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  1. #1
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    Masetian Culture

    The major cultures all correspond to earth type cultures (Anuirian - Anglo and Germanic), Brecht (Italian/Spanish), Vos (Slavs) etc. Is there any information on what the Masetian culture is like (I'm guessing Egyptian) as opposed the the more Arabian knights type Arabs? I've been unable to find anything except very vague references.

  2. #2
    Site Moderator kgauck's Avatar
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    If you want Masetians to be parallel to the other people, they should be Persians. I tend to see the Masetians as Persian and the Basjari as Egyptian, and their combined culture seems more Arabic, but is as Persian as I need it to be to create parallels.

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    I thought the Masetians seemed more Phoenician, possibly even Greek.

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    Site Moderator kgauck's Avatar
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    I tend to think about the Persians because they will have the same religious and cultural ideas (at some length and with local adaptations) as the rest of cultural analogs bring to the Rjurik, Brecht, Anuireans, and Vos. Certainly as far as having a sea-going nature, the Phoenicians are useful. But from a cultural-religious standpoint, they are pretty alien from the rest of their fellows, and I'd rather the foreign elements be associated with the Basjari.

  5. #5
    Belive it or not I have been using Native American as their culture. Obviously I had to put a twist that they had the ability to sail well but their beliefs and way of life is Native American.

    I just got the vibe from the Serpent adventure in the Legends of the Hero-Kings that they were one with nature. On the sea or on the land.

    I am probably pretty far off base, but hey, I can create what i want. All of the ruins I have been using look like old Aztec ruins.

    -Brian

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    Site Moderator kgauck's Avatar
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    I just got the vibe from the Serpent adventure in the Legends of the Hero-Kings that they were one with nature.
    This is, I think, a theme of the setting, not just of the Masetians. People, at their best, are one with nature. At their worst, they destroy it. Add a third axis to the alignment chart.

    As such, I have seen the Sidhe as the best analog to American Indians, not only because their stone age naturalism is bound to surpass mere Celtic iron age naturalism, but also because of the theme of natives displaced from their land fits them as well.

    Of course inspiration can be drawn from any source, there are no right answers here.

  7. #7
    Junior Member Capricia's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chaindog View Post
    The major cultures all correspond to earth type cultures (Anuirian - Anglo and Germanic), Brecht (Italian/Spanish), Vos (Slavs) etc. Is there any information on what the Masetian culture is like (I'm guessing Egyptian) as opposed the the more Arabian knights type Arabs? I've been unable to find anything except very vague references.
    This is an Excerpt of an Interview with Rich Baker: I think you might find his descriptions of the main races of Anuire helpful. He doesn't mention the Masetian culture, however you can get a better idea of what the influence for the others were and extrapolate from there.

    Question :

    The Human cultures of Cerilia are a real part of what makes it distinctive. Even without ability score modifications, they seem to ooze of a specific feel and attitude. They also seem to emulate specific real world cultures. Can you expand on this and touch on each Cerilian culture and any real world influences you had when designing them, and why you chose these specific influences?

    Rich:

    Well, there aren’t many secrets here. The Anuireans are more or less based on medieval France, with a strong resemblance to the political patchwork of the Holy Roman Empire (or German Empire) of the 13th to 15th century. They’re actually the most fictional of the human nationalities, since the Anuirean language and names are basically made up from material I developed a very long time ago in one of my first attempts at world-building.
    The Brechtur are inspired by the Hanseatic League, the Dutch, and the mercantile city-states of the Italian peninsula. (The Hanseatic League is a pretty interesting piece of European history that most Americans have never heard of, by the way; it’s worth reading up on.) Call it northern Europe of the 14th to 16th century.
    The Khinasi resemble Moorish Spain of the 12th to 14th century, with a dash of Ottoman Turkey in places like Khourane and Aftane. (The great sea-battle won by El-Arrasi against the Anuirean fleet is Lepanto in reverse.) There’s a sense of tolerance, learning, and civilization present in Khinasi that is unknown in the other lands. The Khinasi place-names generally come from north and west Africa, changed by a letter or two.
    The Rjurik have a sort of strange Viking-highland Scot-native American mix, with a strong emphasis on the Viking part. Some of the more densely settled and long-established kingdoms (Halskapa, for instance) bear a strong resemblance to Denmark of the 12th to 13th century. I borrowed place-names from Norway, Sweden, and Finland for the Rjurik, changing a letter here and a syllable there to give them new twists.
    The Vos are based on Russia and eastern Europe of the Dark Ages (say, the 9th to 11th centuries), with a patchwork of nomadic tribes, some Slavic, some Turkic. Peoples like the Pechegi and Polovtsians (forgive my spelling if I got ‘em wrong) are very Vos, as are races like the Bulgars and the Serbians. The language is very Russian, derived in much the same manner as the Khinasi and Rjurik names. You’ll notice that the Alexander Nevsky story is one of the first things we tell you about the Vos, although we changed the names to protect the innocent.
    Why’d we do this? The short answer, I guess, is to increase the «realism» of the setting. One common tongue and culture for all humans everywhere feels kind of odd in a fantasy world, so we looked for a good example of many cultures in close proximity. Europe’s real history gave us all the inspiration we needed.

  8. #8
    As far as Masteans go, I'd say they're left as a question mark for the DM for the usual, "More story options that way." reason. Looking at what Mastean-like holdings there are, though, I'd definately make them more Hellenic, which certainly could include Egyptian elements pretty easily.

    But that's just, like, my opinion man.

  9. #9
    Administrator Green Knight's Avatar
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    Depends on how civilized you want the older civilizations to be. To me the Masetians seems fairly advanced, along the lines of one of the greater civilizations of ancient times. They were great sea-farers and colonizers...which could fit both the greek and phoenician cultures. Persians were not unfamiliar with the ocean either, indeed they used both their rivers and the sea extensively, but regardless theirs was a vast land-based empire...not an ocean-based colonial one.
    Cheers
    Bjørn
    DM of Ruins of Empire II PbeM

  10. #10
    Which is the issue, to me. The Masteans's patron was the goddess of the sea, wasn't she?

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