Irrisen: Location, Location, Location???

[W E Ray]

I've ben doing some prep for Brevoy/ Issia/ Restov/ Rostland and the like, with some Russian Folklore thrown in to my research as it has always been seemingly a Russian-like area in the Pathfinder World -- been designing a campaign near Lake Baikol (Lake Reykol being Pathfinder's spelling). And it has occurred to me: Why isn't Irrisen out here in the East close to Brevoy, Issia and Lake Baikol (I mean, 'Reykol')?!

Can anyone help with the original design ideas / story of why Paizo decided to put Baba Yaga's daughters and granddaughters next to The Land of Linnorm Kings instead of PF-Russia?

I'm just curious.

Thanks!

[keftiu]

Brevoy's pitch has always been Game of Thrones Land to me, rather than being any specific nation's analogue. It's a place for Vaguely European noble houses to feud, and a legacy of dragons hanging over the whole thing.

[Dragonchess Player]

Countries of Golarion are (deliberately) not designed to be direct analogs of those in the real world. They may often use real world culture/history as inspiration, but the influence is combined with other things. Brevoy is confirmed as similar to Westeros.

Brevoy, along with Iobaria and Irrisen, have some Russian influences. Where Irrisen has more of a "fairy-tale" Russia flavor (at least partially because Baba Yaga created the nation with her daughters as rulers) and Iobaria is (probably) closer to Siberia/the Steppes, the feuding Brevoy nobles and Restov do seem to correspond somewhat to pre-Mongol Kievan Rus and Novgorod, but not as an exact match. For example, in addition to the Game of Thrones influences, the Aldori swordlords do not have a real world historical Russian equivalent that I know of.

As far the Land of the Linnorm Kings being next to Irrisen, you may want to research the "Calling of the Varangians" and the close influences between the Norse and Slavs in real world history.

[YlothofMerab]

I tend to think of Irrisen like western Russian and Iobaria like Siberia.