Frolm Jobs and Occupations

Frolm are generally given jobs that they have a talent for. There are various jobs among the frolm that keep their society going. To become a warrior is often the most sought-after position, and a frolm has to be 30 years old to go on a Warrior’s quest to prove their worthiness. However, warriors aren’t always at war, and many fulfill other duties in times of peace. Here are some of the jobs that they can do:

Bogkeepers – These frolm protect the water sources and make sure that ponds, streams, and sacred pools stay clean and undisturbed. They may sometimes clean the water with nets to help the water remain fresh.

Mud Architects – Most frolm homes are made from the use of mud, so mud architects are set to build homes and other important places with mud, woven reeds, and bioluminescent fungi. They tend to make very sturdy and long-lasting homes.

Tree Hollow Carvers – They help to shape living trees into storage spaces or ceremonial sites. They are experts at doing this so they don’t harm the trees. This is usually done with larger trees because they supply more room.

Glowmoss Tenders – These are frolm who cultivate luminescent moss that provides natural lighting. This natural lighting is usually put on village paths and homes. It is very decorative in appearance.

Marsh Navigators – These are frolm experts who chart the safest water routes through the forest’s twisting rivers and floating islands. This helps people who are traveling through the forest. These frolm often put up symbols signifying the safest paths.

Defenders & Warriors

Swamp Guardians – These are trained fighters that protect the jungle. They also protect their communities from predators, cave trolls, and those who might attack the Great Frolm Forest.

Leapblades – These are elite warriors, and they use their powerful legs to launch themselves at enemies, with sharp blades or weapons. A frolm must be able to jump at least 25 feet in the air in order to become a Leapblade.

Mist Trackers – These are frolm who hunt enemies by trailing them through the thickest of fogs. Their eyes are tested before they become one of these, and they are generally young frolm because young frolm have sharper sight.

Shadow-Fins – These frolm often remain underwater and are warriors that guard the sacred pools and river passages. They are good at silently swimming and stealth attacking.

Venom Harvesters – This force of the frolm army is specialized in gathering dangerous venom from animals and plants and using it to put on their weapons. Some harvesters focus on finding venoms that can heal frolm.

Nature-Based Roles

Raincallers – These are shaman-like frolm that perform ritual chants and dances that cause it to rain.

Frogspawn Caretakers – These are protectors of young frolm eggs and tadpoles. They ensure their survival in the hatchery pools.

Moss Weavers – These are frolm that focus on growing and weaving moss-based fabrics to be used for clothing, bedding, and insulation.

Root Healers – These are herbalists who use such things as jungle plants, fungi, and minerals to create healing pastes and tonics.

Mist Farmers – These frolm grow fog-dependent plants and bioluminescent crops. They often tend to floating gardens on ponds.

Cultural & Spiritual Occupations

Croak Singers – These frolm perform and use resonating vocal harmonies to tell stories, teach history, and soothe those in ill health.

Echo Dancers – These are acrobatic warriors who leap and tumble through the air. This mimics the movements of forest creatures. They can sometimes access frolm prey that can otherwise be difficult to catch.

Spiritwalkers – These frolm are priests and/or mystics who act as mediators between the frolm and the spirits of water, jungle, and ancestors. They sometimes mediate between frolm clans when there is a serious disagreement.

Water Oracle – This is a rare frolm that claims to see visions in the ripples of sacred pools and helps those in leadership positions. There are some frolm who pretend to see these visions, which can cause a disruption in the clan. If it is found out that the frolm is pretending to see a vision, it could lead to that frolm being exiled.

Ritual Painters – These are artists who tattoo or paint symbols on warriors who are preparing for battle or for coming of age events.

Food & Trade

Glowfruit Foragers – These are frolm that gather bioluminescent fruit that only grows under certain moons and moon phases.

Insect Farmers – These are breeders of crickets, glowworms, and beetles. This helps give the frolm a protein-rich food source for the inhabitants.

Mudbrew Masters – These are creators of fermented mushroom drinks. Depending on the kind of mushroom, this drink can have two effects: one is to help with deep relaxation, and the other is for heightened awareness.

Spore Traders – These are merchants who deal in rare and enchanted spores. They have medicinal and alchemical properties.

Pond-Fisher – These are fishers who catch, breed, and release rare amphibious critters into marsh pools that are carefully controlled.

Crafting & Artisanship

Reed Flute Makers – Just as the name suggests, they are carvers of musical instruments that produce soft and haunting melodies through the jungle air.

Shellsmiths – These are crafters who make armor and tools from the hardened shells of creatures within the forest.

Mudmask Artisans – They are artists who create ceremonial masks with colorful clay and enchanted swamp water.

Poison Ink Masters – These are scribes who write sacred texts and secret messages with ink made from non-lethal toxins that only the frolm can handle safely.

Biolume Dye Makers – These are extractors of glowing pigments which are from plants and fungi. They are used for body paint, ritual decorations, or even regular clothing.

Leadership & Diplomacy

Chief Elder – This is an elder who presides over a frolm Hamlet. He often leads councils on deciding if someone is guilty or innocent and what the punishment is if guilty.

Prophecy Interpreter – There are some frolm hamlets with a prophecy interpreter who is specialized in understanding prophecies that have been written down. They can also act as dream interpreters.

Elder Croakers – These are council members who help to resolve disputes and pass down wisdom and knowledge through traditional storytelling.

Trade Froggers – These are traveling merchants who barter exotic goods with neighboring races. They are often required to navigate through dangerous jungle paths.

Bog Emissaries – These are diplomats who are sent to speak with rival clans and outsider settlements.

Ceremonial Judges – These are respected figures who oversee rituals, trials, and punishment ceremonies. They usually serve the role of a chief elder if none are available.

Unique Jobs Based on Their Frog-Like Physiology

Leap-Couriers – These are high-speed messengers who jump across vast distances in order to deliver urgent messages.

Rain Harvesters – These are collectors of purified rainwater. This rainwater is used in potions and sacred ceremonies.

Echo Locators – These are scouts who use croaks and clicks to map out such things as tunnels, underwater ruins, and hidden caves.

Jungle Wall Climbers – These are specialists who use their sticky hands and feet to scale along cliffside temples and treetop villages.

Mud Camouflage Experts – These are guides who train warriors how to blend in with swamp terrain using natural pigments.

How These Jobs Shape Their Society

These jobs give them a deep connection to water – Many of these roles focus on preserving water, protecting sacred pools, and controlling rainfall.

They give them symbiosis with nature – Different from industrialized civilizations, the frolm depend on biodegradable materials and sustainable farming.

These jobs puts a emphasis on community – Many of the jobs involve group effort rather than individual effort, which reinforces communal Survival.

They keep cultural storytelling and rituals alive – Several roles include song, body paint, spiritual practices, and dance to honor their ancestors and the forest.

Designing Unique Bodies of Water in Science Fantasy Worlds

Sign up for my Newsletter Here

Get Curse of Kredaria for free

Support Me on Patreon

Rethinking Rivers, Oceans, and Aquatic Mysticism Beyond Earthly Logic
In a world where science and magic intertwine, bodies of water don’t just quench thirst or serve as travel routes—they pulse with ancient intelligence, carry dimensional echoes, or respond to arcane frequencies. Whether you’re building planets with liquid methane lakes or rivers that rewrite history, crafting aquatic systems in your world can unlock rich symbolism, culture, and drama.

This post dives into inspired and original types of water bodies for science fantasy settings and how to use them meaningfully in your story.

🌊 Classic Oceans with a Twist

1. The Endless Deep

  • A sentient ocean that forgets and remembers you depending on the tide.
  • Its tides are pulled by twin moons—one physical, one spectral.
  • Sailors whisper prayers into bottles; the ocean answers weeks later.
  • Creatures evolve from thoughts lost at sea.

Narrative Hooks:

  • A civilization that treats the ocean as a god—or a demon.
  • Naval expeditions aimed at reaching the fabled “Center Memory Reef.”

2. Etheric Oceans

  • Oceans made not of water, but liquid magic.
  • Shimmering tides emit energy that boosts or scrambles spellcasting.
  • Ships must be partially alive to survive its arcane surges.
  • Water changes color depending on the emotional state of its nearest civilization.

Uses in Storytelling:

  • Port cities built on rituals as much as docks.
  • Coral libraries that “record” ambient magical history in the Ethersea.

🪷 Invented Bodies of Water

3. Lacuna Pools

  • Still, mirror-like pools found in craters where time behaves strangely.
  • Gazing into them shows your past lives or potential futures.
  • Dropping items in may either erase them from history or teleport them elsewhere.’
  • Worshiped by seers and outlawed by empirical societies.

4. The Meltflow Network

  • Underground rivers of radiant, molten material—part magma, part life force.
  • Used to power cities above with geothermal-spell converters.
  • Accessible only to tunneling creatures or via soul anchors.
  • Exposure causes vivid dreams—or permanent hallucinations.

Narrative Potential:

  • A city’s reliance on the Meltflow drives political unrest as its temperature rises.
  • Creatures who can “swim” through both lava and consciousness.

5. Rivers of Echo

  • Flowing streams that “remember” sound and replay moments of great importance.
  • Whispered words become audible again during certain moon phases.
  • Entire battles, confessions, or proposals echo through the water centuries later.
  • Rogue mages use it to trace secret histories.

🧊 Exotic Lakes and Seas

6. Glacial Seas of Thought

  • Massive frozen oceans on an ancient moon where thoughts freeze into sculptures.
  • Walkers on the ice hear the frozen screams and songs of ancient civilizations.
  • Magic users can chisel memories into the ice and cast them as spells.
  • Civilizations trade frozen emotions as currency.

7. The Sinking Sea

  • A dense, bottomless body of dark liquid that pulls even air and light inward.
  • No known bottom—used as a dumping ground for cursed or unstable tech.
  • Myths say the sea is a tear from a dead god’s eye.
  • Creatures that live here can only be described in dreams.

8. The Blooming Bay

  • A shallow, luminous bay where aquatic plants bloom into the air, forming floating gardens.
  • Used as a neutral diplomatic zone by warring nations.
  • The plants produce spores that enhance psionic abilities.
  • Local fauna feed on psychic residue and mimic thoughts.

🌌 Cosmic and Interdimensional Waters

9. Star Tides

  • Rivers of water flowing through space between moons or ships.
  • Carried by gravity wells and magical conduits.
  • Traveled by creatures that breathe vacuum and vapor.
  • Often mined for their pure aether content.

10. The Veil Lakes

  • Interdimensional “pools” that exist simultaneously on several planes.
  • Stepping into one takes you to an identical lake… but on another planet or timeline.
  • Used by smugglers, sages, and invading armies.
  • Veil-lakes shift location without warning—mapping them is a lost art.

🛶 Cultural Roles of Water

Even if your water isn’t magical, how people interact with it can be world-defining.

  • Sacred Rivers: Used for memory cleansing or as part of coming-of-age rituals.
  • Forbidden Seas: Rumored to house weaponized weather or exiled gods.
  • Floating Cities: Built on AI-maintained archipelagos or atop dreaming sea creatures.

📝 Tips for Inventing Aquatic Features

Anchor one law of physics or magic, then twist it: e.g., water that flows upward, evaporates into memory mist, etc.

Give each body of water cultural significance—how does it affect trade, belief, and diplomacy?

Tie fauna and flora into the water—bioluminescent jellyfish with prophetic patterns? Carnivorous lotus? Herds of semi-intelligent plankton?

🎇 Final Thought

In science fantasy, water is never just H₂O. It’s a mirror, a memory, a weapon, a gateway. Let oceans be stained with starlight, rivers hum with haunted voices, and lakes reflect dimensions as yet unborn. The more alive your water feels, the more immersive your world becomes.

Sign up for my Newsletter Here

Get Curse of Kredaria for free

Support Me on Patreon

Creating Life – By Ralph Ellefson

The Art of World Building Workbook – By Ralph Ellefson

Fantasy World Building: A Guide To Developing Mythic Worlds and Legendary Creatures – By Mark Nelson

 

Temple of Dreams (Lore of Zalonia)

Sign up for my newsletter on the Right

Get Curse of Kredaria for free

Support Me on Patreon

The Temple of Dreams sits close to the center of Zalonia. It is a place people visit to have their dreams interpreted by priests and priestesses. To become a priest or priestess, one must study at the Magdad School, where dream magic is taught through years of discipline, meditation, and controlled exposure to the dream realm.

I have an upcoming series that will be based on a priestess from the Temple of Dreams who works alongside a Protector of Zalonia to solve problems that arise both within and beyond the dream world.

The Temple of Dreams is usually a peaceful place, but it is not without danger. It is prone to manifestations known as dream wraiths—entities born from nightmares or fractured visions. These wraiths can emerge into the waking world, feeding on fear and confusion. While there are always one or two trained practitioners on site capable of confronting such threats, an overwhelming surge of wraiths can force the temple to shut its doors until balance is restored.

There are also threats from the outside world. Certain factions and power-hungry individuals have long sought to control the Temple of Dreams, believing its power could grant insight into the future—or the ability to manipulate it. For this reason, the temple is guarded at all times by trained protectors. Legend holds that a curse falls upon anyone who attempts to seize the temple by force. Whether this curse is real or simply a deterrent is unknown, but few who have challenged the temple have ever been heard from again.

Within the Temple of Dreams, long rows of carefully arranged beds line vast, quiet chambers. Each bed is separated by thin curtains etched with protective symbols, designed to contain and stabilize the dreamer’s experience. Soft, dim light—often emanating from enchanted crystals—fills the space, creating an atmosphere that feels neither fully awake nor fully asleep.

At the heart of the temple lies the Inner Chamber, a sacred space reserved for the most powerful dream practitioners. It is here that the deepest and most dangerous dreams are explored. Some say this chamber contains a gateway—not just into dreams, but into something far older.

Those who enter the temple seeking guidance do not always leave with simple answers. Dreams in Zalonia are not passive illusions; they are reflections of deeper truths, hidden fears, and sometimes forces beyond human understanding. The priests and priestesses do not merely interpret dreams—they navigate them.

And sometimes… the dream pushes back.

Sign up for my Newsletter Here

Get Curse of Kredaria for free

Creating Life – By Ralph Ellefson

The Art of World Building Workbook – By Ralph Ellefson

Fantasy World Building: A Guide To Developing Mythic Worlds and Legendary Creatures – By Mark Nelson

Support Me on Patreon