My Fantasy RPG World, Feedback and Ideas appreciated

Some nights, you just want to write about satyrs.

I have known for a long time that I wanted Scarterra to have satyrs in it, but I have long been waffling back and forth on whether I should make satyrs a mortal race or a faerie kith. On the whole that doesn't seem like an important distinction but it makes a difference to me. Mortal satyrs would be a lot more common than fae satyrs. Mortal satyrs would also be less magically powerful than fae satyrs and because Fair Folk tend to have extreme archetypal personalities, a fae satyr would be a lot more sexually driven than a mortal satyr.

In real world earth folklore, most early legends of satyrs made them a symbol of male fertility rather than a symbol of all fertility, so until recently, most satyr legends said they were all male. Often, satyrs bred with all female nymphs and this produced centaur sons and nymph daughters. I am not planning to have many Scarterran nymphs if any, so Scarterran satyrs are going to be half female, so I'd like my picture to be female and I really like this picture.

It's sexy, but tasteful, and most other satyr artwork online gives satyrs more goat-like facial features and that's something I want to avoid for Scarterran satyrs. I'm going to try to email the artist and see if he'll give me permission to post this on my web site.



satyrs

Satyrs are human sized beings with the hind quarters of a goat, including a short tail. They have pointed ears similar to elves but somewhat smaller. They also have horns, females tend to have fairly small horns and males tend to have large curling horns. Male satyrs often boast about the size of their horns as a symbol of their virility.

While not as nimble as actual goats, satyrs' goat legs can let most satyrs easily outrun most humans and elves pretty easily and satyrs are excellent jumpers. They are also sure footed as mountain goats and are great at finding and standing on tiny ledges safely. Much to the surprise of onlookers, satyrs can climb trees pretty well too.

Satyrs have prodigious stamina and can outlast most other humanoids in wrestling, fencing, dancing, long distance running, and especially drinking. Satyrs require less sleep than humans and most other human-like mortals able to function normally with about five hours of sleep a day.

It is rumored that satyrs cannot swim or they swim poorly due to their goat legs. This is not true, satyrs (and goats) are natural swimmers. Most satyrs just love the land more than they love sea and they generally don't like getting their fur wet.

Satyrs are rumored to be able to innately enchant listeners with their musical ability. Satyrs do not have any innate inborn supernatural ability with music, but most satyrs are talented musicians due to years of practice.

Most satyrs are not spell-casters, but nearly every satyr spell-caster casts their magic through their music reinforcing the myth that all satyr music is literally enchanting.

Above the waist satyrs usually resemble humans or elves very closely except for the horns. The fur on satyr hind quarters is far more goat-like than human-like and it's relatively uncommon for their leg hair and scalp hair to be the same color and texture.

Satyrs usually have curly hair and more often than not manifest dominant earthy and airy elemental ethnicity. Satyrs with fiery traits are sometimes viewed with superstition and mistrust by other satyrs. There is an old goat wives' tale that says satyrs with obvious fiery traits, especially red hair are likely to be of poor moral character.

Satyrs tend to have hedonistic natures and strong libidos. Satyrs both male and female, seem to have a bias towards being more attracted to other races than themselves which has kept their numbers down over the years.

Satyrs have famously poor impulse control on more things than just sex. They are somewhat prone to gluttony. They often overly indulge on alcohol or coffee (satyrs claim their ancestors discovered coffee). They are prone to risk taking and are fairly easy to talk into dares, challenges, or a games of chance. They are more than a little prone to emotional outbursts. Satyrs also enjoy athletic contests immensely.


Satyrs can be annoyingly stubborn but they also are known to be fickle. Romantically speaking, they are infamous for falling in and out of love easily. They also fall in and out of hate easily as satyrs can be surprisingly forgiving. While a satyr's anger can be intense and frightening, they rarely hold long term grudges or vendettas.


Most satyrs are very open to new ideas and new experiences. Unfortunately, their minds are somewhat more open to hostile magic relative to other mortals.


Satyr's lusty nature range the gamut from being playful flirts to despicable rapists. Is there is a single rapacious satyr on the loose, humans and elves are often prone to be prejudiced against all satyrs. This reached a fever pitch during the Red Era with a lot of retaliation and counter retaliation between satyrs and humans.

Nowadays satyrs police their own, vigilante style. They will try to "disappear" any satyrs that hurt their collective image. This vigilante attitude towards all crimes, not just rape. Misdemeanors are punished with humiliations and public shaming, mid range crimes are punished with theft "restitutions" and severe crimes are met with quick executions. Satyrs are not shy about visiting their brand of justice on non-satyrs who they feel deserve it.


Most satyrs use goat terms to describe themselves. They call their young "kids" and they call their extended family units "trips." "The herd' includes any satyr trip that is culturally connected to a satyr's main trip. The "Great Herd" with capital letters refers to all satyrs everywhere.

It takes a village to raise a child and it takes a rip to raise a kid. While the mother is the primary caregiver more often than not, most satyr kids grow up among many "aunts" and "uncles" who may or may not be not be their actual aunts and uncles.

Most satyrs put relative little stock in lineages and many believe the high degree of focus other races put on their lineages is somewhat frivolous. When satyrs bother to speak of their own lineage, they are matrilineal, since one is never completely sure who the father is, especially with satyrs.

Basic Information
Genetics And Reproduction
Satyrs reproduce the same way most humanoids do. Females are pregnant for about eight months. Twins and triplets are more common among satyrs are much more common than most other demihumans. About 10% of births are twins and about 1% are triplets. You can usually predict twin births in advance because pregnancies are a bit longer (and satyr fetuses kick a lot).

Male and female satyrs have a well-deserved reputation for promiscuity. Satyrs often have a preference for hooking up with non-satyrs and this slows down their general rate of reproduction given that most of the offspring of interracial liaisons are not satyrs.
Growth Rate & Stages
Satyrs mature slightly slower than humans, reaching the age of majority at eighteen instead of sixteen. On average, satyrs routinely outlive humans by ten to twenty years. While it's not unheard for for humans to live a whole century, this is a lot more common among satyrs though admittedly satyrs are prone to risk taking in their youth so a lot of satyrs die young.

They tend to age more gracefully than humans remaining surprisingly spry for most of their golden age. Female satyrs remain fertile much longer than female humans, with goat mothers capable of bearing kids in their early sixties.
Dietary Needs And Habits
Satyrs have a high metabolism and they tend to eat a 25% to 50% more than humans. Satyrs are not especially picky eaters equally happy to eat meat, vegetables, grain, fish, fruit, or almost anything humans can. Satyrs usually are fond of novelty in all aspects of their lives and they are usually eager to try new foodstuffs.

They cannot exactly eat a tin can but they have tough stomachs and can handle food that humans cannot including fruits and meats slightly past their prime or even grass and hay though they will usually only push the envelope on their dietary sources when food is scarce.

Satyrs tend to lead physically active live so most satyrs are pretty lean, but satyrs that are more cerebral and less physically oriented than their fellows often develop pot bellies if they don't cut their food intake down. It is not uncommon to see satyrs plump up as they get older.
Additional Information
Geographic Origin And Distribution
Satyrs often have wanderlust and they crave new experiences so they can be seen almost anywhere. They do not like to overstay their welcomes, and their welcomes are often fairly thin around more stodgy and repressed cultures.

While satyrs like the civilization and the opportunities it offers, they also like wide open spaces and wilderness areas. The continents of Penarchia and West Colassia have relatively large pockets of satyrs. The rest of the world has fewer satyrs but almost no location has zero satyrs.
Average Intelligence
Satyrs have the same intellectual range as humans.
Perception And Sensory Capabilities
Almost good as full goats, satyrs have a much wider field of vision than humans, roughly 270 degrees (as opposed to the approximately 190 degrees humans have). Satyrs have a keener sense of smell and hearing than humans.
Civilization And Culture
Major Organizations
Satyrs often assimilate into the religious practices of the lands they occupy or they can independently develop unique religious preferences.

Most satyrs view Nami as the spiritual mother of satyr-kind. Zarthus and Korus are commonly held in high regard as well.
Major Language Groups And Dialects
Most satyrs speak Elven as their mother tongue while a small number of tribes speak Common instead. Most satyrs make an effort to learn several languages.
Common Dress Code
Satyr dress codes vary. Some goat folk prefer to dress in bright vibrant colors and others prefer more subtle earth tones. Satyrs tend to favor clothing that is durable and easy to remove.
Culture And Cultural Heritage
While satyrs love physical pursuits, but this doesn't mean they only think about sex and wine. While not especially literate, they appreciate intellectual pursuits and regularly impressive surprise non-satyrs with their intellectual depths.

Different satyr cultures may sing different songs and use different instruments but almost every satyr grows up inundated with musical traditions. They also appreciate poetry, clever riddles, philosophical debates, and acting. They also tend to be knowledgeable about the wilderness and herbalism.

While they appreciate the aesthetics of beautiful things, they tend to value experiences over things. It is fairly uncommon for satyrs to become painters, sculptors, or master craftsmen.
Common Customs, Traditions And Rituals
Satyrs love to mingle with non-satyrs, but they usually keep their funerals as satyr only affairs only making exceptions for very close friends.

Funerals are split into a two equal parts. One part dark and somber and one part vibrant and lively. After a period of respectful silence and fasting, the somber portion is broken by a mournful dirge that sounds a lot like sad goat bleating (making a noise most non-satyrs find nigh unbearable). After this the satyrs will feast and drink to celebrate the deceased person's life.

The satyr bereavement process often includes hooking up with other satyrs.
Common Taboos
According to legend, the first satyrs spent anywhere from one week to several months living as regular goats. Most satyrs have enough kinship with goats that they view it as taboo to eat goat meat. Some satyrs view it taboo to partake of goat's milk and others do not.A few take this even farther and are full vegetarians though full vegans are rare.

Satyrs have few if any sexual taboos almost never even pretending to practice monogamy. While their drives tend to lead them in a heterosexual direction, most satyrs are at least bi-curious.
History
According to the satyrs' own stories, the first satyrs were especially hedonistic Second Age elves that were polymorphed into goats and then partially restored to their original bodies retaining a mix of goat and elf traits.

The satyrs were both a part of and apart from mainstream elf society. While the satyrs' hedonistic ways were sometimes viewed as refreshing, at least in small doses. More often than not the satyrs ways were considered problematic and unwelcome. This led to a cultural tradition of satyrs being nomads, so they don't stay too long to wear out their welcomes. It wasn't just for social niceties, satyrs have a love of novelty and often travel seeking new experiences.

Being on the fringe of society and always traveling gave them a cultural imperative to hone their survival skills which resulted in most satyrs developing a strong respect for nature.

During the Second Unmaking most satyrs chose to ally themselves with other races seeking strength in numbers. The satyrs suffered their losses, but a fair number survived into the Third Age.

Once the threat of mutual annihilation was lifted, satyrs once again found that their welcomes around so called "civilized folk" were often limited causing them to resume their nomadic ways.

Once fairly unified under a single culture, as satyrs spread throughout Scarterra they split into different cultures and tribes as regional differences set in.
Common Myths And Legends
Satyrs love storytelling and their tales are often exaggerations or pure fabrications that often contradict each other but most satyr stories of their own origins agree on the basic premise that their ancestors were elves polymorphed into goats and then turned back into elves, but not entirely.
Interspecies Relations And Assumptions
There is nothing resembling a "Satyr Homeland". Most satyrs enjoy spending time with non-satyrs and most satyrs have at least a bit of a wanderlust (in addition to their other lusts), so they exist on the periphery of the societies of other races, most commonly humans and elves. Satyrs can and do work any profession that humans or elves work. Satyrs are likely to pursue vocations that are well-suited to traveling, but this is a tendency, not a requirement. Either as individuals or small groups some satyrs choose to put down roots and become permanent parts of non-satyr communities.

Of course with satyrs, you cannot talk about interspecies relations without talking about interspecies relations.

Satyrs commonly seek out sexual partners from among other races and more than a few among the other races have heard the stories and see out satyrs. When two satyrs mate with non-satyrs, there is a is a fairly low chance of conception from any single romantic encounter but satyrs rarely settle for a single romantic encounter.

While they barely look the part, satyrs are a subspecies of elves. This means satyrs can produce fertile offspring with humans or elves.

If a satyr and and and elf procreate, about 80% of the time the offspring will be an ordinary elf with only minor traits manifesting from the satyr parent such as above average robustness. The remaining 20% of the time, the offspring will be an ordinary satyr with only minor traits manifesting from the elf parent such as more pronounced elfin features.

If a satyr and a human procreate, about 60% of the time, the offspring will be a half-elf that is nigh indistinguishable from any other half-human half-elf. About 20% of the time the offspring will be a ordinary satyr with slightly rounder ears this typical and about 10% of the time the offspring will be an ordinary human that might be a bit hairier than average. About 10% of the time the result is a more or less ordinary half-elf or human with a few noticeably satyr like features like small horns or leg fur.

While satyrs will have sexual relations with almost anyone, it is rare for them to conceive children with races other than elves or humans. When they do, the children are usually physically healthy but sterile.

While stories of satyrs strong ties to the Fair Folk are greatly exaggerated, there is a kernel of truth in these tales. Relative to their small numbers, satyrs are far more likely to have sexual relations with Fair Folk than most other mortals and more than a few satyrs have a drop or two of faerie blood in their veins.

(Sidebar)

Satyr Character Creation Rules
Satyr have the same basic 1-5 Attribute spread that most humanoids have for most attributes.

Legendary Stamina: Satyrs receive a free bonus dot in Stamina and can potentially raise their Stamina to trait to 6. In addition they can drink anyone under the table and eat food from questionable sources. They receive a -1 difficulty bonus to hold their alcohol or resist ingested poisons.

Nimble Goat Legs: Satyrs are prodigious jumpers, climbers, swimmers and runners. They receive a -1 difficulty bonus on all non-magical Athletics rolls. They also receive a -1 difficulty bonus on Brawl attacks involving kicks.

Keen Senses: Satyrs receive a -1 bonus on all Alertness rolls.


Weak-Willed: Satyrs have poor impulse control and their minds are more susceptible to magical manipulation. Satyrs have a +1 difficulty penalty on all Willpower rolls other than Feats of Strength rolls.


While not required, most satyrs should take at least a dot or two of Athletics, Brawl, Etiquette, and Performance as these things are pushed on almost all satyr kids.

 

Here is satyr culture #1. Codenya satyrs are from Codenya. Just a recap, Codenya is the home of the wood elves who have allied with many sapient magic forest creatures.


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Codenya satyrs

During the Second Unmaking, the ancestors of he modern wood elves survived by forging alliances with many other nature loving creatures, one of these groups was satyrs.

Satyrs commonly allied with elves during the Second Unmaking but the satyrs that allied with those who would become wood elves were one of the few satyr groups that made their new alliance permanent.

Codenya satyrs are the single largest satyr culture in Scarterra. In Codenya, they are the largest demographic present apart from the wood elves. Physically, Codenya satyrs do not differ physiologically from most satyrs. Thus they usually have curly hair and more often than not manifest co-dominant earthy and airy elemental ethnicity.

Codenya satyrs are more gregarious and welcoming to outsiders than most other Codenya mortals, but they are less open to outsiders than most other satyrs. They generally prefer to mingle with other Codenyans than with foreigners though they nearly always practice the wood elf tradition of the Rumspringa.

Even more than most other Codenyans, Codenya satyrs are very nomadic. They rarely limit their roaming to one or two provinces preferring to make the entire forested nation their stomping grounds. They are moderately less isolationist than most other Codenyans and if Codenya has to deal diplomatically or commercially with outsider nations, their envoys often include a few satyrs. Some satyrs even choose to spend their winters in human lands rather than Codenya.

Codenya satyrs can be found practicing any trade or profession that wood elves may practice but they are underrepresented among craftsmen with the major exception of brewing and wine making. A majority of Codenya's vineyards and distilleries are administered by satyrs.

Culture
Major Language Groups And Dialects
Codenya satyrs speak nearly the exact same dialect of Elven that wood elves speak.

Culture And Cultural Heritage
Like most satyrs, Codenya satyrs are musically inclined. They tend to favor stringed instruments and pan pipes.

They are less prone to free-form music than most other satyrs and small groups of satyrs are likely to form long-term musical bands that rehearse together regularly as opposed to more casual rotating musical partners like other satyrs are prone to do.

Common Dress Code
It is joked that Codenya satyrs are like peacocks because the males tend to dress in bright vibrant colors while females tend to dress to blend in with the forests around them.

Common Customs, Traditions And Rituals
Codenya satyrs, on average are more pious towards the the Nine than most other satyrs, especially the female satyrs who are disproportionally represented in Codenya's priesthoods.

Most satyrs view Nami as the spiritual mother of their race, and the Codenya satyrs are not an exception. The Codenya satyrs have assimilated enough religious practices from their wood elf allies, so they also venerate Zarthus and Korus on equal footing with Nami.
Birth & Baptismal Rites
As a rule, satyrs are not known to be especially pious but Codenya satyrs invoke the Nine a lot during their naming rites. Codenya satyrs typically name their babies a month after they are born, give or take and most parents will try to bestow the blessing of several if not all nine of the Nine on their children's name days.
Coming Of Age Rites
Most satyrs have their young adults participate in coming of age rites in small groups, but Codenya satyrs usually view coming of age rites as a solo endeavor though twins often take their rituals together.

Coming of age rites typically involve the young boy or girl demonstrating competency in their chosen profession presenting an exemplar piece of work similar to some human guilds.

Their coming of age rites commonly involves the young man or woman composing a poem or song for the occasion. The poem may be very heartfelt and serious or whimsically and silly, there are not hard and fast rules. It varies on the preference of the individual more than anything.

Finally, the rite of passage into adulthood involve a solitary sojourn/vision question which may be held in deep seriousness or not, depending on the individual in question.
Funerary And Memorial Customs
Like most satyrs, Codenya satyrs follow the basic pattern of a period of silence followed by a mournful dirge followed by a raucous party followed by a burial. The main difference that sets them apart from other satyrs is that they are less prone to bar non-satyrs from joining their memorials, provided the other mourners are still Codenyans.
Ideals
Gender Ideals
Like most other satyrs, Codenya satyrs have a fun loving hedonistic streak coupled with a love and respect for nature.

While the wood elves they are allied with are often androgynous with regards to gender roles, Codenya satyrs are more culturally dimorphic along gender lines. Males tend to lean towards the hedonistic side of satyrs, disproportionately represented among performance troupes and vintners. Females tend to lean towards the nature loving side of satyrs, disproportionately represented among rangers, hunters, and priesthoods.

 

Satyr subculture #2 is the artic barbarian satyrs. Since satyrs are originally a Greek myth, I named them after the Greek goddess of snow Kione.


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Kionus satyrs

The Kionus satyrs are a relatively small population of satyrs with a wide geographic range. Sometimes nicknamed Snow Goats, the Kionus satyrs dwell primarily in the northern lands of West Colassia.

The Snow Goats are more serious and stern than most other satyrs though they still have fun hedonistic natures if you can pierce their outer shell.

Satyrs in general have a fair amount of body hair, but Kionus satyrs are the hairiest satyr culture as befits their cold homelands. Their fur and hair tends to be white or grey. They manifest dominant airy elemental traits with secondary earthy traits.

The Kionus satyrs can be found in the entire northern band of West Colassia The Great Colassian Tundra and the World Seam Mountains. They prefer rugged terrain over flat terrain so they are disproportionately represented in the mountains. They can swim, but they generally don't like water, so they usually stay inland and rarely go fishing.

The Kionus satyrs are a tough, rugged lot. They have to hunt, trap, and forage in a harsh environment and they have to compete for living space with orcs, chimera, and various other aggressive competitors in the north. They commonly keep domesticated herds of reindeer for meat or milk.

While satyrs in general are known to be fairly brave, the Kionus satyrs have a strong warrior culture. While they will aggressively defend what is theirs, they are not blood thirsty murderers. They will negotiate peacefully with almost anyone given the chance though they prefer to do so from a position of strength.

They are more insular than most other satyrs but they are more open to dealing with outsiders than most of the mortals that roam the frozen north. If outsiders can demonstrate peaceful intentions while simultaneously demonstrating strength, the Kionus satyrs can be very generous and gregarious hosts. While they are not exactly fond of civilization, they are not hostile to civilized folk and will deal respectfully with them if approached respectfully.

They will steal to survive if pressed to it, but they are sociable and pragmatic enough to trade peacefully with almost anyone including but not limited to dwarves, orcs, humans, or kobolds.

Since they are known to deal with orcs, dwarves are often inclined to mistrust them and visa versa but they can usually overcome these misgivings with their satyr charm. But just in case their charm fails, that is why they prefer to negotiate from a position of strength.

When they trade with other races, they commonly seek alcoholic beverages. Left to their own devices, their most common drink is fermented reindeer milk.

Kionus satyrs have some smiths among them, but most of their metal weapons and tools are gained from barter or theft. When they trade with others, they commonly trade away fur, ivory, and reagents.

Culture

Major Language Groups And Dialects
Kionus satyrs speak Common as their mother tongue. Most of them are multi-lingual commonly learning Elven, Draconic, Dwarven, and/or Orcish.

Culture And Cultural Heritage
Like most satyrs, Kionus satyrs are musically inclined. They tend to favor drums and horns though singing is by far their favorite method of musical expression.

Shared Customary Codes And Values
Kionus' satyrs are often honest to the point of being blunt. They have little patience for deception. They also take their oaths very seriously, a trait that sets Kionus apart from most other satyrs.The Kionus have a tendency to cut themselves and bleed at major events, so their oaths are often blood oaths.

Common Dress Code
Kionus satyrs dress pragmatically for warmth and camouflage.

Common Customs, Traditions And Rituals
Kionus satyrs are not especially pious but they still periodically give the Nine their due. They are especially fond of Maylar and Korus. While still respectful towards Nami, they are less pro-Nami than most other satyrs.Most Kionus satyrs practice ancestors worship at least a few times a year, a practice that is uncommon among mother other satyrs.

Birth & Baptismal Rites
Since their infant mortality is so high that it is considered bad luck to name a child too early. Kionus satyrs do not name their children until at least their second birthday.

On their name day, their mother (and occasionally father or another male relative) will anoint the child's head with a little bit of her own blood.

Coming Of Age Rites
To be officially recognized as adult, young boys and girls must survive on their own for at least a week in the coldest part of winter. Usually this rite of passage is done in groups of four to six. These rites of passage often form the basis for lifelong friendships and/or romances.

Funerary And Memorial Customs
Kionus satyrs are fairly similar to other satyr funeral services with a period of silence followed by a long mournful dirge followed by a raucous party.

There are two things unique to the Kionus. The first is that the bereaved usually cut their palms and bleed into a wooden cup at the start of the ceremony. The second is that they usually practice cremation instead of burial, burning their cup of blood on the funeral pyre at the conclusion of the ceremony.
Ideals
Courtship Ideals
Most Kionus satyrs travel in bands of two dozen to five dozen satyrs but these tribal boundaries are fluid. When two groups meet, it is common for more than a few members to migrate to the other group which is the main way the Kionus avoid inbreeding issues.

Relative to other satyrs, Kionus satyrs are less likely to seek romantic partners with non-satyrs. Both male and female Kionus alike are not very monogamous as a rule but they have a tendency to prefer strong and tough mates.

Courtship rituals often involve non-lethal, but brutal fights between potential mates and/or romantic rivals.


I'm not sure what satyr subculture #3 is going to be. West Colassia has tiny satyr minorities in most human nations there, but I'm not sure if I want to make the satyr ethnicities nation based or determined by something else.

 

Thank you for the feedback.

Thanks, as far as I know, no other author has made them an elf subspecies, but a lot of artists have drawn satyrs with elfin facial features and pointed ears.

I had links in the description to this short myth which I wrote ages ago, but I guess I can post it here.

the first satyrs

There are lots of variations in the origin stories for how satyrs came to be, but they tend to follow this pattern: A stodgy elven queen (or king or high priest or some other authority figure) in a stodgy elven nation (whose ruins are not far from this very forest!) banned dancing, alcohol, lively music and generally was anti-fun (much like in Footloose).

A cult of Nami's Rovers moved in to try to teach the subjects of said nation how to have fun. It worked out well, until the queen’s enforcers arrested them all. The queen was a powerful wizard (or had minions who were powerful wizards depending on the storyteller). She told the Nami cultists “If you will behave like animals, animals you shall be” and polymorphed them into goats.

Nami took pity on her followers and offered to turn them back into the elves, but they insisted on carrying a mark of their transformation as a band of honor.

Thus, the first satyrs were created from elves. Finding civilization in general too stifling, the satyrs opted to become nomadic forest dwellers.

A long time ago, when I first created the D&D10 rules system, I made a base set of magic rules, then I created five magic traditions.

Hermetic wizards (spell books and pointing hats), draconic sorcerers (mages with distant dragon ancestors), warlocks (people who made pacts with otherworldly beings for power), savage wizards (tattooed barbarian mages), and bardic wizards.

Each of the five magical had the same spell list, but had difficult bonuses in their favor casting certain magic and they had all minor strengths and weaknesses relative to the others.

Then my players read my rules. They said the spell system and base rules were good, but they politely asked me to scrap the five magical traditions.

I turned all the strengths and weaknesses into a set of Merits and Flaws, so players can pick which strengths and weaknesses they want. Now rather than having five magical traditions, Scarterra now has about 100 magical traditions depending on which Merits and Flaws you take.

What did the party wizard's player pick? No magical Merits or Flaws at all. Just a couple spells he liked.

Bardic Mage is now an 8 point Flaw. Unlike any other mage, Bardic mages can only cast magic when they sing and/or play a musical instrument. That means they can never cast a spell stealthily, they cannot cast spells at all if gagged and their spells are much weaker if their musical instruments are stolen.

At the base level, a Bardic Mage can cast magic with almost any musical instrument, but for another 4 point of Flaw, he can only use musical instruments crafted by Bardic Mages.

On the plus side, the 8/12 Flaw points can be converted into a bunch of free spells, so a beginning Bardic Mage will start out with many more spells than another mage type.

A hypothetical satyr Bardic Mage would have the same options as any other mage. He can use whatever the magic his player chooses.

An entertainer satyr could pick some benign entertaining stuff like illusion. A sinister manipulator could focus on enchantment spells and literally use his/her magic to mentally ensnare listeners.

A battle bard could focus on buff spells to empower his allies with his inspiring music, or it's weird but I suppose an invoker could sing fireballs at people.


Likewise Bardic divine spell casters cast their spells more or less like other divine casters, they just have to sing praises to their god to cast rather than utter spoken prayers. Divine casters have a smaller spell list but the basic principle is the same. I have 13 divine spheres with five spells each. Any divine spell caster can learn any divine sphere they want, but each god and goddess gives their followers a -1 difficulty break with three specific divine spheres. For instance, any divine caster can learn the Weather sphere but Nami as the goddess of weather lets her followers cast weather spells better.

 

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Poseidonus satyrs

The Poseidonus satyrs, colloquially nicknamed "Sea Goats", is a greater herd of satyrs that love the sea. While widely scattered, these satyrs work hard to maintain ties of kinship with their fellow Sea Goats.

Most of Scarterra's main shipping lanes are near the equators so most Poseidonus satyrs have co-dominant watery and fiery traits. This set them apart from physically from the earthy/airy satyrs which are found inland.

A lot of Sea Goats are sailors, fishermen, or pirates out to see the world from a ship while others settle down in busy ports and seek stable jobs in areas where the clientele is a rotating roster of sailors, fishermen and/or pirates.

It is uncommon to find a sailing ship crewed entirely by satyrs or a seaside business staffed entirely by satyrs. Most Sea Goats are most comfortable working with a menagerie of different peoples.

Poseidonus satyrs are pretty well assimilated with human, elf, and dwarf sailors and dock workers and the satyrs embody a lot of general stereotypes of sailors. They are fond of heavy drinking, superstitious, tall tale weaving horn dogs. No sailor looks at the waves with more longing to glimpse a mermaid than a satyr sailor.
History
During the Second Age, the Island of Lunatus had some of the most sexually liberated music loving elves in all of Scarterra, so satyrs liked to visit the Lunatan elves often.

During the Second Unmaking, almost every satyr with access to a boat headed for Luntaus and the elves were happy to have extra bodies to fight off the Void demons.

After the dust settled from the Second Unmaking, The Kingdoms of Lunatus became very conservative very fast, morphing into the grey elves of modern times. The cozy relationship between the elves and the satyrs of the island soured. The satyrs took to the seas again, a few resettled elsewhere but most kept plying the seas for generations.

Culture
Major Language Groups And Dialects
Posideonus satyrs speak Elven as their mother tongue. Given that they travel so much, most Sea Goats make it a point to learn a great many languages.

Since the Sea Goats rely on letter drops to keep in touch with their kin, Poseidonus satyrs have a high rate of literacy.

Culture And Cultural Heritage

Like most satyrs, Sea Goats are usually musically inclined. Scarterrans does not have accordions, so Poseidonus satyrs use older instruments.

Flutes, pan pipes, and fiddles are popular instruments. Percussion is often accomplished by rhythmic stomping of goat hooves wooden decks or floors.

Common Dress Code
Most satyr sailors dress practically but they have a lot of trinkets that are good luck charms and souvenirs from their travelers. Satyrs that live shoreside still collect a lot of eclectic trinkets from sailors.

Common Customs, Traditions And Rituals
Poseidonus satyrs maintain ties with their distant kin through a complex series of letter chains. Most letters are open letters written to every Sea Goat and posted in satyr hang out spots across ports. Satyrs stop in to read or leave messages as inspiration takes them.

A common phrase when two Poseidonus satyrs meet for the first time "Hey, I remember reading your letters!"
Birth & Baptismal Rites
On a satyr kid's name day, the Poseidonus satyrs commonly baptize the infant with salt water.
Coming Of Age Rites
Poseidonus satyrs are pretty informal about coming of age rites. A satyr young adult of the age of majority is expected to spend at least six months of their adolescent life on a sailing ship and that is assumed to be adequate seasoning for them to be an adult.
Funerary And Memorial Customs
Satyr sailors bury their dead at sea following the funerary customs of the humans or elves they sail with.

A couple times a year, Poseidonus satyrs will gather at prearranged times to have memorial services for all the satyrs who died since the last funeral. These memorial services follow the same general pattern of other satyr memorial services: respectful silence followed mournful dirges followed by a wild party. The only difference is there is usually more than one subject being honored and there is rarely an actual corpse present.
Ideals
Gender Ideals
For the most part, Sea Goats don't differ a lot along gender lines. Both he goats and she goats tend to be superstitious, salty talkers given to hyperbole.

There are male satyrs work shoreside there are female satyrs who are full time sailors but the majority of male Sea Goats work on ships and the majority of female Sea Goats work in ports.

 

Here's another satyr ethnicity, this one has some first person narration.

Confederate satyrs

"Confederate satyrs are probably the smallest herd in Scarterra. There are maybe a couple dozen of us on the entire continent of East Colassia, not counting any foreign satyrs passing through a port temporarily.

A couple hundred years or maybe a couple thousand years ago, there was at least one large tribe of satyrs leaving hoof prints on the savannah, but dark elf slavers and gnolls cannibals decimated them ages ago.

Nearly all of us Confederate satyrs are the descendants of escaped satyr slaves. The elves may think they treat their satyr slaves well but according to my grandparents, who were ex-slaves, they treated their satyr slaves like treasured pets. Pets they order to play music for them and occasionally sleep with.

The fact that they got better food and lodging than the human slaves did not make it better. I'd rather haul rocks than be some elf noble's pet goat. Even if she was pretty...I'm getting off topic.

Satyrs don't being told what to do and we don't do well in captivity. Centuries ago the elves claimed to own over two thousand satyr slaves. Now, spies report they only have a couple hundred. A lot of satyrs either escaped or were killed for trying to escape. Most of the satyrs the elves till have in captivity have now are magically bound rather than physically bound. I cannot image the effect of that on body and soul long term, must be Hell...I'm getting off topic.

During the War, about half the satyr ex-slaves chose to join the Confederacy an take up arms against their former masters and the other half got on the first ship leaving the continent that they could find. Obviously my grand goats stuck around to fight.

After the Armistice, even more satyrs left. During the War, the humans were delighted to have tenacious athletics goat legged warriors fighting at their side. Now that we are supposedly at peace, things are more complicated.

Then as is now, not everyone in the Confederacy agreed with the Armistice Treaty. Some humans said we shouldn't stop the war until every last slave is freed. Most of the satyrs agreed with them and still do. This means the pro-Peace confederates often don't like us much.

The Musselanders and Marshlanders know how to let their hair down and party but on the whole, East Colassian humans are pretty stuck up and repressed and thus they are intimidated by us. Though sometimes repressed humans can really let loose in private. The appeal of forbidden fruit...I'm getting off topic.

I know that satyrs aren't goats, but it is still unnerving that the humans here seem to eat goat meat at practically Every. Single. Meal.

The local humans are a handsome lot and more importantly a sturdy lot, but there is an unspoken downside to hooking up with them. Most half-satyrs look very much like half-elves and while the Confederates might pretend otherwise, they do not truly accept half-elves among them. We satyrs tend to get along fairly well half-elves, we actually treat them like people.

There are some good things about the continent too. The hot dry climate agrees with us. We like dry areas, but not too dry, the yetis and gnolls can have the tundra and desert to themselves for all I care. The climate means both we and the locals often dress light. As I said, the locals are rather attractive...I'm getting off topic.

The lands of Confederacy produce some of the best wines and mead in Scarterra and decent ales, vodkas and whiskeys too. If they lost the mead, I'd probably make goat tracks out of the continent."
-Basim, apothecary and reagent dealer

Culture
Major Language Groups And Dialects
Most Confederate satyrs now teach Common to kids before any other language, but almost all of them make it a point to learn Elven.
Culture And Cultural Heritage
Given that most enslaved satyrs were forced to perform music for their masters, Confederate satyrs are less likely to focus on developing their musical prowess as a matter of pride. They especially avoid instruments that the dark elves like, lyres and flutes. Confederate satyrs prefer drums and other percussion, all the better for setting a beat to dance to. Most satyrs like to dance, but Confederate satyrs especially like to dance.
Common Dress Code
Most confederate satyrs will try to dress to blend in wearing similar clothes to whatever the local humans are wearing though they tend to be more than a little on the revealing side. That is hardly unusual for any satyr given that satyrs are very sensual beings but Confederate satyrs also have the practical issue that they have furry legs in a warm climate.
Birth & Baptismal Rites
Confederate satyrs usually name their kids two weeks after birth, give or take. The infant is traditionally covered in dust then washed ceremonially. Confederate satyrs usually pick a human name for their sons and daughters rather than a traditional satyr name (which are very similar to traditional elf names and thus not likely to well received in the lands of the Confederacy)
Coming Of Age Rites
Young men and women alike go on a ceremonial hunt with minimal water rations.
Funerary And Memorial Customs
Their numbers are so small and their efforts to assimilate to the local culture is high, so Confederate satyr funerals tend to resemble Confederate human funerals, though with more drinking and sex afterwards.

 

My wandering mind is both a blessing and a curse.





I don't know if a clopping hoof would make tap dancing easy because it's natural or if a human foot with tap dancing shoes would be a better fit.

Also wondering about centaurs but I'm not sure if Scarterra is going to have centaurs.

I have often been hoping to befriend a marine biologist that is a fan of the fantasy genre that I can bounce ideas off of for Scaraqua. Now I need to find a tap dancer who likes fancy.



Another random thought came from my mind brain while I was watching some Star Trek Enterprise.

I always thought Star Trek should have more non-human characters given that the Federation has so many member worlds and the humans are only one among many. Since Enterprise is a prequel in the early days of humanity exploring the stars, the crew is almost entirely human but whenever they go to a new planet people are like "Humans, never heard of 'em."

Most sci-fi and fantasy stories have humans as the default race and Scarterra is no exception.

But I am intrigued by settings where humans are rare. The two examples I can come up with off the top of my head are the movie Titan AE and the series Adventure Time. Both post-apocalyptic settings that are animated.

I shouldn't worry about a spin-off Scarterra until Scarterra actually gets a book or three, but sometimes my mind wanders to Steamterra. Now I like the idea that in Steamterra, humans are a minority group.

The First Unmaking saw elves replace dragons as the dominant race leaving a dragons a new minority. The Second Unmaking saw humans replace elves as the dominant race leaving elves as a new minority. A hypothetical Third Unmaking might see the Nine create a new race to inherit the world. I have no idea what race this would be.

Or they could say, "hey we got like half a hundred mortal races already, let's just work with what we got." But if they did this, humans would probably still be the largest group because they would start the Unmaking with more numbers, and they outbreed most other races.

And my mind brain went into an unrelated that a Fourth Unmaking should not just decimate humanity but also form some kind of catalyst that leads to a reduction in magic and increase in technology to justify a Steam Punk world.

Just a bunch of random thoughts, though I should probably bully my brain into writing actual stories, doing some chores, or at least making a map instead of going off another tangent.

 

I thought of a simple magic item for counter espionage.

A scroll case that makes any papers removed illegible smudged with ink unless the person pulling the papers says the right catch phrase.

If the papers are stolen, most thieves would just open it before checking for traps, but if a mage things to check, it is relatively easy to bypass temporarily with a dispel magic attempt.

Also, if a spy is about to be captured, they can pull out their documents themselves without using the code phrase in order to destroy the secrets.

I suppose this could also prevent magic spell scrolls from being stolen but I think this is mostly for protecting secret messages.

I'm not sure what to call this magic item.

 

The Dark Side of Healing Magic

I am currently reading Dance of Dragons, book 5 of Song and Ice and Fire, possibly the last book George R. Martin will write in the series.

Song of Ice and Fire is darker and grittier than I want Scarterra to be, but I don't want Scarterra to be a saccharine Disney fairy tale setting either.

There aren't a lot of people with five dot magic abilities (or even five dot mundane abilities) but someone with Healing ●●●●● can regrow amputated limbs. If such an individual chose to make healing amputees her sole mission, she could easily heal three to four amputees a day, day after or day. Or she could heal seven or eight amputees in a single day after taking down time.

Even in a harsh world, people don't lose limbs or eyes every day. One ●●●●● healer could probably keep a population of over a million people with all their body parts in place pretty easily.

Even a selfish prince would see value in sponsoring a healer like this on his payroll to keep all his subjects whole both for morale and productivity.

If said person wanted to also handle missing teeth and finger tips, they could probably handle a population of a quarter million. That might be something only the rich can deal with.

In the old days, I wanted to mathematically figure out exactly how many supernatural beings existed in my fantasy worlds. Now I think that exactitude gets in the way of storytelling.

But I ballpark that about one in two hundred Scarterrans have access to divine magic and one in twenty divine casters will reach five dot powers at some point in their lives. That means that maybe one in 40,000 people have five dot divine magic. I don't know what percentage of these luminaries have five dot Healing magic, as opposed to have five dots in one of the other twelve divine lores of magic, but I'm guessing Healing is more popular than most because of it's utility.

In Song of Ice and Fire, it is fairly common for rulers to remove the hands of thieves, the fingers of smugglers, the tongues of con men, and the genitals of rapists, though it seems like more often than not, criminals are killed outright.

The thought occurred to me that if a ruler has the loyalty of a ●●●●● Healer, that ruler could use mutilation as a non-permanent punishment.

They could be given a horrific disfigurement for a week, a month, a year, whatever the ruler sentences. While that would be draconian and scary, it would be a lot more merciful than execution and I bet ex-cons would have a low rate of recidivism.

In such a system, a person with Healing ●●●●● that is against the local ruler could heal official amputees extra-judiciously but just like people who violate banishment are executed, people who cheat and get healed early would probably be executed.

They probably are not going to execute the healer though. Such people are so rare it would be wasteful to kill them. They probably get a metaphorical slap on the wrist.

People with Healing ●●● magic are relatively common. The can heal most battlefield wounds. Healing ●● can heal the bumps and bruises of a barroom brawl. In both cases, this could allow for torture by allowing someone to be hurt over and over again with suffering permanent damage. At least physically. I believe this could cause mental illness if kept up for a long time.

Karakhai, shark people, physically weaken when kept in captivity and normally die in 5 to 10 days. With healing magic, a Karakhai can be kept in captivity indefinitely but they are almost certainly going to go mad within 30 days.

 

No one ever told me they liked the fossil fuels are dragon poop.

It's not quite a non-renewable resource. During the First Age, there were tens of millions of dragons dropping feces. Now there are a couple thousand.

Humans are probably burning coal at a faster rate than dragons are making coal.

We'll put a pin in this for later. As of yet, my Scarterra wiki does not answer "where does coal come from?" Most coal miners don't know or care how the coal got there. They just want to get paid for their labor and not die in a cave-in.

I didn't get much feedback here or on a D&D forum with a consensus with thoughts on reversible body mutilation as a punishment though the one guy who responded opined this kind of leans on the "feels evil side".

My thought is that is this kind of brutal but reversible corporal punishment does exist on Scarterra but it is rare and controversial.

Not every ruler can recruits a ●●●●● Healer full time. Of those rulers that could. Not every ruler wants to implement this version of law and order.

Probably Meraland would do this. They are both harshly controversial and since they have a lot of hardcore Mera worshippers their population produces a lot of theurgists with Healing magic. Meraland is kind of made up of anti-heroes not villains.

I'm not sure if I want any of my villain nations to use this. The dark elves could probably recruit a few ●●●●● Healers affiliated with Greymoria. King Drosst is pretty areligious, so he doesn't have a horde of powerful theurgists knocking on his door to join his regime.

I suppose with 20 separate microstates in the Border Baronies, maybe one of the Border Barons managed to get a morally gray master healer on his or her payroll.

 

Indeed.

Though I could write a hundred novels and never mention the scientific or magical origins of coal. Maybe if I did a Steamterra spinoff, the topic would eventually come up.

At this point I'm leaning towards coal is fossilized dragon poop, but most Scarterrans (even many dragons) don't know this since "fresh" dragon droppings are essentially the equivalent of very low grade coal.

In fact, you could academics argue about coal came from the Elemental Plane or from the Nine or from dragon poop or from desiccated demon corpses or maybe coal is the empty husk of dead stars that fell from the sky. The vast majority of Scarterrans have more pressing concerns than figuring out where coal comes from.

In my opinion, the longer a story is, the more shifts in tone you need. Some cases a bit of levity can make the darker portions of a story darker by contrast, like describing a beautiful butterfly flying over the corpse strewn wreckage of a burned town.

Likewise, dark aspects can highlight humorous moments by having the characters cope with tragedy through levity and/or hope.

My mind wanders a lot, and I am currently working a simple job that I can do while letting my mind wander (though I shouldn't drive or operate heavy machinery while pondering Scarterra).

Before factoring in burnable dragon poop, I figured a great many ancient elven cities would be built on the ruins of ancient dragon cities and a lot of human cities are built on the ruins of ancient elven cities.

Mainly I thought about this for building materials. After the fall of Rome, Ancient Roman ruins were scavenged for building materials until well into the 20th century.

The First Unmaking saw most dragon buildings fall down when the elementals ran amok, but in most cases they didn't pound the fallen buildings into dust, so a lot of the rubble was reusable.

Relative to their large size. Dragons do not poop as often or as much as humans or elves do. They probably flew some distance from their homes to "evacuate" though I suppose they could have made their low ranking thurakel to empty the equivalent of their draconic chamber pots.

For what it's worth, the thurakel races, mostly giants, urinated and defecated more or less like humans do. They probably gong farmers move their waste to fertilize fields.

You are certainly right that going after dragon gold is not the safest bet. While the First Unmaking killed 90% of the dragons and 95% of the thurakel races, most of the survivors fled the chaos with loot in tow. When the dust settled and the First Unmaking was officially over, some dragons and former thurakel returned to the wreckage to scavenge for gold.

For thousands of years, Second Age elf adventurers sought out draconic ruins to look for gold. The odds of Third Age human adventurers finding undiscovered ancient dragon gold is very slim. That said, if they set their sights lower, Third Age treasure hunters can still make money by pilfering draconic ruins. In the Third Age eccentric collectors will pay good money to own relics used by ancient dragons even if the relics themselves aren't that impressive. Much like how in the real world, someone might pay a lot of money to own a simple comb once used by an Ancient Roman noblewoman or a collector might pay good money for ancient tablet that just has an inventory ledger on it.

Most Third Age treasure hunters choose to comb through Second Age ruins for elven gold. But yeah, I suppose not a lot of Second Age elves went prospecting for coal because if dragon poop becomes coal, then the Second Age elves had plenty of coal since most major elven cities were built on top of the ruins of major draconic cities.

A city built near draconic ruins would probably have some coal deposits nearby which would be a nice boon to elves or humans building up their new society there. I don't know if the Second Age elves occupying the ruins of an ancient draconic city would have fully exhausted their coal mines or not by the time humans are occupying the elven ruins.

Dragons, relative to their large size, require less water to live than humans or elves. During the First Age, they could use a bit of magic to make sophisticated aqueducts and/or water pumps, (or in small doses, conjure water directly from the Elemental Plane), so they didn't necessarily need to put their settlements near fresh water sources the way humans and elves do.

Dragons really liked to live in high elevation when possible, so there are probably a lot draconic ruins in the mountains and that is where the untapped draconic toilets are. This means dwarves have relatively easy access to coal, which is great because dwarf industry requires a lot of coal.

Related tangent. Between the First and the Second Age, a lot of rivers were drastically rerouted during the First Unmaking. Maybe a good place to find coal away from the mountains is the ruins of a draconic river township that are no longer river adjacent.

A few ancient dragons (mostly poor dragons) lived under the sea and a lot of rich land dwelling dragons would dump their garbage into the sea. This means Scaraquans would have access to lots of coal that is unusable to them that they could trade with Scarterrans for a hefty profit but most Scaraquans are not aware of what coal can be used for. If anything, if disturbed underwater coal would probably be viewed as a natural hazard, since if you stir up coal dust into the water it will clog gills. As bad as coal causing humans to get black lung, black gills would be even more deadly. It would take some lateral thinking for a Scaraquan to figure out that they could make a fortune trading with the Scarterrans since it would be like if real world humans discovered that our toxic waste is actually quite valuable to Martians.

 

I have been pondering a holy symbol for Greymoria for a long time and my friend suggested a star because of it's association with magic and an inverted black heart.

I just want to make sure this doesn't accidentally look like something dirty.

 

I thought it kind of resembled something bad but I wasn't sure. Maybe this is a bit better.