Philosophy and theology in fantasy world building

[smoelf]

I'm currently studying theology and are about to take my exams in general philosophy next week. A thing I've wondered a bit about lately is if any of you have ever used philosophy when building a fantasy world and especially when fleshing out the races. It came to me in a random thought that if such a thing as a goblin philosopher existed what would he think about? What sort of outlook on life would he have, what questions would he be answering? (Meaning of life or epistemology?) Which real world philosophy could be applied to them with a twist? Nihilism and master-slave morality?

Perhaps goblins are too savage to grasp the concept of philosophy, but what about elves and dwarves? I think it could be an interesting and fun project to write a something down to represent moral and philosophy for each race. It could certainly add some amazing details.

Theology might be trickier if the Gods exist and the people knows it, but each race might have a different take on the Gods like the Eastern and Western church in the middle ages.

Thoughts?

(I couldn't really find a prefix that would fit something akin to worldbuilding but I guess Game theory and Design can do the job.)

 

[Bedrockgames]

I'm currently studying theology and are about to take my exams in general philosophy next week. A thing I've wondered a bit about lately is if any of you have ever used philosophy when building a fantasy world and especially when fleshing out the races. It came to me in a random thought that if such a thing as a goblin philosopher existed what would he think about? What sort of outlook on life would he have, what questions would he be answering? (Meaning of life or epistemology?) Which real world philosophy could be applied to them with a twist? Nihilism and master-slave morality?

Perhaps goblins are too savage to grasp the concept of philosophy, but what about elves and dwarves? I think it could be an interesting and fun project to write a something down to represent moral and philosophy for each race. It could certainly add some amazing details.

Theology might be trickier if the Gods exist and the people knows it, but each race might have a different take on the Gods like the Eastern and Western church in the middle ages.

Thoughts?

(I couldn't really find a prefix that would fit something akin to worldbuilding but I guess Game theory and Design can do the job.)

I did it in my last campaign. I wasn't terribly original though. In college I minored in philosophy so I used what bits I remembered to cobble together some fun demi-human cultures.

Dwarves: I had two dwarf ethnic groups: Northern and Southern. The northern dwarves lived in a hotter climate along rivers, and were in a politically precarious position (a number of different powers used them as a buffer zone and occassionally invaded). So their whole outlook was very much about about keeping the outward appearance of joviality. When the elves invaded they welcomed them with smiles and made the best of being dominated. The southern dwarves were similar, in that they embraced change, but were more about controlling their inner world and emotions.

Halfings: Halfings basically believed the greatest good was physical pleasure. They embraced wealth, trade, and good times.

Gnomes: My gnomes were fervently religious (I called them Fervent Gnomes), and believed in physical sacrifice and work to please their god (basically made them Calvinists.

Hill Giants: The Hill giants in my setting were basically hippies. They didn't believe in harming other living things. So they were vegetarians and pacifists.

I also had a number of floating philosophies through the setting independant of race.

 

[Smoss]

Definitely looked at it. My last blog post actually briefly touched on this a bit - Especially when I talked some about the one government in my world that is a Theocracy. The philosophy of each culture helps drive their ambitions and goals. I am hoping to expand a little on all that in my next blog post.
Smoss

http://www.enworld.org/forum/blogs/smoss/6455-design-blog-4-birth-culture-war.html

 

[Raven Crowking]

Removed

 

[adwyn]

Much of the theology of my default home brew campaign is wrapped up in the thought "Yes, the gods are real, but what if they are wrong?" which has led to a revolt against many of the gods.

As to racial philosophies, in the same campaign elves have short life cycles but are constantly reincarnated and quickly recover memories which has led to odd concepts - they see murder as a theft of time but have much dimmer views on actions that will have longer term repercussions.

 

[M.L. Martin]

See if you can find a copy of Morgoth's Ring, Vol. X of the History of Middle-Earth series. It includes numerous philosophical and theological speculations of the Professor on elements of Middle-Earth, including the difference between Sauron and Morgoth, the problematic nature of Orcs, and an extensive dialogue between Finrod and a human wise-woman on humanity, elves, and their purposes in Eru's ultimate design.

 

[Jimlock]

In my game gods are real as well but...


I see them as personifications of human values/emotions/ethics.

I like this because it actually makes them more human than human,

fully capable of mistakes,

and fully capable of succumbing to "humane" vanity.

 

[RangerWickett]

Brief excerpt from the upcoming ZEITGEIST: The Gears of Revolution player's guide.

The Philosophy of Governance
Though intellectuals of the rest of the world are quick to disassociate themselves with some of the darker trends in Drakran philosophy – those grounded in the diabolic power of the old warlords – many heap great praise on the wise and open deliberations in the nation’s parliament.

The old ecumenical tradition of the Clergy survived the Great Malice in the form of schools of philosophy. Often each clan or township would have its own line of local philosophers. Their ideas would influence local leaders and businessmen, who would in turn spread them through the rest of the nation, with the most successful and intriguing philosophers earning their home prestige and profit.

Today the most visible philosophy is Heid Eschatol, which focuses on proper endings to all of life’s affairs. But other ideologies still battle in the marketplaces and academies of Drakr, and any successful federal representative has to be a studied philosopher, or else espouse wild teachings that will get him noticed.


...


Dominant Philosophies
Certain groups promote secular ideologies independent from the metaphysics of religion.

Heid Eschatol. Developed in Drakr, popular in Risur. It is important to plan for good endings, whether that’s for a business venture, a story, a love affair, or your own life.

Panoply. Nascent philosophy from Ber, concerned with examining how and why cultures differ. Followers often feel dissatisfied with the traditions of their homeland, and defend the value of foreign ideas.

Pragati. Official position of the Jierre ruling party in Danor. Gods are the creation of men who were unable to comprehend the real structure of the world. Those who hold false beliefs, be they in gods, in disproven economic theories, or anything else, are a threat to progress.

Vekesh. Guiding principle that helped the eladrin survive after the fall of Elfaivar. After a tragedy, the best revenge is to heal and grow stronger than you were before.



[[Sidebar]]
The Philosophy of William Miller
While Drakran philosophy is in ascendance today, many older works are still read and discussed throughout Lanjyr. Most popular are the writings of a clerical monk, William Miller, who in the run up to the Great Malice composed a treatise on hypocrisy, suggesting that it is better to admit you are uncertain of your beliefs than to act in contradiction with your stated values. The book, widely recognized as an attack on the Clergy, allegedly drove the monk to flee persecution.

Miller reappeared several years after the Great Malice with a new work of political philosophy that coincided with his effort to found a small nation, Pala, amid the chaos of the Malice Lands. In his multi-chapter book he examined possible social structures, comparing robustness and stability with various moral values. Early chapters allude to a conclusion that would detail a handful of ideal nations, but today there are no complete copies of the book.

In 18 A.O.V., the reconstituted Clergy branded Miller a heretic, invaded Pala, and sacked its capital. He was brought to Alais Primos, the new seat of the Clergy, where he was tortured in an effort to compel a confession. After he refused to recant, his captors made a pyre of his heretical writings and burned him alive upon it.

Today, Miller’s incomplete writings are popular among the bohemian dockers in Flint and followers of the Panoply in Ber. Rumors say that copies of Miller’s final chapters are kept in a library vault in Alais Primos, where it shares shelf space with other ‘heretical’ texts.
[[End Sidebar]]

 

[steeldragons]

First, GREAT thread idea [MENTION=93390]smoelf[/MENTION]!

Considering world-building is one of my favorite aspects of the RPG (specifically D&D/fantasy worlds) and comparative religion and mythology is something of a lifelong interest of mine, theology and philosophy are significant elements for generating a rounded and rich world/nation/culture...or even single region or encounter.

I encorporate a great deal of theology in my gameworld...In all honesty, I could do more/better with the strictly "philosophy" elements. My default is to take certain beliefs and views and wrap them into a religion of one of my world's gods. But the idea of a "philosopher", outside of religion, is an intriguing one that could see lending to all kinds of color and flavor for a world.

Though I've not done it myself, I have heard of GMs creating worlds that do not possess "religion" per se, but instead various schools of thought...The "clerics" of these types of worlds ARE the philosophers...their level of "enlightenment" (which, naturally increases as the levels of experience increase) is the source of their spells/powers. While I've never played a world liek this myself, I find the concept very interesting and potentially great fun.

Some elvin ethnicities on my own gameworld are, in fact, immortal...other "lesser elves" are not. What plays to other races as "arrogance" or "aloofness" is really simply a societal sympathy or, more likely, pity, for the mortal races and their (as far as the immortal elves are concerned) "shortcomings" due to their "limited existence."

I also, assign for all nations (or any race) a general Alignment (using the "old"/original 9-point alignment system). This, naturally, involves (or "evolves", if you prefer) over time so that cultures and the races within it have shifts of alignment as to what is "acceptable" behavior and concepts. As a brief example, the original race of elves (yes, who are immortal) began their existence as the greatest force of "good" on the continent...yet, in the millenia that have passed since the birth of the race, they are -as asociety, mind you- passed into decided Neutrality...Lawful Neutrality, but neutrality nonetheless.

Centuries of watching the races come and go, the nations rise and fall, they led to them sequestering themselves over a thousand years ago to avoid "corrupting influences" of other "limited" (read as, "mortal") peoples and their, from the elves' perspective, "momentary" problems.

They despise intrusion or influence from other cultures. Their society has stagnated...simply because they have reached their pinnacle and have, literally, all of the time in the world.

For theology, I have (or rather, what I think is) a diverse/flavorful pantheon. The gods ARE real, but due to the near-destruction of the world by their forebarers, the "king of the gods" has decreed that the current pantheon "keep their distance", working through their representatives (various temples, clerics and paladins) by granting visions and powers (spells) but not "directly" effecting what goes on in the mortal realms...and "manifesting" themselves in mortal is forbidden to all but a few lesser deities.

Naturally, the "evil" gods are not so compliant with this decree...though most are content to send representatives or chosen avatars to conduct their sinister business.

Druidism in my gameworld is, I suppose technically, a "religion"...the most ancient remaining on the world, in fact. But it really is more of a philosophy of communion with nature, as there is no druidic "god"...they join/commune/grow with the energies of the world itself. Druids are viewed as "heathens" is not outright "blasphemers" (depending on the established religion) by temples of the gods.

Hence, there are sometimes certain....differences...of philosophy and points of view with priests of "the nature goddess of Men" (the actual goddess of nature and weather in the pantheon) as well as significant differences/troubles arousing from those deities that handle domains at odds with maintaining "the Balance" of the natural world...things like "Law" or "Civilization" or the over-culling of resources.

But yeah, great topic and interesting responses thus far. I look forward to seeing much more.

--Steel Dragons

 

[steeldragons]

PS: Nice job on those dwarves, RC. Great stuff!

I must spread some around, blah, blah, blah.