The aquiline man with the hawkish nose nodded, following his companion a few steps down the hall. She cleared her throat, glancing around to be sure no one would overhear.
"We're just going out into the town for business," she said. "Routine maintenance. Pick up some supplies. We don't want to make anyone nervous."
"No, of course not," he agreed, nodding. "Precisely why I left my shield and plate in my rooms. I should have no need of it here."
"But what about that?" Edelwinn asked, glancing at her taller companion's hip. The sword called Devil's Bane hung at his side, the gem in its pommel glimmering, and the violence spellworked into the steel almost palpable.
"Edelwinn, I am a sworn sword of the realm, and a son of House Ebon Claw," Tendrick said. He spoke carefully, though not insultingly. "It is customary to wear a blade at all times."
"There's nothing I can say to budge you on this?" Edelwinn said.
He smiled at her. "You could challenge me to a duel, and try to take it from me if you wish. I would honor that defeat."
"Fine, wear your steel if it makes you feel pretty," Edelwinn grumbled, stalking past him. "But I see that thing out of its scabbard someone had better damn well have tried to knife you!"
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| What do you expect me to do? Carry a stick like a common peasant? |
Cultural Norms and Etiquette Add Depth To Characters
This is something I've been thinking about a lot over the past month or so, ever since I started doing the research to write How The Cane Replaced The Sword in Everyday Carry. Because carrying a sword in Europe was, for many years, as much a mark of status and style as it was about having a weapon to defend yourself with should the need arise. And then, practically overnight, it was no longer the fashionable thing to do. Instead of a sword, a walking stick became the new accessory that was part of one's everyday carry... and this was a trend that lasted for centuries!
From the outside looking in, that is a truly unusual quirk to have in a society for that long a period of time. Especially when you consider that over the years there was an entire etiquette built up around the style of stick one might carry, how one had to walk with it, whether it was or was not appropriate to actually lean on it in certain circumstances; it got really intricate.
This got me thinking, what other kinds of cultural norms and etiquette could add flavor to our characters and societies in our games?
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| I can drink neither the fermentation of grape, or of wheat... it's made of honey, you say? |
On the one hand, we could simply pluck bits of our real-world history and apply them to our fantasy settings to create interesting cultural norms. For example, getting back to the history of walking sticks, specific sticks were used as symbols of position and authority in ancient Egypt, so someone carrying such a stick would be immediately recognizable to those around them. On the other hand, dueling culture is often something that's added into our settings, allowing individuals to settle differences in a proscribed (if not exactly peaceful) fashion.
You could also create completely new and unique cultural norms out of whole cloth for your characters and setting if you so desire! While I put out a lot of potential examples in 100 Superstitions For a Fantasy Setting as well as in 100 Fantasy Tattoos (And Their Meanings), others might include:
- The color red is only worn by warriors among the Shar'vastri orcs. The more battles they have fought, and the more blood they have spilled, the more of this color they are allowed to wear. It is rare for a warrior to live long enough to wear a full coat of red, but those who do achieve that right are to be feared.
- Flowers are their own language among the nobles of Citrine. Every bloom has its own unique meaning, but there are some of them which are strictly regulated to members of certain professions, classes, and even houses. Someone wearing the wrong flower, or arranging a bouquet purely for aesthetics, may find themselves sending a message they did not intend.
- The particular somatic and verbal components you use are judged in Farassa as elements of how elegant your magic is. Traditionalists only cast spells in high elven, with the smooth, elegant gestures that are almost like a dance. While replacing it with languages like Ignan may be appropriate for fire-based spells, using the common tongue is seen as gauche and uneducated. Casting spells in the tongue of the Veshradi orcs is outright scandalous, and marks one out as a base caster too crude for the ways of civilized magic.
Practically every aspect of a culture comes with its dos and do-nots. Whether it's how you address someone older or younger than yourself, how to dress, how to dance, when (and how) to fight... you can tinker with practically anything! So when you make your next character, take a moment to consider the culture that shaped them. What aspects of it cling to them? What norms have they laid aside? Or, for that matter, what pieces of etiquette have they learned from other cultures, allowing them to move between different worlds and communities with as few ripples as possible?
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