Fantasy Earth resources?

[Geoffrey]

My favorite setting for D&D is a fantasy version of our own earth. The problem is that the standard D&D monsters, magic spells, magic items, and character classes and races obviously had their origin as a mishmash of wargaming needs and various and sundry fantasy authors (along with a dollop of earth's mythologies). These D&D things simply don't reflect earth's mythologies very well.

What D&D products (of any edition) try to detail earth's pre-gunpowder cultures in game terms? I can think of two lines of products that are kind of what I'm looking for:

1. the Historical Reference books for 2nd edition AD&D
2. some of Avalanche Press's d20 products

Is that it? I'm not interested in products that are primarily "D&D stuff with an ethnic flavor". For example, Nyambe has Africanized dwarves and elves running around in a land that isn't Africa. It's not a product that details Africa in D&D terms. Instead, it's D&D with only a veneer of Africa.

I'd like to see, for example, a sourcebook of medieval China (not a land that is merely "China-like") in game terms. It would have to have an entirely new magic system. I wouldn't want to see any magic missiles, for example. I'd want the magic system to be based on that of Chinese myth and legend. The same would go for the monsters. No orcs and such, just Chinese creatures.

I'm looking for real world myths rendered into D&D game terms. I'm not looking for standard D&D (fireballs, beholders, etc.) with a dash of real mythology.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

 

[Alzrius]

Although I haven't read it myself, Ive heard nothing but high praise for Expeditious Retreat Press's A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe. Its supposed to be full of details for basic, daily life for peasants in a western european world of several hundred years ago that has magic in it. It may be worth a look.

 

[Psion]

I replied on the NG boards, but just for good measure:

Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

Stone & Steel by Monkey God has general notes on weapons (and other equipmebnt) and character types throught a variety of historical settings on Earth. I'm thinking this is your best bet, but it's not heavy on setting material (though it does have some historical notes to give the classes and equipment context.)

Green Ronin's Skull & Bones and Testament are both mythical takes on historical eras on earth. Green Ronin's Mindshadows (much like WotC's OA and its web enhancement) is a bit more of "Fantasy inspired by real history" like Nyambe and less like the mythical takes on history that those first two mythic vistas books are.

Second World Sourcebook (which someone else mentions) is less a "fantascized historical earth" and more a crossworlds fantasy game with the alternate world being geographically like Earth and adopting many RL languages and cultures, but with lots of its own convetions. If the level of deviation from the authentic in Nyambe turn you off, you probably won't like it either, I'm guessing. (I like it, though! And the demihumans in Nyambe turn me off.)

I think Monkeygod also had an adventure or two set in the Balkans or ancient Russia.


P.S. Alzirus, HTML no workey in sigs. Try some UBB code...

 

[Golem Joe]

How about...

Not specifically a DnD product, but you should check out the Lejendary Earth series by Gary Gygax. It's similar enough to our own world, but different enough to be liberating. The series will ultimately contain five books, of which two have been released thus far:

Gazetteer: covers world history, geographical areas, cultural details, and thumbnail overviews of the different provinces.

Noble Kings and Dark Lands: covers the continents of Varan (Europe) and Apphir (Africa). This book contains literally thousands of adventure hooks.

The next book in the series will cover Hazgar (Asia) and is supposed to be out by the end of the year (or shortly thereafter).

The LE books are pretty similar to the old Greyhawk sets from the 1980s. They are light on meat, and are very customizable to what the DM wants to do with it. The books are stat free, so using them with DnD is easy.

 

[JeffB]

I too was thinking the LA materials would be great as well as The Epic of Aerth