My Fantasy RPG World, Feedback and Ideas appreciated

Thank you, her is one more. My entry for the building category.

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Kalazotz Memorial Stelae

Kalazotz create memorial stelae to pay respect to their ancestors.

Kalazotz shrines to the ancestors resemble real world Mesoamerican stone stelae carvings, except these stelae generally feature more bat iconography then you see on real Aztec or Mayan carvings. Also, they are usually upside down. They are upside done because most kalazotz prefer to relax and socialize with their living relatives while hanging from the ceiling so this seems the natural way to interact with their dead family members as well.

Kalazotz stelae are sometimes carved out of natural stalactites while others are artificially crafted to look vaguely like stalactites. Less commonly, these monuments are crafted out of hard wood. The deeds, names, and sometimes images of the honored dead are crafted into stelae to memorialize them.

When a clan runs out of space on a particular stalactite, they will start another stalactite nearby meaning that some older kalazotz nesting areas can have very extensive memorials.

Originally kalazotz memorials were fairly simple and spartan. Over time, they have grown more elaborate and detailed, especially among dwarf influenced kalazotz. One can usually gage the older versus the newer carvings by looking at their level of detail.
History
Nearly all kalazotz are cherish their living family and are very clan oriented and they have been since their race existed, but filial piety with ancestor worship is relatively new.

Dwarf influenced kalazotz have assimilated dwarven values of filial piety and ancestor worship from their bearded friends. From there this practice spread the kalazotz citizens of land of Meckelorn to the kalazotz citizens of land of Stahlheim then to loosely allied kalazotz that occasionally trade with these nations and then to kalazotz as a whole.

As of this post, I'm just shy of 36,000 words. My competition page is here if anyone is curious. I have been in the 7th to 18th place on the leader board for most of the Worldember contest for word count which is similar to what I did last year. I'm in 14th place as of the last update, but I've written enough to claw my way to 8th place except for the fact that I'm sure when the leader board is updated, the people above me will have also kept pace and written more.

There are hundreds of writers participating and most don't care about the leaderboard because they have less free time than I and are less OCD than I. Anyone who writes 10,000 words wins a badge.

 

Money doesn't stink!

 

Here are two thematically linked articles.

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Alchemical Food Preservation

While the commoners first image when someone says the word "alchemist" is a mad lad in a smoky laboratory making things explode, most uses of alchemy are more subtle.

Alchemical processes can regular preserve things. It is common to see alchemists create rust proof metal, water proof fabrics, or long lasting inks and papers for long-term records but preserving is somewhat more difficult.

A lot of alchemical mixtures are poisonous. It usually doesn't matter if a concoction is poisonous if you are not going to eat it, but food is normally eaten. Even if a concoction is not overtly poisonous, a lot of alchemical concoctions simply taste bad.But centuries of trial and error have created some alchemical mixtures that can prevent the spoilage of food without having a large impact on taste. Alchemical preserved food never tastes exactly the same as fresh food and the vast majority of people would rather eat fresh food given the option, but the option remains to use alchemy to preserve food.Alchemical preserved meat tastes pretty unpleasant even if it's safe to eat, but fruit and vegetables are impacted less, so they are more commonly treated.

More often than, alchemical treated food is used with sweet treats. For instances bananas. In the Elven Empire banana based deserts are very popular but fresh bananas are not available all year round so nobles like to keep stocks of alchemical preserved bananas for banana cream pies.

Another place alchemical treated food is commonly used is army rations. Yes, alchemical treated food may be four times as expensive as ordinary food but war is always. expensive, and if soldiers are going on a long march, you want to make sure their provisions don't spoil before they arrive at their destination. Alchemically treated food is also good for people in fortified positions to weather long sieges.

Social Impact
Usually the cost is so prohibitive so alchemical preserved food is limited to wealthy people's dinner plates though lower classes can sometimes enjoy alchemical preserved food on special occasions, especially in cultures when nobles regularly share their food with the peasants for good relations.

Sidebar

Medicine Too
A lot of medicinal herbs and the like are highly perishable and sometimes alchemy can be used to preserve medical supplies.

This often negatively impacts the taste and aroma, but as long as it is not poisonous, it is usually acceptable. Few expect their medicine to taste good, and a lot of medicines such as compresses and salves are not supposed to be eaten.

Parent Technologies

• alchemy

And this is article I'm submitting to the profession special category.




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Dwarf salt masters
["Every dwarf at one point in their lives"]You are taking all of it to store away for later? Can't we eat some of it now and taste the food fresh?[/QUOTE]

Dwarves usually live in the mountains because they find the presence of stone near them to be comforting, and a dwarf's stereotypical career is a stone mason, miner, or blacksmith, but it is hard to swing a pick or hammer accurately if you are hungry.

Even with an active group of dwarf rangers hunting and foraging, even with trade with humans and elves, even after securing life stones, even with underground fish hatcheries and fungus farms, it is difficult to secure enough food in the mountains and underground.

Very few mortals in Scarterra are wont to waste food, but in dwarf society, wasting food is often a literally criminal act.

Dwarves are used to harsh winters and long sieges, so whenever dwarves have a windfall of food, it is important to store it safely and ration it carefully. Salt masters are the dwarves that see to this task.

["Salt Master Grardol"]When times are good, the people call us misers. When times are lean, they herald us as saviors. This is why we must be harsh during good times to make sure there is enough to go around during the lean times.[/QUOTE]

A large store of food is worthless if it's despoiled by rats or goblins. It is common that salt masters will establish food vaults with the tightest seals that magical and mundane stone shapers can craft.

As the name suggests, it is very common for dwarves to pack their food in salt, but this is not the only thing salt masters do. Salt masters smoke, salt, and dry food of course. They will seek out cold naturally places to store provisions or they will craft artificial ice boxes.

Some of theme dabble in alchemy to study alchemical food preservation techniques and salt masters that work for wealthy clients may have limited access to magical methods of food preservation such as invokers creating ice.

While the salt masters do have a guild, the guild is in place to ensure high professional standards and not to play politics. Even in Stahlheim where the guild masters routinely play puppet masters to the nobles, salt masters are expected to be apolitical. To do otherwise would bring dishonor on their noble profession.
Career
Qualifications
Salt masters need to know at least the basics of culinary arts for at least a basic understanding of the food they safeguard.

They need to know a little bit of stern diplomacy to work with the various dwarf professions who collect food and to deal with would-be food critics.

Dwarf salt masters commonly work with kalazotz on a more routine basis than most other dwarves so many make it point to learn to speak Zocatec.
Career Progression
Apprentices typically get put to work salting and drying food. They often get saddled with grunt tasks of carrying loads of food from Point A to Point B (and this of course builds character).

Journeyman work on more exotic methods of food preservation such as alchemy and iceboxes, nd above all they secure the food vaults. Journeymen also act as middle men to the other links of the dwarven food supply chain. Journeyman will coordinate with dwarf hunters and fisherman as well as outside traders.

Master level salt master coordinate the whole show, running logistics and managing the ledgers and inventories. They are the ones who decide which food gets released to which people, so angering them is a bad idea if you don't want to get stuck with gruel and hardtack for every meal.
Payment & Reimbursement
Salt masters are paid well, but they are rewarded with coin not food. Given that everyone wants access to the tastiest food, it is very easy to imagine a situation where salt masters leverage their position to extort favors out of the rest of dwarf society.

To avoid this, salt master guild leaders work hard to foster a strong sense of ethics and patriotism. Guild leaders vigorously screen the moral character of would-be new recruits.

Dwarf elders in general are infamous for giving younger dwarves unpleasant task "to build their character" but salt master elders take this to an extreme.

Salt masters are expected to not show favoritism to themselves or to their friends. If an apprentice is caught taking a "free sample" of the best food without permission, they are given a stern warning. On the second offense, they are typically thrown in the stocks. On the third offense, they are expelled from the salt masters and will almost assuredly have a hard time finding new employment with the stigma of their dishonor hanging over their head.
Other Benefits
Salt masters are paid fairly well but the main reason dwarves seek to be salt masters is that they are given a lot of respect and admiration by society at large though a salt master who abuses his or her position is the lowest of the low.
Perception
Purpose
To make sure there is enough food for everyone.
Social Status
It is a high status job because every dwarf understands this job is very important but the salt masters face a lot of derision. Whenever there is mandatory rationing, it is tempting to shoot the messenger and blame the stingy salt masters. It is also common to complain about them being too paranoid or stingy.
Demographics
Men and women are about equally likely to enter this profession. While salt masters work with gnomes and kalazotz often, non-dwarf salt masters are rare.

It is very common for dwarf clans to become associated with a single trade, but this has not happened with salt masters. In order to avoid favoritism or even the appearance of favoritism, salt masters try to recruit new apprentices from many different clans.

 

I got knocked out of the top ten for number of articles so I padded my count by filling out some family trees, but I can only do that for a few hours before I get bored, so I moved on to food. While I am tempted to create a bunch of exotic food stuffs, for simplicity I am keeping most real world food plants and animals in Scarterra.

There is a genre of anime and manga called "Isekai" where a normal person is pulled into a fantasy world. The chance me being the protagonist of an Isekai story is low but never zero. Just in case I get pulled into Scarterra somehow, I made sure Scarterra has plenty of bacon for me to eat.

I kind of want to establish modern plumbing in Scarterra for the same reason, but my artistic integrity does not permit this.

There is also a secret paradise island full of hedonistic pleasures that cannot be found by conventional ships but anyone on Scarterra can be teleported there if they recite a secret code phrase known only to me.


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The font of the article doesn't translate well, so here is the direct article link.

 

Samhain, the Day of the Dead

Scarterra has many different traditions to grieve their losses and pay respect to the honored dead, but the most common is Samhain or the Day of the Dead. Samhain falls on the 16th of the Month of Blooding on the secular calendar and the 36th day of Hallisan on zodiac calendar.

Samahain is the last of of four Tween Days in the calendar year, marking the half way point between the autumn and winter Seasonal Stellar Days.

Spirits of the deceased, both hostile and friendly, have a much easier time interacting with the living. Spirit loas have their powers greatly amplified on this day. Some cultures have somber Samhain rituals some have celebratory rituals but nearly every variation of a Samhain ritual is conducted with the same goal, they want to placate hostile spirits and rewards friendly ones.

Like on other Tween Days, Samhain also has noticeable uptick in Fair Folk entering the mortal plane. Often these are the most violent and disreputable Fair Folk, if not outright violent, at least they are mischievous.
Participants
Those families and cultures that practice filial piety and ancestor worship are sure to recognize this day. Even people that normally make a huge fuss for their honored dead will usually make some kind of token observance.
Observance
Every nation and culture observes this holiday somewhat differently. Here are some examples from West Colassia.

Even the most violent orc tribes usually lay down their arms entirely for this day, sometimes the entire week surrounding Samhain in order to respect their honored dead. When rival orc tribes want to broker agreements, this is usually when they try to meet up. Orcs consider this an auspicious day for marriage or simple conceptions.

Dwarves typically have a somber ceremony the day before or sometimes the week before accompanied by a ritual fast. They will talk about losses on mourning. On Samhain itself they will have a raucous party and feast where they ceremonially offer up food and drink to their ancestors as well as their living families and tell boastful stories of their ancestors great deeds. This is one tradition that is near universal throughout the three main dwarf ethnicities.

Wood elves typically treat this as a somber holiday, eating and talking little. After a short somber religious ceremony. The elves will take turns ritually standing guard over their family gravesites, memorials, and also ritually guard their young children. Some of this guardian is not merely symbolic, as their forested homeland of Codenya has a lot of portals to Fae Home that open on or near Samhain.

The dragon bloods of the Kingdom of Swynfaredia honor their noble draconic and draconic legacy on this day. They often stage plays and songs about their famous ancestors. Much like in real world Chinese New Year's celebrations, many dancers wear large dragon costumes. In order to give the commoners reason to celebrate the dragon blood's ancestors, these staged performances give out a lot of free food often dispensed from the mouths of the dragon costumes. There are also frequent intermissions with more low brow entertainments like jugglers, puppet shows, and bawdy singing to encourage a celebratory air. Because Swynfaredian sorcerers like to show off, they will often display benign magic to entertain their peers and subjects.

Fumayan humans have assimilated the practices of their dwarven, elven, and Swynfaredian neighbors with somber and celebratory aspects. A small number of rotating volunteers stand on symbolic guard duty. Food is shared with living and deceased family members and nobles commonly give away free food and entertainments as a gesture of good will for the common folk.

The Kantoca have celebratory aspects at the end but the overall tone is somber with quiet and formal memorials for the honored dead. In Kantoc, there is a lot of general Hallisan worship on this day as the Kantoca view Hallisan as the guardian of the souls of the honored dead.
Primary Related Location
Scarterra


Common Scarterran Holidays

 

This is not Halloween, Halloween, Halloween

Beltaine

Beltaine is the second of four Tween Days in the calendar year, marking the halfway point between the spring and summer Seasonal Stellar Days when spring is on full force.Korus is usually honored and praised as petitioners beseech him for a long growing season. Sometimes the rest of the Nine is involved in the prayers depending on which deities the local culture views as important to fertility. Often Nami is invoked for good weather (not that she heeds these sorts prayers often) and Khemra for sunlight (not that she would ever choose to stop shining if people stopped praying to her.).

Young children and pregnant mothers are ceremonially blessed in the name of Korus, Mera or any or all of the the Nine. They might even bless young or expecting livestock.

The children are often promised sweets afterwards to entice them to sit quietly through the boring parts.

There are small variations, but the formal ceremonies usually end with local children being given crowns of woven grass blades to wear and candles to carry for a short procession where they will sing whatever songs their culture decide to teach small children and then the children return to their families while everyone sits down to a nice meal.

One thing common is that any leftover winter stores of food or alcoholic beverages are usually polished off as a sign of optimism that the next harvests will be plentiful. As he last of the old stores are consumed during the feast, the first of the new year's harvests and brews are also consumed.

As a fertility holiday of great importance, many but by no means all Scarterrans consider Beltaine to be an auspicious time to have wedding or betrothal ceremonies. To a lesser extant, this is viewed as an auspicious time to sign peace treaties or trade agreements.

Like the other Tween Days, there is an uptick of Fair Folk entering the material plane around this time, but this rarely a problem for mortals. Fair Folk tradition states that Beltaine is a time of peace and they rarely cause problems on this day.

This is generally viewed as a peasant holiday with most highborn not participating in the songs and whatnot but some nobles will sponsor festivals or give out free food during this time.

 

In case you ever wondered, "What do Scarterran dwarves eat?" Here is my entry for the "material" special category though it could have easily been made using the species template too much like "wheat" in a field would be a species and wheat in a grain silo would be a "material."

brodsopp

Brodsopp is a Dwarven name that loosely translates into "mushroom grain" or "bread fungus."

Brodsopp mushroom grows quickly and easily near life stones and compared to other life stone based plants and fungi, brodsopp is among the most efficient, if not the most efficient crop to grow underground from a strictly nutritional point of view.

Brodsopp can be eaten raw, boiled, baked or fried as is, but it it is usually ground up into flour.

Brodsopp can be made into porridge and eaten as is, or it can be mixed with other foodstuffs.

History & Usage
Manufacturing & Products
As mentioned above, brodsopp is usually ground into flour but it can be fermented into brodsopp vodka which has a very high proof.

 

I saw I was about to cross the 50,000 word mark. so I figured I'd cross this finish line in style.




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Scaraquan Recreational Substances

Every civilized nation on Scarterra has some form of fermented beverages drank for recreation. Most nomadic barbarians still managed to ferment some beverages.

The fermentation processes that Scarterrans take for granted are not available for Scaraquans because if you try to isolate some fermenting wine or ale under the sea, it will become diluted with salt water almost immediately.

Merfolk, Astalakians, Karakhai, Ojiongo and all the others have tongues to taste and have moments of time they would prefer not to be sober.

Soooo....

So What Do Scaraquans Do When They Hang Out In A Pub?

They do it with a lot of techniques. Most cultures have a preferred method that their ancestors pioneered but as the Oshamni Empire, new innovations have begun spreading throughout the oceans and recreational innovations are spreading faster than most.

Using Scarterran Methods

It's rare but not unheard of for Scaraquans and Scarterrans to trade. Merfolk are usually the ones who do this, or at lest they are the middlemen since they look similar to most humans and elves, they are less intimidating to land folk. Some Scaraquans trade for wine or spirits.

A few innovative Scaraquans have studied how Scarterrans ferment liquids and copied this themselves, either brewing drinks on floating containers on the surface of the sea or using magical air pockets, or on top of isolated rocky shoals.

This is extremely rare. Generally if a Scaraquan is going to this much trouble to copy Scarterran manufacturing methods, they will try to forge metal rather than brew alcohol.

Once in the water, a wine or anything similar will disperse pretty quickly so Scaraquans have drink them very fast once opened. Some time ago, a Scaraquan had the idea to add solidifying agent such as gelatin to make the alcohol still drinkable but solid enough to not immediately disperse into the sea when uncorked.

Fish Toxins

For obvious reasons, Scaraquans make it a point to learn about the all the aquatic life around where they live. There are plenty fish toxins potent enough to cripple or kill a Merfolk or even a Karakhai but there are a lot of fish with toxins evolved to deal with much smaller animals than Scraquans.

A toxin that will instantly kill a small guppy might give a Merfolk a light buzz. Scaraquans have taken to figuring out what levels of toxin will give them a desired effect. Ojiongo are generally considered the most knowledgeable on this knowing which toxins can be used for recreation, which can be used for weapons, and which can be used for medicinal purposes but this is an area of lore that almost every Scaraquan race has done some of their own research on.

Sometimes a large toxic fish is caught wild and processed carefully. This is the common method used to obtain recreation toxins used by Karakhai and other nomadic sea people.

Smaller toxic fish are sometimes farmed and kept in cages, for Scaraquans might reach into to grab and eat live. Domesticated toxic fish can be selective bred for different flavors or effects. This was pioneered by Ojiongo but widely adopt by other Scaraquan races. A variation pioneered by Merfolk but spread to other races is to take more highly toxic sea life and lick them rather than eat them outright akin to real world toad lickers.

Chemical Vents And Elemental Vents

The ocean floor of Scaraqua is littered with vents that unleash various elements into the sea. Some of these are deliberately created by the gods Resona and Mangcha as a gift to Scaraqua. Some of these events are naturally occurring connections to the The Elemental Plane.

A few of these vents have gasses that can make Scaraquans mildly high when inhaled (such as pure oxygen). A vent in a settled area could have a pub or den built around it and different herbs and the like can be added to the vent for different "flavors."

It is mostly Astalakians that practice this as they spend a lot more time on the ocean floor than other Scaraquans do, but they are usually more than willing to share their vents with other races.


Okay, so as of posting the article I'm just barely over 50,000 words. At this point for the raffle and digital badges, I have no further incentive to write more other than to defend my spot on the leaderboard. I was roughly the 14th or 15th person to hit 10,000 words. I have clawed myself up to fifth place yesterday and knocked down to ninth place just today. I am barely ahead of the tenth place who is barely ahead of the eleventh place and so forth and so on.

I am just barely behind the 8th place holder but the 7th and above spots are miles ahead of me. (I took one off day where I only wrote about 1000 words and I slipped four places!).

At this point I have little reason to keep spamming articles other than to maintain my position on the leaderboard though of the dozen or so special category contests, I have submitted a "document", "ethnicity", "geography", "spell", myth/legend, or "organization" yet.

I rarely use "document" I have never used "spell" and probably never will. The other categories I've written to death over the past couple years and am struggling to find new material. It would be against the spirits of Worldember to reskin an old article.

Rather than focus on quantity I should probably focus on making articles people want to read or rounding out empty areas of my lore.

The last few days I have been working on Scarterran food. Researching real world medieval food and figuring out what Scarterrans eat based on that. I would say about 90% of the things Scarterrans eat are the same things real world historical humans ate.

Medieval Europeans did not have potatoes and many fantasy writers choose to not have potatoes. JRR Tolkien chose to put potatoes in Middle Earth and I have done likewise in Scarterra.

I didn't realize hops is a relatively new addition to ale, only spreading to certain European countries in 1200 and even then it was largely absent from huge swaths of Europe till the Renisance. Without hops, ale cannot be what we call "beer" Well, I decided Scarterrans developed beer much quicker so hops farming is pretty wide spread.

I am pondering whether or not I want Scarterra to have maize farming, what we Americans call "corn."

While I'm sure a farmer or botanist would laugh at my simple reasoning, I can figure out which places Scarterrans grow potatoes, barley, wheat, and/or rice and seem like I know what I'm doing.

For instance I know that rice produces a very high yield per acre but you need a lot of fresh water and a strong organizational system to manage the irrigation system.

Wheat is the next most efficient but it requires a fair bit of water. Rye is similar to wheat but can handle colder temperatures. Barley is similar to wheat but can make due with less water.

Potatoes can handle colder temperatures, limited water and are resistant to pillaging because it's easy to chop down wheat and corm stalks out of spite but it is a lot of trouble to dig up root vegetables if they aren't ready to eat.

I've lived in Iowa most of my life. I cannot explain why Iowa grows lots of corn, so neighboring Minnesota and Illinois, but I drive through Kansas and it's endless fields of wheat.

But I cannot find the information on the internet to provide a laymen's explanation of when maize is best.

Of course Scaraqua could have all kinds of crops that don't have real world earthly representations. I think I need to poke around a marine science forum to find someone who is fond of the fantasy genre to give me a few pointers and help me come up with crops that won't immediately break the suspension of disbelief by those in the know.

 

I'm going to keep writing this month, but rather than focus on creating as many new articles as I can, I think I need to use the quote feature to add more in-character commentary so my articles feel less like dry encyclopedia articles.

"This is Sir Woofles. he keeps the monsters away at night."
-Dobry, five year old Fumayan boy
Geu-puppies

"Hope you are hungry! Just because we don't live in a base camp doesn't mean you cannot enjoy some base camp stew. We Midlanders have a fair bit of Maresh blood in our veins and we no longer run across the deserts, we picked up the Desert Runners' love of stews."
-Hasana, shepherd's wife
base camp stew

"We dwarves believe in obedience to one's superiors, but there is difference between "obedience" and "blind obedience". Someone needs to be able to occasionally tell the king "no" when he is about to make a mistake, and that is what the Council of Elders is for."
-Marbuil Redscale, dwarf salt master
Meckelorn Council of Elders

"The purpose of the Council of Elders is not to put a check against the king, the purpose of the Council is to provide a means for our good king to communicate the edicts edicts to all the clans in an efficient manner."
-Varad, Elder of Bluepeak Blackbeard Clan
Stahlheim Council of Elders

"Most commoners' first image when someone says the word 'alchemist' is a mad lad in a smoky laboratory making things explode, most uses of alchemy are more subtle. Food preservation is one of the many subtle uses of this noble craft.
-Bevan, Swynfaredian alchemist

"Leave it to humans always overcomplicate things. You don't need an alchemist's spell to preserve meat! If you bury meat with the right leaves and come back in a few months you can ferment the meat. It's safe to eat and has a zest that will put hair on your chest."
-Dabub, orc hunter

"We regularly deal with feast or famine conditions in Meckelorn . It might be expensive and time consuming, but if we can alchemically treat some food during our times of plenty, the people will thank us during times of wont."
-Marbuil Redscale, dwarf salt master

"There might be a few situations where it is necessary for the greater good to alchemically preserve food for later, but mostly it's a waste of time and money to appease the nobles. Nine forbid the high lords and ladies have to go without their favorite food! They must have lemon cakes all year round rather than waiting for lemon season like everyone else."
-Garan, Swynfaredian baker
alchemical food preservation

"The Deep Warden Legion is made up of the very bravest, strongest, and most expendable soldiers the Empire has to offer."
-Madam Lazoya of the Oshamni Senate.
Deep Wardens Legion

"The Guild Association serves a natural role. Much like a leech helps a body when it has too much blood by removing some of it, the Guilds help dwarf society when it has too much money."
-Norabruck Grumblespine, dwarven Rover on the Wind
Stahlheim Guild Association


"There are some areas by Korus' grace that have natural cycles conducive to growing wild rice, but usually rice paddies needs to be artificially flooded and drained at specific times, so rice farming requires a very organized workforce. That why the Elven Empire is able to grow so much rice as we have the most efficient beuaracracy in all of Scarterra.

The human nations in Umera are fairly organized too and they also produce a lot of rice. Umera used to be a colony of the Empire. The humans there will not admit but they owe their political stability and their efficient crop production due to the lessons we taught them.

I have sailed far enough to circumnavigate around Scarterra thrice. I've noticed that rice farming has yet to catch on in the more unstable human lands that had minimal contact with the Empire. They can stick with their potatoes"
-Almon Genmaer, grey elf sailor.
rice

"Some humans say barley is a 'peasant food' and that proper lords and ladies should only eat wheat. But through Nami's grace, barley makes some damn good beer though, so I think the peasants came out on top for once."
-Norabruck Grumblespine, dwarven Rover on the Wind
barley

"And the people rejoiced once Nami's messengers taught them the secret of brewing ale. But ale must be consumed or it is not fit to drink.

This made those who lived far away from ready sources of malted grain forced to go without ale!

Nami in her compassion and fairness reached out to her brother Korus and together they crafted hops, with this new additive ale was transformed into beer making a good thing even better!"
-Norabruck Grumblespine, dwarven Rover on the Wind
hops

"Turning lead into gold is not something alchemists can actually do, nor is it our true end goal. Turning lead into gold is a metaphor: making the basest and dullest metal into the most beautiful and perfect metal.

Thus we alchemists are always striving to transform substances, even ourselves into something better than it used to be, one process at a time."
-Bevan, Swynfaredian alchemist
alchemy

"I miss being able to range freely in the winter, but there are upsides to staying in the winter village too. Few things are more pleasant than watching roasting chestnuts while talking with loved ones."
-Nambra Jocan, wood elf huntress
chestnuts

Note, I feel dirty talking about "Scaraqua recreational substances, so I'm making up a fantasy term "vinumaca" loosely based on the Latin word for "wine" to make it more family friendly

"Never trust a karakhai when she offers you what she calls a 'MILD' vinumaca"
-Gizoya, Merman Trader
Scaraquan vivamuca

It won't help my World Anvil ranking, but I got the urge to spruce up some old articles.

"Bloodlines only show an accident of birth, but a lineage of wisdom always represents a deliberate act of transference on both the part mentor and the apprentice making a scholar's lineage more meaningful and more important."
-Bevan, Swynfaredian alchemist
lineages of wisdom

"The good thing about hospitals is that they don't turn anyone away.

The bad thing about hospitals is that they don't turn anyone away."
-Norabruck Grumblespine, dwarven Rover on the Wind
Scarterran Hospitals

"You don't need a good taster if you have a good alchemist, but they cost about as much."
-Duke Nanda Frymar
alchemical poison detection


I plan to use Norabruck a lot, she is widely traveled and I liked her sarcasm.

 

Like Skaven, but not


I plan to create another homebrew mortal race, something along the lines of the kalazotz. Originally they were an offshoot of camazotz based on the Aztec bat monster of legend of the same name, but I kept adding details to kalazotz now they are truly a Scalenex original. I was originally planning to make my own take on Nezumi.

Nezumi rat men show up in Eastern settings in RPGs and video games all the time. So for a long time I thought Nezumi were mythological rat-like creatures from Japanese folklore and I was just incapable of finding original source material online.

Turns out, “Nezumi” is just the Japanese word for rat. All the Nezumi ratmen of video games and RPGs are modern creations.

I don’t think I’m going to use the name “Nezumi” or even a derivative of it. I need to come up with a cool original name at some point. For now, they can have the working name “Ratmen”.


I’m still in the brainstorming stage but I have some broad cornerstones nailed down using a three cornerstones. Ratmen have lots of magical immunities, Ratmen are heavily influenced by their environment, rat men are a castoff race of Scarterra that ended up migrating to Scarnoctis. I am not sure if I want to make them a Second Age or Third Age creature.


In the fantasy setting of Rokugan, Rokugan borders the Shadowlands which will mutate and corrupt any human or animal that enters without magical protection. A bunch monsters emerge from the Shadowlands periodically attack Rokugan and there is not much they can do to stop them at source.

Nezumi, the rat people of Rokugan are the only non-evil creature immune to warping effect of the Shadowlands. Nezumi aren’t saints, but they are easy for humans to work with if treated well.

I don’t have a Shadowlands in Scarterra, I have the Void. Even if a mortal race was immune to the life siphoning power of the Void, the lack of food in the Void would kill them eventually, but I am going to run with the notion that Scarterran Ratmen will be super resilient. If you stab them with a sword, they are just as dead as a human but Ratmen are near immune to disease and highly resistant to magical effects that alter their bodies.


I briefly looked into getting a pet rat. One thing I remember reading is that a rat is very much the product of its environment. A well fed rat in a clean cage will be pretty docile and friendly while a rat in a filthy environment will be belligerent and dangerous. While it is true that all living creatures are influenced by their environments, I think I’ll run with this as a theme for Scarterran ratmen. Humans, elves, dogs, merfolk, and just about everyone else will develop physical and psychological traits by elemental influences, but because ratmen have bodies that are highly resistant to magical forces, ratmen all look pretty much the same. But they don’t act the same. They are mentally impacted from environmental factors far more than most mortals. In other words, their personalities


As mentioned before on this thread, Scarnoctis is sort of made up of the cast-offs of Scarterra and Scaraqua. Ratmen are going to be that too.


Greymoria likes to create new races of humanoids and monsters to attack mortals who don’t worship her as much as they deserve. I don’t know if the Ratmen were originally created to punish Second Age elves or Third Age humans.

A mortal race created by two deities are generally stronger than races with one divine creator, so Greymoria sought Maylar’s help. Maylar likes rats as they are tough, scrappy, and adaptable. Maylar is a god of disease and had the idea that the Ratmen also be disease carriers, and Greymoria agreed. Greymoria thought of maybe using them as carriers for mystic curses too.

They didn’t want Ratmen to be killed by the very maladies they were carrying, so Greymoria and Maylar bestowed the Ratmen with amazing constitutions and magically fortified bodies. But they crafted the Ratmen too well. Their natural immunities were so strong, they couldn’t even act as carriers for most contagious maladies.

A lot of Greymoria’s cannon fodder species turn on her eventually. The Ratmen turned on her quickly. With the pragmatic survival instincts or ordinary rats they questioned why they should constantly launch attacks on elves/humans who were better organized and better armed. It didn’t take a lot of dead Ratmen to convince the survivors that following Greymoria and Maylar’s edicts was not good for their health.

Mera was happy to adopt them as she loves to rehabilitate Greymoria’s cast-offs. She thought that a race of Ratmen with their natural immunities could be turned into a weapon to fight disease. The Ratmen were very slow of study for mundane and magical medicine. They were not opposed to helping other races fight disease, but medicine was not something that came easily to them when you don’t need it yourself like training someone without a sense of taste to be a chef.

When the Ratmen followed Mera, they had another problem. “Hi, would you like to be my new friend?” was usually answered with “EEEK! Giant rat!” After getting this response hundreds of times, the Ratmen collectively decided that Mera’s mission of interspecies harmony was a dumb idea. They turned away from Mera.

They went through a godless period hiding underground and keeping to themselves when they finally were adopted by Korus, or perhaps it was their idea to seek Korus’ aid. The Ratmen benefitted having a god in their corner and Korus benefited by having sympathetic mortals to push good environmental stewardship in the realm of Scarnoctis.


For the most part, Ratmen are benignly neutral. They don’t mess with other mortals and are polite enough if approached in a friendly way, but as a consequence of their physical immunities and their allegiance to Korus, god of nature, their personalities are a reflection of their environment. The harsher the geography is, the meaner the Ratmen will be.


I’m thinking in game terms their Stamina attribute would be considered three points higher for resisting poisons and disease. Some of minor diseases and poisons they don’t even have to roll for, they just aren’t affected by. They can drink any human under the table on ordinary ale and wine. The alcoholic beverages that Ratmen could actually drunk on would almost certainly kill or blind a human.


They would also have a resistance to magical effects that alter their bodies. Unfortunately, this means healing magic and beneficial augments are less effective on them. That most Ratmen spell-casters to focus on magic that impacts things, not people. While it harder to magically augment a Ratman’s strength and resilience, there is nothing to stop someone from magically enhancing a Ratman’s weapons and armor.

I’m not sure whether I want to make them roughly gnome sized or roughly human sized. I am probably going to give them a Dexterity bonus. If I decide to make them gnome-sized I am certain to give them a Dexterity bonus.

Real rats have keen senses all around so I am likely to give them an Alertness bonus. (I give a lot of races Alertness bonus) while poor humans stumble around practically blind.

Real rats have a crazy good sense of direction. You can knock them unconscious and drag them to a place they’ve never been and they can find their way home. I’m not sure if I want I want to give Ratmen this ability or not.


Because they need a weakness (though being resistant to friendly magic would be a substantial weakness with my group of PCs who love healing magic and buff spells), I think I will give them a +1 penalty on all Willpower rolls except feats of Strength checks. They have poor impulse control and their minds are more open to hostile magic than most other mortals.

I'm not planning to post them to my wiki until I have a name. Hopefully more depth will naturally evolve like it has with the kalazotz.

 

Crop evolution and food mages

Scarterran has Lamarckian evolution to an extant. Traits inherited externally from environmental factors are sometimes passed on to offspring. While this effect can be seen in mortals and beasts it is more pronounced in plants.

Like real world farmers, Scarterran farmers will of course shape their plants naturally by picking the strongest and healthiest plants to harvest seeds for the next planting season from and this will over time select for tastier, heartier crops, but it is possible to speed this process up with a magical assist.

In every age, arcane transmuters and Plant specializing theurgists have magically altered plants to make them better suited to food production. While boosting the size of a melon can triple the mass of said melon, this will only boost the next generation of melons from the giant melon's seeds by a tiny percentage, but recasting the enlargement spell year after year will create gradually larger tastier melons.

In this way, most commonly domesticated food plants have been selectively shaped in the distant past by so called "food mages".

dragon grass, the grandaddy of all grains

 

I mentioned the special categories. It's good that I found the fine print now because if I didn't catch it by the end of the month I would have been disqualified from all of them. I can enter a maximum of 10 special category entries and I had 14.

I figured my entry for military conflict category was weak, so that was easy to eliminate. Down to 13.

I am proud of my entry for characters, the Mother of Mountains but there are 67 other entries and counting, so my odds of winning are low, so I dropped it from the mini-contest. Down to 12.

I like my article on culchans for the species category but I don't really want to win free D&D 5th edition books and I have 65+ competitors, so I dropped it from the mini-contest. Down to 11.

That leaves one more. I am either going to pull out of language, condition, or plot.

The prize for Conditions because the prize is not especially enticing but I think my condition is different from others so has a good chance to win. I wrote eclipse-touched for this.

The language article I wrote on Saurian. It's really in depth but I pulled a lot of material from other people too so I don't know if I'm bending the rules.

My plot is King Drosst's secret. Something I revealed on this thread long ago but hadn't revealed on my World Anvil account until this contest.

 

Adding to the Scarterran holiday roster, my equivalent of Groundhog Day.

Imbolc the Herald of Spring

Imbolc is the first Tween Day in the calendar year marking the halfway point between the winter and spring seasonal Stellar Days. It occurs on the 16th day of the Month of Horning on the Secular Calendar and the 6th day of the Month of Mera on the Zodiac Calendar.

Like the other Tween Days, every culture and tribe observes this holiday differently but there are commonalities.

Typically winter is well underway but tiny aspects of spring are creeping back in. There is a general attitude of wanting winter to be over, so a large part of Imbolc is praying for an early spring, a pleasant and relatively storm-less planting season and a long growing season in the coming year, though in civilized lands this is often tongue-in-cheek.

"According to calendars, the first day of spring is the first day of the month of Verdance and the star of spring gains ascendance on this day.But our Divine Lady Nami does not like to bound by calendars or stars. She will usher in spring when sees fit to do so, be she early, on time, or late by the reckoning of sages.
That is why Imbolc is often unofficially associated with Nami as many pray to our lady for an early and gentle spring."
-Norabruck Grumblespine, dwarven Rover on the Wind

"With all due respect to Nami, she may be a fine goddess that does many good things but one thing she does NOT do is answer mortal's prayers or supplications for nice weather, but that doesn't mean we cannot have fun trying.

A lot of gnome villages keep a mascot pet, usually a dog or a tame rodent named Little Nami that we spoil the day before Imbolc. The morning of Imbolc, our elders will watch the behavior of the village pet and interpret "divine portents" to determine if we are going to have an early or late start to spring.

Of course these divine portents are about as accurate as a goblin solving a math problem but it gives us a good excuse to throw a party. I usually make it a point to go home and visit my family every year around Imbolc for this reason."
-Roodnat, gnome chef

"Most martial tournaments are in the summer, but not all of them. Imbolc is cold in Kantoc, but it is not unbearably cold. Every year our good king holds a royal tournament on Imbolc. The cold weather keeps the crowd of onlookers smaller but in a way Imbolc is the most important tournament of the year.

It's hard to be cold when your blood is hot from battle. On this day we don't fight for the adulation of small folk but to prove mettle to our lords and peers. While the battles are intended to be nonlethal, they are deadly serious.

Supposedly the fire of our courage helps chase away the cold of winter. I doubt we can usher in an early spring, but I never shy of a chance to prove my mettle."
-Sir Derecho, Knight of the Red Lion

Attitudes are different among nomadic peoples. They take Imbolc and the ceremonies involved with the day much more seriously.

"Imbolc is a scared somber day our actions dictate whether the upcoming year's hunting will be plenty or scarce. Our actions on this day sway the gods themselves.

The humans and other weakling races believe otherwise, so they make a farce of this day, but we know to prove our worth we must bleed for the Nine, as our ancestors have done hundreds of times before us. It is not required that someone die, but blood must flow or we will will appear unworthy before those who look down on us from the stars."
-Dabub, orc hunter

"Imbolc is a time of new beginnings but also of hardship and loss. We respect our elders but we do not coddle them. If one of our people grows so infirm that they grow to be a burden on the tribe, they can and often do volunteer to leave us and join the Nine.

For some, the feast on the eve of Imbolc is their last meal. because on Imbolc, with a heavy heart, we will send away on their final journey.

Our winter stores of food are low on this day, but four our youngest and hardiest. It is possible to begin hunting. The general population will typically say in our winter camp for another five to six weeks but we typically kick out our young adults on Imbolc. They have to go out and feed themselves. Most look forward to this. Many of our young people relish the opportunity to have a few weeks without elders hovering over their shoulders criticizing their every move.

At this time, new couples can also enjoy some...privacy. Among our people privacy is as scarce as easy food and as precious as fire."
-Enapay, Laguza fisherman

Like the other Tween Days, a lot of Fair Folk enter the mortal plane on this day, but mortals rarely see this. The Fair Folk often have ceremonies and rituals of their own which they prefer to keep private.

While the Fair Folk do not seek out mortals to interfere with, any mortals that stumble on to the Fair Folk on this day are likely never to be seen again.

 

Midsummer's Night

Midsummer Night is one of the Tween Days and unsurprisingly marks the half way point between the Summer and Autumn seasonal Stellar Days occurring on the 26th day of the month Thrimlich on the secular calendar and the 16th day of the month of Greymoria on the Zodiac calendar.

While different cultures all have their own take on this holiday, there is usually an upbeat attitude and an air of revelry.

Most cereal crops won't be harvested till the fall but a lot of fruit harvests occur around this time. Since this day occurs near the end of Thrimlich and Thrimlich is known for rich pastures (that is why it is named "the month of three milkings")

That means there is lots of butter, cheese, and cream to go around. Fresh fruit and cream is found on the dinner tables of peasants and princes a like on this. This food is considered by many to be aphrodisiacal.

"With all the fresh fruit and butter available, this is a very busy work for those in my profession, we work long hours in the days and weeks leading up to Midsummer Night but we are paid quite well. The local dragon bloods often want to show their generosity by bestowing sweet treats on the peasants on this day."
-Garan, Swynfaredian baker

"I'm personally more interested in the jousting tournament, grand melee, and archery contest, but there is plenty to do. In most of Kantoc this is the biggest festival of the year. There are jugglers, acrobats, illusionists, singers, and acting troupes all pushing their own form of entertainment and the air is filled with the scents of baking sweet meats and pies. A fine day with something for everyone, whatever your tastes are."
-Sir Derecho, Knight of the Red Lion

"I'm all for eating fresh fruit when the opportunity presents itself. We dwarves don't get to enjoy fresh food very often, but while fruit can be eaten as is, Nami often decrees fruit be a more divine purpose, by fermenting into spirits.

I'm not a big fan of Uskala in general but there, Midsummer Night is dedicated to Nami in Uskala, so as a circuit priestess I am often there this time of year. Part of their ritual is to drink every last last drop of the previous years stock of related spirits and to open the casks for the new batches to taste the first of the new year's spirits, a fine ritual."
-Norabruck Grumblespine, dwarven Rover on the Wind

There is no immediate analogy to a real world modern holiday, but in many ways Midsummer Night is akin to Valentines Day or Carnival. It is considered a couples holiday, both for long-term couple and more casual couples. Even uptight or repressed cultures are likely to give people more leeway to stray on this day. People who tend to be more sexually liberated really cut loose on Midsummer Night.

"As if humans needed another excuse to be drunk and promiscuous! This day is a farce, an excess that we elves barely tolerate to appease the baser instincts of the Empire's human subjects. I usually make sure to be far away from port when Midsummer Night is coming up."
-Almon Genmaer, grey elf sailor

"A true warrior lives every day to fullest for tomorrow we may die but everything has a time and a place.

But if there is any day to live life to fullest, it is Midsummer. On Midsummer the Nine shower their blessings on all the people.

We feast, we drink, we sing, we brawl, we mate. On this day...we live."-
-Dabub, orc hunter

Like the other Tween Days, there is an uptick in Fair Folk visiting the material plane on this day, and unsurprisingly, the Fae are often in an amorous mood. In some ways amorous fae are as dangerous as angry fae since it is often difficult to differentiate between "courting" and "kidnapping." Often, young adults and adolescents don't let the risk stop them from seeking Fair Folk lovers given how many are very handsome or beautiful. Or at least can wield illusions to appear beautiful.

 

As I hoped you noticed, I am making a concerted effort to write more in-universe character perspectives rather than dispassionate articles written from a third person omniscient perspective.

Here is a break down of stereotypes Maylar's Testers have for each other.

Quick, recap Maylar is the Chaotic Evil god of hunting, herding, disease, decay, low war, and social darwinism.

Bearers of the Ill Wind: Focus on spreading disease far and wide. Some of them are healers too and they will infect someone then extort them for the cure.

Maylar's core followers are called Testers of Strength, or simply Testers. The idea is that Maylar afflicts suffering on people to see test them. If they survive, they are strong. If they don't survive, they are weak and deserved to die.

Decadents: Mostly high born people who throw decadent debauchery filled parties and commit cruelties in Maylar's name for a sick thrill using their high social rank and secrecy to deflect suspicion.

Herders: A pro-herding faction that wants to work within the system and legitimize Maylar by not murdering people and occasionally being nice to others.

Peacebreakers: Peacebreakers commit acts of espionage to goad rival nations and lords to declare war on each other.

Raiders (Maylar's Raiders): Testers who join up with bands of brigands or pirates to provide magical assistance and spiritual guidance to these criminals in order for a share of the spoils.

Independents: Independents are Testers who choose not to identify with any of Tester factions.


Bearers on the Others

Hear the words of Enfys the Rainbow of Death, expatriate of Swynfaredia.


Decadents: They are kindred spirits though our paths seldom cross. We test the bodies of mortals and they test the institutions of mortals.

Herders: It is embarrassing that anyone calling himself a Tester would lie with sheep.

Peacebreakers: War is good for testing the strong and the weak, but war only tests the soldiers while disease tests all.

Raiders: Petty children seeking shiny trinkets. Some of these will grow out of this phase and transform themselves into true servants of Maylar, but most will get unlucky and die trying to rob the wrong person.

Independent Testers: They may lack the ambition and vision to aid Maylar in major ways like is but they make useful contacts.


Mera’s Tenders: They are our enemies. They cannot cure disease as fast as we can spread, but nevertheless kill these weaklings whenever and wherever you can.

Korus’ Stewards: Life and death are not opposites, they are one and the same. The Stewards understand this.

Greymoria’s Children: Allies of convenience. We have no true common cause with them but we share many enemies in common.

Nami’s Rovers: Irrelevant drunkards. Pay them no heed.

Khemra’s Keepers: They are our enemies. Very inflexible and secretly cowards.

Zarthus’ Lanterns: They are our enemies. They are relentless and clever, do not underestimate them.

Hallisan’s Guardians: They are our enemies. Just as inflexible as the Keepers, but they are not afraid to die and they will never stop hunting you as long as they draw breath.

Phidas’ Masks: They are our enemies. They are more cunning than most but very cowardly.

Decadents on the Others

Hear the words of Lady Felijca Wiern, exiled Fumayan noblewoman.

Bearers of the Ill Wind: They skulk in the wilderness annoying their betters. Almost like goblins. Pay them no mind.

Herders: Peasant shepherds falsely draping themselves with Maylar’s mantle to feel powerful.

Peacebreakers: They have admirable zeal but they are too ambitious. They aim too high every time and are always exposed and killed. We know how to pick our targets and remain undetected.

Raiders: They may lack imagination but they are useful in their own way. They cannot use half of the things they steal so they rely on us to fence their stolen goods.

Independent Testers: Some of them are undeclared to a faction because they are too strong to need a faction. Some are undeclared to a faction because they are too stupid or weak to be accepted by one. Be careful when dealing with the so called independents, it is not always obvious who is weak and who is strong.


Mera’s Tenders: Harmless weaklings beneath our concern.

Korus’ Stewards: They are dangerous when provoked but it takes a lot to provoke them.

Greymoria’s Children: Useful contacts, but make sure you project strength when dealing with them or they will try to make you into a pawn in their own schemes.

Nami’s Rovers: The Bacchites are kindred spirits and worthy allies should you be able to make contact but the rest of Nami’s lot are irrelevant.

Khemra’s Keepers: As a last resort you can appeal to them for sanctuary and hide behind their love of the Compact, but only as a last resort.

Zarthus’ Lanterns: The Lanterns actually care about the filth shoveling peasants and they can be dogged investigators. Do not underestimate them.

Hallisan’s Guardians: They are good at fighting with swords and lances but they are totally inexperienced fighting with cloaks and daggers.

Phidas’ Masks: Our paths seldom cross. When they do, we can get them to aid us or at least stay out of our way with a small bribe. Make sure to haggle fiercely and seem like they reluctantly cowed you, it makes them feel big.


Herders on the Others

Hear the Words of Ujarek of Fumaya.

Bears of the Ill Wind: They are cowards because they avoid direct confrontation with their foes. Worse, they are arrogant in their chosen mission. It is Maylar alone to decide who falls ill and who recovers. It is not for his followers to take this into their own hands, much less manipulate the forces of disease for personal gain.

Decadents: The idea of high born people being better than commoners is folly. Strength is all that matters. You don’t demonstrate strength by torturing the helpless. The Decadents try to hide their weakness behind their social rank.

Peacebreakers: Enough wars happen without the Testers fanning the flames of conflict. All the Peacebreakers do is draw enmity towards all Testers everywhere.

Raiders: I respect their mettle, but not their methods. At least they are not cowards hiding in the shadows.

Independent Testers: Some of them are true believers with true strength, but most of the faction-less Testers resembles Maylar’s Raiders in that they simple use Maylar as an excuse to take what they want from whomever they wish, but they are less bold. More like Maylar’s Burglers.


Mera’s Tenders: They are stronger than they let on. Bear them no malice, but keep your distance.

Korus’ Stewards: The closest thing we have to friends among the other priesthoods. Do not make demands of them, it is enough that they talk to us.

Greymoria’s Children: They claim to be kindred spirits but if you get if get in bed with them, figuratively or literally, they will make you a patsy for their nefarious schemes.

Nami’s Rovers: Some of Nami’s most violent members with Maylar’s Raiders. The less violent Rovers secretly envy them for their lack of inhibitions. A few reach out to us, hoping to have a wild adventure with us, but they are usually disappointed by how pragmatic we Herders are.

Khemra’s Keepers: They are our arrogant but we must be polite around them and humor them about the Compact and their Nonagons. Without their support, we would not be able to operate openly and we would be forced to skulk in the shadows like the lesser Testers.

Zarthus’ Lanterns: They do not trust us and they would love to catch us committing a crime. They are easy enough to distract. Play up on their on their love of outcasts to paint the Herders as kindred spirits and complain about the Masks to them, and they will leave you in peace.

Hallisan’s Guardians: They watch us for the slightest err. Do not give them cause to be your enemy. If you pretend to ignore this will wound them more than a spear ever could.

Phidas’ Masks: Like the Lanterns and Guardians, they do trust us. Unlike the Lanterns and Guardians, they will not to wait to catch you sinning before trying to punish you. Outside their marketplaces and cities the Masks are toothless, another reason to avoid civilization as much as possible.


Peacebreakers on the Others


Hear the words of Lysisastrata, Scourge of Penarchia

Bearers of the Ill Wind: They would be useful allies if they weren’t so short sighted. While it is true that it takes three theurgist healers to stem the damage of one theurgist plague bearer, there is always a fourth healer. But if they were to concentrate on war torn areas where the healers already have their hands full, we would be an unstoppable team.

Decadents: They have admirable zeal and ruthless but they think too small. Why kill one meaningless peasant as part of a four hour ritual when you can kill thousands of people with one war.

Herders: These traitors and heretics dare try to make peace with our enemies!

Raiders: They have admirable zeal but they lack vision and direction. Leave them be unless you are cornered and need a patsy.

Independent Testers: Very few join the Testers seeking to be Peacebreakers, so we have to draw our recruits from among the independents. Be polite to any independent you miss and watch them carefully to see if any desires true power.


Mera’s Tenders: We seek to spread war and they seek to spread peace. Fortunately few take them seriously. They are our enemies but do not kill them. This will only create martyrs.

Korus’ Stewards: Irrelevant tree huggers. At least they stay out of their way.

Greymoria’s Children: Who cares about the goblins and the aranea and whozawhatits? They wish to spread death from the monsters skulking in the shadows but the true bringers of death are those commanding mighty armies.

Nami’s Rovers: They may seem like fools but they are good listeners, but they are well informed of what is really going on in the lands they travel. If you can hide your true affiliation and befriend them they are valuable source of information.

Khemra’s Keepers: The scroll heads are their own worst enemies, too mired in red tape of their own making to be a true threat to us.

Zarthus’ Lanterns: They are clever opponents but they are not half as clever as they think they are. If there are powerful Lanterns in the area you are in, wear a silver mask and commit some atrocities, then melt into the shadows watch the show.

Hallisan’s Guardians: They are formidable opponents but they are tied to the secular feudal lords by oaths and honor. If you get the feudal lords fighting, they will drag the Guardians along with them and there is nothing they can do about it, even the Guardians are forced to fight other Guardians by these chains of loyalty.

Phidas’ Masks: They will stab you in the back given half a chance, but that is because they understand how the world works.



Maylar’s Raiders on the Others

Hear the words of Zomath, half-orc brigand.

Bearers of the Ill Wind: Blech! Maylar may be the god of disease but you don’t have to embody that aspect of our great Father so literally.

Decadents: They have an overinflated sense of their own worth, but they can be useful contacts if you flatter their egos, though they will sell you down the river in a second if it suits their needs.

Herders: Their peaceful ways are an affront to great Maylar, but don’t underestimate them. They are tougher than they look. They couldn’t have survived this long if they were as weak as the sheeple they surround themselves with.

Peacebreakers: Their hearts are in the right place, but they are too good at attracting the attention of hostile governments and dogged adventuring parties. Give them a wide berth lest their enemies become your enemies.

Independent Testers: They are kindred spirits since we are pretty independent ourselves. If you find yourself needing to reach out to an outside Testers, best pick one not tied up in factional goals.


Mera’s Tenders: Misguided weaklings. They are delicious targets.

Korus’ Stewards: They are stronger than they look. Do not war on them unless you are truly looking to test yourself.

Greymoria’s Children: Allies of convenience, we share many common enemies but sleep with one eye open when working with the Children.

Nami’s Rovers: Maylar’s only true ally is Nami, he may even love her. Out of respect for our great Father, leave the Rovers in peace.

Khemra’s Keepers: They are mighty when roused but they are slow to mobilize. Keep moving and the Keepers will never be able to hurt you.

Zarthus’ Lanterns: Lanterns are individually dangerous but they are not very good at working with groups. We understand the strength of a pack, our foes do not making them vulnerable.

Hallisan’s Guardians: Implacable foes. To beat them, we must be everywhere and nowhere. Their weakness is their pride.

Phidas’ Masks: Implacable foes. To beat them, we must be everywhere and nowhere. Their weakness is their cowardice.


Independents on the Others


Hear the words of Blood Mystic Detlef, swordsmen and summoner


There is strength in numbers, but joining one of Maylar’s so-called factions will only bring you new enemies.


Bearers of the Ill Wind: They always get caught because everyone reviles them so much that they will put aside existing enmities to remove the Bearers from the earthly plane.

Decadents: Once the social structures that protect them are removed, they are utterly helpless.

Herders: These heretics have betrayed everything that is to be a Tester just to eat the table scraps the Nonagon councils throw them.

Peacebreakers: Scarterrans will make war just fine without your interference. More often than not, Peacebreaker involvement has the opposite effect as intended by giving rival factions a common enemy to unite against.

Raiders: Some of them are wise, but most overextend themselves, make one enemy too many, and then die.


Mera’s Tenders: They are weak, but they have friends who are strong. Never forget this.

Korus’ Stewards: Our paths seldom cross and this is all for the better.

Greymoria’s Children: Reasonable allies if you can keep your interactions with them short.

Nami’s Rovers: A few of them are worthy companions, temporarily. Most are not worth the effort.

Khemra’s Keepers: The Dusk Order make for dangerous foes but the rest of the Keepers are useless scroll heads.

Zarthus’ Lanterns: I hate to admit it, but we don’t get along because we are very much alike.

Hallisan’s Guardians: They hate us. They outnumber us. This is why I stay independent. The Guardians cannot kill me for the crime of being a Tester if they do not know I am a Tester.

Phidas’ Masks: They are very image conscious and they are widely mistrusted. Some of them will stir up hatred against Testers just to improve their own tarnished image. If they try this, kill them, and leave a lit lantern next to the corpse to deflect suspicion.


I plan to write more stereotypes compilations about the religious factions but the Maylar one is probably the juiciest because the Testers are the least unified faction in all of Scarterra. In fact they fight and kill each other a lot and they view this as a feature not a bug because their belief in social Darwinism is so absolute.

With the other factions the stereotypes may read like "I agree with most of what they stand for but I am mildly bothered by _______"

For instance the Terrawan and Walchese faction of Mera worshipers are both peace loving philanthropists. The main difference is the Terrawans encourage their clergy to marry and raise children into Mera's faith and the Walchese encourage their clergy to take vows of celibacy and be married to their jobs. That is about their only real sticking point.

 

My longest single article is about Scarterran New Years. If I copy and paste, I lose the formatting, so here the link.

I put a lot of time in this. 95% of this article is "written" by Scarterran narrators rather me. Dabub the orc hunter, Valdix elderly gnome farmer, the Queen of Swynfaredia, and many others.

If you guys like this style, I'll probably write more long form articles like this. If not, I'll probably steer away from really long expository articles like this.