What's an interesting yet largely unpopular old (Iron Age

>>54164060
Tibetan
Irish
Orkney
Berber
Georgian

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>>54164060
India would be cool. Mythic India would be cooler though.

>>54164060
All of Central Asia.
There were a ton of interesting and advanced cultures there before they got wiped out by the Mongols.

>>54164133
I think the reason mythic india is unpopular is that a lot of things which typify indian mythical tradition are intentionally designed to be hard to grok. Thats sort of the point sometimes.

>>54164060
Khmer Empire and Angkor civilisation barely gets mentioned anywhere and it was quite large in the middle ages

>>54164060
I feel like Byzantium has the potential to be interesting. The remnant of an ancient superpower, not surrounded by enemies and crumbling from within has all kinds of potential for cool history and interesting conflicts, especially in a fantasy setting.

>>54164133
I always liked the idea of looking specifically at British-Ruled India. Mostly I just find the idea of a culture operating under the political rule of a more technologically advanced, distant and completely alien one. Once again has a lot of potential to be dialed up to 11 in a fantasy or sci-fi setting where cultural differences and turn into species differences.

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>>54164539
That's actually a neat idea. Might be interesting to flip it, and have a Victorian Era Britain analog ruled by some kind of techno-magical Indian pantheon.

>>54164060
come on man the maori were cannibalistic stone age hunter gatherers. They had one form of agriculture (kumara) but aside from that they were so inept they couldn't keep any livestock.

>>54164572
>cannibalistic
Cannibalism was only performed ritualistically and not for sustenance

>so inept they couldn't keep any livestock
They kept pigs (kunekune), as did all Polynesian cultures.

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>>54164539
I always get rock hard for Roman ruled Egypt around IV CE. Literal armored gods overseeing a bnch of cultist peasants.

Ethiopia (Axum or Abyssinia)

>>54164263
How much material is there about them?

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>>54164060
Realistically?

Pretty much all of them. Everything has something interesting going on, most of what is 'popular' isn't even real even when supposedly based on familiar cultures.

>>54164539
Byzantium is hardly unpopular though.

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>>54164263
Some interesting stuff has been done with them. The Tarkir block in MtG drew inspiration from them.

>>54164116
>Tibetan
This, a magical system based on their beliefs would be rad.

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greco-buddhist bactria

>>54164060

Pre-roman Gaul / Britain / Iberia

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Achaemenid or Sassanid Persia.

I just want some proper Fire Worshipers with a fondness for dogs, add the gold-obsessed horse lords to the North being a more primitive ancestor (Scythians) and you've got an exquisite "Other" to the Western Kingdoms, it not only shows them as strange yet not at all evil, making adventurers think twice about simply slaughtering the enemy.

>>54165878
>>54164060

WHY HAS NOBODY DONE HEPTARCHY BRITAIN YET.

7+ PETTY KINGDOMS ALL BICKERING OVER BULLSHIT AFTER, I DON'T KNOW, GAVELKIND TORE THE REGION APART WOULD BE FUCKING AWESOME. PETTY KINGDOMS ALL OF THE SAME BLOODLINE TRYING TO REUNITE THE LAND YET CHECKED BY THEIR NEIGHBORS AND UNITED ONLY AGAINST FOREIGN AGGRESSION WOULD BE NEAT-O AND A GOOD SOURCE OF ADVENTURER OPPORTUNITY.

>>54164060
Sogdians.
Thrakians.
Kazan.
Yuan Mongols/Chinese.
Zulu.
Indogreeks.
Indosaka.
Indoskythians.
Indoparthians.
Mogadishu.
Sorbs.
Tartars.
Kossaks.

Anon all cultures have neat stuff.

>>54164539
>>54164539

Not really that much advanced tough. But I like your idea.

>>54164060

Polynesian.

>>54164116
>Orkney

Orkney was norse, and trust me, theres already a lot of norse fantasy.

>>54164060
Hungarians.

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Tocharians

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>>54164060
I have always thought that the baltic sea is the best setting for a fantasy game.

>>54164060
>What's something that hasn't been done 100x before in D&D?

>>54165709
>most of what is 'popular' isn't even real even when supposedly based on familiar cultures
This. When someone says that Western Europe like settings are overrepresented in fantasy I laugh. There are very few settings that accurately portray more than a couple aspect of any real culture, European or otherwise.

>>54170768
>There are very few settings that accurately portray more than a couple aspect of any real culture, European or otherwise.
Can you give some examples of such settings?

>>54164539
>I feel like Byzantium has the potential to be interesting. The remnant of an ancient superpower, not surrounded by enemies and crumbling from within has all kinds of potential for cool history and interesting conflicts, especially in a fantasy setting
You should read Harry Turtledove's Videssos stuff. Basically fantasy Byzantium.

>>54164539
the realm of gondor in the lord of the ring is partially based on the byzantium empire, so there is that

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ALANS

>>54170799

Well, Ars Magica would be an extreme example, given that the setting is literally High Mediaeval Europe with fantasy stuff on top (with the Middle East and North Africa included as well, of course).

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>>54164060
Even greeks and romans can be mined, if you research. Where are the catamaran supergalleys? The sacrifices to gods of disease? The surprisingly kami-like countless neighborhood gods and spirits? The Lupercalia? The indo-greeks carving Heracles as a guardian of Buddha? The fire worship?

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Journals/CJ/47/7/Military_Dust*.html
>Military uses of dust

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Journals/CJ/44/4/Household_Pets*.html
>Greek and Roman Household Pets

https://pastebin.com/DtKQ6iQt
>Greek Fantasy Tips

Outside of that, all of Austronesia, Southeast Asia and its highlands are underrepresented.

http://hariragat.blogspot.com.br/2014/03/building-southeast-asian-settings-part-i.html
http://hariragat.blogspot.com.br/2014/04/on-southeast-asian-settings-part-ii.html
http://hariragat.blogspot.com.br/2014/05/highland-southeast-asia-for-your.html
http://hariragat.blogspot.com.br/2015/04/ruins-and-relics-for-hari-ragat.html

Nomads are usually resumed to superficial mongols as well.
>If, as the nomad traditions sanction, a leader is indeed "a river to his people", an aspiring nomadic warlord should soon attract followers to him. Thus, a retinue of noblemen, a court of sorts, develops. There matters of import are discussed, worthy deeds suitably celebrated and rewarded and justice meted out. Such a Court can contribute substantially to the growth of the prestige and power of any aspiring nomadic warlord. Moreover, the men that constitute it are typically wealthy enough to afford some manner of armour.

How about natives cultures in ALL of of Americas, of which the single distinctive trait seems to be the gradually increased earthen mound, from the sambaquis to the mesoamerican pyramids, which are more like mounds covered in stone?

Really, the list goes on and on...
https://pastebin.com/PKFJzHfA
>African Fantasy Tips

The sky is the limit, until you give siberians acess to coal and frost-resistant crops...

>>54165859
underrated post

>>54165806
Anyone got a link detailing some good info on tibetan aesthetics/ideas? Any good books?

>>54164539
In pretty sure there's a screen cap floating around somewhere of the story of India's liberation told as a story of Earth being taken over by an alien civilization. I may have it somewhere.

>>54164625
>ritualistic
>not really cannibalism

I bet you're an Aucklander

>>54164625
>not for sustenance
Whew, you don't know much about Maori colonization and deforestation do you?
>kunekune
Weren't introduced by the Maori, it's an Asian pig bought by whalers and traders.

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>>54164539
>>54180060
Found it

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>>54164060
>Iron Age
Finn culture.

>>54164060
I'd say Native American Culture, but far before Columbus arrived.

>>54170833

>And then they would talk about the goldfishes, their little private language for one of the emperor's most advanced luxuries

>>54164060

Pretty much any south of USA tribe that wasn't the Aztec. He'll even the Aztec. They get treated as mud hut people with a pyramid and blood sacrifice.

>>54164284
That any any time you feature Indian Myth or Gods in a work there's this one indian theologian who goes REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE and makes a big public movement to shit on you

Happened to SMITE, Happened to Overwatch

>>54180369
trim this up a bit and thats a hell of a twist ending

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>>54181148

>>54170768
Aquelarre, Ars magica.

>>54181181
Looks good.

>>54169724
seen the orkney labyrinths?

>>54169724
>implying norse has ever been done right
and no, skyrim didnt do it right

>>54181181
average brit imperialist apologist,
>we dindu nuffin, we turned the place better

what gets me is that he is probably not the kaloi kai agathoi of the bretons, his ancestors were most likely coalies who toiled for 15 hours a day and died of gin consumption, yer here he is justfying the imperialism as if he is an eton-oxbridge grad noble

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>>54164060
Benin Empire. I fucking love those helmets.

Indonesian. There's some interesting religious and political history there

>>54164116
>Tibetan
I'm all for Chink/Hindu/Budhist supernatural shenanigans and weird weapons and powers.

Also this >>54164263
>All of Central Asia.

Especially the transit period between the first century AD towards the 5th century AD.
It's also one of the most well documented periods we have on the area thanks to East Roman dyplomatic records and scholars.

>>54183554
Is there a particular reason for the ancient Greek? I'm not complaining, but it was unexpected.

>>54165859
Get back to your Bactrian quest OP.

>>54165859
What are some cultures that are A E S T H E T I C A L L Y interesting to kitbash into each other - like Greco-Buddhist cultures? I've always liked (North) Native-American/Scandinavian kitbashes.

>>54183701
Greek / Zulu

>>54183701
Indo-Mesoamerican.

>>54183603
>>Tibetan
>I'm all for Chink/Hindu/Budhist supernatural shenanigans and weird weapons and powers.
Nigga let me tell you about the black-tongued shaman kings of tibet who sent demon armies to kill each other!

>>54183748
>who sent demon armies to kill each other
Sounds interesting, what would be the sources to study this?

>>54183784
shiet idunno. read some wikipedia, google up some books on the history of tibet.
They were an empire once, you know? invaded china and shit.

>>54180387
I really like the music of that game, especially the outro.
So bad they cut off most of it with the new versions.

>>54180369

Weren't the Portuguese also involved in India?

Sumerian
Mesoamerican
Aksum

As stated, every culture has some interesting shit going on. I'm genuinely surprised we haven't see more horror stories utilizing Mesoamerican mythology. It's brilliant.

>>54184523
Yes, they managed to hold onto Goa until 1961 when the Indians came knocking.

The French also had Indian territory until the 1950s, the best known being Pondichery on the east coast. The Danes and Dutch both had colonies in India but had relinquished control of these to the EIC/Britain by the mid 19thC.

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>>54183564
Interesting. Obviously advanced metallurgy with its own unique style of arms and armor. Will look into. And yeah, those helmets are pretty baller.

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>>54183554
...this is a troll, right?

Bretons are people from Brittany in France, not an archaic way of referring to the British. Coalies isn't a thing but it sounds suspiciously like you're getting confused with 'coolies', a slang term for cheap labourers (but this always referred to non-whites). Likewise, if you're talking about the 19th century then you die of gin, OR you die of consumption, because 'consumption' is the old timey name for tuberculosis. And it should be 'hoi kaloi kai hoi agathoi', because in Ancient Greek, unlike Latin, you always need the definite article. Speaking of Latin, a posh British person would be far more likely to use that than ancient greek - 'mater' and 'pater' were used as slang by the upper classes, never 'μητηρ' and 'πατηρ'

Basically, you managed to cram a surprisingly large amount of stupid into one little sentence, and it's all the more amusing because clearly you thought you were being clever.

also
>yer here he is justfying the imperialism as if he is an eton-oxbridge grad noble
let me guess, most of your knowledge of history comes from watching reruns of Blackadder.

>>54165859
>>54178380
>>54183651
>>54183701
You know, it's funny you should say that

>>53988353
>>53990078

>>54165757
Otoyomegatari is post-mongol tho.

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>>54165888
Fuck yeah. Great combination of familiarity and exoticism in the mythos too.

>>54164060
Hungary and the Magyars

>>54185387
not him but bald rick is my favorite

>>54179972

Seconding this.

>>54185387
Savage

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>>54164060
The Incan Empire. Complex history, large-scale conflicts, blossoming yet somewhat exotic culture, the whole package. Then, right as the continent at the height of their own equivalent of the Roman Empire, along come a small handful of chucklefuck soldiers of fortune, hailing from a culture a millenium ahead in weapons development, who ruin everything almost by accident.

Hidden cities and intricate but dangerous road systems through the mountains are only the cherry on top.