User talk:Gringo300

Analogs
I'm trying to learn more about the Forgotten Realms setting. I'm under the impression that it has analogs to every real world location.

I also get the impression that it has a lot of just pure fantasy without any real world analog.

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I come to the conclusion more and more that a lot of fantasy has no real world analog or analogs, and is just plain alien to any place, culture, or historical period in the real world.

For example, when I'm at a book store, I'll look through fantasy role-playing game rule-books, see pictures of swords, axes, etc. and think, "It wouldn't have even OCCURRED to people in ancient, Medieval, etc. times to design swords or axes this way.". — User:Gringo300


 * Hi, welcome to the Forgotten Realms Wiki. I've set up your user page and transferred the above discussion from you to your talk page so we can have a conversation.


 * The Forgotten Realms setting(s) vary widely in terms of how much they match the real world. Some places very closely match real-world areas, to the point of borrowing historical events or place names, while more just adopt imagery, words, and themes to evoke a real place; but many others are completely and utterly different, whether being more generic European-style fantasy, or being completely alien. It depends on the designers: some find inspiration in real-world history and mythology, others pull new things out of the air. Sometimes it all gets mixed up in weird ways. There's usually something in the Realms for all tastes. But the fantasy can go way beyond reality. — BadCatMan (talk) 07:28, March 22, 2013 (UTC)


 * From what I can tell, Maztica is based on what's now central and southern Mexico and northern Central America, with southern Mexico and northern (and, for that matter, all of) Central America being tropical. I've read that there is an analog of western South America/the Andes Mountains/the Inca, but I'm not very familiar with that.


 * From what I can tell, Zakhara is based on the Middle East (Mideast), North Africa (and if I understand correctly, the last two concepts are kind of overlapping), historical India (which was significantly bigger than modern India- it included what's now Pakistan, Bangladesh, and, if I understand correctly, a small part of Communist China*) and maybe some other nearby places.


 * * There have been two Chinas since 1949- Communist China and Nationalist China (Taiwan). The governments of both claim to be the "real" Chinese government and desire a reuniting into a single China- with themselves as it's government.


 * I know that there are analogs of the historical single China, the historical single Korea, Japan, and the Ryukyu Islands (which are technically part of Japan currently).


 * I know that there is an analog of Mongolia. I've had a game box set for that for over 20 years. It was a gift if I remember correctly. I've never known quite what to DO with it, unfortunately.


 * I need to refresh my Forgotten Realms knowledge, plus there is a lot I've never known about the setting. - Gringo300 (talk) 01:11, March 23, 2013 (UTC)


 * Yep, that's about it. Though in the Kara-Tur setting, there's actually two Chinas, Shou Lung and T'u Lung, and two Japans, Wa and Kozakura, each reminiscent of different stages in their histories.
 * There's a lot none of us know about this setting. :) — BadCatMan (talk) 01:26, March 23, 2013 (UTC)


 * From what I understand, the Ravenloft setting is also heavily made up of analogs to real world countries, cultures, etc. in a manner similar to the Forgotten Realms setting. I don't know near as much about the Ravenloft setting, though. I know enough about it to know that it isn't on a planet like the Forgotten Realms setting. I've long been thinking, "When they decided to create a fictional Horror/Terror setting, why didn't they just make it a planet? There probably are other fictional Horror/Terror settings that are planets. Also, I supposed one could create a non-Horror/Terror fantasy setting, more along the lines of Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Greyhawk, etc. that's a non-planet demiplane like Ravenloft. Gringo300 (talk) 08:28, March 23, 2013 (UTC)

I don't know anything about Ravenloft, but I think the idea was to make it usable within every setting, such that every place as a horror-movie Transylvania analogue.

Anyway, if you want to talk about this sort of thing, I recommend you try the Wizards of the Coast forums or those at the Candlekeep site. They're for general FR-related discussion. Here, conversation is mostly focused on wiki-specific matters and in-universe information. — BadCatMan (talk) 04:36, March 24, 2013 (UTC)


 * Does putting notices on talk pages that an article on a FR country, etc. needs info on it's real world basis, if any, count? Gringo300 (talk) 15:17, April 1, 2013 (UTC)


 * Generally, in articles we can have Notes sections for a little background information, discrepancies and such. A brief discussion on a real-world relationship would go there. We can also have External Links to link to a Wikipedia article on the subject. But it's not a serious need. Many of our articles need a lot of clean-up, fact-checking, organisation, and standardisation first. If someone develops them, they might add such sections.
 * But if it means that much to you, then please feel free to contribute the information and external links yourself. Bear in mind, however, you will need to provide a citation for any claims (has the author of the sourcebook etc. said where got the idea or name from?) or at least phrase it as speculative, with strong evidence to back it up. One of us other editors will check it over and format what you write. Ask us if you have any questions on style and formatting. — BadCatMan (talk) 00:39, April 2, 2013 (UTC)