D&D 5E Looking for setting inspirations

[prabe]

So, I'm going to be working on some areas of my homebrew world that are not where the adventures are happening now, and I am hoping that I can pull things or otherwise draw inspiration from published settings, maybe ease the workload some, help my own understanding of how to reflect these other cultures in game terms. If anyone has recommendations for settings or maybe real-world research, I'd find them helpful. I'm looking for, in no particular order: Viking/Finnish/Russian, Indian/SE Asian, Oriental (not the same as prior), Arabic (pre-Islamic, preferentially), Mesoamerican (mostly Inca, I suspect). I'm running in 5E, but I know 3.X well enough to pull from it. I'd prefer to stick to stuff that's more recent, because I figure it's more likely to be aware of appropriation and not do it more than absolutely necessary.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Tonguez]

3e Mahasarpa is still available in the Wizards Archives and does India/SE Asia well even if it is a bit too tied to Rokugan.

I can think of a couple of Viking settings on Kickstartr

and is there any reason not to convert Al-Qadim or Kara-Tur?

 

[prabe]

and is there any reason not to cobvert Al-Qadim or Kara-Tur?

Only that I'm less familiar with the rules older than 3E, especially 2E after the first year or two. Doesn't make it impossible, just less easy.

 

[Fenris-77]

The Midgard setting by Kobold press is a great resource for a more Viking and North-East European setting and mythology. For an arabic feel, the best resource I can think of is, oddly, Coriolis (which is a Sci-fi setting). The whole setting is very arabic though, and it's a fine object lesson in how to layer on arabic names, customs, and whatnot over a setting that usually doesn't swing that way. For the meso-american bit maybe pencil in a couple of hours to watch Apocalypto.

 

[Shiroiken]

Only that I'm less familiar with the rules older than 3E, especially 2E after the first year or two. Doesn't make it impossible, just less easy.

Honestly I wouldn't worry about the mechanics of the setting. I'd just take the concepts and incorporate them socially. Al-Qadim and Kara-Tur are the quintessential guides for their perspective cultures. There's a 2E Vikings book that is historical in nature, with few mechanics. There's a Forgotten Realms setting based on the American Indians, which might give you some inspiration, but I cannot recall the name. As for SE Asia... I got nothing.

 

[Mercurius]

Southlands for Midgard is great for Arabic/Middle Eastern/Saharan.

 

[Fenris-77]

Southlands for Midgard is great for Arabic/Middle Eastern/Saharan.

Yes! I knew there was a great resource I was forgetting. Give this human a cookie.

 

[humble minion]

City of Gold was the 2e Maztica expansion that covered the continent north of Maztica itself. Heavily Pueblo and Anasazi-influenced if I recall. MazticaAlive on DMGuild has a lot of 5e resources covering these cultures (and an Incan analog) in FR, though I haven't read any of them. They may be worth a look. They're running a big bundle sale now - Maztica Alive! [BUNDLE] - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild

I'm not aware of any significant D&D settings inspired by SE Asian, or pre-colonisation Australia, or Pacific Islander cultures, though I'd certainly be interested if anyone can recommend any.

Pathfinder might also be worth mining for a bit of inspiration. The Dragon Empires Gazetteer would be your first stop for Asian-influenced settings, I think they draw on places like Tibet and the Mongol steppe etc too, it's not just China and Japan.

 

[noko]

So, I'm going to be working on some areas of my homebrew world that are not where the adventures are happening now, and I am hoping that I can pull things or otherwise draw inspiration from published settings, maybe ease the workload some, help my own understanding of how to reflect these other cultures in game terms. If anyone has recommendations for settings or maybe real-world research, I'd find them helpful. I'm looking for, in no particular order: Viking/Finnish/Russian, Indian/SE Asian, Oriental (not the same as prior), Arabic (pre-Islamic, preferentially), Mesoamerican (mostly Inca, I suspect). I'm running in 5E, but I know 3.X well enough to pull from it. I'd prefer to stick to stuff that's more recent, because I figure it's more likely to be aware of appropriation and not do it more than absolutely necessary.

Thanks in advance!

Oriental Adventures is still a thing. The copy I have is 1e but I see there was an update to 3.5e and something might have been done for 5e.

 

[Tonguez]

just to note that although everyone thinks its India (because they used the Caste system to match Rokugan), James Wyatt said in a tweet in 2001 that his Mahasarpa is actually inspired by Angkor Wat - Cambodia..