This August, Atlas Games will bring Nyambe: African Adventures to the d20 System. According to today’s press release, the 256-page book (16 of which in full color) will have a variety of goodies. I’ll give you their PR laundry list on it; too many weirdly spelled words for me:
- Twelve new human tribal cultures and six variant non-human races, like the brown-skinned, tailed Wakyambi elves who meddle in the affairs of men from the depths of the bIda rainforest.
- New core class variants and prestige classes change druids into shamen who worship the natural orisha spirits and are as comfortable in the skin of a panther as in humanoid form.
- New skills and feats like Ancestral Blessing, Drum Dancer, Elephant Warrior, and Fire Blood are the heritage of every Nyamban, as well as new weapons, armor, and equipment designed for a tropical climate where the heat of the vast savannah is more dangerous than an enemy’s spear.
- The spirit-worship of the mortals has called upon the orisha for new spells and domains such as Darkness, Exile, Fertility, Lightning, and Plague ever since the Dark Time when the Overpower ascended into the sky on the web of a giant spider.
- Mad omurogo wizards contemplate the contents of mojuba bags to prepare their divination spells, and new magic items like zombi powder turn fallen warriors into true zombis that keep a hideous memory of their former lives. Ritual masks let the wearer become an orisha, and vodou nkisi statues hurl powerful curses at those who dare to use them.
- And in the dark interior of the continent lurk creatures never before seen by the men of the tamed north lands … ravenous beasts of the jungle and desert are only the beginning of the danger that awaits those who walk the lands of Nyambe!
I had a look at an early draft of the book at GTS last month, and have to admit that Nyambe is the first book to make me think I might want to run an African-themed campaign. Stylish artwork, a rich setting, and a bright green cover with a dire lion on it! This just may live up to (or even exceed) the $37.95 MSRP.