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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Azzy" data-source="post: 8026660" data-attributes="member: 6563">Yes, D&D is based on a multitude of different European (mostly Western European) myths, legends, folklore, and literature as well as contemporary fantasy literature. It's a pastiche of Middle Ages Europe through the lens of Americans (of European decent). However, the earliest D&D campaigns were less occupied in presenting cultural verisimilitude or even elements of culture outside of what was immediately necessary. That said, Western Europe of the Middle Ages had a lot of overlap in their legends and stories. For instance, King Arthur and the Matter of England may have started off in England, but other European countries (such as France and Germany) absorbed and added t its mythos. Likewise, Charlemagne and the Matter of France was absorbed and popular far outside of France. The Matter of Rome (comprised of loose and often anachronistic adaptions the Greco-Roman myths and Classical history) were also popular throughout Western Europe. Add to this, contemporary fantasy literature from Europe and America drew from these and other Pan-European sources to create their own pastiches.That said, I don't think there's so much wrong with having an Asian-inspired pastiche so much as in how and by who it's done. D&D has a history of presenting "non-Western" cultures as not- versions of themselves with serial numbers poorly files off. This is evidenced in Kara-Tur's two Chinas, two Japans, Korea, etc. (sometimes even using historical names of said countries as the their fantasy names—see Wa and Koryo), Maztica, Mystara's various -not- countries, etc. It's always a view of "non-Western" cultures seen through the lens of Westerners that have little actual knowledge of those cultures (aside from what they could dig up from their local library) and consciously or subconsciously exotify and other those cultures. If a "non-Western" culture pastiche was created by or in concert by those from said culture or their inheritors that still remained respectful, I don't think you'd see a lot of complaints. I could be wrong, though, as it's not my place to determine what is acceptable or not acceptable to people of cultures that are not my own.</blockquote>

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