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Post by Randy Shipp on Jan 2, 2005 22:04:17 GMT -5
Have any of you ever had any success evangelizing for Nyambe? How would we go about showing the rest of the world that this is a pretty darned cool setting (and, in the process, show Atlas Games that they should put out more material for it)? Do you think having one or more of us work on writing a convention scenario and then volunteering to run it at a nearby gaming convention would have any real effect? I've never roleplayed at a con, so I don't know much about it. Any thoughts?
Randy...
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Post by Nyambefan on Jan 6, 2005 11:20:10 GMT -5
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Post by Randy Shipp on Jan 6, 2005 13:25:29 GMT -5
Hrm. Perhaps. And I would certainly think that joining them would be a good way to potentially get prize support, promotional materials, etc. for a convention game or something. But, at least in my experience, the friendly local gaming store's back room is a dandy place for a demo of your favorite African-themed fantasy tabletop miniatures game, but a lousy place for a demo of an RPG. RPGs don't seem to me to be the sorts of things that attract passers-by's interest, get them to wander over and say, "Hey, that looks neat...can I sit in?" If it weren't for my very cautious approach to inviting people into my roleplaying group (something that may not be a hindrance for everyone), I'd say that the FLGS would be a perfect place to put up a poster looking for interested roleplayers to join my game...just not a great place to set up my GM screen and hope to gain converts. In any case, whether you're "demoing" at a local game store of running a convention scenario, you'll need a one-shot type adventure to run. I think that, besides being too long to fit reliably into one short session, Dire Spirits is a poor choice; part of the reason for hooking other people on the game is to get them to buy Atlas's materials, and they might be less inclined to buy it later if they've already played it. Perhaps not, but I think a non-published adventure would be better. Do you have any ideas on what shape such a short adventure might take? Thanks for reminding me of the Special Ops program. I'll give that some thought. Randy... |
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Post by Nyambefan on Jan 7, 2005 12:32:14 GMT -5
When you become a Atlas Special Ops member you'll have access to a great little oneshot module complete with characters, called the Haunted Kraal.
I have used it at a convention and as a playtest. I have some extensive DM notes on the Special Ops members yahoo group.
You'll even have access to some small flyers for your game you can post.
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Post by Randy Shipp on Jan 7, 2005 14:39:05 GMT -5
Ah, cool. Now, if you sign up for their program, do they expect you to guarantee you'll run something within a certain amount of time? I don't know when there's even a suitable con in my area (and my schedule is a mess anyway).
Randy...
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Post by Nyambefan on Jan 7, 2005 18:39:00 GMT -5
Not at all. Signup, download, get inspired, run a game.  |
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Post by Nyambefan on Jan 12, 2005 11:51:39 GMT -5
Another great way would be to submit materials to Nyambe.com that other players and DMs can use such as player aids, monsters, spells, equipment, ADVENTURES! etc. |
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Post by Fred on Feb 14, 2005 12:13:00 GMT -5
Hello,
I'm a french GM and I use Nyambe as a setting for my games. I encountered many players that have heard about it. They don't want to buy the book or use the setting for three main reasons (not all together, but one is enough):
- medieval Africa is not well known and there are not plenty of books in french to introduce you to it (the Nyambe book is not enough to capture the flavour of the old Africa; it does not answer to basic questions like "how do the houses look like?");
- the book is closely tied to D20 and D&D (the semi-human races are just disguised half-orcs, elves, dwarves, etc. and many people think that you can't reuse the main parts with another RPG; it's wrong because I did it with GURPS but that gave me a lot a work);
- it's not the historical Africa (uncommon criticism).
"Magic-eater" Fred
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Post by Lltcon on Oct 25, 2005 15:24:38 GMT -5
Howdy folks,
The most common problem I've encountered is the seeming lack of any real intrest in a fantasy Africa. Then I show them a few movies, particularly the "Shaka Zulu" miniseries. Sure, it's about as accurate as "Camelot" and it's anything but medieval, but it's colorful and exciting. And it gets the intrest flowing. Yeah everyone ends up playing Shombe (the closest Zulu equivelents), but then I at least get them into the setting and can steer them into other cultures. Fact is, modern folks are visual and except for a few movies like "Ghost and the Darkness" there's not much that shows a pre 20th century Africa. "Shaka" is about the closest you're going to get, and it's a clincher!
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Post by silverfoxknows on Dec 19, 2005 12:15:09 GMT -5
I just showed another player in our Realms game the Nyambe book. He said he was going to buy it immediately. This guy already has quite a collection of African music. I have no doubt we'll be playing a Nyambe campaign as soon as our present campaign draws to a close. I know that's only one more convert but it has to start someplace.
Frank
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bodry
New Member
Posts: 6
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Post by bodry on Dec 19, 2005 12:41:06 GMT -5
I really wish I could remember the name of a movie I saw way back when.... I remember it was about an ivory hunter back in colonial days, who, because his partner was an idiot, got captured by natives, and the rest of his hunting party was put to death in awful ways. The hero was set naked and given a running head start, then pursued by a band of native hunters. Well, our hero turned the tables on them, managing to get a loincloth and a spear from one of his pursuers, and he sets out across the veldt towards civilization. Along the way, he encounters slavers, wild animals, all the things you'd expect in wild Africa. It was made back in the 60's, I think, and for it's time, it was a pretty grim and violent movie....
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Post by ltlconf on Dec 23, 2005 0:11:40 GMT -5
Hello Folks,
The film you are thinking of is "Naked Prey" a personal project of it's star Cornel Wilde, sorta of the Mel Gibson of his day. It was a critical and finacial success though impossible to have made today due to PC-ness.
The production used all local actors, actual villages, all traditional costume and weapons, and those ghastly executions are actual methods once used (the militias of today's Africa are nothing new, just in their scale). It was filmed in southern and eastern Africa (primarily Zimbabwe and Tanzania if I remember correctly) and I use it to show what southern Nyambe looks like.
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Post by oseitutu on Jun 17, 2006 12:24:33 GMT -5
Visuals are importan for helping people get a feel for their characters. "Africa Adorned" by Angela Fisher is one of the has excelent information, and the most amazing pictures of African clothing, jewelry, henna, tattooing, scarrification, from the Gold Coast to the Maghreb. She has cool details on how Akan groups like the Ashanti make gold jewelry, about amulet-shirts in the Bandiagara Escarpment, or facial tattooing of Berber women.
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Post by oseitutu on Jun 17, 2006 12:33:38 GMT -5
the movie "guimba the tyrant" is another good visual piece. IT was made in Mali and showcases traditional clothing, buildings, horsemanship, etc. Also, check out dogon-lobi.ch to see what Malian cities look like.
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Post by Nyambefan on Jun 25, 2006 8:58:24 GMT -5
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