Fantasy World Cultures Questions Thread

In my verse, the wildlife was the same as it is now until the 23rd Century. Starting around that time, Human and Grey Alien scientists have combined their scientific knowledge to resurrect extinct animals. Much later, in the aftermath of the Cataclysm, the surviving zoo animals have left their former confines and established themselves in their new homelands. After civilization was rebuilt, the people of Regnum Leonis have sent hunters to bring the fiercest dinosaurs they could find back from Atlantis to fight in their arenas. It worked for a while, but the dinosaurs escaped and established themselves in Africa before spreading to the rest of the Old World.

What are your cultures' stances on the darker types of magic (necromancy, warlock magic, etc.)?

Throughout Sigma, the darker magics are generally looked down upon and even outright banned in certain countries, particularly those with denser populations or where technology isn't as prevalent. Not only is magic such as necromancy, time magic, and force/gravity extremely powerful but there have been a number of incidents throughout recorded history of them being used for nefarious deeds. Some of the few who busted their ass enough and managed to master them ended up wrecking havoc or used them for their own selfish gains. The allure of power corrupted the minds of these men and women. However during the current timeline, this sort of magic has become extremely uncommon with only a handful of users coming out of the woodwork from time to time. Elemental, healing/white magic, and an assortment of other magic is more widely used and accepted. Those who have even mastered such "forbidden" or powerful magic make it a habit not to pass on the knowledge to very many, in fear that it would be terribly misused.

For your culture, is religion a a prominent spark for conflicts (wars and the like)? If so, which religions are the most common cause for other countries to go to town on?

edited 14th Sep '12 2:12:29 AM by AegisCT

Generally, no. In most places, religion exists in a fairly primitive state. There are a few exceptions. On a skyland called Rain there's a settlement made up of people who left their previous home due to religious persecution. They venerated the earth instead of the sky. It wasn't there beliefs per se that led to their persecution, but their practice of burying the dead in the ground instead of "at sky". Most people believe this robs the soul of its rightful rest.

In another part of the world, there's the Cult of the Sky Pilots. This is an ancient religion, but it grew greatly in prominence a few generations ago for. It was centered around shaman called "Sky Pilots", who are believed to have a connection with the sky that allows them some control over the weather and the fates. That's where the name comes from, because they "steer" the sky.

According to legend, a city was under siege by a barbaric foe. The defenders were greatly outnumbered, and the battle seemed lost, until seemingly out of nowhere a Sky Pilot showed up and took command of a rocket tower whose crew had suffered heavy casualties. Under his leadership, the defenders turned the tide of the battle, then went on to establish a great empire, spreading with it the Sky Pilot religion.

However, since that time, no other Sky Pilot has proven to be as effective as that one. For that reason, faith in the Sky Pilots has declined drastically, leaving the fate of the empire that was built on the Sky Pilot religion uncertain.

What kind of currency and/or banking systems exist in your world?

This thread looks fun, I think I'll try it out. What kind of currency and/or banking systems exist in your world?

The currencies and economic systems vary between nations and areas. The most prominent, Cerestium, uses gold, silver, and bronze coinage, enforced by the government. Gien Lao currency is likely a mix of primitive paper bills and bronze coins, being heavily capitalist, but with a strong central government which enforces like currency. Vicaria relies mostly on the barter system, with the more colonized areas utilizing Cerestian currency. However, certain items have constant worth, even if they are unneeded and will be accepted everywhere, if at varying values: coins and other relics from the Draconic empire, and Draconic remains, such as polished bone and scales. This assures that the Dracon-Slayers can remain viable, and that dracons are hunted down.

Shades, however, are very varied. Umber Shades utilize a mixture of barter and local currencies, while Water shades commonly use cowrie shells. Ice, Fire, and Forest Shades are more communistic, so they trade for goods and services.

If there were ancient civilizations, how do they impact the current civilization?

edited 19th Sep '12 4:34:01 AM by Ninjaxenomorph

Yeah, it is a fun thread. Need a question, though.

Yeah, sorry, forgot. Was writing that over a period of a half-hour in the car being distracted and chastised.

If there were ancient civilizations, how do they impact the current civilization?

Depending on your point of view, very much or very little. On the surface, the modern world holds very little information and takes very little from the Time Before, however some of the biggest movers and shakers from that time are still alive and still doing their thing. There's a former god running around trying to suppress technological advancement, a former crime lord turned politician (so still a criminal, just a legitimate one ), etcetera.

Question is: What sort of slang is implemented by your world?

edited 18th Sep '12 11:18:37 PM by Eagal

I'd like to keep this thread going, but I really have no answer to that question. I'll just talk about language in general. Basically, the world is divided into a number of regions. Within these regions, the languages that people speak tends to be related due to common origin, but almost every skyland has experienced some linguistic drift. There are exceptions; occasionally lost skylands are discovered inhabited by people culturally distinct from others in the region, and there are no solid borders between regions anyway.

In some regions, the lingua franca is a non-phonetic written language, since they tend to have experienced less linguistic drift.

What kind of hierarchy exists in your world? How do people attain their place on the social ladder? Is most of the population satisfied with it?

thanks for intervening, I couldn't think of an answer either.

Anyway, Four Kingdoms society is mostly feudal. In some areas, such as the regions where the lordships are smaller, the commoners are quite happy to have nobles in charge, as the nobles are generally quite willing to defend them from raiders, and are understanding when harvests go bad, and taxes can't be paid. However, in the larger lordships, there is more resentment towards the generally more unattached lords, who look after their interests alone. In situations where the inhabitants of a lordship believe he is shirking his duty of defense of his people, the commoners are allowed to first request that the king replace them, then, if for whatever reasons he is not willing to, they can still overthrow the lord themselves. As long as the internal revolt is contained within his area, the king cannot intervene. If the revolt spreads to other lordships, without the kings permission, he can, and generally will, intervene.

Question time: What define the borders in your world? Rivers, mountains? Places where one culture ends and another begins? Barbed wire, trenches?

edited 8th Oct '12 10:07:03 AM by james123182

Borders in my world don't have general guidelines, though they tend to be similar in some areas. In some places, forests tend to along some of the borders, either by the end or a line between two forests. Bodies of water, as well as mountains, serve as borders for some, especially in mountainous regions.

Question: Where is most of the population located in your world? Is it a very urban environment, with cities dominating the landscape, or do farms and small villages dot the land, and hold most of the people?

Most of the populations of one of my worlds is heavily condensed in cities and urban ares, due to the recent industrial revolution, which brought millions out of the countryside to work in the cities. Thus, the cities vastly outweigh the countryside in terms of population, especially in a few cities of western Aria (FCC of Europe, part of the bigger continent of Ceresia {Eurasia}), particularly Artemis, the capital of Calsai, Hansa, the capital of the Gothic Empire (More commonly known as Gotland or The Gotlands), and Corvis, the capital of The Westerlands, which are all FC Cs of real world European nations, I'll see if you guys can guess them all on your own.

Other than in Ceresia, there are large industrialised cities all over North Appolia(FCC North America), and Yokon (FCC Japan) in the far eastern part of Ceresia, though other than these places, the Industrial Revolution has not changed population density much in the world.

QUESTION TIME!!!: Alright, I think there may have been a question like this earlier on, but oh well. What unique wildlife does your world possess? And, I don't mean dragons or goblins or whatever that appears in every other fantasy world, but something really UNIQUE, maybe a divergent variation on a preexisting fantasy creature, or a completely new and original animal, whatever.

edited 15th Oct '12 12:58:12 AM by Jackal5565

Unique wildlife: most creatures are similar to earth creatures, the biggest departures from that being cow-sized nutria, and Dracons. There ARE dragons in Melahawk Sea, but they have disappeared for thousands of years. Dracons are bestial throwbacks, similar to true dragons like apes and monkeys are similar to humans. Dracons have many different forms, from Wyvern (looks like Skyrim dragons) to Wyrm (long, Asian-esque dragons), to hairy, lion-like ones. Multiple heads are not unknown. These have a variety of Breath Attacks, ranging from ice to acid to even plasma. They act like traditional dragons, destroying towns and hoarding riches.

Question: What humanoids in your world are unique?

edited 10th Oct '12 7:12:10 AM by Ninjaxenomorph

I like to think all of them in some way or another... :P

The obvious stand-outs would be the vagyar, whose most prominent difference from humans is neurological. Due to the way the vagya brain has developed, many of the cognitive and analytical regions are cross-wired with both each other but also the regions that interpret external stimuli. On a behavioural level, they seem to tend to interpret their own thought processes as coming from an external source, and learn to personify this source by clothing it in aspects of their own personalities, especially those they repress; and the more neural connections in the brain, the more likely such interconnections are. In lay-human terms, analytical intelligence and hallucinatory schizophrenia are directly proportional in each individual vagyar.

(That's the accepted explanation in the human scientific community, of course, though most of panhumanity tends to agree with this evaluation. Vagary doesn't really have a 'scientific community', per se, given that those who would compose it tend not to cooperate readily with each other, but the most common explanation among vagyar oracles is that humans too possess daemons and geniuses whispering ideas into their heads, but have repressed and internalised them to the point that they disbelieve in them and pass their messages off as their own thoughts. This falls under a more general diagnosis of humans as narcissistic and histrionic, overly obsessed with themselves and what other humans think of them; funnily enough, most of panhumanity tends to agree with this evaluation, too.)

What does your culture(s) think of themselves (and, if applicable, each other)? What philosophies and sociologies predominate, or have done so historically? What makes an individual admirable, or lionises them in the eyes of society?

edited 11th Oct '12 8:04:41 PM by Noaqiyeum

What humanoids in your world are unique?
Unique humanoids... Let's see... Humans? Nope... Oscha? Not exactly humanoid despite sentience. Fistar? Not really humanoid either... Felves? Felves! Imagine one of those flowers that mimics a female insect so that male insects will pollinate it while trying to mate with what they believe to be a female of their own species. Now imagine the word "insect" being replaced with the word "human". That is the basic idea behind them. They evolved sentience while subject to human domestication. They discourage actual mating between themselves in favor of being pollinated (preferably by male humans) due to never having developed instincts for choosing mates.

Abilities they have include a strong tactile sense, greater skill with magic (which is a trait of all plants in the setting), and good dexterity and flexibility. Weaknesses include shortsightedness, low strength, and being a servant race to a species that is still in the process of realizing just how intelligent felves have gotten since they were first domesticated.

What does your culture(s) think of themselves (and, if applicable, each other)? What philosophies and sociologies predominate, or have done so historically? What makes an individual admirable, or lionises them in the eyes of society?
Might as well go with my Felf race for this. Felves think of themselves as the offspring of humans and flowers and believe the human part to be better than the flower part. They dedicate themselves to serving humans in the hopes that they may mate with them and produce offspring with more of the human traits that they admire. Most felves have a low opinion of two particular felf cultures. The first of those disliked groups of felves is the freed felves. The freed felves started out as a group that was "freed" by their last human pollinator before being ordered to never serve humans again. Many freed felves see this as a human having acknowledged them as equals. A minority of freed felves and most felves outside of the group see this as a result of the freed felves having done a terrible job at being servants. The other disliked group would be spider felves, which began with a felf taking the blazesilk spider as a pollinator after being exiled from her village for killing its pollinator (who had forgotten the safe word). Spider felves generally try to lure humans into the webs of the blazesilk spider and see their actions as rebellion against human masters that never gave them the treatment they deserved. Both of those disliked groups are often lumped together by felves that don't understand either of them, much like how some Christians will lump together Atheism and Satanism.

My question to the next person is...
What creatures in your world are kept as pets?

EDIT: OK, I really should check to see if anyone's posted anything before I click "send". I guess I should edit this post to answer Noaqiyeum's question instead, but I don't want to have all that I typed go to waste. So is it OK for me to answer two questions instead of the one?

edited 11th Oct '12 9:04:08 PM by MarkerMage

Yeah, go ahead and answer as many as you like. No one will mind.

Most animals kept by humans function more as working animals, but it varies from place to place as to which degree they are considered pets. Anerissians, due to their origins of being clans that gained power from animals will tend to view kept animals as pets or companions by default. They have the standard native-bred cats, dogs, and birds. Nobility and royalty tend to keep exotic, bright-plumaged Danevissian birds, whose transport has been refined over the years, partly as companions and partly as decorative elements.

Native Danevissians are all too happy about this popularity, because they consider them to be noisy pests, preferring to keep cats for this reason. They, however, are not happy about how the immigrant Anerissians treat their native dragon population, which is to say that some of the more docile forest species are kept as pets by some wealthy families.

Some of these dragons have been exported to places as far off as Mialor in the north, whose elite has become laden with decadence and such exotic pets as these. Mialorian elite have been known to keep menageries as status symbols, which can have anything from dragons, jewel-eating imps, and even pegasi to foxes and their favored native big cat species. Any normal pets, you ask? Snowy owls, a subspecies that was selectively bred to remain palm-sized throughout its life.

Finally, we have the Terrigineans and the Prometheii. Though some clans of Aneris do extensive business with Promethian merchants, one of the only pets known to exist is the line of phoenix-like birds kept by the royal family. Terrigineans, on the other end of the spectrum, have been known to keep some offshoot of jumping spiders, of all things, as pets and pest control.

And since I'm going to a marching band competition today...

What is the music of your world like? What kind of instrumentation, or vocals are used, and how? Is it only used for ceremonial purposes, or entertainment, or religion, or all of the above and then some? How do people perceive musicians?

In my world, which is at a point of rough technological/social development as the late 19th/early 20th century, so music (as a source of entertainment) is mostly just opera and classical music, with band-based music becoming ever more popular as time goes on. However, with the start of the Grand War, another form of music, ever-present in most societies, has arisen: propaganda music, which is intended to encourage men to serve in their nation's armies. These propaganda songs range from simple patriotic ballads designed to inspire national pride (think an average national anthem, except with a bit more blood & gore and references to famous battles, so a bit like the French or U.S. anthems) to powerful anthems designed to inspire xenophobia and hatred between the various nations taking part in the war, such as the Calsaian song "Stop the Gotish Barbarians," or the Gotish "Save the fatherland," the last of which doesn't single out any neighboring nations, but instead makes allusions by referencing historical events, such as "Save [The Fatherland] like we did in 955 [A.F, after the fall, people in my world mark history from the fall of the Tyrian Empire]" when the Calsaian invading army was horribly PWNED by a Gotish army half it's size due to a very successful surprise cavalry rush. Guess which nation is trying to invade them now?

EDIT: I might also add that music is often used in church services too, in a way very similar to Latin chanting, but obviously not in latin. (Would make a captain obvious link here but I don't know how to create links on this forum, would anyone mind telling me?)

I think I've gone on for long enough, now for ze question: "Is there any ethnic/racial hatred and rivalry in your world, and if so, what are a few main examples that have influenced history in a significant way?"

EDIT: DO try to avoid unfortunate implications when answering this question, but that should be common sense.

edited 15th Oct '12 4:51:46 AM by Jackal5565

There is a significant amount of hatred between Werklanders (mostly the people of the Northern Kingdom) and the Blue Demons, who routinely raid them from across the river Toi. Once the Blue Demons invaded the north with Dragon-man help. They were thrown out after two years, by a newly formed alliance between the North and the Middle Kingdom, an alliance which still stands a century later.

The Werklanders, along with the inhabitants of the Continent, all hate Dragon-men. For this reason the Dragon-men are restricted to the small peninsula and islands north of the Drachewald, and have to raid the Four Kingdoms and the Continent in order to survive.

Question time: How do people navigate? Do they use compasses? The Stars? Magic knowledge?

Is there any ethnic/racial hatred and rivalry in your world, and if so, what are a few main examples that have influenced history in a significant way?
Well, humans tend to hate oscha due to their use of corpses and living creatures as host bodies. The first contact between the two groups had humans thinking that the oscha were zombies. Then there is the hatred that most felves have for free felves and spider felves, which led to those groups eventually evolving into new species. And of course the spider felves have a dislike of humans. And just about everyone hates the fistar due to the fistar species believing that their rather different biology applies to other races. And many of the people who are familiar with the future-predicting hivemind known as the "Spoilers" tends to dislike them due to their trollish behavior.

How do people navigate? Do they use compasses? The Stars? Magic knowledge?
First, the world is cylindrical. The side has a higher gravity than the top or the bottom and people have yet to travel to the bottom. So most people are at the flat, circular area at the top. There is a large whirlwind that goes from the center of the bottom to the center of the top and is very visible from just about any outdoor area on this top. That whirlwind is used as a "north" and a human settlement named "EDS Savior" serves to mark a 0/360 degree line on maps. Coordinates are given as a distance from the whirlwind and a degree.

Now for the next question... OK, I can't think of one right now so I'll just repeat one that someone else asked.
Describe a symbolical significance and meaning of a creature of your choice for one or more cultures of your choice. Are there any commonly known stories that use this symbolism?

edited 15th Oct '12 7:37:33 PM by MarkerMage

In Enrael, music has a major significance in religion. The death goddess is associated with higher singing voices, because she is associated with the wind; the dead are cremated and their ashes scattered into the wind so that the goddess can carry them to the afterlife. (In fact, murderers and other criminals are often buried to prevent them from reaching the afterlife, a sort of ultimate punishment.) Due to their ability to fly and their high-pitched songs, songbirds, particularly the grey ones (color of mourning, like ashes) are associated with the death goddess, death and mourning.

So... Who are some historical figures of significance to the culture?

In Udareth, the ruling Anakali clan's ancestral hero is their founder, Lekiarod, a vagrant with a hazy past who lived during the unification of Aneris, hundreds of thousands of years ago. Repulsed by the decadence and corruption that ran rampant through the warring clans, he basically made his own clan, conquered a few towns that were sitting over top of some giant-ass iron deposits, and the Anakalis- 'people of the north wind' -were born.

The Daneivissians basically canonized Ryu Akamura into- to use America as an analogy -a figure as lofty as George Washington, but with the actual historical significance of Benjamin Franklin. He led the first revolution and is perceived as a perfect, martyr-like figure who saved the post-revolutionary government from ruin.

How does the elite of your world flaunt its wealth (or not)? Giant houses? Impractical purple clothing? Personal menageries? Concubines? Armies of servants?

edited 18th Oct '12 11:23:07 AM by CrystalGlacia

Well, there are many types of "The Elite" in my world to flaunt their wealth-from owners of massive trade corporations to the various Monarchs of Arian countries. These all flaunt their wealth in fairly standard, early 20th century ways to us, with huge mansions/palaces and fancy expensive clothing and all the rest, so the only really unique way are their exotic menageries.

In this particular world, many of the standard fantasy creatures are found in extremely exotic location-for example, dragons are small, half-bird-half-reptile creatures from the deepest, darkest jungles of Surdia, so only a few outsiders have ever seen one. As such, rich Arian (Aria is a giant peninsula equivalent to Europe as well as parts of Turkey & West Asia, and most of Surdia is controlled by the Arian nations colonial empires) Monarchs have a habit of paying exorbitantly high priced for dragon species and keeping them in their menageries for entertainment of both themselves and guests. A common species kept are the pygmy drakes of the Situlese rainforest, which are extremely energetic, never grow bigger than a cat and posses an exotic mixture of scales & bright plumage.

Other creatures commonly flaunted in menageries include the Manticore, a big-cat-esque creature with an Ape-like face often mistaken for a human face from a distance from southeast Ceresia And the Basilisk, a giant Surdian snake with and extremely venomous bite, among others.

One particular example of the wealthy elite flaunting their wealth exorbitantly with these menageries was when in the Freezing cold Taisian winter, the Taisian Emperor Aleksai insisted on bringing all the Royal Mages together to magically warm and moisten the cells of the amazing amount of tropical dragons that he had-while thousands froze to death outside. When word got out about this, it did not do anything to create a more popular image of the already unpopular Emperor, and intensified the cries for a revolution in Taisia. Now guess which early 20th century nation this is based on!

The cuestión: What are some examples of "Global" or Capital" cities in your world, which are basically places like Paris, New York or Beijing, cities with a large population that are a hub of business & trade, culture & art, or have great political importance to your world. Name as many as you like, and they don't even have to be cities: If your world's peoples sit at a tribal or space-age level, which areas fit some or all of the above criteria?

edited 19th Oct '12 12:51:10 AM by Jackal5565

All of the capital cities of the Legions would qualify in their own way, as they are typically the largest cities in the country and are where the Overlords and their court live, making them centers of politics (indeed, the patrician of the capital also traditionally a position in the court, allowing him to have a say in the politics of the entire Legion). The only Legion capital named so far (because coming up with names is hard) is Ered'nashis'zar (meaning something along the line of "soul of the burning blade), capital of Legio Ered'nash (burning blade). While it is a hub of politics and contains the several prestigious academies(including the mages college and the Legion's largest military academy), it is not the biggest trading hub in the country, being located in a mountaineous and hard to travel area (biggest trading hubs tend to grow around rivers since rivers allow easy transportation of goods). Of the other, yet unnamed, Legion capitals is the capital of Legio Balad'jaris (bloodied spear), located south of Legio Ered'nash's territories at the delta of the continent's largest river and essentially the setting's equivalent of Venice, which is one of the biggest hubs of trade and art in the entire continent (and also slowly sinking into the swamp due to unstable ground), and the capital of one of the yet-unnamed Legions that has the largest mages college of all the seven Legions.

However, the most notable city in the continent does not belong to any of the Legions. It is the city of Romanth'dis (highest throne), said to be the former capital of the Demons' empire, which has maintained its independence since the splintering of the empire into the Legions. The entire city floats in the air with powerful magics, and its inhabitants possess far more advanced magitech than the Legions do. It's the closest thing the continent has for a neutral area, with most inter-Legion trade happening through the city (usually by one Legion trading goods with the Hierarchs of the city, who trade them with another Legion). The Hierarchs of 'Dis have enough political power that their influence can stop outright war between the Legions (they have occasionally intervened to keep one Legion from being wiped out by the others, as they rather prefer the status quo).

Question: What is the state of education in your setting? Are there public schools or is education the privilige of those who can pay to have their children sent to school? What about higher education (universities and the like)?

Question: What is the state of education in your setting? Are there public schools or is education the privilege of those who can pay to have their children sent to school? What about higher education (universities and the like)?

Non-existent. If you manage to pick up some education somewhere along the line more power to you, but very very few nations have an actual education system. Primarily the obscenely rich ones that can afford to waste time and money on stuff people don't need to know. Education for anyone who isn't rich (meaning most probably nobility) is primarily handled within the family/community without outside involvement.

Most churches offer some general world history, which agrees on the big stuff, if not the details (U definitely happened because of V, but despite what W will tell you, X was actually the one who did Y, not Z. Z is a tosser.)

And on the subject of Z being a tosser. Does your setting have any conflicting theologies?

edited 20th Oct '12 10:40:39 PM by Eagal

Yes , it has, and even more than two. In my setting humans worship the Eldrith one a guardian entity that guards spirit weave source of all souls, and place where everone one go when they die. Main thing of this religion is that human needs to lead good life and help others , becuase after they die their soul will mix with other souls and give birth to another soul, this allows world to exist, however the elven religion, is against, that way of reincarnation, and is all about living life that will allow to retain their memory after they die and rather than being simply energy,to become a spiritual entity, as such both religion don't like each other and human relgion often declares cruasades against them, then there are dragon cults, and they are hated by both religion as they go in complitly diffrent direction, being local cthulu cults, that worship idea of flesh, elements and material , being complytly blue and orange.

Do your world have any form of long lasting conflict between two countries?

The unofficial war between Seefluss and the Konigtum has been continuing for the past few centuries. It mostly consists of constant cross border raids, each side burning farms, stealing cattle and people. There haven't been any pitched battles in the last century, and the raids get smaller and smaller as time goes on, due to locals on both sides defending themselves much better than in the past. The original cause of this constant border war has long since been forgotten to both sides, though the King of Seefluss claims to be the rightful king of the Konigtum.

The Question: What is the main cause of death in your world (note: must be for the population as a whole, not just the main characters or the nobility)? Is it disease, wolves, war, old age?

edited 21st Oct '12 5:20:19 AM by james123182