Topic: What setting are they talking about...

[GoblynByte]

Throughout RMSS (particularly the race descriptions) the make vague references to a history of a setting.  I always figured this was just tossing out examples using very generic terms, but I was wondering if there is actually a setting that uses these references.  Is there a "default" setting for RMSS?  Is it Shadow World?  Or is the whole thing just generic with tidbits of a non-existing setting added to bulk it up?

[Rasyr-Mjolnir]

No, it isn't shadow world, it isn't actually any setting that I am aware of.

[Defendi]

I've always suspected it was a John Curtis homebrew or perhaps something he'd planned for bladelands.

[Rasyr-Mjolnir]

Not Bladelands -- I have seen the stuff he was working on for it. Bladelands could NOT be played with the core RMFRP/RMSS rules at all. Too many special rules required.

[GoblynByte]

No, it isn't shadow world, it isn't actually any setting that I am aware of.

That's what I figured.  It seemed like simply an implied setting so that they could put the races and creatures into some sort of context.  In many cases it appears that the race discriptions were vague analogies to Middle-earth races.  If this is the case I would assume this was done to make the transition from MERP to RMSS more friendly.  Of course this could also simply be a symptom of the massive Tolkienian influence on all modern day fantasy.