I decided it would be best to spin this off into it's own discussion.
The original creator of the Forgotten Realms is Ed Greenwood who is a Canadian Librarian and Author and for those who knew what to look for the Forgotten Realms is infused with Canadianess. This makes it distinct in a way from all the American created settings. Which is not to say that FR doesn't have some American influences, it does, or that the Canadian influence strong in every part of FR, but it's a very Canadian setting at heart.
You see it in the environmental descriptions and the way heart urban centres are weaved together with vast and I mean vast regions of nature and rural farming regions, the fact that most of the races and cultures of FR are in fact immigrates to the world.
You see it in the fact that around the great cities of the Swordcoast you Native American like Tribes of Uthgardt.
You see it in the Parliamentary Democracy of Turmish.
You see it in the farm communities of the Dales.
You see it in the Law and Good government ideals of Cormyr.
You see it in the two solitudes of Aglarond and its history.
You see the era of Hudson's Bay (a corporation that ruled most of what would become Canada before Canada bought the land from them) in Merchant Ruled nations like Sembia and Amn.
You see it in the multiculturalism of the setting, the greater comfort with diverse forms of sexuality in the setting, and so on.
Ed Greenwood was the biggest Canadian influence on FR, but he is not the only one, Bioware which made the BG games was also Canadian and there possibly others.
Thoughts?
The original creator of the Forgotten Realms is Ed Greenwood who is a Canadian Librarian and Author and for those who knew what to look for the Forgotten Realms is infused with Canadianess. This makes it distinct in a way from all the American created settings. Which is not to say that FR doesn't have some American influences, it does, or that the Canadian influence strong in every part of FR, but it's a very Canadian setting at heart.
You see it in the environmental descriptions and the way heart urban centres are weaved together with vast and I mean vast regions of nature and rural farming regions, the fact that most of the races and cultures of FR are in fact immigrates to the world.
You see it in the fact that around the great cities of the Swordcoast you Native American like Tribes of Uthgardt.
You see it in the Parliamentary Democracy of Turmish.
You see it in the farm communities of the Dales.
You see it in the Law and Good government ideals of Cormyr.
You see it in the two solitudes of Aglarond and its history.
You see the era of Hudson's Bay (a corporation that ruled most of what would become Canada before Canada bought the land from them) in Merchant Ruled nations like Sembia and Amn.
You see it in the multiculturalism of the setting, the greater comfort with diverse forms of sexuality in the setting, and so on.
Ed Greenwood was the biggest Canadian influence on FR, but he is not the only one, Bioware which made the BG games was also Canadian and there possibly others.
Thoughts?