Other kingdoms

Geography and Other Kingdoms

The closest barbarian tribes are kept in check from the relatively defenseless cities by their deeply held religioius beliefs -- that the sorcerers of the Mirrored City can steal their souls should their reflection fall within their power. They obey and serve out of superstitious fear that the sorcerers will come for their souls, leaving them one of the living undead. None will go to the Mirrored City willingly if unblinded, and those taken there as servants are mourned as though dead -- even if they later return, they are regarded as unquiet ghosts, and driven away.

Although the tribes do not fear sorcery from the Crystal City, they avoid it too -- for it is thought that the inhabitants are the sorcerer's souls exiled from its sister-city, sent away as the price of the sorcerers' powers. This is well-known to be true, for it is said that mirrors are forbidden in the Crystal City because its inhabitants fear being captured by sorcerers once more.

--by Kakita Kojiro

The Thousand Flowing Waters

The Ruins of the First Age are scattered throughout the world, however the Largest, most dangerous and best preserved Lies in the region known as the Thousand Flowing waters, a Marshland bordering the Ocean that stretches for miles, and littered with islands and estuaries. It is claimed to be where a thousand streams and rivers empty into. The Region is heavily grown over, inhabited by large aquatic predators, littered with ruins ranging from piles of sinking stone to well preserved towers, and inhabited by more ghost, shadows, and other things than any other place in the known world. It is also a place where shallow pools lead directly to the Mirror lands, and where time acts differently. Stories are told of brave or foolish youth looting the dead cities, and coming back to find everyone who remembered them being dead and gone, and there town unrecognizable. Others claim that the ruins are from the future, not the past. In all the tales, one detail is consistant, and that is that the Twin Sisters originated there, and that things are buried which can make a man wiser than his fellows, or a gibbering fool. The Major rivers are clear for travel, but going further than a few miles into the Tangled Jungle can lead to trouble. The region periodically floods, and many places are covered by the tide, or sink beneath the muck. Some however rise up and fall according to strange magics or half remembered commands from the long dead inhabitants. This Region is far to the East from the Civilized Cities, but the Twin cities do send teams of researchers and explorers to salvage what lore can be found. These are usually well armed, well supplied, and very specific in where they go. Those citizens with wanderlust or a thirst for adventure are drawn to these expeditions, and though dangerous, it a respected and rewarding field.

--by stephen_dean

The Four Cities are dotted like constellations along the intertwining trade routes that provide the raw materials, and are located on high points along the curving paths of great serpantine rivers that snake over a large plain. The Plains are dotted with canyons and cliffs, gradually becoming drier until the Western edges dry into sandy waste and inhabited by nomads and less definable entities. To the East lies the vast sea, clustered in the Marshes and Jungles by the Coast, and edged by mountains that catch the rainclounds, with large passes carved by rivers and edged with ruins. The rivers from the central highlands serve as flowing highways, and the Mountains where the herdsman and small villages of farmers each out an existance in the valleys and glens of the slopes of the towering mountains send forth there goods South. The southern plains stretch to meet the sea, and from this direction, tribute, spices, slaves and raw materials flow, as manufactured goods, cloth, and wonders of the craftsman of the cities are peddled south, and tribute North. The great carvavans, barges and cities to the south allow for large fortunes to gather, and decadence to thrive.

-by stephen_dean

Bachariko

A region of similiar culture rather than one exact area, the vast languid river deltas that flow south split into two large rivers that empty into the same large plain to the south. This area is dotted with city-states as diverse as the various tribes and migrant who have met in the fields as combatants, traders or refugees. The History of this region predates all the other known areas, and is cosidered to be the point where the other empires of the past have originated. The largest and Oldest city-states in the region have based there wealth on three pillars. The bountiful resources of the sea, both from above and below, as well as the trade cogs that lined the ports and rivers of the region, and the vast plantations that circle the cities of spices, food stuffs and drugs. Backariko is blessed with a climate that is warm and rare rainy periods, followed by droughts, but most resident gain substinance from the Three great rivers, and smaller tribularies that flow through there from the North and East. The Marshes that once choked the Estuaries have been drained, converted to gardens and irrigation, or left as hunting preserves for the god-kings. The cities are made from stone, mud brick and reed, with some houses of the wealthy using wood, bamboo or other more exotic constructions from the North. Great Walls, Temples and Statues dominate and dwarf the landscape that stretches flat in all directions, and largest hills are man made. Each City state swears alligence to a complicated and ever shifting series of alliances, and periodically wars break out to sort out which City will rule as the seat of power. The God-Kings who rule have made dark pacts or given bits of themselves over to other entities to rule for decades, and some whisper for several hundred years as some dark shadows behind the thrones. The secret of this longevity is guarded with-in the highest circles, and is known only to a few of the City-States. It is here of all the world that Astronomy has developed the greatest, and at night large stretches of the city go dark to prevent any light from taking away from the Twin Moons above, and the march of the stars. The importation of advanced lenses, and other equipment is made for the exchange of captured prisoners from the periodic wars, spices and rare clothes, herbs and other ingrediates needed by the Four Cities to the North, as well as by the client states that serve as a buffer between Bachariko and the Two Sisters to the North. Recently the God-King of the lagest city-state has marshaled his legions, mercenaries and occult allies, consulted his astrologers, and is consolidating his control of the center of the region, in a big to build a lasting empire out of the chaotic region. If he succeeds, then the Twin Cities will face a unified threat. However, the region is experiencing a drought, and crop yields are falling, and some are calling for the blood sacrifices from the God-Kings to feed the Moons, so that the blessed rains will fall. In the Past, in times of stress, the God-Kings sacrificed themselves. This tradition has fallen to the way side, but the people rememeber, and their Gods grow hungry.

-by stephen_dean

The Western Mountains and the Deserts of the West

The Huge birds, such as the Thunderbirds, are the scavengers of the Western Deserts and grasslands, and use the gust from the mountains to range over the vast undalating plains in search of the many beast that wander its relativly untouched expanses. The varied terrain is home to vast herds of gigantic Bison, the Forest along the Mountains to stranger beast still. However the numbers are thin near the cities, and grow the further afield one goes. The Mountains to the West are the largest in the Known world, and the other side is an area explored at the peril of the unwary, do to the vast spaces inhabited by huge creatures of myth and legend, some claim to be larger than the armored beast that wander the waste. The reason for the lack of habitation is due to the low population following the devastating fall of the previous empires in the past, and the frequent wars between the city-states. The attachment of many people to there principle city-state or ideal, or the threat of strange conditions has led many to stay in the civilized regions, rather than risk expanding to the terrain of the tribes of head-hunters and beast riders beyond the Mountains. It is through the collective resources of the Cities that the walls, pits, and special huntsman keep the lands and tradeways safe. However, recent droughts and a change in climate are causing some stange beast and raider to prey at the edges of the Twin Cities, and the many smaller city-states. For now, these have not been sigifigent, however, rumors are spreading of tribes beyond the mountains who ride great beast, and are forming an Empire of the wandering bands to pillage the glittering wealth of the settled peoples. These are rumors however, and cartomancers are exploring to add to the Crystal Globe, to see if these shadows of truth are to be trusted.

-by stephen_dean

Spoiler: Skops, helot client state

The Skopses are one of the helot cultures of Narcissus. They were conquered long ago, essentially enslaved for generations, but in the decline and decadence of the City of Mirrors have effectively regained their independence. In earlier eras they often had to be brutally suppressed by Narcissus, as their subversive Cult of the Flensed Man inspired bloody uprisings. Over generations that bloody cult has been supplanted by more acceptable religions, and only survives in their harvest festivals where they burn wicker effigies. Skops is a fertile land from the loess soil left behind by the retreating glaciers of the north. This provides the food that sustains the population of Narcissus, and the Skopses are also another market for the goods produced in the City of Mirrors.

Lurid stories of the Flensed Man cultists say that they wore masks and mantles of the bloody skin of their enemies, and that they could thereby assume the seeming of other people. Their shamans – who were all long ago slain or driven into the wastes – it is said could flense ghosts, and assume the seeming they had in life by wearing the spirit skin. Flensers are Skopsic revolutionaries that wear the bloody skins of beasts to hide their identities from discovery.

Occupations: Helot, Farmer, Herder, Tanner, Trader, Flenser Suggested Skills: Animal Handling, Farming, Leatherworking, Occult (spirits), Forbidden Lore (Flensed Man) Social Background: Cultural Familiarity (1 pt., Narcissus), Skopsic (native language), Glossa (accented language) Suggested Quirks: Nosy, Staid, Vulgar* Sample Contact Groups: Clan, Cult Suggested Spells: Hide Reflection (IQ/Average) Common Names: Andrew, Barbara, Thomas Rumor: “The Flensed Man still lives, and hides within Skops to ferment unrest and revolution. Its secret is that it is neither a god nor a human – it is a skinwalker that escaped from the mirrorworld long ago in the time of the ancients, and has masqueraded as either or both ever since. It hides among the Skopses now, secretly wearing the skin of a dead man that it pretends to be, while leading the Flensers in rebellion.”

Spoiler: Gnarides, helot client state

The Gnarides are the helot culture in the lands near Diaphane. They were the original inhabitants of the area, driven away by the “Witch Sister.” Although once warlike, they have been conquered and subjugated, and now their clans are scattered through several petty kingdoms. They are pastoralists who raise mountain goats and make cheese, although they are known for being good spear hunters, and occasionally hired as mercenary spearmen.

Gnaride culture revolves around their worship of the earth deity, which they view as both male and female. They build lingams – large standing stones representing the phallus of the god. They also have sacred caves – representing the goddess – callen yoni caves. They practice barbaric fertility magic with these, and claim that is why the men of Diaphane fear to build tall structures that cast shadows, and why they will not abide dark caves. Only men deal with lingams and their magic, and only women deal with yonis and their magic. Having the shadow of a lingam stone fall on you is lucky, but also arouses carnal lust and blood lust. Entering the dark yoni cave aids in conception and childbirth. If women fall under the lingam’s shadow, they may become pregnant or barren. If men enter the yoni cave, they may return as women or pregnant. For obvious reasons, both of these actions are taboo. Outsiders rarely benefit from either lingam stones or yoni caves. Their magic-men are called Horned Men because they wear crowns of horns, and while they are good at dealing with female spirits, they are very unlucky with male spirits.

Occupations: Helot, Herder, Weaver, Hunter, Spearman, Horned Man Suggested Skills: Animal Handling, Farming, Sex Appeal, Spear, Occult (spirits) Social Background: Cultural Familiarity (1 pt., Diaphane), Gnaric (native language), Glossa (accented language) Suggested Quirks: Broad-Minded, Proud, Lusty* Sample Contact Groups: Clan, Former Lovers Suggested Spells (for men): Incite Bloodlust (IQ/Average), Incite Carnal Lust (IQ/Hard) Suggested Spells (for women): Increase Fertility (IQ/Hard), Ease Childbirth (IQ/Average) Common Names: Dwight, Loeis, Amalie Rumor: “Gnaride spearmen boast that when they capture opponents in Flower Wars, the women want to never go back home, and the men to never face another Flower War again. Telling such tales makes Diaphanides very angry.”

Spoiler: Symeros, sapling colony city

The colony city of Symeros was founded by Diaphoros the Synesthete, one of the first pupils of the Invisible College from Diaphane. He was blessed or cursed with synisthesia, which has been inherited in many forms by his descendants. As the royal family maintains a prerogative to the first night with any new bride, synisthesia has spread among the Symerides. Symeros is on the Maiandro river downstream from Diaphane, and is the major port of the Diaphane hegemony. Glass-bottom boats ply the river from Diaphane to Symeros and on to Iridos isle, carrying cargo and travelers. Despite its origins, Symeros has never devoted itself to one viewpoint of magic, and all are practiced here – although mainly pellucid and chromatic. Formal training in the magic sciences must be sought in Diaphane or Iridos, however.

The city’s boatmen must navigate their way through the Thousand Flowing Waters and its many perils, and it has been discovered that the city’s synisthetes are somewhat protected from the odd powers of vampires and Hollow Men and other heretics of that ilk. They are in great demand as scavengers of the ruins there, and as crusaders for the Silent Brotherhood. Synisthetes do not often master any kind of magic, for their unique perception interacts oddly.

Occupations: Philosopher, Scientist, Merchant, Boatman Suggested Skills: Area Knowledge (Symeros), Boating, Current Affairs, Smuggling, Occult (vampires), Thaumatology (pellucid or chromatic magic) Social Background: Cultural Familiarity (1 pt., Twin Cities), Glossa (native language), Literacy Suggested Quirks: Congenial, Imaginative, Addiction (tobacco) Sample Contact Groups: School, Cult or Religion Suggested Spells: Identify Exact Color (IQ/Average), See Clearly (IQ/Average) Rumor: “The Empty Masters secretly plan to subvert one of the synisthetes of Symeros. By mixing synesthetic perception with their blind enlightenment, they hope to find the reason that synesthetes are so effective against them. Should they succeed, the crusade of the Silent Brotherhood would be set back, and Symeros left open to infiltration by the bleak cult of the Empty Masters.”

Spoiler: Liriope, sapling colony city

Liriope is the daughter-city of Narcissus, a colony called the City of Women because it was founded by women. It is still governed by matriarchy, and only women are allowed to rise to the levels of guild mistress, high priestess, or city matriarch. The city was founded for caravans to depart overland to trade with the roaming tribes of the west, and it remains the trade gateway for the Narcissus hegemony. The culture of the city is very much like that of Narcissus, although more vital and less decadent. Liriopeans study reflective magic, but the city lacks the infrastructure to use advanced sciences such as mirror-fishing, and although the city has many mirrors, they remain only reflections and not gateways into the mirrorworld.

Men in Liriope are regarded as too emotionally unstable to handle important matters. Their role is in contests and war, and in demonstrating their worth to their women, and of course in pursuing women. Only women are regarded as being practical and stable enough to raise children and to rule others. Although men work in all professions, it is always women who are the rulers and leaders. Even the city’s militia is commanded by women, though it is men doing the fighting. Liriopean women claim that they are only following the path made by the Twin Sisters in this. Liriope was founded at the same time as the Seven Sisters order, and most outsiders believe the colony was founded because of a schism in the leadership of that movement; the women who left the Seven Sisters, founded Liriope.

Occupations: Scholar, Scientist, Matriarch, Entertainer, Merchant, Sorceress, Priestess Suggested Skills (for women): Area Knowledge (Liriope), Current Affairs, Games, Leadership, Teaching, Thaumatology (reflective magic) Suggested Skills (for men): Area Knowledge (Liriope), Brawling, Carousing, Combat Art, Erotic Art, Thaumatology (reflective magic) Social Background: Cultural Familiarity (1 pt., Narcissus), Glossa (native language), Literacy Suggested Quirks (for women): Chauvinistic, Proud, Refined* (dislikes vulgarity) Suggested Quirks (for men): Congenial, Distractible, Proud Sample Contact Groups: Matriarch Patron, Cult or Religion Suggested Spells: Hide Reflection (IQ/Average) Rumor: “The original founders of Liriope were far more radical than history portrays them, and the first generation after leaving the Seven Sisters the Liriopeans followed a heretical castration cult. Narcissus quickly suppressed the castration cult under the pretext of a flower-war, and all records of the heretics were erased by the newly-appointed matriarchs. Nonetheless the Seven Sisters still have records of that time, which could shame the city matriarchs if revealed. This is why the Seven Sisters are treated very favorably in Liriope, and why the need for this blackmail has never arisen.”

Spoiler: Omphalo, sapling colony city

Omphalo is a city of many religions. It was founded as the fortress city and headquarters of the Second Great Crusade, and still persecutes the forbidden cult of the Hollow Men. According to legend, this was also the birthplace of the Twin Sisters, and although scholars doubt the veracity, it is still a pilgrimage site for many people. In the time since the Second Great Crusade, other religious cults have come to the city for their own reasons. As have adventurers and scavengers, hoping to glean ancient wonders from the ruins in the marshes.

Each rainy season, Omphalo and the marshes flood when the seasonal rivers of the grasslands flow. Buildings in Omphalo are build on stilts, and during the flood season people get around by flat-bottomed boats. These same boats are used in the marshes as well. Although the city subsists off pilgrimage, it also produces a surplus of crops that require flooded fields. These crops are generally sold to one of the three northern cities. The crusaders of Omphalo have found patrolling the undead-haunted ruins of the Thousand Flowing Waters easier during the flood season, and so when the waters rise boats of armed Silent Brothers set forth for their sacred mission.

Occupations: Crusader, Priest, Boatman, Farmer, Fisherman Suggested Skills: Area Knowledge (Omphalo), Boating, History, Religious Ritual, Theology, Occult (vampires) Social Background: Cultural Familiarity (1 pt., Twin Cities), Glossa (native language), Literacy Suggested Quirks: Careful, Code of Honor, Vow Sample Contact Groups: Silent Brotherhood, Seven Sisters, Cult of the Opaque, other Cult Suggested Spells: Sort Living from Undead (IQ/Average) Rumor: “It is said that the Opaque Tree, the Tree of Many Shadows, the fourth and dark Crystal Tree, was discovered or hidden in Omphalo. The Cult of the Opaque has become very influential in Omphalo recently because so many of its followers have come to the city seeking their mystic tree.”

Spoiler: Heliade, tributary petty kingdom

Heliade is known as the Amber Kingdom. It is located on the Pleione river, which flows from the south, and borders on the marsh ruins of the Thousand Flowing Waters. Its inhabitants scour the river and marshes for spells and spirits frozen in amber from ancient times. These talismans are valuable wealth for trade, and Heliade is often subject to tribute to one of the three great cities of the north. Occasionally they go to war over this imposition of tribute, but although their archers are armed with devastating amber-tipped arrows, they are no match for the sorcery of the three cities on the battlefield.

Heliade magicians take dross amber and make use of it in many ways. It is dissolved into amber lacquer that hardens their armor against danger. It is used to trap images within, that may be seen at any time by peering into the amber. It is also melted down and gathered into vats of molten amber – through which, they hope to peer into the spirit-world. There is a belief in Heliade that there is another Crystal Tree – this one, of amber, weeping jewels – and the Heliades believe that if it is found, their city will rise to preeminence.

Occupations: Ambergleaner, Archer, Flower-Warrior, Lapidiary, Merchant, Amberwright Suggested Skills: Area Knowledge (Heliade), Bow, Current Affairs, Jeweler, Occult (amber) Social Background: Heliadic (native language), Glossa (accented language), Literacy Suggested Quirks: Dreamer, Obsessions (amber), Thin-Skinned* Suggested Spells: Capture Image In Amber (IQ/Average), Smelt Amber (IQ/Hard) Rumor: In Heliade they have learned to enter the spirit-world through vats of molten amber. Therein they say the spirit-world is upside-down; you walk upside-down with the ground above your feet and the sky below your head. However, they have not discovered how to leave the spirit-world, and as the amber hardens, the explorer is trapped, entombed alive in a block of amber, upside-down.

Spoiler: Astomo, tributary petty kingdom

Astomo is called the Mute Kingdom, for long ago it was ruled by priest-kings whose lips were ritually sewn shut. It is still ruled by their inheritors, holy men known as Voices, whose lips are also sewn shut. Astomo lies on the borders of the Thousand Flowing Waters, and believe themselves to be the proper heirs of the ancient civilization that lies in ruins there. The people of Astomo are fascinated by the ancient ruins, and most will study some aspect of the ruins at some time in their life.

The Voices who rule Astomo do so by religious decree. There are a bewildering variety of subsects, all with teachings that confuse outsiders who cannot determine if they are philosophies or religions. As with the priest-kings of old, the Voices have their lips ritually sewn shut. Their ritual asceticisms allow them to survive without the need for food or drink, and to speak without speech, among other wonders.

Occupations: Archaeologist, Interpreter Suggested Skills: Area Knowledge (Astomo), Gesture, History, Linguistics, Stealth, Hidden Lore (ancients) Social Background: Glossa (native language), Backaric (broken language), Literacy Suggested Advantages: Silence Suggested Quirks: Cautious, Humble, Obsessions (ancients) Sample Contact Groups: Sect Rumor: “The old mouthless priest-kings of Astomo were, in fact, heretical offshoots of the Hollow Men. The Voices who still rule Astomo keep this secret carefully guarded, lest fanatic crusaders hear of it and Astomo be destroyed.”

Spoiler: Bammenides, nomadic barbarian tribe

The Bammenides are one of the nomadic barbarian tribes of the northern taiga. They live on the edges of the northern glaciers. They are known as the “painted men” to the Twin Cities, because they tattoo their bodies, faces, and hands in bright colors. They tend small herds of megaloceroi elk, from which they get milk, meat, fur – and most importantly, transportation. Their megaloceroi are domesticated and trained to pull sleighs large enough to transport an entire Bammenide family and all their goods. Their clans migrate south in spring and summer to graze and mate their herds. As rivers freeze and snow covers the ground, they migrate north and stay the winter snowbound, keeping the herds safe from the hungry predators of the south. In spring many clans gather in huge meetings to mate their herds; this is when the Bammenides trade with outsiders. In winter they live in homes built of snow, while their herds are hidden in sheltered valleys with some vegetation, or forage brought by their herders.

Shamans of the Bammenides work their magic through wands of many kinds. Each shaman has an assortment of wands of antler, bone, or wood, which must be carefully chosen for each specific purpose. Most shamans eagerly trade for wands made of metal from civilization. One of the few spells that shamans need no wand for are their eating magics. When someone in their clan suffers bad luck, or is afflicted by illness, or haunted by ghosts, the clan’s shaman will ritually consume the offending spirit. They can often scare off troublesome spirits with demonstrations of their eating prowess, by eating stones and other formidable things.

Occupations: Herder, Hunter, Trader, Warrior, Shaman Suggested Skills: Animal Handling, Area Knowledge (tundra), Driving (sleigh), Spear, Survival, Tracking, Occult (spirits) Social Background: Low TL, Bammenic (native language), Illiteracy Suggested Quirks: Likes (metal), Humble, Uncongenial Sample Contact Groups: Clan, Warrior Lodge Suggested Spells: Eat Anything (IQ/ Hard, req. Shamanic Magic 1+), Eat Ghost (IQ/Very Hard, req. Shamanic Magic 3+) Rumor: “The slow retreat of the northern ice and its gradual melting has gradually forced the Bammenides away from their ancestral summer and winter lands. Their herds do not thrive in the warming lands, and the remaining cold lands are too barren. The herds do not grow, and so more and more young men become warriors to gain wealth and status – while the defenses of Narcissus and Diaphane are in decline. If they join with other wandering tribes, a barbarian horde may bring the next Shattering from the north…”

Spoiler: Makhlyes, nomadic barbarian tribe

The Makhlyes are one of the nomadic barbarian tribes of the western grasslands. Their ancestors followed brontotheria herds, but the great herds from ancient times are no more, and only solitary beasts survive now. They now follow synthetoceras herds across the grasslands. They are frequent trading partners with the Twin Cities, bartering furs and hides, ivory and horn, in return for civilized goods. Every few generations their warriors band together with other barbarian tribes and raid and pillage into civilized lands.

The shamans of the Makhlyes are known as Inverts because they live their lives as the opposite gender. Because of this, they are regarded as spirits by their people – and also regarded as spirits by spirits. Once each year in the spring, all the hunters will dress as the opposite gender as well, for the sacred Inverse Hunt. Their magic allows the hunters to hunt the now-extinct herds of megafauna as though they still roamed the grasslands. The hunters bring back much meat and many trophies from an Inverse Hunt, but every year one hunter does not return from the hunt. Because of these strange customs, people of the Twin Cities think that all Makhlyes change genders, and take precautions against touching them, lest this is contagious.

Occupations: Hunter, Trader, Warrior, Invert Suggested Skills: Area Knowledge (grasslands), Mimicry (animal sounds), Spear Thrower, Stealth, Survival, Tracking, Occult (spirits) Social Background: Low TL, Makhlyic (native language), Illiteracy Suggested Quirks: Broad-Minded, Responsive, Tolerant* (not bothered by quirks) Sample Contact Groups: Clan, Warrior Lodge Suggested Spells: Hunt Megafauna Ghosts (IQ/Average) (note: penalties if not an Inverse Hunt), Change Gender (IQ/Very Hard, req. Invert, Shamanic Magic 4+) New Advantage: Invert (5 pts., live as opposite gender, spirits react as though you were a spirit yourself) Rumor: “The Makhlyes say that when one of the Inverts goes on a spiritquest and returns of the opposite gender, that he or she has not really returned at all. Instead she or he has been replaced by a spirit, that will pretend to be the Invert for the rest of its life, until it pretends to die and returns to the spirit-world.”

Spoiler: Gorgades, nomadic barbarian tribe

The Gorgades are one of the nomadic barbarian tribes of the distant steppes to the west of the grasslands and mountains. They are known as the “hairy ones” to most outsiders, because they do not cut their hair. When meeting strangers, they also veil their eyes with their hair so as to not make eye contact, and they will also not look into mirrors. They claim that all these taboos protect them from spirits – and, curiously, they believe that the inhabitants of the Twin Cities are actually spirits who lie about their true natures. They rarely trade with the Twin Cities, but their leather goods often make their way east through trade with other barbarian tribes (such as the Makhlyes).

They have actually domesticated herds of megafauna, and roam the steppes to move their herds to new grazing. Each clan in the tribe typically has its own type of megafauna that it specialized in. Clans often take the opportunity to raid the herds of other clans while nearby, to eat some of their enemies’ beasts instead of their own. Their shamans wear headdresses of the skull and hides of their clan’s beast, and generally know a very odd assortment of spells.

Occupations: Herder, Hunter, Raider, Trapper, Shaman Suggested Skills: Area Knowledge (steppes), Animal Handling, Bow, Knife, Leatherworking, Survival, Occult (spirits) Social Background: Low TL, Gorgadic (native language), Illiteracy Suggested Quirks: Uncongenial, Vow (do not cut hair, do not look into eyes or mirrors), Unhygienic* (does not bathe) Sample Contact Groups: Clan, Warrior Lodge Suggested Spells: Find New Forage (IQ/Average), Foretell Weather (IQ/Average) Rumor: “Gorgades are not actually human – they are abhumans who were once used as servants by the ancients. They escaped back into the wild after the downfall of the ancients, and still fear civilized men.”

--Kakita Kojiro