Elden Ring’s story takes place in its own fantasy world of The Lands Between, but this land is heavily inspired by real-world European medieval history in the design of its characters, weapons, architecture, and social hierarchies. However, it is implied through certain Elden Ring characters and item descriptions that the world of Elden Ring extends far beyond The Lands Between and that these different lands contain unique kingdoms which are based on different real-world cultures and mythologies in the same way that The Lands Between is based heavily on those of Norse and Celtic countries.
One of the more unique starting classes in Elden Ring is the Samurai, who is described as a capable fighter from the distant Land of Reeds. Based on this staring class’s name and item designs, it is clear that the Land of Reeds is an area in Elden Ring’s world that is inspired by a medieval-era Japan. This Land of Reeds is never seen in-game or described fully to the player, although it is possible to come across a few more Samurai characters over the course of Elden Ring's story.
Implying that there are other lands and kingdoms in the game's world which the player will never see does help to make Elden Ring's Lands Between feel much more established, and since one of these outside kingdoms is already known to be based on a distinct real-world culture, some players have been imagining what an Elden Ring version of other cultures could look like. One such player is a Reddit user named FilthyScavenger, who has shared photos of their Maori warrior character.
The Reddit user has used various armor sets along with the games adjustable face tattoo feature to create an approximation of traditional Maori garments with a fantasy Elden Ring twist. A lot of the armor used for this character are connected to another vaguely described area in Elden Ring's world named the Badlands, which is where one of the games main bosses, Hoarah Loux, comes from. In fact, the Badlands is also rumored to be the subject of Elden Ring’s future DLC.
The Maori are the indigenous Polynesian settlers of New Zealand, and they were already established on the island during the medieval period that Elden Ring takes its inspiration from. This means that if Elden Ring’s world does mirror real-world medieval history and cultures then it is possible that a nation of people similar to the Reddit user's custom character could exist somewhere in Elden Ring's world similar to that of the Land of Reeds.
Looking at FilthyScavenger’s previous Reddit posts reveals many more creative Elden Ring character builds based around other real-world groups, as well as many more pop-culture characters recreated in an Elden Ring style. Recreating recognizable fictional characters in game is very popular among Elden Ring players.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.