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Sources of inspiration for Elsewhere Fic other than Medieval Europe

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Kardavnil The Polisci Majoris from Sweden Since: Jul, 2014 Relationship Status: In my bunk
The Polisci Majoris
#1: Oct 13th 2014 at 1:47:24 AM

Ok, so I stumbled across The Servants of Ungoliant a while back, and I got really intrigued by the idea of writing about the cultures and nations of another continent in a familiar fantasy universe. And since I'm a huge Dragon Age fan, well, I think you can put two and two together.

Anyway, since Thedas (for those who don't know, it's the only continent in the setting that's been visited thus far) is mostly based on Medieval Europe (like most western fantasy), I wanted to differentiate the cultures on this other continent by drawing inspiration from other sources (note "inspiration": I'm not intending to copy other cultures, just learning more about them to get a different perspective on how to construct a new setting). The problem is, I can't decide which alternate sources (the medieval Middle East, Africa, America, India, China, Japan, etc.) would be the most interesting to take inspiration from.

So, the point is, I could use some outside opinions. Which medieval cultures would you like to see inspire a new setting in an established fantasy universe? Or heck, if you're also a Dragon Age fan, which do you think would be most suited for inspiring something in that specific universe?

PS: Oh, and let me know if you think I posted this on the wrong forum. I thought since it concerned fanfic-writing it belonged here, but maybe it'd be more suitable on the Writer's Block or Worldbuilding forums?

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maxwellelvis Mad Scientist Wannabe from undisclosed location Since: Oct, 2009 Relationship Status: In my bunk
Mad Scientist Wannabe
#2: Oct 13th 2014 at 10:23:38 AM

The Fantasy Americas. Or Fantasy China where monsters run amok during, like, the Three Kingdoms war.

Of course, don't you know anything about ALCHEMY?!- Twin clones of Ivan the Great
Kardavnil The Polisci Majoris from Sweden Since: Jul, 2014 Relationship Status: In my bunk
The Polisci Majoris
#3: Oct 13th 2014 at 11:49:42 AM

[up] Would that be North, South or both Americas? Either way, that's an intriguing suggestion, thanks! smile

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IFwanderer use political terms to describe, not insult from Earth Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
use political terms to describe, not insult
#4: Oct 13th 2014 at 11:51:24 AM

I think this would be better placed in one of those other forums, but I'll throw a couple ideas anyway. Since I'm not familiar with Dragon Age, so the recommendations are more "a couple reasons to look at this place for inspiration" than something detailed, and I'm not sure any of these things really fits with Dragon Age.

Ok, my first suggestion would be the Eastern Roman Empire (or Byzantium, if you prefer using that name), because, while it technically counts as "medieval Europe", it was culturally and politically very different from the rest of Europe, and there are many interesting people to take inspiration from, for example Julian the apostate, who was a descendant of Constantine the great, and the last pagan emperor of Rome. Or both Justinians, the first, who expanded the empire to its greatest size since the split between east and west; and the second, who was deposed, his nose cut off, exiled to the Crimean peninsula, and then got back and retook the throne. And there's also Constantine XI, the last emperor, who led the defense of Constantinople during the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

Now, leaving that aside, you could look at the steppe khanates, out of which I'd really recommend paying attention to the Khazars and the Timurids.

Another thing to do is moving through time instead of space, instead of looking at feudal europe (which is what most people talk about when they talk about the middle ages) you could take some inspiration from the migration period, or from the early modern period and the reformation wars.

Last idea I could give you is to look at the pacific societies, and make a story in a world were people have to sail for a long time to have contact with others.

edited 13th Oct '14 11:53:50 AM by IFwanderer

1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV
Kardavnil The Polisci Majoris from Sweden Since: Jul, 2014 Relationship Status: In my bunk
The Polisci Majoris
#5: Oct 13th 2014 at 12:14:13 PM

[up] Great suggestions! Unfortunately, one of the nations in Dragon Age - the Tevinter Imperium - is already heavily based on Byzantium (just with tons more Blood Magic). There are no counterparts to the Khazars and Timurids though, and I am vaguely familiar about them, so those could definitely be worth checking out!

The reason I mentioned middle ages iterations of the cultures was because I wanted to be somewhat consistent with the technology level in Thedas (or least only slightly more or slightly less advanced), which is generally between Low and High Middle Ages - guns haven't been invented, and only one culture (The Qunari) has invented cannons, though different kinds of simple grenades (think molotov cocktails that produce fire, ice, lightning or poison cloud explosions) are widespread - although come to think of it, that shouldn't be strictly necessary (though I still don't want to go all the way back to the stone/bronze age or all the way forward to the 19th century tech levels). Still, you've given me food for thought (and for some reason made me picture fantasy aztecs with guns fighting timurids...).

edited 13th Oct '14 12:15:46 PM by Kardavnil

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EvaUnit01 Fandom Heretic Since: Mar, 2011 Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
Fandom Heretic
#6: Oct 14th 2014 at 7:14:34 AM

In addition to Three Kingdoms China, there is Sengoku-era Japan.

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