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One valued aspect of gameplay in a TTRPG like Dungeons and Dragons is that adventurers may explore and interact with lands, people, and ways of life unfamiliar to their everyday reality. While it’s easy to develop and describe topographically unique landscapes or physically anomalous races, creating a unique culture that thinks and acts differently than players would expect provides an unrivaled challenge for Dungeon Masters.
In this article, I hope to provide Dungeon Masters with several tools that will enable them to actualize unprecedented cultures and characteristics, which they can then incorporate into their worldbuilding and gameplay.
The Challenge of Creating a Unique Culture
Resulting from the thousands of years of cultural advancements that we humans have under our belts, our ways of thinking, our ethics, and our expectations of society have generally stabilized into what it is today. And thanks to globalization—though we retain a few unique cultural traits by region, race, or religion—societies have become somewhat ubiquitous in technology and outlook.
From our very DNA, we are pre-programmed to have specific responses to situations. With empathy, we feel sorrow when others hurt; with biological urges, we have instincts to mate and reproduce; to satisfy our curiosities, we innovate and develop tools; and so forth. On the darker side of human nature, we oppress others to gain power, we act violently in anger, and we become possessive of what we feel owed or earned. While these are reductive examples that may vary from person to person and culture to culture, it should give a general idea of the problem at hand: we understand human nature quite well, but how can we best imagine a nature contradictory to what we know?
Additionally, the morals and values of our societies, as varied as they may be from place to place, are byproducts of a few dominating kingdoms, religions, tools, and innovations. We can probably identify only a handful of beliefs or cultures that differ significantly, but I think it’s easy for each of us to understand the processes behind them.
Questions to Contemplate
There are a few key tricks to help a Dungeon Master develop a unique culture. Ultimately, the main aspects that define a culture are language, iconography (symbolism), customs of behavior, moral values, and significant historical relics/artifacts and stories/lore.
When imagining new cultures, consider the following questions about our own societies, and determine how things might be different in our cultures based on these things:
- What would humanity be like if we removed one of our instincts or morals?
- How would we think instinctually if part of our history were different?
- Which technologies have changed how we think and what we value?
- How does the melding of kingdoms and religions change the way humanity has been shaped?
- How would our thought processes change if we had different physical traits?
- How has the land on which we live shaped our actions and morals?
- How would a culture develop if it were isolated from other cultures?
- Would thought processes change if a society had “magic” or “gods” explicitly affecting the world?
Ways to Create Different Cultures in D&D
While there exists a myriad of prompts that could help a Dungeon Master develop a unique culture in their campaign, here are a few questions, tips, and examples to get the creative ball rolling.
Ask yourself the following questions, which will help you round out the specifics of a society. I’ll answer a few of the questions below with example ideas.
- What does the geographic landscape look like, and how has that affected the development of a society?
- Which gods do the people serve? What are their goals and demeanors? Are their stewards required to reflect these things?
- What is impolite or customary in a society based on their magical abilities, physical traits, or living conditions?
- What gestures, lore, and phrases are unique to this culture?
- What nonverbal language or communication does the culture utilize?
- How might social anxieties manifest in the culture?
- What values does the culture hold in high esteem? What values does it condemn?
- How does magic influence a culture’s development? Are there customs specific to their magical features and abilities?
Determine Values Based on Gods Served
In a game where hundreds of deities influence and infiltrate lands and societies, cultures are influenced by which deities the majority serve. Their ideas on virtues and reality should reflect their gods, and their characteristics may mirror the ways in which their gods require service.
Consider the goals of the gods. While some may wish to hear their names in the mouths of all beings, others have goals of ushering the dead to their domain, taking revenge on each other, or consuming the world whole. Some societies would be more exclusive, whereas some would undertake missionary efforts more effectively. Some societies are more accepting of all deities, and some wish to conquer their deity’s foes.
Examples of Culture Development
The Stormlord, Tal’Dorei
The Stormlord is worshiped by warriors across Exandria, but there could feasibly be pockets of societies that exclusively worship this god. This chaotic neutral deity “exalts those whose force of spirit and passion for victory call his attention” and requires “bravery above all.” Here are a few ideas of characteristics that can be incorporated into a society that worships the Stormlord.
A Loud People
A society that exclusively worships this deity may refuse to speak softly, hype up their adrenaline through shouting or fighting before an encounter, and be prone to loud boasting of their own courage and deeds.
Their cities may be abuzz with an incessant rumble, raucous with muscle-required crafts like smithing, and captivated by brawling entertainment. These people may be prone to challenging bigger creatures and beings to prove their own strength.
They may value the rumble of thunder and mimic this with drums and other instruments. They may consider impaired hearing a blessed byproduct of their loud worship, which also enables them to value the vibrations of thunder more.
Favoring the Strong
Their sense of morality may shift significantly from a tamer society. They may consider it their moral duty to sift out the weak and lame to exile, death, or sacrifice. This may start from birth, so they refuse to form parental bonds with their children in case they must be sacrificed. Their entire familial structures may differ significantly from ours as a result.
They may, however, revere cunning strategists and former warriors who have been maimed in battle, and “households” may be headed by retired warriors, who teach younger fighters their ways. This would create families or factions based on fighting style with unique war cries, powers, goals, and strengths.
Yet, they may practice self-mutilation to prove they are that much stronger than others because they can win with a physical disadvantage such as a missing limb. If they survive in battle with less to work with, they have been favored by the Stormlord and deserve accolades proportional to their sacrifice. Enduring pain may prove their strength, and a sadist attitude may be the norm. Just as Buddhist monks alter their tolerance for pain, a culture that worships the Stormlord may find pleasurable consciousness in focused agony.
To follow in the Stormlord’s likeness, they also may refrain from clothing themselves to show off their muscles and strength. They may adorn themselves with all manner of painful jewelry, or perhaps they alter their physiology to increase their strength, such as incorporating metal limbs or plated heads.
Worshipping the Storm
Devout of the Stormlord may see storms and tumult as virtuous signs from their god. They may ride the storm and plunder societies that hide during inclement weather.
Based on their deity’s domain, they may be sea-faring people who have developed a weather-impervious barge. If they build cities, they may choose to exclusively use metal buildings with spires to channel lightning, which could power lights or meld unique alloys of metal. These people would have to engage heavily in mining and smithing, which requires incredible strength of body and will.
Conversely, if they believe lightning to be the sole domain of their Stormlord, they may see metal as blasphemy for its ability to direct their god’s powers. Thus, they may refuse to wield steel and iron weapons, and their homes may contain no metalwork.
Their powers may selectively be received from the Stormlord, as Tempest Clerics or Storm Sorcerers, though these positions may be reserved for temple clergy and emissaries of the god.
Be Mindful of Magical Traits
When characters possess unique magical features, their perception should be affected by their abilities. Where we humans fear the shadows of the dark, those who have darkvision may find comfort in its shrouding obscurity. Our perception of the world, and thus our stories and customs, will differ because another culture possesses a vastly different trait. This can apply to societies of many races together who grow in magic and develop customs or races with specific qualities and features.
Examples of Cultural Development
Monk: Way of Shadow
In a place where monks train in the Way of the Shadow, they will likely be subjected to unique perspectives than what we have experienced. Monasteries may be occupied by families, clans, or entire societies, and those learning the ways may develop some interesting cultures.
Mindful of Shadows
Because they engage in “a tradition that values stealth and subterfuge” paired with the magical abilities to step between shadows, it may be customary to be mindful of your own shadow in relation to yourself and others. Calculating angles of the sun and depths of the shadows may be second nature and subconscious.
It may be considered poor manners to step on another’s shadow. Shadow monks may prefer to always walk toward their shadow, or at least always have eyes on it. They may also prefer to do all business in either dusk or night, when the sun will not betray them.
Creatures and beasts who utilize shadow magic and abilities may be companions to the shadow monks, and unique lore and legends may arise about the Shadowfell, or Plane of the Shadow.
The Space Between Shadows
Where do the monks physically go when they step from one shadow to the next? Do they enter the Shadowfell, or is there something more sinister or enigmatic? While these answers may be missing canonically, monks may have their own belief system and lore about where they physically go in the space between shadows, how much time lapses while they are in the “space,” and what magic or powers enables the jump to occur.
Could a shadow monk slow down the time between jumps? Perhaps on their first jump, they notice a glimpse of something between the shadows, and over time, as they get more familiar with jumping, they are able to slow down their leap and take note of the space in which they jump between the shadows. Could they utilize that time, which may span minutes in the shadow yet seconds in the material plane, to prepare for their attack? What is the likelihood of them getting stuck in that space? Perhaps there are stories that advise young monks against lingering.
Consider How the Land Shapes the People
A harsh land may toughen up its people, and a tropical island may enable easygoing attitudes. While these are common patterns we have seen in human history, magical landscapes have no comparison, such as the Feywild, Elemental Plane of Air, or Underdark. When developing a culture, consider the landscape and how its natural idiosyncrasies may affect the development of a society and its temperaments, legends, interests, goals, and abilities.
The Underdark
Unique in flora, landscape, inhabitants, and atmosphere, the Underdark may shape a culture uniquely, and there may be pockets of culture based on in which domain a society exists (Buried Realms, the Darklands, the Deep Wastes, the Earthroot, the Glimmersea, Great Bhaerynden, the Northdark, and Old Shanatar).
High Society in Low Places
In the 2008 Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide, it’s noted that there are three levels of the Underdark: Upperdark, Middledark, and Lowerdark. While most cities exist in Middledark, few travel to the Lowerdark, where even Underdark creatures are wary to go.
Underground species or societies may have “tiers” of castes of society that believe that being closer to the surface is considered higher or lower class, depending on the species.
High Tolerance to Toxins
Whether a species inhabits Underdark domains close to magma rivers, feasts heavily on fungi and algae, or tolerates a stale and poisonous air, these traits will affect a culture, their legends and characteristics, and attitudes, especially as they interact with others from outside of the Underdark.
Cultures in these environments may incorporate psychedelic experiences as a result of their diet into their rituals, they may have more favorable opinions of death such as honor-killings by poison, or perhaps their ideas of medicine stem from utilizing parasites and toxins to cure ailments (sometimes the cure is more disease).
Demons of Light
Because the majority of their lives are spent in dimly-lit if not dark caverns, tunnels, and domains, Underdark societies may have lore of wicked devils whose brightnesses are blinding. They may have rituals to remove the excess light from their skin, or maybe they’d enact performances in which they coat themselves in bioluminescent extract to appear glowing, representing the villain of the play or dance.
Have you developed a culture that is specific to your Dungeons & Dragons world? Share with us in the comments below! If you enjoyed this article, you can find more worldbuilding inspiration here.
