African D&D Settings?

[JohnNephew]

Have you thought of doing a licensed support thing, like Green Ronin's doing for their Mythic Vistas line?

In my view, it's not really necessary, given the OGL. If anyone wants to do African-flavored stuff, they're free to under the terms of the OGL already -- and they can use content out of Nyambe under the OGL as well. One of the nice things about using the OGL is to allow independent people to do supporting work without having to spend time and money drawing up individual licenses or new licensing schemes for them. (Even if a license is free and/or non-commercial, just writing it up costs a company money.)

 

[Razuur]

I gotta say Mr Nephew, that Atlas has put out several of my favorite D20 stuff, and I miss seeing new d20 product from your company.

Nyambe was the cat's meow (and sits proudly in my world). As was Occult Lore. Your Penumbra line... D&D, C&P, L&W (wasn't there to be a fourth?) were great. There were only an few adventures that weren't my cup of tea. Everything else was just Aces in my book.

I will be picking up your last two D20 products. You are already sorely missed.

Razuur

 

[Krieg]

England got renamed because it has been taken over by the Fae. You know that whole thing about Elizabeth and the "Faerie Queen"? Well, in this world Gloriana literally became the Faerie Queen.

How much detail are England and Europe going to receive in the books?

BTW how is the content going to be split between the two books?

 

[JohnNephew]

How much detail are England and Europe going to receive in the books?

Very little -- they're mainly just background. The focus of the books is on the New World. Of course, the d20 system and OGL mean that there are already lots of other products out there ready to be added to expand the game world, if one is so inclined.

BTW how is the content going to be split between the two books?

One volume is called Northern Crown: New World Adventures; the other is called Northern Crown: Gazetteer. The former is more focused on characters, the latter on setting, in very rough terms.

Uhhhh...sorry to be derailing this thread by the way.

 

[dougmander]

Uhhhh...sorry to be derailing this thread by the way.

Speaking as the author, I don't mind, derail away!

Someone asked earlier how the Shawnee are depicted in the book. Like all of the native American backgrounds for PCs included in Northern Crown, the Shawnee are cast as a heroic, larger-than-life version of their historical selves. My take on them is that they are a far-traveled people, having come to the central woodlands from the south after long wanderings, and that they are famed traders, scouts, hunters, healers, and guardians of the living earth. They are suspicious of arcane magic, having a longstanding enmity with witches, and they have a complex system of clans and political subdivisions, each with different roles in the community.

Hope that satisfies your curiosity!

Yes, Gloriana is the half-fey daughter of Auberon and Elizabeth, who returned from Faerie long after her mother's death, kicked Oliver Cromwell out of power, and brought back the Old Ways to England, now renamed Albion. It's true what John Nephew said about there being only limited info concerning Europe, but there's a lot of background material that just didn't make it into the book, and I'd love to make it available someday for people interested in that part of my game world.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Am I incorrect in thinking, then, that in the setting as written, the standard non-human D&D player character races other than humans are mostly found in Nyambe, and not in the Northern Crown region?

Or were some of the native tribes tweaked to be, say, wood elves, albeit with more traditional (real world) culture?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

And let me be one of the first to say that, subsequent to picking up Northern Crown (and Nyambe), I would absolutely love to see an Albion sourcebook.

 

[dougmander]

Am I incorrect in thinking, then, that in the setting as written, the standard non-human D&D player character races other than humans are mostly found in Nyambe, and not in the Northern Crown region?

Or were some of the native tribes tweaked to be, say, wood elves, albeit with more traditional (real world) culture?

Your first guess is correct; there are no demihuman PC races in Northern Crown, but if you wanted to do a crossover adventure using wakyambe elves, agogwe halflings, or other Nyambe demihumans, why not?

 

[mythusmage]

There are (so I've heard) Indian legends of little people and magical creatures a'roamin the woods. Which may have influenced folk tales among the whites.

One Northern Crown adventure could revolve around Nyambe halflings. Rescuing a family from a cruel carnie owner, finding one lost in the woods, ore investigating stories of a band of such dwelling in the forest.

In a Nyambe-Northern Crown crossover the party could be involved in tracking down a slaver ring and putting a stop to it. Nota Bene: Not necessarily a situation where Nyambe natives are taken as slaves to North America. It could be one where people from North America are being taken to Nyambe.

Hope this helps.

 

[dougmander]

There are (so I've heard) Indian legends of little people and magical creatures a'roamin the woods. Which may have influenced folk tales among the whites.

One Northern Crown adventure could revolve around Nyambe halflings. Rescuing a family from a cruel carnie owner, finding one lost in the woods, ore investigating stories of a band of such dwelling in the forest.


Hope this helps.

Native Americans do have their own legends about little people and fey-like creatures independently of European mythos. The pukwudgee of the Wampanoag, the nan-a-push of the Leni-Lanape and the nunnehi of the Cherokee are three examples; Northern Crown will include stats for several of them.
I'm not sure if native fairy lore influenced European folklore, since such lore was already well-established by Spenser and Shakespeare's time. My guess is that like dragons, fairy creatures fill an important niche in the ecosystem of the subconscious, and so are found across many cultures.