Entertainment (Patreon)

Ha: Sorry everyone, I fucked up this month and wrote the wrong article. Elementals & Summoned creatures will be posted next month!

What Terrans think of as entertainment can feel almost regressive when compared to what we have on Earth, due in large part because no one has “invented” (or at least figured out how to properly harness) electricity. Though some are close - people have already found ways to use magic to enhance the output of steam engines and other simple machines, and others have been conducting experiments to replicate the battery-like properties of lodestone with other forms of energy. Magic and enchantments can provide essentially the same functions in many cases like creating lights, casting complex illusions, and amplifying music or voices, but even these are limited by location and ability - and in some cases, wealth.

Reading is a favorite pastime of many Terrans, though it is also one dependent on education and literacy, which in smaller, poor areas can be hard to come by. Still, even small bookshops are a popular destination for many travelers, eager to sink their teeth into something new. Many larger cities feature a library of some kind, some boasting collections large enough to fill a castle.

Music is also very popular in many Terran societies, both listening to and performing. Bards (of the non-magical variety) can be found at most inns singing and playing their instruments for tips, with some of the more talented musicians even being hired and paid for their performances. Traveling bands are also a common sight on the roads, moving from town to town to perform. It is even possible to obtain wax cylinders or phonographic records of music, though these are generally only accessible to those with the money to afford it.

Often going hand in hand with music, the people of Terra love dancing. That includes hitting the dancefloor themselves, perhaps in a tavern or during a festival, or witnessing a professional on stage. Though dances and the people performing them vary widely from culture to culture, they are still highly sought after diversions  - some even once in a lifetime opportunities.

A form of entertainment that can often combine all three of these activities is the theater. Though rarer to come by than a traveling musician, troupes of actors are also known to travel the roads seeking out new audiences for their next show. These troupes contain more than just actors. There are craftspeople devoted to creating new sets and costumes, and mages who use their spellcraft to effect the lights and sound, even casting illusions or glamours when needed. More skilled and practiced troupes are able to secure an extended residency, though given the relative lack of larger theaters, or many theaters at all, those are few and far between and often come at the whims of a wealthy patron.

Stepping away from the arts, we have sports and games. Obviously these will also feature large differences from culture to culture, each one developing their own set of rules, and at times adapting those of others. You can often find some variation of soccer and football, or baseball and cricket: people want to kick or hit a ball into a goal; or at least cheer on someone else while they watch.

Even tabletop games, while seemingly developed independently, feature common threads of dice and cards. What may actually be inscribed on those objects is up to the people who created them. Of course, many of these go hand in hand with gambling , another popular pastime. Not even just on the tabletop, but on all sorts of competitions especially those with animals, like racing and breed showing exhibitions.

An unconventional, though not unpopular form of entertainment is adventuring. In a world that lacks easily accessible widespread communication, people often feel stuck or even trapped in their small towns and their way of life. Hearing tales of far off lands can inspire people of all ages to pack up their belongings and hit the road. Traveling in general can be seen as a form of entertainment, but once again it is largely limited to the rich. Adventurers are expected to work on the road, taking jobs on their travels to pay for their room and board. These range from simple deliveries to defeating a beast that is terrorizing the local populace

Most forms of entertainment are fairly benign, but there is a lot of risk and reward involved in adventuring, and it is certainly one of the more dangerous ways to spend your time. For some people, that’s part of the thrill - it certainly beats sitting at home with a book. But for others, taking time to enjoy simple pleasures is what life is all about.