RuneScape Forum Archive | Real Life Associations with RS

SurviveDeath

Posts: 40 Bronze Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Hey guys!

I was wondering whether you all out there are able to highlight certain stories/lore/characters that have some references to real life or actual folklore in general.

I had been thinking about the desert story and found it interesting how it kind of links to Egyptian Mythology. I was curious whether there are other things that I had missed like are the kingdoms in Runescape actually modelled after actual kingdoms in real life. Are the gods in Runescape based on actual folklore/legends?

If you find anything interesting, feel free to post below!

29-Apr-2017 15:43:07

Jan

2021

AesirWarrior

Posts: 1,060 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Here's a few off the top of my head:

- Various names and creatures in the Fremennik province are inspired by Norse mythology or folklore. Askeladden is a fairy tale character, Hati, Sköll and Fenrir are inspired by the wolves from norse mythology of the same name, Eir is based on a Valkyrie etc.
- Saradomin is pretty clearly inspired by the Judeo-Christian God when it comes to appearance and following. Especially the medieval interpretation of God as a powerful warrior king. As for the character himself I'd say he's got some Zeus mixed with maybe a smidge of Odin. Of course, that's all secondary, as his main trait is he's very human.
- Zaros I'd argue is also inspired by God to an extent, not really as a character but in the way his empire portrayed him.
- The Zarosian empire is, obviously, inspired by the Roman Empire.
- Zamorak was inspired by Satan, until his "god of evil" persona was retconned to be Saradominist propaganda. He's still got the devil-like appearance though.
- Most species come from Religion or folklore in one way or another. The most obvious are probably Demons and Icyene.
- Not really real life, but I believe a lot of Kandarin's backstory is inspired by A Song of Ice and Fire, which in turn is inspired by the (real) War of Roses. Might be worth looking in to.
- Infernus and everything surrounding it is inspired by everything from the Bible, the Divine Comedy or Paradise Lost to H.P. Lovecraft. For example Pandemonium is an alternate name for Infernus and also the capital of hell in Paradise Lost, and Dis is (I believe) from the Divine comedy.
- King Arthur is, you know, King Arthur.
- The Penguin series is filled with Cold War jokes and it's not subtle at all about it. The Penguins are soviets. -

I have noticed your kind does tend to blindly stumble forward towards danger simply because it exists. What is your word for that?

- We call it being a hero.

29-Apr-2017 17:45:20

Bloodcount

Posts: 560 Steel Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

AesirWarrior said :
Here's a few off the top of my head:

- The Penguin series is filled with Cold War jokes and it's not subtle at all about it. The Penguins are soviets.

The Penguin quests use the Cold War (Cold War, Hunt for the Red October), a lot of pop music references (Ping and Pong), Dr. Who (the TARDIS), Back to the Future (Back to the Freezer), LOST (the polar bear on the island), Sherman's Lagoon (The polar bear floating on his back), the band Queen (the seals dancing to Ping and Pong), Saturday Night Live (More Cowbell), Navy Seals (the Seal Navy), Batman ("To the canoe-mobile!), Pinky and the Brain, Power Rangers, Star Trek, and so many others.

I mean, the entire Penguin quest line is basically a lot of pop culture references smashed into one of the Gower bros. favorite animals.

29-Apr-2017 19:58:55

AttilaSquare

Posts: 1,792 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

AesirWarrior said :
- Saradomin is pretty clearly inspired by the Judeo-Christian God when it comes to appearance and following. Especially the medieval interpretation of God as a powerful warrior king. As for the character himself I'd say he's got some Zeus mixed with maybe a smidge of Odin. Of course, that's all secondary, as his main trait is he's very human.
- Zaros I'd argue is also inspired by God to an extent, not really as a character but in the way his empire portrayed him.
- The Zarosian empire is, obviously, inspired by the Roman Empire.
- Zamorak was inspired by Satan, until his "god of evil" persona was retconned to be Saradominist propaganda. He's still got the devil-like appearance It might be worth noting that Saradomin is more inspired by an early to late modern Anglo-Protestant picture of God, as well as by influences from the cultural forces opposed to that picture. To run together the vast array of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim descriptions of God in Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia that appeared over the course of a millennium would be an unfortunate oversimplification of history.

Zaros is also based on Western conceptions of God, though some descriptions of him and his empire draw on anti-Catholic images developed in England around the time of the Reformation, early modern images of the Roman Empire, and Romantic images of Rome and medieval Catholicism developed later on. Machiavelli, early modern political thinkers, utilitarian, and esoteric thinkers have also contributed to Zaros' character.

29-Apr-2017 20:41:09

Raleirosen

Posts: 5,069 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The name of Mos Le'Harmless comes from Douglas Adams' work, Bill Teach is more or less Blackbeard, and Xau-Tak is an obvious Lovecraft imitation. Patrolling Lore FC almost makes you wish for a Great Revision.

29-Apr-2017 21:12:28 - Last edited on 29-Apr-2017 21:17:06 by Raleirosen

May

2022

Rifleavenger

Posts: 1,381 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Since you mentioned the Menaphite Pantheon's obvious inspirations from Egyptian Mythology, here's a few of the most obvious parallels.

Ichthlarin -> Anubis, cut and dry.

Amascut -> Mashup of Ammut, Sehkmet, and Bastet.

Tumeken -> Amun-Ra, Horus

Elidnis -> Harder to draw a direct parallel. Maybe Hathor?

Then there's additional stuff like funerary practices being very similar, with embalming/mummification, canopic jars for organs, etc. The Sphinx being a thing. Pyramids. An older pyramid being a masteba instead of the more familiar pyramid-shaped pyramids. Even that the desert used to be more fertile than the modern is a parallel.

On another note, Karamja minus the lava people is pretty much the British Empire's stereotype of "jungle colonies" in Africa and Asia, even including the pirates.

Eastern Lands are a mashup of various East Asian nations and cultures.

29-Apr-2017 22:23:54 - Last edited on 29-Apr-2017 22:27:32 by Rifleavenger

Crow Crimson

Posts: 508 Steel Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Rifleavenger said :
Elidnis -> Harder to draw a direct parallel. Maybe Hathor?

Well, there is the god Hapi, who despite being a man, had a pregnant woman's breasts and belly, symbolizing fertility. He was also revered for having control over the Nile River, just like Elidnis and the River Elid.

And then there's the Aviansae, whose explanations of their world's creation being the result of spirits that represent nature, and who adorn themselves with feathers and animal bones. This reminds me of some Native American tribes' belief of animism. The legendary creators have been long gone from this world. When they return, they'll be surprised and angered of their creations' new sapience. Meanwhile, the world's most elite, summoned to be its guardians, have abandoned their purpose and intend to plunge the world into chaos. -- Bionicle or RS?

30-Apr-2017 08:54:51 - Last edited on 30-Apr-2017 08:55:41 by Crow Crimson

May

2011

Aquamancer

Posts: 2,047 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Rifleavenger said :
Eastern Lands are a mashup of various East Asian nations and cultures.

Well, to be specific, if the Arc's design choices are to go by, Japanese and Polynesian cultures are a large source of inspiration to the Arc and likely to the rest of Wushanko Isles (parts of Goshima's Lament is sung in what appears to be Maori or Hawaiian, and most of Wushanko Isles' non-human races and creatures are taken from Japanese folklore), though there are a lot of other cultural elements from other cultures and nations, such as China, Vietnam and Mongolia. There's also a surprisingly large amount of Greek mythology in the mix: cyclopes and chimeras, for example.

In addition, a lot of races have cultural similarities to real-life ethnic groups. Some examples:

* Gorajo and Ramokee are obviously inspired by Native Americans of North America. While their names are based on Navajo and Cherokee, they appear to share most cultural similarities with the Algonquian peoples: for example, Sachem is a title of a chief among the Narragansett people of Rhode Island, and Naabe means "people" in Ojibwe (who are also known as the Anashinaabe).

* Ilujanka appear to be inspired a bit by the Yoryba people of Nigeria, if their mythology is anything to go by.

* Goebies are based on Mayans and Aztecs: their language is a mix of Nahuatl and Yucatec Maya, and their old architecture does share similarities with Mesoamerican architecture.

* Auspah and Char are based on Asura, a mythological creature from India, so it's possible other aspects of the Auspah race are based on the various peoples' of the Indian subcontinent.

* From what little we know of Bandos' race, they appear to have shared elements with sub-Saharan African peoples', such as the different Khoisan and Bantu nations.

* Whereas Menaphite Empire was based on Ancient Egypt and Zarosian Empire was based on Ancient Rome, Saradomin's Empire is apparently based on Ancient Greece.

30-Apr-2017 15:56:23

Padomenes

Posts: 3,662 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

AttilaSquare said :
AesirWarrior said :
- Saradomin is pretty clearly inspired by the Judeo-Christian God when it comes to appearance and following. Especially the medieval interpretation of God as a powerful warrior king. As for the character himself I'd say he's got some Zeus mixed with maybe a smidge of Odin. Of course, that's all secondary, as his main trait is he's very human.
- Zaros I'd argue is also inspired by God to an extent, not really as a character but in the way his empire portrayed him.
- The Zarosian empire is, obviously, inspired by the Roman Empire.
- Zamorak was inspired by Satan, until his "god of evil" persona was retconned to be Saradominist propaganda. He's still got the devil-like appearance It might be worth noting that Saradomin is more inspired by an early to late modern Anglo-Protestant picture of God, as well as by influences from the cultural forces opposed to that picture. To run together the vast array of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim descriptions of God in Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia that appeared over the course of a millennium would be an unfortunate oversimplification of history.

Zaros is also based on Western conceptions of God, though some descriptions of him and his empire draw on anti-Catholic images developed in England around the time of the Reformation, early modern images of the Roman Empire, and Romantic images of Rome and medieval Catholicism developed later on. Machiavelli, early modern political thinkers, utilitarian, and esoteric thinkers have also contributed to Zaros' character. What about the 'god-emperor of mankind' from warhammer 40k? This seems to be what the development of the 6th age Saradomin is heading towards or inspired by rather than the Abrahamic. He is also a character that united humans and started an empire, dedicated to using any means to maintain order and fight against chaos.

30-Apr-2017 16:13:13 - Last edited on 30-Apr-2017 16:15:10 by Padomenes

Marine Doge

Posts: 1,213 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

A very interesting one my friend told me about is the goblins being comparable to the Jewish people:
Twelve tribes of Israel, twelve tribes of Goblins
They were/are awaiting the return of their savior chosen by God himself to lead them to a promised land (Zanik was chosen by Bandos to lead them to victory)
There was probably more but I forget /shrug Mods pls notice me

30-Apr-2017 16:48:23

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