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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JohnSnow" data-source="post: 5122470" data-attributes="member: 32164">I think a lot of people want their settings to reflect the adventures of legendary, mythical, or fictional characters. And MANY of those have experiences that extend far beyond one country.Just as a few examples, Alexander's empire stretched from India to Greece. Caesar fought from Britain to Egypt. Augustus conquered "the whole world." Even King Arthur was credited by Geoffrey of Monmouth with exploits in France. Charlemagne fought battles from Germany to the Pyrenees. Richard the Lionheart and many others went on crusades to far-off Jerusalem. Henry V spent years trying to press the English claim in France. The list goes on and on. Mythological heroes like Hercules, Beowulf, and Jason are usually worse. And don't get me started on literary fantasy heroes like Conan, Elric, or Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser, all of whom trod the face of their entire world (sometimes even going further than that).A setting the size of France works for low-level heroes or early medieval (dark ages) settings. That's the size of Brian Boru's Ireland, Robin Hood's England, or the actual historical King Arthur's Britain (if he existed). However, by the time you get to the high middle ages (1000 or later), continent-spanning adventures make sense for many heroes. By the time a setting starts to feel like the European Renaissance, it needs not just many countries, but multiple continents.Of course, the settings need to be much more heavily populated. Personally, I like the feel of a slightly more mature dark ages. It's sparsely populated enough to be manageable, while having a big enough geographic scope to feel epic.But you're right that it's largely a matter of personal taste.</blockquote>

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