01-19-2012, 01:10 PM | #11 | |||
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: Ideas for Fantastical France?
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That would be.... odd, considering Nostradamus only gave his supposed prophecies in print, and had no need to roam the streets in any case, being invited by the consort to the palace... |
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01-19-2012, 10:19 PM | #12 |
Join Date: Feb 2007
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Re: Ideas for Fantastical France?
Two things. First, I want to point out that "dauphin" is pronounced like "doe fawn" (but drop the w sound). Audio of someone saying, "un dauphin" here: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/File:Fr-dauphin.ogg
Second, the things I used in my fantasy France game were: The city of Rennes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennes) which was actually a part of Brittany at the beginning of the 16th century, and became a part of France in 1532. It really just has some fascinating culture and history, in my opinion. Rennes-le-Château (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennes-le-Ch%C3%A2teau) which is in southern France, has no association with Rennes, and has some wonderful conspiracy theories connected to it. |
01-19-2012, 11:58 PM | #13 |
Join Date: May 2007
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Don't sell Catherine de Medici short --
while she won't be swinging a sword herself as Queen of France, and a Medici to boot, she can acquire world-class champions in any field.
Oh -- IIRC the musket (or handgonne) was pretty common after c. 1505. For a short look at the warfare of that era, I'd suggest the Osprey book on Pavia -- covers the French, Spanish, German, and Swiss military systems of that era. Lots on individuals, national rivalries (hint -- do NOT brigade Switzers and Landsknechts together, even if you're paying both of them). One note -- the Spanish had the Caribbean their own until, IIRC, 1519, when a batch of French galleys crossed the Atlantic and began to maraud. Yes, galleys. Frenchmen, not Dutch or English, were the first corsairs on the Spanish Main. |
01-20-2012, 01:58 AM | #14 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Udine, Italy
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Re: Ideas for Fantastical France?
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It could be argued, however, that these people didn't see themselves as "wizards" in the medieval sense, nor as "sibyls" in the Roman sense; we're probably better off thinking that they had a broad definition of "natural sciences". Alchemists and astrologists, generally speaking, didn't think they were dealing with supernatural forces, but, rather, with natural ones that were not yet fully understood. |
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01-20-2012, 06:14 AM | #15 |
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
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Re: Ideas for Fantastical France?
Remembering a book on French Folklore and Folktales I read long ago (and I suggest you find a book like that at your library), the author said that by the end of the Middle Ages the French had pretty much reduced all supernatural beings (other than religious figures and humans with powers) to Fairies/Fees, Mermaids, Dwarfs, and Ogres.
The Fees were basically immortal humans with vast magical powers and caprious habits. The Mer-folk were underwater Fees. The Dwarfs were basically Fee peasants, though often rich and magically powerful. And the Ogres were beautiful Fees with superhuman strength, razor sharp teeth, lots of magic, and a taste for human flesh.
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Per Ardua Per Astra! Ancora Imparo |
01-20-2012, 08:41 AM | #16 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: Ideas for Fantastical France?
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01-20-2012, 08:50 AM | #17 | |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: Ideas for Fantastical France?
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Bill Stoddard |
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01-20-2012, 12:04 PM | #18 |
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: The Enchanted Land-O-Cheese
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Re: Ideas for Fantastical France?
Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions is set in a world based on the stories of Charlemagne and his knight. (It also was a major source of inspiration for Dungeons & Dragons, so you will find some familiar things in it)
Another secondary source is Bullfinch's Mythology, which devotes one of it's volumes to The Age of Chivarly, retelling some of the stories of Orlando and his fellow-knights. You might also consider looking up the Song of Roland. In these stories the Moors are the big threat. By the time your campaign is set, presumably they are not as immediate a danger to France as they were in the time of Charles Martel, but they are still a presence. They can add a touch of exotic culture and/or magic; or even a threat if, for example, the characters are travelling in Spain or sailing across the Mediteranian. Oh, I just though of another possible source of ideas. A Midsummer's Tempest, again by Poul Anderson. This one is set during Cromwell's Revolution in an alternate world in which magic exists and all of Shakespeare's plays were historical events -- even the ones with the faeries. Later than your time period, I know, but a good story and worth reading. Still later is a graphic novel entitled Here Comes a Candle by Mary Hanson-Roberts, a furry adventure taking the descendants of Puss in Boots and other fairy tale critters and putting them in the middle of the French Revolution. |
01-20-2012, 12:13 PM | #19 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: Ideas for Fantastical France?
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But all of the Matter of France is fair game for legacy stuff, to be sure... one could find Durandal, or Malagigi's spellbooks, or I believe Huon may have been taken away by the faeries to live up to the current time period and could be an NPC. If they travel to Germany, they could equally try to rescue Tannhauser from the Venusberg. |
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01-20-2012, 12:54 PM | #20 | |||||||||||
Join Date: Jan 2012
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Re: Ideas for Fantastical France?
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I have thought about the High Medieval outlook along with the Renaissance and decided that I wanted to fuse together swords/shields with early guns (such as the arquebusier units) Quote:
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As for the source on un daw-fa(w)n, thanks for the pronounciation. I thought it sounded like Daw-pfun. Quote:
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It was also considered in Roman times when a man was selected for a substitutionary death, he would die because Romans on the living veil were curious of what lies beyond the realm of death. They wanted to see and hear from him if he ever comes back, when he EVER WILL come back. They have a morbid sense of that belief and they had NO ONE to come back to prove that there was something beyond. That was a rudimentary understanding, albeit with false logic and a lack of common sense when it came to life and death. It's like the same with satanists, druids, pagans, etc. Quote:
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The Moors? I assume the Moors did come from Africa before migrating to Spain? Right now, I'm currently deciding whether to keep Spain Habsburg free or not. I may think that the Hapsburgs may be an interesting foe for France, though not too strong early on. They might later. I have not read many of Poul Anderson's books but I will look into it. As for Puss in Boots, is that the same Puss in Boots from Shrek? What a cute furry cat, if that's really him! :P I do find the catnip scene too funny in the 3rd movie in Far Far Far Away Land. Quote:
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elf, fantastical, france, glore pour la france, marigold |
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