So, for no particular reason I thought I would speak to the use of symbolism in games, and how to make that symbolism a part of setting a mood and creating a "series of events" that can help when you want to do prophecies and such.
I am not going to tell you any details about what symbols mean or give you lists of symbols, but rather I want to talk about how you use them, what Symbolism is, and how it relies on pattern. Feel free to add your own stuff as you want.
So, symbolism is a key storytelling device that is at the very least older than stories, because stories string symbols together for meaning. In The Hobbit, a small bird directs Bilbo to the Dragon's Secret Door. The use of the bird was intentional, as it followed a history of birds doing that.
Deities have symbols associated witht hem. Animals, tools, natural areas, and more. All of those symbols represent something about the Deity, or are a facet of what the Deity seeks to speak to. The number of symbols is just as important as the symbols themselves, and the value of them is that they can be used as signs, omens, portents, and prophecies...
Symbolic Numbers
Certain numbers are always of exceptional importance in any given culture. Symbolic numbers are a core concept, and they influence the way that folks categorize the world around them, group things, and arrange things. They are the most basic part. In some cultures, 8 is considered an extraordinary number, filled with luck and good fortune. In others, it is seen as a number of evil, the mark of the Dark One.
These numbers will depend on the base system in use. In a base-10 system, they will be numbers from 1 to 10, and each number will have some meaning or significance attached to it. An example of this is that in USian cultures, 1 is a masculine number, 2 is a feminine number, and three is a number of family -- but they also all have more meanings (Leadership, Support, Childhood) as well.
Another example is that 2 is the number of opposition -- USians are very fond of stuff like "there are two types of people..." and "there is this, and there is that, and that is all there is". Black and White thinking, iow, ignoring the shades of grey, and forgetting entirely all the other colors.
When creating a symbolism, a quick list of what the numbers mean is not something you have to have at the start -- but if you want depth, you should have three meanings for each of the numbers.
1: The number of the Child among the Elves of the Wayfaring Forest. The number of Prime importance, the thing most valued. The number of creation, for it is the way that all things are made -- one at a time.
2: The number of the the State. The Spouses. The Hands of Making.
and so on. I am personally partial to 3, 5, and 7. Nearly everything of importance in my setting comes in groups of 3, 5, or 7 ;). THe Seven Seas. THe Five Springs. THe Three Hosts. The Seven Planes. and so forth.
With Planescape coming out, a base-24 might be interesting to play with, and the symbolism that can emerge from it.
Symbolic Colors
There are fairly well known colors, but there is some fun to be had here as well. The colors in this case are the standard ROYGBIV colors -- Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. Each of them will also have a particular, very broad meaning. An example is that for literally hundreds of years, Purple (Indigo) was the color of Royalty, and it was a crime to own wear it unless you were given special permission of a member of the royal house.
Color has import in heraldry and other symbolic forms of showing who you are.
The reason that the seven colors have a broad meaning is that all the shades often draw from those meanings. That Green is life is one thing, but different shades of green now have deeper meanings that draw from that that -- this shade of green is the life of possibility. This shade of green is the life of meadows. This shade of green is the life before the end.
These shades then go on to influence the meanings of Flowers, Gemstones, and more. Until the 20th century, Emeralds were more highly prized by the common folk than diamonds, and Rubies even more so. because of the color. In comparison, Diamonds were rich people's rhinestones, lol.
Symbolic Animals
Animals are messengers and heralds of the Gods. Birds are messengers of the gods of the sky, mice and foxes are animals of the woods and wilds. Animals tend to have associations they draw from the God whose symbol they are -- but the importance of them is that when you see one, it is sending a message from the gods. So they are not normally simple songbirds -- they need to have something about them that stands out. Obviously, Ravens and Crows are the common example here.
What they mean, however, is going to vary. A Deity may have two dozen birds working for them, and each one will mean something different when seen. A Cleric casts a divination spell and off to the side you may see a bird. Or one may poop on them, lol. When sacrifice is called for, the creature sacrificed is going to have entrails examined for the same purpose. While the result may be measured in a roll or the ability to change a roll, the symbolism adds lore and color to the action.
The party is heading to a crossroads and there are two paths. Ahead of them, a bright yellow bird rests on a rock beside the left fork, a dark Raven is killing a mouse on the left fork. Depending on the Deities and the meaning of these two symbols, these could be warnings or suggestions. If caught between two powers, it could be the Dark Lord is hinting to go left and the Bright Light is saying if you go right you can kick some butt.
In a cross country travel, they could see a lion take down a deer in the distance (an omen or portent -- but who is the lion and who the deer?).
Flower & Gemstone Symbolism
For mages and the like, the importance of Flower and Gemstone symbolism is key Alchemy relied on the symbolic properties of many materials as well, and in western Alchem the symbolism of flowers and gemstones comes in part from alchemy.
You can find a thousand lists with a few google searches for these. The Language of flowers, the meanings of gemstones, the whole assorted lot.
In terms of the game, a lot of these traditional things were used to create the original material spell components, under the principle of sympathy. in other ways, the creating of potions and powders and assorted small elements can all derive from this sort of stuff. Gemstones generally have 3 to 6 meanings, depending on how they are used or what they are combined with.
A particular spell requires material component X worth Y gp. But to make it into a potion requires these five herbs and this gemstone and these rare minerals and water from this particular place.
In games of intrigue, these become even more useful, because a bouquet of flowers is an innocuous way to send a message to someone, and a great way to "speak in code" openly.
Combined, you can have a full role playing set up where they seek out a Sage or an oracle, and now you have a basis for the visions that are seen -- the priest of Inam goes into a trance and utters strange words...
Beyond the sea of daisies over which flies the black crow, there lies a tower of carnelian, swathed in the silvery mists of the unknown, and within the window on the highest tower rests an eagle holding a sheaf of wheat
... and the way that the omens and portents in that line are read, it could mean whatever you want i tto mean -- and if you have multiple cultures, it could mean different things to different people.
How complicated do the meanings of these things have to be? Well, not very. A single word will do it. What are some of the words that could be used? I am so glad you asked....
I don't know if this will be useful to anyone, but I hope it is.
Thanks for reading.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
The title alone got me thinking along these lines; that of literal symbols.
I've been converting a Sci-fi book I wrote into a workable RPGame, and some gaming friends of mine have generously agreed to play test it with me. So far, so good.
The thing is, this world has a couple hundred "Houses", basically kingdoms or empires; most with no distinct geographical borders. Each house monopolizes a given industry or similar such thing, or two, on the same planet. These houses each use a distinct symbol/mark/brand, with additional sub-houses using an additional symbol, a "Roof". This is especially important to the rather large slave population, who learn to identify these marks in order to know who they're dealing with.
A different concept, to be sure, but your thread title got me thinking about it, and I thought I'd share the concept.
The title alone got me thinking along these lines; that of literal symbols.
I've been converting a Sci-fi book I wrote into a workable RPGame, and some gaming friends of mine have generously agreed to play test it with me. So far, so good.
The thing is, this world has a couple hundred "Houses", basically kingdoms or empires; most with no distinct geographical borders. Each house monopolizes a given industry or similar such thing, or two, on the same planet. These houses each use a distinct symbol/mark/brand, with additional sub-houses using an additional symbol, a "Roof". This is especially important to the rather large slave population, who learn to identify these marks in order to know who they're dealing with.
A different concept, to be sure, but your thread title got me thinking about it, and I thought I'd share the concept.
Not even a different concept, just a different way of executing it.
I chuckled because the Houses in my upcoming world have similar basis (not precise, though), and there is a thing called a Mark of Trade that is required to do business, blah blah.
But yes -- those are also symbols, and part of the process of developing the symbology of a world out!
THank you!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
My mind just registered the "Speaking in code with flowers" part. Thanks for tickling my memory, even if I can't remember when and where I originally learned this (Gettn' old is wonderful, and it sucks, at the same time. Tanks butt-un pooshed^)
This was really cool! Symbolism is fun to put in stories and games even if you know no one will notice it.
Here are my random thoughts as I read this.
Yellow can symbolize decadence and (because of the King in Yellow) I like to make it symbolize madness in my stories. In old folklore, the Devil often wore green.
Bees are associated with royalty. They were the messengers of the Greek gods and they were able to identify those with royal blood.
Birds being messengers are very common. In Over the Garden Wall Beatrice the bird was shown to be a helpful bird messenger which made it a good, if foreseeable, twist when she was really trying to betray the kids. Speaking of traitorous birds, the Wren was thought to have betrayed not only St. Stephen, some Irish soldiers, and countless sailors, but also tricked her way into being the king of the birds.
The left side was thought to be the side of the devil and the right was...well... right. Demons were supposed to sit on your left shoulder and tempt you. This was why left-handed people were not treated well in the past.
Yew is associated with death and yew trees were said to be guardians of graveyards. In Slavic folklore you needed a birch staff to make your way to the underworld.
I kind of made this up, but I like to think that brooms symbolize death. A Slavic spirit of disease carried a broom into a village when everyone there was going to die in the plague. A broom propped against a door could keep out certain spirits of misfortune. Witches carry brooms in order to harness death's power. This is why Death is the Grim Sweeper, not the Grim Reaper, in my world.
The Void, the “evil principle” of my world, is most often symbolized by the “spaces between”. For instance, the spaces between the spokes of a wheel, or the night sky between the stars, or the ravine splitting rock. This is because the Void is fundamentally a “non-thing”, it’s the lies reality tells itself so that the truth may have form.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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So, for no particular reason I thought I would speak to the use of symbolism in games, and how to make that symbolism a part of setting a mood and creating a "series of events" that can help when you want to do prophecies and such.
I am not going to tell you any details about what symbols mean or give you lists of symbols, but rather I want to talk about how you use them, what Symbolism is, and how it relies on pattern. Feel free to add your own stuff as you want.
So, symbolism is a key storytelling device that is at the very least older than stories, because stories string symbols together for meaning. In The Hobbit, a small bird directs Bilbo to the Dragon's Secret Door. The use of the bird was intentional, as it followed a history of birds doing that.
Deities have symbols associated witht hem. Animals, tools, natural areas, and more. All of those symbols represent something about the Deity, or are a facet of what the Deity seeks to speak to. The number of symbols is just as important as the symbols themselves, and the value of them is that they can be used as signs, omens, portents, and prophecies...
Symbolic Numbers
Certain numbers are always of exceptional importance in any given culture. Symbolic numbers are a core concept, and they influence the way that folks categorize the world around them, group things, and arrange things. They are the most basic part. In some cultures, 8 is considered an extraordinary number, filled with luck and good fortune. In others, it is seen as a number of evil, the mark of the Dark One.
These numbers will depend on the base system in use. In a base-10 system, they will be numbers from 1 to 10, and each number will have some meaning or significance attached to it. An example of this is that in USian cultures, 1 is a masculine number, 2 is a feminine number, and three is a number of family -- but they also all have more meanings (Leadership, Support, Childhood) as well.
Another example is that 2 is the number of opposition -- USians are very fond of stuff like "there are two types of people..." and "there is this, and there is that, and that is all there is". Black and White thinking, iow, ignoring the shades of grey, and forgetting entirely all the other colors.
When creating a symbolism, a quick list of what the numbers mean is not something you have to have at the start -- but if you want depth, you should have three meanings for each of the numbers.
1: The number of the Child among the Elves of the Wayfaring Forest. The number of Prime importance, the thing most valued. The number of creation, for it is the way that all things are made -- one at a time.
2: The number of the the State. The Spouses. The Hands of Making.
and so on. I am personally partial to 3, 5, and 7. Nearly everything of importance in my setting comes in groups of 3, 5, or 7 ;). THe Seven Seas. THe Five Springs. THe Three Hosts. The Seven Planes. and so forth.
With Planescape coming out, a base-24 might be interesting to play with, and the symbolism that can emerge from it.
Symbolic Colors
There are fairly well known colors, but there is some fun to be had here as well. The colors in this case are the standard ROYGBIV colors -- Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. Each of them will also have a particular, very broad meaning. An example is that for literally hundreds of years, Purple (Indigo) was the color of Royalty, and it was a crime to own wear it unless you were given special permission of a member of the royal house.
Color has import in heraldry and other symbolic forms of showing who you are.
The reason that the seven colors have a broad meaning is that all the shades often draw from those meanings. That Green is life is one thing, but different shades of green now have deeper meanings that draw from that that -- this shade of green is the life of possibility. This shade of green is the life of meadows. This shade of green is the life before the end.
These shades then go on to influence the meanings of Flowers, Gemstones, and more. Until the 20th century, Emeralds were more highly prized by the common folk than diamonds, and Rubies even more so. because of the color. In comparison, Diamonds were rich people's rhinestones, lol.
Symbolic Animals
Animals are messengers and heralds of the Gods. Birds are messengers of the gods of the sky, mice and foxes are animals of the woods and wilds. Animals tend to have associations they draw from the God whose symbol they are -- but the importance of them is that when you see one, it is sending a message from the gods. So they are not normally simple songbirds -- they need to have something about them that stands out. Obviously, Ravens and Crows are the common example here.
What they mean, however, is going to vary. A Deity may have two dozen birds working for them, and each one will mean something different when seen. A Cleric casts a divination spell and off to the side you may see a bird. Or one may poop on them, lol. When sacrifice is called for, the creature sacrificed is going to have entrails examined for the same purpose. While the result may be measured in a roll or the ability to change a roll, the symbolism adds lore and color to the action.
The party is heading to a crossroads and there are two paths. Ahead of them, a bright yellow bird rests on a rock beside the left fork, a dark Raven is killing a mouse on the left fork. Depending on the Deities and the meaning of these two symbols, these could be warnings or suggestions. If caught between two powers, it could be the Dark Lord is hinting to go left and the Bright Light is saying if you go right you can kick some butt.
In a cross country travel, they could see a lion take down a deer in the distance (an omen or portent -- but who is the lion and who the deer?).
Flower & Gemstone Symbolism
For mages and the like, the importance of Flower and Gemstone symbolism is key Alchemy relied on the symbolic properties of many materials as well, and in western Alchem the symbolism of flowers and gemstones comes in part from alchemy.
You can find a thousand lists with a few google searches for these. The Language of flowers, the meanings of gemstones, the whole assorted lot.
In terms of the game, a lot of these traditional things were used to create the original material spell components, under the principle of sympathy. in other ways, the creating of potions and powders and assorted small elements can all derive from this sort of stuff. Gemstones generally have 3 to 6 meanings, depending on how they are used or what they are combined with.
A particular spell requires material component X worth Y gp. But to make it into a potion requires these five herbs and this gemstone and these rare minerals and water from this particular place.
In games of intrigue, these become even more useful, because a bouquet of flowers is an innocuous way to send a message to someone, and a great way to "speak in code" openly.
Combined, you can have a full role playing set up where they seek out a Sage or an oracle, and now you have a basis for the visions that are seen -- the priest of Inam goes into a trance and utters strange words...
Beyond the sea of daisies over which flies the black crow, there lies a tower of carnelian, swathed in the silvery mists of the unknown, and within the window on the highest tower rests an eagle holding a sheaf of wheat
... and the way that the omens and portents in that line are read, it could mean whatever you want i tto mean -- and if you have multiple cultures, it could mean different things to different people.
How complicated do the meanings of these things have to be? Well, not very. A single word will do it. What are some of the words that could be used? I am so glad you asked....
Abjuration Abruptness Acceptance Adaptability Affection
Alertness Ambition Anger Apathy Aristocracy
Art Attunement Austerity Authenticity Awareness
Balance Beauty Beauty Bluntness Capriciousness
Charisma Charm Cheer Clarity Clear Speech
Combat Comfort Commitment Confidence Conjuration
Contentment Contentment Courage Courage Creativity
Death Demonbane Determination Determination Dexterity
Discipline Divination Dreams Egoism Empathy
Enchantment Epiphany Evocation Excitement Faith
Femininity Generosity Grace Growth Guidance
Healing Health Illusion Immodesty Immortality
Imprisonment Independence Individuality Innocence Integrity
Intuition Joy Kindness Knowledge Leadership
Lightheartedness Marital Love Masculinity Maturity Meditation
Melancholy Modesty Necromancy Nobility Nonbinary
Nostalgia Nourishing Nurturing Occultism Optimism
Passion Patience Peace Perception Perfection
Playfulness Power Protection Rebirth Reincarnation
Rejuvenation Restoration Resurrection Reward Risk
Rudeness Safe Travel Sanity Sensuality Serenity
Serenity Sexual Energy Sincerity Sleep
Soothing Sorrow Spirituality Stability Strength
Sunshine Sympathy Transience Transmutation True Purpose
Vengeance Vitality Whimsy Whimsy Wisdom
Poor formatting but C/P is what C/p is.
I don't know if this will be useful to anyone, but I hope it is.
Thanks for reading.
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
The title alone got me thinking along these lines; that of literal symbols.
I've been converting a Sci-fi book I wrote into a workable RPGame, and some gaming friends of mine have generously agreed to play test it with me. So far, so good.
The thing is, this world has a couple hundred "Houses", basically kingdoms or empires; most with no distinct geographical borders. Each house monopolizes a given industry or similar such thing, or two, on the same planet. These houses each use a distinct symbol/mark/brand, with additional sub-houses using an additional symbol, a "Roof". This is especially important to the rather large slave population, who learn to identify these marks in order to know who they're dealing with.
A different concept, to be sure, but your thread title got me thinking about it, and I thought I'd share the concept.
Not even a different concept, just a different way of executing it.
I chuckled because the Houses in my upcoming world have similar basis (not precise, though), and there is a thing called a Mark of Trade that is required to do business, blah blah.
But yes -- those are also symbols, and part of the process of developing the symbology of a world out!
THank you!
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
My mind just registered the "Speaking in code with flowers" part. Thanks for tickling my memory, even if I can't remember when and where I originally learned this (Gettn' old is wonderful, and it sucks, at the same time. Tanks butt-un pooshed^)
This was really cool! Symbolism is fun to put in stories and games even if you know no one will notice it.
Here are my random thoughts as I read this.
Yellow can symbolize decadence and (because of the King in Yellow) I like to make it symbolize madness in my stories. In old folklore, the Devil often wore green.
Bees are associated with royalty. They were the messengers of the Greek gods and they were able to identify those with royal blood.
Birds being messengers are very common. In Over the Garden Wall Beatrice the bird was shown to be a helpful bird messenger which made it a good, if foreseeable, twist when she was really trying to betray the kids. Speaking of traitorous birds, the Wren was thought to have betrayed not only St. Stephen, some Irish soldiers, and countless sailors, but also tricked her way into being the king of the birds.
The left side was thought to be the side of the devil and the right was...well... right. Demons were supposed to sit on your left shoulder and tempt you. This was why left-handed people were not treated well in the past.
Yew is associated with death and yew trees were said to be guardians of graveyards. In Slavic folklore you needed a birch staff to make your way to the underworld.
I kind of made this up, but I like to think that brooms symbolize death. A Slavic spirit of disease carried a broom into a village when everyone there was going to die in the plague. A broom propped against a door could keep out certain spirits of misfortune. Witches carry brooms in order to harness death's power. This is why Death is the Grim Sweeper, not the Grim Reaper, in my world.
The Void, the “evil principle” of my world, is most often symbolized by the “spaces between”. For instance, the spaces between the spokes of a wheel, or the night sky between the stars, or the ravine splitting rock. This is because the Void is fundamentally a “non-thing”, it’s the lies reality tells itself so that the truth may have form.