"Fantasy Britain?" Topic

I'm looking at setting up a Renaissance/fantasy campaign purely as a battle generator. The obvious thing to do for a map is to assign each force a portion of the British Isles. (OK, maybe it's not obvious, but it's how I mean to do it: clear borders, plenty of maps and a temperate climate.)
But some of the subtleties escape an outsider. Where's "horsey country" for instance? Or are Dwarves more Cornish miners or Black Country industrialists? So for all of you, but especially the natives, where do I place
Halflings (with Entish allies)
Goblins
Dwarves
Orcs
Amazons (Distinctly classical Greek w/centaurs)
Riders of Rohan
Flodden Scots with Highlanders
Tudor English--mostly bills and bows with demilancers, but a few pikes and arquebuses

Only Britain and Ireland, please--and no new armies. The closet is full.

I seem to recall Phil barker describing Orcs and Goblins in HOTT as being like Northern English people but guess that was his joke?

And weren't Tolkiens halflings/hobbits supposed to be from around the Midlands or Birmingham? That's what the Shire was based on?

Agree on Tolkien's Hobbitic intent--"an English village of Jubilee year"--but a bunch of archers with, at best, ponies, feels more like Wales to me for campaign purposes. And I need an English home for both the Riders of Rohan and the Tudor English. And how long would a Halfling army last in open country?

You see why I'm asking for help.

Tolkien's shire was inspired by Oxfordshire so that seems like an obvious place for the halflings.

Yr Hen Ogledd seems like a good match for the riders of Rohan the old Brythonic kingdoms of northern England/southern Scotland seem very similar to Rohan along with a cavalry tradition.

The dwarves could easily fit in Wales or Cornwall both are known for their mining.

You could equate the orcs with the Fomorians of Ireland a supernatural race in Irish mythology, who are often portrayed as hostile and monstrous beings. Originally they were said to come from under the sea or the earth. Later, they were portrayed as sea raiders and giants.

Perhaps you could equate the Greek Amazon's with the Cornish legend of Lyonesse which is a Cornish Atlantis legend?

Just lifted this from wiki but places in Britian that has names associated with goblins

Hobroyd (which means 'goblin clearing'), High Peak, Derbyshire, UK.

Goblin Combe, in north Somerset, UK

Yester Castle (also known as "Goblin Hall") East Lothian, Scotland

Cowcaddens and Cowlairs, Glasgow, Scotland. 'Cow' is an old Scots word for Goblin, while 'cad' means 'nasty'. 'Dens' and 'lairs' refers to goblin homes.

This is going to get me into so much trouble:

Dwarves – from Yorkshire up to the Scottish border – great mining country. They could always have an enclave in Cornwall.
Riders of Rohan – Home Counties – Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Buckinghamshire, up to the lower part of the Midlands – fox hunting country so good for horsemen.
Goblins – Wales (because someone has to be)
Orcs – Irish – always fighting amongst themselves – waiting for someone to make themselves High King
Flodden Scots – anywhere south of the Highland line to the English border (Carlisle/Berwick) – beligerant bunch.
Highlanders – North of the Highland line – but do not forget the Islesmen – usually fueled by the water of life (whiskey) .
Halflings – from Rutland – it is a small county easily bypassed if you blink – people do not usually travel far, and not a lot happens there.
Tudor English – London and south of the Thames all along the South Coast (Kent to Devon) – think themselves better than the rest of the country.
Entish Allies – from Sherwood Forest.

Just to clarify – I am a Scot from Glasgow, living in Cambridgeshire.

Okay, erm…with tons and tons of apologies, and maybe says more about my warped mind than anything else…

Halflings (with Entish allies) Dorset, West Somerset, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Glamorgan, Southern Ireland (Limerick, Tipperary – Cork and Clare and Kerry depends upon how you feel about Hobbit sailors – also Cornwall and Devon in England for same; Monaghan, Clones, Fermanagh in the North)

Goblins: Scottish Highlands, Dartmoor, Central Wales, Pennines, some bits of Cumbria, bits of Tyrone and Donegal

Dwarves: Lanarkshire, Yorkshire, some bits of Cumbria, some bits of Lancashire, bits of Cornwall, South Wales

Orcs: (as goblins)

Amazons: (Distinctly classical Greek w/centaurs) don't really know…Essex?!? & coastal strip of South Wales?! also, thinking about it – the smaller islands: Wight, Man, Channel Islands, Scilly, Farne Islands etc.

Riders of Rohan: East Anglia, Borders (Scottish and Northumbrian)

Flodden Scots with Highlanders: Also Scottish Highlands, Ulster, Eastern Scotland

Tudor English--mostly bills and bows with demilancers, but a few pikes and arquebuses: South-East, Midlands, Wales around Cardiff? Ireland around Dublin? Around Belfast?

Riders of Rohan = Gwyr y Gogledd

An old issue of Ares (fantasy/sci-fi version of Strategy & Tactics) had a game called Albion: Land of Faerie, which was essentially a fantasy version of England and you can clearly see that from the map. If you're looking to do a fantasy campaign there's probably some pretty good ideas there:

link

Well the Iceni – the Horse People – were based in modern East Anglia, which is indeed good flat horse country.

Dwarves in ME are very mountain orientated, which gives you just Wales and the Lake District really. The Scottish Highlands are mountainous of course but there's no history of mining in them.

Rohan is a problem as in ME it was grassy plains. The whole of the UK was wooded so there's no equivalent, unless maybe Salisbury Plain?

Rohan – the English-Scottish borders. Cattle country and a long history of raiding & internecine warfare. Poor land for farming, unlike some of the other suggestions which make better arable land. Cotswolds a possibility but mostly sheep rather than cattle.

Dwarves – Derbyshire (the Peak District). Early mining & industry and 'good solid folk'. Alternatives : South Welsh valleys, Lake District.

Tudor England – southern Wales-England borders. Appropriate because the Tudr family are actually Welsh.

Halflings – any reasonably remote rural backwater. Possibly in the Downs, Welsh marches, New Forest, Forest of Dean (good for Ents) etc.

Orcs & Goblins – Pennine chain, central Welsh mountains or Scottish hills. Irish or Norse Irish is also a fair call.

Amazons – best I can think of is between Tyne & Tees or on the Clyde. The women there are tough, belligerent and don't take any crap from their menfolk.

Elves – in the deep woods & forests. In Olde England this could be in a good many different places. Sherwood Forest & similar in central England, Forest of Dean on the Welsh borders, central belt in Scotland was once heavily forested too.

There are so many micro environments in Britain you can match some aspects of the necessary characteristics in a wide range of places but we don't have the extreme landscapes that are in most fantasy literature.

Being a American, Sure why not, Sounds good to me! can't say whether any of you are right or wrong!