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Something I think too much about is the foremost “error” a majority of (western) fantasy books and RPGs do. They have gods and magic and all sorts of stuff and when someone, for one reason or another, scratches on the surface the author tries to present an “scientific explanation” in parallel to our IRL world view.
Not only do they usually bungle the science (but that is another question), but it is completely unnecessary and immersion breaking! (I put some examples in comments).
#worldbuilding
#worldbuilding
in reply to Hteph

Hteph
mastodon - Link to source
Hteph
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As an example we can take lembas, the semi magical waybread of the elves. So how do it gain its magical properties? At this point most authors starts to ramble about special herbs and secret techniques, but stop, that is how it could be explained in OUR world.
In a fantasy world the only necessary ingredient is the ELF doing it, if say, a hobbit was using the exact same ingredients, the exact the same way, they would get a fancy wafer, but it wouldn’t the lembas, and wouldn’t give Gollum burns.
in reply to Hteph

Hteph
mastodon - Link to source
Hteph
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Another thing that makes me break out in hives are worlds that are spherical balls orbiting another burning gas ball.
Come on, where is your sense of imagination. Even Tolkien had a better idea (with the “spherification” of the world only affecting the stupid and evil, i.e the humanity).
Give me flat world, or orreries with beams to climb, or bowls balancing on the back of turtles!
in reply to Hteph

Malin
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Malin
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From inside the world, lembas is pure craft. The art of divining the future is also craft. The one ring? No magic, just craft. Turning into a bat and flying away? Pure skill, anyone can do it with the right technique after only a couple of millennia's training.
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