As I'm TSR and Wizards material for the #ArcaneAge #LoreDiver series; something has really hit home. Almost ALL the cultural development, design, and contextualization is through trade. Trade is the only relationship non-warring groups have. It's all economics.

It's like the writers and designers are basing everything on Sid Meier's Civilization as a model for what makes people tick. It explains so much of why so many things are so desperately broken and non-functional on a cultural level in FR.

Like, I'm finishing up the stuff for Netheril, and it's a flaming gong show of nonsense. Past the problematic narratives, they're not even a "culture"; unless you're an extreme libertarian, in which case, they might be. But nothing makes sense, and no one is acting "human".

All their interactions with stuff are either for trade, or war. There's no interpersonal, no cultural practices, nothing. Except trade, and magic research. And this extends into 5e, where writer/designer caveat is why stuff works.

What's the difference between Waterdeep and Port Nyanzaru? Nothing really, except palette swapped complexions and some naming conventions. Wow. Can't believe this took so long to notice!

Details on family life? Nil. Details on coming of age milestones, and life events, rituals etc...? Slim on the ground. Concepts of time, philosophical leanings? LOL! No. Hell, even food and beverage descriptions are minimal.

What was someone saying the other day? That they're sick of stew and ale at *every place* the characters go? What about clothes? Ever notice everyone is wearing the same damn thing, based on the broadest possible cultural coding? To the point of generic pain?

But trade? Right from the small shop to the international scale? There. Important. Driving narratives and backgrounds everywhere. Given primacy for why things are things and why people are up to shit.

Now, I'm not arguing here for a full Anthropological and Sociological interdisciplinary study on each population and its interactions with others. That is too much work and no one has time for that. But maybe hit the brakes on this bizarre, economics centric design approach.

Get this: Luskan, Neverwinter, Waterdeep, Baldur's Gate, and Port Nyanzaru form a line of Venice style Thallasocracies down the west coast of Faerûn. They link to Westgate, Sembia (a Thallaso-pluricracy?), and on to Tantras, Alaghôn, and Telflamm. Which are also Thallasocracies.

The bulk of these places are in the "prime" adventure zone of the FR, the rest serve as "exotic" locations to hit. Meanwhile, non-merchantile nations seem to be in the back seat. Especially in the "south" of the setting. Places that you'd think would be big players. Like Halruaa.

The Shining South is pretty much devoid of much going on, although they did try to revive it a bit in 4e, but that went nowhere. Old Kingdoms? Aside from ignoring that Turmish is an survivor state from the Jhaamdath Psyocracy, not much. Again, a 4e attempt and walkback.

Lands of Intrigue? Amn is a collection of Thallasocracies and merchantile city states. Tethyr is ignored and whitewashed. And Calimshan? There's a whole blog post and #LoreDiver episode in how bad that was messed up and then "fixed".