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2010-10-16, 03:44 PM (ISO 8601)
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Forgotten Realms Lore: Figuring Nations and Areas & Real Life Equivalents in Toril?
So far, it seems that Toril has LOTS of places that have real world equivalents...
Going by this map of toril for the basic geography (IE, based on the 3.5e map mostly, ~1372 timeline)
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y17...ril_Names2.jpg
What are the equivalent nations?
I've put together a small list with the help of a website, can I have some help figuring out the extra details and the (presumably many, many things I missed...)
Amn = Spain under the Inquisition
Calimshan = Arabia & Ottoman Empire. Maybe Spain under the Moors
Zakhara = Arabia #2
Anauroch = Numidia
Ulutiun Areas = Eskimo tribal areas of N. America
Chessenta = Ancient Greece #1
Threskel = Ancient Greece #2
Chult = African Jungles
Shaar = African Savanna
Tethyr = North Africa, maybe Spain under El Cid
Cormyr = Idealized Medieval France or maybe England
Dalelands = Switzerland
Damara = Germany, with slavic influence
Taan / Hordelands = Mongolia
Shining Lands = India
Yeshimal Mountains = Himalayas
Mulhorand = Ancient Egypt
"The North" = home of germanic type berserker & barbarian stereotypes, but not seafaring...
Ruathym = Norway, full of seafaring viking berserker barbarian types
Rashemen = Kievan Russia
Sea of fallen stars = Mediterranean Sea
Sembia = Merchant Italy #1
Chondath = Merchant Italy #2
Shou = China #1
T'u Lung = China #2
Koryo = Korea
Thesk = Areas through which the Silk Road travels
Turmish = Turkey #1
Thay - Turkey #2 Except run by Nazis somehow...
Unther = Mesopotamia
Vaasa = Finland
Western Heartlands = England #1
Moonshae Isles = England #2
Malatra = Vietnam
Wa = Shogunate Isolationist Japan
Kozakura = More Diverse Feudal Japan
Maztica = Aztec Central America
Lots of help would be appreciated!
BTW, I'll be updating and editing this post as people help me with this! Thanks!Last edited by Gavinfoxx; 2010-10-17 at 12:40 PM.
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2010-10-16, 03:50 PM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2007
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- Department of Smiting
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Re: Forgotten Realms Lore: Figuring Nations and Areas & Real Life Equivalents in Tori
Koryo is Korea, actually.
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2010-10-16, 04:24 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2007
Re: Forgotten Realms Lore: Figuring Nations and Areas & Real Life Equivalents in Tori
List seems pretty decent, though I'd say that some of them might have a more generic analogue than you've stated.
Like Chult seems to be almost any tropical rainforest which is far away from 'civilization', though I admit there could be some fiction or adventure I haven't read which gives it a distinctly african feel.
"The North" while it could be Scandinavia, could also be the Roman Empires impression of the tribes of Germania (or whatever they referred to the barbarian tribes)
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2010-10-16, 05:19 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Forgotten Realms Lore: Figuring Nations and Areas & Real Life Equivalents in Tori
Is there an Ancient Rome, btw?
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2010-10-16, 05:25 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jul 2010
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- Argonth
Re: Forgotten Realms Lore: Figuring Nations and Areas & Real Life Equivalents in Tori
Witty sig here nosey, aren't ya?
Avatar by Hacktor
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2010-10-16, 06:39 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2010
Re: Forgotten Realms Lore: Figuring Nations and Areas & Real Life Equivalents in Tori
The shaarian horse nomad culture has always made the tribes there look like native americans riding fast horses in a pseudo-african savannah, with bisons, elefants, wolves and tigers to hunt.
Also, the Shining Lands (Vaar, Estagund and Durpar) are pseudo-India, having indian terms, and even that weird Adama-belief that kinda mirrors the Brahman.Last edited by DeltaEmil; 2010-10-16 at 06:41 PM.
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2010-10-16, 07:00 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Århus, Denmark
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Re: Forgotten Realms Lore: Figuring Nations and Areas & Real Life Equivalents in Tori
Vaasa always struck me as a mix of Finland and the old kingdom of Rus, rather than as Siberia. Part of the first does come from the fact that the name is the same as that of a Finnish city, but it also sounds a bit too densely populated to be pre-industrial Siberia.
As for "the north" being Scandinavia, i have a hard time recognizing it as such. It seems to mostly be generic barbarians to me, which is to say a bizarre culture without meaningful rhyme or reason that steals viking aesthetics and mixes them with Siberian shamanism and sickening levels of machismo. It has very little material similarity with actual Scandinavia at any point in the history of the region, nor with perceptions of the area not created through recursion due to the region being associated with the barbarian stereotype.
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2010-10-16, 10:41 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Forgotten Realms Lore: Figuring Nations and Areas & Real Life Equivalents in Tori
Okay, assume that in different levels, and with different authors, people are using different aesthetic and superficial resemblances to the cultures in question, or using idealized versions of the cultures, or stereotypical versions of those cultures, or just using language and terms that bears a resemblance to those cultures, or whatever intentional or unintentional inaccuracies are present are 'acceptable', I'm trying to figure out, for a useful quick glance, what roughly equates to what, and what takes inspiration from what.
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2010-10-16, 10:46 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2007
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Re: Forgotten Realms Lore: Figuring Nations and Areas & Real Life Equivalents in Tori
Gotta say, whoever created that map looks like they just warped a map of the earth a little bit.
Avatar by Aedilred
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2010-10-16, 11:54 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Forgotten Realms Lore: Figuring Nations and Areas & Real Life Equivalents in Tori
Well I edited the original post guys -- what do you all think about the new list?
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2010-10-17, 12:26 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2010
Re: Forgotten Realms Lore: Figuring Nations and Areas & Real Life Equivalents in Tori
I think you've got a reasonably accurate list, though in some cases I'd be more specific.
For example, Wa I'd say was Shogun-ruled Isolationist Japan while Kozakura would be the more diverse Feudal Japan. I may not be using the best terminology, but some specification would help.
I don't think I quite agree Rashemen as Russia, I see it more Celtic with female druids, but maybe the right period in Russian history might fit. Amn, Tethyr and Calimshan I always thought of together as being a mishmash of the Spanish Peninsula, with various periods pushed together.
There's an island country off the coast of Kara-Tur which started with a B, I know it had some reference to the various island countries off the east coast of Asia, but I can't recall the details. I think Malatra did too, but I'm not sure how either. Been a while since I looked at those books.
And yes, Toril/Faerun pretty much a Fantasy version of Earth. Wasn't quite as much before Kara-Tur, Maztica, and Zakhara were bolted on, but it wasn't that far off either.
BTW, you can also do this for other D&D settings. Some are easier than others.
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2010-10-17, 01:55 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2007
Re: Forgotten Realms Lore: Figuring Nations and Areas & Real Life Equivalents in Tori
That's why I referred to ancient Rome and their perception of the northern barbarian tribes (barbarian just meaning non-Roman in this case).
Taller than the 'normal people' (germanics were about 5inches taller on average), carried huge swords (romans stuck to short swords in phalanx, so anything bigger was 'huge').
The only really scandinavian thing they got is a preponderance of blonds.
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2010-10-17, 02:03 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2010
Re: Forgotten Realms Lore: Figuring Nations and Areas & Real Life Equivalents in Tori
Luskan and Ruathym are the pseudo-Vikings of the Realms. Sea-faring warrior culture, the version that invaded the Moonshaes are called the Northmen. They even have the horned hats as I recall.
Their Uthgardt cousins are a bit more of the inland barbarian type, and could fit the popular conception of the Germanian if you felt like it.
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2010-10-17, 02:16 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Forgotten Realms Lore: Figuring Nations and Areas & Real Life Equivalents in Tori
RAR, even more edits!
I need some help with the spains / north africa ones, maybe? I worked on those a little..Last edited by Gavinfoxx; 2010-10-17 at 12:37 PM.