ZEITGEIST How to colour the world in philosophy?

[Echolocation]

One interesting aspect of Lanjyr is the influence of philosophy on social discourse. I've been incorporating small philosophical comments by NPCs where possible. For example, my players encountered a Risuri war veteran, a Eschatol dwarf. He despised the proposed peace negotiations, thinking the world would be a better place if Risur was handed to the 'tiefies' ("I know what I fought for, I fought for an end to this naughty word conflict"). My players enjoyed (and were terrified by) the exchange, particularly because it was a shade of Eschatol philosophy they hadn't considered.

How did you (or would you) add philosophical character to your version of Lanjyr and its NPCs?

Did you incorporate any unusual interpretations of common philosophy and ideology into your world?

I'm interested in highlighting philosophy where appropriate. Though, I usually do this in the background. My group is one that tends to shy away from philosophical discussion, but enjoy seeing the variety of thought in different NPCs.

I hope this made sense :3

 

[Andrew Moreton]

I considered Ashima-Shimtu as having taken up Esctalogical beliefs and taking them to extremes the world ends with me style, but I preferred the redemption arc. If you want someone to try and talk philosophy to pc's she can be a good candidate as she tries to understand the world , her place in it and the effects of her deeds
Otherwise I did not add much in the way of extra philosophy

 

[arkwright]

Since your characters shy away from philosophical discussion, I would suggest focusing on two principles:

1. Peoples' ideas are shaped by their own experiences
2. People try to develop ideas that influence other people

Principle 1 will help ground your NPCs' philosophies and give your players an easy hook to engaging with their ideas; understand the past events that shaped them, and make arguments about those past events to influence their ideas. Your war vet was shaped by his grueling war experiences, he could be swayed by a discussion about all the possible benefits of war (technological innovation, nationalism overriding partisanship) and the flaws of the surrender he proposes (a new generation of rebels against Tiefie rule).

Principle 2 will help your characters understand how leaders influence others, spending time and accumulating knowledge to develop better ideas/philosophies/manifestoes/policies and better control/shape their nation. A nation itself is an idea resulting from centuries of work. My PCs wanted to do something about poor factory-worker conditions and industrialist exploitation, and over the course of several books got NPC contacts in politics and academia to work on ideas and philosophies and policies to try and resolve those problems.

 

[Echolocation]

A nation itself is an idea resulting from centuries of work.

Although I begun this discussion talking about people, I think it's important to consider that towns and cities could serve the same purpose too. History, philosophy, and ideology can intersect to influence the function and form of a city. I don't think these need to be deliberate decisions by city designers. Rather, the implicit biases of the elite and citizens would influence the structure of the city, how it is used, and how it is perceived by its people. This is already explored in the AP (for example, book 4 contains information on how each nation handles crime, and how this corresponds to ideology). Here are some of my ideas for Trekhom, where the engineering expertise and philosophical ingenuity of dwarves combine.

• Accessible and visible graveyards and minimal protection from the northern winds could serve as implicit reminders for the end that is to come.
• Architecture that allows sound to carry throughout the streets, allowing citizens exposure to a variety of ideas.
• A literal marketplace of ideas, where dwarves travel from across Drakr to speak in a city square of small sunken amphitheaters (of two or three steps). The sound engineering is such that outside these amphitheaters, listeners are exposed to a cacophony of ideas. Within the amphitheater, only the voice of the speaker can be heard. Listeners may choose to tip the listener. The larger the tips, the more the speakers voice is emphasized in the cacophony.
• Cathedral-esque structures devoted to the practice of law.
  • In my mind at least, Zeitgeist dwarves have a near-holy appreciation for law: dwarves tend to appreciate philosophy; dwarves engineering marvels speak to their appreciation for structure more generally; many dwarves seek to consolidate power. This is not to say dwarves may only be law-aligned. Rather, even chaotic-aligned dwarves understand the sacredness of law in their society, and perhaps even derive pleasure from subverting it.
  • Exquisite law cathedrals tower above their neighbors, such that they may be seen from afar. Citizens pay visit to seek holy guidance from lawyers on a range of tribulations and disputes, ranging from mundane concerns of settling fence disagreements with neighbors to repentance for crimes.

These are just preliminary ideas. I'd love feedback on them, or other ideas for other nations and cities.

Trekhom is on my mind, as my party is about to visit the city for the first time (book 4).

 

[Andrew Moreton]

I had a darker idea for Drakr overall. I had them more influenced by the legacy of the Demonocrocy there is some reference to Necromancer wizards in law enforcement and their prison system seems somewhat evil with what sound a lot like work camps. So overall ending to a somewhat evil side of lawful also deeply gloomy and paranoid in a Russian tradition.

My impression was that Eschatology was a fairly recent philosophy for them coming some time in the last 500 years since the Great Malice, as I thought they were a Clergy province until then. Probably a fairly restive one which then returned to some version of the 'Old Ways' with less actual demon worship and demons around, and so lacking a philisophical an cultural underpinning and Eschatoly grew out of this foundation combined with natural dwarf dourness and grumpiness. Particularly since they accidentally got rid of Good King Ron and all the dwarven good cheer and good ale leaving them with Vodka.

Elfaivar I envisaged with Hindu temples somewhat like Angkor Wat.

Risur traditional cities unlike industrialised flint have lots of parks and green spaces with the city spread out over a wider area with small shrines in the park so people can practice a fairly personal druidic faith.

Crissilyr lots of Churches and Cathedrals in a variety of different styles dependin on when in the long history of the clergy they were built and which faction of the Clergy built them.

Danor has a state arechology probably similar to revoltionary France if Napoleon had hung on for longer, with repurposed churces as monuments to the excesses of the Clergy know servign the people as government buildings of some sort. More recent construction having wide streets suitable for using cannon to disperse rioting mobs and an architecural style which is radically different and opposed to that of the Clergy.