3x3x3 quick culture generation method

[Shackled Slayer]

So i recently had the idea of a quick and dirty way to generate the basis of fantasy cultures. This came out of the desire to create elves, dwarves etc. That break the typical Tolkien molds, instead opting for a dash of real world influences.

The way you do this is you take 3 rules a member of the culture would use everyday, 3 moral/social/spiritual concepts that inform the culture's outlook, and 3 design aesthetics the culture are known for.

So as an example let's reinvent elves to have a vaguely japanese aesthetic while maintaining the elven "longview".

3 everyday rules
1) always remove your shoes when entering another person's home
2) never make a scene, be discreet
3) think before you act or speak, and reflect on those actions after you've done them

3 concepts
1) nature is sacred and should always be respected
2)we are all interconnected. Nothing that exists naturally lacks a purpose in the greater scheme of things.
3) nobody can survive without other people

3 aesthetics
1) Elven design is typically stark and simplistic (almost modern) except for specific accents. Filigree isn't everywhere, just on very particular design elements
2) gentle slopes and angles are present in contrast with hard vertical and horizontal lines.
3) most things are coloured in earth tones (usually muted) with very concious use of other colours to create a specific emphasis on a given item or accent.

What this method does is give us a compact starting point we can develop the culture out of, combining and mixing from the individual elements we've decided on and giving us something we can come back to if we want to introduce more. It also creates a specific theme. The above example focuses on the real world japanese virtues of concise, clean design and subtlety, as well as the deliberateness of any given element. If you're going to do something that contrasts with your normal virtues, considder it thoroughly, enact it subtly, but leave no question as to whether your doing it intentionally.

Thoughts? Feedback? Insults based on my clear ignorance of the complex nature of culture and design? Comment below!

[Max_Killjoy]

I like this as a way to get a quick sense of a culture and nail down the basics.

Just have to remember that these are generalizations to create a foundation, not the whole house.

[Yanagi]

So i recently had the idea of a quick and dirty way to generate the basis of fantasy cultures. This came out of the desire to create elves, dwarves etc. That break the typical Tolkien molds, instead opting for a dash of real world influences.

The way you do this is you take 3 rules a member of the culture would use everyday, 3 moral/social/spiritual concepts that inform the culture's outlook, and 3 design aesthetics the culture are known for.

So as an example let's reinvent elves to have a vaguely japanese aesthetic while maintaining the elven "longview".

3 everyday rules
1) always remove your shoes when entering another person's home
2) never make a scene, be discreet
3) think before you act or speak, and reflect on those actions after you've done them

3 concepts
1) nature is sacred and should always be respected
2)we are all interconnected. Nothing that exists naturally lacks a purpose in the greater scheme of things.
3) nobody can survive without other people

3 aesthetics
1) Elven design is typically stark and simplistic (almost modern) except for specific accents. Filigree isn't everywhere, just on very particular design elements
2) gentle slopes and angles are present in contrast with hard vertical and horizontal lines.
3) most things are coloured in earth tones (usually muted) with very concious use of other colours to create a specific emphasis on a given item or accent.

What this method does is give us a compact starting point we can develop the culture out of, combining and mixing from the individual elements we've decided on and giving us something we can come back to if we want to introduce more. It also creates a specific theme. The above example focuses on the real world japanese virtues of concise, clean design and subtlety, as well as the deliberateness of any given element. If you're going to do something that contrasts with your normal virtues, considder it thoroughly, enact it subtly, but leave no question as to whether your doing it intentionally.

Thoughts? Feedback? Insults based on my clear ignorance of the complex nature of culture and design? Comment below!

I have thoughts, but not criticisms. I mean, "culture" is a very complicated thing and there's no inherent entry point to inventing/describing a fictional one. Your diagram is a lot like a statement of principles or a summation of key concepts, laying out the central priorities. It's a good outline technique.

It messes up the symmetry, but to frame a culture I'd propose expanding the "three central premises" structure to include one other category: three statements about the environment and the subsistence methods the culture developed in. Generally, culture comes from realities of the environment--how easy or hard it is to just *be* a being that sensitive to heat/cold/disease/hunger/etc; to find or make something to eat; how isolated a people are from others--which structure how much cooperation is needed, how labor is divided up, and thus the basic "shape" of who the group is and who an individual in the group is.

[Wizard_Lizard]

Looks good! I like how simple it is!

[Shackled Slayer]

I have thoughts, but not criticisms. I mean, "culture" is a very complicated thing and there's no inherent entry point to inventing/describing a fictional one. Your diagram is a lot like a statement of principles or a summation of key concepts, laying out the central priorities. It's a good outline technique.

It messes up the symmetry, but to frame a culture I'd propose expanding the "three central premises" structure to include one other category: three statements about the environment and the subsistence methods the culture developed in. Generally, culture comes from realities of the environment--how easy or hard it is to just *be* a being that sensitive to heat/cold/disease/hunger/etc; to find or make something to eat; how isolated a people are from others--which structure how much cooperation is needed, how labor is divided up, and thus the basic "shape" of who the group is and who an individual in the group is.

I agree. I had literally committed this method to paper when i realized i was missing environmental factors, thinking about how japanese cultures have sort of minimalist styles, and how that was likely a result of limited resources on their island nation. I'm keeping it the same though, because when i set out to start using the method i start with where they are on the map.

Something also just as important is to make note that this should not to be confined to racial cultures like orcs, elves, humans, etc. But to also encompass multiple races living in unison, an example being "waterdeep urban culture" as an almost new york like social interaction of hustle and bustle, gruff citizenry and large complexes of communal homes not unlike apartment buildings.

Of course this is all intended to be a very large picture view, and requires follow up of the minutia.

[Shackled Slayer]

Looks good! I like how simple it is!

thank you! I was stoked about that myself when i first envisioned it.

[akma]

It's a nice foundation, but the system lacks sources of conflict and hardships.
In your elf example, there aren't clear conflicts within the elven society. There is some potential for conflict against the elven society, if there is a nearby culture that will want to defile nature somehow.
If someone is using the system without paying attention, he could set the foundation for many cultures that will fit as background elements and not much more.

Ways to counter this while keeping the system:
1) Before and while filling the 3X3X3, thinking about what is the culture's role in the setting.
2) Filling some of it with things that are extreme, or that will be considered extreme by other cultures. A rule of "always try to free slaves" could be the source of many wars.
3) Making sure that there will be some sort of clash of values or inner contradiction. A culture that will give harsh punishments for crimes and consider compassion as the highest virtue will likely result in a lot of arguments and many vigilantes that try to save people from the law.
4) Put things that are inherently self-destructive. Values like "always fight to the death", "never hoard any resource, spend everything immediately", "we must always prove our superiority above other cultures".

[Shackled Slayer]

It's a nice foundation, but the system lacks sources of conflict and hardships.
In your elf example, there aren't clear conflicts within the elven society. There is some potential for conflict against the elven society, if there is a nearby culture that will want to defile nature somehow.
If someone is using the system without paying attention, he could set the foundation for many cultures that will fit as background elements and not much more.

Ways to counter this while keeping the system:
1) Before and while filling the 3X3X3, thinking about what is the culture's role in the setting.
2) Filling some of it with things that are extreme, or that will be considered extreme by other cultures. A rule of "always try to free slaves" could be the source of many wars.
3) Making sure that there will be some sort of clash of values or inner contradiction. A culture that will give harsh punishments for crimes and consider compassion as the highest virtue will likely result in a lot of arguments and many vigilantes that try to save people from the law.
4) Put things that are inherently self-destructive. Values like "always fight to the death", "never hoard any resource, spend everything immediately", "we must always prove our superiority above other cultures".

That's up to the user of the system, largely. I didnt see a need to restrict a GM to making specific design choices like self destructive or contradictory values, it's more of a base design tool to get things moving. Adding in cultural norms, conflicts and issues should be considdered in the first couple of drafts of building off of what the 3x3x3 method ends up generating, keeping those elements at the forefront. You are also correct however that the culture's role in the setting should be considdered, although i feel using that as a mandate may take away from the fidelity of culture as a result.

[Sam113097]

I love this! I think one could also add three 'bonds' or connections that deal with how these elves, for example, view outsiders, where their loyalties lie, etc.

[Mendicant]

It's a nice foundation, but the system lacks sources of conflict and hardships.
In your elf example, there aren't clear conflicts within the elven society. There is some potential for conflict against the elven society, if there is a nearby culture that will want to defile nature somehow.
If someone is using the system without paying attention, he could set the foundation for many cultures that will fit as background elements and not much more.

Ways to counter this while keeping the system:
1) Before and while filling the 3X3X3, thinking about what is the culture's role in the setting.
2) Filling some of it with things that are extreme, or that will be considered extreme by other cultures. A rule of "always try to free slaves" could be the source of many wars.
3) Making sure that there will be some sort of clash of values or inner contradiction. A culture that will give harsh punishments for crimes and consider compassion as the highest virtue will likely result in a lot of arguments and many vigilantes that try to save people from the law.
4) Put things that are inherently self-destructive. Values like "always fight to the death", "never hoard any resource, spend everything immediately", "we must always prove our superiority above other cultures".

This is true, but in the normal course of developing a campaign most of the cultures *are* just background elements. Aesthetics and values are the big pieces your players need out of "off camera" places, and the on-camera places will necessarily get more attention than a quick and dirty generation method anyway.