D&D General The Canadian Influence on the Forgotten Realms

[Paul Farquhar]

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?

Extending it to North America generally, Icewind Dale looks suspiciously like Alaska.

To someone who isn't American, the Americanness of FR (and especially the North West of Faerun) is perhaps more apparent, and makes for an exotic contrast to the very English Middle Earth.

I hold Bioware (based in Edmonton) responsible for establishing the look of the Flora and Fauna of the Sword Coast though.

Canadian Forest:

English Forest:

There is also a North American worldview colouring the more exotic cultures of the East. Notice how those Red Wizards wizards switched from trying to take over the world with raw power to using commerce and the magic item trade round about the same time as the fall of the Soviet Union in the real world?

You see it in the Law and Good government ideals of Cormyr.

This seems like an outsider's view of Norman England & France to me. You need a licence to carry a weapon, and there is an obsession with Knights, nobility, chivalry and courtly romance.

 

[Lanefan]

That was true before the microbrew explosion of the last several years. Not anymore.

Exactly.

And where in North America did said microbrewing explosion originate? Oh yeah, right here in Victoria!

(actually there might have been one or two other points of origin as well, but Victoria did have arguably the first microbrewery on the continent and still, according to CNN last year, ranks among the top ten beer brewing cities in the world)

Canadian Rye Whiskey, is under appreciated, however.

Suits me fine - can't stand whisky of any kind, personally.

 

[dave2008]

At least Americans have finally more or less figured out that Canadian beer is better.

I'm not sure how to understand this. Beer is horrible, so does that mean Canadian beer is better at being horrible?

 

[Sword of Spirit]

Is this going to turn into a discussion about the nature of dire beer?

 

[gyor]

Geographically, climatologically, etc. there's many similarities between much of southern Canada and more or less the northern half of the USA.

Culturally, there's generally some similarity close to the border but get anywhere deeper into the USA and that similarity diminishes rapidly; in large part due to the influences of significant cultural minorities. The USA, for example, has far greater influence from its African-American and Latino populations than does Canada; in contrast Canada has far more influence from its French-Canadian and (in the west, anyway) Asian populations than does the USA.

Politically, there's a rather sharp divide at the border no matter how you slice it.

At least Americans have finally more or less figured out that Canadian beer is better.

In the GTA where I live (Greater Toronto Area, not Grand Thieft Auto!) are also very diverse, lots of Asians, Caribbeans, Iranians, East Indians, even in some of the more rural parts of the GTA where I live.

 

[Aldarc]

And where in North America did said microbrewing explosion originate? Oh yeah, right here in Victoria!

(actually there might have been one or two other points of origin as well, but Victoria did have arguably the first microbrewery on the continent and still, according to CNN last year, ranks among the top ten beer brewing cities in the world)

If you never get out of Victoria, I could see how you would think that. From what I have read microbreweries were already present in the United States by at least 5 years before Canada's first in 1981. The Beer in Canada article on Wikipedia even mentions how Canada's microbrewery scene didn't come around until after movements were underway in the UK and the US.

But maybe this is another Canadian influence on the Forgotten Realms: laying claim on cool things that come from prior settings (i.e., Greyhawk).

 

[Bitbrain]

Sorry to the Canadians but is Canada really all that different from the Northern USA? and arent you guys like all ‘North America’

A good friend of mine once explained Canada to me as follows:

“Imagine that you are sleeping back to back with a bull elephant who trumpets in his sleep and has irritable bowel syndrome. The US is the elephant in this scenario.”

 

[gyor]

If you never get out of Victoria, I could see how you would think that. From what I have ready microbreweries were already present in the United States by at least 5 years before Canada's first in 1981. The Beer in Canada article on Wikipedia even mentions how Canada's microbrewery scene didn't come around until after movements were underway in the UK and the US.

But maybe this is another Canadian influence on the Forgotten Realms: laying claim on cool things that come from prior settings (i.e., Greyhawk).

Canada er I mean the Forgotten Realms merely claimed things from other settings to add to it's perfection.

 

[Tyler Do'Urden]

Ehminster?

 

[Lanefan]

I'm not sure how to understand this. Beer is horrible, so does that mean Canadian beer is better at being horrible?

No, it's better at being beer; and beer is the foundation upon which our games are built.