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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 662270" data-attributes="member: 4937">After rereading my post I realized I touched on all the political topics but didn't really say much about the topic at hand.I wouldn't worry to much about recreating the reality of North American culture.  Sure, if you plan to do this, reading some good textbooks on the subject would be a good place to start, but keep in mind that this is fantasy - so it is equally cool and maybe more cool to recreate the myth of pre-columbian North America.  Just don't mistake the myth for the reality.Don't just try to imitate; be inspired.   Maztica and alot of the Forgotten Realms falls apart because thier is more imitation than inspiration, and little forethought in creation.  Don't fall into that trap.For instance, I would avoid at all costs recreating the Columbian discovery aspect unless you plan to have the PC's as Columbus or natives meeting Columbus.  It just frankly is too narrow in scope, and if you want historical recreation play in a realistic grim and gritty campaign sans magic.  For my part, I'd just assume avoid the whole isolation/discovery issue in its entirety.  I'd assume some commerse in and out of the culture, just not alot.  You don't really talk about 'discovering' Japan.  It was always there.   It just didn't communicate much.  If the land is known, it is easier to arrange reasonable reasons for the PC's to be thier.If it suits you, go ahead and recreate the myth that the culture is one of choice, and that its inhabitants are environmentalists that have discovered how to be in touch with the land in both a physical and spiritual way.  Carrying the idea further in a situation where the culture was aware of metals, you could persume that the stone age technology exists not because other technologies are not known - but because various spiritual prohibitions exist against thier use.  I would try to arrange the culture of tribes like various communities of Amish, each trying to follow thier own particular custums regarding the maintence of thier prohibitions against technology.   These should be appropriately bizarre and to an outsider at times seem hypocritical.   For instance, one tribe may allow metal to be used in weapons, but not farm tools.  Another tribe could practice the reverse.   One tribe forbids the touching of metal after nightfall, and so forth.   It might be interesting if it turned out that the reason for the culture was at one time the culture was the most technology advanced on the planet and some man made disaster arose.</blockquote>

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