Café de Nuit

New to RL, been doing reading (mostly the 3e stuff, I really like it, and that's what we play). Reading the FAQ here, there is a section titled "What real world land is _ based on?"

The answers are helpful. But I am curious, are these answers just sort of inferred through some clues or were these answers stated by developers at some point? Further, to what degree are these domains supposed to represent their historical analogs? And how true to life do you play them?

Some real world inspo is always nice for aesthetics, but I find playing fantasy cultures in fantasy to be far easier when I drop most historical baggage. I'm no historian and don't tend to want to consider whether or not I have customs, architecture, clothing etc. correct.

The answer is always of course that it is my game and I can run it as a I please, but I am looking to find out how these analogs came about and what their original intent was. It is easier to break the rules when you know the rules, so to speak

I think using it as a guide is the best way to approach unless your playing Masque of the Red Death where Earth's history is the perfect backdrop for some weird stuff!

Barovia is based on Transylvania. But it isn't Transylvania...Balok is Romanian if you look at the primer in the Gazetteers. But it can all stop there if that works for your game. High mountains and superstitious peasants can be anywhere.

I like Dementlieu as Paris-inspjred, but there's no need to have an Arc d'Triomphe for no reason. Pull the inspiration you like from the historical amalgam and toss the rest

What strahdsbuddy said. Use the analogs as inspiration, not as limitation.

As for the sources behind these analogs, to the best of my knowledge they're based largely upon names, languages, and other cultural clues (e.g. Souragne with its French names and nearby swamp) bolstered by a hefty dose of evolved consensus (e.g. Nidala as a land of Dark Arthuriana). Some of the developers for 3e used to drop by here occasionally, so they might have explicitly declared their intended analogs. Even so, I suspect their design decisions were based upon earlier cultural clues and evolved consensus.

Some of the inspirations are also drawn from the fiction that inspired particular domains. That is, Barovia is inspired by Transylvania because Strahd is inspired by Dracula, and Lamordia is rather Swiss because Dr. Frankenstein was from Geneva.