WotC Can we salvage Toril?

[Ruin Explorer]

yeah, I see them as how the French of early renaissance/late medieval are treated in American media: posh bureaucrats who like the ''idea'' of knight and their romantic ideals, not much the actual job of being a knight.

Since I know you are a fan of Dragon Age: think the Orlesians, with the Sword Coast being more like the Free Marches.

That's probably right. I just can't grok the idea of Cormyreans having French accents, given their names and general attitudes, so I don't think I ever thought of it like that.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

That's probably right. I just can't grok the idea of Cormyreans having French accents, given their names and general attitudes, so I don't think I ever thought of it like that.

They have vaguely French looking names, I tend to think of them as Normans, who I blame for bringing bureaucracy with them when they conquered England.

Have to confess to sometimes playing them with 'Allo 'Allo accents.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

That's probably right. I just can't grok the idea of Cormyreans having French accents, given their names and general attitudes, so I don't think I ever thought of it like that.

My table and I are from Québec, so I guess most of our FRs inhabitants have a French accent and yeah, the Orlesians as seen in the game are a little...heavy handed...in terms of french-itude. But the overall idea of their culture, their proximity with the lost kingdom of the elves (Elvehnan = Cormathor ?) and the hierarchy based on birth rather than merit is close to my vision of Cormyrean society.

Other short-hand I use:
Gauntlgrym = Orzamar (along with the whole class system, making dwarve prime douchebags)
The North = Ferelden
Sword Coast = Free Marches
Orcs = Quunari (so you can be Oruk without being an Orc, its a set of believes and a society you join or are converted to, not a race, even tho there's a race called Orc)
Avvar = Reghed, Ruathym
Alamari = Uthgard
Chasind = Rashemi
Tethyr = Rivain
Bloodstone lands/Narfell = Andersfeld
Sembia = Antiva
Elthugard = Nevara
Thay = Tevinter

Of course, these are all ''-ish''; I use them as a basic inspiration and build the rest from there.

 

[ssvegeta555]

Sembia is explicitly un-warlike, which challenges historical stereotypes re: Germany. I always thought of them as more akin to Switzerland (which admittedly is Germany-adjacent both culturally and physically IRL).

LOL though jesus this bit from the FR wiki: "Corruption was rampant in Sembian society, so as long as it did not interfere with the business at hand. Shady dealings were celebrated and the nation exhibited a vague racism, turning away outlanders that "looked different" than the lighter-skinned families that had long-established businesses within the realm."

[emoji51] [emoji51] [emoji51] [emoji51] [emoji51] [emoji51]

Yikes.

That is literally the first time I've read about canon colourism in the FR, and allegedly from the 3E FRCS.

It must be from a different source because I'm reading the Sembia entry in the 3e FRCG and this paragraph does not exist. I'm now curious where this came from because that's crazy!

 

[Baldurs_Underdark]

Personal opinion:

WotC should just update only Faerun to a 2022-proof version, and create a huge cliff hanger where they promise "something new" for the rest of the world of Toril. That has the advantage that:
1. WotC can start raking in all the cash from the update of Faerun
2. The fans can slowly settle down and realize the rest should be rewritten

I think large parts of Faerun can be used without offending too many people, but some small parts may need to be sanitized.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

It must be from a different source because I'm reading the Sembia entry in the 3e FRCG and this paragraph does not exist. I'm now curious where this came from because that's crazy!

It is there is the 3E FRCS, I just checked mine:

Here's the exact quote: "Outlanders seeking to set up shop in Sembia are warned that if they "look different" from the fair-skinned, drawling humans, business rivals seize on any excuse to start unfavorable rumors about them, because Sembians are especially quick to shun "sneaking outlanders.""

Page 189 under "The dark side of Sembia" - it's a text box, not the main text.

 

[ssvegeta555]

It is there is the 3E FRCS, I just checked mine:

Here's the exact quote: "Outlanders seeking to set up shop in Sembia are warned that if they "look different" from the fair-skinned, drawling humans, business rivals seize on any excuse to start unfavorable rumors about them, because Sembians are especially quick to shun "sneaking outlanders.""

Page 189 under "The dark side of Sembia" - it's a text box, not the main text.

Ah, I see it now, thanks. I was looking for that exact paragraph so that's why I wasn't seeing it before.