Quote Originally Posted by Charerg View Post
Well, you can always just ignore "realism". I don't think there are any real steppes close to the Arctic Circle. I guess having coastal mountain ranges or even having the whole area be an elevated plateau would produce a drier climate. The steppe tundra of the ice ages might have been close to what you're looking for, but even that mostly occurred deep inland, and the climate was much drier back then due to the massive glaciers.
Ok, thanks for the tip. I don't really want to throw realism out of the window, not after thee discussions and the research I am doing. I will however do two things:
- have Skadi be a more elevated/plateau like region, to reduce the wetland/tundra feel
- simply change the fauna: The Vorfon, natives of Skadi who used to rule Skadi, huge chunks of Narkarn (northern taiga/arctic continent) and half of the Tremanath (Eastern continent), are nomadic and rely on their steeds. The Narkarians like to go to Skadi because they have massive beef with the Vorfon, and killing them gives them great joy. But the Tremanathi don't really like going there more for the hassle of it. Having a wetter ground would make marching through it a dreadful experience, and would take forever (so more resources, food, troops, support, time would be required for that goal). So I am thinking, simply by making their steeds not horses, but something with taller legs, better fit to run on muddy terrains, the Vorfon would be able to excel in Skadi but pretty much suck elsewhere.
It's bending the cultures to the map, but it's easier to justify the "horses" being adapted to the environment than explaining (not the case) why we have arctic next to a rain forest (looking at you, Shangri La).