Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Homebrew Brainstorm: How Would You Approach a "Descendant Worship" Culture? (+)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 8748834" data-attributes="member: 6790260"><p>Possible further options (which may or may not be compatible with the above):</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Children in this society actually do have the ability to perform certain magical feats which adults can't. Whether it is a physical maturity thing (e.g. puberty causes the magic to go away) or a mental/emotional maturity thing (e.g. someone who never "grows up" can still practice it even though they're <em>physically</em> adult). This would lead to a society that shelters certain segments of its society, particularly the latter; if these (mental) children are also in some kind of religious-leadership role, it would likely require some kind of moderating influence or else...well, children aren't exactly the <em>wisest</em> people in most cases.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">This society is much more literally "matriarchal" than normal: <em>only mothers are allowed to lead</em>, because only mothers have created life. The creation of life is the highest calling, followed closely by the nurturing of life. Mothers, wetnurses, animal husbandry types, gardners, etc. are exalted in this society. Perhaps it has a "maiden/mother/crone" triune structure, but the emphasis is on the <em>rebirth</em> of the maiden from the crone, rather than on the maiden <em>maturing into</em> the crone.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Some children in this society are literally born divine or otherwise magical, which causes them to live very different lives and to never physically age once their magic manifests. (This is strongly inspired by the Padjali who lead Gridania in the game Final Fantasy XIV; physically they remain childlike for the entirety of their longer-than-normal lives, but they are mentally adult and one that you meet in-game is thought to be more than two centuries old.) Thus, the emphasis on children is more because <em>any</em> child might become a Divine Child, and superstitions (whether correct or not) have arisen about what it is that triggers the revelation that a particular child is a Divine Child.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ancestors are held to not retain any independent existence; the dead immediately get recycled back into the living, so calling out to your ancestors is pointless. Instead, you should appeal to the not-yet-faded lingering essences of their souls, which have been reborn into new bodies. You may even be visited in a dream by the child that that soul has become, granting you a vision or a boon. Those children who are born with brand-new souls, rather than souls that came from someone else who has died, are held in especially high esteem. They prove that The People are continuing to grow and improve. Years in which no "gift children" are born are considered a bad omen.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Children form a vital part of society's social structure, because once you have become an adult, you are locked into a rigid and unbending social hierarchy; while advancement or demotion is possible, both are rare. Instead, children take a leading role in greasing the wheels between the many different rigidly-defined roles of society, as a child by definition cannot have chosen their one (and only) eternal future. This means that the monarch has, more than once, truly been a puppet of their <em>youngest</em> child, who schemed from behind the scenes to eliminate their elder siblings from the line of succession and then "choose" the path of monarchy for themselves.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Until a child reaches the age of majority, it will receive divine protection from the gods (or perhaps one specific god.) This protection extends to the child's living place and close relatives/guardians, up to a certain limit in both cases. Because the world is incredibly dangerous and full of big nasties (maybe demons or zombies or something), this protection is absolutely essential for ensuring that society itself does not collapse overnight. As a result, children are incredibly highly prized, and careful planning of when children will be born and the like are a staple of this culture.</li> </ul></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EzekielRaiden, post: 8748834, member: 6790260"] Possible further options (which may or may not be compatible with the above): [LIST] [*]Children in this society actually do have the ability to perform certain magical feats which adults can't. Whether it is a physical maturity thing (e.g. puberty causes the magic to go away) or a mental/emotional maturity thing (e.g. someone who never "grows up" can still practice it even though they're [I]physically[/I] adult). This would lead to a society that shelters certain segments of its society, particularly the latter; if these (mental) children are also in some kind of religious-leadership role, it would likely require some kind of moderating influence or else...well, children aren't exactly the [I]wisest[/I] people in most cases. [*]This society is much more literally "matriarchal" than normal: [I]only mothers are allowed to lead[/I], because only mothers have created life. The creation of life is the highest calling, followed closely by the nurturing of life. Mothers, wetnurses, animal husbandry types, gardners, etc. are exalted in this society. Perhaps it has a "maiden/mother/crone" triune structure, but the emphasis is on the [I]rebirth[/I] of the maiden from the crone, rather than on the maiden [I]maturing into[/I] the crone. [*]Some children in this society are literally born divine or otherwise magical, which causes them to live very different lives and to never physically age once their magic manifests. (This is strongly inspired by the Padjali who lead Gridania in the game Final Fantasy XIV; physically they remain childlike for the entirety of their longer-than-normal lives, but they are mentally adult and one that you meet in-game is thought to be more than two centuries old.) Thus, the emphasis on children is more because [I]any[/I] child might become a Divine Child, and superstitions (whether correct or not) have arisen about what it is that triggers the revelation that a particular child is a Divine Child. [*]Ancestors are held to not retain any independent existence; the dead immediately get recycled back into the living, so calling out to your ancestors is pointless. Instead, you should appeal to the not-yet-faded lingering essences of their souls, which have been reborn into new bodies. You may even be visited in a dream by the child that that soul has become, granting you a vision or a boon. Those children who are born with brand-new souls, rather than souls that came from someone else who has died, are held in especially high esteem. They prove that The People are continuing to grow and improve. Years in which no "gift children" are born are considered a bad omen. [*]Children form a vital part of society's social structure, because once you have become an adult, you are locked into a rigid and unbending social hierarchy; while advancement or demotion is possible, both are rare. Instead, children take a leading role in greasing the wheels between the many different rigidly-defined roles of society, as a child by definition cannot have chosen their one (and only) eternal future. This means that the monarch has, more than once, truly been a puppet of their [I]youngest[/I] child, who schemed from behind the scenes to eliminate their elder siblings from the line of succession and then "choose" the path of monarchy for themselves. [*]Until a child reaches the age of majority, it will receive divine protection from the gods (or perhaps one specific god.) This protection extends to the child's living place and close relatives/guardians, up to a certain limit in both cases. Because the world is incredibly dangerous and full of big nasties (maybe demons or zombies or something), this protection is absolutely essential for ensuring that society itself does not collapse overnight. As a result, children are incredibly highly prized, and careful planning of when children will be born and the like are a staple of this culture. [/LIST] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Homebrew Brainstorm: How Would You Approach a "Descendant Worship" Culture? (+)
Top