Maria Oliva Deltorre
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Olmanifesto Archive
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Who are the Amedi? (Unfinished)
Who are the Amedi?
By Maria Deltorre
Draft Notes 1:
Amedi, the namesake of the Suloise barbarian savages in the jungle, was a suel mage of power who resigned that position to expand the Suel empire eastward, hoping to make himself emperor of a new Eastern Suel Empire. He never accomplished that, running into unexpected opposition from the olman, touv and to a very limited extent, flan, but he did manage to become a suel lich and construct a major pyramid like lair for himself in the jungle, which is now mistakenly attributed to Kyuss.
Amedi met his end when he subdued and coerced the black wyrm Tolakakabepal (toll-ak-ak-ob-eep-all: worm that rules the night) into slaying the nearby rival sorceress Sasserine. When Tolakakabepal completed this task and was released from his servitude, he returned and destroyed the lich too.
It's believed that Tolakakabepal is the now ancient great wyrm reported in the journals of Rogar of Gradsul, lorekeeper of the Matreyus expedition, as lairing somewhere near Lake Matreyus in unexplored ruins
Draft Notes 2:
In the middle years of the Suloise Imperium, after the Suel Basin (what is now the Sea of Dust) was settled, but well before the wars with the Baklunish that would bring both civilizations crashing down, the Suel emperors sponsored sporadic expansionist forays into the surrounding realms, primarily to the easily accessible south and west. The fate of these efforts is lost to history now, but one of the rare attempts at creating a colony east of the empire has left an unintended but strong legacy on Oerik's landscape.
Amedi was a wealthy, but minor member of one of the lesser noble houses of the empire. Unhappy with his status, and eager to bring his house glory and prominence, he began recruiting an expeditionary force of mercenaries, explorers and other troops, to brave the Kendeen pass and find a resource rich land east of the southern Crystalmist mountains (as the Hellfurnaces were known then). Amedi's plan was to create an eastern arm of the empire, with nobles from his house ruling it. So with a band of around 1500 soldiers and another 3 or 4 thousand settlers and others, Amedi crossed the Kendeen pass and roamed into what is currently Keoland.
Amedi and his people found the flan of Keoland in that era to be pitiably primitive, mostly hunters and gatherers wandering the lands, and even the growing "ur-flan" nation just to the north didn't interest them much. In trading and communicating with the bands of Flan along the coasts however, Amedi began to hear stories of a vast empire to the south, ruled by strange dark skinned humans who dwelled in (supposedly) cities of jade and gold. Intrigued by these stories, as well as the exotic products brought back from the Olman lands by flan traders, such as citrus fruits, rice, coffee and other delicacies unknown to the Suel folk, Amedi decided to lead his people around the shores of Jeklea bay and into the jungle.
Despite sometimes brutal conflict with the Olman and other creatures of the jungle, Amedi carved out a small realm on the northern shores of what is now known as Lake Matreyus. A grand city, Amedicia, was founded, and from there Amedi sent envoys back to the empire proper, expecting to be praised and heavily rewarded.
The Empress at the time, Jeklea II (whom other explorers had recently named the "bay" after), was not impressed by the strange goods the envoys bore, and the long, dangerous journey over the mountains and through the jungles did little to convince her of the worthiness of Amedi's colony, thus she chose not to grant him and Imperial charter, effectively abandoning him and his people to isolation in the jungle.
By Maria Deltorre
Draft Notes 1:
Amedi, the namesake of the Suloise barbarian savages in the jungle, was a suel mage of power who resigned that position to expand the Suel empire eastward, hoping to make himself emperor of a new Eastern Suel Empire. He never accomplished that, running into unexpected opposition from the olman, touv and to a very limited extent, flan, but he did manage to become a suel lich and construct a major pyramid like lair for himself in the jungle, which is now mistakenly attributed to Kyuss.
Amedi met his end when he subdued and coerced the black wyrm Tolakakabepal (toll-ak-ak-ob-eep-all: worm that rules the night) into slaying the nearby rival sorceress Sasserine. When Tolakakabepal completed this task and was released from his servitude, he returned and destroyed the lich too.
It's believed that Tolakakabepal is the now ancient great wyrm reported in the journals of Rogar of Gradsul, lorekeeper of the Matreyus expedition, as lairing somewhere near Lake Matreyus in unexplored ruins
Draft Notes 2:
In the middle years of the Suloise Imperium, after the Suel Basin (what is now the Sea of Dust) was settled, but well before the wars with the Baklunish that would bring both civilizations crashing down, the Suel emperors sponsored sporadic expansionist forays into the surrounding realms, primarily to the easily accessible south and west. The fate of these efforts is lost to history now, but one of the rare attempts at creating a colony east of the empire has left an unintended but strong legacy on Oerik's landscape.
Amedi was a wealthy, but minor member of one of the lesser noble houses of the empire. Unhappy with his status, and eager to bring his house glory and prominence, he began recruiting an expeditionary force of mercenaries, explorers and other troops, to brave the Kendeen pass and find a resource rich land east of the southern Crystalmist mountains (as the Hellfurnaces were known then). Amedi's plan was to create an eastern arm of the empire, with nobles from his house ruling it. So with a band of around 1500 soldiers and another 3 or 4 thousand settlers and others, Amedi crossed the Kendeen pass and roamed into what is currently Keoland.
Amedi and his people found the flan of Keoland in that era to be pitiably primitive, mostly hunters and gatherers wandering the lands, and even the growing "ur-flan" nation just to the north didn't interest them much. In trading and communicating with the bands of Flan along the coasts however, Amedi began to hear stories of a vast empire to the south, ruled by strange dark skinned humans who dwelled in (supposedly) cities of jade and gold. Intrigued by these stories, as well as the exotic products brought back from the Olman lands by flan traders, such as citrus fruits, rice, coffee and other delicacies unknown to the Suel folk, Amedi decided to lead his people around the shores of Jeklea bay and into the jungle.
Despite sometimes brutal conflict with the Olman and other creatures of the jungle, Amedi carved out a small realm on the northern shores of what is now known as Lake Matreyus. A grand city, Amedicia, was founded, and from there Amedi sent envoys back to the empire proper, expecting to be praised and heavily rewarded.
The Empress at the time, Jeklea II (whom other explorers had recently named the "bay" after), was not impressed by the strange goods the envoys bore, and the long, dangerous journey over the mountains and through the jungles did little to convince her of the worthiness of Amedi's colony, thus she chose not to grant him and Imperial charter, effectively abandoning him and his people to isolation in the jungle.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Stone Age doesn't mean "Cavemen"!
Stone Age doesn't mean "Cavemen"!
By Maria Deltorre
It is important to leave the Olman at a stone age culture, or perhaps a low bronze age level, in order to establish them in parallel to their real world counterparts as well as giving them something to make them different from their peers in the Flanaess. Remember tho, stone age does not mean barbaric.
Though the Mayan and (to a lesser extent) Aztec people had little in the way of metal craft, both carved out huge "empires" that lasted thousands of years. Both built impressive structures that stand to this day as testament to their achievement, and both developed mathematics and astronomy that rivalled or exceeded their historical peers in the world. Olman stone age technology, if it is adopted as canon for them, is not due to any lack of intelligence or ingenuity on their part, but simply due to the lack of easily accesible mines for the metals that are relatively easily acquired by their human neighbors in the Flanaess.
Now, some fans have suggested avoiding this confusion and debate by using a term other than stone age, such as megalithic or neolithic. I understand the concern here, but I try and avoid playing semantics or using awkward terminology to describe a concept that is otherwise simple. IMO, the Olman people never mastered metalcraft beyond even the most rudimentary bronze working, except for a rare and secretive order of 'goldcrafters' whose skill with that soft metal was reserved solely for creating artistic artifacts to honor the gods and important men. (I include this idea of a goldcrafters guild only to comply with the presence of gold "swag" found in C1, and still hold to the idea that the Olman have few or no viable mines. That gold which is found rarely in Olman treasure vaults can be easily explained as the products of trade with the creatures of the Hellfurnace mountains, or the spoils of war with the Touv, melted down and recast into shapes pleasing and significant to the Olman.) This makes the Olman people a stone age culture, and I don't see a need to reinvent the language to cater to those who can't see beyond that label to understand that this does not mean that the Olman are a bunch of neanderthals running around in loincloths with pointy sticks.
With this in mind, the Olman shouldn't be seen as intrinsically inferior to any group, even when considering the documented arcane might of the ancient Suel. I would venture that the magic possessed by the Olman is of more of a druidic/shamanistic nature, however. Rather than researching spells to cause rifts in the fabric of reality to unleash a flood of hordelings on their enemies, the Olman focus more on subtle manipulation of the Jungle, rivers and seas to their advantage. Summoning and control of the various beasts of the Jungle should also be a common pursuit for Olman spellcasters. So, basically, I'd not say that the Olman magic is inferior to that of the Suel, it's just different. On the open field of battle, Suloise warmages would easily decimate Olman armies, but in the shadowy depths of the Jungle, Olman magic becomes the stuff of Suloise nightmares.
The same can be said of the supposed arcane and technological "advantage" Keoland and the SB are said to have over Olman and Amedi alike. Yah, in the coastal villages where the sword and spell of the Flanaess are still viable tools, Keoland and the SB enjoy quick and demonstrative success, but as they venture into the shadows of the Jungle and mage and mercenary alike grow weary and blighted by the Jungle's heat and humidity, things become far more uncertain. The expedition of Matreyus into the Jungle is ample evidence for this theory, despite extensive preparation and planning, assumably using the most advanced magic and weapons available to a Keoish explorer, the expedition suffered horrendous losses to Jungle maladies and "savage natives" alike.
By Maria Deltorre
It is important to leave the Olman at a stone age culture, or perhaps a low bronze age level, in order to establish them in parallel to their real world counterparts as well as giving them something to make them different from their peers in the Flanaess. Remember tho, stone age does not mean barbaric.
Though the Mayan and (to a lesser extent) Aztec people had little in the way of metal craft, both carved out huge "empires" that lasted thousands of years. Both built impressive structures that stand to this day as testament to their achievement, and both developed mathematics and astronomy that rivalled or exceeded their historical peers in the world. Olman stone age technology, if it is adopted as canon for them, is not due to any lack of intelligence or ingenuity on their part, but simply due to the lack of easily accesible mines for the metals that are relatively easily acquired by their human neighbors in the Flanaess.
Now, some fans have suggested avoiding this confusion and debate by using a term other than stone age, such as megalithic or neolithic. I understand the concern here, but I try and avoid playing semantics or using awkward terminology to describe a concept that is otherwise simple. IMO, the Olman people never mastered metalcraft beyond even the most rudimentary bronze working, except for a rare and secretive order of 'goldcrafters' whose skill with that soft metal was reserved solely for creating artistic artifacts to honor the gods and important men. (I include this idea of a goldcrafters guild only to comply with the presence of gold "swag" found in C1, and still hold to the idea that the Olman have few or no viable mines. That gold which is found rarely in Olman treasure vaults can be easily explained as the products of trade with the creatures of the Hellfurnace mountains, or the spoils of war with the Touv, melted down and recast into shapes pleasing and significant to the Olman.) This makes the Olman people a stone age culture, and I don't see a need to reinvent the language to cater to those who can't see beyond that label to understand that this does not mean that the Olman are a bunch of neanderthals running around in loincloths with pointy sticks.
With this in mind, the Olman shouldn't be seen as intrinsically inferior to any group, even when considering the documented arcane might of the ancient Suel. I would venture that the magic possessed by the Olman is of more of a druidic/shamanistic nature, however. Rather than researching spells to cause rifts in the fabric of reality to unleash a flood of hordelings on their enemies, the Olman focus more on subtle manipulation of the Jungle, rivers and seas to their advantage. Summoning and control of the various beasts of the Jungle should also be a common pursuit for Olman spellcasters. So, basically, I'd not say that the Olman magic is inferior to that of the Suel, it's just different. On the open field of battle, Suloise warmages would easily decimate Olman armies, but in the shadowy depths of the Jungle, Olman magic becomes the stuff of Suloise nightmares.
The same can be said of the supposed arcane and technological "advantage" Keoland and the SB are said to have over Olman and Amedi alike. Yah, in the coastal villages where the sword and spell of the Flanaess are still viable tools, Keoland and the SB enjoy quick and demonstrative success, but as they venture into the shadows of the Jungle and mage and mercenary alike grow weary and blighted by the Jungle's heat and humidity, things become far more uncertain. The expedition of Matreyus into the Jungle is ample evidence for this theory, despite extensive preparation and planning, assumably using the most advanced magic and weapons available to a Keoish explorer, the expedition suffered horrendous losses to Jungle maladies and "savage natives" alike.
Return to Tamoachan - Dungeon 141 - Analysis & Commentary
Return to Tamoachan - Dungeon 141 - Analysis & Commentary
By Maria Deltorre
What follows are my notes on the Return to Tamoachan side quest from the Savage Tide adventure path, which appeared in Dungeon magazine issue #141.
Savage Tide Spoiler Warning!
If you haven't played through this adventure yet, you might want to skip past this post!
1: Tchechiwhani's Nest
The basilisk is a decent choice for a monster here, my only complaint is its name. First off, why would a relatively unintelligent animal that lives in solitude have a name? Second, the name is gibberish, and not even loosely Nahuatl in construction. C1 established a trend of giving things and people in Tamoachan names that actually mean something and that are at least passable attempts at Nahuatl.
2: Xochiquetzal's chamber
If you're going to use a real Nahuatl word, look up the definition first, please. Xochiquetzal is the Aztec goddess of flowers, fertility and agriculture. If there is any connection between her and the Gibbering Mouther, it is not explained. Nor is the significance of the giant statue explained. An Olman mythological figure? A past victim of the basilisk? Another paragraph or two explaining these things a little would have helped immensely. The strength of C1, what sets it apart from a generic dungeon crawl is the detail and insight into the Olman it provides, allowing a DM to logically expand the material. The article gives us room to expand (if the PCs want to return with Urol later, or demand the ship wait for them , etc) with the caved in tunnels, that can assumably be dug out by a well equipped party, but no hooks to get any expansion along those lines are given.
3: Mictlan's Portal
Mictlan is the Aztec/Olman underworld, where the bones of the dead are collected. This is a fairly good area, nothing out of place.
4: Ancient Tamoachan
Very reminiscent of the maproom in Tanis(1). Not a bad idea, and a great tool for DMs wishing to further use Tamoachan in their games, giving the PCs hints on where to dig through rubble or hack through jungle to explore next. Only one gripe, "Time has taken its toll on the map-like carving". Really? But not on the mouldering stuffed jungle cats out front?(2) Tamoachan has been ruined for hundreds of years, those stuffed animals would be skeletal remains at best, and stone can take the passage of that amount of time with little or no show of wear. It's possible something else has ravaged the map carving, but that is not what is stated.
As for the will o' wisp, there's two mechanical errors in the encounter. First off, will o' wisps are temperate marshland creatures. Tamoachan is deep in a tropical jungle. Second, the will o' wisp here is invisible for the purpose of stalking the PCs? Will o' wisps have to be startled or scared to go invisible. (MM3.5 will o' wisp statistics) Bad encounter, plain and simple. If you have to break the rules to use your chosen creature in an encounter, it's time to consider the possibility you chose the wrong creature. Also, it's name, Tlanextli, in Nahuatl, means "splendor", and odd choice for a name.
5: The New Tunnel
Nothing of interest here, aside from the heavy deus ex machina. Why not just leave the original tunnels open? They collapsed, but an earthquake conveniently reconnected the chambers? Ok. Wink
6: Antechamber
The fluff description is agreeable, and the encounter acceptable. The only things worth noting here are the stated emotions of the Will o' wisp, rage and curious optimism. See area 4.
7. Tloquatcha's Crypt
The encounter with the Varrangoin is justified in the sidebars and serves the meta-plot of the adventure path more than this encounter specifically, so we'll ignore that, with one exception, why doesn't he use the bead of healing when fighting the PCs? Magic items in a treasure should be available to the foes that own them.
Now, there's no mention given of who or what Tloquatcha is, but it's another gibberish non-Nahuatl word anyway, so maybe that's for the better. Also, given the utter lack of knowledge about Tamoachan, there should really be no knowledge (history) check allowed here to describe what the map carving represents. Allow it to be puzzled out with hints and clues found in the room, or conversation with the Varragoin or the Will o' wisp, but don't allow a simple KH check. On the other hand, the map room can be a useful tool for a DM expanding the adventure, as I explained in area 4, above.
8: The Great Calendar Stone
The big fight here is once again driven more by the meta-plot of the campaign and has almost nothing to do with Tamoachan, but the calendar stone is an interesting stage for the fight. A little more detail or interesting hook for the stone would have been nice, but the encounter isn't offensive as is.
9: Guardians of the Well of Death
This is by far the best described area of the ruin, a nice amount of detail with no annoying pig-Nahuatl nonsensical names to ruin things. Pretty straight forward though, just eye candy for the PCs.
10: The Well of Death
This is an interesting idea for an Olman burial vault, and I have no issues with it. The idol of Camazotz is also acceptable, the only thing that hurts this encounter area is more of the deus ex machina the author seems forced to use to keep things tied into the overall campaign plot. "If you don't take the idol, some minion of the antagonist will come get it and force it upon you so that you're sure to have it when it becomes important at some point down the road"
All aboard the Savage Tide plot railroad!
Overall, I give the Tamoachan material here 3 out of 5 stars. The Olman info is scarce, and a little vague, but there's nothing outrageously wrong with the material and there are a couple of promising hooks for future development of the city ruin, though it's unclear whether the author intended them as such or not.
(1) Go watch Raiders of the Lost Ark again Smile
(2) The dusty skeletal remains of the Olman are inside, and C1 demonstrates that the Olman do use at least rudimentary emblaming techniques. The stuffed cats are outside, exposed to the weather, past explorers, and curious beasts.
And by the way, Nahuatl is the proper name for the language of the Aztecs, which still sees some use, though now heavily blended with Spanish, in lower Mexico and among those Mexican and Guatemalan Latinos with a strong sense of the Aztec half of their heritage.
By Maria Deltorre
What follows are my notes on the Return to Tamoachan side quest from the Savage Tide adventure path, which appeared in Dungeon magazine issue #141.
Savage Tide Spoiler Warning!
If you haven't played through this adventure yet, you might want to skip past this post!
1: Tchechiwhani's Nest
The basilisk is a decent choice for a monster here, my only complaint is its name. First off, why would a relatively unintelligent animal that lives in solitude have a name? Second, the name is gibberish, and not even loosely Nahuatl in construction. C1 established a trend of giving things and people in Tamoachan names that actually mean something and that are at least passable attempts at Nahuatl.
2: Xochiquetzal's chamber
If you're going to use a real Nahuatl word, look up the definition first, please. Xochiquetzal is the Aztec goddess of flowers, fertility and agriculture. If there is any connection between her and the Gibbering Mouther, it is not explained. Nor is the significance of the giant statue explained. An Olman mythological figure? A past victim of the basilisk? Another paragraph or two explaining these things a little would have helped immensely. The strength of C1, what sets it apart from a generic dungeon crawl is the detail and insight into the Olman it provides, allowing a DM to logically expand the material. The article gives us room to expand (if the PCs want to return with Urol later, or demand the ship wait for them , etc) with the caved in tunnels, that can assumably be dug out by a well equipped party, but no hooks to get any expansion along those lines are given.
3: Mictlan's Portal
Mictlan is the Aztec/Olman underworld, where the bones of the dead are collected. This is a fairly good area, nothing out of place.
4: Ancient Tamoachan
Very reminiscent of the maproom in Tanis(1). Not a bad idea, and a great tool for DMs wishing to further use Tamoachan in their games, giving the PCs hints on where to dig through rubble or hack through jungle to explore next. Only one gripe, "Time has taken its toll on the map-like carving". Really? But not on the mouldering stuffed jungle cats out front?(2) Tamoachan has been ruined for hundreds of years, those stuffed animals would be skeletal remains at best, and stone can take the passage of that amount of time with little or no show of wear. It's possible something else has ravaged the map carving, but that is not what is stated.
As for the will o' wisp, there's two mechanical errors in the encounter. First off, will o' wisps are temperate marshland creatures. Tamoachan is deep in a tropical jungle. Second, the will o' wisp here is invisible for the purpose of stalking the PCs? Will o' wisps have to be startled or scared to go invisible. (MM3.5 will o' wisp statistics) Bad encounter, plain and simple. If you have to break the rules to use your chosen creature in an encounter, it's time to consider the possibility you chose the wrong creature. Also, it's name, Tlanextli, in Nahuatl, means "splendor", and odd choice for a name.
5: The New Tunnel
Nothing of interest here, aside from the heavy deus ex machina. Why not just leave the original tunnels open? They collapsed, but an earthquake conveniently reconnected the chambers? Ok. Wink
6: Antechamber
The fluff description is agreeable, and the encounter acceptable. The only things worth noting here are the stated emotions of the Will o' wisp, rage and curious optimism. See area 4.
7. Tloquatcha's Crypt
The encounter with the Varrangoin is justified in the sidebars and serves the meta-plot of the adventure path more than this encounter specifically, so we'll ignore that, with one exception, why doesn't he use the bead of healing when fighting the PCs? Magic items in a treasure should be available to the foes that own them.
Now, there's no mention given of who or what Tloquatcha is, but it's another gibberish non-Nahuatl word anyway, so maybe that's for the better. Also, given the utter lack of knowledge about Tamoachan, there should really be no knowledge (history) check allowed here to describe what the map carving represents. Allow it to be puzzled out with hints and clues found in the room, or conversation with the Varragoin or the Will o' wisp, but don't allow a simple KH check. On the other hand, the map room can be a useful tool for a DM expanding the adventure, as I explained in area 4, above.
8: The Great Calendar Stone
The big fight here is once again driven more by the meta-plot of the campaign and has almost nothing to do with Tamoachan, but the calendar stone is an interesting stage for the fight. A little more detail or interesting hook for the stone would have been nice, but the encounter isn't offensive as is.
9: Guardians of the Well of Death
This is by far the best described area of the ruin, a nice amount of detail with no annoying pig-Nahuatl nonsensical names to ruin things. Pretty straight forward though, just eye candy for the PCs.
10: The Well of Death
This is an interesting idea for an Olman burial vault, and I have no issues with it. The idol of Camazotz is also acceptable, the only thing that hurts this encounter area is more of the deus ex machina the author seems forced to use to keep things tied into the overall campaign plot. "If you don't take the idol, some minion of the antagonist will come get it and force it upon you so that you're sure to have it when it becomes important at some point down the road"
All aboard the Savage Tide plot railroad!
Overall, I give the Tamoachan material here 3 out of 5 stars. The Olman info is scarce, and a little vague, but there's nothing outrageously wrong with the material and there are a couple of promising hooks for future development of the city ruin, though it's unclear whether the author intended them as such or not.
(1) Go watch Raiders of the Lost Ark again Smile
(2) The dusty skeletal remains of the Olman are inside, and C1 demonstrates that the Olman do use at least rudimentary emblaming techniques. The stuffed cats are outside, exposed to the weather, past explorers, and curious beasts.
And by the way, Nahuatl is the proper name for the language of the Aztecs, which still sees some use, though now heavily blended with Spanish, in lower Mexico and among those Mexican and Guatemalan Latinos with a strong sense of the Aztec half of their heritage.
Defining "Empire" and "Nation" in an Olman context
Defining "Empire" and "Nation" in an Olman context
By Maria Deltorre
The idea that the Olman encompass a broad variety of subcultures is generally well recieved among those who have attempted some study and development of them in the past.
I think the term Empire as it applies to the Olman of the Amedio should mean "the body of real estate controlled by Olman factions" instead of "a coherent, centrally administered political entity".
Likewise, Nations should be used, IMO, in a way similar to its use regarding the Native Americans of North America. The term "Cherokee Nation" doesn't so much describe a formal set of borders that defined their holdings, but instead refers to them as a people and culture, and is used comparitively to differentiate them from their peers.
Instead of looking at the Olman Empire as something akin to the Roman Empire, approach it in comparison to the Greek "Empire" or the real life Mayan Empire, both of which were less centrally managed coherent nations, but more collections of similar cultured city states, that in times of external war, religious observance or need were allied together, but were just as likely at other times to be fighting amongst themselves over anything and everything.
In response to this discussion in the past, it was suggested that at some times, the Olman realm would be united under one banner militarily and politically, here is my response to that:
Without a doubt. It is possible, and even likely during the life of the Olman society in the Amedio that one or another city state will dominate others and hold sway over the "empire" as a whole. Following the Greek model, we can easily view Tamoachan and Xamaclan as the Athens and Sparta of the Amedio, representing different flavors of advanced Olman politics, culture and military might.
I also offer that the initial cause of the Olman-Touv wars was possibly rooted in one of these periods where one of the Olman states rose to prominence, and having brought their peers under their banner, through diplomacy or warfare, sought to expand their realm of influence to the various islands off the coast of the jungle, and eventually to Hepmonland beyond. As the influence of the two major city states waned (or at least withdrew back to a manageable territory, in Xamaclan's case), the wars with the Touv drew to a close.
It is possible, and maybe even inevitable, that Xamaclan, or another yet unknown city state will once again rise to power in the jungle and flex its muscle toward its neighbors in Hepmonaland and the Flanaess. In fact, the dangers posed by Scarlet Brotherhood invasions in the north could be the very stimulus for a strong leader appearing and rallying his city state to greatness...not that I have any such plotline in mind or anything...
And further, considering the impact of the Amedi Suloise people on the political landscape of the Olman:
In order to rectify the sovereignity of the Olman civilization as implied in C1 with the presence of Suel immigrants turned Savages (the term used on the Darlene map, btw) obviously documented in the World of Greyhawk Campaign Setting, I suggest that the Jungle be divided into two distinct areas in the post-migrations setting. Quite simply, the Amedi Suel hold dominance in the northern chunk of the Jungle, that portion which is seen on the Darlene map. Obviously, this does not mean that no Olman live here, but it is unlikely that any major city state exists, and those Olman that do dwell here are closer to the barbaric, nomadic tribes that SKR suggested.
It is interesting to note though that the Green Nightmare article by Roger Moore mentions the Jungle swallowed ruins of an ancient city along the northern shore of Lake Matreyus, which is clearly seen (the lake and shore, not the ruins) on the Darlene map. I offer that this ruin is that of a great Olman city state of old, mighty in the days before the migrations, that was conquered and held by the Suel settlers for some time. In those early days of Suel settlement, however, their ability to survive and thrive in the Jungle was limited, and the city fell into decline and ruin as they slowly learned that unlike in their homeland, magic and might is not always the answer to every problem in the Jungle. The Suel learned a painful lesson here, one known to the Olman for ages, that being that the Jungle is a greedy and jealous mistress, and the moment men fail to steadfastly maintain the little realms they've carved out beneath her canopy, the Jungle quickly devours those realms.
By Maria Deltorre
The idea that the Olman encompass a broad variety of subcultures is generally well recieved among those who have attempted some study and development of them in the past.
I think the term Empire as it applies to the Olman of the Amedio should mean "the body of real estate controlled by Olman factions" instead of "a coherent, centrally administered political entity".
Likewise, Nations should be used, IMO, in a way similar to its use regarding the Native Americans of North America. The term "Cherokee Nation" doesn't so much describe a formal set of borders that defined their holdings, but instead refers to them as a people and culture, and is used comparitively to differentiate them from their peers.
Instead of looking at the Olman Empire as something akin to the Roman Empire, approach it in comparison to the Greek "Empire" or the real life Mayan Empire, both of which were less centrally managed coherent nations, but more collections of similar cultured city states, that in times of external war, religious observance or need were allied together, but were just as likely at other times to be fighting amongst themselves over anything and everything.
In response to this discussion in the past, it was suggested that at some times, the Olman realm would be united under one banner militarily and politically, here is my response to that:
Without a doubt. It is possible, and even likely during the life of the Olman society in the Amedio that one or another city state will dominate others and hold sway over the "empire" as a whole. Following the Greek model, we can easily view Tamoachan and Xamaclan as the Athens and Sparta of the Amedio, representing different flavors of advanced Olman politics, culture and military might.
I also offer that the initial cause of the Olman-Touv wars was possibly rooted in one of these periods where one of the Olman states rose to prominence, and having brought their peers under their banner, through diplomacy or warfare, sought to expand their realm of influence to the various islands off the coast of the jungle, and eventually to Hepmonland beyond. As the influence of the two major city states waned (or at least withdrew back to a manageable territory, in Xamaclan's case), the wars with the Touv drew to a close.
It is possible, and maybe even inevitable, that Xamaclan, or another yet unknown city state will once again rise to power in the jungle and flex its muscle toward its neighbors in Hepmonaland and the Flanaess. In fact, the dangers posed by Scarlet Brotherhood invasions in the north could be the very stimulus for a strong leader appearing and rallying his city state to greatness...not that I have any such plotline in mind or anything...
And further, considering the impact of the Amedi Suloise people on the political landscape of the Olman:
In order to rectify the sovereignity of the Olman civilization as implied in C1 with the presence of Suel immigrants turned Savages (the term used on the Darlene map, btw) obviously documented in the World of Greyhawk Campaign Setting, I suggest that the Jungle be divided into two distinct areas in the post-migrations setting. Quite simply, the Amedi Suel hold dominance in the northern chunk of the Jungle, that portion which is seen on the Darlene map. Obviously, this does not mean that no Olman live here, but it is unlikely that any major city state exists, and those Olman that do dwell here are closer to the barbaric, nomadic tribes that SKR suggested.
It is interesting to note though that the Green Nightmare article by Roger Moore mentions the Jungle swallowed ruins of an ancient city along the northern shore of Lake Matreyus, which is clearly seen (the lake and shore, not the ruins) on the Darlene map. I offer that this ruin is that of a great Olman city state of old, mighty in the days before the migrations, that was conquered and held by the Suel settlers for some time. In those early days of Suel settlement, however, their ability to survive and thrive in the Jungle was limited, and the city fell into decline and ruin as they slowly learned that unlike in their homeland, magic and might is not always the answer to every problem in the Jungle. The Suel learned a painful lesson here, one known to the Olman for ages, that being that the Jungle is a greedy and jealous mistress, and the moment men fail to steadfastly maintain the little realms they've carved out beneath her canopy, the Jungle quickly devours those realms.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
The Verdant & Scarlet Codices and Olman background material
The Verdant & Scarlet Codices and Olman background material
By Maria Deltorre
In the real world, much of what we know about the Mayan people comes from various "codices", such as the Dresden Codex. These are documents written by the Maya themselves that anthropologists and linguists have translated slowly and carefully, unlocking much information that was not preserved in the oral traditions of the people of Mexico and Guatemala.
Sages of the Flanaess rely on codices as well, but these differ in that they are texts penned by the explorers who have ventured into the Amedio jungle to learn about the Olman people. Many varied codices exist, but there are two worth mentioning here, the so called Verdant and Scarlet Codices.
The Verdant Codex, written by a little known mercenary captain, Rogar of Gradsul, in 585cy chronicles the discoveries of the expedition of Tibarian Matreyus to explore the Amedio jungle in the two years prior. Rogar was a participant in the expedition, and his translation of Olman language was aided by the very Olman guides hired by the expedition to lead them through the jungle, so the Verdant Codex is generally considered reliable and accurate by sages in the decades since copies began to circulate in the Flanaess.
The Scarlet Codex carries a slightly more dubious reputation. Penned around the same time as the Verdant Codex by one Skreyn of Kro Terlep, a sage and explorer commissioned by the elders of the Scarlet Brotherhood to document the geography and peoples of the Amedio and Hepmonaland regions. Lacking cooperative Olman guides to aid him, Skreyn relied on a set of tablets known as the Ipoza stones to translate material he had access to from the Brotherhood's archives of Olman relics.
The Ipoza stones are a set of tablets discovered in the jungle near the volcano the locals call Mt Ipoza, where it is reliably guessed that a community of foolhardy settlers from the Flanaess once existed in the then dormant caldera of the volcano. The community was utterly destroyed when Mt Ipoza roared back to life in the late 570s, but some relics of the community have been found in the jungle nearby.
In ancient times, the Olman of Tamoachan had extensive trade with the Dwarves of the Hellfurnace mountains. In order to aid their non-priest peers, the clerics of a now forgotten Dwarf hold in the area created this set of tablets, which painstakingly translate the ancient Olman language into the ancient Dwarvish language. How the tablets ended up in Ipoza is not clear, but Scarlet Brotherhood agents recovered all the known remaining tablets of the set in that area and have attempted to use them to gain some insight into the Olman culture.
Skreyn of Kro Terlep is not known to be a practitioner of arcane or divine magic, so he referenced the Ipoza stones to translate the materials he had access to, including a lengthy treatise on Olman religions recovered by Brotherhood agents in the ruins of Tamoachan.
The translation of the material into what became the Scarlet Codex was rough and tedious, but eager to please his Brotherhood patrons, Skreyn dutifully completed the work. In the passing decades, copies of the codex, whole and partial, have begun to appear around the Flanaess and be dissected by sages. Until quite recently, the Scarlet Codex was held in esteem equal to the Verdant Codex, being considered almost flawless in its account.
In 599 cy however, new facts about the Scarlet Codex were unveiled by the archmage Drawmij in a speech before the Sea Mages guild in Gradsul. Having access to a reliable copy of the original Olman religions treatise, Drawmij was eager to check Skreyn's translation against his own, performed using arcane magic.
Drawmij was utterly puzzled by the results of his research. Skreyn's codex was rife with errors, and entire tracts of the document seemed woven completely from the author's imagination, having no foundation in the original document. Drawmij tasked his agents with the dangerous journey into Kro Terlep to contact Skreyn and investigate, and was amused by their revelation.
While the Ipoza stones are considered as reliable as non-magical translations, they do not have an accompanying user's manual, and lacking a cooperative Olman guide to assist him, Skreyn failed to realize that ancient Olman texts are read bottom to top, instead of top to bottom as most modern languages. Thus, despite his best intentions, Skreyn's source material is invalid, and the credibility of the Scarlet Codex has been destroyed by Drawmij's revelation to the Sea Mages.
A note from Maria:
This post may at first seem like a mean spirited poke at Scarlet Brotherhood author Sean K Reynolds. In all honesty though, while it is a poke at SKR, there is no inherent malice.
You see, in looking into the attempts in the real world to decode the Quiche Mayan language, we come upon the amusing tale of Abbe Charles Etienne Brasseur de Bourboug, a nineteenth century french antiquarian attempting to link the origins of the Maya to the legendary stories of the lost continent of Atlantis.
Brasseur's theory came from his translation of the Madrid Codex, a precolumbian Mayan document, and was held as quite credible upon publication of his treatise, Quatre Lettres sur le Mexique (Four Letters on Mexico).
The problem, revealed a few years later, was not in the translation itself. Brasseur employed El Relacion (The Relation), a guide to translating Quiche Mayan pictoglyphs into spanish developed by Diego de Landa, a Franciscan friar, in 1549. Landa's Relacion is far from perfect, but provided later translators a framework to work from, and in Brasseur's time, was still considered the translation tool to depend on. In this regard Brasseur is to be commended for his efforts.
Like our fantasy world friend Skreyn, Brasseur made one simple but catastrophic error. He read the Madrid codex backwards, not realizing that Mayan pictoglyphs do not follow the standard of left to right, top to bottom used by modern latin derived languages.
So you see, while teasing Sean Reynolds, I'm also making a lighthearted commentary on the follies of real world anthropology. It's not my intent here to start a hate fest among fans and critics of Sean Reynolds. I'm just having a little fun, and presenting a possible explanation to justify the fan material created by those of us who were not impressed with Sean's Scarlet Brotherhood sourcebook.
Obviously, the Scarlet Codex is an in game reference to Wizards of the Coast's Scarlet Brotherhood product. In the same context, the Verdant Codex refers to an article by Roger Moore, who refered to himself as Rogar (of Mooria, I changed it to Gradsul to be relevant to the story) during his tenure as editor in chief of TSR's Dragon magazine. The fanzine Oerth Journal, Issue 4, presented an article Roger wrote called "The Green Nightmare, part 1", a treatise on the Amedio jungle, it's history and peoples. Though not hard and fast published canon, Roger's status as director of the Greyhawk product line at the time he wrote tGN, and lack of any egregious canon errors has given the article a sort of apocryphal canon status in the Greyhawk community.
Greyhawk canon is a messy thing sometimes, the face that launched a thousand flamewars, as it were.
Gygax himself made extensive use of anagrammatical homages to players and associates when naming people and places in the campaign, well beyond the obvious Zagyg, Xagig, Yrag, etc. Later, this tradition was carried on under the tenures of Roger Moore and Erik Mona, with myriad references to the movers and shakers of GH fandom in the 1990s in the names of NPCs in the various sourcebooks.
A few years back some posters on the Canonfire and Wizards Community fora began playing with the idea of assigning in setting personages to the various authors of GH material, allowing all the material to be treated as in character research, as Gygax presented the campaign (as the historical research of Pluffet Smedger).
To me, this grants DMs and fan material writers immense freedom in deciding what is actual canon truth, and what is simply the misinformed ramblings of confused NPCs, based on their individual taste in GH source material.
By Maria Deltorre
In the real world, much of what we know about the Mayan people comes from various "codices", such as the Dresden Codex. These are documents written by the Maya themselves that anthropologists and linguists have translated slowly and carefully, unlocking much information that was not preserved in the oral traditions of the people of Mexico and Guatemala.
Sages of the Flanaess rely on codices as well, but these differ in that they are texts penned by the explorers who have ventured into the Amedio jungle to learn about the Olman people. Many varied codices exist, but there are two worth mentioning here, the so called Verdant and Scarlet Codices.
The Verdant Codex, written by a little known mercenary captain, Rogar of Gradsul, in 585cy chronicles the discoveries of the expedition of Tibarian Matreyus to explore the Amedio jungle in the two years prior. Rogar was a participant in the expedition, and his translation of Olman language was aided by the very Olman guides hired by the expedition to lead them through the jungle, so the Verdant Codex is generally considered reliable and accurate by sages in the decades since copies began to circulate in the Flanaess.
The Scarlet Codex carries a slightly more dubious reputation. Penned around the same time as the Verdant Codex by one Skreyn of Kro Terlep, a sage and explorer commissioned by the elders of the Scarlet Brotherhood to document the geography and peoples of the Amedio and Hepmonaland regions. Lacking cooperative Olman guides to aid him, Skreyn relied on a set of tablets known as the Ipoza stones to translate material he had access to from the Brotherhood's archives of Olman relics.
The Ipoza stones are a set of tablets discovered in the jungle near the volcano the locals call Mt Ipoza, where it is reliably guessed that a community of foolhardy settlers from the Flanaess once existed in the then dormant caldera of the volcano. The community was utterly destroyed when Mt Ipoza roared back to life in the late 570s, but some relics of the community have been found in the jungle nearby.
In ancient times, the Olman of Tamoachan had extensive trade with the Dwarves of the Hellfurnace mountains. In order to aid their non-priest peers, the clerics of a now forgotten Dwarf hold in the area created this set of tablets, which painstakingly translate the ancient Olman language into the ancient Dwarvish language. How the tablets ended up in Ipoza is not clear, but Scarlet Brotherhood agents recovered all the known remaining tablets of the set in that area and have attempted to use them to gain some insight into the Olman culture.
Skreyn of Kro Terlep is not known to be a practitioner of arcane or divine magic, so he referenced the Ipoza stones to translate the materials he had access to, including a lengthy treatise on Olman religions recovered by Brotherhood agents in the ruins of Tamoachan.
The translation of the material into what became the Scarlet Codex was rough and tedious, but eager to please his Brotherhood patrons, Skreyn dutifully completed the work. In the passing decades, copies of the codex, whole and partial, have begun to appear around the Flanaess and be dissected by sages. Until quite recently, the Scarlet Codex was held in esteem equal to the Verdant Codex, being considered almost flawless in its account.
In 599 cy however, new facts about the Scarlet Codex were unveiled by the archmage Drawmij in a speech before the Sea Mages guild in Gradsul. Having access to a reliable copy of the original Olman religions treatise, Drawmij was eager to check Skreyn's translation against his own, performed using arcane magic.
Drawmij was utterly puzzled by the results of his research. Skreyn's codex was rife with errors, and entire tracts of the document seemed woven completely from the author's imagination, having no foundation in the original document. Drawmij tasked his agents with the dangerous journey into Kro Terlep to contact Skreyn and investigate, and was amused by their revelation.
While the Ipoza stones are considered as reliable as non-magical translations, they do not have an accompanying user's manual, and lacking a cooperative Olman guide to assist him, Skreyn failed to realize that ancient Olman texts are read bottom to top, instead of top to bottom as most modern languages. Thus, despite his best intentions, Skreyn's source material is invalid, and the credibility of the Scarlet Codex has been destroyed by Drawmij's revelation to the Sea Mages.
A note from Maria:
This post may at first seem like a mean spirited poke at Scarlet Brotherhood author Sean K Reynolds. In all honesty though, while it is a poke at SKR, there is no inherent malice.
You see, in looking into the attempts in the real world to decode the Quiche Mayan language, we come upon the amusing tale of Abbe Charles Etienne Brasseur de Bourboug, a nineteenth century french antiquarian attempting to link the origins of the Maya to the legendary stories of the lost continent of Atlantis.
Brasseur's theory came from his translation of the Madrid Codex, a precolumbian Mayan document, and was held as quite credible upon publication of his treatise, Quatre Lettres sur le Mexique (Four Letters on Mexico).
The problem, revealed a few years later, was not in the translation itself. Brasseur employed El Relacion (The Relation), a guide to translating Quiche Mayan pictoglyphs into spanish developed by Diego de Landa, a Franciscan friar, in 1549. Landa's Relacion is far from perfect, but provided later translators a framework to work from, and in Brasseur's time, was still considered the translation tool to depend on. In this regard Brasseur is to be commended for his efforts.
Like our fantasy world friend Skreyn, Brasseur made one simple but catastrophic error. He read the Madrid codex backwards, not realizing that Mayan pictoglyphs do not follow the standard of left to right, top to bottom used by modern latin derived languages.
So you see, while teasing Sean Reynolds, I'm also making a lighthearted commentary on the follies of real world anthropology. It's not my intent here to start a hate fest among fans and critics of Sean Reynolds. I'm just having a little fun, and presenting a possible explanation to justify the fan material created by those of us who were not impressed with Sean's Scarlet Brotherhood sourcebook.
Obviously, the Scarlet Codex is an in game reference to Wizards of the Coast's Scarlet Brotherhood product. In the same context, the Verdant Codex refers to an article by Roger Moore, who refered to himself as Rogar (of Mooria, I changed it to Gradsul to be relevant to the story) during his tenure as editor in chief of TSR's Dragon magazine. The fanzine Oerth Journal, Issue 4, presented an article Roger wrote called "The Green Nightmare, part 1", a treatise on the Amedio jungle, it's history and peoples. Though not hard and fast published canon, Roger's status as director of the Greyhawk product line at the time he wrote tGN, and lack of any egregious canon errors has given the article a sort of apocryphal canon status in the Greyhawk community.
Greyhawk canon is a messy thing sometimes, the face that launched a thousand flamewars, as it were.
Gygax himself made extensive use of anagrammatical homages to players and associates when naming people and places in the campaign, well beyond the obvious Zagyg, Xagig, Yrag, etc. Later, this tradition was carried on under the tenures of Roger Moore and Erik Mona, with myriad references to the movers and shakers of GH fandom in the 1990s in the names of NPCs in the various sourcebooks.
A few years back some posters on the Canonfire and Wizards Community fora began playing with the idea of assigning in setting personages to the various authors of GH material, allowing all the material to be treated as in character research, as Gygax presented the campaign (as the historical research of Pluffet Smedger).
To me, this grants DMs and fan material writers immense freedom in deciding what is actual canon truth, and what is simply the misinformed ramblings of confused NPCs, based on their individual taste in GH source material.
Friday, March 20, 2009
What does Chitza-Atlan's name mean?
What does Chitza-Atlan's name mean?
By Maria Deltorre
Chichen is alternatively spelled Chitza, meaning mouth or well, or more figuratively, gate.
Tlan is an Aztec word meaning 'place of'.
So, literally, Chitza Atlan means, roughly, 'Place of Mouths' or 'Place of Gates'
Given the description of C-A in C1 tho, I would twist the meaning a little and call him the 'Guardian of the Gates'. Make him a demigod servant of Camazotz, lord of the Mayan underworld, who is tasked with guarding the gateway between the underworld and the Oerth, as is implied in the module text.
Keep in mind tho, the mummified centaur is not the appearance of C-A, but merely a 'sacred offspring' of that entity. See C1 encounter area 49 for confirmation of this.
By Maria Deltorre
Chichen is alternatively spelled Chitza, meaning mouth or well, or more figuratively, gate.
Tlan is an Aztec word meaning 'place of'.
So, literally, Chitza Atlan means, roughly, 'Place of Mouths' or 'Place of Gates'
Given the description of C-A in C1 tho, I would twist the meaning a little and call him the 'Guardian of the Gates'. Make him a demigod servant of Camazotz, lord of the Mayan underworld, who is tasked with guarding the gateway between the underworld and the Oerth, as is implied in the module text.
Keep in mind tho, the mummified centaur is not the appearance of C-A, but merely a 'sacred offspring' of that entity. See C1 encounter area 49 for confirmation of this.
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