Human
Humans comes in a wide variety and they easily assimilate into other cultures quite well. A Human can just as easily be found working as a soldier, merchant, farmer, or any other profession common throughout Amroth. One factor that makes humans stand out from other races is their ability to adapt to any situation and environment. Human ingenuity and hopefulness is their strength as well as their weakness. Humans are sometimes too busy creating and forging their own destinies to look at the big picture. This causes some of the more long-lived races to look down on Humans are children. Other races may see humans as having short lifespans, but for such a relatively short amount of time these people can, and have, accomplished great feats.
Ancestries
Human
Short on years, long on daring, humans write their legends in Amroth, etching brilliance and darkness into the very fabric of the land.
Amrothi Background:
Humans are the most common ancestry in Amroth. They live on the wide plains of Lostariel and low mountains west of the Oasis. They can live in nomadic clans or large cities (like Akadai).
Tyrran Background:
Once settlers from another world, Tyrran Humans now call the Oasis and the world of Amroth home.
Costuming & Makeup
Clothing varies based on location and need.
Advantages
+5 to Maximum Body total
Disadvantages
None
Islander
The Islanders of Amroth are a subset of humans who have developed the ability to breathe underwater. They live on isolated island chains and can sail their outrigger canoes vast distances, navigating by the stars and by signs in the waters that only they can read. Very closely tied to the land and the water, their shamans have deep knowledge of the spirits and secrets of the seas.
Costuming & Makeup
They wear loose, breathable style clothing made from natural materials found in their native habitat that transitions easily from aquatic to land environments and are famous for their bold black tattoos.
Requirements:
Must have gills (either drawn or prosthetic) gills on their neck
Optional:
Webbed hands and/or feet
Although not required, we encourage black (no other color) tattoos on all parts of their body except their faces.
Advantages
Islanders have the innate ability to breathe underwater.
Disadvantages
Must spend 1 hour each event in the water.*
*Player does not need to be physically in the water.
Reaver
Amroth’s Reavers live in the southern reaches, along the Great Ocean. Their villages and fortresses are made of thick, broad wooden beams, and they thrive in harsh conditions that cripple most ancestries. They are widely known for their stubborn pride, great honor, and stoic courage. They are more widely known for their longboats, and their raids on softer ancestries for plunder and glory.
Costuming & Makeup
Reavers are seafaring raiders and reflect that lifestyle even when on land. Tunics, breeches, and lighter armor that accommodates life at sea are common for Reaver clothing. All Reavers must have their makeup and/or costuming approved by a Marshal and/or the Head of Logistics during Character Creation.
Requirements:
Purple painted accents on the face. (Lines/patterns/geometric shapes. Cannot look like an attunement.) Optional: Heavy scarring on the face. Prominent display of ship/clan symbol. Lots of earrings or other jewelry.
Advantages
+5 body to max Body limit
May start with Seamanship skills at no Build Cost..
Disadvantages
Read/Write cost +2 Build Points
Read Magic cost +2 Build Points
Location
Akadai (Amrothi Human)
The only constant in the Plains of Lostariel is the undead city of Akadai. Akadai is ruled by King Garrus, who rules from the Bone Throne with his Queen, Kevrys the Mad. He took control of Akadai from the Tyrant King many years ago. It is said that he rules his domain with an iron fist, and his armies of living and Undead alike are feared throughout the Plains. Rumors state that he is hundreds of years old, he can hear your very thoughts and can kill three men in a single mighty blow. It is whispered that he holds power over the darkest magics and his enemies often die mysterious and painful deaths.
Akadai is a marvel of Barbarian splendor. The outer walls are as tall as ten men, and wide enough to race chariots on. Within the safety of the walls lies a bustling city, overfilled with living people, Undead, noise, and stench. In the center of the city stands the Ivory Palace, a tower that seems to rise up into the sky and is made entirely out of skulls and bones of the King’s enemies. Buildings of the wealthy, adorned with rich colors and glittering jewels, squat around the Ivory Palace. Hovels line the outer walls. Everywhere you can see warriors in service to Garrus. Various guilds of Necromancy and undeath are commonplace in Akadai. Most Barbarians in Akadai have taken to Necromancy as a way of life and do not harbor ill will to its practitioners. The Bone Guard and the Necromancer’s Guild are two of the most famous establishments in Akadai.
It has been said that if anything of value is to be found in the Plains, it would be found in the Marketplace of Akadai. Everything is available from Undead servants, to the most magical of potions, to tomes of forbidden knowledge if you are able to meet the merchant’s price. However, few are foolhardy enough to venture within the walls of the city if they have not pledged allegiance to Garrus.
Myu (Islander)
This legendary island located in the center of the ocean between the two continents holds a special place for the Islanders. Reportedly formed during a Cataclysm when the giant land mass was split in two by the actions of the First People, Myu holds mystery and clues to the forbidden past on its shores.
Stone’s Throw (Reaver):
One of the largest Reaver settlements of note is Stone’s Throw. Ruled by the famous Jarl Winterhorn, this settlement is notorious for raiders and traders alike. This fortified settlement is located on the southern reached close to the continental shores.
Legends & Folklore
Luck Children (Amrothi Humans)
Like most races on Amroth, Humans are greatly superstitious. People with skills at reading portents of fortune are greatly prized by most tribes and most Barbarians will work to keep fortune on their side. One of the saddest victims of fortune is a luck child. Once in a great while a child, born under the right conjunction of the stars, is imbued with more than its fair share of luck. Portents show the child has a great destiny and luck, either good or bad, will run strong in the child. While this may seem a great thing, no loving parent wants to see a child suffer the vagaries of luck, and people with great destinies tend to make life as dangerous for others as for themselves. In most cases, such children are generally taught to take care of themselves at an early age and are encouraged to seek adventure elsewhere as soon as practically possible.
The Old Ways are dying out (Tyrran Humans)
Some Human scholars believe that the ancient races are slowly dying out, and Humans are the inheritors of this world. This theory was especially popular before the Oasis was magically transported to the world of Amroth many years ago. Now, this notion is less popular, but still present throughout the various human cultures in the Oasis and beyond. Are Humans destined to outlast all others and become the dominant force in Amroth? Only time will tell.
Exiles & Deep Flayers (Islanders)
Many Islanders who have been banished from their tribe have had all of their tattoos blacked out, burned off, or cut off with a sharp knife. They are shunned by their former tribe and nearly all other tribes. Rarely can a banished Islander be forgiven and welcomed back to the tribe. Islanders have a fear of the deep oceans and almost never travel there. Stories of Deep Flayers and other abominations from the depths are ever present tales in Islander society. Islanders are often targeted by Deep Flayers for enslavement. Islanders consider Deep Flayers to be one of their greatest enemies.
Blood-Price (Reavers):
It is said that the notion of the blood-price was created during a time of great turmoil among various rival factions as a way to settle feuds. That practice lives on and thrives today. Each and every person in Reaver society has a price fixed to them at birth. This is called a blood-price. This was the amount of silver that a person is worth based on what social level they belonged to when they were born. This amount is fixed only in that a person’s worth could never go below this amount. Thus, if a person was born, say, into the level of a landless freeman, they would be worth two silver. This means two things: one, if the person is killed the family is entitled to two marks of silver from the killer (or the killer’s family) as long as the death did not occur as part of a battle during war or from a duel. Two, a person could not put themselves into more debt than their blood-price unless they were in a thriving business. If this freeman borrowed two silver and was unable to repay the loan at the specified time, they could be made a servant to the lender until such time as the amount of the loan was repaid. The more skills and knowledge a person has the higher their blood-price is raised. If someone was born into poverty, worked themselves out of poverty, and continued to gain desirable knowledge and skills, they can conceivably gain positions of great power and wealth. Most Reavers do not recognize unproven foreigners as having a blood-price.
Culture
Amrothi Background
There is little cohesion in the Amrothi Human tribes. Stronger tribes often subjugate weaker, less aggressive tribes. The belief of might makes right is strongly accepted in Barbarian society. The Plains are ever changing as nomads drive out farmers and farmers replace nomads. Some tribes hold strongly to the path of nature, others practice darker arts. Some tribes are peaceful, but most follow the path of war and conquest. The only true path to freedom in the Plains is to be sure that you have no living enemies.
Tyrran Background
Tyrran Humans are very similar (although somewhat less physically hardy) than their cousins, the Barbarians, Islanders, and Reavers of Amroth. Humans in the Oasis are used to a more technologically advanced lifestyle than Amrothi Humans, who are largely tribal in nature and subsist more from hunting and gathering than agriculture and animal husbandry. Regardless, Tyrran Humans are able to adapt to most cultures with relative ease. Humans actively trade and mingle with Barbarians outside of the Oasis in the Lostariel Plains.
Islander
The Islanders do not have a formalized government as most people would accept it. Each member of their society has the expectation that they will look after their fellows and their fellows will look after them. Breaking this bond is to declare oneself an inhuman abomination.
Each tribe is led by a Chieftain, who is considered the wisest, most capable person in the tribe. The Chieftain will speak for their tribe when outsiders are around, and has the last word when conflicts arise.
They are assisted by the tribal elders, including the shaman who seeks the future in the paths of the stars. When a chieftain is chosen, they receive the traditional marks of responsibility tattooed upon their face. At this point, they accept responsibility for the tribe and will not leave the tribe until it is time to seek the tribal ancestors. Like breaking a tribal bond, for the shaman to do otherwise would be an act of inhuman abomination.
Reavers:
Amrothi Reavers generally live in peaceful communities in the Southern Reaches along the Great Ocean. They share their home with their extended family, the elders taking care of the small children and household needs while the rest of the family sees to the family farm and/or business. Most Reaver communities are dependent on the sea for fishing, raiding, travel, and trade. Reavers have a very mobile society, meaning a person has the ability to move socially up or down. It is possible for a person to be born into servitude, be freed as an adult, and eventually become a very powerful person in the district. The older a Reaver gets, the more they tend to look to their creature comforts. Elders are looked to as a source of guidance and wisdom, and generally stay close to hearth and home. Having had more years to add to their knowledge, their blood-price is generally counted very high and are often sought out to share their wisdom with younglings.
Daily Life
Amrothi Humans
Barbarians take on many roles in their tribes and clans. While famous as warriors, Barbarians acclimate to their environments quite well and may take on whatever professions are necessary for their survival. Barbarians can be found all over Amroth and fit in quite well when exposed to other cultures. When in their native homelands, the might-makes-right traditions of their people tend to take over.
Tyrran Humans
Tyrran humans are beginning to spread out into the greater world of Amroth and can be found in every corner of the Oasis.
Islanders
Islanders view themselves as a part of the natural world. Islanders learn from birth that their actions affect the tribe and the world around them. The individual tribe member, the tribe as a whole, and the world around them are all connected and dependent on each individual part.
The elder generation is responsible for making family decisions and teaching the children. Children are expected to learn on their own initiative without explanations from the elders; they, in essence, “watch and learn” from others in the family. At first, children perform tasks with supervision, perhaps working alongside an older sibling. Children are highly motivated in this race to observe the behavior being modeled and they spontaneously imitate the action, receiving corrective feedback if they do something wrong. They are never given an
explanation of the nature of the wrong they did, but are expected to figure it out on their own. This may explain why there is little need for a legal system in this culture. Islanders must acquire knowledge of their people by observation, imitation and incremental participation. The rules or perceptual concepts shape their skills and experiences.
Reavers
Most Reaver villages have at least one specific craft that they are known for far and wide. Because most villages are at least partially dependent on the sea, at least some education on sailing, navigation, boat building or repair and raiding is taught. Travel is considered an important part of any young Reaver's education. In this way young Reavers can explore other cultures, learn new things, and most importantly garner presents to impress their prospective in-laws. Tradition decrees that it is unlucky to pay for such presents, which perhaps explains why groups of traveling Reavers are referred as
“Reavers” by other cultures - no one knows where it originated, but it is a moniker the Reavers themselves have proudly adopted as part of their own identity.