Mercurius
Legend
As a bit of a setting junky, I've always enjoyed worlds/settings that aren't clearly analogous to specific Earth cultures. It isn't an easy feat, as all of us are (allegedly) Earthlings, so we can only draw from our own world - or other worlds that were created by people who were inspired by real-world cultures (though I would argue that the human imagination is capable of stretching beyond what it has experienced, but that's a different conversation).
But sometimes there is a world that feels distinctly different - without clear analogues to the real world, or at least minimized. Worlds that feel distinctly their own.
Some examples include Talislanta, Shadow World/Kulthea, Dark Sun, and Planescape. You can find smatterings of influence in any of them, but they all feel relatively distinct.
Strangely enough, I'd say Dragonlance/Krynn is the most distinct vanilla fantasy world I can think of, at least among D&D's settings. Again, there are obvious influences--not to mention the Mormon undertones--but I don't think of "fantasy Europe" or "fantasy Uzbekhistan."
Some worlds have strong influences, but do a good job masking them within the fantasy elements - like Earthdawn, which is actually set in a mythic past of our world. But it doesn't really feel like our world.
Actually, Middle-earth is pretty distinct. Like Earthdawn (or should I say, like ME for Earthdawn?!
), it is set in a mythic past of our world, but Tolkien did an amazing job creating distinct cultural and mythological traditions that feel like they could be the source of--rather than derived from--later real-world traditions. Mission accomplished, dear JRR!
Among literary worlds, I can think of many examples: Not just Middle-earth, but Le Guin's Earthsea, Herbert's Dune, Erikson's Malazan world, etc. Again, smatterings of influence, but they all feel distinct, and with primary tones that are unique.
What else? It doesn't have to be "completely distinct" - again, I don't think that is possible, really. But worlds and settings that don't have a clear and obvious real-world culture that they are drawn from, and offer elements and tones that seem unique to that world, and more to the point, define it more than the real-world-inspired elements.
p.s. If mods feel like this should be moved to RPG General, that's fine. I placed it here because it was inspired by the Radiant Citadel thread, and most of us know D&D worlds the best. But it probably makes more sense there. Either way!
But sometimes there is a world that feels distinctly different - without clear analogues to the real world, or at least minimized. Worlds that feel distinctly their own.
Some examples include Talislanta, Shadow World/Kulthea, Dark Sun, and Planescape. You can find smatterings of influence in any of them, but they all feel relatively distinct.
Strangely enough, I'd say Dragonlance/Krynn is the most distinct vanilla fantasy world I can think of, at least among D&D's settings. Again, there are obvious influences--not to mention the Mormon undertones--but I don't think of "fantasy Europe" or "fantasy Uzbekhistan."
Some worlds have strong influences, but do a good job masking them within the fantasy elements - like Earthdawn, which is actually set in a mythic past of our world. But it doesn't really feel like our world.
Actually, Middle-earth is pretty distinct. Like Earthdawn (or should I say, like ME for Earthdawn?!
), it is set in a mythic past of our world, but Tolkien did an amazing job creating distinct cultural and mythological traditions that feel like they could be the source of--rather than derived from--later real-world traditions. Mission accomplished, dear JRR!Among literary worlds, I can think of many examples: Not just Middle-earth, but Le Guin's Earthsea, Herbert's Dune, Erikson's Malazan world, etc. Again, smatterings of influence, but they all feel distinct, and with primary tones that are unique.
What else? It doesn't have to be "completely distinct" - again, I don't think that is possible, really. But worlds and settings that don't have a clear and obvious real-world culture that they are drawn from, and offer elements and tones that seem unique to that world, and more to the point, define it more than the real-world-inspired elements.
p.s. If mods feel like this should be moved to RPG General, that's fine. I placed it here because it was inspired by the Radiant Citadel thread, and most of us know D&D worlds the best. But it probably makes more sense there. Either way!
