Completed Ytarria Hex map with terrain added

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by darebear

The Djinn Lands needs some work next after Zarak. Pursiviant had some good ideas which resonate with me, specifically an African culture, based on the Black Kingdoms from the Hyborian Age.

My initial idea for a Sub-Saharan African setting was more pastoralists than village-based culture. Think a mash-up of Masai, Somalis, and various Sudanese tribes. Maybe add some !Kung style pure nomads (wrong end of the African continent from the forgoing groups, but iconic survivors). Nominal TL is TL0, but that belies some serious magical knowledge necessary to survive on the fringes of Djinn territory.

The presence of the Djinn makes anything more than temporary encampments or seasonal kraals impossible and the natives have learned to be very suspicious of anything that looks like Djinni on the hunt for slaves. At the first sign of trouble, they move away fast, blending into the landscape (sometimes literally) until it's safe to come out again.

Alternately, at the risk of indulging stereotypes, you can go completely the other way. The massive power of the Djinni allows the GM to indulge all the Pulp Fiction- or Steampunk-style "Lost Worlds" tropes, with idiosyncratic civilizations which can't or won't expand beyond the Djinn ruler's area of control. Ancient Egyptian-inspired city states with mystic energies focused using rubies the size of your head. Massive fungus-lit caverns populated by dinosaurs & cavemen. Roman legions with steam cannons ruled by nigh-immortal god-queens. Aztec-style city states with blood-drenched temples powering a network of Ley lines.

Lots of weird and cool stuff, but limited to a small area due to Djinn politics, odd mana effects, or the whims of the local ruler. And, of course, it all goes belly-up if the Djinni that created the culture perishes, loses a war, or just gets bored with it all. Trigger massive landslide that seals the cavern to the Land Beyond Time or the hidden pass to the Elephants' Graveyard.