The Hidden Rules of Fantasy Culture Worldbuilding!

Join Marie in discussing how to create a cultural framework, ideology and norms.

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Transcript

Would you wear your bathing suit to work? Why not? It does, after all, cover everything you need covered, doesn’t it? And yet, you probably wouldn’t—unless you work as a lifeguard. This is an example of a folkway, which is part of the norms of a culture. 

Culture is more than just the grand gestures of art and tradition; it is the subtle, unspoken rules that dictate how we live our everyday lives.

But these norms are specific to us, our cultures. How does that apply to your cultures in your fantasy world? What difference does magic and fantastical creatures make? And how do you go about building immersive cultural norms for your society? 

Welcome to another episode of Worldbuilding Blueprints from Just In Time Worlds with your host, Marie Mullany. 

If you're watching this on YouTube, there is a playlist where you can watch the previous episodes in the information card. If you're listening to this in a podcast app, the previous episodes are available there. As always, this episode is brought to you by the wonderful members of my YouTube channel who make this entire endeavor worthwhile. There are details on how to join their magnificent ranks and the perks you can get in the links down below. 

Okay, let’s get cracking with cultural norms.

[The ideological north star of your culture]

Before we actually talk about how you create the norms of your culture, you need to understand what you're building towards, you need to understand your cultures ideological north star. We've previously spoken on this channel about the north star of your story, but each culture also has a north star, a concept that defines the role that they play in the overall story and the world that you're building. I will make a longer video about making culture serve plot, but for the purpose of today’s exercise, consider where your culture stands based on these four pillar concepts:

1. Hierarchy vs. Egalitarianism:

Cultures with a hierarchical structure emphasize ranked status, power distance, and respect for authority. There is a clear distinction between different levels of society or organizations, and decision-making is often top-down.

Egalitarian cultures prioritize equality, with minimal power distance. Decision-making is more collaborative, and there is a strong emphasis on equal rights and opportunities for all members.

2. Collectivism vs. Individualism:

In collectivist cultures, the group's needs and goals are prioritized over individual desires. There is a strong sense of community, loyalty, and interdependence among members.

Individualistic cultures value personal freedom, autonomy, and self-reliance. Success is often measured by individual achievements, and personal goals take precedence over group objectives.

3. Free vs. Ordered:

Cultures that lean towards freedom emphasize personal liberties, creative expression, and flexibility. Rules and regulations are often less stringent, allowing for more personal and social experimentation.

Ordered cultures prioritize structure, stability, and predictability. There is a strong adherence to rules, norms, and routines, which helps maintain social order and reduces uncertainty.

4. Traditional vs. Progressive:

Traditional cultures place a high value on heritage, customs, and long-established practices. There is a strong respect for history, and changes are often slow and cautious.

Progressive cultures embrace innovation, change, and future-oriented thinking. They are open to new ideas, technologies, and ways of doing things, often seeking continuous improvement and adaptation.

These pillars provide a framework for understanding the fundamental dynamics that shape a culture's atmosphere, guiding how people interact, make decisions, and perceive their world. Once you’ve grasped this kind of core to the culture you want to build, the norms of the culture naturally follows. So that is our first exercise. If each pillar is rated on a scale of 1 to 10 from left to right, where does your culture land?

Now that we understand the north star of your culture, let’s plunge into cultural norms, building them as the supporting structure to reach that north star and make your culture feel lived in. Cultural norms can be broadly categorized into three types: folkways, mores, and taboos. Each type plays a distinct role in shaping the social fabric of a culture, guiding everything from mundane daily activities to deeply ingrained moral principles. We’ll start with folkways, the unwritten rules of everyday life.

[Folkways]

Folkways are the informal norms that govern everyday behaviors. They are the silent agreements that ensure societal interactions run smoothly. These norms dictate things like manners, etiquette, and common courtesies. While breaking a folkway might earn you a few raised eyebrows or disapproving looks, it usually doesn't result in severe consequences. Instead, folkways serve to maintain social harmony and ease interactions.

Examples of Folkways in our world include:

·         Greeting someone with a handshake or a bow.

·         Saying "please" and "thank you."

·         Observing dress codes appropriate to various social settings, such as wearing formal attire to a wedding and bathing costumes on the beach.

·         Facing the door instead of the backwall of the elevator.

However, this is fantasy world building, so let’s bring up some fantasy examples. 

·         In my world of Sangwheel Chronicles, a merchant indicates their willingness to bargain over the price of an item but rubbing their thumb over the tips of their fingers. If this non-verbal signal is not given, the price is considered final and attempting to bargain is in poor taste.

·         In Dune, by Frank Herbert, the Fremin spit as a sign of respect, since it is giving water to someone. They also do not cry when someone has died, since this is giving water to the dead, who don’t need it. Their folkways are thus built around the material culture of the desert, where water is the most precious resource.

·         In Brandon Sanderson’s world of the Stormlight Archive, women must cover their safehand to be considered properly modest. 

As we can see from these examples, folkways vary widely between cultures and can provide a rich source of detail for your world. They help to flesh out everyday life and add authenticity to interactions between characters. They are also a good way to add tension between characters as folkways can vary even between cities within a country and thus can cause misunderstandings and conflict. 

Your north star helps guide you in the creation of these folkways. If your society is very ordered, it might be considered rude and bad to jaywalk. If your society is very egalitarian, you could earn some raised eyebrows by insisting on being called Mr. or Dr. even if you have worked for the title.  

Of course, you must always consider the fantasy elements of your society here. Are there specific folkways associated with magic for example? Is it considered vulgar to cast a spell in public? Even fantasy creatures could come into play here. If you have a fantasy creature that is considered good luck, there might be a folkway of leaving out food for the animal to consume, reminiscent of the brownie fairy creature of Scotland. 

In addition, folkways inform communication, including how people address one another. In American culture, children using Mr. and Mrs. for the parents of their friends is quite common. In the Afrikaans culture of Southern Africa, children typically call all adults “oom” and “tannie” (uncle and aunt), no matter if they are related or not, setting quite an informal tone. 

Categories of folkways I like to use to organize my cultures are:

1.       Etiquette and Manners, such as how people greet each other, polite language such as please and thank you, and table manners, such as no elbows on the table!

2.       Dress and Appearance, such as styles of dress for different occasions and standards for personal hygiene and grooming. 

3.       Social Interactions, such as personal space and topics of conversation considered appropriate or inappropriate in social settings or for certain types of audiences, such as children.

4.       Rituals and Celebrations, such as cultural festivals, or personal rituals like births, weddings, and funerals. This includes things like the sweet sixteen birthday party or the coming of age birthday at twenty-one.

5.       Public Behavioral Norms, such as waiting in line and not littering. 

6.       Workplace Norms, such as professional communication and in this day and age, email etiquette and online meeting protocols. 

7.       Recreational Activities, such as accepted ways of watching sports, or acceptable hobbies.

8.       Family and Relationships, such as norms around dating, friendships and interactions with family members. 

9.       And then for fantasy: Fantastical folkways, like don’t cast magic in public and so on.

As you can see from this list of categories, it is very easy to get trapped in an infinite creation loop with folkways because there are so many of them. Therefore, don’t try to boil the ocean right at the start. Define a few high-level folkways to give you the flavor of your culture in the categories relevant to you, and then invent more as you encounter situations where a folkway is relevant in the process of writing your story or running your campaign. 

Build what you need, when you need it! As an exercise, you could create one folkway in each of the categories appropriate to your culture.

What folkways exists in your world that are weird and different from our world? Let me know in the comments below and let’s move on to Mores, the Moral Backbone of Society.

[Mores]

Mores are the norms that carry greater moral significance than folkways. They embody the moral and ethical standards of a society and are often upheld through formal laws or social sanctions. Violating a more can result in severe disapproval from the community, and sometimes even legal penalties, because these norms are considered vital to the social order and the well-being of the group.

Some existing examples of mores:

·         Theft is considered immoral and is also against the law. This protects property and personal safety within some cultures.

·         Lying is considered immoral, and is enforced by law in settings where appropriate, such as not lying under the oath of a court.

·         There is an expectation of fidelity in marriage (in whatever way that fidelity is defined), which is not enforced by law, but was, before the advent of no fault divorce, required to be broken in order for a divorce to be granted. 

Of course, the fantasy examples are way more fun.

·         In the Vorin culture of Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson, it is considered unmasculine, even blasphemous, for a man to be able to read. 

·         Among the Dothraki of A Song of Ice and Fire, polygamy is often practiced, where a man might have multiple wives. 

·         In Sangwheel Chronicles, among the nomads of the Cidan Mashada, a threesome marriage is practiced where two men marry one woman and it is considered weird and unnatural to desire a couples marriage. 

Mores reflect the core values of a society and can be a powerful tool in your storytelling. They can create tension and conflict, especially when characters are faced with moral dilemmas or must choose between competing values. 

Remember that while mores often inform laws, more are not quite the same. For example, the more might be: murder is wrong. The law will define what exactly murder is and is not. 

Also consider fantasy here. If you have spells that affect someone’s mind, what is the culture’s moral approach to this? What is the law? 

As with folkways, it’s easy to get trapped in an eternal building cycle. Don’t try to build the whole moral code, instead create enough for you to understand what you what the culture to feel like and then build out specific moral values when they become relevant in the story. 

Build out five mores as an exercise and also define how the relate to the law applicable in your culture. 

And let us move onward, to Taboos, the forbidden and unthinkable.

[Taboos]

Taboos represent the strongest type of norm, encompassing behaviors that are considered completely unacceptable and even unthinkable within a culture. These are the actions that provoke horror, revulsion, or outright disgust. Taboos are often tied to a society's deepest fears and most sacred beliefs, and their violation can lead to severe, often irreversible, social consequences.

Examples of Taboos from cultures in our world:

·         Cannibalism, which is considered a profound violation of the respect for human life.

·         Incest, which breaches deeply held beliefs about family and purity.

·         Desecration of sacred sites or objects can be seen as an affront to the entire community's spiritual foundation.

And of course some fantasy examples:

·         In Westeros in A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, kin-slaying is seen as a grievous sin, despised by the gods and reviled by society. 

·         In the Empire in Sanghweel Chronicles, the practice of Sang Sorcellerie, of blood magic, is forbidden on pain death. 

·         In Robert Jordan’s world, the Forsaken, with their pacts with the Dark Power, are considered taboo.

Taboos are critical in defining the moral boundaries of a culture. They can serve as dramatic plot points in your story, highlighting the extremities of social control and the consequences of crossing society's most inviolable lines. 

Finding ways around taboos can also be a central conflict in your story. For example, it might be taboo to use a dark magic, but impossible to win a war against a dark power without it. This naturally creates a story that addresses the question of does the end justify the means. 

Bear in mind, in a fantasy world, taboos can have consequences beyond social enforcement. Breaking a taboo could result in an actual curse or other negative consequences. 

As with folkways and mores, don’t try to cover every scenario, instead create enough for you to understand what you want the culture to feel like and then build out more specific taboos when they become relevant in the story. 

Think about the north star of your culture. Can you create two taboos that supports that north star in some way? What happens if those taboos are broken? 

By understanding and utilizing cultural norms in your world-building, you create a more immersive and realistic society. These norms provide a framework for character behavior and societal interactions, adding depth and nuance to your fantasy world.

[Conclusion]

And that’s a wrap for today’s episode on culture building! Today, we explored how to build cultural norms through folkways, mores, and taboos. These elements create the invisible framework that guides your characters and societies. 

I meant to get to communication and education today, but there simply has been too much content. Next month, we’ll talk about symbols and values. Then hopefully communication and education and finally that will be cultures done. 

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And on that note, I will see you soon for another episode. Remember: build what you need when you need it, and happy worldbuilding!