An archive of most of my entries to the Worldmaker Project. Said entries are all collated into one project on Scratch [link], which is largely formatted similarly to how it’s presented here.
version 28.0
Worldmaker Entries
Form: Radiation
Contains: N/A
Change: 2
Stability: -3
Destruction: 0.8
Creation: 0.8
Corruption: ±(0.01-0.9)
Photon
Notes
This element was meant to be a direct copy of real-world light in case that it wouldn't already be included in Worldmaker. Looking back on it, I'm not sure it was that necessary(seeing how pretty much every mundane material has been included), but it is interesting to have the effects of ionizing radiation conflated with Elemental corruption(perhaps sunburns are replaced/combined with having a faint sheen of solid-light on one's skin?)
As its name implies, this element functions more or less the same as real-world light
All frequencies of light–ultraviolet, radio, X-ray–are encompassed by this element
Level of corruption is dependent on the frequency of Photon. Visible light causes negligible corruption, but wavelengths like X-rays slowly corrupt over time. Photon-absorbent materials are recommended when trying to utilize high-energy Photon waves.
(Canonized)
A spectrum of Photonic light.
Form: Radiation
Contains: Photon
Change: 8
Stability: 2
Destruction: 3
Creation: 3
Corruption: ±(2-8)
Chroma
Notes
My initial plans for Chroma were kind of hazy; the focus on color symbolism in the Element's function may probably be better suited as the focus of a different worldbuilding project. Spindeler's reinterpretation of the element certainly feels far more cohesive and better fleshed out.
I might build upon, polish, and rework the concepts that inspired me to make Chroma in an artifact entry, though my plans for that are quite large in scope.
The symbolic meanings of this element's hues can be imparted upon any elements that come into contact with it
High concentrations of Chroma can create Color
(Canonized)
An archaic form of the Chroma icon.
Form: Gas, liquid(vapor)
Contains: Phantom
Change: 4
Stability: 8
Destruction: 1.5
Creation: 1.5
Corruption: -1
Anemoi
Notes
Out of the three elements I've made, I think this is the one I like the most. From the start, I was planning to create some sort of planetoid-based world, so the problem of how said planetoids are supposed to keep their atmospheres from drifting away was a major inspiration for this element, as was the "Gaia hypothesis" that postulates Earth's natural systems self-regulate.
It's a bit of a shame that the element was left for the Feast to consume, though... I decided to reimagine it as the Anemoebae, and hopefully they manage to get in.
Behaves more or less the same as air when gravity is strong enough to keep it from being dispersed into space
However, in environments of progressively decreasing gravity...
An increasingly thick layer of vapor forms at its boundary with vacuum, and convective currents form to pull down escaping Anemoi, creating novel weather patterns
This odd behavior seems to be directed by some kind of conscious will inherent in Anemoi, created by diffuse particles of Soul or Phantom
(Not Canonized)
A pair of Anemoi bubbles.
Form: Radiation
Contains: Surprise, Spark, Phantom, and Wonder
Change: 7
Stability: 2
Destruction: 1
Creation: 3
Corruption: -9
Youth
Notes
I thought that, given this will probably be my last major Worldmaker update, I'd take the chance to go out with a bang. In a way, this element is characterized by reversing entropy–but there's already an element called Anti-Entropy, so I opted to reframe its naming.
Hopefully this counts as being unique enough to warrant inclusion!
Reverts objects into idealized former versions of themselves
While Chronos creates a degraded future, Youth manifests a glorified past
Heals wounds, mends tears
Too much, though, can lead to things losing their nuance and complexity
(Canonized (as Regression) )
Cells of Youth quickly decaying
Form: solid metal
Contains: Iron, Cruor, Spark
Sanguine Iron
Notes
An earlier version of this was actually planned to be an element; the "True Iron" element was much simpler than Sanguine Iron, solely focused on the neutralization of elements into mundane substances, something that in turn drew from portrayals of iron as an "anti-magic" metal as well as its role in halting the fusion reactions that power supergiant stars, creating supernovae in the process. When I found that a blood-adjacent Element had the removal of Elemental corruption as its main feature, it felt like a puzzle in my mind had finally been completed.
However, my choice to use "Sanguine" to distinguish the material from mundane iron lead(pun intended) me into the rabbit hole of making special metals themed around the other 4 classical humors.
Granted, the actual connections between the chosen metals and their humors are a bit tangled(except for Melancholic Lead and the final, currently unrevealed metal), but I still feel they're a cohesive, potential-rich addition to Worldmaker.
Iron steeped in Cruor and charged with Spark gains many of both elements' powers
Elements exposed to Sanguine Iron will slowly "decorrupt" into the closest mundane material, except for elements that already function in place of a mundane material or process(ex. Photon for... photons, Phantom cores(Spark, Memory, Phantom) for minds, Woe for death)
Magnetic fields passing through Sanguine Iron are noticeably amplified
Extremely durable and dense; Sanguine Iron Aetherfossils serve as the immutable foundation of entire worlds(though almost never mobile locations such as Aiveph's planetoids)
Resistant, though not immune, to elemental corruption
An electrically-charged piece of Sanguine Iron.
Form: solid metal
Contains: lead, Melancholy, Chronos
Melancholic Lead
Notes
This material had a bit more consideration put into the existing ties between alchemical metals and their associated humors; Lead is associated with the planet Saturn, which in turn is seen as cold and dry in nature, attributes further possessed by the Melancholic humor. I was planning for this to be some sort of Chronos-corrupted material... but then I realized there's already an element LITERALLY CALLED Melancholy. So I had to find a way to finagle Melancholy's properties into the material. The parts of Melancholy's influence I tried to incorporate were its links with Memory(hence Melancholic Lead's psychological effects) and its connection with reduction into symbolism(hence why some of the symbolic meaning of the original lead is transferred, in a sense, into the final Melancholic Lead automoton's fixed purpose).
To make the whole double-corruption thing seem more intentional, I retconned Sanguine Iron to also require Spark corruption to connect with its amplified magnetism.
Lead immersed in Melancholy and exposed to Chronos gains the properties of the former, with the latter's corruption slowly seeping in.
Each discrete body of Melancholic Lead possesses their own "telos", an arbitrary, inflexible goal shaped by the processes that transmuted them from mundane lead.
This fixation is imparted by nearly all objects in contact with the metal, warping the mentality of entities exposed to it; Melancholic Lead corrupted individuals have certain memories relevant to furthering the telos crystallized into Fragment, and they tend to become increasingly stubborn and fatalistic in their commitment to their telos
Eventually, corrupted objects will transmute into Melancholic Lead automatons endlessly striving towards their telos
One of the densest materials
A mass of half-Melancholic lead(the mundane part is above)
Form: solid/liquid(rarely gaseous) metal
Contains: Hyperium, Woe, mercury
Choleric Quicksilver
Mercury infused with Hyperium and Woe becomes an incredibly caustic superfluid
Constantly flowing ; perturbing it only causes it to churn faster, unless it freezes (which happens only in extreme cold)
If sufficiently perturbed, it starts to heat up and turn into a fast-spreading vapor; large quantities of super-cold material(eg. liquid nitrogen) are imperative to return it into a marginally more stable form
Even touching a drop of it can be severely debilitating, requiring considerable amounts of Cruor to be ingested as it courses through the body, as its Hyperium content slowly decays into Spark and even more Woe
Only really ever used as desperate weapons and–in rare cases–an infinite power source
Also incredibly dense...
Just-thawed Choleric Quicksilver rapidly flowing; it was quickly refrozen soon after this image was taken.
Form: semi-solid powder, organic matter
Contains: Phantom, Mimicry, water, air, (various minerals)
Ioam
Notes
My original plans for Worldmaker elements also included Ioam in a form more or less identical to its current interpretation, though I eventually realized it, like Sanguine Iron, would make a better material. Ioam was largely inspired by real-life soil formation, and was originally envisioned as converting a far wider range of materials that curiously left out any organic matter.
For the name, it's actually rather simple; Loam is a type of soil that bolsters plant growth, and the letter "i" looks similar to a lowercase "L" when capitalized.
Phantom-corrupted soil(called Ioam) often becomes significantly more fertile, and has a tendency to gradually convert minerals and dead organic matter in contact with it into more Ioam.
Part of the Phantom going into corrupting the Ioam transmutes into Mimicry; Ioam is one of the easiest sources to extract Mimicry from as a result.
In warm, humid conditions, Ioam spontaneously generates Viror–a plant-like pseudo-life substance largely devoid of any biological cohesion, and which has integrated potent amounts of Mimicry to a large degree within its physiology
(Canonized)
A sample of Viror-coated Ioam with Viror-based "plants" that seem to mimic the umbrasynthetic (generating energy from dark) Lighties.
Form: organic matter
Contains: Phantom, Mimicry, water, (various organic compounds)
Viror
Notes
Viror was largely a logical continuation of Ioam, with both serving as foundational materials for creating future ecosystems.
-Within a breathable atmosphere, Viror continuously grows–but it slows to a crawl in dry. cold environments
When removed from Ioam, Viror slowly transmutes and decays, though conditions like those needed for its growth allow it to persist longer and possibly regenerate Ioam out of nearby minerals in hospitable conditions.
Viror masses slowly transmute into simple organisms. Most Viror-generated lifeforms are plants and microbes, though fungi and rarely simple animals can also form. This transmutation can be disrupted by hostile conditions, causing the Viror to rot.
Any lifeform in contact with a Viror mass for enough time will eventually be replicated by it; the accuracy of the copy depends on the original's complexity. This can be used to spread certain forms of Elemental Corruption via especially corrupted lifeforms.
(Canonized)
Fortunately, entities that create Viror replicates are unaffected by the transmutation process, though the sight of seeing a rapidly-deteriorating vegetal doppelganger has left an adverse mental impact on most duplicators.
Form: liquid
Contains: Cruor
Curor
Notes
As can be guessed, this material is a deliberate typo of Cruor; I've seen quite a few Inputs make it when referring to the element. I might actually consider making another typo-based material...
This substance is theorized to be an "alchemic isotope" of Curor, forming in trace amounts in Cruor-producing reactions and having largely similar physical and magical properties. Where Curor diverges is in its purply color as well as its reinforcement of beneficient corruption rather than unilateral erasure like base Cruor. Because of this, ingesting Curor in place of Cruor when possible is generally recommended to avoid the risks of the latter substance(i.e: turning into a Cruor Immortal).
(Canonized)
Form: solid
Contains: Photon, Chroma, transparent medium
P.R.I.S.M
Full name is “Perception Refractive Interaction Semantic Matrix”
Corrupting various crystals and other transparent/translucent solids with Photon and Chroma tends to produce tiny amounts of uncorruptable glassy material embedded in the resulting solid-light mass. These can be melted down and reformed into larger pieces to enhance their latent powers.
The resulting P.R.I.S.M can be used to adjust how magical phenomena are percieved through any light passing through it by encoding various hues of Chroma within its structure; with enough power, it may be able to potentially instate this altered perception onto mundane phenomena and on much larger scales.
As previously stated, the potency of a P.R.I.S.M depends on its size, but also on the amount of mundane matter in its composition(which also decreases its opacity.) A large glass lens with a bit of P.R.I.S.M infused in it would be about as potent as a small shard of pure P.R.I.S.M.
