Map courtesy of Lew Pulsipher
A Lengthy Custom
Tabletop role-playing video games have an extended conventional of European medieval fantasy, beginning with Dungeons & Dragons. Whereas there have been occasional nods to different cultures (the monk class being one instance, with monsters from different non-European cultures showing within the Fiend Folio), by and enormous the “default” has been a Eurocentric view.
It’s price trying into why that is and what to do about it. Thoughts, this text shouldn’t be advocating one tradition over one other. My goal is to not argue in opposition to utilizing a sure tradition, however to make designers and sport masters conscious of their influences and recommend alternate options in the event that they’re enthusiastic about branching out.
Why Is it Well-liked?
Familiarity of the setting may give gamers context that helps them perceive how the world works. Gamers (suppose they) know what Viking-like northern raiders are like, what southern lands are like, and so forth. Many gamers received’t care that the world derives from a European view. But it surely’s useful to outline what Eurocentrism is. Sciencedirect.com notes there are a number of definitions, and offers a couple of of them as:
…an angle, conceptual equipment, or set of empirical beliefs that body Europe as the first engine and architect of world historical past, the bearer of common values and purpose, and the top and due to this fact mannequin of progress and improvement.
Early Dungeons & Dragons is closely Eurocentric, and lots of the extra skilled gamers and GMs discovered RPGs from D&D and early fantasy literature. In any case, essentially the most well-known fantasy world, J. R. R. Tolkien’s Center-earth, is recognizably Eurocentric in tradition and even conformation. The ocean is to the west, raids (Angmar, dragons) come from the north, know-how is medieval, and so on. “Tolkien-centric” can be Eurocentric (see my earlier article on this, “Escaping Tolkien”).
There’s much more to Eurocentrism than simply geography. Know-how stage, feudalism and the Aristocracy, robust spiritual affect, are all a part of the package deal. Even types of magic.
Branching Out
There are many alternate options to Eurocentrism. One of many earliest examples was created by linguist M. A. R. Barker. Empire of the Petal Throne was one of many first RPGs after D&D, and borrowed many mechanics from the D&D guidelines. However the setting was unique, removed from medieval fantasy or Tolkien, nearer to east Asia. The novels that he wrote in regards to the world reminded the reader of the variations (e.g., Prince of Skulls and Lords of Tsamra).
TSR later adopted swimsuit, exploring a few of these of their settings, reminiscent of Kara-Tur, Al-Qadim, and lots of others. Notably lacking from many of those efforts have been creators representing the cultures that impressed these settings; as tabletop gaming has expanded globally, we’re fortunately seeing increasingly more creators sharing their cultures and views.
If you wish to develop your fantasy marketing campaign past European influences, there’s loads to select from.
Exploring New Lands
An vital first step is to study different cultures, and real-world historical past can function inspiration. Please word that it is a floor stage evaluation of complete swaths of human historical past; these one paragraph summaries usually are not meant to be complete.
- Japan has had a single Emperor for greater than a millennium. However for a lot of that point the Emperor didn’t truly rule, quite a hereditary navy dictator known as the Shogun was the ruler. Sometimes an Emperor would insurgent and a conflict ensued (the emperor shedding). The households that managed the shogunate succession modified at the least twice. Lastly, within the nineteenth century, an emperor prevailed and the Shogunate disappeared. I can’t consider any analog to this, in the long run, in the remainder of the world.
- Medieval China was typically fairly secular. There was reverence of ancestors which could quantity to worship, however Confucian philosophy was dominant, and there are not any gods in Confucianism. Nor are there gods in unique Buddhism, the opposite non secular information in medieval China.
- There are additionally pre-medieval European cultures to contemplate. If we return to the Republic of the Roman Empire, private patronage was essential. Every shopper had a relationship with a patron, usually somebody from the next strata of society. The shopper may consult with the patron as typically as each day to see what that patron wanted and needed. And the patron sorted these in his care. “The connection was hierarchical, however obligations have been mutual.”
- There at the moment are many different choices in fantasy and sci-fi literature as effectively, together with afrofuturism and indigenous futurism.
We at the moment are blessed with many cultural alternate options written by avid gamers from all around the world. I encourage you to do your individual analysis if any of those cultures spark your curiosity.
Take into consideration how any one in all these cultures would make a distinction in a fantasy (or science fiction) world. Science fiction world settings are a lot much less prone to be Eurocentric, simply as science fiction typically is commonly not reflective of the up to date world.
Your Map, You World
The graphic above is my marketing campaign map. I don’t suppose I consciously averted comparisons with European geography once I made the map for my very long-running marketing campaign, however that didn’t stop me from having many European references. However I additionally borrowed from science fiction/fantasy as effectively (the Half-Horse, the 8 Arrowed Signal of Chaos, and so on.).
By the best way, there’s a advantage to not making an total map for a marketing campaign setting, as a substitute simply offering wilderness to discover. Which is what I did at first (see my article, “Right here Be Monsters”). Maps are constraints, as fantasy creator Glen Prepare dinner as soon as mentioned:
With the Black Firm I took recommendation from Fritz Leiber who was my mentor and who mentioned “Don’t draw a map as a result of in case you draw a map, as quickly as you begin drawing the map, you begin narrowing your prospects”. So long as you don’t have a map you don’t have to evolve to sure issues. I’ve a imprecise map inside my head and I’ve seen many maps on the web of what folks thought the Black Firm world is perhaps like. They’re not too far off, however they’re not shut both. It’s north and south with a pond within the center.
…however I additionally see maps (and worlds) as an invite to the gamers to transcend the European-inspired locations they know.
Your Flip: What cultures affect your fantasy and sci-fi campaigns?
