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.