101 Ancient Cultures fit for a Campaign...

[SHARK]

Greetings!

Well, hello Azure Trance!

Here are a few:

(1) Etruscan
(2) Nemedian
(3) Iberian
(4) Pre-Roman Celt
(5) Anglo-Saxon
(6) Benin
(7) Bali
(8) Zimbabwe
(9) Scythian
(10) Germanic Barbarian (pre-4th century AD.)
(11) Aztec
(12) Mayan
(13) Incan
(14) The Hanseatic League (Germany/Baltic Europe of 1200-1400 AD.)

(15) The Avars (antecedents of the Hungarians)
(16) The Goths--(before they migrated to the Roman Empire; they used to live north of the Black Sea)

(17) Cherokee Indians
(18) Egyptian; Old Kingdom
(19) Canaanite/Pheonicians
(20) Mycenean
(21) Dorians (The folks who conquered the Greeks in 1200 BC and caused a Dark Age)

(22) The Trojans, of course.

(23) The Hittites
(24) Babylonians
(25) The Indian Kingdoms of Alexander The Great's Time
(26) The Ch'in Empire (The founding of the Chinese Empire; what China is named for)

That's some off the top of my head!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

All sorts of interesting theories (and some tall tales) have been postulated about the Minoans.

 

[Desdichado]

SHARK, I was just asking earlier today where you'd been.

Here's a few more ideas:

1. The culture of Teotihuacan (in South America -- another great "mystery builder" culture.)
2. Mound builders of the southern US.
3. Pre-celtic british(!)
4. Moorish Spain
5. Berbers
6. The Mitanni/Hurrians
7. The Scythians
8. The Pre-Indian Americans (Spirit Cave Mummy, Kennewick Man, etc.)
9. Proto-Indo-Europeans
10.The Sea Peoples (destroyed(?) Hittite and Mycenean empires, fought Egypt - repatriated Sea Peoples may be the origin of the Philistines -- and they may actually have been at least partially Greek in origin)

You have to do some guesswork on the details of a few of those, and some archeological research doesn't hurt neither, but they're all cultures that interest me, anyhoo.

 

[SHARK]

Greetings!

Really Joshua? Where? Or should I say what interesting conversation made you think of me?

It's nice to hear from you too, my friend!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

 

[Tonguez]

52. Polynesians of course

53. Proto-Austronesian peoples of SE Asia. (These people occupied SE Asia but were forced out by the spread of the 'Chin' from northern asia. A few of the native tribes of SE Asia are 'Austronesian' as are the native tribes of Indonesia, Polynesia and even the Malagasy (Madagascar). Prior to the global spread of English the Austronesian Language group was the most widespread lnaguage in the world))

54. Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan

55. The Medieval African Kingdoms of the Sahel (Songhai,Mali, Dahomey, Kanem-Boru etc)

56. Medieval Ethiopia (Axum etc)

58. The Moghul Empire

59. India during the reign of the English 'Factories' (17/18 century)

 

[johnsemlak]

a few more...

• Khazar empire (in what is now Southern Russia)
• Byzantine Empire
• The Akkadians (of Sargon of Akkad)
• The Persians
• The Parthians
• The various groups of Tatars who ruled Russia from Kazan, The Crimea, etc.
• Vladimir/Suzdal (old Russia)

 

[Desdichado]

Really Joshua? Where? Or should I say what interesting conversation made you think of me?

There's a thread over in Meta about folks that haven't been seen in a long time. It's really more for folks like Ruin Explorer, or PA or Crypt King that haven't posted here much in years, but I mentioned that I hadn't heard from you in a few months except for the odd post here and there. Haven't seen much of barsoomcore either, now that I think about it.

 

[Desdichado]

Prior to the global spread of English the Austronesian Language group was the most widespread lnaguage in the world

Are you sure about that? English has primarily replaced other Indo-european groups -- I'd seriously doubt any claim that Indo-European hasn't been the most widespread language group for the last 400 years or so -- at least since the spread of English, Spanish and Portuguese to the New World.

 

[Tonguez]

Are you sure about that? English has primarily replaced other Indo-european groups -- I'd seriously doubt any claim that Indo-European hasn't been the most widespread language group for the last 400 years or so -- at least since the spread of English, Spanish and Portuguese to the New World.

Yep absolutely certain - although admitedly it is something of a play on words in as much as 'widespread' refers to geographic area and not number of speakers or such. The Geographic Area from Madagascar to SE Asia (including Vietnam, Taiwan) and across the Pacific to Hawaii, Rapanui and NZ is something like 1/5 of the earths surface. Admittedly most of that area is water....

 

[Tratyn Runewind]

Hello,

One of my favorite campaign settings, Mystara/The Known World, is largely a patchwork quilt of lands closely modeled on historical cultures of Earth. Prominent examples include:

• Karameikos, modeled on the Balkans with their Roman, Greek, and Slavic influences;
• Ylaruam, modeled on the Middle East in general and Arabia in particular;
• Ierendi, loosely based on stereotypical Polynesian culture;
• Ostland, Vestland, and Soderfjord, modeled on Scandinavian culture of the Viking to medieval period;
• Darokin, a trading republic resembling the Hanseatic League and the Italian merchant city-states;
• Ethengar, modeled on the Mongols and similar steppe nomads;
• the Atruaghin Clans, blending traits of various North American Indian cultures;
• Thyatis, the major power of the Known World, modeled on Rome in three of its aspects (Thyatis proper as Classical Rome, Kerendas as the Greek-influenced Eastern Roman Empire, and Hattias as the Germanic Holy Roman Empire);
• Sind, based on India, though lately under the domination of "Desert Nomads" resembling the Turks; and
• Yavldom, which seems to mix traits of some sub-Saharan African cultures with a particularly strong blend of the fantastic owing to the Time-Sphere Immortal they follow.

The Hollow World is an area of Mystara established as a "nature preserve" of sorts by the Immortals ("gods") of Mystara, and includes cultures now extinct on the worlds surface including fantasy treatments of ancient Egypt (Nithia), classical Greece (Milenia), and the Aztecs (Azca), among others.

So, there are D&D adaptations of many of these cultures out there. Game-mechanical stuff is generally in BD&D flavor for the Mystara stuff, but even for those not planning to use the system or the setting, there's still a lot of fun atmosphere and background to be gleaned from the materials, if you can get a peek at them.

Hope this helps!