Worldbuilding: Local Area Design: Races and Cultures

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Races

Now that the climate and terrain have been selected it is a little easier to choose what race(s) are most prevalent in the local area. Traditionally elves dwell in rich forests and dwarves dwell in mountains, etc. However, in your game world this may be different. If you’ve decided that in your fantasy world certain races are most comfortable in certain terrains, consider those facts when deciding which races are in this local area. Even so, remember that not every forest will be a home to the elves.

The races present in your local area can also play a factor in the stories you wish to tell. One way to make the characters somewhat separated from the society is to make the main population groups different races from your characters. Race relations is another way your racial population choices may be a significant role in your story. You may have a kingdom where trolls act as the legitimate tax collectors stopping people as they travel. A clan of Dwarves may oppress the other races of an area and the characters serve as freedom fighters in a resistance.

Cultures

Each population group (race, ethnicity, country/state) may have its own culture. Sometimes the individual cultures may have minor differences from the dominant culture of the area, and in other cases the cultures can greatly vary. If the local area has the border of two or more adjacent countries, one country may have Egyptian-style customs while another may have Roman-style customs. Even within a country cultures may vary greatly. Perhaps the humans mostly follow one set of customs, but the dwarves (who may be part of the same country but keep themselves mostly separate) have a different set of customs. Even members of one race within one city might follow different gods leading to several fundamental cultural differences.

On top of all that, there may be minor cultural differences from village to village. Maybe one priest years ago interpreted a vision about the buried dead coming to life and now that village burns its dead instead. Conversely, maybe a sage said that burning bodies might spread a disease so the dead are now buried in another village. Perhaps the warriors of a tribal group wear a necklace of the thumbs of the creatures they have slain. These little things may seem small but they can help bring your campaign setting to life.

There are many different cultures from history to use as a pattern for a culture in your fantasy game world: Celtic, Norse, Egyptian, Roman, Greek, ancient China, Japanese Feudalism, European Dark Ages, European Renaissance, North American Indian, Aztec, Aboriginal, Arabic, etc. When using these as templates, consider adding or changing something so they will have an element of fantasy, unless your fantasy world is about historical realism.

If you’ve already described the cultures in the local area because you’ve already thought out the larger area, of course keep those decisions in mind as you make these decisions.

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