The Afridhi

[Havard]

Reason one - I'm not very well versed in Tekumel either, but DA and friends certainly did know Tekumel well, and I've seen you freely incorporate stuff from sources DA and Co would have had no knowledge of so I'm thinking its okay to think beyond your comfort zone

Good point

Reason three - elaborate? Come now Havard, with all the world jumping, time traveling, and incorporation of Sci Fi, refugees traveling through a gateway from Tekumel is rather typical and run of the mill for Blackmoor it seems to me.

You are right. Perhaps I was being too conservative here. As I said, the idea is pretty new and the implications are potentially massive, but we can certainly explore this option.

Anywho there's already a precedent of an entire ship being transported to Blackmoor from Tekumel as Jeff Berry relates in his Q&A:

""Playing in Blackmoor": Yes, Phil did play in Dave's Blackmoor for a while; the two of them conspired to transport us there in our ship, and we just appeared in Blackmoor Bay one day. Phil wanted to take a break from GM duties, so Dave took over the job of running our Tekumel PCs in his world. Phil played a Livyani character he'd rolled up, and was a very active player. "

Yeah, you are right. There are certain things that ocurred in Dave's campaign that I would never used in my own (WWII soldiers in particular), but Tekumel is much more acceptable.

Anyway I would also point out that it is very much in keeping with Dave's approach to incorporate the game worlds of your friends and associates (Great Kingdom, Greyhawk, Wilderlands) into Blackmoor

True. I guess at some point we should draw the line, but Arneson's connection to Prof Barker is a good argument for your case.

Given the 1000+ years of advanced civilization in the north, including the Duchy of the Peaks and the various wizards societies, its impossible a people as exotic as the Afridhi would go unnoted or left to develop in pure isolation. There should also at least be related/varient peoples. Nothing of the sort has ever happened on earth except in the case of island cultures, like Tasmania and Polynesia, but even there people shared cultural and genetic links with thier neighbors.

Well, in spite of Blackmoor being founded almost a milennia ago, I still see the North as a pretty uncivilized place. I generall consider the lands beyond the Vales as unknown to even most sages. That said, I do believe that the Afridhi are part of a bigger cultural group, just one that stretches westwards (or southwest) rather than to the east. This could apply even if we use the Tekumel connection.

uh Fire Giant pygmies? Maybe, but I dunno...

I know, this was my reaction too. But it does seem like the direction that ZG were taking them. The illustrations in DA4 are a little different from those in the D20 material.

On Tekumel, black hair is typical but red hair sometimes occurs. Most people are brown skinned and fairly similar in appearance. There are two exceptions, a somewhat lighter skinned and taller group of people in the far north, and the Nom. Here is the description from the Tekumel Bestiary:

Good find. Alright, you are on your way of having me convinced here.

Also on Tekumel are a wide range of deities, one of the oldest and most well know is Vimuhla:

Another good find here. This is very interesting!

I imagine the worship of Zugzul/Vimuhla taking root among priestesses in one of the Nom islands in the Salarvya sea, taking control of the society. I imagine the island is called Afrid. I imagine those islanders sailing forth to other Nom Islands on a mission of conversion and conquest in the name of Zugzul, thier hair turned (or dyed?) fiery red as a mark of devotion to the god of flame. I Imagine a uniting of Nom peoples against the threat. I see Afridhi defeated and Afrid invaded. I see Zugzul opening a gate to a harsh and isolated corner of Blackmoor to save his Priestesses and a few hundred of his followers. I see them dreaming of revenge and conquest again.

Not bad, not bad! If they are chased from their own land, that would also give them motivation for conquering more land. I like the idea that the Afridhi dye their hair red by the way. And somewhere beyond Goblin Kush, there could be a gate leading back to Tekumel...

-Havard