I know some people have not been fond of SKRs Scarlet Brotherhood accessory and how it depicted the Touv people.
I suggest that Nyambe from Atlas games could be substituted for SKR's Hepmonaland. It is an African-esque setting that I find not bad.
Myself, I use SKR's Hepmonaland, with DM alterations, of course, and I use Nyambe as a separate sub-continent. Nyambe plays it fairly "straight" in that it is not too fantastical or idyosyncratic and I think it can be be easily "snapped" into Greyhawk.
Sean's Touv weren't the problem. He spun them from whole cloth, imported from Earth.
It was Sean's treatment of the Olman that was frustrating. He didn't really elaborate on the Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan module so much as bite (copy) what Roger E. Moore had already penned for the Oerth Journal in his Green Nightmare article. Sean had the opportunity to build on that version but didn't. Instead of making the Olman viable for campaigns, they remained savages--basically just monsters--except for Xamaclan, which was too far away.
Also, Sean had the opportunity to retcon the Olman pantheon, but he failed to change it--leaving it as only a copy or the Aztec mythos.
Addressing this thread's topic, I've only glanced at Nyambe though I was excited to hear of it originally before it was actually printed. On paging through it, however, I didn't see what I had hoped--medieval Africa, especially East Africa. Partially, my initial review was turned off by the cover.
Does Nyambe feature kingdoms with rich urban centers, or is it primarily about tropical tribal adventuring?
Does Nyambe feature kingdoms with rich urban centers, or is it primarily about tropical tribal adventuring?
Yes. It does.
Bokoro (nation) has a huge urban center, T'ombo, with a university etc.
Neighboring Kaya Vua Samaki ("fish catching towns") is a collection of wealthy city states.
It is as good an "Africa" as one will find. IMO, it could have been a better product with more development but it is a solid product as it is. _________________ GVD
I have Nyambe, and am not enthralled with it. Many people do like it, and I'll freely admit to a primal dislike of Atlas's layout style that taints many of their products for me. I also cannot get past the elves, dwarves, gnomes, halfings, and half-orcs. While I understand that certain archtypes are perpetuated around the globe, the emphasis on making the old PH races "african", rather than creating original races, strongly turned me off.
That said, it's not a bad book for african settings (even being the only book). I'd create new races, but it's otherwise a very useful accessory.
I do use Nyambe for Hepmonoland. I had to squish it just a bit in shape, and its much bigger than Hepmonoland, but I like it a lot better. Basically, I replaced the Egyption-ish influence with Olman, and subbed the Suel for the Middle Eastern-ish guys. The Oriental influence works fine as is, as the Japan-like area of Oerth is fairly nearby. Nyambe is far from a perfect product, but it is a good an African-themed product as we are likely to see.
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