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Insights for Creating Culture

Started by SHARK, May 16, 2023, 11:39:44 PM

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SHARK

May 16, 2023, 11:39:44 PM
Greetings!

In this fascinating and excellent video, the scholar Metatron discusses the medieval synthesis of Viking and French culture, and the creation of the Normans. It is particularly interesting how, as Metatron points out, that the distinctive Norman culture was created and firmly established within three generations.

That is pretty remarkable to go from a savage, Pagan Viking, to a Christian, Norman-French speaking, Latinized medieval Norman in just three generations!

I think this is intriguing knowledge and commentary that is also relevant in how war, conquest, politics, and culture develops and goes on within our game worlds. You can literally see how through language, religion, politics, law, and culture, an entirely new culture is thus swiftly created and strongly established.

What do you all think my friends?

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

"It is the Marine Corps that will strip away the façade so easily confused with self. It is the Corps that will offer the pain needed to buy the truth. And at last, each will own the privilege of looking inside himself  to discover what truly resides there. Comfort is an illusion. A false security b

Baron

#1
May 16, 2023, 11:54:06 PM
"So little time, so much to know!"

I don't have all that many years left, so I just grab the next shiny thing and enjoy it.

SHARK

#2
May 17, 2023, 03:53:57 PM
Quote from: Baron on May 16, 2023, 11:54:06 PM
"So little time, so much to know!"

I don't have all that many years left, so I just grab the next shiny thing and enjoy it.

Greetings!

I think it is great how the video is only 15 minutes long, or less, and yet contains so many very cool ideas and observations about how Vikings became Normans. Fascinating stuff!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK
"It is the Marine Corps that will strip away the façade so easily confused with self. It is the Corps that will offer the pain needed to buy the truth. And at last, each will own the privilege of looking inside himself  to discover what truly resides there. Comfort is an illusion. A false security b

Baron

#3
May 17, 2023, 04:13:41 PM
I've been re-reading Keith Taylor's Bard series. It's interesting how he drops in characters from various cultures here and there. At the same time I'm re-reading the Incomplete Enchanter series, which also hits various cultures. Nice, so long as it doesn't (IMO) get too bogged down.

SHARK

#4
May 18, 2023, 08:25:10 AM
Quote from: Baron on May 17, 2023, 04:13:41 PM
I've been re-reading Keith Taylor's Bard series. It's interesting how he drops in characters from various cultures here and there. At the same time I'm re-reading the Incomplete Enchanter series, which also hits various cultures. Nice, so long as it doesn't (IMO) get too bogged down.

Greetings!

Oh yes! I always enjoy bringing in new characters from different cultures. The Players always love that kind of thing, too!

From the video, I also am amazed at how fast cultures can change, and even new cultures created. Such a process doesn't take hundreds of years.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK
"It is the Marine Corps that will strip away the façade so easily confused with self. It is the Corps that will offer the pain needed to buy the truth. And at last, each will own the privilege of looking inside himself  to discover what truly resides there. Comfort is an illusion. A false security b

Mishihari

#5
May 18, 2023, 05:35:36 PM Last Edit: May 18, 2023, 06:30:55 PM by Mishihari
Using real cultures makes it easy to have a lot of depth in-game.  But it can be a lot of work if you need to research, it's easy to make mistakes, and there there have always been the nutjobs looking for something to be offended about.  As a compromise method I often do mashups of real and fictional cultures in my games.  That way I can still find a lot of details easily, but if something is off, everyone expects it's probably because it's from another part of the mashup.  As a couple of examples, in my longest running campaign the two major world powers were the Mishihari, kind of a viking/Maori/Sulcar(from Andre Norton) mix and the Mnempen, an Aztec/Nyissan(from David Eddings) mix.  The PCs were from a pseudoEuropean area that interacted with the other two groups.
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