Worldbuilding Wednesday 2/18/26: Magic of the Five Senses (Overview)

Still Life, by Wenjing Yang

I realized I went all-in on WW 1/14/26 on describing magic centering around the sense of smell, but didn’t give any background information. Today I’m going to rectify that.

First I’d like call attention to the marvelous illustration above by Wenjing Yang. It’s typical of the artists’s style, using fresh, garish pastels, futuristic shapes, and organic forms, combining them in a way that looks like an art deco infograph of some obscure scientific field. I don’t think it was made to made to represent the five senses, but it nicely does — tomatoes for taste, wine for smell, the whole arrangement on the plaid tablecloth for sight, the exploding vase for sound, and the smooth surfaces of the glass items for touch. It’s both alien and familiar. Much like the Five Senses magic system itself, which revolves around manipulating the organs of perception: eyes, nose, taste buds, skin receptors, ears.

A successful Five Senses mage has complete control of their own chosen organ(s) of perception. For example, the Aromamancer, the master of smell, can identify odors , analyze them, and modulate their own smelling powers. They can imbue local odors with magic or create ones, such as a foul stench that sickens others through manipulations inside the other beings’ nasal passages.

It’s possible for Five Senses mages to use general spells as well. But these must be created through components related to their chosen sense. Going back to the Aromamancer, they are perfectly capable of casting a flying spell, but must use, for example,  the smelly musk from a giant eagle’s underparts as the main component.

I envision the Five Senses magic system as either being a replacement for an RPG’s “standard” magic system or as working as an adjunct to one. In the latter scenario, there might a land in which this system is dominant. Or it’s an adjunct to the standard system, as necromancers and illusionists are (I’m talking in AD&D terms.)

As you’d guess by now, there are five divisions or schools within this magic system. They might be all contained within one grand university, or scattered in different locations. There is an Archimage who acts as the overseer. This individual is highly esteemed, having mastered all five sensory magics. The Archimage decides who heads all the other schools.

The schools are unusual in that they aren’t just for mages. Anyone who can pay the tuition can attend the lower sensory classes, where students can learn to fully use and hone their chosen sense. The School of Smell attracts perfumers, soapmakers, and wilderness professionals like hunters and rangers, for example. The School of Taste attracts cooking professionals, the School of Sight, artists. Healers, sex workers, and masseuses attend the School of Touch and musicians, the School of Hearing. Any would-be Five Senses mage must pass these lower classes before they can continue to the magic ones. If they can’t pass — that is, cannot become schooled in utilizing their chosen sense — they can’t continue in that school, even if they already have magical talent. The hopeful mage can always choose another school, of course.

In fact, it’s common for a Five Senses mage to gain accreditation in several schools. Sight and Hearing are often paired together, and Taste and Smell. Students can’t mix and match classes from different schools, one school must be mastered before another is begun. But attendance can take at any time within a mage’s life.

Term length can be at the DM’s discretion. I lean towards two years (community college length in the States.)

Cultures that use the Five Senses Magic System tend to be highly developed civilizations that are wealthy and artistic, with sophisticated trade and large cities.

Five Senses mages themselves tend to be discrete. Most of the time they appear no differently than ordinary folk. They won’t wear magic emblems, have familiars, or wave around staffs or wands. In their “time out” periods they will often take on commoners’ jobs like cooks or street musicians. In fact, this is one way they can recognized — they are just a little too good in their assumed profession. They can be of any alignment, but tend towards lawful because of the strict nature of their schooling.

(c) 2026 Cobalt Jade

AI Art Adventures: In the Husky Harem

The Sultan of the Doggoman Empire has a special harem consisting entirely of husky dogs.

The creatures are pampered in every way.

Going to the baths is always a fun activity.

So is dancing.

Of course, from time to time they simply observe the goings-on of the world outside. And add their occasional bark.

(All pics AI art)

White [Review]

White

by Richard Dyer
Routledge, 1997

I had picked this book for last year’s reading challenge because of its one-word title. I read it then, but was too busy to write a review, so I’m going to do it now… the caveat being the book challenge is over.

(I finally realized why I’ve been doing so poorly at these challenges. I balk at reading assigned books because it feels like homework, even if I pick the books myself. That takes all the pleasure out of for me.)

White was a groundbreaker in its time (1997) because it was the first sociological nonfiction book about the media representation of white people, by white people, in Western culture, mainly movies. (Yes I know White as a race is an abstract only and doesn’t really exist in a scientific sense. You could make the argument, too, that it doesn’t exist outside of Western civilization either. But as nebulous as the concept is the idea of being “White” is still hanging around today, in 2026, in America at least where it is being laudified by certain right-wing groups. ) Though published almost 30 years ago the book is still relevant today, especially so considering how some politicians and tech-bros are trying to persuade (white) women to have more (white) babies to prevent the (white) “race” from dying out. Which is, according to Dyer, nothing new. It ties into ideas about dirt and cleanliness, colonialism, and Catholicism. It’s thoughtful college thesis stuff with some ugly truths, more of an academic work than a pop science one.

The first section serves as an introduction while the second and third examines how the idea of whiteness is handled in visual media, first paintings, then photography and movies. There’s a lot of fascinating stuff in the former chapter about how lighting and makeup was developed to make white faces “pop” off the screen and seem to glow. One could imagine how different the techniques would be if Nollywood, not Hollywood, rose to prominence first, necessitating techniques to highlight black faces. The White face glows in the light, the Black one absorbs; but what if the position and quality of lighting had been invented for the latter?

There’s also a wonderful chapter on 1950s and 1960s sword n’ sandal movies and how they relation to facism, colonialism, and the working class, which strays from the concept of whiteness quite a bit but is interesting nonetheless, and a last chapter analyzing race in the British series The Jewel in the Crown which I can’t help but feel was filler.

Overall the book was not an easy read but it is a  rewarding one.

Worldbuilding Wednesday 1/14/26: Magic of the Five Senses (Smell)

The Sense of Smell, by Philippe Mercier (detail)

When I was in high school I got into playing Dungeons and Dragons. This was the very first edition – two or three flimsy books that were stapled together, not bound, which came with a set of dice and some graph paper. I got it at Sears which shows you how long ago that was.

After I graduated DnD became AD&D and expanded and expanded greatly with hardback guides, campaign sets, and brand new universes to explore, one of which was the elemental planes: water, fire, air, and earth. I had never heard of categorizing creatures and magic in that way and thought it was pretty neat. Some fantasy novels of the time used Four Element magic as well, such as Diana Paxton’s Westria series, which was set in a post-Holocaust California (specifically, the Bay area) where Medievalism has made a resurgence. Again I thought, How clever!

Decades later, Four Element magic is everywhere, and I bet every neophyte fantasy writer thinks like I did, that it’s startlingly original.

Sadly, no. Japanese Tokusatsu and anime shows, Magic the Gathering type card games, even children’s toys have been classifying their magic systems by elements for decades. In 2026, look at the latest in James Cameron’s Avatar franchise, as well as the other Avatar, The Last Airbender. Sometimes there’s a difference, like using the Asian element system instead of the Western one, or adding a power or two, like Spirit or Electricity.  But it’s still the same idea.

So, I suppose it’s time to put this trope to bed, at least in terms of designing a magic system around it.

How else can magic powers be classified? How about around the Five Senses?

In this series I’ll run with that idea, starting with some magic spells and items relating to Smell. (The above painting portrays this with French courtiers sniffing melons and flowers.)

 

Magic of the Five Senses: Smell

Spells Bloomburst: Causes nearby flowers to release their strongest and most powerful fragrances.

Nose of the Rhinoceros: Curses the recipient with a wide, wrinkled, oversized, disfiguring nose that has a horn on the end of it (that can’t be used for attack or defense.) However, their sense of smell becomes very keen.

Olfactory Obliteration: Destroys all sense of smell of any creature within a 100’ radius for the length of the spell. (NOTE: Related to Visual, Tactile, and Audial Obliteration.)

Scentlock: Cast on a regular lock, the spell causes it to open only by exposure to a certain odor.

Stew of Serenity: Causes a bubbling pot of stew to emit a calming odor to everyone in its vicinity, causing hostile creatures to forestall attacking.

Nose of the Ranger: This spell lifts the target’s scent perception to that of a ranger of equal level.
Magic Items
 Aromamancer: A type of specialized magic-user that specializes in scent magic, enchanted perfumes and olfactory illusions. (I’ll get more into this later.)

Jispella’s Noisome Missal: This cursed item looks like a book of prayers to any cleric who sees it. But when they open it, a stinking cloud of a thousand farts emerges from the pages.

Kaaras’s Soap: Makes the user smell like their environment after bathing, so tracking them by scent is impossible. It’s pale pink and comes in a glass jar.

Liszma’s Olfatory Lens: When peered through the user is able to see scent trails as colored wisps trailing through the air.

Odor Compass: This ornate dial with a red arrow points its owner to the source of a certain scent in the air.

Perfume Prism: Does for scents what an ordinary prism does for light. The prism breaks down the scent into its own unique spectrum which can be recreated in an alchemist’s lab by a skilled perfumer.

Spray of Nasal Clarity: This glass bottle of pale liquid has an atomizer on top like a perfume bottle. When sprayed around, everyone in a 10’ diameter will feel their nostrils and nasal passages clear and sharpen, enabling them to better detect any odors.

Statue of Foul Breath: A lovely life-sized marble statue in the Greek style which can be of either gender. When adventurers pass it by its head emits an awful odor of halitosis, causing those companions to accuse each other of poor hygiene.

Worldbuilding Wednesday 1/7/26: Best of Twittersnips 2025 (Magic Items)

The Comb of the Chameleon can completely change its owner’s hairdo

My favorite magic items of the year 2025 from my X feed.

 

2025 Magic Items (Best of)

Bell of Freedom and Captivity: When struck once, this bell will free prisoners from confinement. Rung twice, it will put them back into whatever confinement they left.

The Cape of Un-bearable Deflection modeled by a Dwarven warrior king

Cape of Un-bearable Deflection: Made from the shaggy brown fur of a giant bear, this cape grants +2 to the wearer’s AC and deflects up to 6 hit points of blunt weapon damage per round.

Catalog of Lamentable Faces: This cursed item looks like a sketchbook full of skillfully drawn, but ugly, human faces. If anyone looks at the whole thing their own face becomes just as ugly (-8 on comeliness.)

Ginger Hunter: A legendary orange gem that glows brightly when a natural redhead is near, allowing these individuals to be tracked or discovered.

Journal of Carafe and Coffin: A slim volume, published yearly, for good-aligned necromancers. It contains community news, possible quests, and a spell or two.

The Lamp of the Minotaur glows a pale yellowish green

Lamp of the Minotaur: When lit, it allows the holder to successfully navigate any sort of dark maze.

Moonmead: A type of alcoholic beverage brewed by druids that calms restless spirits when poured as an offering before their tomb.

Pamphlet of Instant Embarrassment: No one can say, exactly, what the text in this cursed paper item says, but whoever reads it will flush bright red and want to hide.

Ring of Introversion: Causes the wearer to become quiet, soft-spoken, and secretive. A good or bad thing, you decide. Made of braided silver wire set with a cube of petrified wood.

Ring of Three Legs: This ring is made of silver and resembles three naked human legs entwined together. Its purpose is to improve stamina. Whoever wears it can walk, run, or stand one-third longer than they ordinarily would.

Rudgill’s Magic Pen: Draws the day’s adventures in cartoon form, on any media the owner provides. Requires magic ink, such as that from a Kraken, to use.

Tassie’s Mocking Mask

Tassie’s Mocking Mask: A stereotypical Greek theater mask that mimics the target’s voice and mannerisms, causing discord and disorientation.

The Chameleon Comb: Changes the color, texture, and length of the owner’s hair into whatever the person desires, as long as the user chants “Kamma-kamma-kamma-kamma” while combing their tresses.

The Solar Logs of Granthia: Compiled by the High Priests over many centuries, these books enable any Druid to predict a future eclipse.

Trousers of the Werewolf: This cursed item makes the wearer’s legs as dark and hairy as a werewolf’s. Note some people may actually want this transformation.

Worldbuilding Wednesday 12/31/25: Best of Twittersnips 2025 (Magic Spells)

 

The Ungrateful Hero spell can turn the most powerful wizard into a moping recluse.

My favorite magic spells of the year 2025 from my X feed.

 

2025 Magic Spells (Best of)

Anti-exotic Eyes: Changes a human’s eye color from gemlike or unique (purple, emerald, etc.) to an ordinary brown.

Drachenrippe spell

Drachenrippe: Also known as Dragon Ribs. Makes the recipient’s torso incredibly strong and sturdy with an AC of 3 (excluding any armor they wear.)

Endless Wagons: Makes a caravan of 3 or more wheeled vehicles appear as 12 or more, depending on the mage’s level. The illusion includes sight, smell, and auditory components.

Flotilla of the Forest: This powerful spell creates up to ten simple watercraft (rafts, canoes, etc.) out of wood found in the caster’s locale. Must be cast amongst a large group of trees.

Generate Relaxing Sound: Memorizing spells can be difficult in a noisy chaotic situation. This spell creates a white noise background for the caster so they can concentrate.

Gray is Good: Nudges a character toward neutrality if they are good or evil.

Hex of the Harshlight: Makes everyone surrounding the target judge their last action or decision in the most negative light.

Increase Bystanders spell

Increase Bystanders: Attracts passersby to an event taking place on the street, like an accident, performance, speech, or crime.

Lucent Horizen: Always the caster to know exactly what is on the horizon at the limits of sight, even if it’s hazy or unclear.

Mental Providence: Makes the recipient feel they have special protection of the gods (but they really don’t.) Can result in either brave or foolhardy behavior.

Multiply Friendship: When the caster makes a new friend, this spell makes the friends of that beings friends of the caster as well.

The neku-neku spell is always a hit at costume balls

Neku-neku: Cantrip that creates the illusion of cat ears on a humanoid’s head.

Somber Skeleton: This spell is used to protect the dead (but NOT undead.) Anyone who sees the remains will become very quiet and respectful and walk on by leaving them alone.

Stealthy Meal: Lets the caster eat quickly and without notice from others.

Tenacious Tale: When cast on a work of fiction, this ensures the reader will remember the story in detail for up to six months.

Ungrateful Hero: Causes a high-level character to whine “I just want to be normal like everyone else” and reject their hard-earned abilities.

Wingwrite: If a mage is in need of a pen, this spell nabs a suitable feather from the wing of any large bird that is passing by.

Wondrous Green Whispering: Lets a mage grow or heal plants by merely whispering to them.

 

Worldbuilding Wednesday 12/24/25: Let’s Talk About Santa’s Reindeer Team (Part 2)

Oz author L. Frank Baum

Clement Moore’s version of Santa’s reindeer team was not the only one. Children’s author L. Frank Baum, known for his Oz series, offered a competing version: A team of ten (!) named Flossie and Glossie, Racer and Pacer, Reckless and Speckless, Fearless and Peerless, and Ready and Steady. The names used a rhyming, alliterative style similar to Moore’s, reflecting the salient characteristics of their owners. They were featured in Baum’s  imaginative Santa Claus biography, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, in which Baum states Santa was a foundling who was raised by a wood nymph. But in the end it was  Moore’s version that stuck in public consciousness, not Baum’s.

The book is in public domain and you can read it here on Gutenberg.com, along with a short story, “The Kidnapping of Santa Claus.” Look up the covers of the latter (it’s freely printed, as it’s also in public domain) and you’ll find Santa in a number of lurid bondage situations.

Over the years other reindeer have been added to the mix if not to the team.

The 1964 Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer added Rudolph, of course, but also a young deer called Fireball who is his rival and a female reindeer, Clarice, who served as a love interest. (Clarice had a mother who was a character, but she wasn’t named.) There’s a scene in which Rudolph and Fireball are training to make Santa’s team that year, which implies that the team changes composition every Christmas; Moore’s lineup was but one of many. It’s an interesting idea that isn’t carried further. Santa, of course, is immortal, but since the reindeer couple off and have offspring, they are not, and when a team member can’t make the cut anymore, he is replaced.

(I say “he” because only male reindeer make up the team. Which may have been par for the course for 1964 sexual norms, but also shows the zoological ignorance of the writer(s) — not only male reindeer have horns, females can sport them as well, depending on the reindeer subspecies. So there’s no reason half the team, or all of it, couldn’t be female.)

Another version of Rudolph appeared in 1998. The story was similar in that he is mocked for his nose and runs away, but otherwise the story goes in a different direction. In this one the rival is Arrow and the love interest, Zoey. Another female deer is named Mitzi. Again the team are all male.

If we run with reindeer naming conventions from the Rudolph universe, male deer are given bold, active, masculine names, and females, human female ones. That Rudolph breaks the mold for a male reindeer name is a head-scratcher and adds to his rather sissified status. (Robert L. May, Rudolph’s creator, considered naming him the more macho-sounding Rollo.)

Other reindeer from modern media are Bobtail, Thrasher, and, of course, Olive the Other Reindeer.

Since it’s fair to say Santa’s reindeer are all domesticated reindeer, another way they might be named is by location. Native herders still live in Russia, northern Canada, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Alaska, and it’s from these places I randomgenned the names below. (The Inuit ones are real, though!)

 

Some Names for Santa’s Reindeer

Finnish

Arukko

Esski

Kalfamarska

Markki

Matopu

Meevar

Moonjoika

Siivo

Smuls

Taika

Toomar

Tunomo

Ursi

 Russian

Byez

Bysho

Fyustrov

Gertev

Khyuv

Kyatna

Merva

Sedansk

Tetsla

Tyok

Yaril

Yullerina

Zinya

 Sami *

Andija

Birki

Caija

Gaivvas

Imba

Julla

Junkil

Milot

Mures

Olen

Saibi

Sejo

Valter

 Inuit

Chulyin

Desna

Iqniq

Kassuq

Nauja

Nirliq

Olikpok

Qannik

Sesi

Sirmiq

Sos

Suka

Tapeesa

* Sami are the ethnic reindeer herders of Scandinavia.

This picture shows a herder and some typical domestic reindeer. Notice how small they are compared to elk and moose! This gives added weight to the line in Clement Moore’s poem: “And what to my wondering eyes then appeared, but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer…”

Robot Reindeer

Since I’ve been posting about reindeer, let’s see Santa’s flesh and blood creatures changed into sleek, tireless robot servants. It makes sense that Santa would eventually move in this direction. Such a compassionate soul as he would want to avoid stress and strain on the mortal creatures. They would be semi-retired and serve only as an honor guard for special occasions. The majority of the Christmas Eve work would be done by the robots.

A convoy of tiny autonomous vehicles delivery food and gifts during Christmas.

Artwork by The Dodomiter

A lone reindeer treads a boreal landscape.

Artwork by CynicalTopHat

Another reindeer strikes a pose.

3D model by Lixinjing

Here’s an interesting one. I assume the artist is Chinese, which makes sense as the animal resembles a chunky mythical Quilin rather than a reindeer.

Boston Dynamics, the manufacturer of the robot dog Spot, decked out their creations in reindeer garb one Christmas and had them pull a sleigh.

AI image generators offer lots of robot reindeer, and if I may gripe I like crediting actual artists rather than simply “AI.” I’m not sure if this is AI though. But it’s cool. (When I was growing up such images were tediously generated by airbrush by a human hand.)

A reindeer as a military drone, by artist Daniel Beaulieu.