Here are some questions specifically for your character's community! They can be applied to a whole zone, a town, a neighborhood, or any other area! Whether it's their homeland or where they are now, hopefully this will allow for some further world building!
🌄 - Where do your character's people live? Describe the geography. Is it a large city, middle of nowhere, or somewhere in between?
🐾 - What kinds of animals and plants live there? Do the locals grow/care for any specifically? Are any considered more important or sacred? What animals do they have as pets? Mounts? Food sources?
🏺- How do they express themselves? What art forms are practiced (painting, sculpture, pottery, textiles, etc)? What is often depicted? Do they have any special meaning?
🎵 - Does the community enjoy music? What genre(s)? What instruments do they play? Do they sing a lot? What ranges do they play? What do they sing about? Do they dance along? If so, what styles do implore? Does song and dance play an important part in society? Why or why not?
🍽' - What kind of cuisine do they eat? What spices are used? A little or a lot? Do they favour a specific palette (spicy, sweet, savory, etc)? What are some common ingredients?
🍵 - What do they drink? Do they have clean water (and where from)? Do they have milk (if so, from where)? Do they coffee and/or tea? If so, what varieties? What alcoholic beverages are enjoyed?
🌈 - What are their view on sexuality? Gender? Other races? Varying socioeconomic classes? What biases does the group have?
💈- Describe the local fashion. What materials are used? Are they made in the area or imported? Are there any common design features? What about hairstyles?
🧸 - What are their views on children? Are they mini adults or their own thing? What toys do they have? What games do they place? What responsibilities do they have in their families and communities, if any? Is childhood treasured or an obstacle to adulthood?
🧩 - Is the community educated? If so, how? What do they study? Is it academically inclined, are the trades more important, or is there a different focus all together? Is there one system or choices for their educational path? Is education widely accessible or is it only for a select few? Who teaches the students? How long are students in school?
💮 - Does the community follow the common religion of their people? If so, are there any variants in their beliefs? If not, what do they believe and how did these beliefs come to be? Where do they worship? What is considered sacred? Are there any religious ceremonies or traditions?
🔮 - Does the community believe in spirits? Are they benevolent, mischievous, malevolent, or some combination? Do they try to communicate with them? Are they omnipresent or do you have to summon them? Do they use fortune telling? If so, what methods do they use? Can anyone connect to the spirits or is it only a few people?
🖖 - What symbols are prevalent in their society? (colors, shapes, hand gestures, icons of heroes/leaders/stories, etc)
⛄ - Are there activities you can only do at a certain time (because of climate, belief, celebration, etc)? If so, what are they? Are they only for children or adults? Or does the whole community get involved?
🎉 - What holidays do they celebrate? Are there any specific to their area? If so, describe them! What traditions do they have for important holidays? Do they celebrate birthdays? What holidays are more religious and which are secular?
🥏 - What sports are played? Are they communal or competitive? How serious do they get? Are there any stakes in their games and, if so, what are there? Do they place with or against other communities?
🎣 - How does the community support itself? Do they have farmers? What do they grow? If they eat meat, do they have ranchers, fishermen, hunters, etc? How do they get their income and other resources?
🗣 - What language(s) do the people speak? Do they read and write and, if so, how much? Do they have an accent? If so, describe it. How's their tone, pitch, speed, annunciation, etc?
👋 - How do they name their children? Are names given after birth or later on? Do they hold any special meaning, such as being after ancestors or ideals? What are some common names for the community? Do surnames pass on from parent to child? Or are names earned? Do names -first or surname- commonly change over time?
📖 - What stories do they tell? Who are their folk heroes and infamous legends? Their monsters and boogeymen? What fairy tales and campfire stories are popular? Do they have common morals or messages?
❤ - What are their views on love? Are there any traditions when it comes to courtship? How long do couples see each other before getting together? Is there a ceremony to unite them? If so, how are romantic/sexual relationships recognized?
👩🦳 - How much importance does the community put on the family? How large do families get? How many children is considered socially acceptable or normal? Do they take care of their elders? How do they see extended family? Do they keep close to them or is close family more important? What are their views on adoption? Is it common?
☠ - How does the community think about death? What do they believe happened afterwards? How do they lay the deceased to rest? Is there a service for it? If so, what traditions are there? Is it a time for morning, a celebration of life, acknowledging the next life, or something else? How is grief expressed/acknowledged? What happens to the body?
⚖- What are some common philosophies? Why do they think they're here? What's their purpose? Are they optimistic about the world? The future? What makes life worth living to them?
💡- Do they have scholars? What do they study? The arts, history, science, etc? Do they specialize in certain fields (i.e. medicine, chemistry, economics, etc) or are they generalized?
⏳- Does the community care about their history? If so, how do they handle it? Do people study their heritage, and if so, who? How is it passed on to the next generation? Do they focus on their ancestors, historical events, their environment, etc...?
🌱 - What is their history? Has the community always been in that area or is there prescience more recent? Who are some important historical figures for them? What events are they proud of and what do they try to forget/downplay?
🧭 - What does your character's community care about most? What are their values and morals? Do they practice what they preach?
🧘♂️ - What does the community do in their spare time? Do leisurely activities vary between groups (children v. elders, rich v. poor, etc)? If so, how do they differ?
💰 - How does currency circulate within the community? Which goods and services are easy to find locally and which are difficult? Who do they trade with? What are their main imports and exports? Is their economy doing well? By whose standards?
🛁 - How do they treat bathing? Is it a communal activity (like Roman bathhouses) or a private affair? Are scents important to their cleanliness or is it simply a matter of washing the dirt off?
💊 - What diseases are common? When do they spread most frequently? How do they treat illness? How about injury? Who are the healers and medics of the community? How are they viewed?
👤- Who does the community look to in times of trouble and of peace? Politicians? Religious leaders? High ranking militants? Are there any figure heads? What power do they have?
💢 - Is local power held communally, over a select few, or by one person? What kind of political system do they have?
🤚 - What laws do they have locally? How well enforced are they? Who enforces them? What are sort of punishment are there for breaking them?
🌁 - How is the area's land handled? Is it well developed, as undeveloped as possible, or some middle ground? Can land be privately owned or is it all communal? If the former, how do they settle land disputes? What public spaces are there? What do people do there?
🏛 - What does their architecture look? Do they favor aesthetics or functionality? Are there varying styles for different groups or public buildings? Is there anything that sets them apart regionally?
⚔ - Who are the communities' enemies? Who are their allies? Are they at war or peace more often? What weapons are commonly used? How are their combatants trained? What do they wield? How do view their military? Other communities and their militia?
🗨 - How is their community seen from the outside? What are they known for? Is their reputation respectable? Are they shunned? Is the area on the map?
🌐 - Freebie! What's a headcannon you have for your character's community?
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