3. FR Locations and their RL Equivalent

FR Locations and their RL Equivalent


  • Only a few so far, will add more as I go. Post your own as you see fit, or alternatives if you feel I'm wrong.

    Anaurach: Sahara
    A vast desert inhabited by small groups of berber.

    Chultan Peninsula: Chult: African Jungle
    A thick jungle, full of dangers and disease, and lost treasures.

    Chultan Pensinsula: Tashalar

    Cold Lands: Damara: Northern Germany - Western Russia
    A cold, mountainous kingdom with hard-working people and vast forests.

    Cold Lands: Narfell: The Russian Steppes
    @53371f8e72=Nightsblood:

    A vast plain of rolling grasslands inhabited by fierce horse loving barbarians - the cossacks. Even the climate sounds about right for Russia

    Cold Lands: Vaasa: Finland/Scandinavia

    Cormyr: France
    A dedicated kingdom with a group of elite knights, similar to the originally french Templars.

    The Dalelands: England

    Dragon Coast:

    Hordelands: Mongolia
    A barren land of vast plains, inhabited by the Mongol-like Tuigan.

    Islands Kingdoms: Evermeet

    Islands Kingdoms: Moonshae Isles: Ireland
    The name of the capital is Caer Callidyrr, and I believe Caer was a celtic/irish term.

    Islands Kingdoms: Nelanther Isles

    Islands Kingdoms: Lantan
    Gnomish homeland

    Lands of Intrigue: Amn: Medieval Spain
    It is a tremendously wealthy nation, holding colonies in far away Maztica.

    Lands of Intrigue: Calimshan: Arabian
    Riches, genies and harems.

    @53371f8e72=Hinhater:

    I have to disagree with the Calimshan Muslim Occupied spain. In my opinion and what I have read it is much more similiar with a Muslim Occupied Middle East.

    1. It's desert
    2. It has genies and what not and the Architecture is desticly Arabian.
    3. Mulan who are equivalent of Egyptians (They actualy are egyptians) think there only equals are the people of Calimshan. Which makes me Think since the Egyptians on Earth are so close to the Middle East andd they consider themselves equals it kinda makes me think of an Arabian kingdom not a Muslim Occupied Spain area.

    To be honest Calimshan is very similiar to Jerusalem it is even bigger then Waterdeep it is a Melting pot of Cultures ect.

    Lands of Intrigue: Tethyr: Moorish Spain
    @53371f8e72=Lizardfoot:

    Tethyr is indeed more like Muslim Spain, or for that matter North Africa, than Calimshan. Before the Spanish Inquisition, Spain and North Africa were very connected regions.

    The Moonsea

    The North: The High Forest

    The North: The Savage Frontier

    The North: The Silver Marches

    The North: The Sword Coast North

    The North: Waterdeep
    @53371f8e72=ZANETAR:

    If there was one massive, thriving, cultural center such as Waterdeep in the middle ages, it was Jerusalem. But beyond being a big multi-cultural hodge podge, the two locations don't have a whole lot of similarity.

    @53371f8e72=Lizardfoot:

    For Waterdeep, I would say Constantinople or Baghdad, depending on the time period. I don't think Jerusalem was ever all that big a city.

    Old Empires: Chessenta: Ancient Greece.
    City states, with a culture focused on arts, feasting and war.

    Old Empires: Mulhorand: Ancient Egypt
    Seems obvious enough.

    Old Empires: Unther: Ancient Mesopitamia
    A magocracy, meaning a high level of knowledge. Mesopitamia (Babylon, the Assyrians,..) was known for its high level of advance for its time. There is also mention of a Gilgeam in the FR sourcebook, a reference to Gilgamesh.

    Sembia

    The Shining South: The Great Rift

    The Shining South: Halruaa

    The Shining South: Luiren
    Halfling homeland

    The Shining South: The Shaar: African Savannah
    “Thousands of miles of grass, as far as the eye can see, sloping from east to west but with a cliff in the middle, the Landrise, where west drops down to east. The Eastern Shaar is more dry, but both bake by day and freeze by night. Fierce horse nomads (aren't they always fierce?) herd rothé, wemics and centaurs, and there must be something worth trading fo out there, hidden in all that open space. They give us slaves and trinkets and a little ivory, but would rather raid the Border Kingdoms and everywhere else they can reach. Magnificent horses, but they seem to sicken if taken away in trade.”

    The Unapproachable East: Aglarond

    The Unapproachable East: The Great Dale

    The Unapproachable East: Impultur

    The Unapproachable East: Rashemen
    @53371f8e72=Swoosh:

    Rashemen is like early medieval russia.

    Rashamen has a high amount of witches, who hold considerable positions in the society. To me, Rashamen seems more akin to Ancient Thessaly.

    The Unapproachable East: Thay

    The Unapproachable East: Thesk

    The Underdark

    The Vast

    The Vilhon Reach: Chondath: Renaissance Italy

    The Vilhon Reach: Sespech

    The Vilhon Reach: Turmish: Medieval Turkey

    Western Heartlands

  • H

    I think Calimport thinking about it now is very similiar to Istanbul why Waterdeep is a Constantinople like place. They are very similiar but diffirent. I just picture Mosque like buildings all over Calimport but it having the same size, ect of Constantinople after it was conquered by the Ottomans.

    P.S. Anyone find anything similiar to Romania… or even more specific Translyvania?


  • [Updated]


  • Waterdeep is modern-day New York City.

  • S

    @671232d942=Lizardfoot:

    What would Thay correspond to? Anything?

    Thay doesn't really correspond to anything, maybe a tiny tiny bit to egypt with their "mul" overclass .. But thay really doesn't correspond to any known realworld cultures


  • For Waterdeep, I would say Constantinople or Baghdad, depending on the time period. I don't think Jerusalem was ever all that big a city.

    Tethyr is indeed more like Muslim Spain, or for that matter North Africa, than Calimshan. Before the Spanish Inquisition, Spain and North Africa were very connected regions.

    Calimshan is rather dissappointing as an immitation of the Middle East. The real thing was much weirder and more interesting. Also much bigger and more diverse. I would say Calimport looks vaguely like medieval Cairo, which was a truly massive city in the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. It was the main eastern/southern trading partner of the Italian city states but it was as big as several of them put together.

    It was ruled by the mamluks (literally, "owned ones" i.e. slaves). In the mamluk government, all of the soldiers, government officials, and the ruler were recruited from slaves who were bought as children from outside the realm (they were mostly of Turkic origins). They were put through a sort of academy and upon graduation, they were given their freedom, a lance and horse and other stuff and the choice to serve in the army, which many or most of them did. They could advance to any rank in the system, more or less based on talent. Their children however could not be part of the system and had to get real jobs. Hence, no hereditary ruling dynasty. This sort of broke down in the 14th century when one guy managed to get his son installed as his successor and it turned into more of a hereditary dynasty, favoring new slaves from the Caucasus, and everything went downhill from there.

    What would Thay correspond to? Anything?


  • Hmm, Cold Lands: Vaasa could well be Finland then. If Narfell would be the Russian Steppes, Damara could be the western Russia and Baltic countries, and therefore Finland would fall to it's natural place.

    Besides, we actually have a city called Vaasa here in Finland. 😄

  • H

    These are the conversations I love and hate. Because in all honesty I love how you can compare them but honestly someone should be creative enough to create a world with diffirent cultures and what not. But yes I like the info I read a lot of stuff about FR and it's good to see that someone has put the info out. Although I have to disagree with the Calimshan Muslim Occupied spain. In my opinion and what I have read it is much more similiar with a Muslim Occupied Middle East.

    1. It's desert
    2. It has genies and what not and the Architecture is desticly Arabian.
    3. Mulan who are equivalent of Egyptians (They actualy are egyptians) think there only equals are the people of Calimshan. Which makes me Think since the Egyptians on Earth are so close to the Middle East andd they consider themselves equals it kinda makes me think of an Arabian kingdom not a Muslim Occupied Spain area.

    To be honest Calimshan is very similiar to Jerusalem it is even bigger then Waterdeep it is a Melting pot of Cultures ect.

  • S

    @8c9a40f73b=Nightsblood:

    A Suggestion For the Narfell Area : The Russian Steppes… a vast plain of rolling grasslands inhabited by fierce horse loving barbarians - the cossacks. Even the climate sounds about right for Russia 😄

    I agree with Narfell being like eastern europe.

    Rashemen is like early medieval russia.

    As for waterdeep .. I see it as early medieval great britain

  • N

    A Suggestion For the Narfell Area : The Russian Steppes… a vast plain of rolling grasslands inhabited by fierce horse loving barbarians - the cossacks. Even the climate sounds about right for Russia 😄


  • If there was one massive, thriving, cultural center such as Waterdeep in the middle ages, it was Jerusalem. But beyond being a big multi-cultural hodge podge, the two locations don't have a whole lot of similarity.

    Waterdeep is one location that's really hard to liken to a real place, which has frustrated and amused me (however un-intensely) for a while now.