(re-upload) Worldbuilding the Culture of a Fantasy Race: Religion, Rituals, and Death

[@ChainGangDude100]

I love the idea of this culture's version of hell being so inextricably linked to the legal system. To followers of Lyosha there is no divine judgement on your individual moral character it's just the law. You can be as despicable a person as possible in life but provided you never break the law; you'll enjoy the same restful afterlife as a morally good person. I don't think you give yourself enough credit for how radically different their worldview would be. This concept raises nothing but more questions about your world; just think of the magnitude of a wrongful conviction and execution! Fantastic world building!

[@maddockemerson4603]

Someone sentenced to a wrongful execution might have a loved one go on a great quest to clear his name, or, failing that, steal his skull to decorate and give restful sleep. Lots of potential.

[@mx.noname4710]

Yeah! Though there is also the part that's more to do with what the person thinks of their life -- happy memories causing good dreams and bad memories causing bad dreams. So it's like a combination of what you think of yourself plus what the legal system thinks of you. I guess they would be really incentivized to keep up their image though -- not all that different from a lot of real-life people. But the difference is that the individual who dies is included in the circle of "people who need to have a good image of you for you to get a good afterlife." Not sure if I'm making any sense :)

[@darthjekyll3648]

Reminds me of the warp from warhammer 40k/fantasy. Good thoughts make good impacts on the warp. Bad ones makes bad inpacts.

[@grimtheghastly8878]

I feel like "headbanger" would be considered an insult or a swear word then, since damage to the skull is such a terrible thing. To call someone or something a headbanger would be to call it so monstrously bad it creates restless spirits

[@s.owl9]

Imagine a horror film about modern time archeologists discovering these catacombs filled with skulls from ancient times and accidentally releasing the spirits of criminals who then roam around killing people.

[@yallaredisgusting287]

Id watch the hell out of that.

[@minxmeat5460]

It'd be twice as cool if they seek vengeance for the disturbance of the Peaceful sleep of the innocent bc disturbing one's rest is such a terrible act

[@darthjekyll3648]

Or worse,khorne from warhammer getting his hands on the souls.

[@Cat-rr3ey]

At the end of your video, I realized you said something that could be a cool idea. You used the words "soul crushing" which would really take on a more nuanced meaning in your fictional culture. You should actually use those words as a metaphor since it would be so good!

[@winstermagic7886]

Yes yes yes

[@jasonitaliano8631]

Crushing/smashing the skulls of your enemies would indicate incredible hatred. And would invoke the ire of the faithful of (Leotia? Hard to spell names you only here). Very immoral to do so, but good fodder for an antagonist or a 'crossing the line' moment for a protagonist right before they go on a redeemation Arc

[@thepeach2428]

@@jasonitaliano8631 it could also be used against criminals. Kinda like how executed criminals had their bodies sold to scientists because it was believed at the time that if the body was mutilated that’s how it would appear in heaven.

[@krankarvolund7771]

@@thepeach2428 If I understood correctly, they believe that the souls can haunt the living if you crush their skulls, so crushing the skull of a criminal would more be like z way to invoke a curse or a calamity somewhere, you literally invoke a violent ghost somewhere.

[@thepeach2428]

@@krankarvolund7771 yeah I realized that when I finished the video lol

[@narwhalethefancy]

3:49 Love the Ask a Mortician (Caitlin Doughty) reference, intentional or not lol.

[@ronecotex]

If they were in a war with a different culture that didn't share their beliefs I bet they cracking skulls or if you a conflict with a rival family

[@uzunaruMelonness]

"Heads on pikes... or a bonfire of corpses... but none are like the deadly basher of heads. The Nautikans greatly hated the Mace." Alto raises her own. "Heh. So many skulls... cracked by my friend."

[@ianfrye6775]

This is so cool! It reminds me of a culture that I created where individuals’ bones are put in a decorated basket, but the amount of effort and detail you’ve put in is really impressive! I can’t wait to see what else you have in the works!

[@erikvale3194]

7:00 I'm now imagining some asshole walking in and smashing the skull of someone they hated, or the skulls of families they hate, intending to cause nightmares. Also, as a twist on how Greeks kept keepsakes from battles (Armor, shields, weapons) to 'donate' them to temples with records of where they were gotten to say 'Look how great we are' (and then later quietly removed/returned if alliances shifted to make foes allies), perhaps some cultures might keep the skulls of your enemies in specific temples. Adds a double of 'If you don't be nice we'll make them experience nightmares' as a sudo-hostage situation. Gosh, that was a bit of a run on, but I felt I needed to include the info in brackets. As a side note, these people would have less of a problem with in the 'modern age' with running out of room in Graveyards. That said, Earthquakes and Loatian Temple collapses would be horrifying.

[@ivello]

great ideas! the integrity of the skull thing was super interesting, but got me wondering : would they try to encase the skulls with some metal or ceramic to stop decay or something like that? personally think it would be very cool

[@gracepierro1796]

A few weeks ago I found one of your videos about world building and I’m so thankful Ever since I was little I’ve loved drawing characters and creating unique stories for them so I ve loved creating my own world and people and your videos really inspire me and help me think of new ideas for it so thanks

[@totoshkokosh2203]

oh, i love this! and all your other worldbuilding ideas. can't wait for your whole world to take shape and then for us to explore it. PS That rant at the end, about having so many ideas but not being able to express them... i feel you....

[@Xivair]

Hey, okay I have an idea for a character, so there some kid and when the fall asleep near a skulk they can enter that person dream. I love the art in you videos.

[@BonaparteBardithion]

Be an interesting exploration of actual spirit medium abilities vs the song and dance often associated with it.

[@Xivair]

@@BonaparteBardithion :)

[@sifilore9462]

The jar 🏺 for criminals when it gets cold 🥶 can b considered as hellice. What is hellice as no one has ever heard of that, in Dante’s Inferno the 9th circle for traitor r frozen in ice and is the darkest of them all. As it is the furthest away from Heaven’s light and warmth.

[@catalinacm8247]

Yoo i loved this idea!! I'm curious about those end of mourning parties. Because i imagine something like a quinceañera, but maybe is more like a going to a club kind of party 🤔😊💗

[@adela-ivygreen8795]

I just love the content you make, take your time 'cause the world you are creating deserve it :3 💕✨ 🏳️‍🌈

[@RocRolWriter]

You mentioned "new skulls replace old, forgotten skulls which are then taken into catacombs under the temple," and my immediate first thought was of a building I'd come up with (I think it was originally a historical archive, but a place where the dead sleep might make more sense; or they could both be built this way). I was just imagining this "tower" that people would build new floors on top of as more texts were written/more bodies needed to be buried, only along with getting taller it's slowly sinking into the ground and burying the oldest texts/people deeper and deeper (maybe the ground was unstable there? Maybe the building was constructed deliberately to dig itself into the ground as more weight was piled on top and stored inside? Maybe there's magic involved? Or maybe it's some combination of all three). If I go the "tower shaped like a drill" route and have the floors get bigger as they go up, but also switch from discs to rings so that there's an empty space in the middle, I can see how eventually you would have a whole city's worth of people living inside the tower and being protected by not only two walls' worth of stone, but also an endless supply of books and/or bodies... 🤔 I hadn't really done anything with this tower, but I certainly could.

[@microphone_styxosaurus7078]

Don't worry about pumping these out! We're here for whenever you upload! And know you're not at all alone when it comes to worldbuilding, writer's block, whatever! Its hard, and we all get it.

[@seanthompson6283]

watching your worldbuilding videos is very gripping and enjoyable. you pay so much attention to detail to the point where it feels like i'm listening to you explain a long lost civilization from thousands of years ago. very talented :D

[@bluebird9290]

AAHHHH THIS IS SO COOL!!! and I really like how you went in depth about the many systems that were created because of the belief. For example the peace treaty to collect skulls and the monks who do it when no one else can

[@Blaueswunder_]

I really begin to love this channel. As someone who is trying to get into worldbuilding himself, it's so fascinating to see how you create your idea of a world not only so carefully detailed, but also in particular aspects of life like clothing or death rituals which I never really thought of. And of course it's so lovely and inspiring to see you talk about this, it's really visible in your eyes how much you love thinking about this.

[@wreok5091]

coming back to this video after a few years and i cannot tell you how much this video has altered my life and passion as a world builder

[@zephner]

Personally I think it would be cool to learn more about Lyosha's sacred people.

[@gustavo3680]

Every time a see your videos you inspire me to return to my worldbuilding, thanks!!

[@vilhelmturunen6069]

a year long mourning time seems really long, what if a family has lots of children and multiple of them die approximately a year apart? im not that familiar with the lifespan of the different races in your world but it just seemed a bit confusing. The religion seems really cool otherwise and i cant wait for you to release more info about your world!

[@BonaparteBardithion]

Similar question if you have multiple relatives in an active army. What if your brother dies several months after your spouse?

[@mariahpattieworldbuilding4062]

I'm thinking it will vary a lot regionally, and probably this is the "ideal", but in actual practice most wouldn't follow it that strictly. Or the mourning period might phase out during the year, like with Victorian "full-mourning" and "half-mourning".

[@darthjekyll3648]

I am a warhammer fanboy and the world you describe sounds alot like a planet lost to time in warhammer 40k and it is very much like one.

[@topazdrake42]

the Death Goddess gives me the vibes of the Mexican day of the dead, I could also see her as being the Goddess of Art

[@hetaliajapan01]

Hey, I was wondering if maybe you could point me in the direction of where you got that chart for making a pantheon? I'd like to check it out for maybe my own world building ambitions, lol

[@winstermagic7886]

yeah! id love that as well

[@mariahpattieworldbuilding4062]

it's just an excel chart, listing the god's names, "god of ____", appearance, symbolism, sacred people, real world inspirations, and whether they are considered a nature god or a societal god. Charts are fine to start out, but I find that when you are just trying to fill in boxes it leads to the *least* creative ideas. So nowadays I hold charts very loosely, and I'll change anything if a better idea presents itself. For example, my sea god originally had Hawaiian inspiration, because if you're midwestern American, Hawaii is probably the first thing you think of when you think "ocean". Then I realized how much coincidental Thai inspiration was going into the Nautikans, so it made much more sense to use Thai inspiration for the sea god as well.

[@Cat-rr3ey]

I'm so excited. Your video just made my day! :)

[@adammcclelland5746]

Another great Nautican redux, Pattie! I can't wait to see what new ideas you'll come up with when you make new world building videos (i.e. fully original content that isn't a remake of your prior videos). As long as that wait may be. Also your blurb on having more ideas without any means to express them really resonates with me as an artist.

[@user-pd5pg9uq7c]

I love the video. The thoughrs and creativity you bring with is astonishing. I thought about two historical similarities. For one: skull shaping. Morphing the head in for example egypt to make it oblong. They used metall rings over the head of children. Two: phillipino culture of making jars to store spirits of ancestors which they use for magic. Ghost urns. Their names would be used as spells and there would be shamans that would talk to the urns. People possesed by a bad spirit would be outcasted. But i cant remember it perfectly. What would be cool to see in your world is necromancy. Perhaps golems made from clay and a skull mask. Like the clay pots of crimminals. You ideas open such cool possibilitier for worldbuilding. Thank you for your video. I wish you good fortune.

[@rogueashes8272]

Oh man, I love the idea of the painted skulls. I'm actually trying to figure out a religion for one of my species right now, but I'm struggling trying to decide if I wanna create dieties for them or do an ancestor worship thing

[@mariahpattieworldbuilding4062]

Particular famous ancestors that were deitized? 🤷‍♀️

[@rogueashes8272]

@@mariahpattieworldbuilding4062 I'm thinking of going with 2 dieties, life and death, because my species is really big on partnerships due to story stuff(if you know anything about DnD, they're similar to the Kalashtar from Ebberon), and then having something like saints or hero worship or something

[@torisstuff263]

I really love your videos and I'd love to see more, but I most definetly know how hard art is and how long it takes. Have you ever thought about maybe collaberating with someone who only does art? Like you send them descriptions/voice memos of your ideas and they scetch them out and after you approve them do a finalized illustraion. I think it would make "video production" a lot faster, but it wouldn't be entirely your thing then... I don't know if you actually enjoy drawing or if it's just a means to an end for you. But if you don't actually enjoy the process and just the end result this might make things easier for you. I'd totally understand though if you don't want someone else art in your videos

[@seandennis6021]

This is AMAZING!!! Perfect! Well-forged! Pulchritudinous!!! ✋🏽🔥❤️🔥🤚🏽

[@Ratchet4647]

This continues to be a very good video! I can't wait to see what future content brings our way!!!!!

[@BlackBackLioness]

I wonder if a year of mourning is really feasible? If multiple people die over the span of several months, their family/friends would be stuck in a constant state of mourning, wouldn't they?

[@maggiewinfrey2164]

I always make 20ish gods then over time narrow it down to 10-13ish because then by making a large sample size I can manipulate and change and prioritize what's important to the society I'm making leading to better fleshed and thought out gods

[@BonaparteBardithion]

There's also the chance that multiple gods will end up being variations on the same one, which is a good option of some of them seem redundant. Similarly, it you have a god with too many unrelated attributes it may be the combination of multiple pre-existing beliefs.

[@EvelynGrace456]

What do they do when the skull starts rotting?

[@HiloHello]

If well taken care of and stored in a cool, dry environment, by the time the skull starts to rot it's more than probable that anyone and everyone who cares will be long, long dead. Hell, they may even have different death ceremonies by that point.

[@EvelynGrace456]

@@HiloHello thank you for explaining

[@houselemuellan8756]

I'd love a book of either the bounty hunter guild, or the spirit hunter guild

[@nannasbraindump6343]

I want to use this for a DND/D&D campain 🤩 I love it.

[@nettemarie8073]

Honestly if this was a real world thing, I would love to be prepared like this. Have my skull painted like this.

[@agatamoreira9861]

Now I want that my "funeral" be like this, but without the 1y of cry my death and just the decoration of my skull with the things that I like during life

[@krankarvolund7771]

The whole idea is awesome, but I think a variant of letting the corpse rot in the dirt for a year would be putting it in a bath of acid to clean it. Or some temples in some societies would have cultures of necrophages insects or something to clean the bodies ritually. I don't know waiting a year to mourn seems very long to me, and exhuming a corpse seems very gross 😁

[@jeangrimoire623]

Restful sleeping afterlife sounds awesome

[@winstermagic7886]

Wasn’t the bit at the end from the original video? I’m just kinda confused because I don’t think anything new was added/changed

[@mariahpattieworldbuilding4062]

in the intro I talked about how I wrote an extended portion, but decided to save it, because it was skimming through topics I'd rather explore in-depth.

[@winstermagic7886]

@@mariahpattieworldbuilding4062 oooooh okay! I was just a little confused haha

[@manuelmanuel3554]

I am from Mexico and I like the homage

[@davidethier4466]

A little off topic, but I gotta ask. Where can I find the chart you mentioned at 11:25 where you can make your own pantheon of gods

[@lenaevergold6622]

Would you include siblings in the circle of inicial grief? I noticed you didn’t mention siblings, was that on purpose? Does this culture stick to having only one child? Also, are the herbs and oils used to decorate the skulls chosen because they have cultural relevance?

[@ronecotex]

I love your art

[@marcusrattray1158]

I wish this was a real religion. Your so freaking creative it's inspiring

[@kyrday246]

6:55 Imagine if that kid grabbed a skull and just threw it across the room

[@House_Pollet]

I love the entire idea for the dead it’s just putting the head of every prisoner in a copper jar individually and then having to seal it that just seems time and resources as well as space intensive I believe a easier why thing to do would be something along the lines of grouping them all together or do a sort of mass skull room of sorts it just doesn’t really make a lot of sense to do so much for one skull also wouldn’t it be worse if you put them in a bigger copper jar but put multiple and making them all suffer together.

[@livsterlove5681]

Do u have a works building Pinterest board? I would love to follow it

[@yallaredisgusting287]

It seams a little odd to me that a bunch of exremely different cultures follow the same general panthion of gods. Im curious, Is there a reason for this?

[@mariahpattieworldbuilding4062]

Yes

[@ФеликсАрефьев]

It is very reasonable in case of olympian-type gods really exist, have their own society and actively interact with mortal races. They ever can be classified as one yet sapient race of the world, just incomparable advanced.

[@zephner]

I think about it in terms of the ancient Greeks, we tend to think of Greece as one big country, but back in the old days it was a regional name, with the cities and kingdoms therein being separate cultures (ie Sparata and Athens may have had the same pantheon, but different deities had more/less prominence and sometimes went by slightly different names). Like how in Sparta Aphrodite had a war aspect that Athens or Creet never gave her.

[@samuelmonroy_05]

I like this concept

[@ariannawills854]

I'd love to do the art for you, granted you'd be okay with me being flexible with Highschool, being a lifeguard part time and my escape of DnD, and whatever my parents need me to do. I'd be willing to do the first 10 drawings free then we could work out a price (like how much per art piece not an hourly rate.) I'd be happy to help! I'm really enjoying your series and I'd love to draw the Nautikans and the Avyans and your Death Goddess. (I can just see her holding a Teddy bear and an ultra soft blanket.)

[@mariahpattieworldbuilding4062]

Hi, thank you for the offer, but it's going to be a very long time before this channel makes enough money to afford hiring artists. However, I have set up a discord, and I've been uploading video scripts ahead of time, so that if artists *want* to make something, they can. If that's something you're interested in checking out, watch for the video going up tomorrow morning. There will be a join link in the description box.

[@ariannawills854]

@@mariahpattieworldbuilding4062 I understand! I'd be happy to help in anyway possible. I can't wait to see more of the world you're creating!

[@averongodoffire8098]

I wonder what exchanges would happen if a different group of people were to enter your world, these people could be different in smaller or bigger ways but one idea I had was that these people could arrive violently and disregard a gravesite, the skulls being abandoned and left uncared for or smashed and destroyed as spite against the native peoples these new comers have grown a grudge against Misinterpretations or disagreements can abound when different people meet at important places and it’s always something I think about

[@gregmakesspeedpaints]

Where do nauticans live? They need a large nutrient rich body of water for families with small children, so would they have a large community hatchery? Maybe since there such a big focus on family in this culture it's more common for houses to be lived in by multiple generations and passed down through the family, if new houses aren't constantly being built, a town could invest in a series of underwater tunnels that lead to a larger more open body of water indoors so parents can care for their children without confining the child to a small space

[@SophieTheAiredale]

Oh wow I’m here early.

[@habituscraeftig]

Oh, wow. This reminded me very strongly of secondary burial practices, in Palestine.

[@rockclanhawkstar1454]

I wonder how these people would see to other groups of people practice trepanning. Making holes in ones skull, either for medical necessity or for cultural reasons. I could see them seeing it as a horrifying and potentially far riskier action, as maybe there soul could fly loose and away from themselves.

[@reasonablehiccups4792]

For the algorithm

[@ФеликсАрефьев]

What about lapses of justice? Can a wrongfully convicted person have some hope for rest in peace? In my mind a story about friends and family of criminal or "criminal" try to take his body from this would be interesting to tell.

[@BonaparteBardithion]

I have a similar question about political criminals. If a revolutionary is executed can they be exhumed once the government changes hands to one they supported? And what about situations where an action is considered a crime where it was committed but not where the accused was from (ex: pirate vs privateer). Is a priest still allowed to collect their skull and return it in this case? Would it come down to which state's priest finds the body first?

[@carginfer2353]

If you don't have a discord maybe you could make one and we could offer fanart?

[@mariahpattieworldbuilding4062]

It’s up now. The invite link is under the Avian vid

[@carginfer2353]

@@mariahpattieworldbuilding4062 thank you! I missed it somehow

[@parmesan3638]

Oh what if the goddess of death mourns every person who dies so she’s always following the mourning rules?

[@mariahpattieworldbuilding4062]

I like this

[@jaymarie8065]

Are there people who do not conform to the main pantheon of the country? Like people who completely reject religion?

[@furnaceheadgames9001]

Maby 1 subculture would believe that it's actually the writing on the skull that controlled the dream and it's there job to write the correct thing.

[@elshebactm6769]

🤠👍🏿

[@thesmilyguyguy9799]

:)

[@daisythebest_x7112]

Wow I’m early and 4th

[@doctergoogle]

1st

[@jojotanner4761]

[@gabyeguizabal7164]

I was going to say that to be faster drawing you just need more practice ... but then you said the amount of jobs you have and ... ouch!

[@carginfer2353]

Bad boys get put in the jar.

[@woodsond6241]

Can I be a god please😁

[@visomatic6815]

Cewl

[@pippinnnn]

If you need help with creating art, i bet there’s quite a few of us followers who would be absolutely willing to help.

[@mariahpattieworldbuilding4062]

keeping that in mind, though I'm not sure how I would facilitate it