Inspirations For Zamani

Inspirations For Zamani

The Name

What it is Not

Building On The Shoulders Of Giants

Games That Inspired Us
Books That Inspired Us
Movies That Inspired Us
Resources We Used in Development

The Name

The word "Zamani" actually comes from Swahili, Arabic and several other languages. Generally it is associated with concepts of "Old Ones", "Ones Before", "Past Times", "Once Upon A Time", "Another Time" or "Before Times". Because of the cyclic nature of the languages, it can also mean "contemporary" or "near future" according to some sources.

(Cultures and socities with concepts of cyclic reality believe that the past and the future are one and the same, all part of a great wheel or spiral. Some reflect this in their languages, some do not).

What it is Not

The usage of Zamani here has nothing to do with the various groups, organizations, companies, performers etc. who use the word Zamani as part of their identity. There is no intent to in anyway infringe on anyone's culture, history, business, non-profit organization etc. We are in no way associated with any such organizations, we use the name purley for it's linguistic roots and interesting sound and look. If you are looking for info about the Zamani Foundation then you are in the wrong place, this site is a work of gaming fiction.

Building On The Shoulders Of Giants

All Roleplaying games draw from the history of the genre and expand, recombined, rewrite and adapt ideas from one creation to another in an ever growing complexity and diversity. No roleplaying game can truly be said to be fully original or without outside influence and effect and Zamani is no exception.

Since the earliest known published roleplaying game (in 1972) onward, all roleplaying is a mix of inspiration, borrowings, rewrites and improvement attempts. Zamani is no exception, and we owe much to many.

Games That Inspired Us

Adventure : Published By White Wolf. 2001. Edited by John Chambers.

Ars Magica : 5th Edition. Published By Atlas Games. 2004 Created By Jonathan Tweet & Mark Rein.Hagen.

Big Eyes, Small Mouth : 2nd Edition. Published By Guardians Of Order. 2000 By David L. Pulver, Mark C. Mackinnon & Jim Crocker.

Book Of Erotic Fantasy. Published by Arthaus, Inc.. 2006 By Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel and Duncan Scott.

Burning Wheel : Published By Luke Crane. 2002. Created By Luke Crane.

Chill : 2nd Edition. Published By May Fair Games. 1990. By David Ladyman, Jeff R. Leason & Louis J. Prosperi. (Based on the 1st Edition published by the now-defunct Pacesetter Games).

Horror Hero : Endless Nightmares : Hero Games/Iron Crown Enterprises, Inc. 1994. By Alan Dickerson, Robert O'Neil, John Tucker & David Utter.

Mercenaries, Spies And Private Eyes : Flying Buffalo Inc. 1986. By Michael A. Stackpole.

Nightmares Of Mine (Rpg Sourcebook) : ICE, Inc. 1999. Designer Kenneth Hite. Developer John W. Curtis III.

Stormbringer 5th Edition : Chaosium, Inc. 2001.

Tekumel : Empire Of The Petal Throne : M.A.R. Barker/RPGDesigners Inc. 2005. Published By Guardians Of Order

Terra Incognita : Grey Ghost Press, Inc. 2001. By Scott Larson.

Timemaster : Published by the now defunct Pacesetter Limited. 1984

Witchcraft : Published By Eden Studios. Created By C.J. Carella

Books That Inspired Us

The Writer's Guide to Character Traits : Published By Writer's Digest Books. 1999 By Linda N. Edelstein, Ph.D.

The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life from Prohibition through World War II : Published By Writer's Digest Books. 1995 By Marc Mccutcheon.

Movies That Inspired Us

Cast A Deadly Spell 1991. Written By Joseph Dougherty. Directed By Martin Campbell. Stars Fred Ward.

Resources We Used in Development

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/) was used extensively for reference and research efforts on a variety of real-world information that has been incorporated into this game (including descriptions of various scientific disciplines and fields).