Kintargo Real World inspiration

[Lanathar]

What do people think the real world inspirations / parallels for Kintargo are?

There are two ways of looking at it:

- A more liberal progressive city full of artsy types. Being a trade bastion is an additional layer that many don't also have

- The above, but within a generally more conservative / autocratic society

My brother cited Shoreditch in London when it was described (as we are from the UK).

European examples:

Barcelona
Berlin
Bologna (hub of communism in Italy)

U.S:

Portland?
San Francisco?

I am not overly familiar with the US examples that I believe are the most likely inspirations

I do really like the Spanish and Italian examples as Cheliax does seem to be inspired on a hybrid of the two...

I have tried to avoid modern progressive capital cities in my thoughts. Berlin is the exception as it is a relatively recent capital (about 150 years). Under the Holy Roman Empire I believe it was one of the hubs of early Liberalism (different ideology to how the word is used today)

[James Jacobs]

There wasn't really a specific real-world inspiration for Kintargo, in the same way my hometown inspired Sandpoint or San Francisco inspired Magnimar.

I guess Seattle's probably the closest you'll get to a specific parallel or inspiration, but even then... not really.

[roguerouge]

I believe I will run afoul of the forum rules if I comment on the commonalities my table has found between this AP and the current political situation in the USA.

[Latrecis]

roguerouge wrote:

I believe I will run afoul of the forum rules if I comment on the commonalities my table has found between this AP and the current political situation in the USA.

Laughing out loud.

(So I don't cry.)

[The Mad Comrade]

Eureka Springs, Arkansas in the U.S. is a possible source to check for some of the cultural inspirations for Kintargo.

[zimmerwald1915]

For geography and somewhat politics? Gijon, Asturias. Doesn't really have the artsy flare, though.

[zimmerwald1915]

zimmerwald1915 wrote:

For geography and somewhat politics? Gijon, Asturias. Doesn't really have the artsy flare, though.

I have since reevaluated this position and come to the conclusion that Kintargo is much more like to A Coruna or Ferrol, and that Ravounel is like unto Galicia.

I have also recently come 'round to the position that the period of the Glorious Reclamation is quite a lot like the Third Carlist War (early 1870s) in terms of the political and economic development of the country. Around that time, Ferrol's population was around 24,000 souls, and A Coruna's population was around 32,000, neither of which is too far off Kingargo's 12,000 or Vyre's 17,000.

[Handsome Gracchus]

If we're bringing up the Carlists, Ravounel has pretty much the same natural resource base as the Basque country, and Bilbao's population in the 1870s was around 17,000 iirc