Fantasy civilizations you like subverting

IdiotsRUs said:

In my current WIP I've tried very hard to show that the two cultures both have good and bad points and they look very odd to an outside point of view. It's just these two cultures don't blend well (they both consider the other's religion to involve 'unnatural practices')....which is a bugger when they're forced together by a vicious drought.

I love it when cultures aren't necessarily evil, but they clash anyway.

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JimmyB27 said:

I actually don't really like it when cultures are evil, to be honest. I mean, an entire culture made of only evil people? How do they ever get anything done, what with all the backstabbing and murdering and so on that must go on all the time!

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In my WiP, the magicless humans (Efira) justifiably blame the magic race (Divira) for the terrible virus that affects those with magic, but kills those who have no magic, even when it's not their fault.

Even the alien race is just looking for a new planet to rebuild its people, who are doomed to extinction otherwise. Of course, taking over the planet means devastating all previous life on it, so all three races are fighting to preserve themselves.

I don't have any inherently evil countries. I do have governments that allow evil things to take place, like slavery, but that's a function of society and people.

In one case, I have a tribal society, that occasionally gets pulled together by a warlord and they go rampaging. They aren't evil, it's just their culture.

In another case, I have a monarchy that is lead by a mostly benevolent king, but there is the normal strife with the nobles. He's being influenced by an adviser that has ulterior motives, and this is causing a whole lot more strife because it's causing the nobles to be alienated and it threatens their position in society. The young king doesn't really understand all of that.

I have another country that is in a hugely favorable economic position because of geography. They are extremely rich, very homogeneous, and use slavery for most all of their basic needs. They are also being influenced by outside forces that they don't care to examine because they're so comfortable in their lavish lifestyle. They are morally corrupted by their easy lives.

And I have yet another culture that is clan driven and more war-like, but they have their own honor system and code of conduct. They too have evil people in their midst, but no more than normal.

All these cultures are being manipulated by outside forces that drives them to do things they wouldn't normally do causing strife and destabilization. The question is if they will figure out they are all being manipulated, and if they do figure it out, what are they going to do about it? Will they band together and fight, or will they tear each other apart looking for the best advantage?

So, not only are there the normal racial and societal tensions, greed, avarice, power, etc, there is also a destabilizing factor personified by the true bad-guys who mostly remain hidden with motives that are not clear at all. It should make for a nice chaotic stew.