THE GOOD OERTH
(Exploring Beyond the Flanaess)

Green Nightmare: The Amedio Jungle, Part 1

by Roger E. Moore, TSR, Inc. (TSRRoger@aol.com)  and TM indicate
trademarks of TSR, Inc. 1996 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

From the Oerth Journal Vol.1 #4 August 10, 1996; the Council of Greyhawk

This AD&D game material is presented for gamers who wish to run WORLD OF GREYHAWK adventures set in the Amedio Jungle. This article offers
preliminary information on the Amedio Jungle that player characters should be able to discover given time, money, effort, and the proper contacts.
More players' information will appear in a future issue of the Oerth
Journal, and information for Dungeon Masters will appear after that. With
luck, you might even get a map. (Keep your fingers crossed.)

It is possible that this file will be updated in the future if sufficient
corrections and additions are found to warrant it. Comments and questions
are welcome; please e-mail them to TSRROGER@aol.com for replies.

The full extent of the Amedio Jungle can be seen on the small Oerik map in
the 1983 WORLD OF GREYHAWK boxed set's "Glossography" booklet, at the
bottom of page 18. The Amedio Jungle, shown in outline, extends south into Lower Oerik for over 1,000 miles, covering hundreds of thousands of square
miles of land and encompassing one large freshwater lake, the fourth
largest so far known on Oerik. Roughly a quarter of the jungle's area, with
the northern shore of the lake, appears on the large maps of the Flanaess
found in the 1983 boxed set or From the Ashes.

General information about the Amedio Jungle can be pieced together by PCs
from a variety of sources: retired or active adventurers and explorers,
diviner wizards, spelljammer crews, noble or merchant Holders who escaped
capture or murder by the Scarlet Brotherhood, slaves taken from the Amedio
region by the Sea Princes or Scarlet Brotherhood, libraries and naval chart
rooms containing numerous old scrolls, books, and maps, and so forth. Such
information is rarely sought these days and is often out of date (wars and
rivalries in the Flanaess are lately of much greater concern), thus
accurate information is difficult and costly to locate. The best
information on the Amedio Jungle to be had in the Flanaess is available at
the Matreyus estate near Gradsul, Keoland (see later).

An Overview

The innumerable dangers of the Amedio Jungle have kept its secrets well,
yet strange rumors and legends continue to draw adventurers and explorers
to its shores. A wealth of natural resources and manmade treasures is here
for the taking, yet the Amedio Jungle is also home to savage peoples,
ferocious monsters, poisonous plants, virulent diseases, and the dangerous
ruins of at least four fallen cultures. No roads cross the Amedio Jungle,
and few allies will welcome outsiders who make their way there. It is an
exotic, barbaric region separated from the civilized world by mountain and
sea, an unforgiving land that repays error and conceit with anonymous,
horrific death.

It is not commonly known that the Amedio Jungle extends south into Lower
Oerik for well over 300 leagues, bordered the whole way on the west by the
mighty Hellfurnances mountain range, effectively cutting the region off
from the rest of the continent. The jungle is further surrounded by the
Azure Sea to the north, the Densac Gulf to the west, and the vast,
island-dotted Vohoun Ocean to the south. The jungle ends with a small
pocket of tall-grass savanna about 200 miles in diameter, near the equator
of Oerth, where a little-known human kingdom is said to exist. A number of
islands lie just off the eastern central Amedio coast, each about the size
of the Olman Islands--100 miles across at most.

The Amedio Jungle is a tropical rainforest of astounding richness and
resilience. Winds blow over the Amedio from the seas to the south and east,
bringing with them great thunderstorms and heavy rainfall almost every
afternoon from Growfest to Brewfest. This half-year period is the monsoon
season, which is then followed by a relatively dry period during which rain
falls one or two days a week. Daily temperatures during either season run
between 85 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit, with extremes about 10-15 degrees
beyond either end. Temperatures are lower along the northernmost peninsula
of the Amedio (called "the Hook" on maps from the Sea Princes) and the
Olman Isles, averaging 75-95 degrees. Ground fog is often present in jungle
clearings in the morning. Even after the fog clears, heat waves, thick
swarms of insects, and a light haze from the humidity obscure vision over
long distances and muffle distant sounds.

The air is always humid and hot, day or night. Metallic armor is extremely
uncomfortable to wear; heavy padding worn beneath such armor can induce
heatstroke, exhaustion, and dehydration. The padding and most clothing
brought into the region also become mildewed and foul without regular
washing and airing out. Ferrous armor, weapons, and tools are subject to
severe rusting in a few days unless carefully oiled and cared for. Insects,
rats, and other vermin in this region are known to carry horrifying
diseases that spread rapidly, cause excruciating pain and debilities, and
claim many lives. Most natives of the Amedio have developed some immunity
to local plagues, which kill many unprepared outsiders.

The monsoon season brings with it the most dangerous form of weather:
tropical storms of up to hurricane strength that blast pathways of
destruction through the jungle at least once every other year. Such damage
is swiftly regrown, however, and within five years no trace of a storm's
passing will be visible even from the air. A rarer danger comes with
volcanic eruptions to the west in the Hellfurnaces. Though most of the ash
falls westward over the Sea of Dust, occasionally hot ash and poisonous
vapors drop from the sky over the Amedio, withering several hundred square
miles of greenery at random and slaying many creatures as well. (The large
freshwater lake in the northern Amedio is subject to an especially vile
form of ashfall with magical side effects, it is reported.)

The huge freshwater lake, which has yet to be fully explored, stands out in
wildspace views of the jungle. This feature is known as Storm Lake on some
maps, but recently it was tentatively renamed Matreyus Lake, after an
explorer described later. Many smaller, unmapped lakes, ponds, and wetlands
dot the Amedio. A dozen or more rivers wind their way through the
rainforest from the lower slopes of the Hellfurnaces, often ending in wide,
stinking swamps as they empty into the sea. Treacherous quicksand pits and
small, foul swamps are often encountered in lowlands. Some rivers and a few
shallow lakes are invisible from the air, as trees have grown entirely
across them.

The Amedio coast itself is sandy but narrow, barely a hundred feet wide in
most places, with offshore rocks and reefs claiming a few careless boats
and ships every decade. The coast is subject to the same tides as elsewhere
around the Flanaess. Silver-white Luna governs the greatest tides, but
aquamarine Celene's tides are barely noticeable. Fog is known to form along
the coasts on some mornings, creating grave dangers for ships as it hides
reefs, pirates, and monsters from view. Certain creatures of the deeps
venture ashore in thick fog, retreating to the sea as the fog pulls back or
burns off.

Flora and Fauna

Only recently was it determined that some of the flora and fauna of the
Amedio Jungle was not originally native to it. It is now known for certain
that the Olman peoples, in their migration to the Amedio from Hepmonaland
(see later), brought with them many species of plants and animals,
introducing these across the region for a variety of purposes. The
introduced species reverted to the wild once the Olman Empire began its
decline. It is possible that other races that migrated here did the same,
creating brutal competition among the various species of flora and fauna
for dominance and survival. This has not made the Amedio any friendlier a
region to visit, and the jungle is now littered with dangerous plants and
animals from many other regions of Oerth.

Trees in the Amedio Jungle are closely spaced, their upper branches forming
a continuous canopy of brilliant (some say "eye burning") green 100-130
feet from the ground. A few trees rise even higher, up to 180 feet; many
are much shorter, only 60 feet tall, drinking in what little sunlight
reaches through the dense canopy. Woody vines (lianas) and creeping plants
decorated with enormous flowers of every color of the rainbow twist around
trunks or swing from high limbs. Few plants rise from the dark, earthy
ground of the forest floor; light is very dim there even on the brightest
days. Given the dimness and the closely spaced trunks, sighting distances
on the ground are short, rarely over 90 feet. The air everywhere is thick
with odors and scents, from the black soil to the musk of hidden mammals to
the perfumes of rare blossoms. Among the valuable trees known in the Amedio
are the balsa, banyan, baobab, deklo, mahogany, mangrove, palm, rubber
tree, and teak. Ground growth in open glades includes briars, tall grass,
wild maize and wheat (once cultivated by the Olman), and--often under rock
ledges and rotting logs--numerous types of fungus and slimes, some of them
very dangerous: green slime, violet fungus, yellow mold, etc. Some
subterranean species like gas spores grow along the rainforest floor
beneath the canopy, which keeps the wind away. (This would also make it
easy for beholders to roam beneath the canopy, though none have yet been
seen in the region.)

One group of plants that has done very well along the dark floor of the
Amedio consists of the carnivorous ones that feed upon small animals and
insects. There is a profusion of these plants, as many explorers have
discovered to their horror and misfortune: giant sundew, giant pitcher
plants, giant polyp, thornslinger bushes, choke creeper, yellow musk
creeper, kampfult, and over a hundred others. Many of these are suspected
of being imported and deliberately planted as military defenses,
particularly during the civil wars of the Olman Empire, but have now run
wild.

The Amedio is also noted for its variety of poisonous nuts, fruits,
berries, leaves, stems, roots, vines, flowers, and even floral scents. An
alchemist with one early expedition to the Amedio from Keoland wept openly
at the prospect of having to catalog not only the poisons but the medicinal
and quasi-magical effects of other plants in the jungle, and claimed that a
hundred scribes could labor for a year and not finish the task.

This jungle's dense, lush foliage conceals a staggering variety of
wildlife, particularly insects, birds, reptiles, and small mammals such as
squirrels and monkeys. The majority of these creatures inhabit the canopy
itself, living high among the tree tops their entire lives and moving about
by leaping, swinging from limb to limb, gliding, or actual flight. Their
wild, unending cries fill the air above and below the canopy, often to a
maddening degree. (Sounds from elsewhere on the jungle floor, already
muffled by tree trunks, are drowned out by this cacophony, so that
explorers are often forced to shout at distances over 30 feet in order to
be heard.) Very large ground beasts are often rumored but actually rare, as
they can neither negotiate the narrow spaces afforded them by the densely
packed trees nor find sufficient food to thrive, except along river banks
or in clearings. Ground-dwelling herbivores under the canopy are usually
small and eat only seeds, roots, and nuts.

Creatures native to the Amedio include specialized versions of many
creatures--often of giant size--known in northern lands. Mice, voles, rats,
weasels, and shrews scurry underfoot, preyed upon by constrictor serpents,
vipers, and assorted lizards. Scaly anteaters search for ant and termite
nests; porcupines gnaw on tree bark. Insects are extremely numerous and
appear to be of every shape and color that can be imagined; ants and
termites of great size are common dangers. Snails, worms, leeches, and
slugs are plentiful; the flail snail and giant slug are often found in
caverns here, coming out only at night. High in the branches climb tree
shrews, lorises, flying squirrels, tarsiers, boas, marmosets, long-tailed
monkeys, and many sorts of huge-eyed lemurs. Gray and black gorillas
inhabit the highlands to the west, along the foothills of the Hellfurnaces.
Otters play along the river banks as small deer graze nearby. Piranha,
river dolphins, water snakes, alligators, crocodiles, crayfish, crabs,
frogs, eels (some electric!), turtles, giant leeches, and tropical fish of
startling colors and every size swim the freshwater rivers and are also
found in Matreyus Lake.

Civets, genets, and mongooses seek small prey; margays, pumas, leopards,
jaguars, and carnivorous apes stalk larger prey through the trees;
dinosaur-like bonesnappers prowl the clearings, shores, and rivers for
leftovers. Overhead fly giant dragonflies, parrots and macaws, birds of
paradise, quetzals, eagles, and songbirds and hummingbirds as brightly
colored as the local flowers. Fruit- and insect-eating bats wing through
the night over the canopy, joined at times by giant and vampiric species
that have no fear of civilized folk.

Carnivores are nearly always adept at climbing and rarely grow beyond the
size of a leopard, though there are notable exceptions such as the
carnivorous ape, giant iguana (all species), and kech. The bonesnapper is
the largest major carnivore that cannot climb; as a result, it often
subsists on injured prey, carrion, or other bonesnappers. (Rodents and
monkeys feast on bonesnapper eggs when their nests are left unguarded,
keeping down the numbers of this reptilian brute.) Packs of small, wild
dogs are not uncommon on the forest floor and in clearings. Carnivorous
serpents, such as the amphisbaena and constrictors, often climb trees to
catch prey, content to lie hidden in ambush for unwary victims. Various
sorts of carnivorous baboons (mandrills, banderlog, etc.) are sometimes
seen in the jungle itself or along the beaches, but they are far more
common to the south in the savanna region.

Other monstrous inhabitants of the Amedio include vegetarian fire beetles
(once bred by the Olman for their light-producing glands); huge jumping
spiders and trapdoor spiders; swamp-dwelling will-o-wisps, algoids, and
vampiric mists; and various evil water elementals that appear to have been
brought to this region by Olman sorcerers. Ruins and tombs often contain
supernatural animals and monsters capable of speech, spellcasting, and
devious methods of combat and defense. The gibbering mouther seems to have
been a favorite guardian monster of Olman temples. Known lycanthropes
include were-cats such as werejaguars, weretigers, and wereleopards; none
of these are friends of humanity, though they may have held important posts
(or even originated) under the Olman. Certain cults among the Olman Empire,
especially during its decline, spawned monstrosities such as variant forms
of vampires, wights, and werebats. Among the very few good-natured monsters
here is the couatl, which cannot however be counted upon to aid humans in
distress if such an action will not benefit the couatl's higher masters.

What tropical creatures are not found in the Amedio? Explorers have yet to
find any elephants, rhinoceroses, bears, giraffes, lions, tigers, or
hippos. The absence of elephants is puzzling, as carved ivory figures are
sometimes found in treasure hoards or kept by tribal chieftains and
shamans. It is suspected that all ivory in this region came over with the
Olman from Hepmonaland or was introduced from cultures along the
southernmost regions of Oerik. The savanna south of the Amedio has a
different assortment of wildlife, about which more will be said later.

A History of the Amedio Jungle

Until a decade ago, the only information available about the Amedio Jungle
came from slavers and explorers of the Sea Princes, and even that
information was not entirely reliable. Exaggerated tales and deliberate
lies obscured the truth with great efficiency.

In 575 CY, however, three fugitives from the southern Flanaess, fleeing
bounty hunters from Onnwal, crossed into the northern end of the Amedio
Jungle and there discovered the ruins of a great city, later found to have
been called Tamoachan. The fugitives survived in the ruined city for
several weeks before hailing a ship of the Sea Princes and bribing its
captain and crew with certain treasures they had found. They were put
off-ship in Gradsul, where they told the harrowing tale of their exploits
to disbelieving Keoish officials. It was here, too, that the bounty hunters
caught up with the trio and demanded that they be turned over for justice
in Onnwal.

The fugitives were questioned and released in Gradsul after investigation
by local priests showed them to be blameless in warrants brought against
them in their home countries; two have since gone their separate ways. (The
tireless bounty hunters were promptly paid off and hired anew by the lord
of Gradsul to pursue other fugitives.) However, the third former fugitive,
an Olman Island barbarian named Rhialle, stayed on and led four subsequent
expeditions back into the Amedio Jungle. The first three journeys were made
in 578, 579, and 580-581 CY, funded and staffed by Huris Sellark, the
younger brother of the lord of Gradsul, who was more interested in selling
exotic trinkets for exorbitant prices than any scholarly examination of the
region's cultures and wildlife.

The last and most famous of these voyages was funded by a merchant house
and made in the company of the famed explorer Tibarian Matreyus, also of
Gradsul, in 582-584 CY. The expedition was in many ways a complete success,
reaching the much-rumored freshwater lake deep in the jungle and uncovering
many old ruins. It also proved to be the most disastrous expedition into
the Amedio, with 34 of the 54 expedition members dying of disease, animal
or plant attacks, hostile natives, or various traps or curses. The Greyhawk
Wars also occurred during this time, and the expedition was saved at its
end only by sacrificing a portion of its magical devices to flee the forces
of the Brotherhood. The 20 who survived included Rhialle and Tibarian,
though Tibarian had completely lost his memory, a deficit that required a
restoration spell from the temple of Rao in Gradsul.

Examination of the many artifacts and detailed notes brought out by the
Matreyus expedition, tucked safely away in a portable hole that Matreyus
wisely kept folded up inside his false right leg, reveals a wealth of
knowledge about the Olman people and the Suloise Amedians, and additionally
reveals much about the nonhuman (perhaps "inhuman" was a better word) races
that ruled long before the Hepmonaland Olman beached their great ships on
these shores. Divinations on these materials continues unabated at the
Matreyus estate at Northending Wood, a village three leagues north of
Gradsul. This estate remains the best source of information on the Amedio
Jungle, with the most accurate word coming from Tibarian Matreyus, the
Olman scout Rhialle, and the sages Svorjer Deol, Hodd of Dyvers, and Klemba
the Gray.

The Age of Monsters

What follows is derived from scraps of information found in the ruins of
Tamoachan and a few other sites. It can scarcely be regarded as the whole
truth, but it undoubtedly lies closer to the truth than any other
conjectures about the Amedio's past.

Long before any human knew the Amedio existed, nonhumans of sanguinary
disposition fought for control of this tropical land. Several reptilian
skulls, which Hodd of Dyvers claims are identical to those of subterranean
troglodytes, were found in a secret room within a temple at Tamoachan.
Writings and paintings on the walls say that these are the remains of
beasts who once ruled the jungle lands, but the high gods found them
wanting and threw them down in favor of humanity. The bones of other
reptiles were also found here, but they were too large to have come from
troglodytes and match no living species. A small green gem was found
affixed to one skull, with certain runes carved upon it indicating that the
skull was an enchanted device dedicated to the service of a tanar'ri
prince; this skull was left behind in Tamoachan, for fear it bore a curse
or corruptive powers.

Similar secret rooms within this temple bore other peculiar treasures: the
arm and hand bones of large amphibians with manlike fingers; gorilla skulls
with enlarged craniums; the claw of a black dragon, dead over 2,000 years.
The mummified bodies of two jungle-dwelling kech, not of the same species
as those currently prowling the trees in this region, were discovered in
another temple near an altar. Inscriptions in the rooms where these were
found all say the same thing: the gods found these once-mighty creatures
lacking somehow and had them destroyed in favor of the Olman people. (Given
the great disasters that befell the Olman Empire in time, it would seem
that the gods--or at least those who oversee the Amedio--found humanity
wanting as well, and favor no living thing but the jungle itself.)

It has been tentatively concluded, studying these and other remains, that
the Amedio was once home to a vicious reptilian race identical to the
troglodytes that dwell beneath the earth's surface. They were governed by
tyrannical sorcerer-kings of their own race, and they fought one another
endlessly for reasons now lost in time. They seem to have collected each
other's skulls and scaled hides as some human barbarians collect the heads
of their enemies as war trophies. No aboveground ruins can be attributed to
these creatures, but it may be that the remains of their civilization, such
as it was, are to be found underground.

Either before or during the reign of these inhuman beings, the jungle was
also inhabited by an intelligent amphibian race, somewhat larger than the
bullywugs that trouble the Vast Swamp. Certain types of giant reptiles also
roamed this jungle, creatures whose carnivorous descendants include the
stupid and brutish bonesnapper. What disaster finally destroyed the
troglodyte culture is unknown, but evidence shows that these reptiles
worshiped tanar'ri princes of many sorts, and one can easily presume their
rivalries contributed to their destruction. It is entirely possible that
other species of monsters fought or aided the troglodytes, but such
knowledge is as yet beyond civilized reach.

The Dakon Kingdoms

The gorilla skulls found in the Olman temple at Tamoachan were unusual for
the size of their brain cases. These puzzled explorers of the Matreyus
expedition until divination spells were cast upon them, whereupon it was
learned that they represented members of a race of intelligent gorillas who
called themselves the d'kana. These are almost certainly the dakon, bestial
humanoids of prodigious strength, spoken of in Amedio tribal legends. The
skulls were from a more recent period in time than the troglodyte skulls
and their associated mundane artifacts, so it may be supposed that the
dakon erected their own civilization across the Amedio after the fall of
the reptile-folk.

It was not possible for sages to interview the spirits of these beings, as
they had been dead for so long, but the scout Rhialle had heard so many
legends about the dakon that he was able to make some guesses about the
current status of this race. It is almost certain that the dakon still
exist, probably in a near-civilized state, in the forested foothills of the
Hellfurnaces. Human tribes fully accept the existence of the dakon, and
they take pains not to approach the lands of the "black-hands" too closely.

Several expeditions to the Amedio have acquired items from the human
savages there that are reputed to have belonged to the dakon. Many such
items are fakes or of questionable origin, but a few are of a consistent
design. Certain gold ornaments and jewelry have the same braided or
interwoven pattern; several stout war clubs have the same elaborate
carvings of trees and jungle animals, inlaid with the teeth of carnivorous
apes; and, most astonishingly, there are samples of what appear to be
collections of material components for wizard and priest spells (leather
pouches containing miniature figures of animals, tiny gems, woven patches
of grass, etc.). Some of these items are of recent manufacture--certainly
within the last decade. Little is known of what kingdoms, empires, or
states the dakon created here in the past, or what their status is now. It
is a question that begs for a definitive answer.

Of two other intelligent races known to currently inhabit the Amedio
jungle, little prior history can be established. The wicked kech, who hunt
among the trees, have no established civilization such as humans and
demihumans know it. The two mummified bodies found in Tamoachan were of a
species adapted to the broadleaf, temperate forests of the Flanaess, not
the local jungle. The kech probably migrated or were forcibly brought to
the Amedio after the Olman Empire was established here. These kech then
adapted to this tropical setting, with gods or nature changing the texture,
appearance, and coloration of their leafy skin to match their surroundings.
It is reasonable to assume that the kech decreased in numbers as the Olman
Empire waxed, and increased as the empire waned.

The beastmen, who are apparently far more pleasant and peaceful than their
name implies, have absolutely no idea of their origins, and nothing as yet
can be known about how they came to the Amedio or if this has always been
their home. During the Matreyus expedition, the Olman scout Rhialle was
able to establish contact with two beastman tribes and question them using
magical aid; his discoveries are noted elsewhere. One curious point must be
made here: The kech and beastmen do not interact at all, appearing even to
ignore one another's presence in the forest. The reason for this is not yet
known.

The Olman Empire

The Olman people are now known to have originated from the great
southeastern continent that most cartographers and sages of the Flanaess
call Hepmonaland. Little is known even now of what civilizations they built
in that tropical realm, but a handful of facts have been established, and
reasonable guesses can be made to fill in some of the blank spaces.

Many wall paintings and miniature dioramas in the ruins of Tamoachan
indicate that long ago the Olman fought a long series of wars with another
people, the latter invariably shown with black or dark brown skin. Though
the paintings of course place the Olman in a superior position in every
battle, there are numerous clues that the Olman were in fact losing most of
these wars and were often in a general state of retreat or siege. The
origins of these wars are unknown, though the Olman Empire did have a
marked propensity for mass human sacrifice when the moon Celene was new,
often involving thousands of prisoners or slaves at once, and this habit
may have enraged its neighboring states in Hepmonaland. Further, though the
black warriors are similar in appearance and armament to the red (Olman)
warriors in the paintings, some remarkably superior weapons have been found
in Tamoachan's ruins that were probably taken in battles with the black
folk; these weapons are all of advanced designs, made of forged iron, and
elaborately engraved. The Olman never mastered ironworking in any form,
using bronze instead, and rarely engraved metals, preferring to paint or
carve stone and wood.

In time, a mass migration of Olman royalty and citizens took place,
including an often-depicted sea voyage that appears to show the Olman
crossing the Densac Gulf from Hepmonaland and arriving on the shores of the
Amedio. This happened about -1000 CY. From there, they spread throughout
the Amedio Jungle, cutting and burning huge pathways through the jungle
until they reached certain regions upon which their gods showed favor. In
these places, the Olman established great cities, cutting back the jungle
around them for farmland. Several highly stylized maps found in the
government center of Tamoachan hint that there were seven such cities built
in the Amedio, with many smaller villages and farming communities
surrounding them. Each city and the land around it was treated as a
separate kingdom, the city itself being the capital. All cities were united
under one great priest-king in a capitol building, the location of which
remains unclear. (It was evidently not in Tamoachan.) The Amedio cities
were at first treated as colonies of the old Olman civilization in
Hepmonaland, but eventually the Amedio Olman culture declared itself to be
the true nation of the Olman. This may have occurred when the old
Hepmonaland Olman culture was finally destroyed by warfare, disease,
internal strife, or other disasters. Nothing more is known of it, though
pockets of this Olman culture may still survive there.

Tamoachan ("the home sought after") was the northernmost capitol of the
Amedio's Olman Empire, which spanned all of the Amedio Jungle, reaching as
far north as the Olman Islands, the northwest coast of Hepmonaland (one
city there was a vassal state), and the Tilvanot Peninsula (the current
home of the Scarlet Brotherhood). Details on the empire are many and will
be presented later, though it will be noted here that the Olman had a
detailed, 13-month calendar based upon the phases of Luna. When either Luna
or Celene were new, these were considered holy days and times for live
sacrifices from dawn to dusk (human sacrifices in the case of Celene,
animal sacrifices--perhaps with monsters--for Luna).

The Amedio Olman Empire lasted some 500 years before it suffered a
devastating series of internal wars. These may have lasted a century, all
told, but they ended with the ruin of most of the seven cities. Farming has
always been a precarious business in the Amedio, as the jungle constantly
and aggressively attempts to reclaim lost land. If most of the peasants of
one city were killed in warfare or offered up as religious sacrifices, the
jungle moved in all the more swiftly to overgrow unworked fields. Disease
and pests, always present in wartime, may have dealt their own blows. Wall
paintings and temple carvings in Tamoachan indicate that only that city and
one other, far to the south, were known to have survived the wars, which
appear to have been spawned by struggles over precious-metal mines and
control over the seat of the emperor. Religious disturbances are also
suspected, as some writings predict the coming of a many-eyed being or god
who casts fiery ruin upon the nation. (Did this refer to one or more
beholders? It is as good a guess as any.)

Near the time of the Invoked Devastation and the Rain of Colorless Fire
(-422 CY), even Tamoachan was in grave straits. The priests who ruled the
city were divided as to future policy, and many assassinations of
government officials occurred. Crops were also poor because of bad weather.
There are no depicted or written records of what transpired about the year
-425, but divination magic has supplied a few answers when cast upon
certain bones, tools, and areas. Conflicts within the ruling class led to a
great magical battle between priests; the fight lasted only a single day
but caused widespread panic within Tamoachan. The city's citizens fled into
the jungle to escape the horrors of the fight, and few returned. The jungle
was swift to reclaim its old lands, and it is likely that within a decade,
most of abandoned Tamoachan had already vanished beneath a living sea of
green.

The Suloise Invasion

To complete the destruction of the Olman culture now came the survivors of
another time of horror: the Suloise, whose homeland had been utterly burned
into ash by the Rain of Colorless Fire. (Some Suel may have fled their
repressive, fiend-worshiping empire even earlier than this.) These Suel
fled en masse down the coastline of Jeklea Bay, then entered the Amedio
Jungle, probably pursued by Oeridian armies. The Suloise immediately began
fighting the Olman tribes that had formed after the collapse of their
civilization, and the warfare never stopped for the 1,000 years that
followed to this day. It is almost certain that neither side took prisoners
in their wars, except to serve later as menial slaves, torture victims, or
religious sacrifices. The Suloise reached the shoreline of the great
freshwater lake that lies within the Amedio about -350 CY, and there they
established their own city or took over the ruins of an older Olman city on
the northern shore.

Little is specifically known of what the Suel accomplished there at the
lake, but there is no doubt that their "culture" was purely wicked. The
ruins that stand there now are dangerous in the extreme and almost
certainly under a grotesque curse, perhaps more than one. Bestial humanoids
akin to gibberlings now inhabit the black, subterranean passages of this
city, attacking one and all with wooden clubs, stone knives, or hurled
rocks. The body of one was taken following a bitter fight with members of
the Matreyus expedition, and later examination stupefied researchers when
it was proven that the gibberling was basically a human who had been
grossly mutated by magical forces. It is conjectured that the Suloise of
this accursed ruin were devolved or twisted by some evil force that they
unleashed, but nothing else can be known for sure. The date of the city's
fall is also purely conjectural, but -200 to -100 CY is suggested by those
researchers familiar with the matter.

One further historical development has come to light, though little is
known of it. Many Suel-descended tribes in the Amedio worship the Suel god
of strength, Llerg, and legends are told that certain of these tribes were
especially favored by their god when giants were born among them.
Expeditions to the Amedio have not discovered any trace of these giants,
though of course very little of the jungle has actually been explored.
These giants are said to be great war leaders with ravenous appetites; some
are said to wade out into the sea to do battle with ships or monsters
there.

Slavery and War

Forced to consider alternatives to piracy following the battle of Jetsom
Island, when Keolandish naval forces destroyed much of the Sea Princes'
might, the surviving Sea Princes turned their eyes south across the Jeklea
Bay. Sailors of the Hold of the Sea Princes began to explore the northern
shores and peninsula ("the Hook") of the Amedio about two centuries ago in
search of gems and precious metals. Captains, eager to stake claims over
what they believed were poorly defended wilderness regions riddled with
gold mines, explored the two Olman Isles and surrounding reefs, blazed
trails into mainland jungles up to 20 leagues from the coasts, and dotted
the Amedio's beaches with wooden fortresses that doubled as trade outposts.
The Sea Princes successfully preyed on human tribes there, whether Olman or
Amedian (Suel) in nature, aided by wizards who crudely burned or blasted
their way through the jungle and cowed many thousands of natives into
submission.

The Sea Princes were at this time establishing great farms and plantations
in the fertile soils of their Hold, and soon shiploads of roped and beaten
natives were herded down gangways in Monmurg and Port Toli. The slave ships
threw Suel Amedians and Olman together into their dank cargo holds, forcing
these bitter enemies to consider the possibility that they had a very
dangerous common foe. Tribes in the Amedio Jungle, however, were slow to
understand the threat, and many gleefully began capturing their enemies
alive to sell them to the Sea Princes in exchange for cheap jewelry, iron
weapons, alcoholic drinks, and sometimes minor magical devices. Scarcely
luckier were those natives who were kept in the Amedio, as they were
quickly forced into slave labor, digging gold mines or gathering fruits for
newly founded merchant houses to export.

Many enslaved natives died from disease, overwork, and abuse in the
"civilized" Hold lands. Their Sea Prince overlords fared much better,
having access to curative spells, ointments, and devices. Some tribal
leaders were wise enough to catch on to the danger the Sea Princes
presented, and they were sometimes able to mount successful attacks on
Holder caravans and camps, though their magical skills were not the equal
of those held by Sea Prince wizards. A few Sea Prince captains "went
native" or were imprisoned or enslaved in turn by victorious tribes; some
of these were able to win better positions in those tribes by revealing the
secrets of metalworking. Several tribes in particular made improvements on
their blowguns and made metal darts with double-normal ranges; as all such
darts were poisoned, these tribes became quite dangerous.

Recently, the Greyhawk Wars threw this situation into turmoil. The Scarlet
Brotherhood, discovered in 573 CY, completely took over the lands and
government of the Sea Princes in 583 CY, just 10 years later. The
Brotherhood assumed control over the slave trade, casting many of the
Holders into cargo holds with those they had once enslaved. (Few Holders
survived longer than an hour when delivered to the tender mercies of their
slaves.) Surprisingly, the Brotherhood then began a special program of
enlisting promising slaves into their military, promising (and delivering)
freedom in exchange for a chance to gain weapons and brutalize the world
that had once brutalized them. Thousands of Amedians leaped at the
chance--but Olman slaves were denied this, as they were not of the "proper
stock" (i.e., were not Suloise), and their lot worsened, if that is
possible to imagine.

The Scarlet Brotherhood has not moved farther into the Amedio Jungle than
the Sea Princes did, and in some cases has even pulled back from outposts
and encampments that could not be easily defended. However, they have
reinforced all positions that they still hold and continue taking slaves
and filling the ranks of their savage armies. All of the Hook and northern
coastal areas up to 20 leagues inland are in the Brotherhood's control,
with a few trails and mining outposts up to 30 miles inland. The
Brotherhood has apparently not yet reached the freshwater lake. Only two
heavily fortified outposts have been founded on the eastern coast by the
Densac Gulf. One outpost existed farther south, but it was destroyed in an
unknown manner (rumored as having to do with sea fog) and has not been
rebuilt.

Part of the great fleet of ships that the Scarlet Brotherhood captured from
the Sea Princes is now based at the small port of Narisban on South Olman
Island. This fleet, aided by wizardry and several magically controlled sea
monsters, completely blockades all naval traffic between the Azure Sea and
the Densac Gulf. Brother Schelepak, Shepherd of the Olman Islands, appears
to be turning North and South Olman Island into veritable fortresses; the
Olman natives who lived here have been enslaved, and it is rumored they
have become the subjects of the Brotherhood's experiments, bred with a
local lemurlike creature to create either servants or warriors for the
Suloise master race. The Olman explorer Rhialle is said to be seeking aid
to return to his homeland and take it back from the Brotherhood, but many
feel this to be a doomed enterprise (though none dare say this to Rhialle's
face, as he has become legendary for his might and temper).

Little is known of the Densac Gulf or the great Vohoun Ocean farther south.
The Vohoun is swept with island chains which appear to be the home of
fanatical pirates and raiders as well as true monsters such as dragons.
These and a large number of sea monsters keep the ships of the Brotherhood
within 10 leagues of the Olman Isles and the northern coast along the
Densac Gulf.

Pronunciation Guide

Amedi: ah MEE dih
Amedio: ah MEE dee oh
Beltar: BEL tar
Couatl: koo AHT ul
Densac: DEN zak
Flanaess: flah NES
Gradsul: GRAD zul
Keoland: KEE oh land
Llerg: lerg (by Amedians: hlerg, with a hard "h")
Matreyus: mah TRAY us
Narisban: nah RIZ bahn
Oerik: OH rik
Pyremius: pie REH mee us
Quetzalcoatl: ket SAHL koh AHT ul
Rhialle: rih AWL leh
Suloise: soo low WEEZ
Tamoachan: tah MOH ah chan
Tibarian: tih BAH ree an
Tilvanot: til VAN ot
Vohoun: voh HOWN

Additions to "Characteristics of the Races Inhabiting the Flanaess," page
13, and "Ancient & Current Languages," page 16, in A Guide to the WORLD OF
GREYHAWK Setting, 1983 WORLD OF GREYHAWK boxed set:

OLMAN. The people known as the Olman are thought by some to be related to
the Flannae by some long-distant ancestors, though there is no proof of
this. They have a rich red-brown or dark-brown skin, with straight black
hair and dark brown eyes. The Olman typically have high cheekbones and
high-bridged noses that give them a regal look. They are found throughout
the Amedio Jungle, on the Olman Isles, and (unfortunately) as slaves
throughout the Hold of the Sea Princes and other lands occupied or
controlled by the Scarlet Brotherhood. They are found in the northern
jungles of Hepmonaland as well, though little is yet known of their
condition there. Most primitive Olman tend to be neutral in nature, though
some have evil or chaotic tendencies. Some tribes collect the heads or
hands of slain Amedian warriors as trophies.

A corrupted form of the original Olman language is spoken only by Olman
tribesmen, though enslaved tribesmen are often forbidden to use their
native tongue. Attempts have been made at the Matreyus estate to translate
the original Olman language from carvings at Tamoachan, reconstructing
their complex and partially pictographic alphabet as well, with mixed
success; magical aid is required.

Olman tribesmen worship a broad pantheon of deities led by an all-powerful,
lawful being known as Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent, whose servants
are the couatl. This deity has several divine rivals of shockingly
bloodthirsty nature. Each Olman tribe venerates one or two of these deities
above all others. Evil tribes appear to be drawn to either a bat deity,
various fire gods, or one particular skeletal death god that demands
enormous numbers of live sacrifices during the time of a new moon.

AMEDIAN. The term "Amedian" is subject to some abuse. Properly, it refers
to any inhabitant of the Amedio Jungle, but colloquially it refers only to
those humans inhabitants of the Amedio Jungle who are descended from the
Suel. These people have changed in their long sojourn in tropical lands, so
much so that some in the Hold of the Sea Princes labelled these folk a new
(and degenerate, from the arrogant Sea Princes' point of view) human race.
For the purposes of this article, "Amedian" refers only to a
Suloise-descended human from the Amedio Jungle.

Amedians are no longer pale in complexion. Most are a dark tan or light
brown in color, nearly all with a heavy freckling of dark brown spots over
their faces and upper bodies. They usually have dark blue irises and rough,
dark-brown hair they often wear in long pony tails. Like their traditional
enemies, the Olman, Amedians are found throughout the Amedio Jungle, though
mostly in the northern half near the great lake. Many Amedians also labor
as slaves or fight freely as soldiers in the Hold of the Sea Princes and
all other lands controlled by the Scarlet Brotherhood; some have escaped or
otherwise won their freedom, but these are rare. There are Suel-descended
savages in the jungles of Hepmonaland. They were once migrants from the
Tilvanot Peninsula, but little is known of them now. Amedians are typically
chaotic, mostly neutral or evil in nature; many tribes are infamous as
cannibals, attacking other Amedian tribes as well as Olman ones.

Amedians speak a very corrupted form of Suloise (usually called Amedi) that
has borrowed much from the Olman tongue (animal and place names) and the
Sea Princes' Common (naval and trade jargon, curses). Amedi is only 40%
likely to be understood by Suloise speakers. Amedians have no written form
of Amedi.

The gods of the Amedians are few. Llerg, god of beasts and strength, is
widely worshipped; many tribes honor him to the exclusion of all other
gods. Beltar, goddess of malice, and Pyremius, god of fire, poison, and
murder, have command of most cannibalistic Amedian tribes. Some
particularly vile tribes have turned to tanar'ri princes for leadership.

Additions to "Racial and National Dress," page 14, A Guide to the WORLD OF
GREYHAWK Setting, 1983 WORLD OF GREYHAWK boxed set:

Olman who have been enslaved by their northern neighbors rarely wear
clothing that differs from their hated masters; the Sea Princes typically
forced their slaves (of whatever race) to wear white clothing, particularly
robes, to increase their visibility when working outdoors. Freed or escaped
Olman tend to wear whatever clothing is most fashionable in the area,
though jewelry, especially necklaces and bracelets, is popular among both
sexes.

Studies show that during the height of their empire, the Olman often wore
clothing made from plant fibers and animal skins. Loose, short-sleeved
tunics were common, with a robe belt and sandals. Males wore loose-fitting
trousers, and females long skirts. Nearly all such clothing was off-white
or beige, with elaborately sewn geometric designs along the borders
(neckline, sleeves, trouser cuffs, etc.). Important families had large,
colorful patterns sewn or dyed on the tunic fronts. Jewelry was commonly
seen, even among the poor, who used string, bone, and dyed wood to make
necklaces. The ruling families, priest families, and other aristocrats
invariably pierced their noses or earlobes to place jewelry there. Their
priests wore special costumes during ceremonies: feathered headdresses,
massive amounts of jewelry, leopard-skin cloaks, and decorative
breechclouts. (Olman tribal priests wear similar clothing today.)

Enslaved and escaped Amedians wear clothing in all ways like that of the
Olman under similar circumstances, though free Amedians do not enjoy
wearing jewelry as much as the Olman do.

Jungle-dwelling Olman and Amedians seem at first glance to dress in the
same savage manner: a simple breechclout for either sex, some body paint,
and decorative bits like feather-and-bone necklaces, bone-pierced noses or
ears, or braided hair. The Matreyus expedition learned that such simple
dress was actually quite complex, with separate but vastly elaborate
systems used by the Olman and Amedians signifying tribal rank, victories in
combat or hunting, religion and spiritual status, numbers of husbands or
wives, and more. An experienced eye can eventually tell members of one
tribe from another and even sort out approximate rank, but little more can
be told without the use of divination magic.

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