This area features specialty resources
to help you in researching character backgrounds that may be out of your area
of expertise. If you have a body of knowledge on a specific culture or time
period and wish to share useful resources or books please submit them to the
webmaster at northernminx@verizon.net
Book resources should include title AND author (or editor)
Many people have asked why this portion
of the site was created. The answer is simply that many people do not have
the research basis to know where to start researching character backgrounds.
The more complicated reason is that having backgrounds, history, and fundamentally
grounded research in a characters adds character depth and roundness (and
doesn't hurt with the story-tellers either!)
The following is not an end all and be all of topics or resources but it designed and offered freely by players who have done the research in order to help players who wish to add more to their characters.
Pirates and characters
nautical in nature:
(submitted by Linda Bounds)
Helpful if one is sailing off the New
England coast - Maritime weather
http://www.maineharbors.com/weather/marzone.htm
Pirate Histories & Stories
http://www.aschulze.net/pirates/
Various sites for Nautical Terms:
http://www.psych.su.oz.au/vbb/woronora/maritime/Glossary.html
http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/gloss.htm
Pirate Terms:
http://www.pyrates.com/terms.htm
Recommended Books:
Under the Black Flag by David Cordingly
Arabic / Islamic links:
(submitted by Linda Bounds)
The Qu'ran
http://etext.virginia.edu/koran.html
Ramadan, the most holy of the Islamic
holidays:
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/pillars/fasting/tajuddin/fast_1.html
Basic Islamic Calendar:
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~chern/saudi/calander.html
Western Views on Muslim Women:
http://www.muslimedia.com/archives/special98/women.htm
The Hajj and the Ka'bah
http://www.submission.org/hajj/kaaba.html
History links for the Middle East:
The Ottomans - http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/h21-ot.html
Overview of the middle ages and the middle east - http://www.nmhschool.org/tthornton/mehistorydatabase/high_middle_ages.htm
The Black Death and the Middle East -
http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/mongols/blackDeath.html
Reference for clothing for Muslim Women
http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618/Clothing/Islam_Clothing,_Jewelry_Ma.html
Recommended Books:
Arabic cultures and histories:
Daughters of Another Path by Carol L. Anway
Beauty in Arabic Culture by Doris Behrens-Abouseif
History of the Byzantine Empire Volumes 1 & 2 By A.A.Vasiliev
History of the Arab Peoples By Albert Hourani
The Holy Qur'an with English Translation and Commentary by Maulana Muhammad
Ali (recommend this one because it holds both the English and Arabic prints,
and specifically for the commentary)
Gypsies/Romani
(submitted
by Linda Bounds)
History:
http://www.romanothan.ro/engleza/history/resurse_patrin.htm
http://www.romani.org/local/romhist.html
http://www.romani.org/toronto/diaspora_rl.html
Romani Dance:
http://www.romani.org/local/romdance.html
http://www.romani.org/local/roma_dance_art.html
Recommended Research books:
The people of Europe: The Gypsies by Angus Frazer
Name Sites:
(submitted by Linda Bounds)
http://www.zoope.com/about/about_names.html
http://www.ummah.net/family/fem.html
Venice and Renaissance Italy:
The Honest Courtesan - Veronica Franco
