> There will be lots of vegetables not familiar to modern palates as
well. The
> listing that I did up in the flora and fauna essay was compiled in
a similar
> research and discussion context as this one, and a very thorough
trolling of
> the sources at the time.
It is a wonderful listing, but for this project I'd like to be able
to cut it to a fraction of the length. There is a surprising amount
of variation in Sartar, given how small it is. Most likely the stead
only grows 15 to 20 or so food crops, with maybe some additional
herbs. Probably the hunters mostly catch half a dozen or so species,
because hunting for different creatures takes different techniques,
locations, etc, so they'll specialize in the most reliable. Probably
the river yields around four types of fish and maybe a couple of nonfish
species (maybe the kids catch bull-frogs in Sea season?). Most
likely the forest is dominated by half a dozen species of trees, and
around that many kinds of bushes, etc.
Basically if you throw a huge list at a narrator you'll tend to cause
eye-glazing. If you say "the forest is birch and willow in the wet
areas, and maple and spruce higher up, with occasional groves of
cedar" you've given something more useful on the fly, I think. We
can always attach a pointer saying "for a more complete list of
possible resources, go look here." That way those that are interested
can go look.
Finally, if anyone is still reading this far in, could someone
scandinavian or Finnish describe what trees are seen in forests
there? I keep saying maples because I'm familiar with them, but I
don't think Sartar actually has maples....however up in the hills
Oaks may not be viable. Perhaps Elm?
--Bryan
>
> http://home.iprimus.com.au/pipnjim/questlines/florafauna.html
>
>
> While there's always room for expansion, and I'm not suggesting
that the
> listing is by any means perfect, can I suggest that having a look
at the
> listings and associated essays might save a fair bit of reinventing
the
> wheel.
>
> Sartar is tricky to describe. Our cultural analogues are European,
but the
> landscape is primarily North American. We have an added overlay of
the
> magical and unique, and background changes to seasons etc that
means no
> animal or plant is quite like the ones we know on earth. There are
also a
> few incidents in the early sources of generic fantasy or incipient
DnDisms.
> The Sartarite ecology is partially magical: elements seem more
important
> than evolution: we have plants that bloom only in shadow and cold
frr
> instance. Gods and spirits tend to plants and animals, so worship
may be
> more important than fertiliser. We have instances of giganticism
that
> increase the further north you go. Giant insects, however, are
moderately
> common.
>
> All I can say is, thank goodness we're not trying to describe Prax!
>
> And if you'd like to add to the flora fauna essays with paragraphs
on
> particular foods and resources (like Ian's notes on alcohol, and the
> discussion we had on honey), please do! It's meant to be a dynamic
resource,
> and a lot of the work being done here is to good to forget!
>
> Here's a summary list of Sartarite crops and animal resources
>
> Food Crops
> Asparagus | Basil | Beans | Burdock (root) | Cameline (oil) |
Carrot |
> Coriander | Emer Wheat | Falseflax (oil) | Fennel | Footstoe |
Garlic |
> Gourd | Leek | Maize | Medlar | Melon | Millet | Mint | Oats |
Onion |
> Oregano | Parsley | Peas | Plums | Potato | Pumpkin | Radish |
Retches | Rue
> | Saffron (Sun Touch) | Sage (Mhy) | Samphire | Spelt | Spiceroot |
Squash |
> Stone Oil | Thyme | Toadtable | Truffle | Turnip | Vetches | Wheat
| Wild
> Barley | Wild Blue Parsnip | Wild Snowgrape.
>
> Domesticated or Food Animals
> Honey Bee | Long-haired (Maned) Cattle | Dog | Dabray Doormouse
(food
> animal) | Enlo | Horse | Humpbacked Ox | Kukbird (semi-domestic
fowl) |
> Pelican (used for fishing) | Pigeon (food animal) | Pelorian Ass |
Pig |
> Long-Maned Ram (Spreadhorn) | Shadowcat | Wild Sheep (somewhat
domesticated)
> | Fat-Tails (Milking Sheep) | 'Giant' Snail (food animal).
>
> Major Wilderness Fauna
> Alynx (wildcat or shadowcat, many species) | Sable Antelope |
Auroch (rare,
> legendary, probably extinct) | Badger | Black Bear | Blue Bear |
Cave Bear |
> Tree Bear | White Dwarf Bear | Beaver | Forest Bison | Boar
(Razorback!) |
> Blue Boar | Horned Boar | Chamois | Chipmunk | Red Deer | Roe Deer
| Snow
> Deer | Dinosaur (very rare in uplands, mainly smaller vegetarians,
including
> stunted pentaceratops) | Dragonsnail | Elk (including giant
species) |
> Ferret | Red Fox | Frog | Tree Frog | Gorp | Griffin | Wild Goat |
Hare |
> Hedgehog | Wild Horse | Ibex | Krarshtkid (rare) | Lizard | Rock
Lizard |
> Lynx | Mammoth (rare or legendary) | Marmot | Crim Marten | Pine
Marten |
> Otter | Pika | Polecat (ferret) | Pronghorn | Razorback | Reindeer
| Rodent
> | Rubble Runner | Sabretooth Cat | Salamander (lizard) | Wild Sheep
| Mole
> Shrew | Snake | Grass Snake | Squirrel | Stoat | Tusker | Vole |
Wapiti |
> Walktapus | Wood Vole | Weasel | Wolverine | Wildcat | Wolf.
>
> Fish And Aquatic Animals
> Burbot (Pricklefish) | Carp | Chub | Crab | Dace | Eel | Hell Salmon
> (eyeless, subterranean for most of life) | Lamprey (Lizardfish) |
Rock
> Oyster | Perch | Pickeral | Pike | River Porpoise | Roach | Salmon
| Sprat |
> Sturgeon | Trout | Giant Turtle | Snapping Turtle | Waterwolf
(River Dragon)
> | Whelk and many other freshwater species.
>
> Birds
> Blackbird | Bullfinch | Buzzard | Coot | Crane | Crossbill | Curlew
|
> Demi-Bird | Didapper (Dabchick) | Diver | Egret | Ern | Falcon |
Gyre Falcon
> | Fuzztopper | Godwit | Goose | Goshawk | Grebe | Hazel Grouse |
Wood Grouse
> | Haggar (Wind Hawk, Goshawk, Sparrow Hawk) | Sun Haggar (golden
eagle) |
> Heron | Jay | Kestrel | Kingfisher (Halcyon) | Lake Wader | Lapwing
|
> Morganseer | Nighthunter (Haggar) | Nightingale | Nightjar | Owl |
> Oyster-Catcher | Partridge | Pippit | Winged Plover | Red Throat |
Ruff |
> Starling | Stead Sparrow | Stonechat | Teal | Tit | Tree-Creeper |
Turnstone
> | Water Crow | Raven | Sandpiper | White Stork | Skylark | Little
Stint |
> Swan | Red Vulture | Warbler | Wheat Ear | Whinchat | Witch Bird |
Woodlark
> | Woodpecker.
>
>
> Insects
> Horned Beetle | Dungson | Louse | Marsh Fly | Maggot | Midge |
Millipede |
> Scorpion | Snail | Worm | Slow Worm (legless lizard) | about ten
million
> others.
>
> Common Plants and Fungi
> All Heal | Amberplant | Apple Plum | Armour Grass | Arroin's Lily |
> Athoforia (Aldryami) | Barley Wild-seed | Bastard Palm | Bellflower
|
> Bilberry | Bird's Nest Orchid | Bittersweet Nightshade | Blackberry
|
> Bluebell | Blueberry | Boarweed | Bramble | Briarhell (smaller
variety than
> Dorastor's) | Brittle Bladder | Brown Hair Moss | Bryony | Bullrush
|
> Buttercup | Buttercup Maiden (?) | Carnis | Calfonilla (Aldryami) |
> Clingvine (Aldryami) | Clothfern | Clover | Cold Orchid | Cotton
Grass | Cow
> Bloom (Yolk of Egg) | Cranes-Bill | Dandelion | Day's Eye (Daisy) |
> Darkblooms (many species) | Darkdart Bush | Darkfoil (Aldryami) |
Darkslip |
> Dead Nettles | Devil's Bit | Dock | Dog Mercury | Dour-root |
Dragon Lily |
> Dreamweed (Aldryami) | Eel Grass | Elven Fighting Fungus (Aldryami)
|
> Eurmal's Crumbs | Eyebright | Figwort | Fleabane | Flowering Rush |
Forest
> Candle | Foxglove | Foxtail Lily | GallowMan | Gas Mushroom | Gas
Plant |
> Giant Anemone | Giant Tarbush | Gooseberry | Great Bladderwort |
Green Moss
> | GreenCone | Hart's Tongue | Hawkbit | Hazia | Healbeet | Henbit |
Herder's
> Purse | Hobham Root | Iris | Jewelflor (Aldryami) | King's Spear
(Asphodelus
> or Daffodil) | Knotweed | Kokolonni | Kraken Weed | Lady Slipper
Orchid |
> Larkspur | Leechbush | Leopard's Bane | Lilac | Lily | Ling |
Linseed |
> Lynxtooth | Mad Dog Mushroom | Masterwort | Meadow Thistle | Mee
Vorala
> (Fungi) | Mistle Root | Monkshood | Moonwort | Moss | Mostal's
Salad |
> Mustard | Ne'er Forget | Ne'er Forgive | NeverDie | Night Poppy |
Nightshade
> | Nymph Eye | Orlanth's Sceptre | Peacherry | Plantain | Poison
Hemlock |
> Pricklymelon | Primrose | Princess Plant (Aldryami) | Ragwort |
Rainbowvine
> (Aldryami) | Ramson (Wild Garlic) | Red Clover | Red Thistle Men |
Ribwood |
> Rosebay | Royal Fern | Rundown Toadstool | Runner Root | Sacred
Time | Satin
> Flower | Saxifrage | Screamer (Aldryami) | Season-Grass | Sedge |
Shield
> Fern | Silver Thistle | Soul Vine | Snowdrop (Nalda's Taper) | Sow
Thistle |
> Spirit Moss | Spleenwort | Spurge | Star Captain (Aster) | Star-of-
Love |
> Star-of-War | Sticky-whip | Stinging Nettle | StormHood | Sweet
Pyse (Sweet
> Pea) | Tangibar | Tanglebriar (Aldryami) | Tansic (Everbloom,
Carnation) |
> Tansy Ragwort | Tarsh Tomato | Tears of Hope) | Thievesbane
(Aldryami) |
> Thistle | Tulip | Twayblade | Uleria's Crown (Rose) | Water Gourd |
Water
> Lily | Water Soldier | Waymole | Were-Flower | Whipbush | Wild Rose
| Willow
> Herb | Winter Gallant | Winter Grapes | Winter Wheat | Woad | Woad
Warrior
> (Mamax) | Woodbine (Honeysuckle) | Wood Anemone | Wood Sorrel |
Wormwood.
>
>
> Common Trees And Large Scrubs
> Alder | Thorn Apple | Ash (Black, Mountain, Blue, Green, Red, White
and
> Stone varieties) | Aspen (Poplar - Trembling, Quaking and Screaming
> varieties) | Balsam (includes Red Balsam and the legendary High
Balsam) |
> Basswood (Linden) | Sweet Bay | Beech | Birch (includes Black,
Canoe, Paper,
> River, Silver, Sweet, White and River varieties) | Bitternut
(Hickory) |
> BrooBud | Buck Eye | Butternut (White Walnut) | Cork | Crabapple |
Creeper
> Tree (Marshbark) | Cyprus (including Bald and SkyDome varieties) |
Elder
> (including Box Elder) | Elm (including Dinosaur Elm) | Hawthorn |
Hemlock |
> Holly | Horn Beam | Irontree (Pine) | Swamp Maple | Mockernut |
Never-Bend |
> Oak (including Sartar, Black, White, Steadfast, Pine and Willow
varieties) |
> Pine (including Dwarf, White, Grey, and Geo's varieties) | Poplars
> (including Long-Tooth varieties) | Rootless Ones (Aldryami walking
trees) |
> Shagbark | Silver Wood | Spruce | Storm Apple (rare) | Storm Cedar
| Wailing
> Tree | Walnut | Willow (including Weeping, White and Ghost
varieties) |
> Windberry Tree | Yelm Tree | Yew (Death Tree).
>
>
> Cheers
>
> John