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Name/Culture Resource

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Jun 30, 2003 17:46:05 I'm doing a little work to flesh out even more the cultures of the various human subraces. Drop your suggestions, or how you have done them in your own games here.
The Baklunish have typically been portrayed in my Greyhawk games as Arabic in culture, names, architecture, etc.
I'm trying to compare the other subraces to cultures in our world, for mostly the purpose of giving names of characters, places, etc a distinctive flavor. Example: "Khalim Ibn Rashid, ah, that sounds Baklunish."
Any ideas for the Flan, Oeridian, Olman, Suel, and Rhennee?
#2
zombiegleemax
Jul 02, 2003 16:48:38 The Flan always seemed comparable to various tribal societies on Earth, in my opinion similar to Native Americans, Germanic Tribes/Celts in various ways. I have typically work it so Flan tribes from different areas resemble different tribal cultures. Having slightly different customs, etc.
Just my 2 cents.
#3
zombiegleemax
Jul 09, 2003 9:15:07 I've always thought the following was a good, rough guide. Others will obviously have different opinions. This guide is derived from my own bias and also from discussions in the GT channel.

Keoland = Scotland
Veluna = Vatican State
Furyondy = England
Nyrond = France
The Great Kingdom = Germany/Prussia

It was recently brought to my attention that the early days of the Great Kingdom could be seen as being quite Romanic. I quite like that association as Germany retained a LOT of Roman influences which were reborn in the third reich (IIRC).

I love the idea of the GK being this massive, romanesque empire which has dwindled over the years and changed and adapted to newer technologies to resemble a middle-ages Germany. Maybe it's my krout blood but it really appeals
#4
zombiegleemax
Jul 09, 2003 17:01:52
Originally posted by Delglath
Keoland = Scotland
Veluna = Vatican State
Furyondy = England
Nyrond = France
The Great Kingdom = Germany/Prussia

I love the idea of the GK being this massive, romanesque empire which has dwindled over the years and changed and adapted to newer technologies to resemble a middle-ages Germany. Maybe it's my krout blood but it really appeals

I like the ideas you posted here regarding the countries. I might implement them in my current game a bit.
#5
zombiegleemax
Jul 09, 2003 20:11:12 I've done a bit more work on this, using some of your ideas. Here are some more of mine, for your enjoyment (or loathing).

Rhennee:
I gave an Eastern European style to, creating several different clans/tribes that have distinct traditions. The gypsy flavor is predominant still. You get the picture.

Olman:
This type of human has always reminded me of the civilizations of South America(Aztec, Incan, Mayan, etc. ). The whole ritual sacrifice the people adopted fits nicely with these "real-world" civilizations. Their ancient civilizations are now mostly forgotten, though their once grand cities (picture South American pyramids, etc) are now being slowly swallowed by the jungles. The Scarlet Brotherhood enslaving the modern Olman fits well with the real world occurance of the conquistadors taking over the South American civilizations. I am trying to do some work on creating Olman deities. Any ideas are welcome.

I have several Mayan, etc...naming resources as well that I may post. These contain notes on pronunciation as well.
#6
zombiegleemax
Jul 09, 2003 23:35:40 There are some excellent Canonfire articles on the Olman and Amedi peoples by our resident expert on rats; the chatdemon.

Not to say you can't do your stuff, plenty of room for all flavours, just thought I'd mention it as a source for you to look over, maybe even draw on, or whatever.

At CF (www.canonfire.com) just type in the search engine Amedio or Olman and you should get a list of articles back that could help you.

Just a thought.
#7
zombiegleemax
Jul 10, 2003 14:07:42
Originally posted by Delglath
At CF (www.canonfire.com) just type in the search engine Amedio or Olman and you should get a list of articles back that could help you.

Just a thought.

Thanks. The article on the Amedio Gods was just the flavor I was looking for. Most of the names were written and pronounced correctly (comparing them to Aztec/Mayan names).

Here is a link to the article if anyone else is interested in applying it to their game:
http://www.canonfire.com/htmlnew/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=254
#8
zombiegleemax
Jul 10, 2003 17:10:15 About the races, thats more or less what i use IMC:

Olman - maya, aztec, etc

Rheene - dunnot know.. romany-like folk i think

Baklunish - middle east

Suloise - vikings (north barbarians), but the brotherhood is almost oriental (chinese, not physical but their culture).

Flan - Celts, Scotland

Oeridian - russians

Its much easier to teach new players. My entire party (except my bro) came from Forgotten Realms sun-star-gold-blue-purple-elven like campaings, so i had to create some charisma on those old black and white Greyhawk books. And it works, im their only DM for those last two years, 4 me

I do the same for kingdoms. Only for the one we use, sure, but some other kingdoms are just asking for a stereotype:

-Furyondy: Europe from the 1100's (chyvalry code, knights, etc)
-Empire of Iuz: evil Goths
-Wolf, Tiger Nomads: Mongols
-Verbobonc: Much like a stereotipically elven kingdom, but for humans and halflings
-Nyrond: Same as Furyondy, but few knights
-Ket: Persians
-Grand March: Macedonia over horses
-Rovers of the Barrens: my favorite Mongols without many horses

I cant list them all. I dont know much about every human culture
#9
zombiegleemax
Jul 17, 2003 4:16:35 I would do Suloise as than Minoan like people from Earth ancient world
Crete where the woman show they breast bare with long dress all the wat down to the feet.
#10
zombiegleemax
Jul 20, 2003 18:29:02 Regarding the Olman, I too appreciate Rich (and Mar's) work detailing them (and posted on CF!). As I understand it, this version centers the Maya as its source of inspiration.

The published module, C1 Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan, notes that it selected arbitrarily from the Meso-American cultures, as understood by anthropologists, archaelogists, and other story-makers of "modern society."

I find the booklet of illustrations very useful. The pictures partake liberally of both Aztec and Maya iconography, and in keeping with that spirit (of pastiche?), to spin a pleasing tale for my campaigns, I incorporate the historical complexity of ancient Meso-America.

Sean K. Reynold's, in The Scarlet Brotherhood describes in passing at least two Olman empires of Hepmonaland, which crossed the Vohoun Ocean / Pearl Sea in order to colonize the Amedio Jungle and establish a "new" empire. In his description of the wars between the Olman and the Touv, Reynolds seems to have incorporated some of the illustrations from C1, which featured humans fighting with one side being painted red and the other black. Sean apparently did not utilize the significance of red and black in certain Meso-American religions related to the sacred "compass" directions and the god Tezcatlipoca. (Sean of course relied heavily on Roger Moore's article, "The Good Oerth: Green Nightmare: The Amedio Jungle Part I," published in issue 4 of the Oerth Journal, at page 8, (and available for free download at Canonfire.com).

In my campaigns, the ancient Olman were diverse in ways similar to the ancient Flan. Multiple "empires" existed, ruled by different Olman ethnicities -- each having its own (usually shortlived) society and culture. As suggested by the youth of their parent kingdom, Kundanol, the Touv were relatively recent immigrants, whose ancestors traveled to southern Hepmonaland from the so-called Terra Anakeris. Regarding the Touv (created by Reynolds), I incorporate the works of Steve Wilson and "CruelSummerLord-Jared," both of whom have detailed the unknown continent and its people. IMCs, the Touv are one of several "races" of people that emigrated from their home continent (sometimes called Orannia, per Jared).

I also use the ideas of Rip Van Wormer, who has argued that the ancient Flan and Olman people had more regular contact than typically presumed by canon and GH fans. IMCs, the Azure Sea was less of a wall and more of a set of roads...

I encourage pure Olman PCs (usually former slaves) and mixed ancestry PCs (often but not always the descendants of former slaves) IMCs and believe that all the countries of the Flanaess with direct sea access to the Amedio Jungle and Hepmonaland should have some Olman (-derived) people.
#11
Argon
Jul 21, 2003 11:12:42 The Scarlet Brotherhood in my campaign is a mimic of the Spanish Empire in it's glory days. Many of the Suel people have influences over some of the languages in the countries they reside in.
Veluna- Italy
Furyondy- England
Ket- Turkish
Nyrond- France
Hold of the Sea Princes-Portugal
Onnwal/ Idee - Dutch
Gran March/ Bissel -Irish
Keoland - Scotish
Scarlet Brotherhood- Spain
Paynims - Mongol
Perrenland- Swiss
County& Duchy of Urnst- Germanic
This sounds good in my campaign and may even change but for the most part I like what I've got. Trust me if anything the Scarlet Brotherhood mimic's alot of what the Spanish empire was known for so I added a massive naval fleet to the brotherhood. Plus the Olman are most definitly Aztec/Mayan like people's who are under the fist of the brotherhood. Sounds alot like spain to me.
#12
zombiegleemax
Jul 27, 2003 22:26:38 Imagine the opening scene of Last of the Mohicans.

Chingachgook, Uncas, and (Daniel Day-Lewis) are hunting the Elk in the woods.

Upon slaying the beast, Chingachgook (the Eldest Mohican), utters a prayer, honoring the slain animal.

This fits the Flan perfectly.

A Child of Breath (Flan Seasonal Horoscope) is required to offer a brief prayer for every creature that dies in their presence.

Among other things, the comparison of the Flannae to Native American tribal culture is reflected in many ways. Just thought I'd give ya that example.

For those of you interested in other such roleplaying notes on the Humans of the Flanaess, the 2nd Edition Greyhawk Player's Guide by Anne Brown has some good ideas. Not sure about other sources, though I am sure they exist.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Jun 30, 2003 17:46:05	I'm doing a little work to flesh out even more the cultures of the various human subraces. Drop your suggestions, or how you have done them in your own games here. The Baklunish have typically been portrayed in my Greyhawk games as Arabic in culture, names, architecture, etc. I'm trying to compare the other subraces to cultures in our world, for mostly the purpose of giving names of characters, places, etc a distinctive flavor. Example: "Khalim Ibn Rashid, ah, that sounds Baklunish." Any ideas for the Flan, Oeridian, Olman, Suel, and Rhennee?
#2 zombiegleemax Jul 02, 2003 16:48:38	The Flan always seemed comparable to various tribal societies on Earth, in my opinion similar to Native Americans, Germanic Tribes/Celts in various ways. I have typically work it so Flan tribes from different areas resemble different tribal cultures. Having slightly different customs, etc. Just my 2 cents.
#3 zombiegleemax Jul 09, 2003 9:15:07	I've always thought the following was a good, rough guide. Others will obviously have different opinions. This guide is derived from my own bias and also from discussions in the GT channel. Keoland = Scotland Veluna = Vatican State Furyondy = England Nyrond = France The Great Kingdom = Germany/Prussia It was recently brought to my attention that the early days of the Great Kingdom could be seen as being quite Romanic. I quite like that association as Germany retained a LOT of Roman influences which were reborn in the third reich (IIRC). I love the idea of the GK being this massive, romanesque empire which has dwindled over the years and changed and adapted to newer technologies to resemble a middle-ages Germany. Maybe it's my krout blood but it really appeals
#4 zombiegleemax Jul 09, 2003 17:01:52	Originally posted by Delglath Keoland = Scotland Veluna = Vatican State Furyondy = England Nyrond = France The Great Kingdom = Germany/Prussia I love the idea of the GK being this massive, romanesque empire which has dwindled over the years and changed and adapted to newer technologies to resemble a middle-ages Germany. Maybe it's my krout blood but it really appeals I like the ideas you posted here regarding the countries. I might implement them in my current game a bit.
#5 zombiegleemax Jul 09, 2003 20:11:12	I've done a bit more work on this, using some of your ideas. Here are some more of mine, for your enjoyment (or loathing). Rhennee: I gave an Eastern European style to, creating several different clans/tribes that have distinct traditions. The gypsy flavor is predominant still. You get the picture. Olman: This type of human has always reminded me of the civilizations of South America(Aztec, Incan, Mayan, etc. ). The whole ritual sacrifice the people adopted fits nicely with these "real-world" civilizations. Their ancient civilizations are now mostly forgotten, though their once grand cities (picture South American pyramids, etc) are now being slowly swallowed by the jungles. The Scarlet Brotherhood enslaving the modern Olman fits well with the real world occurance of the conquistadors taking over the South American civilizations. I am trying to do some work on creating Olman deities. Any ideas are welcome. I have several Mayan, etc...naming resources as well that I may post. These contain notes on pronunciation as well.
#6 zombiegleemax Jul 09, 2003 23:35:40	There are some excellent Canonfire articles on the Olman and Amedi peoples by our resident expert on rats; the chatdemon. Not to say you can't do your stuff, plenty of room for all flavours, just thought I'd mention it as a source for you to look over, maybe even draw on, or whatever. At CF (www.canonfire.com) just type in the search engine Amedio or Olman and you should get a list of articles back that could help you. Just a thought.
#7 zombiegleemax Jul 10, 2003 14:07:42	Originally posted by Delglath At CF (www.canonfire.com) just type in the search engine Amedio or Olman and you should get a list of articles back that could help you. Just a thought. Thanks. The article on the Amedio Gods was just the flavor I was looking for. Most of the names were written and pronounced correctly (comparing them to Aztec/Mayan names). Here is a link to the article if anyone else is interested in applying it to their game: http://www.canonfire.com/htmlnew/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=254
#8 zombiegleemax Jul 10, 2003 17:10:15	About the races, thats more or less what i use IMC: Olman - maya, aztec, etc Rheene - dunnot know.. romany-like folk i think Baklunish - middle east Suloise - vikings (north barbarians), but the brotherhood is almost oriental (chinese, not physical but their culture). Flan - Celts, Scotland Oeridian - russians Its much easier to teach new players. My entire party (except my bro) came from Forgotten Realms sun-star-gold-blue-purple-elven like campaings, so i had to create some charisma on those old black and white Greyhawk books. And it works, im their only DM for those last two years, 4 me I do the same for kingdoms. Only for the one we use, sure, but some other kingdoms are just asking for a stereotype: -Furyondy: Europe from the 1100's (chyvalry code, knights, etc) -Empire of Iuz: evil Goths -Wolf, Tiger Nomads: Mongols -Verbobonc: Much like a stereotipically elven kingdom, but for humans and halflings -Nyrond: Same as Furyondy, but few knights -Ket: Persians -Grand March: Macedonia over horses -Rovers of the Barrens: my favorite Mongols without many horses I cant list them all. I dont know much about every human culture
#9 zombiegleemax Jul 17, 2003 4:16:35	I would do Suloise as than Minoan like people from Earth ancient world Crete where the woman show they breast bare with long dress all the wat down to the feet.
#10 zombiegleemax Jul 20, 2003 18:29:02	Regarding the Olman, I too appreciate Rich (and Mar's) work detailing them (and posted on CF!). As I understand it, this version centers the Maya as its source of inspiration. The published module, C1 Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan, notes that it selected arbitrarily from the Meso-American cultures, as understood by anthropologists, archaelogists, and other story-makers of "modern society." I find the booklet of illustrations very useful. The pictures partake liberally of both Aztec and Maya iconography, and in keeping with that spirit (of pastiche?), to spin a pleasing tale for my campaigns, I incorporate the historical complexity of ancient Meso-America. Sean K. Reynold's, in The Scarlet Brotherhood describes in passing at least two Olman empires of Hepmonaland, which crossed the Vohoun Ocean / Pearl Sea in order to colonize the Amedio Jungle and establish a "new" empire. In his description of the wars between the Olman and the Touv, Reynolds seems to have incorporated some of the illustrations from C1, which featured humans fighting with one side being painted red and the other black. Sean apparently did not utilize the significance of red and black in certain Meso-American religions related to the sacred "compass" directions and the god Tezcatlipoca. (Sean of course relied heavily on Roger Moore's article, "The Good Oerth: Green Nightmare: The Amedio Jungle Part I," published in issue 4 of the Oerth Journal, at page 8, (and available for free download at Canonfire.com). In my campaigns, the ancient Olman were diverse in ways similar to the ancient Flan. Multiple "empires" existed, ruled by different Olman ethnicities -- each having its own (usually shortlived) society and culture. As suggested by the youth of their parent kingdom, Kundanol, the Touv were relatively recent immigrants, whose ancestors traveled to southern Hepmonaland from the so-called Terra Anakeris. Regarding the Touv (created by Reynolds), I incorporate the works of Steve Wilson and "CruelSummerLord-Jared," both of whom have detailed the unknown continent and its people. IMCs, the Touv are one of several "races" of people that emigrated from their home continent (sometimes called Orannia, per Jared). I also use the ideas of Rip Van Wormer, who has argued that the ancient Flan and Olman people had more regular contact than typically presumed by canon and GH fans. IMCs, the Azure Sea was less of a wall and more of a set of roads... I encourage pure Olman PCs (usually former slaves) and mixed ancestry PCs (often but not always the descendants of former slaves) IMCs and believe that all the countries of the Flanaess with direct sea access to the Amedio Jungle and Hepmonaland should have some Olman (-derived) people.
#11 Argon Jul 21, 2003 11:12:42	The Scarlet Brotherhood in my campaign is a mimic of the Spanish Empire in it's glory days. Many of the Suel people have influences over some of the languages in the countries they reside in. Veluna- Italy Furyondy- England Ket- Turkish Nyrond- France Hold of the Sea Princes-Portugal Onnwal/ Idee - Dutch Gran March/ Bissel -Irish Keoland - Scotish Scarlet Brotherhood- Spain Paynims - Mongol Perrenland- Swiss County& Duchy of Urnst- Germanic This sounds good in my campaign and may even change but for the most part I like what I've got. Trust me if anything the Scarlet Brotherhood mimic's alot of what the Spanish empire was known for so I added a massive naval fleet to the brotherhood. Plus the Olman are most definitly Aztec/Mayan like people's who are under the fist of the brotherhood. Sounds alot like spain to me.
#12 zombiegleemax Jul 27, 2003 22:26:38	Imagine the opening scene of Last of the Mohicans. Chingachgook, Uncas, and (Daniel Day-Lewis) are hunting the Elk in the woods. Upon slaying the beast, Chingachgook (the Eldest Mohican), utters a prayer, honoring the slain animal. This fits the Flan perfectly. A Child of Breath (Flan Seasonal Horoscope) is required to offer a brief prayer for every creature that dies in their presence. Among other things, the comparison of the Flannae to Native American tribal culture is reflected in many ways. Just thought I'd give ya that example. For those of you interested in other such roleplaying notes on the Humans of the Flanaess, the 2nd Edition Greyhawk Player's Guide by Anne Brown has some good ideas. Not sure about other sources, though I am sure they exist.