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Here you can describe a certain culture (not necessarily a nation-state, but a grouping of people who share common beliefs).
The Possessive Title is the title used to describe the culture; i.e., Christians.
The Dominant Faith is the faith worshipped in the majority of this culture.
Tolerance of other Faiths refers to how tolerant this culture is to people with different religions. Higher numbers are better.
PropertiesTo edit the Properties, just click on a category (like age grading) and then enter an appropriate Description. Be sure to press the Update button to preserve any changes.
RacesYou can add certain races to the culture by selecting them from the text-areas load button 
and then pressing Add Race.
Notes describe any miscellaneous notes for this culture.
Remember, cultures are formed from many factors. The following tables and lists are meant merely as primers for your imagination.
Table 1 Summary:
Food Gathering|
Table 1: Special Features of a Culture* |
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Food Gathering |
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Hunter/Gather (Foragers) living off land; usually involves a high rate of mobility and small populations |
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Horticulture simple farming using basic tools. Slash and burn agriculture. |
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Pastoralism herding of animals |
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Agriculture is intensive cultivation, relying on animal and technological power more than horticulture. Large populations and the creation of a peasant class |
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Industrialized Food Getting plow, irrigation and fertilizing advances. Very large populations. Specialization of class structure. |
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Political Organization |
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Band small and usually nomadic (most often between 30-50 people) highly egalitarian very little political integration there could be several similar bands, all of them autonomous from each other |
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Tribal see clans and secret societies that exist in all tribes. Larger than bands, and will occasionally come together with other tribes to stave off attacks |
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Chiefdom non-egalitarian integration of a number of local communities we see permanent governmental officers |
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State-Level formal and complex form of political organization specialized political roles |
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Kinship |
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be imaginative and design your own combination |
Eskimo the nuclear family; associated with a highly mobile society. Bilateral descent. |
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Hawaiian single term for all relatives of the same sex and generation |
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Iroquois father and father's brothers are called by a common name. Mother and mother's sister called by a common name.
Distinct terms for mother's brother and father's sister
own siblings are called the same as parallel cousins (one's mother's sister or father's brother's children)
Cross-cousins are given a different name |
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Omaha patrilineal descent a merging of generations on mother's side |
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Crow matrilineal descent a merging of generations on the father's side |
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Sudanese labels every type of relative; different terms for mother's brother, father's brother and so on; found in some societies that have large differences in wealth, occupation and social status |
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Technological Level |
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no tools possibly exists by scavenging unless strong enough to bring down own food, or unless strictly vegetarian |
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stone/wood tools these could include obsidian (which has been proven to be 200x sharper than stainless steel surgical items) requires a high degree of skill to manufacture |
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weak metals bronze or copper tools |
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strong metals the introduction of iron and or steel |
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manufactured this category considers things like plastics and advanced metals like admantium or titanium |
As you work on your world, you will notice that the act of creating this culture will actually give you more story ideas. Even simple things, such as how a culture schedules its time, can spawn numerous story ideas
There a million factors to consider when designing a culture. Use your imagination and consult books when necessary.
See Also
