Quick
- Language: all Sylvans speak a common language, so do Elementals, etc. This spurred humans to develop a common tongue, which is a 2nd language for almost everyone.
General
Do average people believe old tales, or do they dismiss some that have a basis in fact (e.g., Troy)?
The existence of long-lived people means that tales of old are usually assumed to be factual. Oral histories are much more reliable when some people live for centuries. Doesn't mean nobody ever fibs, of course.
Do wild and rebellious young people dress any differently from anyone else? Are they allowed to?
How do most people make a living here?
Customs
Does the weather or climate contribute any habits or customs, such as the mid-afternoon siesta in hot countries?
Here's a note: with so many fantasy races, there ought to be a rule of thumb for knowing which ones tend to thrive and where. Thus:
- Humans like temperate places with tons of farmland, ample timber, running water, and quarryable stone. In such places, their fecundity gives them a huge numerical advantage.
- Sylvans like places that are harder for humans to settle, but filled with vitality: jungles, dense forests, highlands, badlands, steppe, taiga, savanna.
- Elementals like places even Sylvans can't settle easily, like hot deserts, tundra, icecaps, caverns, barren lands.
What is considered a normal family unit? How extended is an extended family? How important are family connections and responsibilities?
- Humans: normal, ofc.
- Sylvans: they tend to stay with their families. They do not often join other families permanently. To keep the gene pool diverse, those of breeding age will visit other tribes. Women usually keep their children in their home tribe, men not as often. Familial bonds are considered more permanent than romantic ones.
- Elementals: each clan is a monoculture. They are even more isolated than the Sylvans.
What are the rites of passage in this culture? Are they formalized rituals, such as being dubbed a knight, or are they informal? Are they
different for men and women? For nobility and peasants?
Nobility / Classes
- Humans have traditional nobility. If anything, they're even more serious about it, as title and surname help them feel less mortal.
- Sylvans don't believe that honor is heritable. They're happy to honor individuals, but also don't feel the need to give such honors a shorthand in the form of title.
- Elementals just don't get what all the fuss is about.
Rites of Passage
- Humans: human
- Sylvans: physical maturity doesn't mark mental maturity. They have many and various rituals, and generally more than a single threshold per lifetime.
- Elementals: aren't super into the concept of "aging"
What customs surround a birth and the introduction of a new child to the family? Is the mother sequestered for some period? Is the child? Is there
a formal presentation of the new child to parents, grandparents, overlord, priest? Is a feast and celebration declared, or does everyone keep a low profile to keep from attracting demons or bad luck?
Who is normally present for births? Is it strictly a matter for women, or are men involved, or is the only woman present the expectant mother?
Who raises the children? At what age do they begin to be educated or trained? By whom? Are they considered mini-adults? Do they dress differently
from adults? If so, when do they change to adult dress?
What customs surround death and burial? Is there a special class of people (doctors, priests, funeral directors, untouchables) who deal with dead
bodies? What things must be done and why (burn hair to free spirit, burn body to prevent necromancy, coins on eyes for ferryman, etc.)? Are the dead feared, revered, or ignored?
What personal weapons are available to anyone who can afford them? Are some considered “for nobles only” either by custom or by law? Are there
laws forbidding certain classes from being armed at all?
Eating
Do men and women, parents and children, servants and master, eat separately, or does everyone eat together? How is status displayed at the table (seating above or below the salt, near or far from the head, etc.)?
What dishes are considered holiday food? What foods/drinks are associated with particular holidays, events (e.g., funerals, weddings) or times of the year?
What distinguishes a formal, high-court dinner from an ordinary meal, besides quantity and variety of food? How do high-court manners differ from everyday ones?
What eating utensils are used, if any? Forks, eating knife, spoons, chopsticks?
What is the order of a typical upper-class meal — do they start with wine, then a sweet, then a stew, then a salad, or do they bring everything in at once?
Are special arrangements necessary for entertaining guests of different races/species — taller chairs for dwarves, raw meat for werewolves, perches for harpies, etc.? How do the eating customs of different races reflect their cultures and biology? How difficult does this make social interaction among the races?
Is sanitation good enough for untreated water to be safe to drink? If not, what do people drink instead?
What shapes are tables/eating areas (round, oblong, square, rectangular, etc.)? Where is the “place of honor” for a guest? Where do the important members of the household sit/recline/whatever?
What things, while edible, are never eaten (what’s not kosher)? Why? Are some common human foods poisonous to dwarves or elves (or vice versa)?
What types of food or seasoning are characteristic of different races? Different cultures? Different countries?
Greeting and Meeting
When meeting someone, how are they greeted — wave, handshake, bow, some other gesture? How did the greeting gesture originate (example: shaking hands to prove one’s weapon hand was empty)? Is there a special I-am-not-armed gesture for wizards?
- Sylvans put much emphasis on smell. They generally get close enough to smell each other on first meeting--i.e. no further than a few inches. A particularly curt introduction might last a couple seconds; a typical cordial introduction should last more like 5-10. If there's an initial interest, they may spend longer.
- Elementals strictly avoid casual contact with those not of their family unit, due to elemental interactions. While they are all well-versed in elemental-elemental interactions, they tend to be overly cautious dealing with non-elementals. For instance, an earth elemental might be as careful as a fire elemental might be, seeming to believe that contact with them could be just as dangerous, even if it a human would think it obviously not so.
Is there a difference between the greeting offered to an equal and that offered to a superior or inferior? Is there a difference between the greeting offered a man or a woman? Human/non-human?
Is there a way of changing a greeting gesture to make it insulting?
How are two people who have never met normally introduced to each other? What is the order of precedence when there are several people of differing sex or social status present, all of whom need to be introduced to each other?
Are there classes of people/beings who are never introduced to other classes of people/beings? Are “true names” significant, and if so, under what circumstances would someone be given another person/being’s true name?
Are there customs involving the way in which someone is named when being introduced (for example: giving all of a person’s names and titles at the first meeting, but never repeating them afterward, so that he’s always referred to as “George” even though he’s introduced as the Duke George Edward Canterbury Gorden de la Suis-Foule, Marquis of Horsham, Whitewater and Framingham, Earl of St. Peter’s Close, and Vicount of Abernathy)?
Is there any difference in the way you greet someone you already know, compared to greeting a stranger (or does everybody just always hug or shake hands or whatever)? How does someone acknowledge seeing an acquaintance at a distance (passing on the other side of the street) — by a nod, tipping the hat, wave, smile, or not at all?
Gestures
When meeting someone, how are they greeted — wave, handshake, bow, some other gesture? How did the greeting gesture originate (example: shaking hands to prove one’s weapon hand was empty)?
Are gestures and body language in this society generally subtle or not? Do people talk with their hands, or is that considered vulgar?
Is there a way of changing a greeting gesture to make it insulting?
What is a comfortable and polite speaking distance for people in this culture? Other cultures/countries/races? How aware are people of these differences?
What gestures are insulting? What do they mean? Do some gestures differ in meaning depending on the culture, race, or time (example: the American “V”-for-victory sign, which became the peace sign, and which is/was highly insulting in Europe)?
How do gestures and body language differ between countries? Between species? Are there things that don’t matter in one area that are mortal insults in another (eating with the left hand, etc.)?
What are the ways of showing respect (bowing, saluting, etc.)? To whom is one expected to show such respect — one’s elders, superiors in rank, teachers, priests, etc.?
Visits
Are there questions that must be asked or avoided (how’s the family, how’s the business, never talk politics or religion, etc.)? Are there topics that can only be raised by the host? The guest?
How seriously does the culture take the responsibilities of host and guest? What rules define when someone becomes a host or guest (e.g., in mid-eastern countries, giving bread and salt to someone makes the person your guest; giving a 5-course meal without bread or salt doesn’t)?
What things are considered courteous to offer a guest: food, reading material, personal guards or attendants, music/entertainment, a person of the opposite sex to sleep with?
What is considered a courteous response to a host’s offer? Are there things it is considered rude to accept? Rude to turn down? Rude to ask for? Rude not to ask for?
When a guest arrives, is food or drink offered immediately, after an interval, or only on request? Is there a particular food or drink that is customary to offer a newly arrived guest?
How do different eating customs of the various cultures and races interact and conflict? Example: a person from a culture that considers it impolite to refuse an offer of food being the guest of someone whose culture considers it impolite to stop offering food until the guest says “when.”
Language
Is there a “trade language” that facilitates commerce between countries that don’t speak the same tongue? Is there a “universal language” spoken by educated or noble persons, as Latin was in the Middle Ages?
- All Sylvans speak a common language. Not only is it a common tongue for their kind, but for all natural beings. Sylvans can speak to and understand animals, and animals can communicate with Sylvans in kind, although non-Sylvans are likely to hear ordinary animal sounds from the animal, and an intelligible language from the Sylvan. The Sylvan language is difficult for non-Sylvans to learn, as it evolves constantly, and its partially magical nature will always mark a non-Sylvan speaker--not to mention non-Sylvans cannot learn to understand animals regardless of their proficiency (although animals can understand them if they are proficient enough).
- Elementals share a common language. Much like Sylvan, it is common between them and the elements of nature. Yep, they can talk to stones, and water, etc. They might say they're speaking with the "spirits within". Elemental is very difficult for humans and Sylvans to pronounce, as it requires organs neither possess.
- Humans formed a common tongue over the last few centuries, which has helped them feel more united in the face of the ever-present Sylvan and Elemental tongues, although it is a second language for virtually all humans, and there are many regional languages.
Are some or all people bilingual? Is there a common second language many people know?
Are there “secret” languages or codes known only by priests, soldiers, wizards, guild members, etc.? Why were they developed?
What are the variations in speech patterns, syntax, and slang from one social class to another? One occupation to another? One region to another? One race to another?
What areas do local slang phrases come out of? (Example: in a fishing town, referring to good luck as “a good catch,” while people in a farming town refer to it as “an unexpected harvest”.) What kinds of colorful turns of phrase do people use?
What things in this culture would their language have many specific words for (e.g., Inuit languages that have 14+ words for different kinds of snow)? What do the people in this culture consider important enough to name? What does this say about the way they look at the world?
What things would the people of this culture not have a name for, or have one word that covers numerous variations? What do they consider too unimportant to name? How does this affect the way they see the world?
Are there words that must never be spoken except at particular times, in ceremonies, or under particular circumstances? Are there words that must not be spoken in polite company? Do these words differ from culture to culture or race to race?
What will people swear a binding oath by? What do people use as curse words?
How many languages are there? Which ones are related (e.g., the Romance languages) and why? Which languages borrow words or phrases from other languages? Which is likely to be most widely spoken?
Are there different languages for different races (dwarves, elves, etc.), or is language based more on geography than race/species? Is there a special language you need to learn in order to talk to dragons or other magical beasts?
Do wizards have a special language that is used for magic? If so, where do they learn it? Is it safe to chat in this language, or is everything said in it automatically a spell? If so, how can it safely be taught to new students?
Ethics and Values
What will people swear a binding oath by? What do people use as curse words?
What is the most desired/most valuable stuff in this society — gold, jewels, drugs, money, furs, reindeer, etc.? Why is it desired/valued? Do different races value different things? Is there a race/culture for whom non-material things (information, time) are the most valuable things? How did they get that way?
Not to get too stereotypical, but:
- Sylvans love bling. They like shiny things. It's just in their DNA. Some have an artistic flair, many just accumulate all the shinies they can.
- Elementals consider things like precious stones and jewels as food, or otherwise no different than ordinary rocks. They have a fondness for things that only organic processes can create, especially rare things like fossils, or at least things that take major investment like seashells or pearls.
What things are considered normal and acceptable in this society that would not be considered normal or acceptable in yours? (Examples: dueling, drugs, open homosexuality, polygamy, infanticide.)
Weapons
- Humans have a noble class that are allowed to bear arms and have a tradition of dueling.
- The more traditional Sylvan tribes feel that weapons are bonded to their wielder--they are infused with their soul. To give them up in the name of "keeping the peace" would be unthinkable.
Sexuality
- Human sexuality is pretty typical. In the absence of any of Earth's religions, they may not be quite so uptight as our world. However, the forces that fueled the Patriarchy very much exist in this world too. Knowing the parentage of children is very important to humans, and without DNA testing, much emphasis is placed on monogamy. (Definitely much more to get into, but we're in turbo mode)
- Sylvan sexuality differs substantially. Although there are many phenotypes of Sylvan, virtually all of them have a different mode of fecundity than humans. Humans are fertile year-round, and are likely to conceive within months if mating regularly. Sylvans only go into estrus occasionally, depending on the whims of nature. When they do, they follow whatever mating rituals are specific to their tribe--usually quite serious and important. The rest of the time, sex is just a leisure and bonding activity. To them, sex and mating are as different as can be--any restrictions they have on who they mate with and when are not generally mirrored with regular sex. In short, they do whatever the hell they want unless babies are involved.
- Elementals...well, you shouldn't try to have sex with them. They don't reproduce sexually, although they may have various forms of physical intimacy with their own kind.
What things are considered shocking in this society that are not considered shocking in yours — e.g., showing a woman’s ankles, eating left-handed, reading in public? What would be the reaction of an ordinary person who sees someone doing one of these things — to turn away, call the cops, draw a sword and challenge the offender to a duel, etc.?
Humans--nobles, at least, although many other folks who seem to think they have some sort of "cred" to uphold despite not being noble--are obsessed with image, at least in the eyes of Sylvan onlookers. Many can be easily moved to anger by false accusations, leading to altercations or demands for satisfaction. This is puzzling behavior to Sylvans, who have an ear for truth and falsehood. Making a false claim to a Sylvan, such as "you are not courageous enough to fight this monster", is much more likely to elicit confusion, and perhaps correction (i.e. "you are mistaken, I'm the bravest of my tribe"), rather than anger.
Conversely, Sylvans not used to human interaction are quite likely to speak very frankly of things that are evidently true (e.g. "you look very old. Are you going to die soon?" or "You appear pregnant. Which of these folk impregnated you?"). This can be off-putting, although it does have a way of cutting through unnecessary small talk.