The Campaign Builder's Guild

Magic could easily fall under technological. Physiology might not need a specific entry but just an intro sentence to give the idea. I wouldn't gloss over Artistic in my settings, just because I feel it adds depth to the experience.

What exactly would one write about under Intellectual that would not be covered by technology, art, or politics?

Haven't read the whole thread real close, so forgive me if someone said this, but what you want out of a culture description depends on why you're writing it.

If you write the culture for literature, for gaming, for its own sake, or for the sake getting readers here or elsewhere online, these are all different goals and may require you to highlight different things.

Things helpful for running a game may never come up in a novel, and may be damn boring to read online about someone else's setting unless you intend to run a game in that setting. Things which are important for writing a novel might not matter much in a game because their direct effect on the PCs would be small.

Quote from: PhoenixWhat exactly would one write about under Intellectual that would not be covered by technology, art, or politics?

Maybe Politics, Religion, and Social cover how things were generally done and intellectual leaves room for unrelated things like "social darwinism" "humanism" etc. They've got far reaching effects on how things are done (or the reverse) but are distinct from the actual practice.

Just guessing.

I think the big 6 categories are:

- Broad overview description (i.e. the hook)
- Recent History
- Religions
- Society
- Adventure Hooks

From those you can develop more in depth topics such as:

- Less-Recent History
- Races/Species and Ethnicities
- Foreign Political
- Domestic Political
- Important NPCs

Another cool idea is to include a basic economic map that includes national sub-divisions.

Quote from: PhoenixI wouldn't gloss over Artistic in my settings, just because I feel it adds depth to the experience.

Indeed. The artistic side of culture defines what kinds of clothes people can buy and wear, what kinds of houses they live in, what sort of music they may hear and dance to. It tells you how things look, sound and taste.

An example: You sit down by a table for a cup of wine and a chat with a pretty maiden.

* The table may be covered with a decorated cloth. Any pictures, patterns and borders on it will be an artistic expression; a product of a specific culture.
* The cup of wine you're holding might look different than a wine cup from a another time and place, even if both hold wine just as well. Or perhaps it isn't a cup at all, but a drinking horn?
* Your sleeveless shirt, knee-length trousers and the cape hanging from your shoulders are all representative of the style of clothing your culture favours. Were you from a different culture, you might instead be wearing a short jacket, a skirt, and a long scarf wrapped around your head.
* The maiden across the table might wear her hair loose or tied; it may be short of long, natural colour or dyed. Or perhaps she's wearing a wig? What ever the case, it is telling of the local culture - or more accurately, of the latest fashions of that culture.

Without information about the artistic styles of relevant cultures, how can you ever describe a scene with any detail?

Quote from: Ghostman

Quote from: PhoenixI wouldn't gloss over Artistic in my settings, just because I feel it adds depth to the experience.

Indeed. The artistic side of culture defines what kinds of clothes people can buy and wear, what kinds of houses they live in, what sort of music they may hear and dance to. It tells you how things look, sound and taste.

An example: You sit down by a table for a cup of wine and a chat with a pretty maiden.

* The table may be covered with a decorated cloth. Any pictures, patterns and borders on it will be an artistic expression; a product of a specific culture.
* The cup of wine you're holding might look different than a wine cup from a another time and place, even if both hold wine just as well. Or perhaps it isn't a cup at all, but a drinking horn?
* Your sleeveless shirt, knee-length trousers and the cape hanging from your shoulders are all representative of the style of clothing your culture favours. Were you from a different culture, you might instead be wearing a short jacket, a skirt, and a long scarf wrapped around your head.
* The maiden across the table might wear her hair loose or tied; it may be short of long, natural colour or dyed. Or perhaps she's wearing a wig? What ever the case, it is telling of the local culture - or more accurately, of the latest fashions of that culture.

Without information about the artistic styles of relevant cultures, how can you ever describe a scene with any detail?

I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head.

Quote from: beejazzMy girlfriend, in her World History course, learned PIRATES.

Political
Intellectual
Religious
Artistic
Technological
Economic
Social

I'm considering stealing it.

Too late, consider it stolen already.