Post by Nyambefan on Aug 29, 2004 20:45:13 GMT -5
I found this on RPGnet and thought people here might find it interesting.
Author: Chris Dolunt (---.comcast.net)
Date: 10-11-2002 22:04
Hi, I thought I'd shed a little light on my writing and the editorial decisions.
Obviously, Africa is a loaded subject for a book. So, for starters, I decided to make Nyambe a fantasy world, NOT real-world Africa. I figured there was plenty of precedent for this decision since Arabian Adventures isn't set in real-world Persia (Iraq), and Oriental Adventures isn't set in real-world Japan. I might consider a historical Africa web supplement eventually though...
As to the term "whacking stick"...
The book also uses the name "knobkerrie" and the more proper name "iWisa". Why is it listed as "Stick, Whacking" in the tables? There are a lot of new terms introduced in the book, and for the sake of similarity to core D&D, we decided to use intentionally generic weapon names. For example, you'll notice there is no "flamberge" or "zweihander" listing in the Player's Handbook - just something called a "greatsword". My old college roomate had traveled around Africa a great deal (his father was director of US Aid at various times to Senegal, Rwanda, and Somalia), I heard him use the term "whacking stick" to refer to a knobkerrie once, and I decided I liked the name...
As to the size of the empires in Nyambe... The nations are based on various aspects of Ethiopia (Bashar'ka), Kush(Taumau-Boha), Great Zimbabwe(Mabwe), Mali(Boroko), Ghana(Boroko), Dahomey(Nibomay), Lybia(Nibomay), and numerous others, with large doses of fantasy thrown in. While these historical nations were probably smaller than my fantasy nations, I don't think that does a disservice to the source material. Nyambe also presents large areas without centralized government, controlled instead by local chiefdoms and/or councils of elders. Such areas include Marak'ka-land, Utucheckulu-land, Entare-land, Shombe-land, Yuan-ti-land, Silwane-manzi-water, and Wakyambi-land.
As to the term "tribe", the term is out of academic favor, so I didn't use it. That simple. But to be honest, when I'm running adventures in the setting, my players use the term "tribe" all the time...
Author: Chris Dolunt (---.comcast.net)
Date: 10-11-2002 22:04
Hi, I thought I'd shed a little light on my writing and the editorial decisions.
Obviously, Africa is a loaded subject for a book. So, for starters, I decided to make Nyambe a fantasy world, NOT real-world Africa. I figured there was plenty of precedent for this decision since Arabian Adventures isn't set in real-world Persia (Iraq), and Oriental Adventures isn't set in real-world Japan. I might consider a historical Africa web supplement eventually though...
As to the term "whacking stick"...
The book also uses the name "knobkerrie" and the more proper name "iWisa". Why is it listed as "Stick, Whacking" in the tables? There are a lot of new terms introduced in the book, and for the sake of similarity to core D&D, we decided to use intentionally generic weapon names. For example, you'll notice there is no "flamberge" or "zweihander" listing in the Player's Handbook - just something called a "greatsword". My old college roomate had traveled around Africa a great deal (his father was director of US Aid at various times to Senegal, Rwanda, and Somalia), I heard him use the term "whacking stick" to refer to a knobkerrie once, and I decided I liked the name...
As to the size of the empires in Nyambe... The nations are based on various aspects of Ethiopia (Bashar'ka), Kush(Taumau-Boha), Great Zimbabwe(Mabwe), Mali(Boroko), Ghana(Boroko), Dahomey(Nibomay), Lybia(Nibomay), and numerous others, with large doses of fantasy thrown in. While these historical nations were probably smaller than my fantasy nations, I don't think that does a disservice to the source material. Nyambe also presents large areas without centralized government, controlled instead by local chiefdoms and/or councils of elders. Such areas include Marak'ka-land, Utucheckulu-land, Entare-land, Shombe-land, Yuan-ti-land, Silwane-manzi-water, and Wakyambi-land.
As to the term "tribe", the term is out of academic favor, so I didn't use it. That simple. But to be honest, when I'm running adventures in the setting, my players use the term "tribe" all the time...