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Yora
2014-02-08, 04:47 PM
One interpretation of evolution that commonly pops up is the assumption that pretty much everything that's possible has already been tried in some way at some time. So there's a huge amount of weird and even bizare things found over the world made by animals. Not to mention all the unusual features created by countless geological processes in all kinds of different geological and ecological environments.
And if it can be done in nature, it can always be scaled and dialed up for fantasy worlds!

- Large mounds build by certain types of termites include complex internal air conditioning. By using air shafts and moist underground chambers, the mounds are kept cool during the day but retain enough heat to keep them warm during cold nights in the desert. And the whole things can even be regulated by blocking or unblocking some ventilation shafts to ensure optimal performance during changing outside weather conditions. Which is neccessary, because the mounds not only include the colony, but also lots of chambers that hold fungus farms, which are the termites primary food supply.
The physical principles work on any scale and have already been used to aircondition a shopping mall. With fantasy insects of sufficient size, there's nothing from stopping such a colony being made large enough for humans to walk inside.

- While spiders are usually not social animals, they sometimes cooperate in times when there's huge amounts of prey, like hot and wet summers where floods might force all insects into the trees. In such cases, they not only build lots of nets, but actually connect them into massive giant nets that can get thick enough to keep sunlight from getting through. That's usually coin-szed spiders, but you could also do that with spiders the size of hands, and of course giant spiders as well.

- Some birds build nests that are almost fully enclosed and only leave a small hole as an entrance. And in certain species, they will make these nests in clusters that can get to massive size. And at some point there's need to build internal passages because the whole thing gets too big for each individual room to be open to the outside. Reportedly there are nests big enough for over 400 birds. Like a huge ant hive, but with birds instead of insects.

- It's well and commonly known that the amzon is the largest river on earth. But given that it's in a tropical jungle that experiences regular monsoons, you really would expect it to see significant flooding when you think about it. And it does. Water levels can raise up to 20 meters and since much of the area is relatively flat ground (caused by millions of years of such floods leveling everything) the flooding even covers areas up to 80 km away from the normal shoresides. For lots of people who live there, the whole ground gets covered in water and together with all the animals they move to the top of the trees. Every year, and just the same way their great-grandparents have always done. That's not even the forest turning into a swamp. It's turning into an endless ocean with trees.

Sir_Thaddeus
2014-02-09, 01:05 AM
- It's well and commonly known that the amzon is the largest river on earth. But given that it's in a tropical jungle that experiences regular monsoons, you really would expect it to see significant flooding when you think about it. And it does. Water levels can raise up to 20 meters and since much of the area is relatively flat ground (caused by millions of years of such floods leveling everything) the flooding even covers areas up to 80 km away from the normal shoresides. For lots of people who live there, the whole ground gets covered in water and together with all the animals they move to the top of the trees. Every year, and just the same way their great-grandparents have always done. That's not even the forest turning into a swamp. It's turning into an endless ocean with trees.

I've often thought of using this idea for an elven city - sort of a cross between Lothlorien and Venice. I haven't put it into play yet; I don't really DM very often. But I have thought of it.

ThePhantom
2014-02-09, 01:13 AM
Speaking of things in South America, there's the Catatumbo area (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catatumbo_lightning). Its a place that has a constain lightning storm, and has been that way for over 400 years. Sounds like an interesting place, no?

Kitten Champion
2014-02-09, 07:24 AM
This is Fly Geyser in the middle of the Arizona desert, its surface is actually algae.

http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/201307/strange-landscapes/images/slide1.jpg


Blood Falls, Antarctica. Iron-rich water.

http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/201307/strange-landscapes/images/slide2.jpg

As far as off-colour water goes, here's Lake Hillier, Australia.

http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/201307/strange-landscapes/images/slide5.jpg

The sandstone pillars of Zhangjiajie National Park, I'm totally incorporating the geography somewhere in my setting.

http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/201307/strange-landscapes/images/slide6.jpg


I think the Puerto Princesa's subterranean river would be cool too, tens of kilometres long, with large caverns and bats.


http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X6Isouwj6yo/Tr3e-4edlbI/AAAAAAAAAX4/b1d6v342sYw/s1600/Inside+Puerto+Princesa+Underground+River+Boat.jpg


Shot from Northern Chile, at a very particular time of year.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1401/chilepan_buer_1400.jpg

Also this (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110711.html), which I'm thinking of instituting as a more regular phenomenon in the setting.

Oh, there are snakes that glide through the air (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfC5EFGp5-Q) in Southeast Asia. I'm thinking the details could be interesting fluff for monsters.

Yora
2014-02-09, 07:35 AM
Speaking of things in South America, there's the Catatumbo area (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catatumbo_lightning). Its a place that has a constain lightning storm, and has been that way for over 400 years. Sounds like an interesting place, no?

There's a level like that in Final Fantasy X.

Also: Cueva de los Cristales in Mexico.
http://comunidad.uem.es/blogfiles/uemismore/CristalesdeyesogigantesenlascuevasdeNaica_Fuente_n aica.com.mx.jpg

http://geology.rockbandit.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/gypsum-crystals.jpg

souridealist
2014-02-10, 12:04 PM
Fingal's Cave on Staffa Island is seriously amazing.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fb7_7rp2aBE/Tf_QC82_HJI/AAAAAAAABp0/EMBZHGWqUyo/s1600/054.JPG:

That's opening directly on to the sea. If you visit the island, you can enter the cave, and climb either on those rocks at the right foreground or on similar rocks just behind them and out of frame - I can't tell how far forward the photographer was standing. This (http://mylondondiary.co.uk/2008/08/iona/20080813-d0249-Edit.jpg) is another okay picture. The entire shoreline of the island is made up of those stone pillars - this (http://lh5.ggpht.com/__zoKJ77EvEc/TUvTrspDTUI/AAAAAAAAKzo/l93nUzA8KeY/staffa-island10.jpg%3Fimgmax%3D800) is a pretty okay idea of what crossing them is like, although I don't remember the rocks being that yellow - when I visited, they were mostly black. You could cross them all right, but it took some thought.

Off the shore of one island is another outcropping of rock, not big enough or far enough away to be another island, but there is a kind of rushing channel between them - this (http://www.birdsasart.com/248/twisted-basalt-columns-Staffa-Island--Scotland--panorama1.jpg) is a pretty good picture. The top of the island, above the cliffs, is grassy and gorgeous, and there are loads of seabirds - cormorants, I think.

...Yeah, this was partly an excuse for a nostalgia trip, sorry guys. It is an amazing place, though; Fingal's Cave in particular could be expanded into an amazing dungeon. It goes pretty far in, and you could as the DM always add some more.

Yora
2014-04-01, 06:36 AM
http://24.media.tumblr.com/1df9259dcb3ba9ee717c5812f25c8cc1/tumblr_n374gssJ6H1tx4l4ho1_1280.jpg

Pico Cão Grande on São Tomé. It has a height of about 300m.

VoxRationis
2014-04-02, 10:31 PM
Have you heard of the Tsingy area in Madagascar? It's like a landscape made out of limestone saw blades.
Cold seeps and hydrothermal vents are both possibilities for the basis of an subterranean ecosystem, just in case you ever got fed up with people saying "you can just use mushrooms instead of trees."
Redwoods are amazing even as is, but if you like, you can make them even taller because of magic.
Those hill-cliff rock formations in old Chinese paintings would make great environments for flying creatures to inhabit.
I am personally very fond of temperate rainforests. They are often shrouded in mist, which adds a certain ambience, in addition to the moss, the enormous trees, the sounds of birds and other animals through the woods, etc.
That cave with the hexagonal rock pillars reminds me of, oh what's it called... Giant's Causeway? Something like that, in Scotland or Ireland.

Leviting
2014-04-02, 11:10 PM
There is also the Devil's Postpile
http://www.milanosinn.com/images/destinations/800x600/Devils-Post-Pile-Front-Side.jpg
also hexagonal.

Jeff the Green
2014-04-03, 12:24 AM
Weaver birds. As the name suggests, they weave nests out of grass. Scale it up for massive woven cities inhabited by entire flocks, or add a mystical element by making the resulting nests magical a la war weaver.
Information parasites. Pied flycatchers "steal" information about nest site quality from great tits to the tits' detriment, making them the first known information parasites. Scale up to an entire race that uses telepathy to decide where to live and how to exploit their neighbors.
Estrus. Most every other non-human mammal has it; why not dwarves?
Horizontal gene transfer. Normally this has little effect on phenotype, but maybe this explains lycanthropy.


And some fantasy-esque landscapes/organisms:

The giant's causeway
http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/009/cache/giants-causeway_974_990x742.jpg

Joshua trees
http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu39/JeffreyTheGreen/Field%20Season%20Summer%202009/JTrees004.jpg

Gum leaf caterpillar (http://wtfevolution.tumblr.com/post/54118414876/molting-is-a-beautiful-thing-when-your-insides)
http://31.media.tumblr.com/5a28bcf6947bfbccbab595a2b7b4b97e/tumblr_mp4axa0kbt1s3yrubo1_1280.jpg

Angel falls
http://goista.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Angel-Falls-Venezuela.jpg