for dragons? Though this applies to lizardfolk and most creatures with a snout as well, I'm having trouble giving more facial expressions to dragons. Sure, they can wink, bare their fangs and laugh out loud and that sound is literally roaring laughter. They also have tails and wings, but the face is easier to rea... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
How can my Mage Light spell work? While I'm working on the Magical Artillery, let's look at another common spell. Mage Light is a very handy invention. When cast, the spell creates an orb, 13 cm in diameter. The orb radiates white light, usually between 30-50 candelas in luminous intensity, though it can be decreased or increased ... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
How does Wildfire work? Don't you just hate when Euron injures your pet dragons and perforates your fleet with a ballista? Don't worry, all you need is a shipful of Wildfire and a very long fuse (or Mehdi Sadaghdar with electric equipment) onboard. Lay back, play some music and watch the ensuing light show. But how does W... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
How would a dragon's neck be optimized for the most force output for the least amount of weight? Basically I wanted dragons to be able to efficiently finish off armored opponents by chomping on one of their arm then batting them around and against hard surfaces until they're no more. If you need a visual demonstration, here's one with a water monitor (live feeding) and one with Filthy Frank. Ju... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
How could this dragon-killing poison work? So, dragons are rather large (2 meters at the withers and have a nose-to-base-of-tail length of 5 meters) creatures. Pic related by: KatePfeilschiefter They look something like pic related, albeit less spiky. As you can see, their most important organs are protected by scales, a sturdy rib cage (d... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
Bacteria can produce sulphuric acid with pH values of <1 Could a more complex organism use them? Previously, I asked about the plausibility of a sulphuric acid dragon. As it turns out, the answer was right on Wikipedia, namely a. thiooxidans and the snottie Snottites are highly acidic biofilms (pH 0-1) that form on the walls and ceilings of hydrogen sulfide-rich caves where sulfide-rich spri... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
What adaptations should a utility fog, that's meant to be an air-fuel explosive, have? I found a way to ensure that even if either the Japanese Self-Defense Force or the U.S Army invades my fantasy world, its inhabitants would still have a fighting chance. Utiltiy Fog Hall thought of it as a nanotechnological replacement for car seatbelts. The robots would be microscopic, with e... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
Is a sulfuric acid dragon possible? So, aqua regia is a somewhat safe material for a living being to work with, but the problem is that it isn't metal enough. Somebody suggested in an answer to another question, that dragons would fare better if their breath weapon was sulfuric acid, as it'd start acting immediately and cause nasty 3r... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
How could the most destructive spell work in my Barrier Magic? The core concept is a bastardized fusion of utility fogs, and the magical barriers of witches from the anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Utility fogs are swarms of 100 micrometer robots, foglets, that have several arms, which they can extend and retract and "grab" the arms of other foglets. Witches ... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
How much aqua regia should a dragon store? So, dragons are hexapodal creatures, slightly larger than most draft horses (around 190-200 cm at the withers). Compared to the Quetzalcoatlus, dragons have twice the muscles mass in the pectoral region, but the length of the fibers stays consistent. Basically, the chest is just as deep, but the leng... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
"Dragon amongst the sheep" How could a dragon avoid other animals registering him as a threat? So, one of the less know abilities of dragons here is anivoice. Anivoice allows dragons to communicate with birds, mammals, reptiles, dinosaurs and pterosaurs. Of course, the information, relayed by them, is vague and (depending on the animal) more or less useless/obvious. Using voice mimicry, the... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
Utility-fog wind? So, I have this draft for a story. It's basically a parody(?) of the fantasy tropes originating from LOTR (the movies) with the twist that we're following the bad guy's lackeys, who he abuses more than his enemies. In one scene, the lackeys get surrounded by the bad/good guys with no chance of escap... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
Could these new wormholes be used as a hammer space? So, if you remember these two questions: What can these negative-mass-free wormholes be used for? and Scientific explanation for summoned creatures , you probably know what I'm talking about. Basically, I wanted to have summonable creatures in my setting. There were two ways to accomplish that: T... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
How can an environmentally conscious dragon avoid uneccesary damage when using his acidic breath? So, I decided to up the ante with dragons and make them much more destructive by giving the aqua regia as the breath weapon. The problem is that the dragon in this story is a sweet and cheeky kid, who prefers avoiding physical conflict. Even when it comes to trading blows, he'd rather avoid damaging... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
What can these negative-mass-free wormholes be used for? There might be a way to build traversable wormholes without needing negative mass. Take a gander: https://phys.org/news/2019-04-wormholes.html Now, these wormholes have a big limitation, they can't be used for shortcuts, as they're longer than going straight to the destination. Still they sound ne... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
How could damage reflection work? So, there's this guy, Null, named after his ability that allows him to send any action, a person makes, into /dev/null. Basically, he can "No, you didn't" any attack. That's okay, but then comes his requiem ability, which outright "reflects" damage. No one knows for certain how it works, but in the... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
Scientific explanation for summoned creatures Throughout the ages, The Summoners were a prominent family of mages (but technology is magic here), who possess the ability to call forth creatures from cards. Of course they can only summon creatures from special cards. Now, without getting into details on how the cards work, I'd like to state the ... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
Proofing dragons against their acidic breath weapon 2/2: Preventative measures Previous question: Proofing dragons against their acidic breath weapon 1/2: Smart Neutralizing Agent So, I decided to find an alternative breath weapon for my dragons, that maximizes destructive potential for the least amount of weight. That's how we arrived at aqua regia, an insanely strong acid th... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
Proofing dragons against their acidic breath weapon 1/2: Smart Neutralizing Agent So, dragons here use aqua regia (an acid that dissolves even gold) as their breath weapon. This acid is made up of the dragon's stomach acid and some nitric acid, stored in a separate organ. On top of that, they also have one additional organ, storing the "smart neutralizing agent", a fluid that has... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
How to minimize the required energy for this level of monster activity? Conventional monsters won't cut it. They whine and cry too much when fighting, they give up and go down too easily, mostly because of malnutrition since Jimmy, The Dark Lord, forgot he can't grow potatoes in Mordor. There are also the usually successful coups, targeted at Jimmy, that ruin the adventu... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
How much tribute can a dragon get away with? Okay, here's a classic situation: The countryside is plagued by a dragon, who demands tribute from the local city on the basis of them being in his territory. Now, the dragon here doesn't actually demand the humans to sacrifice virgin women, and if he did, it would be for an entirely different (but... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
Does gliding flight give any advantages to dragons in combat? "They fly now?" "They fly now!?" "They fly now" One of the most iconic characteristic of dragons is their ability to fly, on top of that, my intelligent (human level) dragons also use a fun chemical, called "KirályvÃz" as their breath weapon. (Real királyvÃz doesn't actually look diffe... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
Optimal posture for hexapodal dragon while flying? So, the dragons of my setting were inspired by several things, which include D&D dragons, a mockumentary and Asian water monitors. Now, dragons look something similar to this: They glide for most of the time with short bursts of powered flight here and there. Since there aren't many six-limbed fly... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
The human and horse parts' growth speed is different in centaurs. Why is that flaw still present? So, centaurs are half-human, half-horse creatures that are usually portrayed in myth as wild, violent and animalistic. Now, I, Lucretius, found a good explanation why. The answer is in the growth speeds. Centaurs act like horny 16-year-olds, because they ARE horny 16-year-olds with an adult horse fo... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |