African Core

[vyshan]

I didn't have the time to read it personally. Just skim it. I like the "Everyday" stuff in it. Helpful.

The very low population troubles me a bit. The land sounds too fertile and too prosperous to have just 15K people. It also has 3 cities... May I suggest you triple the population?

yea fixed that, not sure why I typed it that way.

I am also working on the DM's guide, at the moment mostly a list of plot hooks and NPCs to use.

[alhoon]

I can't speak for others, but I would be more interested in a 'inspirational viewing' list of movies or something than plot hooks. It's a land that has political strife, cities, jungles. I can work with that without hooks.
If I may be so bold I was a tad disappointed that they seem quite... European in different clothes instead of exotic. I don't mean they are not exotic, I expected them more exotic though. Something like owing hyena pets, execute people by dumping them in pits of scorpions or something. The massagetae were eating their elders for example and considering it an honor.
The land is nicely exotic though. With people avoiding the plains and living in the comfortable climate of... the mountains. Laughed at that. Never thought of it.
The moving capital is nice but ... not sure how to play that actually. Never managed to pull one such thing. For hordes, I could work with it but for an established empire? Strange. Nicely strange though. Challenging.

I liked the format, I like the amount of info. Yes, I know I just asked for more info but that's what forums are for. I like the amount of info that's already there and I could ask\work on the rest.

[jules]

for at least one monster please include the were-hippo

[vyshan]

I can't speak for others, but I would be more interested in a 'inspirational viewing' list of movies or something than plot hooks. It's a land that has political strife, cities, jungles. I can work with that without hooks.

Problem with that is that I am unfamilar with movies or books of africa, but I am more of a historian so to me history inspires me far more then movies or books. So well perhaps some of the others can help me out in this section.

If I may be so bold I was a tad disappointed that they seem quite... European in different clothes instead of exotic. I don't mean they are not exotic, I expected them more exotic though. Something like owing hyena pets, execute people by dumping them in pits of scorpions or something. The massagetae were eating their elders for example and considering it an honor.The land is nicely exotic though. With people avoiding the plains and living in the comfortable climate of... the mountains. Laughed at that. Never thought of it.

Well in regards to Ethiopia, they did kind of resemble a medieval european kingdom in a number of ways. Some of the other lands may be more 'exotic'. I don't want them exotic for the sake of being exotic, though.

The moving capital is nice but ... not sure how to play that actually. Never managed to pull one such thing. For hordes, I could work with it but for an established empire? Strange. Nicely strange though. Challenging.

This was actually a historical practice of the Solominoid Dynasty that I thought was cool to use. Using it though runs like anything on speed of plot. It is more of a plot hook and story element then anything else.

I liked the format, I like the amount of info. Yes, I know I just asked for more info but that's what forums are for. I like the amount of info that's already there and I could ask\work on the rest.[/quote]

More help is always welcome

[alhoon]

So... how it goes?

[alhoon]

Any news?

[ewancummins]

I'd probably take the 'Dark Continent' stuff and run with it.

I wouldn't worry more about historical/anthropological accuracy any more than Ravenloft designers did when designing the published domains. I like that in Ravenloft we have literary/cinematic gypsies and not close analogs of the real Rom people. Ditto Barovia as the spooky Stoker/Republic Pictures Transylvania and not something closer to historical Romanian principalities. This is definitely true of the Ezrans-- an obvious stand in for the Church , yet quite different in many ways.

But none of that means I think mining African history and folklore wouldn't be a good idea. It's a great idea. I'd just mix and match it with Western literary and cinematic tropes related to 'The Dark Continent.'

Book list in two parts, fiction and non fiction

movie list

ymmv

[Leliel]

Ugh.

People, we have gone five pages, and nobody has mentioned Shaka Zulu?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaka

You know, the guy who mourned his mother by, among other things, killing the mothers of cow calves so they may also experience his loss?

He who introduced the concept of mass slaughter to the African populace?

The general who forced his soldiers to remain celibate until they killed a man?

That guy?

Yeah, he's a historical figure and all, but seriously, the man could just have a name change near the end of his rule (that was the era of aforementioned cow matricide) and he could be ported in as a darklord as is.