tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post6104054208619150317..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: Defining Culture and Other ThingsAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-72188560558739292372017-11-26T11:46:12.985-07:002017-11-26T11:46:12.985-07:00I do have the "other" tracker built alre...I do have the "other" tracker built already - the groups/infrastructure system, which redefines every hex ranging from type-I to type-VIII. While a given development might be present in a region, it might only show up in the most densely packed hexes, type-III, type-II or type-I. A type-VII hex, which is mostly empty and nearly wilderness (Type-VIII is wilderness) wouldn't have a theatre, forge or granary in it ... it's just a bunch of backward cotters working poor land for their own food.<br /><br />I have other subdivisions that I'm working on, as I pull the system together.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-39161724823657337162017-11-26T10:44:37.587-07:002017-11-26T10:44:37.587-07:00I don't think social control encapsulates /eve...I don't think social control encapsulates /everything/ about cultural development, but can't contend that it is a damn good point of reduction to make the concept wieldable in a worldbuilding sense.<br /><br />Would you be looking at implementing this trait on an hex-by-hex basis, per population centre or kingdom wide? All these places would be under the sway of a single monarchy but could be vastly different in terms of social control (borders vs. heartland, separatism, distance from the seats of power, etc).<br /><br />It would mean you'd need to define a whole 'nother tracker alongside tech (or development) levels, which currently include the _concept_ of different forms of rulership, but which don't necessarily prescribe their use, as even a developed country can regress to atavic forms of government, though they'll likely be repackaged in new clothes. Drainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09724863160300686402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-16396994262149061562017-11-18T14:03:47.139-07:002017-11-18T14:03:47.139-07:00That was an excellent find, Baron. I think I can ...That was an excellent find, Baron. I think I can use that.<br /><br />Of course, being a liberal, I want to call you "Opal," as I inherently resent your authoritarian title use.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-51040865972082512742017-11-18T13:36:45.557-07:002017-11-18T13:36:45.557-07:00Take a look at the TED talk by Johnathon Haidt, Th...Take a look at the TED talk by Johnathon Haidt, The Moral Roots of Liberals and Conservatives. He describes 5 common values and posits that the importance a culture ascribes to them defines the culture. It might be a useful starting point for you.<br /><br />(https://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_on_the_moral_mind)Baron Opalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07035904533197305820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-8330156207105315262017-11-17T15:17:19.116-07:002017-11-17T15:17:19.116-07:00I’m also really into this presentation of culture ...I’m also really into this presentation of culture intersecting with social control, and I agree with Dani’s point on how it avoids essentialism which is good.<br />Obviously you still need to work out the details, but I imagine part of the value attached to better technology is that you can mathematically scale up your “social control index”. Interestingly, I would figure that since hunter-gatherer societies, while incredibly diverse, often manifest very egalitarian social structures, they sort of give you a baseline for how many people can be relatively control free and then scale up. Once you have a small town, custom and ritual can pull people to follow a leader. When you have bigger regions, you can scale it up by saying “the arena boosts social control by X%”<br />Nonetheless, seems like it will be an interesting task in determining how to conflate those elements. A colosseum appeases the masses very differently from a theatre (which requires an artistic/bardic class to function) or a military school (which might create an upper or – perhaps? – middle class willing to fight on behalf of that social control system).Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03496502173819113887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-4898775567072886162017-11-17T14:02:39.756-07:002017-11-17T14:02:39.756-07:00Sorry, last sentence should be "religion, as ...Sorry, last sentence should be "religion, as a cultural tool or technology, isn't limited to any one specific religion..."Ozymandiashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01065642299277380465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-83407735051345708502017-11-17T05:13:08.094-07:002017-11-17T05:13:08.094-07:00Equally Interesting is that you can insert any spe...Equally Interesting is that you can insert any specific detail you choose. Catholicism encourages confession and regular services because it keeps the layperson subservient to the will of the clergy, while Islam requires daily prayers for much the same reason. And both help reduce the anxieties of day to day life. Religion, then, isn't limited to any one type, it's internal structure and details adaptable to the DM's world.Ozymandiashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01065642299277380465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-14459492644223246592017-11-16T20:55:54.433-07:002017-11-16T20:55:54.433-07:00Defining culture as social control is very clever....Defining culture as social control is very clever. It neatly avoids all of the essentialist rhetoric that so often surrounds these kinds of discussions and provides something actionable, something gameable. This is fantastic.Danielle Ostermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05688510764917107213noreply@blogger.com