D&D 5E What should an official Indian subcontinent inspired setting have?

[QuentinGeorge]

Well sort of. Most of the Conan stories actually do refer to real world gods. That's kind of the conceit, that our later history is based of vague memories of the Hyborian age.

And really I've always found real world gods more interesting than made up ones.

The gods in Conan are fictional mythologised precursors to “real” gods sure but for example, the Conan “Mitra” doesn’t really resemble the real world Mithra that much. Ditto Stygian Set vs Egyptian Set.

 

[Mordhau]

The gods in Conan are fictional mythologised precursors to “real” gods sure but for example, the Conan “Mitra” doesn’t really resemble the real world Mithra that much. Ditto Stygian Set vs Egyptian Set.

Is that better or worse?

 

[Tonguez]

epic moustaches

I think Mahasarpa did an okay job

personally though I’d love to see grand cities teeming with life rising over dense jungle, great warriors, esoteric brahmin, grand temples, statues and monuments, towering Jagannatha Constructs rolling through the streets, epic elephant mounted cavalry charges, huge markets with merchants bringing treasures from across the world.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

Is that better or worse?

It’s basically the way demon princes and arch devils are treated. Demogorgon for instance, shares nothing with the “real” one apart from a name.

compare that with basically putting Kali into a fictional world as is.

 

[aco175]

There is this place. Some sort of astrological temple I saw a show a few years ago that talked about the greatest achievements of different areas of the world. The number 0 was also from India and was brought to the Mediterranean to change mathematics. Could be developed into a subclass of wizard or such.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Indian writers. Indian developers. Indian editors. Indian sensitivity readers.

I mean, that'd be a big screw-up, actually.

The OP said Indian subcontinent.

That's seven nations and countless religions. And a lot of people who do not think of themselves as Indian. You have India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives. If you only have Indian people working on it, that's actually a massive political statement. Especially if they're also all Hindu. You'd want Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, and other people working on it too.

I know that on ENworld we should limit our discussion of politics and religion, but I think this is extremely relevant and would factor into any official Indian subcontinent setting - India right now, and for some time, has had a "Hindu Nationalist" government, which has taken fairly extreme actions against non-Hindus. India has a very long history of being a lot more than just Hinduism. As this is ENworld I don't think getting into the details (which are so important we were taught them at school, note, here in the UK - at least at my school) is helpful, but the Indian subcontinent has had and still does have many religions and mythologies, which interweave and interact.

If you produce a book that deletes all experiences and mythologies except Hindu ones, well, you are making a big statement. And if you produce a more diverse book, that's also making a statement, and a statement that might not be popular with the Indian government (if they even heard about it, which I admit they might not).

It's kind of incredible that Islam, for example, despite being a huge part of the history of that subcontinent, hasn't been mentioned, by any posters so far except very obliquely.

I think it would be more generative to take a specific region, at a specific time period, learn as much as you can about it, and then use all that as inspiration, rather than try to create a fantasy Hinduism that would serve as an rpg playground.

Yes, definitely. This would be a much stronger approach I'd suggest. And hopefully it would be a relatively diverse or complex region/period.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

A fictional pantheon, at least to allow more creative freedom for the metaplot.

Maybe some parnership with some Indian publisher as cultural consultants. We shouldn't reject the "cultural appropiation" because our society can be enough cosmopolitan. Speculative fiction could be a softer way to know more about other cultures.

My interest is about PC races because only-humans are too boring for me. Why not an updated version of vanaras from 3rd Oriental Adventures? A no-evil nagas, with arms.

 

[steeldragons]

I'll preface by saying, I'm a good ole east coast American mostly-Irish/some German/bit of English/drop o' French mutt gay guy who is NOT at all an expert with the ages/history, cultures or religions of the various nations of the Indian subcontinent. So, grains of the proverbial salt all around for all of these ideas that I'm just pulling out of thin air as I type.

That said, here's what I think you could do/see that might be useful and/or cool for a D&D setting/region.

1. Anthro-elephants are likely to appear insensitive or mocking to those who revere Ganesh. I think it would be more flavorful -and less expected- to use the "Indian" (one horned) rhinocerous for an PC anthroanimal-species (which have become entiiiiirely too commonplace, as to be cliche at this point, imho). But a rhino people could be cool. I definitely would NOT do multiple different animal people...maybe the vanara (monkey-folk) because they're an actual "mythological" species which has already appeared in other systems (PF). Those two. No more. There are multiple ways to do/have "tiger people" already. And PLEASE do not give us another bird-people or annakocra subspecies called Garuda.

2. Recently doing some research for some monkish subclasses in my homebrew, I came across mention of something called the Muni ("saint")- ascetic sages or hermits, with mystic powers, and the Sanyasi- perjhaps more complicated, because it is a term for the actual "fourth stage" mendicant in Hinduism, but certain orders of which (again alleged real world) became warrior-ascetics in India's past. So we could have a two classes -or culturally flavored subclasses- for clerics and/or monks and/or paladins. "Yogi" and "guru" are really more "titles" for achievement of a certain level/degree, I think, than something you could call a class.

3. Another idea I had for a monk/ascetic in my homebrew was a subclass based around connecting with and manifestation of the chakras. But it could easily, also or alternately, be worked up into a unique magic-using system providing a special kind of wizard/mage/sorcerer: matching the various (and/or NEW) schools of arcane magic/spells with the different chakras.

4. Clearly, Rakshasa are a D&D mainstay and should certainly fit into the setting somewhere...perhaps their own nation/region under their control. But in INdian myth, it is my understanding, the rakshasa are more "demons," a type of extradimensional entity. So, maybe, they need a special version for this hypothetical setting...as extraplanar uber-magic baddies, even worse than we already know them to be.

5. Kali is and has always been present in D&D. First, as the Type V demon/Marilith. Direct copy/designed after. Of course, she also exists/-ed in Deities & Demigods (and I presume the Legends & Lore, follow up versions. I've never seen them.), as a goddess/herself. So, I don't know, maybe there's something there...a region/kingdom of type 5 demons...demonic incursion ruled by type 5's? I would probably NOT make Kali a corporeal (or fantasized goddess) "Queen of the Marilith." But there's probably something in the existing creatures that could be done/incorporated. Certainly NOT as a PC option.

6. There should definitely be some kind of "giant problem" plaguing the lands, possibly/probably their own kingdom/region...with a new -culturally/mythologically appropriate- setting specific giant subspecies.

That's all that's coming to mind on the topic. I know there is tons and tons more flavorful fantasy that can be gleaned from this mystic, diverse, and ancient part of the world.

 

[overgeeked]

And really I've always found real world gods more interesting than made up ones.

Interesting. Tell me more.

 

[glass]

Also it should be written and published in an official Indian langauge only.

Yes. You, whoever you are rushing to hit reply. I know,