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Old 07-17-2019, 04:28 PM   #11
khorboth
 
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Denver, CO
Default Re: Curious Local Customs

Young women wear a scarf to signal they are available for dating. Young men wear one to signal they are taken.

Due to ancient wisdom about ill words sticking in the mouth, any serious conversation is followed by spitting.

In a farming village, men take care of large animals like cattle and pigs while women take care of small animals like goats and chickens. Everybody just seems to know where the line is between "large" and "small"

On this space station, all resources must be reclaimed. The room with the recycling chamber is usually used for food waste, but can be well decorated for funerals. After the body is processed, the total nutrient counts are displayed and then talked about as if the deceased's virtue were somehow related to the amount of water and phosphate given back to the station. NOBODY mentions that one month later a new lottery will be held for who is now permitted to have a baby.

Everybody in town seems to have a necklace of teeth. Human teeth! Children's teeth! Turns out, this is what they do with baby teeth once they fall out. They believe that one should be cremated with one's ENTIRE body, so they keep their original teeth with them always.

Beets are an important part of every meal. EVERY MEAL! Some people strongly believe that you will get sick and die if you skip a few. Stewed beets, dried beets, beet juice... so many beets.
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Old 07-18-2019, 12:20 AM   #12
RyanW
 
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Location: Southeast NC
Default Re: Curious Local Customs

The town used to select it's leaders based on physical contests, but now elects them. The contests are now reduced to ceremonial demonstrations, with the elected leader always allowed to win.
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Old 07-18-2019, 12:43 AM   #13
David Johnston2
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by khorboth View Post
Young women wear a scarf to signal they are available for dating. Young men wear one to signal they are taken..
Which of course means it's the same scarf.
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Old 07-18-2019, 01:13 AM   #14
vicky_molokh
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Default Re: Curious Local Customs

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Originally Posted by Michele View Post
Lack of visible emotion when this would seem socially appropriate is regarded as symptomatic of mental illness requiring medical intervention.
Sounds rather close to our world, where not displaying emotions will turn you into a regular target of nagging and questioning of illness by your acquaintances at best and assumed guilty in court at worst.
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Old 07-18-2019, 02:21 AM   #15
Michele
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Udine, Italy
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Originally Posted by vicky_molokh View Post
Sounds rather close to our world, where not displaying emotions will turn you into a regular target of nagging and questioning of illness by your acquaintances at best and assumed guilty in court at worst.
Well, still no mandatory medical treatment, though.
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Old 07-18-2019, 09:31 AM   #16
lwcamp
 
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Location: The plutonium rich regions of Washington State
Default Re: Curious Local Customs

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No shaving or cutting, ever.
My (very limited) understanding is that this is already part of the Sikh religion. At least for hair; I'm not sure what they believe about cutting finger- and toe-nails.

Luke
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Old 07-18-2019, 12:21 PM   #17
jason taylor
 
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Location: Portland, Oregon
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My (very limited) understanding is that this is already part of the Sikh religion. At least for hair; I'm not sure what they believe about cutting finger- and toe-nails.

Luke
I may have studied it more (just because I was interested, not because I am such a great scholar) though I probably have a fairly limited understanding too. I found only one or two sources besides the wiki. I have never heard about nails and I am pretty sure they have no nail rituals. Besides hair can be toptied whereas long nails are awfully inconvenient in battle (unless you are in grappling range where they are taught to use their bracelets as knuckledusters anyway). It is hard to imagine anyone except a courtier having a nail ritual.
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Old 07-18-2019, 12:25 PM   #18
jason taylor
 
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Location: Portland, Oregon
Default Re: Curious Local Customs

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Originally Posted by Michele View Post
Well, still no mandatory medical treatment, though.
How about no cosmetic medical treatment? Or perhaps no cosmetics whatsoever. The effect of course will probably be a Laconian ostentation which is a kind of cosmetic of it's own, but it is an interesting idea.
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Old 07-18-2019, 12:42 PM   #19
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The town used to select it's leaders based on physical contests, but now elects them. The contests are now reduced to ceremonial demonstrations, with the elected leader always allowed to win.
I'm down for this! Instead of having a "Baron" or "Mayor" of the town it's the "Almighty Strongest" or "Hulk" of Harronhall. Character's get told constantly that they'll have to bring their concerns to The Hulk up in that huge manor on the hill, that only "The Strongest" may decide that. And they make their way all the way up to the huge doors of the manner only to discover that the "Hulk" is a mild mannered guy who only weighs about 120 lbs. Through discussing problems with The Hulk the finally reach a point where he cannot capitulate and he apologetically explains that that contention will have to be resolved in the village's judicial ring and he actually wrestles one of the characters to resolve the problem, and he's actually pretty good because the wrestling ring is actually part of how he got his position.

Last edited by Black Leviathan; 07-18-2019 at 01:18 PM.
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Old 07-18-2019, 01:17 PM   #20
Black Leviathan
 
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Default Re: Curious Local Customs

Players encounter two men outside of a village fighting over a woman, both claim to be her husband and want the other to leave the home. The men are both married to her, the town traditionally allows plural marriages for women only and the practice is commonplace in the village. The two men are just part of a large harem of an influential woman in the village who has sent them out to settle their differences because she has a headache from their bickering.
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