80 lines
3.0 KiB
HTML
80 lines
3.0 KiB
HTML
<!doctype html>
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<html lang="en">
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<head>
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<meta charset="UTF-8" />
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<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
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<title>Environmental Design Concepts</title>
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<link rel="stylesheet" href="book-page.css" />
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</head>
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<header>
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<h1>ENVIRONMENTAL CONTRASTS</h1>
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</header>
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<section>
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<p>
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One of the most effective ways to create a memorable natural fantasy
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location is to base the environment upon the contrast between two
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typically opposite natural elements, such as air and earth or ice and
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fire.
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</p>
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<p>
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Common examples include icy plains dotted with bubbling geysers and rocky
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deserts swept by the wind, but you could also have oceanic depths
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inhabited by electric creatures.
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</p>
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<p>
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In a similar vein, the contrast between old and new, artificial
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construction and natural regrowth, adds personality to a location and
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often provides clues about who lived here in the past and how things have
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changed over time. The result should be a form of dynamic balance, and can
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also elicit feelings of melancholy or wonder in the travelers.
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</p>
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<p>
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For instance, a vast horizon of skeletal skyscrapers overgrown by
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vegetation and taken over by the nests of gigantic feathery creatures; or
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an endless grassland where herds of bovine calmly graze in the shadow of
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rusty, titanic war machines.
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</p>
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<p>
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The goal of such a location isn’t purely visual – it represents a fragile
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environment that is worth protecting and a precarious peace that has been
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achieved, certainly not without pain, over the course of the centuries.
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</p>
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</section>
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<header>
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<h2>FLORA, FAUNA, CONSTRUCTS, AND ELEMENTALS</h2>
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</header>
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<section>
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<p>
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Partially continuing from the points above one of the best ways to make a
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location look alive is to populate it with creatures whose appearance,
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behavior, and abilities are strictly tied to their environment.
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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<strong>Beasts, monsters, and plants.</strong> These creatures might
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prove more or less aggressive – similar to the flora and fauna of our
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world, with just a few anomalies. Their behavior varies based upon
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instinct and habits – they may prove formidable opponents.
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</li>
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<li>
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<strong>Constructs.</strong> Relics who outlived their creators,
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constructs often lack a true conscience, acting according to
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pre-programmed routines. Even when aware and intelligent, they often
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speak ancient and almost forgotten languages.
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</li>
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<li>
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<strong>Elementals.</strong> Spirits of nature, fey creatures, and
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guardian presences all fall into this category. They are often peaceful
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or playful, but their deep, instinctive attunement with the stream of
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souls might easily lead to corruption.
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</li>
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</ul>
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</section>
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</html>
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