You sit down to write your next adventure. Pen in hand or fingers hovering over the keyboard. You’re about to describe the tavern that the PCs are starting in when you ask yourself a question.

Why medieval Europe?

Well that’s pretty easy, I’m playing Pathfinder. This game is about recreating a fantasy setting. But wait, there are books specifically about recreating feudal Japan, precolonialisation Africa, and an Arabian Nights style Middle East. So again, why are we so stuck in this one corner of the world in this one time period?

The answer is a sad one, it’s because we’re lazy. Don’t get me wrong, I love playing knights vs wizards, but we as a community need to move away from this assumed medieval setting. The stories of writers like Tolkien, Moorcock, and Leiber have infected our games, to the point that we have to work hard to make any game not set in Europe.

The biggest worry I had, as soon as I decided to do something outside of Europe was that I wouldn’t understand the cultural significance of something, that I might otherise some real world culture, or worst of all just fall into racist stereotypes. But … do I consider that when I write a story set in a German or Greek themed world? No.

I’ve had absolutely no knowledge of Germany or its history before the 20th century but that’s never stopped me from researching before. So long as I respect cultures as A) not being a monolith and B) accept that I won’t get everything right I can only improve my abilities as a writer.

So I challenge all of you. Go and write an adventure set somewhere you’ve never played before. You’ll find that most of the world still unknown to you. So lets explore it.