Octhania Cultures
The
following is a guide on the many and diverse cultures found in Octhania.
Eonian Humans - The Octhanians tend to range in alignment from Chaotic
Good to Chaotic Neutral. They are generally a good, honest folk with
strong ideas about freedom and tolerance. They form tight-nit communities
in their towns and tend to frown on the idea of outside help. Most cities
are protected by their own constables hired within the city itself. The
mainstream religion of the Octhanians is the Divine Sibling Trinity Church,
although it's not at all uncommon to find many different faiths among the
Octhanian people. In Octhania, coins are crafted with a slightly
oval shape and have slits down the middle of them. Because of this, some people
will string their coins together to form a necklace or bracelet, and thus 'wear'
their money. This can be done with Octhanian coppers, silvers and golds.
Barbarian Humans - The barbarians live in the two mountain ranges of
Octhania. The Shunn Tribe (also known as the Bear Tribe) dwells in the
Shunnen Mountains and the Darsh Tribe (also known as the Eagle Tribe) dwell in
the Darshee Mountains. Barbarians tend to hover around the Chaotic Neutral
alignment. They govern themselves and scoff at the laws and restrictions
of 'civilization.' Both tribes have their own superstitions and
religions. For instance, in the Bear Tribe, women are not allowed to hold
office and in the Eagle Tribe, it is customary for a man to defeat his beloved's
father in battle before a wedding is allowed.
Hairfoot
Halflings - Most halflings are homebodies, and feel perfectly compelled to
stay in the (relative) safety of the Central Frontier. Some, though, just like
humans, can feel the pull of the sea and go adventuring on the ocean.
Halflings don't generally have their own ships, so they usually serve on human
ships. Most of the time, they are stationed as look-outs or chefs or
brewers. They tend to stay close to the Neutral Good side of the alignment
spectrum.
Gnomes
- Like halflings, gnomes try and find haven in the Frontier. Some do find the
ocean and its inhabitants fascinating and like to study it. Unfortunately,
human crews believe having a gnome on board is the worst possible bad luck. This
superstition is so strong, even Lawful Good crews have been known to throw
gnomes overboard just to spare themselves nature's wrath. As a result,
many gnomes will disguise themselves as Fangar or Halflings using illusions and
heavy clothing to get aboard ships. Some stowaway, as well. Some gnomes
have been working on their own watercraft--small boats that are propelled
through the water at amazing speed by large oscillating devices known as 'fans.'
They're still in the prototype stage, though, and can't carry more than a couple
of gnomes at a time. There's been talk for years about building a
"Deep Sea Research Facility", but so far it's nothing but blue prints
and theories.
Fangar Dwarves - Fangar merchants are quiet commonplace on Octhania's
high seas. The Fangar Federation Guild (FFG) is a global merchant's guild that
spreads to all five kingdoms, including Octhania. FFG ships are usually
cargo ships with larger than normal storage capacity and built with dwarf height
and weight into consideration. They are not official Octhania ships, and
therefore do not require at least one Blue Tsunami on board at all times (like
other ships). They are also given immunity to Octhanian taxes. Fangar
trade routes can go from port to port and even to different kingdoms. The
Octhanian FFG Headquarters is in Heaven Island. Heaven Island boasts a
magnificent bazaar known only as "Frenor's Paradise." An old saying
goes, "If you can't find it in Heaven Island, then you can't find it
anywhere." Fangar also have trade routes for Immerfort, Griffos and
Chen. They will buy, sell, and trade just about anything from arms, spices,
textiles, ores, and of course--spirits.
Orcs - In the Central Frontier, south of Hillos Forest, is where the Orcs
make their home. They are of the Blood Boar Tribe. No one is sure if the orcs
migrated to Octhania from elsewhere or were always here. But they have been
around since before recorded history. Originally they lived in the Shunnen
Mountains. However, the humans came and chased them out. This was known as the
Barbarian Wars. As a result, Orcs hate Barbarians quite passionately. They
accuse the barbarians of not only stealing their home, but their culture. The
Orcish gods are very similar to those of the Barbarians. And even their language
sounds somewhat the same. The Orcs once held the Oct'kraz, the God Axe.
They believed it was the weapon of their main god, Daruum. All attempts to
retrieve the axe have failed, though. The Blood Boar Orcs tend to keep to
themselves and will attack anyone who enters their territory without permission.
It's said they have built quite an impressive stronghold there and their numbers
range between 150 and 200. They're generally so busy defending their
borders from the Lizardmen that they leave the nearby human and halfling
colonies alone.
Lizardmen - The Lizardmen can be found in the Mishkas Swamplands,
directly south of the Blood Boar Orc territory. The two tribes often war with
each other; usually minor skirmishes over food, resources, and slaves. The
Lizardmen worship a single god known as "Sevasius" who is known as the
"Black Night" or the "Burning Darkness." It's said Sevasius
resides at the bottom of the swamps and guards and protects his people, the
lizardmen. They often sacrifice treasure (usually coins) and meat (usually
slaves) by throwing them into the swamps. (Treasure Hunters have often wondered
just how many coins now lay at the bottom of these swamps). In tribute to
their god, Lizardmen shaman usually paint their entire bodies black, thus easily
distinguishing themselves from their brethren. It's said that their
numbers only range at around 100. Yet they manage to keep the Orcs at bay
because their tough skin and ferocious battle techniques make up for their lack
of numbers.
Ogres - The Darshee Ogres live up in the mountains that bare the same
name. Because of this, traveling into the mountains is a very dangerous path,
although through the mountains is quite different. The ogres don't seem to care
at all about the Darshee mines, so long as the top of the mountains are not
disturbed. The Ogres worship their chieftain as if he were a god. Their
current chieftain is named Timmbo. The god-king rules with divine power and is
passed on from father to son. If a chieftain is unable to bear a son, then
another ogre is chosen to take his place (this is very rare, as the chieftain
has the right to mate with any and every female he wishes, even those mated to
other ogres). They often come down from their mountain homes to raid
nearby human communities such as Wallark (although they try and pick smaller and
less defended areas). In fact, part of the ogre 'rite of passage' is to send
their recently matured men to raid a town. If they can bring back something (or
someone) particularly valuable, they are then considered full grown men and
warriors of the tribe. It's said there are only about 30-50 ogres in the
mountains.
Corloin Gnolls - About 130 nautical miles off the shores of A'naka are a
small chain of islands (the Corloin chain) inhabited by a group of gnolls.
There are five islands in the Corloin chain. Most of the gnolls (about 1300)
live on the largest island. Their houses are made of wood, although a few are
made of stone. They are all built by slave labor. Their Flind is the high priest
of Ruse. These gnolls migrated from Gontoria right after the Carnage War
(in the year 3) and took up residence in these islands. As the world was in
chaos, no one really stopped them. Previously, these islands were part of
Octhania and were known as the Coral Drake Islands. They were called this
because they were inhabited by a large number of coral drakes. The gnolls came
in and wiped them all out. Using their rare horns, they began to trade with the
FFG and other nearby cultures to help build their new society. This was
only for a short time before they took up pirating. Gnolls will now attack
any ship that comes into 'their' territory, even FFG. As a result, the FFG
will not trade with them any longer.
Corloin gnolls are different from their eastern cousins. For one, while the
typical Gontorian gnoll has green or yellow fur, Corloin gnolls almost
exclusively have blue fur. Secondly, Corloin gnolls are tritheistic--they have
three gods, and Pyr is not among them. They worship Ruse first and foremost.
They also worship two 'hero-gods' from their culture, Corloin (god of luck and
the sea) and Vallos (god of combat). The Corloin gnolls took to the sea
quite easily, and even learned how to build their own ships (mostly of Viking
design). They engage in piracy to keep their civilization going and will attack
anyone who comes near their islands. As you might imagine, the BT aren't
happy with this. Shortly after the Renosia war was won, the Blue Tsunami
sent a fleet to take care of the Corloin gnolls. This resulted in a stalemate,
with both sides taking heavy losses. The BT had to retreat. Since then, they
have been unable to send a large enough fleet to try again, because the moment
they do, Renosia will swoop in and take the undefended flank of the
kingdom.
The gnolls were able to survive this battle (which they called "the blue
battle") because of their secret weapon--Primals. Primals are lycanthropic
gnolls that have been 'blessed' by Ruse. They are extremely dangerous. The
'curse' of Lycanthropy is seen as a blessing to the Corloin gnolls. It is a true
gift from the moon goddess, as it removes all sense of thought and emotion; so
that all is left is instinct. Thus, Primals are highly revered and it's
considered the highest honor to become one. Only the best of the best are
allowed this privilege. The strain of Lycanthropy that creates Primals is
unique and created by the gnolls. It is one of their guarded secrets, along with
the gnollbar weapon. It can only be placed on a gnoll and it cannot be spread.
(That is, being bitten or scratched by a Primal, even if you are a gnoll, will
not inflict you with the Lycanthropy.) Once a Primal is 'blessed' with the
disease (by a high ranking priest of Ruse), no notable change occurs at first.
However, whenever touched by the light of the full red moon, they will under go
'the change.' They grow in size, becoming very bulky and muscular--roughly the
size of a large grizzly bear. Spikes will protrude from their back and their jaw
nearly doubles in size (as do their teeth and claws). In this form,
Primals have the same immunities as typical lycanthropes (in that they can only
be harmed by silver or magical weapons). Primals are generally reserved
for very big battles or for wars. It's a common tactic to have several Primals
board an enemy ship, and then to have a cleric cast Moonbeam on the
deck. The Corloin gnolls believe that if you cook a gnome just right,
it'll grant you three wishes. They're very superstitious and do not like sorcery
at all. Also, the Corloin gnolls number in about 2000. There are also
about 1000 non-gnolls there, mostly slaves. Most of their culture is assimilated
from their slaves.
