tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764158821384594980.post6770382685815096797..comments2024-03-19T03:49:00.108-04:00Comments on Age of Ravens: Ethnicity and Fantastic WorldsLowell Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02359280169506945906noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764158821384594980.post-85422280768601941312010-09-16T22:22:39.384-04:002010-09-16T22:22:39.384-04:00@tonybrooo1: When I started running in my fantasy ...@tonybrooo1: When I started running in my fantasy campaign many years ago, I borrowed heavily from Known World for D&D. A couple of those had some interesting ethnic approaches-- a strange mix of direct analogues to real world cultures and some others more hodge-podge. I've moved away from that over the years. I think, unfortunately, among the human nations of the continent the only three which I'm guessing don't seem like variations on western cultures are the two desert kingdoms and one more nomadic civilization (which is far enough on the fringes we haven't really had strong campaign contact with it in 12+ years). <br /><br />@Gene: That's an interesting approach. I do have an idea myself for a Rome game and I've been going through the various Roman RPG resources-- that's going to be a post here soon. <br /><br />I agree with your point about it being fractal. I think you can deal with ethnic and cultural issues-- but really only well if that is the focus of the campaign or story arc. I think otherwise it runs the risk of just being noise to the players.Lowell Francishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02359280169506945906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764158821384594980.post-4262336346002905802010-09-16T18:31:43.627-04:002010-09-16T18:31:43.627-04:00If I ever get to do my dream Roman fantasy campaig...If I ever get to do my dream Roman fantasy campaign, I would have various nationalities outside the Empire be non-human. Steppe warriors wouldn't be horse riders, they'd be drink loving centaurs. Beyond India are the dog-headed men that Arab legend says Alexander the Great met. Etc.<br /><br />I think subtlety in a game is fractal. If you have more time and attention on a people, you can add more complexity. Every big European nation has regions that were once independent nation-states of their own, with a language incomprehensible on the other end of the land. Every region has its backwards, slow talking bumpkins and fast talking city slickers. But we only meet the foreigners who travel: their nobles and brave traders, their cosmopolitan types.Gene Hahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07389258008505629339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764158821384594980.post-45282019825304217262010-09-16T17:42:51.709-04:002010-09-16T17:42:51.709-04:00In my fantasy campaign world I have created some c...In my fantasy campaign world I have created some countries with specific cultural stereotypes; feudal Japan, Chinese, Norse, Germanic (warhammer style), but no African, South American or Russian cultures. I needed to leave enough space for the Elves, Goblinoids and Undead.<br /><br />In my Justifiers games players are encouraged to ethnicise their character depending on which countries their animal part may come from. One player's PC was an antelope which became Dr. Okewelo voiced with a West African accent.<br /><br />Oddly my group currently has 2 S.African members, 1 Swede, 1 Chinese American.Tony Bro001https://www.blogger.com/profile/18402548073906815503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764158821384594980.post-61437085624992873922010-09-16T16:39:37.599-04:002010-09-16T16:39:37.599-04:00Agreed- as you point it out, it does seem to be a ...Agreed- as you point it out, it does seem to be a problem in the fantastic genre. And the gaming community, at least as I've seen it does seem to lean pretty heavily white, male. <br /><br />As I understand it, Ursula K. LeGuin has some real problems with the versions for TV and film of A Wizard of Earthsea because the various adapters ignored the fact that most of the characters didn't have white skin, especially the main character. <br /><br />I guess the question is how one can deal with this in a game without seeming pedantic, on a high horse or even ignoring history.Lowell Francishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02359280169506945906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764158821384594980.post-67330351862056762362010-09-16T16:01:55.495-04:002010-09-16T16:01:55.495-04:00Interesting article but maybe it's synonymous ...Interesting article but maybe it's synonymous with the genres in general not RPGs. I've noticed this with SF/Fantasy literature in general. There are few examples of black major characters or African settings. There are a handful of western writers who have tried Asian settings; The Mistress of the Empire Trilogy (Feist and Wurts), (River of Gods) Ian McDonald and the Marid Audran series (George Alec Effinger), but they're in the minority.Tony Bro001https://www.blogger.com/profile/18402548073906815503noreply@blogger.com