How Cultures Work
A culture is the way of life of a community. It sets how its people are named, what its towns and factions are called, how its people dress, and how they speak in conversations.
This section is for pack authors. For the player’s view, see Cultures.
A culture belongs to a community, not to a species. An elf, a human and a dwarf who grow up in the same town share that town’s culture. A Root only affects the culture of a villager who has no parents and no home village. See Founder Bias.
What a Culture Controls
Section titled “What a Culture Controls”| Part | What it does | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Name | The name that players see for the culture. | Culture Files |
| Demonym | What its people are called, such as “Highlander”. | Culture Files |
| Naming tradition | How its people get given names and family names. | Personal Names |
| Settlement and faction names | Names for its towns and its governments. | Settlement & Faction Names |
| Clothing | Which skins and clothes its people prefer, and its default livery. | Clothing |
| Subcultures | Peoples inside the culture, tied to Community Spirit and forms of government. | Subcultures |
| Voice | How its people speak in conversations. A voice is a separate file. | Voices & Cultures |
Where a Villager’s Culture Comes From
Section titled “Where a Villager’s Culture Comes From”A villager with no culture gets one when they next load. Townstead tries these sources in order:
- Parents. The culture of a parent who has one.
- Home village. The culture of the villager’s home village.
- Founder roll. A villager with neither gets a culture from the
cultural_spawn_biasof their Root. A Root with no bias gives no culture. See Founder Bias.
When no source gives a culture, the villager has no culture. This is normal. In a world with no culture packs, no villager has a culture, and villagers are named by their region as before. The game shows such a villager as “Village Common”.
A culture is not fixed. Each villager has a mix of cultures that moves a little every day toward the people around them. See Mixed Cultures & Drift.
Where a Village’s Culture Comes From
Section titled “Where a Village’s Culture Comes From”A village gets a culture in one of these ways:
- The first founder. When a villager gets a culture from a founder roll, and their home village has no culture yet, the village takes that culture.
- A founding profile. A founding profile names a culture. When a village is founded with that profile, the village takes the culture. A profile can apply on its own, from
/townstead founding apply, or from a debug village. - A command.
/townstead naming set-village "<culture>"sets the culture of the village you are in.
A village’s culture only applies to villagers who get a culture after the change. Residents keep the culture they have, and then drift toward the village over time.
Players See the Top Culture
Section titled “Players See the Top Culture”A subculture is a people inside a culture, such as the merchant houses of a culture. Players only see the top culture. Townstead uses subcultures for clothing, voices and government forms.
World Settings
Section titled “World Settings”The Switchboard controls cultures for each world:
| Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
| Systems > Cultures | Turns cultures on or off. When it is off, villagers do not get a culture. |
| Peoples dial | Must be at Roots and Cultures to use the Cultures tab. |
| Cultures tab | For each top culture: whether founders can be raised in it, and a rate. The rate multiplies the culture’s weight in founder rolls. |
The Cultures tab only affects founder rolls. A villager can still get a turned-off culture from their parents or their village. Subcultures follow the setting of their top culture.
Data Files
Section titled “Data Files”All files are JSON in a data pack. Files work on 1.20.1 and 1.21.1.
| Folder | Page | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
data/<ns>/culture/ | Culture Files | Cultures and subcultures. |
data/<ns>/naming_tradition/ | Personal Names | Naming traditions that cultures can share. |
data/<ns>/given_name/ | Personal Names | Given-name lists. |
data/<ns>/family_name/ | Personal Names | Family-name lists. |
data/<ns>/settlement_name/ | Settlement & Faction Names | Names for towns. |
data/<ns>/faction_name/ | Settlement & Faction Names | Base names for factions. |
data/<ns>/lang/<locale>.json | Culture Files | Translations of names and demonyms. |
A culture pack usually also has founding profiles, factions, offices, livery styles and a dialogue voice. See Building a Culture Pack.
Where to Start
Section titled “Where to Start”- To make a culture, start with Culture Files. One file with a name and a naming block is a complete culture.
- To make founders of a Root belong to your culture, add a founder bias.
- To see your culture in game, see Testing & Commands.