Literature by Culture in My Homebrew Setting

The cultures in your homebrew world are one of the most important things to characterize in a tabletop game. Most every TRPG goes to great lengths to create distinct and interesting races or a similar defining features, and it makes sense to me that each of these somewhat insular communities would have its own distinct culture. That's why I have dedicated several articles to the various expressions of culture in my homebrew setting. I have previously written about my world's cultures in terms of superstitions, naming conventions, common sayings, and architecture. Today, I'm providing a glimpse into my setting's literature--the stories that people tell and the big ideas represented by them. Read on for a more complete picture of literature in my homebrew setting, Evanoch. 

For each racial culture in my homebrew setting, I will include three pieces of literary work: one novel, one poem, and one play. In addition to a cursory overview of the plot of each, I will explain the cultural values represented by the work and the perception of that work outside the culture that created it. 

Daltoners

• Novel: The Holy Dry Sun - This novel by George Henderson is a disaster story, fairly post-apocalyptic by any standards, which traces the fate of the world after the sun dries up from lack of sacrificial blood and ceases to shine. Its main character, a Daltoner explorer named Hector, spends his life tracking down the few remaining living things in the world in order to rekindle the sun through his sacrifices. The novel illustrates the Daltoner fixation on Pelor's supposed demands for blood but also the Daltoner virtue of never giving up, even in the face of impossible odds. Outside of Daltoner culture, the novel is regarded as either a complete joke or a reminder that Daltoners are not to be trusted. 
• Poem: "The Last Frontier" - This epic poem by Madeline Withers is a testament to the belief that Evanoch is truly the dominion of the Daltoners. Written when Evanoch was first discovered (before the first Daltoner ship sailed West to the continent), the poem served as a rallying cry over the last 700 years for Daltoners who believe that Evanoch (or Bondar, as they call it) should be in Daltoner hands. In the poem, a group of explorers and clerics create order in the unknown land, dedicating it to Pelor and the Daltoner empire. This poem displays the unbridled imperialism of Daltoner culture and the belief that Evanoch is their ultimate Manifest Destiny. Outside of Daltoner culture, this poem is regarded as offensive because it ignores the rich history and varied cultures of Evanoch as a whole, as though everyone but Daltoners are neglible. 
• Play: The Locked Room - This fairly recent stage play by Brent Golding is atypical of Daltoner culture, and has become incredibly popular outside of Daltoner society. In the play, one member of each of Evanoch's eight races are in a tavern drinking together and sharing their beliefs; when one tries to leave, they realize that the door is locked. The play is mainly comprised of each of the characters proposing a plan that is in suit with their cultural values. In the end, none of them is able to escape, and the play ends without clearly indicating any of their fates beyond their bond formed by shared struggle. Although more typical of halfling or dwarven culture in these ways, the play does toy with the Daltoner sense of superiority in a way that criticizes Daltoner values. Outside of Daltoner culture, this play is regarded as their best example of literature, and stagings of the play are more common outside of New Dalton than in it. 

Faninites

• Novel: The Forest Makes Home - This novel by Thomas Buckskin is a reimagining of a Faninite folk tale. In the traditional story, the forest's border is constantly moving due to human activities, and the animals within the forest suffer for the changes. In Buckskin's retelling, the forest is anthropomorphized into a parent figure for all the woodland creatures, but the humans cannot understand the forest's words. In the end, a spiritual connection between humans and the forest proves more than enough to overcome the lack of language. This reveals that Faninite preference deeper meaning rather than surface communication. Outside of Faninite culture, this is regarded as one of the most important pro-nature stories told in any culture; it is especially well-respected among elves. 
• Poem: "Annabelle in the Snow" - This poem by Reginald Stanton is a slice-of-life scene of a young girl playing in the snow for the first time. Snow is uncommon most everywhere in Evanoch, but on the home island of Fanin, snowfall is a regular part of the year; the meeting with snow is as much about connection to the Faninite homeland as it is about the simple pleasure of the changing of the seasons. Evanine poets are familiar with the final lines: "And as Annabelle kisses the snow / The warmth of nature she comes to know." The poem's taste for simple pleasures and natural blessings are key to Faninite culture. Outside of Faninite culture, few understand the real meaning of the snow (having not experienced it themselves), but many who appreciate nature are keen to remember this poem. 
• Play: The Meeting of the Woodfolk - This play by Candace Thurman reenacts the first meeting of Faninites and elves nearly 1,500 years ago. In the play, Faninites progress from thinking they have discovered a new land, meeting the elves, and the creation of half-elves in a clean three-act structure. Initially, Faninites are wary of the mysterious elves, but each act ends with a notable act of cooperation between the Faninites and elves. The play thematically celebrates the overall cooperation of races and cultures in Evanoch by using the Faninites and elves as an example. For many, the play symbolizes the Faninite preference for cooperation and assimilation; even the adopting of other cultures' values is not marked as a loss for Faninites. Outside of Faninite culture, this play is regarded as a somewhat simplistic view of Evanine issues which ignores the important detail of the Daltoners. 

Dwarves

• Novel: The Hot Iron - This old novel by Werther Forgestoker depicts the relationship between an expert smith and her apprentice. The expert smith is invested with nearly magical powers by merit of the smithing secrets she knows, and her apprentice is a brash young man impatient to become an expert himself. A maternal relationship develops between the two, and despite their clashes over the pace of his education, they eventually agree to work in business together. In the end, the expert smith dies of old age and passes her business to the apprentice, now an expert in his own right. Where the apprentice initially wants to depart from dwarven style, the expert smith shows him the value of the traditional ways. This novel depicts the strict social structure of dwarven society and the love for tradition, as well as making waves when it was first published for its depiction of a dwarven woman as an expert. Outside of dwarven culture, this novel is respected as one of the great canon of literature, and it is even taught as a historical or sociological text at times. 
• Poem: "Moradin's Hammer" - This relatively new poem by Georgia Hideskinner combines classic descriptions of the dwarven god Moradin with modern poetic conventions, effectively reinventing the divine epic genre (already, dozens of imitators have popped up). In the poem, Moradin awakens after a centuries-long slumber to see what dwarves and the other races have made of the world he went to sleep in. He finds that people have forgotten the old ways he taught them and sets out to remind dwarvenkind of his values. In disguise as an average old man, he visits places which are symbols of dwarven society--political houses, houses of worship, and dwarven gatherings--and is shocked to learn that people barely remember his teachings. This poem presents the dwarven preference for tradition while criticizing the individual and financial interests of modern dwarves. Outside of dwarven culture, much of this poem seems to be old-fashioned and without much to say to non-dwarves, but many poets have borrowed from Hideskinner's style. 
• Play: Candleball at Dusk - This play was written years ago, at the height of candleball's popularity; in the intervening years, candleball and the play have both made a considerable comeback. The play depicts a team of dwarven candleball players who need to win a tournament to raise money to pay for a healer for their town's ailing priest. There are themes from ancient dwarven stories represented--the heroic leader with a heart of gold, the tale of success against the odds, the story of cooperation to achieve a great goal--but also new elements, such as a focus on the people's role in supporting the church when the church cannot support itself. The play displays dwarven sensibility by focusing on how the determination of dwarves makes them more formidable than other races and in the way that strength in candleball is prized over nimbleness. Outside of dwarven culture, there is great support for this play amongst candleball enthusiasts, and local productions of the play often change the main cast of characters to suit the racial makeup of the place it is performed. 

Elves

• Novel: Tesseldin - This novel, whose title translates roughly to "impossible to foresee," was written by Willa Tellarin in the earliest era of recorded history. Considered the most influential novel of all Evanine culture, essentially everyone in Evanoch is at least partially familiar with this story. It depicts an elven cobbler, who at first is dissatisfied with the fact that his living is so humble and that he does not get to have a more varied life life other elves. Over the course of the novel, he has conversations with his customers, learning about their lives and that they, too, are dissatisfied with their lots in life. In the final stretch of the story, he proposes that people switch lives every so often--a plan which is adopted. The novel closes with, "And as he began to shape the leather around the shoe's form, he realized that he had missed the work." This novel is representative of elven culture in that big questions are answered with inventive solutions which help people to appreciate the order of the world. Outside of elven culture, this novel is regarded as practically required reading, and its popularity never wanes too far without a revival taking place. 
• Poem: "A Single Leaf" - This poem by Glienne Zaxis is most known because it invented a new form of poetry in which the first line rhymes with the last, the second line rhymes with the second last, and so on--this structure was meant to make the reader feel an escalating sense of meaning as the poem enters its second half, itself supposed to symbolize how the falling of a single leaf is an action that has two equally important parts. The poem tracks the falling leaf and the thoughts of the leaf as it falls, at first nervous, but reaching acceptance by the end of its flight. This poem represents elven culture by revealing great meaning through the simplicity of nature and by investing elements of nature with their own consciousnesses. Outside of elven culture, the poem is largely regarded as being structurally rather than meaningfully resonant, but Faninites in particular treat the poem as a revelatory experience. 
• Play: Trial by the Gods - This play was written nearly 700 years ago, when the spectre of Daltoner imperialism threatened to stretch across the continent. Although elves typically stood aloof from discussions of the Daltoner threat, playwright Ichibel Willinet took a strong stance and composed this play as a public statement. In the play's story, the Bishop of New Dalton dies in his sleep and awakens in a divine realm, where he is prosecuted by the gods of each race and of nature (as Daltoners were destroying much of the natural world as well). Each deity expounds on the variety of crimes and sins committed by the Daltoners. In the final moments of the play, Pelor himself steps forward to condemn the Pelor-worshipping Daltoners, admonishing them for resorting to a brutal way of life that Evanoch outlawed long before their arrival. This play exhibits the elven propensity for big issues and especially political issues; the voices given to nature gods Obad-Hai and Ehlonna are also indicative of the elven reverence for nature. Outside of elven culture, this play is popular in communities that struggle with Daltoner influence--it is especially popular in the dwarven and gnomish settlements that were ravaged by Daltoner forces in the past. 

Half-Elves

• Novel: The Poison Throne - Probably the best-known work of literature in all of Evanoch, this novel by Rachel Disiel combines elements from practically every culture on the continent. The story follows a half-elf who is promised the power to fix every ill in the land if they accept a bargain with a mysterious faerie. In the end, the faerie is a demon in disguise who tempts the half-elf with the promise of domain over any and everyone. The half-elf is at first excited by the idea of solving problems, but soon realizes the cost is the freedom of everyone in Evanoch. The half-elf renounces all the power they have been granted and finds happiness roaming the world's roads and greeting all manner of people. The novel exemplifies the half-elven taste for the exploration of identity and the meaning of community. Outside of half-elven culture, this novel is held high as an example of fine writing and the Evanine spirit; it is widely taught, and it is common for people to refer to scenes from the novel in everyday conversation. 
• Poem: "Half" - This poem by Roderick Canniel is a meditation on identity in a complex world. The poem frames being half of a race as a problem, but then describes natural things which are also halves (fruit is half food and half seed, a community center is half home and half temple, etc.). In the end, the poem celebrates the idea that being half means having the best qualities of both things involved. The poem explores the difficulty of finding distinct identity in a world that does not see shades of grey, as well as celebrating the joined culture of elves and Faninites, both of which revere nature. Outside of half-elven culture, this poem has a small audience (mostly poets), but it is a standard shared with essentially all half-elves. 
• Play: Dinner at Nerull's - Considered the first mystery to be performed on stage, this play by Filine Branch remains a popular event even hundreds of years after its first performance. In the play, a group of travelers at a small inn talk over dinner, sharing the reasons for their travels. Midway through the play, it is revealed that no one has spoken to the innkeeper, and shortly after that all the doors are locked. The travelers begin to mysteriously die, and the remaining travelers try to determine who is killing the other guests. In the end, the least suspected character--an elderly priest of Fharlanghn--turns out to be a serial killer, but in the years that followed, productions of the play always changed the identity of the killer to keep audiences guessing. The play's inventiveness is a mark of half-elven perspective, and the inclusion of diverse characters is also a tendency in half-elven culture. Outside of half-elven society, the play remains popular, largely for its dramatic appeal rather than its literary merit.  

Halflings

• Novel: The Silver Lock - This novel by Vincent Barrel explores the relationship between a protective father and his rambunctious daughter. It is a coming-of-age tale that switches narration between chapters, alternating between father and daughter. Key to the plot is the daughter's continuous efforts to break into a locked chest in the family house's basement. At the end of the novel, the father passes away from an illness, and with his dying breaths, he discloses the location of the key to the locked chest. Opening it, the daughter finds a large collection of letters from her mother, who her father had claimed was dead, but who actually deserted the family after the daughter's birth. The novel closes with the daughter composing a somber letter to her mother, informing her that her father had passed away. This novel is notable in that it flips traditional gender roles (halfling men desert the family unit, and halfling mothers do the childrearing), but also in that the young halfling daughter is a prototypical halfling child, complete with reckless curiosity. Outside of halfling culture, this novel is fairly widely read, mostly because its dialogue is considered some of the most natural in contemporary writing. 
• Poem: "The Sound" - The only known poem written by songwriter Nina Crest of the band Nina and the Fixers, this piece is more of a manifesto for halfling music than the sensory poem it appears to be at first glance. The poem itself describes a series of seemingly cacophonous sounds that inexplicably form a beautiful melody, which is itself compared to the lilting of speech and thought; the body's heartbeat and footsteps form the rhythm of the song, sometimes regular and sometimes racing. On a more meta-level, the poem explains that halfling music is meant to be different, meant to involve the audience, whose own heartbeats are a part of the song as well. This poem exhibits halfling culture in that it is stubbornly individualistic and willfully resists easy processing; the halfling drive to create unique works is better stated here than anywhere else. Outside of halfling culture, this poem is revered by music enthusiasts, but many find its vexing structure to be a frustration--nevertheless, this poem is at least known of, if not read directly, by most people. 
• Play: The End and the Beginning - This highly experimental play by Josie Clasp inverts the order of the story, beginning at the end of the play, skipping the middle, and ending with the beginning. The story picks up at the end of a person's life (the race of the protagonist is not explicit, so productions choose the actor best suited for the role), showing them to act according to good principles, but also showing them having bad intentions. After half of the play, the jumps back to the beginning and reveals the formative experiences that made the protagonist who they are in old age. This play reveals the halfling willingness to question structure and common perception, especially in its assertion that no moment can be understood without appropriate context. Outside of halfling culture, the play is well-regarded by theater experts, but the difficulty of the play has made it hard for greater success to catch on. It is a favorite amongst theater troupes, and one of the most sought-after roles for actors of all stripes is the lead in this play.  

Gnomes

• Novel: Bozozo the Great - This early novel by Nerderer Kaboom tells the story of a gnome from birth to death. One of the longest novels in Evanine society, it provides lengthy explanations of the development, inventions, and business contacts of the main character. It was initially popular as something of a guidebook to proper living for gnomes, then receded in popularity for a time, and came back into popularity in the last century thanks to the window it opens to historical gnomish society. This novel exhibits the gnomish fascination with inventions and entrepreneurship, and its close attention paid to the protagonist's role in the community is reflective of the way that gnomes view their place in society. Outside of gnomish culture, this book is known but rarely read. Author Kaboom was writing at a time when gnomes strove to be as different as possible from the other races, so it is highly idiosyncratic to gnomish tradition, and as a result, few non-gnomish readers are familiar with the entire lengthy novel. 
• Poem: "The Naming of Gnomes" - This poem by Spinner Broomoom is the first known recording of gnomish naming conventions. Poetry in gnomish culture is generally more dedicated to humor than serious topics, and this poem is no exception. In a long series of rhyming couplets, Broomoom fancifully explains how nicknames are gained and what they symbolize, most of which involve outlandish rhymes. As much as this poem strives for levity, it does hold considerable sentimental value for many gnomes, who do not see their unique naming conventions reflected elsewhere in Evanine culture. In particular, a reader can sense the gnomish struggle to be unique but still accepted in society at large. Outside of gnomish culture, this poem is something of a joke, something that non-gnomes refer to in order to illustrate how bizarre gnomes are, but many young gnomes spend time memorizing the strange rhymes of this poem. 
• Play: The Printing Press - This play by Redred Bonks tells the story of the invention of the first printing press by gnomish inventor Bluella Nabbitton. The play begins with Nabbitton conceiving of the printing press, then moves through the various difficulties of inventing and incorporating the idea, and ends with the building of the first press. Many modern day enactments of this play actually place a rudimentary printing press on stage throughout the entire play, only lighting it in the final scene. Many stagings of the play end by reading a list of the most important works of literature and science that followed the printing press's introduction. The play displays the gnomish reverence of invention and the process of inspiration, as well as the greater good performed by the invention. Outside of gnomish culture, the play remains popular with the learned of Evanoch, and it has gained a steady following via performances at places of higher education. 

Orcs

• Novel: The Bloody Ragnar - This novel by Ruk Nert tells the story of the orc's most famed leader, Grat Riln, and his final battle. The novel picks up in Riln's middle aged years and shows him at his height, then spends most of the rest of the story covering the final weeks before the battle where he died. The final scene of the novel is noted for its dramatic battle scene and the final monologue from Riln. The monologue closes with Riln surrounded by his best warriors and advisers, saying, "I do not pass from this earth. I will be in every action you think of me for. This is will go on. I do not pass from this earth." The novel, especially in its carefully described fight scenes, is a testament to orcish battle prowess, and the relationships between Riln and his people is considered the most authentic presentation of orcish society anywhere. Outside of orcish society, the novel is considered somewhat backwards, as warfare has been frowned upon in Evanoch for centuries; the novel is especially detested in elven society, as the great enemy the orcs face are aggressive elven raiders. 
• Poem: "Curtran" - This ancient poem, composed by Derk Zot, is about the role of the orcish wise woman (curtran). In the poem, divided into five parts, Zot describes in reverent detail the five roles of the wise woman: surrogate parent, spiritual advisor, healer, nature guide, and holder of stories. This poem, traditionally shared via oral tradition, spread from orcish tribe to orcish tribe until it became an essential part of orcish culture and became a guide for wise women across the orcish lands. It remains a key part of orcish identity, and it is credited with advanced the rights of orcish women with its loving depiction of the curtran. It reveals the core components of orcish society and how the wise woman is more essential to orcish society than even the warchief. Outside of orcish society, the poem long held little appeal for its depiction of orcish culture in particular, but women of all races have come to prize the poem for its complex and glowing image of womanhood. 
• Play: The Castle of Grob - This very recent orcish play (a medium seldom employed by orcs) by Wert Prenk is a retelling of history that recasts the orcish people as being more involved in the political happenings of the last few centuries. Scenes in the play depict the other races dealing with issues like the Daltoner incursion and the Treaty for Common Currency (which the orcs were only partially involved in); then an orcish leader enters the scene and adds the orcish perspective to the scenes. Many orcs feel that they are the most ignored and reviled in Evanine society, so adding an orcish perspective to these issues is surprising for orcs and other races alike. In the end of the play, the final scene is a depiction of the modern day, now changed to reflect the orcish perspective that was added to these conversations. The emphatic argument of the play is that orcish values would have improved the current day. The play is a showcase for orcish values like community outreach, reliance on family and clan groups, and willingness to fight for one's beliefs. Outside of orcish soceity, the play has a reputation for being imaginative but not grounded enough for genuine social criticism; nevertheless, orcs have made several substantial advances in Evanine culture since its publication, indicating that Evanines recognize the play's message.  

There you have it: a variety of literature from all the cultures of my homebrew world. To add some detail and reality to the world, we can have NPCs refer to and describe these works in-game. Or these can simply be a way to illustrate the cultures of the homebrew world for my own imagination, which creates a more complex and detailed image of these cultures for when I run my games. You can borrow these or create your own--whatever gives you the best sense of what your world is like. 

That's all for now. Coming soon: rules for commanding and sustaining armies, how to use historical research as inspiration, and how to use Hope and Despair tokens to enrich your storytelling. Until then, happy gaming!

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