The Laarath Islands
Laarath stretches from sea to shining sea, an archipelago surrounding Pont, the Island of the Church. It is a time of holy men, and a time of religion, a time of worship to Djelnir, the One God. But the Old Races of the Fey and Elfin kind are awaking... a taste in the air, a smell. Magic is returning to the world. Its practitioners, long forgotten or superstitionised by common folk, are gaining in power. The dwarves of the Fjords ready their axes, and under the Deeping Mountain the goblin-kind are hiding once more.
Long ago, it is said, visitors came to Laraath, in boats of great size beyond any shipmaker's skill today. They were fair of hair and long of leg and called themselves 'Fardlings'. They left Laraath with Pont, which means in the old tongue 'Bridge' but which is known better (by the Church of the now as Yr Ynys-o'r-Capel, or 'The Island of the Church'. Long before this the Elfin had faded from the world, and it is thought that had they stayed, the Fardlings would never have established the Church on Pont.
Over time, the old ways faded into obscurity, the druids were considered madmen and the wizards, once feared, found their power diminishing ever-swifter. The old gods were forgotten, and the church grew into a monastery. Eventually, small chapels sprung up on all of the islands, and the dwarves too converted, carrying the banner of the god Djelnir. Only in the dead volcanoes of Pellen and Diwethaf did the White Banner not fly, for here the artisans of the goblin-kind kept to their old ways in the halls under the mountains. Trade beyond Laraath was restricted to the far-off and mostly forgotten mainland of Pornt, a land that a man was unlikely to see in his lifetime. Until now...
Tell me more...
Races - Humans
No-one knows when humans first came to Laraath, or when they first came to Pont. It is believed by some that they migrated here shortly after the Elfin and Faeries left the world, but whether that is true or not is unknown. What IS known is that they were originally farmers and fishermen following the Old Gods of men, which points to Mainland origins. That was, until another race of men arrived.
The Fardlings sailed in boats bigger than any known today, and conquered the island with very little fight. They did not stay for long, but they left the islands with a new language, a new religion, a new name and a new church on the Isle of Pont.
Today, only a few humans speak the Old Language. Most now speak Fardish, or the gallic languages of the mainland. Almost all are followers of the One God.
Races - Dwarves
Sailors of the seas and swimmers of the Fjords, dwarves are natural mariners. They are believed to have migrated from across the seas, as so many of the modern inhabitants of Laarath, although their language is unlike any of the Eastern Mainland. Their home is the sea and the sea alone, and even on land they walk with a swaying gait. They call themselves the Uhrr'Tukor, which is believed to mean (in their tongue) 'Children of the Sea'. Very few of their kind are mages, but those which are are held in high esteem, often reaching extremely high rank. They are known as Stormcalmers, and perform their name's duty often.
Dwarven ships can be found in many places - they are great shipbuilders, and spend most of their lives on the sea. They have few permanent settlements on land, preferring their huge seacraft which hold entire extended families. Some say they can even grow crops aboard these great craft, although that is surely untrue.
Dwarves are banned from drinking alchohol, sex before marriage or adultery. They ARE, however, allowed polygamy, the amount of husbands a woman has being considered directly connected to her virility and wealth, and the amount of wives a man has considered directly connected to his strength and power.
Stealing my dwarven polygamy, eh?
The significance of it is a bit different though. Interesting how you've worked it from both genders. I like it. As Azezel so skillfully put, "Tell me more . . ."
:D hooray!
I will be...
Those sound like Nordgard dwarves. Yay for sea-faring storm dwarves :D. Laarath continues to keep me amused.
Races - Goblins Goblins are an odd race, to be sure - they have fey blood, but they are far from fair. They are a species of mutants, affected by a strain of magical DNA that has touched their genetic code for thousands of years. Goblins are wise, and intelligent, but they are rarely seen outside their homes - the caves of Pellen and Diwethaf, two dead volcano-islands which form the gateposts to the outside, as well as barriers to the north sea from the rest of Laarath.
Goblins are famed for their skills with building and carving, and their tricky nature as traders. The caverns beneath Pellen and Diwethaf are well-heated and beautifully carved, a cruel mockery of the ugliness of the goblins themselves. Their cities extend far beneath the earth, staircases and tunnels spiralling downward in the intricate goblin style. It is said by some that forests of strange plants live down there, that whole, miniature worlds are built far beneath the surface. This may be true, but it is a sad fact of the goblin race that they are withdrawing - not into the mountains, anymore, but to the depths beneath. Whether because of a lowering of population or just a lust for deeper homes, the goblins are retreating ever further. Those that stay above the ground do so in the deeper halls. The Great Bay, formed by the two islands and home in Elfin times to trade-ships of a thousand nations, is now filled with human and dwarfish pirates. Agh-Guron-De-Mithin, the Great Bridge in the corrupted goblin tongue, retains its splendour, but it collapses more every day, its rocks forming a barrier to commerce from the mainland.
But now, goblinlike creatures from beyond Laraath are travelling to the homes of their cousins. The halls are being repopulated, stones cleared, Agh-Guron-De-Mithin repaired and the stones beneath it cleared. It is even possible that, one day, the Great Gate might also be raised from its place lying on the bay floor - its great, magical steel returned to its original glory, barring entry to all but friendly ships.
Who knows what the future holds for a magical race regaining their power?
Stats * +2 Wis, +2 Int, +2 Dex, -2 Con, -2 Cha.
* Medium size.
* +3 racial bonus on Profession (Engineer), Profession (Builder) and Craft (Stonework) checks.
* Stone Knowledge: Goblins can sense their depth underground naturally and accurately at any time.
* Darkvision: Goblins' eyes are slightly magical - they have evolved over time to use their innate power supply. One of these uses is that all Goblins can see perfectly in the dark out to 60ft, with colour (although there is a slight muting of all colours).
* Light Sensitivity: Goblins are stunned for 2D3 rounds after entering an area of bright light, and dazzled until they leave the area.
* Fire Orb: Once per day as a standard action, a goblin can create an orb of dull green magical fire. The fire radiates no heat, and hovers above the goblin's hand for 1D8 rounds before dissipating. It emits light as a torch. It can be thrown as a ranged touch attack, dealing 1D6 points of fire damage on a successful hit. It ignites flammable objects normally.
* +5% success likelihood on any form of spellcasting (apart from Divine Miracles, which are not spellcasting exactly).
* Automatic Languages: Laarathi, Goblin.
* Bonus Languages: The Old Tongue, Faerie, Auntongue, Tradecommon.
* Favoured Class: Rogue.
* LA +1.
Goblins generally stand around five feet tall, with normal musculature, wide and pointed ears and green-tinged skin. They tend to slump slightly, except when fighting, at which time they show themselves to be much more agile than they would first appear. Goblins are extremely light for their size. A goblin's face and body tend to be covered in small, brownish lumps, and their faces are slightly mutated in places, although they look generally human (apart from their eyes, which are slitted, slanted and yellow-green). Goblins tend to lead secluded existences nowadays, living in caves alone, the old culture forgotten. Those that live in towns still live in a guild system - a single goblin's 'Family' will not be his blood relations, with whom he will live until he is around ten years of age, but rather his Guild-Brothers and Guild-Sisters, others who have similar skills to he or she. There are two types of siblings in goblin culture - Blood and Guild - and Blood-Brothers or Blood-Sisters are rarely counted as at all important unless they are also Guild-Siblings.
Races - Elfin and Faerie
The Elfin and the Faerie left long ago for fairer worlds and places, but they are now returning. They come in many thousands of varieties - shapeshifters, animals, beautiful and strange - but they are all intensely magical. The elfin are the most humanlike of the Faeries, beautiful and powerful beyond measure, but with human shape. Other faeries as spheres of fire or water, or as nothing at all, or as many thousands of other things.