SHARK EMPIRE

Adventures of Roadside Inns and Mysterious Charcacters

2011-11-26T22:47:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

I shall update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Saturday, November 26, 2011 2246 Hours

Megalithic Ruins and Ancient Cultures

2011-11-23T23:10:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

I shall update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Wednesday, November 23, 2011 2309 Hours

Campaign Session #16

2011-11-22T23:24:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

I shall update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Tuesday, November 22, 2011 2323 Hours

Campaign Session #15

2011-11-21T23:17:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

I shall update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Monday, November 21, 2011 2317 Hours

Campaign Session #14

2011-11-20T23:28:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

I shall update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Sunday, November 20, 2011 2328 Hours

Crazy and Bizarre Dungeons

2011-11-19T23:22:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

I shall update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Saturday, November 19, 2011 2322 Hours

Campaign Session #13

2011-11-18T22:37:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

I shall update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Friday, November 18, 2011 2236 Hours

Enchanted, Mist-Shrouded Forests and Wilderness Encounters

2011-11-17T22:19:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

I shall update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Thursday, November 17, 2011 2219 Hours

Cultures in Conflict in the Campaign

2011-11-16T23:05:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

I shall update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Wednesday, November 16, 2011 2305 Hours

Campaign Session #12

2011-11-15T23:50:00.001-08:00

Greetings!

I shall update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Tuesday, November 15, 2011 2350 Hours

Campaign Session #11

2011-11-14T23:16:00.001-08:00

Greetings!

I shall update the blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Monday, November 14, 2011 2316 Hours

Campaign Session #10

2011-11-13T19:23:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

I shall update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Sunday, November 13, 2011 1923 Hours

Campaign Session #9

2011-11-11T22:38:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

I shall update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Friday, November 11, 2011 2237 Hours

OOH-RAH! Happy Birthday to the United States Marine Corps!

2011-11-10T22:51:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

Well, November 10 is the birthday of the United States Marine Corps.

OOH-RAH! Happy Birthday to the Marine Corps, and my fellow Marines!

Here's a cool video, and some awesome cadence calling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biHSXDkQ874&feature=related
Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Thursday, November 10, 2011 2250 Hours

Campaign Session #8

2011-11-10T22:38:00.001-08:00

Greetings!

I shall update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Thursday, November 10, 2011 2238 Hours

Campaign Session #7

2011-11-09T23:09:00.001-08:00

Greetings!

I shall update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Wednesday, November 9, 2011 2309 Hours

Campaign Session #6

2011-11-08T23:01:00.001-08:00

Greetings!

I shall update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Tuesday, November 8, 2011 2300 Hours

Campaign Session #5

2011-11-07T23:16:00.001-08:00

Greetings!

I shall update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Monday, November 7, 2316 Hours

Religion, Temples and Holy Sites of the Campaign Region

2011-11-06T21:33:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

I shall update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Sunday, November 6, 2011 2130 Hours

Some New Cities for the Campaign Region

2011-11-05T22:36:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

I will update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Saturday, November 5, 2011 2236 Hours

Background Characters and NPC's

2011-11-05T00:00:00.001-07:00

Campaign Session #4

2011-11-03T21:47:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

I will update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Thursday, November 3, 2011 2147 Hours

Designing Dungeons

2011-11-02T21:34:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

I will update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Wednesday, November 2, 2011 2134 Hours

Campaign Session #3

2011-10-31T23:11:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

I shall update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Monday, October 31, 2011 2310 Hours

Let The Werewolves Run Free!

2011-10-30T23:52:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

Well, it would be crazy and wild if we knew that werewolves really *did* lurk out in the fog-shrouded forests and woods, now wouldn't it? No camping trip would ever be the same...LOL.:)

Halloween is soon to be upon us, with hordes of the little children going from door to door, clawing for more candy and goodies. Yes. Hopefully everyone will be safe and have a good time, and a blessed Samhain.

Happy Halloween everyone!
Cheers!

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Sunday, October 30, 2011 2351 Hours

Campaign Session #2

2011-10-29T23:37:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

I will update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Saturday, October 29, 2011 2337 Hours

New Adventures in the Campaign Session #1

2011-10-28T23:49:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

I will update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Friday, October 28, 2011 2348 Hours

Tools For The Sandbox

2011-10-27T23:38:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

I shall update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Thursday, October 27, 2011 2337 Hours

Arriving At The City

2011-10-26T23:47:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

I will update this blog soon.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Wednesday, October 26, 2011 2347 Hours

Character Parties

2011-10-25T23:14:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

I will update this blog entry soon.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Tuesday, October 25, 2011 2313 Hours

Real World Historical Religions In The D&D Game Campaign

2011-10-21T23:27:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

I've been doing some editing and design work on my campaign world of Thandor, and was looking at different details on my in-game religions. When I first developed my game world many years ago, I was certainly inspired by numerous historical religions in the process. For gaming purposes, however, I thought it best to avoid adopting real-world, historical religions--at least entirely in whole-cloth, so to speak. One concern, of course, was the ever-present concern and consciousness of religious sensibilities of various players.

However, I've never been overly concerned with that, because all of my players are also good friends of mine, so there is never any kind of negative assumptions, or assuming the worst possible motives for much of anything. Rather, there is always an attitude of charity, acceptance, and good faith. Not that even that was needed--and certainly not relied upon, because it was not necessary. My friends--my players--all generally agree with myself and each other on religious matters, and what is not always agreed upon is simply gracefully accepted as being uniquely different and worthy of respect, because of who we are. No one gets all worked up about some wierd point of difference in some obscure theological matter, or even broad concepts and beliefs.

My friends and players first and foremost embrace attitudes of general good faith and acceptance of what others believe, blended with healthy doses of skepticism towards the claims of any religion in regards to absolute certainty, absolute primacy and superiority over any other religion. That central doctrine--primarily held by and esconced within Christianity, Judaism and Islam--is probably a central reason why none of my friends are what the religious fundamentalists of any stripe would consider to be "religiously pure" "devout" or "walking with the Lord" sufficiently. It does, however, make them far better and easier to get along with, and socialize together in mixed racial, cultural, and religious circles where many such ideas would easily clash and cause division with others.

To my friends, religion seems too abstract too hate people over. They are all well-read and highly educated, and are familiar with the evidenciary, anthropological, and philosophical problems and doctrinal contradictions within almost any religion that tends to make such claims of primacy. There's so many convoluted problems and contradictions that stack up the evidence that there's something wrong with religious fundamentalist that make such claims. From this, then, if such claims are genuinely saddled with so many evidenciary, philosophical, and logical problems, it casts serious doubt on any such claims of primacy and absolute truth. That then opens the door to easily being more open-minded and accepting of other people, other religions, other points of view. Even if one finds deeper disagreement with someone else's beliefs--it still remains far easier to maintain a foundation of respect and acceptance for them. I have found embracing such attitudes of respect and acceptance to be very positive and enriching, regardless of the details of particular beliefs.

Having said that, then, philosophically, it is much easier to explore, question, and confront whatever ideas, cherished "truths" and sacred cows in any manner of organized religions without offending each other. With such a foundation then, certainly in game terms, my friends hold to few "sacred cows" concerning religion--and th more theologically obscure, the less likely they are to give such ideas a great deal of respect. They certainly are not going to be offended by some twisting, reshaping, or tweaking of ideas in dealing with religions in a role-playing game--even if doing so holds echoes of historical religious practices, beliefs or doctrines. They have no problems making distinctions between what people consider to be the "real world"--and the "Fanasy world".

So, it is good to be inspired by historical religions. I enjoy studying them, and embracing different ideas, philosophies, and art, concepts and visuals in my own games. It is very fun, fascinating, and doing so opens eyes and brings genuine enlightenment and knowledge about all kinds of ideas and philosophies, from throughout history, from all over the world.

However, while I have always wanted to avoid offending anyone's religious sensibilities purposefully--especially my friends--it has not as I mentioned ever really been an issue. Thus, I have not had to deal with that burden, either in play at the table, or in designing customs, religions and so on for the game campaign.

The second consideration though, as to why I have not been terribly enthused about using historical religions whole cloth has been a sort of "restricted" feeling, both in play and design-wise, that I just do not enjoy. There are the concerns of not knowing enough, for example, or precision, to capably and faithfully reflect concepts accurately and so on. That also disrupts the game play and suspension of disbelief and all that artistic stuff if you can avoid all the "wait..they don't really believe THAT! or "No, that's not how it's done" and so on. Whatever it is, such kinds of real-world details brought into the game front and center seem ripe for just technical arguments alone, quite apart from heated philosophical or religious arguments.

The deeper, central advantage with creating and using mostly fantastical religions--that may, to one degree or another--be inspired by real-world, hsitorical religions is that there seems to be far more acceptance and comfort with I suppose I would call it, "artistic license". If a game religion is mostly fantastical, then you can freely change and mutate whatever you want, and it just is what it is. There is far less room for someone to get all bent out of shape over some fictitious artistic detail of a fantasy-based religion in a game. Thus, I've preferred making and using fantasy-based, somewhat original game religions, infused with historical inspirations, rather than real-world religions in their entirety. I have devloped these preferences based then on a philosphical point, and an artistic, or authorial point. Plus, it's great fun to get all creative and such, in blending historical ideas and concepts, with the crazy, fantastic game stuff we have in the game books and resources.

That's how I deal with real-world religions in the game--they don't get to be there to begin with, and certainly not to any philosophical level that someone could realistically develop a huge passionate argument about. I think such people inclined to do that have one central failure--they have developed little ability to comprehend the difference between whatever it is they believe and see and feel in the "real world"--and what goes on in, and what is believed and practiced in a fantasy world.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard

Friday, October 21, 2011 2323 Hours

Castle Avathorn

2011-05-04T12:22:00.000-07:00

Castle Avathorn

I shall expand this soon.

SHARK

Marsh Environments

2011-05-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

I shall expand this soon.

SHARK

Concepts For The Shifting Twilight Campaign

2011-05-02T12:01:00.000-07:00

I shall expand this soon.

SHARK

Character Parties

2011-05-01T22:36:00.000-07:00

Character Parties

Groups of character parties. Mostly used as NPC's. I shall expand on this soon.

SHARK

Human--Tegheran

2011-04-30T11:29:00.001-07:00

Tegheran

I will expand this soon.

SHARK

Human--Mbornu

2011-04-30T11:28:00.001-07:00

Mbornu

I will expand this soon.

SHARK

Albeeri--Elephant Men

2011-04-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

Albeeri

I will expand this soon.

SHARK

Urrgan--Wolf Men

2011-04-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

Urrgan

I will expand this soon.

SHARK

Amazons

2011-04-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

Amazons

I shall expand this soon.

SHARK

Human--Sargath

2011-04-28T11:54:00.002-07:00

Sargath

I shall expand this soon.

SHARK

Human--Narmedian

2011-04-28T11:54:00.001-07:00

Narmedian

I shall expand this soon.

SHARK

Minotaur

2011-04-28T11:52:00.000-07:00

Minotaur

Minotaurs are an intelligent race of humanoid bull-men.

I shall expand this soon.

SHARK

Harthak--Hippo Men

2011-04-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

Harthak

The Harthak are a race of intelligent humanoid hippo-men.

I shall expand this soon.

SHARK

Saedren--Lion Men

2011-04-28T11:50:00.000-07:00

Saedren

Saedren are a race of intelligent, humanoid lion-men.

I shall expand this soon.

SHARK

Satari (Half Satyr/Half Nymph)

2011-04-26T15:24:00.001-07:00

Satari (Half Satyr/Half Nymph)

Saedren, Sargath Barbarians, Narmedian, Minotaur, Urrgan, Harthak,

Notes. I will expand on this section soon.

SHARK

Half Troll

2011-04-26T15:22:00.001-07:00

Half Troll

History

According to the ancient Ussallia myth-cycle of the Karvallia, in mist-shrouded bygone ages when the world was still a land torn by seething chaotic energies unleashed by the titans, many of the world’s races were first created then. The titans were angry and jealous when the gods created the elves and dwarfs, among others as well, such as the humans. The titans brooded for a time, and then they exploded in a storm of rage and set forth to create many races themselves. In great wrath, the titans gathered up primordial earth and stone, and formed the first trolls. The trolls were mixed with icy rain from bitter, cold northern storms; sprinkled with searing blood of the mighty divine titans; soaked in the primal mud of the deep earth; and then breathed upon by the winds of hate and fury. The titans brought forth their new, dark creations, and just before the trolls were awakened by the titans, the dark, black clouds that loomed over all the northern mountains were torn open by a gleaming ray of bright, glorious sunshine from the heavens above. At that moment, as the trolls sleeping forms were bathed in the glorious radiance, and the titans reared back in surprise and fear, the crack of righteous thunder rang out over the heavens, and a great burst of warm, gentle rain suddenly fell upon the land and the sleeping trolls alike. The gentle rains falling upon the trolls heralded a promise of hope and righteous redemption, even in the deepest and blackest night. The gentle, warm rains seeped into the forms of the trolls, and roaring with rage and fury, the mighty titans screamed their hate to the gods, and shed their angry, burning blood anew over the trolls in their final moment of slumber, and brought them to life.

The elder trolls awoke, and proceeded to wander the dark forests and mountains of the cold north, searching for a place to call their home. The trolls found a great mountain fastness to live in, and set about carving deep halls of stone, roaring pits of fire, and deep pools of icy, dark waters. The elder trolls then began to breed and multiply in vast numbers, and in those days they grew strong and mighty. In the cold darkness of their ancient mountain home, the elder trolls forged weapons of war and coats of shimmering mail, and trained great hosts for war. Some centuries past, and the after a mighty storm swept through the northern lands, the elder trolls sounded their great bronze war horns, and gates from the mountain deeps were opened wide, and vast troll armies marched forth to bring war, death and conquest to the lands of elves, dwarfs and men.

The trolls forged many great kingdoms, and ruled with a stern, cruel hand. The trolls enslaved great hosts of orcs, and tied their kingdoms together with broad roads of black basalt, lit by stone orbs of strange, mystical fire, and great bridges of stone, guarded by carved stone gargoyles. The troll kingdoms grew strong and prospered from immense wealth and treasures taken from the deeps of the land, as well as from all of the forests within their grasp; in conquest, too, the troll kingdoms grew rich from long caravans full of booty plundered from elf and dwarf cities, and whole regions of human villages sacked and laid waste; caravans of great wagons pulled by huge, fury mammoths dragged long lines of elf, dwarf, and human slaves, broken by heavy chains, and lashed with the cruel whip of an iron-fisted tyranny, fueled by an endless rage and seething hate of all that was of the Light. For long centuries, the Troll Wars raged, and many elfs, dwarfs and humans were slaughtered, conquered, or enslaved. The mighty trolls grew arrogant and haughty, and prepared their armies for new campaigns that would subjugate all of the lands of the north to their dark dominion. Such plans however, were interrupted by the arrival of a great elven army and fleet from the West. In those ancient days, the elves were mighty and unrivaled in glory, and assembled great armies against the trolls. The elves of the north, led by the elven kingdom of Dor’ Lomenath, had sent word to the ancient elven kingdom of Vaedrenar, in mystical islands far to the west. The mighty elf king of Vaedrenar heard the cry of his brothers of the north, and had assembled a vast host of elven warriors. The great King of Vaedrenar arrived, and marched against the trolls wreathed in clouds of lightning and thunder echoing in the wake of his armies. The elves also were joined by armies of dwarfs and men, and in great wrath preceded by vast storms and lightning from the heavens, the armies of Light fell upon the troll kingdoms.

In righteous glory and fire, the dark troll kingdoms were cast down; their dark mountain fortresses ripped open by fire; their troll and orc armies scourged by bright starfire from the heavens; great wrath and vengeance fell upon the trolls with terrible slaughter, and great storms of fire and smoke mixed with thunder and searing light. The troll people were scattered in storm-tossed winds, and crushed in fear and defeat. The long centuries of troll dominion had come to a dreaded, wrathful end.

During these ages, and some afterwards, troll armies had crushed many kingdoms and tribes in savage storms of blood, plunder and conquest. Many tribes of men were plundered and raped, and kept chained as slaves for centuries in the deeps of the troll’s great mountain citadels. In years after the troll kingdoms were cast down in wrathful defeat and ruin, some few tribes of trolls had turned away from darkness, and worshipped the gods of Light. These tribes of noble, proud trolls helped and befriended tribes of men, which were still struggling to survive in a dark, brutal world swarming with hordes of monsters and violent and wicked races of creatures loyal to the dreaded titans. From these two sources—one of Darkness and one of Light—half trolls came to be, and were given life.

From these ancient times of war and wrath, small bands and families of half-trolls have endured throughout lands in the far north; In evil tribes of trolls, increasingly becoming more barbaric, primitive, and consumed by primal rage and hatred, half troll children typically experienced one of three fates; half troll children were usually crushed under the dark chains of tyranny, brutality, and slavery; other half-troll children, in fear and hatred of their troll masters, managed to escape their bonds of slavery and fled into the wilderness; and other half-troll children—somehow, they grew strong and mighty under the lash, and savagely fought and clawed their way into positions of leadership and dominion within evil troll tribes. Meanwhile, in small tribes and communities of noble and kind trolls, half-troll children were nourished and welcomed. In human communities, most half-troll children were killed soon after they were born—however, some human families, being moved with love and compassion, stayed their hand of wrath, and kept the half-troll children, and raised them with love and devotion. Thus, to the current age, half-trolls have endured the ages, and continue to struggle in a world of shadows—part darkness and part light, hatred, fear and cruelty mixed with love, compassion and friendship.

Physical Appearance

Half-troll characters are always large and powerful in build, and also very tall. Half-trolls are naturally savage and ferocious, and possess great skills in war. In addition, however, half-trolls are also deeply spiritual, mystical, and reverent towards natural animals and the natural world. Many half-trolls possess strange, mystical powers and have a keen talent for magic and sorcery. Half-trolls possess deep insight into the mystical realms, as well as possessing great talents in crafts and smithing, especially when working with jewels, metal and stone. Half-trolls may follow the adventuring professions of Fighter, Ranger, Cleric, and Magic-User.

Half Trolls, much like humans and demi-humans alike, possess particular, unique appearances and characteristics. However, the troll-blood in them is very strong, and exerts a powerful influence over nearly every aspect of their appearance and demeanor. Half trolls, much like their ancient troll ancestors, possess odd features and a strange, unique tendency to typically be either ugly or attractive, with little room or incidence for average appearances. Having said that, the division of tendency is not equally divided; most half trolls, like full-blooded trolls, are quite ugly in appearance. A few however, transcend such common traits, and possess attractive features, and may even be very alluring in appearance.

Half trolls are ripped with thick, corded muscles, and have somewhat of a lean, gangly appearance, as their limbs—both their arms and legs—seem to be somewhat odd and a bit too long in a strange, disturbing way. Half troll’s hair—of whatever colour—is universally thick, wiry, and flares up and backwards much like a horizontal cone, with the large end flaring away from the half-troll’s head, providing the half-troll character with a perpetual appearance of a wild and humorous “Mad Scientist” look. The half-troll’s hair always grows in such a manner, and the half-troll can only change their hair’s appearance normally by shaving their heads bald—but their hair still grows back in the same manner, and takes the same crazy form.

Half trolls have large, piercing eyes, and tend to have large noses, often which are very pointed, though noses that are thick and rounded are also fairly common. Half trolls have large, broad mouths, and thin, cruel lips. Half trolls possess thick, wide brows, but otherwise grow no facial hair. Half trolls have larger, slightly pointed and flaring ears that extend horizontally from their head in a strange, comical fashion. Half trolls possess large, broad feet, and large hands with long, dexterous fingers—again, their fingers, like their arms and legs in general—appear to be frighteningly long for their hands, certainly more so than a humanoid’s hand is supposed to be like. Half trolls have eye colours in colours standard for their human parent, as well as potentially possessing very unusual, even bizarre eye colours. Half trolls typically have thick, tough and bumpy skin—or skin that is rich, smooth and attractive.

Half trolls have enormous appetites and always seem to be endlessly hungry, even if they just finished eating a large meal. Despite the fact that half-trolls are perpetually hungry, and often stuff their mouths with any food at hand, half trolls never become fat or otherwise overweight. Ugly half trolls—whatever their true feelings and disposition—have a cruel smile, and a wicked, hungry and lecherous gaze that most others find unnerving and disturbing. Others around the ugly half-troll—unless they know the character personally—often “feel” like the character has lecherous, wicked desires for them, or others around them; or that the half troll character nurtures a deep desire to eat them in some horrid feast. Attractive half-trolls—again, regardless of their true inner feelings and motives—always seem to have an appearance and demeanor that others consider alluring, enticing, protective, trustworthy—though also mysterious, and even mischievous.

Half trolls typically enjoy the heaviest, most ornate armour they can afford, as well as large, wicked-looking weapons, and gaudy, ostentatious jewelry. On occasion, half trolls may decorate their bodies with various piercings and tattoos, especially in troll tribal symbology and runic symbols. Half trolls also typically love wearing the furs, skins, teeth, and claws of various kinds of animals and monsters, as they are also deep believers in various mystical traditions, viewing such items as having the potential to be magical, or become magical through divine blessing or through mystical and heroic experiences—and also because half trolls have a natural fondness and joy in decorating themselves with such primal, natural items.

Half-troll characteristics and abilities are noted as follows:

Half-Troll Character Tables: Height and Weight

Base Male Half Troll Height: 6’10”-8’0”; (6’8”+2d8”);
Average Height: 7’4”
Base Male Half Troll Weight: 316-460-lbs; (300+16d10);
Average Weight: 380-lbs.

Base Female Half Troll Height: 6’6”-7’8”; (6’4”+2d8”);
Average Height: 7’0”
Base Female Half Troll Weight: 276-420-lbs; (260+16d10);
Average Weight: 340-lbs.

Half Troll Character Tables

Half Troll Character Table: Skin Tone
Dice Roll/Skin Tone
01-15%: Albino White
16-30%: Pale White
31-35%: Pale Grey
36-40%: Pale Grey-Blue
41-43%: Pale Blue
44-45%: Dark Royal Blue
46-48%: Pale Blue-Green
49-50%: Dark Blue-Green
51-70%: Pale Green
71-90%: Dark Green
91-95%: Deep Black
96-00%: Pale White/Grey/Blue/Green (Select one or roll randomly)—which is mottled with a darker contrasting colour.

Half Troll Character Table: Hair Colour
Dice Roll/Hair Colour
01-20%: Ebony Black
21-25%: Golden Blonde
26-30%: Platinum Blonde
31-50%: Pale Green
51-70%: Dark Green
71-75%: Milk White
76-80%: Dark Auburn
81-00%: Dark Green-Black

Half Troll Character Table: Eye Colour
Dice Roll/Eye Colour
01-10%: Pale Grey
11-20%: Iron Grey
21-30%: Ice Grey
31-40%: Black
41-50%: Blue-Grey
51-60%: Blue-Green
61-70%: Bright Blue
71-80%: Midnight Blue
81-90%: Ice Blue
91-00%: Golden Amber

Half Troll Abilities
Strength: 14-19 (Roll 1d6)
Dexterity: 3-12 (Roll 3d4)
Constitution: 14-19 (Roll 1d6)
Intelligence: 3-12 (Roll 3d4)
Wisdom: 3-12 (Roll 2d6)
Charisma: 8-16 (Roll 2d6+6)
Comeliness: Special (See Half Troll Comeliness Tables, below)

Half Troll Comeliness Table
Dice Roll/General Appearance
01-12%: Very Ugly—Comeliness score of 4
13-24%: Very Ugly—Comeliness score of 5
25-36%: Very Ugly—Comeliness score of 6
37-48%: Simply Ugly—Comeliness score of 7
49-60%: Simply Ugly—Comeliness score of 8
61-72%: Simply Ugly—Comeliness score of 9
73-74%: Unusually Average—Comeliness score of 10
75-76%: Unusually Average—Comeliness score of 11
77-78%: Unusually Average—Comeliness score of 12
79-80%: Unusually Average—Comeliness score of 13
81-84%: Unusually Attractive—Comeliness score of 14
85-88%: Unusually Attractive—Comeliness score of 15
89-92%: Unusually Attractive—Comeliness score of 16
93-96%: Unusually Attractive—Comeliness score of 17
97-00%: Very Attractive—Comeliness score of 18

Classes Available to Half-Trolls
Fighter—Advancement is unlimited
Ranger—14th level
Cleric—Maximum of 4th level
Magic-User—Maximum of 12th level*
Fighter/Cleric—Unlimited/4th level maximum
Fighter/Magic-User—Unlimited/12th level*

*Troll Magic

Troll Magic

Troll Magic is a particular style of specialized northern magic that is unique to the Trolls. Some trolls and half-trolls alike possess the divine blessing and have a natural talent for using Troll Magic. Troll Magic blends various aspects of arcane power with natural, elemental rituals from a forgotten age that are more in tune with Druidic practices. Essentially, Troll Magic uses a unique set of arcane spells, blended with Druidic magic. While Troll and Half-Troll mages are able to learn some of these spells from non-troll sources, most of their spells require Troll sources, either from ancient Troll books, or from Troll mages. While some sources of where or how a Troll mage gains spells may occasionally have differ, all Troll or Half Troll mages must seek out a Troll or Half-Troll mage to gain training to advance in every level of Troll Magic. In any event, even when a Troll or Half-Troll mage learns a spell from a non-troll source, the methodology, rituals and material requirements are distinct from even the same spells that non-troll mages may employ. It should also be noted that unique spells and aspects of Troll Magic cannot be learned or mastered by non-troll characters.

Half Trolls possess Infravision to a 60’ range.

Half-Trolls must spend a minimum of x3 expenses per day on food and drink, as their appetites are much greater than those of men. Furthermore, Half-Trolls must also spend a minimum of x2 expenses for any item of armour or weaponry, as such must be custom made for the Half-Troll, in proper fitting, balancing, and adjustments to the Half-Troll’s odd, out of balance frame and disposition.

A Half-Troll character suffers a +50% modifier to damage from fire-based attacks.

Unique to Trolls and Half-Trolls, however, is not only are they utterly fearless, but when they are subject to fire damage or burning from fire, Half-Trolls are swiftly overwhelmed by a savage, dark and fearless frenzy, and they enter a berserk rage lasting for 10 rounds +1 round per character level. During such a berserk rage, the half-troll fights at +2 To-Hit and Damage, and experiences strange and eldritch experience—from deep within the half-troll, the ancient troll blood hyper-activates and heals the character for an immediate burst of healing, restoring 50% of lost hit points caused by the fire attack that initiated the Troll Frenzy. The Troll Frenzy is exhausting, however, and at the end of the particular duration of the Troll Frenzy, the half-troll character immediately falls to zero hit points, and becomes unconscious, and is deeply exhausted. The character may be wakened, but will be deeply lethargic, suffering -6 on all dice rolls, checks and saves. Such penalties go away naturally at the rate of 1 point per day. The Half-Troll may accelerate such restoration, but doing so requires special herbs prepared according to particular recipes.

Starting Languages

Half Troll characters begin the game with the knowledge of Troll, Ogre, Orc, Yeti, Margoth, their appropriate alignment language, and an appropriate human language. However, Half Trolls of sufficient intelligence may learn a maximum of two additional languages. (Half Trolls may learn one new language if their intelligence is 11; one additional language again if their intelligence is 12; if by some means the half-troll gains an intelligence score above 12, the character remains restricted from learning any additional languages)

Politics

Half trolls generally embrace whatever political philosophies and social organization embraced by the culture and region they are raised in.

Culture

Half troll culture tends to reflect largely the dominant culture of the area and region in which they were raised, as there is no particular culture that is intrinsically unique to half trolls. Nonetheless, there are particular tendencies and attitudes that most half trolls cultivate or express within the context of their home culture of origin.
Half-trolls of noble and righteous character strive to serve the Light, and befriend their human brethren, even in the face of much of humanity’s hatred, fear and rejection of them. In the process, noble and righteous half-trolls also strive to honour their troll families and relatives, always seeking to deepen and protect the bonds of their troll relationships—which are often one of the few places in the entire world where half trolls enjoy love, respect, and acceptance. And yet, there are also some wandering trolls of noble and righteous character that have escaped from evil tribes of trolls, and they, in their wanderings, often have yet to find families, or acceptance, as they endure lonely, harsh lives in the frozen, dark wilderness as they nurture a solitary love and faith in righteousness and the gods of Light.

Half trolls possess the normal range of human emotions, passions and feelings—though heavily influenced by Troll tendencies for passionate, emotional extremes. When happy, half trolls are loud, joyous, cheerful and expressive—often contagiously so as they are eager and sincere in singing, dancing, laughing and feasting. Likewise, when angry, a half troll typically go into loud, violent and furious rages—or grimly brood in seething rage for days on end that is so implacably quiet as to be deafening in such dramatic silence.

While half trolls are subject to a range of insanities and emotional disorders in a similar manner as men, noble and good half trolls are nonetheless typically valiant, proud, daring, and compassionate. Half trolls are virtually fearless—at least for their own lives—and eagerly seek to live lives worthy of the ancient sagas of past heroic ages of glory. Half trolls love eating vast quantities of food and drink as well as being generally eager to try new foods and drink. Half trolls have a great love and passion for the mountains, forests, and the sea. Half trolls love being in rain storms, and are excited and fascinated by the sound of booming thunder and seeing the bright flash of lightning. While good half trolls are typically noble, honourable, valiant, compassionate and even kind—evil half trolls are cruel, domineering, arrogant, and scheming—as well as terrifyingly ruthless and immensely greedy and lascivious, possessing a deep, savage joy for war, conquest and dominion.

Whatever a half trolls’ disposition, all half trolls possess a deep love for all manner of gold, silver, gems, jewels and fine treasures. Half trolls by nature are curious and inquisitive, and often have great desires and compulsions to learn about magic, ancient mysteries, secrets, and whatever knowledge they may potentially gain. Even if the half troll is illiterate or uneducated, a driving curiosity and love for knowledge manifests itself in compelling ways. Many half trolls hoard books and scrolls, or seek out an audience with a renowned witch, bard or skald. For the half troll character, typically, merely finding such a person and gaining an audience is a fine and rich treasure in itself. Such experiences remain with half trolls for their entire lives, as a fond and cherished memory.

Religion

Half trolls, while being personally spiritual and having inner feelings and tendencies of expression concerning religion, they tend to embrace whatever the dominant religion of the region and culture they are raised with, as half trolls do not possess an intrinsically unique religion.

Warfare

Half trolls are large, powerful, and ferocious humanoids, and skilled in war and individual combat. However, larger consciousness of warfare, styles of organization, training, tactics and formations are typically reflective of that of the culture and region in which the half troll was raised.

Half Ogre

2011-04-26T15:20:00.001-07:00

Half Ogre

History

Throughout the world bands and tribes of ferocious and barbaric ogres wander about, typically living as primitive hunter/gatherers—as well as savage, unrelenting marauders. While ogres justly enjoy such a fierce reputation—there is another side to ogres that is not so widely known, or even often believed. Ogres are tall, huge, brutish humanoids, typically fierce, greedy, rapacious and barbaric—and while strong and fearless, ogres are not very bright creatures. In fact, they are more typically quite simple-minded, ruled by very basic needs, simple emotions and simple relationships. However, ogres do have some measure of reasoning, and some bright individuals are even self-consciously aware of their reputation, and seek to purposely maintain it in a deliberate manner. What is less well-known and incredible to believe by many—is that while ogres are brutal, simple creatures, they are more capable than their fierce reputation and common knowledge suggests.

More than a few tribes of ogres engage in trade with many human communities, and there are several bands of ogre mercenaries that serve many human kingdoms, city-states, and noble lords. There have even been instances of human communities hiring bands of ogres—with gratuitous amounts of ale, a herd or two of cattle or sheep, besides a sack of gold—to help in mining operations, or perform work on heavy labor projects, hauling lumber, digging vast trenches, clear-cutting forest for roads, and carrying great sacks of gravel, sand, as well as hauling rough stone.

Evidently, these friendly ogres often do not want others to learn of their friendly relationships with humans, or their less-than-fierce demeanor in such circumstances. Ogres seem to be self-consciously aware of their reputations amongst humans and other typical “enemies”—but also other tribes and bands of ogres. Ogre tribes, as well as ogre mercenary bands are typically very competitive concerning their own reputation for ferocity, individual and tribal glory, and prestige. These things are often interpreted somewhat differently within ogre communities—but whatever the truth of the matter, the ogres often demonstrate a capacity for more intellectual curiosity and more nuanced social relationships with non-ogres than their reputations typically portray.

These curious realities of ogre natures have given rise to occasional breeding between various members of local human communities, beyond the often more typical result of ogres marauding a hapless human community or caravan, and either ravaging women found on the spot, or often such women are carried off into the wilderness and taken back to the rough, fortified encampments or crude castles that ogres often favour as homes. In such places, these human women are kept as breeding slaves, and while many of them die through the process of giving birth—some of them survive, and are capable of repeating the experience. Meanwhile, the half-ogre children often do survive, and proceed to grow and prosper. Over time, some small bands and loose inter-tribal communities of half-ogres have developed, and are a fairly common feature of many ogre tribes. In addition, within human communities there are typically some women—as well as men—who are curious, eager, and willing to breed with ogres.

The less-talked about truth is that there are more than a few half-ogres that have been bred to a large, powerful ogre female, and her male human slave she keeps as her playmate. Ogre females of especially fierce nature and prowess also join their male brethren in going on raids—and the female ogres enjoy doing so for the same reasons that the male ogres like to raid human communities. Ogre warriors—whether male or female—gain status, glory, and prestige from reputations for courage and ferocity, as well as successfully leading and participating in such raids. In such raids, besides gaining glory and demonstrating prowess and courage, the ogres gain food, in the form of humans as well as captured animals, in addition to other treasure and booty in armour, weapons, ale and beer, and other goods, including slaves. During such raids, male and female ogres alike, besides taking captured slaves, are also fond of ravishing appealing or attractive-looking humans they encounter on the spot in a spontaneous fashion. Thus, half-ogres have come about through a variety of social relationships between ogres and humans—some such relationships are relatively positive and consensual—while others are far more forceful, as well as often brutal and terrifying.

In a final note on the origin of half-ogres, there have also been instances of state-sponsored breeding and social programs between various groups of humans and selected groups, bands or tribes of ogres. For example, there have been several barbarian human tribes that have willingly organized breeding between themselves and ogres—or the barbarian humans have also used human slaves as surrogates for their interbreeding with ogres. Through such methods, larger numbers of half-ogres have been bred, which have then proceeded to interbreed with each other, and create more half-ogres.

In addition, the Vallorean Empire several centuries ago established special farms—enormous, agricultural estates where the Valloreans maintained several tribes of friendly ogres, that had been relatively civilized, and interbred them on a mass scale with large groups of slaves, condemned criminals, gladiators, as well as captured barbarian tribes—in addition to tens of thousands of citizens that volunteered. Such citizens were deported for rioting and such from the vast cities, and as they were desperately impoverished and oppressed by misfortune, were eager to earn coin paid by the owners of the vast agricultural estates.

Most of these programs were relatively benign, supervised appropriately, and induced by payments of food, coin, or privileges, and thus gained the eager and willing cooperation of large numbers of humans—both male and female. The ogres were far easier to entice into the project—throwing them a great feast of roasted cattle and offering them several wagon-loads of their favourite ale was plenty inducement to gain their enthusiastic support. Through such efforts, over a period of several years, the Vallorean owners of the enormous agricultural estates bred enough half-ogres to begin entirely new and eventually self-sufficient breeding programs for the half-ogres. The half-ogre children were raised by various temples, orphanages, as well as the agricultural estates. Over several decades, the Vallorean agricultural estates have grown and developed large, self-contained and self-sufficient populations of half-ogres that serve the Vallorean Empire as farm labourers, miners, as well as other kinds of labourers and workers. Eventually, programs were developed to raise, train, and support various units of half-ogres serving in the Vallorean legions.

Physical Appearance

Half-ogres are very tall humanoids, with massive, powerful physiques. Half-ogres, whether male or female, are thickly built, and very muscular. Half-ogres typically have more or less a full range of human features, traits, and qualities, though with a somewhat more harsh and brutal look to them. Half-ogres have somewhat larger, broader mouths, heavier jaws, and larger, heavier brows for example. Half-ogres typically are what humans would consider “hairy”—as they have hairy arms, legs, and such—much the same as various human ethnic groups known to be hairy—just that all half ogres possess such characteristics, with males being more hairy than the females.

All half ogres enjoy treasure and jewelry of all kinds, and are typically eager to gain booty and loot in whatever form—from animals and clothing, to tools, armour, weapons, and coin and gems. Half ogres love to eat and drink, and are often curious and inquisitive about trying to eat new things, or try new drinks. Female half ogres enjoy perfumes, oils, cosmetics, and finer clothes, as they enjoy such feminine aspects as much as human females do. Most half ogres greatly enjoy bright, vibrant colours of anything, and also anything that is shiny or glitters. While half ogres love great wealth of all kinds—their interpretation and value of such is somewhat different from humans, for example. Great shiny stones that have a deep shimmer, or are otherwise quite beautiful—are seen as great treasures to a half-ogre, even though humans might typically regard such a stone as being pretty, but largely worthless.

Half Ogre Height and Weight Tables

Base Male Half Ogre Height: 6’10”-8’0”; (6’8”+2d8”);
Average Height: 7’4”
Base Male Half Ogre Weight: 396-540 lbs; (380+16d10);
Average Weight: 460-lbs.

Base Female Half Ogre Height: 6’6”-7’8”; (6’4”+2d8”);
Average Height: 7’0”
Base Female Half Ogre Weight: 356-500 lbs; (340+16d10);
Average Weight: 420-lbs.

Half Ogre Character Tables

Half-Ogre Abilities and Characteristics
Strength: 14-19 (13+1d6)
Dexterity: 3-12
Constitution: 14-19 (13+1d6)
Intelligence: 3-12
Wisdom: 3-12
Charisma: 3-12
Comeliness: 3-12

Half Ogre Characters begin the game with double the class Hit Dice of whatever class they select; and gain hit dice as normal for the selected class beginning at 2nd level.

Classes Available to Half Ogres
Fighter--Unlimited
Cleric--4th level
Fighter/Cleric

Starting Languages

Half Ogre characters begin the game with the knowledge of Ogre, Troll and Minotaur languages, their selected alignment language, and one human language appropriate to their heritage and human parent. Half Ogre characters may learn additional languages as appropriate.

Half Ogre characters must spend x4 amounts on all food and drinks per day, in addition to x2 costs for all armour and weapon purchases.

Half Ogre Character Table: Skin Tone
Dice Roll/Skin Tone
01-15%: Pale White
16-30%: Pale Grey
31-40%: Pale Greyish-Blue
41-50%: Ebony Black
51-00%: Roll on an appropriate Human heritage table for skin tone

Half Ogre Character Table: Hair Colour
Dice Roll/Hair Colour
01-25%: Coal Black
26-75%: Ebony Black
76-90%: Dull Black
91-00%: Roll on an appropriate Human heritage table for hair colour

Half Ogre Character Table: Eye Colour
Dice Roll/Eye Colour
01-15%: Black
16-30%: Dark Brown
31-45%: Golden Amber
46-50%: Iron Grey
51-65%: Pale Grey
66-00%: Roll on an appropriate Human heritage table for eye colour

Politics

Half ogres tend to embrace whatever the dominant political ideology, structures, and organization common to the culture of where they were raised. Half ogres, much like most other creatures of mixed race, do not have distinct and unique political ideology or organization.

Culture

Half ogres, much like most other creatures of mixed race, do not possess a distinct or unique culture to half ogres. Half ogres generally embrace the dominant culture of the region where they were raised. Half ogres do, however, have some distinct traits and behavior common to them. Half ogres are generally simplistic, honest, and sincere creatures. Half ogres are naturally harsh, brutal and violent, and comprehend “laws” only in a very basic form. Half ogres are typically morally simple, viewing and comprehending things as being good or evil, or good and bad. Half ogres can, however, also be gentle and nice as well as sincerely protective of smaller, furry, cute creatures, or animals or people they view as nice and good to them. Half ogres have generally the same emotions and feelings common to humans—though typically interpreted and expressed in simple, aggressive, straight-forward manner by the half ogre.

Religion

Half ogres do not have a distinct and unique religion, but much like most other creatures of mixed race, they embrace the dominant religion that prevails in the culture in which they were raised. However, half ogres do generally have some differences. Half ogres are generally superstitious, and interpret religion in a sincere and simplistic manner. Half ogres are seldom capable of comprehending sophisticated theology, nor do they favour such ethereal, complex deities. Half ogres tend to gravitate to and favour gods and goddesses that are simple, earthy, and basic. Deities of the natural elements, love, sex, war, food, drink, animals, stone, light, moon, sun and such like are typical.

Warfare

Half ogres do not have armour, weapons, tactics and organization unique to half ogres, but rather, they embrace whatever weapons, armour and tactics are common to the culture where they were raised.

Half Orc

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Half Orc

History

The savage orcs, for many centuries common in the lands of northern and eastern Arthann, have only relatively recently began migrating into southern and south-eastern Arthann. However, their impact has been significant and swift, with several orc kingdoms established, and fairly numerous orc tribal strongholds established throughout the land. The orcs throughout the region have been engaged in frequent wars with local kingdoms and communities of dwarfs, elves, and men.

The establishment of increasingly strong orc kingdoms in the region has given rise to more frequent orc raids against human tribes, as well as civilized human communities. During many such wars and raids, orcs eagerly take humans as slaves, dragging them in chains back to their dark, brutal realms in the mountains. Many orc settlements—perhaps most—are in subterranean environments, where the orcs dig and excavate miles of tunnels, passageways and chambers deep into the earth. However, orcs also establish fortified encampments and settlements on the surface, typically in rugged mountains and hills, as well as in dark forests and marshes.

Human slaves are brutally worked in chain-gangs and such like in all of these environments, used for heavy labour, digging, hauling debris, and all the dirty, hard labour the orcs would seek to avoid and foist onto their slaves. It is in such harsh, brutal environments that hordes of half orcs are bred and raised. Within orc society, two such breeding customs have been embraced. For male orcs, a typically strong orc warrior will often keep one or several human women as breeding slaves; meanwhile, a favoured tribal champion, warlord, or chieftain may keep a whole harem of a dozen or more human women as concubines. The second custom, is one embraced by female orcs. Female gather in close social groups of family members and friends, usually 14-24 members, and typically keep small groups of 3-8 human males as a communal stud-herd for all the females of the group. Such bands of female orcs are typically composed of strong, adult females, with several adolescents, as well as several older, more mature orc females.

Many humans are also bred with during raids—orc females typically keep and raise offspring gained during such raids against human lands—while most human females, however, kill their half orc children at birth. Some human women, however, feel compassion for their half-orc offspring, and manage to keep such children alive and raise them. In many human communities, if the half orc child is not killed at birth, many nonetheless do not survive past adolescence or even early adulthood. Nearly every aspect of human society is hostile to half orcs, and survival is a constant challenge at every step for the typical half orc living in human society. Still, some few half orcs manage to survive to early adulthood, and from such a point their chances of continued survival improve by a fair margin.

Once into adulthood, half orcs may enjoy their substantial size, strength, speed and endurance, and not only strengthen their chances of survival but also their prosperity. Half orcs typically gain some measure of prosperity through following such professions as soldiers, mercenaries, sailors, labourers and craftsmen of various kinds. While half orcs are likely to succeed in various violent professions or professions involving hard, physical labour, some half orcs find success and prosperity as craftsmen, tradesmen and merchants. Half orcs generally can get by through providing such services for anything that is hard in labour, dirty, harsh, brutal or dangerous.

Over time, small sub-communities of half orcs have developed, typically several family groups or a few dozen family groups centered in various locations throughout the land. Such small sub-communities of second-generation half orcs provide an additional avenue from which half orcs most often originate within human communities. However, even in the best of such circumstances, half orcs that manage to survive and prosper in human communities must do so typically burdened still—with a harsh, often brutal environment where local rights are few, and racism, bigotry and discrimination against them are constant and pervasive in almost every circumstance. Despite such harsh environments, half orcs manage to survive.

Physical Appearance

Half orcs are typically of average size, and somewhat of above average weight. Half orcs are typically thick, strong, and muscular. Half orcs have rugged constitutions, and can often survive harsh conditions with more success than humans, for example. Half orcs are also mentally tough, and may endure such deprivations and cruelties with more vigor than a human might under similar circumstances. Male half orcs average 5’10” in height, and weigh 220-lbs. Female half orcs are typically 5’6” in height, and weigh 170-lbs. All half orcs enjoy jewelry, and gaining possessions and wealth much like most humans. While half orcs are more harsh and brutal than humans typically are, half orcs still enjoy the finer things of life, whether such is treasure, clothing, food, drinks, tobacco, fine perfumes, and other such things.

Half orcs typically have skin that is pale green, or occasionally pale grey or pale white. Other tones may be found in variation, depending on if the individual inherits such dominant characteristics from their human parent or from their orc parent. Half orcs usually have black hair, and often dark brown, pale amber, dark grey or pale grey eyes. While half orcs are often harsh and brutal creatures, typically having few social graces or any worthwhile sense of etiquette, half orcs can and do learn higher social conventions, and with great effort can learn to be social, and even reasonably acceptable social company, as well as fairly charismatic, rugged and effective leaders.

Base Male Half Orc Height: 5’4”-6’6” (5’2”+2d8”);
Average Height: 5’10”
Base Male Half Orc Weight: 156-300 lbs; (140+16d10);
Average Weight: 220-lbs.

Base Female Half Orc Height: 5’0”-6’2”; (4’10”+2d8”);
Average Height: 5’6”
Base Female Half Orc Weight: 114-240 lbs; (100+14d10);
Average Weight: 170-lbs.

Half-Orc Abilities and Characteristics

Strength: +1
Dexterity: +1
Constitution: +1
Intelligence: -
Wisdom: -
Charisma: -2
Comeliness: -2

Half Orc Character Tables

Half Orc Character Table: Skin Tone
Dice Roll/Skin Tone
01-20%: Roll on an appropriate Human heritage table for skin tone
21-30%: Pale White
31-40%: Pale Grey
41-85%: Pale Green
86-90%: Dark Green
91-00%: Ebony Black

Half Orc Character Table: Hair Colour
Dice Roll/Hair Colour
01-20%: Roll on an appropriate Human heritage table for hair colour
21-60%: Ebony Black
61-80%: Dull Black
81-90%: Black-Brown
91-00%: Dark Brown

Half Orc Character Table: Eye Colour
Dice Roll/Eye Colour
01-20%: Roll on an appropriate Human heritage table for eye colour
21-30%: Pale Grey
31-40%: Iron Grey
41-50%: Ice Grey
51-60%: Ice Blue
61-70%: Pale Green
71-80%: Pale Amber
81-90%: Dark Brown
91-95%: Red Brown
96-00%: Black

Politics

Half orcs do not have a distinct or unique political culture exclusive to themselves. Half orcs typically embrace in a rough manner whatever political ideologies, structures, and organizations that predominate within the cultural environment in which they were raised.

Culture

Much like many other creatures of mixed race blood, half orcs do not have a culture that is distinct and unique to half orcs. Half orcs embrace whatever the dominant culture is of where they were raised. Half orcs certainly possess some particular attributes that often characterize them within such cultural environments, and such attributes express themselves through the half orc lens of being more barbaric, harsher, and brutal, and typically living in a society where they are marginalized and generally scorned or feared even for their positive traits and attributes. The half orcs endure such, and take pride in their success and their accomplishments in a fiercely proud manner, embracing their harshness and their environments where they are despised, feared, or scorned. While half orcs may gravitate towards brutal violence and evil natures, reveling in deceit, violence, and corruption of all kinds—half orcs can, especially more so in human societies, become rugged and relentless champions of law and discipline, as such half orcs have fearlessly embraced the enshrined values of human society, and determined to embrace and exemplify such values and attributes. In such environments, for example, half orcs may be very law-abiding, unified, cooperative, and generous amongst themselves and extending to the nearby human neighborhoods and communities, as well as being well-known for being respectful and obedient to all law and authority, and often seeking themselves to serve their local noble lords as sheriffs, constables, wardens or soldiers.

Religion

Half orcs do not have a religion that is distinct or unique to half orcs. Half orcs typically embrace the dominant religion of the culture where they were raised. However, half orcs practice of religion varies from standard human practice or expectation, as the half orcs often interpret the religious doctrines in peculiar orcish-influenced ways, or demonstrate their faith and worship in particularly vibrant, dramatic, and expressive ways. Half orcs often, for example, worship in loud, vocal services with open emotional displays, plenty of visions and strange prophesies going on, wild, mass-orgies, wild singing and dancing, and other such styles—as well as praying, flagellation, vision-quests, painting themselves, and embracing tattoos with strange mystical or ancient tribal significance.

Warfare

Half orcs do not possess armour, weapons or tactics unique and distinct to half orcs. Half orcs typically embrace whatever styles in armour, weapons, tactics and organization as is dominant in the culture in which they were raised.
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Half Elves

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Half Elves

History

Since ancient times, various elf kingdoms have embraced alliances with diverse human barbarian tribes, as well as more advanced and civilized human kingdoms. Throughout the centuries, trade has also flourished between elves and humans. The fact that elves and humans must fight and struggle to survive in a world that is often dark, harsh, and brutal, and are often opposed by the same enemies, from savage, barbarian humans and tribes of dark, ferocious orcs, to tribes of savage beastmen, and fearsome monsters, makes the formation of such political, social and economic relationships not only easier, but often necessary and essential for both races’ continued prosperity, security, and survival.

From these foundations—political, social, and economic—elves and humans have often formed social friendships and romantic relationships that have bred half elves. Through the centuries, the frequency, popularity, and intensity of such relationships has varied, depending on the particular elf kingdom or tribe, as well as the particular human kingdom or tribe. These fundamental aspects to the relationships between elves and humans form the foundation to their relationships, and continue to the present age.

Physical Appearance

Half elves are typically of average height and weight, though they are almost always athletic, lithe, attractive, and graceful. Half elves are typically charming, sensual and alluring. While half elves are always unique in their form and appearance, half elves are uniformly athletic, attractive, and graceful, never being too thin, or overweight. Have elves also have sloped, pointed ears, much like elves but less so. Half elves enjoy enhanced longevity, and the typical senses and abilities of elves, though in reduced potency and form. Beyond these details, half elves share the wild diversity of traits and features common to humans.

Base Male Half Elf Height: 5’0”-6’2”; (4’10”+2d8”);
Average Height: 5’6”
Base Male Half Elf Weight: 120-210 lbs; (110+10d10);
Average Weight: 160-lbs.

Base Female Half Elf Height: 4’8”-5’10”; (4’6”+2d8”);
Average Height: 5’2”
Base Female Half Elf Weight: 88-160 lbs; (80+8d10);
Average Weight: 120-lbs.

Half Elf Abilities and Characteristics

Half Elf Abilities
Strength: +1
Dexterity: -
Constitution: +1
Intelligence: -
Wisdom: -
Charisma: +1
Comeliness: +1

Half Elf Character Tables

Half Elf Character Table: Skin Tone
Dice Roll/Skin Tone
01-10%: Roll on an appropriate Marlenya or Sarlenya character table for skin colour
11-00%: Roll on an appropriate Human heritage character table for skin colour

Half Elf Character Table: Hair Colour
Dice Roll/Hair Colour
01-20%: Roll on an appropriate Marlenya or Sarlenya character table for hair colour
21-00%: Roll on an appropriate Human heritage character table for hair colour

Half Elf Character Table: Eye Colour
Dice Roll/Eye Colour
01-50%: Roll on an appropriate Marlenya or Sarlenya character table for eye colour
51-00%: Roll on an appropriate Human heritage character table for eye colour

Politics

Half elves do not possess a political ideology, structures, or organization unique to half elves. Half elves typically embrace the political ideology, structures, and organization that is dominant in the culture where they were raised.

Culture

Half elves, like most mixed-race creatures, do not really have a culture that is unique and distinct to half elves. Half elves generally embrace the culture that is dominant where they were raised. Like some, if not most other half races of mixed heritage, half elves may embrace distinctive attributes and characteristics of a sub-culture, but even this is so diverse and malleable over time and variable from place to place and generation to generation as to be largely circumstantial and particular to one generation or perhaps several generations of half elves living in the same cultural environment—for even this may change rather rapidly. In various times and regions, half elves may be scorned and oppressed, or feared and hated. Likewise, half elves may be richly celebrated, admired, embraced and desired. The traits of any particular sub-culture of half elves is formed, shaped and endures in response to such variable conditions.

Religion

Half elves do not have a religion that is distinct and unique to half elves. Half elves typically embrace whatever the dominant religion of the culture in which they were raised.

Warfare

Half elves do not generally possess any armour, weapons, tactics or organization unique to half elves. Half elves typically embrace the tactics, organizations, armour and weapons common to the culture where they were raised.

Human—Common Vallorean

2011-04-26T15:11:00.001-07:00

Human—Common Vallorean

History

Common Valloreans are by far the largest population within the Vallorean Empire, and representative of various Vallorean populations abroad on foreign shores. The Valloreans are genetically mixed between Tethorna Valloreans and other provincial peoples and barbarians, and possess a particular political and cultural history unique to each region and province within the empire. Generally speaking, the dominant Vallorean history has been fully embraced and accepted by the various Vallorean populations, simply being integrated with their own local native histories, and held as a time when they were variously allied, conquered, or otherwise absorbed into the empire.

Physical Appearance

Common Valloreans are typically fairly tall, with strong physiques. Common Valloreans are often charismatic, charming, and dynamic. Valloreans may often have pale, white skin—though other skin tones are generally predominant. Valloreans often have black-brown, ebony-black, blonde or dark-brown hair, though many colors occur, and dominate, depending on the local region and province. Valloreans usually have some color of blue, grey, or brown eyes—again, however, highly reflective of the local and regional ethnic population or individual family.

Common Vallorean men often wear their hair cut short or perhaps to their shoulders or middle of their back in length. Valloreans have thick hair that is typically straight, though wavy and curly hair is not uncommon. Vallorean hair varieties, as well as styles and customs are highly variable, depending on the local region and ethnic environment. Vallorean women often wear their hair long and straight, or in long, curled masses, though with great diversity in styles and customs, depending on the local region and ethnic environment. The Common Valloreans typically enjoy a huge range of fashion styles, colors, and materials, depending on the local region and ethnic cultures, as well as the individual family and neighborhood. Valloreans typically embrace all manner of fine jewelry, perfumes, oils, and cosmetics with a broad range of preferences, styles and customs, depending on the local region and ethnic environment and influences. In rural settings, Vallorean women typically wear modest perfume or cosmetics, if any at all; while in urban areas, Vallorean women are very fashionable and sophisticated in their styles and tastes of perfume, oils, cosmetics, and clothing. Male Valloreans likewise are more influenced by the prevailing cultural customs, typically ranging from simple, rustic and unpretentious preferences in a rural environment, and far more fashionable, sophisticated and rich in urban communities.

N.B: Player Characters are encouraged to review the Vallorean Character Tables, presented below:

Valloreans are often tall, strong, vigorous, and charismatic. Valloreans have a huge variety of skin tones, hair and eye colors, and various ethnic features inherited from their Tethorna Vallorean blood, and various non-Vallorean bloodlines. Through the centuries of conquest, slavery, marriage and interbreeding, most of the particular Tethorna Vallorean characteristics have been bred out, and Valloreans are largely identical to standard humans throughout the world in every genetic way. Valloreans are standard humans in every way, though may have occasionally superficial characteristics more in common with their ancient Vallorean heritage. Valloreans may be half-Tethorna Vallorean, and half-something else, or as likely to have some Vallorean blood, and a large infusion of one or more other ethnic bloodlines from a process of constant and chaotic interbreeding and intermarriage through the years.

Vallorean Character Ability Summary
As per standard human character generation, as follows:
Human characters gain a +2 bonus to any two selected abilities at character generation.

Vallorean Character Tables
Vallorean characters may possess features of the dominant Vallorean bloodline, though they have a mixed heritage of some kind. Just as likely, a “Vallorean” may appear as a particular dominant ethnic member, or a blending of such ethnic bloodlines, with only a vague or distant Vallorean heritage.

Vallorean Character Table: Skin Tone
Dice Roll/Skin Tone
01-25%: Pale-White
26-40%: Olive-White
41-50%: Florrid-White
51-55%: Light-Brown
56-60%: Light Tan
61-65%: Olive-Tan
66-75%: Olive-Brown
76-90%: Cinnamon-Brown
91-95%: Tawny-Brown
96-00%: Bronze-Brown

Vallorean Character Table: Hair Color
Dice Roll/Hair Color
01-20%: Black-Brown
21-50%: Ebony-Black
51-60%: Dull-Black
61-75%: Dark Brown
76-78%: Chestnut Brown
79-81%: Chocolate Brown
82-84%: Honey-Brown
85-87%: Golden-Brown
88-90%: Red-Brown
91-92%: Red-Auburn
93-94%: Ash-Blonde
95-96%: Golden-Blonde
97-98%: Honey-Blonde
99-00%: Brassy-Blonde

Vallorean Character Table: Eye Color
Dice Roll/Eye Color
01-20%: Dark Brown
21-30%: Golden-Brown
31-33%: Hazel-Brown
34-36%: Bright-Brown
37-40%: Pale-Brown
41-43%: Bright Blue
44-53%: Blue-Grey
54-57%: Blue-Green
58-60%: Ice-Blue
61-70%: Iron-Grey
71-80%: Pale-Grey
81-85%: Ice-Grey
86-90%: Bright-Green
91-97%: Pale-Green
98-00%: Golden-Yellow

Vallorean Height and Weight Tables

Male Vallorean Base Height: 5’4”-6’6”; (5’2”+2d8”);
Average Height: 5’10”
Male Vallorean Base Weight: 134-260-lbs; (120+14d10);
Average Weight: 190-lbs.

Female Vallorean Base Height: 5’0”-6’2”; (4’10”+2d8”);
Average Height: 5’6”
Female Vallorean Base Weight: 92-200-lbs; (80+12d10);
Average Weight: 140-lbs.

Vallorean Cultural and Ethnic Heritage

Varanthus Regional Vallorean/Foreign Ethnic Cultures
01-15%: Tethorna Vallorean Primary/Mixed*
16-50%: Vallorean/Varanar Character Tables*
51-65%: Vallorean/Nemberi Character Tables*
66-75%: Vallorean/Gharnoth Character Tables*
76-85%: Vallorean/Malbari Character Tables*
86-95%: Vallorean/Archaedian Character Tables*
96-00%: Vallorean/Other Ethnic Heritage*

*Reference Vallorean Heritage Explanations, below:

Vallorean Heritage Explanations

01-15%: Tethorna Vallorean Primary/Mixed*
The character appears largely to be a Tethorna Vallorean, though the character has a family member in the distant, recent, or immediate past that was some kind of barbarian or foreign mixed blood. Typically, such an individual has a long family history of pure Tethorna Valloreans, and their mother or father was non-Tethorna Vallorean. Most such instances are a pure Tethorna Vallorean parent mixing with a Vallorean. Naturally, other intermixing with an entirely different ethnic member may also occur, though intermarriage with Valloreans is a much more common occurrence, especially for Tethorna Valloreans, as they often desire the closest bonds of blood, culture and religion. The character uses the Tethorna Vallorean Character Tables or Vallorean Character Tables, or the appropriate ethnic character tables. Also, while the skin, eyes, and hair tables may be Tethorna primary, the height and weight tables are from the Vallorean section, or an appropriate ethnic section. Note, however, while the character may appear virtually pure as a Tethorna Vallorean, the character does not gain the benefits of a pure Tethorna Vallorean, as their blood has somewhere in their past, either long ago or recent, been mixed with non-Tethorna blood.

16-50%: Vallorean/Varanar
The character may roll on the Vallorean Character Tables, or the Varanar Character Tables, or if desired, mix and match from either, as appropriate. Furthermore, the character uses either the Vallorean height and weight tables, or the Varanar height and weight tables.

51-65%: Vallorean/Nemberi
The character may roll on the Vallorean Character Tables, or the Nemberi Character Tables, or if desired, mix and match from either, as appropriate. Furthermore, the character uses either the Vallorean height and weight tables, or the Nemberi height and weight tables.

66-75%: Vallorean/Gharnoth
The character may roll on the Vallorean Character Tables, or the Gharnoth Character Tables, or if desired, mix and match from either, as appropriate. Furthermore, the character uses either the Vallorean height and weight tables, or the Gharnoth height and weight tables.

76-85%: Vallorean/Malbari
The character may roll on the Vallorean Character Tables, or the Malbari Character Tables, or if desired, mix and match from either, as appropriate. Furthermore, the character uses either the Vallorean height and weight tables, or the Malbari height and weight tables.

86-95%: Vallorean/Archaedian
The character may roll on the Vallorean Character Tables, or the Archaedian Character Tables, or if desired, mix and match from either, as appropriate. Furthermore, the character uses either the Vallorean height and weight tables, or the Archaedian height and weight tables.

96-00%: Vallorean/Other Ethnic Mix
The character may roll on the Vallorean Character Tables, or mixing and matching from two or more other sets of ethnic character tables, as appropriate. Furthermore, the character uses either the Vallorean height and weight tables, or an appropriate ethnic selection for height and weight.

Politics

In the various provinces, there are occasionally local forms of government, tribal government and other political arrangements that may be allowed to exist in a distinct form, and otherwise integrated into the larger political scheme and system of the empire, as determined by the provincial king or governor.

Culture

The Vallorean cultures are an overall blending of the dominant Vallorean culture influenced and integrated with a wide variety of local and regional ethnic cultures and customs. Vallorean morals, customs, standards and expectations are heavily influenced by the dominant Vallorean culture, though with varying degrees of influence and integration from the various ethnic cultures prevalent in the region.

Vallorean marriage customs—especially in distant provinces, or rough border areas often embrace a set of marriage customs generally diluted and changed from the primary Vallorean customs, and may have various other expectations, elements or customs depending on the local populations, neighborhood, and so on.

Vallorean marriage customs are summarized as follows:

Monogamous; Loose, Informal, Concubinage

Loose: People involved have varying expectations of absolute sexual fidelity and exclusivity; mistresses, lovers, and so on are fairly common, and generally accepted.

Informal: The culture has no strict requirements concerning divorce, and divorce is relatively easy and simple to do, with no social, religious or cultural stigmas for anyone involved. In addition, children born out of wedlock are not subject to being outcasts, and may be common and entirely accepted.

Concubinage: The culture embraces the custom of maintaining concubines for a married person, whether male or female. In the cases where concubines provide children, the children have some rights of inheritance. In addition, concubines have an official, legal and social status, and enjoy specific social, legal and inheritance rights.

Economically, the Vallorean Empire is a vast dominion, rich in natural resources of every kind, and enjoys a sophisticated, coin-based economy. However, in various regions of the provinces throughout the empire, various bartering systems may be in place alongside coin-based economies, and have significant influence, and even local dominance.

Religion

Vallorean religious standards and customs are the same as for Tethorna Valloreans, modified by various local regional and ethnic conditions.

Warfare

Valloreans are part of the Vallorean Empire, and with the exception of occasional unique forms of tribal and provincial military traditions, generally conform to the system organization, and forms established throughout the entire empire.

Cultural Weapons and Armour

Vallorean Cultural Armour
Leather Armor (AC 8)
Hide Armor (AC 8)
Studded Leather (AC 7)
Scale Armor (AC 6)
Breastplate (AC 5)
Chainmail Hauberk (AC 5)
Banded Armor (AC 4)
Platemail (AC 3)
Shield, Wooden
Shield, Steel

Vallorean Cultural Weapons
Dagger, Dart, Sling, Club, Heavy Mace, Light Mace, Handaxe, Battleaxe, Heavy Flail, Light Flail, Warhammer, Shortsword, Broadsword, Longsword, Bastard Sword, Greatsword, Great Axe, Great Flail, Great Warhammer, Javelin, Spear, Lance, Pike, Shortbow, Composite Shortbow, Longbow, Composite Longbow, Great Longbow

N.B:
Cultural armor and weapon selections are in general, the same as for Tethorna Valloreans, as the empire as a whole—however, local, regional, and ethnic standards, customs and resources may take precedence or alter the availability or access of various items and styles of armor and weapons technology.

Human—High Vallorean, Tethorna

2011-04-26T15:08:00.000-07:00

Human—High Vallorean, Tethorna

History

The High Valloreans were at one time in ages long past a collection of rugged, ferocious barbarian tribes from the mountains and forests in northern Vallorea. Over the centuries, the Tethorna Vallorean tribes conquered other tribes, and built a group of powerful city-states, which gradually unified and joined into a great and powerful empire. The High Valloreans are the ruling class throughout the Vallorean Empire, and a large portion of the senate, bodies of nobles, knight orders, wizard orders, temple leadership, and such are occupied by High Valloreans. In recent centuries, more common Valloreans have been gaining wealth, status and positions of political and economic power within Vallorean society. The High Valloreans, while possessing lifespans considerably longer than lesser men, and holding forms of great strength and vigor, are nonetheless a minority in the empire as a whole. Increasingly, as the Valloreans numbers greatly increased, and the empire expanded, more and more Valloreans gained in social and political power. While the Valloreans have general equality through the law with high Valloreans—there are various particular rights and privileges that only High Valloreans enjoy. The High Valloreans have forged a glorious, enduring empire that has served as a great bastion of humanity in a dark and savage world. The capitol city of the Vallorean Empire is Tarmenor—believed to be the largest, greatest city of humanity in the world. The Vallorean Empire controls the western Dragon Sea, and reigns with an awesome navy of huge, powerful warships and highly-trained, ferociously-disciplined and zealous crews. On land—the Vallorean Empire has been built by the hands of the Vallorean legions.

The Vallorean legions are composed of hardened, vigorous professional soldiers that are stern, violent men of great skill and ruthless, unyielding discipline. The Vallorean legions are typically led by orthodox, competent and professional generals, known as Legates, who have specialized training, as well as books detailing the extensive knowledge, training, tactics and strategy of warfare from famous generals throughout the empire’s history. Such Legates lead their legions with dignity, valour, and unflinching discipline.

On the battlefield, the Vallorean legions are generally superior to all barbarian armies—and many civilized armies as well—for the chief and salient reasons of toughness, tactics, discipline, and ruthlessness. Some scholars have wondered how the Valloreans have managed to create such a powerful, glorious empire that has endured for over a thousand years. The Vallorean Empire has chiefly been able to do this by the unique organization of their legions, and several political policies and cultural attitudes that prevail, to combine into forming a particular formula that is the basis for the Vallorean dominion.

Firstly, the Vallorean legions are tactically flexible, with easily detached and recombined formations. As a matter of course, Vallorean legions fight in ordered, disciplined ranks and files, and are able to quickly and easily deploy into various formations that provide significant tactical advantages over their enemies—even when the legions are vastly outnumbered. For example, the Vallorean square—made up of long files, with checkered ranks extending deeply behind the front rank. This ubiquitous formation is made more flexible by having the various ranks step to the side and back, endlessly rotating the ranks to the rear, and promoting a fresh rank to the front where the fighting is occurring. As the ranks rotate, this simple innovation allows the various ranks at any given time to not only gain immediate medical care, but also to have fresh water, and to rest. This formation and tactic provides the Vallorean legions with fighting ranks of legionnaires that are always refreshed, eager and vigorous—as opposed to the barbarians, which typically fight in a chaotic, screaming, disorganized mob, and exhaust their best warriors in constant fighting, each warrior concerned primarily with their own glory, and not being thought of as cowards or weak by their tribe and fellow warriors. For the Vallorean legionnaires, while individual glory is important and valued—of far greater value is the discipline and obedience of the whole unit, and their performance on the battlefield as a unit—as opposed to what they do as individual soldiers.

In all forms of military knowledge and skills, the Vallorean legions have a historical, professional basis of learning—the advanced Vallorean culture possesses books, and also advanced schools and academies where the knowledge and wisdom of the generations of soldiers, centurions, and generals are preserved, and taught in systematic ways down through the generations. This basis of professional knowledge essentially provides Vallorean commanders with standardized strategic concepts, tactical thinking, unit formations, and battlefield solutions, tricks and stratagems that allow every Vallorean commander to be at least generally competent, and professional in his judgments, command, and leadership. This provides the Valloreans with a uniform, predictable consistency of competent battlefield leadership and performance—as opposed to the barbarian people’s often chaotic, random “luck of the draw” as to the genuine skills of whatever barbarian chieftain or warlord may possess—and certainly an unpredictable performance in the face of a large, professional Vallorean army led by a professional general. Even many civilized and advanced kingdoms and city-states cannot produce such steady, reliable and competent military leadership in the same consistent degree of the Vallorean Empire.

Secondly, the legions are tough, hardened professional soldiers—they train, march, and live for war, every day of the week, every month of the year. Within the ranks, the common legionnaire has been hardened by constant, vigorous training, and drilled over and over with the use of tactics, weapons, and formations. When not actively fighting in battle, Vallorean legionnaires are always training for war—practicing combat tactics and formations, weapon drills, vigorous athletics and team sports, as well as wrestling and boxing. These specifically military duties are interlaced with extensive, harsh training out in the field, where Vallorean legionnaires live in the mud, rain, or burning heat of the sun; march for 20 miles in a day with heavy packs and full gear; lots of running, jumping, and swimming in cold rivers; all routinely finished at the end of the standard day in the field by the construction of a strong field-camp, fortified with an extensive trench, fortified earthen and wooden wall; and wooden spines all around.

Furthermore, the Vallorean legionnaires are skilled and hardened by all kinds of rough, physical labour—chief of which is the constant construction and maintenance of the famous Vallorean roads, as well as the construction of bridges, aqueducts, bathhouses, many civic buildings, fortified walls, towers, and fortresses. Vallorean legionnaires are also trained and drilled in the construction and deployment of a wide variety of war machines—from ballista and catapults, to battering rams, scorpions, and siege towers. The Vallorean legionnaires are widely trained in basic skills with a variety of tools, as well as basic skills in carpentry, blacksmithing, stonemasonry, concrete-mixing, bricklaying, engineering, and siege warfare. While there are certainly specialists and professionals of various trade-skills serving in the legions, all legionnaires are provided with basic professional skills noted, and can perform in a variety of tasks and complete various projects—though for more complex projects, they would need to be supervised by a more experienced professional.

The Vallorean legionnaires, as professional soldiers, are paid professional wages; they are supplied with a basic, standardized kit of equipment, armour and weapons; they are provided with access to consistent, professional, and advanced medical care; they march, live, and fight unburdened by the presence of women, wives, children, or other family on the battlefield or close at hand; they are provided with a highly-valued reward in retirement; and for provincials, serving in the legions also gains them Vallorean citizenship, which not only confers political, legal, and financial rights to them, it also elevates their social status, and provides these benefits to their immediate family and their descendents through the generations.

The Vallorean legionnaires, as soldiers, are not necessarily stronger or in some inherent way superior to their enemies—for in truth, they are not. In fact, many barbarian warriors are considerably larger, and stronger, and inherently more daring and ferocious. The Vallorean legions, while equipped with fine, heavy armour, strong, heavy shields, and excellent, lethal weapons—many barbarian peoples and other civilized nations and peoples possess weaponry and armor that is at least of comparable quality to the Valloreans—and occasionally superior in design or performance. However, the Vallorean legions make use of their weaponry and equipment in a more thorough, consistent, disciplined and professional manner. Furthermore, the advanced, sophisticated imperial economy, manufacturing, and administration allows the legions—every legionnaire, to have such supply of armour, weapons and equipment, with vast supplies of more always available.

The Vallorean legions live by the milk of harsh, brutal, discipline. The Vallorean legionnaire is expected to be loyal, courageous, disciplined, obedient, and tenacious. Vallorean legionnaires are required to be obedient to their officers—failure in such results in the guilty legionnaire being punished by their centurions, which customarily administer severe beatings by using a long, supple, wooden rod, which they traditionally carry with them as a symbol of their rank and authority—as well as an instrument of punishment and discipline. More severe examples of disobedience, or cowardice, dereliction of duty, and so on, are often punished by death. Vallorean officers are expected to be courageous, disciplined, resourceful, strict, intrepid, daring, just, fair, and loyal. Vallorean officers that fall short of these virtues, or fail to properly discipline and train their legionnaires, may be dishonourably discharged from the legions, or executed, depending on the severity of the failure, and the judgment of the commanding Legate. Needless to say—an officer that fails in loyalty or obedience to his Legate or has otherwise failed in the performance of his duty, may be dishonourably discharged from the legions, or executed, as the commanding Legate desires and judges appropriate.

Legionnaires are typically run through a gauntlet of two files of their fellow legionnaires that proceed to beat them to death with stout wooden clubs. Vallorean officers found guilty of various crimes are typically punished in public, by being beheaded on a rough wooden platform in front of the whole legion. When a Vallorean Legate has been displeased by the overall poor discipline and battlefield performance of a particular legion—the whole legion is punished, in public, by being decimated. The guilty legion is assembled in public, and gathered all together in strict formation, whereupon the Legate goes down the ranks, and randomly by lot picks every tenth legionnaire and executes the soldier on the spot by plunging his sword into him, several times if necessary, until a tenth of the legion has been so judged and executed.

The Vallorean legions are infamously ruthless—while the Vallorean Empire is typically keen to embrace diplomacy, once the enemies of Vallorea have provoked the wrath of the Vallorean Empire and chosen war, the fate to come is an absolute and total judgment of relentless war, death, slavery, and ruthless subjugation. In the minds of the Vallorean emperors and the Vallorean senate, such a policy is threefold in benefit; (1) such a ruthless policy serves as a political deterrent to war, and thus ensures peace, prosperity and harmony. Enemies of the Vallorean empire know full well that if they choose war with Vallorea—and fail to achieve victory, or some diplomatic treaty with the Valloreans--that the might and wrath of the empire will bring total ruin and subjugation of their entire realm and society. Thus, the mere suggestion made by Vallorean diplomats and ambassadors that legions will soon be on their way—is often quite sufficient to greatly inspire any foreign diplomats, kings or other leaders to quickly seek a peaceful resolution with the Valloreans—and always such a resolution is obedient and profitable to the desires, policies and goals of the Vallorean emperor. (2) Such a ruthless policy of total war and ruthless subjugation possesses the benefit of expanding the frontiers of the empire, and adding great wealth in natural resources, taxes, booty and slaves. (3) Such a ruthless policy provides all participating legions and their commanding Legate an opportunity for glory, as well as enrichment. By ancient custom, the commanding Legate allows his victorious legionnaires to keep with some exceptions, as stipulated and decreed by the commanding Legate, all such booty and treasure that they can carry. Furthermore, victorious legates often reward their victorious troops with additional rewards of booty, from armour and weapons, to other treasures, coin, slaves, and great feasts and other privileges. By ancient custom, a portion of such captured booty and spoil of war gained during the campaign also goes to the senate.

During the campaign, Vallorean legionnaires are routinely expected to be brutal and ruthless in combat with enemy warriors and soldiers, and to be prepared to chase down and capture any fleeing leaders, their families, and retainers, and imprison them, torture them, or execute them, as desired by the commanding Legate. By ancient Vallorean custom, the first legionnaire over the wall of a besieged city is to be specially rewarded and recognized with honours by his commanding Legate. Vallorean legions in conquering a territory or city routinely bring absolute devastation to the enemy lands, killing animals, slaughtering the population, and bringing fire, death and slavery to everyone in their power. Whole cities are burned to the ground, and tilled with salt so that nothing may grow their ever again; whole cities are methodically and thoroughly looted of every fine treasure and booty; enemy leaders, their families and retainers, are often crucified along the roads leading to the city or atop broad, high hills, so that all may see the wrath and judgment of the Vallorean Empire; especially important enemy leaders and their families are taken in chains back to Tarmenor, where they are marched through the streets of the city in a great triumphal procession, celebrating the glorious victory of the Vallorean legions; vast portions of an enemy population are slaughtered en masse, with their bodies burned in great heaps or cast into vast trenches of mud or sand; what portions of an enemy city’s population that are not ruthlessly put to the sword, are marched away in chains as slaves to further enrich and serve the empire. The ruthlessness of the Vallorean legions is a key and important factor not only in preserving and promoting peace, but in achieving glorious victory and wealth for the empire once war has been embraced.

The enduring success of the Vallorean Empire is promoted and ensured by the dedication of professional, disciplined, highly-trained and loyal legions. However, there are several other factors that contribute to the success of the empire as well. Culturally, the Valloreans are tenacious, and untiring in their love of war and military glory and honour. Valloreans naturally believe not only in the superiority of their civilization, but also that they have a divine appointment to be the guardians and champions of humanity in general—and of the West in particular. Politically, the Vallorean Empire allows its citizens to vote and enjoy a range of participatory processes that have meaningful consequences to their daily lives. Furthermore, Vallorean citizens enjoy a range of political and legal benefits, and the Vallorean society also holds genuine hope for significant social and economic mobility, providing the unwashed masses with a genuine stake in the continued prosperity and dominion of the Vallorean Empire.

These reasons and motivations ensure that the Vallorean Empire always has a vast number of soldiers that may be recruited into the legions. Strategically, the Vallorean Empire is often much more resilient and capable of suffering severe losses, disastrous defeats—and still, within a short time, be able to come back and counter-attack with even more armies. The capacity of the vallorean empire to recruit, train, and equip armies of motivated, well-trained soldiers in a rapid manner has provided the empire with immense resiliency that allows them to ultimately crush their enemies, even when on occasion, their enemies have superior leaders, or have achieved some devastating victory against a vallorean army sent against them. From all of this, the vallorean empire has grown, and endured, and stands as a bastion of glory, strength, and prosperity that continues to inspire humanity in the face of a savage world of darkness and barbarism, lurking with vast hordes of barbarians and monsters, and ripe with plagues and disasters.

Physical Appearance

Tethorna Valloreans are typically very tall, with powerful, heroic physiques. Tethorna Valloreans are often charismatic, charming, and dynamic. Tethorna Valloreans typically have pale, white skin that is usually smooth and flawless. Tethorna Valloreans typically have raven-black, ebony-black, or platinum-blonde hair. Tethorna Valloreans usually have some color of blue, grey, or green eyes, and occasionally golden eyes that are a mix of amber and dark gold.

Urban Tethorna Vallorean men typically wear their hair very short in styles similar to a “crew cut”; “High and Tight”; “Flat-Top” and other similar variations. Short styles that reach the neck or top of the shoulders are also fairly common, and socially acceptable. These styles for Tethorna Vallorean men predominate in both the northern and southern provinces of the empire. Tethorna Vallorean men are also typically clean-shaven, as having facial hair is often considered to be a barbarian custom, as well as a rural commoner custom. Likewise, Tethorna Vallorean society typically views having long hair past the neck to be a barbarian and rural custom. However—many Tethorna Vallorean men who live in northern provinces and rural areas in particular also embrace wearing their hair longer, to the neck, shoulders, or even the middle of the back in length. Northern Tethorna men also embrace wearing beards in various styles. In many regions of the northern provinces—as well as in northern cities—these fashion and grooming customs are considered quite acceptable, though often humorously or gently critiqued as “old fashioned”; “barbarian style”; or “rough”. In ancient times—during the time before the Vallorean Empire was formed, when the Tethorna Valloreans were still living as rural barbarians and were ruled by the Great Chieftains, such styles of longer hair and beards were the entire cultural norm. Tethorna Valloreans have thick hair that is typically straight, though wavy and curly hair is not uncommon.

Tethorna Vallorean women often wear their hair long and straight, or in long, curled masses. The Tethorna Valloreans often prefer darker colored clothing, and fine jewelry of all kinds is very popular. In rural settings, Tethorna Vallorean women typically wear modest perfume or cosmetics, if any at all; while in urban areas, Tethorna Vallorean women are very fashionable and sophisticated in their styles and tastes of perfume, oils, cosmetics, and clothing. Male Tethorna Valloreans likewise are more influenced by the prevailing cultural customs, typically ranging from simple, rustic and unpretentious preferences in a rural environment, and far more fashionable, sophisticated and rich in urban communities.

For the Tethorna Valloreans, their family lineages and histories are considered to be extremely important, and are lavishly and diligently recorded since the founding of the empire. Almost all Tethorna Valloreans possess scrolls or books which document their family lineage and history all the way back to the founding of the empire, and beyond, as well. All Tethorna Valloreans learn to speak and write Common Vallorean, and also High Vallorean. High Vallorean is the ancient language of the Tethorna Vallorean tribes, and is zealously maintained and guarded by the Tethorna Valloreans as an ancient and cherished aspect of their culture and heritage. High Vallorean is typically only taught to Tethorna Vallorean people, though occasional exceptions are made. All Tethorna Valloreans are literate, and may learn additional languages for each point of intelligence beyond 10, in addition to their base languages of Common Vallorean, High Vallorean, and Urrgan. Most common Valloreans, as well as non-Valloreans refer to the Tethorna Valloreans as the “High Valloreans”—while common Valloreans are referred to as “Common Valloreans”, or typically, just as “Valloreans”. While the Valloreans may have many cultural nuances that differentiate themselves from the High Valloreans, except when referring to a particular trait or custom of the High Valloreans, Vallorean culture is generally dominant and universal throughout the empire. Certainly, all foreigners and non-Vallorean peoples make the general reference to the “Valloreans” and the “Vallorean Culture” as being synonymous with the entire Vallorean culture as a whole, without making distinctions between the “Valloreans” and the “High Valloreans”

N.B: Player Characters are encouraged to review the Vallorean Character Tables, presented below:

Tethorna Valloreans are very tall, strong, vigorous, and charismatic. Tethorna Valloreans gain a +1 bonus to Strength at character generation, as well as a +1 bonus to Constitution and a +1 bonus to Charisma at character generation. Tethorna Valloreans are, however, typically less agile than other humans, and suffer a -2 penalty to Dexterity.

Tethorna Vallorean Character Ability Summary
+1 Strength
+1 Constitution
+1 Charisma
-2 Dexterity

Tethorna Valloreans are blessed with a great vigor, and do not suffer the standard effects of aging, and maintain the strength and vigor of their youth well into their final years. Only when the Tethorna Vallorean approaches the extent of their lifespan, do they begin to show signs of aging. Such advanced effects of aging come upon them rather quickly; presaging their journey to the afterlife is at hand. Pure Tethorna Valloreans possess a lifespan that is two-three times greater, or more—than lesser men.

Tethorna Vallorean Character Tables

Tethorna Vallorean Character Table: Skin Tone
Dice Roll/Skin Tone
01-70%: White-Pale
71-90%: White-Olive
91-00%: White-Tan

Tethorna Vallorean Character Table: Hair Color
Dice Roll/Hair Color
01-40%: Raven-Black
41-50%: Ebony-Black
51-60%: Black-Brown
61-00%: Platinum-Blonde

Tethorna Vallorean Character Table: Eye Color
Dice Roll/Eye Color
01-05%: Blue-Bright
06-10%: Blue-Midnight
11-20%: Blue-Ice
21-30%: Blue-Grey
31-40%: Blue-Green
41-50%: Grey-Iron
51-60%: Grey-Pale
61-65%: Grey-Green
66-70%: Grey-Ice
71-80%: Green-Pale
81-85%: Green-Kelly
86-00%: Golden-Yellow

High Vallorean Height and Weight Tables
Male Tethorna Base Height: 6’2”-7’4”; (6’0”+2d8”);
Average Height: 6’8”
Male Tethorna Base Weight: 180-360-lbs; (160+20d10);
Average Weight: 260-lbs.

Female Tethorna Base Height: 5’10”-7’0”; (5’8”+2d8”);
Average Height: 6’4”
Female Tethorna Base Weight: 136-280-lbs; (120+16d10);
Average Weight: 200-lbs.

Politics

The Vallorean Empire is ruled by the Vallorean Emperor. Politically, the Vallorean Emperor also enjoys the titles of Drannicus Imperator, and Primus Magisteri, and Princeps. The Vallorean Emperor is by tradition given the titles and position by majority vote of the Vallorean Senate. The Vallorean Senate is organized from various senior and lesser orders, composed of members of noble families from throughout the empire. Furthermore, the emperor is supported by two Consuls, each being elected to the position by the Vallorean Senate. Various noble titles, composed of Lords, Barons, Counts, Dukes, among others, are given to various members of noble families. Within the Vallorean Empire there are noble titles, and noble titles that serve as separate functions or ranks, reflecting a particular government position, post, or responsibility. Serving the empire are governors, prefects, tribunes and magistrates in various capacities. Magistrates and others are voted into office by popular vote. All male and female Vallorean citizens possess the right to vote, as well as the right to run for the office of magistrate.

The Vallorean Emperor serves for a lifetime appointment. Succession to the throne is often hereditary, though not always so, and any designated successor to the throne must be successfully elected by the Senate, confirmed by the Senate, and blessed by the High Concord.

Culture

The Tethorna Vallorean culture is an ancient, sophisticated culture that has developed a powerful civilization over two thousand years. The Vallorean Empire itself has existed for over a thousand years. The Vallorean culture is heroic, warlike, dynamic, traditional, hierarchical and patriarchal. The Valloreans are typically traditional, orthodox, warlike, materialistic, competitive and religious. Prime values in Vallorean society are honor, dignity, the family, the state, one’s noble lord, structure, hierarchy, discipline, loyalty, valor, piety, and military glory. The Valloreans ostensibly embrace an unusual form of mono-pantheism; what this essentially means is that the Vallorean Pantheon of gods is the only state-sponsored, sanctioned, and state-approved religions. There are exceptions, and exemptions, though most other non-Vallorean religions are typically outlawed and persecuted. Favoured non-Vallorean religions permitted to exist within the Vallorean Empire are heavily taxed, and do not enjoy a range of political and legal rights and privileges that the various cults of the Vallorean pantheon enjoy.

The typical Vallorean citizen is religious, prays daily, and makes weekly sacrifices to the Vallorean gods, as well as making weekly visits to several different temples of the various cults, as well as a patron deities’ temple for additional sacrifices, religious services, worship, as well as special counseling, and various religious activities and instruction. Vallorean temples are very involved with a large range of social outreaches and communal activities, and Vallorean citizens routinely and regularly participate in all such temple-sponsored services and activities.

Valloreans are generally monogamous, and marriage is highly valued, honored, and cherished. Traditionally, Valloreans expect their daughters to be virgins until the holy and divine-anointed state of marriage is gained. Ideally, young Vallorean men are also expected to be virgins until marriage, though there is less societal and family sanction against males who are not virginal, as compared to women. Vallorean men and women alike, as adults, whether married or unmarried, are allowed and expected to participate in the various religious fertility rituals and celebrations—it is during these particular occasions when a Vallorean is allowed to engage in sexual activity with someone that is not their married spouse. However, it is only during these occasions when extra-marital sexual relations are considered proper and acceptable. Carrying on with lovers, concubines, or other sexual playmates in brothels and bathhouses for both men and women outside of such sanctioned occasions is not approved of or accepted by the traditional Tethorna Vallorean society.

As children, all Vallorean children are expected to be disciplined, honest, virtuous, respectful, well-mannered and obedient. By Vallorean law, Vallorean children that are disobedient or dishonorable may be beaten or punished as the parents see fit, and the father holds the right and authority to kill his disobedient and dishonorable children. In adulthood, all adult men and women are expected to lead lives of discipline, dignity, integrity, honor, and virtue. Valloreans often arrange marriages for their daughters when they reach adolescence, though occasionally the girl is permitted to choose a favoured candidate. Valloreans adolescents or even adults that embrace marriage without the express approval of their parents, especially the father, may be fined or stripped of various privileges and family resources, disinherited, and or thrown out of the family home in shame and disgrace.

In marriage, Vallorean women are expected to be loyal, obedient, submissive, respectful, hard-working, industrious, thrifty, responsible, virtuous, as well as always being dignified, graceful, and pious. In marriage, Vallorean men are expected to be authoritarian, disciplined, dignified, proud, loyal, hard-working, responsible, honourable, civic-minded, politically and philosophically educated, industrious, and pious.

Tethorna Vallorean marriage customs are summarized as follows:

Monogamous; Strict, Formal

Strict: A strict adherence to fidelity and exclusive sexual relations is expected. Violation of these expectations and customs may provoke serious social and or legal consequences. Adultery is often punished with savage torture, and often death sentences are the standard.

Formal: The society has very high standards and strict rules and expectations for any kind of divorce. There may be specific requirements that the couple or people involved must exhibit in order to be allowed to divorce. There may be various significant social and religious stigmas attached to anyone that has been divorced. Children born out of wedlock are likewise social outcasts if such is becomes known.

Economically, the Vallorean Empire is a vast dominion, rich in natural resources of every kind, and enjoys a sophisticated, coin-based economy. The Tethorna Valloreans have a great passion for trade—nearly as much as their passion for combat and warfare. Vallorean merchants and nobles alike are typically always highly keen on discovering and exploiting any economic resources—and the Valloreans are well-known for fully exploiting various trade-treaties, resources, and merchants as a prelude to massive military invasion and conquest of foreign lands and peoples. The Valloreans have famously used any disruption or change in trade and access to natural resources as sufficient cause to invade and crush neighboring peoples and tribes. “Trade” was disrupted, or some access to some natural resource was believed to be threatened, and thus, in the interests of protecting Vallorean “Trade Interests”, the Vallorean legions must therefore intervene so as to “restore law and order, and ensure the continued safety of trade”. In Vallorea, wealth and trade are critically important, and merchants and tradesmen are typically viewed as honorable and dignified professions.

Military glory is perhaps the greatest value that is held and cherished by the Valloreans. Military glory and martial prowess is, along with economic wealth, and academic achievement, a triumvirate of prime cultural values for the Valloreans, and one or more of them are all essential for any kind of political career. The legions are a primary military career, though the Vallorean Navy also has a very long and noble history, and is highly regarded as a career for citizens as well as the army. Vallorean commoners often enlist in the military, and make a career in the military a path to professional success, social respect, and reasonable financial security. Vallorean knights typically spend several years serving in the cavalry regiments of the Vallorean legions, before returning to the noble armies of their noble lord back in their homeland.

Historically, the Tethorna Valloreans admire and greatly respect both the dwarfs and the elves. In Vallorean history, there have been a few occasions where a great Vallorean prince or noble married an elf—as both male and female Vallorean nobles have loved and married elven lovers. Elves and dwarfs are both generally welcome anywhere in the Vallorean Empire. However, while the adventurous nobles and great heroes of the Vallorean Empire have periodically embraced relationships with elves as lovers, and with dwarfs as friends, much of the empire has never even seen either an elf or a dwarf, and in many regions, elves and dwarfs are mythological creatures of great intrigue or beauty—but also of potential danger. In many primitive, rural areas of the empire, elves and dwarfs are believed to be mystical, strange, dangerous, wicked and evil. Periodically, any dwarfs or elves discovered in these brutal, rustic areas have been captured and killed by hysterical, wild-eyed and grim mobs, determined to keep their communities safe from being contaminated by such dangerous magical beings. The Tethorna Vallorean populations are generally far more educated, sophisticated, and knowledgeable, and do not hold to such violent, brutal superstitions.

In rural areas of the empire, Halflings are accepted and considered normal, natural creatures that are generally peaceful and inoffensive. In the larger Vallorean cities, people are far more urbane, worldly, and educated, and thus have fairly open and tolerant views for all kinds of races of creatures and humanoids, especially elves and dwarfs, but also for ogres, half-ogres, minotaurs, albeeri, harthak, saedren, and urrgan peoples. Naturally, however, such members of these races must appear to be members of various societies and tribes sanctioned and approved by the Vallorean Empire. Within the cities, the common depictions and customs of such races are generally known throughout the populace at large. Vallorean Ogres, for example, are viewed entirely differently from barbarian ogres, which are viewed and known to be evil, brutal and savage creatures. Vallorean Ogres are descendents of ogre tribes that submitted to the empire and became citizens. In some regions of the empire, there are huge populations of half-ogres that have been bred on vast agricultural farms alongside multitudes of state-owned barbarian slaves that work throughout their entire lives, living and working on these vast farming estates, as well as enormous mines in various hills and mountain ranges. Typically, half-ogre populations on such labor communities live and work amongst themselves, and are kept separate from state-owned human slaves.

From the most ancient of times, the Tethorna Valloreans befriended tribes of the wild and barbaric Urrgan. Urrgan are a race of noble, humanoid wolf-people that are often generally nomadic and rural, either living in small rustic villages in the forests, or wandering in the wilderness as nomadic bands. The Urrgan are typically noble, valiant, simple and barbaric, though they are generally friendly and on very good terms with local Vallorean populations, especially communities that contain Tethorna Valloreans. All Urrgan peoples, whether they live in the wilderness or within urban towns and cities are considered as Vallorean citizens, and are generally held with a deep sense of affection, loyalty, admiration, and paternal protectiveness by the Valloreans, whether Tethorna or common Vallorean.

Tethorna Valloreans typically believe that they have been divinely-appointed to be the guardians of the West, and to be the saviors of humanity, and the champions of all that is righteous and good. The Tethorna Valloreans are generally convinced that it is they, for the past thousand years and more, have been the guardians and protectors of law, order, freedom, dignity, and righteousness, and have defended countless realms and peoples from being subjugated and destroyed by the forces of darkness. Indeed, over two thousand years ago, the elves and dwarfs were engaged in a huge war with vast armies of beastmen, orcs, and monsters known as the Dragon Wars. The Tethorna Vallorean tribes—in those days, vast and powerful in numbers—marched to help the elf and dwarf kingdoms to the far north that were threatened by the forces of darkness, and proved to be decisive in achieving victory. After the Dragon Wars ended, the Tethorna Valloreans eventually formed the Vallorean Empire, which has grown powerful and endured ever since.

The Tethorna Valloreans have an ancient custom of holding gladiatorial fights as part of the funeral rituals and celebrations of a Tethorna Vallorean noble that has died, and is now traveling to the afterworld to serve the gods in glory. From this ancient custom, the Tethorna Valloreans have embraced Gladiatorial Games for the whole empire, as a way of providing entertainment to the masses, gain vast wealth, but also to serve as a sort of mystical religious blessing honoring all of the soldiers fighting and dying in the legions, serving and protecting the empire. Furthermore, as hand-to-hand combat is typically bloody and savage, the Valloreans feel that young men—especially from a young age need to become accustomed to the sight of bloodshed, and the screams of the dying. Through such spectacles of the gladiatorial games, the whole populace might be better hardened and steeled to violence and bloodshed, so they are better equipped to fight and serve the empire with unwavering courage and grim tenacity.

The Tethorna Valloreans believe that the courage and ferocity shown by the gladiators, and their sacred blood being spilled in honor to the Vallorean legions, provides divine blessings to the legions, and also serves as a form of spiritual redemption for the dying gladiators as they enter their journey to the afterlife. No matter what crime, what offense, a gladiator engaged in the life before becoming a gladiator, while he still may be damned in the afterlife, the gladiator may achieve if not total salvation, then at least the gladiator gains some measure of honor and glory in the manner in which they fight and the manner in which they face death.

The Tethorna Valloreans are united by a common culture, language and religion. However, there is some degree of schism, both politically and culturally. Politically, the Tethorna Valloreans of provinces in the northern half of the empire are very jealous of protecting their ancient feudal rights, and carefully and zealously defend their noble powers, rights, and privileges. The Tethorna Valloreans of the northern lands are typically feudal and deeply independent politically. Valloreans in the north are typically violent, martial and warlike, and are highly authoritarian and parochial. The northern Valloreans believe in their divinely-anointed rights and powers, as well as the ancestral rights, lands and powers given them by the Great Chieftains before there even was a Vallorean Empire.

Northern Valloreans are also typically rural, and much of communal life is centered on the ancestral castle of the noble lord—rather than a great city. Northern Valloreans deeply revere the natural world, especially the great forests, majestic mountains, and the shimmering lakes and rivers. Northern Valloreans work mightily and with great care to protect and preserve various natural areas and landmarks, and are careful in thought and policy in any policies of land use and development.

Northern Valloreans are often idealistic, heroic, and romantic in how they view the world, and how the world works, and should work. Northern Valloreans believe in many rural and mystical religious and cultural customs, and embrace their own mystical religious customs with great passion and fervor. Northern Valloreans—especially those of full Tethorna blood—are deeply against the intermixing with non-Tethorna peoples, as doing so dilutes the Tethorna blood, which is believed to be blessed by the Vallorean gods, and a chief source of the Tethorna Vallorean’s famously long lifespans, and incredible vigor and strength. Culturally and socially, as well as religiously, northern Valloreans are typically stubborn and very traditional, and are zealous in their resistance to any kind of change or demands for them to change, and become more “modern” and more “worldy”.

The northern Valloreans generally live in provinces that are far more ethnically, culturally, and politically homogenous and unified. The localized unity and rugged wilderness of much of the northern lands has contributed to the unchanging culture of the northern Valloreans, and even the various non-Vallorean tribes and peoples that have been conquered or absorbed over the centuries have been very close and similar to the Valloreans in culture, politics, and religion. Nonetheless, even in conquest, northern Valloreans often embrace a certain respect and thoughtfulness regarding foreign peoples and customs, and generally seek to accommodate foreign people’s customs and values in a forthright manner, subject to what they believe as the general supremacy and security of Vallorea. In contrast, the northern Valloreans often feel that the southern Valloreans are often not merely concerned with the welfare and security of the empire—but also view all non-Valloreans as uncouth, savage barbarians that when conquered, must submit their culture and customs—not just their religion—wholesale to the demands of the empire, and must simply accept that their cultures are essentially inferior in every way to that of the Valloreans, and the sooner they conform and embrace the Vallorean culture, the better off they will be.

The northern Valloreans, while firmly believing in the supremacy of the empire, also believe that even in conquest, the Valloreans are obligated to make as many reasonable cultural accommodations to the foreign peoples as can be done so, while honoring and securing the Vallorean supremacy. There is often passionate and heated philosophical discord between many northern and southern Valloreans over where to draw the lines as it were in the process of conquest and cultural blending that will likely never be truly resolved, as both factions have developed differing views in response to the very different environments that they find themselves living in, and informing their philosophical and political views.

Southern Valloreans tend to be everything the northern Valloreans are not—generally speaking, the southern Valloreans are very urban, sophisticated, and worldly, and live comfortably in a world that features many facets and changing currents of thought and philosophy. The southern Valloreans are not always—but much more likely to interbreed with non-Valloreans, and also to live in huge cities, and are constantly concerned with wealth, and the acquisition of more wealth, power, and status in a complex political and social environment. Southern Valloreans have resigned to themselves the need and desire to breed with other races and peoples, and generally assume everyone does so, and is eager to do so. However, even in the southern provinces, there are some Tethorna Valloreans that remain pure-blooded, or largely so, and actively speak against and condemn fellow Tethorna Valloreans that intermarry with foreign peoples. Southern Valloreans are, though in different ways, more imperialistic and materialistic than northern Valloreans. Southern Valloreans politically and philosophically are more comfortable with restraining or modifying individual noble’s powers, while strengthening and increasing the powers of the Emperor, as well as the Magistrate Councils and political participation by the urban masses.

Southern Valloreans are also often more comfortable with political customs that reflect the primacy of “The ends justify the means” as well as “The rights of the many outweigh the rights of the few.” Naturally, in dealing with the more culturally and religiously diverse lands and peoples in the southern regions and provinces of the empire, the southern Valloreans are typically forced to live in many hypocritical ways and embrace wholesale contradictions to many expressed political and philosophical values. This, too—the southern Valloreans are more comfortable with, and accept they must reign and govern a great empire where they must live fully in the real world of pragmatism, lust, greed, self-interest, competition, and innumerable philosophical, religious and cultural differences and conflicts.

Thus, while the Valloreans are generally united by a common language, religion and culture, “in-house” they have more than a few issues that provoke passionate public and private arguments and feuds, as well as occasionally heating up to such extent as to inspire nobles dueling in the parlours and palaces, as well as confronting each other in noble tournaments. In addition, due to these political and cultural frictions, various nobles and merchants alike are occasionally engaged in urban street campaigns, where mobs and gangs of hired thugs, mercenaries, former gladiators, as well as groups of ordinary citizens clash in savage and bloody riots. Furthermore, within the fine, white-marbled halls of various establishments and offices as well as schools and estates, there are often rich dinners and gatherings held where philosophers, nobles, priests, and other men and women of letters, education and eloquence engage in spirited philosophical debates dealing with all of these issues, among other topics of interest.

Religion

The Valloreans are primarily mono-pantheists, and united in their religious faith in one, single, religious pantheon that holds dominion over the entire Vallorean Empire. Vallorean temples hold various seasonal celebrations and festivals throughout the year, and are actively involved in numerous communal outreaches and activities for the entire community, as well as sponsoring weekly worship and religious services in every neighborhood and community.

The Tethorna Valloreans build large, elaborate temples of stone and wood, as well as other fine materials, and elaborately decorate their temples with as much wealth and fine craftsmanship as the community can afford. All Vallorean cities have prominent temples to each of the major gods, and often smaller temples to other lesser deities. Towns and villages may typically have one or several small temples to major deities, as well as a few shrines in honor to other deities that are especially favoured by the local community.

The Vallorean gods are briefly detailed as follows:

Vallenar—Sar-Vallenar; Supreme God of the Vallorean pantheon; “God of the Rising Sun”; “God of the New Dawn”; God of the sun; fire; war; righteousness; glory; valor.

Vallenar—Tar-Vallenar; Supreme God of the Vallorean pantheon; “God of the Majestic Sun”; God of the sun; rulership; judgment; law; fire; nobility

Vallenar—Ar-Vallenar; Supreme God of the Vallorean pantheon; “God of the Setting Sun”; God of the sun; fire; magic; law; knowledge; prophecy

Dhoranna—Kal-Dhoranna; Supreme Goddess of the Vallorean pantheon; Goddess of fertility, passion; vengeance; chaos; wild animals; and rulership

Dhoranna—Var-Dhoranna; Supreme Goddess of the Vallorean pantheon; Goddess of fertility; nature; earth; water; air; and fire

Dhoranna—Sar-Dhoranna; Supreme Goddess of the Vallorean pantheon; Goddess of fertility; wisdom; love; marriage; crafts; healing

Paladan—God of healing, smithing, fire, strength, wisdom and hope

Teganna—Goddess of the Moon; the stars; beauty; romance; glory; and war

Aribeth—Goddess of the Moon; justice, wisdom, purity, compassion and healing

Rhyllu—Goddess of the Moon, magic, chaos, prophecy, knowledge and secrets

Ulleric—God of Winter; mountains; storms; thunder; strength; and war

Utharna—Goddess of Winter; chaos; battle; death; storms; and destruction

Taarna—Goddess of Autumn; earth; harvests; domesticated animals; crafts; abundance

Halladar—God of Autumn; chaos; forests; nature; wild animals; earth

Galdar—God of Summer; forests, wild animals, nature, hunting, and nobility

Dramah—Goddess of Summer; fire; passion; fertility; music and art

Sarmanda—Goddess of Spring; waters; fertility; joy; passion; healing

Dartherrus—God of Spring; chaos; wild animals; music; passion; fertility

Martherrian—God of trade; travel; crafts; law; wealth; fortune

Nohbirrian—God of death; plague; pestilence; law; nobility; fate

Hardrannus—God of trickery; fortune; chaos; music; art; poetry

Elladain—God of the sea; trickery; nobility; travel; chaos and fortune

Mallannon—God of the sea; chaos; water; storms; animals; destruction

Dhamarna—Goddess of the sea; waters; animals; beauty; wisdom; compassion

Warfare

The Vallorean Empire is the strongest empire in all of Western Arthann. The Vallorean Empire has gained this great dominion by building and maintaining a huge, highly-trained and disciplined professional army, and a strong, powerful navy. The Vallorean Empire has an army of many legions of tough, professional soldiers organized into units of heavy infantry, as well as excellent heavy cavalry forces. In addition, the army also includes within the legions various units of archers and skirmishers. The Vallorean Empire typically augments the professional legions by the use of provincial auxiliary forces to supply additional skirmishers, raiders, archers, light and medium cavalry, as well various native barbarian forces which possess a range of special skills, training, and talents.

Cultural Weapons and Armour

Tethorna Vallorean Cultural Armour
Leather Armor (AC 8)
Hide Armor (AC 8)
Studded Leather (AC 7)
Scale Armor (AC 6)
Breastplate (AC 5)
Chainmail Hauberk (AC 5)
Banded Armor (AC 4)
Platemail (AC 3)
Shield, Wooden
Shield, Steel

Tethorna Vallorean Cultural Weapons
Dagger, Dart, Sling, Club, Heavy Mace, Light Mace, Handaxe, Battleaxe, Heavy Flail, Light Flail, Warhammer, Shortsword, Broadsword, Longsword, Bastard Sword, Greatsword, Great Axe, Great Flail, Great Warhammer, Javelin, Spear, Lance, Pike, Shortbow, Composite Shortbow, Longbow, Composite Longbow, Great Longbow

Elves, Wood—Sarlenya, Gallarond

2011-04-26T15:06:00.001-07:00

Elves, Wood—Sarlenya, Gallarond

History

The Sarlenya—typically known as Wood Elves to non-elves—have an ancient history stretching far back into antiquity, even to the beginning ages of the world. There are three primary races of elves in the world, known as the Marlenya, Sarlenya, and Darlenya. Sarlenya are almost always closely allied with neighboring communities of Marlenya, as the two groups seldom live far from each other, and the Sarlenya readily mix within the environment and local communities of Marlenya.

The Sarlenya are politically independent from the Marlenya, though the Marlenya are generally acknowledged as greater “elder brothers” or “elder sisters”—in honor to the Marlenya for three reasons; the Marlenya were created by the elven gods first; the Marlenya possess a greater command of the magical, arcane arts; the Marlenya bathed in, and enjoyed the Primal Waters of Creation for a longer span of years than the Sarlenya. The Sarlenya are content to live amongst the Marlenya, in their own manner, and according to their own temperament and way.

The Sarlenya seldom form kingdoms, though a few have been established, historically speaking. While some Sarlenya typically always live amongst the Marlenya, the majority of Sarlenya live somewhat separately from the Marlenya, gathered together in their own independent communities. The Sarlenya are primarily a nomadic people, though they occasionally form villages and towns at critical junctures, crossroads, and lake-shores where the environment easily supports a larger, denser community. In addition, the Sarlenya often build mound-communities—such fortified communities are established within a single, large hill, or a cluster of hills. Having said that, most Sarlenya typically prefer to roam and wander about in nomadic bands, establishing a rough, seasonal circuit of encampments.

Physical Appearance

Sarlenya are typically somewhat shorter in height than average humans, and tend to be lean, graceful and athletic in physique. Sarlenya, as elves, are almost always very attractive in their appearance, as their other-worldly nature reflects itself in their flawless, smooth skin, alluring eyes, and charming, sensual features. Sarlenya are never too fat, or too thin, though their height and weight characteristics are variable for individuals, their features are always athletic, curvaceous and beautiful for females, while the Sarlenya males are always athletic, muscular, and handsome.

Most Sarlenya tribes have ancient tribal tattoo customs, where both male and female Sarlenya gain various tattoos upon reaching maturity. Such tribal tattoos are inscribed by the elf’s family members or close friends, and if none have the required skills, a druid or shaman are all typically trained to possess great skills in inscribing tribal tattoos. Once a set of tattoos—each are unique to the individual—are inscribed, a tribal druid or shaman performs various rituals in blessing and interpreting the tattoos.

Sarlenya also often decorate their bodies with different styles of ear and nose piercings, using forms of jewelry as well as specially prepared bones. All Sarlenya typically love jewelry, from earrings and nose-rings, to nose-bones, necklaces and finger-rings. Sarlenya also love various neck and arm torcs, and different styles of bracelets. While Sarlenya typically love items of jewelry, they never wear such in a gaudy and ostentatious manner, typically preferring to wear but a few beautiful and favoured items.

The Sarlenya typically have bronze-brown to tan skin complexion, dark brown, green or grey eyes, and ebony-black, black-brown, or dark-brown hair. Average height for male Sarlenya is about 5’4” and average weight is 130-lbs. Female Sarlenya average 5’0” in height and 100-lbs. in weight. Male and female Sarlenya typically have height and weight ranges indicated as follows:

N.B: Player Characters are encouraged to review the Sarlenya Character Tables, below.

Sarlenya characters are vigorous and very agile, and gain a +1 bonus to Dexterity and a +1 bonus to Constitution at character generation. Sarlenya are also daring and inspiring in their demeanor and manner, and gain a +1 bonus to Charisma at character generation. In addition, the Sarlenya are almost always very attractive and alluring in appearance, and gain a +2 bonus to Comeliness at character generation.

Sarlenya Character Ability Summary
+1 Dexterity
+1 Constitution
+1 Charisma
+2 Comeliness

Sarlenya Character Tables

Sarlenya Character Table: Skin Tone
Dice Roll/Skin Tone
01-05%: White, Pale
06-10%: White, Tan
11-20%: White, Olive
21-30%: Tan, Olive
31-40%: Tan, Golden
41-50%: Brown, Tawny
51-65%: Brown, Olive
66-80%: Brown, Cinnamon
81-00%: Brown, Bronze

Sarlenya Character Table: Hair Color
Dice Roll/Hair Color
01-20%: Black, Ebony
21-40%: Black, Brown
41-65%: Brown, Dark
66-75%: Brown, Chestnut
76-80%: Brown, Golden
81-82%: Brown, Honey
83-84%: Brown, Red
85-86%: Red
87-88%: Red, Auburn
89-90%: Red, Copper
91-92%: Blonde, Brassy
93-94%: Blonde, Ash
95-96%: Blonde, Flaxen
97-98%: Blonde, Golden
99-00%: Blonde, Honey

Sarlenya Character Table: Eye Color
Dice Roll/Eye Color
01-20%: Brown, Dark
21-30%: Brown, Bright
31-40%: Brown, Pale
41-50%: Brown, Golden
51-55%: Green, Bright
56-60%: Green, Kelly
61-65%: Green, Pale
66-70%: Green, Seafoam
71-72%: Hazel, Gold-Flecked
73-78%: Hazel, Brown
79-83%: Grey, Pale
84-88%: Grey, Ice
89-94%: Grey, Blue
95-96%: Blue, Dark
97-98%: Blue, Green
99-00%: Blue, Bright

Sarlenya Height and Weight Tables
Male Sarlenya Base Height: 5’0”-5’10”; (4’10”+2d6”);
Average Height: 5’4”
Male Sarlenya Base Weight: 106-160-lbs; (100+6d10);
Average Weight: 130-lbs.

Female Sarlenya Base Height: 4’6”-5’4”; (4’4”+2d6”);
Average Height: 5’0”
Female Sarlenya Base Weight: 76-130 pounds. (70+6d10);
Average Weight: 100-lbs.

Politics

The Gallarond Sarlenya are primarily a nomadic, pastoral people organized into tribes. The Sarlenya tribes and communities are generally politically and economically independent from the Marlenya, and live very much in harmony with the natural world, intentionally and purposely seeking to live as lightly on the natural landscape as possible. Sarlenya communities and tribes are led by a High Chieftain, selected and voted to rule by the Tribal Council. The Tribal Council is composed of a large group of elders, shamans, druids, warriors and bards drawn from the whole community. In small enough tribes, all adult members of the community—both male and female—serve on the Tribal Council.

The High Chieftain is elected to the position for life—unless otherwise voted out of his position by a majority vote of the Tribal Council. The High Chieftain is also served by several other Chieftains—such chieftains are skilled, and respected for their area of knowledge and expertise, such as Chieftain of the Hunting Bands; War Chieftain; Chieftain of Berserkers; Chieftain of Craftsmen; and so on. Each tribe or community organizes and appoints the various chieftains as they desire, and have specialties for, as appropriate. The Tribal Council also typically has several other related councils—a Warrior’s Council; a Druid’s Council; a Craftsmen’s Council, and so on that meet at various appointed times to discuss and debate issues of particular importance to them, as desired by the membership and the council leadership.

In the realm of Gallarond, there are 12 tribes of Sarlenya. The Sarlenya tribes are as follows:

Sarlenya Tribes of Gallarond

1. Daemeri
2. Naemeri
3. Maecembi
4. Caembi
5. Baecaru
6. Maendaru
7. Vaedari
8. Caeldari
9. Caelani
10. Suelani
11. Laecani
12. Saercani

Each of the Sarlenya tribes is independent of each other, and speaks for themselves. While each Sarlenya tribe is generally nomadic, each tribe has various members and family-groups living in scattered villages and towns throughout the realm. In addition, while each Sarlenya tribe is politically independent, each is a vassal-tribe to the overall Marlenya Kingdom of Gallarond. Each Sarlenya tribe has been a traditional ally to the Marlenya Kingdom through ancient oaths of loyalty and allegiance sworn to the Marlenya king.

Each spring, there is a special, formal ceremony where the current Sarlenya chieftains symbolically renew their oath of loyalty and allegiance to the Kingdom of Gallarond. The Marlenya king—or his appointed great nobles—join together with the Sarlenya chieftains at a place known as Dhulandra’s Vale, where the Stone of Halladorn is located. The Stone of Halladorn is an immense, shimmering black stone that fell from the heavens in ages long past. The Stone of Halladorn is where the Sarlenya chieftains first swore their oaths of loyalty and allegiance to the Marlenya kingdom, when the Kingdom of Gallarond was founded over three thousand years ago. During the yearly ceremony—known simply as the Blackstone Ceremony, the Sarlenya chieftains and the Marlenya king and nobles exchange fine gifts, and the oaths are spoken and recorded in the Marlenya Chronicle of Gallarond. Afterwards, the various nobles and chieftains enjoy a great period of feasting and celebrations which last for ten days. Traditionally, the nobles and chieftains are accompanied by their respective entourages of followers, and usually thousands of other elves from both communities also attend the great festivities and ceremonies during Blackstone.

Culture

The Gallarond Sarlenya are more tribal, primitive and rural than the Marlenya, though the Sarlenya are quite capable of building permanent settlements of villages and larger communities. However, while the Sarlenya are capable of building more permanent settlements—they know full well about cities of stone, wood and glass—the Sarlenya typically have little desire to ever live permanently within a large city.

The Gallarond Sarlenya tribes are generally polygamous, though various tribes also embrace elements and traditions of a group/tribal marriage, where female Sarlenya may have more than one husband at the same time. Naturally, in practice most Sarlenya are generally monogamous—having only one spouse at a time—though depending on the social and political status of an individual Sarlenya, polygamy is permitted, whereupon a male Sarlenya may have more than one wife. Other Sarlenya—if they are wealthy enough, and the females are agreeable—may also have multiple wives.

The Gallarond Sarlenya marriage customs are noted in brief, as follows:

Polygamous/Tribal/Group; Loose, Informal

Loose: People involved have varying expectations of absolute sexual fidelity and exclusivity; mistresses, lovers, and so on are fairly common, and generally accepted.

Informal: The culture has no strict requirements concerning divorce, and divorce is relatively easy and simple to do, with no social, religious or cultural stigmas for anyone involved. In addition, children born out of wedlock are not subject to being outcasts, and may be common and entirely accepted.

The Gallarond Sarlenya typically travels in nomadic bands, wandering and roaming the forests, hills, and meadows. The Sarlenya roam the wilderness—hunting, fishing, and herding groups of cattle and sheep from pasture to pasture. The Sarlenya constantly gather herbs, plants, fruits and nuts from the surrounding wilderness, as the area and season allows. The Sarlenya move to regular encampments when they are available or near—or make a new, temporary encampment if a more permanent one is not available.

Economically, the Sarlenya are largely self-sufficient, living off the land and in harmony with the natural world. However, while the Sarlenya revere the natural world, the Sarlenya pantheon does not prohibit the Sarlenya from taking resources and using such according to their needs, as well as permitting the Sarlenya to alter and change the local environment as circumstances and need demand.

The Sarlenya do, however, zealously embrace a serious, militant philosophy that demands they respect the natural world, and any project or action must be carried out with appropriate thought and care for the environment. In addition—much in contrast with the typical attitudes of humans, as well as other humanoids—any project or action changing the natural environment or affecting the natural animals of the area must be done so not merely with a sense of responsibility—but also one of thoughtfulness and consideration as to helping the creatures or the environment live with the required changes, or deal with the circumstance in some viable manner. The Sarlenya embrace a cultural philosophy that is environmentally responsible and dynamic in every way, and which is vigilant in seeking active, flexible solutions and behavior that integrates with the natural environment in a sound, thoughtful, and enlightened manner.

The Sarlenya trade many valuable products, from animal furs and skin, to antlers, claws, hooves, feathers and teeth. The Sarlenya also trade meat, fish, shells, herbs, fruits, nuts, and plants. The Sarlenya manufacture a variety of poisons, as well as dyes, salves, ointments, and other medicinal products. In various areas of their tribal lands, each of the Sarlenya tribes grows and cultivates a large section of tree-groves that are specially for harvesting for wood-products. The Sarlenya tribes generally prefer to use these wood-products for timber when their own needs require it, while some supplies of such excellent native timber is always used for trade.

The Sarlenya make wonderful colored beads, as well as fine clothing and textiles. The Sarlenya also trade wool, as well as fine pottery that possess a unique and distinctive style. Sarlenya pottery possesses several recognizable features that are unique to the Sarlenya artistic style; the Sarlenya pottery style always features engraved ring-designs, and often has a single type of animal motif painted onto the pottery. The upper and lower portions of the pottery typically feature intricate leaf-patterns. The Sarlenya have developed several varieties of blended fruit-juices, as well as wonderful ciders.

The Sarlenya tribes have a variety of customs concerning people and their place within the larger Sarlenya society. The Sarlenya have various rituals and ceremonies for adolescents reaching maturity; birth ceremonies; marriage rituals; and funeral ceremonies. The Sarlenya also perform rituals at significant places in time, such as before a battle; after a battle; before and after a great journey; as well as at other occasions regarding personal events or experiences that are significant.

Religion

Like the Marlenya, the Sarlenya are deeply spiritual, and mystical. The Sarlenya consult auguries and omens routinely, to determine aspects of a person’s fate or the details of a person, or a course of action. Sarlenya druids and shamans routinely perform services of divination for everyone in the community, as needed. Such services typically require payment in some form. Prophecies are fairly unusual, though mystical visions and dreams are common experiences for many Sarlenya. Whenever a Sarlenya child is born, the parents consult with the tribal druids and shamans to learn of any particular prophecies concerning the individual child, as well as divinations pertaining to the child’s essential character and temperament. When a Sarlenya reaches maturity, the tribal druids and shamans perform a series of rituals to determine particular ambitions or goals that the individual should pursue, as well as any potential taboos that the individual must always be careful to observe and maintain. Violation of such a personal taboo for any reason invites evil spirits to interfere, attack, or oppose the person in various ways, bringing ill-fortune and even disaster to the person for such transgression. In addition, the individual is ritually blessed by the tribal druids and shamans in a special ceremony celebrating the person’s transition into being an adult member of the community.

Sarlenya revere the entire natural world, believing that all natural animals and creatures are in their own way, sacred and divinely appointed by the gods to live and move according to their nature. The Sarlenya people view their own existence as intimately intertwined with everything else in the natural world. Furthermore, each natural creature, and even the various elements and places of the natural world possess their own individual spirit, or a guardian spirit that exemplifies or watches over the place or thing. Thus, natural animals such as the deer, wolf, and bear for example, each have a great animal spirit that watches over them, and ordains the way in which each creature exists and moves—as well as their own personal, unique spirit. Furthermore, the forest has a divine spirit, as well as the mountains, meadows, lakes, rivers and marshes. Whatever natural element has a unique spirit, and may also have a range of temporal, natural guardians, allies, and friends, as well as various supernatural guardians and allies. All such natural and supernatural creatures and spirits are in union with, and servants to the gods and goddesses of the Sarlenya pantheon.

Throughout the year, the Sarlenya tribes hold a large variety of religious ceremonies and celebrations honoring the gods, as well as other occasions of spiritual significance. The various religious holidays and celebrations—as well as the four seasonal celebrations—are typically celebrated through a variety of religious rituals, ceremonies, and festivals. Each religious celebration is eagerly attended by the entire Sarlenya community, and often serves as focus points for other cultural and political traditions and customs.

Generally speaking, the Sarlenya do not build temples and such to worship the gods in. The Sarlenya honor the gods in special natural locations, such as a mountain-top, a special lake, blessed river, or a sacred grove of trees. On occasion, the Sarlenya build some great stone amphitheater, or a large singular building of rough stone or timber to serve as ceremonial locations for various rituals, as well as to act as a secure housing for religious possessions and food, as well as blessed relics, weapons, jewelry, and the like. In addition to honoring the gods in various natural locations, the Sarlenya also build and erect other spiritually important locations, such as great stone circles, monoliths, giant, carved animal figures of stone or wood, as well as intricately painted religious scenery along the faces of ravines, caves, and cliffs. The Sarlenya build huge earthen grave-mounds in which the Sarlenya carve burial chambers within, where the deceased are interred inside carved stone tombs. Such Sarlenya burial mounds also feature various possessions and ceremonial goods belonging to or honoring the deceased.

The Sarlenya tribes have druids as their primary religious leaders, and who also serve as the majority of the priesthood for any Sarlenya tribe. However, the Sarlenya have embraced some new forms of religious expression and practice over the centuries, and from this process some Sarlenya tribes also have shamans serving the tribe alongside the druids. In leadership, the druids hold more authority, though the shamans are respected for their different magical powers and talents, and the shamanistic tradition has been generally welcomed throughout all Sarlenya tribes as a spiritual tradition related to, but different from the druidic traditions.

The gods of the Sarlenya are noted below:

Gallandra—Supreme goddess of the Sarlenya pantheon. Goddess of fertility, nature, earth, air, fire and water

Elladorn—Supreme god of the Sarlenya pantheon. God of the sun, magic, knowledge, fire, prophecy and nobility

Thaeradorn—God of mountains, storms, thunder, war, strength and adventure

Berrenar—God of hunting, forests, wild animals, nature, nobility and valor

Sindathor—God of trade, crafts, fortune, hospitality, knowledge and travel

Belaras—God of chaos, trickery, fortune, savagery, wild animals, and fertility

Maegeros—God of mountains, fire, smithing, strength, magic and crafts

Galendil—God of nobility, music, travel, trickery, knowledge, and fortune

Mindrasil—Goddess of winter, nature, air, storms, darkness and death

Lyganneth—Goddess of autumn, nature, earth, harvests, abundance, and domesticated animals

Gallanwe—Goddess of summer, nature, fire, the sun, passion, and glory

Lyrannia—Goddess of spring, nature, water, fertility, rivers, and hope

Mithandrian—Goddess of the moon, darkness, forests, wild animals, chaos and savagery

Narthandra—Goddess of fertility, beauty, passion, music, art, and poetry

Caellawyn—Goddess of the home, marriage, crafts, joy, love and wisdom

Sarrellian—Goddess of shepherds, fertility, passion, romance, trickery and travel

Allandris—Goddess of the moon, stars, prophecy, healing, magic and knowledge

Gallaril—Goddess of chaos, war, wrath, pride, greed and murder

Rhaethonil—Goddess of chaos, war, beauty, lust, envy and madness

Thaeranil—Goddess of chaos, war, sloth, gluttony, decadence and plague

Warfare

The Sarlenya recruit warriors from villages, towns, and mound-forts, as well as from nomadic bands and encampments. The Sarlenya armies are typically composed of a variety of forces, from swift-moving light and medium cavalry—both mounted lancers and mounted archers—to large infantry units armed with spears and axes. Sarlenya recruit special troops formed of bands of champions, elite berserkers, and ruthless raiders. Sarlenya armies and regional military forces are always accompanied by large numbers of skirmishers, who serve as scouts and screening forces, raiding behind enemy lines, as well as constantly harassing front-line enemy troops with ranged missile fire, as well as ambushes and field traps.

Cultural Weapons and Armour

Sarlenya Cultural Armour
Leather Armor (AC 8)
Hide Armor (AC 8)
Studded Leather (AC 7)
Scale Mail (AC 6)
Breastplate (AC 5)
Shield (Wood)

Sarlenya Cultural Weapons
Dagger, Dart, Club, Sling, Handaxe, Battleaxe, Quarterstaff, Shortsword, Longsword, Two-handed sword, Javelin, Spear, Lance, Shortbow, Composite Shortbow, Longbow, Composite Longbow

Elves, High—Marlenya, Gallarond

2011-04-26T14:56:00.001-07:00

Elves, High—Marlenya, Gallarond

History

The Marlenya—typically known as the High Elves to others—have established a powerful and glorious elven kingdom, where the Marlenya and their Sarlenya brethren live in a primordial, other-worldly realm of vast, towering mountains, mysterious, mist-shrouded forests, romantic, idyllic meadows, shimmering lakes, and sparkling rivers. The Marlenya have built wondrous, graceful castles of fine stone and glass, as well as glittering cities, prosperous towns, and scenic, peaceful villages throughout the mysterious, enchanted land of Gallarond. The Kingdom of Gallarond is graciously ruled by valiant and noble elven knights, and guarded by a powerful army of fiercely-disciplined and heroic Marlenya warriors armoured in glittering mail and armed with the finest bows, deadly spears, and gleaming swords. All of the Marlenya and Sarlenya are citizens of the kingdom, and all are bound by sacred, ancient oaths of loyalty and allegiance to the glorious King of Gallarond.

The first Marlenya settlers in Gallarond originally came from a large fleet that was sent out to find new lands to colonize. The great elven fleet discovered the new land, and after sending scouts ashore, the elves determined that the land was primarily a dense, uncharted wilderness, and was suitable to establish a settlement. The Marlenya landed, and proceeded to establish various settlements throughout the region, and soon formally established the Kingdom of Gallarond. The great elven fleet was composed of a variety of colonists drawn from the largest elven kingdoms far to the north and north-west, from the kingdoms of Vaedrenar, Rhaethillien, and Dor’Lomenath. The elven settlers were led by a great elven nobleman and adventurer—Lord Gallarond. Lord Gallarond had an ancient and heroic lineage in his homeland of Rhaethillien, though because he was not the first-born child, he was therefore not the heir to his family’s lands and holdings. Gallarond was bold and ambitious, and was eager to gain lands of his own. From such noble lineage and great ambition, Gallarond was selected by the queen of Rhaethillien to lead the expedition in search of new lands.

The elves proceeded to establish a secure encampment, and soon, Gallarond assembled all of the people for a great ceremony. The great ceremony was preceded by various rituals, and the expedition’s druids anointed Gallarond as the new king of the realm. The elves enjoyed a wondrous feast afterwards in honor to the great occasion, and the Kingdom of Gallarond was formally established. The elves of Gallarond built new villages, towns, and fortresses at far-flung, scattered locations so as to fence their new realm in, and establish some general boundaries. The elves established a formal boundary to the Malaris Forest, with the south-eastern borders formed from the Marlann and the Vandris Rivers. The eastern border was the high ridge-points and forests of the Caledorn Mountains. To the north, the boundary was the northern banks of the Amberi River. The entire western lands were enclosed by the waves of the Argerren Sea.

The Marlenya founded the Kingdom of Gallarond over three thousand years ago, and have worked hard and diligently to keep their great kingdom not only safe and strong—but virtually unknown to any outsiders, as well as any of the non-elven races and peoples that have come to dwell in the nearby regions. The Kingdom of Gallarond is a strange, mystical realm, where even the elves have not explored all of it in detail. The Marlenya have added various enchantments to further shroud and enhance the mysterious realm, and to maintain the geographical, racial and political integrity of the kingdom. The Marlenya have long memories—and remember with precise clarity, righteous indignation and bitter sorrow—the mournful fate of more than one elven realm that had its sovereign borders overrun by various enemies in savage invasions and wars of brutal, ruthless conquest.

The Marlenya have forged a great and noble kingdom that is strong and secure. However, the great land of Gallarond is also a mythical realm, interlaced with mysterious, primordial locations, strange landmarks, and mystic environments that border magical lands and other-worldly dimensions. While the elves largely rule the land of Gallarond as their dominion—they do not rule the ancient dominion alone, and must share the land with mythical monsters, faerie creatures, and other eldritch beings—not all of which are friendly to the elves. Many such mythical creatures and monsters are deadly enemies to the elves, while others are variously competitive, mischievous, or merely predatory, according to their own natures and whims.

Physical Appearance

The Marlenya are an ancient, majestic race of High Elves that are tall, graceful, and beautiful. Marlenya typically dress in fine, richly embroidered clothes, often of bright, vivid colors. Marlenya love fine jewelry, and especially favour necklaces, neck and arm torcs, and rings. While all Marlenya love jewelry, they are not typically ostentatious, and prefer to wear but a few beautiful items of jewelry at a time. Female Marlenya often wear their hair long and straight, and often worn in braids, with hair-torcs or jeweled hair-combs. Female Marlenya typically wear their hair to the middle of their back, or down to their waist in length. Female Marlenya enjoy fine, exotic perfumes, and are fond of scented baths. Male Marlenya usually wear their hair straight or wavy, and to their shoulders or the middle of their back in length. Marlenya do not grow facial hair.

Marlenya, as elves, are typically well-proportioned, alluring, and very attractive in appearance and form. Female Marlenya are athletic, curvaceous, and beautiful. Male Marlenya are athletic, muscular, and handsome. Naturally, the individual elf possesses varying dimensions and form—but whatever the particular unique appearance, an elf typically reflects an other-worldly form of exquisite grace, impressive strength and enchanting beauty.

Marlenya usually have skin tone that is a smooth, milk-white or pale, cream-white in complexion. Marlenya often have unusual eye colors, commonly having eyes of lilac-blue, violet-blue, yellow-gold, ice-grey or pale-green in color. Marlenya hair is typically long, thick, and wavy, and often of raven-black, ebony-black, platinum-blonde, or auburn in color. Male Marlenya average 6’4” in height and typically weigh 210-lbs. Female Marlenya average 6’0” in height, and weigh 170-lbs.

N.B: Player Characters are encouraged to review the Marlenya Character Tables, below.

Marlenya characters are strong and very intelligent, and gain a +1 bonus to Strength and a +1 bonus to Intelligence at character generation. Marlenya are heroic, inspiring and magnetic in their demeanor and manner, and gain a +1 bonus to Charisma at character generation. In addition, the Marlenya are almost always very attractive and alluring in appearance, and gain a +3 bonus to Comeliness at character generation. The Marlenya, while strong, are not as robust as humans, and suffer a -1 penalty to Constitution at character generation.

Marlenya Character Ability Summary
+1 Strength
+1 Intelligence
+1 Charisma
+3 Comeliness
-1 Constitution

Marlenya Character Tables

Marlenya Character Table: Skin Tone
Dice Roll/Skin Tone
01-30%: White, Milk/Albino
31-80%: White, Pale Cream
81-90%: White, Olive
91-00%: White, Tan

Marlenya Character Table: Hair Color
Dice Roll/Hair Color
01-25%: Black, Raven
26-40%: Black, Ebony
41-55%: Blonde, Platinum
56-65%: Blonde, Golden
66-75%: Red, Auburn
76-80%: Milk White
81-82%: Silver
83-84%: Black, Brown
85-86%: Brown, Dark
87-88%: Brown, Chestnut
89-90%: Brown, Red
91-92%: Red
93-94%: Red, Copper
95-96%: Blonde, Ash
97-98%: Blonde, Flaxen
99-00%: Blonde, Honey

Marlenya Character Table: Eye Color
Dice Roll/Eye Color
01-05%: Blue, Midnight
06-10%: Blue-Grey
11-15%: Blue, Ice
16-25%: Blue, Lilac
26-35%: Blue, Violet
36-45%: Blue-Green
46-55%: Yellow, Golden
56-65%: Grey, Ice
66-75%: Green, Pale
76-80%: Grey, Pale
81-85%: Grey, Iron
86-90%: Green, Bright
91-95%: Green, Kelly
96-00%: Green, Seafoam

Marlenya Height and Weight Tables
Male Marlenya Base Height: 5’10”-7’0”; (5’8” + 2d8”);
Average Height: 6’4”
Male Marlenya Base Weight: 154-280 pounds; (140+14d10);
Average Weight: 210-lbs.

Female Marlenya Base Height: 5’8”-6’6”; (5’6” + 2d6”);
Average Height: 6’0”
Female Marlenya Base Weight: 130-220 pounds; (120+10d10)
Average Weight: 170-lbs.

Politics

The Marlenya king is the king of all the elves in Gallarond—whether they are Marlenya or Sarlenya. However, the Sarlenya are more or less self-sufficient and independent from the Marlenya. For the most part, the Sarlenya are content with the Marlenya king handling any large foreign-policy arrangements with kingdoms or tribes beyond the borders of Gallarond. The Sarlenya tribes acknowledge the strength and leadership of the Marlenya king, and generally view the Marlenya as greater “elder brothers” or “elder sisters”—in honor to the Marlenya for three reasons; the Marlenya were created by the elven gods first; the Marlenya possess a greater command of the magical, arcane arts; the Marlenya bathed in, and enjoyed the Primal Waters of Creation for a longer span of years than the Sarlenya. The Sarlenya are content to live amongst the Marlenya, in their own manner, and according to their own temperament and way. In a similar manner, the Marlenya respect the Sarlenya for their own unique culture, talents, and contributions to the kingdom, and their people. The Marlenya often gently chide the Sarlenya for their primitive, barbaric ways and customs—though the Marlenya also feel a deep kinship and joyful awe in the Sarlenya’s nomadic, barbaric culture. The Marlenya are likewise often amused with their Sarlenya brethren, though the Marlenya are also proud and content of their own unique culture, and living in their own way.

The King of Gallarond rules for life, and is served by a Royal Council, called the Druna. The Druna is composed of the kingdom’s great nobles, as well as a High Wizard, and a High Druid. The council also includes various lesser ranking members, from warriors and druids, to mages, bards and other elders drawn from the realm. The Druna advises the king, as well as holding debates on various issues as circumstances demand. The elven people enjoy great personal, and economic freedoms, and while the Druna holds the power to vote a wayward monarch from the throne—such an action requires extensive debate, ceremonies, a majority vote of the entire council, as well as various and particular other criteria. The elves are traditional supporters of monarchy—and the elves’ religious philosophy is intricately intertwined with a deep belief in the need for a “Divine Monarch”—as the King, and Queen alike are seen as in many ways being divinely anointed by the gods, and entirely interdependent upon the overall health and prosperity of the “Land”.

The Marlenya, while believing in divine, absolute monarchy—are also convinced of the need for healthy, passionate debate, and voicing their opinions and concerns. The Marlenya cherish their personal freedoms, and the King is seen as the divinely-anointed guardian and defender of those freedoms, as well as the elven culture and way of life. The elven commoners serve their lawful and rightful lords—who in turn, are arranged in a feudal structure that serves the king.

The Marlenya druids have acknowledged and proclaimed there is the “Law of Tyrannis”—which is an ancient, draconian law which declares that should any citizen of the kingdom reveal the secret gateways into the land of Gallarond, such a person is guilty of high treason, and is to be executed. Furthermore, the traitor’s entire family is also condemned to death. The elves have never admitted that there has ever been such a traitor to the Kingdom of Gallarond, thus the law, evidently, has never been put to the test. The Marlenya also forbid any foreign visitors to the sacred realm of Gallarond, without having an invitation, and an escort. Any non-elves that have visited Gallarond have only done so by heavy escort, and been taken by secret ways to whatever city or part of the realm they desired to reach.

The Marlenya King has allowed specially designated border communities to be centers of trade and commerce with foreigners—and it is only to these particular places that foreigners are welcomed. Heralds from Gallarond have taken the words of their great king to foreign leaders—whether they be chieftains or kings—and explained the policy of the King of Gallarond in a clear, distinctive manner, and have also written and presented treaties where such policies are detailed. It is well known that foreign visitors are not permitted to enter anywhere in Gallarond except in the sanctioned border communities that possess an official “Foreign Gate”. As far as neighboring human communities know of—or for that matter, humans anywhere else that know of the Kingdom of Gallarond—any people that they have known or heard of that have gone into other areas of Gallarond have vanished forever, never to return. The fate of such intrepid explorers—or foolish adventurers—is a mystery. The elves, when questioned, claim ignorance—or offer the suggestion that the elven forests are very dangerous and mysterious, and various creatures and monsters that live within the ancient woods may have killed and eaten the foreign explorers. Whether or not any humans have ever entered an area of sacred Gallarond and returned alive, no human sages know for certain. As far as humans or any other foreigners know—the Kingdom of Gallarond remains a mystery, shrouded in a dangerous, mythical realm.

Culture

The Marlenya of Gallarond has an ancient and noble culture that is heroic, feudal, and mystical. The Marlenya take omens and divination very seriously, and such customs as astrology, portents, visions and prophecy are very important to them. The Marlenya have a large range of cultural customs for occasions at birth, death, marriage, adulthood, among others. There are special seasonal celebrations, ceremonies and festivals that are held throughout the year, and are eagerly attended by everyone in the Marlenya community. The Marlenya honor their gods with numerous rituals and ceremonies, as well as elaborate festivals and holidays.

The Kingdom of Gallarond is rich in natural resources. The elves of Gallarond harvest special areas set aside for lumber, as well as harvesting a large variety of crops, plants, herbs, roots, berries, and nuts. The elves raise herds of unusually large cattle—as well as various other animals, from sheep and chickens, to pigs, rabbits and game-birds. Gallarond is rich in fish and amphibians as well, and the rivers and lakes provide the elves with a large portion of their diet. The elves of Gallarond have also developed several excellent varieties of wine and ale, which is eagerly traded and sought by foreign merchants.

The elves of Gallarond are also outstanding craftsmen, and weave gorgeous clothing, fine cloaks, and beautiful pottery. In addition, elven merchants also trade elven-made books, scrolls, jewelry, and fine, exquisite furniture.

Much of the resources, wealth and goods that the Sarlenya gather or manufacture are traded for by Marlenya merchants, who then take such goods to the Border Towns and trade the Sarlenya goods to human and non-human merchants that gather there for commerce. The Marlenya sell all such elven goods—whether made by Marlenya or Sarlenya—for very high prices. The Marlenya elves have sophisticated merchant-guilds that join together in organizing trade policies for goods exported in trade to foreign markets.

The Marlenya differ from their wood-elf brethren in many ways—from being more advanced in various areas, as well as a preference for mountains, and sea-shores. The Marlenya are typically more disciplined, lawful, and proud. The Marlenya honor their gods in various natural settings, much as the Sarlenya do—but the Marlenya also build great temples to their gods. The Marlenya also enjoy living in cities, and towns—as well as great fortresses and romantic citadels perched on high, majestic mountains, or overlooking a shimmering lake, or set upon some high, scenic hill overlooking beautiful seashores with a crashing surf.

The Marlenya are also more with comfortable authoritarian tendencies than the Sarlenya. The Marlenya typically view these characteristics as “leadership” and “boldness”—though the Sarlenya simply view their Marlenya brethren as enjoying power, authority, structure, discipline and hierarchy more than they. The Marlenya tend to rely less on processes of “consensus” than the Sarlenya, often being bold, daring, and impatient. The Marlenya are also more worldly and decadent, enjoying a range of pleasures and protocols that are typically amusing—if not somewhat baffling to the Sarlenya. For example, Marlenya take great pleasure in elaborate social and sexual protocols and engaging in complex mind games and subtle manipulation. Marlenya are also much more materialistic and concerned with social status, nuances of social pecking orders and erotic games than the more straightforward and direct Sarlenya.

Of course, much of the sophisticated, elaborate cultural customs of the Marlenya are readily cast aside—at least temporarily—when the circumstance or occasion demand it. Marlenya can be very exhilarated and entirely hedonistic during various erotic festivals and celebrations, rough feasts in meeting halls with champions and warriors gathered about, drinking, yelling oaths, storytelling, and engaging in fierce bragging contests. The Marlenya are also known—and feared—to become overwhelmed with ferocious bloodlust and battle-frenzy in battle, and taking a savage joy in all aspects of slaughter and war. The Marlenya are also known for being vengeful, and can become consumed with various obsessions. In many ways, the typical Marlenya culture and its plethora of elaborate customs, mannerisms, laws, and expectations serve themselves as an elaborate system of controls—to restrain and control the deeper chaotic personality and savage passions within the Marlenya soul.

The Marlenya marriage customs are as follows:

Monogamous; Loose, Informal, Concubinage

Loose: People involved have varying expectations of absolute sexual fidelity and exclusivity; mistresses, lovers, and so on are fairly common, and generally accepted.

Informal: The culture has no strict requirements concerning divorce, and divorce is relatively easy and simple to do, with no social, religious or cultural stigmas for anyone involved. In addition, children born out of wedlock are not subject to being outcasts, and may be common and entirely accepted.

Concubinage: The culture embraces the custom of maintaining concubines for a married person, whether male or female. In the cases where concubines provide children, the children have some rights of inheritance. In addition, concubines have an official, legal and social status, and enjoy specific social, legal and inheritance rights.

The Marlenya deeply value their families, love, romance, and passion. The Marlenya, while generally being tolerant and forgiving amongst their own people, often take a dim view of “Half-Elves”—typically seeing them as a dilution of their noble race. However, there has always been a large percentage of Marlenya people that entirely disagree, and instead see it as a wondrous blessing—a joyous way of blessing a human community with a new child that is graced with heroic elven blood. In nearly every elven community and kingdom, both the Marlenya and Sarlenya people struggle personally and debate in both public and private in a constant tug-of-war politically, socially, and philosophically—between the “Traditionalists” and the “Progressives”.

Traditionalists are typically seen as being proud; arrogant; authoritarian; legalistic; stubborn; harsh disciplinarians; strict; rigid; demanding; idealistic; parochial; hard-hearted; unforgiving; intolerant; uncompromising; narrow-minded; ethnocentric; isolationist; cruel; and warlike.

Progressives are seen as arrogant; smug; self-righteous; decadent; undisciplined; hedonistic; greedy; selfish; materialistic; soft-hearted; idealistic; naïve; preferring endless and useless talking, “negotiations” and indecisive dithering; weak; far too compromising and eager to “engage” humans and other foreign races; being far too casual and forgetful about ancient Marlenya traditions and customs; being far too trusting, foolish, and short-sighted; being enamored with bizarre notions of “change”, “cultural engagement” and “modernistic”; and most egregiously, being insidiously and perniciously fond and thrilled with intermixing with humans and breeding half-elves.

Of course, such terms are generalizations, and probably no Marlenya of whatever faction entirely embraces or exemplifies such exaggerated descriptions and philosophies—and in fact, most Marlenya, to a rational, reasonable degree, embrace some of both sets of characteristics and attitudes—or more accurately, such traits and their philosophical opposites, as individual temperament and nature is wont to do, like humans and humanoids in any other community. Nonetheless, such descriptions are used by each faction’s proponents in describing the other. Such a philosophical divide and conflict has its roots in a variety of social, cultural, religious and historical aspects in interacting and reacting to enormous human expansion throughout the regions where elves have traditionally established their communities, realms, and kingdoms.

In centuries past, the elves held a famous and great debate between Arch-Duke Mallendil and Princess Nymandra, held in the ancient and glorious city of Rhaethillien, in the distant northern elven Kingdom of Rhaethillien.

The Struggle of Elven Philosophy: The Traditionalists and the Progressives

Arch-Duke Mallendil is cousin to the King of Rhaethillien, and is the son of the King’s brother, Valgarion. Arch-Duke Mallendil is the High-Lord of the Northern Marches; Commander of the Tower of Dheshanna; and a Knight of the Order of the Silver Dragons. Arch-Duke Mallendil argued in favour of the Traditionalist Philosophy, and is quoted below:

Are the elves—the Marlenya and our brethren, the Sarlenya, not the elder race? It is we, the elves—that were first in the creation; it is we, who have been blessed with not only great beauty, knowledge, wisdom and power—but also charged with a sacred duty. Our sacred duty, as given to us by our great gods, has been to shepherd the earth, the forests, the animals—and to be defenders of goodness, freedom and purity—and champions of the light, of beauty, and of the sacred, holy earth and the dominion of nature. Furthermore, as we are charged with protecting and preserving this sacred dominion of nature, we are also called to be stewards, shepherds, and guardians of the younger races, that we might teach them, guard them from the forces of darkness, and raise them up from dark barbarism.

The younger races—especially the humans—possess the divine spark of their own spirits and the nature of freedom; they may choose to live and move as they will—unfortunately, the humans are enthralled by chaotic, greedy, and violent disposition. From this—while we may appreciate and honor the humans that are exceptional, and rise above their base natures and dispositions—we must hold fast to our primary duty, and acknowledge the chaotic, greedy and violent natures that are at the heart of humanity. In doing so, we must keep ourselves hidden and separate from the humans and other younger races, as they have so frequently demonstrated through long history that their chaotic, greedy and violent natures consume them even to the point of nurturing hatred and scorn for us, their elder stewards and shepherds. In honoring our sacred duty, it is thus dangerous, foolish, and ultimately, heretical to interbreed and mix with the humans, thereby diluting our divine, beautiful and righteous blood. By indulging our sensual passions, and lasciviously embracing the humans and breeding half-elves with them, we are lowering ourselves to laying with beasts; we our embracing corruption; we are diluting our noble race, and opening the gates to our own future destruction, slavery, and extinction.

Therefore, in light of the knowledge of these facts, of embracing our sacred duty—there are clear, wise policies which flow from our noble philosophy that therefore guide us into the future. Chiefly, such philosophical concerns as follows:

Politically—we must isolate ourselves from the humans, and remain aloof from the squalid barbarism of their routine existence, only intervening directly when circumstances of fate demand that goodness, beauty, and freedom are in some way threatened if we are not to raise our hand in wrath to defend them.

Economically—while we have many goods that the humans greatly desire, and they have some resources of use to us—and some good profit can be therefore gained through trade and commerce with the humans—pursuing such interests must be done carefully, and with strength, cunning, wisdom, and strict control and watchful vigilance, so that humans do not infiltrate our lands, and rape the land and plunder the animals and resources; and so that our minds do not become enamored by the human’s corrupt philosophies; and that our bodies of glorious beauty and grace do not become polluted and debased by the human’s barbarous seed.

Culturally—our culture is vastly superior to that of humanity, and other younger races, in many ways, blessed by the gods; our wisdom, knowledge, beauty, glory and power are all greater and more sublime. Our cultural exchanges—and whatever social relationships which result—are, by careful thought and consideration, ultimately of a limited and temporary value, of some noble good and fleeting pleasure—but they, too, must be ordered with vigilance, and embraced with wisdom and prudence. Can we, at various times gain some knowledge from the humans? Certainly—just as we may genuinely enjoy and embrace an honoured and noble friendship with an individual member of their societies, or join together in some temporary alliance for a noble and righteous cause. However, it is of deepest and severe folly to somehow go to the humans, and interbreed and mix with them. In general, breeding half-elf children with the humans holds three chief consequences, as follows:

Breeding half-elf children with the humans dilutes our noble and beautiful bloodlines; the prodigious birthrates of humanity and related half-elf children vastly increases their numbers even more so, and contributes to the scarcity and continued existence of a community of pure-blooded elves.

Breeding half-elf children with the humans endangers future generations of our people by the breeding of half-elf children that partake inherently in the chaotic, greedy and violent nature of humanity, which also opens the gate to potential and sure treason and betrayal, as well as strengthening the humans with knowledge of our ways and secrets.

Breeding half-elf children with the humans, in combination with the afore-mentioned consequences, forms a cultural, religious, political, sexual and racial threat to the security, dignity, and integrity of the elven culture and kingdoms.

It should be also noted—and conceded—that the occasional marriage of an elf to some human king, queen, or other great noble or champion, is ultimately a reward to some individual human of exceptional nobility, grace, and virtue, and that the half-elf children born through such marriages are merely a small hope of doing some good through seeding the human community with children that may hopefully be exemplars of elven nobility and beauty. The individual elf—be they male or female—that does embrace some exceptional marriage to a human is a sacrifice to hope and future harmony. While such an individual elf may have the highest ideals and possess the greatest virtues of sincerity and love for their human mate—their half-elf offspring represent a sacrifice to the hope of in some small way blessing and raising the human community out of barbarism, such exceptions do not therefore warrant a wholesale change in policy or philosophy, for such is but a pebble cast into the lake.

For all of these reasons and passionate argument, it is best that all elves embrace the Traditionalist philosophy. It is the Traditionalist philosophy that in the long run provides the greatest security, integrity and honor for the elven kingdoms, and is the best way of preserving our sacred duty to our gods, and preserving the sacred and holy dominion of the natural world.

Princess Nymandra is a daughter of the royal house of the Kingdom of Rhaethillien; Furthermore, Princess Nymandra is the High-Priestess of the goddess Lytherien of the Kingdom of Rhaethillien; Lady of the Vale of Joy; a Knight of the Order of the Shimmering Glade; Mistress of the Caverns of Syllande; and Mistress of Lytherien’s Cloud. Princess Nymandra argues in favour of the Progressive Philosophy, and is quoted below:

The progressives feel that the world has changed—the world, and the human tribes and realms in it, as well as other humanoids—are not the same culturally, politically, or militarily as they were when the world was young, and the elves ruled their kingdoms in an unchallenged dominion. Furthermore, since the days of the ancient wars, through more recent ages, the elves have suffered severe losses—both in population, military armies and power, and experienced the shrinking and loss of much of their primordial dominion of old. In addition, much more would have been lost if not for the rise and dominion of the Vallorean Empire, as well as other human kingdoms that have stood against the enemies of the elves, and rolled them back, and emerged victorious through many wars and battles.

The fact that the elves more or less needed the human kingdoms to do what they did—whether or not the humans fought so many wars with a sense of altruistic concern for the elves—is proof that the age of the elves has past, and a new Age of Man has arrived. The elves must simply accept this fact, and develop wise and careful policies which preserve the elves’ security and culture—but at the same time acknowledges the rise of the Age of Man, and is not fearful of being open-minded, and engaging the humans in wide and sincere trade policies, and open and free cultural exchanges.

Part of this plan and philosophy envisions a broad attitude of intentionally seeking the pleasures and joys of breeding and intermixing with the humans, so as to bless their communities with children blessed with the beauty and grace of elven blood, and also to greatly increase the population of half-elves living within human communities, precisely so that the humans, over a prolonged period of interbreeding and cultural mixing, will embrace new philosophies of life that are more respectful and in harmony with the elves and the natural world.

Such a long-term, wise and progressive policy on the part of the elves is an excellent and very honourable and noble philosophy that will ultimately greatly benefit the elven kingdoms, and add great strength to preserving the ancient elven culture and people. In addition, many of the human empires and kingdoms are not so different from the elves, and possess many great and noble virtues, as well as positive traits, great wealth, resources, and knowledge that can be of great benefit and joy to the elves. Part of the success of such a long-term policy and philosophy requires that the elves be open-minded, tolerant, and accepting of change, new ideas, different customs and ways of doing things. In addition, pursuing and embracing such a progressive philosophy for the greater security and preservation of the elves requires that the elves seek to fully integrate trade with the humans; that the elves eagerly seek to enhance and increase cultural exchanges, and engage in dynamic political, military and economic treaties with the humans. It is from such an open-minded philosophy of engaging the humans through mutually beneficial economic, cultural, and military policies that the elves can embrace the humans in a more thorough, deeper influence of love, passion, pleasure, art, beauty, goodness, and friendship in such sweeping ways as to help the humans improve, learn, and grow into a people that are more in harmony and unity with the elves and the natural world.

Furthermore, to make such a philosophy an increasing element to the humans—requires that the elves help the humans by breeding with them prodigiously, and leading the humans into embracing all manner of joyful relationships and friendships with the elves so that through such sexual relationships and breeding, the humans will gain a deeper appreciation for the elven culture and people, as well as nurture a deeper sense of loyalty and desire to protect and preserve the elven people and the elven culture that they have grown to love so much. Through these relationships of mutual benefit, love, and friendship, the humans may gradually embrace a philosophy that is more in harmony with the elven culture and the natural world.

And finally, not only does such a progressive philosophy provide better long-term benefits for the elven people and culture—interbreeding with the humans is fun, enjoyable, and beautiful. Half-elven children are beautiful and sacred, and should be loved and enjoyed—rather than despised and viewed as diluted mongrels. The elves—as the older race to humans, have a great responsibility and sacred duty to share our philosophy of life and harmony with the younger races, and especially to humanity, so that all may enjoy greater love, beauty and freedom, and that darkness and evil may be defeated. Every generation faces the threat and dangers of evil and darkness, and we cannot afford the arrogance and stubborn philosophy of Traditionalists if we are to be successful and preserve our culture and kingdoms for future generations. For all of these reasons and passionate arguments, all elves should embrace the Progressive philosophy.

Religion

The Marlenya honor their gods in natural settings, much like their Sarlenya brethren, but also by building large, elaborate temples. Marlenya temples are always finely-decorated, and of exquisite workmanship. Marlenya temples often feature a wondrous blending of natural elements with urban, architectural elements in stunning and beautiful ways. The Marlenya hold seasonal celebrations and festivals throughout the year in honor of the gods, and such events are always meticulously well-planned, well-organized, and fantastic. Such Marlenya festivals often feature elaborate dramas and staged recreations of famous events in elven history and mythology, as well as enormous feasts, wild parties, and sensual, hedonistic orgies. Marlenya often use wondrous displays of glamour, magic and illusion to enhance these celebrations and festivities to the joyful amusement of all participants.

Marlenya druids are the chief priests of the Marlenya religion, though there are various temples and religious orders that also use priests and priestesses, as they are blessed with different aspects of divine power and talents. Some cults are led by priestesses or priests, rather than druids, for example, depending on the patron deity of the particular cult.

The gods of the Marlenya are noted below:

Araddan—Supreme god of the Marlenya pantheon. God of the sun, fire, knowledge, nobility, magic and law

Ellanya—Supreme goddess of the Marlenya pantheon. “Great Mother” and goddess of earth, nature, animals, water, air and fire

Marellion—God of the sea, storms, rulership, water, chaos and destruction

Nimelwe—Goddess of the sea, animals, nature, winds, wisdom and travel

Laegerion—God of the sea, music, poetry, crafts, the sun, and magic

Arrillien—Goddess of the sea, nature, magic, knowledge, compassion, and beauty

Nytherien—Goddess of nobility, beauty, rivers, lakes, magic and knowledge

Finnaerond—God of magic, smithing, fire, crafts, knowledge and earth

Mallaendril—Goddess of chaos, fortune, trickery, art, music, and fire

Maelarond—God of trade, crafts, fortune, travel, law, and knowledge

Khaelladan—God of war, valour, strength, chivalry, nobility and glory

Findaerion—God of war, mountains, storms, thunder, strength and courage

Elbeneth—Goddess of war, wisdom, horses, the stars, hope, and glory

Thaerellion—God of summer, hunting, forests, nature, wild animals, and nobility

Lytherien—Goddess of spring, fertility, passion, beauty, music and the sun

Illandra—Goddess of autumn, knowledge, harvests, abundance, agriculture, and domestic animals

Seldaenar—God of winter, storms, death, law, prophecy, and wisdom

Ellandriel--Goddess of forests, animals, fertility, the moon, passion, and darkness

Khellaenar--God of chaos, fertility, savagery, wild animals, trickery, and magic

Findilwe--Goddess of shepherds, healing, love, marriage, the home, and joy

Warfare

The Marlenya recruit their forces from throughout the feudal holdings and lands of the kingdom, and both men and women are allowed to serve in the military. Marlenya forces are typically composed of well-armoured infantry, armoured in glittering chainmail, and armed with spears, swords, and axes. Specially trained units of foot archers are always plentiful, as well as mounted horse-archers, and heavily armoured elven knights. The elven knights wear excellent armour, and typically carry swords, axes, lances, and bows into battle. The Marlenya rely significantly on Sarlenya troops to serve as raiders, scouts, and skirmishers, though there are always some Marlenya that train and equip themselves for such duties. Marlenya forces are typically supported well by druids, clerics, and wizards.

Cultural Weapons and Armour

Marlenya Cultural Armour
Leather Armor (AC 8)
Hide Armor (AC 8)
Studded Leather (AC 7)
Scale Mail (AC 6)
Breastplate (AC 5)
Shield, Steel
Shield, Wood

Marlenya Cultural Weapons
Dagger, Dart, Club, Sling, Shortsword, Broadsword, Longsword, Handaxe, Battleaxe, Javelin, Spear, Lance, Shortbow, Composite Shortbow, Longbow, Composite Longbow, Quarterstaff, Two-handed Sword, Great Axe, Footman’s Mace, Horseman’s Mace, Footman’s Flail, Horseman’s Flail

Dwarf—Dharranim Dwarfs, of Zharen-Darthach

2011-04-26T14:53:00.000-07:00

Dwarf—Dharranim Dwarfs, of Zharen-Darthach

History

The Dharranim dwarfs are a large group of dwarf tribes that joined into a tribal confederation in their ancient homeland of Zharen-Barrak, and migrated into the region over 2,500 years ago. The Dharranim established the Kingdom of Zharen-Darthach, and proceeded to build several powerful fortified city-states, most of which are deep within their mountainous homelands, though at least one city-state was built on the surface, as well as several fortified towns and villages. The dwarfs continued to delve deep into the mountains, and carved out majestic, wondrous citadels of stone and crystal. The Dharranim proceeded to dig vast mines, and rip out the precious metals and wealth of the earth. Through the centuries, the Dharranim engaged in numerous wars with invading tribes of orcs and goblins, and suffered thousands of casualties. The wars endured, and at all times, the dwarfs managed to fight the invading humanoids off, even though at various times, the hordes of orcs and goblins had established long-term strongholds in the region. The Dharranim have steadily and ruthlessly marched against these orc and goblin strongholds, and stormed them with fire and steel, bringing death and destruction to vast hordes of the dark, savage creatures. Nonetheless, the orcs and goblins have always returned, even though at times it required decades or centuries on occasion, for them to recover from such crushing wars.

Over the centuries, the dwarfs gradually engaged in trade with the elves of Gallarond, and the numerous generations of various human tribes that have migrated into the region, and now recently, with the Kingdom of Varanthus. The dwarfs have always been secretive of their rich mountain realm, and have kept the gates leading into their subterranean kingdom well-hidden. Furthermore, the Dharranim have long-embraced a policy of secrecy and isolation, and restricted non-dwarfs from even seeing or visiting the deeper fortress-cities of the Kingdom of Zharen-Darthach. Some human sages believe that through the centuries, there have been some few non-dwarf visitors deeper into the dwarf realm, and point to a few journals and ancient tomes hinting at descriptions and obscure details of the region. Whatever the truth of the matter, the dwarfs of the Kingdom of Zharen-Darthach have an official policy of secrecy and isolation, and do not allow non-dwarfs to enter beyond the specially selected city-state of Brimnor, and local dwarf towns surrounding the great city.

Physical Appearance

Dwarfs are short, broad humanoids of great strength and fortitude. In form, dwarfs are thick, muscular, and somewhat broader than a proportional human. While dwarfs are substantially heavier than their height would generally suggest appropriate, such increased weight is from a dense physique, heavier bones, and greater muscle-mass, as opposed to being from an excess of fat. While most dwarfs have strong, impressive physiques, some dwarfs do become overweight, fat or even obese, though such is uncommon. Dharranim dwarfs usually have skin tones that are pale-white, florid-white, or occasionally olive-white. The Dharranim dwarfs are most often blonde haired, typically having ash-blonde, honey-blonde, or golden-blonde hair, though not always so. The Dharranim dwarfs have eyes that are typically bright-blue, blue-grey, ice-blue, blue-green, or dark-grey in color, though not always so.

The Dharranim dwarfs are typically strong-limbed, with broad-shoulders, deep chests, and hairy. The male Dharranim dwarfs have fairly thick hair on their chests, back and stomach, as well as their powerful, muscular arms and legs. The dwarfs grow thick, full beards, and typically wear their thick hair long and wild. Male dwarfs occasionally braid their long hair, which is typically worn to their shoulders or the middle of their back in length. Female dwarfs usually wear their hair in long, beautiful braids. The females of the Dharranim do not grow or wear beards, as such is merely an outlandish superstition usually embraced by the humans—though the Dharranim often believe that the elves of Gallarond must have started such a ridiculous belief.

Female dwarfs are often broad-shouldered, voluptuous and thick, with strong, thick legs and hips. The female Dharranim often wear subtle, floral or earthy perfumes, and are generally simple in their preferences of wearing jewelry, and avoid appearing to be ostentatious. Dharranim females are, while as noted, thick, broad, and voluptuous, they are not unattractive, and in general, possess a demeanor and form that most humans would view as quite feminine. The Dharranim females customarily shave the hair from their legs—though not from under their arms, or anywhere else on their bodies. Dharranim females take great pride and joy in combing their long, thick hair, and wearing it long and curled or in thick braids. The Dharranim typically have larger noses, with somewhat thick bridges, and large, broad feet. Male dwarfs are fond of joking to humans and others in a sarcastic manner—that yes, dwarf women bathe regularly, too. Some human sages that have seen dwarf women have described them as being much like thick, strong barbarian women from the blonde-haired tribes of northern forests—often quite attractive, though merely thickly-built—and shorter by a good foot or more.

Male dwarfs love jewelry of all kinds, though they favour neck and arm torcs, rings, heavy necklaces and thick amulets. Female dwarfs also love fine jewelry, and especially favour necklaces, rings, earrings, bracelets, and occasionally nose-rings. Male dwarfs typically wear thick, long-sleeved shirts and embroidered tunics, as well as full-length trousers, heavy, finely-made boots, and flowing cloaks that are carefully embroidered and feature finely-crafted brooches of gold or silver, often intricately decorated with some ferocious animal depiction, and often jeweled as well. Female dwarfs typically dress in a similar manner as male dwarfs, especially when working or particularly whenever they are beyond the gates of the city or traveling abroad. At home, deep in their fortified walls and such, however, dwarf females typically wear fine, embroidered blouses and tunics, flowing skirts, soft leather boots or shoes, and brightly-colored cloaks.

N.B: Player Characters are encouraged to review the Dharranim Dwarf Character Tables, below.

Dharranim Dwarfs are short, broad-shouldered, and strong humanoids, skilled in living underground, in the mountains, and working with stone and metal. Generally, Dharranim Dwarfs are strong and vigorous, and gain a +1 bonus to Strength at character generation, as well as a +1 bonus to Constitution at character generation. The dwarfs are renowned for their famous stubbornness and fierce resolve, and gain a +1 bonus to Wisdom at character generation. To non-dwarfs, Dharranim Dwarfs are typically very direct, rough and often harsh and insensitive in their demeanor and ways of speaking and relating to others. Because of their tendency to be rough and insensitive, Dharranim Dwarfs suffer a -2 penalty to Charisma at character generation. However, a Dharranim Dwarf’s penalized Charisma score only affects non-dwarfs; dwarfs respond and view the individual dwarf as having the original base Charisma score for all related aspects of social interaction and leadership. Dharranim Dwarfs typically seem to be physically intimidating, rough, and generally unappealing in form and appearance to non-dwarfs. Because of this impression, Dharranim Dwarfs suffer a -1 penalty to their Comeliness score at character generation. However, the lower Comeliness score applies only to social interactions with non-dwarfs—the Dharranim Dwarfs happen to believe they are a gloriously handsome and fine race, and thus, the original base Comeliness score applies to all social interactions with other dwarfs.

Dharranim Character Ability Summary
+1 Strength
+1 Constitution
+1 Wisdom
-2 Charisma
-1 Comeliness

Dharranim Dwarf Character Tables

Dharranim Dwarf Character Skin Tone
Dice Roll/Skin Tone
01-40%: White-Pale
41-70%: White-Florrid
71-90%: White-Olive
91-00%: White-Tan

Dharranim Dwarf Characters Hair
Dice Roll/Hair Color
01-04%: Auburn
05-07%: Reddish
08-10%: Red-Copper
11-30%: Ash-Blonde
31-45%: Honey-Blonde
46-60%: Golden-Blonde
61-65%: Brown, Dark
66-70%: Brown, Chestnut
71-75%: Brown, Golden
76-80%: Brown, Honey
81-90%: Black-Brown
91-00%: Ebony-Black

Dharranim Dwarf Characters Eyes
Dice Roll/Eye Color
01-20%: Bright Blue
21-35%: Blue-Grey
36-45%: Blue-Green
46-55%: Ice-Blue
56-66%: Dark Grey
67-74%: Iron-Grey
75-82%: Pale-Grey
83-90%: Ice-Grey
91-96%: Grey-Green
97-00%: Pale-Green

Dharranim Dwarf Height and Weight Tables

Male Dwarf Base Height: 4’2”-5’0”; (4’0” + 2d6”);
Average Height: 4’6”
Male Dwarf Base Weight: 132-240-lbs; (120+12d10)
Average Weight: 180-lbs.

Female Dwarf Base Height: 4’0”-4’10”; (3’10” +2d6”);
Average Height: 4’4”
Female Dwarf Base Weight: 108-180-lbs; (100+8d10-lbs);
Average Weight: 140-lbs.

Politics

The dwarfs of Zharen-Darthach are ruled by a powerful High King. The High King rules over a strong realm of city-states, each of which is ruled by a king. Each king is served by a large group of nobles and warriors, as well as tribal elders, priests, rune-casters, bards, and merchant-princes. In most domestic issues, each Dharranim city-state has considerable freedom, though the decrees of the High King always carry great weight and influence. The High King possesses most powers and authority of an absolute monarch.

Politically, the Dharranim are reclusive and secretive concerning their kingdom, and non-dwarfs are typically restricted to seeing and visiting only the fortress-city of Brimnor, located on the surface, and established along a cluster of hills overlooking a large lake. Dwarf merchant-princes are organized into powerful guilds that integrate royal economic policies with their own customs of operation concerning exportation of goods to foreign lands. Dwarf merchant-guilds are closely allied to maintain very high prices and demand for a whole range of dwarf-produced goods and resources.

In foreign policy and cultural interactions with other, foreign societies, the dwarfs are isolationist and defensive. The dwarfs are very cautious about engaging in any kind of formal alliance, and are typically uninterested in any kind of involvement with foreign entanglements, treaties, and petty wars. Under the most dire and compelling circumstances, and with careful consideration, the dwarfs may at times be willing to embrace various treaties or alliances with human tribes or kingdoms in the region. The Dharranim dwarfs generally do not like the elves of Gallarond, though the two realms do engage in some limited trade agreements. The elves—like any other non-dwarf—are restricted to seeing and visiting the fortress-city of Brimnor.

Culture

The Dharranim Dwarfs are a proud and ancient culture that has endured for some 2500 years, since the founding of the kingdom. Before the Dharranim tribes established the Kingdom of Zharen-Darthach, they had ancient family and cultural roots in the dwarf kingdom of Zharen-Barrak. The Dharranim Dwarfs are a strict, disciplined, and authoritarian society. The dwarfs are entirely comfortable with organized hierarchies, extensive and elaborate laws, and a long, ancient legalistic tradition. The Dharranim Dwarfs are clannish, stoic, materialistic and suspicious by nature, as well as strong, valiant, stubborn, and opinionated. Dwarfs pride themselves on loyalty, dignity, commitment, and honor.

The dwarfs are fanatically loyal, and devoted to maintaining their traditional values of honor, pride, and dignity. For the dwarfs, their sense of identity is composed of four main elements—their own individual sense of honor and identity; their family honor; the honor of their city-state; and finally, the honor of their kingdom. The Dharranim Dwarfs long ago gradually subsumed their clan identities into city-state identities, as the city-state increasingly created new forms of cultural, political, and social identity. The Dharranim are often harsh, unforgiving, driven, and passionate. The Dharranim are relentless in their commitment to work, and to maintaining the traditional standards of excellence in dwarf products and craftsmanship. The dwarfs despise cowardice, weakness, and laziness, and are direct and straightforward in voicing their opinions and views on many matters.

The Dharranim dwarfs have experienced long centuries of warfare with numerous tribes and kingdoms of orcs and goblins, and have embraced a fierce, warlike culture. The Dharranim Dwarfs hate all orcs and goblins, firmly believing that such vile and wicked races should be hunted down and exterminated without mercy. The dwarfs can often become uncharacteristically emotional, passionate, and very expressive with such issues, as many dwarf kingdoms and countless thousands of dwarf people have been slaughtered over the centuries by the orcs and goblins. The dwarfs view orcs and goblins as roughly on the same level as malicious, diseased and poisonous rats, and therefore feel absolutely no remorse or apprehension about killing female or young orcs and goblins.

The dwarfs typically do not like the elves of Gallarond, as their cultures and customs are so different. The dwarfs typically feel that the elves are entirely too pretentious, fastidious, effeminate, and subject to their emotional passions, rather than submitting themselves to the dictates and demands of duty, honor, and the law. Furthermore, the dwarfs typically feel that the elves are entirely too enamored with perfumes, cosmetics, and fashions, viewing the elven preoccupation and concern with such matters as being fundamentally adolescent, immature and ridiculous—and annoying—even if the dwarfs are often thoroughly amused by such elven customs and attitudes. The dwarfs are often frustrated by the elven tendencies—in the dwarf’s view—to be idealistic, arrogant, and condescending.

Furthermore, and a point of fundamental friction between the two cultures, is that the dwarfs believe that the natural world—all of its elements, resources, and animals—exist to serve them, and their needs and ambitions; whereas the elves hold to a philosophy that is far more about preserving, honoring, and working with nature, the elements, and animal populations. Essentially, while both cultures use and exploit the natural world to various degrees, the point of difference rests in how they are to go about such labours, and what responsibilities they have in the process, as well as any obligations in the aftermath of such decisions and relationships. The dwarfs traditionally feel they have few responsibilities or obligations to the natural world and the animals, while the elves find such attitudes and philosophy careless, disrespectful, and maddening at the least—while many elves feel deeply offended and view such philosophy as being arrogant, greedy and selfish—if not heretical and thoroughly hateful and wicked. Sexually, the dwarfs typically view the elves as being decadent and thoroughly devoted and enslaved to hedonism and sensuality. Naturally, the elves not only disagree with such judgments, but see the dwarfs as being sexually repressed, narrow-minded, prudish and judgmental. Thus, the friction and dislike between the dwarfs and the elves is rooted in a variety of religious, cultural and philosophical causes, and is entirely and thoroughly mutual.

The Dharranim dwarfs generally admire and like humans, to varying degrees, though the dwarfs often are frustrated by the human’s short, all too-brief life-spans, and swiftly changing political policies, and ever-changing economic policies and social attitudes. The dwarfs are typically concerned with the human attitudes of greed, and their willingness to compromise quality for expediency and profit in their work and craftsmanship. However, while the dwarfs are customarily protective, secretive, and often paranoid about human ambitions to steal the dwarf’s treasures—the dwarf’s have had enough positive experiences with the humans to view them in a generally positive light. Of all the nearby human tribes and cultures, the dwarfs hold a genuine and deep respect for the Valloreans, and view the Valloreans as very honourable, valiant, and disciplined.

The Dharranim are deeply patriarchal, and have enduring customs of gender-roles and expectations. For the Dharranim, females are not to engage in warfare and combat except in the most compelling circumstances of defending the home and city-state from direct attack and invasion. While there are ancient traditions within Dharranim myth-cycles concerning dwarf women that are warriors—such examples remain few, and entirely exceptional. There are occasionally female dwarf warriors—though because of the institutionalized prejudice against them within their home society and city-states, most female dwarf warriors enter into a form of personal exile, where they travel out of the dwarf kingdom and seek their fortune in foreign lands. Dwarf women do, however, enjoy considerable professional and economic freedom, and may pursue a great variety of professions and crafts, as well as having the right to own land or property, control their own finances, and enjoy most of the same legal rights and obligations of male dwarfs. Female dwarfs are, however, always expected to perform virtually all domestic tasks and chores, as well as child-care. Of domestic tasks, only brewing, baking, and cooking are considered as appropriate activities for both sexes.

In politics, females are typically restricted from any kind of political voting or participation in any of the city-states. The only notable exceptions are for female dwarf priestesses, who have achieved a high enough status, and enjoy a certain respect and awe for their spiritual insights and wisdom, as well as their mystical powers of divination. Dwarf children are raised strictly, and with great discipline, led in the household by the father. Dwarfs are affectionate towards their families, and love them with great passion, devotion, and commitment.

Economically, the Dharranim dwarfs have a sophisticated, coin-based economy. The Dharranim are excellent craftsmen and produce fine armour, weapons, tools, implements and jewelry, as well as raw metals and fine stone. The dwarfs also trade various minerals, as well as subterranean varieties of mushrooms, lichen, moss, and fish. The Dharranim work to cultivate various crops and industries on the surface, as their lands and holdings include a great range of mountains, ranges of hills, stretches of forests, as well as mountain vales, meadows, lakes and rivers.

The Dharranim dwarfs are often fairly emotionally reserved, but not always. The dwarfs love singing and music, and are especially fond of organizing and participating in communal choirs, which entertain the community with large troupes of singers gathered together, singing in gloriously strong, clear voices, united in outstanding musical harmony. The dwarfs do tend to engage more emotionally and expressively during times of public festivities and parties, or while gathered together with intimate gatherings and celebrations among friends and loved ones. Dwarfs also enjoy playing various games, and love gambling and competitions. Dwarfs have a deep joy for reading and writing, and greatly respect scholars, Loremasters, and people of letters and education. Dwarfs are especially fond of fine, cooked meats and stews, and have a great passion for ales, hard liquors, and tobacco. Many dwarfs smoke, often frequently, and both males and females take great interest in smoking fine tobaccos of different strengths and flavours, and in owning and collecting finely-carved and crafted pipes.

Socially, concerning sexuality and marriage, Dwarfs have fairly open and tolerant attitudes about pre-marital sex, or sex after-marriage, and many unmarried dwarfs are thoroughly promiscuous, engaging in “serial monogamy” of different lovers. Most dwarfs are sexually active—though typically engaged within relationships that are known and seen to be sincere, genuine, and dignified. However, while dwarf society strongly encourages sexual passion in the context of a dignified and committed relationship—anonymous and frivolous sexual relationships are discouraged and strictly frowned upon.

Dwarfs view marriage as something that is deeply sacred and monogamous, and their customs require and expect absolute fidelity for both partners in a marriage. Within the culture of the Dharranim, marriage has strict expectations, and such expectations are vigorously held for the importance of forming families, establishing lineages, as well as the dwarf ideals of moral conduct for married people--which are very important to all dwarfs. Adultery is punished severely—female dwarfs that are found guilty of adultery are thrown into a pit and burned alive. Male dwarfs found guilty of adultery are severely flogged with barbed whips, and rolled in salt, and then condemned to exile for a period of 20 years.

Divorce is an uncommon occurrence—by ancient law, dwarf women may only seek a divorce for a very few severe causes, and must petition a High Magistrate. Likewise, dwarf men must also petition a High Magistrate in order to obtain a divorce. However, male dwarfs enjoy considerably broader freedoms in the causes or reasons for seeking a divorce than female dwarfs. In general, dwarf society greatly disapproves of divorce for any reason but for the most severe of causes, and divorces for lesser causes are simply forbidden. In the cases where a spouse abandons their partner—they are judged harshly and without pity in virtually all social circles, and may suffer severe discrimination and prejudice. By ancient dwarf law, dwarf men have the legal authority and power to kill any wife that has abandoned them, or seeks to do so.

Dwarfs are quite open-minded and tolerant about sexuality before—or after—marriage, as long as no children are born. A female dwarf having a child out of wedlock is something of great shame and immorality, viewed as something entirely foolish, selfish, and heedless of the primary importance of having children within the sanctity and security of marriage, and maintaining the ancient customs of family honor, dignity, and lineage. Dwarf marriage customs are noted and summarized below:

Monogamous; Strict, Formal

Strict: A strict adherence to fidelity and exclusive sexual relations is expected. Violation of these expectations and customs may provoke serious social and or legal consequences. Adultery is often punished with savage torture, and often death sentences are the standard.

Formal: The society has very high standards and strict rules and expectations for any kind of divorce. There may be specific requirements that the couple or people involved must exhibit in order to be allowed to divorce. There may be various significant social and religious stigmas attached to anyone that has been divorced. Children born out of wedlock are likewise social outcasts if such is becomes known.

Religion

The Dharranim dwarves of Zharen-Darthach build great temples to their gods, and it is a mark of pride and distinction for a city-state to have the most elaborately decorated and rich temples. Dharranim Dwarf temples are typically large, with a long, open great hall, and many beautifully decorated pillars within. The Dharranim Dwarfs hold seasonal ceremonies and festivals to the gods throughout the year. The Dharranim firmly embrace various customs of omens, prophecies, and divination, especially rune casting, but also mystical dreams and interpretations. Dwarf priests are deeply respected throughout the Dharranim culture, and such priests and priestesses typically hold positions of great power and influence in the Dharranim society. Dwarf priests and priestesses are always involved in leadership of various religiously-based warrior-societies and special cults of dwarf berserkers.

The gods of the Dwarves are noted below:

Dorruna—Supreme goddess of the dwarven pantheon. “Great Mother” and goddess of earth, water, nature, fertility, healing and wisdom.

Ardreda—Supreme god of the dwarven pantheon. God of earth, air, fire, war, smithing and knowledge

Dormin—God of war, nobility, valour and strength

Drimna—Goddess of passion, beauty, war and chaos

Dernhild—Goddess of the home, crafts, law and marriage

Brunsige—Goddess of the moon, darkness, prophecy and chaos

Beowyn—Goddess of art, music, poetry and chaos

Heregild—God of mountains, death, disease, and the underworld

Deorgrim—God of sun, fire, healing and wisdom

Baerhic—God of trade, fortune, crafts and travel

Osrim—God of earth, harvests, forests and animals

Freasige—Goddess of rain, magic, fertility and joy

Dunmaer—God of trickery, animals, fortune and revelry

Baymann—God of law, knowledge, prophecy and justice

Warfare

The Dharranim Dwarves recruit their soldiers from each village, town and city in the dwarven kingdom. The dwarves field forces almost exclusively of heavily armoured infantry, though the dwarves also train lightly-armoured skirmishers, raiders, and scouts.
The dwarves typically field a variety of infantry forces, however, from assault troops, to axemen, spearmen, pikemen, and swordsmen. Dwarven forces are routinely accompanied by clerics and bards, as well as rune casters.

Cultural Weapons and Armour

Dwarf Cultural Armour
Leather Armor (AC 8)
Hide Armor (AC 8)
Studded Leather (AC 7)
Scale Mail (AC 6)
Breastplate (AC 5)
Shield, Steel

Dwarf Cultural Weapons
Dagger, Dart, Club, Sling, Shortsword, Handaxe, Battleaxe, Broadsword, Footman’s Mace, Footman’s Flail, Warhammer, Great Hammer, Great Axe, Javelin, Spear
__________________

Halflings—Haeghenti, Parrallian Tribes

2011-04-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

Halflings—Haeghenti, Parrallian Tribes

History

The Haeghenti—named Halflings by humans, as well as others—are a widespread, prolific race of small humanoids. The Parrallian Halflings are named for the Parrallian Hills, which is the central landmark of their communities. It should be noted that such a term as “Halfling” is primarily a human one—which has since spread and been adopted by others as a term for the Haeghenti peoples. The Haeghenti peoples refer to themselves as “Haeghenti” as a race, and then by whatever tribal name that they may originate from.

Originally, the first Halfling immigrants to the Varanthus region came from lands far to the south-west, in regions of north-western Aghanda. Many centuries before, various Halfling tribes had migrated from northern forests in Maltainia down into north-western Aghanda, and began to spread out and create prosperous settlements—some communities were established in the more temperate coastlands and arid desert regions, while other proceeded deeper inland, and settled in dense, tropical jungles and dark, mist-shrouded rain-forests.

The Halfling tribes in the temperate coastlands and arid desert regions interbred and mixed with local communities of Malbari humans, while the tribes that lived in the tropical jungles and rain-forests interbred and mixed with black-skinned humans of the native Mbornu tribes. Eventually, after some years had past, several Halfling tribes from both of these environments joined together into a tribal confederation, and lived peacefully while attempting to integrate into more advanced economies of local kingdoms of humans. The Halflings had gained a darker complexion from their frequent interbreeding with the various human tribes, and then proceeded to intermarry with each of the different Halfling tribes in the confederation, which resulted in the all of the Halfling tribes gaining a smooth, darker brown complexion over time. After several centuries of the darker Halflings interbreeding with other darker Halflings, continuously, the ancient, pale-white complexions of the Halflings tribal ancestors from the northern lands of Maltainia had entirely disappeared, and had been bred out of the Halflings genetic composition. However, the tendency for lighter-colored eyes remained somewhat, which still results in an occasional Parrallian Halfling possessing lighter-colored eyes, such as blue-grey, or pale-green. The vast majority, however, are typically born with darker-colored eyes.

The Halfling confederation, however, gradually became the target of increasing slave-raids by humans, as well as suffering from increased incursions by monsters. The arrival of the Valloreans in the region, however, provided the Halfling confederation with a sense of hope, and new opportunities. After several years, the Valloreans had agreed to allow the Halfling confederation to migrate into the Vallorean Empire—though the Halfling tribes were required to migrate and settle in lands that the Valloreans had chosen. The Vallorean legions had in recent years prosecuted a vigorous military campaign in a distant border region, providing assistance to local barbarian tribes that were friendly to the Vallorean Empire. In the aftermath of the Vallorean expedition into the region, the new Kingdom of Varanthus had been established, and needed more immigrants and resources. Thus, the Halfling confederation was allowed to migrate into the Kingdom of Varanthus. The six Halfling tribes of their loose confederation decided to make the epic journey to the new land, in hopes of establishing new, prosperous communities safer from invasions, constant slave-raids by stronger tribes, and marauding migrations of savage monsters.

The small group of six tribes—the Noomhoggen, Nhamburi, Rhumaeggah, Mugheshem, Tahgishwah, and Ghanmori—settled into their new lands, and established several rustic communities. Several communities grew more rapidly than the others, and became towns.
The Parrallian Halflings were granted the area around the Parrallian Hills, and bordering the Nemeth Woods as a feudal fief to govern and administer as they desired, under the aegis of authority and ownership of the king of Varanthus. The Parrallian Halflings thus pay their royal taxes to the king of Varanthus, and must order their communities in accordance with royal decrees from the king.

Physical Appearance

Parrallian Halflings tend to be of slightly above average height and weight for Halflings in general, though the Parrallian Halflings are likely to be more broad-shouldered and muscular than other Halflings commonly encountered. Parrallian Halflings typically have skin of brown-bronze or brown-cinnamon in tone. Parrallian Halflings usually have hair that is of brown-black, dull-black or ebony-black in color. In general, Parrallian Halflings typically have eyes of dark-brown or hazel-brown in color, though some other colors are occasionally present. Parrallian Halflings have skin that is smooth and flawless, and beautiful, attractive features. The Parrallian Halflings typically have hair that is long, thick and flowing, as many Malbari humans possess, while many have hair that is very curly, often having the tight, kinky features of black-skinned humans from Aghanda.

Female Parrallian Halflings are often attractively plump, with voluptuous features, and broad, curvaceous hips. However, more than a few female Parrallian Halflings are just as likely to be athletic, lean, and muscular. Male Parrallian Halflings are typically broad-shouldered, muscular, and athletic. Parrallian Halflings typically have large eyes that are very expressive; their eyes are usually round—though many have eyes that are almond-shaped. Parrallian Halflings typically have slightly large, rounded and flat noses, full lips, and round faces.

N.B: Player Characters are encouraged to review the Parrallian Halfling Character Tables, below.

Parrallian Halflings are small in stature and less powerful than larger humanoids, and have a -1 penalty to Strength at character generation. Generally, Parrallian Halfling characters are quick, graceful and agile, and gain a +1 bonus to Dexterity at character generation. Furthermore, Parrallian Halflings are gregarious, sensual and irrepressibly charming, and gain a +1 bonus to Charisma at character generation. In addition, the Parrallian Halflings are typically attractive in appearance, and gain a +1 bonus to Comeliness at character generation.

Parrallian Halfling Character Ability Summary
-1 Strength
+1 Dexterity
+1 Charisma
+1 Comeliness

Parrallian Halfling Character Tables

Parrallian Halfling Character Table: Skin Tone
Dice Roll/Skin Tone
01-20%: Brown-Olive
21-50%: Brown-Cinnamon
51-80%: Brown-Bronze
81-00%: Ebony-Black

Parrallian Halfling Character Table: Hair Color
Dice Roll/Hair Color
01-30%: Black-Brown
31-60%: Black-Dull
61-00%: Ebony-Black

Parrallian Halfling Character Table: Eye Color
Dice Roll/Eye Color
01-60%: Brown-Dark
61-70%: Brown-Hazel
71-80%: Brown-Golden
81-86%: Brown-Pale
87-90%: Grey-Blue
91-94%: Grey-Pale
95-97%: Green-Hazel
98-00%: Green-Pale

Parrallian Halfling Height and Weight Tables

Male Parrallian Base Height: 4’2”--5’0” (4’0” + 2d6”);
Average Height: 4’6”
Male Parrallian Base Weight: 80-130 pounds; (70+6d10);
Average Weight: 100-lbs.

Female Parrallian Base Height: 3’10”--4’8” (3’8” + 2d6”);
Average Height: 4’2”
Female Parrallian Base Weight: 50-100 pounds; (40+6d10);
Average Weight: 70-lbs.

Politics

The Parrallian Halflings are ruled by a High Chieftain, who is served by a tribal chieftain, elected from the tribal councils of each Haeghenti tribe. In Haeghenti society, however, the High Chieftain is largely a figurehead leader. The High Chieftain is respected, and handles foreign-policy issues—but it is the tribal chieftains that hold real power. The tribal chieftains take counsel from each of their respective tribal councils, and it is in this process that the real decision-making for tribal policies is essentially formed. The High Chieftain reflects the majority consensus concerning whatever particular topic of debate that the tribal chiefs and their councils debated about. The High Chieftain lives in a grand hall at the capitol, and has his own entourage of bodyguards, retainers, and concubines. The High Chieftain does, however, hold some political power, in the form of counsel, as well as casting a deciding vote should the Chieftain’s Council be deadlocked in a 3 to 3 vote, for example, and they are unable to fully decide some matter or another. In such a circumstance, the High Chieftain’s vote becomes politically significant.

The Haeghenti tribes are generally peaceful, though passionate about preserving their freedoms, lands, and independence. The Parrallian Halflings have organized the “Parrallian Confederation” as a political term for their tribal union, especially as it concerns humans, and the larger Kingdom of Varanthus, which the Parrallian Confederation is a member, ally and vassal state. The High Chieftain and his various nobles serve as the tribal representatives and ambassadors of the Parrallian Confederation at the court of Varanthus.

Culture

The Parrallian Halflings have two primary cultural traditions that affect their cultural and political attitudes. One cultural tradition belongs to the farming tribes—the farming tribes are from temperate coastal lands, as well as arid desert regions where the tribes had mastered intensive farming and agriculture. The farming tribes had developed intensive crops and orchards, as well as raising larger herds of animals, and increased the mastery of various crafting professions.

The farming tribes tend to be insular, conservative, and cautious. The farming tribes are primarily sedentary agriculturalists, herdsmen, craftsmen, and merchants. The farming tribes are generally peaceful, though reclusive and uninterested in the troubles and concerns of outsiders. The farming tribes are protective of their herds, farms, and villages however, and zealous in organizing a well-armed militia, and launching fierce raids against their enemies.

The other cultural tradition belongs to the nomadic tribes—the nomadic tribes are from dense tropical jungles and tropical rainforests, where the tribes had established many small villages and encampments throughout the region, typically connected by numerous rivers and lakes. The nomadic tribes spent a majority of their time hunting and gathering, migrating along the rivers and marshes while rotating the areas that they hunted, and the areas where they gathered fruits and plants. The various nomadic tribes also came to rely upon boats that they used to travel throughout the rivers and marshes, hunting, foraging, and trading.

The nomadic tribes tend to be friendly, outgoing, and bold. The nomadic tribes are active, restless, and dynamic, eagerly hunting the surrounding regions, as well as gathering fruits and plants, and trading with other peoples they encounter in their travels and migrations. While generally peaceful, the nomadic tribes can be savage and bloodthirsty against their enemies, and have a long tradition of sacrificing captured war prisoners to their gods, as the nomadic tribes believe that the gods can be nourished and gain special strength by receiving the blood and souls of captured enemies. The nomadic tribes have ancient customs and traditions of embracing fierce warfare against their enemies, and are eager to launch raids into enemy lands to punish their enemies with death and to also take booty and plunder. The nomadic tribes are eager to explore new lands, creatures, and peoples, and are fearless and adventurous raiders, explorers and merchants.

The Parrallian Halflings are a confederation of two groups of tribes, and have spent many years synthesizing the two cultures, mixing the two cultures and religions together, and creating something new and different from either, while remaining familiar at the same time. The two groups have learned from each other, and vigorously engaged in cross-pollinating each other with new ideas and ways of thinking, new customs, and new traditions, to form a dynamic, united, and intriguing hybrid of the two original cultures. The Parrallian Halflings generally love their farms and herds with great passion, though many also love the exhilaration of hunting and wandering the wilderness, as well as using their boats and barges to travel the local rivers and lakes, hunting, raiding, exploring, and trading with friendly tribes and communities along the journey.

Economically, the Parrallian Halflings embrace a mixed economy, using both barter systems and coin-based systems. The Parrallian Halflings raise various crops of grain, as well as a variety of orchards, from apples and plums, to almonds and walnuts. The Parrallian Halflings also grow blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries, among others.
The Parrallian Halflings have also developed several important industries, such as weaving, wool, fishing, as well as woodcarving, textiles, bee-keeping, and ranching.

Parrallian Halflings embrace a monogamous marriage custom, though divorces are relatively easy to obtain, and remarriage is entirely acceptable. There is no stigma attached to divorced or remarried members of the society in any way. Premarital sex is not only expected, and the norm—but encouraged through both private custom, as well as tribal, communal customs where adolescents of both sexes are expected to participate in various fertility rituals that celebrate the tribal fertility and pay homage and thanks to the gods. There are also rituals that celebrate the adolescent’s transition into adulthood, and sexual unions and ritual orgies are a common feature in such tribal celebrations and rituals. Parrallian Halfling marriage customs are noted briefly below:

Monogamous; Loose, Informal, Concubinage

Loose: People involved have varying expectations of absolute sexual fidelity and exclusivity; mistresses, lovers, and so on are fairly common, and generally accepted.

Informal: The culture has no strict requirements concerning divorce, and divorce is relatively easy and simple to do, with no social, religious or cultural stigmas for anyone involved. In addition, children born out of wedlock are not subject to being outcasts, and may be common and entirely accepted.

Concubinage: The culture embraces the custom of maintaining concubines for a married person, whether male or female. In the cases where concubines provide children, the children have some rights of inheritance. In addition, concubines have an official, legal and social status, and enjoy specific social, legal and inheritance rights.

Religion

The Parrallian Halflings worship a large and diverse pantheon of gods. Sages believe that within the oral traditions of the six tribes are clues hinting at a past time where some of the tribes were agricultural, and blended with other tribes that were nomadic. The Parrallian Halfling pantheon seems to be a synthesis of settled, agricultural deities, and other gods, of a barbaric, primitive, and mystical nature.

The Parrallian Halflings build temples of stone and wood in honor of their gods, though such temples are typically encircled by several groves of sacred trees. The temples always have a great pool within them, as well as a great stone altar carved with animal heads and other depictions of the gods in humanoid form. There is also always a great stone fire-pit, so that a large animal or humanoids can be sacrificed to the gods. The Parrallian Halflings hold various celebrations throughout the year, celebrating the different seasons, as well as particular festivals honoring the gods.

The deities of the Parrallian Halflings are briefly listed and described below:

Parrallian Halfling Deities

Emgahway—Emgahway is a supreme god, and leader of the pantheon, along with his wife, the “Great Mother” goddess, Dahshomnoo. Emgahway is a god of war, fire, mountains and strength.

Shuhmoggee—Shuhmoggee is a god of winter, wind, storms, rain, and the sea.

Ushnam—Ushnam is a god of trade, crafts, wisdom, knowledge and law.

Oohmoghwah—Oohmogwah is a god of dark forests, battle, courage, and hunting.

Saumaerik—Saumaerik is a god of the sun, fertility, passion, hope and joy.

Haaghishnah—Haaghishnah is a god of agriculture, domesticated animals, harvests, and nature.

Yomnaroo—Yomnaroo is a god of trickery, greed, ambition, trade, and journeys.

Nooghamnee—Nooghamnee is a god of darkness, disease, the night, and death.

Dahshomnoo—Dahshomnoo is a supreme “Great Mother” goddess, and wife to Emgahway. Dahshomnoo is a goddess of nature, storms, fertility, animals and rivers.

Dahnaroo—Dahnaroo is a goddess of love, friendship, marriage, honor and loyalty.

Meelah—Meelah is a goddess of fate, luck, gambling, poetry, knowledge and travel.

Soborhee—Soborhee is a goddess of the sun, deserts, passion, fire, art, and beauty.

Lahneemah—Lahneemah is a goddess of nature, animals, lakes, rivers, and spring rains.

Rhoonaydah—Rhoonaydah is a goddess of darkness, the moon, prophecy, magic and secrets.

Nhambeelah—Nhambeelah is a goddess of darkness, serpents, reptiles, passion, dancing, lust and magic.

Nahgheesah—Nahgheesah is a goddess of insects, death, disease, magic, and darkness.

Noobhellee—Noobhellee is a goddess of fertility, sexuality, lust, music, dancing, and passion.

Ahgheemah—Ahgheemah is a goddess of healing, knowledge, compassion, and wisdom.

Warfare

The Parrallian Halflings recruit their forces from all of the tribes, and form units of light infantry, skirmishers, and raiders. The Parrallian Halflings, while generally peaceful, are zealous in defense of their lands, and can be savage and bloodthirsty. The Parrallian Halflings typically coat their weapons with various toxins that cause agony, pain, weakness, and such, but seldom death, as the halflings enjoy taking captives for torture, sacrifice, or slavery.

Cultural Weapons and Armour

Halfling Cultural Armour
Leather Armor (AC 8)
Hide Armor (AC 8)
Studded Leather (AC 7)

Halfling Cultural Weapons
Dagger, Dart, Club, Sling, Handaxe, Shortbow, Shortsword, Javelin, Spear, Quarterstaff

Human—Archaedian City-States

2011-04-26T14:49:00.001-07:00

Human—Archaedian City-States

History

The Archaedians are an ancient race of humans descended from a group of barbarian tribes that migrated into the Archaedian peninsula thousands of years ago. The early Archaedian tribes came from the lands to the north and north-east. The Archaedians spread throughout the Archaedian peninsula, as well as lands along the shores of the western, central and north-eastern Dragon Sea regions. The Archaedians are loosely organized into independent city-states and colonies, nominally led and sponsored by one of the primary city-states of Epparna, Damara, Marlanthe, Tharallia, Tharbis, Lycaeris, or Arthenia.

Physical Appearance

Archaedians are generally of above-average height and weight, though they are often strong, broad-shouldered, and thick in physique. Archaedians typically have skin tone of brown-olive, tan-olive, or white-olive. Generally, Archaedians have hair color of ebony-black, black-brown, or occasionally some kind of blonde. In eye color, Archaedians usually have eyes of dark-brown or hazel-brown, though a few other colors are occasionally found. Archaedian men typically wear short, neatly-trimmed full beards, and wear their hair reasonably short—typically no longer than to the neck or shoulders. Archaedian women typically wear their hair piled up, or long and curled, usually rubbed with finely-scented oils, and adorned with a hair comb, jeweled hair-pins, or ribbons. Archaedian men and women alike are fond of all kinds of fine jewelry and rich clothing. Most Archaedian women are highly-devoted to using fine perfumes, scented oils and exotic cosmetics.

In typical appearance, the Archaedian man is nearly six feet in height, weighing a solid 200 pounds. The Archaedian man has curly or wavy black hair reaching to his neck or shoulders, and has a well-groomed, full beard. The Archaedian man is broad-shouldered, with a deep chest, and a strong, muscular physique. The Archaedian man has large eyes, a prominent nose, and is generally rugged, masculine, and attractive. In typical appearance, the Archaedian woman is well over five feet in height, and weighs close to 150 pounds. The Archaedian woman has large, dark eyes, and long, black hair that is curly or wavy, and reaches to the middle of her back or her waist in length. The Archaedian woman has fine skin, and a thick, voluptuous physique, with curvaceous hips, thick legs, and attractive, sensual features.

All Archaedians speak the native language of Archaedian, as well as a home-dialect language particular to the primary city-state of their birth.

N.B Player Characters are encouraged to review the Archaedian Character Tables, presented below.

Archaedian Character Tables

Archaedian Character Table: Skin Tone
Dice Roll/Skin Tone
01-50%: Brown-Olive
51-80%: Tan-Olive
81-00%: White-Olive

Archaedian Character Table: Hair Color
Dice Roll/Hair Color
01-55%: Ebony-Black
56-80%: Black-Brown
81-90%: Ash-Blonde
91-95%: Honey-Blonde
96-00%: Golden-Blonde

Archaedian Character Table: Eye Color
Dice Roll/Eye Color
01-60%: Dark Brown
61-85%: Brown-Hazel
86-90%: Golden-Brown
91-95%: Pale-Brown
96-00%: Blue-Grey

Archaedian Height and Weight Tables
Male Archaedian Base Height: 5’6”-6’4”; (5’4”+2d6”);
Average Height: 5’10”
Male Archaedian Base Weight: 152-260-lbs; (140+12d10);
Average Weight: 200-lbs.

Female Archaedian Base Height: 5’2”-6’0”; (5’0”+2d6”);
Average Height: 5’6”
Female Archaedian Base Weight: 110-200-lbs; (100+10d10);
Average Weight: 150-lbs.

Politics

Archaedian city-states are ruled by public assemblies—every male citizen over the age of 20. The public assemblies gather at specified times of the year, as well as at other occasions, to appoint committees, appoint various nobles as Archons, and a single nobleman is voted as High Archon. The High Archon rules for a lifetime term, unless he has lost the confidence and support of the people, in which he is voted out of office by the public assembly. The public assemblies, and the various committees led by selected nobles, variously vote and control financial policy and legislative authority, while the High Archon has more power in foreign policy decisions, as well as authority over the military forces in wartime.

Some Archaedian city-states are periodically ruled by Tyrants—special dictators that have sweeping power and authority. However, while all Archaedian city-states are either ruled by the public assembly and the High Archon, or a Tyrant, there is one exception—the city-state of Lycaeris is ruled by two appointed kings, and governed by a supreme council of 5 noblemen called the Drythor, who also lead the High Council. The High Council is composed of 500 members, all whom are Lycaeden citizens whom have been elected to their positions by the citizens of Lycaeris. The High Council and the Drythor hold most of the financial and legislative power, while the two Lycaeden kings hold authority over the military and foreign policy.

Culture

The Archaedians are united by a common culture, language and religion. However, each of the primary city-states maintains a particular native dialect, as well as nuances and distinctions concerning politics, philosophy, economics, as well as social customs.

All Archaedians speak Archaedian, though each is also fluent in a primary city-state dialect, corresponding to where they are originally from, as follows:

City-State/Native Dialect
Epparna—Eppari
Damara—Damari
Marlanthe—Marlanthi
Tharallia—Tharallian
Tharbis—Tharben
Lycaeris—Lycaeden
Arthenia--Arthenian

The traditional Archaedian culture is highly patriarchal, and holds to particular customs and gender roles for society. In contrast to male citizens, who enjoy great freedoms of all kinds, whether they are noblemen or not—women have very different strictures and customs and expectations they must contend with, and abide by. Noble, upper and middle-class women are barred from entering many public areas, especially such areas and buildings devoted to politics and government. Good Archaedian women—those women from noble, upper and middle-class families--are expected to remain cloistered within the home and around their estate if they have one, and are generally allowed to go to the market-square, and the temples. Archaedian women are restricted against any political involvement whatsoever. Archaedian women cannot own their own property, or petition a court. Any land must be owned by a male, and any court petition must be initiated by a male. Women must always show deference and respect towards men. Furthermore, women receive a very narrow education, if at all—and are seldom literate. The vast majorities of noblewomen, as well as women from upper and middle-class families, are relatively uneducated, and expected to devote themselves entirely to the domestic realm. Such Archaedian women are expected to be devoted to pleasing their husbands in every way; supervising the home and supervising or performing all of the domestic chores and duties; supervising the children and slaves; and attending to the household shopping needs.

Lower-class Archaedian women, of course, may travel about as they desire, and may pursue various professions—typically those professions that are suitable to the lower-classes, and of simple and humble origin. Lower-class Archaedian women are also entirely barred from politics, and also hold few legal or property rights. Having said this, however, Archaedian women from the lower-classes do enjoy a somewhat greater degree of social, financial and personal freedoms—not nearly as equal to the Halloi women, but typically more so than women of the nobility, and upper and middle-classes.

However, women that are Halloi—essentially prostitutes—are permitted great freedoms, beyond what is expected or allowed for other Archaedian women, especially from noble, upper and middle-class families. The Halloi women typically come from the lower classes—though some are upper or middle-class or noble women that have been somehow shamed and disowned, or are otherwise estranged from their families—some of these women join the profession of the Halloi. The Halloi are all members of a special Halloi guild. It is at the Halloi guildhouse in whatever town or city-state they are in, that provides housing, education, and training for the women of the Halloi. Joining the Halloi guild is one particular method—and the only salient method—for Archaedian women to not only achieve personal, private wealth, but also to cultivate their own personal independence and social freedom. Most Halloi women are sophisticated, articulate, highly educated, as well as graceful, charming, and highly-skilled in erotic arts. In addition, Halloi women are highly trained in singing, dancing, music, writing, poetry, cosmetics, and various performing arts.

Traditional Archaedian society also allows an additional exception—women from whatever background, if they seem to have the particular talents and favourable signs from the gods, may also become priestesses, witches, enchantresses or oracles. Such women, when they are discovered or otherwise make themselves known, are typically gathered up by various societies and professional circles of such women within Archaedian society, so as to further teach them and provide training and instruction in their new life. Thus, there are various temples that train priestesses and oracles, and special guilds of enchantresses and circles of witches. As Archaedian society views women as being symbolic of passion and chaos, such women are allowed to engage in such professions—as is the divine purpose for them, and are accorded varying degrees of reverence, awe, respect, or fear. In all such cases, however, Archaedian men view these types of women as not only exceptional, but also strange, wondrous, and mystical.

Historically, all traditional Archaedian city-states embrace such customs for women, as described, except for the city-states of Tharallia and Lycaeris. The city-state of Tharallia remains closer to the wild frontiers of northern Archaedia, as well as rough, barbarian customs, and allows women broad freedoms, nearly equal to men. Tharallian women are allowed to pursue most professions, and they enjoy near-equal legal rights as Tharallian men, though they are not allowed to participate politically, and they are generally not permitted to serve in the military, though outlying rural Tharallian communities do allow women to become warriors, if they are skilled and tough enough. In the city-state of Lycaeris, Lycaeden women enjoy a sweeping range of freedoms absolutely unthinkable in the rest of Archaedia.

Archaedian marriage ceremonies are public, formal affairs, with a particular priest or priestess officiating, and both families and many friends invited as guests in attendance. Great gifts are exchanged between the couple, and the friends also present gifts to the couple, and afterwards, a great feast and celebration is held. Archaedian marriage customs are generally Monogamous, strict, and formal, as detailed below:

Monogamous, Strict, Formal, Concubinage

Strict: A strict adherence to fidelity and exclusive sexual relations is expected. Violation of these expectations and customs may provoke serious social and or legal consequences. Adultery is often punished with savage torture, and often death sentences are the standard. These requirements are almost exclusively expected of Archaedian women.

Formal: The society has very high standards and strict rules and expectations for any kind of divorce. There may be specific requirements that the couple or people involved must exhibit in order to be allowed to divorce. There may be various significant social and religious stigmas attached to anyone that has been divorced. Children born out of wedlock are likewise social outcasts if such is becomes known. Archaedian men may initiate divorce for virtually any reason—while Archaedian women are heavily restricted to petitioning for divorce; Archaedian women may petition for divorce only under the provision for very serious, egregious reasons, and a Archaedian magistrate has full power to review and judge on allowing the woman to gain such a divorce.

Concubinage: In Archaedia, male Archaedians may retain concubines, lovers and slaves as they desire. Concubines, much like Halloi women, enjoy a particular set of legal and social rights, as well as various rights of inheritance. In addition, children from concubines have some legal and inheritance rights.

The Archaedians are very sophisticated and articulate, being literate and highly-educated. The Archaedians provide all male citizens with formal educations, and encourage increased and ongoing education in all fields, as well as philosophy, politics, and civic involvement. The Archaedians have a sophisticated, coin-based economy, and are very mercantilist, with great merchant houses and fleets of merchant ships exploiting domestic and foreign trade throughout the Dragon Sea region.

Archaedian men typically gather together often at midday to enjoy lunch together, and discuss various political issues, news, gossip, and philosophy. Evening dinners at the end of the day are also popular times for Archaedian men to gather for such discussions and fellowship. Archaedian scholars and philosophers are often members of particular clubs or philosophical societies, and often hold special gatherings and dinners at some selected nobleman’s estate, or perhaps a wealthy house somewhere in the city to enjoy a great dinner, and to engage in debates and discussions. These gatherings are also often shared with groups of Halloi women that are invited to the meeting to provide all the men gathered with entertainment and companionship.

The Archaedians are highly skilled in all aspects of warfare, both land and sea. Archaedian politicians and leaders, if not brilliant and accomplished philosophers and scholars, are expected to be glorious military heroes, and to have gained great reputation in war for the glory of their city-state.

It should be noted, however, that the Archaedian culture is generally quite open-minded and liberal, and there are always some individual philosophers agitating for various social changes, as well as various smaller communities and factions that hold to radically divergent beliefs from the traditional Archaedian culture. Throughout the regions where Archaedian city-states are located, there are always some few city-states that have embraced some sweeping philosophy and change in cultural customs, where all manner of unusual policies and highly-liberal customs have been embraced.

Throughout the north-eastern region of the Dragon Sea, for example, are many city-states that have embraced a much broader attitude towards women participating in the daily social circles, as well as much more liberal professional and economic freedoms. As a result, there are more than a few regions dominated by the Archaedian culture where women have broad professional and economic freedoms, as well as sweeping social and political freedoms. In such regions, women may own their own property, gain educations, control their own finances, and pursue whatever kind of work or professional ambition they desire. Furthermore, in such regions, women socialize with the men in every social circle, and the society is thoroughly integrated, with perhaps only the highest positions of political power being restricted from women. Many sages believe that these powerful social changes have grown from two major influences—the frequent agitation by philosophers from Lycaeris, often joined by activists and philosophers from Tharallia, have worked long and diligently to spread their beliefs and customs embracing freedom and empowerment for women; secondly, the influence spread through trade, as well as immigration, interbreeding and marriage with peoples from the city-states and kingdoms of Tarjan, Oggerri, and Zhunaya.

The Tarjans, Ogerrians and Zhunayans are all part of an ancient, interconnected culture along the south-eastern shores of the Dragon Sea that has flourished for several thousand years. The region has many ancient and powerful kingdoms and city-states, with huge fortress-cities of fantastic and opulent wealth. The cultures of the south-east Dragon Sea region are typically sophisticated and decadent, with exotic customs and ancient, mystical religions. Throughout much of the south-eastern Dragon Sea region, the dominant cultures embrace a distinct reverence for the philosophy of the “Divine Feminine” and allow women to have broad social, sexual, political, and economic freedoms, with much of the religious life and temples being organized, controlled and dominated by women. Thus, the contact that many Archaedians have with cultures of these regions has been steadily influencing customs and practices within Archaedian city-states of the north-eastern Dragon Sea region for many centuries. These enduring cultural influences, as well as the philosophical activism of Lycaeris and Tharallia, have provoked and fueled various cultural and political factions within the Archaedian culture as a whole.

While the Archaedian culture holds many city-states that generally conform to a traditional, orthodox Archaedian culture, there are substantial factions that often disagree on many cultural and political issues, and have embraced many new ideas. In virtually all Archaedian city-states, there are two primary factions—conservatives, and liberals. These factions may have different names, depending on the particular city-state—but they are always squabbling and endlessly debating cultural changes, laws, customs, philosophy, and political policy.

The conservatives generally seek to maintain the traditional Archaedian cultural customs—only seeking to alter or change them slowly, and in modest degrees. Conservatives are not entirely opposed to change, or new ideas or ways of doing things—though they often proceed to embrace any proposed changes slowly, and cautiously, anxious to avoid unleashing chaos and anarchy, and ever-mindful of the ancient wisdom and merits of the customs and policies instituted by their predecessors. Conservatives often presume the old ways are just fine the way they are—and proposed changes must prove to be superior or more advantageous to truly gain their support, as they assume that most proposed changes are ultimately inferior, dangerous, or at the very least, flawed and ineffective, with such being typically more idealistic and high-minded rather than pragmatic. Conservatives typically believe that the wise ancestors of past generations have formed the best and most advantageous customs and policies—and there are few, if any, new ideas or policies that can substantially improve on them in meaningful ways, without also unleashing unacceptable consequences.

The liberals generally embrace much of the same traditional customs as conservatives—though they are typically much more comfortable with embracing new ideas, different approaches to problems, and entertaining unique, unorthodox philosophies than the typical conservative, but furthermore—are willing to support changes in customs and policies that may radically change the society and culture. Liberals often presume that the older customs are essentially flawed and outdated, and can typically be improved on or changed in good, progressive ways that are more effective and advantageous. Liberals typically believe that there are always better ways of doing things—there must be better ways of doing things than they have been done in the past.

Religion

The Archaedian religion is a comprehensive pantheon of complex, sophisticated deities. The Archaedians worship a large pantheon of gods, holding areas of authority and dominion over such areas as war, storms and seas, forests, beasts, love and fertility, hunting, crafting, wisdom, music, the sun, and more.

Archaedians build and support huge, wondrous temples devoted to their gods, as well as shrines in all of the city-states. The Archaedians also revere various holy lakes, springs, or glades throughout Archaedia. Archaedians have developed revolutionary new building techniques, as well as pioneered beautiful artistic styles and forms of stonework and decoration, in the process of building many great temples throughout Archaedia. The Archaedians have, as a by-product of these efforts, created entirely new architecture and engineering principles, as well as a range of specialized tools and training methods that allow such efforts and professions to grow and be pursued.

Archaedian priests and priestesses are very important in Archaedian society, and are highly-respected. Archaedian priests and priestesses supervise all the regular sacrifices by the people; provide counsel, as well as conducting all the public rituals and ceremonies, and performing the various seasonal festivals and celebrations particular to each temple.

The Archaedian gods are noted as follows:

Zhargos—Supreme god of the Archaedian pantheon; god of the air, storms, knowledge and prophecy

Theron—God of the underworld, the earth, death, darkness, wealth, and fire

Pelagon—God of the sun, fire, nobility, war, and strength

Nikandros—God of Healing, Compassion, Knowledge, and Law

Parsidon—God of the seas, storms, destruction, and nature

Diokles—God of murder, darkness, trickery, greed, and fortune

Arrion—God of War, chaos, destruction, and conquest

Dyrranos—God of wine, chaos, music, trickery, forests, savagery and wild beasts

Darmathon—God of strength, adventure, courage, and fortune

Ikarios—God of the sun, fire, chaos, destruction

Appellios—God of the sun, music, prophecy and archery

Hyllos—God of crafts, smithing, fire and knowledge

Appollonia—Goddess of love, fertility, beauty, sexuality and passion

Amanthe—Goddess of war, wisdom, crafts, art and knowledge

Deianneira—Goddess of agriculture, harvests, animals and nature

Xanthippe—Goddess of law, trade, travel and crafts

Salomede—Goddess of joy, wine, fortune, music and gambling

Theiranda—Goddess of chaos, darkness, disease and pestilence

Paramona—Goddess of hunting, forests, rivers, nature and animals

Nikeira—Goddess of Victory, nobility, valor and war

Kyrene—Goddess of magic, knowledge, the moon, and chaos

Hedeia—Goddess of Marriage, intrigue, knowledge, and prophecy

Warfare

The Archaedian city-states each recruit their military forces from the city itself, as well as tributary cities, towns and villages, as well as the surrounding countryside. In addition, Archaedian city-states often hire various kinds of mercenaries, as well as relying on contingents from allied city-states to provide help and support in times of war. Each city-state recruits and supports an army composed of Hoplites, which are heavily-armoured and armed heavy infantry. The Archaedian armies also have foot-archers, skirmishers, and cavalry—typically fast-moving light cavalry lancers. Also joining any military expedition are units of highly-trained siege-engineers, and men trained with building and operating a wide range of artillery and war machines.

Archaedian naval forces enjoy strong, sophisticated warships, and are crewed by highly-paid, highly-motivated professional rowers, sailors and marines. Such men also come from a broad range of backgrounds—though the lower-and middle-classes provide most of the recruits for the navies of the city-states. The men of the navy also form a sub-culture that is somewhat apart from larger Archaedian society, with their own customs, and zealously democratic principles and ideas. The Archaedian sailors, rowers and marines are typically daring, adventurous, and rough—though they are also united by their dangerous fraternity of making their lives and fortunes aboard ships that can, at a moment, make them all equal in death before the fires of war, or the rushing, cold waters of the sea.

Cultural Weapons and Armour

Archaedian Cultural Armour
Leather Armor (AC 8)
Hide Armor (AC 8)
Studded Leather (AC 7)
Scale Mail (AC 6)
Breastplate (AC 5)

Archaedian Cultural Weapons
Dagger, Dart, Club, Whip, Trident, Shortsword, Sickle, Shortbow, Javelin, Spear, Lance, Sarissa (Pike), Cestus, Quarterstaff

Human—Malbari City-States

2011-04-26T14:46:00.001-07:00

Human—Malbari City-States

History

The Malbari people are an ancient race of humans from the Malbari Islands, in the eastern Dragon Sea, off of the shores of Elamnu and Sarranda. In ancient times, the Malbari were a nomadic, pastoral people that sages believe originally come from the deserts and mountain regions of northern Elamnu. The Malbari tribes gradually migrated to the Malbari Islands, and established prosperous mercantile city-states throughout the islands and up and down the coasts of Elamnu and Sarranda. The Malbari became immensely wealthy as merchants, sailors, explorers, and scholars. The Malbari built and maintained a huge fleet of merchant ships, and a powerful navy to protect their merchant fleets and foreign, sea-borne trade routes. The Malbar city-states in the Malbari Islands formed a powerful league of city-states, and rapidly established many colonies, city-states and small kingdoms throughout the Dragon Sea region.

Through the centuries, the Malbari have established several strong kingdoms, and more city-states and colonies, strengthening their vast mercantile empire. However, all of the Malbari kingdoms, city-states and colonies remain politically independent from each other, though they are often allied with each other in various leagues. Occasionally, some Malbari city-states may engage in war against each other, though this is uncommon. Currently, while all Malbari city-states and kingdoms are independent and loosely allied with each other, they remain united by a common culture, language and religion. The Malbari language has grown to become established as a major common language throughout the Dragon Sea region.

Physical Appearance

Malbar people are typically of average height and weight, and have skin of brown-bronze, brown-cinnamon, or brown-olive in tone. Generally, Malbar have black-brown, dull-black, or ebony-black hair, and dark-brown or brown-hazel eyes. Malbar often have larger noses, and prominent cheekbones. Malbar men generally wear neatly-trimmed, full beards, and favour dressing in loose-fitting, flowing garments and fine clothes. Malbari men typically wear their hair long, past their shoulders, though not so far to the middle of the back. Likewise, Malbari women customarily keep their hair long and flowing, usually reaching to the lower back or waist in length, and often curled and rubbed with finely-scented oils. Malbari women typically adorn their famously luxurious and beautiful hair with jeweled pins, and finely-crafted combs. Malbar men and women alike favour all kinds of jewelry, and occasionally have various tattoos. Malbar women are famous for their use of perfumes and artistic skills with all manner of exotic cosmetics. Malbar speak the native language of Malbari.

N.B. Player characters are encouraged to review the Malbari Character Tables, presented below.

Malbar Character Tables

Malbar Character Table: Skin Tones
Dice Roll/Skin Tone
01-20%: Brown-Bronze
21-48%: Brown-Cinnamon
49-82%: Brown-Olive
83-92%: White-Olive
93-00%: Black-Ebony

Malbar Character Table: Hair Color
Dice Roll/Hair Color
01-20%: Black-Brown
21-50%: Black-Dull
51-00%: Black-Ebony

Malbar Character Table: Eye Color
Dice Roll/Eye Color
01-70%: Brown-Dark
71-85%: Brown-Hazel
86-95%: Brown-Golden
96-00%: Brown-Pale

Malbari Height and Weight Tables
Male Malbari Base Height: 5’2”-6’0”; (5’0”+2d6”);
Average Height: 5’6”
Male Malbari Base Weight: 112-220-lbs; (100+12d10);
Average Weight: 160-lbs.

Female Malbari Base Height: 4’10”-5’8”; (4’8”+2d6”);
Average Height: 5’2”
Female Malbari Base Weight: 72-180-lbs; (60+12d10);
Average Weight: 120-lbs.

Politics

While each Malbari city-state or kingdom is politically independent, they all share a similar political structure, having political power primarily divided into three sources—a divinely related king with immense royal power and authority; powerful priests and priestesses from the great temples; and merchant-princes from the vastly wealthy merchant-houses.

Each Malbari city-state’s king is served by a royal council, composed of various members of priests and priestesses—ensuring that all of the various temples are dutifully and fairly represented—as well as prominent merchant-princes, also drawn from the elite councils of each of the great merchant houses in the city-state; and various other nobles and elders from the city. Typically, the king holds power over the military, and has authority in foreign policy, declarations of war, and the power to make treaties. The king also serves various important ceremonial functions as a quasi-divine representative of the gods, and also has power and authority over laws, courts, and the overall welfare and security of the entire city-state. The royal council serves as a critical advisory body, and has the power to supervise or veto various laws proposed by the king—but must have a majority to enforce such. In addition, the royal council controls the majority of the royal treasury and budget.

Culture

The Malbari city-states have grown immensely wealthy from trade—primarily serving as middle-men in conducting trade throughout the Dragon Sea region, as well as bringing products and materials from the various lands around the Dragon Sea to each other, and beyond—to distant shores along the eastern edges of Aghanda, far eastern ports in the Seren Empire, as well as the Vallorean Empire, to the north-west of the Dragon Sea. The Malbari trade in a large variety of goods, from slaves, glass, wine, finely-crafted pottery, colored dyes, colored beads, various breeds of dogs and horses, to fine textiles, tapestries, linens, richly-made clothing, exquisite jewelry and metalwork of bronze, silver, and gold. The Malbari also trade raw materials in high demand, from precious cedar-wood, oak, good stone, as well as fine marble and raw metals such as tin, silver and gold.

Most famously, however, is the export of Malbari Purple, a rich and exquisite violet-purple dye that the Malbari harvest and craft from the Marantic Snail. The Marantic Snail is chiefly found in the coastal waters around the Malbari Islands, though the Malbari have discovered various other locations around the Dragon Sea where the creature can be found. The Malbari also trade heavily in ebony, ivory, coral, honey, spices, various oils, and precious stones.

The Malbar are fine craftsmen, displaying outstanding skills in several areas, from glass-blowing, metalworking, and textiles, to pottery, wood-carving, ivory-carving, and shipbuilding. The Malbar have developed their own distinctive style of ceramic pottery, known simply as Malbari Pottery, and which is in high demand throughout the Dragon Sea region, and beyond. The Malbar have developed several distinctive styles of merchant ships, as well as powerful warships. The Malbar are excellent goldsmiths and silversmiths, and have developed new metallurgical techniques in further refining various precious metals, as well as in tools and techniques in decorating and crafting styles of jewelry. The Malbar are also famous for designing a range of clothing styles and items of clothing—from loose-fitting, trousers and decorative robes, cloaks, dresses, skirts and tunics, to various varieties of hats and headwear, from tall, cylindrical hats to veiled headdresses for women.

Loremasters and sages attribute the first system of writing to the Malbari, whom legends relate that either the Malbari discovered and created the Malbari Alphabet of 22 letters, or, as some legends allude to—that the elves taught the Malbar the skill of writing in the distant past, and the Malbari proceeded to develop writing from that point. Whatever the truth of the matter, the Malbari Alphabet, and the distinct Malbari Script, were spread to the Archaedians to the north, the Elamneans and Parathians to the east, and to the Tegherans in the south. The Archaedians eventually developed and refined the Archaedian Alphabet, and spread the skill of writing to the lands and peoples of the north, including the Vallorean tribes. The kingdoms and city-states of Elamnu and the Parathians adopted the Malbari Alphabet, with the Parathians eventually developing and refining the Parathian Alphabet, and the distinctive Parathian Script. The Tegherans also refined and developed their own unique Tegheran Alphabet and the Tegheran Script, and spread the skill of writing to various tribes and kingdoms in the lands of Aghanda.

Malbari marriage customs are noted as follows:

Monogamous; Loose, Informal, Concubinage

Loose: People involved have varying expectations of absolute sexual fidelity and exclusivity; mistresses, lovers, and so on are fairly common, and generally accepted.

Informal: The culture has no strict requirements concerning divorce, and divorce is relatively easy and simple to do, with no social, religious or cultural stigmas for anyone involved. In addition, children born out of wedlock are not subject to being outcasts, and may be common and entirely accepted.

Concubinage: The culture embraces the custom of maintaining concubines for a married person, whether male or female. In the cases where concubines provide children, the children have some rights of inheritance. In addition, concubines have an official, legal and social status, and enjoy specific social, legal and inheritance rights.

Religion

Malbari religion is devoted to an ancient and enduring pantheon of deities, led by Baal-Hadan, a god of cities, war, storms, and rulership. The Malbari pantheon also reveres the “Great Mother” goddess of Ashara, and a comprehensive pantheon of gods and goddesses—deities of hunting, nature, the sea, crafting, magic, fate, the stars, fertility, law and knowledge, the sun, as well as war, death, disease, serpents, chaos and darkness.
The Malbari build enormous temples to their gods, making each temple as lavishly decorated as the community can afford. Each temple follows an accepted style, of having the form of a ziggurat of stone, featuring a great plaza-entrance with rows of fine-carved stone pillars, inlaid with gold, silver, and precious gems.

The Malbari gods are noted as follows:

Male Gods

Bal-Hadan—Supreme god of the Malbari pantheon. Bal-Hadan is a god of mountains, strength, fire, war, and storms.

Bin-Haddad—God of crafts, smithing, fire, knowledge and law

Ashmagon—God of darkness, fire, death, law and prophecy

Melberek—God of storms, the sea, destruction, animals, and fate

Eshberek—God of deserts, nature, storms and animals

Nargesh—God of the underworld, war, destruction, and death

Gadd-Hammon—God of darkness, trickery, greed, murder and travel

Hadderum—God of Healing, the stars, knowledge, prophecy, and magic

Bal-Harum—God of trade, crafts, law, and knowledge

Melkoon—God of magic, knowledge, darkness, and secrets

Female Goddesses

Asherah—Supreme “Great Mother” goddess of the earth, fertility, nature, lust, sexuality, magic and knowledge

Asht-Hammon—Goddess of marriage, nobility, the home, and loyalty

Sadaemah—Goddess of healing, love, wisdom, and honor

Haddasha—Goddess of the sun, fire, knowledge, chaos, deserts, war, and savagery

Melkasha—Goddess of the moon, darkness, magic, knowledge and prophecy

Shaduna—Goddess of fortune, trickery, fate, gambling, wine and chaos

Tarmeshah—Goddess of chaos, serpents, magic, knowledge, lust and fertility

Urtannit—Goddess of spring, rain, rivers, nature and agriculture

Eshannah—Goddess of the underworld, magic, darkness, beauty and fertility

Yahazebel—Goddess of fertility, sexuality, music, singing, dancing, and nobility

Sadiha—Goddess of forests, hunting, animals, and wisdom

Ashbahli—Goddess of death, darkness, disease and pestilence

Malbari temples feature temple prostitutes, mystics, prophets and the priests and priestesses sponsor various exotic festivals throughout the year, as each god and goddess is celebrated with various feasts, ritual ceremonies, orgies, and sacrifices. The various cults that sponsor temple prostitutes are an essential element of Malbari religion, as engaging with a temple prostitute is a key expression of sacrifice and devotion to the gods, through giving mystical energy to the gods through sex, as well as receiving divine ecstasy and bliss in return, as an expression of the god’s blessing upon the worshipper.

Warfare

The Malbar recruit soldiers from various districts within the city-state, as well as surrounding towns and villages. The Malbar also supplement their military forces by mercenary contracts, gaining the service of all manner of exotic troop-types and special forces. The Malbari typically field forces of medium infantry, as well as skirmishers, foot-archers, and fast-moving cavalry-lancers and cavalry-archers. The Malbari also use well-armed marines, and specially-trained raiders. The Malbari navy is famous for the skill and tenacity of their rowers and sailors, as well as the speed and maneuverability of the Malbari warships.

Cultural Weapons and Armour

Malbari Cultural Armor
Leather Armor
Hide Armor
Studded Leather
Scale Mail
Breastplate
Shield

Malbari Cultural Weapons
Dagger, Dart, Club, Quarterstaff, Hand-axe, Shortsword, Footman’s Mace, Sling, Javelin, Spear, Lance, Shortbow, Composite Shortbow, Scimitar, Falchion
__________________

Human—Gharnoth Barbarian Tribes, Western

2011-04-26T14:44:00.001-07:00

Human—Gharnoth Barbarian Tribes, Western

History

The Western Gharnoth are tribes of barbarian humans that dwell throughout the forests, plains, and mountains east of the Varanthus region. The Gharnoth tribes recently migrated into the region from lands further east and north-east. The Western Gharnoth tribes are culturally and ethnically related to their cousins of the Eastern Gharnoth. The Gharnoth tribes—both the Western and Eastern Gharnoth—are relatives to the Valdar barbarians—a people that live in the cold mountains and dark forests of the distant northern lands of Vandia, Ghalmar, Ussallia, and Pahlanda. Loremasters and sages believe that the Gharnoth tribes originally come from the Goteland Islands, a group of large, rugged islands off of the southern coast of Ussallia.

The Eastern Gharnoth tribes have settled in lands far to the east and north-east, and differ from the Western Gharnoth is several salient ways, some of which are noted here: the Eastern Gharnoth have a higher ratio of black hair in their appearance; the Eastern Gharnoth are nomadic and pastoral, living in mobile tent-villages and travelling exclusively by horseback, as well as rugged, eight-wheeled wagons; the Eastern Gharnoth deploy military forces that are exclusively horse-cavalry, including heavily-armoured lancers and swift-moving mounted horse-archers; in political government, the Eastern Gharnoth not only have males ruling tribes as chieftains, but women may become chieftains as well; in addition, larger confederations of Eastern Gharnoth tribes that are organized into kingdoms may be ruled by kings or queens.

Physical Appearance

The Gharnoth are fair-skinned, very tall, and have strong, powerful physiques. The Western Gharnoth typically have eyes of Midnight-Blue, Ice-Blue, Blue-Grey, or Ice-Grey color. Western Gharnoth usually have ash-blonde, golden-blonde, or honey-blonde hair. The Gharnoth are well-known for being handsome, and very attractive. The Gharnoth are fond of all manner of jewelry, for either sex, though both sexes favor clothing of solid, darker colors. Male Gharnoth typically wear thick, wild beards and grow their hair in long, thick masses to the middle of their back. Female Gharnoth usually wear their hair in long, wild masses, either straight or occasionally curled, as well as braided. Gharnoth women typically grow their long, to middle of their back, their waist or hips in length. Gharnoth barbarians speak the native language of Gharnoth.

N.B. Player characters are encouraged to review the Gharnoth Character Tables, presented below.

Gharnoth Character Tables

Gharnoth Character Skin Tone
Dice Roll/Skin Tone
01-70%: White-Pale
71-80%: White-Ruddy
81-90%: White-Olive
91-00%: White-Tan

Gharnoth Characters Hair
Dice Roll/Hair Color
01-10%: Brassy Blonde
11-30%: Ash Blonde
31-40%: Flaxen Blonde
41-60%: Golden Blonde
61-80%: Honey Blonde
81-85%: Platinum Blonde
86-89%: Brown, Reddish
90-92%: Brown, Chestnut
93-95%: Brown, Golden
96-98%: Brown, Honey
99-00%: Brown, Dark

Gharnoth Characters Eyes
Dice Roll/Eye Color
01-20%: Bright Blue
21-35%: Midnight Blue
36-55%: Ice Blue
56-75%: Grey-Blue
76-90%: Pale-Grey
91-00%: Ice-Grey

Gharnoth Height and Weight Tables
Male Gharnoth Base Height: 6’0”-7’2”; (5’10”+2d8”);
Average Height: 6’6”
Male Gharnoth Base Weight: 216-360-lbs; (200+16d10);
Average Weight: 280-lbs.

Female Gharnoth Base Height: 5’8”-6’10”; (5’6”+2d8”);
Average Height: 6’2”
Female Gharnoth Base Weight: 136-280-lbs; (120+16d10);
Average Weight: 200-lbs.

Politics

The Western Gharnoth are ruled by a powerful king, who reigns over numerous tribes, with each tribe ruled by a strong chieftain. The Gharnoth king is elected to the throne by the high council, made up of various nobles, warriors, shamans, and elders drawn from all of the tribes. The high council elects a king, who traditionally rules for the duration of his life. While the succession is often hereditary, it is not necessarily so, and the high council has the right and authority to select a king from beyond the royal family of the king.

Culture

The Western Gharnoth are renowned as ferocious, cunning warriors, diligent and tenacious farmers, and daring, intrepid sailors. The Gharnoth are skilled in weaponsmithing, armoursmithing, and metallurgy, as well as engineering and stonemasonry. Besides these skills, the Gharnoth are known for crafting fine tools, implements, various tableware, great hunting and drinking horns, as well as fine jewelry of silver and gold. In warfare, beyond being ferocious and brutal warriors, the Gharnoth are known to be shrewd tacticians and resourceful in exploiting the weather, natural elements, and the local terrain at every opportunity.

The Gharnoth form their settlements into fortified towns and villages when good land is available, though many Gharnoth tribes remain more or less nomadic and pastoral. The Gharnoth keep herds of cattle, as well as goats and sheep, pigs, chickens, and various birds for food and trade. The Western Gharnoth values their herds of horses the most, however, and well-armoured cavalry forces are a key element of Gharnoth warfare. The Gharnoth embrace a mixed economy, using traditional bartering systems as well as coins in conducting trade.

In marriage, a Gharnoth husband enjoys great social and sexual freedom, and may have more than one wife at the same time, as well as various mistresses, lovers, slaves and concubines. The Gharnoth wife also enjoys great social and sexual freedom, and while she may have many lovers, slaves and concubines, she may only have one husband at a time.

Polygamous; Loose, Informal, Concubinage

Loose: People involved have varying expectations of absolute sexual fidelity and exclusivity; mistresses, lovers, and so on are fairly common, and generally accepted.

Informal: The culture has no strict requirements concerning divorce, and divorce is relatively easy and simple to do, with no social, religious or cultural stigmas for anyone involved. In addition, children born out of wedlock are not subject to being outcasts, and may be common and entirely accepted.

Concubinage: The culture embraces the custom of maintaining concubines for a married person, whether male or female. In the cases where concubines provide children, the children have some rights of inheritance. In addition, concubines have an official, legal and social status, and enjoy specific social, legal and inheritance rights.

Religion

The Gharnoth religion embraces an ancient pantheon of savage, barbaric deities, led by a patriarchal god of war, storms, and mountains. The Gharnoth revere a “Great Mother” goddess, though she is the wife and secondary to the king of the Gharnoth pantheon. The Gharnoth pantheon has deities of fire, the earth, rivers, fertility, beasts, forests, hunting, trade, craftsmanship, fate, chaos, death, darkness and the moon, as well as various spirits of the natural elements. Gharnoth society is served spiritually by shamans—both male and female—as well as witches, which are exclusively female.

The Gharnoth tribes have many religious celebrations honoring the gods throughout the year. Some of their celebrations and religious customs possess intriguing traditions, such as the following:

Every year, just at the beginning of spring, but before the great fertility festivals of Freyja and Ostara are celebrated, the end of the cold winter months is celebrated by a festival honoring the great mother-goddess in her fertility aspect in which the shamans of the goddess Hloudana bring an enchanted wagon in a great journey through the lands of the Gharnoth, where the procession visits all of the tribes in turn. The enchanted wagon is pulled by a team of sacred cows, and at each village, encampment or town, the Gharnoth hold great feasts, with drinking, dancing, and merriment. During the days or at most a week or so of the sacred procession and feasts, all Gharnoth avoid warfare, and are forbidden to raise arms against each other.

In various celebrations and feasts held in honor of Woden throughout the year, selected slaves and war-prisoners are ritually sacrificed to the great, fierce god, through ritual torture and then they are hung upon a grove of trees by barbed hooks and chains, allowing the ravens to feast upon them during their final hours.

The Gharnoth have many methods of divination that are popular, though the most sacred form of divination that each tribe uses is ritual divination through the shamans observing and listening to the neighing of a herd of milk-white horses. The sacred herds of milk white horses are blessed by the gods, and the Gharnoth believe that the sacred white horses are enchanted and magical creatures, blessed with strange powers and knowledge from the spirit-world. The sacred herds of milk-white horses are kept in a special grove of trees where they live close to the tribal community.

The Gharnoth gods are described below:

Woden—Woden is the supreme god of the Gharnoth pantheon, and a powerful god of war, magic, prophecy, and knowledge.

Sunna—Sunna is a sister to Mani, and is the goddess of the sun. She is also a goddess of fire, knowledge, mysteries, healing, and prophecy. Sunna is invoked in marriage ceremonies, and is a patron and guardian of women, pregnant women, and children.

Mani—Mani is a sister to Sunna, and is a goddess of the moon, darkness, magic and knowledge.

Freyja—Freyja is the goddess of love, sexuality, passion, and fertility.

Sibbia—Sibbia is the wife of Donar, and is a goddess of fertility, friendship, crafts, loyalty, valor, and war.

Hloudana—Hloudana is a supreme mother-goddess, and is the wife of Woden. Hloudana is a fertility goddess. Hloudana is goddess of nature, fertility, forests, the wilderness, and wild beasts.

Baduhenna—Baduhenna is a ferocious and beautiful goddess of war, battle, daring and savagery.

Ostara—Ostara is a goddess of fertility, spring, rain, rivers, animals and joy.

Tiews—Tiews is a god of single combat, honor, nobility, victory, and heroic glory.

Donar—Donar is a son to Woden, and the god of thunder, lightning, war, strength, and battle-frenzy.

Hretha—Goddess of trade, wisdom, knowledge, music, poetry, and healing

Geldric—Geldric is a god of forests, hunting, archery, and wild beasts.

Aldmar—Aldmar is a god of poetry, music, dancing, secrets, and knowledge.

Weland—Weland is a muscular, powerful god of crafts, smithing, knowledge, and magic

Holla—Holla is a supreme goddess of birth, death, reincarnation, darkness, magic, chaos, and the underworld. Holla is mother to Berchta, Luka.

Hagamar—Hagamar is a fierce god of the war, mountains, winter, and storms. Hagamar is a husband to Holla.

Herja—Herja is a goddess of darkness, war, savagery, beauty, passion, and murder.

Berchta—Berchta is a goddess of the forests, rainstorms, darkness, savagery, and wild beasts.

Luka—Luka is a powerful god of chaos, darkness, fire, trickery, and magic.

Idisi—Divine spirit-creatures of war, valor, fertility, and wisdom. The Idisi serve the gods of the Gharnoth pantheon. Idisi are often sent into the mortal realm to serve as lovers, advisors, and guardians to favoured heroes and champions. The Idisi sometimes provide aid to warriors in battle, and carry the spirits of those who have fallen in battle to the afterworld, and eternal glory.

Warfare

The Gharnoth deploy military forces recruited from the tribes, and are led by champions, chieftains, nobles, as well as the king. The Gharnoth forces are composed of skirmishers to harass and raid the enemy, as well as infantry units, bands of berserkers, and large forces of cavalry. The Gharnoth deploy light cavalry as skirmishers and raiders, and their famous heavy cavalry, which features many of their greatest noble warriors, heavily armoured and armed with shields, axes, lances, swords, and bows. The Gharnoth heavy cavalry also provide their prized war horses with a full kit of chainmail armor.

Cultural Weapons and Armor

Gharnoth Tribal Weaponry and Armor
Tribal Armor
Leather Armor (AC 8)
Hide Armor (Leather, particular treated animal and beast hides, and furs; AC 8)
Studded Leather (AC 7)
Shield (Wooden/Leather/Hides)
Shield (Iron/Bronze)
Scale Mail (AC 6)
Chainmail (AC 5)

Cultural Weapons
Dagger*, Dart, Club, Hand-Axe, Battleaxe, Great Axe*, Shortsword, Broadsword*, Longsword*, Javelin, Spear, Lance, Shortbow, Two-Handed Sword*, Warhammer*, Great Hammer

Dagger, Gharnoth Horsehead*
The Gharnoth Horsehead dagger is a fine weapon, with a strong, 12” straight blade. The dagger gained its name from the stylized horsehead pommel. Gharnoth horsemen typically carry a variant horsehead dagger, which features a slightly curved, 6” blade. Gharnoth horsemen typically carry such a weapon concealed in a slim scabbard on their war-belt, or in a special boot-sheath. The Gharnoth Horsehead Dagger uses 1d4 for weapon damage.

Great Axe, Gharnoth*
The Gharnoth Great Axe features a long, sweeping frontal blade, with a single edge. The blade curves downward to the front of the weapon in a long, graceful arc. The great axe has an extended handle and a skull-crusher design on the pommel. The fearsome Gharnoth Great Axe requires two hands to wield properly, and considerable skill to use effectively in battle. While seeming to be a simple weapon, the great axe is clumsy in the hands of a novice. However, in the hands of a veteran warrior, the great axe is a deadly weapon, capable of harvesting a great carnage of enemies from the battlefield. The Gharnoth Great Axe requires at least a 5’ wide front to use in combat. The Gharnoth Great Axe uses 1d12 for weapon damage.

Broadsword, Gharnoth*
The Gharnoth Broadsword is a magnificent weapon of war, and features a heavy, finely-balanced blade 4‘long, 4” wide, and immensely strong, as well as flexible. The Gharnoth Broadsword has a 12” long handle, straight hand-guards of fine steel, and a pommel carved into two blended wolf-heads, each facing opposite from each other. The broadsword pommel decoration, while serving as an effective skull-crusher, also refers to the brotherhood between the Western Gharnoth, and their cousin tribes of the Eastern Gharnoth, who have settled lands far to the north-east. The Gharnoth Broadsword, while similar in form to smaller broadswords, is finely-balanced, but also much heavier than a standard broadsword, and requires a 14 Strength or greater, to use effectively. The Gharnoth Broadsword uses 1d10 for weapon damage.

Longsword, Gharnoth*
The Gharnoth Longsword features a finely-balanced blade that is 4 ½ feet long, with a fairly slender blade that features a slight, graceful curve through the entire length of the blade. The Gharnoth Longsword is an outstanding weapon for foot soldiers, though the weapon is particularly favoured by the Gharnoth horsemen. The Gharnoth Longsword uses 1d8 for weapon damage.

Two-Handed Sword, Gharnoth*
The Gharnoth Great Sword is an awesome blade, which is very popular with Gharnoth berserkers and elite assault troops. The Gharnoth Great Sword has a handle that is 18” long, with a two-headed wolf pommel, which also has a skull-crusher on the wolf-head’s crown. The Gharnoth Great Sword has a 5 ½’ foot long blade, with a sweeping edge, that meets a gently-tapered point. The great sword’s pommel decoration, while serving as an effective skull-crusher, also refers to the brotherhood between the Western Gharnoth, and their cousin tribes of the Eastern Gharnoth, who have settled lands far to the north-east. The Gharnoth Great Sword uses 2d6 for weapon damage.

Warhammer, Gharnoth*
The Gharnoth Warhammer features a finely-crafted double head, and a 3’long handle. Each head is forged of gleaming steel, and crafted with hexagonal heads. The pommel is carved into a fearsome dragon’s head, and is specially weighted to provide balance with the weapon-heads. The Gharnoth Warhammer is a design that blends perfectly forged striking power, with a flexible, light-weight shaft and handle. The Gharnoth Warhammer is an excellent footman’s weapon, and is wickedly effective in hand-to-hand fighting. The Gharnoth Warhammer uses 1d8 for weapon damage. Anyone wielding a Gharnoth Warhammer in battle gains a +2 bonus to Initiative rolls.
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Human--Varanar Barbarian Tribes

2011-04-26T14:41:00.001-07:00

Human—Varanar Barbarian Tribes

History

The Varanar are tribes of barbarian humans that dwell throughout central and southern Varanthus. The Varanar are essentially the native population in the region, having migrated into the area many centuries ago from the far north-east. Loremasters and sages believe that the Varanar tribes originally came from various mountain ranges in distant lands of the north-east, but were forced out of the region by larger, more powerful barbarian tribes. Many sages also conclude that a good number of the Varanar tribes must also have lived in the vast grasslands, where they embraced various horse-deities.

Physical Appearance

The Varanar people are of average height and weight, though they often tend to have broad and thick physiques. Varanar typically have dark brown or dull black hair, and dark brown, grey, or blue-grey eyes. Varanar typically have skin of dark tan, tawny brown, or olive-brown in complexion, and are often hairy. Male Varanar customarily favor full beards, and wild hair worn to the middle of their back. Varanar men favor bright, vividly colored clothing, and especially prize finely-embroidered cloaks. Varanar men typically wear neck-torcs, arm-torcs, rings, and necklaces as jewelry, but nose-rings, toe-rings and earrings are strictly for women. Varanar women are very fond of silver jewelry, and bright, shining gems. Varanar women are especially fond of vibrant colored clothing, and fine perfumes, oils, and cosmetics. Varanar barbarians speak the native language of Varanar.

N.B. Player characters are encouraged to review the Varanar Character Tables, presented below.

Varanar Character Tables

Varanar Character Skin Tone
Dice Roll/Skin Tone
01-05%: White, Pale
06-15%: White, Olive
16-30%: Tan, Olive
31-70%: Olive-Brown
71-85%: Tawny-Brown
91-00%: Dark Tan

Varanar Characters Hair
Dice Roll/Hair Color
01-30%: Dark-Brown
31-40%: Brown
41-45%: Chocolate Brown
46-50%: Chestnut Brown
51-75%: Black-Brown
76-90%: Dull Black
91-00%: Ebony Black

Varanar Characters Eyes
Dice Roll/Eye Color
01-40%: Dark-Brown
41-55%: Brown
56-70%: Brown-Hazel
71-80%: Blue-Grey
81-87%: Dark-Blue
88-94%: Iron-Grey
95-97%: Pale-Grey
98-00%: Ice-Grey

Varanar Height and Weight Tables
Male Varanar Base Height: 5’6”-6’4”; (5’4”+2d6”);
Average Height: 5’10”
Male Varanar Base Weight: 136-280-lbs; (120+16d10);
Average Weight: 200-lbs.

Female Varanar Base Height: 5’2”-6’0”; (5’0”+2d6”);
Average Height: 5’6”
Female Varanar Base Weight: 90-200-lbs; (80+12d10);
Average Weight: 140-lbs.

Politics

The Varanar tribes are traditionally led by a strong chieftain, elected from members drawn from a group of candidates deemed worthy by the whole tribe. The whole tribe votes for such candidates, through reputation, achievements, contests, and other meritorious actions, and from this body of elected nobles, the tribal council confers and appoints a tribal chieftain. The tribal council is composed of various elders, nobles, and shamans, and senior members of the tribe—both men and women—who are known and celebrated for their bravery, skill, wisdom and judgment.

The Varanar have seven tribes that have traditionally settled the region—with different Varanar tribes that migrated further south, into the land of Drathenar, as well as into Dharthanya, to the south-east. The seven Varanar tribes that have settled the Varanthus region are composed of the Ardani, Arbalu, Chalari, Dhalmar, Naebas, Rhubaan, and Varanu.

There are four Varanar tribes—the Varanu, Ardani, Chalari, and Rhubaan--that have urbanized, and fully embraced the Vallorean culture, and become strong allies of the Valloreans. In addition, the urbanized Varanar have interbred prodigiously with the conquering Valloreans, and have also largely embraced the Vallorean religion. The four urbanized, pro-Vallorean tribes refer to the three primitive, traditional Varanar tribes as the “Rebel Varanar” or the “Rebel Tribes”. However, having said that, there is also at various times and in different areas, a different position from this—such other members of the pro-Vallorean tribes that do not hold such a stern view of their brethren, but see them as simple and primitive, misguided and caught up in the grip of primitive superstitions and a fearful xenophobia—but faithful, noble, and heroic for seeking to maintain the old ways.

However, the three “rebel” Varanar tribes—the Arbalu, Dhalmar, and Naebas—have violently rejected Vallorean culture and dominion, and are rebellious at every turn. The three traditional Varanar tribes remain determined, proud, and fiercely independent, while steadfastly holding to their own native religion, and zealously committed to preserving the ancient and traditional Varanar culture. The three traditional Varanar tribes—the Arbalu, Dhalmar, and Naebas—are also generally hostile to their brethren Varanar tribes, whom the traditionalists view as heretics and traitors. Much like the four pro-Vallorean tribes, the “traditional” Varanar tribes also have divergent factions that hold more sympathetic views of their fellow countrymen, seeing them as misguided and deceived, but noble, proud, and sincere in trying to change and do what is best for their people.

While traditionally, the Varanar tribes have been independent from each other, they remained united by their common culture, language, and religion. Since the arrival of the Valloreans, much of these commonalities remain the same, however, the influence of the Vallorean culture and the embracing of such by the four pro-Vallorean tribes, has significantly started a process of rapid change for the members of the four urbanized tribes. This process of a changing culture, as well as the importation and spread of the Vallorean religion, has increasingly driven a large wedge of differences between the two factions of Varanar tribes. The changes have shaped and changed the four urbanized tribes in such significant ways, that the traditionalists feel that they can no longer recognize them as the same culture, and a common tribal identity. Despite the four urbanized tribes’ protestations to the contrary, their tribal identification is increasingly being transformed more into a political label and casual, loosely-connected fraternity—as opposed to a dynamic, living and breathing reality that is the basis for an intense, daily identity that is a vital and essential focus of their way of life.

Culture

The Varanar people are sociable, engaging, optimistic, proud and stubborn. The Varanar are deeply spiritual and mystical, and take omens and various portents, oracles, and superstitions very seriously. The Varanar are excellent musicians, singers, dancers, and are skilled horsemen and archers. The Varanar are passionate in everything they do, from eating and drinking, partying, love, hatred and war. The Varanar are skilled in mining, as well as forestry, woodcraft, as well as native styles of textiles, clothing, ceramics and pottery. The Varanar are infamous for grim determination and tenacity in warfare, and are savage warriors who are feared for their skills in ambush, mountain tactics, and using guerilla-warfare and ferocious raids throughout their dark forested homelands.

The Varanar are generally patriarchal, and hold to particular customs that shape and define gender roles within the Varanar society. Having said this, however, Varanar women enjoy broad social and sexual freedoms, as well as nearly-equal rights, responsibilities, privileges and opportunities as Varanar men. Women are expected to do the vast majority of the cooking, child-rearing, and other domestic chores. Most women do not become warriors of any kind, though exceptional women may do so, as there are some examples in tribal history of women of particular skill, courage, and ferocity becoming warriors. Women are believed to have special mystical powers, insight, and affinity into the spiritual world, emotions, passions, music, dancing, the earth, wild beasts, plants, and wisdom. Men are believed to have affinity for, and special insight and power with fire, storms, metal, beasts, warfare, hunting, discipline, and strength.

The traditional Varanar tribal society embraces monogamy as a marriage custom, but also a custom of tribal and group marriage, where a particular couple may have multiple marriage partners, of either or both sexes. Thus, such a tribal marriage unit may have only a single couple, or three or four couples, married together. By tribal law, however, all such additional spouses must have the approval of both the men and women involved. For example, suppose two couples are joined in a tribal marriage, and contain two men and two women. One of the men could not go outside the marriage unit, and decide to marry a new woman, without the approval of the other two wives and the other husband. Likewise, a married woman is not permitted to do the same thing, without abiding by the law. In the event that all members of the marriage unit agree on the new bride, for example, then the tribal marriage unit would then be allowed to expand to include the two husbands, and now three wives. In Varanar tribal society, married spouses have greater inheritance rights and authority than unmarried lovers, slaves or concubines, which have very limited inheritance rights or none at all, in the eyes of the law. The Varanar tribal customs permit all of the spouses involved in the marriage to enjoy very broad social and sexual freedoms, and all may enjoy many lovers, slaves and concubines.

Monogamy and Tribal/Group; Loose, Informal, Concubinage

Loose: People involved have varying expectations of absolute sexual fidelity and exclusivity; mistresses, lovers, and so on are fairly common, and generally accepted.

Informal: The culture has no strict requirements concerning divorce, and divorce is relatively easy and simple to do, with no social, religious or cultural stigmas for anyone involved. In addition, children born out of wedlock are not subject to being outcasts, and may be common and entirely accepted.

Concubinage: The culture embraces the custom of maintaining concubines for a married person, whether male or female. In the cases where concubines provide children, the children have some rights of inheritance. In addition, concubines have an official, legal and social status, and enjoy specific social, legal and inheritance rights.

Traditional barbarian tribes of Varanar dwell in fortified villages of strong, rough houses of timber and mud bricks, as well as occasionally some stone, and typically feature a circular style of architecture. Roofs are typically made of mud, timber and thatch, bundled and woven together. The Varanar village always has pens and corrals for herds of horses, as well as kennels for the hunting dogs. Chickens, pigs, and goats are commonly domesticated animals, as well as small herds of cattle. Traditional Varanar tribes generally use bartering systems for conducting trade, though coins are occasionally used. The Varanar tribal economy is largely self-sufficient, and while the Varanar enjoy gaining new goods, and trading their own goods for profit, coins hold little value to them personally, beyond their own consciousness of the coins’ value to others. Furthermore, traditional Varanar often view coins as a subversive element used by the Valloreans and other such urban peoples to spread spiritual corruption and weakness amongst the Varanar people.

Religion

Traditionally, Varanar religion embraces a pantheon of savage, violent deities, led by a powerful, “Great Mother” goddess, and a powerful supreme god of war and thunder. The Varanar have fierce gods of war, mountains, forests and storms, as well as beasts, rivers, magic, death, disease, horses and fertility. Varanar shamans may be male or female, while there are tribal societies of witches devoted to various deities of the pantheon, such witches are exclusively female.

The Varanar gods are described below:

Dharmogg—the supreme god of the Varanar pantheon, and the god of thunder, lightning, mountains and war

Dodallia—Goddess of the sky, stars, rain, beauty, healing and knowledge

Sarvog—God of crafts, smithing, fire and mountains

Serovan—God of strength, battle, courage, and battle frenzy

Bhalnogg—God of the sun, honor, nobility and fire

Khalladya—Goddess of the sun, magic, knowledge, and healing. As goddess of the sun, Khalladya is responsible for the sunrise; the goddess Mharanna hunts her every day, seeking to stop Khalladya and bring darkness. Khalladya is the wife of Bhalnogg.

Zaraina—Goddess of beauty, knowledge, wisdom and war

Sedarra—Goddess of fate, prophecy, destiny and knowledge

Zhilbog—Goddess of the moon, knowledge, magic, joy, fertility, and sexuality

Zivara—Goddess of love, fertility, sexuality, passion, and spring

Sarbog—God of love, fertility, marriage, strength, and summer. He is the lover and consort to Zivara.

Kharpallia—Goddess of fertility, sexuality, passion, joy, music, singing and dancing

The Zorina—three guardian goddesses of the morning, evening, and midnight

Rhunogg—God of the hunting, forests, wild beasts, and the earth

Dhywona—Virgin goddess of hunting, forests, horses, wisdom and knowledge

Parandar—God of forests, hunting, explorers, travelers, lost voyagers, luck, and journeys

Zhemera—Goddess of the earth; “Mother of the earth”; goddess of nature, storms, animals, knowledge, nobility and druids.

Varpallen—God of autumn, harvests, agriculture, nature and animals

Pardaga—God of farming, agriculture, crafts and trade

Markosh—Goddess of spinning, weaving, crafts, and the home.

Dhargada—goddess of healing, compassion, mercy, singing and music

Ozzierra—Goddess of knowledge, gossip, fame, glory and trickery

Vhelas—God of darkness, chaos, earth, waters, and the underworld

Mharanna—Goddess of darkness, harvests, witchcraft, winter and death

Berrezogg—God of darkness, forests, hunting, and savagery

Marattu—God of darkness, plagues, disease, suffering, and pestilence

Charnogg—the god of darkness, chaos, war and death

Zharnatra—God of darkness, knowledge, magic, and trickery

Jharbogg—God of darkness, magic, the moon, madness and werewolves

Dharzelya—Goddess of darkness, lust, sexuality, fertility, ambition and greed

Marzhanya—Goddess of darkness, vengeance, rivers, winter, and destruction

Warfare

The Varanar deploy bands of skirmishers at all times for scouting, as well as to encircle, harass, and raid any approaching enemy forces. Varanar troops are a mix of infantry and fast-moving cavalry. The cavalry are equipped as light lancers and horse-archers. Infantry forces are equipped with a broad range of weaponry, and Varanar chieftains typically seek to engage enemy forces in dense, darkened forests, or in rugged hills and mountain terrain.

Cultural Weapons and Armor

Varanar Tribal Weaponry and Armor
Tribal Armor
Leather Armor (AC 8)
Hide Armor (Leather, particular treated animal and beast hides, and furs; AC 8)
Studded Leather (AC 7)
Shield (Wooden/Leather/Hides)

Tribal Weapons
Dagger, Dart, Club, Hand-Axe, Battleaxe, Broadsword, Javelin, Spear, Lance, Shortbow, Composite Shortbow, Two-Handed Sword*

Varan Greatsword*
The Varan Greatsword is a native weapon design, of a large, two-handed sword that features a long handle, and a gleaming blade that sweeps out in a slight increasing curve. The Varan Greatsword is finely balanced, strong, and very deadly. Varanar noblemen often favour the Varan Greatsword, as well as bands of berserkers, elite raiders, and veteran bands of assault troops.

Human--Nemberi Barbarian Tribes

2011-04-26T14:39:00.001-07:00

Human—Nemberi Barbarian Tribes

History

The Nemberi are barbarian tribes of humans that have settled throughout the forests and rolling hill country north and north-west of the Kingdom of Varanthus. The Nemberi tribes originally migrated from lands far to the north-west of the Agerren Sea centuries ago, seeking to escape the growing Vallorean dominion. The Nemberi culture have significantly influenced nearby tribes in the lands of Malyra, Parraena, and Darmacia in many ways, from religion, artistic styles, and philosophy to cultural ideals, clothing styles, armour and weaponry. The Nemberi tribes are related culturally and ethnically to many of the tribal peoples in the lands of northern Vallorea, and more distant realms in northern and north-western Arthann.

Physical Appearance

The Nemberi are a strong, tall, and attractive race of humans. Nemberi are fair-skinned, and have smooth complexions, fine features, and graceful, muscular physiques. Typically, Nemberi have pale-white or ruddy-white skin tone, and auburn, reddish, ash-blonde, or honey-blonde hair. Generally, Nemberi people typically have eyes of bright-blue, blue-green, or blue-grey in color. Nemberi men and women alike enjoy all kinds of jewelry, as well as styles, from ornately-engraved neck and arm-torcs, to necklaces, rings, earrings, bracelets, and others. Nemberi men wear solid-colored trousers, and brightly-colored checkered tunics. Nemberi men typically maintain a well-groomed, neat mustache and short beard at the mouth and chin, with the rest of the face, cheeks and neck clean-shaven. Nemberi barbarians speak the native language of Nemberi.

N.B. Player characters are encouraged to review the Nemberi Character Tables, presented below.

Nemberi Character Tables

Nemberi Character Skin Tone
Dice Roll/Skin Tone
01-40%: White-Pale
41-70%: White-Ruddy
71-90%: White-Olive
91-00%: White-Tan

Nemberi Characters Hair
Dice Roll/Hair Color
01-20%: Auburn
21-35%: Reddish
36-45%: Red-Copper
46-60%: Ash-Blonde
61-85%: Honey-Blonde
86-88%: Brown, Dark
89-91%: Brown, Chestnut
92-93%: Brown, Golden
94-95%: Brown, Honey
96-00%: Raven-Black

Nemberi Characters Eyes
Dice Roll/Eye Color
01-30%: Bright Blue
31-51%: Blue-Green
52-72%: Blue-Grey
73-84%: Pale-Grey
85-92%: Ice-Grey
93-00%: Kelly-Green

Nemberi Height and Weight Tables
Male Nemberi Base Height: 5’10”-7’0”; (5’8”+2d8”);
Average Height: 6’4”
Male Nemberi Base Weight: 176-320-lbs; (160+16d10);
Average Weight: 240-lbs.

Female Nemberi Base Height: 5’6”-6’8”; (5’4”+2d8”);
Average Height: 6’0”
Female Nemberi Base Weight: 132-240-lbs; (120+12d10);
Average Weight: 180-lbs.

Politics

The Nemberi tribes are each ruled by a powerful and wise chieftain, whom is also always handsome. Common Nemberi law requires all candidates for chieftain to have many traits—though three main traits are deemed essential; A Nemberi chieftain must be powerful, skilled in battle, and courageous; the Nemberi chieftain must have a reputation for leadership, wisdom, and good judgment; finally, the Nemberi chieftain must be unblemished in features, perfect, strong and muscular in physique, and in all ways handsome and attractive. Likewise, a female chieftain must possess similar attributes. Tribal histories include several examples of tribal chieftains abdicating—or otherwise removed from the position as chieftain—because they had developed a chronic pattern of poor judgment, lost a limb in battle, or had grown too old, fat, and tired to rule effectively. Besides various practical considerations in ruling in the shadow of any of these deficiencies, the Nemberi religious philosophy also embraces a mystical tradition that maintains that a chieftain is a sort of embodiment and reflection of the gods’ favour and blessings upon the tribe—and thus, any chieftain suffering such deficiencies is a divine portent that a new chieftain is needed to lead the tribe, and the often unspoken dictate that keeping such a deficient chieftain in power is an affront to the gods, and invites the judgment of greater calamity and misfortune upon the whole tribe.

The Nemberi tribes are allied together in a loose confederation, though they are politically independent from each other. Each of the various Nemberi tribes may have different trade policies and arrangements with foreign neighbors, and other such details, though the Nemberi are very cautious and wary of any sort of treaty or political relationship that would bring them into conflict with a fellow tribal member of the Nemberi confederation. Politically, each Nemberi chieftain is advised by a council of Nemberi elders and nobles, as well as bards and druids. While most of the Nemberi tribes are led by male chieftains, more than a few are led by women. The Nemberi embrace relative political equality for both men and women—and while the women are not expected to be the equals of men in open combat, they are generally deemed to be quite acceptable as political leaders and enjoying political power. However, Nemberi women are permitted by the Nemberi culture to become warriors, and many Nemberi war bands commonly have several ferocious, women warriors amongst them. The Nemberi tribes are united through common culture, language, and religion.

Culture

The Nemberi tribes are famous for wild, ferocious warriors of great courage, charming, heroic bards, as well as mysterious, powerful druids. The Nemberi tribes are renowned artists, and have great natural artistic skills, from music, singing, dancing, and painting, to various performing arts, poetry, and all aspects of fine oratory, rhetoric and public-speaking. In craftsmanship, the Nemberi are highly-regarded for their skills in embroidery, weaving, and tailoring, as well as metallurgy, weaponsmithing, armoursmithing, and crafting fine tools, implements, and jewelry of bronze, silver and gold. The Nemberi are skilled merchants, and embrace a sophisticated mixed economy, using bartering systems as well as coins to conduct trade.

The Nemberi are typically loud, boisterous, daring and adventurous. The Nemberi embrace a wild, joyous enthusiasm for nearly everything in life, and are often distinctly open-minded, tolerant, dynamic, and creative. While definitely patriarchal, the Nemberi allow great freedom, rights and power to women in their society. Females in Nemberi culture enjoy most of the same rights, privileges and expectations as men, and most of the same responsibilities. While there are certainly professions and tasks traditionally reserved for one sex or the other, such tribal traditions and customs are generally tolerant and flexible so as to accommodate exceptionally determined, skilled, and talented individuals in pursuing something that is unusual or unorthodox.

The Nemberi marriage customs are summarized below:

Monogamous; Loose, Informal, Concubinage

Loose: People involved have varying expectations of absolute sexual fidelity and exclusivity; mistresses, lovers, and so on are fairly common, and generally accepted.

Informal: The culture has no strict requirements concerning divorce, and divorce is relatively easy and simple to do, with no social, religious or cultural stigmas for anyone involved. In addition, children born out of wedlock are not subject to being outcasts, and may be common and entirely accepted.

Concubinage: The culture embraces the custom of maintaining concubines for a married person, whether male or female. In the cases where concubines provide children, the children have some rights of inheritance. In addition, concubines have an official, legal and social status, and enjoy specific social, legal and inheritance rights.

Religion

The Nemberi tribes worship a pantheon of gods, composed of gods and goddesses, as well as honoring and revering a host of natural spirits of the elements, such as river spirits, lake spirits, forest spirits, and the like. The Nemberi tribes celebrate special festivals throughout the year, especially Imbolc, Beltaine, Lugnasadh, and Samhain. The Nemberi embrace a religion that is very mystical, and deeply interwoven with both the natural world, and the spirit world. For the Nemberi, the natural world and the spirit world are intricately linked and blended, never being quite certain where one might end, and the other begins.

The Nemberi religion also teaches the faithful of the cyclical nature of all of reality, and that death is not to be feared, for life is eternal in the spirit realms, and that the mortal existence is but a temporary stage--a place in time--that ebbs and flows, before the individual moves on to the spirit realm and eternal glory. Every person, every creature and thing goes through such a cycle—and therefore, none should fear death. There is no fear in death—but it is important how an individual dies, and how they face such circumstances.

The Nemberi gods are as follows:

Danu—“Mother Goddess”; supreme ruler and leader of the Nemberi gods. Danu is a goddess of the earth, magic, fertility, storms, animals, forests and knowledge.

Albina—Goddess of love, fertility, marriage, healing and hope

Adnamu—Goddess of travel, the sea, nature, and fortune

Namu—Goddess of spring, fertility, magic, rivers, lakes and forests

Carantia—Goddess of law, wisdom, knowledge, and crafts

Maccira—Goddess of war, death, disease and courage

Sucaria—Goddess of war, madness, fire and greed

Matonia—Goddess of war, lust, fertility, savagery, fate and knowledge

Vicana—Goddess of nature, death, animals, storms and winter

Epponia—Goddess of horses, fertility, joy, and war

Orbianna—Goddess of the sky, storms, stars, prophecy and knowledge

Leucona—Goddess of the moon, darkness, magic, and knowledge

Camberus—God of healing, knowledge, wisdom, and friendship

Dagobius—God of fire, mountains, smithing, knowledge and magic

Vercatus—God of agriculture, farming, autumn, woodlands and animals

Cornutos—God of forests, hunting, nature, and wild beasts.

Deoratus—God of trade, crafts, law, and travel

Martalos—God of war, strength, valor, and nobility

Vallius—God of the sea, storms, destruction, and chaos

Lughanos—God of the sun, knowledge, crafts, music, poetry, summer and hope.

Warfare

The Nemberi wage war philosophically for booty, slaves, and glory, as well as adventure. The Nemberi forces are recruited from the tribal towns and villages, and are led by their chieftains and prominent champions and warlords. Nemberi troops are typically composed of large units of infantry, while more wealthy tribal members and nobles form cavalry units. The Nemberi always go to war accompanied by groups of druids, who bless the warriors, encourage tribal savagery and pride, and use their magical powers to aid the war effort. Eloquent bards are always on hand as well, to degrade their enemies, bolster the Nemberi morale, and to witness glorious deeds for the composition of epic poems and stories celebrating the achievements of various members of the Nemberi tribes.

Cultural Weaponry and Armour

Nemberi Tribal Weaponry and Armor
Tribal Armor
Leather Armor (AC 8)
Hide Armor (Leather, particular treated animal and beast hides, and furs; AC 8)
Studded Leather (AC 7)
Shield (Wooden/Leather/Hides)
Shield (Iron/Bronze)
Nemberi Chainmail* (AC 5)
Nemberi Helm*
Nemberi Great Helm*

Nemberi Chainmail*
Nemberi Chainmail is made of excellent design, providing greater comfort when worn, as well as being 20% lighter in weight from standard chainmail.

Nemberi Helm*
The Nemberi Helm is a well-designed war helm of steel, inlaid with fine bronze. The Nemberi Helm features a raised spine through the crown, providing better strength and protection for the head, as well as cheek-guards along the sides, and a sweeping lobster-tail style of steel mesh and plates that protect the back of the neck. In addition, the Nemberi Helm style provides the wearer with excellent vision.

Nemberi Great Helm*
The Nemberi Great Helm is modeled along the same style as the Nemberi Helm, though the Nemberi Great Helm features a pair of great, sweeping horns from the top sides, in various styles, from sweeping bull-horns, ram-horns, goat-horns, or great deer-antlers. In addition, the Nemberi Great Helm may be open-faced, as is standard, or have a nose-guard, or an entire enclosed face-mask of fine steel, inlaid with gleaming silver or gold.

Tribal Weapons
Dagger, Dart, Club, Sling, Hand-Axe, Battleaxe, Broadsword, Longsword, Javelin, Spear, Lance, Shortbow, Two-Handed Sword

The Kingdom of Varanthus

2011-04-26T14:36:00.000-07:00

The Kingdom of Varanthus

The Kingdom of Varanthus, to the Valloreans, is a harsh backwater outpost of civilization in a dark sea of barbarism and primordial savagery. Varanthus is a large border kingdom of numerous mountain ranges, rolling hills, and dark forests. Varanthus is rich in natural resources and holds immense potential for fabulous wealth and prosperity. Varanthus has many large lakes, as well as numerous rivers and streams throughout the land that provides plenty of water for both animals and people. Varanthus provides huge resources of woods and excellent timber. The hills and mountain regions of Varanthus provide great potential in good stone, minerals, as well as iron, silver, and gold. Throughout Varanthus, various herd beasts, birds, and animals are plentiful and prosperous. In the more gentle regions of Varanthus, there is good supply of wild grains, as well as a large variety of herbs, plants, and berries. Furthermore, the lakes and rivers hold huge populations of various fish, amphibians, and some reptiles.

Varanthus is a fairly temperate region in climate, embracing all four distinct seasons of the year—spring, summer, autumn and winter. The south-western regions of Varanthus, especially along the coasts, are often warm, balmy, and generally very pleasant. The mountainous areas, while rugged, cool, and heavily forested, are generally hospitable and pleasant, as well as inspiring in scenic beauty. The interior lands of Varanthus are generally dominated by dense woodlands and dark, mist-shrouded forests. Deeper into the forested interior are damp, wet meadowlands and dense marshes, often swept by heavy rainfall.

Historically, the Kingdom of Varanthus was established by an expedition of Vallorean explorers, merchants, soldiers and knights, as well as priests, after a huge Vallorean army spent several years campaigning against the Nemberi and the Gharnoth tribes. Previously, the Varanar chieftains had invited the Valloreans to help them against the Nemberi and the Gharnoth, as the Varanar tribes had been engaged in wars with both the Nemberi and the Gharnoth, and were fearful of ultimately being overwhelmed and destroyed. The Vallorean emperor agreed to help the Varanar tribes, and before too long, a vast Vallorean fleet arrived off the shores of Varanar in the Argerren Sea, and a huge Vallorean army of some twelve legions marched ashore in the spring of DC 1310. The Vallorean legions marched against the Nemberi and the Gharnoth, and pushed the tribes back over a campaign that lasted nearly six years. Once the Vallorean legions had secured peace in the region, the armies climbed aboard their great warships, and returned to Vallorea. The year was DC 1316.

However, many Valloreans chose to remain in the region, and soon established several communities of villages and towns throughout the years of DC 1317-1321. During the years of the Vallorean expedition, the legions had built several fortresses, supply depots, and fortified towers and encampments. At nearly all of these locations, entirely new villages and towns developed around the fortresses, towers and encampments. During the Vallorean expedition, thousands of Vallorean soldiers and merchants, as well as foreign mercenaries recruited from distant provinces of the empire had intermarried and intermixed with the local Varanar barbarian populations. In addition, during the Vallorean expedition, the Vallorean legions brought back thousands of barbarian women from the Nemberi and Gharnoth tribes as slaves and booty. The Vallorean soldiers, merchants, and foreign mercenaries intermixed and interbred with the many thousands of barbarian women, and vast hordes of children were born to the barbarian slave women. Many of the Valloreans had also married and formed families, and had chosen to remain after they were discharged from service in the legions. In the years immediately after the departure of the Vallorean legions, the scattered communities of new and recent Vallorean immigrants, as well as communities of Valloreans mixed with barbarians of various tribes, were gripped by a mixture of feelings, from hope and euphoria, to uncertainty and fear. The scattered communities were often politically fragmented, competitive, squabbling, and at odds against each other over a variety of issues—from political and economic, to cultural issues, race-relations, social order, and religion.

Into this arena of fear, uncertainty and petty rivalries, stepped to the forefront a man of vision, leadership, and ambition. Lord Gandor Tarberus—a Vallorean nobleman—and commander of the great fortress and port of Darthan, emerged as a powerful leader and declared himself the new king of a glorious, unified realm—the Kingdom of Varanthus. The year was DC 1322.

King Gandor’s bold declaration of kingship—and the establishment of the Kingdom of Varanthus—did not immediately resolve all the problems or issues dividing the various communities. In fact, vocal and passionate opposition rose almost immediately to challenge his presumed authority. However, despite such vocal and passionate opposition, King Gandor held several important advantages over the scattered resistance. The young king already held control of the fortress of Darthan—which was also the regions only sea-going port—as well as several other key fortresses and towers in the region, along with important crossroads and stretches of rivers fortified by loyal troops. Nonetheless, opposition intensified and bloody fighting broke out between the two factions, and open war raged for many months. The opposition forces formed a formidable obstacle to the dream of a united kingdom becoming a reality.

During King Gandor’s rise to power, Bargatus, the High Chieftain of the Varanar tribes—approached Gandor with a marriage proposal for his youngest daughter, Sarganna. Gandor quickly grasped the potential as an opportunity that might serve to provide him with sufficient resources and advantages to ensure victory over his zealous enemies—and he was reminded of such salient advantages by many of his entourage, retainers and friends. Gandor agreed to the marriage, and the next year, in the spring of DC 1324, Gandor and Sarganna were officially married. A great celebration followed, and many fine gifts were exchanged. The gods were praised and called upon to anoint and bless them, and wine and drink flowed like rivers. More than a few friendships were formed during this time between members of Gandor’s entourage and barbarian nobles of the Varanar tribes, as well as a good number of additional romances and marriages were arranged. The Kingdom of Varanthus had gained great strength virtually overnight.

Gandor’s knights and soldiers gained the help of many bands of Varanar warriors—as well as the respect and support of many of the common people living amongst the forces of the opposition. Many people living amongst the forces of the opposition—and even heretofore supporting the opposition faction—were of mixed Vallorean and Varanar blood, and with the official support of the Varanar High Chieftain for Gandor’s cause, abandoned the opposition forces, and rallied to the call of Bargatus, Gandor—and the greatly loved barbarian princess, Sarganna. Within the year, the opposition forces had been defeated in a series of fierce, hard-fought battles, and many of the leaders had been killed or executed. The opposition forces to Gandor collapsed, and the Kingdom of Varanthus was finally at peace—and united in the year of DC 1325.

King Gandor, and his wife, Queen Sarganna, proceeded to unify and strengthen the kingdom. Many Vallorean knights and merchant-lords serving King Gandor had families and connections back in Vallorea, far across the Dragon Sea to the north and west, and over the next several years, many of these families and households immigrated to the new kingdom. Gandor built and fortified more villages and towns, spreading further east and into the north. Increasingly, more Varanar barbarians joined with the Valloreans in marriages and settled throughout the prosperous villages and towns, and the kingdom was soon experiencing a large population boom from so many children being born.

Some 5 years after the kingdom was established, Gandor had learned of a group of Haeghenti tribes from lands to the far south, in Aghanda, that were desperate for new lands to settle in. Gandor made various negotiations, and over the next year and a half, the six tribes of the Haeghenti Confederation—soon changed to the Parrallian Confederation after some 8 years—migrated into the area, and settled in the woodlands and fields around the Parrallian Hills. The Parrallian Halflings were soon productive contributors to the prosperity of the kingdom, as well as intriguing and interesting citizens. Various troupes of Parrallian Halflings also spread out from their settled lands, and lived amongst the Valloreans, and integrated into Vallorean culture. In addition, boats of traveling Parrallian Halflings were soon rowing and sailing up and down the rivers of Varanthus, trading and working amidst the Vallorean villages and towns. The Valloreans typically were warm and welcoming to the Parrallian Halflings, and over time, many friendships and social arrangements were developed between the two peoples.

The strange and exotic Parrallian Halflings served as a wondrous and intriguing sight to behold for many Valloreans, and the Parrallian Halflings were also often viewed as beautiful and sensual creatures. The often joyful and exuberant Parrallian Halflings often demonstrated a brazen and lascivious sexuality, and were often seductively eager and receptive to romantic and sexual relationships with humans. The Parrallian Halflings enjoyed intermixing and interbreeding with humans so much, that the Parrallian tribes organized travelling troupes of Parrallian dancers, musicians and entertainers to travel throughout the lands of the kingdom providing entertainment to their Vallorean lords—with the express intent of also interbreeding with the Vallorean population. The Vallorean nobles and lords patronized the troupes of Halfling entertainers, and enjoyed all of their contributions to the joy and merriment of their halls and communities.

The troupes of Halfling entertainers were always paid well for their services, and more than a few Halflings became wealthy and quite sophisticated. Parrallian Halfling communities of mixed Vallorean and Parrallian blood gradually formed throughout the kingdom, where they live and work amongst their fellow Vallorean citizens in a wide variety of professions and trades—as well as entertainers. Gradually, something of a sub-culture developed, with the urbanized, assimilated Halflings being called “Vallorean Halflings”—as they remained quite similar to their tribal relatives in the Parrallian Confederation, but over time developed several cultural distinctions, even while essentially remaining the same in appearance.

Gandor and Sarganna built temples, established fisheries, lumber mills, mines, and farms, as well as increased roads and established a line of fortified towers on the south-western borders. The kingdom was growing steadily in prosperity and wealth, carefully supervised by Gandor, while the population continued to boom year after year. Gandor was careful with expenses, and wisely invested in a progressive campaign of expanding the realm’s infrastructure and industries, which continued to attract frequent immigrants, many of which came by sea and through the harbor at Darthan, the capitol city of the kingdom.

Through the next ten years, from DC 1331-1340, High Chieftain Bargatus and the Varanar tribes increasingly enjoyed the benefits of Vallorean friendship, and Vallorean merchants brought a steady flow of fine-crafted goods into the villages and encampments of the Varanar. Two of Bargatus’ young sons were sent to Vallorea to be formally educated and to learn the ways of the Valloreans, as well as many other young tribal nobles, both men and women. Intermarriages between the Valloreans and the Varanar became more plentiful, as many Varanar women married to Vallorean husbands brought news of the bathhouses, fine perfumes, rich clothing, and wondrous foods available back to their sisters and kinsmen living in tribal areas. More and more Varanar women were wearing clothing made in distant provinces; wearing exotic cosmetics and perfumes from trade-partners of the Valloreans, such as the Tegheran Empire, and the Malbari kingdoms; drinking wine from provinces of the empire; and wearing jewelry made in Vallorea.

The Varanar tribes were flooded with all manner of goods from distant lands, and their native culture and way of life began to rapidly change. Increasingly, many Varanar women desired Vallorean husbands, and year after year, large processions of Varanar women would wander down from their tribal homes in the hills and forests and gather with the Vallorean populations during various festivals and celebrations, and many marriages were arranged every year. High Chieftain Bargatus became a strong friend and ally of Gandor, and fully encouraged his people to embrace the ways of the Valloreans. Gandor established an official Varanar Trade Council, with merchant-lords specifically appointed by the king, and instructed them to ensure not only favourable trade with the Varanar, but also to bring fine goods, tools, medicines, and other goods to the Varanar that would improve their lives in many ways. Naturally, all of the merchant-lords on the Varanar Trade Council became very wealthy from their exclusive royal trade contacts. The Varanar, too, became prosperous beyond their wildest fantasies, and their encampments and villages were virtually swimming in luxurious goods from all over the Vallorean Empire, and beyond.

However, not all was well within the Varanar tribes. The tribes closest in proximity to the Vallorean villages and towns—the Varanu, Ardani, Chalari, and Rhubaan—gained more of the wealth, prosperity, and luxury goods than tribes that lived deeper into the wilderness—the Arbalu, Dhalmar, and Naebas tribes. Many Varanar people were feeling left behind and alienated culturally by the massive changes in their society over the recent years, as well as the growing prosperity and changes amidst the Varanar tribes most involved with trading with the Valloreans. In addition, resentment was growing steadily from the frustrations experienced by so many male Varanar being rejected in marriage in favor of the Valloreans—or invited into a group marriage by the women that included and required that they move with them and live in the Vallorean towns and villages.

Finally, the resentments mushroomed into a plot to assassinate Bargatus and usurp the leadership of the Varanar tribes. In the spring of DC 1341 the High Chieftain Bargatus was poisoned during the night of a great feast celebrating the marriage of two of his nieces to Vallorean adventurers. Two of his five sons were also killed, as well as most of their families in a savage attack by traitorous warriors that went throughout the great encampment, hunting them down and slaughtering them. However, Bargatus miraculously survived the poison, and he was taken by a few loyal supporters to Darthan, seeking refuge. Bargatus managed to recover enough to order a thorough investigation of the assassins, and they were soon discovered and attacked by warriors loyal to Bargatus. Three of the eight conspirators were tribal chieftains, two were priests, and two were priestesses—and the final conspiracy leader was one of Bargatus’ sons, Nargatus—and a prominent and powerful noble. Two of the priests and one of the chieftains were killed in the fighting, while the priestesses and two of the chieftains were captured. Nargatus, the son of Bargatus, managed to escape his captors’ enroute to Darthan in a daring escape. Gandor had agreed to have them brought to Darthan, where they could be securely imprisoned within the fortress. Within the week, Gandor had the two rebel chieftains and the surviving priestess all crucified on Raven’s Hill, just outside the walls of Darthan, overlooking the shimmering waters of Leviathan Bay far below.

Bargatus asked Gandor and his daughter Sarganna for refuge, and help in gaining vengeance against the assassins. Gandor and Sarganna agreed, and soon, columns of fierce Varanar warriors—armoured and equipped as Vallorean provincial troops—as well as troops of Vallorean knights, rode out through the countryside, and began a series of savage raids deep into the lands of the traitors. Over the next three months, in the summer of DC 1341 a bloody civil war erupted as the Varanar confederation was torn apart. In addition to Bargatus’s son Nargatus being a ring-leader of the conspiracy, other members of Bargatus’ household and family were also implicated in the plot. Large majorities of three ancient and powerful tribes were in full support of the rebellion. The three rebel tribes—the Arbalu, Dhalmar, and Naebas—were henceforth called the “Rebel Tribes”—while the other four loyal tribes—the Ardani, Chalari, Rhubaan, and Varanu—were called the “Loyal Tribes”. Bargatus negotiated with Gandor, and during the next year, the four “Loyal Tribes” were all granted citizenship in the Kingdom of Varanthus, and most of the members of the “Loyal Tribes” immigrated from their wilderness homes, much of which were the scenes of continuous battle and slaughter—and journeyed to the Vallorean lands, and began forming communities within the walls of Vallorean towns and castles. The ferocious and wily Nargatus replaced the fallen chieftain of the Arbalu tribe, and became the warlord of the entire rebel faction. The tribal civil war raged for some five years, from DC 1341-1346, with many nobles and warriors from each faction of tribes dying in the war, as well as many Valloreans. Three years into the Varanar civil war, in the spring of DC 1344, Gandor’s great friend and father-in-law, Bargatus, died in his new home of Darthan. Two years after his death, after another brutal campaign throughout the autumn and winter of DC 1346, Nargatus agreed to a peace treaty. The casualties had been great on both sides, and both sides were eager to have peace—at least for now.

The four “Loyal Tribes” over the years also began to be called the “Urban Tribes” as they were increasingly assimilated into the urban Vallorean communities. The loyal Varanar continued to learn the Vallorean language, and also to teach the Valloreans the Varanar language. The loyalist tribes gradually changed their styles of dress, and also began to learn advanced trades, professions and skills. While many still lived in their traditional encampments throughout the forests and hills of Varanthus—more and more Varanar people began to live in the Vallorean villages and towns, and began appearing more alike to the Valloreans.

The three “Rebel Tribes” retreated deeper into the dark wilderness, where they sought to recover from their losses, and worked to preserve their traditional tribal culture, religion, and way of life. The rebel tribes—also known as the traditional tribes—always hated the Valloreans, and grew to view their loyalist brethren as traitors. The rebel tribes violently rejected the Vallorean culture and religion, and maintained a constant and passionate rebellion against both the Valloreans and the loyalist tribes, even though open war was for now, avoided. The rebel tribes continued to launch sporadic raids against Vallorean caravans, as well as scattered encampments of the loyalist tribes throughout the years.

As the three rebel tribes retreated deeper into the harsh wilderness, they encountered several large tribes of ogres. Nargatus proposed a careful alliance with the ogres, and exchanged many gifts between the two peoples. Within a year, Nargatus had conceived of a new proposal, and discussed it with the elders, and gained their support. The ogres eagerly embraced the proposal as well. Nargatus, as the warlord of the rebel confederation, embraced a radical policy of having selected members of each of the three rebel tribes take to themselves ogres as mates, and interbreed and mix with them thoroughly. Each and every year, new Varanar people and new ogres would join in marriage, and breed prodigiously. Nargatus had not just the Varanar women interbreed with the ogres—but also the Varanar men. Many women died during the following pregnancies, though some always survived. The ogre women had no such trouble in bringing their half-ogre children into the world, and gradually, more and more half-ogres were born, and survived childhood. Nargatus continued to have Varanar women interbreed with the ogres, and then, eventually, half-ogres were interbreeding with both Varanar men and women. Over time, enough half-ogres were alive and strong, as to begin interbreeding with each other, and produce new lines of pure half-ogres, bred by half-ogre fathers and mothers. Nargatus was planning for the future, and envisioned the Valloreans and the loyalist tribes enjoying a certain surprise when they next engaged in battle. In the coming years, the rebel tribes would not only grow in vast number—but also in great strength and power.

Meanwhile, the Valloreans continued to build and expand their kingdom, establishing new towns, castles, and extending the outstanding Vallorean roads in nearly every direction. Gandor supervised the construction of a fleet of warships, as well as merchant ships, to increase foreign trade. Gandor also sponsored the settlement of two large islands to the north-west, and many new fisheries were established, and small fishing fleets were built to help expand the supply of salt-water fish and ocean-creatures to the kingdom. The coastal fisheries and fishing villages proceeded to cultivate skills in catching a variety of other strange ocean-creatures, from shrimp, crabs and lobster, to eels, sharks, and clams. The coastal communities also developed additional skills and industries, notably those of harvesting various poisons, glands, organs, coral, seaweed, salt, spines, among other resources from the sea creatures and the ocean environment.

Queen Sarganna was active and dynamic throughout her reign with Gandor, and contributed numerous policies, laws, and efforts that greatly enhanced the prosperity, harmony, and productivity of the entire kingdom. The Queen supported laws that promoted religious tolerance, as well as laws and policies aimed at reducing poverty, as well as increasing the social consciousness and shared responsibility for the general welfare of everyone in the kingdom. Queen Sarganna was passionate in promoting the harmony, happiness, and prosperity of everyone in the kingdom, and was greatly loved and celebrated for her passion, kindness, generosity—as well as her justice, dignity and stunning beauty.

In DC 1350, the Kingdom of Varanthus received a diplomatic delegation from the elven Kingdom of Gallarond. Over a period of some two years, Gallarond and Varanthus signed mutually beneficial diplomatic treaties and trade agreements, in addition to establishing an official Gallarond Embassy at Darthan. In DC 1358, Varanthus received a diplomatic delegation of Dharranim dwarfs from the Kingdom of Zharen-Darthach. By DC 1360, Varanthus and the Kingdom of Zharen-Darthach had several diplomatic treaties and trade agreements of mutual benefit and enrichment, as well as establishing an official Dharranim Embassy at Darthan.

Previously, in the year of DC 1349, Varanthus received several diplomatic delegations from various Archaedian city-states. Varanthus and the Archaedians embraced several diplomatic treaties and trade agreements of mutual benefit and enrichment, as well as an extensive immigration treaty which allowed open immigration of Archaedian people from the various Archaedian city-states to Varanthus throughout the years of DC 1351-1360.

In DC 1352, diplomatic delegations from several Malbari city-states joined in similar diplomatic treaties and trade agreements, as well as an extensive immigration treaty that allowed open immigration of Malbari people from various Malbari city-states into Varanthus throughout the years of DC 1353-1364. During these years, many thousands of Archaedian and Malbari people immigrated into the kingdom of Varanthus, and eagerly became citizens of the growing kingdom.

In both cases, the Malbari and the Archaedian city-states had experienced huge increases in population, and were incapable of providing open lands and richer opportunities for such huge increases in population, so quickly, and were thus desperate to send hordes of young, often impoverished people of their city-states to settle abroad in foreign lands. Varanthus, as a growing and prosperous kingdom with great expanses of open land and harsh wilderness, needed more and more people to work and forge the land and harvest the resources for the hungry appetite of the vibrant kingdom. Thus, the many thousands of Malbari and Archaedian immigrants were eagerly welcomed and warmly received.

In the years ahead, more rebellions, wars and strife would come to Varanthus, as well as plagues, pestilence, famine, floods, droughts and other natural disasters. Through it all, Varanthus endured, and grew strong under the lash of war, disaster and hardship. Gandor and Sarganna had forged a kingdom from the dark wilderness, and established a great and noble legacy that inspired the peoples of the kingdom to embrace a passionate love and reverence for their monarchs—and laid the foundations for a strong, prosperous kingdom that was loyal, passionate, and industrious. Gandor and Sarganna set a dynamic standard of leadership, dignity and devotion that has inspired their descendents to rule and govern with the same attributes, and to labor long and diligently—and with a jealous, passionate zeal to preserve the prosperity, harmony, and security of the Kingdom of Varanthus.

The Table of Royal Monarchs of Varanthus

King Gandor Saranus Tarberus DC 1322-1375;
Ascended the throne at age 28; Reign of 53 years; died in 1375 at the age of 81
Queen Sarganna Maygari DC 1324-1369;
Culture/Ethnic Heritage: Varanar
Ascended the throne at age 18; Reign of 45 years; died in 1369 at the age of 63

King Gandric Saranus Tarberus DC 1375-1401;
Ascended the throne at age 50; Reign of 26 years; died in 1401 at the age of 76
Queen Jhessenya Kaydari DC 1375-1401;
Culture/Ethnic Heritage: Varanar
Ascended the throne at age 46; Reign of 26 years; died in 1403 at the age of 74
Served as the Queen Mother during the last two years of her life

King Galthar Saranus Tarberus DC 1401-1420;
Ascended the throne at age 46; Reign of 19 years; died in 1420 at the age of 65
Queen Drusilla Vandus Negerus DC 1401-1420;
Culture/Ethnic Heritage: Vallorean
Ascended the throne at age 46; Reign of 19 years; died in 1425 at the age of 70
Served as the Queen Mother for the last five years of her life

King Gallion Saranus Tarberus DC 1420-1443;
Ascended the throne at age 45; Reign of 23 years; died in 1443 at the age of 68
Queen Meganta Vandus Dharmentor DC 1420-1443;
Culture/Ethnic Heritage: Vallorean
Ascended the throne at age 28; Reign of 23 years; died in 1458 at the age of 66
Served as the Queen Mother for the last fifteen years of her life.

King Gandathor Saranus Tarberus DC 1443-1461;
Ascended the throne at age 23; Reign of 18 years; died in 1461 at the age of 41
Queen Nemanthe Pallagos DC 1443-1461;
Culture/Ethnic Heritage: Archaedian
Description: 5’10”; 165-lbs; Olive-White Skin Tone; Ebony-Black Hair; Dark Brown Eyes. Nemanthe is gorgeous, voluptuous, and beautiful. Nemanthe has long, thick legs, and broad, curvaceous hips. Nemanthe has a plump, rounded belly, and large, dark brown eyes that have an alluring, sensual gaze. Nemanthe has smooth, beautiful skin, and a rich, bright laughter.
Ascended the throne at age 15; Reign of 18 years; currently living, age 42
Nemanthe Pallagos is the reigning Queen Mother, and has served for the last 9 years, to the present

King Garrius Saranus Tarberus DC 1461-Current year of 1470;
Ascended the throne at age 18; Reign of 9 years at present; currently age 27.
Culture/Ethnic Heritage: Vallorean/Varanar/Archaedian
Description: 6’6”; 265-lbs. Ebony-Black Hair; Ice-Grey Eyes; Olive-White Skin Tone
Garrius is clean-shaven, muscular, and very handsome. Garrius has broad shoulders, and a strong, powerful physique. Garrius has a piercing gaze, and a bold, heroic demeanor. Garrius is charming, sensual, and romantic. Garrius is intelligent, and has great ambition. Garrius is eloquent and articulate in speech, and is a valiant, daring warrior.
Queen: Unmarried

Royal Mistress: Demanthe Khalledouris;
Culture/Ethnic Heritage: Archaedian
Description: 6’0”; 180-lbs; Olive-White Skin Tone; Ebony-Black Hair; Dark Brown Eyes; Demanthe wears her gorgeous black hair long and curly, reaching to her waist. Demanthe has a thick, voluptuous physique, and is very beautiful. Demanthe has long, curvaceous legs, a plump, rounded belly, and smooth, beautiful skin. Demanthe is regal, charming, smooth and manipulative. Demanthe is realistic, pragmatic, and politically shrewd. Demanthe has a dignified, polite and solicitous demeanor, while at the same time being forceful and dominant. Demanthe is perceptive, witty, and has a good sense of humour. Demanthe has a sharp, keen intellect, and is highly educated, knowledgeable and worldly. Demanthe is luxuriously sensual, sophisticated and decadent, and passionately hedonistic. In private, Demanthe is jealous, scheming, and effortlessly cunning, always seeking to ensure that she is three steps ahead of everyone around her. Demanthe’s driving ambition is to preserve her status and dominance, while indulging her every desire and passion. Demanthe is vigorous, shrewd, and persistent in knowing everything, taking the measure of anyone in her dominion, and manipulating people’s desires, thoughts and behavior in accordance with her own desires, ambition, and security. Demanthe’s age, experience and wisdom, as well as her pragmatic, cynical and worldly nature provides her with great insight into many people’s desires and fears, as well as what they are likely to do—and why they seek to do so.
Current Age: 42; serving for past 11 years, from 1459 to the present
Born 6 children to the king; (2) are identical twin girls (age 10); (2) sons (age 8 and 6); (2) daughters (age 4 and 2)

Royal Concubine: Nebuna Dusembe;
Culture/Ethnic Heritage: Mbornu
Description: 5’8”; 166-lbs; Ebony-Black Skin Tone; Ebony-Black Hair; Dark Brown Eyes; Nebuna is plump and voluptuous, with broad, curvaceous hips, thick legs, and a rounded, plump belly. Nebuna has large, round eyes with a warm, sensual gaze. Nebuna has a bright, attractive smile, and a deep, rich laughter. Nebuna is contagiously cheerful, with a seemingly unflappable demeanor that is effervescent, warm, sincere and kind. Nebuna is strong, maternal, and solicitous. Nebuna is deeply spiritual and devout, as well as wise and a shrewd judge of character. In private, Nebuna can be entirely sensual, direct, and very passionate.
Current Age: 36; serving for past 11 years, from 1459 to the present
Born 6 children to the king; (4) sons (age 7, 5, 3 and 1); (2) daughters (age 10 and 8)

Royal Concubine: Nebarra Sardanus Imberi;
Culture/Ethnic Heritage: Vallorean
Description: 5’10”; 165-lbs; Pale-White Skin Tone; Raven-Black Hair; Pale Amber-Golden Eyes; Nebarra is very attractive, and has a muscular, athletic physique. Nebarra has bright, intelligent eyes, and a piercing gaze. Nebarra is a graceful, sensual dancer, and has broad hips, and long, curvy legs. Nebarra wears her long, straight hair down to the waist, and has a smooth, rounded belly. Nebarra is proud, haughty, and assertive. In private, Nebarra is manipulative, scheming, jealous and greedy. Nebarra is thoroughly lascivious and hedonistic. Nebarra is typically uncompromising, unforgiving, and vengeful.
Current Age: 25; serving for past 10 years, from 1460 to the present
Born 4 children to the king; (4) sons (age 9, 7, 5 and 2)

Royal Concubine: Marsellia Sardanus Imberi;
Culture/Ethnic Heritage: Vallorean
Description: 5’10”; 185-lbs; Pale-White Skin Tone; Raven-Black Hair; Pale-Green Eyes; Marsellia is thick, curvaceous, and attractive. Marsellia has a large nose, and a wide mouth. Marsellia has a bright, high and beautiful voice, and is a fine singer. Marsellia has a sweet, innocent, and sincere demeanor. Marsellia is polite, solicitous, and graceful, as well as discreet, humble and devout. Marsellia is loyal to her friends and family, and is kind, generous and forgiving. Marsellia is wise and cautious, while also being naïve and relatively simple-minded. Marsellia is passionate, idealistic, and romantic.
Current Age: 23; serving for past 8 years, from 1462 to the present
Born 4 children to the king; (4) daughters (age 8, 6, 4 and 2)

Royal Concubine: Marzina Saydari
Culture/Ethnic Heritage: Varanar
Description: 5’6”; 140-lbs; Olive-Brown Skin Tone; Black-Brown Hair; Dark Brown Eyes; Marzina has broad, curvaceous hips, thick, shapely legs, and a voluptuous physique. Marzina wears her dark hair in a wild, crazy mass that reaches her waist. Marzina has a deep, sensual voice, full lips, and large, dark eyes that have an alluring gaze. Marzina is deeply spiritual, devout, and passionate. Marzina is loud, outspoken, and emotional, as well as daring and dramatic. Marzina is a devoted hedonist, and can be brazen and lascivious. Marzina is a good singer, and a graceful, sensual dancer. Marzina is intelligent, eloquent, and perceptive. Marzina is artistic, creative and vibrant, and has a devoted, earthy passion for arts, crafts, poetry, and music. In private, Marzina is scheming, greedy, jealous and proud, as well as being thoroughly vengeful against her enemies. Marzina is ferociously loyal to her friends and family, and is protective and maternal.
Current Age: 20; serving for past 5 years, from 1466 to the present
Born 2 children to the king; (1) son (age 4); (1) daughter (age 2)

Royal Concubine: Danewulf Gallawyn;
Culture/Ethnic Heritage: Gharnoth
Description: 6’6”; 220-lbs; Pale-White Skin Tone; Platinum-Blonde Hair; Ice-Blue Eyes; Danewulf has a huge, arresting presence. Danewulf is a huge young woman—everything about her looks and feels huge, from her mouth, her eyes, her breasts, her legs, feet, and so on—without being fat or overweight in any sense. Most men would feel somewhat dwarfed and small by the simple gesture of shaking hands with Danewulf, as her hand typically swallows the hands of lesser men. While not terribly uncommon to meet a large, tall man—for most, meeting a woman that is as large and taller than most men, virtually anywhere throughout the land—is a novel and arresting experience as may be imagined. Most women often seem to appear more like children when they are around the huge Danewulf. Still, while huge, immensely tall, and quite broad and thickly-built, Danewulf is entirely a strong, attractive woman. Danewulf is voluptuous, muscular, and beautiful. Danewulf has a piercing gaze, a bright, attractive smile, and an alluring, mischievous laughter. Danewulf wears her long, gorgeous hair straight and braided to the middle of her back. Danewulf has a smooth, rounded belly, broad, curvaceous hips, and long, muscular legs.

Danewulf is friendly, charming, and polite. Danewulf is athletic, physical, and competitive—while also direct, unpretentious, and generous. Danewulf is loyal to her friends, family, and also to her religion, and is deeply spiritual, devout, and mystical. Danewulf is proud—of herself, but especially of her family and culture, but also her lineage and the particular traditions of her family and tribe. Danewulf is intelligent, outspoken and opinionated, as well as being wise and perceptive. Danewulf is a shrewd judge of character, and is discrete, honourable and trustworthy. In private, Danewulf is very passionate and romantic, as well as playful, sincere, and daring. While in public, Danewulf is more controlled, discrete, and charming—in private, Danewulf can be vengeful, jealous, and deeply emotional, as well as intimidating and violent. When happy, Danewulf is alluringly cheerful, pleasant, flirtatious and gracious. When angered, or otherwise offended, however, Danewulf has a furious temper that can enflame her to great passions and unleash a raging storm.
Current Age: 18; serving for past 3 years, from 1467 to the present
Born 2 children to the king; (1) son (age 3); (1) daughter (age 1)

Currently, the Kingdom of Varanthus is generally prosperous, strong, and secure. However, in recent years there have been several wars and campaigns that have sapped the royal treasuries, as well as an old, decaying infrastructure that demands attention and extensive resources to preserve and improve. Furthermore, in various areas there have been severe flooding, storms, and destruction, which has increased the costs and prices of many food items. Also in recent years, poverty has increased substantially under the pressures and ravages of war, natural disasters, and a deadly plague that swept the land and endured for some 12 years. In time, throughout the land, numerous bands of ruthless brigands have rose against the realm, fueled by lust, greed, and ambition, with their ranks strengthened and expanded by recruits gained from outlaws, criminals and rebels, foreign mercenaries, and isolated bands of barbarians.

In the northern forests, the ferocious Nemberi barbarians have grown strong, wealthy, and powerful, and launch frequent raids into the border regions of the kingdom, led by mighty chieftains and black-robed druids. The Nemberi have in recent years sacked entire villages and towns, plundering the wealth of the realm, and taking thousands of slaves. The cunning and shrewd Nemberi have often taken such slaves and sold them to foreign slave-merchants, and have thus enriched themselves greatly, as the slave-merchants pay very well for handsome, young Vallorean boys, and attractive, ripe young Vallorean girls. The greedy and powerful slave-merchants typically take the young Vallorean slaves to distant, strange shores where they are never to see their homeland again. In their darker moods, depending often on the season, the Nemberi also slaughter many slaves in great sacrificial celebrations in homage to their gods, often by burning them alive in rough, wicker cages that swing from chains on high from great trees, while the tribes dance and feast around roaring bonfires. Nemberi women-druids sing and lead the tribes in ritual chants in praise to their gods as the victims wail and scream in their dying agony. New, powerful chieftains have come to power in the Nemberi tribes, and are a severe and present danger to the whole realm.

In the north-east, powerful tribes of brutal and savage orcs have migrated into the mountains and hills, and often sweep down into the settled farmlands and villages of the kingdom to burn, rape and pillage. The orcs are from several tribes—while they are barbarians, they have also demonstrated that they possess more advanced skills of war, engineering, and siegecraft. The orcs have often established prodigious subterranean mines, plundering the earth of minerals, iron, and precious metals of copper, silver and gold. Humans—both male and female—are kept by the orcs as breeding stock, where the humans are interbred with during mass tribal orgies held by the flickering light of bonfires, amidst the deep tribal drumming. Rebellious slaves are simply ripped open on huge stone altars in sacrifice to the savage gods of the orcs. Others, however, are killed by having molten silver poured down their throats. Throughout the year, the orc tribes also have great feasts where groups of slaves are doused with huge sacks of pepper or barrels of wine for added flavour, and then they are seized by the savage horde and devoured. Halflings are also favoured, both as breeding slaves and as food. Rumours persist that the orc tribes have used captured families of Halflings to breed “herds” of more Halflings, which are kept enslaved as a source of food for the orc tribes throughout the year. The orc tribes are brutal, tenacious, and fearless, and are typically united under the ruthless leadership of powerful chieftains and warlords. The orc tribes also typically have vassal tribes of goblins that live amongst or near to them, and serve their more powerful masters as labourers, servants, raiders and skirmishers. The orcs often give Halfling slaves to the goblins as presents and signs of favour. The orc tribes are a powerful and growing threat to the entire northern borders of the kingdom, and potentially the entire realm.

Also in the north-east, the dark forests have been infiltrated with huge tribes of primordial beastmen. The dreaded beastmen boldly raid merchant caravans and even attack towers and fortified encampments, seeking to not only bring death and war to the kingdom, but also to capture slaves to bring back to their tribes deep in the forest, where they are kept enslaved in brutal servitude and often worked to death, or used as breeding stock in wild, barbaric orgies. Such hapless victims of the beastmen are often eaten alive in great, savage feasts held in honor to their dark and evil gods, or sacrificed on crude stone altars and earthen pits, blazing with fire. Through recent years, Vallorean soldiers have encountered more warbands of savage beastmen mixed in with horrifying human mutants, which are the visions of debauched and decadent madness given physical form. These savage bands of beastmen and mutants are often led by powerful and ferocious knights of darkness—known as champions, and self-styled knights. These powerful champions—fearsome warriors of dark power—are blood and oath-sworn members of ancient, mystical orders devoted in service to savage, eldritch gods and the primordial divine titans of chaos and darkness. The great champions of darkness are typically also mutated—blessed with such monstrous and blasphemous traits by their dark masters, and often possess awesome powers of dark sorcery. The great champions that lead these bands of savage beastmen and horrifying mutants are also served by evil, mystical priests, and groups of powerful, cunning and ruthless witches. These dark, evil witches are cruel mistresses, bloodthirsty and wicked in their plans and ambitions, and fervently devoted to their lascivious desires and blasphemous, whoring lust.

Throughout the forests, hills, and marshes to the north-east of the kingdom, especially around the ancient ruins of the blasphemous city of Khorzam, an ancient enemy of humanity long thought to have been defeated—the Lugonde, and the Segande, have again rose in power and continue to breed hordes of their vile and wicked offspring. The Lugonde—known to common folk as “Lizard-men”—are formed into large tribes, led by powerful chieftains. The evil Lugonde are an ancient race of evil, humanoid lizard-men, often of various vibrant colours and dispositions. Nonetheless, they are all evil, and savage, blood-thirsty barbarians that delight in human sacrifice, and holding ferocious feasts by torchlight and bonfires before their dark, inhuman gods. Each tribe is known to build great temples and labyrinths in honour to their gods, where the great worship-hall is dominated by a massive and huge stone idol carved into some monstrous and wicked image of their gods. Slaves and other such hapless, damned humanoids that have been captured are often cast about into the great horde during dark feasts, whereupon which they are ripped apart and devoured by the Lugonde. Others are dragged up blood-stained stairs to be stretched upon some great altar of stone, bronze and gold, which are typically arranged at the feet of the huge stone idol, and sacrificed to their gods by having their bodies ripped open with huge daggers.

The blasphemous and vile races of the Lugonde are also joined in damnation by their cousin-race, the Segande. The Segande—known most often to common folk as “Snake-men”—are an eldritch race of dark sorcery and savage lusts. The Segande have tribes led by powerful warrior-chieftains, and are bloodthirsty and cruel, delighting in all manner of tortures, debauched orgies, and horrific, sorcerous experiments. Perhaps the real power, however, is held by the shimmering and beautiful snake-women, who often serve as witches and priestesses to the whole Segande tribe. These evil snake-women priestesses are blasphemous in their desires and embrace such bestial, inhuman lusts as to be a wicked blight upon all the land. The shimmering snake-women are able to appear in human form, as ripe and voluptuous as anyone could desire. The shimmering snake-women are often possessed of cunning and shrewd intellect, and they fervently cherish their own savage desires and multitudes of evil plans. The Segande hold mass sacrifices, where dozens or hundreds of slaves are hacked to death or eaten in a frenzy of madness, and cast, often still alive and writhing in agony, into immense grills of iron and bronze, where they are roasted alive before the chanting horde.

Most wickedly, the shimmering snake-women organize blasphemous cults of lascivious decadence, where favoured human cultists are trained in the ways of their dark religion, and mixed and interbred with on a continuous basis, eagerly breeding hordes of snake-men mutant half-breeds. Even now, such cults of depraved humans mix with their snake-men masters and mistresses, breeding new spawn of damnation, and work to spread the worship of their foul religion. The shimmering snake-women use dark powers of sorcery as well as promoting debauched orgies and wicked sexual passions to entice the greedy, perverse, and the simple-minded into a savage enslavement to their ancient religion. Such cults are a desperate threat to humanity everywhere.

The evil snake-cults are often wealthy, as well as secretive and hidden. The snake-cults are often composed of seemingly unlikely members, who gather in secret at wealthy estates, hidden forest glades, as well as dark sewers and subterranean tunnels and chambers beneath urban towns and cities, where they join in worship to their foul gods, engage in their blasphemous orgies, and plot and scheme against humanity.

From the vast forests and rolling hill country of the east, farms and villages as well as caravans are often attacked in bold raids by savage warbands of Gharnoth barbarians, sweeping down upon them mounted on dark, swift warhorses, and unleashing a relentless fury upon the kingdom. The Gharnoth warbands strike their hapless prey with clouds of deadly, barbed arrows launched from their hordes of horse-archers, and are then crushed under the hooves of their heavy armored cavalry, who proceed to slaughter their enemies by huge swords, glittering, massive axes, and long, deadly spears. The Gharnoth warbands are often ruthless and brutal, killing most of their victims regardless of whether they are young or old, male or female—all are slaughtered and burned in merciless raids that leave a landscape of death and ashes. The young and ripe, the most beautiful of young girls or fine young boys are taken by the brutal horsemen back to their fortified camps and kept as slaves and breeding stock. The fury of the Gharnoth tribes has been growing, and is lashing the kingdom with wrath and despair year after year.

Savage pirate raids have in recent years become a threat to the kingdom, especially along the coastal regions in the south-west. Darmacian and Malyren pirates from the Syberri Islands to the north-west have established numerous fortified strongholds and ports throughout most of the islands, and have built great fleets of warships and swift raiders, as well as merchant ships, and smaller coastal raiders that allow them to travel through freshwater rivers with ease. The Darmacian and Malyren pirates are a wild, ruthless barbarian culture ruled by independent chieftains. The Darmacian and Malyren pirates not only sweep the seas of merchant ships, but have also begun to make raids further inland, as well as throughout the coastal communities of the kingdom.

The Syberri Islands are a large group of pleasant, forested and mountainous islands to the north-west of Varanthus. The Syberri Islands possess rich mines in silver, gold and gems, as well as great forests which supply abundant timber for ships. The Syberri Islands have many highland meadows and open, rolling hill-country that overlook scenic views of the broad, wine-dark sea below. The rugged mountain tribes of these islands also raise herds of cattle and sheep, as well as a variety of fruit orchards. Rumours insist that the fortified pirate-towns are filled with vast treasures, and tens of thousands of slaves. In the deeper, harsher regions of the Syberri Islands, legends relate that centuries ago, tribes of wild Minotaurs settled the islands, and dug great subterranean fortresses and labyrinth-temples to their gods. It is rumoured that these Minotaur tribes still dwell in the deep mountains and dark forests of the islands, and fill their fortresses with piles of gold and other hordes of glittering treasures. On dark nights of the full moon, the Minotaurs offer up fine, beautiful maidens in bloody sacrifice to their gods, as the Minotaurs chant and dance around the bonfires, feasting and drinking.

The ancient rebel Varanar tribes that rebelled against their high chieftain many years ago have risen up again in rebellion. Many years ago, the rebel tribes fought a vicious civil war against their brethren, as well as fighting against the Valloreans. The rebel tribes have never surrendered, though through the long years there have been periodic peace treaties, and for a time—typically a score or so of years, the two peoples have enjoyed a measure of peace and toleration. The rebel tribes have sought to preserve their ancient traditions, culture, and religion, and have fervently rejected the ways of the Valloreans, and scorn and hate the compromises and interbreeding their brethren have done through assimilating with the Valloreans. Through the years since the civil war between the Varanar tribes, the rebel Varanar have kept the rebellion alive and well, nurturing their hate, and frequently unleashing their vengeance against loyalist Varanar tribes, and Valloreans alike without mercy or remorse.

The rebel tribes are periodically punished with raids and campaigns aimed at killing many of their warriors, or at the least killing or capturing powerful and influential chieftains and warlords, though they persist in their rebellion, and passionate rejection of the Valloreans. The rebel tribes are again led by a group of strong chieftains and priestesses, and have increased their raids and attacks upon merchant caravans and frontier villages and towers, and have even attacked several fortified towns. Such ferocious attacks threaten the prosperity and security of the kingdom, and pose a serious threat especially to the communities throughout the northern, north-western, and central regions of the kingdom.

To the far north-west, the Malbari city-states of Mhunassa, Zhumarra, Tarmina and Shunash occupy a coastal region that alternates between rugged mountains, dense forests, and open, plains that closer to the coast often features great expanses of thick, wild marshland. The city-state of Mhunassa is warlike and ambitious, renowned for its regiments of fierce soldiers and daring cavalry lancers; Shunash is also warlike and greedy, with many rich merchant-houses that build large fleets of merchant ships to trade and bring fabulous wealth back to the city. The great city-state of Shunash is so wealthy and powerful, it is said that their army boasts several hundred armoured war elephants! Zhumarra is a mystical city-state, famous for ancient schools of mages and sorcery. Tarmina, the city-state that boasts the great citadel of Marnash overlooking a sheer mountain cliff that plunges more than 1200 feet down into the roaring sea below. In recent years, raiding parties from Mhunassa have been encountered within the realm, taking game and large stores of timber. These raiding parties have also attacked and pillaged nearby farms, and have also raided several nearby villages and taken slaves. So far, while the two realms are not at war officially, tensions have continued to grow, as the king of Mhunassa’s explanation that the raiders were merely rebellious mercenaries, and thus there is no need for war, and such is not Mhunassa’s desire. Whether or not the other Malbari city-states in the region would support them in a war against Varanthus is uncertain.

To the west, is the land known as Talantha. Talantha is a great, rugged land of mountains, dense forests, and rich farmland and orchards that is the homeland of the Archaedian city-states of Mylon, Oballas, Marnippos, Gallantha, and Parthanya. In addition, to the south-west are the Metharna Islands, where the powerful Archaedian city-state of Palladas is located. The Archaedian city-states have been engaged in heated diplomacy with the various Malbari city-states over fishing rights in waters between them, as well as several mountainous areas in disputed and contested border regions, where rich mines have been discovered. There is talk of war coming soon to the region, and the Archaedian city-states are concerned where Varanthus will stand. Unfortunately, while Varanthus has a good diplomatic relationship with Gallantha, in recent months, warships from Mylon have boarded Varanthus merchant ships enroute between Varanthus and the Malbari city-states, and seized the cargoes. Mylon has claimed that these actions are necessary to reduce trade, profit, and restricted goods and resources from reaching the Malbari. While the Archaedians have instituted naval trade sanctions against the Malbari—at least the city-state of Mylon has done so—Mylon has claimed that no war with Varanthus is desired. It is unclear how much the other Archaedian city-states support Mylon, if they do so at all. Nonetheless, Mylon has increased their naval embargo, and clashes between Mylon warships and Varanthus warships on the high seas have been increasing recently.

Not very far to the east of the Metharna Islands, are another group of islands, known as the Hippallia Islands. The Hippallia Isles are believed to be enchanted, with mystical forests, orchards of beautiful, wondrous fruits, shimmering lakes of waters said to be blessed by Appollonia, an ancient Archaedian goddess of love, passion, beauty and fertility. Rumours insist that the enchanted islands have vibrant, lush groves where tribes of beautiful barbarian women live in glorious, sensual luxury. Old legends maintain that these tribes of barbarian women—while simple and primitive, are beautiful, charming, and friendly. The beautiful barbarian women are peaceful, joyful and sensual, and enjoy all manner of feasts, celebrations, and dancing as they sing, play music, and worship Appollonia. It is also said that these tribes of barbarian women diligently tend their flocks of enchanted sheep and herds of enchanted goats. The sheep have amber eyes, while the goats have rich black fur, and have ivory and golden horns. The legends say that the beautiful barbarian women are wondrous musicians, and weave fine, luxurious clothes made from the wool of their enchanted sheep.

Further to the south-east of the Hippallia Isles is the great island of Dharmea. Dharmea is a huge island, occupied by large, ancient mountains and dense, mystical forests. Dharmea is said to have many ruins of the ancient Marcenian Empire, with vast treasures of gold, jewels, fine armour and weapons of great power. The legends describe the ruins being guarded by terrible, mythological monsters that slaughter and kill anyone that dares to explore the ancient ruins of the Marcenians.

Thus, the Kingdom of Varanthus faces many foreign and domestic challenges that may ultimately prove to be glorious for Varanthus—or disastrous. Furthermore, while King Garrius has plenty to keep him busy, a significant portion of royal tax revenues and other resources have been mismanaged and squandered by various royal bureaucrats, and various powerful dukes and barons have increased their own taxes on the people, and in some cases imposed harsher restrictions and laws, which has made the common people resentful and growing in their frustrations. Various guilds and associations of commoners in different noble realms have occasionally been rioting, and fighting in street battles and urban brawls with the duke’s or the baron’s soldiers. Passionate demagogues claim that while the common people labour with great burdens, the help they need is denied to them by greedy noble lords that are far more interested in staying in their castles and palaces, indulging in decadent orgies, feasts, and lolling about in luxury than in genuinely helping the people. Many village elders and townsmen claim that greedy and corrupt tax collectors continue to oppress them unmercifully, and even imprison or enslave them and their families if they cannot pay their taxes. In several villages, tax collectors that are especially reviled have been strung up and whipped, before being robbed and dumped at the edge of the village outskirts. Noble lords, of course, have instituted harsh reprisals against the rebellious and recalcitrant villagers believed to be responsible for such insurrection and rebellion. Tensions and problems within the kingdom have continued to grow, with many solutions either difficult to implement fully, or difficult to see what the best response might be. Many learned sages and philosophers of the kingdom—as well as common people—have been wondering, fearfully and with great apprehension—if in this shifting twilight, the kingdom of Varanthus will fall into a dark age of savage barbarism—or emerge into the new dawn of an age of glory.

Shifting Twilight Campaign Gazeteer 2

2011-04-26T14:33:00.000-07:00

Introduction to the Shifting Twilight Campaign

“Through the muted glow of the shifting twilight, the sun is on the horizon. It is uncertain, however—will the shifting twilight reveal the arrival of a new dark age of savagery and barbarism—or the dawn of a new age of glory and prosperity?”
--Garrius Saranus Tarberus, 6th King of the Kingdom of Varanthus, DC 1470

The Shifting Twilight Campaign is an “Old School” 1E AD&D campaign set in the world of Thandor. The world of Thandor has been continuously developed over the last 30 years, and had its humble roots in 1980. The Shifting Twilight Campaign begins in the rugged Kingdom of Varanthus, located on the frontiers of civilization and the bordering territories of the glorious Vallorean Empire.

In flavour, the Shifting Twilight Campaign highlights a world that is swallowed in darkness, savagery and barbarism. The struggle of humanity is desperate, as not only do humans face their own kind as enemies, rivals and competitors, but also the realms of the dwarfs, ancient and powerful in their dark halls below the ground; in the deepest and most ancient forests, the mist-shrouded realms of the elves rule with a fierce pride and devotion. In the wilderness, vast hordes of beastmen, orcs and other monsters gibber and gather, eager to subjugate all that is good and righteous, and extinguish the flickering light of civilization in a savage orgy of blood and fire. In the great places of mystery and ancient power, the divine titans still remain—most are terrible demi-gods of awesome power and dark tyranny, working to rise again in their dreaded dominion.

The Shifting Twilight Campaign is a huge, wondrous world of ancient antiquity, full of myth, monsters, and epic adventure. While most standard “vanilla” D&D campaigns have their milieu’s center of gravity firmly rooted in a Medieval Western European focus, with heavy infusions of the renaissance period—the Shifting Twilight Campaign takes a different approach, wherein the campaign’s center of gravity is centered more on the cultures and civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean; with heavy infusions from Dark Ages Northern and Western Europe, as well as infusions from ancient Africa, the Middle East, India, and China. To this palette, then, is added various doses of the Middle Ages, with only the lightest flirtation with the renaissance period.

Welcome to the Shifting Twilight Campaign!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

CHARACTER CREATION

Player characters should carefully read and review all race and culture sections described in the campaign gazetteer. Most of the special racial characteristics remain the same as per the OSRIC manual, pages 3-7. Height, weight, and so on for various races and characters are significantly different, however.

Standard Human Adjustments
The player of a standard human character may select any two characteristics and gain a +2 bonus to them at character creation. In addition, standard human characters receive a +10% bonus to earned experience points. Furthermore, standard human characters begin the game with (6) Fate Points.

Demi-Humans
Players of Demi-humans and other allowed humanoid races are unrestricted in the maximum level they may achieve; however, there are restrictions on armor for multi-classed characters that include magic-users. (mages, wizards, etc.) Demi-Humans and humanoids begin the game with (3) Fate Points.

Campaign Languages

Common Languages Available of the Varanthus Region

Vallorean
Varanar
Nemberi
Gharnoth
Malbari
Archaedian
Urrgan
Ogre
Halfling
Centaur
Satyr
Orc
Goblin
Minotaur

Unusual Languages of the Varanthus Region

Troll—The tongue of trolls; known most often in the far north; in the Varanthus region, troll is mostly only known by some of the Gharnoth barbarians
Tegheran—the tongue of the Tegheran Empire
Narmedian—The tongue of a feudal, fairly urban and sophisticated kingdom of humans who are tall, and athletic, with dark black skin and fine features, from the distant land of Aghanda; Mercenaries, provincial soldiers, scholars, adventurers, priestesses and merchants from Narmedia occasionally live or visit the kingdom of Varanthus.
Mbornu—The tongue of a mostly rural, tribal kingdom of humans with broad, strong physiques, beautiful features, and dark black skin from lands in distant Aghanda. Mercenaries, provincial soldiers, priestesses, adventurers, and merchants from Mbornu occasionally live in or visit Varanthus
Gnoll
Margoth—The dark, ancient tongue spoken by beastmen, and dark champions of the eldritch gods and divine titans
Perrenar—The tongue of Deer Men
Harthak—The tongue of Hippo Men
Albeeri—The tongue of Elephant Men
Lugonde—The tongue of Lizard Men
Segande—The tongue of Snake Men
Sylvan—a polyglot common tongue for creatures of the Faerie Realms; dryads, nymphs, pixies, brownies, korreds, korrigans, and so on. Such creatures still maintain their own racial languages, however. Sylvan represents a common language of communication amongst all of the faerie races.
Amazon--Amazon is the strange tongue of nomadic tribes of mythical Amazon women, alleged to live in forest regions to the north-east of the varanthus region. Typically, only a few old adventurers, daring explorers and the occasional eccentric scholar possesses knowledge of this language.

Additional, though restricted languages are noted in the various race and cultural sections. Dwarf, Elf and High Vallorean, as well as regional Archaedian languages may only be known if the character is of the specific race, or in the case of regional Archaedian dialects possesses some specialized training and education. Furthermore, any standard monster and humanoid languages from the standard OSRIC manual, Player’s Handbook/Dungeon Master’s Guide have carefully restricted access, and such permission must be gained from the DM for a character to have such languages. Gnome is not immediately available in the campaign, and races that have Gnome as a standard known language must replace it with a selection from the appropriate campaign language table.

Economics

Coins are large, and heavy, weighing 1.60 ounces. There are 10 coins to a pound.

Coins are noted as follows: Name (M, for multiple)/Name, (S, for singular); followed by their respective valuations, and then a description of the coin.

Minas(M) /Mina (S): one PP=5 EP

Drachmas(M) /Drachma (S): one EP=2 GP

Dranus (M) /Drani (S): one GP=10 SP

Denarius (M) /Denari (S): one SP=2 BP

Sallius (M) /Salli (S): one BP=5 CP

Dherus (M) /Dheri (S): Copper

Mina/Minas (PP)
The Mina is a platinum coin, featuring a relief of the current reigning emperor's image, and the year the coin was minted. The obverse side features a stylized dragon raised up, as if attacking. A single platinum piece equals 5 Electrum.

Drachma/Drachmas (EP)
The Drachma is an electrum coin--combining elements of gold and silver together. One side features a relief of the reigning emperor's image, and the year the coin was minted. The obverse side features the image of a bull. A single electrum piece equals 2 Gold.

Drani/Dranus (GP)
The Drani is a gold coin, featuring the relief of the reigning emperor's image, and the year the coin was minted. The obverse side features a two-headed eagle, one is facing east, and one is facing to the west. A single gold piece equals 10 Silver.

Denari/Denarius (SP)
The Denari is a silver coin, featuring the relief of the reigning emperor's image, and the year the coin was minted. The obverse side features the head of a wolf. A single silver piece equals 2 Bronze.

Salli/Sallius (BP)
The Salli is a bronze coin, featuring the relief of the reigning emperor's image, and the year the coin was minted. The obverse side features a rampant lion. A single bronze piece equals 5 Copper.

Dheri/Dherus (CP)
The Dheri is a copper coin, featuring the relief of the reigning emperor's image, and the year the coin was minted. The obverse side features the head of a stag. The copper Dheri is the lowest valued coin.

Initial prices for goods are as for the OSRIC manual, pg. 28-30. This is to provide a common baseline of equipment and goods prices that everyone has access to for ease of initial play of the game in the PBP format. In the future, extensive price revisions may be made, or may be encountered during the campaign that deviates from the standard prices in the OSRIC manual.

Calendar and Days of the Week

Calendar
There are 12 months in the Vallorean calendar, which marks time and the passage of months by the term “DC”—which stands for “Drannicus Calendi”, short for “The Drannicus Calendar”. Each month is divided into 30 days, similar to other kinds of calendars. There are a total of 360 days throughout the entire year.

Vallenari--First Month of the Year
Dhoranni--Second Month of the Year
Teganni--Third Month of the Year
Martherri--Fourth Month of the Year
Sarmandi--Fifth Month of the Year
Aribethi--Sixth Month of the Year
Galdari--Seventh Month of the Year
Paladari--Eighth Month of the Year
Taarnu--Ninth Month of the Year
Nohbirri--Tenth Month of the Year
Mallannu--Eleventh Month of the Year
Ulleri--Twelfth Month of the Year

Days of the Week
A day is always considered to begin and end at dawn. The day is generally considered to be 12 hours, and the evening is likewise 12 hours.
Mardann—First Day of the Week
Haldann—Second Day of the Week
Valdann—Third Day of the Week
Thordann—Fourth Day of the Week
Galdann—Fifth Day of the Week
Saradann—Sixth Day of the Week
Sindann—Seventh Day of the Week

Campaign Gazeteer 1

2011-04-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

I thought I would mention a few things concerning the starting campaign area, and character generation.

(1) Gnomes are not available as a player-character race. Any reference to the *Gnome* language for other available races, i.e, elves, etc, instead gain the language slot for a different language.

(2) Plate mail, plate armour, etc, is not commercially available in the immediate campaign area.

(3) I shall soon post a campaign gazeteer, noting some basic information, common knowledge, as well as rumors, etc.

N.B. Languages are important in the campaign, and "Common" is essentially an adulterated and rough form of Common Vallorean, which is used as a prevalent trade language. It allows conversation concerning prices, weights and measures, general and basic concepts of commerce, as well as simple concerns such as directions, food, first aid, and weather. It is not especially a proper conversational language, but serves as a bridge between total strangers to affect trade, or immediate, simple concerns. Thus, knowledge of particular languages and dialects is critically important. Furthermore, speaking in the native tongue of a particular person engaged with the character gains the benefit of a positive reaction bonus.

I will note various languages available in the campaign area soon. In addition, unless the particular player character is of said race, elven, dwarven, and other such languages are not available.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

I Have Returned!

2010-06-01T19:10:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

Well, I have finally returned! My compueter was giving me problems, and it took forever to fix them. I am glad to be back, my friends!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Map A10 North Eastern Varanthus

2010-02-20T16:53:00.000-08:00