The Real Olman Homeland

The Real Olman Homeland

By Maria Deltorre

This is a much debated topic among scholars of Greyhawk lore, with the "canon" material stating that the Olman started out as a minor, evil and barbaric tribe within the Hepmonland continent that were later driven out by war with the Touv and founded a vast empire within the Amedio jungle, from which they continued to wage their wars with the Touv until the mysterious fall of their civilization roughly 500 years ago.

I dislike this treatment, so here is my alternative.

Kaxkichan (cakes-key-chan, The Beautiful Land)

Southwest of the Amedio Jungle, and south of the spot where the Hellfurnace, or Tukuchbinuk (Took-ooch-bin-ook, Burning Old Men) mountains end, lies a wide grassy flatland. It is here that the society that spawned the Olman people existed, and still exists in a much diminished state today. 

The Olman claim that they are refugees from the doomed kingdom of Kaxkichan, which filled these grassy plains roughly 5000 years ago. Kaxkichan was a fairly peaceful, civilized nation of farmers, hunters and fishermen, respectful of the gods and relatively isolated from the other great empires of ancient Oerik. The people of Kaxkichan were unique among the humans of Oerik in that they were possessing of an impressive stature, averaging 8 to 9 feet in height and often bearing a comely appearance.

For many years, the kings of Kaxkichan quietly ruled their people from the now lost and forgotten city of Tinquinkatl (Teen-kin-cot-all, House of the Nobles Fathers), but as with all things in Oerik's history, this era of prosperity came to an end. The main reason for this decline was a lack of ability to feed the growing population with the rudimentary farming techniques known to the people, as well as warring with the Makinpal (Mah-keen-pall, Dark Nomads), an aggressive, blue-black skinned race of humans then being driven south by the expanding Suloise society to the northwest.

As food became scarce and fighting with the Makinpal grew more intense, it is believed the people of Kaxkichan turned their faith to darker entities and wicked gods, and for this, the Olman deities grew angry and destroyed the society of Kaxkichan with a withering blight that caused the fish to swim deep beyond the reach of their nets, the animals to grow quick and elusive, and the fields to yield little edible crop.

Faced with certain doom in the dying kingdom, many of the people began migrating northeast, away from their Makinpal rivals, into the Amedio jungle, where they built cities and towns centered around grand temple complexes intended to win the forgiveness of their gods. That forgiveness did eventually come, and the Olman "empire", actually a collection of loosely allied city states, flourished centuries later despite the coming contact with the Touv and the ocean spanning wars that resulted. Life in the jungle over the millenia changed the people of Kaxkichan, however, leading them to evolve into a shorter, more resilient folk well suited to living on the fruits of the jungle, as well as the limited amount of crops such as maize that can be grown in the patches of vegetation that are cleared for such purposes.

Not all the people of Kaxkichan left the plains though, and to this day, small, reclusive groups of humans of giant stature roam those realms, reverted to a hunter/gatherer society with little faith or patience for gods and faith. The modern Olman call these folk Quinametin (key-nah-me-ten, Beautiful Giants).

Quinametin

Climate/Terrain: Tropical and Subtropical Plains and Hills

Frequency: Uncommon

Organization: Tribal

Activity Cycle: Day

Diet: Omnivore

Intelligence: Average (8-10)

Treasure: K, L, M, Q or V

Alignment: Chaotic Nuetral

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Number Appearing: 2-12

Armor Class: 7

Movement: 16

Hit Dice: 2+1

THAC0: 18

Number of Attacks: 1

Damage/Attack: 1d4 unarmed or by weapon

Special Attacks: +1 to hit with spear

Special Defenses: None

Magic Resistance: Special, see text

Size: Large (8 to 10 feet)

Morale: Elite (14)

XP Value: 300

Quinametin are a large, attractive race of humans distantly related to the Olman of the Amedio jungle. Due to the extreme heat of their habitat, these folk wear little in the way of armor or clothing, usually limiting themselves to simple garments made from the skins of animals they hunt. There is a 25% chance upon encountering any band of Quinametin that they are on a hunt, in which case they will be naked and lack any possessions except their weapons.

Combat

Quinametin fight like normal humans, relying on their mastery of the spear, both in melee and missile combat. This familiarity with the spear grants them a +1 bonus to all attacks made with it, but the primitive, stone headed spears employed limit damage to 1d6/1d6.