Cultural Information: Virians

Physical Appearance: Most Virians are short and have a stocky build.  Skin tone is usually pale although some Southerners may have slightly darker skin.  There is no typical hair or eye colour.  Hair is usually worn long by both genders and men have a preference for facial hair.  Traditional clothing consists of tunics and trousers for the men and long dresses and headscarves for the women.  Women in farming and industrial professions will dress in tunics and trousers for the sake of practicality.  Heavy boots of leather and rubber are commonplace in the North but footwear tends to be lighter and more stylish in the South.  Also in the South, clothing tends to be more variable and follows fashion trends.

Society: Any form of law enforcement is difficult due to the fragmented nature of Virian society.  There are various regional Law Enforcement Agencies but these are largely ineffective.  Communities will take the law into their own hands and deal with offenders as they deem necessary.

Lifestyle: Northern Virians tend to stick to a traditional lifestyle in which many marriages are arranged.  They often marry young and have large families.  Also, there are many travelling families who stick to the ways of the ancient clans.  In the South, people tend to be settled in one place and their lifestyle is far more flexible.

Beliefs:  All Virians tend to be very spiritual people and most of them worship at least one deity.  They also have a strong connection with their planet and often refer to it as the Holy Ground.  When they travel to other worlds, they can become very homesick and yearn to be back on Viria.

Art and Culture: Virians are great storytellers.  There is a long tradition of stories being handed down through the generations.  In earlier times, this was mainly done by word of mouth, including singing and acting, but when more people learned to write, books became equally popular.  Traditional Virian stories tend to be formularised with “good” and “bad” characters fighting for supremacy.  There are often variations of the same story told from a different point of view, thus the villain in one version becomes the hero in another version.  The early improvised acting sessions have evolved into more complex theatrical productions and there is even a growing movie industry, although Virian movies tend to be little different from stage plays in terms of presentation.

Music is extremely important in Virian culture and many of the old songs are poetic versions of folk tales.  Virians favour stringed instruments and wind instruments, with the addition of small hand-drums.  In more recent times, musicians have started using electronic instruments and the content of the songs has also changed to reflect the times.  There are more songs with abstract themes based around feelings rather than the old storytelling mode of the more traditional composers.