The following is a list of approximate cultural equivalents between Metamor's world and our world. These are useful for naming conventions, accents, etc., but authors should avoid leaning too heavily on ethnic stereotypes.
Items marked with ?* are best guesses that haven't been established anywhere in canon yet.
| MK World | Our World |
|---|---|
| Metamor City | London, New York |
| Arabarb, Giantdowns | Scandinavia |
| Carlan | English Midlands |
| Lantony | France |
| Alamar | American Midwest |
| Kenning | Central Europe?* |
| Brightmoor | Central Europe?* |
| Marigund | American Northeast |
| Highlands | Scottish Highlands |
| Quelinney | Ireland |
| Cymru | Wales |
| Orien | Scottish Lowlands |
| Brekkland | Germany |
| Tourne | Spain |
| Pyralis | Italy |
| Mycene | Macedonia, southeastern Europe |
| Whales | Greece |
| Tagendi, Flatlands | Kansas, Central Asian steppes |
| Vysehrad | Western Russia |
| Rukilia | India |
| Eastern Quenardya (Han) | China |
| Khumar | Vietnam |
| Yamato | Japan |
Other Regions
These regions are less directly linked with one-to-one equivalents in our world.
Inu Lutinaka: As a cold, harsh land home to a nomadic people (the lutins), it has parallels to Siberia and Nunavut. As a semi-autonomous territory under the protection of the Empire, it resembles a Native American reservation — but the lutins have been allowed to keep much more of their ancestral territory, and they were not subjected to attempts at ethnic cleansing or cultural eradication.
Lom Shi'Un: This is a syncretic nation that brought together humans from the eastern lands with Moon Elves and various magical creatures from the Forest of Darkness. The servants of Lilith/Talia and Ba'al have been in a protracted tug-of-war for dominance of the region for centuries. It is a magic-heavy place that values education, competence and pragmatism, but the culture has a ruthless streak because of the long influence of the daedra lords. Racism and sexism are relatively minor here, but classism is intense.
Kitchlande: The ancestral home of the pale-skinned Kitchlanders, little has been established about this small continent. Algra, on the northwestern coast, is a puppet state of the Vampire Syndicate, and is known as a place of intense scientific research with little morality to restrain it. Majestic Industries uses Algra as the home base for its Project Tanaatha. This could be a good setting for Shadowrun-esque missions against corrupt megacorporations.
Sonngefilde: This is a continent of extremes, with vast deserts, towering mountains, sweltering rain forests, and rocky hill country. The people, for the most part, resemble the peoples of North Africa and Southwest Asia. Western Sonngefilde is dominated by Sondeshara, home of the powerful Sondeckis Order. Eastern Sonngefilde used to be home to the famous Library of Fellos, which was destroyed by mercenary armies in the late 600s. Hevagne was the site of some of the most brutal battles of the Second World War, with years of grueling trench warfare and atrocities committed on both sides.
Irombi: The cradle of humanity. Irombi has many similarities to Africa, but it was never subjected to colonization, so it is home to technologically and magically advanced civilizations of advanced wealth (think Wakanda). It was a site of major battles in both World Wars. Telvar, one of the chief aggressors in the Second World War, was wiped off the map by the Balefire spell, and has been reclaimed by the rain forests.
Fan Shoar: Of all the regions in Metamor's earth, this is the one that is most different from our world. Its indigenous peoples are similar to those of the Americas, but instead of being colonized by pale-skinned Europeans, this region was colonized by people from Han (China), Yamato (Japan), and Irombi (Africa). Indigenous Shoari were mostly treated very badly: enslaved, or exterminated, or subjected to forced cultural assimilation. Some hold on to their tribal identities, surviving as a mistreated but tenacious ethnic minority in their own land. (Estarini, which is an isolated mountain kingdom, is one of the few places where the Shoari have avoided colonial control.) Most Shoari today have a blend of East Asian, Indigenous and African features, just as the Hispanic/Latin@ peoples in our world are a blend of European, African and Indigenous traits.
