For those of you not familiar with the geography and cultures of these stories, there might be questions about what things in the real world could translate into this fantasy realm. And to you, dear reader, we offer the following correlations: Geldenreich is loosely based on the Austro-Hungarian Empire, dwarven culture is loosely based on Germanic culture, Slothjemians are a hybrid of cultures, but most closely resemble the sort of Eastern European characterizations depicted in classic Universal horror movies, and most everything else falls into place as if this was, say, set in the Balkans. Lots of small nations that loathe one another, and plenty of adventures to be had.

Whenever possible, I resist the urge to directly link the known and the fantastical. I prefer it when folks can add their own imaginative elements, and just flatly saying “this particular elf is like a Frenchman” well and truly ruins so much of it. But in vivid description the reader is free to conclude “this guy sounds like he might be French” or perhaps “I think I shared an apartment with this jerk in 1996.”

If you have more questions, I’ll be glad to answer them. Probably right here, in fact. The best part of Dungeons & Dragons is that it is interactive, and yes, that carried over to fantasy writings as well. I like to write, and whenever I can, I like to make it enjoyable for the reader, too. Very few people enjoy reading with no concept of what the author is talking about, and those poor souls are never doing that again, once they finish their dissertations.