Human Ethnic Cultures of Skârn 5e D&D Write-ups
Feb 9, 2018 1:25:17 GMT -5
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Post by Hexenritter Verlag on Feb 9, 2018 1:25:17 GMT -5
Humans: Humans are a diverse people who populate many lands often side by side to non-humans at time in harmony & other times in hostility.
Anthorii (pr. An-thor-ē):
The Anthorii are of middling height (5’-6’) and builds, they have pale complexions, with hair ranging from auburn to dark brown and eyes the color of green to dark brown. They commonly wear rough spun linen, wools and leathers for clothing. Spears, long bows, crossbows and short swords are favored among Anthorii folk, though long swords are rare. They wear leather armors with only the wealthy being able to afford chain or plate armors & have begun using black powder weaponry.
The common folk have a gregarious temperament but it is tempered with a growing nationalistic ideology & piety, while the aristocracy is often of a more sober mien. Religion is very important to the Anthorii people and plays a major role on Anthorii society. They celebrate several week long festivals during the equinoxes, solstices & major holidays of the O’roonish Orthodox Church. A new tradition started twenty years ago has all noble children spending a year in religious study at the great Cathedral in Kurvōs. The more well off commoners often send their eldest child to Kurvōs to study alongside the aristocrats’ children.
Arkhonians (True Arkhonian; pr. Ar-kōn-ian): Arkhonians make up the bulk of the citizens of the empire & are native to the lower Calinor Plains in Arkhon Province. They are a short (4’6”-5’6”) and swarthy people, with dusky complexion & black hair. They are a loud and gregarious folk who love music and to dance, though such things are forbidden in Arkhon ever since the rise of the Witch-king a half a century ago. So they do these things secretly, often as their covert religious celebrations. They are a more literate people placing great pride in acquiring knowledge and take easily to learning magic, dark magic is popular in high society dominated by the Fellborn aristocracy, so Arkhonians shy away from its usage.
Arkhonians prefer to dress in more elaborate clothing and jewelry (including piercings), and they also love adorn themselves with elaborate tattoos. For weaponry the Arkhonians prefer long-knives/daggers, short swords or scimitars, compound short bows. They rarely use heavy armors, preferring to use magic or their agility and quickness to preserve their lives. Wealthy Arkhonians & Fellborn of Arkhon have begun to adopt black powdered weaponry. Dueling is a popular and respected means to deal with slights to honor or disagreements
Arkhonian (Drunese Arkhonian): Are nearly identical to their Arkhon based kindred except they are a bit more pious in nature & taller (4’6”-6’6”) because of the greater admixture of Morgâthite blood in the Arkhonian’s living within the Wilds of Drun.
Drakoi (pr. Draw-koi):
Drakoi are a tall fit & strong people with ebony coloration. They have dark brown eyes & wooly hair worn cropped close to their skulls no matter the gender; to help keep them free of lice. They wear lots of fine but simple jewelry, including piercings & use scarification. They wear light but sturdily made clothing designed to defend against the sun, heat & sand. Drakoi weaponry is simple & light, scimitars & falchions are common, so are bows and black powdered weaponry bought from the Dwarves. Armor is rarely worn by the Dhakoi as it is to hot & cumbersome for the climate. They instead use agility, quickness & magic to defend themselves.
The Drakoi worship a small pantheon that is similar to the pantheon of their northern neighbors the Djongo, which includes nature & elemental spirits, as well as their sacred ancestors. Though similar to the Drongo pantheon, there are differences between them. The pantheon is smaller & based around a small family of elemental & celestial deities that suits their nomadic culture.
Culturally the Drakoi are a proud & noble race, who is often prone to fatalism. They live in a harsh & unforgiving land, thus they mirror those traits. Homosexual relations are condoned as long as they are outside the marriage contract. If you are married to a person of the opposite gender & have produced a child for the tribe & clan, who have sex with does not matter. Marriage & childbirth are sacred to the Drakoi, those that refuse to get married or have children are pariahs and cast out of their tribe. Criminals and rapists are killed publically; the family of guilty is shamed & must make amends to the tribe before the shame can be lifted. Honor means everything to the Drakoi, be it personal, family or tribal honor. A Drakoi dishonored will do anything to cleanse the mark against his or her honor, even committing suicide or murder. To guard against that dueling is a common way to assuage slights of honor, ranging from first blood to the death.
Ghatarans (pr. Ga-tar-rans): Ghatarans are ebony skinned nomadic people who live in loose tribal confederations of related clans. They are a tall (6’-7’) & well muscled people, with short tightly curly black hair & dark brown eyes. They also use scarification & varied war paint tied to their tribe & clan. Ghatarans dress in varied colored light robes, head wraps to keep out both the sun & sand. They are a patriarchal society ruled by Clan Chiefs & then a greater Tribal Chieftain. Each chief & chieftain is a skilled warrior & mage.
Ghatarian women are subservient to their men folk & run the households while their husbands are out herding or raiding. They never study arcane magic or war-craft, any female Ghataran found doing so is killed by their family in order to cleanse the dishonor upon their Clan & tribe. The offending Clan often loses position in the tribe & has to pay a large tribute in booty & livestock to their tribal chieftain to regain the lost position. Ghatarian females can become healers & priestesses to their tribal deities.
Ghirra (pr. Gēr-ra): The Ghirra are a young culture native to eastern Drun who are mix of Anthorii & Gojiran heritage who dwell along the Ghirra river from which they take their name. They worship the pre-Orthodox Anthorii religion, plus a few Gojirran spirits & their patron deity is Ghirra the river goddess of the dawn. The Ghirra are fairly tall like their Gojiran kindred as they stand 5’6”-6’6” in height. They are a rough and tumble people, who love their freedom and enjoy life as best they can. They dress in utilitarian style cloths of rough spun linen, wool and leathers, with little embellishment to them. They do like simple jewelry and wear a lot of it. They prefer bows, axes & spears for weaponry among the common folk, plus chain shirts or studded leather armor & basic wooden shields. Like their Anthorii kin the Ghirra have started to adopt the use of black powder weaponry among the wealthy members of their community.
Gojiran (pr. Gō-jir-an): The Gojirans are tall (5’6”-6’6”) pale skinned men with blonde or reddish hair and blue or green eyes. They wear woolen or leather clothing in basic utilitarian style. Gojirans prefer to use short bows, spears and axes as weapons and hardened leather and furs as armor. They are a nomadic warrior folk who crossed through the Crimfall Peaks into Drun. They have clashed with the elves and goblins of the Drunwood often and eventually settled near the Crooked Spine Mountains or along the eastern half of the coastal plain.
Hundarii (pr. Hun-dar-ē): the Hundarii people, a people with middling height (5’-6’) & builds; they have light tawny skin & hair that ranges from corn blonde to dark brown. They also have eyes ranging from steel gray to caramel brown. The Hundarii people dress in elaborate but sturdy clothing, they love jewelry, especially torcs, arm rings & finger rings. Weaponry common to the Hundarii people is Elven long knives (except for Ilšmirans who prefer Dwarven long knives to the thinner elfin kind); hand axes, sabers & crossbows, though the elite Legionnaires & aristocrats employ black powder weaponry. Armor is often reinforced leather or metal breastplates among the Legion. The people are jovial, love to fish & hunt, as well as work wood. They are known for their fine boats, furniture & musical instruments.
Iššanim (pr. Ish-sha-nim): The Iššanim people are of average height (5’-6’) & build with a dusky complexioned skin tone, with long dark brown to black hair & dark brown almond shaped eyes. They are a fit & agile people, the men wear wide legged knee breeches, loose blouse-like shirts, long socks n’ shoes or knee length boots. Women wear loose mid calf length or shorter skirts & light revealing blooses, while both gender wear vests & sashes, as it is too hot for heavy coats in Khalidûr. The Iššanim love to wear elaborate make up, tattoos & jewelry. The use of perfumes, incense & colognes is popular.
The Iššanim also love knowledge, poetry, the arts, music & dance, as well as athletic pursuits & dueling. Their pantheon is different than the Anthorian/Arkhonian pantheon to the north, though you could find some similarities between them.
Morgâthites (pr. Mor-gaath-ites): The Morgâthites are a less ruddy & slightly taller (5’6”-6’6”) people than their Arkhonian kindred, the men wear their hair short & non-warrior women wear theirs long & often in elaborate styles. Morgâthites dress in simple utilitarian clothing, except their military uniforms are more elaborate in style. Unlike Arkhonians, Morgâthites are a more ordered & strict peoples, they are a militaristic people & make up the bulk of the human membership of the imperial Legions. Like Arkhonians their culture is centered on houses though they are strongly tied to the military. Morgâthites are related to the Anthorii of the O’roon Vale & northern state of the Empire of Khalidûr.
Morgâthites are very pious & often serve time in temple service or join the priesthood of their House’s patron deity. They worship the Anthorii Chthonic pantheon as decreed by their Witch-King & Emperors. Only two Anthorii celestial deities are honored by Morgâthites, they are Enzhai & Kólgrim. The religious society of the emperor is made up mainly of Morgâthites & their Fellborn overlords. Only arcane traditions that Morgâthites use are as Warrior-Magi & Enchanters.
There is a major rivalry between Morgâthites & Ghatarans, as both are militaristic in nature, but culturally antithetical to each other. Though Ghatarans also hate Arkhonians, they are seen as no threat & are only worthy of slavestock; where as Morgâthites are a threat to their dominion of their deserts & status in the over all imperial culture.
Quentarii (pr. Quen-tar-ē): The Quentarii are a darker skinned people with olive-brown complexions, black hair & brown eyes. They are a tall (6’-7’), lithe but toned people, who live in the southern jungles & swamps. They wear kilts, vests & sandals, they rarely use armor beyond a helmet & shield. The Quentarii love to wear jewelry, including body piercings, they also use scarification in ornate designs. They wear their hair in varied styles depending on clan & state they belong to. They prefer to use spears, chakram, khukri, short swords & black powder weaponry when they can afford them. In official imperial engagements (such as visitations with imperial aristocrats) the Quentarii wear clothing in the Iššanim style.
The Quentarii men & woman share duties, as well as serving in the militias & Legion. The men work the mines & timber yards, while the women folk run the schools & work as fishermen. The Quentarii are a hard working people, who also like to enjoy themselves afterwards, with dance, music & love making. They are a proud warrior folk & get along well with Ard’graal & Saar’Khôr; outside the Iššanim & Ard’Graal, the Quentarii make up the bulk of the Imperial Legions, in part as it helps keep their population under control & those that return bolster their states militias.
Sharva (pr. Shar-va): The Sharva are a young culture much like the Ghirra who dwell in western Drun & are a mixture of Arkhonian & Anthorii heritage. The Sharva are shorter (4’6”-5’6”) and swarthier than their eastern neighbors as they also take more after their Arkhonian heritage than their Anthorii kin. The Sharva also take more after Arkhonian culture than the Anthorii culture. Though they worship the same deities as the Anthorii pantheon they do so by pre-imperial Morgâthite form of their religion; though in a less restrictive form than it is back in Arkhon. They are a loud and gregarious folk who love music and to dance, as such things were forbidden in Arkhon ever since the rise of the Witch-king a half a century ago. They are a more literate people placing great pride in acquiring knowledge and take easily to learning magic, though they forbid the study of dark magic in fear that it will corrupt their communities. They prefer to dress in more elaborate clothing and jewelry (including piercings), they also love adorn themselves with elaborate tattoos. For weaponry the Sharva prefer long-knives/daggers, short swords or scimitars, compound short bows. They rarely use heavy armors, preferring to use magic or their agility and quickness to preserve their lives. Wealthy Sharva have begun to adopt black powdered weaponry. Dueling is a popular and respected means to deal with slights to honor or disagreements.
Trōjj’Hroon (pr. Trōj-rūn): Humans of the Mong’Zuul Jungle are broken up into several small tribes but are descended from the same root sub-race; the Trōjj’Hroon. The Trōjj’Hroon are middling height (5’-6’) and have slender athletically toned builds, they have mahogany coloration & black straight hair worn in varied styles depending on the tribe. They also have light to dark brown eyes, broad strong noses & plump lips. The Trōjj’Hroon wear very little but simple loin cloths, elaborate head dresses among the tribal leaders, jewelry & use both piercing and scarification; each tribe also wears body paint specific to its tribe.
The Trōjj’Hroon only use weapons made from natural elements (bone, wood & stone) unless they trade for weapons made from a rust resistant black metal called Kaspim steel, it is light but strong & holds a sharp edge. Popular weapons are daggers, blow pipes, bows, spears, war clubs & axes; while metal weaponry is wielded by tribal leaders & the tribes appointed champions.
Each tribe is based around an ancestor stone much like the Drōjj’Yuun, who share the same language and many customs with the Trōjj’Hroon. Some suspect the Drōjj’Yuun are mutants descended from the Trōjj’Hroon’s ancient ancestors. They both get along & refuse to harm each other. Those guilty are cast out of their tribes & often handed over to the other for punishment. They instead honor their own gods, spirits & ancestors. The Trōjj’Hroon live in small primitive villages in the swamps center. Their villages are set on stilts & surround a hill upon which their tribal rune-stone stands. Each tribe has an animal totem, carved into the stone with elaborate runes covering it; the stone also has symbols representing their tribal deities. Each tribe is broken up into three clans; whose village is built creating a point of a triangle with the tribal stone standing between the villages a quarter mile from the village edge.
The Trōjj’Hroon are primitive compared to their neighbors & the empire, but it is a proud culture. Their music is eerily beautiful, their dances are erotic & exotic in nature & their food though simple looking has wonderful sophistication. Herbs & spices add flavor to meat & vegetable dishes, served over rice & accompanied by fresh fruit. The Trōjj’Hroon love to drink fermented fruit juice that is sweet, spicy & packs a punch, as well as a spicy sweet rice wine; they also love to smoke a small variety of herbs.
Clan & tribe is very important, so Trōjj’Hroon will only leave the Mong’Zuul Jungle for three reasons, being exiled or kidnapped & sold into slavery or lastly their deities or spirits send one of a quest for the tribe. Mating is done based upon completion of a spirit quest & the youths proving they are ready to be an adult. They seek out mates worthy of ensuring the survival tribe. Half-Elves, Half-Dwarves & Half-Orcs are common within the tribes, as they’ll take occasional lovers with Dwarves & Elves prior to marriage & will occasionally marry Ard’Graal instead of a fellow Trōjj’Hroon. When they go through a mating ceremony that links their souls between the lovers; marriage is generally monogamous among the common folk, but polygamy is common among the tribal leadership.
Anthorii (pr. An-thor-ē):
The Anthorii are of middling height (5’-6’) and builds, they have pale complexions, with hair ranging from auburn to dark brown and eyes the color of green to dark brown. They commonly wear rough spun linen, wools and leathers for clothing. Spears, long bows, crossbows and short swords are favored among Anthorii folk, though long swords are rare. They wear leather armors with only the wealthy being able to afford chain or plate armors & have begun using black powder weaponry.
The common folk have a gregarious temperament but it is tempered with a growing nationalistic ideology & piety, while the aristocracy is often of a more sober mien. Religion is very important to the Anthorii people and plays a major role on Anthorii society. They celebrate several week long festivals during the equinoxes, solstices & major holidays of the O’roonish Orthodox Church. A new tradition started twenty years ago has all noble children spending a year in religious study at the great Cathedral in Kurvōs. The more well off commoners often send their eldest child to Kurvōs to study alongside the aristocrats’ children.
Arkhonians (True Arkhonian; pr. Ar-kōn-ian): Arkhonians make up the bulk of the citizens of the empire & are native to the lower Calinor Plains in Arkhon Province. They are a short (4’6”-5’6”) and swarthy people, with dusky complexion & black hair. They are a loud and gregarious folk who love music and to dance, though such things are forbidden in Arkhon ever since the rise of the Witch-king a half a century ago. So they do these things secretly, often as their covert religious celebrations. They are a more literate people placing great pride in acquiring knowledge and take easily to learning magic, dark magic is popular in high society dominated by the Fellborn aristocracy, so Arkhonians shy away from its usage.
Arkhonians prefer to dress in more elaborate clothing and jewelry (including piercings), and they also love adorn themselves with elaborate tattoos. For weaponry the Arkhonians prefer long-knives/daggers, short swords or scimitars, compound short bows. They rarely use heavy armors, preferring to use magic or their agility and quickness to preserve their lives. Wealthy Arkhonians & Fellborn of Arkhon have begun to adopt black powdered weaponry. Dueling is a popular and respected means to deal with slights to honor or disagreements
Arkhonian (Drunese Arkhonian): Are nearly identical to their Arkhon based kindred except they are a bit more pious in nature & taller (4’6”-6’6”) because of the greater admixture of Morgâthite blood in the Arkhonian’s living within the Wilds of Drun.
Drakoi (pr. Draw-koi):
Drakoi are a tall fit & strong people with ebony coloration. They have dark brown eyes & wooly hair worn cropped close to their skulls no matter the gender; to help keep them free of lice. They wear lots of fine but simple jewelry, including piercings & use scarification. They wear light but sturdily made clothing designed to defend against the sun, heat & sand. Drakoi weaponry is simple & light, scimitars & falchions are common, so are bows and black powdered weaponry bought from the Dwarves. Armor is rarely worn by the Dhakoi as it is to hot & cumbersome for the climate. They instead use agility, quickness & magic to defend themselves.
The Drakoi worship a small pantheon that is similar to the pantheon of their northern neighbors the Djongo, which includes nature & elemental spirits, as well as their sacred ancestors. Though similar to the Drongo pantheon, there are differences between them. The pantheon is smaller & based around a small family of elemental & celestial deities that suits their nomadic culture.
Culturally the Drakoi are a proud & noble race, who is often prone to fatalism. They live in a harsh & unforgiving land, thus they mirror those traits. Homosexual relations are condoned as long as they are outside the marriage contract. If you are married to a person of the opposite gender & have produced a child for the tribe & clan, who have sex with does not matter. Marriage & childbirth are sacred to the Drakoi, those that refuse to get married or have children are pariahs and cast out of their tribe. Criminals and rapists are killed publically; the family of guilty is shamed & must make amends to the tribe before the shame can be lifted. Honor means everything to the Drakoi, be it personal, family or tribal honor. A Drakoi dishonored will do anything to cleanse the mark against his or her honor, even committing suicide or murder. To guard against that dueling is a common way to assuage slights of honor, ranging from first blood to the death.
Ghatarans (pr. Ga-tar-rans): Ghatarans are ebony skinned nomadic people who live in loose tribal confederations of related clans. They are a tall (6’-7’) & well muscled people, with short tightly curly black hair & dark brown eyes. They also use scarification & varied war paint tied to their tribe & clan. Ghatarans dress in varied colored light robes, head wraps to keep out both the sun & sand. They are a patriarchal society ruled by Clan Chiefs & then a greater Tribal Chieftain. Each chief & chieftain is a skilled warrior & mage.
Ghatarian women are subservient to their men folk & run the households while their husbands are out herding or raiding. They never study arcane magic or war-craft, any female Ghataran found doing so is killed by their family in order to cleanse the dishonor upon their Clan & tribe. The offending Clan often loses position in the tribe & has to pay a large tribute in booty & livestock to their tribal chieftain to regain the lost position. Ghatarian females can become healers & priestesses to their tribal deities.
Ghirra (pr. Gēr-ra): The Ghirra are a young culture native to eastern Drun who are mix of Anthorii & Gojiran heritage who dwell along the Ghirra river from which they take their name. They worship the pre-Orthodox Anthorii religion, plus a few Gojirran spirits & their patron deity is Ghirra the river goddess of the dawn. The Ghirra are fairly tall like their Gojiran kindred as they stand 5’6”-6’6” in height. They are a rough and tumble people, who love their freedom and enjoy life as best they can. They dress in utilitarian style cloths of rough spun linen, wool and leathers, with little embellishment to them. They do like simple jewelry and wear a lot of it. They prefer bows, axes & spears for weaponry among the common folk, plus chain shirts or studded leather armor & basic wooden shields. Like their Anthorii kin the Ghirra have started to adopt the use of black powder weaponry among the wealthy members of their community.
Gojiran (pr. Gō-jir-an): The Gojirans are tall (5’6”-6’6”) pale skinned men with blonde or reddish hair and blue or green eyes. They wear woolen or leather clothing in basic utilitarian style. Gojirans prefer to use short bows, spears and axes as weapons and hardened leather and furs as armor. They are a nomadic warrior folk who crossed through the Crimfall Peaks into Drun. They have clashed with the elves and goblins of the Drunwood often and eventually settled near the Crooked Spine Mountains or along the eastern half of the coastal plain.
Hundarii (pr. Hun-dar-ē): the Hundarii people, a people with middling height (5’-6’) & builds; they have light tawny skin & hair that ranges from corn blonde to dark brown. They also have eyes ranging from steel gray to caramel brown. The Hundarii people dress in elaborate but sturdy clothing, they love jewelry, especially torcs, arm rings & finger rings. Weaponry common to the Hundarii people is Elven long knives (except for Ilšmirans who prefer Dwarven long knives to the thinner elfin kind); hand axes, sabers & crossbows, though the elite Legionnaires & aristocrats employ black powder weaponry. Armor is often reinforced leather or metal breastplates among the Legion. The people are jovial, love to fish & hunt, as well as work wood. They are known for their fine boats, furniture & musical instruments.
Iššanim (pr. Ish-sha-nim): The Iššanim people are of average height (5’-6’) & build with a dusky complexioned skin tone, with long dark brown to black hair & dark brown almond shaped eyes. They are a fit & agile people, the men wear wide legged knee breeches, loose blouse-like shirts, long socks n’ shoes or knee length boots. Women wear loose mid calf length or shorter skirts & light revealing blooses, while both gender wear vests & sashes, as it is too hot for heavy coats in Khalidûr. The Iššanim love to wear elaborate make up, tattoos & jewelry. The use of perfumes, incense & colognes is popular.
The Iššanim also love knowledge, poetry, the arts, music & dance, as well as athletic pursuits & dueling. Their pantheon is different than the Anthorian/Arkhonian pantheon to the north, though you could find some similarities between them.
Morgâthites (pr. Mor-gaath-ites): The Morgâthites are a less ruddy & slightly taller (5’6”-6’6”) people than their Arkhonian kindred, the men wear their hair short & non-warrior women wear theirs long & often in elaborate styles. Morgâthites dress in simple utilitarian clothing, except their military uniforms are more elaborate in style. Unlike Arkhonians, Morgâthites are a more ordered & strict peoples, they are a militaristic people & make up the bulk of the human membership of the imperial Legions. Like Arkhonians their culture is centered on houses though they are strongly tied to the military. Morgâthites are related to the Anthorii of the O’roon Vale & northern state of the Empire of Khalidûr.
Morgâthites are very pious & often serve time in temple service or join the priesthood of their House’s patron deity. They worship the Anthorii Chthonic pantheon as decreed by their Witch-King & Emperors. Only two Anthorii celestial deities are honored by Morgâthites, they are Enzhai & Kólgrim. The religious society of the emperor is made up mainly of Morgâthites & their Fellborn overlords. Only arcane traditions that Morgâthites use are as Warrior-Magi & Enchanters.
There is a major rivalry between Morgâthites & Ghatarans, as both are militaristic in nature, but culturally antithetical to each other. Though Ghatarans also hate Arkhonians, they are seen as no threat & are only worthy of slavestock; where as Morgâthites are a threat to their dominion of their deserts & status in the over all imperial culture.
Quentarii (pr. Quen-tar-ē): The Quentarii are a darker skinned people with olive-brown complexions, black hair & brown eyes. They are a tall (6’-7’), lithe but toned people, who live in the southern jungles & swamps. They wear kilts, vests & sandals, they rarely use armor beyond a helmet & shield. The Quentarii love to wear jewelry, including body piercings, they also use scarification in ornate designs. They wear their hair in varied styles depending on clan & state they belong to. They prefer to use spears, chakram, khukri, short swords & black powder weaponry when they can afford them. In official imperial engagements (such as visitations with imperial aristocrats) the Quentarii wear clothing in the Iššanim style.
The Quentarii men & woman share duties, as well as serving in the militias & Legion. The men work the mines & timber yards, while the women folk run the schools & work as fishermen. The Quentarii are a hard working people, who also like to enjoy themselves afterwards, with dance, music & love making. They are a proud warrior folk & get along well with Ard’graal & Saar’Khôr; outside the Iššanim & Ard’Graal, the Quentarii make up the bulk of the Imperial Legions, in part as it helps keep their population under control & those that return bolster their states militias.
Sharva (pr. Shar-va): The Sharva are a young culture much like the Ghirra who dwell in western Drun & are a mixture of Arkhonian & Anthorii heritage. The Sharva are shorter (4’6”-5’6”) and swarthier than their eastern neighbors as they also take more after their Arkhonian heritage than their Anthorii kin. The Sharva also take more after Arkhonian culture than the Anthorii culture. Though they worship the same deities as the Anthorii pantheon they do so by pre-imperial Morgâthite form of their religion; though in a less restrictive form than it is back in Arkhon. They are a loud and gregarious folk who love music and to dance, as such things were forbidden in Arkhon ever since the rise of the Witch-king a half a century ago. They are a more literate people placing great pride in acquiring knowledge and take easily to learning magic, though they forbid the study of dark magic in fear that it will corrupt their communities. They prefer to dress in more elaborate clothing and jewelry (including piercings), they also love adorn themselves with elaborate tattoos. For weaponry the Sharva prefer long-knives/daggers, short swords or scimitars, compound short bows. They rarely use heavy armors, preferring to use magic or their agility and quickness to preserve their lives. Wealthy Sharva have begun to adopt black powdered weaponry. Dueling is a popular and respected means to deal with slights to honor or disagreements.
Trōjj’Hroon (pr. Trōj-rūn): Humans of the Mong’Zuul Jungle are broken up into several small tribes but are descended from the same root sub-race; the Trōjj’Hroon. The Trōjj’Hroon are middling height (5’-6’) and have slender athletically toned builds, they have mahogany coloration & black straight hair worn in varied styles depending on the tribe. They also have light to dark brown eyes, broad strong noses & plump lips. The Trōjj’Hroon wear very little but simple loin cloths, elaborate head dresses among the tribal leaders, jewelry & use both piercing and scarification; each tribe also wears body paint specific to its tribe.
The Trōjj’Hroon only use weapons made from natural elements (bone, wood & stone) unless they trade for weapons made from a rust resistant black metal called Kaspim steel, it is light but strong & holds a sharp edge. Popular weapons are daggers, blow pipes, bows, spears, war clubs & axes; while metal weaponry is wielded by tribal leaders & the tribes appointed champions.
Each tribe is based around an ancestor stone much like the Drōjj’Yuun, who share the same language and many customs with the Trōjj’Hroon. Some suspect the Drōjj’Yuun are mutants descended from the Trōjj’Hroon’s ancient ancestors. They both get along & refuse to harm each other. Those guilty are cast out of their tribes & often handed over to the other for punishment. They instead honor their own gods, spirits & ancestors. The Trōjj’Hroon live in small primitive villages in the swamps center. Their villages are set on stilts & surround a hill upon which their tribal rune-stone stands. Each tribe has an animal totem, carved into the stone with elaborate runes covering it; the stone also has symbols representing their tribal deities. Each tribe is broken up into three clans; whose village is built creating a point of a triangle with the tribal stone standing between the villages a quarter mile from the village edge.
The Trōjj’Hroon are primitive compared to their neighbors & the empire, but it is a proud culture. Their music is eerily beautiful, their dances are erotic & exotic in nature & their food though simple looking has wonderful sophistication. Herbs & spices add flavor to meat & vegetable dishes, served over rice & accompanied by fresh fruit. The Trōjj’Hroon love to drink fermented fruit juice that is sweet, spicy & packs a punch, as well as a spicy sweet rice wine; they also love to smoke a small variety of herbs.
Clan & tribe is very important, so Trōjj’Hroon will only leave the Mong’Zuul Jungle for three reasons, being exiled or kidnapped & sold into slavery or lastly their deities or spirits send one of a quest for the tribe. Mating is done based upon completion of a spirit quest & the youths proving they are ready to be an adult. They seek out mates worthy of ensuring the survival tribe. Half-Elves, Half-Dwarves & Half-Orcs are common within the tribes, as they’ll take occasional lovers with Dwarves & Elves prior to marriage & will occasionally marry Ard’Graal instead of a fellow Trōjj’Hroon. When they go through a mating ceremony that links their souls between the lovers; marriage is generally monogamous among the common folk, but polygamy is common among the tribal leadership.
