Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Conchant
15-5-201
Scope
The motivation behind building Conchant
Ghost: My motivation is to explore a very different kind of world and life, one that contains magic and fantasy and sci-fi elements while also breaking down the typical conventions of those genres. I’m also drawn towards slice-of-life stories and how the little things we experience influence the bigger picture of what we find meaning in.
Grace: It was made to have a little playground to act in, so obviously high fantasy swords and sorcery but also reflective of real world political themes and tensions.
Lee: Damn dude, can’t a world just exist?
The goal of the project
G: We have discussed for a long time about wanting to create a web-based comic based upon this world we’ve created. I would love to cultivate a community that is engaged deeply with the concepts and characters we explore – to love and hate and feel everything in between about them. Branching off with short stories, theme songs, fanart and more would also be a lot of fun.
G: It was originally a LARP for babies with no structure. A webcomic is the incarnation our dear Taylor wants to breathe to life. It would be cool to do an open-asset DND pack or something like that down the line!
L: An experience.
Conchant's Unique Selling point
G: What makes the world unique is the anachronistic clusterfuck it exists within – stylistically, technologically, culturally. It’s not just a tale of fantasy adventure, but it’s a social commentary on power and the fight against imperialism.
G: Taking the typical Ye Olde High Fantasye and flipping the script. Interpreting everything to be a little sideways, and injecting it with that delicious sweet drama. Everything is also a social commentary and an experiment in character relationships on the micro, mezzo, and macro scale.
L: gays, gals, gore. (found family, queer characters, magic/sci-fi blending, dismantling fascists, etc.)
Theme
Genre
Ghost: Speculative fiction, blending fantasy and sci-fi elements together. Magic follows strict rules and is based upon the complicated life-force energy Anym, which only certain people have the ability to manipulate to their will. Anym is also the force behind much of the available technology, including communication devices and even living dolls.
Grace: Grim, dingy, but fantastic and dizzyingly bright all at once. A middle-age ish fantasy with technology based around magic crystals that infuse the entire world with great power and conflict. The setting plays with real world time-scales and doesn’t neatly fit into our time progression. Not quite steampunk but crystal punk?
Lee: Medieval era level technology with fantasy/magic elements. There’s still mystery about many things in the world, but so far the inhabitants have figured out how to get by using both man-made inventions and utilizing the magic inherent to the world/certain races
Reader Tone
G: Pretty dark, in that it shows some of the worst parts of life under imperialist rule – including graphic scenes of violence and gore. Despite hardship, the main characters do have hope and ideals for the future, they grow close to each other, and ultimately do have things to fight for.
G: Like, it’s definitely dark. Witcher is probably the best tone comparison. Also similar to Dragon Age, if you look at select portions it’s edgy and grimdark but that’s balanced with lots of optimism, hopes and dreams, and mystical ideas straight out of a childhood daydream.
L: Medium dark roast. Wondrous & horrible things happen to everyone… :( No one is safe, but at least that means the king isn’t safe from assassination!
Recurring Themes
G: Anarchism, Corruption of Power, Good Intentions Aren’t Always Good Actions, Reincarnation
G: Conflict, Ambition, Magic, Progress and regression. There are fairies.
L: Found family!!! Coming to terms with who you are and what you’ve been through and moving forward. A refusal to back down in the face of opposition. Coming together (even with enemies) to make a difference.
Character Agency
G: The main characters have a lot of power to change the world, it’s just a matter of them finding an effective way to do so in the face of great suppression and oppression. They make a lot of mistakes and don’t often work well together, but ultimately find ways to make things move forward and fight against a common enemy.
G: 100% agency, everything is determined by how our main characters leave an impact on the world. The only determinant besides that is when our mains get into conflict with each other like any good leftist in-fighting :)
L: they keep fucking things up.
Focus
Drama
- The King and his whole quest for power. The death that initially put him into power, the marriage and heirs that legitimized his rule, Chanette’s appearance coinciding with his Queen’s disappearance, and the Anym crystal experiments meant to extend his life and power beyond that of an ordinary man.
- Throughout the story we see examples of children living through destabilizing circumstances, some even removed from their homes and families. In many of these situations, we also see children trying to stick together when few other options are presented to them. Improved survival as part of a (dysfunctional) found family is a big emphasis.
- We learn early on about the phenomenon of reincarnation, a complex subject typically reserved for the Sages of Anym when discussing their prophet Ahline. While not that common in general, it does happen on occasion to those with a particularly strong magical connection and control over Anym. What, then, are the implications of creating living dolls such as Channete, or even simpler automaton creations?
- Aside from the deeply corrupt Distrossian King, there also exists a web of political intrigue between the other kingdoms found on Conchant. Lords and Ladies, Dukes and Duchesses all vie for rule over their prospective territories – where bloodlines are vital and betrayal is commonplace. Throughout all of this, the fifth kingdom known as Amium attempts to culturally isolate and focus on protecting the lives of the people that live there.
- Anym crystals are the solid form of the Anym energy found in all living things, and are still widely considered a mystery. Over the last several years, Sages and independent researchers have noticed a black corruption in the coloration of these crystals that accompanies destabilization of the surrounding natural environment in which they are found. What could this mean for the planet at large?
- The Musicians - a legendary band of bards, each originating from a different land throughout Conchant. What has become of them? What stories do people still tell of them?
- Fairies - elemental creatures that can have magical influence over a specific type of Anym energy. Does wielding the power of Raw Anym (such as Sages do) differ from wielding elemental magic?
Find your way!
Resources
WHO WE ARE
LEGAL
Listen to our Podcast
