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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gradine" data-source="post: 7398054" data-attributes="member: 57112">This is actually simpler than a lot of people make it out to be.1) Do your research2) Present the culture as humanThere is not, and never really has been, such a thing as a monolithic culture. There are certain traits that are going to be universal or near-universal simply due to the nature of the way social and cultural norms work, but no culture has ever been free of outliers. Elsewise there would never have been a need for taboos.The problem with replacing Mongols with Orcs is how D&D tends to present Orcs as a monolithic, chaotic and violent race. It is often not even presented as cultural, in most D&D presentations of Orcs, up to and including Volo's Guide, they are treated as being that way due to their very nature.If you're pulling from historical human cultures, the most important thing is to portray them as human, with all the range and diversity that implies. If you're throwing in the Turks as nothing more than faceless bad guys to mow through, yeah, that's pretty damn problematic.But the fact that you're even giving thought to this means that you're probably well-prepared to tackle this in a way that's humane and respectful.</blockquote>