There's an old joke that goes:
In Heaven the cooks are French, the policemen are English, the mechanics are German, the lovers are Italian, and the bankers are Swiss.
In Hell the cooks are English, the policemen are German, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss, and the bankers are Italian.
But the more I look at fantasy settings, the more I see this joke repeated in a slightly different way.
This is Generic European Milieu Fantasy!
The peerage is French, the castles are German, the weapons are Italian, and everyone speaks English.
You can also have your choice of two flavors of religion: "Aesthetics" (French) or "Cruel Despots" (German)
No, I didn't misspell ascetics. In many settings religion exists almost entirely as a vibe with no impact on politics. Where it -does- have impact they're basically a tyrannical shadow-government most of the time!
Every King is a truly noble sort who does not wish to rule, except for the Evil Kings who always come to power ruthlessly and never by divine right of heritage. And there's always a noble cousin or an older brother to lock away in some distant castle to be rescued by the rebels so they can overthrow the False King.
The land will also be inhabited by thinly veiled northern Vikings (9th century), dangerous mongol raiders (13th century), a wealthy merchant house or six (15th century), and the fancy balls will play the waltz (18th century). Across the windswept plains or sea to the East you'll have samurai (12th century), favoring the katana over archery (19th century).
Chocolate is common (Olmecs), coffee is available (Ethiopians), potatoes are the basis of a rustic diet (Inca), tomatoes are thrown at jesters (Aztecs), and you'll find country bumpkins with corn cob pipes (Mexicans) smoking tobacco (Bolivians).
Elven artistry is Art Nouveau (German 19th Century), Dwarven arts are Art Deco (American 20th Century), and all portraits of kings and important people are done in oil paintings (Afghanistan 7th Century).
And it's only ever treated as inaccurate when a black person exists or someone makes a taco with magic.
Of course, not -every- setting is like this.
Eberron eschews a lot of the traditional tropes by ditching Castles for the most part and moving almost entirely to renaissance warring italian houses set to Steam and Dieselpunk adventure backdrops. Dark Sun throws it all in the bin in favor of a wholly different environment and sociological structure.
But Birthright? Forgotten Realms? Greyhawk? They all kind of do this same sort of thing. Even the Hobbits talk about Potatoes and Tomatoes while smoking pipeweed in the Lord of the Rings.
Where is this all heading? I honestly don't know. It's just Setting Thoughts.
What kind of settings could we create if we specifically eschewed these kinds of tropes? What kinds of settings could we create if we tried to make "Generic European Fantasy Milieu Hell" instead of heaven?
Soviet Elves with Brutalist architecture. Turkish Dwarves with elaborate Ottoman structures. French Halflings raving about baguettes. Orcish tribes reimagined as warring Italian merchant houses. Drow politely knocking on your door and asking if you've heard the good word of Llolth?
In Heaven the cooks are French, the policemen are English, the mechanics are German, the lovers are Italian, and the bankers are Swiss.
In Hell the cooks are English, the policemen are German, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss, and the bankers are Italian.
But the more I look at fantasy settings, the more I see this joke repeated in a slightly different way.
This is Generic European Milieu Fantasy!
The peerage is French, the castles are German, the weapons are Italian, and everyone speaks English.
You can also have your choice of two flavors of religion: "Aesthetics" (French) or "Cruel Despots" (German)
No, I didn't misspell ascetics. In many settings religion exists almost entirely as a vibe with no impact on politics. Where it -does- have impact they're basically a tyrannical shadow-government most of the time!
Every King is a truly noble sort who does not wish to rule, except for the Evil Kings who always come to power ruthlessly and never by divine right of heritage. And there's always a noble cousin or an older brother to lock away in some distant castle to be rescued by the rebels so they can overthrow the False King.
The land will also be inhabited by thinly veiled northern Vikings (9th century), dangerous mongol raiders (13th century), a wealthy merchant house or six (15th century), and the fancy balls will play the waltz (18th century). Across the windswept plains or sea to the East you'll have samurai (12th century), favoring the katana over archery (19th century).
Chocolate is common (Olmecs), coffee is available (Ethiopians), potatoes are the basis of a rustic diet (Inca), tomatoes are thrown at jesters (Aztecs), and you'll find country bumpkins with corn cob pipes (Mexicans) smoking tobacco (Bolivians).
Elven artistry is Art Nouveau (German 19th Century), Dwarven arts are Art Deco (American 20th Century), and all portraits of kings and important people are done in oil paintings (Afghanistan 7th Century).
And it's only ever treated as inaccurate when a black person exists or someone makes a taco with magic.
Of course, not -every- setting is like this.
Eberron eschews a lot of the traditional tropes by ditching Castles for the most part and moving almost entirely to renaissance warring italian houses set to Steam and Dieselpunk adventure backdrops. Dark Sun throws it all in the bin in favor of a wholly different environment and sociological structure.
But Birthright? Forgotten Realms? Greyhawk? They all kind of do this same sort of thing. Even the Hobbits talk about Potatoes and Tomatoes while smoking pipeweed in the Lord of the Rings.
Where is this all heading? I honestly don't know. It's just Setting Thoughts.
What kind of settings could we create if we specifically eschewed these kinds of tropes? What kinds of settings could we create if we tried to make "Generic European Fantasy Milieu Hell" instead of heaven?
Soviet Elves with Brutalist architecture. Turkish Dwarves with elaborate Ottoman structures. French Halflings raving about baguettes. Orcish tribes reimagined as warring Italian merchant houses. Drow politely knocking on your door and asking if you've heard the good word of Llolth?
