ParanoidObsessive
Mongoose
Someone else asked this question on the forum a long, long, LONG ago (at least in Internet Time), but the question was never really answered, and then the topic sort of devolved into a discussion about the Magnamund Companion. So, since this was something I was thinking about recently, I figured I'd bring it up again.
In the Magnamund Companion and in the Gazetteer section of the original Lone Wolf RPG rulebook, the descriptions of the various nations mention the original ethnic groups that founded those areas and who make up the dominant racial stock. Some of them (like Sommlending, Ulnarian, Telcharim, etc.) are pretty self-explanatory, and others are still fairly easy to puzzle out from the context (like the Mythenish).
But the Nael, Vaderish, and Aluvian lines are a bit harder to really pin down. It's hard to pick a nation descended from one of those lines and extrapolate, because there's a bit of mixing between the three, and there isn't really any specific descriptions of the archetypal individual from those places either in terms of personality or appearance.
So what exactly were the Nael, Vaderish, and Aluvian tribes in terms of characteristics or real-world analogues? The Sommlending are obviously Nordic, while the Mythenish seem Asian. Are there real-world parallels to those groups (like, say, the Nael are Slavs while the Vaderish are Franks and the Aluvians are Bohemians)? Or, if not direct comparisons, are there at least clearly defined characteristics (either in personality, culture, or physical appearance) that would allow people in Magnamund to literally refer to someone as being "stereotypically Nael" or "obviously Vaderish"?
In the long-ago topic where it originally came up, people mostly just pointed to the Magnamund Companion - but that doesn't really have clear answers. All it really has is one map with lines of migration showing which areas each of the three branches sort of spread into, and divided the various nations up into which of the three was the predominant force behind the founding (though that separates into Vaderish/Aluvian and Nael/Nael-Aluvian, so there's still too much overlap).
IS there an RP sourcebook that goes into greater detail on this subject? Or is there info in Joe Dever's design notes that simply hasn't been elaborated on yet? Does August know the secret differences between the three? Has Joe ever mentioned it somewhere before, maybe in some long-lost LW newsletter?
When it comes to RPGs in general, the worldbuilding side of things is one of the most interesting parts for me, so this is something I've definitely been curious about for years now. But it seems nearly impossible to find anything about it online beyond the obvious cursory info I've already mentioned.
In the Magnamund Companion and in the Gazetteer section of the original Lone Wolf RPG rulebook, the descriptions of the various nations mention the original ethnic groups that founded those areas and who make up the dominant racial stock. Some of them (like Sommlending, Ulnarian, Telcharim, etc.) are pretty self-explanatory, and others are still fairly easy to puzzle out from the context (like the Mythenish).
But the Nael, Vaderish, and Aluvian lines are a bit harder to really pin down. It's hard to pick a nation descended from one of those lines and extrapolate, because there's a bit of mixing between the three, and there isn't really any specific descriptions of the archetypal individual from those places either in terms of personality or appearance.
So what exactly were the Nael, Vaderish, and Aluvian tribes in terms of characteristics or real-world analogues? The Sommlending are obviously Nordic, while the Mythenish seem Asian. Are there real-world parallels to those groups (like, say, the Nael are Slavs while the Vaderish are Franks and the Aluvians are Bohemians)? Or, if not direct comparisons, are there at least clearly defined characteristics (either in personality, culture, or physical appearance) that would allow people in Magnamund to literally refer to someone as being "stereotypically Nael" or "obviously Vaderish"?
In the long-ago topic where it originally came up, people mostly just pointed to the Magnamund Companion - but that doesn't really have clear answers. All it really has is one map with lines of migration showing which areas each of the three branches sort of spread into, and divided the various nations up into which of the three was the predominant force behind the founding (though that separates into Vaderish/Aluvian and Nael/Nael-Aluvian, so there's still too much overlap).
IS there an RP sourcebook that goes into greater detail on this subject? Or is there info in Joe Dever's design notes that simply hasn't been elaborated on yet? Does August know the secret differences between the three? Has Joe ever mentioned it somewhere before, maybe in some long-lost LW newsletter?
When it comes to RPGs in general, the worldbuilding side of things is one of the most interesting parts for me, so this is something I've definitely been curious about for years now. But it seems nearly impossible to find anything about it online beyond the obvious cursory info I've already mentioned.
