Fantasy World Cultures Questions Thread

The government is a constitutional republic with a slightly theocratic bent (they were founded by a Physical God who even drafted their constitution. They have a state religion, but they do make it a point to include freedom of religion in their law)

Most towns have a local government, which are run usually by a local elected official. They have to pay taxes to the federal government in order to be considered "legitimate", however. They also have to follow federal laws like "freedom of speech".

The federal government is similar in structure to the United States. The main difference is that their god is able to change any Supreme Court verdict he doesn't like (though he usually does not exercise this right).

Their rules for dealing with a threat usually go: send in the local police force (which has early 20th century-era weaponry, such as Tommy guns. Steampunk Aesthetic, too). If they can't solve a problem, they call in the feds (which is equivelent in technology to a modern day SWAT or military organization), and if they can't solve the problem, they send in the actual military, which is vaguely cyberpunk in nature. Finally, if all else fails, the Apostles come in, which are more or less space marines.

What's the most common religion in your world?

That would be the primordial king, a being who decided humanity have to takes arms againts the elderich abomination, he is workship by all in the world, in their own ways of course

If there any warrior cult or informal organization in the army of tour setting?

Since cults are ten times more fun than legitimate religions, you bet there are warrior cults. This can be a problem when multiple armies have things like tanks and nuclear weapons, and at least one nation is completely dizzy for atomic weapons. And since atom bombs do terrible things to spirits, that means no warrior heaven for you if you start the First (and likely last) Great War

Speaking of which, How prevalent are cults in your setting? Are they barely a thing, or is it impossible to swing a dead cat without accidentally founding a new Church of Swinging Dead Cats Around?

Mystery cults are sort-of common, roughly analogous to monestaries or the Freemasons. West, in Mescony, virtually everypony belongs to one of the larger mystery cults, though this in recent years is something of a misnomer due to the government forcing them to open up to the public after a series of reforms.

Are there card games in your world? If so, what games are popular?

edited 19th Jul '15 3:37:55 PM by SantosLHalper

There is one I'm working on. It's called 4 winds and is a bit like bridge meets president.

Everybody takes one direction, north, east, south, etc. They play to get the highest ranking card in their direction. For example, a player would want the ten of rings rather than the one of rings. Likewise, a higher rank will beat a lower rank. The one of swords will be replaced by the three of swords. However, every suit has a suit it's weak against. Swords beat rings, rings beat staves, staves beat cups, cups beat swords. This is true regardless of card rank. For example, if you're opponent has a ten of swords you can replace it with a two of cups. All other interactions follow the rank rules so a two of staves will be replaced by a three of swords.

As you may have gathered, you can play cards on your opponents direction as well as your own. Players play one card, draw one from the deck, and hold a hand of five cards. Whoever has the highest rank at the end of the deck wins.

Does your world have mercenaries and how are they viewed?

edited 20th Jul '15 9:00:52 AM by Belisaurius

There are mercenaries. Plenty of them, in fact. While there are sellswords of every extraction — Elves, Draconics, even Southerners — most mercenaries you'll encounter are Wargs. Indeed, because of their innate ability to change into a hulking beastman berserker, Wargs are formidable fighters, and hiring themselves out as mercenaries is particularly appealing to them.

How they are regarded mostly depends on who they hire themselves out to. Wargs belonging to a clan that serves as city watch and militia for a town, or as personal guard for a noble family, are usually viewed as reliable and faithful — though that faithfulness is sometimes enforced by paying them in local coin (which is worthless anywhere else).

On the other hand, clans that seek employment in armies are generally considered ruthless and untrustworthy. The later is not exactly wrong, though it's a given for mercenaries. These clans' reputation is not helped by the habit of some of settling down here and there once a war (and thus their employment) is over, often taking up protection rackets or banditry. It's been said that winning is the easy part of a war ; getting the Wargs out is the hard one. This often can only be achieved by hiring more mercenaries... who will probably end up doing the same thing.

What superstitions exist in your world ?

edited 20th Jul '15 4:28:08 PM by Aetol

Are the wargs named after war or is it the other way around?

The other way around would be ? Do you mean in-universe ?

Out-of-universe, I chose this name mostly because I couldn't just call them "werewolves", and it's a cool-sounding word appropriate for wolf-like thingies. (And I realize I didn't make it really obvious they're basically werewolves. Should have potholed.)

No, nothing of the sort. I didn't even notice until you pointed it out.

edited 20th Jul '15 4:27:16 PM by Aetol

Well, I just figured warg-g=war so there was some corolation.

"It's bad luck to neglect your guns"

Can you tell us about any religeous schsms?

There's the schism between the Church of the Three Gods and the splinter religion of the One God (might work on better names someday).

Both religions believe the three dominant races of the setting : Elves, Draconics, and Wargs, were each created from ordinary humans by one deity : these patron deities are commonly (and unimaginatively) called the Elf God, the Dragon God, and the Warg God. They also believe in spiritual beings called demons, who are behind everything magic in the setting. The sticky point is how all these were created.

The dogma of the Three Gods asserts that these three deities are indeed gods. They were created by a mysterious entity known as the Maker (I'm very good at naming things), along with the entire material and spiritual world. Whether the demons were created by the Maker too, or by the three gods as a common effort (and from scratch, unlike the god-chosen races) is still a point of contention. Fortunately, nobody yet has considered the question important enough to split the Church over it.

The dogma of the One God asserts that the spiritual and material world, as well as the demons, were created by the Elf God (who is usually just called "God"). The Dragon "God" and the Warg "God" are in fact demons, who tricked humans into believing they were legitimate gods, and thanks to Gods Need Prayer Badly gained enough power to make their followers into Draconics and Wargs, respectively, and ended up being worshipped by everybody alongside the true God.

Thus, each dogma is guilty of a monstrous sin in the eye of the other. Followers of the Three Gods consider the dogma of the One God a sacrilege (claiming that two gods are just demons). Followers of the One God consider the dogma of the Three Gods a blasphemy (claiming that some demons are actual gods).

The way magic is regarded varies too. The religion of the Three Gods believes demons are, basically, Lawful Neutral. Thus magic is a natural and acceptable thing. Meanwhile, the religion of the One God holds that demons are more Neutral Evil, so they believe magic to be dangerous and abhorrent.

The religion of the Three Gods is widely practiced throughout the setting, by Elves, Draconics and Wargs alike, and even some human populations. The religion of the One God is practiced almost only by Elves (three guesses why). It is mostly present in one of the western elven houses, and is a sizable minority in the other. It is actively forbidden in most of the eastern houses.

And no, neither of them is canonically right or wrong.

Are there "fantastic" metals or minerals in your world ? (Mithril, etc...)

edited 23rd Jul '15 2:19:05 PM by Aetol

Manastone is a very rare mineral consisting of magic that obtained so much density that it crystalizes into a solid form. This is exceedingly rare normally and it would take months or years for a mage to synthesize a pebble's worth.

Manastone tends to catalyze magic, making casting easier and allowing even Unawakened to use magical items. Alloying it with other metals tends to create other fantastic material. Copper turns to magically conductive orchalcum while aluminum turns to neigh-unbreakable adamantine. Iron turns to infinitely elastic mithril.

The only significant source of manastone is Apotheosis Tower, a place where mana density rivals that of baryonic matter. The stones tend to form within living things. However, the process tends to mutate and empower the creatures and in such a competitive environment only the most vicious creatures survive and propagate.

What kind of swords are popular in your world?

Oops, got 'd. I'll just not ask a question this time, since the guy above already did.

There are four fantastic minerals of note on the world of Drachma: orichalcum, mithral, adamantine, and nyolon.

Orichalcum is a crystalline compound that is the main Applied Phlebotinum of the setting. Essentially magic in physical form, orichalcum's many applications include the creation of magical items, the creation of weapons that can harm incorporeal creatures, being a clean and potent fuel source, and allowing mages to replenish their Mana quickly. However, orichalcum deposits leak magical energy, which can mutate nearby life forms into chimarae and warp reality in the nearby vicinity in high enough concentrations, making it a very dangerous resource to mine. However, it is possible to build up an orichalcum immunity, as the dwarves have over thousands of generations of mining the stuff, making them virtually immune to all forms of magic, at the cost of being unable to cast magic themselves.

Mithral is a rare metal as strong as steel that is supernaturally light, making it very valuable for any industrialized society. Also, when used to make alloys, the end result is always magnitudes lighter than its non-mithral component, even nullifying adamantine's insane weight (but due to both metals' rarity, said alloy is rarely made).

Adamantine is a metal naturally found in its liquid state in high-temperature areas, like inside volcanoes. This makes it extremely difficult and dangerous to mine, but the end result is worth it, as once the metal cools, it is virtually indestructible. However, it is so heavy that, unless smelted with mithral, it is very impractical to use it to make weapons and armour (for example, a longsword made of the stuff would weight as much as a cannon). But despite its weight, adamantine never collapses under its own weight, so it's been used to make the strongest fortresses on Drachma.

Nyolon is Drachma's resident Anti-Magic metal. Rarest of all these minerals, what few nyolon that is worked by mortal hands is used to make armour and weapons for use against mages and magical creatures, but there are rumours, the the Arthurian Empire has a secret underground prison carved out of a nyolon deposit to which they send the Empires's most dangerous magical criminals...

edited 21st Jul '15 12:58:36 PM by MapleSamurai

General medieval-Europe type broadswords are used by most northerners. To the west and south sabers are popular as well.

The only real special swords are the huge two-handed swords used by Clommlanders and Mardonic landsknights, and the sarsilan used by some Elves. They're short and slightly curved and very heavy, in order to better kill orcs. During the elvish crusade almost every elf would carry two sarsilan in addition to his lance or bow but they've become increasingly rare as more elves follow the king east. Most of the remaining Rangers use human-style weapons, for one reason or another.

Tell me about a particular city. Where is it built, who lives there, is it significant and why, what religions, technologies and industries are there... more if you want.

edited 22nd Jul '15 1:41:02 PM by PixelatedVolume

Valhalla City: The Capitol of Zion. It's a city carved out of a mountain (A literal city on a hill)

The place is the "Holy City" of the Saintly Church. In fact, the nation was founded when a prophet lead a bunch of downtrodden humans and escaped slaves to the city.

Sitting at the peak of the city is the Light god, who keeps the advanced technology in the city powered. The city has a Tron-like Aesthetic to it. The city is often thought to be a utopia, which is an exaggeration.

Every person in the city is given an AR-feed of some kind, whether it be glasses or a bionic implant into their eye. These do a few things: They allow a person to know what their schedule is, gives them a mini-map, that sort of thing. It also keeps them in communication with the Light god in case they need anything (this feature can be turned off). Legally speaking, one doesn't have to wear them, but they're a big part of their culture, so it's seen as unusual not to.

There's almost no unemployment in the city, and people are generally wealthy. The 3 big things in the city are:

The High Cathedral, the highest temple of the Saintly Church.

The Capitol Building.

Valkyrie Theme Park, the setting's equivalent to Disney Land. Apparently, the oldest part of the city.

What's the most common sport played in your world?

A sort of handball that combines Fencing and Rugby. Instead of tackles, plays are resolved by players Flynning their way to the opponents goal, ball in hand. Everyone has a foil; however, the style is different for each posiotion. The better your position, the better weapons you have. This also dictates wether or not you get a shield. The swords are foam-covered wood; enough to get someones attention but not enough to really hurt someone.

Same.

edited 22nd Jul '15 11:56:31 AM by dvorak

Fuseball. It is basically soccer, handball and basketball played as one sport inside a futsal court, which fused the rules from all three of them except the offside rule.

The way the ball is played is determined by the last condition of the ball. If the ball is rolling on the ground, it can be played only with the foot and kicked into the goalpost. If the ball stays midair when it is transferred between players, it can only be thrown either towards another player or into the goalpost. If the ball hit the ground at least once before bouncing back midair, the player can only dribble the ball and throw it into a hoop behind the goalpost.

However, in a certain radius near to the goalpost, a ball that is high enough to be reach only by a player's palm can be smashed onto the ground and if it hits the ground without hitting anything else beforehand, a goal is considered scored. Otherwise, it will be treated as sent out from the field and a goal play ensues.

How does your setting handles universal currency exchanges?

It really doesn't. Gold and silver are gold and silver no matter where you go. Often money is literally broken (with a knife or chisel) in order to make change. Merchants will take hacksilver, bits of coin - it's the value of the material that matters, not trust in arbitrary worth and legality. The only reasons someone might insist on taking coin are 1) they're noble 2) they want to be assured of the weight and purity of the coinage or 3) they are so busy they can't be bothered to weigh out hacksilver and then have it melted back into something more useful. Using foreign coins will get you odd looks certainly, but if the money's good you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

Who is a controversial leader in your world? Why?

WIP, so all names were generated on the spot.

King Kulgha son of Garekk, the current ruler of the Dorgarag Kingdom ; as well as his father King Timak son of Garekk^note when Wargs call themselves "son of X", they refer to their most illustrious ancestor, not necessarily their own father, who founded the Kingdom, and his grandfather Chief Garekk son of Atogak, who first united the Dorgarag Wargs against the Western Elven Houses.

The very existence of the Dorgarag Kingdom is controversial. It was established on lands taken from the Elves, including the now-ruined imperial capital and the region surrounding it, taking advantage of the devastation caused by the brutal collapse of the Elven Empire. The three Western Elven Houses resent the Dorgarag Wargs deeply for this appropriation.

Nonetheless, King Kulgha managed the tour de force of getting the Kingdom's legitimacy recognized by the Blessed Dragon Empire and three Elven Houses, in an underhanded way : by ratifying the mostly-unrelated treaty of Enhebel (it's about safe passage for pilgrims going to the Great Temple of the Three Gods in the former imperial capital). The implication was that by concluding such a treaty, they publicly acknowledged the Kingdom as a legitimate nation, and not "just a bunch of bandits".

How are funerals conducted ?

edited 26th Jul '15 3:56:18 PM by Aetol

in the theocratic nation of Kovenshen, due to the leader being the god of fire, the dead are unsurprisingly dealt with via cremation.

the funerals of the elite castes are often dealt with directly by the church, and the more important the deceased, the more likely the fire god Käffer himself will do the honors.

among the lower class, funerals are generally dealt with cooperatively by both the senate and the lower ranks of the church, and are usually for multiple people and are set up by the senate as an event for all to join, and to grieve together.

of course in addition there are those who wish for the deceased's funeral to be a more private matter, in which they can take the funeral into their own hands- at most the help they'll receive is a blessing from the church, but other than that, how they deal with the funeral is entirely up to them, and in rare cases will forgo cremation entirely.

how does your culture's education system work?

how does your culture's education system work?

There is no education system. Apprenticeships are used for most professions. The only thing that teaches many "students" all at once is the military. Which just teaches them how to fight.

What are some common idioms in your world?

Looks like this question has had everybody stumped for a month and a half. So I'll just restart the thread with a new question. Sue me.

How is your world's religion practiced?

edited 22nd Sep '15 3:58:34 PM by Aetol

Im going to answer this two questions:

the most comon language is the primordial one, is strange since is build in the memory of every single person, even in some level, meaing that all speach come from it, granted that dosent mean all people are polygots but that overwise you could read something, even in their basic level.

the primordial lord, he is workship not much as god but the men(or woman) who made a pact with deity, he is pretty much the cambellion hero of thousand face

Is there any relic in your world or holy object?

all three of the major civilizations had an ancient relic of sorts; the massive Triggers for the barriers that surrounded their civilization in the early centuries of each nation. they each approach them differently of course, from what they perceived it to be to how they treated it

the empire saw it as a holy relic created by the gods; they studied it and, learning how to make barriers, assumed they'd learned enough and destroyed it, breaking their barrier and allowing them to expand to the outer world.

the republic saw it as a relic of a past civilization, and primarily as an obstacle in their way of expansion. ultimately, it was destroyed by the upstart generation that came about in the chaos of their theocratic leader's unexpected death, before the republic had been founded. stated reasons for destroying the trigger was both an act of frustration at the perceived betrayal of their immortal leader when he died, but also a desperate plea to escape the barrier and see the outside world. they believed their god had placed the relic there himself, though evidence later surfaced that proved their existence before their god first appeared. in all the years that their god had reigned, he had not shown any interest in the triggers and ultimately, study of barrier magic in the republic was very miniscule, limited to a few individuals who never acheived any form of mastery over it.

the theocratic nation of Kovenshen, they saw the Trigger as a gift from a primordial entity that wanted to protect them from the outer world until they were ready- said to have been placed their at the request of the fire god himself- though the fire god initially did not seem to know where the triggers actually were. almost immediately upon finding them, the fire god ordered the senate to find (church unaffiliated) scholars to research them, and so the theocracy spent by far the longest time of any civilization behind the barrier, and left it only after achieving all their thought they could with their research, and as such are the world hub for the study of barrier magic, and often the other nations that surround them turn to them for help in advancing their understanding of it.

outside of the major civilizations, neighbors to the post-barrier empire are said to be the descendents of an ancient civilization, the ruins of which they live in- though empire scholars have approached the claim with a degree of cynicism. the ruins date back to a time not much later than when the fire god first appeared (shortly after the first humans left the africa equivelent) and the tombs remain notable to certain people due to the inscriptions that if true would indicate an explanation for the inexplicably malevolent way shapeshifters act in this world.

how far back does your culture's history go, and how many rulers (or dynasties) has it had?

edited 23rd Sep '15 7:24:17 AM by Tarsen

Just about every nation's history only goes back to about 750 years. Almost exactly, for that matter. It's a very curious topic for historians and archeologists. Especially since there are ruins that are more than 10,000 years old.

Manastra's ruling dynasty is about 20 generations old while Rigoli's is a couple hundred. It's hard to tell with Rigoli's dynasties since one ruling family is usually relate to the next.

The other great nations don't have single ruling families.

What kind of sailing ships does your nation(s) have?