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Real world analogs of Greyhawk races?
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<blockquote data-quote="Ripzerai" data-source="post: 3074081" data-attributes="member: 38324"><p>No, they're not. They're a fantasy race with no real-world parallel. They're described as having kinky hair and they originated from the southernmost extremes of the Flanaess map (and, in many cases, stayed there, moving only slightly west into the Amedio Jungle when the Sea of Dust drank their empire).</p><p></p><p>They could as easily be described as pale or albino Africans as Scandinavians, but they're neither.</p><p></p><p>The Suel of the Thillronian Penninsula are very much like Scandinavians, but they're an exception, being isolated from the other Suel peoples for a thousand years in the subarctic extremes of the continent.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>No, their ancestors were horse-riding barbarians superficially similar to the Visigoths, native to the far western plains. They seldom even <em>saw</em> a large body of water until they entered the Flanaess, and even then they remained indifferent seamen at best for centuries before they conquered the isles of the Sea Barons. The race that's most associated with the "Mediterranean" climate zone is actually the Suel.</p><p></p><p>Trying to make analogies with real-world peoples based on skin tone alone is going to give you wildly misleading results. The Suel can be pale without being Norwegians, and the Oeridians can have olive skin without being Italians or Greeks.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The Wolf and Tiger nomads <em>do</em> resemble Mongols, as do some of the Paynim tribes. The Baklunish have some kung fu elements to their culture, and in skin tone they resemble east Asians. </p><p></p><p>Again, though, relying on skin tone alone results in a misleading result, as the Baklunish (other than the northern nomads) are otherwise very Arabic in culture. You could think of them as Arabs with Chinese elements grafted on, if you wanted, but as with most of the races of the Flanaess, real-world analogs are misleading. They're a fantasy race.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The Rovers of the Barrens are inspired by the Plains Indians of North America, and Flan in general have many Celtic elements (druids and bards). Gary Gygax said that their appearance was based on the Hamitic peoples of west Africa. Again, they're a fantasy race. They don't have a real-world analog.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>The only Greyhawk races that have easy real-life analogs are the Olman (Aztecs/Mayans) and the Rhennee (Gypsies/Rom), and even then they're fantasy creations only loosely inspired by the real world.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ripzerai, post: 3074081, member: 38324"] No, they're not. They're a fantasy race with no real-world parallel. They're described as having kinky hair and they originated from the southernmost extremes of the Flanaess map (and, in many cases, stayed there, moving only slightly west into the Amedio Jungle when the Sea of Dust drank their empire). They could as easily be described as pale or albino Africans as Scandinavians, but they're neither. The Suel of the Thillronian Penninsula are very much like Scandinavians, but they're an exception, being isolated from the other Suel peoples for a thousand years in the subarctic extremes of the continent. No, their ancestors were horse-riding barbarians superficially similar to the Visigoths, native to the far western plains. They seldom even [i]saw[/i] a large body of water until they entered the Flanaess, and even then they remained indifferent seamen at best for centuries before they conquered the isles of the Sea Barons. The race that's most associated with the "Mediterranean" climate zone is actually the Suel. Trying to make analogies with real-world peoples based on skin tone alone is going to give you wildly misleading results. The Suel can be pale without being Norwegians, and the Oeridians can have olive skin without being Italians or Greeks. The Wolf and Tiger nomads [i]do[/i] resemble Mongols, as do some of the Paynim tribes. The Baklunish have some kung fu elements to their culture, and in skin tone they resemble east Asians. Again, though, relying on skin tone alone results in a misleading result, as the Baklunish (other than the northern nomads) are otherwise very Arabic in culture. You could think of them as Arabs with Chinese elements grafted on, if you wanted, but as with most of the races of the Flanaess, real-world analogs are misleading. They're a fantasy race. The Rovers of the Barrens are inspired by the Plains Indians of North America, and Flan in general have many Celtic elements (druids and bards). Gary Gygax said that their appearance was based on the Hamitic peoples of west Africa. Again, they're a fantasy race. They don't have a real-world analog. 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. The only Greyhawk races that have easy real-life analogs are the Olman (Aztecs/Mayans) and the Rhennee (Gypsies/Rom), and even then they're fantasy creations only loosely inspired by the real world. [/QUOTE]
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