Ideas for a Fantasy Setting?

[friday]

It's for a story I'm working on. I'm trying to steer clear and avoid the typical fantasy setting, which is a quasi-Western European style monarchy, or duchy. I already have some ideas myself:
- A taiga-like climate (an underused climate, IMO) with icy mountains and wild, untamed forests. Although sparsely populated (due to the lack of resources and harsh climate), the area would be home to groups of fiercely independent, semi-nomadic tribes who war for dominance.
- Although the terrain would vary depending on the area, a temperate climate, with some mountains and fertile lands next to rivers and seas. This would be a larger area than the first setting, maybe even a small continent. Several city-states, each unique and powerful, vie for control over the land, but not always using military means. Think the polis of Ancient Greece, or the Italian city-states.

Which one sounds the best? Any other suggestions? And what is your favourite fantasy setting (either your own or in existing literature)?

[Chashio]

... Which one sounds the best? Any other suggestions? And what is your favourite fantasy setting (either your own or in existing literature)?

Taiga would be cool. Fun to map, too

Favorite fantasy setting... tough... I'm not sure it's really the setting or the entire story and plot structure combined, but here's a few titles/authors in disorder: The Warded Man, The Imager Portfolio (the Imager books are set in a large city for the most part, and Scholar is set in a northeastern country), The Kingkiller Chronicle, Lynn Flewelling's books (more traditional setting, I suppose) as well as Terry Goodkind's, Raymond E. Feist's worlds, Ann McCaffery's Pern and also Black Horses for the King (post-Roman England, etc), Islandia and its sequel (extensive coverage of the setting), The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley is an old favorite (desert to forested hills and canyons), and She Who Remembers and its sequel (Western American prehistory setting). Ha! That was a lot, huh?

[Azélor]

Something like the russian principalities or the mongol khanates ?

[chunchunboom]

I like the Taiga idea. Though I always wondered how interesting a world would be if it was mostly water with islands scattered throughout instead of whole continents.

[Gamerprinter]

There are so many endless genres and subgenres for fantasy, that asking for a favorite is subjective to each person. For example, recently I've seen many wahoo, martial arts based oriental settings cropping up, and my past experience with oriental settings were not very authentic. So being half Japanese with a great interest in a more authentic presentation, I created the Kaidan setting of Japanese horror (PFRPG), a feudal Japan-based setting crossed with Asian horror, that's been out in publication for 3 years with numerous adventure modules, one-shot adventures, and supplements - I publish this as an imprint under Rite Publishing.

You could take any already created setting genre, add a twist and it's something new.

I've thought about a Russian taiga type setting myself, combine Russian Empire, Mongols, Taiga-based native tribes, a wintery druid-flavored setting of shaman, shapechangers, ghosts, stirgloi vampires - there's lots of flavor that you could give an authentic Russian twist. It works.

[snowlorenzo]

Although choice of setting is subjective, i do think some settings enhance the story. I like your Taiga because it has "fiercely independent" peoples, and fighting in dense forests and icy mountains would give you many options for interesting battles, hidding places, mobile towns (if they are semi-nomadic). It does remind me a little of the Asturs, historical characters in the Cantabric mountains on the north of Spain - fierce tribes that lived in the mountains and fought all types of invasors, even the Romans.

[waldronate]

Barbarians from the frozen north? Interesting.

[stormiestl]

Barbarians from the frozen north was done in a game I played a while back.. It was a most interesting concept and It worked. They were barbarians because they had a lot to endure between the cold and finding food. They were rustic because that was all they could do at the time. They foraged to warmer areas for wood and food. It was well written and well done.
The DM for that particular game was all about the story about why they were the barbarians in his world. It was great Roleplay!

Stormie

[Tomalak]

Hmm. That cold tundra description is giving me some ideas. You could use an earlier historical period for you cultural base, and resource gathering is still a major concern. Would the people be nomadic, constantly traveling in order to find fresh food sources? If so, they would stick to small bands (around two dozen). Alternatively, they could be semi-nomadic, spending summers in one 'village,' and winters in another. You could scatter lakes across a broad open plain like in northern Canada, and border the south with mountains like in Russia. If the magic were animist (shamans, not wizards), you could set a compelling story against a backdrop of inter-clan politics.

Whatever you go with, have fun and keep us posted!

[GarrettJax]

I have run my campaigns in the cold tundra setting. It gives the PC more challenges due to weather and have to use survival skills, and several other skill that are usually overlooked.