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Sat Mar 23, 2013 7:29 pm Hyborean Greyhawk

Check out this cool blog that mashes together Greyhawk and Hyborean cultures.

http://greyhawkery.blogspot.com/2013/03/hyborean-greyhawk-cultures.html

Sun Mar 24, 2013 8:59 am

The thing I really liked about this is his division of the major cultural groups into sub-groups. I like when we have discussions on CF! that speculate on sub-divisions within the broad human (and non-human) cultural divisions, although I think often we get bogged down in arguing about "who the Byzantines of the Flanaess are," and such. There was a thread a few years back, kind of in the manner of Rasgon's "monster background thread" that just listed cool little cultural tidbits from different nations; things like, "In Keoland they use forks to eat, while the rest of the Flanaess considers them to be outlandish and effiminate." That wasn't really one, but just an example of the kind of things I'm talking about. I really like threads like that as creative exercises, where we don't really have too much room to disagree about what real-world culture or nation Bissel is like.

Sun Mar 24, 2013 10:50 am

@ Smillian

There's always going to be disagreements, because everyone has their personal preference. For me, I like the Real World analogies for one reason . . .

. . . I cannot picture "your" concept of Bissel because it is nothing more than a "figment of your imagination." And I cannot "see" what you imagine -- only you can.

Whereas the "Vikings" are something everyone can relate to. The "Byzatines," "Romans," "Arabs," "Native American," etc., all of this can be conceptualized by almost anybody. Each of these Real World cultures provides a reference point for comparison.

A "people" that I "imagine?" You can't relate to them without a Real World image for comparison.

So we're going to disagree with whose who and what relates to what, but Real World comparisons give us all a common reference point as to how it all "hangs together," as it were. And gives expression as to how we each view our personal World of Greyhawk.

For instance: No "Native American" for me. For me, the Flannae are . . . Celts! Evil Grin

Specifically, those "we" call "Continental Celts." Wink

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Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:01 pm

The history of the Kelts of Hyborean Greyhawk seems to replace that of the Oeridians in some ways, with the Kelts apparently being driven from Ull into the Sheldomar during the Baklunish-Stygian Wars in place of the Oerid tribes. If the Oeridians are mostly limited to the former Great Kingdom, perhaps they didn't originate in the West at all, but instead came from across the Solnor Ocean to the east. With the history of the Oeridians no longer tied to the Great Migrations, there's room to make the Great Kingdom much older, perhaps many thousands of years older, or at least only the most recent successor of older Oeridian empires that domesticated the region only to collapse and add their layers of ruins to the howling wilderness.

Of course, the history of Keoland might be older in Hyborean Greyhawk as well. Perhaps the Kelts migrated into the Sheldomar for reasons unrelated to the Baklunish-Stygian wars. Perhaps they came from somewhere other than Central Oerik and Ull. Vecna may have had an empire in an earlier era or in a different place entirely. The beauty of a radical revision like this is that all assumptions are up for grabs.

Sun Mar 24, 2013 6:20 pm

I think someone mentioned a while back on a similar thread using the Hyborean cities as models for those of the Wild Coast. I always liked the Hyborean Age, particulalry how it was gritty and lethal to the characters.

Mon Mar 25, 2013 7:20 am

I read and re-read Howard's Conan stories constantly. I love the Hyborean Age. I wish Howard had "stuck around" long enough to give us lots more! Cool

A great loss! Cry

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Mon Mar 25, 2013 9:51 am

Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:34 am

The fork -- as an eating utensil -- did not become "common" in northern Europe until the 18th century and not in America until the 19th century.

You guys play a much more "modern" Greyhawk than I do. Wink

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Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:20 am

That's some exciting stuff. I would love to see how that works out in actual play.
How come there are no DMs like him in my area?

Mon Mar 25, 2013 7:49 pm

Tue Mar 26, 2013 2:54 am

Are you thinking of this thread? http://www.canonfire.com/cf/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=4916

Tue Mar 26, 2013 7:05 am

Tarelton may have been thinking of another one, but that's the one I was talking about. Thanks, man!

Thu Mar 28, 2013 7:05 am

I was also taken by the calendar he posted in the blog - sets up long meta-seasons, similar to Song of Ice and Fire but with more regularity. I don't know if I'd import it into my campaign, but I think it would be a really interesting world-changer if I did.