doctorbadwolf
Heretic of The Seventh Circle
All of 'em.
Usually not stereotypical Western European medieval feudal monarchies, though. I'd have to run very low magic campaigns to feel like they make any sense, and even then, that period of European history was really short, from a historical standpoint. My monarchies tend more toward Scandinavian monarchies, with varying degrees of importance of the Thing/Allthing, or cultures like the pre-Christian Brithons or other Celtic social orders.
I really like city states, as well, and Persian style empires for "good" empires, vs Roman/Alexandrian Empires for "evil" (read:aggressive overbearing) empires.
I always remind myself of how varied the world has been at any given point in history. At one point there were Viking mercenaries in Constantinople, feudal kings in Western Europe, alchemists writing treatises on legit science and medicine in Andalusian Spain, the beginnings of The Renaissance in Italia, and that is just Europe!
And there adventurers, explorers, traders, and diplomats experience what must have been a mind blowing breadth of different cultures in the great ports and trade centers of the world. When you look at things like Empires and centers of trade and learning in Africa and the East at the same time, not to mention the Americas, it's far more fantastical and exciting, IMO, than pretty much any published DnD setting.
Eberron comes the closest, for me, to capturing just how different life can be even half a continent away.
Usually not stereotypical Western European medieval feudal monarchies, though. I'd have to run very low magic campaigns to feel like they make any sense, and even then, that period of European history was really short, from a historical standpoint. My monarchies tend more toward Scandinavian monarchies, with varying degrees of importance of the Thing/Allthing, or cultures like the pre-Christian Brithons or other Celtic social orders.
I really like city states, as well, and Persian style empires for "good" empires, vs Roman/Alexandrian Empires for "evil" (read:aggressive overbearing) empires.
I always remind myself of how varied the world has been at any given point in history. At one point there were Viking mercenaries in Constantinople, feudal kings in Western Europe, alchemists writing treatises on legit science and medicine in Andalusian Spain, the beginnings of The Renaissance in Italia, and that is just Europe!
And there adventurers, explorers, traders, and diplomats experience what must have been a mind blowing breadth of different cultures in the great ports and trade centers of the world. When you look at things like Empires and centers of trade and learning in Africa and the East at the same time, not to mention the Americas, it's far more fantastical and exciting, IMO, than pretty much any published DnD setting.
Eberron comes the closest, for me, to capturing just how different life can be even half a continent away.
