Gor Culture Comparison

Many of the cultures from Gor are based on historical Earth cultures. This page is intended to be a way to help new players being their search for the cultures they are most interested in. Further, since we have so many Conan role-players we have included the Conan cultures as comparison as well.

Caste vs Non-Caste

When looking for a culture that appeals to you please take a moment to check in the details as to which are caste and which are not. Most of Gor follows the same (or nearly same) caste system. However, there are quite a number of non-caste cultures which vary significantly to each other. If you wish to play from a caste culture the actual home stone is not as impactful as the fact that it "mainline Gorean and of Greco-Roman influence". On the other hand, the non-caste cultures do not resemble each other much at all, and are more "true to their earth culture origins."

The Map

When looking at the map from north to south you can assume that if Europe was stacked in the following order it would line up to the Gorean map in this way. Polar Region/Northern Canada, Scandinavia, Germanic, Gaelic-Roman in the west, American Plains in the east, Greco-Roman, African, Mongolia in the west and Arabia in the east.

Generalized Comparisons for those New to Gor

Gor	Earth	Conan
Alar	Norse-like Nomads. The Alars are an amalgamation of several different barbarian tribes that reached their peaks during the fourth and fifth centuries. These barbarian tribes included such groups as the Goths, Vandals, Franks, and the Huns. But, the Alars most closely resemble a smaller barbarian tribe, the Alans.
Ar (Central Gor)	The city of Ar, like most of central Gor is heavily Greco/Roman.
Northern Gor	The area of Gor that is south of Tovaldsland and along the Laurius is generally Gaelic Roman.
Pani	Asian, predominantly Japanese (Earth)
Panther Girls / Northern Forest	Panther girls are female outlaws who have chosen to avoid Gorean society and live in small bands in the northern forest. There is no direct earth coorlation. Panther girls commonly dress themselves in the skins of forest panthers, from which they derive their name. They do not wear leather outfits, robes of concealment, veils or tunics. They do not seek to hide their bodies either as their panther skin outfits are often quite scanty. Some girls may wear gold or shell ornaments, such as necklaces, bracelets and armlets. They are skilled hunters, employing the bow and spear, and may be quite proficient in the use of these weapons.
Port Kar	A city of outlaws, ruled by ship captains with the only functioning Thieves Caste. The city has canals in the style of Venice.
Red Hunters	Innuit (Earth)
Red Savages	Indians of Americans (Earth), primarily the Sioux, living in the Barrens, a place of rolling grasslands at the edge of the Thentis mountains.
Rencers	A caste limited to the Vosk Delta. The Rencers do not seem to be based on any specific Earth culture. They live on small, man-made islands within the marshes of the Delta. Their primary business is the growth, cultivation and use of the rence plant.
Schendi	Schendi lies south of the Jungles of Gor which resemble the Africa of Earth in many ways. Undoubtedly, the inland dialects, the languages of the jungles, resemble the Earth Bantu or Swahili languages of Africa.
Tahari	A region of Gor with many cities, predominantly Arabic and Bedouin.
Taluna	Talunas are white-skinned jungle girls. The jungle being the rain forest in the vicinity of Shendi, known for its sapphires. However, that they speak Gorean confirms they are not originally of the jungle. The color of their skin alone shows that. And, in fact they had fled undesired companionships. Talunas wear brief skins, belted at the waist, golden armlets, golden bangles on the left ankle and necklaces of claws. Talunas are a specific tribe, not a people like the Panther Girls, and there entire tribe was eventually enslaved.
Tharna	A city with large silver-mines, which was once, uniquely ran by women who wore silver masks.
Thassa, Islands of	All of the islands of Gor are located on Thassa. There are about a dozen named islands and numerous small, unnamed islands as well. Most of the named islands are exchange islands, or free islands, whose ports are administered by the Merchant Caste. These exchange islands include Anango, Asperiche, Farnacium, Hulneth, Hunjer, Ianda, Scagnar, Skjern, Tabor and Teletus. Few of these islands are described in any detail. Other ports and islands are not managed by the Merchants but by magistrates appointed by the city council.
Thentis	Known for tarns and black wine, but with no obvious earth correlation.
Torvaldsland	Norse, Viking	Aesir, Vanir
Treve	Consider a city of bandits at war with almost everyone. Accessible only by tarn this fortress is unknown to all but those whose birth right had allowed them to become apart of a city.
Turia	The city of Turia received its name from the Tur tree, a large trunked, reddish tree. Tur trees may grow to two hundred feet or more, and resemble the redwoods of Earth. Is the closest city to the Wagon People. Generally feels Arabic/ Moroccan / Byzantine and either Turia or Kargash is probably based on Kharkhorin.
Wagon People, The	The Wagon Peoples seem to be an amalgamation of inspirations from two Earth cultures, the infamous Mongols as well as the gauchos of South America. Though the Mongol connection is the more obvious one, there is ample evidence to indicate the gauchos were a source for Norman as well.