I feel like syndromes like heavy metal poisoning would be a cool concept in your world, especially since during the time of exploration heavy metal poisoning was common due to things like lead or in some cases mercury.
I'm guessing Monster Garden mostly. I'm loving both your art and the founding idea behindthe magic system! The way i see it; there's no way alchemists never tried to "ornate" themselves or others and i think exploring what the outcome of those tries has been would make for an interesting bit of lore. I'd probably name it something other than gold and bone though: it sounds kinda generic and a bit too close to shadow and bone in format not to invite unwarranted claims of plagiarism
"Ornata" being both a latin-sounding version of the word "ornate" while also breaking down into "or-nata" or "gold-born" is an INSANELY good trick of writing
@@StripedJacket It made me feel like the singular should probably be "Ornatum", if we take "Ornata" to be directly borrowing the neuter plural from Latin. "Nata" is actually also Latin, and more or less means "they are born" (as an adjective). Like you could say "(some plural pronoun) auri nata" to refer to those who were "born of gold", or "auro nata" for "born from gold", I'm not sure which would be more appropriate. That would be more relevant in a historical fiction setting, since the Latin "aurum" was commonly used by real-world alchemists to refer to gold. "Or" is an interesting thing here, because it is the word for gold in French and Italian (descended from "aurum"), but in English, it was used to refer to a gold/yellow color in heraldry.
As someone who regularly consumes 40min+ content, the fact that you conveyed such a cool, unique, developed, intricate, mesmerizing, and truly profound magic system with world implications social structures and other fertile soil for expansion and consistent tone and history in... UNDER 10 MINUTES?? Masterful. Enjoy your subscriber bump. You deserve it
This channel is so underrated, the magic system sounds incredibly unique and the concept of people being able to get enchanted like objects would be very interesting to explore even further. Would love to see more videos on the magic system for sure
Recommend looking into the idea of magic tattoos, that is at least the most surface level enchantment of people that I know of, though don't know if a in depth video has been made about them.
Now THIS is a worldbuilding project. I absolutely love how you made an effort to make the logic internally consistent - "why was the true nature of ornata discovered late? beacause they bury their dead!" "people made of gold will be killed for the gold itself, so they have to hide!" "if gold itself is enchantable, golden people are enchented with the same method!" I absolutely love this huge wave of worlbuilding YTers that have hit the scene since Monstergarden. A whole new community is forming!
It's still highly illogical, because if gold holds high value, you would see that the gold skin/muscle patches would be cut out of the dead because of their value. Which would expose the golden bones. Even if gold held less value back thenm it is still incredibly odd that people would never see bones, and that there wouldn't be stories about golden bones told at campfires. These stories would be enough of a hint for some to try their hands at killing an ornata when alchemy became more mainstream and gold rose in value.
@@boohoo5419 Well if you're gonna go the asshole way about it, magic also doesn't exist so that makes it nonsense from the start. But wait, it is fantasy, so it could maybe possibly perhaps have different rules than our reality? Hmmm. Moron.
I absolutely dig this concept! I'm imagining an Ornata with a gold skull and spine being obsessed with becoming "perfect", and so starting a cult and recruiting Alchemists, surgeons, and back alley thugs to "collect" and disassemble the additional parts he needs to have a completely golden skeleton, slowly ship of theseusing themself into a living frankenstine's monster.
@@travisperkins9920 Had a similar idea! but the child is born into poverty and thus has to sell his golden parts to literally live by; which could be used as a goal in the future where he reclaims what he lost and becomes whole again, just a thought tho
Just had a little idea for this magic system : Sulfur, Sulfur is the only element that can damage gold. With this property, it could be interesting to give it an anti-magic capability (even to the possibility of being a neutralizing element for the gold touched people) or an element that can "reset" an enchantment
This was beyond fascinating, having such a wild power system be deeply explained alongside beautiful illustrations felt magical. It feels like im reading a fictional book without actually reading it; definitely gonna have to keep coming back cause this is truly amazing!
This is such a unique and interesting idea for a magic system, holy canoli. When you were discribing some people harvisting gold from the bodies of the dead, I imagined a scene that eould be so cool for worldbuilding: A person enters a small pawn shop in order to sell goods from a pouch they have. They look around to make sure no one is watching, before spilling the contesnts of the pouch onto the counter, glimmering with a golden light. The shopkeeper's eyes widen as they begin ro examine the gold, noticing it to be pure. They examine every rough cut in great detail before picking up one and realizing what the seller has just done. A lone golden finger bone sits among the ahattered pieces, sanded down as to look less bone-like. The shopkeep eyes the seller, who stares back at them with an understanding grim disgust. The shopkeep rhinks for a moment about reporting them, but the reward is far less than what the gold could give. The shopkeep slides the bone beneath the pile of gold before responding, "How much do you want for it?"
This is truly amazing. The human body already has some trace amounts of gold in it (0.2 mg, I think), so it would be cool to see some of the more sinister alchemists roaming battlefields with some magical device to suck the gold out of corpses.
@@lacerisesurlegateau4192scavengers vs the elite. Different rungs of the social ladder. Scavengers might use more primitive methods to extract gold, but elite alchemists might have more advanced methods and tools for extracting what they want. Scavengers fight over scrap, while the elite class get all the gold they could ever need. They might even create wars and conflict just for the potential of taking the gold from the corpses. The 1% farming the bodies of soldiers to become more wealthy and more powerful.
That reminds me of monsterbook or whatever his name is on youtube. He made a video about a man who acours the battlefield to harvest the corpses of mages
I would like to formally thank the algorhitm for showing me this. Your art is excellent, and this magic system sounds intriguing! Can't wait to hear more!
Perschlaps someone with a (partially) golden spine could be capable of inducing fear, as compared to them, everyone might as well be spineless. Very creative and concise concept, thank you for sharing it with us!
Ooh, this makes me wonder what the reasoning behind the powers will be. Will it correspond to linguistic metaphors like your example and the one in the video (gold in the eye socket = enhanced perception), and if so, why? Will it also connect to the position of chakras? And what happens if an Ornata wields magically inbued gold jewelry? Such abundant potential for this magic system
This is maybe one of the best unique magic systems ive ever heard of. I like the idea of people becoming mages via grotesque invasive surgery rather than hard study or meditation. I can just imagine, the flesh being pealed back to access the golden bone, only for a Frankenstein figure to carve runes into and annoint with oils and incense
Golden Fibrodysplasia sounds truly horrifying, like something out of Dark Souls universe, with it being inspired by Gothic aesthetic as well. This is good stuff!
@@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ i mean you'd just die rather quickly from.. well the gold inside. The body very much hates having part of its vital skeleton replaced with hard metal.
Your art is absolutely stunning! Your style of video reminds me a lot of Monster Garden’s, but both of your styles are so unique! I’m already invested in this world that you’re making, and can’t wait to see more!
@jossypoo yeah monstergarden was my first thought when I saw this is my recommendations. Interested in seeing where this goes cuz this is a pretty cool concept. The idea of these "ornata" being born with innate potential rather than extraordinary innate ability is already an interesting difference. Sure they have some ability from the start, but they're no more miraculous than any other gold insofar as society sees them. Any gold can be enchanted and used as a tool. I like the idea of these alchemists being the ones to unlock the ornata's potential because it could create some interesting relationships and storytelling possibilities. It's almost cyberpunk in a way, with people getting these enchantments/modifications to enhance themselves in some way. People could be taken advantage of by alchemists because they are "ornata" and used at tools, or maybe there's the potential for cursing someone using those style of enchantments. Keep them bound to an alchemist master or face unfortunate consequences. Ornata slaves basically.
The societies and cultures are fascinating to think of. One could see the Ornata rule as Priest-Kings, and another could harvest them like rare mushrooms, creating a society where everyone is on the lookout for hidden Ornatas to harvest. Another could have them as cloistered national treasures, pampered yet restricted in freedom. It's a fascinating concept. Subscribed!
There could also be anti-Ornata hate groups who resent their privileged status in society, going as far as organizing shady organizations to demonize or outright hunt them
I imagine royal families faking their new borns as Ornatas for improved status. Maybe using gold paint everytime they go out in public. It is a really cool concept you created, congrats!
The illustrations are gorgeous!!! I also love because of how gold is needed for the magic to flow, its also mimicking how gold is used in computer wiring. So the idea of using gold as basically magic circuitry opens up the avenus to also have people use it in ingenious ways to emulate tech we might have today!!
As someone who reads primarily fantasy, i already adore the concept you have put out here. Already my mind is going wild with all the possibilities for stories and character arcs. Can't wait to see this develop!! Your art style is just breathtaking in its somehow efficient simplicity!! Definitely going to be following your work closely.
@julba6704 The Will Of The Many by James Islington, it's new stuff a bit YA with a young protagonist but the magic system is definitely unique. Then Mistborn by B. Sanderson (or just about anything by him, Stormlight Archive too but it's "heavier"). I am currently reading Laundry Files which is more of urban sci-fi/fantasy but the writing is masterful. Also have to give a shoutout to Dungeon Crawler Carl series (LitRPG).
This magic system is brimming with a lot of potential, I love it! It feels grounded and way more manageable from a story-writing perspective, while also being wonderfully unique. Also your art is so good!! Really glad i got this video recommended.
Gold being an innately magical metal is an idea I've toyed with in my own settings, but having some people just be born imbued with gold is a fantastic idea! I hope this continues to grow, I'd love to see where you go with it.
In my DnD games gold is the physical form of magic, which is why you need to use gold when enchanting. I realize it's very homebrew-y, but I like it. Kinda neat how this idea is similar.
I keep rewatching your Gold and Bone videos to have something both relaxing and interesting in the background, and they keep gifting me sparks of inspiration
Oooh, shiny! What a novel and intriguing concept! The random chance that a person is born with golden bones would be fascinating to really wrap one's head around. I wonder how many Ornata throughout history have been born to heads of state, influential and wealthy families and such. You'd think such children would figure heavily into a life of celebrity - The Golden King, or some such, makes for a fantastically striking moniker in a world where gold is magical. If any ruler in history has an Ornata child that would be a massive deal as to how magic and Ornata would be seen by the cultures around them I imagine being an Ornata would obviously be a mixed blessing deal for the people born with gold parts. Gold weighs more than flesh - if you didn't have symmetrical patches of gold, it would cause balance issues, which could lead to chronic pain without correction or assistance. Plus there's the possibility that golden skin would make be less elastic, which could lead to tearing injuries. I imagine a person who heals from such a wound would then look like the gold just *burst* from their skin. For more casual names and nicknames, I like the idea of "Troves" being a common, vaguely derogatory term. Fast, a bit awkward, and bluntly dehumanizing. I mean, it's straight calling a person "treasure". That's just pretty horrific in its implications. Also I wonder. You could probably whip up a few ways for the function of gold in magic - I mean, there's some quality that has to make gold special, yeah? My first thought on that has to do with the fact hold doesn't corrode easily. Or at all iirc. it can also carry an electric charge, which means gold is useful for stuff like space travel and long term uninterrupted projects. Perhaps gold has a similar "stable" interaction with the arcane? Idk. Also, the talk of gold and alchemy makes me wonder about the Philosopher's Stone. Iirc you can use it to transmute objects into gold? What if it could do that in Gold And Bone?
I still haven't watched the video so never mind if that is mentioned, but Gold is actually a rather soft metal so maybe that could basis for an art that bends gold or something like that. On top of that the currently belief for gold's origin is that it is formed inside stars, I don't know what but I'm sure something could be done with that
Some of them are going to fancy themselves ‘trove’ but in a narcissistic and arrogant manner, but i think that Goldilocks is very rarely seen as anything more than spoiled or eaten by bears.
What if the creation of the Ornata have something to do with the philosopher stone? Like a experiment that got wrong and affected the entire human race.
I have no idea why this was recommended to me, but I read so much fantasy and DM homebrew games constantly. I love seeing ideas like this. Asking all of the snowballing questions that follow about how this would affect a world is so much fun, and fun to let others explores. Subscribed, can't wait to see more of your videos.
I love people that have a creative process of literally creating everything about their story. For me is just "write write write write write oh my god I don't know how that works" and find myself with writer's block, ready to spent another whole year looking for inspiration.
This is so cool! Definitely a little similar to the magic system I’m developing in the sense that it involves “strange bones” playing a part in the world’s magic! Very cool!
I love seeing how you draw gold, as I personally have a character who has gold and gemstones embedded in his skin (He's a pseudodeity representing recovery, the gold and gems are all representative of his scars from when he was alive, because he takes value in the reminders of things he's recovered from). Thank you, this will help me a lot drawing him and shading his skin!
What an interesting idea! What I find most interesting is how enchanting interacts with gold. 1. Does a larger gold mass result in more potent or longer lasting magic? 2. Can a single piece of gold hold more than one enchantment, if not, do people born with two separate gold patches get an innate advantage? 3. Can the gold be harvested? I imagine a huge black market centered around mining humans or maybe it’s just cheaper to have a newborn that matures for a few years to be harvested (as sick as that sounds) than it is to wait for someone to heal. 4. Is there a difference in gold quality/purity? Does it affect the power of the enchantment? Is it something that can be inherited? 5. Due to the density of gold, I assume it’d be dangerous for most gold-infused people to become sailors or even be around deep bodies of water. Again, really interesting concept, thanks for the video!
I absolutely adore this concept, it has so much room for interesting advancments. I've always thought that alchemists were a cool concept that unfortunately never really got explored farther than "haha funny potion man", so giving them an ACTUAL reason to exist and be the main scientific profession is great to see. Edit: I am now realizing that the alchemist comment might be poorly worded and need some elaboration. Of course there are a lot of media that portray alchemists well, but most of the time it feels like a mix of wizards and fantasy scientists, but this really feels like a wholly unique take on it!
Alchemists in this system sound more like recognized artisans that work in a very lucrative yet dangerous occupation. More extreme types can find their work in black markets experimenting on captured Ornata or perhaps depending on the society is run may be sought out to have the gold removed to avoid prosecution or make money like a pawn shop. These Alchemists sound more pivotal/impactful throughout the world and very in importance depending on the society in question rather than just recognized universally as an additional boon in potions or rune augmentation for weapons and armor. They like a check box in some fantasies rather than a meaningful addition.
I'd be interested to know how the concept of a Philosopher's Stone would develope in this world setting. It would no longer be an alchemist's search for knowledge and riches, but a legit end all catalyst of power. That who controls the Philosopher's Stone controls the magic, so I imagine the search for it or something similar to be a violent and dark path full of blood, tears and betrayals.
@@eanjan8812 it all depends on the alchemist, but the main goals were the transmutation of metals (ex;Lead into gold), the creation of a remedy that could cure all diseases, and an elixir of immortality. The Philosopher's stone would be a crucial element in all of these goals
@@soupeverywhere9565 Yeah because Fullmetal alchemist is based on real life alchemy which includes the philosopher's stone. Fullmetal alchemist didn't come up with it.
A souls borne game with this concept would be wild! you could have a upper class clad with gold that is wildly powerful and interested in expanding their knowledge in gold ,or you could start in a slum type area where alot of npc's or just straight enemies would attack you for a chance to escape the slums by harvesting your gold skeleton. maybe classes would change the gold skeleton you have such as a ranger having eyes capable of predicting movements a second ahead or a barbarian who's gold arms allow them to wield massively powerful weapons. maybe some chosen few are born with golden brains allowing them to communicate with higher beings making a secret organization in the posh and rich upper class that dictates what is wrong and right depending on what these upper being's tell them. the potential with this idea is absolutely wild.
HOLY CRAP! I absolutely ADORED this concept!! You've gained a new sub! I am beyond excited for a continuation. This might be a bit of a stretch because of the bone based gold appearances, but I'd absolutely loved to see an Ornata with golden hair. After looking at some of videos and noticing your artstyle, I'm sure it would look absolutely mesmerizing. Just an idea! Good luck in your journey, I will stay here through all of it.
dude the hair thing would actually be so cool you could have a rapunzel-esque legend in the history of these cultures that was actually just a gold-haired ornata
What a lovely surprise, I too am currently working on a flintlock fantasy literary series inspired by works from Bryan McClellan and Joe Abercromby. It is such a breath of fresh air to see other creators touching on the other, less travelled avenues of fantasy genres and share their journey. I believe yourself, The Monstergarden, and Treelancer are the future of modern fantasy and I hold immeasurable hope for your success.
this would make a incredibly compelling dnd setting/system when your further along, plus having a book with diagrams and such using the art youve done here would be amazing
I am genuinely so happy that you were able to explain such a cool and diverse system as this in under 10 minutes! This would you’re building sounds so incredibly cool ❤
An interesting and imaginative setting. Sorta reminds me of Dragonlance with the similar currency idea of gold not being as popular, except for them it was steel. You could still use gold for minor things but steel was more coveted since it could be fashioned into armor or weapons during war time.
I absolutely adore this as a magic system, it instantly starts to ask a lot of really interesting questions in my head. Like 'Can people artifically infuse themselves with gold?' 'Are there other materials that could have other effects when grown on bone?' 'How are Ornata treated differently from others?' LOVE IT
Man, "Ornata" is such a good name for this. Like. Wow that had my jaw dropping. It just works. I've actually got a *slightly* similar system based around gold that I call The Coin, and it was really neat seeing the different ways you took the concept of gold.
Hello! This is really fascinating :) I do have some questions!! - gold is really heavy - is there any physical detriment to those deeply imbued with gold? For example, pain from having one leg heavier than the other? - if surface markings indicate talent, and scars sometimes appear with gold, can a scar in the right place produce a new talent? - is the combined magical and scientific science good enough that a person could choose to attach gold to their bones, and if so, would that give them the power of an ornata? What about transplantation? - is there any culture surrounding pyrite? Scams, folk lore, etc. - is there a concept of a philosopher's stone? If so, is there any culture around led? - aqua regia can dissolve gold - is there any culture surrounding it? Do molecules with gold atoms in them carry any magical properties, or is it just pure gold? (Maybe this is for the sci fi future of your world, I'm thinking about inscribing magic on the atomic level...) - how is gold used in art and artistry? Is the gold in instruments? In the fabric of dancers clothes? In paintings, in order to convey fantastical illusions? - is gold used in dentistry still, and if not, what metal is used? Would capping your teeth with gold mean anything for you, magic wise?
This is genuinely one of the most creative concepts I've heard in a while, which can lead to such great world building and storytelling. My mind has been firing away with ideas of what you can do with it. You have done a fantastic job and I can't wait to see how you expand on this concept and world.
Those are such fun concepts to think about! I'm already excited to see more of your worldbuilding! Also I can't believe you have so few subscribers, a chanel with this quality of presentation and art really deserve more attention
As soon as you mentioned that the gold grows on the skeleton naturally, I instantly started thinking about if this is purely a human discovery/ connection, or if it applies to other vertebrates as well? Since you mentioned people have had many debates and different points of view on what this is meant to be, how is meant to be used and potentially enchanted, I started thinking of potentially "enchanted" or "holy" animals. Does this affect animals as well? Can animals also become/ be considered an "Ornata"? Amazing project, defiintely worth following. Can´t wait to see more of your already wonderful work :D
If so, and if it occurred at a rate similar to humans then gold will become a lot less rare considering the billions of animals killed daily as livestock, at least in todays society, it would still be in the millions in a pre-industrial society
If animals are able to be Ornata then following basic survival rules any young or individual that is found to be Ornata would be shunned from a herd as they would be most likely to be hunted for their gold, thus over years animals would learn to distant or abandon any young that are Ornata. Which in turn could fuel the religious rhetoric 'even animals fear their ornata children and abandon them'.
As a casual writer, I wanted to just thank you for sharing a bit of your work and your soul like this. What an incredibly interesting system and world around it.
this is so crazy for me, as a small child I came up with this idea where gold was magical and you can enchant things with it. It's so cool to see a similar idea being created visually
I'm really happy to see that kind of worldbuilding video getting more and more popular. And this magic system idea have a lot of potential, curious to see where it will go !
This is the coolest world building I've seen in awhile. You kept it simple but the twist allows for whole new classes of interactions. My only criticism is gold is boring but it meshes so well with alchemy you had to use it. 9/10
Gold is also a highly conductive material, and I recall an argument made that electricity would sound like the most bullshit soft magic if it was written from an outside perspective.
@lordsergal8783 it was considered a "numbing" effect pre electric knowledge. Or just instant death (lighting). It's more that gold is the most basic go to for "special metal" but the Alchemy twist demands it. Maybe some more powerful mages have Rubedo or Citrine bones. Actual Alchemy spanned quasi religion proto scientific knowledge from Egypt to Arabia and there are many traditions and systems.
In the gothic fantasy / western setting I have been working on, I use the rule of "Rare and Powerful." One of the problems with most magic systems is that magic ends up feeling mundane due to how common and weak it is. It's designed to feel like a weapon to be balanced instead of what it is, magic. So in my setting magic is rare, as in one in ten million has the potential to manifest one spell in their entire life kind of rare. So like any legendary weapon in a setting, I can afford to make all the spells in my setting truly magical without concerning myself with game balance. As at the end of the day the goal is to make the magic feel like magic, a power so great and mysterious the people who use it can build or tear down kingdoms. Since a mage might only manifest the ability to cast a single spell in their life, it also allows me to use magic as a character defining feature instead of merely a tool. Which means the magic spells can be as thematic or narrative shaping as the plot needs. This is possible because unlike other game systems, health does not scale in my system. So even if a player has the most powerful magic in the game, every character is designed as a glass cannon where dodging / blocking is more vital than trying to tank damage; HP walls do not exist in the setting.
This is brilliant and feels so unique. I find magic systems which rely on some unseen "energy" to be a little drab, but I love the idea that one particular element is the means to magic. Then creating this ontological mystery with the origins of the ornata makes for a fascinating lore, and invites characters from all backgrounds to speculate on these peculiar humans. I love to see creative minds conjuring something truly novel and special. I will be looking forward to future videos, you've earned my sub!
This system could be a really interesting way to symbolize societal greed. Imagine telling a secret to your best friend and pulling back your sleeve to reveal the gold on your skin, and they promise you that they will not tell a soul, but then they leave to "get a drink." In their place is a group of armed guards surrounding your current location.
I adore this! I've always found myself more interested in magic systems than any of the fantasy folks around me, so finding a video that actually fully focus on one (and with such lovely art) really made my day.
This is blowing up really well for you Congratulations I saw this video earlier today and you were around 400 subs and now you're at 800 That's impressive
Oh man that video ended quicker than I expected, I was left wanting more! Your voice is so nice to listen to and the worldbuilding is well-thought out. Looking forward to more!
Ayo you can’t just throw such wonderful artwork and cool world design and ideas that quickly with no warning! You almost killed me ahah, I’m so into this concept right now and i really appreciate your art style. New subscriber incoming ahah Keep up the amazing work :)
This is super cool! the idea of golden bones reminds me of Catacomb saints. where sometimes the bodies and bones of Christian saints where exhumed and covered in gold and ornamentation. A lot of them are very evocative and eye catching in both a majestic and macabre way.
Some fun questions to explore: Where does gold come from originally? Is it old star stuff like our real world or was all gold once part of an Ornata? Did ornata exist in previous species or other species in the current world? Could an alchemist have a pet ornata dog with an enchantment? How would being an ornata present in non-humans? Hope to see this evolve and grow!
If the idea hasn't already come to you, the concept of someone wounding ornata with deep Cuts, over and over, just to make them heal back with more gold feels like a realistically dark thing that would happen. Could even be an ornata doing it to themselves, believing more gold=more power/purity.
The whole idea of ornata being seen as godly is kind of funny because in Greek mythology, the color of the gods is gold. I also love your art style It’s very inspiring :]
My fiance just showed me this and oh my god??? This such a fantastic magic system that I can't wait to see more of! Not to mention your amazing artistic skills, the anatomy work alone is breathtaking! And the way you render the gold??? Stunning, you can really tell how important it is just through the art. So excited to see more!
This is absolutely wonderful. As someone who is intensily interested in old-fantasy/magic-utilising themes, this was super cool to find. You did wonderfully on the video, it was great to watch because you can just _feel_ the love, and passion that went into all of the sketches and the designs. Your creativity shines super brightly here too and makes it even better as you manage to make the viewers themselves get excited about this world, the stories that could develop in it, and everything in between :) Your channel's super cool too! And an absolute godsend for people with a love for this kind of stuff. You reached a certain demographic with this, so I hope you're ready for a horde of old/fantasy/art nerds :) Good job!
Interesting, and I kinda want to see it done with other materials. I wonder how practical having gold as bones would be in certain parts. Gold is really dense and heavy, so some parts of the body would be weighed down a lot, or perhaps the gold is as dense as bone, rendering it actually very fragile, more so then bone. Bone marrow producing blood or storing fat would also be voided due to gold, but otherwise ignoring practical realities (it is magic), it’d be interesting. I also wonder if there was ever a King Midas here, he’d probably be the most powerful guy around.
It's videos like this that make me realize there are people in this world with unimaginable levels of creativity, and the world is a better place because of their work.
This is very intresting i haven't seen a magic system like that yet and i just can imagine myself laying in bed thinking about all the possible ways to use this powers system. Oh and I loved the vid! hope to see more!
I must say - this concept is basically awesome and worth entire setting built around it. Also i feel MonsterGarden vibes, and that's entire another type of great.
You definitely need a team of writes to flesh this out. I think the addition of this idea into the storytelling realm where people could sit down and play it as characters would be FASCINATING. You wouldn't even need to sell physical copies if you didn't want to, there are places like DriveThru RPG where e-copies of the game could be distributed.
Imagine someone with a ribcage made out gold but just around their heart. They have a heart of gold, and find that after being enchanted they can do no wrong. They go insane by their lack of free will and kill themselves, unknowingly feeding starving wolf pups with their corpse in the process
I absolutely adore the concept! Mind if I chime in a few ideas of my own? In a world where gold was this precious, no one would wear it of use it for currency, but they'd use the next best thing! I'm guessing most jewels would be make of a bronze or brass alloy with a color that's really similar to gold, giving the noblefolk the chance to smuggle one or two actually enchanted, golden ornaments (a ring or an earring) hidden among the rest of the jewels, but ready to be used for defensice or offensive purposes. Since you've chosen gold for this project, you better be aware that's one of the more biocompatible metals out there. People would ABSOLUTELY graft gold onto their bodies for the chance to become artificial Ornata. For example, missing eyes could be replaced with golden eyes, enchanted to replace part of the vision, missing fingers or hands could be replaced with golden counterparts for additional funcionality and so on. Bear in mind that nowadays we use actual golden threads for plastic surgery, and these people would do too. Maybe a few, desperate enough would ingest enchanted golden beads for a temporary power boost, knowing the fact that's possible they'll loost said bead soon. Or maybe they can't, or it's lethal because of the process the alchemist use to enchant gold, and actually achieving synthetic Ornata is a myth some countris are actually trying to develop to win wars. I don't think I've got more kdea for this at the moment. It'd be cool if the process to enchant Ornata was like the process to make a witcher in The Witcher, and I think the Ornata should be written with two ts, Ornatta. Good luck!
I've always run D&D games where gold is physical magic, and needed to infuse items with arcane power, hence paying an artificer X amount of gold to make a magic item. Part of the payment is used in the crafting process to anchor the weave in a single location in spacetime. Love the world building implications and human aspects of this concept even more, very very well done.
This sounds AMAZING! I’d love to see more of this concept. What are some examples of abilities Ornata can manifest? Are there any limitations? What are the consequences of the enchantment process not working? I have so many questions XD
Absolutely loving the concept of golden people living in a world more hungry for gold than our own. I can see an ornata who has golden growths raging out of their skin with a healing ability enchanted on them so they heal the growth when some not so great person cuts it off. The body horror that could stem from the gold in your bones growing out of you uncontrollably is intriguing. I cannot wait to see how the world building of this universe goes
Fascinating idea! And lovely art as well. One twist that seems to be overlooked, I think it's less likely that Ornata would be killed to be harvested, so much as harvested while alive, so their bodies can continue to heal with more gold. Could make for some very grim characters.
I mean, we kinda already do! That’s the coolest part! That’s what technology is! Glyphs and Sigils made from gold and other precious metals that make fantastical things happen!
I think that a cool addition could be people with gold prosthetics to be able to also cast magic.. Or does it have to be an "organic gold" wich appears on you on its own when you're born?
Oh my goodness, where did all of you lovely people come from???
I feel like syndromes like heavy metal poisoning would be a cool concept in your world, especially since during the time of exploration heavy metal poisoning was common due to things like lead or in some cases mercury.
Algorithm + Thumbnail :)
I'm guessing Monster Garden mostly.
I'm loving both your art and the founding idea behindthe magic system!
The way i see it; there's no way alchemists never tried to "ornate" themselves or others and i think exploring what the outcome of those tries has been would make for an interesting bit of lore.
I'd probably name it something other than gold and bone though: it sounds kinda generic and a bit too close to shadow and bone in format not to invite unwarranted claims of plagiarism
@@retu3510 ditto
you have pleased the al gore rhythm
"Ornata" being both a latin-sounding version of the word "ornate" while also breaking down into "or-nata" or "gold-born" is an INSANELY good trick of writing
Ornata literally means “ornate” or “decorated” in Latin
What language is “Or-Nata” meaning “Gold-Born” come from?
@@StripedJacket more "Aur-Nata"
@@StripedJacket Italian
@@Sam-pie that’s cool
@@StripedJacket It made me feel like the singular should probably be "Ornatum", if we take "Ornata" to be directly borrowing the neuter plural from Latin.
"Nata" is actually also Latin, and more or less means "they are born" (as an adjective). Like you could say "(some plural pronoun) auri nata" to refer to those who were "born of gold", or "auro nata" for "born from gold", I'm not sure which would be more appropriate. That would be more relevant in a historical fiction setting, since the Latin "aurum" was commonly used by real-world alchemists to refer to gold.
"Or" is an interesting thing here, because it is the word for gold in French and Italian (descended from "aurum"), but in English, it was used to refer to a gold/yellow color in heraldry.
As someone who regularly consumes 40min+ content, the fact that you conveyed such a cool, unique, developed, intricate, mesmerizing, and truly profound magic system with world implications social structures and other fertile soil for expansion and consistent tone and history in... UNDER 10 MINUTES?? Masterful. Enjoy your subscriber bump. You deserve it
Thank you so much for the kind comment! Yes this was just a little dip into the world to test the waters - hopefully more bits and bobs to come! :)
same!!!
@@TheSmolBritI can’t wait for the next video, and please, make it as long as you want
Must agree thank you for not padding your video with useless visuals and cuts and unfunny jokes you a rare one
Yappin
This channel is so underrated, the magic system sounds incredibly unique and the concept of people being able to get enchanted like objects would be very interesting to explore even further. Would love to see more videos on the magic system for sure
I'm so glad you enjoy the ideas, and are eager for more. I hope to give folks more content soon!
@@TheSmolBrit Just saw the channel skyrocket from 120 subs to 1k, glad you are getting the attention you deserve!
Won't be underrated for long. UA-cam algorithm loves these kind of videos.
Recommend looking into the idea of magic tattoos, that is at least the most surface level enchantment of people that I know of, though don't know if a in depth video has been made about them.
I also love this idea, it's really creative compared to what most fantasy books do. I wish there were more books that have a magic system this unique.
Now THIS is a worldbuilding project. I absolutely love how you made an effort to make the logic internally consistent - "why was the true nature of ornata discovered late? beacause they bury their dead!" "people made of gold will be killed for the gold itself, so they have to hide!" "if gold itself is enchantable, golden people are enchented with the same method!"
I absolutely love this huge wave of worlbuilding YTers that have hit the scene since Monstergarden. A whole new community is forming!
It's still highly illogical, because if gold holds high value, you would see that the gold skin/muscle patches would be cut out of the dead because of their value. Which would expose the golden bones.
Even if gold held less value back thenm it is still incredibly odd that people would never see bones, and that there wouldn't be stories about golden bones told at campfires. These stories would be enough of a hint for some to try their hands at killing an ornata when alchemy became more mainstream and gold rose in value.
it is totally insonsistent nonsense.. gold and bone? living matter and metal? yeah.. thats not how living thing "grow".
@@boohoo5419 Well if you're gonna go the asshole way about it, magic also doesn't exist so that makes it nonsense from the start.
But wait, it is fantasy, so it could maybe possibly perhaps have different rules than our reality? Hmmm.
Moron.
@@boohoo5419 good thing its not real then
@@boohoo5419What do you think "fantasy" means?
I absolutely dig this concept! I'm imagining an Ornata with a gold skull and spine being obsessed with becoming "perfect", and so starting a cult and recruiting Alchemists, surgeons, and back alley thugs to "collect" and disassemble the additional parts he needs to have a completely golden skeleton, slowly ship of theseusing themself into a living frankenstine's monster.
WTF THIS IS SICK!!!! i love your mind
That's our main villian right there.
MAIN ANTAGONIST FR
I pictured someone born completely gold who gets worshipped as a religious figure. Yours is a lot cooler though
@@travisperkins9920 Had a similar idea! but the child is born into poverty and thus has to sell his golden parts to literally live by; which could be used as a goal in the future where he reclaims what he lost and becomes whole again, just a thought tho
Just had a little idea for this magic system :
Sulfur,
Sulfur is the only element that can damage gold. With this property, it could be interesting to give it an anti-magic capability (even to the possibility of being a neutralizing element for the gold touched people) or an element that can "reset" an enchantment
Noted, love it!
I love how artists seemingly ruin their great drawings when they start adding details and then it turns out amazing
Bots are unholy@repentandbelieveinJesusChrist1
@repentandbelieveinJesusChrist1shut up
@repentandbelieveinJesusChrist1 fk jesus,STEEZUS RULES.
It’s called the “ugly phase”
Theres a reason the phrase "trust the process" exists
This was beyond fascinating, having such a wild power system be deeply explained alongside beautiful illustrations felt magical. It feels like im reading a fictional book without actually reading it; definitely gonna have to keep coming back cause this is truly amazing!
Thanks, Mr. Rosen, for your inspiring, wonderful, and frankly _click_ nice comment.
This is such a unique and interesting idea for a magic system, holy canoli.
When you were discribing some people harvisting gold from the bodies of the dead, I imagined a scene that eould be so cool for worldbuilding:
A person enters a small pawn shop in order to sell goods from a pouch they have. They look around to make sure no one is watching, before spilling the contesnts of the pouch onto the counter, glimmering with a golden light. The shopkeeper's eyes widen as they begin ro examine the gold, noticing it to be pure. They examine every rough cut in great detail before picking up one and realizing what the seller has just done. A lone golden finger bone sits among the ahattered pieces, sanded down as to look less bone-like. The shopkeep eyes the seller, who stares back at them with an understanding grim disgust. The shopkeep rhinks for a moment about reporting them, but the reward is far less than what the gold could give. The shopkeep slides the bone beneath the pile of gold before responding, "How much do you want for it?"
This is truly amazing.
The human body already has some trace amounts of gold in it (0.2 mg, I think), so it would be cool to see some of the more sinister alchemists roaming battlefields with some magical device to suck the gold out of corpses.
I think a club and a bonesaw could suffice
@@robert9016 of course A club is precise enough to extract O.2 mg of gold in a 80kg body
I mean 0.2mg at this point you don't even have to try
@@lacerisesurlegateau4192scavengers vs the elite. Different rungs of the social ladder. Scavengers might use more primitive methods to extract gold, but elite alchemists might have more advanced methods and tools for extracting what they want. Scavengers fight over scrap, while the elite class get all the gold they could ever need. They might even create wars and conflict just for the potential of taking the gold from the corpses. The 1% farming the bodies of soldiers to become more wealthy and more powerful.
That reminds me of monsterbook or whatever his name is on youtube. He made a video about a man who acours the battlefield to harvest the corpses of mages
I would like to formally thank the algorhitm for showing me this.
Your art is excellent, and this magic system sounds intriguing! Can't wait to hear more!
The algorithm has been doing heavy lifting haha, welcome! ❤
nice, I can already see how this system can be really fun to play around with.
Wow hi, and thank you so much! That means a lot, and I really appreciate it ❤
Yoooo you got the big-shot himself!!
Yeah
Perschlaps someone with a (partially) golden spine could be capable of inducing fear, as compared to them, everyone might as well be spineless. Very creative and concise concept, thank you for sharing it with us!
Ooh, this makes me wonder what the reasoning behind the powers will be. Will it correspond to linguistic metaphors like your example and the one in the video (gold in the eye socket = enhanced perception), and if so, why? Will it also connect to the position of chakras? And what happens if an Ornata wields magically inbued gold jewelry? Such abundant potential for this magic system
This is maybe one of the best unique magic systems ive ever heard of. I like the idea of people becoming mages via grotesque invasive surgery rather than hard study or meditation.
I can just imagine, the flesh being pealed back to access the golden bone, only for a Frankenstein figure to carve runes into and annoint with oils and incense
Golden Fibrodysplasia sounds truly horrifying, like something out of Dark Souls universe, with it being inspired by Gothic aesthetic as well. This is good stuff!
If I had been born with gold in my bones, I would vomit because I'd be horrified and people would want to kill me for it.
The catch is, I imagine, is that the more gold you have in your bones, the more power magic you’d be able to cast
Such a person would probably make a great old sequestered wizard character, or for equal reasons a mad experimenter
@@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ i mean you'd just die rather quickly from.. well the gold inside. The body very much hates having part of its vital skeleton replaced with hard metal.
@@cephalonbob15 I'm pretty sure since this is a magic universe, for whatever reason, the body would withstand the gold.
Your art is absolutely stunning! Your style of video reminds me a lot of Monster Garden’s, but both of your styles are so unique!
I’m already invested in this world that you’re making, and can’t wait to see more!
Thank you so much, I take that as the highest compliment! I hope to give you more goodies soon! :)
I think yt recommended this to Monstergarden's subs!
@jossypoo yeah monstergarden was my first thought when I saw this is my recommendations. Interested in seeing where this goes cuz this is a pretty cool concept.
The idea of these "ornata" being born with innate potential rather than extraordinary innate ability is already an interesting difference. Sure they have some ability from the start, but they're no more miraculous than any other gold insofar as society sees them. Any gold can be enchanted and used as a tool. I like the idea of these alchemists being the ones to unlock the ornata's potential because it could create some interesting relationships and storytelling possibilities.
It's almost cyberpunk in a way, with people getting these enchantments/modifications to enhance themselves in some way. People could be taken advantage of by alchemists because they are "ornata" and used at tools, or maybe there's the potential for cursing someone using those style of enchantments. Keep them bound to an alchemist master or face unfortunate consequences. Ornata slaves basically.
The societies and cultures are fascinating to think of. One could see the Ornata rule as Priest-Kings, and another could harvest them like rare mushrooms, creating a society where everyone is on the lookout for hidden Ornatas to harvest. Another could have them as cloistered national treasures, pampered yet restricted in freedom.
It's a fascinating concept. Subscribed!
There could also be anti-Ornata hate groups who resent their privileged status in society, going as far as organizing shady organizations to demonize or outright hunt them
I imagine royal families faking their new borns as Ornatas for improved status. Maybe using gold paint everytime they go out in public.
It is a really cool concept you created, congrats!
The illustrations are gorgeous!!! I also love because of how gold is needed for the magic to flow, its also mimicking how gold is used in computer wiring. So the idea of using gold as basically magic circuitry opens up the avenus to also have people use it in ingenious ways to emulate tech we might have today!!
As someone who reads primarily fantasy, i already adore the concept you have put out here. Already my mind is going wild with all the possibilities for stories and character arcs. Can't wait to see this develop!! Your art style is just breathtaking in its somehow efficient simplicity!! Definitely going to be following your work closely.
Wow what a kind of thoughtful comment. I'm so flattered, and hope to make more stuff you enjoy!
Yeah, we definitely need more details on this world and it's magic! How does it all work? We must know! 😊
any book recommendations? currently reading the witcher
Same here, my TTRPG/DM goblin is running wild with ideas.
@julba6704
The Will Of The Many by James Islington, it's new stuff a bit YA with a young protagonist but the magic system is definitely unique.
Then Mistborn by B. Sanderson (or just about anything by him, Stormlight Archive too but it's "heavier").
I am currently reading Laundry Files which is more of urban sci-fi/fantasy but the writing is masterful.
Also have to give a shoutout to Dungeon Crawler Carl series (LitRPG).
This magic system is brimming with a lot of potential, I love it! It feels grounded and way more manageable from a story-writing perspective, while also being wonderfully unique. Also your art is so good!! Really glad i got this video recommended.
Gold being an innately magical metal is an idea I've toyed with in my own settings, but having some people just be born imbued with gold is a fantastic idea! I hope this continues to grow, I'd love to see where you go with it.
In my DnD games gold is the physical form of magic, which is why you need to use gold when enchanting. I realize it's very homebrew-y, but I like it. Kinda neat how this idea is similar.
I keep rewatching your Gold and Bone videos to have something both relaxing and interesting in the background, and they keep gifting me sparks of inspiration
Oooh, shiny!
What a novel and intriguing concept! The random chance that a person is born with golden bones would be fascinating to really wrap one's head around. I wonder how many Ornata throughout history have been born to heads of state, influential and wealthy families and such. You'd think such children would figure heavily into a life of celebrity - The Golden King, or some such, makes for a fantastically striking moniker in a world where gold is magical.
If any ruler in history has an Ornata child that would be a massive deal as to how magic and Ornata would be seen by the cultures around them
I imagine being an Ornata would obviously be a mixed blessing deal for the people born with gold parts. Gold weighs more than flesh - if you didn't have symmetrical patches of gold, it would cause balance issues, which could lead to chronic pain without correction or assistance. Plus there's the possibility that golden skin would make be less elastic, which could lead to tearing injuries. I imagine a person who heals from such a wound would then look like the gold just *burst* from their skin.
For more casual names and nicknames, I like the idea of "Troves" being a common, vaguely derogatory term. Fast, a bit awkward, and bluntly dehumanizing.
I mean, it's straight calling a person "treasure". That's just pretty horrific in its implications.
Also I wonder. You could probably whip up a few ways for the function of gold in magic - I mean, there's some quality that has to make gold special, yeah?
My first thought on that has to do with the fact hold doesn't corrode easily. Or at all iirc. it can also carry an electric charge, which means gold is useful for stuff like space travel and long term uninterrupted projects.
Perhaps gold has a similar "stable" interaction with the arcane? Idk.
Also, the talk of gold and alchemy makes me wonder about the Philosopher's Stone. Iirc you can use it to transmute objects into gold? What if it could do that in Gold And Bone?
I still haven't watched the video so never mind if that is mentioned, but Gold is actually a rather soft metal so maybe that could basis for an art that bends gold or something like that. On top of that the currently belief for gold's origin is that it is formed inside stars, I don't know what but I'm sure something could be done with that
expensive corpse
Just enchant your golden hand with the ability to turn gold to bone with a touch and screw every Goldilocks you run into.
Some of them are going to fancy themselves ‘trove’ but in a narcissistic and arrogant manner, but i think that Goldilocks is very rarely seen as anything more than spoiled or eaten by bears.
What if the creation of the Ornata have something to do with the philosopher stone? Like a experiment that got wrong and affected the entire human race.
I have no idea why this was recommended to me, but I read so much fantasy and DM homebrew games constantly. I love seeing ideas like this. Asking all of the snowballing questions that follow about how this would affect a world is so much fun, and fun to let others explores. Subscribed, can't wait to see more of your videos.
I love people that have a creative process of literally creating everything about their story. For me is just "write write write write write oh my god I don't know how that works" and find myself with writer's block, ready to spent another whole year looking for inspiration.
This is so cool! Definitely a little similar to the magic system I’m developing in the sense that it involves “strange bones” playing a part in the world’s magic! Very cool!
I love seeing how you draw gold, as I personally have a character who has gold and gemstones embedded in his skin (He's a pseudodeity representing recovery, the gold and gems are all representative of his scars from when he was alive, because he takes value in the reminders of things he's recovered from). Thank you, this will help me a lot drawing him and shading his skin!
What an interesting idea! What I find most interesting is how enchanting interacts with gold.
1. Does a larger gold mass result in more potent or longer lasting magic?
2. Can a single piece of gold hold more than one enchantment, if not, do people born with two separate gold patches get an innate advantage?
3. Can the gold be harvested? I imagine a huge black market centered around mining humans or maybe it’s just cheaper to have a newborn that matures for a few years to be harvested (as sick as that sounds) than it is to wait for someone to heal.
4. Is there a difference in gold quality/purity? Does it affect the power of the enchantment? Is it something that can be inherited?
5. Due to the density of gold, I assume it’d be dangerous for most gold-infused people to become sailors or even be around deep bodies of water.
Again, really interesting concept, thanks for the video!
she answered a few of the questions you asked in the video
I absolutely adore this concept, it has so much room for interesting advancments. I've always thought that alchemists were a cool concept that unfortunately never really got explored farther than "haha funny potion man", so giving them an ACTUAL reason to exist and be the main scientific profession is great to see.
Edit: I am now realizing that the alchemist comment might be poorly worded and need some elaboration. Of course there are a lot of media that portray alchemists well, but most of the time it feels like a mix of wizards and fantasy scientists, but this really feels like a wholly unique take on it!
expensive corpse
Give me your strongest potions, potion seller.
Alchemists in this system sound more like recognized artisans that work in a very lucrative yet dangerous occupation.
More extreme types can find their work in black markets experimenting on captured Ornata or perhaps depending on the society is run may be sought out to have the gold removed to avoid prosecution or make money like a pawn shop.
These Alchemists sound more pivotal/impactful throughout the world and very in importance depending on the society in question rather than just recognized universally as an additional boon in potions or rune augmentation for weapons and armor. They like a check box in some fantasies rather than a meaningful addition.
I'd be interested to know how the concept of a Philosopher's Stone would develope in this world setting. It would no longer be an alchemist's search for knowledge and riches, but a legit end all catalyst of power. That who controls the Philosopher's Stone controls the magic, so I imagine the search for it or something similar to be a violent and dark path full of blood, tears and betrayals.
Actually alchemy is to find union with god through the dissolution of the ego
@@eanjan8812 it all depends on the alchemist, but the main goals were the transmutation of metals (ex;Lead into gold), the creation of a remedy that could cure all diseases, and an elixir of immortality. The Philosopher's stone would be a crucial element in all of these goals
Sounds similar to Fullmetal Alchemist
@@soupeverywhere9565 Yeah because Fullmetal alchemist is based on real life alchemy which includes the philosopher's stone. Fullmetal alchemist didn't come up with it.
A souls borne game with this concept would be wild! you could have a upper class clad with gold that is wildly powerful and interested in expanding their knowledge in gold ,or you could start in a slum type area where alot of npc's or just straight enemies would attack you for a chance to escape the slums by harvesting your gold skeleton. maybe classes would change the gold skeleton you have such as a ranger having eyes capable of predicting movements a second ahead or a barbarian who's gold arms allow them to wield massively powerful weapons. maybe some chosen few are born with golden brains allowing them to communicate with higher beings making a secret organization in the posh and rich upper class that dictates what is wrong and right depending on what these upper being's tell them. the potential with this idea is absolutely wild.
HOLY CRAP! I absolutely ADORED this concept!! You've gained a new sub! I am beyond excited for a continuation. This might be a bit of a stretch because of the bone based gold appearances, but I'd absolutely loved to see an Ornata with golden hair. After looking at some of videos and noticing your artstyle, I'm sure it would look absolutely mesmerizing. Just an idea! Good luck in your journey, I will stay here through all of it.
dude the hair thing would actually be so cool you could have a rapunzel-esque legend in the history of these cultures that was actually just a gold-haired ornata
@@nettart4924or Sif from norse mythology with the gold wig
What a lovely surprise, I too am currently working on a flintlock fantasy literary series inspired by works from Bryan McClellan and Joe Abercromby. It is such a breath of fresh air to see other creators touching on the other, less travelled avenues of fantasy genres and share their journey. I believe yourself, The Monstergarden, and Treelancer are the future of modern fantasy and I hold immeasurable hope for your success.
That fact you hold me in the same esteem as two UA-camrs I greatly admire means a great deal. Thank you!! Xx
this would make a incredibly compelling dnd setting/system when your further along, plus having a book with diagrams and such using the art youve done here would be amazing
I think that's a worthy end goal to be sure. Let's see how it goes!
You’re definitely gonna blow up.
Really interesting concepts and designs
Hey thanks, glad you think so!!
I am genuinely so happy that you were able to explain such a cool and diverse system as this in under 10 minutes! This would you’re building sounds so incredibly cool ❤
An interesting and imaginative setting. Sorta reminds me of Dragonlance with the similar currency idea of gold not being as popular, except for them it was steel. You could still use gold for minor things but steel was more coveted since it could be fashioned into armor or weapons during war time.
Loving the recent surge in worldbuilding and concept art channels! Subscribed instantly!
Me too - it's always great to see people flexing their creative muscles! Thanks so much for the sub x
@@TheSmolBritNo problem! I'm always looking for cool inspiration cuz I've got my own worldbuilding videos planned. But I'll see how they turn out 👀
@@TheGlitchGuild Best of luck with your world-building, I'll keep an eye out!
@@TheSmolBrit thank you! Best of luck with yours!
I absolutely adore this as a magic system, it instantly starts to ask a lot of really interesting questions in my head. Like 'Can people artifically infuse themselves with gold?' 'Are there other materials that could have other effects when grown on bone?' 'How are Ornata treated differently from others?' LOVE IT
Man, "Ornata" is such a good name for this. Like. Wow that had my jaw dropping. It just works. I've actually got a *slightly* similar system based around gold that I call The Coin, and it was really neat seeing the different ways you took the concept of gold.
Hello! This is really fascinating :) I do have some questions!!
- gold is really heavy - is there any physical detriment to those deeply imbued with gold? For example, pain from having one leg heavier than the other?
- if surface markings indicate talent, and scars sometimes appear with gold, can a scar in the right place produce a new talent?
- is the combined magical and scientific science good enough that a person could choose to attach gold to their bones, and if so, would that give them the power of an ornata? What about transplantation?
- is there any culture surrounding pyrite? Scams, folk lore, etc.
- is there a concept of a philosopher's stone? If so, is there any culture around led?
- aqua regia can dissolve gold - is there any culture surrounding it? Do molecules with gold atoms in them carry any magical properties, or is it just pure gold? (Maybe this is for the sci fi future of your world, I'm thinking about inscribing magic on the atomic level...)
- how is gold used in art and artistry? Is the gold in instruments? In the fabric of dancers clothes? In paintings, in order to convey fantastical illusions?
- is gold used in dentistry still, and if not, what metal is used? Would capping your teeth with gold mean anything for you, magic wise?
Loooove this idea. And some lovely concepts to go with it! Sometimes random home page suggestions truly are a gift ahah.
Welcome aboard from the cold lands of the home page!
This is genuinely one of the most creative concepts I've heard in a while, which can lead to such great world building and storytelling. My mind has been firing away with ideas of what you can do with it. You have done a fantastic job and I can't wait to see how you expand on this concept and world.
Those are such fun concepts to think about! I'm already excited to see more of your worldbuilding!
Also I can't believe you have so few subscribers, a chanel with this quality of presentation and art really deserve more attention
Hey thank you, that means a lot! I'm pleasantly surprised how well people have responded, and I promise to make more!
As soon as you mentioned that the gold grows on the skeleton naturally, I instantly started thinking about if this is purely a human discovery/ connection, or if it applies to other vertebrates as well? Since you mentioned people have had many debates and different points of view on what this is meant to be, how is meant to be used and potentially enchanted, I started thinking of potentially "enchanted" or "holy" animals.
Does this affect animals as well? Can animals also become/ be considered an "Ornata"?
Amazing project, defiintely worth following. Can´t wait to see more of your already wonderful work :D
If so, and if it occurred at a rate similar to humans then gold will become a lot less rare considering the billions of animals killed daily as livestock, at least in todays society, it would still be in the millions in a pre-industrial society
If animals are able to be Ornata then following basic survival rules any young or individual that is found to be Ornata would be shunned from a herd as they would be most likely to be hunted for their gold, thus over years animals would learn to distant or abandon any young that are Ornata. Which in turn could fuel the religious rhetoric 'even animals fear their ornata children and abandon them'.
As a casual writer, I wanted to just thank you for sharing a bit of your work and your soul like this. What an incredibly interesting system and world around it.
this is so crazy for me, as a small child I came up with this idea where gold was magical and you can enchant things with it. It's so cool to see a similar idea being created visually
I'm really happy to see that kind of worldbuilding video getting more and more popular. And this magic system idea have a lot of potential, curious to see where it will go !
This is the coolest world building I've seen in awhile. You kept it simple but the twist allows for whole new classes of interactions. My only criticism is gold is boring but it meshes so well with alchemy you had to use it. 9/10
Gold is also a highly conductive material, and I recall an argument made that electricity would sound like the most bullshit soft magic if it was written from an outside perspective.
@lordsergal8783 it was considered a "numbing" effect pre electric knowledge. Or just instant death (lighting). It's more that gold is the most basic go to for "special metal" but the Alchemy twist demands it. Maybe some more powerful mages have Rubedo or Citrine bones. Actual Alchemy spanned quasi religion proto scientific knowledge from Egypt to Arabia and there are many traditions and systems.
@@815TypeSiriusCitrine is a gem (?), but what's rubedo? I googled that it's the final stage of an alchemy process, but what material do you mean?
@raccoonicorn96 who knows, the fun part is hermeticism had all kinds of open questions like that. ❤️
@@815TypeSirius ah, i see. Some magical material then.. And by citrine did you mean the gem? Or some other alchemy thing too?
This channel is criminally underrated, and I am saying this with every ounce of sincerity in my being!
In the gothic fantasy / western setting I have been working on, I use the rule of "Rare and Powerful."
One of the problems with most magic systems is that magic ends up feeling mundane due to how common and weak it is. It's designed to feel like a weapon to be balanced instead of what it is, magic.
So in my setting magic is rare, as in one in ten million has the potential to manifest one spell in their entire life kind of rare. So like any legendary weapon in a setting, I can afford to make all the spells in my setting truly magical without concerning myself with game balance. As at the end of the day the goal is to make the magic feel like magic, a power so great and mysterious the people who use it can build or tear down kingdoms.
Since a mage might only manifest the ability to cast a single spell in their life, it also allows me to use magic as a character defining feature instead of merely a tool. Which means the magic spells can be as thematic or narrative shaping as the plot needs.
This is possible because unlike other game systems, health does not scale in my system. So even if a player has the most powerful magic in the game, every character is designed as a glass cannon where dodging / blocking is more vital than trying to tank damage; HP walls do not exist in the setting.
Bro I just finished reading Babel, this is such a similar concept, but done even better
This is brilliant and feels so unique. I find magic systems which rely on some unseen "energy" to be a little drab, but I love the idea that one particular element is the means to magic. Then creating this ontological mystery with the origins of the ornata makes for a fascinating lore, and invites characters from all backgrounds to speculate on these peculiar humans.
I love to see creative minds conjuring something truly novel and special. I will be looking forward to future videos, you've earned my sub!
My goodness, this magic system is so well thought out!
I can't wait to learn more about this world and it's cultures.
Watching this was hugely inspiring to get back to my own world building project; awesome video!!
This system could be a really interesting way to symbolize societal greed. Imagine telling a secret to your best friend and pulling back your sleeve to reveal the gold on your skin, and they promise you that they will not tell a soul, but then they leave to "get a drink." In their place is a group of armed guards surrounding your current location.
Gosh! All i crave is an hour long video of your narrating, concepts and drawing. Amazing content.
I adore this! I've always found myself more interested in magic systems than any of the fantasy folks around me, so finding a video that actually fully focus on one (and with such lovely art) really made my day.
This is blowing up really well for you
Congratulations
I saw this video earlier today and you were around 400 subs and now you're at 800
That's impressive
Thank you so much, this has been humbling and overwhelming!
Oh man that video ended quicker than I expected, I was left wanting more! Your voice is so nice to listen to and the worldbuilding is well-thought out. Looking forward to more!
Bro called dibs on the coolest magic system ever devised
Ayo you can’t just throw such wonderful artwork and cool world design and ideas that quickly with no warning! You almost killed me ahah, I’m so into this concept right now and i really appreciate your art style. New subscriber incoming ahah
Keep up the amazing work :)
I love the language you use when storytelling, as well as the beautiful, precise art.
Thank you! 😊
Always love the nonhereditary magic systems. Feels better. I think this project......has good bones. ;oD
☜(ﾟヮﾟ☜)
This is super cool! the idea of golden bones reminds me of Catacomb saints. where sometimes the bodies and bones of Christian saints where exhumed and covered in gold and ornamentation.
A lot of them are very evocative and eye catching in both a majestic and macabre way.
Some fun questions to explore: Where does gold come from originally? Is it old star stuff like our real world or was all gold once part of an Ornata? Did ornata exist in previous species or other species in the current world? Could an alchemist have a pet ornata dog with an enchantment? How would being an ornata present in non-humans? Hope to see this evolve and grow!
If the idea hasn't already come to you, the concept of someone wounding ornata with deep Cuts, over and over, just to make them heal back with more gold feels like a realistically dark thing that would happen. Could even be an ornata doing it to themselves, believing more gold=more power/purity.
The whole idea of ornata being seen as godly is kind of funny because in Greek mythology, the color of the gods is gold. I also love your art style
It’s very inspiring :]
I am so glad this came up on my recommended page. This is such an absolutely amazing concept and I cannot wait to see more about it!!
Your art style is cool and expressive and your world building is very interesting, can't wait to see where you go with this in the future.
If this is part of a series, I'm gonna binge it.
This gets my imagination up and running in such a fun way.
My fiance just showed me this and oh my god??? This such a fantastic magic system that I can't wait to see more of! Not to mention your amazing artistic skills, the anatomy work alone is breathtaking! And the way you render the gold??? Stunning, you can really tell how important it is just through the art. So excited to see more!
This is absolutely wonderful. As someone who is intensily interested in old-fantasy/magic-utilising themes, this was super cool to find. You did wonderfully on the video, it was great to watch because you can just _feel_ the love, and passion that went into all of the sketches and the designs. Your creativity shines super brightly here too and makes it even better as you manage to make the viewers themselves get excited about this world, the stories that could develop in it, and everything in between :) Your channel's super cool too! And an absolute godsend for people with a love for this kind of stuff. You reached a certain demographic with this, so I hope you're ready for a horde of old/fantasy/art nerds :)
Good job!
I have a thing for magic systems that have a biological, down to earth element. It makes everything that much more immersive
Interesting, and I kinda want to see it done with other materials. I wonder how practical having gold as bones would be in certain parts. Gold is really dense and heavy, so some parts of the body would be weighed down a lot, or perhaps the gold is as dense as bone, rendering it actually very fragile, more so then bone. Bone marrow producing blood or storing fat would also be voided due to gold, but otherwise ignoring practical realities (it is magic), it’d be interesting. I also wonder if there was ever a King Midas here, he’d probably be the most powerful guy around.
2:28 THANK YOU. Someone actually THOUGHT about their currency and understands it’s fundamentals
It's videos like this that make me realize there are people in this world with unimaginable levels of creativity, and the world is a better place because of their work.
This is very intresting i haven't seen a magic system like that yet and i just can imagine myself laying in bed thinking about all the possible ways to use this powers system. Oh and I loved the vid! hope to see more!
Hey thanks so much, I'm so excited it's got your creative brain working!❤
A fantastic idea with beautiful execution, thank you for sharing this with us.
I must say - this concept is basically awesome and worth entire setting built around it. Also i feel MonsterGarden vibes, and that's entire another type of great.
You definitely need a team of writes to flesh this out. I think the addition of this idea into the storytelling realm where people could sit down and play it as characters would be FASCINATING. You wouldn't even need to sell physical copies if you didn't want to, there are places like DriveThru RPG where e-copies of the game could be distributed.
Thanks!
Hey, thank you so much for your support!
Imagine someone with a ribcage made out gold but just around their heart. They have a heart of gold, and find that after being enchanted they can do no wrong. They go insane by their lack of free will and kill themselves, unknowingly feeding starving wolf pups with their corpse in the process
I absolutely adore the concept! Mind if I chime in a few ideas of my own?
In a world where gold was this precious, no one would wear it of use it for currency, but they'd use the next best thing! I'm guessing most jewels would be make of a bronze or brass alloy with a color that's really similar to gold, giving the noblefolk the chance to smuggle one or two actually enchanted, golden ornaments (a ring or an earring) hidden among the rest of the jewels, but ready to be used for defensice or offensive purposes.
Since you've chosen gold for this project, you better be aware that's one of the more biocompatible metals out there. People would ABSOLUTELY graft gold onto their bodies for the chance to become artificial Ornata. For example, missing eyes could be replaced with golden eyes, enchanted to replace part of the vision, missing fingers or hands could be replaced with golden counterparts for additional funcionality and so on. Bear in mind that nowadays we use actual golden threads for plastic surgery, and these people would do too.
Maybe a few, desperate enough would ingest enchanted golden beads for a temporary power boost, knowing the fact that's possible they'll loost said bead soon.
Or maybe they can't, or it's lethal because of the process the alchemist use to enchant gold, and actually achieving synthetic Ornata is a myth some countris are actually trying to develop to win wars.
I don't think I've got more kdea for this at the moment. It'd be cool if the process to enchant Ornata was like the process to make a witcher in The Witcher, and I think the Ornata should be written with two ts, Ornatta.
Good luck!
This is such a cool idea, the concept and the aesthetic have so much potential!
this sound so cool also i fell in love with the character at 4:50 pls keep this going
I've always run D&D games where gold is physical magic, and needed to infuse items with arcane power, hence paying an artificer X amount of gold to make a magic item. Part of the payment is used in the crafting process to anchor the weave in a single location in spacetime. Love the world building implications and human aspects of this concept even more, very very well done.
I've never once delved into this stuff but man you really know how to captivate somebody. It's beyond interesting and seems really fun!
Spot on content; your artwork is *chefs kiss* and this concept fucking briliant. I'm ready for more, like, a lot more.
Ahh thank you - can't wait to do more!
This sounds AMAZING! I’d love to see more of this concept.
What are some examples of abilities Ornata can manifest?
Are there any limitations?
What are the consequences of the enchantment process not working?
I have so many questions XD
Absolutely loving the concept of golden people living in a world more hungry for gold than our own.
I can see an ornata who has golden growths raging out of their skin with a healing ability enchanted on them so they heal the growth when some not so great person cuts it off. The body horror that could stem from the gold in your bones growing out of you uncontrollably is intriguing.
I cannot wait to see how the world building of this universe goes
Fascinating idea! And lovely art as well. One twist that seems to be overlooked, I think it's less likely that Ornata would be killed to be harvested, so much as harvested while alive, so their bodies can continue to heal with more gold. Could make for some very grim characters.
You should make people who´s skeleton was made ENTIRELY out of gold. They would (of course) be extremely rare cases.
I mean, we kinda already do! That’s the coolest part! That’s what technology is! Glyphs and Sigils made from gold and other precious metals that make fantastical things happen!
You're picking up the vibes I'm putting down 👀
I think that a cool addition could be people with gold prosthetics to be able to also cast magic.. Or does it have to be an "organic gold" wich appears on you on its own when you're born?
Love that. Yes.
I love the idea and the process of you painting, a lot of things to learn there.
I’m only halfway through and this is already so cool. I can imagine a very intriguing story with an ornata as the main character