Bandit Kingdoms
AKA: all sorts of swear words come to mind
CR: humans were the original settlers though many ancient wild elf sites can be found here, other than that just about anything that can stand the cold winters can be found here
Ln: Common, Mrrshnn, Giant
Sp: Kata and Var’Tooth are favored, but almost any version of patronage can be found
SH: Shortly after the establishment of the Kingdom of the Rivers, a group of enlightened pilgrims set out to establish a “Kingdom of Eldwich”. Adhering closely to the concepts of generosity and kindness, the group was soon the target for every nomad raider and brigand across the world. Within a hundred years, the pilgrims were rooted out and the area became so lawless that it would never recover.
Update: The Mrrshnn hordes suddenly invaded during the second hundred years of the Second Age of Paragons under the banner of the True Phoenix, Paragon of Battle Mages. All known settlements have a group of Mrrshnn that has either enslaved the population or remained behind to kill any troublemakers. The Mrrshnn hordes plan is that the Bandit Kingdoms will soon be renamed the Battle Mage Empire for all time.
Po: The area is an ever shifting boundary of feudal fiefdoms. Any map of the area is sure to be useless before it even gets published. As soon as a thief or bandit gets enough followers, they typically claim a section of the area. They then kill anyone that refuses to serve them, pushing their boundaries outward. Sooner or later, someone kills that bandit and so things go. If the area was stable, it would have the same political structure as the Kingdom of the Rivers and every would-be ruler calls himself or herself a duke, count, or king.
FS: Aside from the constant death and raiding, this area clings to the same culture as the Kingdom of the Rivers. The rich even attempt to stay up with modern fashion. It is this constant attempt to live like the Rivers that contributes to the high death rates. Usually an area has a completely new population within three generations. Still, the prospect of owning one’s own kingdom brings a steady flow of the foolish and evil.
Notes: The most stable part of the area is the “Free City” of Korost, which is in many ways a dark mirror of Carthi. Korost is ruled, it is claimed, by a powerful demi-lich who can keep the city from total anarchy. While this is unlikely, it is odd that the city doesn’t rip itself apart. Every foul act and nightmare can be found in Korost. Some say it is actually a little piece of the City of Dis (from the 9 Hells) that someone transported to the Prime. It is a documented fact that, occasionally, demons openly walk the city streets.
Barbarian Tribes of the Wild Lands
The Wild Lands contain many small groups and two large ones: Wild Elves and Mrrshnn Hobgoblins. These two groups are explained separately.
AKA: Lands of the Barbarians, the Thousand Tribes, Up North
CR: Large numbers of races follow this way of life, including: Uthuk Humans, Gibberlings, Gnolls, Mongrelfolk, Alaghi, and Asabi
Ln: Trade languages are almost never used, instead replaced with individual species languages
Sp: Clerics patroning Belmoth and Animal Shaman abound
SH: This untamed wilderness that extends far beyond any maps show has been the home to roving bands of nomads and barbarians since before the First Age of the Paragons. The similarity in the cultures is believed due to the environment shaping each group into the best society suited to survival and none of the nomads trace back a common history. Sages claim this way of life predates both the Wild Elves and the Mrrshnn tribes.
Po: Society appears relatively simple. The group, regardless of size, is controlled by a single chieftain who gains his/her position through a show of strength and only holds it as long as he/she is perceived to be the strongest. Gender is meaningless in this pursuit. Otherwise, status is gained by owning a lot of horses, arms, or slaves. Money is not used. Most of the members of a group are warriors and very little agriculture can be found.
FS: The family structure is, likewise, simple. Marriages are monogamous and are only allowed with the permission of a chief. They are not officially arranged. Homosexuality is forbidden. Widows and widowers may remarry with permission. Having only one spouse like this is not advantageous compared to the dangers of the wild, and this keeps the various groups small. Children do not belong to a single family and are raised communally. No family records or histories are kept and it is quite possible to marry a sister or brother because children are not raised with such concepts. However, this seldom happens as most spouses are often slaves or traded from other tribes (as a way of solidifying a peace agreement.) Half-breeds are quite common amongst these groups and are accepted without any typical prejudice.
Notes: Many races that are not found in the wild lands also follow this way of life. It can be said that this simple barbarian culture is the most common social template in the known world.
Barren Wastes of Death
AKA: the Growing Death, the Black Lands, the Wastes, Gehenna
CR: undead beings, oni, and spirits are the only major populations
Ln: None, beings speak their preferred tongue
Sp: Nothing wide spread, though small pockets often appear
SH: When the shogunate raced across the world to escape the ultimate evil, this is what they were running from. How it began is a mystery, but according to the Wu Jen, it now covers half the world in dust and death. Years past it grew at a rate greater than a league a day. But now that the people of the Shogunate have settled between the Dragonspire and the Carpathian Mountains it grows at less than an inch a year. There is much speculation on why this is, with many wild rumors, but no hard facts. (Actually, the Shadow Elves keep it at bay, but they aren’t going to tell anyone.) Many ancient ruins filled with terrible things can be found in the Wastes, including the most holy of all Elven cities.
Po: the area is “ruled” by powerful undead and oni that control only as far as they can see. Honestly, there isn’t much out there to control besides ruins and forgotten magics. There are, however, vast armies of evil that are meant to overrun the Deadwood and the Shogunate but usually just do battle with each other.
FS: none, the strong crush the weak
Notes: there are areas of the Wastes that will turn a living person to dust just by touching the land and anyone within the entire area begins to suffer from severe depression. It is also often hard to tell the difference between the sky and ground, as there is never a blue sky or a pale moon.
Carthi
AKA: The Free City of Carthi, the Holy City, The City of Justice
CR: Dominated by human, though a sizable population of Aasimar can be found. Rare and glorious sites are common place, as are good aligned races such as Gold Dragons. Any race of good alignment will show up eventually.
Ln: Celestial, Common, Elven
Sp: Sword of Justice only, see below
SH: When the humans arrived that established the Kingdom of the Rivers, their landing sight was quickly built into a small fortress that was forever watchful for pursuers from the dark kingdoms they had left behind. In time, the fortress was built into a city by people who believed that the Kingdom of the Rivers was not “paladin enough”. Less than three hundred years ago, the city left the Kingdom because “they could bow before no king other than the Sword of Justice.” Wisely, the king at the time let it be. However, many kings have tried since to undo this, since Carthi has grown to be considered the richest and most prosperous city in the world. In some districts, the streets really are paved with gold.
Po: The city is “ruled” by the highest ranking Paladin to step within its walls. This can lead to a daily change in leadership, as even a Paladin who does not follow the Sword of Justice is considered for this duty. Two ancient and apparently immortal gold dragons see to the duty to ensure that the greatest paladin in the city at any time is put in charge. Oddly enough, this does not cause any chaos. Laws in the city are actually made and changed by a senate which includes a large number of good, sentient species (including a Solar who is summoned for each meeting) and only 2 “mortals”: a cleric and a paladin of the Sword of Justice. The cleric and paladin are given the position by a rotation system. Any cleric or paladin that has a permanent home in Carthi and is present at the time of position change is eligible (including squires and neonates) for a single year of service. All those who own a home (and there are very few beggars) are considered citizens and there are no nobility, though outsiders could consider the clergy to be a type of nobility, but they are incredibly good people (for the most part.)
FS: The city has its roots in the Kingdom of the Rivers and is not much different. Marriages are usually arranged (love is taken into account if it is necessary) and relationships are monogamous. Widows or widowers who have at least one child are not allowed to remarry. Paladins are not allowed to marry at all unless they can obtain the permission of the current ruler. (Occasions of the city being ruled by a Paladin of Ember account for every single baby boom in the city’s history.) Children are given several chances to join the clergy, regardless of race or station, but it is not considered a disgrace to not accept.
Notes: Despite being good, the only accepted temples and shrines are to the Sword of Justice. Not even garden shrines to Ember and Eldwich are allowed. A large temple to each, however, is right outside the great gates. The city has no land outside the gates and only feeds itself on all the donations from temples in the city or from beyond, plus its huge fishing industry. The city has begun to expand into the ocean, creating the beginnings of a marvelous floating town.
The Deadwood
AKA; Var’Ama’Shun, the Cursed Forest
CR: Shadow Elves and a lot of slaves, including captured undead and oni
Ln: Low Elven, Elven, Oriental, Infernal
Sp: None, see below
SH: Since time unknown, elves have ruled all the land that many races now inhabit. In the dawn of time, the different elven races separated to care for the world. One group, it is said, found an immense forest that was dying and moved into it so as to care for it. Alas, the forest could not be saved and the horror of the failure corrupted the elves within. Of course, that isn’t the legend as the Shadow Elves see it. They say that, like decay, they are natural and needed in this world. Without evil, good could not exist. And boy do the Shadow Elves like to be evil. (But this is only the modern day claim on the matter. Read on)
Po: The political structure of the Deadwood is a grouping or council of powerful Houses, much like noble houses or the infamous Drow Houses. However, there is no competition to be number one. The council is set at six, and while rivalries exist between those houses wishing to become part of the council, there is almost no rivalry between those in it. Decisions on the council are not decided by vote, and therefore there is little to gain by bickering and blackmail. The council runs Shadow Elf life by interpreting the ancient laws, each house having its own section of the law to interpret. A House can never hold more than one position and all positions have control over laws that are seen as vital, therefore all six positions hold equal prestige. Modern custom forbids changing any law or creating new ones. Honor and Face keeps any Shadow Elf from allowing himself/herself to be swayed on a given issue. To even start a conversation with a Council House about it’s area of the law is considered enough of an insult as to warrant a duel to the death. Such things are considered “doubting the ability of the house” and nothing is worse in Shadow Elf society than to be OPENLY considered a liar and a fraud.
FS: Family is what makes a Shadow Elf a Shadow Elf. This long and complicated system of family and marriage begins with two odd events: many Shadow Elf men are born sterile and mature Shadow Elf women are more fertile than even a human woman until after their first birth. The reasons for these truths are unknown, though many believe it is a result of the unnatural energies of the Deadwood. Marriage requires no ceremony, asking of a parent, or bride price. Simply, once a girl is pregnant, magic informs the family as to who the father is (and Shadow Elves are incredible mages, see notes below) and arrangements are immediately made. The male is now considered to be married to the girl and to ALL of her sisters, even the ones that aren’t born yet. This is to ensure that each girl is with a man who can bear children. Immature girls are kept away from their husbands until her Father determines they are old enough (since the father is fertile, he is considered to be born with “knowledge of growth and fertility”) and the mother verifies that the girl is, in fact, ready to conceive. The husband takes his wife’s family name and responsibilities. All House holdings pass through women but are, typically, the responsibility of the male. If the parents are pleased with the man their daughter has chosen, they give gifts to him and his family. Otherwise, entire families have been known to commit ritual suicide in protest (especially if the father is a stable boy or something). Many obvious problems are created by this system. 1) Infertile men, or men/women who want sex but not marriage, have few options. Therefore, the Shadow Elves became slavers, which is considered their original crime against the world and the main reason they are seen as evil. 2) The society cannot allow fertile men to waste their seed on non-shadow elves, so half-elves are killed on sight and both the mother and father punished (perhaps even killed). Thus, the Shadow Elves are xenophobic and kill any strangers who are not slaves. This is their second great evil. Many male slaves are captured for slave labor, because it is cheaper, which creates more half-elf children and causes more paranoia. 3) Prostitution is the most common occupation in the land, surpassing even soldiers. It is a rampant problem and unimaginable sexual acts are practiced everyday. Oddly enough, the Shadow Elves are known the world over as the greatest lovers, in a purely lustful sort of way, even outdoing succubi in reputation. One thing that is very important to understand is that this marriage system only increases the importance of the House and is the main reason the Houses, not individuals, have the power within society.
Notes: On top of everything else, the Shadow Elves long ago outlawed Saints within their lands. There are many reasons for this: alternate marriage systems, allegiance to something other than to the House, and even the disdain for non-arcane magic. The Shadow Elves are some of the most talented wizards and wu jen in the world, but their divine powers are non-existent. Legend claims that a Saint is responsible for the male sterility, but no one can agree on which one, and so the Shadow Elves are repaying this curse by refusing to acknowledge any of them.
Dori
AKA: Far City of All Delights, the Magic City
CR: Pevishan, almost no other members of any other race reside in Dori
Ln: Pevishan, Draconic, Yaun-ti
Sp: Ren, Salien Albane are both honored by the populace
SH: Dori is a city state built on magic. It is the only known settlement of the Pevishan race (not even outlying villages exist). It sits deep in the Viper Jungle protected by massive magical wards and illusions. The only threat to the city is the menace of the Yaun-ti, who have lusted after the city for as long as it can be remembered. Dori is said to have build solely by magic (very likely) and sits upon the ruins of the most magical place ever to exist (what that is, scholars cannot agree). The city has existed since before the First Age of Paragons and so, if it is built on ruins, there is no history of it. Many adventurers quest for Dori because of the legends of its magic or because of the legends of its society (see below).
Po: The Pevishan are each born to a single school of magic (this birth is what led wizards to originally divide magic in these terms), regardless of the birth school of the parents. While an outsider would assume that the city is split along birth school lines, this is far from the case. Birth school does not define personality or ambition, and family love and ties keep people of different birth schools quite close. Since birth school appears random (to outsiders), families would have to be pulled apart to form separate groups. The city is not ruled by elders because the oldest living pevishan barely reach fifty human years, no matter how good of health. Therefore, the city has a senate, elected democratically, from all the citizens of the city (adult pevishan); one seat per birth school. This, and other parts of the culture, propagates competition WITHIN the schools, further keeping the society from splitting apart. It should be noted that there are no “peasants” in Dori, as all manual labor is done by summoned servants or magic. There is also no noble class, meaning everyone is either a merchant or is connected to a school and every child receives an education.
FS: While both sexes appear equal, and have the same rights, there is a small difference that is easily overlooked. Women hold more than their share of power and are much more ambitious to prove themselves superior; not over men, but over women. Oddly enough, this is all based off the pevishan sex drive. Females enter a “sexual prime” as soon as they are capable to bear children (15 human years) until late into their thirties. Males, however, never experience anything that could be accounted for as a “sexual prime”. While nothing prevents a male from enjoying sex, they do not experience the incredible hormone rush that women experience for almost half their entire adult lives. The short lifespan and the incredibly important study of magic further complicate this problem. Women think only about sex during their most formidable years, specifically the years when they should be mastering the arcane arts. While there is no social stigma regarding men excelling over women, there would be the problem of magic suffering as a whole when fine, young sorceresses did not practice the arts. Therefore, several cultural rules have come into play to aide women in their study of magic. First, women are encouraged to be sexually active, even before sexual maturity, but not with men (pregnancy derails magic study and men usually aren’t interested anyway). It is common for sisters to engage in “sexual play” and there is no incest taboo regarding women with women. Students are privately encouraged to sleep together so that “they may have clear minds for study”. Any woman who seems to be saving herself for a male is usually isolated from men (so she doesn’t do anything stupid) and is considered a lost cause (though sex is not forced upon her, the pevishan respect sex, bodies, and privacy.) Once a woman has graduated from her school (everyone attends school), she may marry and explore the joys of men. Marriages are monogamous (in regards to males) and a woman is required to give up female contact (though many do not) until she is through birthing children. Pevishan have a monthly cycle like a human. A women typically signifies that she is done birthing by publicly taking a female concubine, who may actually be the wife of another male, in which case both couples move in together. It is considered socially irresponsible to have multiple female partners at that age as that is the “joy of youth”. Males, who typically only value sex for its emotional impact and not the physical, may sue their wives if they are ignored, but otherwise do not have a problem with the situation. Many wives stop having children long before their sexual prime ends so that they can live long enough to watch their children grow to adulthood. By the way, male homosexuality is unheard of and would be a true shock to the pevishan. Men who are attracted to other men typically still do not want sex and so never realize the difference. They gain their fulfillment by being friends and working together. If a homosexual man feels “forced” to be with a woman, it is unnoticed for many heterosexual pevishan men feel the same.
Notes: Magic and sex make a strange pair for the pevishan, but produce some of the most ambitious spellcasters in the world. It is commonly believed that the short life spans of the Pevishan is nature’s way of preventing them from dominating the world, or at least the magical arts. Also, the taboo against lichdom is not present in Dori, but it is still a heavily guarded secret. Most pevishan, however, are adapted to the idea of living only a short time (compared to other races, about 50 years) and do not pursue it.
Empire of the Shogun
AKA: Empire of the Setting Sun, Land of the Daimyo, the Chosen People
CR: Humans are the primary, though many spirit folk live amongst them openly
Ln: Oriental, Spirit Tongue
Sp: The codes and beliefs of the samari give great weight to honoring both the Sword of Justice and Salien Albane. The Sword is seen as the ultimate leader of the realm, the Emperor of the Emperor, it could be said. Patroning saints is only done amongst the samari, however. The populace has a strong understanding of Kami (the spirits that live in all things, commonly referred to as prime elemental spirits) and a rare breed known as Spirit Shaman can be found amongst the lower classes. These shaman are respected by the Samari and are placed in the same non-class as monks.
SH: Hundreds of years ago, during the First Age of the Paragon, a child emperor sat on a throne far, far to the west. A great evil was engulfing his land, but he did not care. The saints had told him to stay put, it was said, and the evil would just “go away”. A great samari whose name cannot be said, rose up and slew Belmoth, revealing that the saint who had instructed the emperor was truly evil. The Daimyo of the great clans met and a silent coupe occurred. Instantly, the people of the Empire set off on a race, praying they would outrun the great evil. Somehow, they did. The great evil stopped and they found themselves between two great mountain ranges and met a strange, new nation of humans who were just as confused to see them. When the pointy eared elves showed up and talked about oracles and the like, the people ignored them and went about establishing new lands to control. Thus, the lands of the samari were born.
Po: The political structure of the shogunate is quite complicated. Everything, including land, people, wealth, (even air) belongs to the Emperor, who sits within a great palace and is never allowed to leave it. The Emperor has no other name to his people. The Emperor also has no real power. The Emperor’s champion is called the Shogun and is supposed to be his greatest general. Actually, the Shogun runs everything. (Everybody knows this, nobody will admit it.) The Shogun is the Daimyo (like a little king or duke) who controls the most powerful of the clans of the Empire. The most powerful clan is determined by duels, court prestige, wealth, military victories, and many other things. All the clans have held the position at one time or another, and all will most likely hold it again. There is great rivalry between rising and falling clans. The structure underneath the Shogun is one of tiers. Each tier controls the one below it and it is considered beneath station to give orders to those who are below that tier. For instance, a village headman (usually a samari) gives orders to the head of a family, but not to that head’s spouse or children. That is the head of the family’s job. Who is in charge of who is not always obvious, however, and there is a lot of strange and peculiar rules on the matter. The Empire does have several castes, however, which helps outsiders understand things better. (The people don’t seem to have a problem with it.) The Samari are the nobles, followed by the merchants, the soldier peasants, the farmer peasants, and then the eta (non-people).
FS: Family structure is part of the political system. A superior decides who will be head of house, and this can be male or female, though the empire as a whole leans towards males. The Head is then in charge of the house and any tier that might be below the house. The spouse has no special responsibilities and has no authority over anyone, except for paid servants who sign a contract stating they will take his/her orders. The Head may take as many concubines as he can afford (never occurs on the peasant or eta level). The spouse must be faithful only to the Head and is charged with organizing everything so that the concubines are comfortable and that they please the Head (but he/she still has no power over them). Marriages are always arranged (love is for concubines). Two people who have authority may not marry, nor can two people who have none (for merchants and lower classes, this usually isn’t a problem as someone is given authority at the wedding). This can create problems at the noble level, as prestige and authority is often given at birth or after accomplishing some great deed. Concubines may not have affairs on the Head or they can be killed. The Head is under no such restriction since it is assumed he/she is “searching for a new concubine”. Peasants and eta do not get this privilege. Before marriage, however, all people are expected to keep to themselves. To aide this, and help stop rampant prostitution, geisha houses are quite common. These men and women do not offer their bodies to just anyone, yet everyone can hope and dream that the geisha will choose him/her. (Geisha are outside the rule of concubines in the fact that they choose mates, not the other way around, and can technically choose anyone, even a non-Head. However, they are taught and instructed to only select people that are legal candidates for having concubines. Most people are unaware of this.) Homosexuality is acceptable only within the confines of concubines and it is a social stigma to take a concubine before the couple has had a healthy child.
Clans: Because clan structure is so vital to the Shogunate, the clans are listed here along with their areas of specialty. Phoenix (current Shogun, warriors and seigemasters) Gold Dragon (Original dragon clan, Shugenja), Red Dragon (Splintered from the Gold, held the Shogun position last, wu jen), Tengu (tricks and deviousness), and Ki Rin (duelists, diplomats, artisans). The Imperial Family is technically its own clan, but is not called as such. Minor clans which are really just ronin families or families that have been placed outside the normal structure for some reason, appear every once in a while. They do not, however, last for great lengths of time.
Notes: This complex political and family system is part of the reason that monks are so numerous in the empire. Unique to this nation, (monks exist in other cultures, just not in this way) anyone of any social class may leave that class and become a monk/nun, effectively leaving their old lives behind in the dust (even if married) without reprise. Monks are expected to seek enlightenment and to stay celibate. Because enlightenment is such a mystery, however, no one is sure how that is done, and many martial art dojos pretend to be monasteries to attract followers, granting the prestige and freedom of being a monk, but not policing its members’ hobbies or teaching enlightenment.
Tengu: The bird-like races known as the Crow Tengu (or Kenku) and the Human-Faced Tengu live in secret communities within the clan lands of the Tengu and Phoenix lands. They do not interact with the Shogunate directly and keep their settlements hidden in deep forests or on mountain tops. They traveled to this realm with the humans and share the same cultural structure. They consider the ancient dragon known as Shikaraka Zu to be their “emperor” in much the same limited function as the emperor of the Shogunate. They have a deep hatred of the Nezumi that few can explain.
Frozen Stone
AKA Plant Paradise, City of the Mushrooms
CR Mycanoids
Ln: None (communication through spores only)
Sp: Oddly enough, the mycanoids do respect Eldwich, and mycanoid clerics can be found amongst the population.
SH: The Mycanoids, sentient mushrooms, long ago existed only in small groupings in the Underdark. No one knows how or why, but one day they established a great city carved from rock and massive underground fungi and mushrooms. Beyond this city, great farms of delicious fungi and all manner of sentient plants appeared. The Mycanoids chose a secluded and hard to reach spot that has allowed them to live in a calm and idyllic setting for ages.
Po: The mycanoids have an elder system, though conflicts and disputes are typically unheard of. Enemies are kept away by the massive number of dangerous plants and oozes cultivated by the Mycanoids. Most sages agree, it is an idyllic and perfect society.
FS: Mycanoids are asexual, treat each other as close family, and have no marriage ceremonies, birth rites, or sexual rituals. They all work together in harmony. Life is so perfect, it’s sickening.
Helz
AKA: Hell Swamp, the Great Swamp, Land of the Lizards
CR: lizardfolk of various kinds and occasional bandit settlements that do not last very long
Ln: Draconic, Goblin
Sp: The lizardfolk actually practice druidism in much the same way as the elves. Animal shaman are unheard of. No saints are widely honored.
SH: According to the elves, the Helz have always been populated with the backwater and child-like (to them) ways of the lizardfolk. The lizardfolk don’t tell it much different. The elves also claim that they sent large numbers of lizardfolk from the White Marsh to join their brothers, all so that the lizardfolk would be together and build a civilized world. If it happened, the lizardfolk do not remember the event in their oral histories. The elves claim oral histories are faulty, but the lizardfolk do talk of the coming of humans, the founding of the Mrrshnn, and even of a time when there were no elves, orcs, or giants. To hear the lizardfolk, theirs is the most ancient of all races and when the end times come, they will be as they were in the beginning—living the great and perfect life.
Po: Swamp life is hard and dangerous, and this can be seen in the ways of the lizardfolk. The race appears dominated by males to outsiders for several reasons, but each sex has its own, highly regimented culture. How these segregated cultures interact is strictly controlled. Females control the “sphere” of the home and make all decisions regarding it, including which food to grow and what activities take place. Males control the “sphere” of away-from-home, including how to deal with strangers, what to hunt, and when to go to war. Territory is a big deal in the swamp and is usually the most important family policy and decision to be made. Women decide when new territory is needed and men decide how to gain it, often through negotiation, marriage, or war. The lizardfolk are farmers and hunters and they move their villages once a year on a, normally, pre-determined route that was established ages before. The culture is, in fact, so carefully regimented by tradition and separation, that most decisions are made before a problem even arises. Only incursions by outsiders upsets this balance.
FS: Lizardfolk are all about family. The families center around women, and marriages result in a male moving into a woman’s house. Families are quite extensive and one “village” is actually the homestead of a single family. Obviously, spouses must be gained from other “villages”. More important that that, however, are the experiences of adolescent males and females. Adolescent males are kept at home and taught by older men the special system of honor that contains three points: “Protect women. Offer hospitality. Exact vengeance.” A man’s honor lies, so they say, in the heart of the females. Men are supposed to be hospitable to strangers and honorable in all agreements. However, outsiders (even other lizardfolk) are never to see or interact with women. To look upon another’s wife/mother/daughter is a blight upon honor. To critize food or home is the same. The only way to satisfy this problem is to immediately exact death as repayment and lizardfolk are driven by this code of honor to great extremes. Rape or murder of a female results in a feud with not only the criminal, but with the “monsters” that taught and spawned him. This code of honor is the only reason that lizardfolk have ever made war outside of Helz.
Female life, in adolescence, is not worried about honor as much. A female is sent away to secret “training camps”, protected by only the most honorable male warriors, to learn how to care for a home. Life in these camps can be compared to a sorority. The women, all between the ages of 12 and 25, have only themselves to answer to. Staying in such a camp past 25 is a great insult to a female’s parents, and it is usually only this fact that makes a girl leave to get married. The few guards of these secret places are traditionally seduced regularly, if the girls wish. (The males must be very honorable for the position and most males never find out what happens in these camps.) Births are almost non-existent, as vaginal lovemaking is respected as being reserved for a husband.
Marriages are often arranged, but only in the fact that one family agrees to offer one daughter to the other’s son. The specific son and daughter are never decided upon ahead of time. When a girl returns from training, she is allowed to have some say in whether she will marry or not. This usually is not a problem and marriages get along easily (women get their wild-side taken care of earlier in life). Men, who see very few eligible girls, are often eager to get what they can get. Marriages are monogamous, divorce is a foreign concept (angry spouses do tend to move into separate rooms, though), and a widow may take a new husband. A male belongs to the new family and cannot remarry unless it is to his lost-wife’s sister.
Siv: The toad-like Siv are a significant minority in the Helz who often come into conflict with the lizardfolk that dominate the area. The Siv have a culture that is, oddly enough, exactly like the culture found in the Priestly Sea States, and many believe that they were once an undersea race because of this. The Siv never have large communities or anything other than simple settlements. They speak both their own native tongue (Siv) and Draconic.
Hive
AKA: The Bees, Land of Usurpers
CR: Abeil (bee people)
Ln: Abeil, Elven
Sp: Perhaps as a clue to the origins of the Abeil, they have no clerics or shaman and are particularly against open honoring of the Clockworks, which a small part of the rebellious population has begun to do. Disrespecting the Clockworks seems at odd with the general philosophy of the Abeil.
SH: Where the Abeil came from, no one is quite sure. Two hundred years ago, the bee people appeared in the area now called the Hive in large numbers and established settlements and cities quickly. Most sages speculate that they were ejected from Mechanus or some other plane. The Abeil do not explain themselves to outsiders. Regardless, they took over territory that was, for the most part, unclaimed and have showed no signs of wanting to expand.
Po: The Abeil are ruled by sixteen “Queens” who each control a settlement of Abeil and work together to make a single culture and system of laws. Below a queen is a three tier system, including artisans (on top), soldiers, and workers (on bottom). Moving up or down the tier system is not possible. The tier one belongs to is determined at birth based off the body structure of the Abeil and mates of one tier can give birth to a child that belongs to a different tier. However, of late, this system is under fire. Social unrest is rampant throughout the society and workers are demanding the rites of their parents or their siblings who were born to greater status. This unrest may soon lead to a civil war.
FS: Family does not extend beyond a mated pair. Mating requires two Abeil of the same social status and their children are raised by any eligible pair of the tier that the child is born to. Unfortunely, Abeil parents do tend to have personal attachment to their children and are very upset if they are not allowed to raise them. Many social rules such as those that deal with widows, homosexuality, and concubines (which are, traditionally, all illegal) are currently being ignored as society as a whole tries to get a handle on the unrest in the populace. A new society may soon form for the Abeil.
Illithid Colonies
AKA: The Illithid name is unpronounceable, but the telepath “impression” relates to a graveyard
CR: Illithids, half-illithids, and numerous slaves that are bred like animals
Ln: (Telepathy), Undercommon
Sp: The Illithid have no patrons and are particularly spiteful towards Ren and Psyche.
SH: Many beings believe that the Illithids arrived in this world through a rift to a misunderstood realm called the “Far Plane”. The site of their arrival is said to be in the middle of the Forbidden Sea and they arrived with all manner of corrupted beasts which survived and made the Forbidden Sea so inhospitable. Despite having no discomfort from sunlight, the Illithids dug deep into the ground, deeper than even the region known as the Underdark—so deep that no other living being exists at the depths of their “colonies”. They built eighteen colonies at specific locations around the world, and while some have been destroyed by enemy armies, they have always been rebuilt—resulting in eighteen intact and working colonies to this day. What they are colonies for and where their “home” is, none can say. The Illithids harnessed the deep heat of the ground and opened massive portals to the Elemental and Astral Planes. Then, they waited. They appear to still be waiting, though this is not quite true. While they keep their numbers low, they do attack all over the world in order to capture slaves and they have a powerful but subtle presence in the Underdark, working to keep the City-State system of other races intact.
Po: The political structure of the Illithid is both famous and quite misunderstood. A construct, known as an Elder Brain, appears to be the center of illithid life and its master. However, this is not true. The elder brain is a resource, a library of history, facts, and customs. The elder brain enforces the tenants of illithid society and guards the secrets of the eighteen colonies and the past from which the illithid come from. Day to day decisions and the interpretation of those customs is left up to a single leader, typically the most powerful psychic in the colony. It is not power that grants the Illithid the position, however. Backstabbing and power-games are against the rigid code and caste system of the illithid (there is no more than a single member of each caste and each colony typically has between 120 and 300 illithid). The position of authority is established by a simple measure of brain capacity. No one is sure how this is done and it may be just a foolish lie. However, the belief is that the Illithid know exactly what their “IQ” is and their areas of expertise. Each Illithid is given the position based off inborn talent and overall intelligence, with the most intelligent of all being in charge. Ambitious Illithid who want to move up in station are doomed to die in a horrible way. Many scholars claim there is inherent flaws in this system. However, the Illithid have apparently either found ways to overcome the flaws or have overcome any “flaw” that the system spawns.
FS: Being asexual beings, the illithid do not have a marriage or family system, per se. At a certain point in life (usually coinciding with a low illithid population) the adults grow a fifth tentacle which detaches and is placed in the brine-pool of an elder brain. There it forms into a tab-pole stage for some time until it is ready to grow. At that point, it is either incubated and allowed to grow into an illithid or it is inserted into the brain of a living creature, where it takes over and transforms the body into a “half-breed.” (Oddly enough, doing this to humans results in a true illithid, just as if the process had not taken place at all. Rumors run wild of why this is.) There is no sense of family and no sense of sexuality. Absorbing certain genetic material in the brine pool prevents a simple clone of the original illithid from being born.
Jeil
AKA: The Clouds, The Lost Kingdom
CR: Fainys mostly, though some giant kingdoms and silver dragon aeries are considered part of Jeil in the modern age
Ln: Auran, Giant, Draconic (Note: Speaking any word in Terran is considered swearing)
Sp: The Fainys claim to be servants of beings they refer to as “Primals”, though there is no formal organization that serves these beings. Saints are looked down upon (no pun intended), and all forms of divine magic other than that practiced by the Shugenja is taboo. Remote areas, though, often have a Spirit Shaman to help family life.
SH: In the mists of time, before even the First Age of Paragons, Jeil was a kingdom ruled by strange creatures that resembled (according to pictographs) faceless and featureless humanoids. These beings ruled over a collection of islands in the forbidden sea. However, the incredibly high amount of monsters in the Sea made living there a truly dangerous proposition. Scorned, it is said, by elves, these beings had no one to turn to but themselves. One of them, a being named Fainys, discovered a powerful and magical process that could transmute the islands into solid, stable clouds. These clouds then rose into the air, freed from the sea, and allowing the beings to live on. Fainys also developed the first Windships, craft that allow movement from the different cloud cities that float around the sky. The population was saved and escaped their horrid plight.
What happened to them is unknown. They certainly are not the starnge race of cloud-dwellers that bear the name of the island-transmuter, Fainys. The Fainys race, itself, has no understanding where they came from or what they are. Speculations have always run wild, but one thing that is for sure is that there is no record of the Fainys having ever existed on the surface of the world. As a matter of fact, most beings on the surface of the world have no idea Jeil even exists. Not even most bards.
Po: The cities and cloud-islands, as well as the vast majority of Windships, existed long before the Fainys race, and the Fainys have no idea how to make any of it. The Fainys, however, do not much care. Having few natural predators and being an innately friendly and good race, has endeared these people to the storm giants and dragons that guard them. Therefore, there is little danger to the Fainys from the outside. This is not the utopia of Frozen Stone, however. Misguided by the lack of outside enemies, Jeil is a chaotic and dangerous place. The Fainys have no standard system of government and no system of trade or laws. (Money is useless in Jeil.) Having no respect for strength, the local population is not controlled by threats or violence. It isn’t controlled by much at all. Theft, not murder, is the worst crime commonly found, and it is very common. Community decisions are not made by a single figure or a group—they are typically not made by anyone at all. Mass chaos and individuality is the end result. Only because of the parent-like eye of the dragons and giants, with the Fainys natural tendency towards Good, does the race keep from exterminating itself.
FS: Obviously, with no government, clerics, or laws, there is no institute of marriage. Fainys typically mate with anyone they wish to. Infant mortality rates are quite high, as Fainys parents often neglect their children in favor of selfish pursuits. No sexual taboos of any kind exist. Neither sex is typically dominant in the culture.
Notes: While it might appear that the race is destined to burn itself out, there are areas where the Fainys try to exist peacefully with each other, take care of each other (and children), and work together. This is the exception, not the rule. Remember, in all cutlures there are exceptions to the stereotypes and traditions. In this case, these exceptions are often the sole reason that this race has food to eat, things to own, and functional Windships.
Kingdom of the Immortal Wytch Queen
AKA: none
CR: the Hengenyokai are the only sentient, native race, and all kinds can be found
Ln: Oriental, Spirit Tongue, Giant
Sp: Spirit Shaman of the same training as those found in the Shogunate are the only spiritual advisers found within the Kingdom, and these are exceptionally rare. The Hengenyokai have no respect for any saint, especially Ren, considering him a presumptuous upstart.
SH: there is no Kingdom. There is no Wytch Queen. There aren’t even any witches. The kingdom is the ultimate expression of Hengeyokai trickery, and is unique in that it has never been invaded in its entire history. If it weren’t for all the damn monsters, it might even be a paradise. The hengeyokai established the kingdom as their own and used rumors and lies to convince the world that it was a barren waste ruled by a demoness. Since nothing ever happens in the south, it isn’t bothered by paladins or crusaders. So, by location and rumor, it is isolated and alone. Originally, the hengeyokai arrived, secretly, with the people of the Shogunate, and moved to this area while escaping mass amounts of persecution.
Po: True to their nature, the Hengenyokai want to live free and unrestrained. Permanent villages are non-existent. Government is non-existent. Any task that requires more than a single being is done by either group consensus (adults) or by obeying the more powerful elder who wanted to do it (children). These people live free, protected by the ignorance of the world.
FS: The family structure is very loose. Marriage does not exist and the only formal family rituals are all stolen from other cultures (usually the shogunate) and performed in a tongue-in-cheek or mocking fashion. There are seldom lifemates and children get passed around to whomever wants to watch over them or would do the best job. The only real taboos in the land are against incest (which is taken care of by the rule “if she looks like you, don’t touch her”) and homosexuality (which is taken care of by the rule “if he’s a he, don’t touch him”). The rule against homosexuality seems to descend from the ancient legend of why other races don’t like the hengeyokai (of course, it has nothing to do with their tricks). The hengeyokai who made the whole world mad impersonated the Emperor’s male lover in front of the court.
Notes: This is not a wild and untamed land, as the hengeyokai use magic to shape it in whatever way they wish. To an outsider (if there were any) it would appear as tended gardens, lush herd grazing lands, and sculpted forests. Perfect for conquering.
Kingdom of the Rivers
AKA: The Rivers, the Human Lands
CR: humans and halflings
Ln: Common, Elven, Gnome
Sp: The kingdom was founded by those who fled the destruction of good in a far away land, guided by the Trinity of Heaven, whom they still honor above all others. However, cults to every saint and every power are prolific here and no King has ever managed to enforce strict spiritual codes with any success so far. Druids and shaman are unheard of.
SH: legends claim that across the Carsi Ocean is a massive civilization committed to corruption and evil where “elected” rulers play saint with peasants’ lives and worship all that is foul and sinful in the world. Out of this land came the last good people, paladins and clerics of the Heavenly Triad, who sailed across an unknown ocean and braved impossible odds, to arrive here and found a kingdom in the First Age of the Paragons. These good humans established a good nation, ruled by a man who was personally chosen by the Sword of Justice’s Solar, Ti’An’El. The kingdom and dynasty have prospered to this day.
Update: In the second hundred years of the Second Age of Paragons, the borders of the Kingdom were crushed for the first time by an enemy force: the Mrrshnn Horde. The Mrrshnn are becoming more and more successful in their raids and most oracles claim that this is because the Humans have no Paragon to protect them and are destined for extinction.
Po: The Rivers is a feudal system where all land is owned by a king and is handed out to dukes, counts, and lords. Since Ti’An’El chose a man, society says that only men can hold power. A noble class rules and passes on property to sons. There is also a merchant and peasant class, each performing the duties established hundreds of years ago by the first King Tynkaldron (all princes, upon being crowned, change their name to King Tynkaldron, never with a numerical designation, as they supposedly gain his soul and his mandate upon coronation.) Changing social class is only possible in the king announces it, so many nobles are much poorer than the local merchants.
FS: The Rivers believes in monogamy and a man or woman may remarry if his/her spouse is dead and a local cleric announces that Heaven will allow it. Divorces are not allowed and marriages are never OFFICIALLY arranged. Only noble women have dowries. The nuclear family is more important than the community; there are a lot of squabbles between people in all three classes. There have been a handful of assassination attempts on the King, several have been successful, but this has not broken the dynasty as a brother was crowned. The people truly believe in the necessity of the Mandate of Heaven.
Notes: While halflings happily live amongst the humans and follow their customs (the halflings arrived in this land with the humans all those years ago), other races are always treated as dangerous outsiders. Only because the Rivers is such a major crossroads do the people not act completely xenophobic.
Land of the Three
AKA: Teratrass, the Four Tribes (the old Nezumi Nation), Kelspool (the old Vanara nation)
CR: this land is actually the mingling of three separate species, the cat-like Artathi, the rat-like Nezumi, and the monkey-like Vanara
Ln: Oriental, Nezumi, Vanarra, Artathi
Sp: The wilds of this land are home to an ancient tradition of animal shaman that are dying out. Aside from these, each race has a favored patron that they focus on in their temples. The Artathi favor Ember (believing she is the only reason that any of the females are fertile at all), the Nezumi favor Thalerba in their roles as peasants and laborers, and the Vanara favor the Clockworks as a representative of ordered soldiering (with a secret minority favoring Belmoth or Erestem Grimm for military prowess.) Ba’Aset has its own select group of Artathi followers, who fill a roll similar to paladins. Ba’Aset is too weak of a power to have clerics, and is respected more as a trusted advisor than as a patron of the land.
SH: Long ago, in the time when the High Elves dwelled in the area that would become the Lower Desert, a great race of cat-people known as the Artathi founded a mighty kingdom of stone temples and monoliths known as Teratrass. The Artathi were the chosen of a great Earth Elemental Creature known as Ba’Aset and she helped them create the great culture of stone. However, the First Age of the Paragon left great and hideous scars on these people. When the Barren Wastes turned the Lower Desert to sand, it also poisoned the last bit of water that flowed through that region. When the Artathi drank the poisoned water, a tragedy and a curse fell on them, one which has never been able to come undone. Instead of birthing children in equal numbers by the sexes, the ratio of girls to boys was less than 1 out of four. Without women to continue to reproduce the race, the empire crumbled and the Artathi dwindled.
Luckily, as the barren wastes moved forward, it pushed two races before it. The race of humans who founded the Shogunate were well known, but another race fled from it as well. This race was the Nezumi. The Artathi, once very war-like, could not muster an army to keep out these invaders, and so attempted diplomacy. This amazed the nezumi, who had a long history of being treated as, well, rats. A deal was struck. The Artathi became like a noble class and the nezumi became merchants and farmers. Having never had a true land of their own, the nezumi have always been thankful for this arrangement. However, only a few hundred years passed before a third race showed up on the scene, this time from the East. The vanara had long battled the Yaun-ti in the Viper Jungle, but had finally lost. Their ancient city in ruins, the Vanara needed a new place to live. Seeing the positive result of diplomacy with the nezumi, the Artathi tried the same. However, the Vanara were not interested in being ruled by a foreign power. Before things could get out hand, however, a great orc invasion began (this was just accidental timing from the orcs and was not planned at all). Unable to raise an army of nezumi quickly, the Artathi were shocked and amazed to see themselves saved by the Vanara (who had had enough of getting their butts kicked). An agreement was reached, the Vanara would live in the ancient ruins and cities without having to bow to the Artathi, and in return, the Vanara would serve as the soldier class of the land.
Po: The Artathi are the noble class, officially owning all lands and making laws (that typically only affect Artathi and Nezumi). The Nezumi are the most numerous of the races and they farm, herd, market goods, and make items. The Vanara are self-regulated by their priests who pass laws down from the favored Saints (the Clockworks, typically) and work with the Artathi to create harmony. The majority of the Vanara are soldiers and mercenaries, though many Nezumi also can be found in these ranks, as they practice the ancient arts passed down from the days when the lived in the Ancient West. This all works out mostly harmoniously, though there is the occasional bump in the road. The most pacifist group is the large majority of nezumi, who have the numbers to keep everything calm and peaceful.
FS: Though originally from the Ancient West, the nezumi have discarded the Shogunate’s customs (which they once followed) and have become polygamous. Men who live old enough to have established a household or glory on the battlefield may marry as many women as he can afford. A complicated gift system accompanies this process. Men of marrying age are roughly equivalent to a forty-year old male human and once a nezumi reaches marrying age he must have already “earned” the right through glory or enough money to support several wives. The vanara, who were once monogamous in the Viper Jungle, started to loose a lot of eligible men when they took on the new status as soldiers. Thus, they adapted the Nezumi custom, which allows men to marry many women, so that they can keep their numbers strong.
The Artathi are a sharp contrast to this, however. Having plenty of males (even when they die in wars) and very few females has made the women much more important. Not only is the Queen of the Artathi the true ruler, but Ember and Ba’Aset are female as well. Therefore, in the noble Artathi houses women have the power, instead of the men such as with the Nezumi and the Vanara. (The races know of these differences and see them as unimportant, since they ARE different races.) A female Artathi may take as many men as she can afford and is only required to satisfy them sexually once a month (men are supposed to show self-discipline). Orgies are considered taboo as that would make it impossible to know which was the father (or so it is said) and fathering a girl is the greatest honor a man can have. Powerful women might have up to ten husbands and often marry brothers so that the man’s estate (which is used as a dowry to attract a mate) does not have to be divided up. Oddly enough, none of the three races are biologically compatible and so there are no half-breeds despite the many years of cohabitation. Vanara are (oddly) compatible with elves and humans and there is the occasionally half-breeds amongst them. (Humans seem to be able to mate with just about anything. Must be that hidden racial advantage everyone says must exist.) Vanara are not compatible with ogres, giantkin, or orcs.
Notes: Amongst Artathi, while women are very important and even adultery will be ignored if it results in pregnancy (the woman chooses a husband as the father), lesbian activity is punishable by death. Homosexuality amongst men is ignored and kept hidden, but it is secretly considered a way for men to show self-restraint. Prostitution amongst the Artathi is unknown and there isn’t even a word for it in the language. The Nezumi and Vanara have standard taboos against homosexual activity, but have as many prostitutes as would be found in any human society. Incest is a universal taboo as it is in most cultures. By the way, the irony of cats and rats living together and depending on each other is often pointed out by outsiders, but the artathi and nezumi don’t get it.
Lower Desert Nomads
AKA: the Great Tragedy
CR: Quissians and the Sendasti
Ln: Draconic (Quissian Dialect), Sendasti, Oriental
Sp: The desert nomads follow strict anti-saint codes, which is probably heavily influenced by the situation in the city of Va’lian. Animal Shaman are the spiritual advisors of the clans.
SH: This area was once a very fertile plane occupied by the High Elves. This, plus a portion of the Barren Wastes, is their ancestral home. Ages ago, before recorded time, the elves learned the art of magic and attempted to use it to usurp the power of the first mages, the Dragons. A great and well-thought out plan lead to the extermination of many dragons until a group of ancient, chromatic dragons used forbidden powers to pour the essence of them all into a single dragon egg who would be their savior. The aberration was born and called Tiamat. Tiamat, leading a great army of chromatic dragons burned and destroyed the land, killing all within it until the High Elves fled to the homes of their distant kin and established the Valeshire. Tiamat, however, was unable to establish her own kingdom, for Heaven dispatched its most powerful warrior, the Dragon Bahumat, to stop her. Their titanic battle banished both of them to separate planes and created the great magical crater that the famous city of Va’lian is built in. Years later, before the High Elves could return to their old homes, the Barren Wastes arrived, choking off the water that nourished this land and turning it into a desert where only hunter-gatherer tribes could survive.
Po: Being biologically incompatible, the Quissians and the Sendasti have no relationship between their peoples. They basically ignore each other, though their migration patterns cause them to constantly come into contact, though this hardly ever results in war. Oddly enough, the political and family systems of these two races is very similar and many words are exactly the same in both their, very different, languages. The reason for this is unclear. The Sendasti claim that they sailed across the Forbidden Sea to populate this area and the Quissians are the descendants of lizardfolk exiles from the White Marsh (though they appear to be adapted to the desert, not wet swamplands.) Both cultures are ruled by separate caliphs who are the eldest leaders of the largest clans within each race. Clans typically remain in charge for several hundred years before they dwindle so much that another clan becomes prominent. Both groups maintain between eighteen and twenty-two clans at a time, all spread out over the desert. Typically, the caliph’s rules only apply to areas where his clan appear, and so the true power in the desert is with the eldest males of individual clans.
FS: Like political structure, the family structure of the two groups is very similar for no apparent reason. The families are typically monogamous and extended. However, the elder of a clan, in order to keep alliances within his race, has it a little different. When a man becomes an elder, he must forsake his current wife (who journeys to small shrines in the desert where she dedicates her life to a saint of her choice). He then takes a bride from each of the other clans all during one ceremony. Clans can “pay” for a bride if they cannot produce one, usually with cattle, grain, or arms and armor. These items are also present at the ceremony and the man is symbolically married to them. The women are never allowed to see each other and are distributed throughout the clan to serve as surrogate mothers and teachers. The man spends about a month at a time with each wife (and he is probably married to between ten and twenty wives) and then moves in with the next. No other man is allowed to physically touch or serve food to his wives. Typically, only one or two of these wives will give birth. This practice in not always followed strictly by the Quissans, and rumors of elder “harems” are considered normal. However, if these rumors grow rampart or if a wife appears unhappy, it can be quite a disgrace for the clan. There are many Sendasti legends of a x-wife dedicating herself to Erestem Grimm and murdering her old husband. They say the only way to avoid this is to stick with only one wife at a time and to keep an image of your first wife in your head whenever you make love. The Quissans have no such stories.
Notes: The exception to this nomadic land is the city of Va’lian, built within a massive, magical crater that suffers from random and uncontrolled rifts that occasionally appear. A large extra-planar presence is in the city, safeguarding it for whatever plane they hail from. The sendasti live amongst these strange creatures and try to carve out a life while the occasional “street gang” of devils or angels fights around them. Since “gangs” are made up of only a random number of beings that came through the portals, fights are not an everyday event (no side wants to lose too many members). Being the only known port on the Forbidden Sea does not grant the city any extra prestige—there are no docks and trade ships never sail, for they have no place to sail to. The Sendasti clan that cares for this city are known as the Guards and they have never held the position of caliph.
Thri-Kreen: The thri-kreen are a significant minority in the Lower Desert. They organize their groups in the same way as the Wild Land Barbarian tribes do. They also speak only their native tongue, Kree, and consider it taboo to speak any other language.
Mrrshnn
AKA: The Tall Goblins, Land of the War Wizards, the Ice Raiders
CR: Hobgoblins with a large section of slaves, some of which are treated better than the born mrrshnns
Ln: Mrrshnn, Goblin, Elven, Draconic
Sp: The Mrrshnn give lip service to saints, specifically Ren and Kata. Clerics of either are only given respect if they perform well on the battlefield.
SH: The Mrrshnn are a story of a race that believes it has found the key to ultimate survival and conquest on the prime material: war magic. Nothing else has value to the Mrrshnn when compared to it. Their origins as hunter-gatherers is meaningless, as is the art of steel and war. They only keep records of the ancient sorcerers that founded them, and the fact that these sorcerers were not all hobgoblins is not a secret—it is a lesson that magic is the ultimate master of the race. The Mrrshnn would sacrifice entire villages to train or obtain one battle mage, for that one mage could level entire cities and slay entire armies.
Update: During the second hundred years of the Second Age of Paragons, a being known as the True Phoenix, the Paragon of Battle Mages united the Mrrshnn tribes, forming the Mrrshnn horde and led a successful attack deep into the Kingdom of the Rivers. He seemed unstoppable.
Po: Obviously, the Mrrshn are ruled by Battle Mages. They live in a tribal society, with some clans being nomadic (constantly in search of wild elves, their arch nemesis) and some having lived in one area for ages. Elder Battle Mages (who are almost always hobgoblins, as slave battle mages usually die young) can change all that in an instant. Their word is law since they can and do kill with a word. It is the law of might, but that might is always magical, for steel cannot penetrate the hide of a demon and plate is no protection from lightning and fire. No form of magic is acceptable besides Battle Magic and even clerics must prove their battle prowess or be put to death for not using “the pure art”. Male and female have no significance to the Mrrshnn as the gift does not distinguish between the two.
FS: Slavery is the most important industry and task of the Mrrshnn. They are so pre-occupied with it that the race has all but forgotten their quest for domination. Legends say that once they have enough battle mages, the world will be theirs, but there never seems to be enough. Non-magic slaves are treated horribly, mostly because the hobgoblins are so resentful that a slave-turned-mage could be their superior and take out this rage on other slaves. For those trained in magic, official concubines abound (hoping the baby will have the gift), but for those without, the only mates to be taken are slaves. There is no institute of marriage and children born without magic potential are raised by the community to perform whatever tasks the Battle Mages require. Many hobgoblin females are raised solely to become concubines. There is no concept of mother or father and no records are kept of the parents, even if the child is magically talented. Slave Battle Mages are often forbidden to mate with anyone not a hobgoblin, if a more powerful Mrrshnn can back up the order. Half-hobgoblins are very common and are not distinguished from the general hobgoblin population.
Notes: The Mrrshnn are a constant excuse for the lawlessness of the Bandit Kingdoms, constantly raiding these human lands. They also send slaver parties all over the world. The only truly valuable occupation for those without magic is to be a slaver, and it is a job, like all in this society, equally shared by males and females.
Par’Karn
AKA Hathran Colony of the Far West, Island of the Bull-Headed Invaders
CR Minos, also known as Civilized Minotaur
Ln: Common (though it is a strange dialect which the Minos claim originated in Hathran), Yaun-ti
Sp: All known saints are represented, though they are only followed in ways that are condusive to the Hathran Culture. All the saints are considered to be masculine, including Kata and Ember.
SH: The Humans of the Kingdom of the Rivers tell stories of the hideous and vile civilization they escaped during the First Age of Paragons. They claim these cultures were solely ruled by Belmoth, Grimm, and Kata. These stories are not completely accurate, however, though the proof of this only arrived a little over three hundred years ago. A large force of Minos from the Empire known as Hathran (one of the vile kingdoms the humans escaped) set out to discover what had happened to the race that, reportedly, Eldwich led across the Ocean. They arrived much farther south than the humans did on a large, isolated island they named Par’Karn, after the king that sent them on their journey. They began to explore immediatly, but encountered little besides the inhabitants of the Viper Jungle. In time, scout ships reported civilized ocean vessels, but no major relations have ever been established. Since it takes over half a year to sail from Hathran to Par’Karn (one way), the colony has quickly become self-sufficient and may, in time, become its own kingdom.
Po: Both the political and family cultures of Par’Karn are unchanged from the ones forged in Hathran. In both systems, an unbreakable rule exists that creates the foundation of both cultures: women are near-worthless tools. Women have no rights of any kind, except as in regards to communial property. (A dishonored male is usually forced to watch after them). Women, who are derogativly referred to as Kows, are herded together in filthy conditions like slaughter beasts. Men have the only real power within the area. They occupy all positions and have all power. Men do not view their descendants as related to them (since the child is tainted with the flesh of a Kow). Males do appoint “successors” who have all the rights of a first born child in other cultures. The Governer of the island appoints a successor, who is governer until he dies or is removed by the Emporer of Hathran (technically, though it has yet to happen). In those cases where succession is not established, local judges determine which male deserves the inheritance based off a long, complicated list of factors. Aside from the strict rules of masculinity, a thriving capitalistic economy drives the colony. Because of the island’s size and need to develop, Par’Karn has yet to establish strong trade with outsiders, but inside the gold horn (a gold piece) is the most powerful weapon in the land. Judges and constables are the standard form of governement encountered, with the Govener serving as the sole lawmaker of the land.
FS: There is no “family” in Par’Karn, mostly because a male shudders at the thought of being birthed by a Kow. When a male has proven himself to the community, he is required to, once a month, mate with a Kow kept in the local village in order to produce male offspring. It is generally accepted that no physical pleasure can come from this coupling because of how unclean and low the female is. This is most likely the reason that, despite their low status, there is very little physical and sexual abuse heaped upon the females. Females are expected to take care of female children and provide for their needs while the male who oversees them ensures that they don’t do anything stupid and are ready to mate when it is required. Males raise other males as a community, regardless of parent. Females raise daughters individually, and have a concept of sister and mother (though none of father or brother) that the males do not know of.
The males feel that their gender is so superior, it is their belief that only males can have any sort of sexual or emotional enjoyment. Therefore, they have relationships with each other. Also, because of this view, they see males of any species as being superior to a Kow. The Par’Karn Minos have a very strong slave trade, mostly male, and mostly used for sexual pleasure. The masculine view of the Minos prevents them from using slaves as workers or soldiers (having someone else do a man’s job would belittle the man). Incest is a foreign concept, but they do have very strict anti-rape and anti-prostitution laws (that apply only to male Minos) that are enforced by death. This is seldom a problem due to the strong sexslave trade.
Notes: Solely to be clear, there is biological reason to believe that the female Minos is inferior to the Male Minos. This system has been in place for all of time (according to the male historians of Hathran) and is ordained at the will of the Saints. Many Minos believe it is the mission of the empire to enlighten all other races and they do not look at other sentient males as racially inferior.
Priestly Sea States
AKA Individual States names such as Great Casm, Shallows of the Sahaugin, and the Feudal Shalarin Warlords
CR Several different races all share this culture in independent states, including but not limited to: Ixitxachiti, Kopru, Tritons, and the Shalarin
Ln: Deep Sea is spoken by all, with the Tritons using their own tongue, rarely: Sea Common
Sp: Being Theocracies, each of the States has a single patron and all other patrons are forbidden. None follow true Saints or Demi-Saints, only individual Powers. Many of the clerics compliment their weakened clerical abilities with arcane magics or the powers of the Water Kami.
SH: Until the First Age of the Paragons, the coastal waters were all controlled by the Merfolk who, with the blessings of the Sea Elves, looked at all other sentient undersea races as monsters. The Merfolk themselves had once been the slaves to an ancient power, the Ixitxachiti, and had freed themselves. Now they had concurred all other races. During the age, however, a great revolt gained momentum (secretly lead by the Ixitxachiti, themselves) and after a long, bloody war, the Merfolk retreated to the northern waters and the various races were freed. The Ixitxachiti tried to control these groups, but the did not have the numbers and freedom tasted far too good. However, the ancient theocracy that lead the Ixitxachiti did appeal to these races and they adopted it as a universal and stable form of government which is still in practice today. A new common tongue, Deep Sea, was adapted so that these nations were not forced to continue to use the Merfolk language known as Sea Common.
Po: Politically, the sea states are all Theocracies, each dedicated to their own patron. They all are run by the same basic set of rules, but the more evil cultures often abuse and misuse these rules. A hierarchy of priests is established by the patron and this sets the presidency of power within the culture. No one that is not a cleric has any right unless that right is passed to them by a cleric. All major decisions, including marriage, are made by the clerics. The head of priests, known as the Avatar, can change social rules as he/she sees fit, with the clerics underneath him/her ensuring that changes do not lead to revolution. Wealth and war glory are fleeting and can be stripped away at the clergy’s will.
FS: The marriage system changes with the times. Sometimes monogamous and sometimes not, husbands and wives have been known to be stripped from each other if an Avatar so declares. So it is with homosexuality, concubines, prostitution, and all other social concerns. Even ceremonies can and do become changed as a new Avatar assumes power. All that is changed is, supposedly, done so at the will of the patron. The various races become quite used to such changes and often live for the moment, leading to excess in pleasure and brutality on the battle field. Those that cannot learn to adapt are exiled or slain.
Rift: Rift is a Trogoldyte city state built into an underwater mountain that has natural pockets of clean air. Unlike the Trogs that follow the City State System in other parts of the world, this large city follows the Priestly State structure. The Trogs of Rift do not concern themselves with their less civilized cousins in the Underdark. These Trogs follow the Patron of Elemental Earth: the Beast of the Deep.
Quarremar
AKA: Dome of Light
CR: Quarrem Elves (A race of air gensai sea elves that claim no relation to other elves)
Ln: Sea Common, Auran, Elven,
Sp: The only being worthy of attention is Ember, who legendarily loves the Quarrem so much that she put them on this plane to save them from a demi-plane that was dying. Ember’s clerics hold many positions of importance, but the civilization is not a strict theocracy. Some scholars claim it is Quarremar’s example that caused the Priestly Sea State civilization to come into being.
SH: The origins of Quarremar are shrouded in the legends of the dying demi-plane made of both air and sea in one perfect whole. In the time before the First Age of Paragons, this demi-plane (whose name is forbidden to speak since it has, legendarily, died) became unstable and was destroyed. It’s principle occupants, the Quarrem, were saved from destruction by Ember’s love and made a living, vital part of the Carsi Ocean. It is said that, once, these elves possed wonderous technology that was used to create the Dome of Air and Water, known as the Dome of Light to outsiders. Records of all these events and abilities, it is said, was kept in a great library that was destroyed during the First Age of Paragons when the dome cracked, a catastrophe caused by a plot by the Merfolk of Aquias to subjugate the Quarram. In retribution for this act, the Quarrem believed that Ember opened up the great rift known as the Underwater Rift of the Sinful Saints. This rift swallowed up the entirety of the merfolk armies, allowing the other subjugated races to free themselves. If these legends are true, Ember has never shown such a violent disposition before or since. However, the Quarrem hold fast to these beliefs and show it as proof that Ember is the greatest of Saints (or only saint in some sects) and that she will smite all those who are faithless.
Despite these peices of history and the many years that the Quarrem have existed in the Prime Material, few land-dwellers know of the dome and race at all. Occassionally, a quarrem has wanderlust and visits the surface world for fifty years or so, spreading rumors of their culture.
Update: The arrival of Fallen Playground caused a crack in the Dome of Light. While this crack is attempting to be repaired, it was interrpreted as a sign by some Clerics of the loss of Ember’s Favor. The only cure: a change in leadership. Thus a silent army is being forged to take the kingdom away from the ancient family that has ruled for so long.
Po: The Elves have been, for time immortal, ruled by a single King always descended from the Nialo family. The first born male child is always placed upon throne at the death of the king and the royal family has never failed to produce a male heir, despite sharing the slow fertility of other elven races (or so they say). Below the king is a Council of Advisors who see to helping the king manage the country. This council is selected by the people and there are no restrictions on whom can be elected to the council, (even gender) except that the advisor must be considered an “elder of the community”. Each community is entitled to a single advisor whose term of office is 100 years. The church of Ember is expected to stay out of direct politics (despite its importance) and rarely does a cleric become an advisor.
FS: Like other elven cultures, Quarrem are expected to marry for love and may not remarry unless widowed at a “tender age” which is usually defined as before the first childbirth. Rape, incest, prostitution, and homosexuality are punishable by death. These rules, however, only apply to the Quarrem. Oddly enough, premarital sex with a being of a different race, regardless of the situation involved, is not considered a sin. The Quarrem believe that a Quarrem can love only another Quarrem, since their race cannot produce offspring with other races (even other elves). Therefore, such intercourse is not a sin against love and therefore not a sin against Ember.
Not all Quarrem are born with the gensai traits, such as the lack of need to breathe. They resemble, in all ways, the sea elves native to other parts of the ocean. This is a taboo topic to discuss (due to obvious implications) especially since it seems to be on the rise. The royal family has had no such offspring, however.
Notes: The Dome of Light is split into two sections, one filled with air and one with water. This makes Quaaremar very comfortable to a very wide array of species. The ancient crack in the Air Dome can still be seen (though it has been sealed).
The most famous of the Quarrem are the Waveriders, their most elite soldiers (much like knights) who breed a rare creature known as a Hippocampus, reputed to have come with them from their lost demi-plane.
Outsiders usually seem to feel that there is little in the way or police or security within the Dome of Light. This is not exactly true. While armed guards are rarer, special crystals called “Watch Eyes” are everywhere and can be used by the Waverider elite to keep tabs on travellers and suspcious elves. This little known fact is one of the most important reasons that the Nialo family retains so much power.
Tribes of the High Dragonscale
AKA: Despite the fact that the tribes are communially ruled by a council, each tribe claims independance and it is considered an insult to the Triic.
CR: These all tribes are home only to the Common and Bully subraces of the Triic
Ln: Almost every common language spoken by another Prime Material race finds itself used here. The Triic actually communicate to each other through a special form of body language that is an innate racial ability.
Sp: The Triic place great value on both clerics, which follow the entire gambit of saints, as well as on animal shaman (all of whom follow Hare). Religion is seperate from the political system and the Triic appear to have a lax view on following religious rules (as compared to races that are more strict in the area).
SH: According to the tribes: On the first day of the Second Age of Paragons, the Great Wyrm gold dragon magically created a giant gong, which is proudly rang to announce the arrival of the second age. The shockwave of the gong was so great that it knock Zumi, a Fainys Kit, right off the cloud she was gathering dew-drops on. She fell out of the sky and landed on a Hare Hengeoykai named Zuni who was wandering the Dragonscale mountains. Both were so happy to have survived the encounter that they immediatly and passionatly made love. Zumi’s body was so shaken by the fall, that all of her eggs were jostled and immediatly became active. Zuni was so overjoyed at surviving that his seed spewed forth a hundred times with each orgasm. Zumi became pregnant immediatly and gave birth to one strange half-breed Fainys a day for the next four years. She then jumped on a passing cloud and waundered off. Zuni, having strong fatherly instincts, raised all the children and taught them to be the greatest race of all the eras. He then split them into several tribes, based off their own friendships. He cautioned them to stay away from clouds, strange Fainys, and falling in general. Then he died from sheer exhaustion. He was carried away by Bahumat and the Triic have graced the world with joy ever since.
Po: The Triic are, perhaps, the most egnimatic race of all time. No record of their existance appears before the current age, but their tribes number in the thousands and spread the entire length of the Dragonscale and Sorrow mountains. On top of that, their favorite pastime is lying. It can truthfully be said that some Triic never speak the truth their entire lives, but the Triic have no problem communicating with each other. Triic do know the difference between lies and truth, but see lying as an enjoyable hobby, which they understand is not appreciated in other cultures (which is a fact that some Triic ignore, though others honor). The Triic political society is therefore hard for outsiders to fathom. Some Triic seem to be important, but are not. Others bare no titles or seem to fulfill no government positions, but are extremely vital to tribal life. Many Triic seem to be employed solely to pretend to do one job that they never actually do. This, as has been stated, does not create chaos in Triic society at all since the Triic seem to have no problem seeing through all the lies. (The secret of this is the racial ability that controls exactly how a Triic communicates with each other.)
Even to outsiders, however, it is obvious that the most important member of the tribe is the member who is a delegate to the grand council which makes policy and laws that all the tribes are expected to follow. Since most Triic will claim to be the delegate of a tribe, it is nearly impossible to know who really is. This council has only one real delegate per tribe and decisions are made by the council by vote. It actually is held only once a year and no major decision can be made without going to the council.
FS: For the Triic, fatherhood is the most beloved position in the family. The father, who must catch the infant as soon as it is born, cares for, raises, and looks after the child its entire childhood, which is only about six years long (the Triic live for around seventy years, though they seem to be “old” at about forty.) Being present at the birth of a child is paramount for a father as the first male to touch the child is declared the child’s father. The mother is, of course, the female who gives birth. Therefore, (though uncommon) sometimes a child’s father and mother live seperately. The child spends the majority of time with the father. Marriages are monogomous and are heterosexual, though if a male or female is widowed, he or she is allowed to “attach” to another couple and have sexual relations with both of them. Remarriage is a foreign idea. Incest is avoided by ensuring that couplings do not occur within tribes. Pre-marital sex is forbidden and when it does occur, the mother and father/child are all exiled, with the two adults forced to head out in seperate directions.
Tyrax’s Kingdom
AKA: The Orc Lands, the Lower Bottom, the Stinking Pit
CR: Orcs and goblins, with scattered bugbears and hobgoblin villages
Ln: Orc, Goblin (All other languages are forbidden)
Sp: Patronage, like all aspects of life, is heavily regimented. Two patrons are allowed for the populace, and no others. They are Chalice and Wihs. It can only be presumed that the choice of these two is a large clue as to the truth of Tyrax’s origins.
SH: These largely infertile lands were long ago settled by orcs who lived solely on big-game hunting; only establishing villages where a large amount of magic beasts could be found or along the coast (where fishing big tuna is a favorite pastime). Bugbears, hobgoblins, and large groups of goblins were enslaved to handle daily tasks while the orcs warred on each other and on the elves and humans at their borders. All that is over, however. With the coming of the mysterious Tyrax, orc society has been ripped apart and replaced with a brand new one.
Po: Before Tyrax, orc culture was one of war chieftains. The strong ruled, and the strong was always male. Women were treated as possessions and could be taken from those weaker than you. Children were ignored (often by their mothers as well) until they showed their potential to fight. Slaves took care of daily matters or died. There were always more slaves, after all. That has all changed. First of all, the races are segregated and there is no slavery or prisons on Tyrax’s lands. Prisoners and criminals are killed. People and possessions comprise different sections of Tyrax’s infamous “Book of Yellow Laws” (what that means, orcs don’t say). The most important principle in Tyrax’s Kingdom is to work. Each being is assigned a job, that they cannot deviate from, at birth. Judges of the Claw (cloaked beings with deadly, magical clawed gauntlets) see that all is done that is supposed to be done. Those that follow the set schedules and tasks are rewarded with time in the drinking halls. Those that do not, die and their souls are taken to Tyrax’s dark keep to be “judged”. There is no currency or trade within the Kingdom. Everyone is given what the judges determine they need. Oddly enough, religion has not been outlawed in the lands (though it is controlled just like everything else.) Recently, the brewer and the madam have gained the sort of prestige originally saved for war chiefs and adepts, and are more revered than clerics are.
FS: As stated before, before Tyrax there were no orc or goblin families. Only those who could harm others had freedom and rights. Tyrax’s “Book of Yellow Laws” has changed the entire society, however, and placed universal laws upon the four main races of his lands. Judges do not partake of any rituals or marriage and watch these things from the shadows. (Most assume the judges are orcs.) Blues, a sub-goblin race, are also separated from these things, and all are shipped directly to Tyrax’s keep at birth. Grown Blues are occasionally seen throughout the kingdom, so this simply deepens the mystery. Why does Tyrax favor the creatures, since it is obvious that he doesn’t eat or alter them? The rest of the societies are all forced to follow the same rituals (by the Judges). Marriages are the decision of the local adept or cleric (who secretly must seek approval from a Judge). Those who wish to have certain marriages carried out and the like can openly or privately petition the cleric, who seeks the ultimate wisdom or the spirits or the saints on the matter. (As long as there is no veto from the Judge.) Sexual liaisons outside of marriage are common and good workers can earn a trip to the whore-houses and drug-bars that the judges oversee. Whores, both male and female, are sterilized at birth. Divorces are allowed only by petitioning a judge (never happens) and widowers may remarry as many times as necessary, as long as they go through the same process as the first time. While same-sex couples and incest are never approved by the judges, these things do occur at the whore-houses infrequently.
Notes: A note should be made that half-orcs (and other half-races) are almost non-existent now that Tyrax has come to power. Races are not allowed to intermingle and outsiders are killed on sight whenever possible. Slavery is a concept of the past. So, what has the power to restructure an entire society overnight, rule orcs uncontested for 120 years, and has never even been described to outsiders? Most orcs do not even understand Tyrax, but all fear him. The most persistent rumors point to the odd similarity between the pronouncement of the name
Tyrax (TI-rask) and the name Tarrasque.
Underdark City States
AKA: normally called by individual city-state names, such as Illapus
CR: the culture is shared by large numbers of nomadic, semi-nomadic, and permanent settlements, including several large cities, across a wide range of species. Known species who follow this way of life include: Drow, Derro, Desmondu, Hook Horrors, Spell Weavers, Aboleths, Neogi, Trogolodytes, Dark Ones, Quaggoths, Meazels, Bullywugs, Firenewts, and Groundlings. Some of the races (Meazels and Firenewts) actually have small settlements above ground, but keep to the same cultural systems.
Ln: Undercommon, (all other languages are racial specific, such as dwarven, drow, and whispers)
Sp: Clerics of various patrons are found amongst the city states, regardless of how complex or non-complex the civilization is. Each City State has only one or two patrons at most, and these patrons are typically shared by all city states populated by the same race, such as the Drow worship of Lloth and the Derro patronage of both Ren and Var’Tooth.
SH: How or when the underdark first became populated is a matter of argument the world over. There is no concise history, since each race claims to have been the first. There is much agreement that there was a first, because despite variation in race, the City-State system within the underdark is mostly the same anywhere, as is the family structure. Small variation exists, but anyone familiar with the general template will be able to avoid any social pitfalls.
Po: A city state is controlled by the most powerful group in the area, always blood-related, but differing in size with the size of the local population. The common term for this group is a House. A house establishes control most often through assassination, lies, propaganda, alliances, and street warfare. Control can shift at any time and control is the principle behind everything. Rules and laws only apply as long as the House wants them and can enforce them. Control by a single house rarely lasts more than one generation, regardless of race. There is also another system of government that lives besides the rule of the House in all of the city states. That is the Priest class. In small groups, this may be one or two beings, but in full cities it constitutes an entire social class. Every city is dedicated to only one or two patrons and this does not vary with House control. Each city venerates this patron with the same fanatic attention that the Free City of Carthi has for the Sword of Justice. The priest caste holds power over any laws or customs established by or in the name of the patron. While this usually makes the priest caste very powerful, it fails to overshadow the House because the house usually has enough military power to keep the priests at bay. A delicate balance is established that keeps one house from complete domination and the priest caste is an important ally for any house wishing to rise to the top.
FS: The family structure is also built off of the concept of the House and the priest caste. Generally, females are the dominant sex in most city-states, though males are amongst the derro. Regardless, the dominant sex has all the marriage rights, including taking multiple spouses, divorce, and concubine rights. The style of marriage and number of spouses/concubines is a direct correlation of the importance and power of an individual. The priest caste has final say in all such couplings, but marriage is typically about politics to begin with. Love is the realm of adultery, not spouses or concubines (which symbolize personal power). Any hard and fast marriage rules only apply as long as the House that made them stays in power. The patrons of the City States are never chosen from beings who are interested in rituals that do not include sacrifices to themselves.
Notes: While it seems odd that so much of the underdark (and the habitated area is nearly two-thirds the size of the upper world) uses exactly the same cultural systems, it does point to a model of survival. While the upper world produced a large and varied population that survived in different types of climate and environment, the habitual portion of the underdark is basically the same type of terrain/climate over and over again. Therefore, since historians agree that a single race was the first to be successful (instead of many races all growing at the same time), it stands to reason that species that wanted to survive would adopt the same model. This is also the reason that slavery is rampant in the Underdark and many wars are fought solely over slaves.
Undermountain
AKA: The Dwarven Lands
CR: dwarves, including several sub-races
Ln: Dwarven, Common, Undercommon, Oriental, Elven
Sp: The Dwarves have only small collections of religious figures, typically focused on honoring the Clockworks for it’s industry and order. Runic Drummers (Dwarven Bards) also fulfill a sort of pseudo-spiritual place, acting as wise advisors in many areas, even where clerics are present.
SH: The dwarves trace their histories as far back as the elves and have more ruins than they have cities. Originally the dominant race of the Underdark, their love for both above and below the ground eventually forced them to give up supremacy in either. The dwarves now control less than one-tenth their legendary empire and are considered by many, including themselves (part of the time) to be a dying race. Once their clans numbered over two hundred, but now there is not quite fifty. The ancient clan of the Derro have even broken off and formed their own empire and “race” in the Underdark, considering themselves related to their brother dwarves no more than the Drow are to the Elves. Many scholars and fortune-tellers have predicted that the Second Age of Paragons will see an end to the race and many people have noticed that no dwarven paragon has been born as of yet.
Po: The dwarves are divided amongst clans with very strong bloodlines (many dwarven subraces are considered simply other clans, despite the obvious biological differences). Undermountain is ruled by a council of Thanes, thanes being the oldest and most prominent male of a dwarven clan. IN times of crisis, the Thanes elect one of their own to become King of Undermountain, a position a dwarf will hold for life. The King has full monarch authority. Once the king dies, the council becomes the most important body of leadership again. There is no dwarven word for “prince”.
FS: The family structure is all about the clan. A male dwarf must seek a wife outside the clan, however, and there are many tales of the challenges awaiting a dwarf looking for a mate. Marriages are not arranged and dwarves of different clans seldom know each other. Therefore, it is customary to challenge a bride-seeking dwarf. The less one likes the potential groom, the harder the challenge. Typical examples include: drinking matches, axe throwing contests, giant-slaying expeditions, wrestling in armor, and other activities that have led to the stereotypical grumpy dwarf (the stereotype is actually very accurate of a bride’s father, but not accurate of the rest of dwarven society.) A clan, technically, only extends back six generations from the youngest generation. Dwarves beyond this gap are forgotten unless they have accomplished some great deed worth remembering. This is considered a blessing on clans with criminals or cowards for ancestors, as these will be forgotten. This is also incentive for a dwarf to gain fame and glory so that he or she will not be.
Notes: Dwarven Kings are the only beings able to exile a clan. Lately, almost every generation has elected a king from amongst the thanes, and almost every King has exiled some clan that he did not like. This is only increasing the problem for dwarves. Also, while male dwarves hold the prestige and glory in a clan, there is a ritual where-by a woman can “Pick up the Axe” and take on male responsibilities, thereby being able to go to war or be in charge of a widowed family. However, the woman still does not have complete male rights and the clan Thane has the right to “throw the hammer” at the woman, or return her to female status, at any time.
Upper Bottom
AKA: Gnomstead
CR: rock and forest gnomes
Ln: Gnomish, Common, Giant
Sp: Druids are often found amongst the forest gnomes while the rock gnomes have organized temples that parallel the Kingdom of the Rivers. The most common Saint is Eldwich.
SH: ignored by many historians, when the people who founded the Kingdom of the Rivers arrived, they were also accompanied by several non-human races, including a large population of halflings (who stayed to live with the humans) and gnomes (who founded the kingdom called Upper-Bottom). Traditionally, the area of Upper Bottom is ruled by the King of the Rivers, though human patrols do not appear in the land and the gnomes do a great job taking care of themselves. The ancient gnomes quickly established the land and cultivated it for farming, following ancient traditions that pre-date human civilization. (Another group of gnomes also came with the humans who had a society much like the humans, but that is a different story. Those gnomes have disappeared.)
Po: Gnome life is very much structured between race, forest and rock, and the constant (until recently) conflict with the goblins and orcs of the south. Socially, rock gnomes hold the upper rung, and they are the farmers and merchants of the people. The forest gnomes are semi-nomadic herders, raising large flocks of dire-rabbits, riding dogs, and other valuable animals, as well as having a sort of patrolling responsibility in regards to orcs and goblins. Town gnomes are controlled by an elected, male mayor (who serves for life). Nomad gnomes typically bow to the eldest male or female of the group. Oddly, enough, however, all this can change. Nomad gnomes typically want for little but steel and crop foods. In order to gain this, they sell milk and meat and such. However, it is an old gnome tradition that when you wrack up a large enough debt or need something of high value, you give one or more live animals as “collateral” until you can find a better way of paying the debt. Traditionally, such an event never occurs and the rock gnomes simply keep the animals. Wealthy rock gnomes, therefore, accrue a large amount of animals—so many that they, in time, must send their children off to herd the animals or risk having them stolen or die. These children adopt the ways of the forest gnomes in order to properly raise the animals, and the children of those children (even if all parents are rock gnomes) are born as forest gnomes. At that point, all ties with the original family are severed and everyone involved pretends that they were never related. And so, the way of society is preserved.
FS: The gnomes are monogamous and do not allow for divorce. Widows and widowers have a mandatory period of morning based on how long the marriage lasted. Men are supposed to ask for a woman’s hand (supposedly based on love) and the marriage must be approved by the, politically, most important person available. Wishes of the families are always considered. Marriage outside of race is seen as cursed and wrong, as is homosexuality and incest. Forest gnomes give greater prestige to women with larger families. Rock gnomes measure the husband based off his occupation or his social connections.
Valeshire
AKA: The Vale, the Elven Lands, The High Lands
CR: High elves, Gray Elves, Noble Elves, and Wood Elves all call the Vale home
Ln: Elven, High Elven, Common, Draconic, Sylvan
Sp: Elves claim to hold spirituality in higher esteem than even magic. Each sub-race of elves does this individually, however. The Wood Elves mostly value druids, the Gray Elves build temples to elemental powers, and the High Elves craft beautiful temples to several saints, primary amongst them being Ember. Noble elves tend to either follow High Elf beliefs or the beliefs of their related race. Regardless of their beliefs, however, Ember holds a special place when it comes to marriage ceremonies and, even in the case of druidic ceremonies, a representative of Ember is always present for the ceremony. Many elves believe that a marriage not blessed by the Saint of Love is doomed to pain and hardship.
SH: The Vale has been around for all time, the birthplace of the elves. Legend says that the first elf could not stand to be alone, so he made all the other sub-species. From a nearby tree he made a wood elf. From a rock, he made a Gray. From a weed he made a wild elf. From his breath he made a High Elf. From his shadow he made a shadow elf. From under the dirt under the rock he made a drow. (This is a high elf legend, obviously.) He remained the great Noble elf and sent his children to populate the world. In time, when he died, he called all his children to return to him, but only a loyal few did: the High, the Gray, and the Wood. With his last drop of blood, he crowned a High King of all Elves, who would rule in his stead and one day bring back to the Valeshire those elves who had refused to return home.
Reality is heavily hidden in this tale, but nothing closer to the truth can be found in the Valeshire. What is for sure is that the elves have covered themselves in lies and illusions and now that the Second Age of the Paragon is here, all that is coming undone. The High King is a demon worshipper and the whole of the country is split in half in a civil war. As the war commences, the Valeshire is split into two seperate factions: Patriots and Free Elves. The Free Elves, led by a fallen daughter of a noble house, quickly took the first victories on the field and seemed unstoppable.
Po: The traditional elven political structure (the one most hope to return to after the war) is very simple. The King rules all with love and justice, obeying the edicts of the Saints of Good. Lords are appointed to ensure that fare trade and justice is found everywhere. Each group of elves live in their favored environment but come together communally in the cities. There are two minor elven nations in the White Marsh that have a renewing contract of servitude to the High King in exchange for needed supplies and trade routes. Now that the war has broken out, these two kingdoms might finally become independent.
FS: Much as the political system is dependant on good faith and good acts, so is family life. Elves are to marry for love, hopefully before the female becomes fertile. Elves marrying before maturity (around 100 years) is acceptable, though these relationships are often the hardest. An elven girl who is widowed can not marry except to her husband’s brother (if he is available). An elven man can only marry again if he has had no children. However, he needs a cleric of Ember’s permission and blessing to proceed, regardless of his race. Elven love is supposed to be eternal and divorce is some hideous thing that only humans do. Half-elves are accepted in an elven community as long as the parents are still together and appear to be in love. Everything about the Vale is structured on elven perfection, and a lot of bad things happen behind closed doors when that perfection cannot be reached. Also, the taboo of homosexuality is effectively trumped by the Rule of Love, though it is still considered ugly and wrong by most elves. The taboo of incest, however, is not, as elves believe it to be impossible to have your sibling/parent be your true love.
Notes: The elven people are very good, and because the humans were fated to aide them during the First Age of Paragons, they are very open to strangers. Oddly enough, it is the reliance upon perfect ideals that causes the elven villages so much stress, but they would never willingly change the system.
Similar Cultures: The sea elves of Crystal Water Reefs have a similar culture, but the legends of their roots are vastly different. Having such a similar relationship with the Valeshire has caused the sudden civil war to create deep roots of suspicion amongst the Sea Elves and the Sea Elven King has declared a state of emergency until any corruption can be discovered and erased.
Long ago (in a time erased from Vale history) the elves had slaves, the Bird People known as Aarakocra. Powerful magics prevented the Aarakocra from escaping their enslavement until a time came when the elven people regained their conscious and freed their slaves, helping to create the modern kingdom known as the Valley of Red Feathers. They also did a thorough job of erasing their sins from the Aarakocra histories. Therefore, the Aarakocra have a very similar culture to the elves, but their independence has prevented social unrest from causing a civil war in their midst.
Valley of the Dracolich
AKA: Upper and Lower Skywell
CR: Dragonkin, especially the smaller race of Wight Dragonkin, and some deep gnomes
Ln: Draconic, Gnomish, Common
Sp: The deep gnomes have a similar spiritual belief system as is practiced by the Kingdom of the Rivers and the Rock gnomes. The Dragonkin place enormous importance on spirituality and it is very important in their political structure. The shaman in a tribe is usually an spirit shaman, though occasionally clerics of various patrons can be found in the role. It is not traditional for a tribe to be lead by a cleric, but it has become more common in recent years.
SH: This valley (and several layers of underdark below it) were formed during the First Age of the Paragon. During this time, the Paragon Red Dragon (called Titan in old texts) managed to force a nation of gnomes to bestow lichdom upon it. Titan believed he would rule the entire world, but as the age ended, a strange and unnatural sleep fell upon the Paragon Red. His body crashed to the ground, carving out a massive valley by the sheer force of his fall. This event was the last of the First Age of Paragons. No one has ever discovered what caused the age to end, especially so suddenly for Titan. The enslaved gnomes were persecuted as evil by the newly arrived race of humans and their elven allies. Unable to convince them otherwise, the gnomes dug deep into the earth, eventually becoming the race now called the Deep Gnomes. They form small settlements underneath the valley, hoping to one day undo the lichdom, causing Titan to die, and the world to understand that they are not evil. The draconic power of the place brought many wyrm-species to the area. The dragonkin became the most successful at colonizing the area and after several years began to discover that the latent necromantic energies were causing a new breed of dragonkin (known as the Wight) to be born. Unrealized by anyone other than the deep gnomes and the Wight Dragonkin, Titan still sleeps in his hole, covered in a mile of dirt that won’t stop him for an instant if he ever wakes up.
Update: In the second hundred years of the Second Age of Paragons, Titan awoke. His awakening caused incredible problems the world over, but devastated the Valley. The great valley became an active, volcanic crater, destroying most of the Dragonkin tribes and all of the Deep Gnome settlements. Now only a handful of each race survives.
Po: The gnomes have a culture that is very similar to the system found in the Kingdom of the Rivers. Many people believe it was actually the gnomes that taught the humans the feudal way of life, long before the First Age of the Paragons. The Dragonkin, however, live quite differently. They respect sorcerer and shaman power, and each independent village has one of each to run it. All decisions must be the agreement of both powerful beings. The shaman is always male, but the sorcerer can be either sex, since sorcery cannot be taught and is a result of birth. Wight Dragonkin have no special significance from regular Dragonkin except that the two do not mate. Because two regular dragonkin can birth a wight, but the opposite cannot happen, it is only a matter of time before all the dragonkin in the valley are Wight Dragonkin. Wizards (and other “learned” mages) are unknown amongst Dragonkin who would just consider them to be an odd sort of sorcerer. It is important to note the dragonkin sorcerers are born up to three times more often than in other races which is the origin of the “dragon-blood” theory. The low population of dragonkin, however, keeps their numbers of sorcerers low. Shaman teach their chosen descendant, almost always a male offspring.
FS: Just as with the political system, the gnomes share most of the family arrangement as the Kingdom of the Rivers. It should be noted that they are not as happy or chummy as most gnomes are said to be and behave more like short humans than carefree forest gnomes. For the Dragonkin, as stated above, the most important family impact is the birth of a Wight. Wights do not stay with the birth family, instead taking a surrogate Wight family that raises them. Why this is is not clear as there is no special learning or cultural difference between a wight and regular dragonkin. However, the two sub-races treat each other as being totally different species. Allied and respected species, but totally different. Beyond that, marriage is a choice of the male. Each year, the females are lined up and chosen by the males, who get to choose in an order based off their reputation in the tribe. “Used” females are typically chosen by the same mate as last year, since they are undesirable to young dragonkin and their old mates are usually comfortable with them in their lives. If a man and woman did not get along last year, you can bet he’ll be picking someone new, resulting in absolutely no social rules caused by widows or divorces. If there are more eligible women than men, the women are divided so that important men have multiple wives. If there are more eligible men, then some men are left to themselves for the year and typically these men form small bands with the hopes of sharing cooking, “womanly duties”, and of working together to get positions of renown next year. Raids against other dragonkin for women must be the decision of the shaman and sorcerer (only in extreme cases). Girls stay with their mothers and boys stay with their fathers. Ignoring a child because they are not biologically your own is a grievous offense (children are the future of the tribe and belong to everyone). Standard taboos against homosexuality and incest apply. As stated before, Wights and regular dragonkin do not mix mates, no matter the number of eligible men and eligible women. One note: if the sorceress is female, she may not be chosen as the mate by the shaman and is treated as a male in all things, even being allowed to chose her mate from any newly eligible males each year. She may forgo this option and put herself to be chosen as a normal female. (She would be chosen second, since the Shaman would have first choice. This pretty much guarantees which male will chose her ahead of time.)
Notes: While the gnomes hide far below in their feudal caves, hoping to pay for their “crime” or that the world forgets, the dragonkin live on top of the mountains and in the sky. Neither culture has much to do with other cultures and are typically very xenophobic.
Viper Jungle
AKA: land of snakes, land of forked tongues, the Beastmen
CR: Yaun-Ti, Animen, Vermen
Ln: Yaun-ti, Beastman, Common
Sp: Animal shaman are the only spiritual advisors to be found, with the animal chosen (obviously) being very closely tied to the animal nature of the individual group. Though animal shaman were of vital importance in the past, they are less so now as the role of totem animals has become “shared” by the populace, taking away the significance of the individual shaman. Attempts to create clergy in the highly advanced and civilized Yaun-ti nation has met with hideous failures time and time again. They seem resistant to change and seem to enjoy the steady decline of divine influence in their world.
SH: the people of the jungle were once a single race dedicated to individual totem animals. Much of their true history before the First Age of Paragons is lost. None of the races, each for a unique reason, keeps a record of the time before they were separated into three races. Some claim they were humans who lived in the jungle long before the arrival of modern humans. Others claim they were Pevishan, and only those protected by the city of Dori escaped the change. Others claim they are the civilization that Dori was built upon. What is known is that they were once one race for they share the same ancient culture and traditions, but that they no longer are and never will be again. Long ago, this race followed animal totems that were chosen at birth. However, during the First Age of the Paragon, two “prophets” walked amongst the people. They both had the same message, but in different ways: give up individuality and embrace the power of the one true totem of ultimate power as a united society. One preached following the serpent and the other the insect, in all its many forms. The followers of the serpent grew the quickest and they found a way to gain the power of the snake. A cataclysmic magical energy exploded through the jungles and forced terrible changes upon all those within. Three races arose: the evil Yaun-ti of the snake, the Vermen who followed the insect, and the animen, who still compose the largest sentient species in the entire jungle.
Po: While each culture appears different, it is simply a matter of complexity. Each society is exactly the same, disguised by the differences in totem animals and the complexity of the civilization. Gone are the days of individual belief in totems (due to being born with an animal connection in very obvious ways.) Social standing is the most important of matter and males are the dominate sex in family and in law. A being’s animal side determines his status in society. For example: The stronger the “snake-blood” in a yaun-ti determines prestige and animen born of carnivores are superior to herbivores, while omnivores trump both. Each race has no less than seven social classes (sometimes as many as thirteen, site specific), though this is not obvious for the yaun-ti because slaves fill in the ranks of the lowest classes—but even slaves have social status in relation to each other (which is disguised by the notion of value). The leaders in the societies are patriarchs who are born with the most important aspect to each race: anathema for yaun-ti, lions or bears for the animen, and insect-eating-species (such as the mantis) for the vermen. These leaders are in charge of the blood lineage they are born too. The societies are held together by blood and custom, but not by any formal council or set of laws. This does not, in any way, mean it is easy to divide them. Note: If a female is born with the important aspect and there is no male of similar aspect to control that female, she is typically cast out and exiled in order to preserve the male system.
FS: Since, more or less, family controls these groups, it is no surprise that a strict family system was developed. Leadership is always male, and so the family structure is male oriented. A man chooses his bride and there is no stigma on a male marrying from a lower class. The female has no say in this matter. Only someone of equal or higher station can protest the arrangement and then it is up to the leader of the group to decide what will be done. It is against custom to marry from one’s own lineage, but this custom is not strictly followed. There is no custom in regards to homosexuality, but it is not practiced openly. Only one wife (termed a mate) is allowed at a time, however grieving is expected only amongst the animen.
Notes: The vermen are, oddly enough, allowed to stray from this system. So hated are they by the other two cultures, that it is their custom that at least one child of each mated pair leave the jungle forever and live elsewhere, causing the vermen to pop up all over the world. This has yet to result in establishing any new settlements, since the vermen do not leave the jungle together and are very competitive about “accomplishments” in the outer world.
Wild Elves of the Northern Barbarian Lands
AKA: The Forsaken Tribes, the Lost Brothers, the Nomadic Ka’Listanni, Felli-Olla
CR: wild elves and people that have been taken as “wives”(see below) who, at that point, are treated as actual wild elves regardless of race
Ln: Elven, Sylvan, Mrrshnn, Goblin
Sp: The wild elves do not have a refined spiritual belief system and use animal shaman for their spiritual needs. Animal shaman are a very important part of life, so they are mostly female. Many tribes pass down such abilities from mother to daughter and the few male shaman are usually due to a daughterless mother passing it down to a son.
SH: The wild elves have always lived apart from the Vale, having little interest in the civilization of the other elven races. Their beginnings are shrouded in the same myths as all elves. Most have always lived in the north, though a small group recounts a time that they lived in the White Marsh before the High Elves arrived and “convinced” them to move on. The Mrrshnn have always been their enemies, neither side able to eradicate the other. (The wild elves are rather pacifistic towards the Mrrshnn and would rather abandon a village and move on that go to war. After all, sooner or later, they were gonna move on anyway.) The incredible difference in lifespan between the two races has apparently created the belief that they will never see eye-to-eye on anything.
Po: The wild elves are nomadic and “savage” by the standards of elves and humans. They live off the land and create “permanent” settlements with the intent that it will last only a few years (very little time to an elf). Because of the low birth rate of elven women and the many dangers of hunting for a living (resulting in a reliance on gathering for food), it is no wonder that wild elf women hold the power in this society. Any group of elves, from a single couple to a gathering of thousands, is ruled by a single woman with complete power. This woman can change, however, depending upon the reason the group has gathered and can include the eldest, the most powerful sorceress, the best female hunter, or even a person born on a specific day. Some groups have been known to be lead by an unborn child (the mother interprets the will of the child until she can express herself.)
FS: Family is the most important part of life for a wild elf, and mother is the most important member. The second most important is wife. Wife is so important (the idea is that a wife is a future mother) that it has become custom for a woman to take her best friend as a “wife” in order to give her more honor and prestige. Men, too, have followed this practice of marriage to a best male friend so that he can be called “wife”. Since a wild elf male can never be “mother”, becoming “wife” to a man is the greatest honor and show of friendship that can be bestowed. These terms are not symbolic however. A man’s wife, even if the wife is male, has power over him and has special responsibilities to his children. A woman’s wife has the same. Both sexes are known to marry multiple times throughout life, though marriage is never taken lightly. This leads to very close, tightly knit families that outsiders have trouble understanding. Wild elves have no such problems, however. Also, it is proper wild elf custom (actually, elves of all races follow this custom) that the marriage ritual only ends when the husband and wife have sex for the first time. (This is only occasionally done publicly, but there is always some sort of verification that is has taken place.) This custom is not suspended for woman-to-woman or male-to-male marriages. The concept of homosexuality is foreign to wild elves who see sex as a pastime, not as an act of love (women rarely get pregnant, so its primary function is entertainment). These people consider friendship to be the most arousing aspect of a person, and that trust can only be completely established by being “completely open” to another. A large family with many different “wives” is common for older elves, and since their homes are typically large, communal sleeping places, orgies are common and accepted.
Notes: The wild elves are often considered to be the least “arcane” of all elven races, and even sorcerers born amongst them are treated as and called shaman. Druids are also unheard of, with the dominant magical discipline being that of the animal shaman. In this way, Wild Elves are the opposite of the Shadow Elves, spurning arcane magic in favor of the divine.
Appendix
The following races are common in the world, but have no area or kingdom to call their own:
Anaema (human-like beings that live amongst humans)
Curst (human-like that live amongst humans)
Eleti (undead-like beings that can be found in the deadwood, Barren Wastes, and the Lower Desert)
The Fey (these are typically changeling children that cannot go to the Fey World)
Illonis (wanderers found the world over)
Korokobo (dwarf-like beings that live in the mountains near dwarf lands on the Shogunate side)
Ogres (found the world over, sometimes even smack dab in the middle of farmland)
Planetouched (Found everywhere in very tiny numbers, outside of Abadi Nayar)