Clothing by Culture in My Homebrew Setting

In a roleplaying game, you can use practically any detail to meaningfully characterize your world. I've delved into a great many dimensions of my homebrew setting on this site--thirty-two different looks at ways life is lived and what the places are really like. My thirty-third entry will be about clothing. I've overlooked clothing for a long time for a variety of reasons. But the time has come to face this everyday detail, and I'm quite eager to describe how the citizens of Evanoch dress. 

One big benefit of knowing about the clothing in your world is that you can use it for characterization. If you have a world where two cultural groups are at odds with one another, and member of one group chooses to dress like the other group, that's an interesting detail. You wouldn't be able to describe it (or maybe even think to include that detail) unless you'd considered clothing in the first place. So, in the interest of being able to describe our worlds with the richest detail we can, let's consider clothing. 

Daltoners: 

Daltoners tend to wear the clothing of their forebears back on the island of Dalton. This means dark fabrics of medium-to-heavy thickness, often with ornamental elements. Despite the decorative nature of Daltoner clothing, it is considered extremely disrespectful to remove any item of clothing in public (with the exception of tipping one's hat). Daltoner clothing is typically worn for extended periods of time, so the cleanliness of one's clothes can indicate their wealth. 

Daltoners of a middle class family. 

Women - Among Daltoners, women tend to dress in highly ornamental fashion, with outfits that can get in the way of practical tasks such as cleaning or cooking. Long skirts and especially long dresses are the fashion, and corsets are in style for those who can afford them. The complexity of design elements such as borders and shapes or patterns is a reflection of status; the more complicated the design, the more status. Thus, richer Daltoner women wear bolder colors, more complex patterns, and additional ornamental clothing such as large hats, while poorer Daltoner women dress in solid muted colors with simpler bonnets. Popular colors in women's clothing include crimson, navy blue, dark grey, and black. Popular patterns include the catchstitch, the blanket stitch, and backstitch (all practical stitches used to secure the heavier fabrics that Daltoners use).  

Men - Daltoner men dress in slightly more practical garb, though only by a modest amount--they still find themselves slightly hampered in everyday tasks by their clothing from time to time. Tight breeches and a combination of layers of shirts, vests, and coats are popular; it is generally held that the more layers a man wears on his torso, the higher class he is. Male clothes are almost exclusively made in solid colors without patterns; the ornateness of this clothing is created with the number and style of buttons, details like collars and cravats, and stitched family emblems on the chest (though these are created with thread almost matching the fabric in order to minimize the design in most cases). Popular colors in men's clothing includes crimson, dark green, black, and burnt orange. 

Accessories - For Daltoners, accessories are an important way to distinguish one's personal style. This is a delicate thing, as individualism in Daltoner society is complicated; the effect on personal style is that the accessories must complement but not distract from the more shared elements of style. For women and men, hats are considered almost mandatory--the hat, like other details discussed above, is an indicator of class. Taller hats signify more wealth, so the poorest Daltoners tend to wear simple caps and even simply head scarves. Jewelry is the other notable expression of personal style. Gold is the most prized precious metal for Daltoners, so practically all Daltoner jewelry is made of gold. Designs are simple--plain chains and studs for most, and even the wealthy don't elevate their designs beyond simple shapes; the most complex design really allowed by Daltoners is a silhouette of their deity, Pelor. 

Faninites: 

Faninites, like Daltoners, dress in something of the typical fashion of their ancestors on the island of Fanin. However, the climate of Fanin is much colder than the climate of Evanoch, so the typically padded or fur-covered clothing of the small northern island clothing of Fanin has become the more light and airy Evanine variant. Faninite clothing is extremely practical and bears little to no ornamental additions. Faninites tend to wear earthy colors in reverence of nature with an especial taste for warmer or green colors. Faninites typically change clothes daily, and not doing so is usually treated as an indication that someone is struggling in life. Faninites almost universally make their own clothing. 

Faninites in various dress.  

Women - Because Faninite fashion is so practical, their women's fashion tends to center on simple dresses which can be made by almost anyone--long, flowing pieces which do not cling to the wearer's figure. Skirts are generally made only by skilled seamstresses, and then only for special occasions; dresses are considered more practical and respectful of tradition. More talented seamstresses also tend to add shawls of similar color during colder months. Because Faninites work as communities to ensure that everyone is taken care of, there is little disparity in wealth in Faninite communities, and clothing does not reflect status (only sewing skill). It is considered narcissistic to add decorations to one's clothing, and no patterns or special designs are used by Faninite seamstresses. Faninites believe that the colors chosen for one's clothing are a public statement of disposition; bolder colors reflect more daring personalities, while more muted tones reflect a more reflective and reserved personality. Popular colors in women's clothing include light and dark green, medium and dark brown, medium and dark red, and a variety of darker yellows and oranges. Because clothes are made by the person wearing them, there are no real trends or patterns in garment-making across all Faninites, but it is typical for a more skilled seamstress to teach similar sewing methods to most people in a community.   

Men - Faninite men tend to dress about as simply as the women. Gender roles in Faninite society dictate that anyone can take on any role in society, so there is no real division in clothing based on specialized labor. Faninite men dress in simple breeches, usually with cloth wrappings around the lower legs, a habit long-passed down whose origin has been forgotten. They wear tunics of simple cut which usually hang down to the mid-to-upper thigh. This clothing, also hand-stitched by the man wearing it, tends to be loose-fitting and without adornment, although skilled tailors might create a more elaborate torso covered with a belted coat--this, however, is usually the extent of additional design. In general, the quality of Faninite men's clothes is how well the garment fits--some believe the cloth wrappings on the lower legs might have been a way to make the britches seem more fitted. Popular colors in men's clothing includes dark and light green, all shades of brown, medium red, and dark blue-grey. 

Accessories - Most Faninites never become attached to the idea of developing a personal style; the focus on the practicality of clothes prevents people from attaching much personal meaning to it (apart from the pride of knowing one has taken care of oneself). As a result, only a small portion of Faninites wear non-functional hats or any manner of jewelry. However, these Faninites do exist, and they tend to keep these additions to their wardrobe simple. Most existing jewelry is actually made of wood, stone, and leather; only the most ostentatious Faninites actually obtain metallic jewelry. The main accessory deployed by the Faninites is the belt--it is not used to hold up clothes, but rather to make them appear more fitted. Belt-making is a skill that is highly prized in Faninite culture, and a large proportion of the community is proficient in the art. Many of Evanoch's population speculate that one can easily tell the difference between the humans of the land; Daltoners' and Faninites' styles of dress are different enough that any human dressing like their culture dictates can be identified genetically. 

Dwarves: 

The dwarves of Evanoch have drastically different clothing between women and men. Dwarven women are relegated to the home and have clothing that is largely androgynous; dwarven men tend to wear at least partial suits of armor in day-to-day life. Dwarven clothing tends to be made of medium-weight fabrics which are known for their durability. The clothing of the dwarves is functional but also prone to ornamental additions. Dwarves dress in darker colors with simple patterns. They tend to change clothes every few days, viewing it as impractical to clean clothes regularly. Though there is social prestige associated with crafting one's own armor, creating one's own clothing carries no consequence, and tailors and armorers alike do great business among dwarves. 

Typical dwarven outfits. 

Women - Dwarven women tend to dress somewhat androgynously, wearing long, flowing tunics and tabards representing their clans; these tunics end in something similar to a skirt, but not quite in the same style. Women tend to wear lightly armored boots. Class and clan are important factors in dwarven society, and representing those elements of one's identity are similarly important. As a result, women often wear the same combinations of colors (those in their clan insignia most often) across most outfits, which divides dwarves along clan lines. Adding embellishments to one's clothing is accepted, but the dwarven value of deference to high status means that one cannot dress less ornately than those below them, nor more ornately than those above them. Popular colors in women's clothing include dark blue, bright red, medium green, and a range of natural colors like various browns. This is again influenced by clan identity--this can also include distinctive colors like bright yellows, oranges, and white. 

Men - Dwarven men wear armor in everyday life, which means that the fashionability of clothing carries over to armor designs. It is extremely common for dwarven men to own and primarily wear suits of armor with the clan insignia of their family on it. Further, because dwarves are expected to change clothing every few days, it is also expected that dwarves own multiple suits of armor. Dwarven men generally wear a cuirass and helm (in addition to carrying shields and weaponry) in everyday life; during times of actual conflict, they also don greaves and heavy boots, but in day-to-day life, they forego the lower armor in favor or lighter boots and bare legs for greater mobility. The most distinct detail in a male dwarf's clothing is the shape of his helmet. Helm styles are usually influenced by clan, but dwarves who are rising through social ranks are known to commission increasingly ornate and creative shapes for their helms. This leads to an observable pattern among dwarven men: the more simple and common their helmet, the lower class they are, while a truly unique helmet signals someone of great social prestige. Popular colors in men's clothing includes dark brown, dark grey, and burgundy; armors tend to focus on the more reddish-brown metals, especially copper, but also including darker brasses and bronzes. (Copper is the metal most prized by dwarves culturally.) 

Accessories - Dwarves express less a personal style and more a clan allegiance with their clothing, but this is not necessarily true of wealthy dwarves. Dwarves who attain personal acclaim are known to develop more idiosyncratic styles of dress, and dwarves tend to assume something important is afoot when more than a few distinctly-dressed dwarves are about. Thus, there is more individual style among the rich than with the rest of society. This is not to say that accessories are uncommon--most dwarves own several pieces of jewelry and other decorative pieces. With their skill in smithing, dwarves create some of the most prized jewelry in any culture, and female and male dwarves alike usually wear some kind of necklace or bracelet. One piece of jewelry that is basically distinct to the dwarves is the "interlocking amulet," a specially-crafted amulet bearing the clan insignia of the dwarf who commissions it. This amulet hangs to the top of the cuirass of the dwarf wearing it, and it physically connects and anchors to the cuirass to display the insignia more prominently. In recent years, wealthier dwarven women have begun commissioning carefully-fitted cuirasses with matching interlocking amulets. This trend has concerned some more traditional dwarves, but has been wildly popular and has led to a rise in female dwarves wearing armor in everyday life. 

Orcs: 

Orcs dress almost identically regardless of gender. Both wear various forms of robes in lightweight but durable fabrics. The clothing of the orcs is functional in production, but it does display certain nuances that other groups often don't recognize because of the similar composition. Orcs tend to dress in lighter colors, largely because lighter-colored fabrics reflect more light and heat--the orcish island of Grob is known for high temperatures and lots of harsh sunlight. The only patterns found in orcish clothing are the way that pieces of fabric are worn on the body. Orcs change clothes daily, though this sometimes means wearing the same pieces of cloth in a different layout. Certain clothing designs are reserved for orcs of particular positions in society--orcish wise women, for instance, wear their robes with a decorative knot at the waist, and this style is more or less only socially accepted for legitimate wise women. 

A collection of orcish clothing styles, though orcish clothes range more in color. 

Women - Orcish women tend to differentiate themselves from orcish men via their style of clothing. Female orcs usually wear more layers of clothing than men do--a typical orcish woman's wardrobe consists of several similar piece of fabric with different textures and stitching patterns. For instance, an orcish woman might wear a light cloth around her torso and upper legs, covered by another light cloth wrapped around the waist, with yet another light cloth draped around the shoulders. Each of these cloths have different visual textures, which creates an overall effect of varying appearance despite the similarity of the cloths themselves. Orcish women sometimes wear simple sandals, but most orcs go barefoot. It is considered improper for an orcish woman's robes to reach the ground, and the visibility of her feet are used as a measure of this. As mentioned, there are certain groups which have designated styles, but unless an orc is a religious or military figure, style is largely open to the individual's taste. Female orcs tend to distinguish their personal style with the ornateness of the tying of one's clothing. When embellishments are added to an outfit, it is either through a similar wrapping of cloth around the head or hair, and natural jewelry (using wooden beads and pieces of crude glass) sometimes adorns the head or neck; elaborate collars are common among respected orcs. Popular colors in women's clothing include pale brown, pale grey, light green, and white. Notably, wise women are allowed (and often expected) to wear darker colors, most especially black. As a result, orcish women dressed in black tend to have automatic respect afforded to them. 

Men - Orcish men generally dress in a way that is similar enough to orcish women's style of robes that most outsiders defer to the orc's physical body to determine gender. Male orcs tend to have slightly more differentiated fashion along the lines of societal roles. While both orcish men and orcish women are allowed to pursue lives in the military, only orcish men use their dress to establish that identity publicly. The trend basically goes such that the less an orcish man wears, the more high and impressive his rank in the army. This has its limits, though--even the most elevated soldier is expected to cover their waist and upper legs in some manner of cloth. Most male orcs, though, adopt the more androgynous approach, and mainly distinguish themselves from female orcs with a simple method of connecting their more spare robes. The detail that most distinguishes individual orcs is actually not clothing at all, but hairstyle: various methods of cutting, braiding, and shaving hair had led to very distinct orcish hairstyles among orcish men (orcish women tend to wear similarly neck-length hair adorned by jewelry rather than styling the hair itself). Popular colors in men's clothing includes pale brown, pale grey, and light green, and white. While both men and women can attain high military ranks, male orcs who aspire to martial greatness sometimes adopt bright reds, blues, and yellows to set themselves apart on the battlefield. 

Accessories - Orcish personal style is something that is highly celebrated. While orcish culturally view themselves as parts of a greater whole, they also prize expressions of what makes orcish communities different. As noted above, styles of tying robes is a major point of individuality, but the greatest distinction comes in how an orc's style changes from day to day. Some orcs wear the same types of outfit by habit, while others experiment with more diverse styling. Orcish fashion actually prizes the ability to recycle a garment in many ways over having a diverse array of actual clothing. Jewelry is a major addition to his: orcish women and men use jewelry in quite distinct ways. While orcish women adorn their heads and hair, orcish men tend to wear bracelets and rings more often. And notably, jewelry is something that is never bought or sold in orcish society: it must be a handmade gift from one orc to another. This means that jewelry is prized less for appearance and more for sentimental value. The most common element of orcish jewelry is bone--the bone of a relative or enemy is perhaps the most sought-after component in orcish jewelry. 

Elves: 

Elven women and men dress very similarly--mostly in robes which are distinguished by ornamental garment. Their robes are lightweight and delicate, often utilizing silks and satins. The clothing of the elves is not truly meant for hardy use, and unless an elf is employed in hard labor, these robes are the expected wardrobe of any other elf. Elves dress in a wide variety of colors and patterns which are chosen in a handful of different ways. The patterns of elven clothing are among the most ornate of any group. Elves change clothes several times a day, usually depending on either activity or at noon and sundown. Clothing among elves is considered a highly personal and meaningful expression of self, and very few generalizations about their clothing styles are possible. 

Elven styles: conservative styles on the left, more decorative styles on the right. 

Elven women dress in a style almost indistinguishable from elven men--there has never been a meaningful divide between male and female styles in elven clothing. All elves wear lightweight robes; some add a flowing shirt or a skirt to their robes, while others layer a few robes. Accessories are common in further characterizing an elf's style [more below]. The colors and patterns an elf chooses are even more important in developing this style. Darker colors are used to communicate contemplativeness, seriousness, and interiority (traits of the night), while lighter colors indicate energy, curiosity, and outgoingness (traits of the day). There are further distinctions about individual colors, and certain palettes carry their own associations: natural hues mean an elf in touch with nature, blues and purples indicating a hopeful or romantic elf, and warm colors showing the pursuit of a major goal. Elven men and women often wear simple sandals, but a great many choose to go barefoot, and it is an unspoken rule in elven society to never wear shoes inside. 

Women - When it comes to elven women in particular, or at least elves who choose to present as female (there is a substantial amount of presenting as another gender in elven communities), there are a few indicators of presented gender. While all elves use at least some makeup on their faces, some female elves will elevate the composition of their makeup beyond accentuating and towards exaggerating their features. Another characterizing feature is the carrying of delicate fans, mirrors, and other props to add more personal style to their appearance. A final appearance marker labeled female among elves is the use of complementary colors; using these opposite hues is generally considered too bold a choice by elves with their subdued taste, but the boldness translates into a greater visual effect. Popular colors in among elven women include bright orange, pale pink, teal, and black and white paired. 

Men - Elven men (and elves who present as men) follow the same general conventions described above, but with a few distinctions that men often take to distinguish their fashion. Elven men tend to fit their clothes more tightly to the body, requiring greater work from tailors and seamstresses. These fitted robes culturally signify masculinity, but their appearance to other cultures is similar to female styles in other groups; therefore, elves striving to look as masculine as possible are usually perceived to be female by non-elves. Additions to the shoulder area of male garments has become popular in the last few centuries, and these cloth pieces are shaped after traditional elven pauldrons. And elven men also distinguish their clothing by having relatively simpler patterns. Where female-presenting elves might sport elaborate plant patterns or spiraling designs, male-presenting elves tend toward patterns like stripes and plaid. Popular colors among male elves includes dark blue, black, red, and gold. 

Accessories - Elves celebrate personal styles, and it is considered odd to not carefully cultivate a rich collection of garments and accessories. A great factor in this is the multiple changes of clothes a day that elves perform--there are more plentiful opportunities to display one's style when one wears three to ten outfits in a day. As mentioned above, accessories are a tool in distinguishing personal style, but also gender presentation--women tend to opt for delicate items such as fans, mirrors, books, or even small animals, the goal being to illustrate that they are capable of caring for a vulnerable thing, while men opt for items associated with specific tasks in order to project their interest and skill in something, such as by carrying an apothecary's pouch, an astronomer's spyglass, a gardener's trowel, or a tanner's knife. To outsiders, this distinction seems a reflection of gender roles, but in fact, they are more aesthetic choices than straightforward communication. Jewelry among all elves is common, particularly that which is displayed in the hair or used to pin clothing. Elven jewelry is widely diverse, but the dominant style for nearly a millennium features plant and animal designs made out of surreal colors, such as a rose with each petal a different vibrant color. The elven industry for jewelry rivals the dwarves', and their competing styles have inspired most of Evanoch's modern jewelry world. 

Half-elves: 

Half-elven fashion is a creation that combines various parts of their Faninite and elven ancestors' styles. The simple design of tunics and breeches is preserved from the Faninites, and a more ornamental flair of the elves is added to create an entirely new style unique to the half-elves. Or at least, originally pioneered by the half-elves--this style of clothing has become the dominant fashion in Evanoch since its development over a thousand years ago. Travelers across Evanoch and many who were raised in multicultural settlements have also adopted the half-elven style, and it is now often described as a distinctly Evanine fashion. Like their Faninite forebears, half-elves do dress in a somewhat gendered way, but skirts are common in male fashion, so this often defining feature is obscured. Half-elven clothing features a wide array of fabric types (most garments are made of the medium weight, durable cloth of the Faninites along with accessories made of the silky and satiny fabrics of the elves) and colors (an emphasis on natural tones from the Faninites and a wide array of accent colors from the elves). Half-elves experiment with a variety of patterns, adopting many of the elves' more common ones. It is worth noting that half-elves do not retain the Faninite custom of making one's own clothing, but many half-elves do repair and alter their own clothes at least. Half-elves change their clothing daily or more often, usually depending on how they were raised. 

A variety of half-elven styles. 

Women - Half-elven clothes for women tend to revolve around ornate dresses. Typically, these dresses have conservative neck lines, but this fashion is in the midst of changing. Also typically, these dresses are very long, sometimes to the point that they need to be lifted and carried--this is especially true of wealthier wearers of half-elven fashion. Another vital component of this style is a headpiece of some sort. In most half-elven styles, a woman's hair is entirely hidden or woven into an ornate hat or tiara. As is apparent from these details, half-elven women's fashion is geared toward projecting an image of prosperity. A result of the abundance of this fashion across Evanoch is that class has become less visible from clothing since the population has more widely adopted this style, which is true for both women and men. While colors are used in expression in half-elven fashion like in the elves', women's fashion is the domain for brighter colors not found in nature. Reds and pinks are extremely popular in women's fashion, as is purple, yellow, and light blue. When a woman wearing half-elven fashion wears more natural colors, it is considered a statement of opting out of fashion at large. Women tend to wear either flats or slippers in the half-elven style, though these shoes are seldom seen beneath the long dresses and skirts.  

Men - Half-elven clothes for men range from elevations of the simpler Faninite garments (simple tunics and breeches paired with skirts, capes, and hats) to more ornate elven-inspired designs (including long, billowing robes and elaborately patterned suits). Breeches are common whether the wearer has on a robe or skirt as well, and these are typically of a thin fabric. The tunic or robe element of male outfits is usually thicker, mostly medium-weight fabrics. Men tend to wear basic leather shoes or slippers. The most common iteration is this is a half-elven original--essentially a slipper made of thin leather. This type of shoe is widely available nearly anywhere in Evanoch. Half-elven men tend to create outfits that follow a general pattern: breeches + tunic/robe + one accessory. Skirts are a common accessory, as are capes and hats--these additions to outfits fit the same general premise of elven prop-carrying in that they are meant to characterize an outfit and the wearer. Skirts signify grace, capes denote mystery, and hats suggest status. Among men in the half-elven style, natural colors are the norm, though it is also accepted to choose dark blues, dark greens, and reddish oranges. 

Accessories - Half-elven fashion is more or less designed to be customized into a personal style. With the simplicity of the Faninite style and the detail of the elven style, practically anything is possible while still remaining within the half-elven paradigm. Accessories are a large part of this, and both hats and jewelry play a large part. For women, hats range from humble bonnets and wimples to grand tiaras; for men, hats range from the simple cap to the elaborate headdress. While half-elves are not known for creating jewelry in the physical sense, many of the leading jewelers in Evanoch work with half-elven artists who create the designs for the jewelers. Many elements of elven style are present here--a focus on depictions of plants and animals, but with an added focus on celestial bodies. A well-known design depicting a crescent moon with stars tracing the outline of the rest of the moon has been duplicated by a great many jewelers in recent years. Jewelry in the half-elven tradition utilizes a variety of forms--necklaces and bracelets are the most common, but accessories such as hair clips and sash pins are also notable. 

Gnomes: 

Gnomish fashion is a product of the gnomish focus on invention and innovation. Gnomes have created new materials, most notably denim and polyester, and have utilized leather in new ways, notably using it for accessories rather than as the main component in a garment. Gnomish fashions change often, but certain elements of each new wave of clothing get kept in an overall gnomish style. Gnomish clothing tends to use a variety of colors, including those which natural dyes cannot create. This has led to one of the most noticeable traits of gnomish clothing: its bright colors. Gnomish experimentation with pigments has led to a huge advancement in dyeing technology, and particularly elven clothiers have become dependent on gnomish color experiments. Beyond the color of one's clothes, gnomes are primarily interested in functionality, and most gnomish clothing is among the most practical available anywhere. Gnomes change clothes roughly every day or two, but mishaps in an experiment can often lead a gnome to change outfits a few times in a day. 

Gnomish fashion (minus the gadgets they would certainly have). 

Women - Gnomish women's clothes bear a bit of a resemblance to Daltoner clothes in terms of style, but are distinct when one pays attention to the details in cut. While Daltoners' women's clothing is extremely conservative, gnomish clothing is more free with cut, leading to exposed legs and arms. Fabrics tend to be cut to create ruffles and blooming sleeves, which lead some who are unfamiliar with gnomes to think that they are simply shaped like their fashion suggests. A typical gnomish women's outfit is composed of a blouse and a skirt; the blouse is paired with a vest or shawl. Belts are commonly used to accentuate the gnome's figure, always worn on the outside of the clothes; some gnomish women add belts around individual legs, the arms, or the torso for visual flair. Gnomish women, like the men, wear boots which rise at least to the top of the calf and often to the knee. An outfit typically consists of three colors: a bright color + white/grey/black + a natural color. The more vibrant or uncommon the bright color is, the more fashionable the outfit as a whole is considered to be.   

Men - Gnomish men's clothing tends to be regarded as almost too futuristic for most Evanines. Typically, a gnomish man wears denim pants, sometimes called jeans; these jeans are designed with as many pockets as can reasonably fit and be useful. Jeans are held up by functional belts using loops around the waist. Simple tunics are central to an average outfit--the tunic is tucked into the jeans and covered with some manner of light coat, which is also given as many pockets as it practical. The jackets are generally free of design, though a new trend has emerged in which a customized design is inscribed in the back of the jacket. These jackets are sometimes cloth and sometimes leather, depending on climate or season. Gnomes are responsible for the creation of the duster, which hangs nearly to the ground. Like gnomish women, men wear boots, typically of leather and in a plain color. Jeans are generally tucked into boots in gnomish custom. Details like sashes and capes are common for gnomes, particularly if they are interested in public life. When gnomish men dress, they tend to pick a variety of natural colors paired with a bright color as accent. 

Accessories - Accessories are more important to gnomes than the outfits they adorn. While an outfit is a way to display one's sense of style, which is important, an accessory is more personal and customizable. The gnomish way of thinking basically says that a colorful sash is interesting, but not nearly as interesting as a cracked pair of blast goggles. Indeed, gnomes tend to display their profession or interests via accessories. Because so many gnomes are avid inventors, things like goggles, devices, and spare parts are commonly seen attached to a gnome's outfit or hanging from one of the gnome's many pockets. Gnomes do create jewelry, but not in the same style that other groups do. Rather than using precious metals or natural items to create their jewelry gnomes are partial to turning seemingly random objects into works of art. One gnome might own a necklace with their child's first lost tooth, a bracelet with a tadpole submerged in a glass ball, and an earring (gnomes invented the practice of ear-piercing) made from a brick from their childhood home, for instance. Because gnomish jewelry is so idiosyncratic to gnomes, there is little market outside of other gnomes for this work, but because jewelry is so prized by gnomes, there remains meaningful demand. Gnomes have proved willing to experiment with types of jewelry more than any other group, not only creating the ear piercing, but also the nose and septum piercing. 

Halflings: 

Halfling fashion appears to outsiders to be largely ornamental; the long, flowing robes in bright colors seem at first to be highly decorative. But the reality is that halfling fashion is as practical as it is ornamental. In the strange rainforests of the halfling homelands, there are venomous plants and animals which can kill someone with as little as a touch. As a result, halflings always dress with everything but their faces and hands covered--among halflings who regularly brave the rainforests, gloves and sometimes even masks are common. In everyday life, halflings maintain their body-covering garments just in case a dangerous creature makes its way into a settlement. Similarly, the humid climate and warm temperatures of the rainforests mean that only lightweight clothing can be truly livable; as a result, the robes of the halflings are made of the thinnest fabrics that will still grant protection. Halfling fashion tends to use bright colors which only the gnomes have been able to duplicate through artificial means--halflings have access to a wide range of plants which can produce exotic dyes. The availability of dyes and halfling culture dictate that the most popular colors in halfling clothing are a range of blues, yellows, reds, and greens. Creating purely white garments is difficult without chemicals, which halflings abhor, and black is only available by mixing pigments and chemicals, so these tones do not really exist in halfling fashion. Clothing for female and male halflings is totally identical. Outfits are composed of robes, shawls, head wraps, and simple cloth shoes with leather soles. Halflings change clothes whenever circumstances dictate it (when dirty, when meeting someone, or when venturing far from home), but not on any set schedule. On average, this works out to about once a day, but without any defining pattern based on time. 

Traditional halfling garments for both men and women. 

Women - As stated above, female and male clothing among halflings is totally identical. In fact, deviation from this common appearance tends to communicate that a halfling is a dissident of some sort. A rising tide of halflings in younger generations are choosing to add distinguishing characteristics to define the wearer's gender, but these signals are so subtle that only halflings tend to notice them. When a halfling woman wishes to assert her gender, she tends to add a scarf to her outfit, often tied around the waist or from shoulder to opposite side. In this newer style, a traditional headwrap that resembles a large cap is worn to add to the style (though neither the scarves nor the head wraps are exclusively associated with female halflings). The only association of colors with women's clothing for halflings is that blue-greens (derived from a flower that grows around the halfling capital) are associated with women in pregnancy, but again, this trend has notable exceptions in the form of pregnant women who do not wear blue-green and men and non-pregnant women who do wear blue-green.    

Men - Halfling men follow the same general patterns as halfling women, and there is in fact a cultural force at play which leads many men to emulate the style of women. This detail is the fact that halfling children are reared entirely by women--when a halfling woman gives birth, if there is a man in her life, he is demanded by halfling society to leave the woman to raise the child alone. This comes from a belief that fathers are generally toxic forces in children's lives and is largely a protective measure. Resultingly, women possess a social prestige that is denied to men, and some men attempt to tap into the power of female status through clothing and appearance. Essentially no halfling men wear facial hair, and some halfling men have even adopted the scarf and head wrap style of dissident women. Almost as many halfling men try to assert their masculinity in their own dissident fashion, commonly making their clothes as loose-fitting and bland in terms of color as possible. These men also wear leather garments, which is usually taboo in halfling culture; aside from leather soles on their shoes, halflings consider leather to be a material that should be harvested as little as possible out of respect to animals. Nevertheless, halfling tanners are the most respected, in part because so few halfling leatherworks exist. The most common leather garment for halfling men is a decorative piece such as a sash or purse. 

Accessories - Accessories are present in halfling fashion, but they tend to think of these pieces more as emotionally meaningful displays of individual identity than as elements of clothing. Apart from basic additions like scarves and sashes, handmade jewelry is a major element of this part of halfling fashion. Like in the gnomes' jewelry, sentimental value is a key feature of halfling jewelry; halflings tend to preserve items like childhood toys, notes from parents and friends, and now-broken tools that were once vital to the halfling's survival. As a result, it is not uncommon to see halflings wearing a bracelet made from the clothing of a doll, a pendant with a friend's signature inside, or a head wrap pin made from an old fowler's snare. There are no real rules about what makes an accessory female or male; jewelry is simply considered an expression of self without connection to the fashion of other halflings. Halflings do not expect other groups to understand or appreciate their jewelry and accessories, just as they know that they are generally misunderstood by other groups. The halfling's cultural value of extreme individuality is expressed here, and the cultural value for cooperation is seen in the common clothing shared by all halflings. Notably, halflings do not describe each other by clothing (in part because they dress similarly and in part because of cultural appreciation for meaningful difference rather than superficial)--instead, they use the accessories someone is wearing to identify them, as no two halflings would wear genuinely similar accessories. Outside of halfling culture, there is essentially no value placed on halfling fashion or accessories, but only a few halflings convert to other groups' clothing styles when they leave their homeland. 

There you have it: a detailed guide to the fashion styles of each culture in my homebrew setting. I'm so glad that I decided to write this--not only did I get to think about clothing styles more than I normally get to, but now I can more clearly picture what's going on in my world. To think that I couldn't accurately imagine what my characters have been dressed like is just wild. Knowing that my dwarves have a clearly-defined warrior aesthetic while my orcs dress like ancient Egyptians really changes my own view of my world--people in Evanoch claim that orcs are the warlike culture, and yet this profile (and many of the others I've done) reveal that the orcs are less bloodthirsty than their dwarven and Daltoner neighbors. I love discovering these details, and I never would have had the opportunity if I hadn't set out to write about my world's clothing. It just goes to show you: putting time and energy into your worldbuilding always yields some return. 

That's all for now. Coming soon: how to figure out your style as a GM, lessons from 15 years of my GM notebooks, and why I originally wanted to become a GM. Until next time, happy gaming!

How to Connect to Your Characters

Most of what I discuss here on this site revolves around how to be a successful Dungeon Master, but I also think that playing the game is an important thing to address. A while back, I wrote about how to go about creating a player character, which serves as a guide for developing the base ideas that help create the foundation of a character. But that's not the end of the process. Once you have the basics of your character, there is still more work to be done if you want to get everything possible out of your gaming experience. With that in mind, the following is a guide on connecting with your characters. 

In order to illustrate the steps I suggest for connecting with your character, I'm going to use my most recent character, who also happens to be the character I have developed the most (and also the one I feel most attached to). So to start, let's talk about the foundation I created before taking this step--connecting with the character. 

Many years ago, I developed an idea for a character who was a Charisma-based rogue: a con artist with a stubborn streak and the skills to back it up. It was a long time before I had the right campaign to put her in, so I spent a lot of that time imagining who she was and what she was like. Eventually, I had solidified this character into a young woman who had fallen in with a gang but chafed under the unequal weight she pulled compared to her colleagues. My character sheet's space for backstory included this as well as the detail that she had left the gang amid turbulence in order to start over on her own. I liked this idea and thought it was pretty complete even though I hadn't taken all of the steps I suggest in the article linked above. 

I was wrong. 

As soon as we started playing, I realized a few things about my character. 1: Without a more detailed backstory, I had little conception of what motivated my character--Asp, named for the snake whose bite is so pleasurable that the serpents were once used as a form of "humane" execution--beyond greed and ego. 2: Asp's independent streak made it hard for her to work with the party in the campaign; in an early session, she bothered everyone else in the group by pulling a quick con for essentially no reason. 3: An extension of this was that our mission was a good-aligned one, and Asp's independence and Neutral alignment complicated this. And finally, 4: I wasn't getting the experience I had created Asp for--getting to con people; our main quest involves diplomacy, but diplomacy among elves who don't trust halflings like Asp. All of these issues meant I needed to readjust. I needed to connect with Asp (and quickly) or risk messing up the campaign for everyone. (This is part of collaborative storytelling: you need to compromise with the rest of the group.)

So I set about connecting with Asp. The first thing I did, and the first thing I think most any player should do with a new character, is imagine what they look like. If you're artistic and want to draw them, you absolutely should. But many of us are not artistically inclined, nor do we have disposable income to pay an artist to draw our characters. Fortunately, there are ways around this. I personally recommend the site Hero Forge, where you can design custom miniatures and potentially pay for them to be manufactured. I used the miniature-making software to create distinct appearances for Asp--each of the personas she uses while running cons. You can see each of these images on this short profile on her. Because I developed such an attachment to Asp over the course of trying to connect with her, I ended up buying a mini for each of her personas (it's really cool to see all her identities side by side on my gaming bookcase), but even just having images to share with your party is the most important thing. In fact, after I shared my images of Asp's identities with my group, our DM requested that everyone do the same for their characters. It's helpful for having a picture in your mind and sharing that with your group. 

But it's not just about having an image. Designing every detail of your character's appearance gives you time and space to consider who they really are. One such example: the Hero Forge system gives you the ability to add various items to spots on the character's body--for instance, what will you character place at their sides or on their back? You can place weapons and other items in those places. The value of this is that you are essentially being asked, "What kinds of things would this character find useful/regularly important?" This helped me imagine how she portrays her various identities: her reporter character carries writing tools and hides her hair in a cap; her diplomat character wears fancy jewelry to appear more upper class and highlights her long hair; her inventor character has practical tools and tied-up hair that makes her look male. I had imagined the personas before along the lines of what role they served (each persona has different benefits and drawbacks), but I hadn't really thought about how she would differentiate these appearances to keep from being caught. Making these character portraits allowed me to really get into the practical reality of her life in a way that I hadn't considered until I put thought into it. You never know what you'll learn about your character when you add details to them, and appearances are no different. 

I treat appearances as the first step because it's usually one of the more basic parts of a character. Having a good, accurate image of your character is a great start. But it won't give you everything you need to really connect with your character. For that, you'll need to get into their head. I'm going to address two ways of going about this--they're more complementary than interchangeable, but you should do whatever will work for you. These two methods are writing about your character and imagining hypothetical scenarios for your character. Writing is more intensive and requires patience, but it gives you more tangible and helpful results; imagining hypotheticals is easier and less intense, and it helps you stay on top of your character as they continue to develop. I recommend beginning with writing (you need a solid understanding to get started in the game) and staying fresh by imagining hypotheticals. Here's why:

Writing is labor-intensive and can be intimidating to a lot of people. But here's the thing: it doesn't have to be good. It's really just for you (unless you want to share it like I do). Try to forget any anxiety you have about writing. If you have that anxiety, it's probably because the circumstances in which you've written before were forced and about something you didn't care about. (I say this as an English teacher.) This won't be like that. Here's my challenge to you: write one short story about your character. It doesn't have to be good. But it will allow you this huge benefit: session one won't be about figuring out who your character really is--it will be about sinking into the world, the campaign, and the group. That's a huge advantage. 

Before I address how you can start writing about your character, I want to show how writing about Asp helped me solve all four of the problems I mentioned above. Problem 1: I didn't know what motivated Asp. After writing about her, I had an incredibly clear picture of what motivates her. I wouldn't have known it until writing about her, but her stubbornness comes from a combination of insecurity and having to live completely on her own for a long time. This in turn allowed me to play up the wavering between recklessly bold and anxiously insecure moments, and it also helped me understand how she would fit in with a group. I discovered as I wrote that her old gang were people she also struggled to fit in with at first, and that helped me to figure out how to connect to the party. 

Problem 2: Asp was too independent to work well in a group. After I had written about her, it became clear that she actually was very good at working in a group, but only when she understood the expectations of the group. In her old gang, she became one of the most beloved parts of the outfit after some initial growing pains. She also struggled with the leader of the gang--she didn't always listen to the consensus, but learned to over time. This helped me to make her more inclined to work with the party. After the moment where she pulled a con unnecessarily, she apologized for disrupting and upsetting the group and vowed to not act criminally as long as they were together. In the party, she was cast as group leader, meaning that she suddenly had a new perspective on working as a team. These ideas allowed me to help Asp become a key element of the party rather than repeating her previous mistakes (which wouldn't have really existed had I not written about her). 

Problem 3: Asp was true Neutral in a good-aligned campaign. This was a really key problem to fix. Our mission in the campaign is to defuse a mounting war between the elves and orcs of my DM's homebrew setting is an important action which requires constant and pure motivation to do the right thing, no matter the cost. Given the character backstory I initially imagined, this would give Asp little incentive to participate in the main quest. Her independence and amorality were not good fits for the story. So I adjusted. As you know if you read the above-linked profile on Asp, I ended up writing two novels' worth of material about her life leading up to the campaign. At the beginning of the novel that leads into the campaign, Asp really is a true Neutral person whose only interest is herself and her (few) loved ones. But as she worked with the gang, she began to learn to appreciate and trust people. She had a meaningful romantic relationship. She began to enjoy the warmth of positive interactions and began to feel guided to do good things. After some very rocky times at the end of the novel, she gets to the land of the elves and orcs and quickly gets cast as a diplomatic savior of the orcs. She went back to the independence and amorality for a while on her own, but getting placed in the group quickly strengthened all her desire to be a better person. She is now the most outspoken force for goodness in the group and has even become a Cleric of Light. This wasn't the goal I had in mind when I developed Asp, but both my imagining of her life and the campaign itself demanded that she become more good-hearted. And beyond the mechanical necessities of her being less amoral, it's also been a lovely experience as a player to watch my broken little liar become someone who primarily cares about the wellbeing of those around her. 

Problem 4: I wasn't getting to con people like I wanted. This was difficult for me at first. I had so badly wanted to use the D&D system to run various cons on NPCs--I've always been fascinated by con artists, and I brought my desire to portray one to the early sessions. After the first job she pulled with the group, she recognized the offense to the party and promised to not do it anymore. But I still had the itch to see her pulling the wool over peoples' eyes. So in writing about her, I scratched that itch. The novels and short stories I've written about Asp are largely developments of relationships she's had with NPCs (a much more important detail than many players recognize since those relationships inform the ones formed in-game) or about her pulling off incredible cons. In one such story, she plays both parts of a two-person con in order to prove a point. This was so much fun to write, which is its own reward, but I also got to get the con artist stuff out of my system. The campaign we're in clearly has no room for a self-interested criminal, so I cut the cons from the game. I wrote about them instead, and now my imagined version of Asp is rich with a history of diverse and exciting cons. This is a problem I really couldn't have solved without writing about her. 

So writing helps us in a variety of ways--but how do you start? With Asp, I started with a conflict. I knew that she had broken off relations with her family and that her stubborn streak meant she'd probably be slow to join a gang like her backstory called for. So I made one conflict lead to the other: her mother sold her out to the guards, and she had to run to a gang that could help me stay safe. So I wrote a short story (only about three pages) that depicted her clashing with her mom, pulling a con, getting sold out, and meeting the head of the gang. That might sound a little crazy--covering all of that in just a few pages means lots of action in a small space. But it's really all you have to do to get great results. From that short story, I learned so many things about her. 

One such discovery was that Asp was a lot more vulnerable than I thought. I envisioned her as being someone who was very closed off in general, but writing about her changed that. In that first short story alone (which ended up becoming the first chapter of a novel), I realized that Asp cared deeply about her cat, who she loses in that chapter. She had enough of a tie to her mother that her mother could threaten her safety. As much as she wanted to do everything on her own, she needed a gang to help her start over after getting burned. I very suddenly realized that I had been thinking of her being a con artist as a powerful strength, but it's also a weakness--she's susceptible to all kinds of threats. I wouldn't have figured this out without writing about her, or at least, I wouldn't have figured it out until I'd been playing her for a while, and that's too late to know in my opinion. 

Another discovery was that the cons are actually difficult to write about. In order for things to be exciting, there has to be risk and tension. That means that at least some of her cons have to just barely work in order to be engaging. That meant having to find the sweet spot between being in control of the situation and dealing with realistic dangers. Finding this delicate place between these ideas was difficult at first. The con Asp pulls in the first chapter goes off entirely without a hitch, which I used to establish her skill as a con artist, but I had to add complications to later cons to keep them exciting. And this meant realizing that Asp is something of an adrenaline junkie. In one passage later in the novel, I wrote about the way she thinks about this danger inherent in conning people: she both dreads the uncertainty of it and revels in the thrill of it. She's wary of getting caught, but lying to a person's face and being believed is pure excitement. This revealed a new element of her behavior. Now, when I play Asp, I make her a bit more reckless than I originally imagined her. This makes the game more exciting, obviously, but also serves just who she is as a person. 

The short story is a great way to get your head around the big pictures. Continuing to write is where you get even more out of the situation. When I finished that first story, I was overwhelmed with how much I had learned about Asp. So I kept going. I wanted to know what life was like with her gang. It turned out to be very rocky. But I knew that she would become one of the crew before too long, so I wrote more. Soon, she was beloved in the gang and operating like a real member of a team. I needed this dynamic worked out in my head so I could know how she works with the party. And with all that momentum picked up, I pushed into how she ended up leaving the gang. It ended up being a complete revision of my initial backstory. She ended up not leaving the gang because she thought she was above the rest of the gang, but instead because she was (due to complicated circumstances) forced out of the gang and had to move on. This was--and I can't stress this enough--a vital realization. Knowing that she was coming into the campaign with a feeling of loss changed everything. It informed the decisions she made and the relationships she formed. 

Now, obviously the writing I'm talking about is more work than most folks will put into this process. That's okay. I know that I got fairly carried away with myself--you don't need 1,100 pages of writing to understand your character. In the "creating a character" article I linked above, I suggested writing general notes about character history (I again went overboard with the amount of this writing, but the point still stands). If you are 100% opposed to trying to write short fiction, I recommend the notes method. Good questions to ask yourself include:

• What important and defining events have occurred in the character's life? 
• How did they feel about these experiences? 
• What are common experiences that the character has often? 
• How do they feel when they experience those things? 
• What are things they enjoy doing? 
• Why do they enjoy these things? 
• What kinds of relationships (good and bad) has your character had? 
• How have these relationships affected them? 
• What does your character want? 
• How does your character plan to go about realizing these goals? 

Don't just think about the surface level things or the life-changing events--think about your character's internal world. What they think and feel is just as (if not more) important as the events themselves. Once you have answered these questions, revisit the idea of writing a bit of short fiction. Putting these ideas into an actual scene will undoubtedly show you dimensions you hadn't considered. 

Whatever writing you decide to do, you will have given yourself an advantage in knowing who your character is at the beginning of a campaign. But the campaign continues long after that. To stay on top of your character as they grow and change (or even to just stay in touch with your character), begin to imagine hypothetical scenarios involving your character. Many players do this unconsciously--it's fun to imagine what your character would do in various situations. But it goes beyond fun; you can also learn things about your character. Let's talk about what kinds of situations to think about, and then I'll illustrate some of the benefits using hypotheticals that I have used with Asp. 

A good place to start is by looking ahead in your campaign. What sorts of moments are likely to occur? How do you envision the conflicts ahead happening? What do you want to happen? These situations shouldn't just be considered in a descriptive way--you should try to imagine them as though you're really playing the game and your imagination is the DM. As you imagine the scene, roleplay it like you would a moment in the game--what comes naturally? Pay attention to what you feel about how it's happening. This is actually how I realized that I needed to make Asp stop conning people. I ran one small job in front of the party, and they voiced their displeasure at it. I kept daydreaming about the con element of her character, though. I would try to imagine situations where she could use her skills, but I always felt bad about it because I knew it would rub the group the wrong way. That's where I got the idea to write about her doing those things instead. So it can be a really productive place to begin imagining your character in hypotheticals. 

From there, you can branch out into less campaign-based thinking. Unless you've chosen to play someone with literally no attachments, there will be people in your character's life who evoke strong feelings from them. Family and friends are great for this, as are respected competitors. Try to imagine what your character would say to them if they ran into them. What kinds of feelings would meeting again bring up? Does your character have any new desires or plans after meeting with them? Does anything change about your character's feelings about this person? These are all deep mines of inspiration and discovery. With Asp, so many big ideas have come from imagining scenes like this--not to mention genuine enjoyment. As I wrote more and more about her story, she formed a lot of complicated relationships, especially the one with her partner. I have spent a lot of time thinking about what she would say to her ex if she got to see her again, and it all started with my DM dropping a character from her backstory into the campaign for just a moment. I thought, naturally, that Asp would ask about her ex. Learning where she was now was something I noted but didn't think much of at the time. But later, as I imagined their next meeting, I noticed how much affection Asp still had for her ex. As I kept imagining what she had to say, I began to see that she truly intends to track down her ex and talk things over, and that's put a completely different perspective on how Asp feels in the campaign. Her mindset is now, "I have to do this important and dangerous thing, and then I'm getting out of the game." It's added something tangible for me, and it came from just thinking about Asp talking to people. 

One last recommendation I'll make for hypotheticals is consciously seeking out a particular thing you find interesting, meaningful, or just confusing about your character. This is also especially helpful as a tool when you feel like something isn't working completely at the table; this exercise will help you diagnose the problem. What I mean by thinking about this particular detail of your character is to try to describe what this detail is. It might be something like, "I feel like I'm not expressing my character correctly," or "I really like how my character wants to stand up to people." These are big picture issues that many of us face. So devise a situation that would challenge or stress that detail. For the player who's afraid they're not expressing their character right, imagining a similar scenario to one that challenged them can be a great way to reevaluate what's going on. It also gives you the chance to think about these things in advance and come to the table more familiar with their character. Or for the player whose character is so willing to stand up to people, flip the tables on them: how would the character react if they couldn't stand up to somebody? What do you learn about your character when the strength that defines them is taken away? 

This is actually a scenario I've put Asp through a number of times. At various points in my writing about her, she gets very close to getting caught (and closer still in the book about the earlier years). But part of her character is that she's cool, confident, and in control of any situation she's in. So even in those moments, I didn't really get a sense of who she was when things really went sour. That's about when our DM introduced our main quest: bring an end to the coming war between the elves and the orcs. Our "final boss" (diplomatically speaking, of course) is the High Queen of the Elves, who seems fairly predisposed to war. When Asp first met the Queen, she panicked a little. I was really curious why that was, so I started to imagine her having other conversations with the Queen as well as other situations in which she had dealt with important people. Something I noticed was that she tended to get more anxious the more powerful a person was. I realized as I thought about this that she knows the consequences of getting caught grow exponentially with the status of the person you're conning (and yes, she does kind of view diplomacy as con artistry). So her anxiety was natural, and I didn't necessarily need to change that about my performance with her. But without noticing all of this, I never would have realized that I would need her to get more comfortable with the royals if she intended to succeed in her mission. And that's why I've roleplayed her as getting slowly more comfortable around royalty, which I think reflects that she grows and learns quickly, so increased exposure to dealing with royals is making her less anxious. And being aware of this change--even guiding it--allowed me to really enjoy it as an element of the story. I have easily a dozen more examples of ways that I've used these hypotheticals to explore characters, even before I consciously realized what I was doing (and how it helped me). 

Here's my last word: you read this far because you wanted to be able to connect with your characters. As a lifelong gamer whose first character was made for me and whose second character featured customizations in every possible way, I really do understand the drive to connect to these products of our minds. And if you feel the same way, I want you to know how rich and rewarding it is. It does take time and work, but you're here, seeking it out. I know (again as an English teacher) that not everyone loves to write. But at a certain point, it's worth the work to really familiarize yourself with who they are. 

Oh, and as a bonus suggestion, I suggest writing a journal of the campaign and doing so in the first person as your character's actual thoughts. Not only does it keep you engaged with the character throughout the session, but rereading your notes from the previous session before starting a new one is an excellent way to get back into the right frame of mind. 

That's all for now. Coming soon: clothing by culture in my homebrew setting, how to figure out your style as a GM, and lessons from 15 years of my GM notebooks. Until next time, happy gaming!

A Profile on the Underdark in My Homebrew Setting

One of the most interesting parts of the traditional Dungeons & Dragons lore in terms of setting has been the Underdark. Introduced in an original Gary Gygax module that began in 1978, the Underdark was an immediate sensation, and it became one of the legendary pieces of D&D worldbuilding that remains to this day. [You can read my analysis of that module--Queen of the Spiders--which I wrote while pursuing my Bachelor's degree in English.] But now that the Underdark has been around for so long--45 years at the time of this writing--it has been reinterpreted and reinvented many times. I have my own version of the Underdark, most of which was developed in response to a player to chose to play a Drow, the dark elven residents of the Underdark. I hadn't thought much about the Underdark since the Drow had never really been a part of any of my campaigns up to that point, so I decided to develop something that my player could use as backstory and characterization. The result was a sprawling world underneath the continent I've done so much work to develop. I incorporated the traditional Drow as residents of my Underdark as well as their dwarven counterparts, the Duergar. But I felt that the Underdark would be more interesting with more groups involved, so I also developed Underdark versions of halflings and orcs, both of which stray much farther from their inspirations than the Drow and Duergar do. So, below is a guide to the most important details of life in my homebrew Underdark. 

[Note: Classically speaking, the Underdark has been depicted as having pretty widespread slavery. I have not changed this detail. I've written before about why you might change something like that; in this case, I chose to keep this upsetting detail because I think it serves the identity of the Underdark. If a discussion of fictionalized slavery would not be healthy for you right now, please check out the homepage for hundreds of safer articles.]

Overall:

This map shows the Underdark. If one were to lay a map of Evanoch over this map, they would be able to see that not only is this territory roughly the size and shape of the continent above, but also that the territories of the Underdark are roughly analogous to the territories of the corresponding species above. For example, the dwarven homeland is located in the southeast, at the base of the Kallett Mountains, and the Duergar territory is also in the southeast, directly under the mountains. This generally holds true of all Underdark territory, though the Drow have notably taken territory for their merchant houses beyond the reach of elven lands--this is in part because that territory corresponds to the gnomes above ground, but there are no Underdark counterparts to the gnomes, and so the territory had been contested before Drow control. The highways signified by the map are large, wide paths capable of allowing multiple large wagons to pass through--they only exist between friendly territories. The tunnels are more of military channels; these paths have been dug in order to reach enemy territories and launch assaults, but once one has been constructed, it makes both ends vulnerable to the other. You may notice on the map that all tunnels run from Drow territory to the other lands--this represents the fact that the Drow are generally the most powerful group in the Underdark and are openly hostile to all groups, while the three other groups have uneasy peace with one another, united by a common enemy. No concerted effort to fight the Drow has been able to hold together. Each of the seven territories shown above on the map have at least one passage to the surface of Evanoch, but these doors are closely guarded and rarely used. Because growing traditional crops is impossible in the Underdark, lichens and mushrooms form the bulk of the diets of humanoids and livestock alike--popular livestock includes snakes and bears. Slavery is a common practice among the mostly evil residents of the Underdark, though each culture has its own practices.

The Drow:

The Drow, or dark elves, are from the same stock as elves, and they appear almost identical apart from their nearly black skin and their pale white eyes. The Drow have very light to white hair and have generally stooped stature, which reduces the necessary height of Drow tunnels and homes. They generally wear black clothes and avoid metal accessories to avoid any reflected light.

Drowish society is matriarchal and militaristic; its leaders are the generals who command their various armies. Drow divide themselves by clan or "house," and each individual house sustains an army of its own to contribute to the Drowish society's goal of conquering the Underdark, as well as to fight against rival houses. Conflict is constant in Drowish culture, and war is not only accepted but hoped for as a way of life. The Drow are mostly devoted to the spider goddess Lolth, who is said to lead the generals of the armies. Deviation from Drowish customs is forbidden and results in severe punishment or death.

The values that motivate the Drow are wealth and the obtaining of it no matter the tactic, power and a similar focus on obtaining it despite complications, and service to one's house, though this is complicated by a focus on the individual as an important part of Drowish society. As a result, most Drow pursue their own societal advancement via money and power, and they seek to honor their house through their individual accomplishments. Although the Drow are militaristic, they do prize skill in negotiation--conflict can be costly, and being clever enough to save that money is respected. Intelligence and ambition are valued, both because they are paths to the money and power that matters so much in Drowish society. And aesthetics and hedonism also matter a great deal in Drowish society--most Drow aspire to be surrounded by beauty, especially ornate beauty, and able to enjoy life's pleasures.

Aside from perfect vision in complete darkness, the Drow have a few innate magical abilities which have both factored into their cultural lives. Firstly, Drow can create magical darkness, which greatly aids their abilities in stealth and planning ambushes. They are also able to enter a dream state--many Drow have learned to lucid dream--even while conscious. This practice is utilized in religious ceremonies, and dream interpretation is a major market in Drowish cities. Drow claim that these powers are gifts from Lolth that allow them to serve their goddess better.

Drow keep slaves for a variety of purposes: construction and personal assistance are common occupations for Drowish slaves. Drow have no reservations about taking other Drow as slaves, but the majority of slaves in Drowish territories are of the other species in the Underdark. The Drow are known to be the cruelest keepers of their slaves, commonly branding them whenever they change hands and punishing them with brutality. Between Drow of high status, slaves are traded as currency.

The Duergar: 

The Duergar, or grey dwarves, share ancestry with the dwarves, and they look very much like Evanine dwarves, but they have dark grey skin, white hair, and iris-less eyes. Duergar are generally a bit shorter than dwarves but also stouter; Duergar tunnels tend to be very square, like their bodies. They wear dark colors, especially reds, blues, and greens, and pendants of precious metals and stones are common among those who can afford them. 

Duergar society is very economically-minded and driven by hierarchy. The leaders of Duergar society are the wealthiest, and there is an unspoken but universally understood social hierarchy which Duergar observe. At the top are the rich, followed by religious leaders, followed by community leaders, followed by the common Duergar, followed by slaves. Acting without deference to someone higher in status results in severe punishment, or depending on the trespass, execution. 

The values that motivate the Duergar begin with practicality and tradition. The Duergar believe that their ancestors found the ideal solution to every problem, so the best strategy is to follow proven methods. Most Duergar accept this--those who don't are frequently horrified by what they realize about their society and turn to lives of solitude (a great social sin to Duergar, as working together to serve is another important value. Duergar are also merciless combatants; they admire other Duergar who are especially committed to their bloodlust, and just as respected is an unwillingness to forgive or otherwise show mercy. A cultural value that has tended to unite Duergar over time is an emphasis on enduring despite difficulty--the Duergar have historically been second in prominence to the Drow, who have a stronger hold on key areas of the Underdark. The Duergar prize simple, utilitarian craftsmanship over ornate designs, and even religious tokens are created to appear without much adornment. 

Duergar have abilities that have both allowed them to better protect themselves and also factored into their religious beliefs. The Duergar deity, Nordaim, was killed in a battle with Lolth many millenia ago--the Duergar consequently have something of a martyr complex, part of which gives rise to the enduring through tragedy value. It is said that Duergar obtained their innate powers when Nordaim died, a final gift to his children. Duergar are completely immune to both poison (granting them safety from the poison-toting Drow) and mind control effects (protecting them from the mental abilities of the Deeplings and Gant). They also have basic psionic abilities which allow them to manifest and control some elemental energies to create effects like moving lights, echolocation-like sounds, and vibrations in the surrounding stone, all of which are highly helpful in navigation the treacherous Underdark. 

Duergar are the most notorious slavekeepers of the Underdark, and legend say that they are the originators of the practice. Duergar slaves are kept for labor purposes and for trade, but unlike other groups, the Duergar place people into slavery as a punishment. Sometimes, dissident Duergar are placed in slavery for a set time period, usually a few years, as enforcement of social order, but more serious offenses lead to life sentences. Rather than branding their slaves as the Drow do, the Duergar tattoo identification, which many claim is more humane, but the slaves argue that an unkind tattooer is not that much of an improvement. 

Deeplings:

Deeplings, or rockfolk, are related to Evanoch's halflings. These small creatures stand on four legs and have thick, natural armor plating covering their bodies. They are hairless creatures with eyes which are not readily visible. Deeplings tend to dig erratically, and their tunnels curve and bend without perfectly flat surfaces, though this is no impediment to the agile Deeplings. They do not wear clothing of any sort, but some etch geometric patterns into the surfaces of their dark brown armor plating. 

Deepling society is very abstract--they each have a clearly-defined role in society which is assigned at adulthood, and basically all Deeplings dutifully follow this role without question. At the bottom, though this is observed without any dishonor (since serving the whole of Deepling society is highly prized), are service people, followed by common soldiers, and military leaders at the top of society. Though unknown to Underdark citizens, the leaders of Deepling armies are actually religious leaders--clerics and priests--whose religious paraphernalia has always been mistaken for military regalia. These military leaders use their magic to heal wounded soldiers and lead with empowering spells behind them. 

The values that motivate Deeplings are generally those which make them better organized; teamwork and being able to cooperate with one another to accomplish a goal is a major point of pride in Deepling society. In particular, using one's physical body in pursuit of a goal along with other Deeplings is considered highly valued--Deeplings often combine into larger forms in combination with other Deeplings. The value of destruction makes Deeplings deeply invested in destroying existing structure where it exists, especially through fighting the other denizens of the Underdark. Notably, if a Deepling is able to destroy themselves in an act that benefits other Deeplings, this is considered an especially noble act. Dominance over others is prized in Deepling culture, as is physical size--despite the smallness of Deeplings compared to other races, size among other Deeplings is part of the social hierarchy. Interestingly to most who live in the Underdark is that the Deeplings value cleanliness; Deeplings who neglect obsessive hygiene routines are viewed as degenerate. 

Deeplings as a species are quite distinct from the other denizens of the Underdark. As far as outside observers are concerned, Deeplings are essentially feral. The reality is that Deeplings have a complex system of communication that involves telepathy, and the content and nuance of Deepling communication is lost on outside observers. Nevertheless, the destructive Deepling with their undying ferocity and armor plating have great potential for doing damage, and even one Deepling can stymy a small group of Underdark troops. Deeplings reside in the deepest and darkest of caverns in the Underdark, and they have complete and perfect darkvision, allowing them comfortable movement in even the most treacherous reaches of the subterranean world. They are, however, not able to comfortably exist during daylight on the surface because of the brightness of the light. 

Slavery does exist in Deepling culture, but they do not keep slaves themselves; rather, they exclusively use slaves as part of trade with other groups in the Underdark. Deeplings have little interest in working with non-Deeplings in any meaningful capacity, but the trade of slaves captured in combat and raw materials pulled from Deepling territory allows them to obtain substantial food reserves and other necessities. For the Deeplings, slavery is a result of war, and neither a punishment nor an appropriate use of life; they only engage in trade in order to profit. 

The Gant: 

The Gant, or High Orcs, are related to Evanoch's orcs. These tall, thick-limbed creatures have pale skin and dark, curly hair which covers their entire bodies. One of the first things that people observe on sighting a Gant is its long neck, which is articulated throughout its length; in conversation, the Gant tend to move their necks rather constantly, which is disconcerting at first. The Gant build tunnels with are taller than they are wide, very much like the dimensions of a standard human door. These tunnels are notable for their perfect smoothness and levelness. The Gant wear robes, and most Gant choose fabrics which are slightly reflective--the more light that one's garments casts in the low light of the Gant's caverns, the more social standing that individual is likely to have. Especially prized are mid- to dark-colored fabrics, especially blue-green and dark green. 

Gant society is very open and free for the most part. Like most of the societies on the surface of Evanoch, the Gant have a market economy and a system of employment that allows for choice of profession. Culturally, the Gant's values lead them to prize inventors highly, as inventors' advances are what allow the Gant to live comfortably in the dangerous world of the Underdark. There is little sense of a social hierarchy beyond the elevation of inventors, but where hierarchy does exist, it places intellectual pursuits over physical ones, even if it claims complete equality when a purpose is served. 

The Gant value a variety of intellectual traits above all else--namely, these traits are ingenuity, forethought, and creativity. Each of these traits highlights an important aspect of Gant society. Ingenuity is prized as a way to improve life for all living beings as well as something that has allowed the mostly peaceful Gant to survive alongside their warlike neighbors. Forethought is vital in the treacherous world in which the Gant live, and it has allowed them to make due with very little support. Creativity has been the key to reacting to threats from the outside world, and everyday imagination allows for constant improvement of the technology the Gant use so much. They also value certain political goals: social equality, non-violent consolidated power, and isolationism mark Gant society, and all of these values lead to a society which has a high standard of living with relative stability. Despite these values, the Gant look on their neighbors in the Underdark as violent menaces which are little more than threats. The Gant prize competition in the social realm (but not impinging on equality), and Gant creations tend to value function over form. 

Distinguished from other Underdark species by their unique bodies already, the Gant are further made unique by their inborn ability to control basic telekinetic powers. This ability exists in the Gant even as babies, and though there is a small range of strength that these powers can exist in, most every Gant has fairly comparable powers. This aids the Gant in a variety of tasks as well as making them very difficult to take prisoner, as they can control their environment even while bound and gagged. The Gant also have a remarkably high pain threshold. In Gant society, this is viewed as both a blessing and a curse--it does make day-to-day pains much more bearable, but it also means that other Underdark soldiers feel the need to test the Gant threshold of pain in brutal ways. The Gant live mostly in domed communities which protect them from attack and cave-ins; these domes are constructed of transparent but strong panels of fortified glass-alloy. 

The Gant refuse to interface with slavery in any way. They believe that it violates every standard of decency, and it runs completely counter to their value of social equality. When the Gant are gifted slaves or capture opposing soldiers, they either free the slaves or give the soldiers trials. When the Gant are taken as slaves by other societies, they are known as dangerous, as they often use their telepathic abilities to free themselves and other slaves. 

Cetin and The Casting Out:

Nearly three thousand years ago, the species of the Underdark had lived underground on an island continent on the opposite side of the planet. This island continent was called Cetin, and the species of the Underdark there faced a problem. The species that lived above them on the continent were always trying to destroy them. They defended themselves and dreamed of somewhere else they could make a new life of their own. They could not expand any further under Cetin--the surface was too treacherous, and there was nowhere else to go. 

A Gant scientist discovered that, according to her calculations, there had to be a smaller mass of land on the opposite side of the planet. Given her measurements of the celestial bodies, the movement of the planet could only be explained by a modest mass on the other side. And so the Gant began to dig. Before long, the secret of their project got out. Within a century, the Gant's tunnel system was rivaled by those of the Drow, the Duergar, and the Deeplings. It took almost one thousand years of sustained construction, but the tunnels of Cetin's Underdark reached Evanoch. A series of natural caves and caverns was discovered, and soon, each species had its own territory claimed. The map above indicates the positions of the Underdark beneath Evanoch since--it has been a bloody standstill ever since then. 

As time passed, curious residents of the Underdark ventured from the subterranean world to Evanoch's surface. They discovered that the land was plentiful and beautiful, though of course massively different than the world they had come from. Most returned to the Underdark, discontent with the bright and happy life they found there. But some stayed. The Drow took up the darkened forests of the Lathien Islands; the Duergar burrowed into the side of the Kallett Mountains; the Deeplings took refuge in the dense and dim rainforest of the south-central plains; and the Gant, who prized isolation, set up on the rocky island of Grob. They made new homes and began again here on the surface. 

The species began to adapt up to the surface. The Drow became pale and grew to revere the mind-boggling natural world around them. Their superiority grew into a more reserved haughtiness. They began to record their new history in place of the old one, and the long-lived elves' story became the most trusted version of events. The Duergar had a rift: its more progressively-minded went north to the forests, using their inventiveness to forge a brand-new way of life. They organized and built the megacity of Vestry, the home of the gnomes. Meanwhile, the more traditional Duergar moved south and mined into the base of the Kalletts. Their time-honored techniques were forged, and the dwarves were soon seen as always a part of the mountains. The Deeplings found that life in the rainforest was more an individual's game than a team game, and the Deepling penchant for organized began to erode. Before long, independent-minded halflings had learned to coexist with the environment rather than trying to dominate it. And the Gant's love of competition spiked so that infighting between clans became more important than innovation; before long, the Gant had become combat-oriented with fearsome bodies to match. The days of the Gant remained underground--the orcs of Evanoch had come to stay. 

By the time recorded history began in Evanoch's remembered history, any mention of the beginnings in the Underdark had either been censored or forgotten. Most cultures had stories about evolving from monstrous beasts--these are the only real echoes of the Underdark progenitors. From the earliest written texts in Evanoch's history, there is belief that the five species of Evanoch had simply always been as they are. A resurgence of tales of the Underdark came in the early 400s, and the historical record reconciles this by inventing a tale about the Underdark known as "The Casting Out." 

The story goes that the five species of Evanoch (elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, and orcs) always lived on the continent, but they did so alongside the species of the Underdark. The creatures of the Underdark were so wicked and ghastly that the species of Evanoch were practically overwhelmed. In a move of solidarity, the species of Evanoch banded together and, in a war that lasted for one hundred years, fought every one of the Underdark species into submission. The species of the Underdark, then, were forced there as a punishment for threatening the surface. 

The reality is of course the opposite in every conceivable way. But even underground, this history has been largely lost or obscured. The species of the Underdark are mostly unaware of these facts; only the most academic types have encountered meaningful discussion of the topic. Interestingly, though, those living in the Underdark of Cetin have records of all of this and even remain in close observation of the Underdark of Evanoch's situation. Most who live in Cetin's Underdark believe that leadership under Cetin has fairly advanced plans for a new journey to Evanoch's Underdark when the time is right for a renewed war effort. 

So there you have it: a fairly detailed guide to the history and reality of the Underdark in my homebrew setting. Obviously, I incorporated the Underdark history into the overall backstory of my setting in a pretty big way with the ancestry idea--that's something you can do with your work. I recently played out a brief text adventure with a friend who I've gamed with for years that covered part of this history, and it got me excited to expand it here. I'm eager now that I've written this for a chance to put the Underdark war angle to use; that would be a pretty sweeping campaign. In any case, it's always good to expand your homebrew setting--you never know what exciting possibilities will pop up. 

That's all for now. Coming soon: how I connect with my characters, clothing by culture in my homebrew setting, and how to figure out your style as a GM. Until next time, happy gaming!