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I've been contemplating this today. (This is basically just for fun, but it may be of use to me in the future, and other people may enjoy/have a use for some things that come of it as well).
There are a large number of things I like about Golarion (though not all of it). There are a large number of things I like about Faerun (Though not all of it). And Both settings have a bunch of countries that are based on real-world places at various points in history.
The only thing I don't particularly care for is how human-centric both settings are. I would have liked seeing more countries run by other races, that are further from the historically inspired human lands.
So, I figured I would come on here, to my favorite gaming forum (ie. the only one I look at these days) and see if I could get some suggestions for merging the two settings. The goal is to be able to use as much of the awesome stuff in both settings as I can manage.
I'm not married to the map of either setting, and have pretty good art-skills, so I may make a new map for fun at some point, or I may not, but where things would need to be placed on the map is not a major concern for me at this point.
The first obvious step (to me at least) seems to be figuring out which countries could be merged, and which deities are really similar. Then I can either combine some deities, or have two deities competing over portfolios, at my leisure.
Here are some of the parallels I've got so far (correct me if I'm wrong):
Countries
- Osirion/Mulhorand/Egypt.
- Qadira/Katapesh/Kelesh/Zakhara/Arabia&Persia.
- Tian-Xia/Kara-Tur/China and Japan.
- Calimshan/Turkey
- Rashemen/Irrisen/Fairytale Russia
- Chult/Shaar/Mwangi Expanse/Africa
- ?/Maztica/Mesoamerica
- Andoran/Early USA
Looks to me like
Taldor = Britain
Galt = France obvious I know
But there are no real Faerun equivalents for those
I always loved Thay and the Zents but I don't see any direct Golarion equivalents
Nidal = Shade
I feel Golarion skews later historically than Faerun. For me Golarion feels vary late Mid Ages or perhaps early renaissance. Faerun is pretty solidly Middle Ages.
I've been contemplating this today. (This is basically just for fun, but it may be of use to me in the future, and other people may enjoy/have a use for some things that come of it as well).
There are a large number of things I like about Golarion (though not all of it). There are a large number of things I like about Faerun (Though not all of it). And Both settings have a bunch of countries that are based on real-world places at various points in history.
The only thing I don't particularly care for is how human-centric both settings are. I would have liked seeing more countries run by other races, that are further from the historically inspired human lands.
So, I figured I would come on here, to my favorite gaming forum (ie. the only one I look at these days) and see if I could get some suggestions for merging the two settings. The goal is to be able to use as much of the awesome stuff in both settings as I can manage.
I'm not married to the map of either setting, and have pretty good art-skills, so I may make a new map for fun at some point, or I may not, but where things would need to be placed on the map is not a major concern for me at this point.
The first obvious step (to me at least) seems to be figuring out which countries could be merged, and which deities are really similar. Then I can either combine some deities, or have two deities competing over portfolios, at my leisure.
Here are some of the parallels I've got so far (correct me if I'm wrong):
Countries
- Osirion/Mulhorand/Egypt.
- Qadira/Katapesh/Kelesh/Zakhara/Arabia&Persia.
- Tian-Xia/Kara-Tur/China and Japan.
- Calimshan/Turkey
- Rashemen/Irrisen/Fairytale Russia
- Chult/Shaar/Mwangi Expanse/Africa
- ?/Maztica/Mesoamerica
- Andoran/Early USA
Believe that would be. . .
Arcadia/Maztica/Mesoamerica
Is there any link between Russia and Irrisen? I've never seen any . . . .
<------didn't know Baba Yaga was Russian. Okay, carry on .. . !
I think that, in Golarion, Brevoy is more Russia than anything else.
Brevoy, the Houses name are particularly striking.
As my campaign is set in a home brew mashup of Faerun anyway...I just dropped Golarian on the other side of the planet...my players didn't seem to mind...it works quite well for us.
I like this idea.
Dotted to see what you do with it.
Brevoy is Westeros!
Ulstav/Irrisen is Baltic Sea region Vikings, Russia ect.
I think its interesting that you would want to merge the too worlds. When I first started looking at Golarion my first thought is that it was a lot like Faerun but instead of the major heroes being epic level super mythic archetypes who get all the action and fun. The heroes are who you are playing around the table. Don't get me wrong I love the Faerun fluff but if you want to run afoul of famous NPC's in Faerun you have to crack open the epic level handbook.
You could always just flip the Faerun map over and have it be the western hemisphere supercontinent just beyond the Azlanti islands. Enter in a new age of exploration when Viking raiders start incursions on Evermeet or the Moonshae Islands.
My players just never seemed to run into any iconic npc's no matter how hard they tried... then they realized their heroes were the heroes being sang about in the taverns...and kinda liked it!
Now they just go "Drizt'do elmonsterhand...??? never heard of him/her/it...sorry"
Lol yeah its my issue. However to be a major player in Faerun, meaning you can, defy and survive iconic locations, villans,.cities you need some serious exp. At least that is how it felt to me back in 3.x. Whereas Gol seems a much thinner population of high level people running around.
Lol yeah its my issue. However to be a major player in Faerun, meaning you can, defy and survive iconic locations, villans,.cities you need some serious exp. At least that is how it felt to me back in 3.x. Whereas Gol seems a much thinner population of high level people running around.
Yeah. That and the inevitable, "You can't do that in the Forgotten Realms because __________," arguments.
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Looks to me like
Taldor = Britain
Galt = France obvious I knowBut there are no real Faerun equivalents for those
Cormyr is similar to Taldor/England
I think Sembia is like spain/italy.
Don't forget about Halrua,where Link from legend of Zelda comes from :) (I know it's Hyrule).
Sorry to Necro this thread,I got to it from another source and forget to check the date.
Keeping in mind I haven't thought a whole about Faerun in almost a decade:
Yeah I agree with the Cormyr comparisons to Taldor. Although Taldor is as much Britain as it is imperial Spain and the Byzantine empire
You could probably just drop the Moonshae islands into the steaming sea without too much a problem. Not really a celtic analogue in Golarion, although Sarkoris kind of gets close
Cheliax is probably most similar to Zhentarim
Besides Irrisen, Iobaria is also very much Russia.
Arcadia is actually much more than just a Maztica analgo, although we don't really have any clue about it yet. Similarly, There is a lot more to Garund than the Mwangi Expanse, although I agree Chult is pretty similar to that specific region. Similarly...Casmaron has a pretty big Arabian nights inspired empire, but again, it's not really been developed.
Lands of the Linnorm Kings and Sword Coast North
Amn and Druma
Thay or Halruaa and Nex
Damara and Brevoy
Tethyr and Taldor possibly
The River Kingdoms and Border Kingdoms
Taldor is the Holy Roman Empire of BYZANTIUM. Right down to the meaningless titles and overwrought bureauacracy, and the war with an expanding empire to the South. Governments like that are called byzantine for a reason, you know!
Brevoy is ITALY and all its many city states after the fall of Rome, engaged in backstabbing politics with one another. Want a further comparison, check out the mercenary companies of Warhammer, the largest portion of whom are based in the equivalent of Italy, simply because they go to war with one another so much.
Ustalav would be equivalent to Russia or Poland. Irrissen would be more equivalent to Finland or Norway, ruled by the children of the Winter Witch.
Cheliax would be a very LE Germany/Austria-Hungary, complete with the racism.
There is no equivalent island nation for Britain, but the birth of Liberty in Andoran is plainly an allegory for America.
==Aelryinth
Can we call it Golaerun?
So as not to warp global maps too much, I simply put them into the same universe/Material Plane, with the occasional one-or-two-way gate linking locations (and a more sci-fi version of space travel than Spelljammer). I'm still using the Great Wheel for my cosmology, so neither the "tree" nor the Great Beyond are entirely true theories of how the universe, etc. fits together.
This means that the various deities are usually just local to a planet or star system (and with some nasty Great Old One types hanging out in the Dark Tapestry/void of space).
Some quick thoughts on god crossovers:
Abadar - Waukeen
Asmodeus - Bane
Calistria - Lolth, Shevarash
Cayden Cailean - Tymora
Desna - Selune, Shaundakul
Erastil - Chauntea
Gorum - Tempus, Uthgar
Gozreh - Silvanus
Iomedae - Torm, Siamorphe, Red Knight
Irori - Illmater
Lamashtu - Malar
Nethys - Mystra
Norgorber - Mask
Pharasma - Kelemvor
Rovagug - Gruumsh
Sarenrae - Lathander,
Shelyn - Sune, Liira
Torag - Moradin
Urgathoa - Yurtrus, Talona
Zon Kuthon - Loviatar