Arabic/Zakharan, Amerind/Native American, Babylonian, Celtic, Aztec, Chinese, Cthuhlu, Egyptian, Finnish/proto-Oerdian, Greek, Indian/Hindu, Japanese, Melnibonéan, Newhonian, Norse, Oeridan (includes Suloise), Sumerian, Touv/African
General medieval-fantasy Western Europe (default), Irish/Scottish/Celtic (North Province, Sea Barons, and Baklunish regions), rapacious British (Great Kingdom), idealized France (Nyrond), beleaguered France (Almor), pre-renaissance Italian (Ahlissa), pseudo-Papal States (Veluna), idealized Holy Roman Empire (Furyondy), early Swiss/Helvetic (Perrenland), Viking (Frost, Ice, and Snow barbarians), Gypsy (Rhennee barge-folk), early Russia (Ket), Kasaks and Mongols (Sultanate of Zeif, Caliphate of Erbik, Tusmit), classical Greek (Medegia and the Lordship of the Isles), fantasy Greek (Amazonia and the Lendor Isles), pseudo-Dune (Bright Desert), fantasy Arabic (most of Zakhara), pseudo-Islamic Arabic (Pantheist League), late Babylonian (Babylon), Old Kingdom Egyptian (Neregan), fantasy Egyptian (Kin'tosh), tribal African (Hepmonaland), Hindu (Indus), Tibetan (Tabot), T'ang Chinese (Shou Lung), Sui Chinese (Li Lung), Korean (Kor'yo), Ashikaga Japanese (Kozakura), Tokugawa Japanese (Wa), Thai and Vietnamese (Nog), Amerind (Plains of the Paynims, Mounds of Dawn, northern Perrenland, Wolf and Tiger Nomads, outlying regions of Yeomanry, Sterich, and Geoff), pseduo-Aztec/Mayan (Olman), Jamaica (Nob'lir and Spindrift Isles), Polynesian (Islands of the Utter South and the remote islands of the Archipelico), fantasy "Chinatown" (Seant in Onnwal), decayed empire/Melniboné (remains of the Suloise in the Great Desert and the Scarlet Brotherhood), Facist Church-State (Theocracy of the Pale)
On other worlds, there is also: Sea-faring Spanish (south-western coast of Terrax), Imperial Roman (most of Terrax), Cimmerian/Conan barbarian (Altanean Terrax), non-human-o-centric version of Ursula LeGuinn's EarthSea (Maneä), magic-rich, urban high-fantasy (Cidri), light-fantasy Elizabethian England (Eon), colonial Enlightenment (Spell-Jammer), ScandinAsia (Kaiousei), human struggling to live in the Land of the Lost (Torsh)
Common (pan-Western culture), Norsk (Scandinavian), Baklunish (Scots/Irish/Celtic), ancient Baklunish (dead), Suloise (ancient, mostly dead), Oerdian (dying, like Latin), Medegian (Greek), Ahlissan (Italian-like dialect of Medegian), Rhennee (Gypsy), Tuskar (Arabic dialect), Perrenlander (Swiss German/French), Olman (Aztec), Touv (Swahili-root), various tribal dialects (Amerind and African), Mindani (land-based Arabic dialect), Archipelican (island-based Arabic dialect), Amazonian (rare dialect of Medegian spoke by inhabitants of Themyscria/Amazons), Babylonian, Nereganti (Egyptian), Morganti (ancient, dead), Hindi, Shou Lung (Mandarin Chinese aka Court Language), Nihon'go (Japanese aka Trade Language), Li Lung (Cantonese), Tabotian (Tibetian), Kor'yo (Korean), Thai
Other languages not spoken on the surface of Oerth include: Koiné (Imperial language aka Terrax "Common"), Altanean (barbarian tongue), Neshfalese (dialect of Koiné on Torsh), Mannish ("Common" dialect of ancient Baklunish on Maneä), Cidrian ("Common" dialect of Baklunish on Cidri), Queenslander ("Common" dialect of ancient Baklunish on Eon), Under-Common, Zhendi (Spell-Jammer "Common"), Chou (Spell-Jammer "Asian")
Allthough 95% of all games take place on Oerth, there are a multitude of other worlds the players have discovered. The first five are the Five World, so called because each is in a different reality from one another, separated only by ley lines.
Oerth (the default world, very similar to Earth but with two moons, culturally based on fantasy Europe with regions for Arabian and Asia too), Terrax (a world of huge, globe-spanning empires, similar to Rome at its height, high fantasy setting, aggressive and confrontational), Maneä (ocean-covered world where humans are a minority with little power and various unique races abound, no moon but vast starscape, inspired by Ursula LeGuinn's EarthSea, humbling and awe-inspiring), Cidri (a moon of a large gas giant, this world has a very long "night" but only a very short "day", cities are linked by portals and magic is controled by an organized cabal, vicious and political), Eon (barely-inhabited or explored world, Elizabethian England meets the American frontier, technological renaissance but little magic, peaceful and calm)
Other worlds discovered include:
Torsh (a moonless world with a green sky, mammalian life never evolved and dinosaurs rule, possible homeworld of the lizardmen, survival of the fittest), "Iron Tooth" (barely explored world with sharp, impossibly high "mountains" of iron), "Twighlight" (another barely explored world), Etherea (frozen tundra with garden paradises heated by volcanic vents, elven warrior ride pegasai), Kaiousei (stormy world similar to fantasy Japan, but with a strong overlay of Norse culture and a blending of values), Sindareth ("Land of Twighlight" in Elvish, world of unusually elves, goblin mages, and other strangeness), Maldev (small world with sharp, tall, unweathered mountains, dwarven strongholds, Nordic humans, and werebears), Raal (deserted world, home of an ancient, lost civilization), Eternia (a domain in the demi-plane of Dread aka Ravenloft aka Diablo, a desert land plucked from its home dimension and subjected to the whims of terrible evil)
These last few worlds have been encountered by spelljammers from Oerth and thus MUST be not only in the same universe, but relatively close to Oerth.
Avoreen (forest world of simple, telepathic, tree-dwelling elves and fierce, sun-fearing, scheming trolls, inspired by Larry Niven and H.G. Wells), Cainna (icy seas under a thick glacial crust), Gilva (desert world inhabited by strong, green-skinned giants, exploited by spelljamming travelers), Sapphira (another desert world, center of a large, pseudo-Egyptian, spelljamming civilization, many native creatures including dwarves and crats are indigo-skinned and displace, possible homeworld of displacer beasts)
Questions? Comments? Funny stories? Lemme know...
© 2003 buddhabear@geocities.com