Explain Nyambe to me & OGL use

[ssampier]

Two things: I just downloaded and skimmed through the long and free Nyambe Player's Lorebook. It's very interesting, but I can't shake the feeling I'm missing something. 1) Explain the salient points of Nyambe for me.

Here's what I'm looking for:

*Pulpy action with larger-than-life heroes, steaming jungles, and lost gods; ideally high adventure, low magic.
*different/unique take on magic. I'm looking for less "flashy" spells like Fireball and Magic Missile and more enchantments, charms, and illusions. I already thought I'd use the Psionics angle of the Sei (sorcerer variant) class.
*Magic items based on unique animal hides, claws, and teeth

2)
I want to borrow some of the Nyambe African's Adventure: Player's Lorebook races and classes. To use them in a OGL compliant webpage for instance, I need to change the name, even if it's referenced in the OGL box?

 

[Voadam]

Two things: I just downloaded and skimmed through the long and free Nyambe Player's Lorebook. It's very interesting, but I can't shake the feeling I'm missing something. 1) Explain the salient points of Nyambe for me.

Here's what I'm looking for:

*Pulpy action with larger-than-life heroes, steaming jungles, and lost gods; ideally high adventure, low magic.
*different/unique take on magic. I'm looking for less "flashy" spells like Fireball and Magic Missile and more enchantments, charms, and illusions. I already thought I'd use the Psionics angle of the Sei (sorcerer variant) class.
*Magic items based on unique animal hides, claws, and teeth

2)
I want to borrow some of the Nyambe African's Adventure: Player's Lorebook races and classes. To use them in a OGL compliant webpage for instance, I need to change the name, even if it's referenced in the OGL box?

To comply with the OGL you can only use those portions specifically designated as OGC in the original. Check the designation in the original document for the classes and races you want to use. If they are designated as PI then you cannot use them absent a separate agreement from the owner of that PI.

 

[JohnNephew]

I don't recall the OGL designation in the original Lorebook, but if you find a copy of the printed Nyambe hardcover you should find it pretty easy to mine for OGC. My recollection is that, apart from the first chapter (the part printed in full color), it was *all* OGC. Thus all you have to steer clear of is the Product Identity (which is all listed on the legal page, and basically consists of a lot of proper names...which shouldn't be a problem if you're adapting rules material for a pulp setting).

 

[ssampier]

Thanks. I have trouble reading "legal ease". Here's the OGC passage. I want to know if can use the bold terms or not:

OPEN GAME MATERIAL
Halfling-Kind
+2 Dexterity, -2 Strength.
Small size.
Agogwe base speed is 20 feet.
Burrowing: Agogwe can dig through soft earth
with a burrowing speed of 10. They cannot dig
through clay, hard packed earth, or stone.
Claws: Agogwe have hardened claws that, while
designed for burrowing, make effective weapons. An
Agogwe’s claw attack inflicts 1d4 points of damage
and is considered an armed attack for purposes of
avoiding attacks of opportunity. Agogwe suffer the
normal two-weapon penalties if attempting to make
two claw attacks per round.
Saving Throw Bonuses: Agogwe have a +1 racial
bonus on all saving throws.
Skill Bonus: Agogwe have a +2 racial bonus to
Move Silently checks.
Speak With Animals: Once per day an Agogwe
can “Speak with Animals” [per the spell] as a
spell-like ability to speak with a burrowing mammal (a
badger, fox, rabbit, etc.). This ability is innate to
Agogwe. It has a duration of 1 minute (the Agogwe is
considered a 1st-level caster when he uses this ability,
regardless of his actual level).
Automatic Languages: Kordo and Halfling.
Bonus Languages: Daka-kara, Daka-alif,
Dwarven, Elven, Gnome.
Favored Class: Barbarian.
Appropriate Feats: Double-Jointed, Musk, Play
Dead.

emphasis mine

I also thought about introducing some elements from Cthulhu (Old Ones in jungles or savanna?) and using the d20 Modern "wealth" system since wealth is often is not in coin form. Thoughts?

 

[JohnNephew]

I pulled out my home archive of the print CDs from Nyambe, and figured it would be easiest to cut and past its OGC/PI designations. It reads:

Nyambe: African Adventures is published under the Open Game License. We hereby identify all of the text on pages 24 – 251 inclusive as Open Game Content, and designate the following as product identity: Adamu Dwa, Arabo, Baroka, Bashar’ka, bIda, Boha-Boha, Boroko, Bugundo, Caliph Ragheb, Child of Dead Marak Island, Chuku, D’ok, D’okan Desert, Dagamar, Darak-Lar, Desert of Watery Sky, Dogar, Dogar Plateau, Drogo River, Drum of Tarango, Dutama, Eye of N!ok, Forge of the Kosans, Ghana Bashar, Giko Taaba Mountains, Great Mangrove Marsh, Great Udamalore, Gudu Ji Pingu Desert, Halak Island, Hungering Lion, Isili, Isle of the Overpower, JamIkadi Kimah, Jolo, Kalayu Island, Kalimara River, Kaya Vua Samaki, Kisi, Kogo, Kosa Empire, Kuba Taaba, Kwo, Kwo’s Shield, Lake Gomala, Lake Tugo, Lord Rag’g DoGa , Mabwe, Mademba, Mansa Wahibreteni, Marak’ka-land, Marak’pInga Island, Mask of Nyambe, mbUi-land, Molembe, Mura’ka, Mwanamutapa Faouzi of Taumau-Boha, Nibomay, Nyambe, Nyambe-tanda, Nyambe: African Adventures,
Oba Dunsai, Oba Thabiti, Opon TuIda, Overchief Bomani, Queen Nyathera, Risu Island, Samara, Shomari of T’ombo, Shombe-land, Shomo, Silwane-manzi-water, Skin of Zombi, Sueta, T’ombo, Tabu-Taabu Mountain, Tamago-Dugu, Taumau, Taumau-Boha, Throne of the Overpower, Tobuyho, tUbI, Water People, Z’idan, Zulo.

The original Lorebook PDF has different OGC designations (it uses those boxes to designate OGC), but you can use the list above to see what we designated as Product Identity. I don't see any of the terms you bolded in the list, so it looks to me like you're in the clear.

 

[ssampier]

I'm going to get this "legal stuff" one way or another

Thank you.

 

[loki44]

Here's what I'm looking for:
*Pulpy action with larger-than-life heroes, steaming jungles, and lost gods; ideally high adventure, low magic.
*different/unique take on magic

You might want to check out Conan.

 

[Mr. Patient]

Here's what I'm looking for:

*Pulpy action with larger-than-life heroes, steaming jungles, and lost gods; ideally high adventure, low magic.
*different/unique take on magic. I'm looking for less "flashy" spells like Fireball and Magic Missile and more enchantments, charms, and illusions. I already thought I'd use the Psionics angle of the Sei (sorcerer variant) class.
*Magic items based on unique animal hides, claws, and teeth

I'll leave the legal stuff to others, but I can tell you that at least as presented, Nyambe isn't pulpy, nor does it have a particularly unique take on magic. There's some slightly different background material -- n'anga clerics worship orisha rather than gods, and mchawi wizards steal arcane magic from fiendish orisha -- but basically, it's just the d20 magic system, right down to fireball and magic missile. It is certainly not low magic, either. Turning Nyambe into pulp adventure may be possible, of course, but you're not going to find it in the book. Nyambe presents a fantasy Africa which tries to be true to real-world African myths, rather than something out of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

However, you definitely *will* find those magic items you're interested in, especially in the Ancestral Vault supplement. In particular, you may interested in trophies, which are animal parts that grant certain bonuses when worn. There are a lot of others, too, but I'm away from my books and can't recall the details.

 

[ssampier]

That's what I thought. I'll stick to using the free Player's Lorebook sourcebook without wasting my money on the book that doesn't have the flavor I want.

Further thoughts from a Mad-Genius:

*the Overpower is either malevolent or extremely vengeful. I'll have to come up with a good reason the God/Goddess has abandoned the Land and uses his orisha (spirits) to grant spells
*Greek style influence of trading City-States on the borders. The Near-Eastern empire will be a mixture of Greek and Persian influence (Egyptian Ptolemy after Alexander's the Great's death).
*an Overlord whom has Psychic/Psionic connection to animal Charms used to defend his tribe.

I hope that is pulpy enough.

This will be posted on a website at one point. I'll have the URL in my .sig.

 

[ssampier]

You might want to check out Conan.

Really? How does the system differ from Iron Heroes or Grim Tales for a pulpy game. How much background material is in that booK?