Races of Enzada I: Daharesh Elves and Sarnathan Orcs

Races of Enzada

   Enzada is home to many unusual species, and amongst those species several are sufficiently common as to serve well as player characters. Some races have alternate names in Enzada, listed below in parenthesis:

Race                                 D&D Analog

Human                             Human

Daharesh                          Elves and Drow

Sarnatha                          Half-Orcs and Orcs

Egleppi                              Grippli

Tengu                                Aarockocra

Gnolls                               Gnolls

Tieflings                            Tieflings

Changelings                     new

Netherim                          new

Uthitim                             Halflings

Duwende                          Dwarves

Dev                                   Goblins

Kandathra                        Lizardmen

   Other races certainly exist in Enzada, but may have travelled to the hub from foreign lands; the hub is the connecting point of three great continents, and many races exist in those other lands that are foreign to the Hub of Etyri.

Elves of Daharesh

   Elves call themselves “The people of Daharesh” after a legendary hero who brought the elves to the world at the dawn of creation. Their origins are believed to exist in the depths of the In Between, and so like the Div they claim allegiance with the spirits and outsiders that sometimes escape that realm, even if they are far removed from it.

   Most of the Daharesh elves proudly identify themselves as the ancestors of the ancient Inhuridan Empire, a legacy that once long ago was a mark of shame in the eyes of many. Time has a way of healing all wounds, and after five thousand years the memory of the Inhuridan is a historical curiosity, recognized as a great shaper in modern Selindari culture.

   Most elves know that the truth of the old empire is only partially known in most modern historical texts: the Inhuridan Empire was many races, but the elves, in their longevity and wisdom, benefited greatly in that era and also took much of the blame when the empire at last fell to revolution and strife.   

   Once the empire was cast down, the daharesh lost their way and renounced civilization, stealing away in to the deep wilds. Nonetheless, Daharesh still have an unusual fascination for ancient sorcery and magic, and can easily become terribly addicted to it. Some other races with long memories have never forgiven the Daharesh for their ancient indiscretions, either. Humans may fancy the old tales as mere legends, but a handful of other long-lived races know it all to be true.

   Because of their ancient tether to the In Between, many elves spend a great deal of time seeking out ways of transmigrating into the Space Between, to search for the legendary home of the elves, sometimes called The Green.

Traits: The Hyadari high elves are taller than men, with lean bodies, pale gray skin, and slender ears. Daharesh are known for their gaunt appearance, and for being very long lived (500 years or more). The wilder wood elves are smaller and more suited for forest living, while the Zakhili drow are also smaller in build and well-adapted to living in the darkness of the underworld.

Favored Professions: bard, merchant, noble, priest, scholar, sorcerer

Daharesh Statistics: Physically Daharesh are identical to elves and drow, and indeed both breeds can be found. The subterranean daharesh call themselves the Zhakil (use drow statistics) while the more gracile Kindari are the wood elves and the Hyadari are high elves.

Warrior Thralls: the Sarnatha Orcs

   Sarnatha orcs today are a shadow of the greatness they once held. Tales speak of how the first Sarnatha were once Daharesh who were corrupted and twisted in to a fierce warrior-race to serve as the shock troops for the Inhuridan God-Kings in their endless wars, but today the  Sarnatha are a scattered lot, led by chieftains who seek to glimpse their lost greatness through petty war and raids.

   The orcs are unique in Enzada in that they hate the "gods" and subscribe to the "all gods are just powerful spirits" philosophy. The orcs eschew priests in favor of warlocks and demonologists who seek to control the spirits to their own gain. A clerical orc follows the philosophy of Sarnathic Pragmatism, and specializes in manipulating certain spirits to his or her own gain. Most Sarnathic clerics as such are lawful in nature, but they lack the restrictions of most clerics in terms of alignmnent vs. domain choices, being able to choose whatever they see fit.

   Sarnatha orcs still gain a patron and antagonist aspect, but as they do not see these beings as true gods, they instead regard them as malignant or favorable spirits, respectively.

Traits: Sarnatha are hulking, brutish men who exhibit a primeval appearance, and a modern man of our world might easily mistake one for a neanderthal in appearance. They are broad but relatively short, and have wickedly pronounced canines.

Favored Professions: assassin, hunter, slave, soldier, thief, tribesman, warrior

Sarnatha Statistics: Sarnathan half-orc breeds can be played as characters and use the half-orc statistics. In the world of Enzada “orc” is an ancient word from the Daharesh tongue used to describe filth and treachery one and the same. Naturally the Sarnatha prefer their ownchosen name of “orc,” which simply means “man” in the old Imperial tongue over the derogatory elvish word for their kind.

DMs Guild Cool Finds: The Buccaneer's Bestiary and Blackpowder Pirates

First go here on dmsguild.com, then download The Buccaneer's Bestiary from Aaron "quickleaf" Infante-Levy. It's a PWYW product so pay nothing. Then, after getting it, marvel at one of the best free sourcebooks on DMsguild.com and go back and pay this guy some money because we need more cool books like this!

The Buccaneer's Bestiary provides a DM with a wealth of impressive content, including dozens of amazing encounter and event charts, a wealth of thematic foes, and so many cool ideas that it's impossible not to feel inspired by this book. The setting is "Dark Caribbean" with the idea being you can meld D&D elements with a grim and fantastical version of the piratical Caribbean, and this book really pulls it off. Even if you don't go for a quasi historical setting, the BB will provide plenty of material for forging your own fantasy piracy campaign of choice. I'm already plotting how to use this in my ongoing D&D Lingusia setting, which has a "Age of Exploration" period this book would compliment perfectly.

When you're done marveling at the resource above, take a look at the equally impressive PWYW tome called Blackpowder Pirates, a tome written by David Adams which happens to be an excellent player's resource for the kind of campaigns that The Buccaneer's Bestiary evokes. The sourcebook includes a buccaneer archetype for fighters, a dread pirate option for gunslingers (the Gunslinger is also a good addition, by the way), freebooter rogues, and warlocks with the Pact of the Compass (yes, it might sound a tad familiar to you).

If you're looking for some seafaring piracy in your D&D 5E games, and you want some excellent resources to make it happen, download these books and get to it!

5E Kickstarter: A Touch of Class from ENWorld

I haven't been backing anything from Kickstarter lately....it's a bad habit.....but I'll make an exception for this: ENWorld's first D&D 5E print book, available through the Kickstarter only, called "A Touch of Class." It's 7 new classes and 45 subclasses for 5E--a must have for steady 5E players and DMs! Cheap, too....about $22 US plus $6 shipping (roughly).

Lands of Enzada: Huldreth, the Cursed City

The ongoing center of the current Enzada campaign is Huldreth, the Haunted City which started as completely normal location a few years ago and was changed forever by a curse of the Grasping Claw unleashed during that campaign. The current campaign arc in my games involves an attempt by the Sabhanu Sidanan to save the city.....but whether this will come to pass remains to be seen. More on that campaign in some future post. 

Huldreth and Satiin

   Once, a mere two years ago, Huldreth was a thriving seaport and the center of trade and commerce from Arkoskin to the lands of Dasam and beyond. It was prosperous under the rule of the Kishatrya Gormask, and his beloved daughter Sabhanu Sidanan. 

   Then….everything changed.

   For reasons unknown to most, there was a dark evil creeping beneath the city, gaining a slow foothold. Cults of the enigmatic Grasping Claw gained control of the underworld, and planted their shrines and temples in the catacombs and ancient drainage/sewer networks underground. The cult captured the immortal gorgon Sytaria and found a way to confuse the immortal minotaur Ayadis Kharasos. The high priest, Sardar Amanshan Taer, found an ally in the form of the dreaded harpy queen Skat’ramorda, who sent her best general Castrea, to aid him.

   Sardar hatched a diabolical plan to bring back the greatness of Yamash’Hatal, the dreaded Grasping Claw. He intended to use the sacrifice of the immortal gorgon to imbue a chosen body with the immortal blood of the child-oracle of Elinzada, but instead something much stranger happened: during the sacred ritual of transfer in the capitol Uralhat, the demons Sardar summoned manifested from the Outer Darkness and killed the old oracle. The spirit of Elinzada entered a wayward child named Sinmir, and later again it entered a sellsword when the boy was struck down. On the journey to the temple of Elinzada on Syrhaba, something terrible happened: the sacred pool of Elinzada’s temple was corrupted by the dark essence of the Grasping Claw, who gained an unexpected foothold into the world. Whether it was the demon god himself or his infernal essence is unknown, but a black cloud of evil swept out of the temple and called to the harpy armies of Syrhaba. They took flight, devastating coastl towns as they did, then arcing across the water in a great mass, driven mad by the cloud.

   The dark cloud descended upon Huldreth, filling the streets with a foul miasma which raised the dead and sickened and killed the living. Bestial felgaunts ran amok, and armies of the dead attacked all who did not succumb to the miasma. The harpies then arrived, and a vicious battle of escape began as the forces of general Wabaram Cathotis fought to protect the exodus of the city’s people, ultimately finding themselves in a vicious defensive posture protecting the royal palace, which was situated on a great hill overlooking the city, somehow protected from the miasma.

   The royal family and guard escaped through hidden tunnels, along with most who sought the protection of the castle. Twenty miles north along the city shore the once modest fishing town of Satiin suddenly became the hub of thousands of refugees from the monster-filled city.

   That was two years ago. Since then, Satiin, funded by the nobles and wealthy merchants who lost all in the miasma of the city, has grown quickly to fill the void Huldreth held. It is still in growth, and it will be decades before it is the size and complexity of its southern cousin. The locals are not happy…..the influx of sudden wealth and city life has been a boon and bane all at once. Governor Pre’Kadias has relinquished primary control to the kishatrya. Meanwhile, the Sabhanu Sidanan has voyaged away, seeking out stories of a mythical giant cauldron in the north which is believed to contain the secret to extinguishing the miasma and freeing her city of the curse that labors over it.

   Huldreth was about one quarter the size of Uralhat, but that still maked it large with a local population of over 60,000. Now residing in Satiin, close to 40,000 people have spread out in the region, at least of those who did not migrate elsewhere or succumb to the miasma and become one of the ten thousand undead inhabiting the city. In Satiin there is a strong mix of daharesh, uthitin, duwende, and even dev, as well as many other humanoid races. The cosmopolitan nature of this region makes it a favored stopping point for many merchants from the northern and eastern kingdoms, even with the smaller bay and as yet undeveloped port at Satiin.

   Huldreth and now Satiin is protected by general  Wabaram Cathotis, a warlord of great reputation who is a veritable culture hero, said to have once even retrieved the Water of Life from a conch shell after entering the Celestial Kingdoms, specifically to court the former regent of Selindar (Ymaes Trelyr) for one night with her. Wabaram’s charisma is great enough that the people of the city rally around every decree and proclamation he makes.

Adventure Seed: The Temple of Umbras

   About thirty miles north of Satiin along a lengthy stretch of rocky, abandoned coast there is rumored to be a great waterfall, near which is hidden an old temple to a forgotten god called Umbras. Local tribes claim that new cultists have appeared, and seek to awaken the lost god with fresh sacrifices! Representatives of the local tribes, fearful of what has awakened within the lost temple, will come to Satiin looking for heroes or mercenaries willing to aid them. The kishatrya, mortified at the prospect of another god of the Outer Darkness awakening to slip between the cracks of the In-Between, will willingly pay heroes to deal with this threat.

Voorn and the Cult of the Grasping Claw

   This cult is headed by the Sardar Amanshan Taer, a great noble well known for his generous donations to the old Huldreth Temple district and the poor. He ran a profitable shipping business and imports and exported  across the world….and still is, by some accounts; rumor is true dedicates to Yamash’Hatal are immune to the miasma’s plague effects. Sardar is also, secretly, a necromancer who once performed a ritual that opened a pathway into the Shadow Realm of the Grasping Claw’s dominion. The dark entity reached out and plucked the nobleman’s heart from his chest, capturing it to manipulate him in the mortal plane thereafter.

   Taer founded a front business that is very successful, but he recruited from hidden sources for his secret business as the cult lord of the Grasping Claw. Relying on the serpentine assassins of the vishkanya he managed to forge an impressive reputation as the cloaked and masked leader of the cult known only as Voorn, a terrifying visage who carried out the mysterious whims of his master. After the city fell, Sardar fully embraced his role f Voorn and refused to be called by hiw own name.

   Not long before the city fell, the cult of the Grasping Claw had set its sights on the Sahbanu Da’Hishana. Her presence in disguise within the city became known thanks to certain contacts the vishkanya assassins have with Uralhat’s underworld, and an attempt was made to take both her and the princess Sidanan. They failed.

   The Cult is an evil agency of a vile god, but there is a local Baba wise man named Khuridath, now living in Satiin’s muddy temple row, who is also a priest of the Grasping Claw. Unlike the cultists, he is a true priest, who fears and wards himself against the terrors of this dark god. Seeking him out will reveal that the true, rare priests of the god are actually not servants seeking power but agents dedicated to thwarting the entity at all costs. They both revere and fear the power of the Grasping Claw, but the thousand-year-old clerical order of this deity have sworn long ago to insure that the Grasping Claw is never allowed to break out of the Outer Darkness and into the mortal realm.

“He is always hungry,” Baba Khuridath will explain. “He can never stop eating. In his realm he serves a purpose, but his appetite is too great. It is our job to insure he never leaves, that the living remain safe from his depredations.”

   Khuridath is currently representative of the efforts to quell or eliminate the miasma which has overtaken Huldreth. He has a power to ward the miasma away from his person and those around him, and he has mounted several expeditions with agents of the kishatrya, including general Cathotis. So far they have not found the source of the foul emanation, and the kishatrya has offered a princely sum, title and land to the one who saves the city from this curse.

The Immortals of Huldreth

   Huldreth serves as home to two immortals: Sytaria, the gorgon and Ayadis Kharasos, the first minotaur.

   Selindari history tells of a time when the immortals, each men and women changed forever by the spirits and gods into monstrous and unkillable beings meddled in the affairs of men. When these humans angered the gods they were punished with the change to monstrous form. In Huldreth two such beings arose: Sytaria, who was said to have been a priestess of Etyri who lost her way and grew too ambitious, and Ayadis Kharasos, a great warlord who protected Selindar but with such ambition that he also did great hard to his people and ultimately challenged Navasar himself for the right of greatest combatant in the world.

   Each of these immortals had an effect on the city such that great measures had to be taken to contain them. Sytaria sought revenge for her transformation and raised an army of Sarnathan orcs to gain control of Selindar. Her army was vanquished, and she fell in love with the kishatrya Aman’hatur who defeated her, a Navasar-dedicate who learned to fight even though he was blind. He placed her in captivity, and ultimately took her as a consort (though both were forbidden from proper marriage) and Sytaria was eventually tamed, dwelling in her corner of the city for many centuries to come. This happiness would only recently be destroyed when she was kidnapped by the cult of the Grasping Claw, which intended to use her and her once powerful mirror of vanity (The Obsidian Mirror) to open a portal to the Outer Darkness, that they might summon forth the Grasping Claw to imbue the god-spirit into the flesh of the princess Sidanan. As it turns out, they were thwarted, and yet at the same time they succeeded….and Sytaria was beheaded. Like all immortals, however, she eventually restored herself….the curse and gift of the “first monsters” insured her return. Sytaria now dwells in the opulent but abandoned Palace of the Kishatrya atop the high hill of Huldreth, where she has called upon a menagerie of beasts from the Underlands to guard her new fortress against the monsters of the Grasping Claw.

   Ayadis Kharasos came two centuries later, about nine centuries ago, when he rose to power as an ambitious warlord who fought off barbarian invaders from Mazadran and saved Selindar. He grew too ambitious, however, and conquered Selindar itself, deposing the rule of the high council of Uralhat and even taking the regent priestess of Natyne for his wife. When he challenged Navasar himself to a duel to prove he was greatest warrior of all, it was the last straw. The gods saw fit to transform him into the first minotaur, and the change drove him mad.

   The high priestess Erimana built a fantastic maze beneath Huldreth into which hundreds of brave warriors sacrificed themselves in order to lure the minotaur, that he would be trapped. There, to appease him, a ritual sacrifrice of virgin women began, to keep the beast quelled. Periodic blood sacrifice in the form of prisoners and willing warriors was given to sate the minotaur’s bloodlust. When the beast subsided, Ayadis took some of the women as wives instead, and the race of minotaurs was born. The first such children were slain as abominations, but Ayadis escaped and slew almost all of the priests that were his captors; to calm the beast Erimana promised that his children would go free after that.

   As much as it was a curse on the warlord, it was also a curse on all Selindar and Huldreth in particular; the Selindari spent a generation working on reforming their political system at the time to what it is today to avoid the anger of the gods by avoiding a concentration of power.

   Centuries later and after many periods of reform, social and civil upheaval, wars and more the maze beneath Huldreth was delegated to a special appointment of priests who oversaw the imprisonment of the minotaur. When this priesthood eventually perished it was delegated to a small order of sarnathans, and at last in the present era no one even remembered the tales as more than legends until a recent rediscovery of the massive underground complexes beneath the plateau of the Huldreth palace.

   Today the minotaur is tempered by age and meditation, haunted by the ghosts of the many women who were sacrificed to him as wives and later killed when his temper flared up, and he is entertained by a small handful of like-minded souls who seek refuge from above, including the Sarnathan orc Mosarus, a professional book-keeper and scholar. He also collects cats, primarily to ward away the ghosts of his dead wives. Because of his nature as an immortal, Ayadis is immune to the miasma of the Grasping Claw. He now regularly wanders the subterranean realms of the city destroying undead and demons as he finds them.

   The minotaur’s maze is but one corner of a much larger underworld beneath Huldreth.

Exploring the Ruins of Huldreth

Fort Adaskar – the throne of power for the old militia, now overrun with hundreds of undead and harpies. It is rumored that the harpy queen Skat’Ramorda and her general Castea have taken up residence with their vast flock here.

Temple Row- the great old Temple district was truly one to rival Uralhat’s vast temple quarter of Ten Thousand Gods, though perhaps a bit fewer here. It has suffered greatly as the temples are defaced and overrun with the monsters formed of the miasma of Yemash’Hatal. The Temple of Elinzada is said to have been brutally defaced and repurposed as a temple to the Grasping Claw, and is the seat of power for Voorn and his cultists, who all seem to be immune to the transformative and necrotic effects of the miasma.

The Grand Docks – the once great docks still operate, and seem to be unaffected by the miasma in certain areas. Scoundrels and villains of all sorts who are willing to pledge their souls to the Grasping Claw are allowed a place here, as the cult prospers from illicit trade across the Vanzarek Ocean.

The Palace of the Kishatrya – Sytaria the gorgon and her small army of monsters have taken up residence here. Though Voorn despises her presence in the city, he retains control of her Obsidian Mirror and threatens to destroy it if she does not comply with his wishes. It is believed that he is in fact using her mirror to summon more demons to possess and transform unwilling victims captured by cultist raiders.

The Catacombs and Sewers – The vast network of subterranean catacombs, old ruins, sewage and drainage tunnels remains as dangerous as ever, but there is now a slowly growing network of thieves, assassins and murders headed by a cartel of vishkanya called the Servants of the Red Eye, who are working for the cult and Voorn above. The denizens of the lower deeps have migrated up, seeking trade routes close to the surface. Meanwhile, the catacombs of the minotaur are wide open, and Ayadis Kharasos has called upon his sons and daughters to aid him in his efforts to purge the city of its squatters.

Exploring the Streets of Satiin

The Golden Harbor – this was once a wide lagoon and bay in which fishing vessels cluttered the area on their daily quest for a fine haul. Now it is rife with ships dropping anchor and bringing goods in through Satiin for overland passage into the Hub.

The Palace of the Governor – the villa where governor Pre’Kadias maintains a semblance of local rule, despite the nearby presence of the great New Palace under construction.

The New Palace Sidanan – in honor of his absent daughter, the Kishatrya has dubbed the new palace under construction overlooking the high bluff over the harbor after the sabhanu. It will be several years before the palace is complete, as much of the stone he requires must be imported overland, and is in the hands of several recruited tribes of duwende known as the Stone Cutter tribes.

Fort Cathotis – named after the general (much to his personal shame) the new fort is currently more of a stockade, but it harbors several thousand active militia who are busy taming the jungle and doing public works in the name of the people of Huldreth to repopulate this region with housing and a place for business.

The Old Town – what was once the thriving fishing town that Satiin harbored has become a overgrown mess of impromptu huts, shanties, tent houses and new construction on top of the old fishing houses. The vast webwork of unchecked growth by the refugees of Huldreth has left the much smaller local population out of luck, but a few have turned to other forms of profit, while more have simply left and made their way further north along the coast to seek better land and fishing. 

Lands of Enzada: Selindar, the Free Cities

Key of all the lands in Enzada is Selindar, which is the uniting force both from an economic and cultural perspective of the Hub of Etyri. There are many cultures

Selindar, the Free Cities

Ruler: Selindar sees its ruler as the chosen high priestess of the Temple of Natyne; each city then has an appointed regent king (called a kishatrya) who rules locally. The current high priestess is Erinsada Dimanes, a thirty-year-old woman who was a priestess of the goddess Natyne before she was elected to regency one year ago

Government: Republic with regent by election once every ten years; power is in the hands of the land owners and merchants, who elect senators from each free city in the realm to represent their interests in the senate halls at Uralhat

Primary Populace: mostly humans, with some egleppi, kobolds, goblins, Tengu and centaurs. Wild daharesh elves dwell in the forests of Nyr’T’Hathys in small enclaves, and some duwende dwarves dwell in the Shenguri Mountains. Sarnatha are rife in the region, but mostly in the cavernous depths of the mountains and the limestone caverns along the great coast; they like it dark.

Background: Selindar is a unique polity, a land ruled by no single king, though a regent is elected once ever ten years to act as the voice of the people in the senate. This regent is allowed to appoint a warlord who serves as general of the armies which serve to protect Uralhat and to aid the defense of the other cities and towns of the land. The actual rulership of Selindar is in the hands of the grand senate, which is a collection of wealthy land owners and merchants who are elected by their peers to serve the senate.  

   Selindar has an ancient history, but it was long ago emancipated from any conquerors, and whether it is true or not, the people of this land claim to be descended from the rebellious slaves who revolted against the long lost Inhuridan Empire. Admittedly, n the centuries that Selindar has grown as a realm of free trade, less than half the local population can claim to be native

A Note about Ranks in Selindar:

Nobles of Selindar are called the Sardar .

Men of station such as governors and merchant princes are titled Pasha.

Ruling women are the Sahbanu.

Regional kings and regents are the Kishatrya.

The High Regent of Uralhat is the Padishah.
Baba is the term for a revered wise man, saint or prestigious religious man.

Akhoond is the title of a proper priest or cleric of a specific clergy.

Priests of all types are typically identified as Pujari, and sometimes as Archaka.

Uralhat

   Uralhat is the majestic jewel of Selindar and the capitol city where in the senate holds conference and the regent elect serves her decade of service. It is the largest city in the Hub of Etyri, and it is a bastion of all cultures as well as the freedom-minded Selindari. More about the city will be discussed later, but it is home to over 250,000 residents, and twice that in the rural lands around it. Uralhat has been coveted by more than one would be conqueror, and it is well defended against sieges from both land and sea. The city itself is elevated in most regions on a multi-tiered plateau, a vast network of tell mounts reflecting the fact that the city has been built on more than five thousand years of continuous occupation.

Adventure Seed: The Theft of the Sacred Soul

   A great congregation is being held in Uralhat as Teritis, the oracle of the goddess Enlinzade has decreed that the immortal soul of the goddess she soon be passed on to his legitimate heir. The adventurers witness the rite of Visions at the Sacred Pool of the goddess in the temple district. The spirit of the goddess, to be transported to the isle of Syrhaba where its new bearer in the form of the boy-priest Sinmir awaits is interrupted when demons boil forth from the Beyond and strike the oracle down…the oracle places the spirit within one of the heroes who witness the act before passing away!

A Quick overview of Uralhat:

   Uralhat is divided in to eight regions, which include the following:

The Harbor District

--Slums

--Dockyards

--The Foreign Quarter (Private Markets)

--The Fish Markets

 

The Inner District

--The Palace of the Shiya (regent)

--The Halls of the Senate

--Temple of Commerce

--Noble Housing

The Grand Markets

--The Open Markets

--The Hall of Labor

--Mercenary District

--Temple of Natyne (adjacent to Temple District)

--Inner Caravanserai Grounds

--Stockyards (Exotics)

--Butcher’s Row

--Smitheries

--Tanneries

The Northern Reach

--The Northern Market

--Agricultural Markets Section

--Commoners District

--General Laborers Row

--Guild Halls

--Barracks of the City Guard

--The Stockyards

--Tavern District (Respite Way)

--The Embittered Wren Inn

--The Tavern of the Monkey’s Sprawl

The Eastern Sprawl

--The Commons (East Area)

--Wealthy landed residences

--Plantations

--The Outer Gates and the Main Wall

--The Barracks of the Selindar Militia

--The Halfling commons

The Shanty

--A vast uncultured slum, “The Maze”

--Temple of Chashar

--Thieve’s Guilds

--The Assassins of the Red God

--The Cult of the Grasping Claw

--Scurvy Taverns

--The Gambling District

The Outer District

--Farmlands and plantations

--The Field of Games

--Caravanserai General Markets

--Outlying buroughs

The Temple District

--The Heart of the Thousand Gods

--Temple of Natyne is largest

--Temple of Etyri second largest

--A solitary shrine to the Blood God Thorzos, said to be haunted

--Temple and Monastery to Yazda for Sword Saints (Paladins, Rangers and Monks) of Yazda

Other Areas of Selindar:

Alesar and Carodon

   These are two noteworthy ports of call, small cities along the coast of Selindar, and strong bastions or regional influence. Both are known for their local agriculture and woodworking, though the fishing trade is also very important. Neither prospers as a port due to inadequate harbors.

Nyr’T’Hathys Forest

   This forest isn’t just a forest…it’s a true jungle. The equator of Enzada runs right through this region (scholars and navigators can tell you that Uralhat lies right along it, in fact) and this is easily one of the hottest jungles in the world. As a result, most of the civilized folk stick to the coastlands and the mountains, but the daharesh, egleppi and many other denizens suited to such a warm, humid environment, as well as a dozen known aboriginal tribes who have cast off the yoke of civilization can be found scattered throughout this thick rain forest.

   The daharesh of this land come in three varieties, including those who dwell in primitive communities and seek out the elegance of nature as their muse, called the Kindari, the fierce darker skinned darahesh who inhabit lost Inhuridan ruins of old and seek to dominate the subterranean races called the Zhakil, and the somewhat more graceful Hyadari who actually live in the lower reaches of the Shenguri Mountains in impressive, ancient cities that blend seamlessly with the walls of the mountains.

   The Halfolk in this region are the stout, lean dark-skinned kin called the Uthitin, and they see themselves as the caretakers of the forest. They have the largest number of villages close to Uralhat, and they are known for their society of explorers and hunters who call themselves wayfinders.

Chassa

   This trade city is located at a high elevation in the sole defensible pass over the Shenguri Mountains. The Road of Commerce passes through here, and links Selindar with the rest of the lands. Chassa is protected by a well known general named Karigos Shantigan, an exiled Nipar warlord who fell deeply in love with a Selindari woman named Esiir, who is a dedicate to Mimbrata, and she convinced him to leave his people and march south, where he occupied Chassa and swore to defend it against any who would stand against the liberties of Selindar.

Skadris

   Skadris is a mountain city dominated by more nonhumans then normal men, with a healthy mix of daharesh, netherim, duwende, Tengu and more. There is a great deal of duwende mining in the region, and the city is a sight to behold. Atop the Peak of Sketsar, highest of the Shenguri Mountains is a massive temple to the god Drod.

Zalfarvan Caverns

   These immense caverns are the centerpiece of the underworld community, managing to be a dangerous and prosperous place all at once. The complex is dominated by four major powers, being the zhakil, sarnatha, draconians and hideous monsters.

Vanzarik Ocean

   The Vanzarik Ocean is the great expanse upon which trade with the north coast of Dasam and the east coast of Merille trade. There is a hearty seafolk who are called the Vanzarik Islanders that ply the ocean, said by some to never leave its many islands and their boats. The people of these many islands are insular culturally, but open to trade. They worship a set of deities known collectively as the Diwata. The Diwata are a large collection of elemental nature spirits that are revered like gods by the locals. The Vanzarik Islaes are also the original home of the duwende, the stout hairy dwarves which migrated to the mainland and can be found throughout Selindar and the eastern Zalfarvan Mountains.

Syrhaba

   Syrhaba and the Islands of the Burning Sun are a pleasant locale where mystical temples have been built over countless centuries…..one island is described as the Isle of the Thousand Gods, where a thousand shrines to ancient and new gods can be found. Several monasteries of monks reside on these islands, and most local trade and commerce goes through the fine port of Syrhaba. This region is also famous for its meteoric iron.

Next: Huldreth, the Haunted City of Selindar

Hub of Etyri Map Link

Languages in Enzada

Languages of the Hub of Etyri:

Selindari (common)

   This is the common tongue of the Hub of Etyri region. Selindari is not only the national language of that kingdom, but it is descended from the language of the usurpers of old Inhuridan, so it traces its linguistric roots back to the lineage of the old slave castes that survived and overthrew the empire. As a result, Selindari is accepted as the dominant trade language throughout the Hub, even by those kingdoms and lands which are otherwise fairly hostile.

Other human languages:

Xar

Arkoskin

Zanzarik ( a variant dialect of Selindari)

Etarnish

Nazadranish

Neparic

Sholtiric (related to Draconic and Kandathric)

Mazadrani

Dasamic

Waladari

   All of the human languages in this region have similar linguistic roots to Selindari except for Xar, which is from a completely unrelated linguistic group to the south, and Neparic which was imported from its source vultures in the north east. Languages such as Waladari, Dasmic and Mazadrani are a mix of languages with root Selindari heritage and other languages introduced elsewhere.

Old (dead) languages (i.e. used by wizards)

High and Low Inhuridan

Goltannic

Dremarish.

Ancient Nadavasian

The Sky Builder Script

   The Sky Builder Script is a dead language studied and only vaguely understood thanks to the older Inhuridan “Rosetta Stone” tablets which still exist and serve to help translate the language; indeed, even the Inhuridan were puzzled by the Sky Builders and their language.

   Inhiridan, Goltannic, Dremarish and Ancient Nadavasian are all dead languages but more well understood. Dremarish is the youngest of the dead languages, and was a dialect spoken in Drath, said to have been the last language descended from the script of The Dead Kingdoms.

Others So Far Known:

Dasam Languages: Mittariin

Merille Languages: Hardanic

   Both Mittariin and Hardanic are “off the map” and come from foreign lands beyond the Hub, but are two of the most well-known foreign languages as such.

Various Racial Languages:

Dahareshnic (elvish)

Uthitinese Halfling

Duwende Dwarvish

Sarnathic Orcish

Draconic

Demonic

The Spirit Tongue (Whisp-tongue, Netherese)

Egleppic

Tengu's Tongue

Dev's Tongue

Kandathric

Gnollish (beast tongue)

   There are many more, but these are the most common. Note that Enzadans don’t distinguish between infernal (devils) and abyssal (demons) in their grouping of planar beings, so there is no “infernal” dialect in the Outer Darkness. Devils speak the spirit tongue, being a lawful evil form of spirit.

Movie Review: Life

Turns out we are getting two new Alien films this year! Who knew!

If you are like me, an irredeemable fan of the Alien franchise, then watching Life is a great way to hold you over until Alien: Covenant finally arrives in late May. Life is in fact an "astronauts vs. aliens" film in all its finest form, but strives to defy its conventions in three interesting ways:

This is a fairly "hard SF" film as Hollywood scifi goes. It's near future, involves the International Space Station of the not too distant future, with a multinational crew of actual astronauts in a zero-gee setting. The plot starts with their interception of an automated probe returning from Mars with soil samples. Naturally, one of those soil samples includes evidence of unique cellular life.

"Calvin" as the life form is named, is a voracious little predator once it grows large enough, but it's still portrayed as just a survivor organism. Shades of the original Alien are inevitable, but unlike the original Alien, Life tries to provide interesting discussion on what exactly is happening with Calvin....what makes it both unique and a threat. Calvin's growth rate is entirely realistic as well (well, relatively speaking) compared to the xenomorph of Alien.

Most important of all, and also a throwback to the original Alien, is that Life succeeds because it has genuinely good actors, including even Ryan Reynolds in a role which both plays on his quirky strength as an actor while managing to not feel out of place in a crew of intellectual scientists and engineers. Seriously....with a cast including Reynolds, Ariyon Bakare, Jake Gylenhall and others, Life really does succeed on this combination of taking its setting, subject, and acting seriously.

Literally the only moment where Life felt like it was honoring its genre traditions came toward the end, when (indirect spoiler alert) you have a sequence that was ripped right out of the finest "gotcha moments" of classic horror and SF fiction....but I will say no more, you'll know it when you see it. This final moment was actually rather entertaining because the film, played so straight up to this moment, managed to leave the audience with a fine conclusion (or cliffhanger) of what is either the end of the film in a decidedly non-franchise intended way, or a clear set up for an ongoing series with all of its associated pitfalls. Time will tell!

Anyway, Solid A here. If you are event remotely into this kind of horror/SF film or if you have been wondering if it's even possible for Hollywood to produce a new film that can stand adjacent to Alien, Predator and The Thing....look no further. Life is worth checking out.

Solid A

Secrets of Enzada: Caste Ranks in the Hub of Etyri Region

Caste Rank in Enzada

   Enzada, especially amongst the cultures of the Hub of Etyri, is dominated by strong regional caste systems, and it is very difficult to shift between castes over the course of one lifetime. The loosest caste system can be found in Selindar, where one may purchase greater rank through wealth. In Nepar caste rank is predetermined at birth and never changes. In Waladar there is no caste system and rank is determined by skill with blade or spell.

   Caste is often divided into two elements: economic station and professional station. A professional warrior will always belong to one of the warrior castes, for example, whereas a mage will belong to the scholar caste.

  Priests are an exception to the rule; priests are almost universally revered for their unique connection to the gods, and gain special privileges and recognition throughout Enzada for this reason. A priest need never worry about the mundane need for financial gain as most of the Hub will attempt to accommodate a priest, recognizing that it is not his or her job to be concerned with worldly gains.

Castes in Selindar

   The Selindar believe strongly in a divine process to the world, and that all men are destined to fulfill the role they were born in to. Leading a good life leads to change in the next life, but rarely does one change stations in a single life time. As such, there are several castes that all Selindari are born into. The caste culture of Selindar has also influenced several neighbor nations, and indeed some variation of this caste ranking exists in the entirety of the Hub due to the fact that its roots lie in the ancient Inhuridan Empire which so heavily influenced the land long ago.

   Adventurers fall into a special subcategory of their castes. Each adventurer who earns a reputation as such is known by one of two titles depending on how they conduct themselves: ghumakkar (a vagrant) or bhare (mercenary). Wandering priests and mages are usually called ramata jogi, a term reserved for hermits as well.

   Beyond the title of those who wander, the settled caste ranks are as follows:

Vaishya: the rank of the artisan and merchant class.

Kishatrya: the rank of the knighted and noble warrior class. The Grand Kishatrya is ruler of the land.

Shudras: the commoner, laborer and servant class. This group is the largest of the castes in terms of members, and is noted for not owning land.

Sardar: the ruling nobility, representing those who declare law but do not go to war.

Pujari: temple priests of all types and orders, sometimes called Acharya. In the real world these priests belong to the Brahmin caste but the Selindar are not actually Hindu worshippers, so that title is eschewed in favor of a slightly more generic caste title.

Voddha: A common soldier, usually without land, holds this station. The voddha retains his station as either Vaishya or Shudras depending on what his original ranking was. Not many Vaishya seek to serve unless they are the youngest of the family and not in line for inheritance. Some voddha can gain the rank of Kishatrya through impressive deeds.

Jadugara: sorcerers and warlocks are most commonly know by this title. Any who ply their trade as mages are given the title of Jadugara. A mage who is also an acolyte would be known as a pujari, sardar or even a Vaishya. Jadugara has unfortunate implications.

Ramata Jogi: wandering mystics, this is one title which can allow a sorcerer or warlock to escape the jadugara title. Sometimes also called Baba.

Bhare: mercenaries who work outside the system or are also foreigners. A bhare can hold another caste, but is identified as separate by trade.

Ghumakkar: a title for those who are vagrant or seem to move about with no land or means of support. Many adventurers may be initially mistaken as ghumakkar until they establish their reputation.

Choosing a Caste and Rank

   To choose your caste, pick from the default choice on the previous Background chart or choose from the one that makes the most sense for your character’s class/background combination. Then do the following:

1.      Make a Charisma check for your patron god (DC 15), apply a +2 modifier if you succeed (or -2 if you fail by 5 or more).

2.      Roll 1D10 and apply the aforementioned modifier plus the best attribute you have for your caste (i.e. STR for kishatrya or WIS for Pujari).

3.      Write that down; it’s your caste ranking in relative terms to those around you.

4.      If you have taken the caste of jadugara, your rank is instead based on the above, but instead of rolling a 1D10 you add level instead. As you rise in level, your rank as a jadugara also goes up.

5.      If your key attribute ever increases, so does your rank. On rare occasions great deeds or impressive/infamous acts may also increase or decrease rank, usually by 1 or 2 points.

Losing Caste Rank

   Performing a horrible deed or act can get you demoted to a criminal rank almost instantly. If you are dropped in rank for such behavior you usually end up as a Shudras of rank 1, or a ghumakkar, which never rolls for rank.

   If you simply lose face in some unfortunate manner (i.e. a kishatrya general loses a battle and is thoroughly spanked) then you tend to lose 1D4-1 points of caste rank. Unless you are fully demoted your rank can’t go below 1.

Gaining Caste Rank

   Great deeds, divine interaction and amazing stories of heroes can lead to an increase of caste rank. It is exceedingly rare to see someone change caste entirely, however. Whenever a sufficiently great deed transpires (and it may happen only once or twice in a hero’s life) the gain will be 1D3 caste rank points.  Hitting level 20 is an exception: you gain 2D6 caste points immediately when you reach that level.

   There is no limit to how high your caste rank can go. If you ever do manage to gain a new caste, your rank resets as if you had just rolled for your caste rank for the first time.

Using Your Selindari Caste Rank

   Those with lower caste rank should show you respect and defer to your wishes in casual social affairs and those of higher rank will expect the same of you. When you try to argue with or impose will on those of higher rank you are at disadvantage on your social rolls, and when you do the same to lower ranked individuals expressing opposition you gain advantage against them.

   The castes rank as follows for reference:

Padisha

Pasha

Sardar / Kishatrya

Priest / Vaishya / itinerant Jogi

Sudrasy / full / Voddha

Gumkkda

Wizard *

*The jadugara is different, however in that his rank is based on his reputation in magic. For station purposes whenever he reveals his nature he treats himself as equivalent in rank to whomever he is intimidating, so long as he is using imtimidation or diplomacy with his reputation to get his way. If he does not reveal his nature he defaults to Shudras in rank, or whatever other rank he seeks to masquerade as.

Foreigners and Selindari Ranks

   This is actually a common practice in the Hub of Etyri. The selindari don’t have a term for foreigner, and consider all men to be children of the gods. As such, any foreigner who petitions for entry into the ranks of the Selindar may do so, and is granted status equivalent to his worth as a man. Such foreigners of caste are regarded as distinct in that it is understood that they often haven’t learned the formal etiquette of their rank. Foreigners who can’t demonstrate ownership of property, wealth or rank in their own society are usually assigned the Shudras or Bhare ranks.

   Because foreigners are regarded with a measure of exemption from proper etiquette, it actually means a character attempting to masquerade as a higher caste rank can have better success if they can pretend to be a foreigner while doing it. In such cases the deceiver does not get penalized for failing to take the time to study the local etiquette.

Deception and Rank

   A Character of different station than a caste he plans to masquerade as will gain a -5 bluff/disguise penalty if he has not spent time and effort studying the habits and etiquette of that caste. Each time a character wishes to study such a caste, he must spend a minimum of 1 week doing so or he will gain this penalty on his deception rolls.  Once he has spent time studying the caste he may add it to a list of those castes he has studied. The castes may function differently in other cultures and require re-studying.

Belonging to the Neparic Castes:

   The Nepar have a rigid caste system, which they adhere to against all common sense by Selindari standards. The lowest level caste, the Eto, are commoners and lesser men of no worth and owning no land. The landed gentry are called the Ehato, but amongst this group is a special caste for warriors, who are called the Shagatei, dedicated to the warlord of Nepar, the Nasua. Shagatei of varying ranks and power exist, and landless or lordless Shagatei are called Etasho. The Etasho are a growing force of mercenaries and rabble in Nepar, caused by the bloody fall-out of the last two decades of warfare, in which the majority of land-holding have been consolidated under the control of a handful of major shagate who are the favored of the Nasua.

   If your character is from Nepar, then his caste rank will be based on one of the above. Advancing in Nepari rank is almost unheard of; you’re either born to nobility or you’re not. If you choose the noble background then you may be shagatei (if of a martial disposition) or ehato (if other). Landless and lordless shagatei are etasho, and any martially inclined adventurer may choose this rank. Otherwise, the only option available to characters is ehato if the adventurer is presumed to come from a settled family, or eto, especially if the character is of the outlander, hermit, urchin or other profession which clearly has no money or status.