Real world analogs of Greyhawk races?

[haakon1]

The Touv have dark skin, blue eyes, and straight black hair. They belong to whatever race James Earl Jones' character was supposed to be in the first Conan movie.

James Earl Jones was supposed to be from a race that does not exist anymore, but looks reasonably like it could have existed, according to the voice over track on the DVD.

I see your point, but I think it's helpful to steal from the real world in thinking about Greyhawk. It's best to steal some and mix it up, as Gygax did.

 

[Ripzerai]

I gravitated to use the Balkans for the Ket/Bissel conflict (without bothering to get into who is who), but the basic idea of a nasty long war that's a clash of civilizations between east and west works either way.

That kind of conflict leads to a lot of good castles being left behind.

I agree with this. Ket strikes me as the ideal place to put Castle Ravenloft and Strahd von Zorovich, if you're inclined to put them on Oerth.

 

[billd91]

I agree with this. Ket strikes me as the ideal place to put Castle Ravenloft and Strahd von Zorovich, if you're inclined to put them on Oerth.

I put my Barovia in the Bandit Kingdoms, in the crook of the Felreev north of Freehold. That seemed like a good place to put it as well, being remote and the region being balkanized.

But I think you can still make good comparisions with real-world cultures without just relying on skin tones or assuming they're a direct analog. Militarily efficient yet navally indifferent Oeridians still make good comparisons with Rome, particularly up to the end of the first Punic war.

But even if there are no direct analogs, figuring out which cultures fit closest with real world cultures can help you bring in other related details that can enrich your portrayal of the cultures in Greyhawk.

 

[Ripzerai]

But I think you can still make good comparisions with real-world cultures without just relying on skin tones or assuming they're a direct analog. Militarily efficient yet navally indifferent Oeridians still make good comparisons with Rome, particularly up to the end of the first Punic war.

But even if there are no direct analogs, figuring out which cultures fit closest with real world cultures can help you bring in other related details that can enrich your portrayal of the cultures in Greyhawk.

These are very good points, which is to say that I agree with them. My concern was about direct analogs, particularly those based mostly on skin tone.