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Chimerics

2026-03-14T21:35:10Z

Possum: /* Common Chimerics */

=Making a chimeric=
Chimerics are the players choice to make a custom character, modified to be what visually appeals to them and what they enjoy. This ranges from playing as unlisted fantasy races such as harpies, half-giants, catfolk, or hobgoblins. With chimerics, you have a lot of potential to make a character unique to you that still fits within the lore. For example, you want to play a hobgoblin, you could say your character was the result of a human father with a female goblin, giving you a blend of characteristics between both that results in a hobgoblin. Or you want to play an animal-esque character, such as a catfolk. You could say that your ancestors (or your character in adulthood) choose to be life weaved to appear as you do.

Most chimerics are the result of humans mixing with other races or humans undergoing the process of life weaving, a type of magic from the steel legion. Life weaving for most races usually only offers cosmetic changes and healing, such as changing your hair, eye, and fur color. Other abilities include fixing or replacing missing limbs and bones, repairing extensive damage, or restoring the body to its natural state. In humans, they are the only race capable of being extensively changed to the point that they no longer resemble humans at all. These people and their descendants are known as chimerics, lumped in with those whom are considered natural products of interbreeding. Unlike other races, where an intermixed child is always a full blooded race of the sire, humans often meld and pick up various influences from others.

'''Being weaved takes time, while the safe zone has the equipment to do weaving, changing your race would take weeks to months depending on the extent of the alteration. Nobody will care if you change your hair or eye color every few days, but expect to have administrative action taken if you are a half-giant one day and a goblin the next day.'''

===What about traditional outsider races?===
In general, the lore is pretty open to the interpretation of custom races and the allowances of all manner of choices, be it from simply wanting to play something more personal to you or a race you like or simply wanting to be different. However, to maintain consistency some half-races are disallowed, them being half-elementals, dhampir, half-angel/half-demon, tiefling, aasimar, and other normally exotic races. It is often safe to assume that any creature with human level intelligence not specifically mentioned in the lore is likely hostile and not open to peaceful relations as a whole. Individuals might, but not as a group, to cover potentially intelligent races like giants or otherwise.

Fae are one of the exceptions to standard chimeric lore and outsider ruling, as they are often humans who go through weaving to show their devotion to [[Religion|Ravendara]]. While true fae could be considered inherently magical or supernatural those whom players would be able to play as would be little more than chimerics themselves with a greater devotion to their specific god.

==I don't want to be a chimeric, I want to be a snowflake!==
'''The rules stated here in this paragraph are considered hard rules as we want to have a consistent and quality lore instead of the free for all some other servers allow, as such we will enforce lore standards as required.''' We are generally pretty open to new ideas, but do be aware if you making something obviously conflicting with the lore you will be '''forced''' to change it.

If you wish to play a race that was never human you must adhere to these rules:
* It must not use a name or be a direct copy of a race that already exists in someone else's fiction unless it is a generic race. I.E. Khajiits would be against the rules, but a generic catfolk would not.
* You cannot play anything quadrupedal, no animals characters, it has to be humanoid in shape.
* You cannot play a dragon, part dragon, dragon-blooded, dragon descended, half dragon, or dragon born. If you wish to play something draconic, kobold and salamander exist. If neither appeal, you have no alternative so play something else.
* You cannot play an elf, half-elf, or anything derived from elves. Elves are inherently murderous and monstrous creatures who'd eagerly gut themselves rather than so much as think of a lesser race in any other light than a slave.
* You cannot play an elemental, demon, angel, or half/quarter/descended of any of these races. Angels, demons, and elementals are extensions of the three gods will. Half races of these are thus extremely rare and often exceedingly powerful as a result. Some races have stable and reoccurring elemental deviations, such as the kaxxis with ifrit. These are your only options.
* You cannot play as an undead/half undead creature, for much the same reason you cannot play an elf. All undead are either mindless murder machines or the extremely rare intelligent and hyper dangerous greater undead.
* Giants exist but you cannot play as one, they are simply too large to be reasonable everyday characters. Ergo, the tallest large race allowed is 9 ft. Giants average around 20 ft. You can, however, be a half-giant. Giants are often violent with small folk and even the peaceful one's will actively avoid any village larger than two hundred people.
* Your character race should not reference an existing country from Earth. I.E. a virginia opossum should just be opossum, a mojave rattlesnake will just be a rattlesnake. '''This includes the description, not just the race name.'''
* Your race does not have a kingdom, it does not exist beyond a few scattered villages, it has so little power and influence that most people have never heard of you, let alone take you as a serious contender in anything. '''You cannot bypass this by saying your people are just hiding and actually their super mega death machines are so powerful and blah blah blah.''' Chances are your village pays taxes to an existing empire and thus considered a part of that empire, as most frontier villages are.
* Your character must be from this world, born into this world, in this timeline. You cannot be from the future, a different dimension, or alternate reality.
* Your character is a regular person, you might be notable to the small town/village you are from, you might be somewhat unique, but you are far from special. Nobody in your custom lore has ever become a lord and nobody cares about them as a result.

==Common Chimerics==
Due to the prevalence of humans mixing with established races, some chimerics are culturally known and given names. These chimerics are often the result of a first-generation human mixing with another race. Unlike the norm of the sire/father being the only factor with determining race, human mothers and fathers can produce chimerics. In some circumstances even a heavily weaved human may produce a pure human or a child from the listed variants below. As with all chimerics, this only shows common trends and is not set in stone. Citizenship for chimerics almost always defaults to the Onokrin due to being considered human unless otherwise noted. For the sake of mirroring roleplay with mechanics, a suggested stat build is listed as a minimum value you should take in your stat choices, this '''''DOES NOT''''' give you bonus stats at all, its only a suggestion on what stats you should take if you want to roleplay as these specific chimerics.

* Half-Orc: A very common variant of human and orc mixture. Half orcs have greater strength than their human parentage but less so than their orc family. Because of how similar orcs and humans are on most levels besides physical, half orcs are often indistinguishable from their parents. The most common trait are less pronounced points to their ears, non-red eye colors, and lighter shades of green/brown/gray skin. Tusks vary, some have them and some do not, but they are often smaller than a regular orc. Robustness 10, Toughness 10, Cognition 10.
* Hobgoblin: The result of a goblin and human mixing. Hobgoblins are taller than goblins but shorter than humans and usually have pale yellow skin or reddish skin colors. Goblin fangs, eye colors, and pointed ears and claws are common. Though not as innately gifted as their goblin parent with tools they show a combination of human adaptability with goblin ingenuity. 30 Mechanical.
* Flind: The result of a gnoll/human mix. Flinds are absolute pariahs, both among humans and gnolls. Humans and orcs look down on them for often being the products of rape and thus being a representation of barbaric savagery despite the flind themself being entirely blameless for their circumstances. Gnolls have a mixed sense of feelings towards flinds, on one hand recognizing that flinds are smarter and thus often useful tools while also noting their physical weakness and lack of gnoll endurance making them weak. Some gnolls find flinds to be a source of pride, as it shows a barbaric level of domination, these particular gnolls are often given large bounties by the Onokrin as a result. Regardless of how a gnolls looks towards flinds, they are treated as slaves and are rarely capable of becoming anything more. 15 toughness, 5 mechanical, 5 biology, 5 cognition.
* Faun: Human/deerfolk mixture. Fauns are often deerfolk from the waist down, with strong cervine legs complete with hooves, cervine eyes, and may or may not have antlers. In an unusual display of laws interpretated as written, fauns are not considered second class citizens within the steel legion as deerfolk are and instead likened to lesser yokai or simply foreigners based on birth and circumstance. 15 biology, 15 vigilance.
* Satyr: The result of a human/kaxxis mixture. Satyrs have caprine lower halves, goat-like eyes, and curled ram-like horns. Satyrs are often accepted by the kaxxis despite their mixed blooded nature, the general norm being that any human who paired with a kaxxis was obviously worthy of it. Satyr are not as natural with psionics that kaxxis are but thanks to being much bigger an having the same scaled up strength and toughness are highly valued as warriors. 10 robustness, 10 toughness, 10 vitality.
* Goliath: A mix of ogre and human. As humans and ogres look very similar in many regards many mistake goliaths as merely ogres on the shorter side. Unfortunately for goliaths they lack both the adaptability of their human parents and the innate magical sense that ogres do but in return they are immensely physically powerful to an astounding degree. 30 robustness, 30 toughness.
* Huldra: A troll and human mix. Huldras always have lion-like tails, curled ram horns, large feet, and lean on the tall side. Like trolls and humans, every other trait can vary but the aforementioned qualities are always present. While incapable of regenerating like their troll parent, huldras mirror their human parents intellect. 20 vitality, 20 cognition.
* Holstaur: A minotaur human hybrid. Holstaur lean on the taller side like their minotaur parent but are still notably short. Physically they appear as a minotaur below the waist and human above save for a set of minotaur-like horns and ears. Like minotaurs they are physically strong but otherwise do not have any really notable traits. Because of their minotaur blood, Holstaur are treated like any minotaur is within the steel legion, making them citizens outright despite foreign heritage. This affords them the entirely unique position of duel citizenship with the empire and legion. 15 toughness, 15 robustness.
* Lago: A human-lagus mix. Lago often appear in two common forms, the first and most common simply being a human with bunny-like ears and sometimes bunny paws/hands. The other, less common variant that may appear is a more jackalope type lago, which are marked by antlers and fangs. Lago lack the adaptability of their human ancestry but do often develop psionic abilities thanks to their expansive intellect. 30 cognition.
* Vulf: A garm/human mix. Vulf are extremely rare as garm are a rare race to begin with. Vulfs are somewhat monstrous in appearance, looking like humans with claws, fangs, wolf tail, and wolf-like eyes but usually not having fur. They tend to appear slender, almost lanky, and have incredible durability both magically and physically. 30 vitality, 30 spirit.
* Rooks: A human/rodentfolk mix. While generally accepted both by humans and rodentfolk, rooks are given the short end of the stick due to their physical appearance. Rooks look like completely hairless rodentfolk with human eyes and short stubby muzzles. The large incisors, rodent ears, and muzzled face is uncanny without fur and is often incredibly off putting to most. While considered by most to be physically unattractive, as many lack any hair on them besides their head, rooks are at least treated as equals. No stat adjustments.

Special
* Humans and salamanders, due to salamanders already having half human parentage, always results in either a pure human or a pure salamander, even if the human sire/mother is heavily weaved.
* For a reason not quite known, humans mixing with either kobolds or dogbolds always result in a pure-blooded member of either race, following the usual rules of only the sire mattering for race.
* Dorf: Any mixture of dwarf and any other race. Dwarves are extremely rare as a result of an empire destroying war with the ogre kingdoms. For a reason currently unknown dwarves cannot mix with other races normally, as some did attempt to save their race by siring children with other races. The end result are offspring insultingly called 'dorfs' as they lack any functional qualities that dwarves are known for, being extremely stupid, obnoxious, and incapable of thinking beyond the current moment while also being physically pathetic in every regard. To most remaining dwarves, dorfs are considered the omen of Xaal, the sign that their race is in its twilight and will soon die off entirely. -30 to all stats.

==OOC Note==
''All species'' derived from human fantasy staples are always chimerics, though they may have their own histories and towns or villages. Species derived from an animal/completely unique may either be a chimeric (life weaved human) or a minor/unknown race (see above for creation rules). All races, be they independent chimerics or minor races, should follow the rules on this page. This is a high role-play environment and thus people are restricted to these rules to adhere to a believable and cohesive story and prevent lore/logic breaks. In general, if it appears human to some degree it should be a chimeric unless it is obviously alien. Harpies, hobgoblins, bug bears, furbolgs are all examples of custom chimerics. Illithids, giants, centaurs, and naga are all examples far too foreign and bizarre to be chimerics.

Goblins

2025-12-09T08:16:31Z

Possum:

Goblins are an often disregarded race among the Onokrin, lacking the martial prowess of humans and orcs and without the innate magical talent common among the ogres. What sets them apart and makes them a valued member race of the empire is their innate understanding all things magical, mechanical, and alchemical. For reasons even goblins cannot adequately explain any goblin, save for their sub-race blues, need only touch a machine and they will immediately understand the entire function of the device whether it is magical or mechanical. This knowledge allows them to readily recreate and share the technology between each other that is then rapidly recreated over empire holdings. It is almost entirely thanks to goblins that the most advanced technology and magitech is widely spread, be it the use of resonance power systems in the average citizens home, the refrigeration of food through ice boxes, or mass transportation through arcane and steam trains. The eventual end result of this knowledge sharing lead to the formation of multiple colleges that focus on training new engineers, alchemists, and rune sages to more widely apply their talents to frontier towns and other empires beyond their borders. These colleges and learning institutions are parkways training facilities and research institutes, as goblin students need only be introduced to working versions of technology to swiftly understand it. They then move on to developing new methods while students of other races follow behind them at a much slower pace.

The most famous of such institutions, formerly lead by the greatest magi-tech engineer across the known world, was the fabled Order of Brass. Though a small polity in its own right, it is not uncommon for the apex of rune sages or engineers in their field to join the somewhat secretive order. Among goblins, partially due to their ability to easily replicate anything they touch, find joining such order much more difficult than other races despite the founder being a goblin himself. As such, it is a matter of prestige among their race to have been trained within the order of brass. Surprisingly, goblins place very little importance on their aptitudes internally, while the empire values them greatly and prestige can be gained by various orders one has joined goblins are far more focused culturally on their creative works. The same complexity required to finely operate and build various machines both magical and mundane translates well to many different musical instruments, of which goblins often take up both as leisure activities and as professional musicians, making them a common staple among empire concert halls, performance taverns, and clubs.

A lesser known but valued talent among goblins is their natural skill with alchemy. In the same way goblins can intuitively understand magical and mechanical devices they are capable of deciphering the mixtures and properties of substances with a mere inspection. This talent takes two forms, extending to alchemy and drink mixing. Just as many goblins become alchemists as they do brewers, capable of making some of the strongest and finely tuned drinks that are rivaled only by the rodentfolk and their natural talent for the culinary arts. Those goblins who become alchemists often become trained rosaria, as the same steady hands that can hold tools with perfect precision can also perform surgical operations with equal talent, with even the most humble of goblins being capable of emergency field operations, a trait that is valued among mercenaries and soldiers for combat medics. Blues, the deviant subtype of goblins, take this talent even further, being experts in the medical field in the same way the average goblin becomes an expert in the mechanical. Blues are generally treated like any other goblin, neither exalted nor treated as pariahs, simply as different from the norm even with their unique psionic talents among the empire. The only pariahs among the goblins are the tribal remnants still eking out life in the southern plains as independent or gnoll-aligned tribes.

 '''A quick-start guide:'''
* Goblins come in three varieties, the most common and numerous being the Onokrin born Ironbound who are considered the base line of the goblin people. The second most numerous are the Blues, the deviant form of goblins, though they are often treated as no different than any other ironbound. The last and least numerous are the stone crushers, the hated and misaligned tribal goblins in the southern plains
* Ironbound Bonuses: +15 mechanical, +5 cognition, -5 toughness. Perks grant perfect tool use and can identify reagents at a glance.
* Stonecrusher Bonuses: +10 toughness, +5 robustness, +5 mechanical. -5 cognition. Perks grant perfect tool use and can identify reagents at a glance.
* Blue Bonuses: +10 cognition, +10 biology, -5 vigilance. Blues have expanded psi pools and can regenerate similar to trolls.

==Biology==
Goblins are a humanoid race that superficially resemble orcs at a much shorter stature, though have many noted difference upon closer inspection. The average goblin tends to range from four and a half to five feet tall discounting their ears, which tend to be very large and most often pointed, but rounded ears are not uncommon. Goblin skin color are varying shades of green and under some rare occurrences can have gray or yellow skin tones. Blues tend to be, unsurprisingly, shades of blue ranging from navy to very light shades of sky blue. Hair color among goblins are generally dark, with most having extremely dark green, black, or dark brown hair with the exception of blues which will have either dark navy blue, white, or extremely light blue hair. Blues tend to have more hair than regular goblins, with hair spreading to the back of the ears and sometimes across the body, though the latter is rare. Goblin faces vary but are generally either human-like or extremely angular with sharp features such as large pointed noses or pointed chins. Generally speaking, blues tend to have softer human-like features, stone crushers tend to have extremely sharp features, and onokrin goblins are a mix between. Goblin teeth are composed entirely of pointed fangs and will commonly fall out when they begin to dull before rapidly regrowing a fresh tooth within two or three days. Completing their somewhat monstrous appearance (to whose outside of the Onokrin that is) are slit-like eyes resembling that of a snake or feline and come in colors ranging from red, black, white, gray, or yellow. Goblins have black claws on both their hands and feet that end in naturally sharp points but are too frail to serve as weapons. A factor that surprises most other races is goblins possess six fingers and six toes per foot, with each digit having four joints and great flexibility. Goblin hands and to a lesser extent feet are capable of very fine manipulation, having both natural steady control and the ability to individually manipulate any digit even at the same time.

==Culture==
Goblin culture is in many ways both reserved and direct. Among the feral goblins, the Stonecrushers, they are known to be consummate thieves that hoard stolen treasure taken through banditry and often press ganged into positions as slaves by gnoll tribes. This feral nature is a far cry from the city dwelling Ironbound, who make up the majority of goblins across the empire. While orcs, humans, and even ogres can be said to be boisterous and jovial in nature, the majority of goblins are careful with how they express themselves, reserving flamboyancy largely to their creative works rather than within their personality. Although it is rarely spoken aloud, members within the empire are keenly aware that of the existing member species it is only goblins who have large amounts of tribalistic cousins. This stigma, coupled with most goblins lack of martial or directly magical prowess, has taught many goblins to largely go unnoticed and allow only their creations to speak for them.

An unfortunate aspect of goblin society has developed where the value of the individual is largely based upon what they are capable of uniquely creating. While others marvel at the technological wonders goblins are capable of, they themselves assign no merit to such talents, as any goblin who can touch a piece of technology is immediately capable of recreating it. Among outsiders, the creations of machines are used to display skill, talent, and garner a reputation that distances the individual from any possible stigma of their stonecrusher cousins. Internally, merit is largely assigned by what creations a goblin makes through their own creativity. This can be magical, mechanical, alchemical, or an art form and does not need to be practical or even useful, merely beautiful. The highest prestige that a goblin can earn among is own kind is either as a member of the order of brass, an engineering institute that only recruits the most creatively capable engineers among goblins, or as either a stone mason or musician.

Goblins look towards architecture as the most complex form of art and engineering. The nature of their ability with tools allows them to finely create in magic and mechanics, but this ability does not extend to stonework. As such, the creation of beautiful architecture both as an art and as a challenge for ones ability in engineering is one of the highest forms of challenge any goblin can undertake. In equal measure is music, which is another great portion of goblin culture as they assign incredible reverence to their most talented muses. Most goblins are innately capable of playing an instrument as fine manipulation is a natural skill, but to play it extremely well and compose your own music is a talent reserved only for a rare few. The most vaunted and renowned of the goblin race are thusly their most creative artists, as the mundane mechanics are simply a baseline for each individual.

==Mentality==
The mentality of goblins is represented heavily within their own culture, that being a heavy preference towards artistic endeavors with a practical approach to using their natural talents as a trade. Where the mentality parts from culture is how goblins diverge among their subraces. Stone crushers are cowardly, covetous, greedy, and vicious and are only kept in check by the stronger and more numerous gnoll tribes among the southern plains. The complete lack of industry and effective tools make it extremely difficult for stone crushers to advance themselves beyond a tribalistic stage of living. Even when supported by gnolls and having raided for tools or weapons they can do little more than maintain and prolong the eventual deterioration of whatever weapons they have. Strangely, among themselves, they are extremely giving when dealing directly with blood relatives. The vast hordes of treasure that they secret away is carefully passed down from generation to generation, with the most impressive or valuable treasures carefully protected and maintained. This makes directly attacking goblin tribes a risky maneuver that even gnolls must carefully plan, as the could have any number of readily charged and working magi-tech weapons, ballistic rifles, or even explosives secreted away for just such an occasion. These hidden caches and potential dangers are the only reason the stone crushers have not been fully subsumed by the gnoll tribes.

In direct opposition to this are the iron bound, the more numerous goblins among the Onokrin whose mentality can be more readily described as being the direct opposite of the stone crusher. Iron bound still suffer from the same propensity for greed that their tribal cousins do, but rather than hoarding money, weapons, or other practical goods iron bound are prone to vice and collecting. Many iron bound become collectors of various types, ranging from art, to antiques, to rare and often extremely expensive artifacts that may or may not be practical or purely artistic in nature. Vice is a common problem among the iron bound, in particular alcoholism due to the iron bounds innate understanding of alchemy and mechanics, as just about any iron bound can easily build his or her own distillery and begin crafting their own recipes of booze. Other common vices include smoking through home garden hydroponics and gambling, the latter of which is considered a social ill. Iron bound see home brewing and potential alcoholism as at least something of a potential profit and are willing to consider heavy drinking socially acceptable as long as the individual does not let it negatively affect their overall life. Gambling, however, is as universally condemned as it is popular among goblins. Many believe this problem extends from the fact that goblins can accurately predict and understand much of the world around them due to their natural understanding of their surroundings, thus to have something with stakes that they can reason by probability but not always predict creates an irresistible lure. Many a man has been ruined by gambling addiction, thus the iron bound routinely keep such vices limited to back rooms and private gambling halls where names are never spoken. Beyond these ills though, all the good that goblin culture has can be considered a direct product of the better nature of the iron bound, whose reliance on hard work and preference for art is said to elevate the entire Onokrin empire.

Finally, you have the blues, the creatively named and least numerous of goblin kind that are found almost exclusively among the iron bound. Surprisingly, while blues are treated like any other goblin by their kin, they are noticeably different. For a start, blues do not have the same perfect understanding of technology and use of tools that an average goblin does and are further separated by being naturally psionic, a completely unique factor among the whole of the Onokrin empire. Blues can be said to have the same understanding of the biological process that a regular goblin has towards machinery, making them excellent healers and rosaria. A great deal of blues join the Sons of Baitaal to be trained as vitalists for this reason and this has lead to much stronger religious convictions than regular goblins. The nature of blues is often more heavily focused on the ethereal rather than the practical, with religious practices and observance, greater interest in philosophy, and a larger focus on the super natural. If one asked a question to an iron bound and a blue on how to capture a bird, the iron bound would come up with all sorts of ideas involving traps, nets, or even carefully applied magic. The blue would say they would hold bird seed in their hand and wait.

 
 
 
 
[[Races|Back to Races]]

Goblins

2025-12-09T08:15:57Z

Possum: /* Biology */

Goblins are an often disregarded race among the Onokrin, lacking the martial prowess of humans and orcs and without the innate magical talent common among the ogres. What sets them apart and makes them a valued member race of the empire is their innate understanding all things magical, mechanical, and alchemical. For reasons even goblins cannot adequately explain any goblin, save for their sub-race blues, need only touch a machine and they will immediately understand the entire function of the device whether it is magical or mechanical. This knowledge allows them to readily recreate and share the technology between each other that is then rapidly recreated over empire holdings. It is almost entirely thanks to goblins that the most advanced technology and magitech is widely spread, be it the use of resonance power systems in the average citizens home, the refrigeration of food through ice boxes, or mass transportation through arcane and steam trains. The eventual end result of this knowledge sharing lead to the formation of multiple colleges that focus on training new engineers, alchemists, and rune sages to more widely apply their talents to frontier towns and other empires beyond their borders. These colleges and learning institutions are parkways training facilities and research institutes, as goblin students need only be introduced to working versions of technology to swiftly understand it. They then move on to developing new methods while students of other races follow behind them at a much slower pace.

The most famous of such institutions, formerly lead by the greatest magi-tech engineer across the known world, was the fabled Order of Brass. Though a small polity in its own right, it is not uncommon for the apex of rune sages or engineers in their field to join the somewhat secretive order. Among goblins, partially due to their ability to easily replicate anything they touch, find joining such order much more difficult than other races despite the founder being a goblin himself. As such, it is a matter of prestige among their race to have been trained within the order of brass. Surprisingly, goblins place very little importance on their aptitudes internally, while the empire values them greatly and prestige can be gained by various orders one has joined goblins are far more focused culturally on their creative works. The same complexity required to finely operate and build various machines both magical and mundane translates well to many different musical instruments, of which goblins often take up both as leisure activities and as professional musicians, making them a common staple among empire concert halls, performance taverns, and clubs.

A lesser known but valued talent among goblins is their natural skill with alchemy. In the same way goblins can intuitively understand magical and mechanical devices they are capable of deciphering the mixtures and properties of substances with a mere inspection. This talent takes two forms, extending to alchemy and drink mixing. Just as many goblins become alchemists as they do brewers, capable of making some of the strongest and finely tuned drinks that are rivaled only by the rodentfolk and their natural talent for the culinary arts. Those goblins who become alchemists often become trained rosaria, as the same steady hands that can hold tools with perfect precision can also perform surgical operations with equal talent, with even the most humble of goblins being capable of emergency field operations, a trait that is valued among mercenaries and soldiers for combat medics. Blues, the deviant subtype of goblins, take this talent even further, being experts in the medical field in the same way the average goblin becomes an expert in the mechanical. Blues are generally treated like any other goblin, neither exalted nor treated as pariahs, simply as different from the norm even with their unique psionic talents among the empire. The only pariahs among the goblins are the tribal remnants still eking out life in the southern plains as independent or gnoll-aligned tribes.

 '''A quick-start guide:'''
* Goblins come in three varieties, the most common and numerous being the Onokrin born Ironbound who are considered the base line of the goblin people. The second most numerous are the Blues, the deviant form of goblins, though they are often treated as no different than any other ironbound. The last and least numberous are the stone crushers, the hated and misaligned tribal goblins in the southern plains
* Ironbound Bonuses: +15 mechanical, +5 cognition, -5 toughness. Perks grant perfect tool use and can identify reagents at a glance.
* Stonecrusher Bonuses: +10 toughness, +5 robustness, +5 mechanical. -5 cognition. Perks grant perfect tool use and can identify reagents at a glance.
* Blue Bonuses: +10 cognition, +10 biology, -5 vigilance. Blues have expanded psi pools and can regenerate similar to trolls.

==Biology==
Goblins are a humanoid race that superficially resemble orcs at a much shorter stature, though have many noted difference upon closer inspection. The average goblin tends to range from four and a half to five feet tall discounting their ears, which tend to be very large and most often pointed, but rounded ears are not uncommon. Goblin skin color are varying shades of green and under some rare occurrences can have gray or yellow skin tones. Blues tend to be, unsurprisingly, shades of blue ranging from navy to very light shades of sky blue. Hair color among goblins are generally dark, with most having extremely dark green, black, or dark brown hair with the exception of blues which will have either dark navy blue, white, or extremely light blue hair. Blues tend to have more hair than regular goblins, with hair spreading to the back of the ears and sometimes across the body, though the latter is rare. Goblin faces vary but are generally either human-like or extremely angular with sharp features such as large pointed noses or pointed chins. Generally speaking, blues tend to have softer human-like features, stone crushers tend to have extremely sharp features, and onokrin goblins are a mix between. Goblin teeth are composed entirely of pointed fangs and will commonly fall out when they begin to dull before rapidly regrowing a fresh tooth within two or three days. Completing their somewhat monstrous appearance (to whose outside of the Onokrin that is) are slit-like eyes resembling that of a snake or feline and come in colors ranging from red, black, white, gray, or yellow. Goblins have black claws on both their hands and feet that end in naturally sharp points but are too frail to serve as weapons. A factor that surprises most other races is goblins possess six fingers and six toes per foot, with each digit having four joints and great flexibility. Goblin hands and to a lesser extent feet are capable of very fine manipulation, having both natural steady control and the ability to individually manipulate any digit even at the same time.

==Culture==
Goblin culture is in many ways both reserved and direct. Among the feral goblins, the Stonecrushers, they are known to be consummate thieves that hoard stolen treasure taken through banditry and often press ganged into positions as slaves by gnoll tribes. This feral nature is a far cry from the city dwelling Ironbound, who make up the majority of goblins across the empire. While orcs, humans, and even ogres can be said to be boisterous and jovial in nature, the majority of goblins are careful with how they express themselves, reserving flamboyancy largely to their creative works rather than within their personality. Although it is rarely spoken aloud, members within the empire are keenly aware that of the existing member species it is only goblins who have large amounts of tribalistic cousins. This stigma, coupled with most goblins lack of martial or directly magical prowess, has taught many goblins to largely go unnoticed and allow only their creations to speak for them.

An unfortunate aspect of goblin society has developed where the value of the individual is largely based upon what they are capable of uniquely creating. While others marvel at the technological wonders goblins are capable of, they themselves assign no merit to such talents, as any goblin who can touch a piece of technology is immediately capable of recreating it. Among outsiders, the creations of machines are used to display skill, talent, and garner a reputation that distances the individual from any possible stigma of their stonecrusher cousins. Internally, merit is largely assigned by what creations a goblin makes through their own creativity. This can be magical, mechanical, alchemical, or an art form and does not need to be practical or even useful, merely beautiful. The highest prestige that a goblin can earn among is own kind is either as a member of the order of brass, an engineering institute that only recruits the most creatively capable engineers among goblins, or as either a stone mason or musician.

Goblins look towards architecture as the most complex form of art and engineering. The nature of their ability with tools allows them to finely create in magic and mechanics, but this ability does not extend to stonework. As such, the creation of beautiful architecture both as an art and as a challenge for ones ability in engineering is one of the highest forms of challenge any goblin can undertake. In equal measure is music, which is another great portion of goblin culture as they assign incredible reverence to their most talented muses. Most goblins are innately capable of playing an instrument as fine manipulation is a natural skill, but to play it extremely well and compose your own music is a talent reserved only for a rare few. The most vaunted and renowned of the goblin race are thusly their most creative artists, as the mundane mechanics are simply a baseline for each individual.

==Mentality==
The mentality of goblins is represented heavily within their own culture, that being a heavy preference towards artistic endeavors with a practical approach to using their natural talents as a trade. Where the mentality parts from culture is how goblins diverge among their subraces. Stone crushers are cowardly, covetous, greedy, and vicious and are only kept in check by the stronger and more numerous gnoll tribes among the southern plains. The complete lack of industry and effective tools make it extremely difficult for stone crushers to advance themselves beyond a tribalistic stage of living. Even when supported by gnolls and having raided for tools or weapons they can do little more than maintain and prolong the eventual deterioration of whatever weapons they have. Strangely, among themselves, they are extremely giving when dealing directly with blood relatives. The vast hordes of treasure that they secret away is carefully passed down from generation to generation, with the most impressive or valuable treasures carefully protected and maintained. This makes directly attacking goblin tribes a risky maneuver that even gnolls must carefully plan, as the could have any number of readily charged and working magi-tech weapons, ballistic rifles, or even explosives secreted away for just such an occasion. These hidden caches and potential dangers are the only reason the stone crushers have not been fully subsumed by the gnoll tribes.

In direct opposition to this are the iron bound, the more numerous goblins among the Onokrin whose mentality can be more readily described as being the direct opposite of the stone crusher. Iron bound still suffer from the same propensity for greed that their tribal cousins do, but rather than hoarding money, weapons, or other practical goods iron bound are prone to vice and collecting. Many iron bound become collectors of various types, ranging from art, to antiques, to rare and often extremely expensive artifacts that may or may not be practical or purely artistic in nature. Vice is a common problem among the iron bound, in particular alcoholism due to the iron bounds innate understanding of alchemy and mechanics, as just about any iron bound can easily build his or her own distillery and begin crafting their own recipes of booze. Other common vices include smoking through home garden hydroponics and gambling, the latter of which is considered a social ill. Iron bound see home brewing and potential alcoholism as at least something of a potential profit and are willing to consider heavy drinking socially acceptable as long as the individual does not let it negatively affect their overall life. Gambling, however, is as universally condemned as it is popular among goblins. Many believe this problem extends from the fact that goblins can accurately predict and understand much of the world around them due to their natural understanding of their surroundings, thus to have something with stakes that they can reason by probability but not always predict creates an irresistible lure. Many a man has been ruined by gambling addiction, thus the iron bound routinely keep such vices limited to back rooms and private gambling halls where names are never spoken. Beyond these ills though, all the good that goblin culture has can be considered a direct product of the better nature of the iron bound, whose reliance on hard work and preference for art is said to elevate the entire Onokrin empire.

Finally, you have the blues, the creatively named and least numerous of goblin kind that are found almost exclusively among the iron bound. Surprisingly, while blues are treated like any other goblin by their kin, they are noticeably different. For a start, blues do not have the same perfect understanding of technology and use of tools that an average goblin does and are further separated by being naturally psionic, a completely unique factor among the whole of the Onokrin empire. Blues can be said to have the same understanding of the biological process that a regular goblin has towards machinery, making them excellent healers and rosaria. A great deal of blues join the Sons of Baitaal to be trained as vitalists for this reason and this has lead to much stronger religious convictions than regular goblins. The nature of blues is often more heavily focused on the ethereal rather than the practical, with religious practices and observance, greater interest in philosophy, and a larger focus on the super natural. If one asked a question to an iron bound and a blue on how to capture a bird, the iron bound would come up with all sorts of ideas involving traps, nets, or even carefully applied magic. The blue would say they would hold bird seed in their hand and wait.

 
 
 
 
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Gnolls

2025-11-21T08:37:10Z

Possum: /* Biology */

Gnolls are perhaps the most contentious of all races, being violent and vicious slavers who form tribalistic war bands to raid and attack various other tribes, villages, and even factions. While the average gnoll can be described as sadistic and cruel, this trait is not universal, with many gnolls treating their more useful slaves and family members in a way that could be somewhat considered respectful. A Gnoll's natural endurance and will to dominate makes them difficult to root out, leading to them being widespread in the wilds as both bandits and mercenaries. Gnolls are well known (and hated) for hitting supply caravans and committing train robberies, but a few isolated gnolls are accepted into various more civilized society despite the obvious prejudice they face.

Gnolls are stoics at heart, seeing the world set against them for both fair and unfair reasons. The average gnoll does not think of the consequences of their actions in the immediate and often look towards the long term. Gnolls culturally believe that life after death is determined, and they shall end up in Baitaal's heaven. What this life is like is based entirely upon how many creatures and people they have killed in life, for every person or animal killed by a gnoll is thought to be enslaved in the afterlife and the more slaves a gnoll obtains the richer and more luxurious their eternity shall be. This core belief is why gnolls rarely take prisoners and live in a culture of kill or be killed, with only the unworthy of being killed being captured as slaves. While monstrous, this is not without its own peculiarities. Gnolls enjoy lording over their status among themselves, if they have something it means they were strong enough to take it and fight to keep it. Thus, gnolls will often flaunt their status by taking many slaves unworthy of being slain and then treating these slaves well. Between tribes, gnolls will decorate their slaves with beads, tattoos, and elaborate clothing and leathers while feeding them well to show that they are so successful and wealthy that even the lowest dregs of their tribe live better than members or even chieftains of other tribes.

Loyalty and obedience are another sign of affluence and a gnoll whom has his slaves armed, obedient, and willing to follow orders or die for their master is a sign of extreme affluence. Rightfully hated by other races, gnolls are still uncannily capable of bringing other races or their own into zealous loyalty, which makes many speculate some gnolls are capable mesmerists and psychics though this has never been proven. More often and more practically, slaves being treated well and rewarded for willing servitude simply comply rather than face retribution from their ever-vicious masters. Though, amusingly to some outsiders, gnolls hold no racial prejudice whatsoever for any particular race and merely treat everyone equal, even if that equality means treating everyone with equal brutality.

 '''A quick-start guide:'''
* Tribal gnolls gain +20 toughness, +5 vigilance, -10 cognition.
* Civilized gnolls gain +15 toughness, +10 vigilance, and -10 spirit.
* Hell touched gnolls gain +25 toughness and -5 biology and mechanical.
* All gnolls gain a perk that increases toughness by +25 when dealing with pain related mechanics. Civilized and tribal gnolls gain a perk allowing them to ignore all pain, knock out, or stun effects for a short time. Hell touched gnolls gain the ability to frenzy for a short time.

==Biology==
Gnolls are humanoid hyena-like people who lean on the heavy set and strong side. Gnolls are physically set apart by gender, with female gnolls being larger and stronger than males. Gnolls almost universally have brown fur with black spots that can range from lighter shades to almost black, with any other color only appearing through being weaved. Some gnolls have longer hair around the head, in particular female gnolls, but having short hair for both sexes is rather common. Physically, gnolls are tall, ranging from six to seven feet on average with very broad shoulders and top-heavy bodies suited for physical tasks. Gnoll fur is course, rough, and difficult to cut and stems from their leather like hides. Gnoll skin is closer akin to treated, reinforced leather utterly devoid of the majority of pain sensory found in other races. A gnoll will generally be unable to feel pain even in the most grievous of injuries as a result of their thick skin. While gnolls have claws on their hands and feet, they are not suitable as weapons, but gnoll snouts and teeth are large enough to be a serious weapon, being strong enough to break through and chew bones. As scavengers and raiders, gnolls are able to eat and devour nearly anything for food, including severely rotted meat or entirely raw meat, without suffering any side effects. A secondary effect on this powerful stomach makes gnolls incredibly weak to alcohol, being able to get severely drunk with only one or two glasses of booze. This weakness to booze is well known, as gnolls heavily favor securing alcohol during raids and addiction is extremely common. While the life expectancy of a gnoll is not quite known for sure (as few live to old age) gnolls reproduce rapidly, with a single female gnoll normally producing three to six pups after a short pregnancy of only four months, leading them to be numerous despite their brutal conditions. A hel touched gnoll does not differ from a regular gnoll aside from being slightly taller, broader, stronger, and having completely black fur.

==Culture==
Gnoll culture can best be described as savage, pure and simple. Gnolls have a culture and instinctual urge to dominate others, being barely able to tolerate other races and only willing to afford respect to members of their own tribe, while all outsiders are seen as little more than slaves and potentially meat in hard times. Earning the respect of a gnoll is possible but doing so often requires being incredibly useful or of particular charisma to befriend one. Gnolls are innately selfish and often savagely murderous, as all gnolls believe that Baitaal rewards gnolls in the after life by making any creature a gnoll kills their slave for eternity. This unique cultural belief is a double edged sword. Weak individuals outside the tribes and other gnolls are not worthy or notable slaves in death and thus will be spared (or more often turned into slaves in life) while respected warriors will be killed to improve the standing of that individual gnoll in death. The more slaves a gnoll has after death, the most prestigious and wealthy their eternity shall be. Slavery among tribes is also a staple, with gnolls being extremely lazy and unwilling to do the difficult work required for tribes to survive, captured slaves are instead employed and beaten into submission to accomplish the day to day tasks. This brutal part of gnoll culture has no redeeming qualities save for one, slaves who are uniquely useful in ways that cannot be easily replaced will often be treated extremely well by slave standards, even obtaining something similar to a respected member of the tribe, in particular if said slave is favored by a high ranking elder or chief. Extremely wealthy tribes will flaunt wealth by outfitting slaves in finer hides and leather, gifting them jewelry, weapons, and even firearms as both a sign of great wealth and to show their dominance towards other races. These displays are often used to encourage slaves or members from other tribes to abandon their own (preferably with stolen loot) to join the wealthier tribe and thus increase their power and influence.

Sadly for gnolls, inter tribal warfare is more common than conflict with other races as gnolls will constantly raid each other for food, slaves, supplies, and new members. Even the wealthiest and most capable tribe will completely collapse when whatever strong or wise leader who maintained them dies of old age or is killed in battle, with the large tribe fracturing into civil war as successors attempt to seize control or escape with treasure and slaves to start anew. This constant shifting of alliances, loyalties, and strength makes gnolls distrust other tribes even more greatly as whatever tribe they belong to grows in power and wealth. It becomes a self correcting problem, as gnolls are simply incapable of maintaining a large enough tribe to become a serious threat to other nations. Gnolls are, however, extremely numerous and thus remain a problem even after centuries of constant internal and external conflict.

==Mentality==
The gnoll mind is shaped to only understand what they instinctual feel. Dominance, violence, and a surprising level of long term thinking given their religious beliefs. Gnolls take an approach of satisfying the here and now and killing to 'improve' the eventual end they will find. It is a strange juxtaposition to other races, as a gnoll can be observed killing a man to steal his drink, get drunk, and then pass out on the corpse of the man they just murdered in front of a crowd of people. To the gnoll, he has satisfied two needs, the collection of a slave for the afterlife and the immediate need for a drink. To the gnoll, this is what should happen because he was quick or strong enough to kill the man, therefore he deserved it. The only aspect that stops all gnolls from doing this daily is the consequences. If the crowd around them are all gnolls then they will do whatever their personal strength allows. If the crowd around them are orcs, they will have more care, because the more cunning part of the gnoll will understand they will be killed in reaction and thus cannot collect more slaves or satisfy themselves again later. As gnolls cannot make slaves of each other in the afterlife and they understand on some level they are united against other races, a duel system of justice applies to the tribe and to the outsider. This method of thought shapes every action a gnoll makes.

 
 
 
 
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Rodentfolk

2025-11-17T08:29:32Z

Possum:

Rodentfolk are a widespread and well-known group of short rodent-like people who travel across the world in groups ranging from caravans, train crews, and sometimes ships. They are best known for their adept skill at merchantry and caravanning, a talent that seats them at the head of most thriving markets. While skilled at all manner of trade, rodentfolk are widely traveled and adept at both living and thriving anywhere, an aspect that has seen them at home in nearly any town or city. Within their own home federation rodentfolk often take up roles as engineers and industrialists, forming the complex and specialist labors while working closely with their federation allies.

In the area of merchantry the rodentfolk are consummate capitalists, every action even among their own clan is some form of trade or bargain, be it for material, money, or favors. Charity is an entirely foreign concept to rodentfolk, they may at best offer something for 'free' with the sometimes-vague hint that they will be owed a favor or return on investment later. This attitude surprisingly does not engender ire from other races as it allows most who know rodentfolk to know where they stand and what is expected, as long as one is ready to wheel and deal few rodentfolk can be considered unreasonable. While charity is not a concept to Rodentfolk, honesty is, and a rodentfolk who is not honest is an exiled pariah at best. This self policing attitude towards honest dealings is how rodentfolk maintain a good reputation as even the worst of them will be fair, even if it means abusing wording and the letter of a contract rather than the spirit.

Those who shy away from the merchant path that rodentfolk are most known for will usually go towards mercenary or food-related works. Rodentfolk are exceptional snipers, with peerless aim and talents with rifles and handguns that put most races to utter shame. This natural talent make them common mercenaries on train cars where rodentfolk stay positioned atop the cars ready to gun down bandits or gnoll raiders with ruthless efficiency. Many rodentfolk live by the motto that, if you find yourself in melee, you messed up. Most trains and railways are owned by rodentfolk and can find them serving on the galley cars where rodentfolk chefs make exceptional quality food. A common saying among rodentfolk is they live by their stomachs and will only settle for the best and most delicious food. This innate need makes many become chefs with their own galla of secret recipes, spices, and dishes that are traded and sold for the same price one would trade silver and gold.

Lastly, though making up a small portion of the rodentfolk, are batfolk or 'spirit touched' of their race. In ages past, ratfolk lived deep underground in caverns lit by glowing fungi largely devoid of any light besides the dim gleam of bioluminescent mushrooms. The hundreds of miles of caverns were where the primitive rodentfolk lived, largely remaining near the relative safety of the glowshrooms and only venturing out when guided by their batfolk. These rare individuals were able to see far better within the darkness, mapping out the caverns and evading dangerous underground predators with ease. In these primitive times, batfolk were treated as seers, diviners, and shamans who were highly regarded as the most important members of a tribe. While their necessity and importance has waned once the rodentfolk reached the much better lit surface world, batfolk are still highly regarded, having shifted more into a priest caste among the federation and still venerated by the superstitious and religious as favored by the gods.

 '''A quick-start guide:'''
* Rodentfolk come in three varieties, mousefolk, ratfolk, and batfolk. Rodentfolk are members of the Warren Federation and make up must of their industrial and trade sectors.
* All rodentfolk ignore speed penalties for moving in darkness and receive a +20% movement speed perk (This gives them equal speed to large races)
* Mousefolk Bonuses: +15 vigilance, +5 biology, -5 robustness. Mousefolk gain the snackivore perk, giving them bonuses for eating preserved/sweet food.
* Ratfolk Bonuses: +10 vigilance, +5 toughness, +5 cognition, -5 biology. Ratfolk gain the market professional perk and can always tell the exact value of an item.
* Batfolk Bonuses: +20 vigilance, -5 mechanical. Batfolk gain the seer's sight perk and can see better in darkness via echolocation.

==Biology==
Rodentfolk are bipedal humanoids with rodentlike features such as large circular ears, long hairless tails, furred bodies with hairless hands and footpaws, and large incisors. Fur colors range from white, black, gray, to brown, wheat, blonde, tan, and very rarely blue-gray and navy. Patterns may be present which generally fall along the lines of different colored arms, legs, or belly as either lighter or darker than the majority of their fur but normally a matching color. Rodentfolk universally have claws but they are too thin and weak to serve as weapons. Rodentfolk incisors will grow through out their life and maintenance requires gnawing, chewing, or grinding their teeth on tough or hard objects to shave the bone and prevent it from growing too long and thus impacting their general health and comfort. Rodentfolk eyes are most commonly solid black, but red eyes are not unheard of. Being weaved to change ones eye is extremely common among rodentfolk, with eye color choices often being influenced by clan colors or allegiances. In terms of height, ratfolk measure as the tallest on average, usually coming to an impressive five feet tall at the absolute greatest. Mousefolk and batfolk tend to be shorter, coming closer to four feet and rarely breaking four and a half feet. Outsiders can often tell what ethnicity a rodentfolk is at a glance with some familiarity, aside from height mousefolk tend to have larger ears and more 'stubby' faces with shorter snouts while ratfolk tend to have smaller ears and thinner, longer snouts. Batfolk are often immediately obvious as their ears come to points and their noses end in pointed upturned flaps of skin, either coming to a single point or taking the shape of a three pointed leaf. Contrary to rumors, batfolk to not have wings or the ability to fly, with the running joke calling them land bats to differentiate them from regular bats.

==Culture==
Rodentfolk culture can largely be described as fanatically competitive. Rodentfolk separate themselves into 'clans' similar to the lagus but rather than it being through a familial blood connection these clans are chosen based on social groups that will often later form into guilds, business, and artisan halls. The social aspect of recruitment is largely dependent on personality, where as a rodentfolk vocation will allow them to court guilds specializing in the same line of work, how they are chosen and recruited often depends on who you know or how well your general beliefs and personality mesh with the overall group. Rodentfolk are immensely loyal to their clans as it is often through said clans that rodentfolk will find friends, potential mates, work, and other benefits such as housing or amenities. Said clans are hyper competitive against clans in the same vocation, such as engineering clans trying to out-compete others on making the greatest feat of engineer or artisan cooking halls vying to become the greatest restaurant in town, but extremely cooperative with clans outside of their vocation to cover aspects existing members cannot. One of the largest reasons that rodentfolk who come of age are encouraged to look at other vocations besides what their guild represents is to send them off to other clans to forge bonds and alliances through familial lines. This has created a dizzying maze of complex relationships all across rodentfolk society, to such a degree that tracing alliances, family bonds, and secret alliances is a prospect so challenging that it is often deemed impossible.

While other races would presume such a complex society built first on fellowship and second on blood would be a hotbed for political intrigue, backstabbing, and shifting alliances, this is largely far from the truth. While such back stabbing does exist, rodentfolk are consummately honest and will rarely lie. Often times such double dealings are done purely based on interpretations of the law or a contract, usually through exploiting loose or vague wording to dishonestly but *legally* betray someone else trust. A rodentfolk who is caught lying will become a pariah, ousted both by his clan and shunned by his family line. Such an act is a permanent stain that cannot be forgiven and, often times, will be handled internally by a clan through branding and exile. A branded rodentfolk has the words liar seared into their forehead and along the snout with a magical flame that leaves a disfiguring scar that cannot be healed or otherwise removed, even by weaving. They are then exiled and no rodentfolk will aid them or make a deal with them, sometimes even enforcing this standard on business partners and other groups they trade with. Most branded rodentfolk will leave the federation entirely, usually before being branded if possible, as the lagus and kobold will generally offer the same treatment that rodentfolk give. While escaping branding might be able to wipe the slate clean outside the federation, such a status is tracked by federation officials and enforcers, the name of the offender will never be forgotten.

One additional factor that separates the rodentfolk from the other members of the federation is, while nominally being clan based, is that their clan is often separated and spread out across multiple locations. As travelers by heart, rodentfolk will often rarely have a singular apartment, house, or location that they designate their home. Depending on rank and money, one member can have multiple apartments across multiple clan holdings in different cities that they travel between based on personal or clan needs. This spread out nature generally means rodentfolk may not know members of their own clan, even in passing, and have a much larger chance of having non-rodentfolk marry into the clan due to meeting so many other species. Generally speaking, rodentfolk do not much care to differentiate themselves from other races, a child born within a clan that belongs to another race will be raised like any other rodentfolk, with the only difference being tailoring their vocation to whatever they happen to be racially suited for, such as goblins in engineering, kaxxis towards psionics, etc. etc. Some clans may even purposefully seek members of a specific race to hire or marry into if their clan has a great need for said races qualities, such as mercenary clans seeking orcs, weaving clans and deerkfolk, or metal workers and salamanders.

==Mentality==
Rodentfolk are competitive to the point of not truly understanding the concept of charity. Every action is, at the end of the day, a transaction even if it as minor as paying for drinks on the understanding that someone else will buy the next round. Rodentfolk are keenly aware that the very nature that leads their clans to success divides them when compared to the larger, more militarized and authoritarian clans of the lagus or the global politique that kobolds have in everything they do. This is a cloud with a very thick silver lining. While they cannot compete in the same way that lagus can individually or kobolds can as a collective, rodentfolk consider themselves having the most freedom of any individuals within the federation. A clan is a collection of its individuals, not a master and servants or a commune acting as a whole. This quality has filled the coffers of clan vaults, making rodentfolks some of the wealthiest and most productive clans across the known world. Cooperation without sacrifice is the name of the game. As a result, most rodentfolk hold equal reverence for the goddess of freedom as they do the god of order and due to their propensity to travel often maintain shrines along the paths between clan holdings rather than within their homes.

 
 
 
 
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Rules

2025-10-14T20:48:02Z

Possum:

{{GetStartedHeader}}

These are the rules for the server and ''are subject to change without notice''. For further clarification, use common sense. If you did get banned, there's probably a good reason for it, but if you disagree, you can always make an appeal on the discord. Although these are rules, but they are not infallible, complete, or concrete, and probably never will be despite our best efforts. If ''ever'' something feels wrong, either don't do it, or admin-help it first. Above all, use your common sense, listen to the game staff, and try to keep the game fun for everyone; not just yourself.

If you disagree with the rules as they currently stand, talk about it on the discord or with admins and maybe we can improve them through some healthy criticism and debate.

'''These rules are designed to be written in such a way that you can ''usually'' understand them just by reading the headers''', because reading ''all of this'' would be insanity for most people. If you cannot understand a rule just by looking at it, or wish to know about possible exceptions or examples, click the rule to learn more.

If you find yourself spending too much time reading this page, or are confused about any rules, please contact an admin on Discord to make suggestions on how these rules could be better worded.

== You must be 18 or older to play on this server ==
'''There are no exceptions.''' If the staff suspects that you are underage for any reason, you will be banned from playing on the server until you are able to prove to the satisfaction of the staff that you are at least 18 years old.

*Use of real world slurs, ‘lolspeak’, and other indications of immaturity may be taken as signs that you are underage.

*Knowing another user is underaged but not reporting it is considered grounds for an immediate, permanent ban.

*The age of consent in your country is irrelevant. Your opinion about this rule is irrelevant.

*You may also not play a character who is under 18 years of age.

== Obey the community's global rules ==
These rules apply ''everywhere'', including Discord, the server, and even private discussions with non-admins. However, not all of the global rules are even possible to break in the server, so this wiki page only covers what's relevant to the game server. The overlap from the global rules are:

* No spam.
* No OOCly illegal discussions or content (such as child porn, drugs, piracy, real world threats, etc).
* Respect other users, don't use real-world slurs, and don't intentionally drag private conflicts or in-game conflicts into public OOC (such as on the Discord server, the in-game global OOC channel, or anywhere else).
* Don't intentionally abuse server functions to upset (grief) people, or derail discussions. You know what this means, don't play stupid.
* No complaining about bans unless done properly via an appeal on our forums/discord or in an ahelp or otherwise private means as an inquiry to administration staff.

== Don't be an asshole ==
It's fine to say stuff and whatnot but being a outright dick isn't alright, and there's a fine line with that. Also, spamming racist words is still not okay.

=== Do not inconvenience AFK or disconnected characters ===
Under normal circumstances, do not harm or otherwise inconvenience characters whose player is idle, ghosted, or disconnected entirely. There are some exceptions to this rule, as follows:
*Circumstance that warrant the interactions of AFK/SSD players are few and far between if there is ever a case were you are REQUIRED for to take any ID/Bag/Gear from someone that is SSD, Ahelp before hand and with your reason why. Not ahelping before may result in HARSH OOC punishment if you are found to be manipulating them while away, or causing any sort of general tampering with the player. (IE. Don't be an asshole who steals shit from afk players unless its required)
Note: If your moving someone to the elevator after the time, this is ok, as long as you do not remove their items unless it's faction important and you have the means to return them properly
*If they've disconnected/idle for more than 15 minutes, you can put them in the elevator to log them out. If you do that, take away all of their belongings except for their clothes, shoes, ID, etc; and return everything else to its rightful department.
*If they've committed a crime, jail them as you normally would and conduct their sentence even if they aren't connected. 20 minutes in the brig is still 20 minutes in the brig.
*Emergencies bypass this rule. If it's an emergency and you need something an idle player has to fix it, you may take it. If a fire starts in a room and the AFK player is the only one who can open the door then it's an emergency. Needing to get a snack from the kitchen and robbing the chef does not count as an emergency.

=== ERP preferences must be respected ===
Players should have their ERP prefs listed in their “OOC Meta info” or “OOC Notes” on their characters. You are required to respect these preferences so long as they pertain to ERP. If you are unsure about the meaning of some of their preferences, then use LOOC to discuss it with them. If you accidentally go against someone’s preferences, or someone else goes against yours, work to correct it as quickly as possible, even if that means just deciding in LOOC amongst yourselves that ‘this didn’t happen’ and going your separate ways.

*If you do not like someone's erp preferences you won't be punished for saying so, but do not harass someone just because they like something you don't. It's far easier to simply avoid someone and causing drama will get you into trouble.

*If you are uncomfortable with an ERP theme that you hadn't thought to add (or didn't know existed) to a list of dislikes in your OOC notes, speak up in LOOC as normal. Conversely, those of you foolish enough to put 'anything goes' into your preferences, or anything else vague like this, do so at your own risk. '''You forfeit your right to complain about preference breaking''' if you do not put ''some'' indication of your dislikes into OOC preferences.

**'''Do not OOCly consent to an non-consensual scene and attempt to report it ICly or OOCly.''' This is effectively ''forcing'' players to engage in your fetish scene. Topics like this may make players incredibly uncomfortable or distressed. Do not do this. If you have ''not'' consented to the scene - A-help '''IMMEDIATELY'''.
**Do not do scenes such as this in public. Ever. You will not only be player killed (PK) but also have further punishments put upon you. If you want to opt-in for a scene as such, take it to dorms or a area defined properly as a private area.
**Do not make false allegations of non-consensual scenes in game. Falsely accusing someone of rape or other non-consensual material will result in an immediate ban. This is incredibly bad faith and petty.
**'''Being found in violation of NON-CON rule(s) will be met with an automatic player kill (PK) and Perma Ban with no appeal given investigation. You've been warned as this is not tolerated here.'''

*Do not attempt to force yourself into ERP scenes where the other party (or parties) involved are not comfortable with it, or not even actually participating. This includes (but is not limited to) repeatedly trying to do ERP that a player has blatantly stated they are uncomfortable with, trying to guilt players into having a pity RP with you, etc. You get the idea. Don't do it.

*AFK/SSD/Disconnected players are not valid targets for any ERP.

=== The private areas are protected ===
The ‘dorms’ area on the map are reserved for ERP and are ‘protected’ from interruption. It is a violation of this rule to break into occupied dorms or harass players in dorms. Dorm areas are any personal apartments generally restricted to a specific person such as a head of staffs private bedroom or a dorm area claimed by a specific person, usually through a labeled door.
*The only exception is for law enforcers to arrest those who have committed crimes. Law enforcers are not allowed to indiscriminately inspect dorms for crimes, but a known criminal hiding in a dorm is not protected by this rule.
*Conversely, it is not permissible to attempt to use dorms to hide from breakers, or to make their job of finding you harder. The dorms are for people who want to ERP in privacy. Don’t involve them in your shenanigans.

=== Do not disrupt non-public ERP scenes ===
TL;DR is you should avoid screwing with scenes that are not in public areas. The problem is, not everyone knows what is considered public or private. This is especially important for [[Security]] players to know.
*Dorms are considered private obviously. Don't mess with those under any circumstances unless someone inside actively invites you. (Calling for help is considered an invite.)
*If a person is ERPing in a public location they should be asked to vacate to a private dorm room. If they refuse they may be arrested immediately.

=== Speak English ===
We are an English server. All OOC communications are expected to be done in English. It's alright if your English is rough and imperfect, just as long as we can reasonably understand it.

*This also extends into IC communications, but is more flexible as some characters have heavy accents.
*Having a character sometime speak smatterings of other languages is acceptable, but speaking exclusively in these languages for entire sentences is not.

=== Roleplay as long as it's feasible ===
*This is an HRP (Heavy RolePlay) server. You are expected to roleplay your actions with other players as long as it's feasible. If someone engages you in purely ‘robust’ (aka game-mechanics driven) combat while you were attempting to roleplay with them, with no reasonable provocation, please use the admin-help feature to inform an admin.
**Reasonable provocation would be things that deem you too dangerous to be given even a chance to talk. For example, openly wielding a gun while threatening people, charging someone with a knife, trying to create a hazard, or being the target of a manhunt.

*If a fight does begin, you're not expected to type out every gunshot and dodge and attack. That would be absurd. Generally, you roleplay up until the point that it makes sense to start attacking, and then use game mechanics from there. You are allowed to respond to ‘robust’ violence with your own, if you desire, though you should attempt to return to roleplaying as soon as feasible. The environment is not designed for a focus on action, but rather for character-building and roleplaying. When a fight is over, resume roleplaying.

*Movement is considered a game mechanic for the purpose of this rule. Wordlessly running at an enforcer who is attempting to arrest you, or wordlessly fleeing from them, is considered engaging in game-mechanic combat. The enforcer has valid cause to stop trying to roleplay and stunlock you into the ground.

*Death is not uncommon, even in the safe zone, but it is still impactful. When a character dies, or your own character dies and is revived, death should be considered an immensely painful and graphic experience. One should stay in character during said experiences, statements of ‘oh well’ or mutilating a corpse for ‘fun’ would not be reasonable responses.

*'''You are to have fleshed out character records.''' These are used not only for roleplay but are to be utilized, if specified by staff, for long-term consequences for actions. Players are supported to use these as roleplay documents and treat others with these seriously. Our expectations for what should be in these can be found in [[Example Paperwork]].

=== Do not join with an inappropriate ckey ===
Ckeys, better known as BYOND user names, must be appropriate. If any are deemed inappropriate, the ckey will be banned and you will be unable to play on our server until you make an account with an appropriate name.
*Ckeys that mock certain players or groups are an example of inappropriate.
*Ckeys that violate BYOND's terms of service may also be reported.

=== Do not misuse Global OOC ===
Global OOC begins muted, it being turned on is not a chance to abuse it.

* Global OOC is used, for instance, to contact someone you were typing a reply to had walked out of the room before you were done, and you're trying to ask them to come back. It's also useful if you're a new player, or an old player exploring new mechanics, who asks something like, "How do I make Tricord again?" or something short and similar. Short, sweet, and relevant OOC messages are generally okay. Welcoming old players returning, or new players joining, is also generally okay.

* Global OOC is ''not'' for idle banter, ranting, things pertaining to incidents in the current round (see previous rule), in-depth explanations (an explanation that takes more than a few lines), shitposting memes, or discussing topics not relating directly to the game. If you want to chatter OOCly, go to our Discord channel, which is linked from the home page or use LOOC so as to not disturb the rest of the server.

* Also, if someone does misuse OOC, do not complain in global OOC about their misusing of global OOC. Not only are you just making the problem worse, that is considered being a backseat admin, which is prohibited by other rules.

== Keep IC and OOC separate ==
*Don't complain in OOC or LOOC when your actions IC get you in trouble. If its a rules violation then Ahelp or open a ticket on the discord.
*IC (In-character) and OOC (Out-of-Character) actions and knowledge should be separated as much as possible. Don't use OOC channels to discuss what's going on IC until after the round is finished, don't use OOC knowledge to do things your character wouldn't know, such as operating the weaving machines as a custodian. You are not playing yourself in the game, you are controlling a character with their own wants and knowledge and the IC/OOC boundary is to help reflect that.
**Note that these same rules apply to LOOC as well.
*Disconnecting or using other OOC means to avoid IC consequences is against the rules. If you do urgently need to leave the server even though you're being punished, your options are either to surrender and get it over with, or use admin help to inform the admins, "I know enforcers are after me, but I have to go because (some emergency)." Failure to take ten seconds to tell an admin before disconnecting may result in harsher punishment.

=== Metacomms, metagaming, multi-keying, (etc) are not allowed ===
*Metacomms: Using third-party programs, such as Discord, IRC, Skype, or even the BYOND pager, to discuss and share information of the ongoing round. This excludes other players, can contribute to toxicity among the playerbase, and is often a tactic used by griefers and thus is a no-go.

*Metagaming: Using information obtained from elsewhere to influence IC decisions and actions. Your opinions or knowledge of other players or characters obtained via OOC methods should not direct your IC actions. If you have an OOC grudge against someone, you may not try to antagonize them IC, for example.
** Metagaming sometimes happens by accident due to game mechanics behaving undesirably due to intentional features or unintentional bugs and oversights. If it happens, ask an admin to help straighten things out if you can't do so among yourselves.

*Multi-keying: Logging in with multiple BYOND accounts on our game server. There is never any legitimate reason for you to do this and thus is not allowed.

= Create and play server-appropriate characters =
Although this is a roleplaying server based around 2D spess mans, that doesn't mean anything goes because that is possible. Suspension of disbelief is still important to a good experience, and breaking that suspension of disbelief is bad for roleplaying. Characters who break that suspension of disbelief are not allowed. Saying "it's what my character would do" isn't an automatic protection against this rule if what your character is doing breaks that immersion.

*Play a reasonably sane and mature character, give them a non-immersion breaking first and last name, do not play obvious reference characters, or characters from published works.

*Keep in mind that people do not like pain or dying and usually try to avoid it without good reason. Give your character a reasonable set of strengths, fears, and weaknesses. When writing things for IC, write things out that sound like speech, not emoticons or lolspeak.

*Just because the setting has magic does not mean that is carte blanche to view the sky as the limit. Magic is heavily defined and has hard rules that are difficult, if not outright impossible, to violate. Do not claim to be special or have special powers or the gods themselves will intervene to make your life harder and put you in your place.
**The exception to this is purely private roleplay. For example: If your character and another character are in a dorm by themselves, and the other is OOCly fine with it, your character can display anything they wish. Keep in mind if it ever ceases to be private, this exemption disappears entirely.

*Obscenely oversized or undersized characters are forbidden. Minimum height is at least three feet. Maximum height is about nine feet. Anything more or less really pushes the already shaky believably of lore and in-game visuals.

*You are expected to play to your race and character lore, even if you are chimeric, if you are from the empire you are expected to act, think, and believe what one would reasonably expect from an empire citizen. Same goes for the federation and legion.

*OOC Notes and Flavor Text are '''required'''. Your OOC notes must detail your ERP preferences, and your flavor text should not include non-physical attributes (do not include feelings your character has, or how they act). Character records are something that should be filled out, if you have an issue or don't know how to do it properly, contact a member of staff for help.

*To be a resident your character '''must''' have at least a ''basic'' understanding of the common language.

*If your character is suspended, permanently killed off, or otherwise removed from the safe zone as a consequence for something horrible they did in-character, you are expected to not play that character anymore. If found playing the character again, or a 'copy' to circumvent this result, OOC punishment will be issued.

* '''Do not play vibrantly colored or "sparkle dog" type characters.''' This basically means you should mainly have natural fur coloration and a relatively normal appearance. Yes, our character editor has a ton of color options, including neon colors and many design sprites to do strange things. Creativity is fun, making your appearance incredibly unrealistic or as obnoxious as possible will result in admin intervention. Some leeway is given to races with canonically vibrant colors such as salamanders, kobolds, or chimerics but try to keep them muted instead of neon. Following the custom species guide does not make you immune from this rule. If an admin asks you to change your color, do so, we have this rule to maintain HRP.

== Do not kill or attack things (including yourself) for no good reason ==
*This includes yourself. Even in self-defense your goal is to fight off your attacker and survive, killing in a fight should only be done as a last-ditch effort when it's clear it's a you or them situation.

*Suicide or self-mutilation is not allowed without prior allowance by an admin. The reason for this is to maintain an atmosphere of reasonable and, at least mostly, mentally sound workers. The subject can be a poor attention grab, be used for guilt, or remove any immersion or story from someone. If you believe you have a reason, ask an admin.

*Excessive force responses are not allowed by our rules. Excessive force responses would be, for example, crushing someone’s skull for cutting you in line, stabbing someone’s eyes with a screwdriver for boredom, killing someone over a single punch, etc. Use proper reasoning for when you act in such a manner.

*Hiding player corpses as a self-antag / antag is not allowed. Staff may give an exemption in the case of an event but the body should still be possible to be found.
**Similarly, do not destroy bodies purposefully. Accidents happen regarding gibbing of a skull, destruction of someone’s body due to a bomb, etc. But whacking a target that is dead until it starts gibbing its limbs is not.
**Antags have some exemption to this; such as Blitzshells or Carrions. However admins are to specify if an antag may use these abilities or not as they can possibly end up being round-ending for a player.

*Make it clear through actions or words if you are moving into combat against someone. Even something as simple as “I’m killing you” will suffice - or even placing paper at the entrance to a cave saying ‘KEEP OUT’. Wordlessly shooting people without any clear intent or reasoning may result in administrative action depending on the context. We are a roleplay server.
**Players are, by no means, required to emote. They may choose to do so if they please. Drawing a gun when in a heated situation, such as when a gun is already drawn on them, or even being visibly armed during a fight is clear intent enough to meet this requirement. Use proper reasoning and judgment.
**If a player makes their intent known (I.e ‘get on the ground, now’, ‘give me your shit’) - you, as the person receiving said demand, are not required to say anything further. You may retaliate with force at this point if you deem fit. Sometimes ICly is preferable to try and talk, but you are not required to. Just know that actions have consequences ICly and they may apply to you depending on the legality of the order or reasoning of it.

* You are not allowed to act rounds later on someone legally. This goes for both Breakers/Agents and non-enforcer members. Admins may permit actions to take place regarding previous round charges if seen reasonable (such as a trial), but unless you are given direct permission this is '''not''' allowed.
** You may, however, use previous conflicts as a justification for hostility with a person. This however falls under the act of Self-Antaging if you pick a fight on your own. This is allowed, but by doing so, you accept consequences for this action. This action will not be considered legal icly.
** Fax-complaints about character's behavior may be faxed inter-round. These faxes should clarify when the event took place and if it is relevant to a current ongoing situation in-round. When in doubt if you can act on an inter-round issue, fax or A-help.

== Do not powergame ==
*Better known as 'playing to win'. As an enforcer this can be seen as going out of your way and needlessly endangering others to ‘win against’ criminals.

*While this shares several things in common with other rules, it still is it's own entity. Play to have fun, allow yourself to lose now and again and roll with the blows as it can make things potentially even more interesting.

*Having '''way''' too many skills for one character is another example of this. Just because you're the premier and have access to everywhere doesn't mean you should (or can) know how to do all the different jobs. (See [[Character Creation#Give them a set of skills|Character Creation]] regarding skills for more information.)

*[[Identifying Antagonists]] when you shouldn't be able to is also a violation of this rule.

== Do not godmode ==
* Often confused with powergaming, godmoding is to create abilities out of nowhere, or do impossible things. If the action cannot be reasonably emulated in the confines of the game's mechanics, and it gives you some kind of advantage or is exceptionally weird, it's probably not allowed. For example, if you don't have access to a mechanic for turning invisible, you can't turn invisible. Saying you're invisible doesn't mean squat.

* Creating a character who is immune to injuries or pain also falls under this. The game won't let you ignore getting shot, why would any player allow it either?

* Accidental injuries are still in-character injuries unless an admin heals you. Admin heals are generally out of character to void the injury.

* '''Admins who are caught abusing admin powers to godmod will be immediately dealt with.'''

== Do not abuse whispers ==
Any actions that would obviously be visible should not be hidden using whispers, this includes ERP, whispers longer than a sentence, or actions that would obviously be visible to anyone glancing you way. If you need to speak something longer than a sentence but want to keep it quiet use the whisper command. Anyone caught using whispers to hide obviously visible actions of paragraphs of texts will get slapped for it.

== Rules of ‘Self-Antag’ ==
To start with, here are some of the bare bone basic rules when self-antagging.
* Your goal should be to provide fun for players in the round. Not just for yourself. Create scenarios others can enjoy and interact or involve other players who are receptive to your antics.
* Don’t Self-Antag without proper IC reasoning. Reasoning along the lines of "I'm bored" or "Giving Security something to do" is NOT a valid reason to be an asshole. Make sure your reason(s) are believable and why your actions make logical IC sense to any Admin.
* Your main goal should be to get away with something and live to fight another day. Not to aim to murder everyone in your sight.
* Don’t break machines or items when you are self-antaging, steal them instead. If the item has no worth to you nor any credit worth, don’t take it. If it does or would sell for a pretty penny, you may steal it and use or pawn it off.
** Similarly, don’t destroy or otherwise effectively grief Ascendant medical or other faction machines that are needed for life-saving or are not replaceable. I.e - alchemy station, medkits, etc.
** This includes infrastructure.
* Think about how a normal person would behave under similar circumstances. A well established character who has been around awhile may be given a bit of wiggle room to keep rounds interesting.
* By Self-Antaging, you are consenting to consequences to your actions. Be it from a normal player, or any result that may come from command or security personnel.
** Do not complain about the consequences you face upon doing such actions. Being fired, brigged, or killed - depending on the severity of your actions - are all possible outcomes. If you value your character and their reputation, don’t do it.

Due to the importance of certain items or objects, to get permission to break into certain high security places or steal specific rare or strong objects requires staff permission first. These include:

* Breaking into any of the safe zone armories.
* Heads of Staff rooms to steal unreplaceable gear/artifacts.

The key goal to self antagging is to create roleplay that is enjoyable or otherwise fun for players to interact with to differ from the norm. Below are a list of examples but you should always consider "are other people having fun or am I just being a dick?"

* Buying and selling contraband.
* Starting a drug production operation in a secluded spot in the safe zone.
* Disguising yourself as a specific department and gaining access to it while pretending to be a member of that department until someone notices.
* Extorting people for cash with a good old fashioned mugging.
* Stealing money, cutting profits, etc.

Now that the guidelines are out of the way, this rule set are examples of what self-antagonists are '''NOT''' to do without admin permission.

* Large explosives are NOT allowed without admin permission.
** Grenades in casings and the like are, however, free to use as you see fit.
* Being a self-antag does not mean a license to murder. Doing so may result not only in perma-brig or a PK depending on your actions outcome, but staff involvement as well.
** Shooting at enfocers while on the run for example is fully fine and acceptable rules-wise, but you are not to purposefully kill people at random.
Do not self antag more than once per day. This is generous as is, you shouldn’t be running around multiple rounds in a row breaking stuff, stealing stuff, etc. There is a fine line between a self-antagonist and a shitter.
* Do not use self-antagonism as an excuse to ruin a player's experience. This includes targeting players you know you do not like, providing purposefully no enjoyment to the situation for them, etc. It’s just dickish behavior.
* Do not start hostile actions within the first 15-30 minutes of the rounds start. You may use this as prep time, or A-help asking to start early if it’s something you feel you need to do to get the proper prep time to begin with.
** Similarly, you are to cease escalation of antagonism once a round end vote passes. Security may hunt for you, and you may retaliate in that case - but you are NOT to start self-antaging in the last 15 minutes of a round nor continue actions of self antaging.

Remember - we play on what most servers consider an “Extended round type” and pride ourselves, as a server, with offering a persistent atmosphere where previous actions are considered ‘canon’ versus the normal SS13 experience of Groundhog Day. We do not have normal full blown antagonists, such as a murderous traitor, a serial killer, a wizard, or Steve from accounting having a bad day and deciding it’s hijack time. We are a PvE server that wishes to allow some players driven conflict and meaningful stories from said conflict.

IC consequences that occur from being caught range. Demotion may result in a job strike against playing a faction (these wipe every 3 months), the ‘permanent killing’ of your character in the case of heinous crimes, or other possibilities that players may decide within reason. It is for that reason that, by self-antaging, you are '''CONSENTING''' to these consequences for the action you have taken.

== You are expected to perform the job you signed up for ==
When your character joins the round, you are accepting the responsibilities that the job you have chosen brings with it. Remember: if you are playing in a slot, you are likely preventing other players from performing that role. It is important that you fulfill the tasks that you have signed up for!
*Breakers should protect the safe zone from danger, the Ascendant should ensure that power is up and should provide treatment to injuries and other services, the blackwood should bring in needed supplies on request.

*A player must take into account the qualifications (both physical and mental) of their character’s role before placing them into it. If staff find your character to be unsatisfactory in fulfilling the requirements of the role, we may instruct you to revise your character.
**This includes majorly disabled characters — quadruple amputees, deaf, or blind characters, and so on — which are only permitted in the safe zone in the resident (and associated alt-titles) job slot.

*Repeatedly failing to perform to an acceptable standard can result in a ban until appealed.

*Job [[Job_Strikes_and_You | Strikes]] are a counter of 0/3 which is noted on your character, after 3 job strikes, which can be earned by bad faxes or legitimate demotions from a head of staff, your character is permanently removed from that faction until an appeal is made. Job strikes last 3 months, with the timer resetting with each strike.

*If you are going AFK for an extended period of time (more than 15 minutes), and are occupying a limited-number job slot (any slot other than resident), you must remove your character from the round using an elevator (or other similar means) to free the slot. Repeated failure to do this may result in being banned from that job.

*Do not do other people’s jobs. If you joined as a rosaria, do not attempt to hunt down criminals. If you joined as a rune master, do not attempt to perform medical treatment on your coworkers. If you are a head position, allow your underlings to do work before you do the work yourself; you are a supervisor and manager first and foremost as a head position.

*Do not hijack other people's jobs. For example, breakers are for making arrests, agents are for investigating crimes. While you might be able to do both, you likely are not suited for it, let others help you if their available.

*Playing jobs that can be called upon at any time to assist other crew members in emergencies waives your right to have interruption-free (E)RP sessions in private, including the dorms. If you join as a rosaria, expect to be interrupted out of private scenes. If you’re a rune master, you are expected to set up power systems and repair any large-scale damage that hampers the rest of the residents, regardless of your intent to have sex with the whatever hole is nearby.

*Dungeon diving is not a valid reason to be busy from your assigned job. If your job has multiple positions or is intended to dungeon dive, inform others and ensure someone is there to cover for you until you get back.

== You are expected to obey the chain of command (within reason) ==
*Each head of staff is the de facto leader of their faction, so listen to them. Likewise, you should obey decisions from faction owners (if a fax arrives) or council decisions unless directly overridden by an admin. If you consistently do not follow reasonable orders, you will be job banned.

== You are expected to forget events that are deemed non-canon ==
*Though most rounds are canon, if one is considered non-canon you are expected to forget it ICly.

*The round ending does not make you immune to a character perma-kill. Just because you evaded capture or was not killed by the time it restarted does not mean everyone forgets what your character did. If you get caught and the evidence is ironclad enough, you will be PK'd.

*This rule also applies to events that cause catastrophic damage to the safe zone, such as a Code Ruby/Onyx scenario. As a general rule event coordinators '''should''' say before or after an event if it is non-canon or not.

*If you are killed in a round and then revived in the same round, your memory is entirely intact and may act accordingly.

= The intent of the rules is more important than the letter =
The purpose of the rules is to preserve a fun and enjoyable environment for all players. If everyone is enjoying themselves even while the ‘letter’ of a rule is not being followed, it’s likely that no staff intervention will be required. On the other hand, just because something isn't in the rules doesn't mean it's okay or allowed if it's upsetting a large number of players.

*It is within admin staff's discretion to decide that certain actions violate one or more rules, even if the specific action is not listed as part of the rule. This is simply the job of the staff to interpret the rules. You can appeal decisions to other admins if you believe one has a bias against you, but doing so after a ruling is passed will get you in trouble.

*Plenty of rules are left vague enough to cover as much as possible without being too oppressing. Attempting to rules-lawyer saying that "this rule doesn't specifically say I can't do X", even if what you are doing is disrupting the server, will generally be ignored. We assume most of you have enough common sense to recognize what a [[#Create_and_play_server-appropriate_characters|sane and stable individual]] would and wouldn't do within this fictional setting.

=== Listen to admin staff ===
* One admin's word is usually as good as any other. Though, just because one admin says something is okay in that moment does not mean it will always be okay under another admin or even the same admin.
** If this causes a contradiction, you can (and should) inform the new admin of what you were told previously. For example, a Head Admin says you can do something, but that admin has left the server. A lower ranked admin shows up and asks you to stop doing that thing. You can explain that the Head Admin previously said you could do this, but if the lower ranked admin ''still'' wants you to stop, then you should stop. (This obviously works vise-versa as well.)
** Intentionally not telling a new admin about a contradiction is considered lying. It's like asking your mom for ice cream, but she says no, so you go ask dad because you think he'll be less strict.
* Sojourn is not a straight democracy; our rules and guidelines exist for a reason and we have staff dedicated to enforcing them and help set further guidelines if necessary. '''However, these rules are always going to be incomplete, and as such, just because something isn't written doesn't mean it's allowed.''' If a staff member tells you to do something, do it. They tell you to stop, then stop. If you disagree with a ruling, don't try to argue it then and there, especially if things are hectic. Once things have calmed down, or preferably after the round has ended, you can try to contact the staff member privately to discuss the ruling, or talk to another admin if you cannot talk to or cannot convince the offending admin.

* If you have a question over something unclear or questionable, never be afraid to adminhelp. The staff on hand should discuss it among themselves and give you a ruling, from there on if the ruling is in bad judgement, it's on the admin who cleared it, not ''you''. '''The staff should also NEVER ban you purely for a complaint against them.''' Even if you're a complete asshole about it, as long as the argument stays private, you cannot be banned just for arguing. Although being an asshole usually won't win an argument, so you probably shouldn't do that anyway.
** Don't confuse this for "complaining grants you immunity to bans", because that's not how it works. If you are told to not break windows and you complain how that isn't fair, you're still getting banned for breaking windows if we disagree with your complaint. What this means is we won't ban you or make an existing ban worse just because you tell us we're being excessively mean, confusing, or unfair to you or someone else.

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Rules]]

Jester

2025-10-14T20:47:47Z

Possum:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
!colspan="6"style="color:white; background-color:#646566; | Jester
"All the world is a stage, this is our story!"
!colspan="6" | Faction:
Freeblade
!colspan="6" | Access Rune:
Artist Den
!colspan="6" | Faction Boss:
None
!colspan="6" |Difficulty:
Easy
|} </div>

The jester exists to provide amusement and capture whimsy in what is otherwise a dismal situation for everyone involved within this underground prison.

==Stat Requirement==
* None.

==Purpose==
The jester, also known as the clown, mime, artist, or performer, provides entertainment and art to the safe zone. What this means generally is left up to each individual artist, but often takes the form of creation from the artist bench. This wonderous machine can only be operated by the jester and requires a wide variety of materials ranging from easily obtained wood to much harder to source steel. While it can be difficult to obtain materials for, the artist bench can create a wide variety of artistic items ranging from statues, tool mods, weapon mods, and even firearms. Statues hold the benefit of inspiring others and thus should be put on display in public spaces for all to see. Weapon and tool mods range in quality, being artistic representation of the more ethereal mood that jesters have. Some can be exceedingly deadly or incredibly useless. Welcome to art!

Your most prized creations are made when your inspiration leads you to craft artisan revolvers. These weapons are one of the few places a gun can be obtained away from the blackwood but sadly do not come loaded. What properties and calibers these revolvers carry vary heavily but can generally be considered low quality compared to the more refined gunsmiths of the Blackwood. With incredibly luck a jester might forge a weapon of true might, outclassing anything the blackwood can produce but more often they will make middling handguns that might be worth a decent amount sold to the equipment processor in the blackwood lobby.

== Tips ==
* Wood can be obtained in bulk from gardeners and beast masters who grow tower caps.
* Glass, iron, and even steel can be obtained from prospectors.
* Your inspiration functions differently than others, instead of gaining the effects of oddities and stat increases, you spend it to forge items.

=== Unique Equipment ===
* Artist Bench - A useful tool for creating works of art.
* Costume Vendor - Useful for playing up a specific act.

=== Advanced Tips ===
* A toolbelt can help you disassemble salvage in easier to reach places within the dungeon, letting you source some supplies yourself.
* In a pinch, you can potentially get supplies from dungeon divers or even the Ascendants recycler, if you can pay for it.
* Items you make can be sold to the [[Merchant]] or recycled in the item processor for money.

 
 
{{Roles}}
[[Category: Roles]]

Stories

2025-10-14T20:46:35Z

Possum:

=Stories=
This page contains stories written primarily by the game/server host/owner/creator Possum as a way to expand the lore and offer more immersion to those seeking it. These stories are by no means required reading to play the game but they do expand more on the setting and the place where the game takes place. Stories are organized by core, event, fluff, and user submitted and contain tags that determine what level of knowledge your character would know about said event. In general, you will not know the exact details of most events but you can roleplay as hearing rumors about said events or reference tidbits of lore reflected in these tales.

==Core==
These are stories core to the actual setting of the game and thus are helpful for under standing the context of the game, where it takes place, and why, such as why the factions exist and why they are working together or the realm that the players find themselves stuck in. This also includes story related events that help summarize arcs as they happen, usually in the context of news recaps, with summaries at the end for players who missed said events.

===[[The Agreement]]===
Part one of how the factions of Hammerfall came to be, detailing the meeting of the four lords and how they came to form a unified cohesive front to attempt escaping from the prison of Hammer's Fall.
===[[Lets be Legends]]===
Part two of how the factions of Hammerfall overthrew the ruling gang known as the Ravagers and cemented themselves as the new power within the dungeon prison.

 
==Event==
These stories are event related and unrelated to the core story of the game, often told as news recaps. General these can be considered known by your character and can be considered minor but important enough to be known events as they happen.

 
==Fluff==
These are stories that are often shorter and related to world events and situations beyond where the game takes place to better expand the lore and fluff of the setting.

===[[A Tale Told in Blood]]===
A story detailing the life of Ashlord Tarkus, leader of the Breakers, how he grew up and what lead him to eventually be thrown into Hammer's Fall with a closer reveal on who the man himself is.

===[[Hellbent]]===
A shorter story detailing the recruiting methods of the Blackwood Abbey before they were forcibly relocated to Hammer's Fall, focused mainly on a man who later became a penumbra under the direction of Boss Yaga, second in command to Bagman Herod.

===[[The Storm King]]===
The tale of Sad King Briareus, leader of the Ascendant, when he was a younger man known as the Storm King, a closer introduction to his character and goals that tailored his world view later in life.
===[[Bad Hand]]===
The tale of Bagman Herod, leader of the Blackwood, and his fall from the head of the criminal underworld and banishment to Hammer's Fall.
===[[What is shall always be]]===
A very short story detailing the absolute hell of what it is like to become undead.

===[[Ancient Patrol]]===
A widely known legend of the first and last group of soldiers to ever go beyond the front-lines to take the fight directly to the Blood Rose Pact by focusing on the perspective of its commander, an old soldier named Donovan.

===[[Songbird Mercenary Company]]===
A story featuring mercenaries working as coachman on the train railways, fighting off gnoll bandits and plying their trade through the use of an ancient magic user named Songbird.

===[[Savage Slayer]]===
A short story detailing the work of a savage slayer, a bounty hunter that specializes in hunting down gnolls and cashing bounties through collected scalps, told from the perspective of a reminiscing orc drinking more heavily as the story goes on.

===[[Lesson of the Sons]]===
A longer tale of a reminiscing abbot of the Sons of Baitaal, recalling his most memorable crusade as he goes about his duties with a stronghold maintained by the Sons.

===[[Titans of War]]===
A story told from the perspective of golem pilot serving on the front lines, going into detail of what it is like to operate golems, what purpose they primarily serve, and the pilot's past as a member of the Order of Brass.

 

==User Submitted==
These are stories written by inspired members of the community and thus are not written by Possum, but can still be considered vetted and canon after editing. If you have a user submission you want here, contact Possum for review and posting.

[[Category: Lore]]

Ashman

2025-10-14T20:46:15Z

Possum:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
!colspan="6"style="color:white; background-color:#8cbcd6; | Ashman
"When it comes to whats down there in the dark, my rifle is the last thing they never saw."
!colspan="6" | Faction:
Breakers
!colspan="6" | Access Rune:
Breakers
!colspan="6" | Faction Boss:
Hammerlord
!colspan="6" |Difficulty:
Hard
|} </div>

The ashmen are the rank and file riflemen of the breakers, best suited for dealing out extreme amounts of death and lead at range and through the use of a variety of handy lead applicators from traditional bolt actions, pump shotguns, or lever actions.

==Stat Requirement==
* Toughness: 10
* Robustness: 10
* Vigilance: 20

==Purpose==
Ashmen are the heavy hitters of the entire safe zone, trained and beginning play with the strongest firearms available. Ashmen specialize in the use of rifles ranging from shotguns to long range rifle coming in multiple calibers. Where the [[Firebrand]] has greater staying power thanks to his quasi-magical revolver, the ashmen trade staying power for incredibly damage bursts. How an ashmen functions depends on his weapon choice, lower caliber rifles are good for clearing out multiple targets and heavier caliber rifles serve better at taking down armored targets at a greater cost. For the strongest enemies, shotguns make quick work of even the toughest creatures. However, though you are considered the heavy artillery for the safe zone, your munitions are in low stock and expensive to replace. Only the blackwood can resupply you with more munitions, so careful conservation of ammo must be taken into account at all times.

Given that your offensive power is not only limited but pricey to maintain, you will more often find yourself engaging in melee and relying on others to deal with targets not worth spending ammo on. Often, you are better served patrolling the safe zone and acting as a proper guard, as most trouble makers will think twice about causing problems when facing down the barrel of a shotgun that can end them in a single blast. As a guard, you are one of the best, able to deal effective means of death at long range. Your ability to protect your fellow residents is also exceptional, as special training allows you to line up shots and fire past friendly targets without fear of accidentally hitting them.

When working on patrol with the safe zone you should work closely with the forge master and agents. Fixers can also supply you with cheaper alternative scrap ammo which, while a lot less powerful, is also easier to obtain and much cheaper. Consider carrying scrap ammo for expedition and saving your precious regular ammo for high value targets. Among all the breakers, you are most dependent on maintaining good relations with others to keep yourself supplied. Being on regular patrol or simply interacting with others is an absolute must. You should be as adept with your words as you are with your gun.

== Tips ==
* When firing your weapon on help intent, you cannot hit other players, allowing you to shoot past players safely even without a clear line of fire. Switch to harm intent to target players when firing.
* Ammo is very expensive and cannot be found anywhere, you can only purchase regular and scrap ammo from abbey fixers or the merchant.
* You will automatically lever, pump, or bolt new shots when using most rifles, as a result you can fire much faster then most.
* Choose a caliber fit for your goals. Higher damage and armor penetration often means more expensive and thus less ammunition.

=== Unique Equipment ===
* Rifle Choice - You may choose between a variety of decent starting rifles ranging in caliber types. Feel free to experiment.

=== Advanced Tips ===
* Shotguns are the most powerful, but require you to be close to your target. Shotgun ammo is also the most expensive and often requires switching between slugs and buckshot.
* Long ammo is great for tunnel sniping and has good armor penetration but most long ammo rifles fire slowly and is still quite expensive.
* Medium ammo is a good all rounder and is recommended for beginners and veterans.
* Compact ammo is cheaper, more plentiful, and often good for dealing with moderately strong and numerous targets. Scrap compact ammo is luckily very cheap.

 
 
{{Roles}}
[[Category: Roles]]

Agent

2025-10-14T20:45:58Z

Possum:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
!colspan="6"style="color:black; background-color:#fae5d3 ; | Agent
"You can get the cuffs or a knife in your spine."
!colspan="6" | Faction:
Blackwood Abbey
!colspan="6" | Access Rune:
Abbey, Breakers
!colspan="6" | Faction Boss:
Penumbra
!colspan="6" |Difficulty:
Medium
|} </div>

Agents are the detectives and lawmen of the safe zone, working beneath the penumbra and alongside the breakers to enforce the safe zone's laws. Failing peaceful cooperation, agents are deadly with a blade and trained inb the art of assassination.

==Stat Requirement==
* Vigilance: 30

==Purpose==
As an agent you are effectively a detective and guard to the safe zone, providing the needed service of interrogation, forensics, and investigative work to catch anyone committing crimes. Beyond this you are expected to work with the breakers, who make up the muscle of your work. You determine what crimes have been broken and who should be detained or fined. The latter is preferably carried out by the breakers as they are more suited for physical violence. That said, you are no slouch in combat as you have easier access to ammunition and training to make regular daggers quite lethal with the proper positioning.

Good communications, be it through using your comms crystal or use of alert codes, are a must and you are rather weak alone. Fostering good relations with fellow agents or breakers is a must. Fixers can further aid you by supplying you with cheap munitions so you can better keep the safe zone clear of potential threats. You are expected to patrol periodically and can be a great asset on expeditions given you lockpicks and skill to use them. Coordinate with your penumbra to ensure a good split between your role as a lawman and an aid to dungeon diving teams.

== Tips ==
* Your lockpicks can open dungeon doors and chests. Use this to secure additional loot.
* You have easier access to munitions, but conserve your ammo where you can. Your dagger is just as lethal as a revolver.
* You are a lawmen as well as a skilled killer, being good with words is often far better than being lethal, leave that to the breakers.

=== Unique Equipment ===
* Dagger - Your dagger is most effective when stabbing creatures or people in the back, used properly, it is a lethal tool of enforcement.
* Lockpicks - Your most versatile tool. While it cannot open magically sealed doors nor safe zone doors, it can easily force open dungeon doors and locked chests.

=== Advanced Tips ===
* Breakers, in particular the [[Sledge]], make for good distractions. Stick behind them so when a beast focuses on them you can easily move into a position to make a lethal backstab.
* Though you are skilled with a blade, you are not normally heavily armored and you do not have the skill of the [[Firebrand]] or [[Ashman]] roles, be wary of your weaknesses.
* Using your skills as a thief and assassin on residents is a fantastic way to be executed in a public display. Do not abuse your position, there is a reason half of law enforcement is done by the breakers.

 
 
{{Roles}}
[[Category: Roles]]

Merchant

2025-10-14T20:45:43Z

Possum:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
!colspan="6"style="color:black; background-color:#fae5d3 ; | Merchant
"Need as well as greed."
!colspan="6" | Faction:
Blackwood Abbey
!colspan="6" | Access Rune:
Abbey
!colspan="6" | Faction Boss:
Bagman Herod
!colspan="6" |Difficulty:
Complicated
|} </div>

The merchant runs the economy of the entire safe zone, the only man who direct access to the supply warehouse and access runes directly to the supply depot. Unlike other faction bosses, you have a substantial stipend of money that you want to trade for materials and supplies so it can be stored, refined, or later dispersed.

==Stat Requirement==
* Robustness: 10
* Toughness: 10
* Vigilance: 10
* Biology: 10
* Mechanical: 10
* Cognition: 10

==Purpose==
The purpose of the merchant is one of economy, your main goal is to oversee the processing of looted goods or refined materials at the processor and ensuring people are aware of the deals available at the supply depot terminals. Thankfully, you have underlings and automation that has simplified this process. In your main lobby you will find a loot processor, a special vendor that valuable items can be placed inside of to redeem of blackwood coin. This is mainly used by dungeon delvers to earn extra funds to delver deeper. Coin can be spent right across from the processor on the supply depot terminals, magical teleporters supplied by the Ascendant which can both buy and sell specific items that fixers in the upper levels deem worthy of sale. This complex network of stores, caches, and warehouse rooms are generally random, what is needed upstairs or available for sale down here is often random. The greatest value can be made by selling items directly to the depot rather than using the processor but few want to wait around for a sale, that is where you stand to make the most value by announcing items you need so people will come and sell them. Since the depot terminal always offers a better pay out, customers benefit more and a nice hefty thirty percent commission ensures your own account makes a profit on the side.

Your secondary consideration is ensuring that fixers and beast masters are covering every task they need to be performing. This ranges from giving fixers the correct supply to keep the kitchens and bar running to buying materials at a slight mark up so they can use their crafting talents to make bigger sales. Though most of your work is supportive, you are well within your right to make side deals, such as offering potential dungeon divers ammunition and supplies in return for a commission after they come back with packs laden with loot. Beyond your personal deals, announcing generous sales at the depot terminal, and keeping your underlings supplied, your syndicate practical runs itself.

== Tips ==
* Announcing lucrative sales on your terminal can be a profitable venture for yourself and your customers.
* Your fixers and beast masters generally need supplies and your agents will usually need ammo. Try to let your surplus profit benefit them to keep them working smoothly.
* Your hospitality ventures in the tavern, garden, and kitchen are amazing ways to make money without much risk.

=== Unique Equipment ===
* Mana Comet - A unique pistol for your defense and protection, a magical weapon with a self charging mana battery that can switch between non-lethal electrical shocks and moderately lethal fireballs.
* Mangeki Mow - A strange statue you feel like you need to protect at all times. It was given by Herod, but its purpose is unclear.
* Abbey Listener - A radio that, when upgraded with enchantment oddities, can give you communications across all comm runes. Be very careful taking this anywhere, as it is technically illegal and can easily get your legs broken for having it.

=== Advanced Tips ===
* Consider buying loot hauls with your own money to sell them as individual items or at the depot terminals yourself.
* Only the supply depot can supply premium ammunition, this monopoly means you can charge a premium cost.
* Fixers can craft scrap ammo, which deals half the damage premium does but requires only metal, gunpowder, and the tools to make it. Consider buying metal from prospectors and gunpowder from the Ascendant [[Rosaria]] so your fixers can craft cheaper munitions.
* The only place to find proper quality guns is within the supply depot. Keep track of rifles for sale on the terminal and consider purchasing them yourself for resale at a profit later. Keep in mind, every purchase adds thirty percent of its sale to your account directly, meaning you can buy at a discount.
* On the reverse, every sale to the depot earns you a thirty percent commission, which is generally more than what the processor offers on individual items.

 
 
{{Roles}}
[[Category: Roles]]

Penumbra

2025-10-14T20:45:13Z

Possum:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
!colspan="6"style="color:black; background-color:#fae5d3 ; | Penumbra
"There's something dangerous in the dark... '''Me.'''"
!colspan="6" | Faction:
Blackwood Abbey
!colspan="6" | Access Rune:
Abbey, Breakers
!colspan="6" | Faction Boss:
Boss Yaga
!colspan="6" |Difficulty:
Complex
|} </div>
As the penumbra, you are what makes up a sheriff to the safe zone, your tasks primarily include investigating crimes and enforcing both the laws and the agreement. As a result, your tasks usually include being a good speaker and known around the safe zone. Beneath you are your agents, members of the Blackwood that can be considered detectives in their own right who answer to you. Just like them, you are all trained killers, but you are a cut above even them.

==Stat Requirement==
* Robustness: 15
* Toughness: 15
* Vigilance: 20

==Purpose==
As the penumbra your primary purpose is that of the acting lawman within the safe zone. Your domains include interrogations, investigations, forensics, and working closely with the breakers to order arrests, fines, and prisoner detainment. Due to the nature of arrests needing both agents and breakers involved, you should also foster good relations with the [[Master of the Forge]] and [[Hammerlord]], two people you are expected to be working closely with. To better organize your efforts you have your agents, a group of detectives and likely former cutthroats arranged to act as investigators. Each agent is trained in forensics, investigation, and most importantly given instruction on how to properly use a blade. The safe zone did not magically earn its name at random, nor is the name as accurate as it should be. Violence is what keeps the safe zone safe and it is only through the actions of the three factions that it keeps being that way. While your men lack the armor and training that the breakers have, you are the most easily supplied thanks to your Blackwood contacts and both yourself and your agents are trained to be deadly killers in addition to lawmen.

As such, your secondary goal beyond keeping the safe zone safe and crime free is aiding in its protection and patrols. This can range between sending agents on dungeon expeditions or having them tag along with breakers. Both should be highly encouraged, as it promotes cooperation between the two factions. Your agents lack proper armor but can be supplied premium munitions or even scrap ammo from your internal faction, making them excellent gunslingers and capable of sharing ammo with [[Firebrand]]s and [[Ashman]]. All agents and yourself are also trained in the art of assassination and your daggers are highly lethal when stabbing creatures in the back. This makes your men highly effective when they employ strategy and tactics over the breakers usual overwhelming force method.

Unlike your agents, you are given additional powers thanks to being in a closer position to Boss Yaga. Though she rarely meets with most penumbra, each one is supplied with a black candle of her own making. Through a ritual shared with each of you, the candle is lit and left to burn while you sleep within a light-less room. For the next day afterwards, a penumbra can invoke a special ability that allows them to turn nearly invisible and disappear from the eye of most creatures. Additionally the penumbra can phase through people, but not objects, allowing them to move into the perfect position to make use of their stronger than normal dagger.

== Tips ==
* You have a special ability to make killing easy, use it, but remember it has a lengthy cool down.
* Your unique dagger is toxic as well as lethal, be wary of using it on people lest they die from the poison.
* You are a skilled killer but you are also the ultimately say on the law. Do not confuse the two.
* Know the [[Laws]] by memory.

=== Unique Equipment ===
* Black Blade - A special dagger given only to the penumbra, it is on par with an agent's blade while also dealing additional toxin damage due to its lethal enchantment. Do not lose it.
* Forensics kit - A kit containing all manner of mundane and magical items suited for allowing you to track down and determine who is a criminal and who is not. Keep it handy.

=== Advanced Tips ===
* Agents need direction, organize patrols and work with your team. Do not hesitate to ask for advice or their thoughts, just because they are your lackey does not mean they cannot be insightful.
* You can investigate and determine fault, while assigning crimes, fines, and detainment times. However, it is the duty of the breakers to carry out the detainment and fine acquiring process. Make sure you and your team work with them readily.

 
 
{{Roles}}
[[Category: Roles]]

Beast Master

2025-10-14T20:44:48Z

Possum:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
!colspan="6"style="color:black; background-color:#fae5d3 ; | Beast Master
"Yes, she bites. Buffoon."
!colspan="6" | Faction:
Blackwood Abbey
!colspan="6" | Access Rune:
Abbey
!colspan="6" | Faction Boss:
Merchant
!colspan="6" |Difficulty:
Easy
|} </div>

As the beast master, you are part of the lower end of supply for the Blackwood Abbey. You tend to the garden and beasts within by growing produce, collecting eggs, milking cows, and butchering animals for meat, bones, leather. Similar to a fixer, you have access to the bar to serve drinks or cook food if you wish, but your main goal is merely to make sure the fridge is stocked with raw produce and meat.

==Stat Requirement==
* Biology: 30
* Toughness: 10

==Purpose==
Your main purpose, as stated above, is to tend to the gardens and beasts within. This gives you a lot of free time as both largely take care of themselves and need little maintenance besides watering and food respectively. You are to stock the fridge with raw produce, breed and then butcher excess animals for meat and parts, and tend to the kitchen and bar if you wish to help the fixers. Beyond that you have a skill with crafting items through the use of animal parts, ranging from precious leather pouches to leather armor to weapons made of bone. While exceedingly primitive and low-tech, they are cheap and a byproduct of your work. Do not be surprised if a seasoned adventurer asks for your items.

Additionally, you have a selection of war beasts you can produce through the use of breeding that can be sold to others for protection. Theses sturdy creatures are favored assets when one can manage shepherding them through the tight confines of the lower dungeons. Though you rarely have need of them yourself, many would gladly pay for the added layer of guarding.

== Tips ==
* Grow a variety of produce, supply the fridge with meat, and spend the rest of your time making materials with animal parts.
* Cows supply meat and leather but in small amounts, you can get far more by butchering dangerous beasties.
* Your war beasts are powerful but only one can be assigned to a person at a time.

=== Unique Equipment ===
* Skinning Knife - Your specialty skinning knife makes for a very poor weapon, but easily butchers animals. Keep it in good condition and do not lose it, it cannot be replaced.

=== Advanced Tips ===
* Remind people that having a war beast tagging along can be an added level of logistical management.
* Your equipment is low tech but effective and cheap, pouches in particular are a high ticket item.
* Once you've grown enough produce, consider going hunting to get a surplus of meat and parts.
* Your best equipment requires rare animal parts that only you can cut from a dead beasts, since bodies decay swiftly, that means you will need to hunt it yourself.

 
 
{{Roles}}
[[Category: Roles]]

Fixer

2025-10-14T20:44:27Z

Possum:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
!colspan="6"style="color:black; background-color:#fae5d3 ; | Fixer
"If you want it, I've got it."
!colspan="6" | Faction:
Blackwood Abbey
!colspan="6" | Access Rune:
Abbey
!colspan="6" | Faction Boss:
Merchant
!colspan="6" |Difficulty:
Busy
|} </div>

The fixer is the supply corps of the entire safe zone, the one person who makes life in this hell zone a lot more comfortable. Ranging from tending to the tavern, cooking meals in the kitchen, to crafting useful items like scrap ammunition or modifying firearms.

==Stat Requirement==
* Biology: 10
* Mechanical: 10

==Purpose==
The fixer is the job that fits a variety of roles, from merchant to gunsmith, you can do so many different tasks that you are a jack of trades. As such, you are often busy and generally will have more on your plate than you alone can manage. Luckily, you will rarely be the only fixer, so do not feel like you are overwhelmed. Fixers will often devout their time doing one or two jobs, one who tends the bar will often also cook in the attached kitchen. One who helps the merchant will generally be crafting ammo and gun mods or just generally switching around as needed.

As a fixer, you have access to:
* The tavern, where you serve drinks of varying quality for money.
* The kitchen, built into the bar where you can cook and make food from produce and meat supplied by the [[Beast Master]].
* The supply warehouse, where you can aid the merchant in making sales of stored items or turning raw and refined materials into more valuable items.

What you choose to do is often subject to the needs of the safe zone at the time, but you generally should merely do what is most profitable and works best for you. You answer only to the merchant, who might assign you various tasks as needed.

== Tips ==
* You can enhance food with your secret spice perk to grant temporary stat enhancing abilities. Use that to bring people to the tavern and kitchen!
* Your scrap ammo can be made cheaply with the right materials, keep a toolbelt and some supplies handy for making munition on the go.
* Just because the tavern is empty does not mean people will not come. Having drinks ready and using your comm crystal will generally bring patrons.

=== Unique Equipment ===
* Omni-belt - A special belt with additional slots that can take both mechanical tools and cooking utensils depending on the take you need it for. The extra space gives you a leg up over most. Do not let anyone have it.

=== Advanced Tips ===
* If you do not know a recipe, use of your spellbook with the proper enchantments can give you every recipe with ease. No need to memorize!
* You do not get a wage, your money is made through charging for food and drinks. This also means you can be generous, since the blackwood does not care what you charge.

 
 
{{Roles}}
[[Category: Roles]]

Jester

2025-10-14T20:43:46Z

Possum:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
!colspan="6"style="color:white; background-color:#646566; | Jester
"All the world is a stage, this is our story!"
!colspan="6" | Faction:
Freeblade
!colspan="6" | Access Rune:
Artist Den
!colspan="6" | Faction Boss:
None
!colspan="6" |Difficulty:
Easy
|} </div>

The jester exists to provide amusement and capture whimsy in what is otherwise a dismal situation for everyone involved within this underground prison.

==Stat Requirement==
* None.

==Purpose==
The jester, also known as the clown, mime, artist, or performer, provides entertainment and art to the safe zone. What this means generally is left up to each individual artist, but often takes the form of creation from the artist bench. This wonderous machine can only be operated by the jester and requires a wide variety of materials ranging from easily obtained wood to much harder to source steel. While it can be difficult to obtain materials for, the artist bench can create a wide variety of artistic items ranging from statues, tool mods, weapon mods, and even firearms. Statues hold the benefit of inspiring others and thus should be put on display in public spaces for all to see. Weapon and tool mods range in quality, being artistic representation of the more ethereal mood that jesters have. Some can be exceedingly deadly or incredibly useless. Welcome to art!

Your most prized creations are made when your inspiration leads you to craft artisan revolvers. These weapons are one of the few places a gun can be obtained away from the Ashwood but sadly do not come loaded. What properties and calibers these revolvers carry vary heavily but can generally be considered low quality compared to the more refined gunsmiths of the Blackwood. With incredibly luck a jester might forge a weapon of true might, outclassing anything the Ashwood can produce but more often they will make middling handguns that might be worth a decent amount sold to the equipment processor in the Ashwood lobby.

== Tips ==
* Wood can be obtained in bulk from gardeners and beast masters who grow tower caps.
* Glass, iron, and even steel can be obtained from prospectors.
* Your inspiration functions differently than others, instead of gaining the effects of oddities and stat increases, you spend it to forge items.

=== Unique Equipment ===
* Artist Bench - A useful tool for creating works of art.
* Costume Vendor - Useful for playing up a specific act.

=== Advanced Tips ===
* A toolbelt can help you disassemble salvage in easier to reach places within the dungeon, letting you source some supplies yourself.
* In a pinch, you can potentially get supplies from dungeon divers or even the Ascendants recycler, if you can pay for it.
* Items you make can be sold to the [[Merchant]] or recycled in the item processor for money.

 
 
{{Roles}}
[[Category: Roles]]

Laws

2025-10-14T20:43:25Z

Possum:

The safe zone laws are a series of regulations that all interest groups on the High Council have agreed to, applying them broadly to all residents inside the safe zone. The breakers and blackwood agents are expected to uphold and enforce these laws, and all factions are expected to follow them. It is important to know that all offenses listed below should be followed as a ‘guideline’ by law enforcement personnel and do allow for victim rights and alternative solutions to minor offenses. For example, you are not required to give a sentence if the problem can be resolved in an alternative way that the suspect agrees to, such as an agreement with the victim in return for not pressing charges, or peer mediation. You are expected to follow the bare minimum of [[Standard Operating Procedure]] and use common sense, if you lack that maybe you should not be an agent.

'''Law's protections, and rights only apply to residents. Outsiders are dangerous and should be mistrusted unless reason is given not to.'''

=== He Had It Coming Clause ===
This clause is a special rule that can only be invoked by breakers and must be approved '''prior''' by agents to be carried out. The situation the safe zone finds itself in is making the best of a bad situation and often deals with people who were not innocent when thrown into Hammer's Fall. As a result, enforcement of the law is done ruthlessly and effective to keep the peace. 'He had it coming' is a clause for those who actively and directly attempt to provoke or otherwise frustrate enforcers. Enforcers can invoke this rule only when someone is arrested and in the brig (cells or interrogation). When invoked by a breaker and approved by an agent or penumbra, breakers may smash the legs of whoever is causing a problem. One or both legs may be broken. If the intended problem begins complaining about having their legs broken, in particular over their comms crystal, their comms crystal may be taken and one or both arms broken next. In the event the person in question has their limbs severed or is otherwise rendered immobile, they are to be denied medical treatment (beyond stabilizing them with the bare minimum to prevent death) until their brig time is up. You are not obligated to bring them to medical on release and it is encouraged to make them crawl to medical. Additionally, on release, they are to be given their comms crystals back and can complain as they wish without having their arms broken.

If properly invoked, approved, and carried out the clause is considered completely legal. Those who find themselves having this clause invoked onto them often may be permanently removed from the safe zone as they are clearly enough of a trouble making shit that nobody wants them around (and be looked at for a possible quality control ban). On the other end, enforcers are expected to use this clause sparingly, as it is not an excuse to break the limbs of every person that mildly inconveniences or otherwise is rude to you (using this more often or against multiple people will net you a swift job ban). Greater discretion or examination of the situation when this clause is invoked (ooc and ic) will be considered if it is misused. Additionally breakers should take care not to kill the receipant of this clause and make an attempt not to sever their limbs, blunt weapons are thus required to be used for carrying this out. In the event that you ''accidentally'' kill whoever this has been lawfully invoked upon, place their corpse in a cell for the brig duration and bring it to medical when the timer ends.

The only exception to this rule is it can be invoked without over sight on anyone who is incapable of being detained. Anyone attempting to escape arrest through the use of teleport spells, freedom of movement runes, or simply can't be handcuffed (such as being one handed) is considered to having it coming by default. Breaking their legs or severing them without agent approval is not only allowed, it is recommended.

As a final note, this is not to be invoked on anyone simply resisting arrest and '''should never''' be invoked on someone complying with all orders and requests nor those arguing their case on potential charges.

== Modifiers & Special Situations ==
These may reduce or increase your sentence depending on circumstances relating to the crimes committed.
{| style="text-align:center; background-color:#aaffaa;" width="950px" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! style="background-color:#55ff55; width=100px" |Modifier
! style="background-color:#55ff55;" |Description
! style="background-color:#55ff55;" |Effect

|-
|'''Cooperation with Prosecution or Agents'''
| To aid members of enforcers, reveal evidence willingly during processing and/or provide names of accomplices involved in the charged offense.
| 25% to 50% timer reduction.

|-
|'''Surrender'''
| To willingly surrender oneself to enforcers; either by the means of bringing oneself to the brig or, in a hostile situation, laying down arms and following direct orders.
| 25% to 50% timer reduction.

Execution may not be issued to those who have surrendered. Crimes worthy of Holding until Transfer may be overturned at Penumbra's discretion.

|-
|'''Self Defense'''
| To have acted in the defense of oneself; ranging from physical injury of the attacker to death of the attacking party.

For this modifier to apply the party MUST have acted in defense; they are not required to retreat if there is credible threat that the attacking party may harm them or others.

The weapon used and lethality of used ammunition or weapon should be taken into account by the arresting agents to determine this modifier.

| Immediate Release.
|-
|'''Good Samaritan Clause'''
|To act in what one, or any other reasonable person, would believe is in good faith and with due caution and regards for the safety of others. Including in the defense of a person’s life or to act if another person is in imminent threat of serious injury and/or death. Failure to comply with an investigation of any crimes is not considered a “Good Samaritan” as it falls out of the category of a ‘reasonable person’.

Examples include pulling a gun to rescue a resident from hostile lifeforms, breaking a faction’s window to pull out a wounded resident, etc. A ‘Good Samaritan’ does not do such acts for financial compensation; any exchanging of goods for the service is no longer covered by such a modifier. Acts found to be without reason, or with flawed logic (I.e misinterpreting calls for help, ignorance of a situation or ‘over-escalation’ of a tense situation) do not count as reasonable actions and are thus not protected by this clause.
| Immediate Release, with all charges (barring that of Friendly Fire) being dropped against the individual.

|-
|'''Entrapment'''
| To be charged with a crime the offender was induced to commit by a fellow resident and, without their help, either would not have or could not have committed.

Other forms of entrapment may vary; such as agents placing objects in public areas and waiting for them to be stolen or other colony residents operating similar traps.

| Charges should be either reduced by up to 50% on the offender or charges should be completely dropped.

In cases of enforcers operated entrapment offenses the agents running the operation should be charged with Violation of Employee Rights.

|-
|'''Repeat Offender'''
| To be charged with the same crime/violation.

Examples include repeat offenses of vandalism, assault or contraband distribution.

| For each repeat offense the timer for the crime should be multiplied by 2. 20 minutes would become 40 minutes, etc. This also goes for fines. This only is applied for repeated crimes on the same shift.

Once a timer reaches 90 in the case of repeat crimes the offender should instead be held until shift transfer

|-
|'''Savage Tribal'''
| To be a known tribal or belonging to a savage group.

This includes all uncivilized gnolls, stone crusher goblins, tribal orcs, and those acting too uncivilized to be considered proper. Appearance '''AND''' behavior is taken into account. Wearing hides or loin cloths is enough no matter how they speak and act. Discretion is given to those pressing the charges.

| All fines and prison times are automatically doubled.

Whether a person is considered a tribal or not is determined by an agent or penumbra.

|-
|'''Immediate Threat or Severe Health Threat to the Prisoner'''
| To be arrested or in prison in the brig during an emergency which may negatively impact the offender’s health.
| The prisoner must be relocated to a safe location. In the case where a safe location cannot be found the offender must be immediately released.

If the prisoner is serving time until transfer or until judgement their charge must be reapplied after the emergency situation has ended.

|-
|'''Immediate Threat or Severe Health Threat to the Prisoner'''
| To be arrested or in prison in the brig during an emergency which may negatively impact the offender’s health.
| The prisoner must be relocated to a safe location. In the case where a safe location cannot be found the offender must be immediately released.

If the prisoner is serving time until transfer or until judgement their charge must be reapplied after the emergency situation has ended.

|-
|'''Medical Treatment'''
| Any injured prisoner may have this modifier applied to them. Under SoP prisoners are allowed and should be provided medical attention if sick or injured.
| Medical personnel should be called to brig or the prisoner may be treated by an agent with proper knowledge in brig medbay.

In cases of needed surgery or serious injury the rosaria must be called and the prisoner escorted to the medical wing to undergo treatment.

Brig timer is to be left running during this unless in the case of self-harm; in which the timer should be paused until the prisoner is escorted back to their cell.
|}

== Quick Reference Guide ==
This table is to describe crimes on a charge severity basis. In regards to crime stacking; crimes with the same ending numbers '''CAN NOT''' be stacked unless stated otherwise within the crimes description.

Examples include: You cannot charge a resident with both 101 and 401; Vandalism and Sabotage. One cannot be charged with 104 and 204; Battery and Assault.

Proper charges, for example, would be as such: Offender charged with 108 for trespassing, 105 for stealing an item and 204 for attacking an resident trying to stop them non-violently.

{| style="background-color:#9b9c98; text-align:center;" width="950px" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! style="background-color:#a0a3a1;" |Code #
! style="background-color:#a0a3a1; width:100px" |Minor Offenses (1XX)
! style="background-color:#a0a3a1; width:300px" |Moderate Offenses (2XX)
! style="background-color:#a0a3a1; width:300px" |Major Offenses (3XX)
! style="background-color:#a0a3a1;" |Exceptional Offenses (4XX)
! style="background-color:#a0a3a1;" |Capital Offenses (5XX)
|-
|X01
|Vandalism
|Failure to Obey Safety Protocol
|Negligence
|Sabotage
|Terrorism

|-
|X02
|Failure to Execute an Order
|Obstruction of Duty
|Failure to Execute an Order with Serious Consequences
| -
|Mutiny

|-
|X03
|Violation of Rights
|Illegal Detention, Arrest or Holding
|Fraudulent, Excessive or Incorrect Charges
|Exceeding Official Powers
| -

|-
|X04
|Battery
|Assault
|Aggravated Assault
|Manslaughter
|Murder or Attempted Murder

|-
|X05
|Theft
|Extortion, Blackmail and/or Bribery
|Abuse of Confiscated Equipment
|Grand Theft
|Espionage

|-
|X06
|Minor Contraband
|Major Contraband
| -

|-
|X07
|Suspicious Conduct
|Escaping from Confinement / Debt
|Illegal Blocking of Areas
| -
| -

|-
|X08
|Trespass
| -
|Infiltration
| -
|Grand Trespass

|-
|X09
|Rubbernecking
|Resisting Arrest or Sparking a Manhunt
|Organizing a Breakout
| -
|Escaping from HuT Sentence

|-
|X10
|Threat of Murder or Serious Injury
|Excessive Use of Force
|Severe Use of Excessive Force
|Mistreatment of Prisoners
|Wrongful Execution

|-
|X11
|Sending a Time Wasting Telegraph
|Forgery
|Breach of Salvage Rights
| -
| -

|-
|X12
|Violation of an Injunction
|Disrespect of the Dead
|Animal Cruelty
| -
|Slavery

|-
|X13
|Public Indecency
|Sexual Harassment
| -
|Unwilling Teleportation
|Sexual Assault
|}

===Quick Reference Punishment===
{| style="background-color:#f7f7f5; text-align:center;" width="950px" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! style="background-color:#a0a3a1;" |Offense Type
! style="background-color:#a0a3a1; width:100px" |Minor Offenses (1XX)
! style="background-color:#a0a3a1; width:300px" |Moderate Offenses (2XX)
! style="background-color:#a0a3a1; width:300px" |Major Offenses (3XX)
! style="background-color:#a0a3a1;" |Exceptional Offenses (4XX)
! style="background-color:#a0a3a1;" |Capital Offenses (5XX)
|-
|Quick-Reference Punishments
|Fines suggested; timers applicable.

See crime for timer.

|Some fines offered depending on crime; timers suggested.

See crime for timer.

|Timers only.
|Timers applicable to some crimes; HuT is commonly standard punishment.
|HuT with possibility for legal execution or permanent exile depending on the crime.
|}

==Specialty Charges==
Speciality Charges refer to charges out of the ordinary; such as cases of friendly fire, defaulting on ones debt or attempting/threatening to commit suicide. These crimes are either minimum and typically handled non-judicially, have special precautions or levying methods or require specific handling.

{| style="background-color:#f7f7f5; text-align:center;" width="950px" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! style="background-color:#a0a3a1;" |Specialty Charge
! style="background-color:#a0a3a1; width:380px" |Description
! style="background-color:#a0a3a1; width:380px" |Repercussion / Procedure
|-
|001 - Defaulting on Debt
|To default on one's debt in being unable to pay it. Relates to charges of theft or if the offender is unable to pay for services; for example, medical services.
|The debtor should be either detained passively by an agent or temporarily held in processing until their fine can be paid by automatic crew wages.

In cases where the debtor volunteers or does not earn wages, such as being an unemployed/off-duty resident, a mediation should occur with the victim. The debtor's personal items may be forcefully liquidated to cover their debt, or an agreement reached to repay the debt.

|-
|002 - Friendly Fire
|To accidentally commit friendly fire during a firefight as a member of the safe zone or it’s enforcers team.

|A fine of up to 100 coins may be issued depending on the severity of injuries. Low injuries such as bruises should not exceed 50 coins. Injuries such as fractures or injuries that leave a patient in codification condition should be 100 coins.

Charges of battery or assault may be levied against the offender as well as the Friendly Fire charge at request of the victim. Victims of friendly fire incidents may wave charges on the offender.

All fines are to go to the victim of the friendly fire incident. In cases where the victim dies to friendly fire see Manslaughter.

In the case of a member of Breakers committing Friendly Fire their timer or fine should be doubled.

|-
|003 - Suicide Attempt
|To physically attempt to or credibly threaten to end one's own life either through general communications or while in brig.
|Place prisoner on ‘suicide watch’. The prisoner should be straight jacketed to their cell bed for the duration of their timer.

Upon their timer ending the prisoner should be held until the rosaria can arrive to escort them for psychiatric examination.

|-
|004 - Disturbing the Peace
|To publicly and deliberately engage in erotic acts, yelling for seemingly no reason such as incoherent screeching, throwing objects around that could hit someone, harassing a resident or faction without provocation, stalking a resident or refusing to leave an area, yelling over ones comms crystal, or so forth.
|A timer between 0 to 10 minutes may be issued depending on the severity of the act, a fine of up to 100 coins may be issued depending on severity OR an injunction on further coms usage.

|-
|005 - Lack of Security, Medical, or Employment Records
|To be a registered member of the safe zone without any form of qualified records.
|This does not apply to Freeblades, only faction members.

All members of the safe zone are required to meet the minimum requirements highlighted [[Example_Paperwork#Character_Records|within the Character Records Section of Example Paperwork]].

If a resident does not meet this requirement, enforcer personnel should interview the resident and aid them in setting up required records, providing a format sheet for them to fill out and put on file.

If the resident is not willing to file paperwork, they are to be released and High Council is to be notified. (Fax or A-help - records are a rule issue.) High Council will advise on actions to take, if any, regarding the issue.
|}

==Minor Charges==
{| style="background-color:#aaffaa; text-align:center;" width="1000px" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! style="background-color:#55ff55;" |Crime Code
! style="background-color:#55ff55; width:100px" |Name of Crime
! style="background-color:#55ff55; width:300px" |Description
! style="background-color:#55ff55; width:300px" |Notes
! style="background-color:#55ff55; width:300px" |Fine/Timer
|-
| §101
|Vandalism
|To deliberately damage or deface safe zone or faction property without malicious intent. Damaging golems counts toward this.
|This can range from graffitiing the floor with crayons, destroying a wall or floor, or littering in either a public or departmental area.
|Timer of no more than 10 minutes

Or a fine of 50 coins.

|-
| §102
|Failure to Execute an Order
|To ignore or disregard a superior's valid orders as long as they remain legal and within SoP.
|This charge does not apply for illegal orders, those can be declined. Failure to Execute an Order specifically refers to an offender refusing to perform a task that is legal, doable and within their job specialty.
|Timer of no more than 5 minutes

Or a fine of 25 coins.

|-
| §103
|Violation of Faction Rights
|To deliberately deny a faction member certain rights, as defined in Standard Operating Procedure
|This charge is applied to typically enforcers or medical staff for a major SoP violation due to it going against another resident’s rights. The resident or head must push charges for this to apply.

This charge ranges from enforcers using thermals without reason, rosaria sharing personal medical records, etc.

|Timer of no more than 20 minutes

Or a fine of up to 100 coins to be paid to the victim.

|-
| §104
|Battery
|To have unwanted physical contact with a resident, even where the contact is not violent, or to cause damage that is easily treated.
|Bumping into or accidental contact such as an accidental grab or disarm does not count as battery. Touching a resident when they have said not to does; as well as anything that requires multiple bandages or pills counts as '''Assault'''.
|Timer of no more than 10 minutes

Or a fine of up to 50 coins.

|-
| §105
|Theft
|To steal items that are owned by another factionand/or person.
|This includes any material, possession, or item residing in a faction or owned by a person. This includes people taking items from their own faction they do not normally have access to.

If money or items are taken via threat of harassment see '''Extortion/Blackmail'''.

If the item is extremely expensive or irreplaceable see '''Grand Theft'''.
|Timer of no more than 10 minutes or a fine of 50 coins with the addition of the item(s) being returned.

If the stolen item(s) cannot be recovered then the offender may be forced to pay the item(s) cost to the victim. If the offender cannot see '''Defaulting on Debt'''.

|-
| §106
|Minor Contraband
|To be in possession of contraband, including drugs, that isn't dangerous to other members of the safe zone.

Contraband is often considered items that are being or can easily be misused. For example, hallucinogenics added to unsuspecting individuals drinks can land a contraband charge. Using them for your own personal enjoyment is not. Discretion is offered for those placing the charge.

|Items that can only be misused, such as highly cursed or dangerous magical items, should be considered contraband.

If any threat is made even with a harmless piece of contraband, such as an illusionary weapon, '''Assault''' and '''Extortion''' should apply.

If someone has a justified reason for having said item, that should be kept into account.

|Timer of no more than 15 minutes

Or a fine of up to 75 coins.

Contraband must be confiscated off the offender and placed into evidence.

|-
| §107
|Suspicious Conduct
|To wield a dangerous weapon near other residents, to extensively inquire about critical areas, attempt to conceal one's identity in public, to attempt to impersonate other people, or actively stalking other employees.
|This charge applies to those who purposefully brandish weapons, such as held in their hands or at the ready, near other staff as non-enforcers when not in a state of alert.

Concealing one's identity with a mask, attempting to do another faction's job while capable staff are present or posing as a staff member in another faction.

|Timer of no more than 5 minutes or aging of up to 25 coins.

Immediate search on the person and known residence should be commuted. Tracking runes may be issued upon repeat offenses or cases where enforcers concerns are raised.

|-
| §108
|Trespass
|To be in an area which a person does not have access to, without permission from those who do have access. Public spaces, such as a faction lobby, the bar, or the kitchen also apply if asked to vacate the area by relevant faction staff. Those with access typically should not be in those areas unless they have a good reason or permission from the faction's relevant staff.

'''enforcers personnel and council members conducting colony related investigations may not be asked or made to leave if they have access to that area normally.'''
|Trespassing is typically accompanied with other crimes such as '''Vandalism''', if doors are broken through or wires are cut, or '''Theft''' if items are stolen.

If the offender breaks into the brig, any command quarters, or other sensitive areas see '''Infiltration'''.
|Timer of no more than 5 minutes

Or a fine of up to 25 coins.

|-
| §109
|Rubbernecking
|Arriving at the scene of an emergency situation with no other intention than to see what happens or further escalate the issue.
|This charge does not apply to staff that are in some way aiding in a situation; such as stand-by medical staff.

This charge does however apply to people who have no interest or ability to help. If the offender actively blocks a hallway see '''Illegal Blocking of Areas'''.
|Forceful removal from the area. Detainment until the situation in question has been resolved.

If another crime is committed during this removal; eg resisting arrest or battery, add an extra 5 minutes to the offenders timer.

|-
| §110
|Threat of Murder or Serious Injury
|To threaten to kill, maim, seriously injure an employee.
|For this charge to be applicable intent must be shown or repetitive behavior. Such as: Either threatening openly on coms to seriously hurt or kill a resident, previous violent convictions approaching while threatening a resident, or if a resident was to chase another member or make threatening gestures.

If gestures include a weapon, see '''Assault''' as additional charge. If the offender stalks the victim see '''Suspicious Conduct''' as an additional charge.

|Timer of no more than 15 minutes

Or a fine of up to 75 coins.

|-
| §111
|Sending a time wasting telegraph; See [[Telegraphs]]
|To send a telegraph to a faction leader or its allies that is considered unnecessary or unneeded. Do note that in [[Telegraphs]] it outlines what is and isn't a time wasting fax.
|This charge can only be given by a faction owner, not by heads of staff.
|15 minute in a cell or a fine up to 75 coins.

|-
| §112
|Violation of an Injunction
|To violate the terms of an injunction made by the penumbra or other legal professions.
|Injunctions can be filed for lots of different things, such as a ban on weapons carrying, or the above comms ban. They can be applied by the penumbra only. If they break the law in some other way, apply that sentence too.
|Timer of no more than 15 minutes.

No fine may be issued on this charge.

|-
| §113
|Public Indecency
|To be in public colony areas or faction departments, in nudity or doing explicit sexual activities.
|This charge is specific for instances where residents are roaming around the Safe Zone, nude, partially nude, or are doing sexual activities that are meant to remain behind closed personal quarters.

What is considered partial nudity will be broken down for both genders. Men are allowed to roam shirtless but may not roam around without pants or shorts. An agent can request a male resident to put a shirt on, or order them to if there is reason to believe that they are doing sexual activities. Females are allowed to go without a top so long as there is a proper cover over their breasts. They are not allowed to roam around without a skirt, pants, or shorts.
|Timer of no more than 15 minutes.

Or a fine of 50 coins.
|}

==Moderate Charges==

{| style="background-color:#ffee99; text-align:center;" width="1000px" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! style="background-color:#ffaa55;" |Crime Code
! style="background-color:#ffaa55; width:100px" |Name of Code
! style="background-color:#ffaa55; width:300px" |Description
! style="background-color:#ffaa55; width:300px" |Notes
! style="background-color:#ffaa55;" |Timer
|-
| §201
|Failure to Obey Safety Protocol
|To willfully ignore safety measures keeping residents out of a crisis zone.
|Non-rune masters opening sealed doors, civilians breaking down enforcers barriers, or anyone ignoring caution tape without being qualified to handle whatever is behind it, are all examples of this.

If a resident is killed because of it, add Manslaughter to the charges.

Being trapped inside a dangerous area and just trying to escape doesn't count toward this.

|Timer of no more than 20 minutes.

|-
| §202
|Obstruction of Duty
|To negatively interfere with the duties of the crew.
|Pushing a enforcers agent trying to make an arrest, ignoring or ripping down caution tape, opening firelocks into a disaster area, dragging injured personnel away from doctors trying to treat them, or any other form of getting in the way; especially during an emergency. Making false or malicious emergency calls that take personnel away from their other duties also comes under this.

If a resident is injured because of this, see '''Assault'''. If serious damage occurs because of this, see '''Sabotage'''. If a resident dies because of this, see '''Manslaughter'''.
|Timer of no more than 20 minutes

Or a fine of no more than 125 coins.

|-
| §203
|Illegal Detention, Arrest or Holding
|To arrest, brig, or punish a resident without proper cause or reason, or in violation of due process procedure.
|This is mainly for agents or breakers who believe they are THE LAW. Also applies to kidnapping. Excessive/disproportionate time spent processing or questioning may fall under this category for minor crimes.
|Timer of no more than 30 minutes.

Demotion at the decision of the Penumbra or Hammerlord where applicable.

|-
| §204
|Assault
|To cause physical harm or mild injury to another resident, or brandishing a deadly weapon with the intent of causing or threatening such an injury.
|Anything beyond a few punches like in '''Battery'''. It has to be bad enough that a few bandages or pills won't fix it. This also includes poisoning with drugs, or using hallucinogens. Use of non-lethal ammunition, or other less-than-lethal means, without just cause counts as assault.

See ‘’’Aggravated Assault’’’ if any lethal ammunition are used, or if the victim suffers a broken bone or notable life-threatening hospitalization. See '''Attempted Murder''' if the intent was to kill. See ‘’’Threat of Murder or Serious Injury``` as a secondary charge to any threats made while brandishing a weapon with a stated threat to murder.
|Timer of no more than 20 minutes.

Any cost of medical treatment must be paid immediately to the victim by the offender. If the offender cannot afford the medical treatment cost, see ```Defaulting on Debt.```

|-
| §205
|Extortion, Blackmail and/or Bribery
|To attempt to blackmail, extort or bribe an individual either financially or other.
|This includes using ones position, influence, or finances be they departmental or personal to force another into performing a specific action or give payment against their will. This does not include a head of staff docking an employees pay for failing to do their job or refusing to follow orders, all required work is considered agreed on prior to employment and outlined ahead of time.

If a bribery is accepted both parties are to be charged with this.

|Timer of no more than 20 minutes.

If physical exchange of an item or coins takes place the item or currency should be confiscated.

Demotion possible at the decision of the faction head.

|-
| §206
|Escaping from Confinement / Debt
|To escape from confinement as a convict who was serving a non-life sentence or was awaiting judgement. This also applies to fleeing a forced labor contract.
|For cases of HuT prisoners attempting escape see '''Escaping from HuT'''.
|Reset original timer for offenses committed and add an additional 20 minutes for escaping.

|-
| §207
|Resisting Arrest or Sparking a Manhunt
|To not cooperate with an agent who attempts a proper arrest, or to cause a manhunt by hiding from enforcers. Refusing a lawful search can also get you charged with 209.
|Refusing handcuffs is not resisting arrest. Refusing handcuffs and refusing to come to the brig is resisting arrest. So is pushing the agent trying to arrest you, or running away. Actively hiding or running away is what this law is for.

An agent should take into account their reason for not reporting to enforcers immediately as well. For example, a guild master trying to stop the engine from exploding probably shouldn't be charged with resisting arrest if they ignore the fact that enforcers wants to give them a vandalism fine for breaking a wall earlier.

Likewise, if anyone in enforcers has threatened them with harm, not just arrest, they're somewhat justified in hiding.

|Timer of no more than 20 minutes.

|-
| §208
|Excessive Use of Force
|To use more than the required force to subdue a suspect as a enforcers member.
|Examples of this charge include using force against an unarmed and compliant suspect and usage of lethal weapons without there being imminent peril.

Investigations into allegations of excessive use of force may be launched by any head of staff.
|Timer of no more than 30 minutes

Or a fine of no more than 200 coins paid to the victim.

|-
| §209
|Forgery
|To falsify official documents, records or orders.
|Examples of this crime include a telegraph to issue orders posing as the High Council or a superior, falsifying a medical prescription or falsifying ones records to pose as either more certified or to fake eligibility for job positions. For abuse of "He had it coming" see 309.
|Timer of no more than 15 minutes and an immediate search

Or a fine of up to 75 coins.

|-
| §210
|Disrespect of the Dead
|To abuse bodies of dead or previously dead people. Acts may range from non-medical or scientific desecration of a corpse to cannibalistic acts.
|Examples include, the chef using bodies in the morgue as meat, enforcers beating on a prisoners corpse, or using someone's body for 'experimental surgery' without consent. Preventing a body from being repaired or restored also falls under this. Bodies rendered incapable of wound repair count as '''Murder''' instead. Those who consume body parts are to be considered hostile to all and its well-being; being held in HuT and may have additional charges placed on them.
|Timer of no more than 25 minutes.

If the corpse is in anyway consumed, or eaten, the suspect should immediately be put into HuT and be examined by the exalted or rosaria to determine if they are a monster in disguise. Execution for said crime may be viable via Low Council vote.

Or a fine of no more than 125 coins.

This does not apply to destroying undead bodies, even if they were former residents. A zombie is a dangerous entity and should be destroyed.

|-
| §211
|Sexual Harassment
|To make unwanted sexual advances or obscene remarks towards another resident.
|This charge is for cases of unwanted sexual comments after the victim has requested they cease or are clearly uncomfortable and do not reciprocate.

For anything escalating from this, such as unwanted physical contact in a sexual manner, see '''Sexual Assault'''.
|Timer of no more than 10 minutes alongside a 250 coin fine.

Injunction of ‘no contact’ between the offender and victim should be placed.
|}

==Major Offenses==
{| style="background-color:#ffcc99; text-align:center;" width="1000px" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! style="background-color:#ffaa55;" |Charge Number
! style="background-color:#ffaa55; width:100px" |Name of Charge
! style="background-color:#ffaa55; width:300px" |Description
! style="background-color:#ffaa55; width:300px" |Notes
! style="background-color:#ffaa55;" |Timer
|-
| §301
|Negligence
|To fail to perform a job to a satisfactory standard, or to create a dangerous situation without taking proper precautions.
|This can be due to honest, or dishonest mistakes. This is usually because an faction member ignored Standard Operating Procedure and an accident occurred because of that. This charge also applies to creating a hazardous area or otherwise introducing a hazard to an area without proper permission or precautions. For example: Putting excessive power into the grid and reasoning it's the residents's fault if they get shocked, and so on.

If a resident is killed because of it, see '''Manslaughter'''.
|Timer of no more than 25 minutes.

|-
| §302
|Failure to Execute an Order with Serious Consequences
|To ignore or disregard a superior's valid orders, which then causes serious damage to property or life.
|While similar to '''Failure to Execute''' an Order this charge is applied if a member of the colony is injured via the refusal of an order or if notable damage to the colony is done via refusing to follow an order.

Examples are rosaria ignoring theexalted while patients are piling up in medical wing, etc.

If the refusal to follow an order results in death, see '''Manslaughter'''.
|Timer of no more than 25 minutes.

|-
| §303
|Fraudulent, Excessive, Incorrect Charges or providing false testimony
|To punish a resident in excess for their crime, to give a resident incorrect punishment, or to give fraudulent charges that are not valid. This charge also includes false or misleading statements to charge another person with a crime.
|This includes stacking multiple charges for the same offense (i.e. being charged with theft 3 times for 3 items stolen from the same person, being charged multiple times with trespassing for each room unlawfully entered etc. etc.), providing false testimonies and statements during an investigation (intent does not matter here, if the investigator feels the interviewee mislead them, they do not need to prove intent to do so).

This also applies to cases of planted evidence, confiscation of contraband that was unreasonably deemed so or gross errors in sentencing or levied charges.
|Timer of no more than 30 minutes.

Demotion for the rest of the work shift at the discretion of the penumbra or hammerlord where applicable.

|-
| §304
|Aggravated Assault
|To cause severe injury to another employee or resident, typically requiring invasive surgery or resulting in life-threatening physical harm.
|This is in reference to any form of assault that causes shrapnel, broken bones, severe bleeding, or otherwise rendering a victim into a state of critical condition. Shrapnel left in one’s body may count.
|Timer of no more than 30 minutes.

Any cost of medical treatment must be paid immediately to the victim by the offender. If the offender cannot afford the medical treatment cost, see ```Defaulting on Debt.```

|-
| §305
|Abuse of Confiscated Equipment
|To take and use equipment confiscated as evidence.
|Evidence such as even weapons should never be taken and used by enforcers; even in cases of emergency.
|Timer of no more than 30 minutes.

Demotion for the duration of the shift at the discretion of the hammerlord or penumbra where applicable.

|-
| §306
|Illegal Blocking of Areas
|To make an area inaccessible for those with appropriate access.
|Bolting doors or departments in which the offender does not have access to, taping off areas larger than needed or sealing off doors longer than needed.

This does not apply to situations that are needed, such as Guild critical repairs, or within SoP.

|Timer of no more than 25 minutes.

|-
| §307
|Infiltration
|To attempt to, or successfully, enter a high-enforcers area without authorization.
|Areas include the gatehouse, colony fence, bridge, head of staff room, virology, toxin storage or other essential high-enforcers areas.

If trespass into the vault, armory or AI upload occurs see '''Grand Trespass'''.
|Timer of no more than 30 minutes.

|-
| §308
|Organizing a Breakout
|To attempt, or succeed, in freeing criminals from the brig or other holding areas.
|This includes breaking windows, barriers or hacking through doors either to break out of prison or to help a prisoner escape.
|Timer of no more than 30 minutes.

|-
| §309
|Severe Use of Excessive Force
|Critically injuring a resident in defense of yourself or others while they no longer pose a threat, or seriously injuring a suspect while attempting to detain them.
|Severely injuring a resident attacking you or others with no obvious threat to life, or panicking and shooting a suspect to near-death. Subjects who cannot be cuffed and have their legs broken as a result do not count if the subject refused to comply after 3 warnings and a witness is available to confirm each warning. Applicable to enforcers who run afoul with an incorrectly applied 'he had it coming' clause.

|Timer of no more than 40 minutes.

|-
| §310
|Breach of Salvage Rights
|To violate salvage rights by means of theft, 'claim jumping', or otherwise taking undue action against a rightful claimant.
|The consideration of the stolen item(s) value should be taken into account when issuing this charge. This charge may ```NOT``` be placed alongside any theft or grand-theft charges.
|Any stolen items should be returned to the proper salvage-claim holder. If the items are non-recoverable, or have been sold off, the offender is to repay that market-price of the stolen items to the victim. If the offender is not able to pay, apply specialty charge ```001 - Defaulting on Debt```.

A timer of no more than 20 minutes may be issued on the offender alongside a 25 credit fine. As defined, whoever has salvage claims is the first person or group to enter a room or territory.

|-
| §311
|Animal Cruelty
|To inflict unnecessary suffering or harm upon animals with malicious intent.
|Monkeys appropriately used for experiments or resident well-being don't count. Shoving them in washing machines, or throwing them through disposals while still alive falls under this. Using them as food is a grey area; cows are generally fine, but monkey cubes and the like probably aren't.

Creatures typically considered pests (those that are by default hostile such as roaches or spiders) are not protected under this law if they aren't being kept in private areas such as personal dorms, or are fully tamed by a resident. Tamed in this case means that they will not attack other residents, or damage safe zone infrastructure.
|Timer of no more than 20 minutes.

Fine may be issued to cover the animals treatment if still alive. If not a 75 credit fine may be levied on top of the brig timer.

If any named safe zone pet that are normally around on shift start (this does not include ones made in-round unless specific by the High Council through fax/announcement) was targeted, it is an automatic 90 minute sentence.

|}

==Exceptional Offenses==
{| style="background-color:#ffaa99; text-align:center;" width="1000px" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! style="background-color:#ff8855;" |Charge Number
! style="background-color:#ff8855; width:100px" |Name of Charge
! style="background-color:#ff8855; width:300px" |Description
! style="background-color:#ff8855; width:300px" |Notes
! style="background-color:#ff8855; width:300px" |Timer
|-
| §401
|Sabotage
|To hinder the efforts of the crew or station with malicious intent.
|This includes causing breaches, sabotaging air supplies, stealing vital equipment, etc. The intent is probably the most important bit here.

If the act is to purposefully cause imminent peril or to aid a hostile faction see '''Terrorism'''.
|Timer of no more than 45 minutes

|-
| §403
|Exceeding Official Powers
|To act beyond what is allowed by the chain of command.
|This is for anyone who abuses the power given to them, such as an agent attempting to brig someone, a second in command trying to over rule his head of staff, or a head of staff acting like a high council member.
|Timer of no more than 40 minutes.

Demotion at the behest of the faction head.

If a head of staff is responsible for over reaching a telegraph should be sent to the High Council to investigate a possible demotion.

|-
| §404
|Manslaughter
|To kill a resident without malice or forethought.
|This includes causing death due to negligence or dereliction of duty. Can also be used as punishment for excessive self-defense.
|Timer of no more than 50 minutes.

Tracking implant upon release at the discretion of the WO.

|-
| §405
|Grand Theft
|To steal items that are of a dangerous, of high value, or of sensitive nature.
|This means high-value weapons or explosives, and also includes items of singular importance such as the residential blueprints, the hammerlords main weapon, or items not easily replaced / are not replicable.

Items from the ascendant, such as rune lanterns, rune plates, and unique magical objects are sole property of the church, they may demand them back regardless of how the person in question obtained them. Failure to do so is considered grand theft and failure to execute a lawful order.

|Timer of no more than 45 minutes and confiscation of stolen items.

If items cannot be recovered the offender is forced to monetarily compensate for the loss.

|-
| §406
|Mistreatment of Prisoners
|To intentionally act, or cause an act that puts a non-hostile prisoner's well-being in danger.
|Preventing proper treatment from being given to a prisoner, abusing a prisoner, and preventing them from having access to a viable method of communication.

In the event that a prisoner dies because of mistreatment, the charge is immediately upgraded to either '''Murder or Manslaughter''', depending on intent.
|Timer of no more than 45 minutes.

Demotion at the decision of the hammerlord.
|}

==Capital Offenses==
{| style="background-color:#ffaa99; text-align:center;" width="1000px" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! style="background-color:#ff8855;" |Charge Number
! style="background-color:#ff8855; width:100px" |Name of Charge
! style="background-color:#ff8855; width:300px" |Description
! style="background-color:#ff8855; width:300px" |Notes
! style="background-color:#ff8855; width:300px" |Timer
|-
| §501
|Terrorism
|To engage in maliciously destructive actions, which seriously threaten the residents of the safe zone or even the safe zone's integrity as a whole.
|This includes deliberate arson, hostage taking, use of bombs, etc. In cases of terrorism, the Ashlord Tarkus must be informed.
|Holding until Judgement.

Execution is encouraged; especially if deaths are caused by the action.

Possible permanent removal from the safe zone.

|-
| §502
|Mutiny
|To openly rebel against or attempt to remove command staff with violent intent to remove the command staff from power.
|One’s motive is important. If a resident is just angry at a head of staff and murders them in a fit of rage, that's just regular murder. On the other hand, trying to take over the faction through violent means, lethal or not, is mutiny.
|Holding until Judgement.

Execution is an option.

|-
| §504
|Murder or Attempted Murder
|To willfully and intentionally kill or attempt to kill a residential member or an ally. Or to prevent a rightful revival or else render a resident unrevivable through clear action.
|Clear intent is needed to prove a case of murder over manslaughter. While Manslaughter is unintentionally causing death through accident, or unintended consequences, Murder is a purposeful act with the intent to take the life of another.

Attempts to cover up an incident of Manslaughter may necessitate a charge of murder due to pre/post meditative evidence.
Additionally, should proof positive be obtained that indicates premeditation the penalty should be automatically adjusted to H.U.T and the low council should convene to determine if more extreme penalties are warranted, up to and including execution.

|If the victim is able to be revived a timer of no less than 90 minutes may be issued. The Council may meet to determine if this sentence be should be upgraded to HuT.

If the victim is deemed unable to be revived, such as through the destruction of a brain or body, execution may be issued at the behest of the Council.

Colony residents who commit murder '''should not be revived''' if they die unless stated otherwise by the Council.

|-
| §505
|Espionage
|To gain access to in-house or proprietary designs, documents, artifacts, or otherwise vital assets of a faction.
|Whether by theft, trespass, or buying such items without the departmental head's explicitly written and shown permission.

Note that this does '''NOT''' include stealing items themselves, such as constructed ascendant items or items purchased through the blackwood supply depot -- only the theft of the item itself or the designs to make more.

|Hold until Transfer. The stolen proprietary assets should be returned to the faction or ally they were stolen from immediately unless they are directly required to be used as evidence in a tribunal. Any items gathered or created with the proprietary assets should be given to the faction or ally as well.

|-
| §506
|Grand Trespass
|To trespass into an area of high security such as an telemancy rooms or the breaker armory without any reason to be there; especially when a head of staff or personnel with access to said area is present.
|This does not apply to emergency situations in which a member may not be active. In rare cases, such as a code ruby incident, it may be required that staff without access enter secure areas. This requires '''proper reasoning''' such as a case of imminent threat to the colony itself or it’s inheritance; such as a hostile invasion.
|Holding until Transfer.

|-
| §507
|Escaping from HuT Sentence
|To attempt or successfully escape from the brig or other holding area when serving a holding until transfer sentence.
|The offender must have been properly judged by tribunal for holding until transfer to be legally issued.
|Execution.

A tribunal is not required under this circumstance, and is the only case where this is currently so. Attempts to escape should result in immediate execution and a 'do-not-revive' order.

Possible permanent removal from the colony.

|-
| §508
|Wrongful Execution
|To execute a resident who later turned out to be innocent.
|This only counts when a tribunal was held and the order was given to execute a resident or an ally based on faulty or poor evidence that is later debunked by additional evidence. If the tribunal process is skipped, or is carried out incorrectly such as having no premier sign off, then murder is added to the charges.

The penumbra is punished and any individuals who deliberately produced false evidence are charged with '''Murder'''. Those who unintentionally provided incorrect evidence are charged with '''Manslaughter''' and '''Negligence'''.

It is also required to contact with Ashlord Tarkus if this happens.

|Immediate demotion, suspension from command for a time determined by the High Council and holding until transfer.

Ashlord Tarkus may overrule or specify specifics to this punishment/timer.

|-
| §509
|Slavery
|To force someone to work for no payment through force, threats or purposefully neglecting to pay them. To abuse someone and hold them against their will is also applicable; see §203 (Illegal Detention, Arrest or Holding).
|This charge does not apply to the modifier '''Forced Labor''' unless it extends over 2 hours or is otherwise stated.

It is very possible that other charges may apply as the person might have been abused in some way or held against their will as well as robbed of their personal belongings. Make sure to charge the individual with all crimes committed.

|Timer of up to 60 minutes may be issued or, in cases where other crimes put the timer over 90 minutes, HuT may be issued.

|-
| §513
|Sexual Assault
|To assault, or attempt to assault, someone else sexually, including rape.
|This charge exists as a means to handle non-con scenes ICly, such as but not limited to: A player OOCly not consenting to a scene and reporting it. '''A-help staff when dealing with these charges.'''
|Permanent removal from the colony or execution.
|}

== Commentaries and Clarifications ==
* '''Enforcers''': These means breaks, agents, and the penumbra in general. A catch all term for law enforcers.
* '''Common Areas''': Generally understood to be publicly accessible areas of the colony that are owned and maintained by the colony rather than as part of an individual faction.
* '''Lethal Firearm''': A gun loaded or set to a fire mode that's main purpose is to inflict damage to put a person into a critical conduction and or kill. Rubbers when shot out of a gun that has mods to inflict additional damage onto the bullet itself automatically count as lethal.
* '''Dismissal''': Changing ID title to "Dismissed", which has zero access. Requires the judgement of the prisoner's head of staff or the council to be valid.
* '''Demotion''': Can be demoted down to and including the resident position. Requires the judgment of the prisoner's head of staff or the council to be valid.
* '''Empowering''': Illegal acquiring of access.
* '''Execution''': Prisoner is killed via means of firing squad, lethal injection, or other means. It is required for the premier to be present or an execution may not proceed. It is required to offer the prisoner the option of how they prefer to die. They should also be offered a last meal. It is not required to follow these preferences if they are deemed unreasonable or impossible. In all cases of execution, respective faction owners should be informed of the execution and the crimes leading up to it. (( A PK may be applicable in this situation. See [[Permanent Death]] for OOC details. ))
* '''Head of Staff''': Refers to the Hammerlord, Exalted, and Merchant or those acting as one in their place such as the speaker, master of the forge, or penumbra.
* '''Imminent Peril''': A situation in which there is an apparent and immediate threat of serious injury or death, and it is not possible to escape this threat. Obvious examples are shooting someone trying to stab people. A less obvious example is shooting someone trying to sabotage Atmospherics. Lethal force is justified in such a situation because there's no other options remaining.
* '''HuJ / Holding Until Judgement''': Held (in the brig) until a tribunal is done, or the shift ends. Whichever happens first.
* '''HuT / Holding Until Transfer''': Held (in the brig) until the shift ends. This becomes HuJ when a tribunal is being held for the prisoner.
* '''Severe Injury''': A state in which the victim is in a critical condition and is having difficulty maintaining consciousness.

Demotion and dismissal also require the removal of equipment from the previous job. Uniforms, weapons, bombs, PDA cartridges, etc.

Serving sentences in jail can be replaced with forced labor in some cases.

'''In cases where the final sentence is more than 90 minutes, it is changed to holding until judgment.'''

The standard penalty can be applied without a tribunal by enforcers agents. Tribunals can assign lesser or higher ones, depending on the circumstances.

== OOC Notes ==
* It's vital to know that the involvement of faction owners means involvement of admins. However, if that happens, admins will try to keep in character. Ergo, the character is '''not''' going to magically know attack logs or fingerprints or anything else they don't know IC, because it's like playing a game with cheat codes. It's fun to screw off for a little while, but then it's going to get really boring.
** The above also applies in the case of admins playing normal enforcers.
** The only exception to the above is in the case of potentially removing a character from the game. See [[Permanent Death]] for details. Admins are not going to PK someone who they know OOCly didn't actually do the crime. If you are guilty though an a execution happens, the chance of permanent removal is extremely high. Contact an admin to find out if an executed character has been removed forever.
* '''Laws ARE NOT RULES for the server itself!''' That means, so long as you have a believable in-character motive for breaking these regulations, you won't get banned for it, especially if good roleplay is your end goal. Conversely, if you're just going around smashing windows for shits and giggles, you're ''obviously'' going to get yelled at by an admin. See [[Rules|the actual server rules]] for more details.

Hellbent

2025-10-14T20:43:06Z

Possum:

The strange aspect of racketeering, is often a result of circumstances and opportunities, rather than the goal of a nefarious mind. Yorrick, a man no different than most racketeers, was just such a circumstance. He was a ticket conductor at the train station of Daggard Keep, working seven days a week from morning to evening before returning to his quite nice apartment. A young human man, Yorrick was friendly, approachable, good looking, and most importantly charismatic enough to be convincing.

The station with which he worked was the Shining Iron railway, a bustling platform that consisted of multiple tracks going in and out of the city, the gray stone floors covered in well-worn red carpets, which stretched in front of wooden benches laced in soft, cushiony upholstery. It naturally complimented the red-carpet floors with coal black shades, the main seating area was tastefully decorated with curtained windows facing the platform. The uncovered walls made of fine wooden paneling marred only by three large signs advertising departures, arrivals, and delays. Impressively, on the platform outside was a quite advanced and new age vending machine that was kept away from the peaceful interior due to the rather loud noises it's grinding gears made when used. Yorrick made use of it several times when it was first installed, fascinated by the way the gears ground and the soft hum of the mana-battery inside that cooled the beverages. It was his favorite part of the job, always having fresh and ice-cold drinks whenever he wished. It certainly made wearing his uniform easier. He did not mind the tasteful blue jacket, nor the cream-colored white undershirt or tan linen pants, but the hat always annoyed him. It was a bowler meant to set him apart from the porters, deep blue with a white crest to signify him as the ticket master. Well, it was a trade Yorrick always concluded, a silly hat for his wage and his side business.

Yorrick’s racket did not start intentionally, nor was it his plan when he was hired. It sprang about because many tourists traveling from the Warren Federation were often first-time arrivals. They would ask him for directions to the nearest hotels, restaurants, bordellos, or other various businesses. At first, he relied on the knowledge he had gained from living in this particular city all his life, directing these often times foreign travelers to where he personally approved. However, it did not take long before he was approached by one of the owners of a nearby hotel. This owner wanted an edge over his competitors and thus was willing to pay young Yorrick a small sum of money each week if he began directing people to his hotel.

Yorrick, being a cunning man, accepted and began getting what he saw as a harmless bonus. From that one humble start an entire racket was born because Yorrick thought to himself, why stop here? Over time he contacted various businesses, managers, and employees of popular tourist spots. Discretely and without quite admitting what he was doing while offering “advertising” at a competitive rate. Whoever gave him the highest payment that month got the most customers sent their way. A few years passed, Yorrick’s co-workers and his own manager having no idea of his growing side business as the sole ticket conductor of the Shining Iron railway company. The station was a particularly busy one most days after all, the bustling platform seeing the departure and arrival of all manner of people. From soldiers, to business men, to would-be adventurers and travelers. Yorrick met all manner of people and sent each on their way in turn with an easy smile and polite words.

But, for poor Yorrick, his efforts did not go unnoticed. In time, his business caught the eye of a more organized and nefarious group. Yorrick was approached one day by a rather rough looking orc outside his apartment door and was offered a deal that seemed far to good to be true. The orc told him that each week he would be given a hefty sum of money and in return all he must do is never approach, speak with, or mention a certain woman who would appear at the train station each morning. He must bring this woman a cup of tea and scone each day and never interact with her otherwise. Yorrick, suspecting that refusal might be dangerous and seeing easy money, took the offer. The orc handed him an envelope of his payment and Yorrick never saw him again.

The next morning Yorrick arrived to work with a sealed thermos of hot green tea and a fresh scone from his favorite bakery. The only person there was the woman he was to avoid, a lagus woman of a towering height. She wore a fine traditional dress, exposed at the shoulders and low cut to the edge of her rather endowed chest upheld by a corset. A wide brim hat and colored feathers adorned her head between two large rabbit ears that twitched in his direction at his approach. She was reading a book as Yorrick came up, conscious of his non-interaction the two met eyes in a single glance when she looked up before he set the tea and scone next to her. He offered a small bow and went to his ticket station to begin his day.

Over time, Yorrick grew steadily accustomed to this woman. Each day he brought her a tea and scone and each day he watched her eat and read. His spying, of course, was discrete. He made sure to never stare or look at her directly and went about his day with the same cheerful smile and normality he always had. Yet, as novelty is a fleeting thing, he soon found a routine with this strange woman. Even when he began finding his weekly envelopes of money directly delivered to his apartment he was not quite alarmed. Familiarity did not quiet his curiosity, however. She rarely interacted with anyone, sometimes she spoke in passing, once or twice a rather average looking person would sit next to her and strike up a conversation. Each time she would close her book and speak in soft low tones that Yorrick could never overhear and yet he could see her smile and laugh at times.

In a way he was becoming fascinated because to him it was like seeing a picture slowly taking shape. When he was a younger boy, Yorrick and the merry lads he called friends had often traveled to Old Man’s Lookout outside the vaunted walls of the city. This spot was named after the curious formation of stone that looked like the kind face of an old man forever staring out from his rocky home. It was a rite of passage for younger boys to go there and see the face. At first, it was just rocks and one could see nothing. Yet the longer one looked, the more carefully one traced the lines, cracks, and crags, they began to see. There it was, Old Man, and then you could never unsee it. Every time from that point forward you would look upon that stone hill and see that smiling face. The rocks, crags, and cracks ceased to be and the man took its place.

That is what Yorrick felt, watching this woman over the span of weeks, that he was seeing the picture begin to form. Noticing details of others was a skill that Yorrick had developed a long time ago, picking up the unsure or confused aura that foreigners gave off so that Yorrick could sweep in and help with directions and aid. What he saw watching this woman was that she was keenly aware of not only him, but of everyone on the station platform. She was looking for someone or something. Stranger still, some of the average normal looking people who sat by her and struck up a conversation were not strangers if one looked carefully enough. There was too much ease, too much casualness that it became a facade to a critical eye. The only person that Yorrick felt was a truly random encounter of those she knew was a particularly ugly ogre. Yorrick sensed that he might have seen this ogre before, perhaps among the local homeless vagabonds given his tarnished crown, food-stained vest, and dirty blue cloak, but he could not quite place him. The surprise that he read from the woman’s gaze was proof enough this was not a planned occurrence.

Sadly, he was stuck at the counter for some time helping various customers needing help with ticket purchases, train departures, and other business he was far less interested in. It wasn’t until he could flag down a porter to take his place for a moment that he could wander closer to the pair. He busied himself with tidying a pamphlet rack while straining to listen to the duo among the busy station. Yet all he could make out was the word business and something about magic. What little else he could have gotten was left a mystery as the porter was suddenly swamped with passengers and Yorrick had to move to assist.

After that day, Yorrick's keen interest had now become an obsession. He began to build a profile in his head of what this woman was doing, who she might be, what system she was a part of, and more importantly why it was so important to pay him not to mention her to anyone. She was a lagus, the tall lapine folk of the federation and thus was likely psionic to some degree. Yorrick was sure she was, after his observations noted her staring discretely and intently at various travelers. To what extent her psionics ability went he was unsure, but if she could read minds, he was positive he would have lost his weekly bonus now that he was more actively prying. If she could not read minds, his methods so far had gone undetected. He now branched outwards, noting details of those she spoke to and those she was observing more carefully whenever she looked up from her books.

A key set of characteristics began to form, details that would be easily overlooked were he not paying attention. First, of those she spoke to in more than passing Yorrick noted that each one was a federation race. A rodentfolk, a kobold, a lagus, rarely did he see her talk at length with those not from her own homeland. He could put this down to familiarity, that a familiar face made even those in passing look more fondly and openly to a stranger. Yet the second detail that he began to notice made him think more was going on. Nearly all of them wore the same ring, a simple band of steel that was likely a wedding band, decoration, or perhaps a sign of fellowship.

That was important, Yorrick noted, as he was being paid good money each week that nearly matched his racketeering business to do next to nothing. Whatever group she belonged to must be well connected and operates with discretion, so a simple sign of fellowship like a steel ring would be a perfect way to identify each other. Of those this woman took keen interest into, Yorrick could find no pattern that could connect them. Whatever her business was it eluded him no matter how much time he pondered and racked his mind for connections he simply could not make. He was forced to bide his time, observant and careful, bringing her the tea and scone each morning with his small bow and not once speaking to her despite the fact she occupied his every thought as weeks became months.

In a way, as Yorrick’s bank account swelled between his payment, his wage, and his racket, he fell into the same opportunity and chance that lead him here to begin with. On a slow drizzling day of light rain, a bit chilly, Yorrick found himself sitting behind a desk in a nearly empty station. His usual porter had called off that day, an unexpected pipe bursting at the man’s home left him calling out of work. His manager did not show up that day but Yorrick expected that, the lazy bastard rarely came into work if the weather was anything but pure sunshine. So he ran the place as a one man show, as the conductors remained on their trains and gave only a passing wave as they rolled by on the tracks.

Of the platform, only the lagus woman and a singular orc man were there. She was reading her usual book while the orc, sitting a few benches down, was reading the morning paper. He had a comfortable business suit, gray in tone and likely just passing through. Yorrick was dully going through the schedule, feeling a touch lazy himself with the weather and the normally bustling station now silent. He almost did not notice when the woman closed her book quietly and stood up. Her nine foot form caught his eye as she moved towards the orc. She remained behind the greenskinned man, beneath his notice as she withdrew a large wicked looking black dagger from her sleeve. Yorrick could hardly believe what he was seeing. The quiet, the calm and pleasant morning broken as this woman he had become obsessed with understanding suddenly drove her dagger into the orc’s spine, one huge hand covering his tusked lips and stifling his scream. She twisted the blade, the barest hint of a bloodied ragged wound seen before she jerked his head back and snapped his neck. Even in his shock, Yorrick noted a blood freezing detail, that the motion was done so carefully, so precise, that barely a drop of blood seeped into the orc’s clothes.

She was already moving, leaving the blade in the man’s neck as she lifted the orc’s arm over her shoulder and hoisted him unto her back. She turned and began to walk towards Yorrick, long legs striding as he tried to keep a lid of his panic. “Open the break room door.” She said, her tone neither sweet nor polite as he had often overheard. It was cruel and forceful, Yorrick almost did not do it, he almost turned and ran from behind the counter and towards the door. Then she was blocking the way behind the counter, looking at him coldly, waiting for compliance. Without a word Yorrick did as he was told, opening the door and walking inside before she followed. “Lay out the luggage tarp on the ground, quickly.” She said, shifting the weight of the corpse.

The backroom was little more than a somewhat large storage room forced to serve the multi-purpose function of being an office, break room, meal hall, and locker room for the six employees managing the station. It was sparsely decorated and had little more than a few maintenance items or office supplies scattered about on a few racks and a table. It was a familiar spot, where Yorrick often ate or took his rare breaks and yet now it was dominated by a murderer and the dead body she carried. Yorrick moved in a daze, not quite believing the reality he was now living as he grabbed the tarp covering the rack it had been tossed on and threw it on the floor. A moment of silence passed, the woman staring at him with those same dark eyes before he realized his mistake and reached down to open and spread the tarp out. Absurdly, he almost laughed, feeling foolish and nearly doubling his panicked mirth for even thinking that he was feeling foolish after witnessing a man be mercilessly slaughtered. The lagus dropped the corpse onto the tarp indifferently, her hands now free she began to roll it up and tie it down, wrenching her dagger free before wiping it indifferently on the tarp.

When she finished she stood up and looked at Yorrick carefully, she was appraising him now and he shrank away, not cowardly enough to run but fearful of his life. Another silence followed before she spoke, “Later tonight, three kobolds will arrive by carriage, you will open the back doors and they will dispose of the corpse.” She said, giving the tarp a sickening kick. Yorrick merely stared back in confusion. She wanted his help? After this? She did not notice or care for his thoughts. “You already know how to identify them.” That finally spurred him into action, Yorrick giving a hard startle. She knew. If she knew by now he had made that connection then she likely knew everything he had discovered. He finally found the courage to speak, “And why the hell should I help you?” He tried to sound angry, accusatory, as if he could fake the bravado he did not feel. Instead his voice came out sounding wilted, barely offering a wit of force behind it.

“Because if you don’t, the money stops, and you get blamed for this.” She responded back casually, nodding to the corpse. “Blamed? How in...” Yorrick began to say before his mind ran off faster than his words. Of course he would be blamed, he was the only person here besides her and what would the police believe? That a lagus nobody had ever heard of him mentioning, who had been there for weeks and had been paying him just murdered this man and ran off? It was possible they would believe him, possible that he could convince them with conviction but did he really want to take that risk? That his absurd story MIGHT be believed? He had a lot to lose. His job, his apartment... The money...

She was grinning at him now, amused, almost leering as she either guessed or read his thoughts and understood he concluded he was doomed if he did not help her. “What time will they arrive?” Yorrick asked, surprising himself with the control in his tone. “Ten o’ clock.” She replied before turning and heading to the door. She paused in the doorway, glancing back at him for a moment. Yorrick looked into her black eyes and pondered what made her so difficult to read. “Do this right, keep quiet, and start bringing jam with my scones and you might find more money waiting for you, Yorrick.” He could only nod in return before she disappeared. He looked to the corpse and wretched, not tossing up his breakfast but coming close. It was going to be a long day.

It was at the third time the mystery lagus killed someone at his train station he was given a clearer picture. She was Boss Yaga, coming and waiting for her target in a spot so public nobody would think of it dangerous or to be on guard. Waiting, watching, for the opportune moment to act while gathering intelligence of the comings and goings of the station and her syndicate underlings. By then he grew used to it, to the blood and the death. The second time he lured her target to the backroom by claiming an issue with their ticket and was helping wrap the body when it was over, the third time he even distracted a second patron while Yaga carried out her work by leading the target into the office, the fifth time he had his own knife and was blocking the door while Yaga did the work. The sixth time she gave him her dagger and told him to do it and he did the deed without hesitation. He was paid more each time.

But that hardly mattered. The seventh time Yaga made him an offer and he took it. He was welcomed to the Blackwood Abbey as one of Yaga's penumbra and soon became one of her deadliest murderers.

[[Category: Lore]]

Lore

2025-10-14T20:39:41Z

Possum:

</div>
 <big> '''Welcome to the Hammerfall Lore page!''' </big>
The pages and links within contain in-character content which pertains to the game's world that may or may not be represented in-game mechanically, and is more meant to provide background information on which to build the world and characters off of. It is commonly known as "fluff" due to this. Things such as a economics or a kingdom culture are two such examples of lore that serves as fluff, which can then be used in a character's background to provide more immersive detail. The vast majority of these pages can be read as if your character is reading it unless stated otherwise. Please keep in mind that the content within however can be changed or edited at any time as corrections to help maintain continuity are not unheard of. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about the lore, please contact [[User:Possum]] for more information.
{{toc_right}}

=Note from Server Maintainers=
Any and all species OR RACES from other servers do not exist in our lore. Any attempt to bring an alien/outsider species from another server will be met with character removal. Any attempt to use lore from other servers will be met with administrative action. Custom species are required to be in the realm of possibility, and if you want to create a new race that is not a chimeric you are required to use this [[Chimerics|guide]] or contact a lore maintainer.

=Premise=
You are a trapped in the realm known as Hammer's Fall, a mysterious and ancient mountain dungeon of renown and fear through out the land. Perhaps you were a criminal, whose crime was troublesome enough to have you cast into this hell by the magistrates of the three nations. You may have been innocent or you were truly guilty, none of that truly matters now. Within this dungeon no one has ever escaped from, a fledgling society has formed in an area known as the Safe Zone, it's three powerful factions holding sway. They are ;

The militaristic brotherhood of soldiers and knights known as the Breakers, lead by the legendary war hero Tarkus the Ash Lord.
The Blackwood Abbey is maintaining this small economy and overseeing the logistics of its growing wealth and strength under the careful eye of Bagman Herod and his enforcer, Boss Yaga.
Then, the Ascendant, the newly made industrious magi-tech faction that supplies all manner of magical aid from weapons to golems to training in the arts of rune magic, psionics, and clockwork machines.

These factions, lead by Lords whom were cast into this dungeon themselves, extends a hand to all who will aid them in their goal of escaping this prison and finding the rumored dragon's hoard hidden within. Whether you choose to be apart of them or merely one of the many Freeblades who live within the safe zone, you are welcomed here to rebuild your life

=Introduction=
Relative stability is the status quo of the world, the three great empires unified in an alliance against a common threat. The midland and greatest power known as the militarist Onokrin Empire has consolidated power between the southern egalitarian Warren Federation and the island shogunate of the Steel Legion to fend off the mutual enemy of the Blood Rose Pact, vile and twisted elves on the southern fringes of the world hell bent on slaughtering any who will not submit to them. Though the war has been on going for decades the world has peace and stability beyond the front lines where conflict ebbs and wanes every month. Across this storied and varied realm many races and factions work in unity. Cities, towns, and villages dot the landscape of a hostile and dangerous world, where even trained soldiers are loathe to leave the safety of the fortified walls and batteries serving to keep away vicious magical creatures and other potential dangers.

The sprawling city states of the Onokrin Empire are home to the humans, orcs, ogres, and goblins who make up the true mobilization and logistical efforts of the on-going war. Lead by the Emperor Lucius Aratus and his appointed oligarchs known as Lords, the Onokrin is an immense power house of a faction and considered the strongest of the three empires. The Onokrin Empire is the current leading polity on rune magic and technology, having the advantage of an extensive network of railroads facilitating trade between their allies. The Onokrin Empire is far from the authoritarian brutalism one would expect from a militarist monarchy. It is a center of trade and culture, with citizens caring deeply for the expression of art, culture, and individual freedom. Through towns and cities are fiefdoms ruled by lords, men and women of legendary skills and talents. The average citizen is highly free to pursue their own aims thanks to a robust and effective system of laws. The current Emperor, Lucius Aratus, maintains a clear focus between supporting the ongoing war and ensuring quality of life for those maintaining support. All is not perfect within the Empire, however, as while the local Lords can be considered people of higher moral character in general, the nobles that surround them are little more than craven and corrupt collections of coat-tail hangers, whom are tolerated for their uses as administrators and clerks. The empire chaffs under the corruption rife within its noble ranks, with the law only managing a single step ahead.

The underground mountain bunkers of the Warren Federation are massive cities of life, distinguished of three major holds that contain the three races of the original Federation accord. The hulking and physically tall Lagus, the diminutive and industrious Kobolds, and the wily and clever Rodentfolk. These three races came to a peaceful accord long ago, forging a bastion of thriving commerce, industry, and magical research. Where the Onokrin Empire can be considered a militaristic empire, the Federation can be easily thought of as egalitarian, its realms largely based on democratic ideals. Kobolds run most of the industries, from factories to individual business and services, exporting goods through the Rodentfolk who maintain labyrinthine and complex trade routes through the use of caravans, trains, and networks of runners. Overseeing the administration and enforcement of laws and government are the lagus, whose natural psionic ability make them skilled both in the realms of peace keeping and in maintaining a cohesive democracy. The Federation faces its own challenges down the mountains, and to its southern borders is the front line of the ongoing war, held together by the unified front of the three Empires are miles upon miles of continent spanning trenches filled with soldiers, guns, magi-tech artillery, and commanders coordinating a decade-spanning defense -and stalemate. Only once have the Elves ever breached the line, but the one single time was enough to leave many living in fear, even behind the wall of guns and mortar that protect them.

Finally, the last polity, we have the Steel Legion, hailing from its island paradise where the minotaur and deerfolk reside. The Steel Legion is an aloof and often mysterious faction, lead by the Shogun Hayta and his Daiymo who rule with an iron fist. Among the lands of the Steel Legion, only the minotaurs are considered to be true citizens, the deerfolk little more than a race of serfs whom toil beneath their masters for protection and governorship. A barbaric policy to many, however the Steel Legion is the only realm in which one may walk freely in the wilds without fear of predators, the minotaurs having long since slain all who would threaten the stability of their nation, and are unified under a single banner. This attitude of supremacy extends beyond their borders, and to the sea, with Steel Legion ships being the best Naval forces in the world, crewed by merchants and samurais armed to the teeth with slow firing but powerful guns used to fell sea-born kaijus and other great beasts from the sea. Great and mighty beasts are hunted for wealth and sport, their parts hacked off and sold for magical reagents and use in complex networks of commerce. The Steel Legion controls the sea, continuously forgoing direct aid to its allies to ensure relative peace among the waters of the world.

=Standard Information=
Here is the basic information that you should look over to get acquainted with the lore, background, and fluff of the Hammerfall universe.

===[[Timeline]]===
For a general overview of when the Big Things happened, check here.

===[[Nations]]===
The primary nations, a deeper dive on their structure, culture, and nature.

===[[Laws]]===
Laws of the safe zone, designed to offer civilization in a hostile prison.

===Known [[Factions]]===
Factions and forces both present and former that once or still exist within Hammer's Fall. Includes the primary core factions players are apart of.

===[[Safe Zone]]===
A basic guide to the structure of the safe zone, from the upper residential to the lower industrial areas.

===[[Roles]]===
Every faction has its leaders and roles, from their unique commanders and their important second in commands to the rank and file. Those not affiliated with a faction are known as Freeblades, people deemed worthy of residing in the safe zone but swear no allegiance.

===[[Races]]===
The empires of the world are widely varied, citizens and outsiders come from all manner of backgrounds and races, from exotic chimeric humans to regular and normal orcs or rodentfolk.

===[[Technology|Technologies]]===
A collection of well-known universal technologies that in some form or another completely altered the course of history, or are so endemic to the modern age, that few live lives without coming into regular contact with these technologies.

===[[Magic]]===
The various types of magic ranging from the barely understood ancient magic, the formulaic and often scientific runic and clockwork magic, to the ethereal and super natural psionic magic.

===[[Religion]]===
A closer examination of the three primary gods, their domains, and how the general attitude of religion is treated.

== World Map ==
[[File:Amerilia.jpg]]

[[#top|Back to Top]]
[[Category:Lore]]

Bad Hand

2025-10-14T20:39:10Z

Possum:

The city of concrete, the bustling hub of commerce, the great grand city of Daggard Keep in all its monument to the Onokrin Empire. It was here that the humble origins of the Blackwood Abbey began and where an unknown street urchin came to be known as the lord of coin, Bagman Herod. How he became such is a subject of legend, a tale filled with half-truths and lies and grander and grander renditions trying to outdo each other with every telling. What is true and what is false is known only to Herod himself and no one is a greater liar of his legend than the lord himself. Herod only knew for sure that the secret to his success was his uncanny and almost fate defying luck. He was always in the right place at the right time, he always made the right bet, he would always succeed when anything was left to fate. It was this control of his luck, for chance to always resolve in his favor, that made him the lord he was today.

Yet, it also made him arrogant, prideful, to know that fate favored him and that every fight, every encounter, every challenge down to a meaningless coin flip to an assassination attempt he would always be simply too lucky to lose made one feel like they were unstoppable. Such arrogance cannot live forever, it engenders ire and resentment from those who were forced to rely on or work with Herod. This problem only grew as the abbey grew, a criminal empire of smuggling and racketeering that nearly every noble paid into for any number of reasons. Herod’s reach extended across not just the federation he hailed from but to the Onokrin and even the Steel Legion. His criminal empire was one of envy and the greedy eyes saw what he built and began to plot against him.

-

Herod walked with hands in his pockets, watching the lazy morning play out across the streets of Daggard Keep. He was in the merchant district, near the taverns and redlight houses, strolling down the concrete sidewalk while he watched wagons rolling slowly across the cobblestone roads. What few people were about sleepily walking to their day jobs paid him no mind, those that noticed who he was offered a respectful nod, yet the haze of the sun only just peeking over the clouds made for a quiet and uninterrupted stroll through the streets of the keep. Herod himself was in his usual good mood, his clothes a fine set of black pants and a finer brown coat with orange trim and onyx crystal buttons. A flat cap adorned his head between his saucer-like rodent ears, his tail decorated with a fine golden bracelet and emerald inlaid stone to match his emerald rings on each finger. He was dressed as gaudily as possible, more than his usual far humbler attire, because he was going to a big meeting today. Various crime lords, both under his payroll and from syndicates he had a decent enough relationship with were all meeting to discuss recent events. A shake up had occurred, a plan gone awry. The lord of ash, Tarkus, had recently been deposed by casus belli, a fight between lords to settle grievances. What few knew is that this had been a set up to shuffle the land into another lords domain, one by the name of Linebreaker Toragg.

The problem now, as Herod saw it, was that Toragg had fucked up. Perhaps fearing the ash lord Toragg had sought the aid of wolf king Rannick, a far more unpredictable and savage lord. From what Herod had read in the reports, Rannick was the only lord that Toragg could petition for aid, else he would have chosen one loyal to the same syndicate paying the libebreaker. The result was when the duel took place Tarkus had lost his second in command before the fight, something Herod was sure was caused by foul play but had no confirmation on, yet instead of Rannick joining Toragg for an easy kill he backed off stating some nonsense about fair honorable fights. Unfortunately for Herod’s associates, who wanted to have Toragg take Tarkus’ land after killing him and thus be indebted to them, Tarkus killed Toragg and then Rannick defeated Tarkus. Now the three fiefdoms and the proverbial gold mine of wealth was under Rannick’s control and reports stated that the first syndicate envoy to approach the wolf king was fed his own entrails before being beaten to death. What happened to the syndicate assassins sent in revenge Herod did not verify, but it was likely an even worse fate.

Now this meeting to discuss what to do was one Herod stood to gain a lot from, as no doubt everyone wanted Rannick dead and Herod was the only one with a direct line to Boss Yaga, his second in command and the lord of assassins. As he viewed her, she was his enforcer and a murderer without equal, but even his reckless nature was not foolish enough to ever take her for granted. He was not even sure that he could convince her to try and kill Rannick. The wolf king was a dangerous man, enough that even Herod wondered if he would be risking too much by asking her to try. But it was worth it to show up to this meeting, to see what the other syndicates were up to and, more importantly, hear how much they were willing to offer him for Yaga’s services. So here he would come, larger than life and dressed to impress, his wrapped footpaws plodding up to his favorite bar, the Silver Iscariot. The only problem so far is Yaga was not with him, urgent business called her elsewhere but that was hardly unusual.

Seeing old bar that was the Iscariot and this street on such a dreamy morning made him reminisce about the old days, back when he had started his criminal enterprise nearly twenty years ago. Back then he had just been a rat with a dream, a measly six shooter and a plan as half-baked as it’d ever get. Yet still he had stumbled, cited by many of his detractors, dick-first into success. It had begun with a string of robberies to secure funding, obtaining the aid of a few local street thugs looking to make a name for themselves just as Herod was. Alley-way muggings, most against drunken louts and on very rare occasion a lesser noble or merchant. The money came in, slow and in small amounts, but tarnished knives and rusted revolvers soon became finely edged blades and professionally smithed firearms. His racket of muggers did not go unnoticed, other gangs began to muscle in on what they felt was Herod’s up and coming business ventures.

Those were the days, Herod thought dreamily, before he had Yaga to take care of his killing. Back when he was knuckle deep in the action, his revolver flashing, his hand fanning the hammer as six shots became six lead clots and men fell before him. Ducking and weaving through flashing swords and the thunder of bullets sending death whizzing past his head while he reloaded for another six rounds of killing. Herod’s group of toughs grew from a few random nameless street thugs to an organized gang and by the time they had killed and absorbed the territory of four other gangs they had expanded from merely plain robberies to protection rackets, gambling clubs, and smuggling. When they purchased their first headquarters, however, that was when the ball really got rolling.

Gangs are small time, common and often coming and going so rapidly that few syndicates or organized crime will bother taking notice. Herod’s operation was growing to the point that it was no longer capable of being ignored. This came with attacks from all directions as one thing syndicates can agree upon is that competition is bad for extortive business. Local police began arresting his men with half the charges about as real and believable as wooden teeth. Fires broke out in the back room gambling halls, smuggled goods disappeared enmasse, and worst of all was the handpicked enforcers and made men were being killed off. The largest bounty, naturally, had gone on Herod’s head but by then he had started to become something of a legend. His operation grew fast and exploded in wealth, that alone swelled his ego, but it was dealing with the assassins that truly made his name known. If they hadn't tried to go for him, if they had just gone for what he built, he might never have become a lord.

Herod was not really a fighter, at least not in the conventional sense, he was no empire legionnaire fighting and dying on the front lines of war. He was not a professional officer, a mercenary, not even a ship captain or hunter. Yet he was no slouch in a fight, he knew how to use his highly customized revolver with an efficiency and lethality that kept him alive all these years. When bounty hunters and would-be assassins came to collect, he stacked piles of their dead with ruthless efficiency. The first few, the weakest, he killed with ease. The later ones, ones who came only when the price on his head rose to be worth their talents, those were a challenge. Yet every time he came closer and closer to death he escaped, he avoided it by the skin of his teeth and put an end to the problem with a single bullet. Herod soon had a body count of some of the best killers felled by his revolver and soon it brought the notice of Boss Yaga.

Boss Yaga, the woman he now considered his right hand, a towering lagus of good looks and full figure marred only by the plain quality of her appearance. She had her own legend, a lord outright, the master of shadows and the butcher of men. Her long and storied tale of blood was well known to Herod when his contacts revealed that his rivals had commissioned her to come and kill him. At the time, Herod had not yet become a true lord, but he felt he was on the verge of it. Deep down, he knew that this fight against Yaga would determine either his final rise into legend or his death.

In the end, it resolved in his favor, Yaga was a strange and mercurial woman. In a way and even after decades of knowing her he did not truly understand how her mind worked or why she did what she did. In many ways, he was not sure why she had betrayed her employers and joined him, he knew that they had planned to pay her a pittance for what they would earn if Herod died but beyond the money he could never quite tell. None the less, to not only live when the lord of assassins had come to kill him but to convince her to betray her employers and join him? That secured his legend, that made him a lord, from that point forward he was known as Bagman Herod, the lord of coin. His operations went into overdrive then, with Yaga at his side as his enforcer and people lining up to join his ranks. His businesses and ventures were quite literal money mines. Within a few years, everyone paid into the abbey, everyone was either on his payroll or paying him to even operate. Those who caused problems were easily killed and anyone who even got close to rising against him was struck down swiftly and mercilessly.

But that was years ago now, Herod rarely tried to expand his business these days. He enjoyed the fruits of his labors, his success, the unshaking fist he had upon the criminal world rarely ever needed to squeeze now. Hell, just looking down the street to the Silver Iscariot he could note that nearly every business was paying the blackwood protection money. From the Iscariot itself to the two-bit thugs lurking in the alleys, Herod was getting his due. Why bother trying to make all the money in the world when he had more than he could ever spend? Just a shame he could never really own the Silver Iscariot, that special place that was held by a family far older than his syndicate.

For a tavern and gambling hall, the Silver Iscariot was one of the best, owned by an ogre who catered almost exclusively to the upper echelons of society. It was high class, flashy, the type of place you needed a reservation to get a reservation unless you were a lord. Lords could get a table, a seat at the bar, a drink and a meal for free any time any day because it was the one place a lord could drink among only the finest of society. The nobles and tittering sycophants that attended to be among these lords, desperate to make connections and curry favors, paid their weights in gold to simply have a chance and more than made up for whatever a singular lord’s appetites were. Herod liked the place, but he did not attend it much, he learned long ago the best way to keep his reputation was to be enigmatic and let his legend proceed him. Now, on such an auspicious morning, he walked up to greet the lone doorman.

A massive orc, almost as big as a small ogre stood guard at the reinforced steel door, dressed in a fine cut leisure suit that looked almost expensive enough to buy a house and yet here he was leaning against the brick walls of the establishment smoking a cigar and treating it like the uniform it was. Classy, Herod thought. “Well ‘allo ‘allo’ allooo! Wos’ all dis den? Big Bagman Herod ‘ere in the flesh?” The orc bellowed with a cheerful tusked grin, his smile disarming. Herod liked him already and understood immediately why this orc was the doorman. Charisma was in his tone, his smile, his entire body language. So much so that even as he used low slang, an insult to anyone let alone a lord, and yet Herod could not help but chuckle in return at the audacity. “You knew I was coming.” Herod replied, his own smile disarming. An understanding was made between them immediately. This enforcer was a huge brute, the type of man who could bang your girl and still hit you up for money a day later, one who was an experienced fighter and dangerous. Herod understood that, just as he knew this man would know how many people Herod himself has killed and likely knew Herod had a revolver hidden in his coat and the bagman was a crack shot with it. An unspoken respect deepened when Herod paused at the door.

“How many?” Herod asked, reaching into his coat for a cigar, he pulled out a premium import from the southern swamps of the Steel Legion. Expensive, rare, and a fine cut line of tobacco that he offered to the orc casually. “Six, twenty bar boys, no gentlemen, and you will be seated alone.” The orc said, dropping the low speech and adopting the formal tone most orcs carried. He snubbed his cigar before tossing it in the street gutter, lighting up the new one offered by Herod. Six crime bosses, twenty enforcers, no lords, and Yaga was not there. Herod was not surprised nor worried even if he had a nagging thought that twenty enforcers was a lot for a meeting. “How’s the mood then my friend?” He continued, crossing his arms over his coat and idly toying with an onyx cuff link while he dismissed the intrusive concern, this was just another day after all. “Bitter, lord Herod.” The orc said, pausing to take a long draw on his smoke, a small nod given to acknowledge the quality and offer thanks. “Worried as well.” He added, red eyes looking at Herod thoughtfully. Herod gazed back up, black eyes meeting the inspecting glance before he merely shrugged. “Comes with the territory. If my babe drops by tell her I saved her a seat.” Herod replied. The orc nodded, yet he glanced past Herod for a moment.

He turned, following the orc’s gaze before seeing what caught his attention. The cigar he had flicked into the street gutter had fell upon the rather grizzly sight of a rat that must have been crushed by a passing wagon sometime in the night, the creature still looking freshly dead. The cigar butt was singing its blood matted fur and making a small plume of smoke. “Grizzly.” Herod said, something about that sight giving him a flash of unease and a thought he could not chase because the door suddenly opened. An ogre was standing in the doorway, no doubt one of the crime bosses’ enforcers, his posh suit was not nearly as expensive as the doorman. This one had the clothes of one who got into fights, frequently. “There waiting for you inside, lord Herod.” The ogre said, his tone a low rumble of respect. Herod merely nodded, adopting his trademark grin before he stepped inside as the ogre moved out of his way. He quickly forgot the sight of the dead rodent, after all, dead rats were not exactly uncommon.

The interior of the Silver Iscariot was what one would expect from such a high-class establishment. Low comfortable electric lights lit a windowless bar of polished mahogany with silken textured bar stools below a massive selection of vintages and drinks from around the world. Advanced electric and mechanical dispenser systems fed by pipes supplied by mana replicators ensured a limitless tap of whatever patrons wanted if they could not afford the expensive bottles. The smell of cigar smoke had met Herod’s nose, yet he did not smell food. Strange, he thought, the kitchen should be preparing for the day, perhaps the cooks were busy cleaning he resolved without further consideration. Comfortable booths lined the walls and gambling tables dominated the center floor. Only one dealer was present, a finely dressed older human woman with a stern gaze and sharp eye. The Silver Iscariot was too good to employ whores and call girls. Its dealers were like the one Herod was looking at now, former killers and enforcers now retired and given an easy life performing card tricks for a massive weekly stipend. It was part of the presentation, forgoing eye candy to show you had so much wealth and money even your servants were of a higher class and skill, that your ranks were so varied and opulent even seasoned killers would do menial labor because the money was worth it.

Herod noted the bartender was not there, likely in the back where the meeting was taking place. He weaved between the tables while the ogre fell in step behind him. He could feel the same comfortable energy filling him now, the adrenaline that came with wheeling and dealing and only grew when the stakes did. This was hardly a moment of note, over the span of his career, but none the less he never failed to feel invigorated by the risk and reward. He gave a single nod to the dealer shuffling cards and was met with nothing more than a stone-faced grimace while he walked by. He made no comment even if that was enough for some lords to break the table with her face, moving to the door to the back rooms while he once again dismissed another odd detail carelessly. He did not reach for the handle, letting the ogre following him reach over his head and open it to see what he was dealing with.

Herod did not break his stride, he waltzed into the room with his black eyes roving from face to face taking stock. The room itself was large, austerely decorated and dominated by a large circular table fit for gambling and meetings. The electric lights back here were better, brighter, allowing everyone to see clearly so any attempt to grab for a weapon would be easily spotted. The enforcers each crime boss had were elsewhere, shuffled off to side rooms to keep things polite no doubt. The ogre, likewise, did not follow and merely remained in the doorway while Herod turned his inspection to the six men. Each boss was effectively on par with a noble, as prone to crime and slightly more honorable than the scum that hung from the coat tail of lords. Each one was in it for themselves and out to gain as much as they could, always looking to move up and gain power for only the sake of it. This nature of backstabbing was, in a way, a form of stability as none would band together long enough to truly shake up the status quo. More importantly, it made true lords like Herod more secure within their positions. Or at least, Herod still believed that.

At the table sat six crime bosses and of those four of them were directly on blackwood payroll and two were indirect subsidiaries controlled by two of the bosses at the table through means they tried to obfuscate thinking Herod would not discover the deception. He allowed it to continue as it was beneficial, despite the cut these two took. The first was Mackenzie, an orc boss who handled smuggling imports over in Far Water, a man that Herod knew resented him deeply because Herod had a habit of using low slang when addressing him knowing Mackenzie could do nothing about it. He was moderately good at his job and Herod did not replace him because it was more trouble than it was worth at this point. The second was Cannis, a goblin, one who was about as authentic as an elf accepting honorable surrender. Cannis was a mildly interesting case as he was just discrete enough that Herod did not fully know what the little green man was up to. Herod considered having Yaga tail him at one point but ultimately decided against it, after all he was sure that Cannis would side where the money was. Thus, the goblins work hitting rival organizations through the use of mercenaries and blackwood agents continued without much oversight.

Those two were the biggest players at the table, the other four were of minor concern, the one’s on blackwood payroll being Jeremiah and Gregory, two middlemen who were little more than overseers for ongoing operations that had been set up years ago. Fairly competent, nothing special, both humans and as plain as they come. The latter pair were Leo and Ricket, the former being an ogre necromancer who ran a protection racket in Crullfield, a very lucrative venture. He had contacts within the local lord’s higher caste of black magicians and was no slouch himself. Leo was a skilled and cunning man, in particular for an ogre, and had Herod not known he was working under Mackenzie already he would have made moves for a hostile takeover of his racket years ago. Ricket was the only man here from the warren federation like Herod himself, a kobold who was an expert at cooking books. He controlled a vast network of warehouses, shippers, and inventory workers ranging from train porters to importers and exporters where supplies would always go missing in such a way that it could never quite be traced to the shop front where they were resold for cheaper directly to the blackwood. Herod liked that, it made small amounts of effort come with a greater reward and more beneficially allowed the blackwoodto buy “legal” goods for an insanely low price and make it a tax write off to recoup the base cost on top of that when it was reported purchased for a higher price by both companies.

Herod went to his seat, all six sets of eyes falling on him and the room going silent while he walked past them to sit at the head of the table. He climbed onto his chair and leaned it back with a careless footpaw, pulling a new cigar and gold-plated zippo from his coat, “So, down to business, eh boys?” He said cheerfully, bringing the flame to his smoke.

In that moment, what Herod viewed as his uncanny luck revealed to him all possible paths forward. As he stared at the flickering light of his zippo, time slowed, he watched the flame dance, pulled into the aged tobacco slowly. The end of his cigar swallowed the orange wick of flame, smoke rising and dried leaves smoldering in slow motion before his eyes. Herod did not understand what truly made him a lord. He saw it as his luck, that he had been blessed by the gods themselves to be so fortunate, that he had done or was meant to do something that made him special. That was ego, in truth he had no understanding of his powers as a lord. His luck was not luck but foresight, the rat man was one of the few beings alive to be gifted with the power of divination. His limited glance into the myriads of potential fates, of futures and events that became an ever-flowing river of time with all its bends, winds, splits, and weaves back into itself. To him, he interpreted it all as a card game, in his mind he saw fate and future not as what they were but as every person involved sitting at a table and being delt a set of cards. The game was usually poker, but more complex or more simple futures changed into other card games to match all potential fates. To him it was all a gamble, that every choice, action, and life changing decision was a series of wagers, bluffs, calls, and double downs. Herod was an old hand at this, and he knew when to bet, when to fold, and in his mind he saw the cards being delt. He saw more players at the table; in his mind’s eye he saw the table was more than the six crime bosses. It was nearly thirty players all staring at him hatefully, in his vision he saw the crowd gathered around their game, the biggest crowd he had ever seen in his entire life of playing this metaphorical game, every person one who would be affected by this singular hand.

Around him, a crowd so large he could not see all their faces were gathered, at the table every other player sat with ire-filled eyes. Some were cloaked in shadows, forms he could see but details he could not parse. All around him, blindsided, caught entirely unaware, Herod realized that this game was rigged and he had walked into a trap. A single paralyzing thought lanced his mind, that pride made for a dizzying fall. He looked to his cards, his hands shaking even in his mind’s eye, he had been delt a two of hearts and three of spades. He looked down to the river. An ace, a king, and a queen, all of clovers. He stared. He did not even need to do the math with these many players at the table. His eyes rose to gauge each face, both revealed and shrouded, seeing that each was determined not to win but ensure that he lost. At any other point in time, at any other time in his life, there was always a way to get out of it. Even if he had to fold, he could still escape relatively unscathed with only the loss of his ante and maybe getting the side pot on his way out. But one look at his chips revealed his doom, the blinds had been his entire bank and he had only one chip left to wager. He was all in before he even realized it, blinded by his own arrogance and now he was going to pay for it. He could not play this hand, he could not bluff his way out because they would call it, and if he folded he would lose everything but his last chip. Every single warning sign he saw and dismissed flashed before his thoughts. The door man’s stare, the slain rat in the road, the ogre coming to get him, the kitchen being shut down, the dealer looking at him so arrogantly, the silence when he entered the room, the strange occurrence earlier that day that drew Yaga away from his side. His ego blinded him to every single warning that could have saved him. His complacency in his work was now his downfall.

He had a bad hand and only one option left.

“To hell with it.” He muttered to himself, time was now catching up, the flickering flame of his lighter beginning to dance faster.

He had only one last thing to wager and he was gripped with a wild and sudden fury, in his mind’s eye he slid his last chip forward and went all in. The vision of himself slammed his cards on the table as his real self bellowed, “Hell’s Teeth!” The foot carelessly bracing his leaning chair kicked hard and sent Herod backwards on his flipping chair and the crime bosses rose, weapons drawing while the illusionary invisibility that hid the enforcers faded to reveal just how badly Herod was outgunned and outnumbered. Bullets thundered, hitting the wall behind him as Herod back flipped and rolled from his falling chair, crouched low where his short height hid him beneath the table and his signature revolver flashed from its holster along with the enchanted blade in his boot.

His last chip was his life. Now he was all in and there was no way he was going down without a fight.

. . .

Twenty-six targets and only eighteen bullets. His only regret was failing to kill every betrayer. Ricket escaped alive, the only one who did not get a bullet between the eyes from Herod’s revolver. His mind was racing as his consciousness rose. He was surprised to be alive and more surprised he was only partially beaten, his head aching from the ogre’s fist that had finally put him down after his bullets ran out and he went berserk with his dagger. Blackness became clear, more defined, his head still swimming but his thoughts gathering about him as he felt rather than saw that he was tied up. He tried to move anyways and immediately regretted it, the pain was fierce and traveled through his entire body, that alone woke him up far faster than his calculating thoughts. He was alive, of course he was alive, they intended to take over his operations but killing him would have sent Yaga on the war path and assured their deaths. He almost laughed, having wagered his life for the first time in a number of years and yet he won out again with his side bet. He tried to speak the last two words of his thoughts and grunted as what came out was a garbled mess, he had been gagged by a dish cloth by the taste of it.

An attempt to open his eyes and figure out where he was met with little success, a blind fold had been added as well, but they had not covered his ears or nose. He could hear men milling about, smell the sweat of rough field laborers and stench of an enclosed space. More importantly he could feel himself being moved and hear the faint noise of a humming mana engine. Wherever they were taking him it was by train and he was being moved fast. Yaga must know by now that he is in trouble and they want to get him out of the picture before she catches up. He started mentally going down the list of where they could take him that would stop her from killing every man or woman in her way. While his mind checked off various potential places, he tried to force himself into a sitting position, grunting against the pain before a strong hand shoved him back down. He loosed an indignant muffled grunt and choked on the gag in his mouth. He focused on breathing through his nose and internally scowled. He was going to have to wait and plain, but more and more as the train traveled on he became certain that he knew where he was being taken.

By his count only an hour had passed before the train began to slow, first at a sluggish pace and then rapidly coming to a stop that left him lurching to a skidding halt by his restraints. His body was aching terribly now, the bindings about his head growing tighter while the cuffs about his legs and hands were strained when he was hauled to his feet. Someone placed a hand on his shoulder, guiding him towards the door of the train carriage he was no doubt in before a sharp shove sent him stumbling forward. He slammed onto his face and chest, falling several feet and hitting concrete. He heard someone laugh before the sound of flesh hitting flesh silenced that cruel mirth. He did not move, too stunned with pain to rise before someone much too rough seized him by his rodent ears and hauled him to his feet.

He teetered, almost falling before another hand reached out and stopped his fall this time. Whoever was holding him reached for his blindfold and tore it off. He blinked rapidly, it was nightfall now and in the dim light of the station platform he took stock of his captors. He recognized with dismay that these were empire soldiers, meaning his worrying and to this point ignored conclusion that he had been brought to Hammer’s Fall could no longer be dismissed. They were reaching for his gag now before another soldier smacked the kinder one’s hand away. “Don’t. He’s a sharp tongued one. Let’s get this over with and not get greedy.” The one soldier spoke, the other looking like he was about to protest before the four others nodded in agreement.

Six soldiers, if they’re at Hammer’s Fall then his syndicate … his former syndicate must be paying them to throw him into the summit. It did not take his exceptionally quick mind to figure out why, if they had killed him Yaga would kill them, but if they toss him into Hammer’s Fall… Yaga was loyal solely to him. He had no doubt whatsoever that Yaga would follow him barefoot into Xaal’s hel without even being asked to. He almost admired the careful planning and the gamble they were taking, but for now he set about planning his escape. It would take at least one day to travel to the summit, bound and gagged that he was he would need to either find a way to slip his binds or wait until he was ungagged so he could make a counteroffer to whatever his betrayers were offering.

Yet when the soldiers began to take him up the mountain the moment never seemed to come. Each soldier was watching the others, perhaps wary of what Herod was most definitely planning. A quick attempt at breaking his bindings proved fruitless, he was bound by magical shackles that he doubted him the most berserk of oni could break. At night he was tethered to a tree by a solid steel chain, two soldiers always watching him with rifles out and ready, every passing hour they rose higher and higher along the deadened brush of the mountain and more and more he began to panic. He dared not call upon the game within his mind, too fearful to see who would be sitting across from the table. By the second day they began to near the top and it was only at the sight of the massive dark pit did he truly begin to succumb to full blown panic.

He struggled against his bounds, fighting to escape and knowing it was pointless. One of the soldiers came forward, a ragged set of prisoner’s clothes in hand. They kept him in cuffs as they held him down and carefully dressed him in rags, his struggles earning him a sudden painful hit to his still sore jaw. He started to gag, forcefully swallowing the rag in his maw to make himself choke. His struggles weakened, his eyes bulging, until one of the guards realized what was going on and ripped the gag out. Herod coughed, choking and swallowing lungsful of air before he spoke, trying to reign in his panic and keep it out of his voice. “Whatever it is they’re paying you I will triple it. I won’t even have Yaga pay you all a visit.”

They ignored him, no hesitation as they finished redressing him before they stood him up. “Think about it, you don’t think Yaga is going to be here soon? She could be waiting for you at the base of the mountain. Are you really going to-“ A fist hit him now, punching him in the gut and making him double over and robbing his voice of its calm tone. “Shut up.” His abusive jailor growled. “You don’t have shit; they took everything just like you took from everyone else.” Virtue from a bribed soldier, Herod thought, how hypocritical, but he tried to smooth his expression away into a smile that was rather unconvincing. “I am a businessman, friend, I just do business.” He tried to straighten up, to stand at his full height even though most of these soldiers were orcs and humans and he was only four feet tall. “I am a god damn lord, soldier, and you know damn well they call me the lord of coin. Now, why don’t you let me out of these chains and w-“ One of the two securing his arms hit him again, this time it was harder and with the back end of the man’s gauntlet. The blow nearly made him crumble, weakened as he was. Whatever façade of control he had was rapidly slipping, he was struggling to remain calm now. “Toss him in, lets get this over with.” One of them grunted in a grim tone. Herod heard the sound of keys jangling, jostling his cuffs before they were unlocked and pulled off.

He renewed his struggles now, fighting against his much larger captors and running his mouth. “No! You can’t do this to me!” His voice grew panicked now, his fighting gaining the strength of panic as they were trying to drag him forward while he yelled. “I am a lord! I own this fucking empire, you can’t throw me in there! Do you know how much I have worked?!” All six of them were grabbing him now, a few hitting him in the gut and face, trying to subdue and shut him up, but wild panic was gripping him now and he hardly felt it.

The yawning black pit came closer, the former lord of coin was lifted into the air now. Whatever reckless adventurous man of fate he once was, it was cast aside as fear took him. A terrible black panic subsumed him. “I am a lord! You can’t do this to me!” He shouted before he made one last ditch effort to change fate. He called upon his mind’s eye, he looked at the table as it was laid before him. It was not poker this time, it was card carp, he sat at a table where across from him a tall, robed skeleton stared with grinning mandibles of sharpened fangs. Two dead blue lights in each eye regarding him like chips of ice as before him sat Xaal, the god of death, his skeletal hand holding a hundred cards.

“No…” Herod whispered, his sudden shift from frenzied panic to abject frozen terror causing all six soldiers to pause when the man went completely limp. Herod looked at his cards. He had no hand; his field was only a rabbit and a rat against Xaal’s five bone horrors. It was his turn, the nearby scale showing he was one point from defeat. He would have to draw his only chance and pray that his doomed soul would get his winning card.

Yet, before his vision could finish, the soldiers resumed lifting him at the edge. His mind’s eye gave way to the reality of his damnation. “You can’t do this!” He shouted before they tossed him over the edge, his last moments a terrified scream and one last petulant shout. “I hope Yaga kills you all!” Contempt filling him as he fell into darkness and he was seized by an invisible hand that carried him into Hammer’s Fall.

-

In the days following Herod’s disappearance, Yaga had tracked him to the mountain. The soldiers that had thrown him in had seen her sprinting up the mountains, terrified to know she was near and yet relieved that she was too hurried to gut them. They took solace in that, even when the unlucky sixth who drew the short straw and had to remain at the mountain’s summit to report when she arrived was found with his back cut out and his rib cage broken and pulled outwards in a cruel parody of wings. They reported back that the lord of murder remained loyal and followed her master into her own damnation.

-

When Yaga had found Herod, sitting alone in a room he had barricaded to avoid the roving gangs, Yaga saw him as he was. Terrified, alone, tears streaming down his rodent face. She passed neither judgement nor ridicule, the mysterious killer merely looked down at him as he smiled shakily back up to her. He was relieved and appalled all at once, knowing that she would damn herself to follow him into hell and yet incapable of expressing how truly grateful he was. In the end, they said nothing to each other, she sat down next to him and offered a single hug. Only when they were reunited did the Bagman and the Boss think of what to do now.

They thought of a plan and after only an hour began to talk. It was time to figure out how to escape.

[[Category: Lore]]

Factions

2025-10-14T20:36:35Z

Possum:

The factions represent the place of belonging to each resident. Each faction is expected to cooperate for the good of the safe zone but retain its autonomy and thus cannot be ordered to do anything by other factions. Only a decision by the council (each primary head of staff) can force a faction to follow an order. Residents can only belong to a singular faction (excluding freeblades) and may perform any job they are qualified for. For example, an exalted could also be the speaker or a seeker but not an blackwood agent. No exceptions.

=Player Factions=

==The Safe Zone Council==
''“We need to maintain unity if we want to survive down here. The people within need direction or they will fracture and turn on each other. Our external threats would want nothing more for us to weaken so they, like so many vultures before them, can opportunistically pick us clean of our life and wealth.” -Ashlord Tarkus, during the first meeting that formed the council.''

'''Owner:''' Joint ownership by each acting faction leader.
 
'''Leader:''' None.
 

The council represents the combined leadership of the factions within the safe zone headed by a triumvirate. The acting council members are made up of the current leader of each faction or, in place of them, a subordinate acting in their place should they not be present. In this way, the acting directors of each faction are allowed to pursue their interests and tasks and the day to day operations are delegated to those they trust with the responsibility. The council is formed strictly for the cooperation between factions to handle greater disputes and events concerning the safe zone as a whole. Nobody is considered the head of the council as each member holds equal sway and voting power. Decisions are decided by majority vote (2/3 as there are three factions) and leaders cannot abstain from a vote under any circumstance. The council answers only to the faction leaders, who rarely visit the safe zone for varied reasons, but are largely expected to be autonomous.

 
 
 

==Safe Zone Factions==

===The Breakers===
''“Who but we stand between order and chaos? Who but we fashion for ourselves an armor with which we protect our people? Many of us who were cast into this hell are guilty, yet that does not mean we cannot find redemption. My people do not just hold the line against the horrors below, they dive into the darkness with weapon in hand ready to face the lurking evil.” -Ashlord Tarkus, in conversation with Sad King Briareus.''

'''Owner:''' Ashlord Tarkus
 
'''Acting Leader:''' [[Hammerlord]]
 
'''Second in Command:''' [[Master of the Forge]]
 

The breakers are a faction formed as the first and last line of defense for the safe zone. They make up the more militant individuals interested in both keeping the peace and delving into the dungeons below. Breakers focus on armor, weapons, and pragmatic means of building themselves into a strong and fit fighting force to keep the safe zone safe. Breakers range from the heavily armored [[Sledge]] to the expert marksmen making up the [[Ashman]] and [[Firebrand]] teams. Maintaining their weapons and equipment is the master of the forge, led by the hammerlord.

Breakers are more deeply tied to the Blackwood than the Ascendant, as they rely heavily on agents for the pursuit and investigation of criminals. A secondary but no less important matter to the breakers is enforcing and aiding in the investigation, detainment, and arrest of rule breakers within the safe zone. A common motto among the breakers is 'carry a big hammer and swing it hard', though the best breakers have as much brain as they do brawn.

 
 
 

===The Blackwood Abbey ===
''“He who has a 'why' to live can bear almost anything. And I am not just quoting something His Majesty told me, after all, it was my own arrogance that led me here, rebuilding an entire new market and economy from the ground up is my new why.” -Bagman Herod, in conversation with Ashlord Tarkus.''
 
''“I don’t mind being the villain in your story because you're a clown in mine.” -Boss Yaga, speaking to Bagman Herod.''

'''Owner:''' Bagman Herod and Boss Yaga
 
'''Acting Leader:''' [[Merchant]]
 
'''Second in Command:''' [[Penumbra]]
 

The abbey make up the hospitality of the safe zone by concerning themselves with creature comforts like food, and drink, and supplying others through their depot. The abbey controls the tavern, kitchen, ranch, and warehouses that deal in coin created and minted by the abbey to give a stabilized currency. The merchant heads the [[Fixer|Fixers]] and [[Beast Master|Beast Masters]] who respectively cover a wide variety of trades ranging from ammunition to food to various types of creature comforts. This represents the biggest face of the abbey but in truth, they are split into two rather autonomous roles.

The second half of the abbey is led by the penumbra and their [[Agent|Agents]] which serve as detectives and gumshoes focused on keeping the safe zone properly safe by investigating potential crimes and breaks in the agreement. Agents catalog, record, investigate, and recommend fines and arrests for the breakers to carry out to detain those causing trouble within the safe zone. While most of the blackwood is friendly by nature with other factions, the penumbra, and their agents work closely with the breakers both in the safe zone and beyond, as agents are expert locksmiths and skilled with their daggers, a valued trait when in dangerous areas.

 
 
 

===The Ascendant===
''“When I first became a magi, my fellow apprentices were filled with wonder, the potential, the power, the limitless bounds of what magic could and would be if we only dreamed. Yet in the end, we shackled ourselves to our self-imposed limits. A rune lantern will make a magi, but it will never give them what magic truly needs, the realization of dreams. Magic is art and so few artists like myself are left...” -Sad King Briareus, bemoaning the state of magic to anyone willing to listen.''

'''Owner:''' Sad King Briareus
 
'''Acting Leader:''' [[Exalted]]
 
'''Second in Command:''' [[Speaker]]
 

The ascendant are the magical backbone of the safe zone by making up the magical research and creation through the [[Rune Master|Rune Masters]], alchemical and magical healing by the [[Rosaria]], and magical offensive and defensive might of the [[Seeker|Seekers]]. The ascendant is a wildly varied faction, focused upon all fields of magic from ancient, clockwork, runic, supernatural, and weaving. Because of their less ordered nature and a greater focus on research and creation, the ascendant are considered less disciplined than the blackwood and breakers but more than make up for it with the magical powers they bring to the table.

While powerful, the ascendant is very aware of their weaknesses and thus work with the other factions to make up for their shortcomings. After all, a magi without spells is not worth much besides their intellectual ability, and that rarely matters in the brutal realm of Hammer's Fall.

 
 
 

===The Freeblades===
''“The heaviest penalty for declining to rule is to be ruled by someone inferior to yourself.” -Unknown, a saying commonly carved into the walls of Freeblade areas.''

'''Owner:''' None
 
'''Leadership:''' None
 

The freeblades represent the faction-less residents working within the safe zone, providing useful skills and auxiliaries separate from the three primary factions. Some freeblades, such as the [[Prospector]] provide an incredible use to the safe zone through the obtainment of materials for the various forges needing to churn out constructed items. Others, such as the [[Gardener]] and [[Jester]] are merely present so some freeblades have work. [[Resident|Residents]] and other freeblades might also be off-duty members of factions, looking to make a bit of coin for themselves or merely take a break from their usual faction business. The [[Custodian]] is the most valued of all the freeblades and is thus paid and equipped by every faction to keep the safe zone clean and livable.

 
 
 

== External Factions ==
These factions are ones outside the safe zone, either outside of Hammer's Fall itself or simply outside the safe zone. They are notable enough to be common backgrounds for some and can be treated as common knowledge by most.

===Sons of Baitaal===
'''Leader:''' Pliny the Hero
 
The Sons of Baitaal are an ancient religious order first coming into being during the time of knights before the invention of gunpowder and rune lanterns. Originally hailing from the Onokrin empire and made up primarily of humans and orcs, this organization in the modern age is bent towards witch hunting, occult disruption, and hunting down the undead. Though officially practitioners of necromancy and occultism are not inherently enemies of the empire thanks to the actions of lord Magnus, the sons often hunt down criminals who will use darker magics to further their goals, presuming the sons are not seeking to slay the mindless undead that wanders the ruins and darker places in the realm.

The original Sons of Baitaal who formed before the lich wars were said to have come together because of the curse of xaal that causes all corpses of sapient creatures to rise into undead monsters unless properly buried with the correct funeral rites. Their methods of purifying and destroying these risen corpses and curing the potential sickness and disease that might be spread have made them a popular house-hold name. The Sons are a largely religious order, paying their respects to Baitaal and through it high high-ranking members and lords are often gifted abilities that liken them to paladins, while their rosaria corps makes them exceptional healers through the use of rune lanterns.

Many who join the sons do so for personal, religious, or career reasons. Former tribals and the garm are popular recruits as they often benefit greatly from the strict hierarchy that the sons have and are given training to make them better fit for empire society. Those who join for career reasons do so as a method of advancing into military positions across the world without risking themselves on the front lines of the active elven war. While some view this as cowardly, the greater focus on individual training often makes former members of the Sons deadly combatants, and long term members become experts are dealing with the unsavory creatures lurking in the dark.

Those seeking not to be wretch slayers often fall into the rosaria corp and hospitaller orders where they provide services to frontier towns in need, healing to the masses, and a wide variety of charity functions that offer food and shelter to the destitute. It is through this that the sons remain relevant today and are greatly valued by most of the populace.

Positions within the sons can commonly be referred to this list, though not all positions are listed these are the most common ones people who work with the sons would have as reference for their experience.

* '''Paladin''' - The highest rank within the Sons' martial legions, these men and women can be considered as close to an exalted knight as one can get. They lead groups of crusaders ranging from kill teams of only a dozen men to potentially a full company of a hundred, usually with the attached rosaria company for support. Paladins are said to have the direct favor of Baitaal and while a lord paladin could channel divine energy easily and directly, lesser paladins will find it not as easily called even if it is what sets them apart from crusaders beyond merely their greater martial skill.
* '''Crusader''' - The technically rank and file combatant of the Sons of Baitaal, these are the heavily equipped and ready soldiers of the sons adorned in plate armor and carrying great swords as their weapons of choice. Many also carry prayer books and have scriptures and purity seals adorning their armor. Make no mistake though, these trappings of scholarly implications adorning their armor pales in comparison to how the Sons operate as ruthless tactical squads that support each other in combat like well-drilled soldiers. They are the most common martial rank among the sons. They are considered the 'loud' option compared to wretch slayers and will often deploy in squads or companies to uproot heavy undead infestations or necromancers who have become enemies of the empire.
* '''Wretch Slayer''' - Often called witch hunters, wretch slayers are more of a combination of tracker and ranger than soldier or warrior-priest, they are the investigators and hunters of all the creations of Xaal and are thus most often paranoid, cloaked in shadow, and always on the move in their lone crusades. Wretch slayers rarely work with even other wretch slayers, preferring to move swiftly and quietly alone and marking locations and discoveries for squads of crusaders or paladins to storm in and clean up the filth. As a result of their dangerous work, old wretch slayers are very rare but highly respected by all even if their identities are rarely known.
* '''Rosaria''' - The priestly aspect of the sons, the rosaria are expert healers world renowned for both their magical powers and expert medical training in both surgery and alchemy. Most rosaria come with a rosaria rune lantern but a select few are psionic and follow the vitalist path for healing. Both are well respected inside and outside the sons usual companies. Though many rosaria will at some point be attached to a company of crusaders to provide support, most never see a single day of active combat, the bulk of rosaria are stationed across the world in towns and villages acting working in largely staffed hospitals to bring succor to the masses. The initial Rosaria at the founding of the Sons were devout servants of Baitaal, but in later years many pay equal and sometimes secretly more devotion to Ravendara to further improve their healing abilities. This duel allegiance sets them apart both in faith and iconography, as many Rosaria take more druidic approaches to their clothing rather than the silk and steel the rest of the sons choose.
* '''Templar''' - The guard forces of the sons, set apart from active fighters and hunters by way of being ever-vigilant watchers of towns, camps, cities, and holdings of interest to the sons. Templars are often even more heavily equipped than crusaders as they need not worry about lugging heavy equipment hundreds of miles. However, their position as both guards and watchers makes them a little less trusted than most sons. Templars are often the eyes and ears of wretch slayers and will actively report suspicious or suspected cult activities. Garm in particular have an almost racial distrust of templars, a mutual feeling given any sign of the feasting affliction that garm suffers from will certainly draw the templars and soon the wretch slayers.
* '''Brother/Sister''' - The administration, clergy, and menials of the Sons, being neither combatants nor healers, they make up the majority of the sons internal works by managing all manner of logistics and clerical operations ranging from priests and priestess giving sermons to administrators concerned with moving and managing supplies either paid to or donated to the Sons. The highest ranks of which are called brother-superior/sister-superior and abbot/abbess. Brother/sister-superiors are attached to crusader companies, forming what is more or less a combination of quartermaster and head priest to manage prayer sessions or ensure the logistics of managing a crusade. Those tasked with managing a permanent holding for the sons are known as abbots/abbesses and almost always come from noble or merchant backgrounds used to dealing with the complex logistics of a country spanning organization. Unlike average nobles, who may or may not be corrupt or self-serving, the sons are ruthlessly efficient at weeding out corruption, thus many abbots or abbesses are often well known, well respected, and called on by lords when a skilled administrator is needed to sort out any potential corruption, particularly within the nobility itself and often with a few wretch slayers in tow.

 
 
 

===Order of Brass===
'''Leader:''' Lonesome Gract (Missing, presumed deceased)
 
The order of brass is one of the newest forms of magic. While ancient magic and alchemy have always existed and each empire has its selection of magical specialization be it runic, psionic, or weaving, the order of brass is made up of members from every empire. First made by the legendary lord of clockwork Lonesome Gract who forged the city of brass shortly before disappearing, most of the order are made up of goblins, rodentfolk, and humans. Though it accepts any who show the proper aptitudes.

Its lord, Lonesome Gract, disappeared some time ago and is presumed to either be dead or in parts unknown. In his place, a small council has formed to oversee the city of brass, though the city itself is largely autonomous thanks to its hundreds of clockwork golems operating day and night. The council oversees its engineers and the newly indicted. All brass hearts will have joined this order at some point to receive their implant, with many coming to enhance their abilities or train to become golem pilots to better aid the ongoing war effort.

The order of brass is more of a city-state than most factions, as such it has no real ranking system or chain of command. However, as is natural for people, they do recognize different groups and polities within their ranks. Generally separated by expertise, most of the brass city can fall into engineers, clocksmiths, and timekeepers. While by no means the only form of magical researcher or arcane title, the order of brass helpfully splits into these major divisions that may differ on finer detail but ultimately recognize people of like mind and ability.

Engineers are those who work mainly with golems and weapons and are often sub-divided into golem crafters and their pilots but so much overlap exists that engineer is the usual title. Whereas most members of the order will exclusively work in bronze and clockwork, the engineers will use any form of magical material and technology available to craft more powerful, sturdy, and deadly golems to deploy (at a very sizeable cost) for the empire and federation, though some rare and very well-funded groups might hire them as mercenaries. Many engineers thus have a much broader understanding of both magitech and a variety of science or magic beyond than what the order generally focuses on, making them widely skilled. Most distinguish themselves by their brass and brown jumpsuits often embossed with a singular pauldron depicting the order's cog to befit a mechanic.

Clocksmiths are responsible not only for the titular brass hearts almost everyone in the order has but also focus heavily on clockwork automatons and creations. Surprisingly, they have the fewest numbers among their ranks and those who understand their complex technology to an impressive degree are even more rare. Clocksmiths are thus rather insular and are loathe to reveal the secrets of their science, not that most care, even within the order of brass few are willing to dedicate the difficult and often experimental amount of time required to make even the most basic of clockwork contraptions. Clocksmiths usually show their allegiance by their creations alone, often accompanied by a simple machine or carrying complex gadgets.

The timekeepers are the only religious sect within the order of brass, an off-shoot of one of the few remaining dwarves who carried his religion from his theocratic nation. Though this dwarf has stricken his name from all records and does not quite preach the details of his now-forgotten faith, it is considered a splinter of the followers of baitaal, finding order and structure within machines. From what inklings can be found of this very small cult that rarely leaves the order of brass, the members are obsessed with keeping time and often build complex and ornate clocks, watches, and timepieces for a reason that is often answered when questioning members by long platitudes about the importance of and perspective of 'time immeasurable, ancient, and forgotten'. While most treat timekeepers as eccentric they do add the very distinct benefit of having near-perfect logistical, organizational, and unsurprisingly timekeeping skills. Each one can be identified by his ornate timepiece, usually with a tau cross of Baitaal on the casing.

 
 
 

=== Chosen of Xaal ===
'''Leader:''' Bonecaller Magnus Souldour
 
The chosen of Xaal are a widely disliked but necessary organization, often likened to tax collectors in how many speak of them. The chosen, also known as Xaal's chosen, house the death priest caste who oversee the burial, rites, and entombment of the dead through rituals that prevent the buried from ever rising as an undead creature, even if a necromancer attempts to directly raise them. The chosen of Xaal are nearly as old as the sons of Baitaal as they seek to prevent undead from rising while the sons carry out the culling of the newly risen. Though relations with the Sons have worsened in recent times thanks to Magnus and his political maneuvering allowing for 'empire-sanctioned' necromancers. Those necromancers under order of Magnus or merely attuning their rune lanterns for necromancy are considered members of the chosen and entirely within their legal right to practice their art.

Scholars believe that the chosen first came to be when it was observed that when any intelligent humanoid died and was not properly buried or burned on a pyre, it would eventually rise as a mindless undead creature that sought only to destroy all life. Though it often took decades or years, some corpses were seen to rise faster among evil men who perished or those who died in horrific ways. As a result, the chosen have a stigma of darkness and evil to their order, a fact not helped at all by their patron being the god of death.

In recent years the chosen have gone under much further scrutiny with the development of more refined methods of necromancy. In the past, necromancers were rare and extremely powerful magicians of ancient magic. The worst of which was the great lich Lazarus who once nearly destroyed the onokrin empire. Such monsters were a top priority for the sons of Baitaal to hunt down and kill. Yet in recent years the rune lanterns have expanded to allow more occultic arts, offering weaker and safer forms of necromantic arts. Ancient practioners still exist, many plying their trades far from civilized places within the ruins of old fortresses and bastions where they build armies of the dead. Officially, such necromancers are disavowed by the chosen and turned over to the sons to be killed and their holdings destroyed.

While the purpose of the chosen is to prevent the raising of the dead there is no true official ruling both within the chosen and within the empire on the legality of necromancy, the politics of the situation were made complex and difficult to manage due to the chosen's leader Magnus, a devout follower of Xaal and industrialist lord who revolutionized the town of Crullfield into the worlds most productive crucible for war material. The success of Magnus is based entirely on his immense necromantic powers as his legions of mindless undead work the factories day and night. Without them, the empire would be deprived of its greatest production asset and in a time of active war, nobody is willing to officially outlaw necromancy as a result. Thus, while necromancers are heavily disdained, nothing can be legally done to the average necromancer unless they violate a different crime such as grave robbing to raise the dead.

Internally, as the leader of the chosen, Magnus has not changed the rites or laws of the chosen since their inception since he took leadership. The chosen tend to the burial of any who die, the only slight change is that those whose bodies are unclaimed by family or were criminals are shipped to Crullfield to join the many factories in death. Beyond that, the embalming, ceremony, and burial of the dead remain unchanged. While one might expect the priesthood of Xaal to have all manner of ranks and honorifics they purposefully forgo such platitudes, even amongst themselves, as it is seen as ego to make yourself above or below your fellow man when death shall make you all equal. It helps that the priesthood of Xaal is quite small unless you are in a major holding such as Crullfield. The closest one can say to a ranking system they have is Magnus as the herald of Xaal, his black hand as his direct officials shepherding the remaining death priests. This ranking is technically unofficial though and even Magnus sees himself as just any other death priest, he and his black hand are set apart by their status as Magnus' lordship and his appointed nobles, differing from the priest caste.

The chosen of Xaal have their primary holdings within the Onokrin empire and smaller holdings within the Steel Legion and Warren Federation, though in the other empires the internment of the dead has different and specific rites of burial. Within the federation it is customary to cremate and bless the ashes of the dead before spreading them atop their mountains to the wind. Within the legion the dead are wrapped in cloth and rope before being blessed by wax paper seals to put the dead to rest. While an improperly buried person within the empire is likely to raise as a skeleton or zombie, within the federation most improperly blessed dead become ash wraiths that haunt the mountains and valleys. Within the legion, improperly buried dead rise as what is known in their tongue as the jiang-shi, a dangerous type of undead that drains the life and spirit of the living and is rumored to only be capable of being permanently felled by a yokai.

 
 
 

=== Faceless ===
'''Leader:''' Unknown
 
The faceless is a mysterious faction said to be one singular person, a singular man who seizes control of others through magic to subsume their identity and shift their goals to match his own. Every member of the faceless is just that, the faceless man, who might seize control of them directly like a quite literal puppet. All that is known about the faceless is that they use a specialized magical implant to convert others, but why or what they are doing is unknown. Thankfully, the faceless are extremely rare and thus considered a minor threat at best. Still, some worry they might have eyes and ears everywhere, after all, anyone can be the faceless man.

 

[[Category:Lore]]

Prospector

2025-10-14T20:35:04Z

Possum:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
!colspan="6"style="color:white; background-color:#646566; | Prospector
"Rock and stone!"
!colspan="6" | Faction:
Freeblade
!colspan="6" | Access Rune:
Mining
!colspan="6" | Faction Boss:
None
!colspan="6" |Difficulty:
Medium
|} </div>

Prospectors are cave miners who make a living getting valuable materials that can be difficult to scavenge through out the dungeon floors or via the recycler.

==Stat Requirement==
None

==Purpose==
Prospectors are the material supplier of the safe zone, having formed from a loose coalition of mainly kobolds and rodentfolk to use an abandoned teleporter and scavenged equipment to find and dig up rare ores. To aid you in this regard, you have weak but universal protective suits, mining tools, and an assorted collection of melee weapons and a crossbow. To dig up the materials you need and can get a pay out for, you need to use the teleporter, a large magical machine that will take you leagues below ground where all manner of threats reside from crystal golems to dangerous creatures like wurms and nightmare stalkers. Given how difficult and dangerous your work is, you will need every bit of help you can get, be it supplies from factions who want your materials to extra bodies on hand to help you fight.

=Smelting=
This will be subject to change when the new materials are fully updated.
{| class="wikitable" width="100%" style="background-color :lightblue;"
|- style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center; background-color:lightblue;
!colspan="4"|Processing method
|-
|width="16%"| '''Name (Raw ore)'''
|width="28%"| '''Smelting'''
|width="28%"| '''Compressing'''
|width="28%"| '''Alloying'''
|-
|'''Rough Diamond'''
|
|Diamond Sheets
|
|-
|'''Hematite'''
|Iron Ingot
|
|Steel Sheet
|-
|'''Raw Hydrogen'''
|Tritium Ingot
|Metallic Hydrogen Sheet
|
|-
|'''Native Gold'''
|Gold Ingot
|
|
|-
|'''Native Silver'''
|Silver Ingot
|
|
|-
|'''Plasma Ore'''
|Explosion
|Plasma Crystal
|Plasteel Sheets, Borosilicate Glass Sheets
|-
|'''Pitchblende'''
|Uranium Sheet
|Pitchblende Brick
|
|-
|'''Graphene/Raw Carbon'''
|Plastic Sheet
|Graphene "Sheet"
|Steel Sheet
|-
|'''Raw Platinum'''
|Platinum Ingot
|Osmium Ingot
|
|-
|'''Sand'''
|Glass Sheet
|Sandstone
|Borosilicate Glass Sheet
|}
{| class="wikitable" width="100%" style="background-color :#EEEEFF;"
|- ;style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center; background-color:lightblue;"
!colspan="3"|Alloying
|-
|width="42%"| '''Ingredient'''
|width="42%"| '''Ingredient'''
|width="16%"| '''Result'''

|-
|2 Steel
|1 Plasma Ore
|'''Plasteel Sheet'''
|-
|2 Sand
|1 Plasma Ore
|'''Borosilicate Glass Sheet'''
|-
|1 Hematite
|1 Graphene/Raw Carbon
|'''Steel Sheet'''
|}

== Tips ==
* Don't go it alone, even the strongest prospectors can be killed if alone and caught by bad luck.
* Consider buying items on credit from the Blackwood to last longer and go deeper.
* Your crossbow is not as good as a gun, but ammo is cheap and plentiful with iron rods.

=== Equipment ===
* Pick axe - A basic tool used for digging, relies on robustness and only needs minor maintenance.
* Drill - A basic fuel powered tool, requires a bit more maintenance but works faster for weaker prospectors.
* Hell Diver suit - A suit made from a handful of iron plates and leather from hell divers, provides weak but universal protection without slowing you down at all.
* Crossbow - Slow to fire and low damage but easily obtained ammo can be crafted yourself and brought plentifully, good for downing weak creatures or softening up stronger ones. Deadly with multiple prospectors all shooting the same target.

=== Advanced Tips ===
* You do not need to mine everything, the teleporter can be re-calibrated to find easier locations with less hostiles when you get the easier mineral veins.
* Nobody can hear you down there, if you die alone and don't have a life rune, nobody will find you for quite some time.

 
 
{{Roles}}
[[Category: Roles]]

Sledge

2025-10-14T20:34:49Z

Possum:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
!colspan="6"style="color:white; background-color:#8cbcd6; | Sledge
"Big heavy steps from a body in full plate and a massive hammer make a better point then soft spoken words and a big stick."
!colspan="6" | Faction:
Breakers
!colspan="6" | Access Rune:
Breakers
!colspan="6" | Faction Boss:
Hammerlord
!colspan="6" |Difficulty:
Medium
|} </div>

Sledges are the rank and file of the breakers, being one of the only people given training and standard issue plate armor, expensive but effective suits of protection that make sledges an unstoppable force in melee.

==Stat Requirement==
* Toughness: 20
* Robustness: 20

==Purpose==
Sledges act as the primary form of police within the safe zone, being the best equipped and strongest capable fighters for ensuring others do not cause trouble. To enforce the agreement between factions you make arrests at the behest of agents, or lacking one, your forge master. Cuffed criminals should then be handed over to the forge master for processing. As one of the few people trained to properly wear heavy armor, you are also have the best defense of anyone within the safe zone while not losing any mobility in return. Expect to act as a meat shield for your fellow residents, being on the front lines and shrugging off the worst punishment through sheer grit. On expeditions for loot, your strength and defensive prowess means you shall usually be leading the way.

You are not, however, a stupid brute meant to act as a meat shield. A sledge is still a lawman and should be capable of diplomacy, deescalation, and following the chain of command. Your highest priority orders come from the [[Hammerlord]] first and the [[Master of the Forge]] second. Additionally, you should be expected to work closely and well with the [[Agent]] and [[Penumbra]] from the Abbey. They investigate the crimes and you carry out arrests and fines before turning over prisoners to the forge master for processing and imprisonment. On expeditions, you are expected to provide cover and scouting to protect softer residents who lack your defensive expertise. Teamwork is essential for a good sledge.

== Tips ==
* You are the only person in the entire safe zone besides the hammerlord who can wear heavy armor without suffering severe penalties. Be ready to be first into the fray and plan to get hit.
* Your armor does not make you a god, you can and will take stacking damage and some damage types you might not be able to resist with your armor, like magical attacks or toxic venom like spider bites.
* Melee is your bread and butter, while the traditional sledge uses a massive two handed hammer, consider taking alternative weapons for different situations. Like shields to block toxic enemies or a back up revolver to shoot enemies too risky to engage in melee.
* When not on an expedition, keep the peace, go on patrol and keep an eye out for others to make sure nobody causes any trouble. Violence should be a last resort.
* While it is a last resort, make sure you're incredibly good at violence. Hesitation means death.

=== Unique Equipment ===
* Heavy Armor - Sledges have a variety of heavy armor options, each suited for dealing with different types of damage mitigation.

=== Advanced Tips ===
* Be intimately familiar with the laws and what needs to be enforced.
* Never approach a situation alone, if needed secure your location and call for back up through your communications crystal.
* Make use of your emergency codes in a tight spot, other breakers will understand.

 
 
{{Roles}}
[[Category: Roles]]

Standard Operating Procedure

2025-10-14T20:34:31Z

Possum:

Standard operating procedure is a loose set of rules whose sole purpose is to be a guideline to the three factions. '''These are hard rules that must be followed. They are kept short, simple, and few for that reason.'''

= The Council =
The council is made up of each direct faction head of staff, secondary positions such as the penumbra, master of the forge, and speaker do not get a vote nor are they considered council members except where explicitly noted. A decision from the council has absolute authority and precedence over all other decisions, regulations, and rules except during a code ruby scenario. Members of the council are given only a small set of rules that apply during any council vote or decision.

* All residents must respect a decision made by the council and follow said decision. This includes even dissenting options from heads of staff. Issues with a vote can be taken to the High Council via faxes for an appeal. All low council votes are to be followed, even if contested, unless overruled by High Council or another Low Council vote.

* All heads of staff are required to vote yes or no during a decision. Any head of staff that refuses to make a decision or abstains is to be demoted on the spot. This is not negotiable, you are a leader and expected to make choices, especially hard choices. '''Any head of staff attempting to abstain or not vote is to be demoted on the spot.'''
* Second in commands are not considered apart of the low council. They do not get to vote, however they may weigh in or be present during council decisions at the discretion of the council member they answer to. Ergo a merchant can allow the penumbra in the council chambers during a vote, only he has the discretion to allow or deny the penumbra.
* If an incident happens and heads of staff are not present due to being on an expedition or otherwise indisposed the decision is to be postponed until they return.
* While any head of staff may leave at their discretion, they are required to return or remain if a vote is pending.
* A head of staff that plans accordingly may choose to have their second in command vote in their place during a decision. This must be explicitly stated in the event they know they will be gone for longer than usual.
* If no head of staff for a faction is present, their second in command can act as them for the purpose of voting and decisions.
* A decision is only valid if one acting HoS vote from each faction is made.

== Demoting Staff ==

In the event that a head of staff desires the demotion of a staff member in their faction they must meet one of the following criteria.

* Dereliction of Duty, the subject in question failed to perform their job duty at the bare minimum satisfaction.
* Negligence, the subject in question performed a grossly incompetent action while on duty that resulted in injury, loss of life, damages, or loss of property.
* Criminal activity, the subject in question performed an orange or red paragraph crime in which they were successfully convicted of.
* Failure to execute an order, the subject willfully and knowingly defied a valid order from their respective head of staff. Note that this only covers valid orders pertaining to their department, a head of staff could enforce a no smoking policy on his staff inside medical but not outside of medical.

Faction members who have been demoted three times from their respective faction may be permanently demoted and unable to take work in any positions within that faction, unless an exemption is given [[Job_Strikes_and_You| (This will typically lead to a job strike at staff's discretion)]]. Not all demotions are considered valid and they are required to record with the [[Example Paperwork|proper paperwork using a dismissal]] form before being telegraphed to their respective faction owner for review.

Evidence or testimony regarding the demotion is to be attached to the demotion form when sent. The fired employee is, similarly, to be given a full copy as well after dismissal.

== How to order an execution ==
In the rare and unfortunate event that a resident has committed a crime in which execution is considered a certain criteria must be met in order for the execution to be valid.

* Assuming the person in question is successfully convicted and placed within the brig a penumbra must be present to arbitrate the crime to first ensure that the conviction is entirely valid with appropriate evidence and witnesses.
* A vote is to be made. Unlike normal votes being majority, this vote must have all three council members voting for execution to be valid.
* For an execution to be considered valid upon finishing discussion of the case all heads of staff must vote unanimously for execution and then sign and stamp a document that will be faxed to whichever faction owner presides over the prisoner. A reply will then be made back approving said execution.
* The prisoner is then executed by the Hammerlord's discretion once approved by the relevant faction owner.

== Telegraphs ==
As a head of staff and council member, you are the most responsible person within your faction and as such are expected to handle most situations without having to fax the High Council. Only when it is absolutely necessary or outside of your hands, experience, or capabilities, should you fax the High Council. The High Council may not always respond to a fax sent to them, especially when the fax sent does not warrant a response from the High Council. Only when it's absolutely needed, the High Council will send a response.

=Faction-Specific SoP=
The situation all residents find themselves in is making the best of a bad situation, thus the guide lines are kept short and general because people are expected to use reasonable and common sense judgements. Nobody wants to be handed a fifty page bible on law, anyone who forces new additions to SoP will swiftly have the [[Laws|'he had it coming']] applied to them liberally.

==Breakers==
In general, breakers are considered given the free choice between patrolling the safe zone or joining expeditions down below, their armor and physical training make them the best suited for more dangerous missions. The only expectation that is given is that at least one breaker should remain in the safe zone to process any prisoners or aid with any investigations. This duty normally falls to the master of the forge but can be taken by anyone, even the hammer-lord.

===General SoP===
* Read the [[Laws]] page.
* You're the only line between law and anarchy, proper escalation is considered important but the moment someone draws or uses a lethal weapon you may choose to respond with lethal weapons. Be sure to consider the actual lethality. A fork or rubber ducky is not reasonably lethal. A kitchen knife or crowbar is.
* Agents and Penumbras investigate the crimes, you fine, process, and brig the people based on their findings. If you dispute their findings the penumbra has the final say on a valid charge. The Hammerlord has the final say on the brig time.
* Undead are a known threat, handcuff corpses just to be safe.
* Residents and Freeblades that are faction-less are still protected by the law. Treat them no different than those in factions.
* It is up to your discretion to invoke the 'He had it coming' clause but only an agent or penumbra can declare it justified. Do not abuse this to break the legs of people you don't like or who only mildly annoy you.

===Processing Prisoners===
* If the crime can be paid via a fine, offer them first and foremost the chance to pay. This does not require taking them to the brig, it can be paid on the spot.
* Processing should not take a long time, explain or have the agent pushing the charge explain the evidence before the accused and why they are being brigged.
* If they wish to argue their case instead of being in a cell, that is their choice. If their argument takes awhile, that is on them.
* If the evidence is clear cut enough to be indisputable you are not required to listen to their argument and can toss them in a cell.
* If a cell time is less than ten minutes, you may choose to forgo stripping them and putting them in prisoner clothes at your discretion.
* If a person attempts suicide, you may choose to not to intervene. A corpse is easier to toss in the morgue than a dangerous prisoner and suicides are automatic 'Do-Not-Revive'. This is considered a self solving problem at that point. ((Suicidal players should still be a-helped, as that is a PK and likely banning as well))

==Blackwood Abbey==
The abbey has very few rules and very few concerns when it comes to much of the various potential situations they might find themselves in. As a result, most concerns are with their agents. One agent should always be on hand to investigate any crimes going on in the safe zone, the remainder may do as they wish, including joining expeditions.

===General SoP===
* This is a syndicate, not a charity. Charge for your services.
* You set the prices, including if its free, but 'free' does not always mean free. You might make the drinks free at the tavern to bring people in but price the food to make up for it. You should have a goal of money somewhere.
* The kitchen can be used by both beast masters and fixers. The bar is for fixers and the ranch for beast masters, communicate so you do not over step your bounds.
* The supply depot can be run by the fixers or the merchant, do not be afraid to help the merchant out.
* Fixers have a wide variety of tasks they perform, while the merchant can order you to focus on one, you are generally left to choose whatever you wish be it working the tavern, selling product, crafting scrap ammo, or pitching in at the supply depot.

===Agent SoP===
* Read the [[Laws]] page.
* You are detectives first, rogues second. Being a good back stabber and handy with lockpicks does not mean your main purpose is anything but investigating potential crimes in the safe zone.
* You're the only line between law and anarchy, proper escalation is considered important but the moment someone draws or uses a lethal weapon you may choose to respond with lethal weapons. Be sure to consider the actual lethality. A fork or rubber ducky is not reasonably lethal. A kitchen knife or crowbar is.
* You investigate, gather evidence, catalogue and write paperwork of a potential crime and then hand off the recommendation of fines or brigging for a criminal to the breakers.
* You can make arrests, just as the breakers can, but detainment and fines should be done by breakers.
* You cannot evoke the 'he had it coming' clause. You can, however, ask a breaker to do it for you if someone deserves it.

==Ascendant==
The ascendant are a scholarly organization and thus have few hard rules, the only true considerations they have are for when experiments get out of hand or detailing medical procedures. A single rosaria should always be on duty in the medical wing to heal any injured that come in.

===General SoP===
* The slime pens should be carefully monitored and potential break outs dealt with swiftly before they get out of hand.
* The rune forge is not a free for all, only the rune master should be accessing any devices in there, including the auto-forge unless permission is given.
* The same goes for the alchemy station and rosaria garden, they are for medical purposes and should be respected.
* The alchemical fridge is not a personal stocking free-for-all, take only what you justifiably need and announce if you take the last bottle of any chemical as a courtesy.
* The ascendant jealously guard their methods of creation, do not allow anyone to have rune plates that can create core magi-tech like the auto forge.

===Rosaria SoP===
* '''One rosaria is required to be on duty at all times within medical, coordinate with your fellows. You are the only experts in the healing arts, without you, everyone else is screwed in the event of a crisis.'''
* The alchemy fridge should always be stocked with two of every basic healing potion.
* Medkits should be restocked when they run out via the garden and attached processor.
* Inform others when you join expeditions, you are extremely valuable and your where abouts should be accounted for, even if you are taking a break.
* Be ready to be on call at all times, even if it means leaving whatever it is your doing to return to the medical wing.

Firebrand

2025-10-14T20:33:21Z

Possum:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
!colspan="6"style="color:white; background-color:#8cbcd6; | Firebrand
"Adept maneuvers and a whirlwind of lead light my blood on fire!"
!colspan="6" | Faction:
Breakers
!colspan="6" | Access Rune:
Breakers
!colspan="6" | Faction Boss:
Hammerlord
!colspan="6" |Difficulty:
Medium
|} </div>

Firebrands are the mobile gun men of the breakers, specializing in deft movements and careful application of magical and non-magical gun shots. Effective scouts and good on their own, firebrands make effective auxiliary.

==Stat Requirement==
* Toughness: 10
* Robustness: 10
* Vigilance: 20

==Purpose==
Firebrands are no slouch in combat, specializing in the use of revolvers and relying heavily on movement and staying power thanks to their unique weapon. Like the [[Ashman]], the firebrand can effectively use a specific type of firearm better than anyone else. Firebrands can shoot revolvers without needing to manually cock the hammer and thanks to their different training can combat roll to avoid danger, allowing them to leap with less penalty and land on their feet. Additionally, much like the ashmen, the firebrand can shoot past his allies without needing to worry about hitting them. A firebrands unique revolver is also half magical, allowing a firebrand to switch between ballistic and magical shooting. The magical aspect of the firebrand revolver cannot be reloaded, but does slowly recharge on its own, allowing a firebrand to last much longer on an expedition versus the ashman.

As a result of your lasting ammo out the gate, a firebrand is often on an expedition versus the ashman's more patrol and guard focused duty. That said, you are still a breaker, you are expected to be a good diplomat and uphold the law while carrying out arrests at the behest of agents. Your ability to move quickly and dodge roll also means you are the best for tracking down criminals, so do not be surprised if a wily trouble maker becomes a bounty for you to hunt down.

== Tips ==
* When firing your weapon on help intent, you cannot hit other players, allowing you to shoot past players safely even without a clear line of fire. Switch to harm intent to target players when firing.
* Ammo is very expensive and cannot be found anywhere, you can only purchase regular and scrap ammo from Blackwood fixers or the merchant.
* You will automatically cock any single action revolver upon firing, as a result you can fire much faster then most.
* Your unique revolver can switch between firing modes to high damage magical lasers with regenerating ammo. Though low damage, shots are plentiful, use as you need.

=== Equipment ===
* Fire Lance - A revolver unique to the firebrands, capable of switching between ballistic and magical shots. Your perfect side arm.

=== Advanced Tips ===
* You will rarely ever find a side arm better than your fire lance, do not lose it.
* Dodge rolling is an effective means of avoiding projectiles and melee attacks but be careful. It does lower your nutrition a small amount with every use, so pack a lunch!
* Having a second revolver with a larger caliber can be good for sticky situations.
* Your high mobility and lasting power by your magical gun and ability to dodge make you an effective lone gunman. You are not invincible however, all it takes is one bad dodge to get brutally injured. Be careful.

 
 
{{Roles}}
[[Category: Roles]]

Rune Master

2025-10-14T20:33:09Z

Possum:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
!colspan="6"style="color:white; background-color:#DDA0DD; | Rune Master
"Engineering, research, magic. I can do it all."
!colspan="6" | Faction:
Ascendant
!colspan="6" | Access Rune:
Ascendant
!colspan="6" | Faction Boss:
Exalted
!colspan="6" |Difficulty:
Medium
|} </div>

Rune masters are the magical and mundane researchers of the Ascendant, experts at creating regular items, magical items, golems, and clockwork contraptions.

==Stat Requirement==
* Mechanical: 30
* Cognition: 10

==Purpose==
As a rune master your primary purpose is maintaining the power grid that powers the safe zone through the use of the biogenerator, a massive fantastical machine that grinds down life and turns it into recycled power for every light and machine across the safe zone. This produced slop of alchemical mixture can also be refined into organic items, allowing you to make a variety of useful items that can be distributed to others.

In addition to maintaining the power you are also called upon for complex repairs, such as damage to power grids, replacing destroyed doors, or fixing broken walls and other systems both magic and mundane. Your rune forge is capable of creating a variety of materials from weapons to rune plates to build magical machines. This complex device requires resonance and materials to work and can provide schematics for your golem forge so you can make minor and major golem creatures to serve the Ascendant.

Beyond your forges, you also have access to the clockwork lab where specialized brass systems can be put together using wiring and know how. The sky is truly the limit. Finally, your last concern is the slime pens, where slimes are bred and tinkered with to create various magical cores that can prove quite useful for day-to-day operations. Though dangerous, it is highly versatile. You need a wide variety of materials for your work so you will find yourself often bartering with prospectors, the Blackwood, or dungeon divers and much of what can be found below are highly valued for your rune forge.

== Tips ==
* Your exalted has access to your faction account, ask them to give you a stipend to buy materials with.
* You have a wide variety of tasks you can perform, but priority should always be ensuring that the power is set up and working.
* Biomass is highly adaptable, useful for making medkits, bandages, and even some chemicals. Be sure to inform the rosaria if you have a surplus.

=== Unique Equipment ===
None, but your ability to manipulate the biogenerator is unique to your spells.

=== Advanced Tips ===
* Most people, in particular prospectors, are willing to part with materials and items for creations at your rune forge, just because you do not have access to your faction's funds does not mean you cannot barter.
* The custodian can handle minor repairs in your place, coordinating with them can save you time for more important work.
* A few extra canisters of liquid biomatter can be set aside and swapped easily to restore power reserves when it gets low, usually only four cans will be enough for most shifts. More canisters can be solidified and turned into processed items.

 
 
{{Roles}}
[[Category: Roles]]

Roles

2025-10-14T20:32:56Z

Possum:

<div class="noprint" style="background-color:#FAFAFA; position:fixed; bottom:2%; left:0.25%; padding:0; margin:0;">
[[#top|Back to Top]]
</div>
Your '''Job''' is what you are assigned to do. It defines what equipment you start with, your ID card access, and what you're actually supposed to be doing.

Some useful links:
* [[Character Creation]]
* [[Safe Zone Factions]]
* [[Standard Operating Procedure]]
* [[Guides]]
* [[Tips]]
* [[Relays]]

You should also read up about [[Laws]], so you know your rights, and [[Standard Operating Procedure]] so you know what you should usually do.

Due to the safe zone's open recruitment principle, you might encounter some interesting new [[Core Races|Races]] working alongside you.

== Breakers ==

{| style="background-color:#EEEEEF;" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
! style="background-color:#0b60e8;" width="200" |Job
! style="background-color:#0b60e8;" |Role
! style="background-color:#0b60e8;" width="100" |Difficulty
|-
![[Hammerlord]]
|The hammerlord serves as the head of office of the local regiment of the breakers. The breakers are contracted to protect the safe zone, working between the position of mercenaries and an order of knights. Your main objective is to maintain the law and safety of the safe zone, intervening when the agreement is breached and handling disputes between factions, freeblades, and outsiders. Secondarily, you lead your men into delving into the dungeons below, slaying monsters and collecting supplies for both yourselves and your fellow factions.
!Colossal
|-
![[Master of the Forge]]
|The master of the forge is the right hand of the hammerlord and the defacto controller of the armory. The master of the forge has the primary role of improving, modifying, and otherwise making weapons and armor better. Your job will often call you to use your forge to enchant or improve the armor and melee weapons of your breakers or create modifications for tools. Since your duties often keep you within the breaker's bunker, you will also be expected to process and manage prisoners, ranging from collecting fines to moving prisoners in and out. When the breakers do not need you, you can offer your services to the other factions for money and materials for your forge. You answer to the hammerlord, but if he leaves the bunker, you'll be expected to manage everything in his stead.
!Soul-Crushing
|-
![[Sledge]]
|The sledges serves as the closest thing to law and order that the safe zone has, positioned somewhere between a guard and knight-errant. Your primary job is to act as an enforcer for each faction, ensuring crime is kept to a minimum and intervening when someone violates the agreement. Your secondary job is being a walking tank of steel and armor, able to move swiftly into hundreds of pounds of armor that lets you absorb blows that would kill lesser men. When not actively aiding dungeon divers, you act as a guard, carrying a big stick and letting the thunder of your boots and swings from your hammer speak for you.
!Medium
|-
![[Ashman]]
|The ash men form the base of the breaker's marksmen, they make up the wall of guns between the safe zone and external hazards. While much of the safe zone is enclosed hallways, your rifle is the backbone of the breaker's defensive lines, with every hall being a potential kill zone. Tactics and teamwork are vital, you carry incredibly powerful guns and need to pick your shots carefully, from sniping down long halls to point blank shotgun surgery. When no active threats are going on, your most common job is aiding your fellow breakers and dungeon divers with your powerful firearms. Though you are easily the most powerfully equipped in the breakers, remember that ammunition is expensive and extremely rare to find. Make every bullet count.
!Hard
|-
![[Firebrand]]
|The firebrands represent the moving of the times, being men of the frontier and scouts who use only the most advanced form of six-shooters. Like the ashmen, firebrands are equipped with two firearms, a custom designed revolver and a magical pistol that fires exceptionally deadly gouts of flame. Unlike the ashmen and to a lesser extent the sledges, firebrands favor mobility over entrenched positions and heavy armor, giving them a knack for leaping and dodge rolling. While a crack shot with your pistols, the main purpose of the firebrands is to act as scouts and performing reconnaissance in dangerous locations, often working with small teams or alone. In times of peace, you are a guard like any other breaker, enforcing the agreement and maintaining the safe zones peace.
!Medium
|}

== Blackwood Abbey ==

{| style="background-color:#FFFFDD;" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
! style="background-color:orange;" width="200" |Job
! style="background-color:orange;" |Role
! style="background-color:orange;" width="100" |Difficulty
|-
![[Merchant]]
|The merchant is responsible for the current operations of the Blackwood, maintaining a thriving economy through their various shops. Your main objective, bluntly, is to make as much money as you can. Purchase and acquire goods, and sell them on for a profit. Your fixers will handle most of the grunt work and your hospitality employees will provide drinks and food. They are capable - utilize them well. The clockwork vendors found through out the safe zone are operated by your company, earning you profits, be sure to keep an eye on them. There is a market for contraband and more unscrupulous services. Venturing into this area may prove profitable, but comes with risk. Lastly, you should always be considering what your fellow syndicate members needs for their jobs, such as supplying the kitchen with greens or fixers with materials.
!Complicated
|-
![[Penumbra]]
|The penumbra is an enforcer for the Blackwood Abbey, relying on their innate skills and knowledge to keep the syndicate in working order. While you technically answer only to Boss Yaga, you are expected to follow the direct orders of the merchant during day to day operations. The skills of a penumbra make them an excellent at picking locks and killing specific targets, but that is considered secondary to your main job. When not helping the merchant the penumbra is expected to aid the breakers and the general populace as an investigator, using their shadowy talents to keep and observant eye on things. Aiding you is your team of agents who answer to you and only you, you must guide them in assisting others be it as detectives or dungeoneers. Though you are largely independent, your primary goal should be to always aid the members of the Syndicate, be they your agents or otherwise.
!Complex
|-
![[Fixer]]
|When it comes to making money the heart and soul of the syndicate's wealth comes from its fixers, providing services to any and all. Your primary job is multipurpose, fixers can tend to the bar and kitchen, manage the supply depot, and provide a variety of crafting services. At the bar, you serve drinks and talk with patrons, offering specific drinks and foods while talking about the day to day. In the kitchen you cook exotic and specific meals for patrons, using your supply of secret spices to do it better than anyone else. From the supply depot your the main supplier of expensive guns, ammunitions, and otherwise supplies, working as the middleman between customers and the Blackwood's storage depot. Finally, as a fixer you know a variety of different crafts, letting you expertly modify, fix, restore, and create all manner of tools, weapons, and even firearms to both trade and sell.
!Busy
|-
![[Agent]]
|Agents are a group of clandestine employees hired by the Blackwood Abbey to act as investigators, dungeon explorers, and at rare times assassins. Your primary job as an agent is to keep crime to a minimum in the safe zone, investigating crimes and working with the breakers to imprison those who violate the agreement. When not working as a gumshoe, you have a wide variety of talents useful to dungeoneers, such as being able to unlock chests and doors. To further aid you in supporting others, you are well equipped to perform lethal backstabs with your daggers, executing enemies with ease provided you can get behind them. You also have access to a special laboratory, giving you a wide selection of methods to investigate potential crimes. Unlike other members of the Blackwood, you answer only to the penumbra, who answers directly to Boss Yaga.
!Medium
|-
![[Beast Master]]
|Beast matters derive their name from the animals they manage, be it chickens and cows for the kitchen or more volatile beasts meant to aid in keeping the safe zone secure. The beast masters primary duty is tending to their many animals, breeding fighting beasts for any willing to buy one and farming those meant for food. Your second duty is using left over animal parts to make higher quality equipment out of lower quality materials, ranging from leather armor to bone forged weapons. You know a fair bit about farming to aid in tending to your animals, so you will often be supplying the kitchen with meats and greens. Finally you are an expert in the bodies and anatomy of monsters and creatures, letting you find additional useful, rare, and potentially valuable parts when butchering them. All in all, you are the wild man of the safe zone, trying to make use of the nature and ecology in the closed ecosystem of Hammerfall.
!Easy
|}

== Ascendant ==
{| style="background-color:#EEEEFF;" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
! style="background-color:#DDA0DD;" width="200" |Job
! style="background-color:#DDA0DD;" |Role
! style="background-color:#DDA0DD;" width="100" |Difficulty
|-
![[Exalted]]
|The exalted is the chief magi of the ascendant, directing all the lantern bearers, psions, and brass hearts within the safe zone. The exalteds main purpose is directing the rune masters and rosaria to supply other residents with magical items and magical healing. The exalted also has access to the ascendants vast resources of wealth, giving them the ability to broker deals to keep their magi supplied. Your work is often misunderstood, as you and your speaker are the only ones able to use the weaving chambers, which provide numerous enchantments to the body directly. Of course, you are a powerful magi in your own right, and should support your fellows in any way they need, be it buying supplies or direct magical aid. The speaker is also your direct assistant and, more than likely, closest associate. You are expected not only to work closely with them, but get along.
!Very Hard
|-
![[Speaker]]
|The speaker is the exalted's right hand man and functions as an advisor and assistant. Your main purpose is to accompany the exalted and provide whatever aid they need, be it working at the weaving stations or direct protection. While the exalted functions more as a face and benefactor, you are more directly concerned with the day-to-day operations of the ascendant. When not working directly with the exalted, you should be assisting anyone who can make use of your skills. Just like the exalted, you have access to the weaving machines, allowing you to research and create various enchantments.
!Hard
|-
![[Rune Master]]
|The rune master is a magical researcher and creator, capable of creating and using runes to forge magical items. While rune masters are most known for creating magical items and weapons, you also maintain the safe zones power grid and structural integrity. Like a primitive engineer and archtitect, rune masters repair and fix parts of the safe zone to prevent them from fully breaking down. When not doing repairs, rune masters run the arcane lab where they produce all manners of interesting and useful magical items. Lastly, you have access to the golem manufactorum, where various golems and golem accessories are produced, ranging from magical armors to autonomous servants.
!Medium
|-
![[Rosaria]]
|The rosaria is a professional medic and surgeon dedicated to healing the sick and injured, at all costs. A broad range of medical procedures fall under your purview - diagnostics, general treatment, surgery, and magical healing. What cannot be fixed using spells can be done with alchemy or surgery, giving you a wide variety of treatment options. In addition to healer, you are also an alchemist, with a fully stocked and capable alchemy lab that allows you to refine natural chemicals into powerful medicines. While secondary to your main goal, the rosaria also has access to industrial farming equipment so you may harvest raw healing chemicals to further refine.
!Hard
|-
![[Seeker]]
|The seeker is the rank and file of the ascendants magical fighters, those capable of support through rune lanterns or fighting with psionics. While you are by no means a heavy hitter or front liner like someone from the blackwood or breakers, as a seeker you provide magical aid through various methods. This includes summoning daemons, creating undead minions, giving party wide enchantments, or providing range support via spells and psionics abilities. Additionally, you are one of the few people capable of disarming magical traps, making you a valued asset for dungeon divers. Lastly, you also make up the main security force for the ascendant, using your spells to defend and protect everyone within.
!Easy
|}

== Freeblades ==
{| style="background-color:#8b8c8f;" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
! style="background-color:#646566;" width="200" |Job
! style="background-color:#646566;" |Role
! style="background-color:#646566;" width="100" |Difficulty
|-
![[Resident]]
|The ideal newcomer role. You have no official position within Hammerfall or are simply off duty. You will not be paid a wage. 
Where did you come from? Why are you here? These things are up to you. 
 
Perhaps you're a new arrival, who had no other options but to come here willingly. What are you seeking, or what are you running from? 
Perhaps you're with one of the main factions, having followed your leader during their banishment? 
Perhaps you're a former prisoner, ready to join these upstart gangs that made the safe zone. What was your crime? 
Perhaps you're an enemy of the empire, condemned here for your crimes against the nation? 
Perhaps you're a known resident, just taking time off to enjoy yourself? 
 
Your story is yours to write. What matters is that you're here now - find some purpose. 
To form connections, strive to help out anyone you can. Or at least, anyone who offers you a paying job. 
Find a way to make money, stay out of trouble, and survive.
!Easiest
|-
![[Prospector]]
|The prospector is a professional resource procurer, acquiring valuable minerals for anyone willing to pay. Your primary responsibility is to descend into the deep tunnels and dig up as much ore as you can. The mines are accessed by an elevator which can take you deep underground to pick and scavenge whatever you can. Whatever you dig up is yours to do with as you please, from selling, hoarding, or bartering it at your discretion. Pack well and consider teaming up with other prospectors or hiring a few toughs to defend you while you work, prospectors disappear all the time.
!Medium
|-
![[Gardener]]
|The gardener toils in their personal gardens - utilizing seeds, tools, and fertilizers to grow bountiful crops. More talented gardeners may dip into ranching. Your paddocks contain a few chickens and a cow. More exotic animals can be acquired from the beast master or ascendants. You are the go-to expert for flora destruction - use shovels and hatchets. Remember that your goods come at a price, and more exotic crops can command a higher price.
!Easy
|-
![[Jester]]
|The jester serves as a versatile performance artist here to entertain residents. You may find your fellows distracted by boring duties or senseless bickering, so work hard to bring them some real culture. As a freeblade, you make next to nothing on your paycheck, consider selling your various items and bits of art for money. Unlike others who are inspired, you instead use your inspiration at your work bench to create wondrous works of art that have a variety of uses.
!Random
|-
![[Custodian]]
|The lowly custodian, well paid but rarely respected, nevertheless provides a valuable service. You will trundle around the safe zone, armed with your trusty janicart full of cleaning supplies, disposing of trash and pests. Some minor maintenance also falls within your duties. Fix broken braziers, correct broken vendors, replace floor tiles - ease the rune master's burden. You are as well paid as most faction leaders, each one giving a portion of your income so you can keep the safe zone spotless.
!Easy
|}

 
 
{{Roles}}
[[Category: Roles]]

Hammerlord

2025-10-14T20:31:48Z

Possum:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
!colspan="6"style="color:white; background-color:#8cbcd6; | Hammerlord
"My duty is to command men, men who will bring order and civilization to this lawless under dark."
!colspan="6" | Faction:
Breakers
!colspan="6" | Access Rune:
Nearly all access
!colspan="6" | Faction Boss:
Ash Lord Tarkus
!colspan="6" |Difficulty:
Colossal
|} </div>

The hammerlord is the current acting commander of the breakers and the de-facto decider on the defense and combat doctrine in the safe zone. He also leads and commands expeditions and enforces the law.

==Stat Requirement==
* Robustness: 30
* Toughness: 30
* Vigilance: 20

==Purpose==
Your primary purpose as the hammerlord is two fold, leading your men on expeditions and upholding the agreement between factions on the laws of the safe zone. For your second in command, the [[Master of the Forge]], you will want to ensure he is supplied with all the materials your men can find that let him continue enchanting armor and weapons, creating new items at his forge, and otherwise ensuring he is kept up to date with potential prisoners and processing of criminals. Your rank and file should be organized to go on patrol within the safe zone or an expedition, either of which you may join and personally lead. For patrols, you merely want breaker presence in areas like the bar, hallways, and well traveled areas to watch for potential infestations occurring in the safe zone like spiders or roaches. Your men are supposed to be the law, not thugs or enforcers, their concern should be deescalation and conflict resolution without violence. That said, this is still a frontier and struggling society and both you and your men should be more than willing to kill difficult trouble makers and let the agents of the Blackwood sort it out. Always remember, your men are effectively guards, not detectives, that is the agents duty. Your only concern is ensuring they work together seamlessly as agents determine who you and your men are locking up. As a result, you should be on as good of terms with the [[Penumbra]] as you are with your forge master.

When organizing expeditions, your goal is being supportive, using your unique battle shout ability to bolster your men in tight spots and otherwise being the biggest hammer available. Apart of organizing a proper and long trip you should consider recruiting external faction members. Your [[Sledge]], [[Ashman]], and [[Firebrand]] can provide a good amount of damage mitigation and firepower but without rosaria to heal or an agent to pick locks you will be short on loot and high on injuries. Munitions and external equipment should also be considered, bringing additional or redundant supplies is always the mark of a good leader.

== Tips ==
* You are immensely powerful, as are your men, but you are meant to be a lawful sheriff, not a ruthless thug.
* Your faction cannot survive without support of the other two. You need the Blackwood to supply your ashmen and firebrands with bullets, agents to aid your men in keeping the peace, and rosaria to patch you up between skirmishes.
* Your battle shouts can make the difference between an easy triumph and a bloody pyrrhic victory. Use them effectively.
* Your primary hammer is a legendary unique weapon, it is also magical, keep it charged and activate it where possible.
* Your armor is also immensely powerful against melee and bullets, but be wary of its weakness, it has little magic resistance.

=== Unique Power ===
The hammerlord comes with his own unique ability known as the commanding bellow, this activatable perk adds a stacking bonus of +20 to robustness, toughness, and vigilance to every player character who can see and hear you. This bonus last two minutes and takes thirty minutes before it can be used again. You may also customize the words used in your bellow upon first activation, letting you tailor your shout to your character. '''Putting a joke or meme shout will instantly earn you a permanent job ban from hammerlord and a one-day ban from the server, neither of which can be appealed. This is a high roleplay server, act like it.'''

=== Unique Equipment ===
* Lord's Hammer - Your unique and iconic magical hammer forged by Tarkus. Do not lose it.
* Lord's Full-plate - Your armor, forged by Tarkus, highly protective in melee and against bullets, has little magic resistance.

=== Advanced Tips ===
* You are nothing without the other factions, when looting, consider what can be given to them for favors or a return investment. You may trade in materials and good will, not just coin.
* You are only half of the law enforcement, agents are needed to do the proper means of investigation and are handy on expeditions, consider donating items produced by your forge master to ensure good relations and favors.
* Big dumb idiots as a hammerlord are not only quick to be dismissed by Tarkus, but die very quickly. The best of the best are as skilled at fighting as they are leadership and diplomacy.

 
 
{{Roles}}
[[Category: Roles]]

Garm

2025-10-06T18:09:59Z

Possum:

The garm are from a destroyed kingdom further south than even the warren federation, being victims of the elves first outward incursions. Formerly a civilized assembly of clans living in partially buried homes that formed large communities, much of their culture and ways have been destroyed in the preceding wars. Many garm also suffer from an affliction known as the feasting, a supernatural curse that causes garm to eventually devolve into wendigo if exposed to too much death and violence, a fact that leads many garm to face prejudice, if not outright bigotry.

Garm find kinship in only one other race, the lagus, with the spirit touched lagus known as jackalopes carrying a similar monstrous quality that sets them apart from their kin. The garm are a race scattered to the far reaches of the federation and carry little of their old ways in the common era. What little is remembered varies and changes from oral tradition and thus the garm are a people lost, more so than the result of the feasting. The feasting itself is a curse that often results in only two ends when a garm begins to show signs of the affliction. The 'normal' garm that succumb fully to the feasting become wendigo, retaining their mind but becoming horribly monstrous in appearance while being granted an unholy fortitude. These garm are just sane enough to be allowed to still live within the federation but few chose to do so, the prejudice and mistrust they face for succumbing to their affliction makes their lives brutal and short.

Still, those are the lucky ones, some garm fully succumb to the feasting and with it go entirely mad, evolving into supernatural and blood thirsty creatures capable of mysterious and deadly powers. Wendigo that have fully succumbed are often referred to as the 'lost wendigo' and cannot be redeemed, they will kill and rampage across the land until slain. A cruel irony of the garm is all of them wish to take revenge on the elves, both for destroying their homeland and for cursing them with the feasting, but garm succumb to the feasting by being exposed to death and violence. As a result, they are barred from the war front for their own safety and thus are left to languish with their revenge unfulfilled.

All is not misery for the garm though, many find their place within factions of societies more willing to tolerate them and their curse. The Sons of Baitaal are notorious for recruiting garm as the structure, order, and religious organization allows for many garm to control their curse and avoid becoming further afflicted or prevent becoming a wendigo entirely. For this reason, some rare garm do move on to become professional soldiers and mercenaries, often within close knit companies and troupes.

 '''A quick-start guide:'''
* Pure garm gain +10 robustness, +10 toughness, +5 vigilance, and -10 spirit. Pure garm do not gain any additional perks.
* Afflicted garm gain +5 robustness, toughness, vigilance, +10 vitality, and -10 spirit. Afflicted garm gain more power the more creatures that they witness die, increasing robustness with every kills to a max of +20.
* A fully succumbed wendigo garm gains -10 spirit and +25 vitality. Wendigo also gain the ability to, once per shift, cheat death. If a wendigo would die, they are fully regenerated, remove all forms of loss of control, and restore all missing limbs and organs. They must then kill something or someone else within the next ten seconds to take their place or immediately be stricken dead by Xaal.

==Biology==
Garm biology is subject heavily to mutation thanks to the feasting, but generally follow a rather simplistic form. Garm are large size humanoid wolves, being wolf-like in features and covered in fur whose color generally ranges from black, gray, and white to earthy tones like brown or mahogany that may have a mixed fur pattern. Garm has sharp teeth and claws that largely are not suitable as weapons normally. All garm has a single wolf-like tail that can range in size and garm builds are generally athletic, but do not have the strength of orcs and ogres nor the speed of minotaurs, being somewhere between both. Garm succumbing to the feasting or becoming full fledged wendigo will often have a wide variety of highly mutated features. Afflicted range in mutation by severity with some having only minor mutations such as lack of pupils in the eyes, large more vicious claws, large teeth coming close to sabers, and having longer, spindly limbs with more defined muscles trimmed of any excess weight. Severely afflicted garm will often begin growing antlers, sometimes appearing as small horns and even growing as large as full blown antlers. Said antlers look entirely normal and are not shed like normal antlers are, though some garm may choose to saw them off they will inevitably grow back within a few days. A full blown wendigo is normally marked by carrying all the mutations of an afflicted (lack of pupils/spindly limbs/antlers etc.) while also having the flesh of the face peel off to reveal the skull beneath. The skull resembles a flesh-less wolf skull, usually being colored bone white, gray, or even black and will generally reveal the full face. Despite the appearance, the condition does not weaken wendigo, who are said to be supernaturally strong beyond even the likes of trolls. Rather than healing rapidly however, wendigo garm are said to be able to come back from the grave by eating the souls of other creatures when they become horribly injured.

One exception to the above is the fully succumbed wendigo who was unable to retain their mind and thoughts, these unlucky individuals go completely insane and become much bigger, stronger, super natural creatures that are said to be unstoppable. A fully succumbed wendigo will generally tower over their fellows with powerful heavily built bodies. The flesh of a succumbed wendigo head will entirely fall off, leaving behind only a skull with white lights in place of eyes. The antlers will shed and be replaced with two massive bull-like horns suited for combat and the body of a wendigo will lose its definitions, becoming stuck in a state between severe rot and partial regeneration. For all intents and purposes, these creatures are considered undead and even if the body is destroyed will take on a spirit form and regenerate elsewhere. Permanently killing a succumbed wendigo is not possible even for members of the Chosen of Xaal or the Sons of Baitaal, the only sure method is to imprison one to stops its rampage and from escaping through spiritual regeneration elsewhere.

==Culture==
Garm do not have a unified culture after the destruction of their fledgling empire, the best that can be remembered by the few garm that passed on their traditions was that garm were originally a culture of savage warriors and hunters who wore leather and furs and wielded weapons of iron in battle. Being a people primarily of fauna hunters, shepherds, and quasi tribals just on the cusp of transitioning to the next age before the elves destroyed them. The modern garm may cling to their culture, taking work as hunters, leather workers, and woodsman but their depleted numbers means that finding a garm is extremely rare. Garm will generally adopt whatever culture surrounds them and can be seen in any empire, but are most common within the warren federation. The active distrust that garm get for being known as being marked for death by Xaal often leads them to actively seeking isolation. Garm can be found among trolls, gnolls, and the sons of baitaal. Trolls generally treat garm as equals, being the only other race marked by a specific god, and use their druidic and natural mysticism to aid trolls in resisting the feasting. The sons of baitaal offer organized structure and prayer, often teaching garm to control themselves and find strength through faith using prayer, a method so successful that some garm move on to become crusaders for the sons or mercenaries with small private companies willing to give them a try. Gnolls, however, are the worst friend that a garm can make as gnolls will actively exploit the feasting through torture and blood letting to drive a garm into becoming a wendigo, with the hope that said garm will fully succumb into a supernatural beast that they can then chain and goad into battle like an enslaved beast. While no fault of the garms, this is another contributing factor as to why they face prejudice, as even squads of seasoned warriors will hesitate to hunt members of a gnoll tribe that have a wendigo under their semi-control even when said tribe is using the beast to wreck havoc everywhere.

==Mentality==
The garm mentality is simply too scattered to concisely pin down. Some garm have given in to despair, some seek solace in faith, and others are just trying to live day by day. Much of how a garm thinks is effected by the culture they grew up in, simply because they have few other garm from which they can develop a mindset with. The best that can be said of garm is that they are largely reserved, as any garm who shows signs of the feasting is often mistrusted and feared, because they will eventually succumb to the feasting and may need to be put down. It may take years, even decades, but that is the fate for all garm and a coin toss if they retain their sanity or become a true monster.

 
 
 
 
[[Races|Back to Races]]

Garm

2025-10-06T17:25:20Z

Possum:

Lagus

2025-10-05T19:38:09Z

Possum: /* Culture */

Lagus are a race of large sized humanoid lagomorphs known far and wide for their great psionic abilities and iron fisted control of the Warren Federation. Being the sole founder of the federation and having taken on kobolds as a vassal race, lagus were once the premier rulers of the federation in early recorded history before cultural norms shifted, in particular with the acceptance of the rodentfolk. While kobolds were by and large content and even happy with the status quo laboring under the lagus, the rodentfolk quickly campaigned their position as equals to raise up the kobolds as well, shifting what was once an authoritarian council consisting only of lagus clan matriarchs to a council of three racial representatives from each of the largest burrows. While this change was ultimately for the better, something even the lagus admit, they are loathe to give up their authoritarian natures and deep entrenchment within the governmental, militarily, and internal police of the nation. Much of their waning influence compared to the past comes from the reproductive limits that lagus suffer from, with only one male being born for every hundred females. While the average lagus woman can produce anywhere between one to six children every three months, the sheer lack of viable male offspring means that most male lagus are kept safely secured and all but enslaved within any clans seat of power. Male lagus are one of the mostly hotly contended criticisms of lagus society, as the rodentfolk and kobolds are keenly aware that these men are, by misfortune of birth, kept as breeding stock by members of their own clan and often traded or used as bargaining chips in both political and economic deals. So far, little reform has ever been done, as the only matter which will unite all lagus clans under a single unified banner that will bend all of its political might, both legal and illegal, is a threat to the status quo of how they treat their men.

Lagus political ability is well known, with lagus diplomats being rightly feared and well respected within their domains. Having a long history within entrenched authoritative power structures, both within their clans and socially, make the nature of lagus naturally inclined towards accepting their roles and positions within a hierarchy. In a way, this mirrors kobolds, as few lagus will have ambition and can find easy contentment even in simple work. Those few with ambition generally seek to start their own clans, usually upon securing a few males and enough influence, leading them to become matriarchs. Lagus are a common sight in any leadership, bureaucratic, or police role within the federation. Though it is long suspected (and never quite proven) it is believed that many lagus take leadership roles by using the natural influence generated by their psionic nature. Be it a diplomat reading the minds of those she is trying to convince, a commander carefully determining the state of morale of her troops, or even just an enforcer using the emotions and thoughts of a suspect to determine guilt, lagus have an almost supernatural understanding of how to lead others. The most famous (or infamous) example of the lagus psi-corps, a division of their internal enforcers who are given special training to allow them to directly read the thoughts and memories of others, with an even smaller sub-division rumored to be able to detect crimes before they happen and prevent them or capture the suspect the moment after. This division is largely why the federation burrows are considered one of the safest places to live, as crime is all but non-existent thanks to the lagus psi-corps and their ruthless enforcement.

Lagus are numerically smaller than kobolds or rodentfolk, as despite their rapid reproduction the sparingly few males make it near impossible to match the natural population growth of other races. Outsiders will often note the severe lack of males, with some thinking that lagus are an entirely female race, and may approach them with that idea in mind. Sadly for potential suitors, while a lagus will incorporate men of other races into their clan and raise these non-lagus children in a traditional manner through communal support, lagus struggle to conceive with men of other races. The chance is likened to a one in one thousand possibility, even with humans who are known for being able to intermix more readily with other races. These children are also of the fathers race and thus lack the psionic power that even the most humble lagus can boast of. The end result leaves lagus with lower numbers than most races across the world, a fact that frustrates many more ambitious lagus as the natural hierarchies that they form coupled with their innate supernatural powers would be a much greater force to be reckoned with if they merely had the population of other races. For now, lagus remain well entrenched in the power structure of the federation through careful labyrinthine political plots and intrigue and through careful use of diplomacy.

 '''A quick-start guide:'''
* Hare-type lagus gain +10 vigilance and cognition and -5 biology. Hares have the ability to bypass or lower the cost of psionic abilities, if they are psions.
* Rabbit-type lagus gain -5 robustness and toughness but a massive +25 cognition. Rabbits gain a bonus to their total essence pool as psions and bypass or lower the cost of psionic abilities, if they are psions.
* Jackalope-type lagus gain +5 robustness, toughness, and cognition. Jackalopes cannot be knocked down and gain the ability to bull rush. Jackalopes are also carnivores instead of herbivores.

==Biology==
Lagus biology is differentiated by race and ethnicity but shares many similarities. Between genders, female lagus are taller, stronger, more broadly built, and often have thicker and more physically stacked bodies. A female lagus will generally be between eight and nine feet tall and tend to have much thicker, softer fur than males. Males tend to be between seven to eight feet tall, with slimmer bodies covered in shorter fur and much less stocky forms. All lagus have lagomorphfeatures, being a buttoned nose, rabbit-like tail, bunny ears, buck teeth, and paw-like feet and hands. Ethnicity between lagus is often but not always marked by the structure of the ears and the build of the body. Hares are often slimmer built with upward pointed ears that stand on their own. Hares will often have a 'runners' body, with long legs and forms suited to maintain distance and speed. Rabbit lagus will generally have ears that hang or flop around the head in a 'lop' style while having fatter, thicker bodies more suited for their mountain homes than the more nomadic hares. Jackalopes can wear their ears in either style, with their noted differences being more pronounced claws, antlers and horns, and their mouths full of sharp fangs, though they still have the trademark buck teeth with sharpened tips. Lagus colors come in the same earthy tones that can be found in regular rabbits, ranging from black, white, gray, to tan, wheat, straw, and even very dark blue navy tones. Eye color among lagus is generally black, but red, white, and even blue eyes are not unheard of as naturally occurring.

==Culture==
Much of lagus culture can be considered an extension to the federation, even the aspects changed by the introduction of kobolds and later rodentfolk. The federation considers itself an ancient empire, on par or even older than the dwarves and ogres as much of their mountain holds are marvels of engineering said to have been first built by the dragons themselves. These ancient fortresses were only later settled by the lagus, whose oral history maintains that after the dragons vanished they took control of their former holds in accord with the wishes of the kobolds who were left leaderless and helpless without their masters. Whether this is the true history or not is subject to debate, but no one can deny that the splendor of these mountain holds far exceed anything that any modern engineer, even legendary goblin masons, could ever hope to build. As lagus communities are naturally formed into stratified clans, lead by the most ambitious, the largely peaceful nature of lagus is the end result of their preference for order and their psionic abilities. While all lagus are in some degree or another naturally psionic, those whom choose to train and empower their abilities are quite common and surprisingly are rarely treated differently than those who don't train or progress their abilities. Lagus psions can be found anywhere lagus reside and in any role, but most tend to naturally gravitate towards leadership roles or roles on which their natural abilities are best suited for.

As a primarily female dominated society, they naturally are considered peculiar to other races. Lagus do not really make much distinction between gender, only purpose and role, and thus do not really care about the opinions of genders that other races or cultures may hold. To a lagus, a male of their own race is a resource to be used for the continuation of their clan and species, that is his role and purpose and his opinions on the matter have little importance. The best he can hope for is to live within a clan, comfortable and taken care of, but ultimately without the freedom to choose. Most lagus men are trained in psionics just enough to protect their minds from external influence, but not enough to be even the slightest threat to his clan. The highest positions within lagus society are almost exclusively lead by matriarchs, women who hold dominion over an entire clan, and thus largely occupy the highest roles within government structures that more often than not have entire departments made up of her other clan members. It is not unusual for an entire lagus clan to be solely devoted to a singular business or even civic department where they hold sway. This somewhat adversarial position is exceptionally good at rooting out corruption, as clans are loathe to let others benefit where they otherwise could, the constant competition and political posturing means that most civic departments are highly skilled and incredibly competitive to earn favors, more public support, and thus greater funding that goes directly to the clan controlling it. If the empire or legion can be considered models of culture and responsibility respectively, the federation can be considered the perfect model of efficiency, as it is in the best interest of each lagus clan and the public to always be improving, always be excelling, and to always do the job right.

This aspect of being within the workings of political power extend beyond merely civic duty, as many lagus make up leadership roles within the federation military and much of its structure across the board in civil protection. Enforcers are commonly lagus, given their much greater size and strength over kobolds or rodentfolk and their natural psionics making them exceptional at taking down potential criminals. Use of mind reading, augury, and other methods of psionic adapted telepathy are widely used and relied on by enforcers, who will proactively make an effort to stop crimes as they are happening or even before if they are capable. Much of the federations extremely low crime rates and incredibly peaceful society is due to the constant work of these dedicated officers. Unlike the legion or empire, where personal safety is considered a personal issue and thus few people go anywhere without a gun, weapon, or spell handy, the federation is one place where it is often perfectly safe to remained completely disarmed, a far cry difference in a normally hostile world, even in other places considered safe.

==Mentality==
Lagus share a similar blend of ideals that hit the midpoint between minotaurs and kobolds. Lagus love order, efficiency, and structure as minotaurs do while having an innate urge and desire to form functional clans between kin based on blood and ties. Lagus are an easily content race, their personalities often finding a role within their clan in which they can find a peaceful and simply life performing the duties that benefit themselves, their clan, and the federation as a whole. Unlike kobolds, however, lagus are still individuals and may choose to wander, as hares often do, or become ambitious and seek to form their own clans to garner power and influence. As natural psionics, lagus often look towards the most powerful psion among them as the authority, though this can vary depending on that psions individual abilities. Lagus greatly respect those among them who become exceptional in their supernatural powers and offer equal respect in other races who can maintain the same level of talent, such as the kaxxis. Relations with lagus among other races is often easy and diplomatic, being naturally skilled in dealing with others as a whole, lagus rarely have animosity among any race. While lagus are generally tolerant and accepting, a cultural mentality makes them loathe to be commanded or otherwise controlled by outsiders, as lagus see themselves as rightful rulers, even if they are a party of one.

 
 
 
 
[[Races|Back to Races]]

Races

2025-10-05T19:00:00Z

Possum: /* Large Races */

The common races across the world. Do note that size does matter. Smaller races have a global -5 to toughness and robustness and a -10% movement speed while all large races have a global +5 toughness and robustness and a +10% movement speed. Humans being chimeric are the only race capable of choose their size and will be assigned these bonuses or penalties based upon that choice. As a note, each empire calls their deviating sub-races something different. The empire refers to theirs simply as deviants, while the federation refers to them as spirit touched and the legion refers to them as yokai.

=Small Races=

{{SpeciesHeader
|headerbgcolor = green
|headerfontcolor = white
|speciesname = Goblin
|imagebgcolor = lightyellow
|naming = ''Male'': Darren, Brian, Craig, Pádraig. ''Female'': Shannon, Kayleigh , Fiona, Mairead. (Irish Names)
|commonality = Very Common
|civilization = Onokrin Empire, Tribes/Outer factions
|appearance = Short, varying colors, pointed ears, sharp teeth and claws.
}}
'''[[Goblins|For a full lore page, see here.]]'''

''Short Summary''
 
Goblins are an often disregarded race among the Onokrin, lacking the martial prowess of humans and orcs and without the innate magical talent common among the ogres. What sets them apart and makes them a valued member race of the empire is their innate understanding all things magical, mechanical, and alchemical. For reasons even goblins cannot adequately explain any goblin, save for their sub-race blues, need only touch a machine and they will immediately understand the entire function of the device whether it is magical or mechanical. This knowledge allows them to readily recreate and share the technology between each other that is then rapidly recreated over empire holdings. It is almost entirely thanks to goblins that the most advanced technology and magitech is widely spread, be it the use of resonance power systems in the average citizens home, the refrigeration of food through ice boxes, or mass transportation through arcane and steam trains. The eventual end result of this knowledge sharing lead to the formation of multiple colleges that focus on training new engineers, alchemists, and rune sages to more widely apply their talents to frontier towns and other empires beyond their borders. These colleges and learning institutions are parkways training facilities and research institutes, as goblin students need only be introduced to working versions of technology to swiftly understand it. They then move on to developing new methods while students of other races follow behind them at a much slower pace.

The most famous of such institutions, formerly lead by the greatest magi-tech engineer across the known world, was the fabled Order of Brass. Though a small polity in its own right, it is not uncommon for the apex of rune sages or engineers in their field to join the somewhat secretive order. Among goblins, partially due to their ability to easily replicate anything they touch, find joining such order much more difficult than other races despite the founder being a goblin himself. As such, it is a matter of prestige among their race to have been trained within the order of brass. Surprisingly, goblins place very little importance on their aptitudes internally, while the empire values them greatly and prestige can be gained by various orders one has joined goblins are far more focused culturally on their creative works. The same complexity required to finely operate and build various machines both magical and mundane translates well to many different musical instruments, of which goblins often take up both as leisure activities and as professional musicians, making them a common staple among empire concert halls, performance taverns, and clubs.

A lesser known but valued talent among goblins is their natural skill with alchemy. In the same way goblins can intuitively understand magical and mechanical devices they are capable of deciphering the mixtures and properties of substances with a mere inspection. This talent takes two forms, extending to alchemy and drink mixing. Just as many goblins become alchemists as they do brewers, capable of making some of the strongest and finely tuned drinks that are rivaled only by the rodentfolk and their natural talent for the culinary arts. Those goblins who become alchemists often become trained rosaria, as the same steady hands that can hold tools with perfect precision can also perform surgical operations with equal talent, with even the most humble of goblins being capable of emergency field operations, a trait that is valued among mercenaries and soldiers for combat medics. Blues, the deviant subtype of goblins, take this talent even further, being experts in the medical field in the same way the average goblin becomes an expert in the mechanical. Blues are generally treated like any other goblin, neither exalted nor treated as pariahs, simply as different from the norm even with their unique psionic talents among the empire. The only pariahs among the goblins are the tribal remnants still eking out life in the southern plains as independent or gnoll-aligned tribes.

'''Subtypes'''
 
* Ironbound - The typical goblin, iron bound are almost exclusively from the Onokrin and view themselves as the proper standard for their race. While many goblins are prone to vice, they are far more civilized and proper than most other races beyond the empire's borders. Ironbound can be considered highly intelligent and are almost universally skilled with tools of any kind.
* Stone Crusher - Tribal goblins that eke out an existence in the southern plains, sometimes as independent tribes and more commonly as slaves or tribesman within gnoll tribes. Stone crushers are still good with tools and slightly stronger than their ironbound cousins, who view them with open disdain as most others do. Most stone crushers are also considered quite stupid and violent, but clever ones have been known to appear.
* Blue - Blues are an oddity among the empire for reasons that set them apart even from the oni. Superficially a blue resembles a goblin, having varying shades of blue-tinted skin and sometimes small horns adorning their heads, however they differ in that blues are the only naturally psionic race within the empire. Like the lagus and kaxxis, they are predisposed to the use of psychic abilities and have an almost supernatural understanding of biology, making many join the rosaria corps of the Sons of Baitaal to be conditioned into the roles of vitalist healers. Though they stand apart from they regular goblin kin, blues are treated much more favorably than oni and are largely accepted as any other goblin despite their quirks.


{{SpeciesHeader
|headerbgcolor = brown
|headerfontcolor = white
|speciesname = Rodentfolk
|imagebgcolor = tan
|naming = ''Male'': Pavel, Vladimir, Boris, Viktor. ''Female'': Svetlana, Nikita, Natalia, Anya. (Russian Names)
|commonality = Very Common
|civilization = Warren Federation
|appearance = Rat-like Humanoids
}}
'''[[Rodentfolk|For a full lore page, see here.]]'''

''Short Summary''
 
Rodentfolk are a widespread and well-known group of short rodent-like people who travel across the world in groups ranging from caravans, train crews, and sometimes ships. They are best known for their adept skill at merchantry and caravanning, a talent that seats them at the head of most thriving markets. While skilled at all manner of trade, rodentfolk are widely traveled and adept at both living and thriving anywhere, an aspect that has seen them at home in nearly any town or city. Within their own home federation rodentfolk often take up roles as engineers and industrialists, forming the complex and specialist labors while working closely with their federation allies.

In the area of merchantry the rodentfolk are consummate capitalists, every action even among their own clan is some form of trade or bargain, be it for material, money, or favors. Charity is an entirely foreign concept to rodentfolk, they may at best offer something for 'free' with the sometimes-vague hint that they will be owed a favor or return on investment later. This attitude surprisingly does not engender ire from other races as it allows most who know rodentfolk to know where they stand and what is expected, as long as one is ready to wheel and deal few rodentfolk can be considered unreasonable. While charity is not a concept to Rodentfolk, honesty is, and a rodentfolk who is not honest is an exiled pariah at best. This self policing attitude towards honest dealings is how rodentfolk maintain a good reputation as even the worst of them will be fair, even if it means abusing wording and the letter of a contract rather than the spirit.

Those who shy away from the merchant path that rodentfolk are most known for will usually go towards mercenary or food-related works. Rodentfolk are exceptional snipers, with peerless aim and talents with rifles and handguns that put most races to utter shame. This natural talent make them common mercenaries on train cars where rodentfolk stay positioned atop the cars ready to gun down bandits or gnoll raiders with ruthless efficiency. Many rodentfolk live by the motto that, if you find yourself in melee, you messed up. Most trains and railways are owned by rodentfolk and can find them serving on the galley cars where rodentfolk chefs make exceptional quality food. A common saying among rodentfolk is they live by their stomachs and will only settle for the best and most delicious food. This innate need makes many become chefs with their own galla of secret recipes, spices, and dishes that are traded and sold for the same price one would trade silver and gold.

Lastly, though making up a small portion of the rodentfolk, are batfolk or 'spirit touched' of their race. In ages past, ratfolk lived deep underground in caverns lit by glowing fungi largely devoid of any light besides the dim gleam of bioluminescent mushrooms. The hundreds of miles of caverns were where the primitive rodentfolk lived, largely remaining near the relative safety of the glowshrooms and only venturing out when guided by their batfolk. These rare individuals were able to see far better within the darkness, mapping out the caverns and evading dangerous underground predators with ease. In these primitive times, batfolk were treated as seers, diviners, and shamans who were highly regarded as the most important members of a tribe. While their necessity and importance has waned once the rodentfolk reached the much better lit surface world, batfolk are still highly regarded, having shifted more into a priest caste among the federation and still venerated by the superstitious and religious as favored by the gods.

'''Subtypes'''
 
* Mousefolk - Mousefolk are the shorter, thinner, and often times weaker residents of the rodentfolk, considered skilled scouts, gunslingers, and menials. Mousefolk tend to travel less, preferring to live in communities they are well known and work within as more humble positions, with a preference for cooking and food related work. Many regard the mousefolk as the best cooks in the world and others speak of their legendary skills with most firearms, but in truth mousefolk often pride themselves most by the communities they live within.
* Ratfolk - The tallest and often considered strongest of the rodentfolk, the ratfolk are prone to travel and trade and as widely spread as humans are. Most ratfolk were either part of, actively in, or know others connected to trading through either caravans or the railway lines dotting the world. Ratfolk are so synonymous with trains that it is said that if a ratfolk caravan appears more than once in a town, then a railway is soon to follow.
* Batfolk - The 'spirit touched' as they are known in the federation, the batfolk can be easily spotted among their kin by their pointed ears, stubby tails, and pointed snouts that often end in an upturned triangle or leaf-like shape. Unlike most spirit touched or deviants, who can range from merely being members of a race with no distinction at best or treated as unusual pariahs at worse, batfolk hold a position of great prestige among the rodentfolk. In ages past, batfolk were venerated as explorers and guides, able to navigate the subterrean caverns that the rodentfolk once arose from with far greater ease than any other of their race. This talent in pre-history was treated as shamanic magic, venerating batfolk beyond merely explorers and offering them a quasi-priesthood as mystics, seers, and diviners. While the neccessity for their abilities has waned in the modern age, batfolk are still venerated within the religious sects of the rodentfolk and most clans will still pay homage to them in the same traditional rites.



{{SpeciesHeader
|headerbgcolor = gray
|headerfontcolor = white
|speciesname = Kaxxis
|imagebgcolor = white
|naming = ''Male'': Artemon, Diocles, Etychos, Kallias. ''Female'': Helene, Isidora, Kallisto, Lysandra. (Ancient Greek Names)
|commonality = Rare
|civilization = Independent (Isolated Clans)
|appearance = Caprini Humanoids
}}
'''[[Kaxxis|For a full lore page, see here.]]'''

''Short Summary''
 
Kaxxis mostly exist in the northern-eastern mountains with their salamander allies, living high on the peaks and keeping to themselves, often only interacting with the salamanders to trade or barter supplies. Kaxxis are psionically adept and believed to have killed and absorbed the avatar of their god in pre-history, making them supernaturally strong despite their size. This open fact of their history leaves them as often distrusted by other factions and races, but they can still be found being employed for their unique psionic talents that they make no pretense of not boasting about. Most kaxxis are unnaturally hardy for their size after all.

Kaxxis society is peculiar compared to other groups as their racial preference and spattering of xenophobia makes them form deeply tied clans and towns that form independent coalitions. Other more cynical races often liken kaxxis to a mob of psychic racists but that is hardly close to the truth. Kaxxis are not above using their psionic abilities to ease the burden of their agrarian society. Eschewing the creation of mechanical tools and equipment, kaxxis train brotherhoods of mesmerists who hypnotize animals to act as protectors, beasts of burden, and pets. The domination of animals is such an extensive part of kaxxis culture that it is not uncommon for their territories to be entirely patrolled, protected, and shepherded by normally hostile and untamable and dangerous predators. It is for this reason that kaxxis can live and thrive in environments where even towns led by lords may be wiped out by the dangers of the wilds.

The innate haughtiness of the kaxxis is not based on racial superiority as many quickly assume, but entirely based on the merit of the individual. What often readily offends is that the merit of kaxxis is considered self-evident, they do not believe they must prove themselves as they are inherently inheritors of greatness while other races must be proven person to person. Exceptions do exist as kaxxis see salamanders, being the scions of dragons, as equals without needing to prove themselves. Kaxxis are also quick to recognize the lagus for their comparable psionic abilities and the trolls for their incredibly hardiness that surpasses even the kaxxis. Surprisingly, salamanders and trolls feel equal kinship, though for the former it most often equates directly to the ifrit kaxxis for their very similar elemental abilities.

'''Subtypes'''
 
* Caprinae - The more goat-like of the kaxxis who bear horns and are physically stronger. Caprinae are often considered the most arrogant of all despite their size due to their innate strengths, but compared to the ovinae can be considered less intelligent. Most make for good psions, if they train their innate abilities.
* Ovinae - The more sheep-like of the kaxxis, who may lack horns and often have shaggier bodies of woolen fur. Ovinae are less arrogant than their goat-like cousins but are physically weaker, having far more accomplished intelligence and thus greater psionic abilities and aptitudes towards artisan work. Most ovinae still work in more menial roles, developing their psionic powers into hypnotic talents to beguile beasts into cattle, protection, or sometimes pets.
* Ifrit - An example of kaxxis arrogance, the ifrit are kaxxis born with natural talents towards magic over psionics, granting them exceptional control over natural pyromancy. This talent, similar to salamanders, makes many kaxxis believe that their god in the old legends whose power they absorbed was a dragon they had slain. Aside from trading their supernatural powers for magical, ifrits are similar to most kaxxis and can appear as caprinae or ovinae. They are, however, differed by their often more impressive horns, darker shades of wool and fur such as brown, black, crimson, or any color combination of the three and most glaringly often have eyes that glow like embers. Most note that their draconic similarity makes them exceptionally arrogant, even by kaxxis standards, unless dealing with a salamander who they see as worthwhile cousins and equals.



{{SpeciesHeader
|headerbgcolor = darkblue
|headerfontcolor = white
|speciesname = Kobold
|imagebgcolor = lightblue
|naming = ''Male'': Joachim, Koloman, Natan, Ognen. ''Female'': Ada, Julijana, Mihalia, Olivie. (Slavic Names)
|commonality = Common
|civilization = Warren Federation
|appearance = Short Draconic Humanoid or Short Canine Humanoid
}}
'''[[Kobolds|For a full lore page, see here.]]'''

''Short Summary''
 
Kobolds are an often-disregarded race hailing from the federation where they make up the largest demographic of unskilled and domestic laborers. Though often humble by nature, most kobolds are keenly aware that the federation largely lives and thrives on their labors and leverage this as a group. Once second-class citizen in their own nation, they have since become a powerful political block and well respected within their areas of expertise. Kobolds are also one of the rare species who know how to intentionally create their spirit-touched, making them a race with a dichotomy split between their natural draconian appearance and a highly changed more canine appearance. Equally unusual, kobolds see no distinction between themselves and are loathe to be prejudicial, even to outside races.

Kobolds are humble by nature but still carry pride for themselves due to oral history stating that long ago they served the dragons directly before said dragons disappeared. It was through this disappearance that the now masterless kobolds beseeched the lagus for protection, agreeing to give up their sovereignty for protection as they could not survive without their dragon masters. Many kobolds are quick to state that the impressive under empire of the federation was the creation of themselves under the guidance of the dragons, a fact that many concede as more than likely true. Kobolds show an innate preference and talent for menial work, finding happiness in simple and humble roles ranging from farming to servants to clerks. Other races may facetiously say that kobolds are a race of servants who desire only for a master to serve but are careful never to say this where a kobold might hear it.

Kobolds are cohesive to the point of tribalism and will always look out for their own, unity among kobolds is considered a given and they are ruthless when one of their own is threatened, insulted, or mistreated. Kobolds see every other kobold as a direct member of their clan and have a kinship akin to family for other races. To insult or mistreat one is to have an entire labor force leave or suddenly demand double wages as a singular union. This known quality of peaceful and extremely effective resistance allows kobolds to remain well treated while enjoying their humble lives of toil.

'''Subtypes'''
 
* Draconic - The baseline kobold, being more common than canine kobolds, draconic kobolds are said to be sun-touched and come from kobolds living on the surface. Appearing like shorter salamanders with less fearsome features draconic kobolds can be found anywhere ratfolk can, as they are widely skilled and prone to wander.
* Canine - The second type of kobold, sometimes called dogbolds, are considered 'spirit touched' by the federation but unlike other off-shoot subtypes, canine kobolds can be reliably made and do not appear randomly. Canine kobolds are born when a kobold mother does not expose herself to natural sunlight for long enough. Dogbolds are stronger and tougher than draconic kobolds, but more dim-witted.



=Medium Races=

{{SpeciesHeader
|headerbgcolor = orange
|headerfontcolor = white
|speciesname = Human
|imagebgcolor = lightyellow
|naming = ''Male'': Lionel, Reginald, Benjamin, Edmund. ''Female'': Maria, Elinor, Lucy, Anna (British Names)
|commonality = Very Common
|civilization = Onokrin Empire
|appearance = Human.
}}
'''[[Humans|For a full lore page, see here.]]'''

''Short Summary''
 
Humans, you know them and either hate or love them. Humans are one of the most common races among the Onokrin Empire, letting them be known far and wide among all races for better or worse. As a result, humans are highly varied, in both physicality and in body as many humans are considered half breeds or chimerics, making them visually quite unusual in appearance as well as body and mind. All humans share an intrinsic bond to orcs, making them largely interchangeable in many regards. Most consider orcs the brawn and the humans the brains of the empire.

Humanity is an interesting race among all the species of the world. This facet is twofold in that humans are the only known race to be able to mix attributes between other races, whereas under normal circumstance the mixing of species results in a pure member of the father's race with humans they are capable of creating half races or even new races in the case of multiple generations or with the process of weaving. Which is a trait that is attributed to the other factor that humans are peculiar for. Humans are adaptable in ways that marvel and sometimes confuse other races, though a human would never outshine an orc in strength or an ogre in magic or even a goblin in mechanics they can physically adapt to nearly anything.

To say that humans are merely a jack of trades understates their adaptability, thanks to weaving and interbreeding humans can adapt to any locale and any conditions that would readily kill any race not specifically tailored for said conditions. From the inhospitable northern mountains and frozen hells to the coastal regions to the treacherous swamps of the southeastern islands, humans can adapt to live and thrive anywhere above or below. Anyone who can respect humans will find it is their adaptability that is truly worth praise.

'''Subtypes'''
 
* Chimeric - See below.



{{SpeciesHeader
|headerbgcolor = grey
|headerfontcolor = white
|speciesname = Orc
|imagebgcolor = lightblue
|naming = ''Male'': Flynn, Aiden, Andrew, Lucas. ''Female'': Abbie, Maeve, Sadie, Breagha. (Scottish Names)
|commonality = Very common
|civilization = Onokrin Empire
|appearance = Humanoid, bulky, tusks, pointed ears, green to onyx skin.
}}
'''[[Orcs|For a full lore page, see here.]]'''

''Short Summary''
 
Orcs are often considered like humans, everywhere and common, what sets them apart is their greater focus on class, higher tempers, and much greater strengths. Orcs are loathe to act or be seen as bestial or tribal and hold a great deal of open and direct bigotry towards anyone they consider uncivilized. To an orc, nothing is more important than living as a gentlemen or lady and getting into vicious but sporting fights. Offer an orc a fine cigar and he will thank you, compare him to a pig and he will fight you, no matter who wins a drink will be bought for you and himself. Orcs are deeply bonded with humans, with most considering orcs the brawn to the humans brains.

Orcs are creatures of passion that practically require fine amenities to survive. An orc would sooner go naked than wear dirty or scuffed clothing. From work clothes to drinks to even architecture orcs contain a level of personal, national, and civic pride. Orcs are the first to require that all levels of society be treated with respect and be expected to held to a high standard, be they orc/human or any other race. Orcs put heavy emphasis on style and substance and thus can be considered natural artists and heavily pragmatic. Clothing is to be stylish but made from sturdy material. Drinks must be expensive and of good vintage but reasonably priced. Cigars, a factor of orc culture considered near and dear, must be elaborate and refined. Orcs even extend this ideal to how the Onokrin empire is shaped, much of the culture and style of empire is attributed to them. Public, civil, and private buildings are required to be aesthetically pleasing and fitting to the style of the empire, be it as simple as a water tower or as complex as a town hall or civic works.

Much of the empires innate disdain and nationalism comes from orcs, who take an imperial approach to groups not considered as 'civilized' as them. Part of this is rooted in a history of shame, as the first orcs were little more than barbaric raiders preying upon early human farming settlements. This later turned into an ally of convivence when encroaching gnoll tribes from the south threatened both the orcs and humans. It is this shame that reminds them that they must be better than what their naturally combative and violent instincts drive them towards. It is why orcs are prone to vice and favor sports and combative past times such as boxing or hunting, it stems the inherently wild blood they feel within. This does not mean orcs are ultra-nationalists, nor xenophobic, the same history that makes them imperialistic also makes them very open to those they see as equally refined, such as the Steel Legion and Warren Federation, whom are regarded as social and national equals. Where orcs vent their hatred is tribals, in particular gnolls or those rare tribal orcs, whom they offer open bounties and see as creatures to be made sport of as much as any other beast.

'''Subtypes'''
 
* Onokrin - Onokrin orcs can be considered the common or standard orc, far more civilized and posher than other races by leagues. A proper onokrin orc dresses in fine, high class clothing, smokes quality cigars, and drinks only the best vintage. Despite this, onokrin orcs are strong and prone to indulging in 'sporting' violence through boxing, duels, and hunting. Orcs are consummate indulgers of vice, with a large portion of their culture centered around the intricacies of social rituals that they share with humans. Unlike other orc types, onokrin orcs are intrinsically tried to humans and consider themselves the same race in many ways even if they recognize their differences.
* Tribal - The rarest form of orc, tribal orcs are universally hated by their other kin, even the oni. Tribal orcs are seen not only as pariahs but barely sentient creatures. Many orcs are more than willing to kill a tribal if given a chance and an open bounty exists across the onokrin empire to bring in the head of known tribal orcs. Even bandit and outlaw orcs will refuse to associate with tribal orcs. This hatred and combative situation tribal orcs find themselves in often mean they only exist in small numbers in gnoll tribes, where they are respected for their great strength.
* Oni - A deviant orc, usually born as an oni or becoming one through a process that changes with every oni. Oni orc are similar to onokrin orcs but often lose some of their desire and focus to be more civilized, indulging heavily in drinking and growing far stronger as their appearance changes to grow horns and discolor their skin to more vibrant tones. Their more rambunctious nature is not appreciated in the empire, but members of the steel legion culturally believe that oni are good luck charms. As a result, most oni move to the steel legion where they are treated much better and often paid simply to appear in a daimyo's court as a symbol of that houses affluence and appeasement to the yokai.



{{SpeciesHeader
|headerbgcolor = darkgreen
|headerfontcolor = white
|speciesname = Salamander
|imagebgcolor = lightgreen
|naming = ''Male'': Shulgi, Enkimdu, Lahar, Ningishzida. ''Female'': Nisaba, Urash, Bau, Nidaba. (Ancient Sumarian Names)
|commonality = Rare
|civilization = Independent (Isolated Families)
|appearance = Hybrid draconic and humanoid. Scale color varies heavily.
}}
'''[[Salamanders|For a full lore page, see here.]]'''

''Short Summary''
 
Salamanders are an offshoot of humans that are considered stable and numerous enough to be considered their own separate race. The end result of magically compatible humans cross breeding with dragons in ancient pre-history, human-exemplar salamanders resemble humans in the face, torso, and upper thighs whilst their forearms, shins, feet, glutes, and head display draconic traits ranging from claws, scales, tails, horns, and slit-like lizard eyes. Draconian-exemplar resemble more of a dragon that has taken human shape by being draconic in all ways except for being bi-pedal humanoids. Salamanders are inherently magical, but this natural display of magic only manifests as pyromancy, though some salamanders do become mages to further train these abilities or branch out into other magics. Most however, tend to become blacksmiths, weaponsmiths, and armorsmiths as their affinity for fire and natural talents make them exceptionally skilled, with their natural magics easily being infused into their metallic creations much like how dwarves used runes.

Salamanders are chiefly known for three aspects, their skills as smiths, their determined isolation, and their ancient magic. Salamanders are consummate smiths, being creators with fire and forge in ways that rival the rarest and highest quality dwarven artifice. Salamanders infuse every bit of steel they work with a part of themselves, each hammer blow cracking the metal and filling the seams with fractures of that particular smith's soul. Salamanders put such a heavy pretense on smithing and this cultural belief that the metal is infused by the salamander's very soul that most salamanders can tell who forged an object at a glance, if it was made by one of their own. It is for this reason that a salamander home is most easily spotted by the forge and workshop attached to it, the smoldering chimney a sure sign of its draconic inhabitant. That said, few ever see a salamander's home as they are determined to be as isolated as possible. Salamanders despise the company of others, tolerating only their immediate family members or chosen mates. Even among their own, salamanders are loathe to live in towns larger than a few hundred people and it is a given that homes are spaced far enough apart that one could not see their neighbors house from their porch.

The bonds that salamanders do make, however, are considered as sacred as their forges. Salamanders primarily enjoy the company of other salamanders, humans, trolls, and kaxxis that they have bonded with over long periods of time. A bond with a salamander is often recognized officially by the offering of a heart scale, a scale that grows over the back of the neck. This particular scale is heart shaped and grows very slowly, for it is incredibly sturdy and will never break. Because of how long it takes for this scale to regrow if pulled off and offered to another it is considered a deep sign of affection, more so because the removal of the scale leaves the salamander's neck unprotected by their natural armor and thus physically as well as emotionally vulnerable. This somewhat known ritual is merely another facet of salamander culture that is often steeped in mysticism and ritual, though their separate and isolated nature leaves many salamanders with unique and novel rites that differ from family to family. The heart scale ritual is the only one shared among all salamanders.

'''Subtypes'''
 
* Draconic Exemplar - Draconic exemplar salamanders have better skills with magic and can be considered natural smiths when working with most metals and crafts. They are often tall, fearsome, and strong.
* Human Exemplar - Human exemplar salamanders appear more human, having less skill with magic but a wide variety of talents and skills, even in smithing. They can be likened to the best aspects of dragons and humans combined.



{{SpeciesHeader
|headerbgcolor = red
|headerfontcolor = white
|speciesname = Gnoll
|imagebgcolor = pink
|naming = ''Male'': Nakai, Omawnakw, Chunta, Hono. ''Female'': Takhi, Humita, Hantaywee, Haiwee. (Native American Names)
|commonality = Uncommon
|civilization = Scattered Tribes
|appearance = Hyaenidae humanoids
}}
'''[[Gnolls|For a full lore page, see here.]]'''

''Short Summary''
 
Gnolls are perhaps the most contentious of all races, being violent and vicious slavers who form tribalistic war bands to raid and attack various other tribes, villages, and even factions. While the average gnoll can be described as sadistic and cruel, this trait is not universal, with many gnolls treating their more useful slaves and family members in a way that could be somewhat considered respectful. A Gnoll's natural endurance and will to dominate makes them difficult to root out, leading to them being widespread in the wilds as both bandits and mercenaries. Gnolls are well known (and hated) for hitting supply caravans and committing train robberies, but a few isolated gnolls are accepted into various more civilized society despite the obvious prejudice they face.

Gnolls are stoics at heart, seeing the world set against them for both fair and unfair reasons. The average gnoll does not think of the consequences of their actions in the immediate and often look towards the long term. Gnolls culturally believe that life after death is determined, and they shall end up in Baitaal's heaven. What this life is like is based entirely upon how many creatures and people they have killed in life, for every person or animal killed by a gnoll is thought to be enslaved in the afterlife and the more slaves a gnoll obtains the richer and more luxurious their eternity shall be. This core belief is why gnolls rarely take prisoners and live in a culture of kill or be killed, with only the unworthy of being killed being captured as slaves. While monstrous, this is not without its own peculiarities. Gnolls enjoy lording over their status among themselves, if they have something it means they were strong enough to take it and fight to keep it. Thus, gnolls will often flaunt their status by taking many slaves unworthy of being slain and then treating these slaves well. Between tribes, gnolls will decorate their slaves with beads, tattoos, and elaborate clothing and leathers while feeding them well to show that they are so successful and wealthy that even the lowest dregs of their tribe live better than members or even chieftains of other tribes.

Loyalty and obedience are another sign of affluence and a gnoll whom has his slaves armed, obedient, and willing to follow orders or die for their master is a sign of extreme affluence. Rightfully hated by other races, gnolls are still uncannily capable of bringing other races or their own into zealous loyalty, which makes many speculate some gnolls are capable mesmerists and psychics though this has never been proven. More often and more practically, slaves being treated well and rewarded for willing servitude simply comply rather than face retribution from their ever-vicious masters. Though, amusingly to some outsiders, gnolls hold no racial prejudice whatsoever for any particular race and merely treat everyone equal, even if that equality means treating everyone with equal brutality.

'''Subtypes'''
 
* Tribal - Your standard gnoll, xenophobic, violent, and prone to taking slaves. Gnolls believe that every creature they kill is forced to serve them in the after life, as a result gnolls are consummate killers and prefer to pick the strongest and most dangerous targets to further improve their standing in the afterlife. Aiding them is the fact that gnolls are absurdly durable and exceptional fighters, capable of surviving wounds that would kill other races.
* Hel-Touched - A gnoll considered to be touched by Xaal, trading their absurd durability for a ferocious and unstoppable frenzy. Hel-touched cannot hold a position of leadership in gnoll tribes besides temporary war host leaders and raider captains, as a result they are often seen as a bad omen, as seeing one usually signals an impending gnoll raid.
* Civilized - The rare few gnolls that choose to live outside their tribes, often facing prejudice and hatred from not only their tribal kin but most other races whom have a great dislike for gnolls in general. They are considered weaker than most gnolls, but still carry their absurd durability in their tough hides.



{{SpeciesHeader
|headerbgcolor = pink
|headerfontcolor = white
|speciesname = Deerfolk
|imagebgcolor = purple
|naming = ''Male'': Sa, Ryon, Kung, Hwang. ''Female'': Min, Yong, Kwon, Sang. (Chinese Names)
|commonality = Very Common (Legion Territory), Uncommon (Elsewhere)
|civilization = Steel Legion
|appearance = Humanoid deer.
}}
'''[[Deerfolk|For a full lore page, see here.]]'''

''Short Summary''
 
The deerfolk make up the commonfolk of the steel legion, forming most of the servant and menial labor roles beneath their minotaur masters. Deerfolk are often seen as second class citizens within their own nation despite the fact their minotaur masters would not survive without them. Deerfolk are adept farmers, sailors, artisans, and the creators of the life weaving magic path. Though accomplished and treated poorly by their bovid masters, deerfolk are loathe to leave their island nation as it is the only place one is safe from wild predators, as the minotaurs have slain them all and ensured the safety of their small island nation.

Whereas kobolds are humble but united and thus difficult for any one group to mistreat, deerfolk are far less unified and hold a culture similar to minotaurs. Animosity between villages, families, and clans are a common and can extend multiple decades or even generations. Legion culture can be described as direct and brutish at the best of times but among the deerfolk direct confrontation is rare. Deerfolk are disallowed from carrying weapons of any form and are restricted from having names, their official title being whatever craft or job they happen to have, though most deerfolk keep a private name amongst themselves and only use their public jobname among their minotaur masters. The ban on weaponry makes many deerfolk poor fighters who rarely leave their island despite the relative freedom they could obtain by doing so. Among those who are capable of combat train in secret, often as ninja who are employed as assassins, spies, or protectors that use improvised weapons disguised as or outright farming tools modified for a killing edge.

Deerfolk are the originators of the magical process known as weaving, a mixture of healing and transfiguring magic that was original used for restoring the body of wounded or dying soldiers. This practice later evolved into cosmetic transformations, allowing most races to change minor attributes such as eye color, bone shape, height, or fur/hair color. The later discovery that humans could be weaved far more extensively than others created a thriving and bolstered industry for the legion as a whole. The exact process and creation of weaving is not quite understood by anyone, much to the vexation of minotaurs, whom the deerfolk could neither be persuaded nor forced into revealing their secrets. While some independent weavers ply their trades outside of legion territory, in particular in Far Water, only the most exceptional of magi can learn and use the complicated process.

'''Subtypes'''
 
* Nodo - The landbound deerfolk who make up most of their kind, humble and skilled farmers and artisans whom work the lands and commerce of the steel legion. While considered second class citizens, deerfolk are the only ones capable of using the weaving machines that minotaurs lack the ability or training to do. Many nodo deerfolk, despite their status, live peaceful and largely happy lives.
* Yayoi - The coastal bound deerfolk, adapted to swimming and sailorwork and most likely to travel the world aboard vessels of trade and monster hunting. Yayoi are often conscripted as footsoldiers and sailors for minotaur vessels, be they merchant or hunting ships seeking to take down kaiju for meat and magical reagents. As a result, yayoi are more often adept warriors compared to the nodo.
* Yuki - Known as the yokai of the deerfolk, the yuki are set apart by their fanciful white pelts that they are born with, though they usually gain their coloration later on during puberty, the only remaining sign being white speckles within the fur. Yuki are magical conduits, much the way that ogres are and thus are often taken by their local daimyo to be raised in the art of magic, life weaving, or as court officials to be displayed as a sign of status like oni.



=Large Races=
{{SpeciesHeader
|headerbgcolor = blue
|headerfontcolor = white
|speciesname = Ogre
|imagebgcolor = lightblue
|naming = ''Male'': Tiberius, Titus, Lucius, Agrippa. ''Female'': Marcia, Fulvia, Caetronia, Pompilia. (Roman Names)
|commonality = Uncommon
|civilization = Onokrin Empire
|appearance = Massive lumbering humanoids, varying skin tones.
}}
'''[[Ogres|For a full lore page, see here.]]'''

''Short Summary''
 
Ogres, sometimes called oni, are massive hulking creatures of incredible strength and intelligence. While ogres are both cunning and brutal, their main claim to fame comes from their innate magical prowess, allowing them to become powerful wizards, mages, and summoners in addition to warriors, leading many ogres to becoming mage knights, battle wizards, and elemental warriors. Ogres and Oni are considered one in the same by most, though ogres internally have a distaste for oni, leading to ogres to having widely varied appearances, from blue and red to brown and pink skin tones, varying numbers of horns from one to three (which they are loathe to use as weapons), or glowing eyes of unusual colors and numbers, such as one or three eyes. All ogres have thick manes of hair, sometimes curly and sometimes straight, usually colored red, white, black, or gray. Among themselves, ogres believe themselves to be the eldest race behind dwarves and dragons and therefore have a level of haughty nature sometimes considered reasonable given their exceptional talents.

Despite their known martial prowess and great strength ogres are as a general rule extremely jovial and fastidiously kind. This nature of good cheer, polite speech, and social skill have deeply ingratiated ogres within empire society despite being the last to be given citizenship. Among goblins they can readily speak of magic, among orcs they can match them blow for blow in boxing and sport, among humans they almost see them as lesser cousins in need of guidance. Many ogres believe, given the longer history of their race that humans and orcs are racial cousins that diverged through adapting to their environment. Some base this on the visual appearance as ogres look like larger humans and the fact that both ogres and orcs have deviants who are collectively known as oni. The particular name oni actually comes from the steel legion, where ogres can be found in decent number as minotaurs are quick to curry favor with oni under the belief that they are touched by the yokai and see them as good luck and status symbols.

Unlike a kaxxis or salamander who carry arrogance as a rule, ogres are careful never to let their own show. As the eldest race barring the few remaining dwarves ogres believe other races need to be guided to their full potential, encouraging orcs to higher levels of culture, guiding goblins to greater creativity, and cheering humans to new paths. Be it for a privately conceited notion or not, ogres are rarely disliked by most races, though they are rather uncommon sights across the world. Their numbers have never quite recovered from the war of the rune and thus most ogres are keenly aware of their humbled history. The last heir to the ogre kingdoms, Sad King Briareus, is king in name only. However, all ogres recognize his sovereignty and would be loath to ever speak ill of their king for the misfortune of inheriting a throne destroyed. Many respect their sovereign's choice to have his bloodline end with him, as no heir has been born, humbly accepting that the time of their kingdom is over and they are empire citizens forever more.

'''Subtypes'''
 
* Traditional - The standard ogre, often called the traditional ogre, ogres see themselves as the current eldest race that is only contested by the salamanders. Intelligent, exceptional at magic, and quite strong, a traditional ogre represents the pinnacle that others should strive for, or so they believe. Ogres see themselves as the guides and shepherds of other races, despite their low numbers and their destroyed kingdom. While haughty to say and thus rarely said aloud, ogres understand that it is through their magical prowess that the onokrin empire has risen to the heights it currently maintains.
* Oni - The deviants of ogres, sometimes born this way and other times changing through a process that is not at all understood. Oni lose the intelligence and refinement the average ogre carries and, much like their colorful skin and horns, gain more vibrant and wild personalities. Most oni are not looked upon favorable by other members of the empire and thus move to the steel legion, where oni are considered signs of good luck and prosperity. Most oni are thus share kinship with orc oni and the yuki deerfolk, of which they find similar ground.



{{SpeciesHeader
|headerbgcolor = darkgreen
|headerfontcolor = white
|speciesname = Troll
|imagebgcolor = lightgreen
|naming = ''Male'': Geir, Terje, Frode, Jorgen. ''Female'': Sigrid, Lotte, Aurora, Hilde. (Norwegian Names)
|commonality = Extremely Rare
|civilization = Independent (Isolated Families)
|appearance = Massive lumbering humanoids, varying skin tones.
}}
'''[[Trolls|For a full lore page, see here.]]'''

''Short Summary''
 
Trolls are by no means stupid, but their sheer physical power and lack of education often leads to this misconception. Physically trolls are the strongest race around, hulking in size and easily able to overpower ogres and even orcs thanks to their natural brawn. Trolls are solitary creatures, however, and are extremely rare as a result, often living as hermits or in singular family units claiming wide swathes of wild territories to hunt or farm in. Though trolls generally enjoy solitude, this is by no means required, and it is not unusual for a troll ranger or woodsman to appear from time to time in various rural towns where they come to trade. Trolls also eagerly sell their skills as mercenaries for exotic and unusual foods, making them a common sight in populated areas as even the most frugal mercenary company is willing to put up with the logistics of keeping a troll fed and happy, if it means having one under their command.

Trolls share a commonality with rodentfolk in that they live for their stomachs, desiring the best and most varied food they can find. This desire for the greatest sustenance often leads trolls to travel and occasionally enter towns in search of ingredients and spices. Though often hermits trolls are widely accepted among the kaxxis and salamanders for never overstaying their welcome and being so widely traveled and worldly that they pass on news of other towns and the actions of the nations. Trolls survive in the wilds where even lords would hesitate to go alone thanks to their absurd regenerative abilities, being able to regrow even lost limbs within seconds. Trolls are extremely long lived, capping out at around three centuries and have lifetimes of experience as a result. Sadly, this longevity also results in trolls being the rarest species as neither male nor female trolls become reproductive until they reach eighty years of age, though adulthood is recognized at around thirty years.

Troll culture is largely down to the individual but common trends beyond desire for the best food and isolation in the wild come from the religious nature of trolls. All trolls recognize that they are the chosen of Ravendara, the goddess of nature and healing. Officially recognized as the scions of the wild god, trolls make up the highest levels of priesthood as their ability to survive in the wilds, heal rapidly, and being highly animalistic in appearance naturally make them everything Ravendara desires from her followers.

'''Subtypes'''
 
* None - Trolls are so rare and wildly different from each other that there is no true consensus on what a true troll is or looks like.



{{SpeciesHeader
|headerbgcolor = orange
|headerfontcolor = white
|speciesname = Minotaur
|imagebgcolor = darkorange
|naming = ''Male'': Nakajima, Hirano, Asukai, Watanabe. ''Female'': Hara, Nomiya, Amakusa, Sano. (Japanese Names)
|commonality = Common (Legion Territory), Rare (Elsewhere)
|civilization = Steel Legion
|appearance = Massive lumbering bovine humanoids, varying horns.
}}
'''[[Minotaurs|For a full lore page, see here.]]'''

''Short Summary''
 
Minotaurs are an unusual race of giants, being huge, amply armed, and strong of body and mind. Minotaurs are considered the larger cousins of the Kaxxi and Deerfolk, due to the faint visual similarity. Minotaurs have a reputation for being as brutal and dominating as gnolls, with a known trait among them being their cultural desire for dominance in both males and females. As a result, many minotaurs are looked upon with more apprehension than even the Kaxxi, but are tolerated due to their propensity to work in large families living together as formidable, intelligent for-hire workforces for a wide range of basic physical tasks ranging from building, transport, security, fighting, or even artists and specialized artisans.

If orcs can be said to be born warriors than minotaurs can be considered born soldiers. All minotaurs, from the weakest and frailest artisan to the oldest and venerable ancient are capable fighters and prepared for battle at a moment's notice. Minotaurs do not believe that they go to heaven, hel, or the dark forest upon death and universally believe that those who die honorably will be reincarnated, with the most noble deaths leading to reincarnations as samurai. Because of this unshaking belief minotaurs are fearless fighters who see death as nothing more than temporary reprieve from a life of conflict and are more than willing to throw themselves upon their swords if honor or their daimyo demands it. However, death is rather uncommon given how stubborn and capable minotaurs are as soldiers, not to mention how quickly a minotaur can flee on hoof if their forces are routed. Being the fastest race in the world while stampeding minotaurs are first in and first out of a fight.

Though a warrior culture at heart, minotaurs are far from a single note. A minotaur is expected to continue to learn and cultivate skills and talents throughout their entire life, with artistic and humble crafts seen as the apex of choice, in particular for minotaur who are samurai. Many minotaurs thus become tailors, painters, musicians, and game masters ranging from card, board, and gambling games. Skills at a particular craft or game is all but required. Many minotaurs who have the time or discipline pursue intellectual matters by reading and writing books or poetry, with haikus in particular being a popular past time. A minotaur who can make haikus on the spot or have well known and quite memorable ones are often quite lauded by their fellows.

'''Subtypes'''
 
* Auroch - Auroch minotaurs favor a more bull-type feature, with larger horns and heavier muscles. Auroch minotaurs are often warriors, said to be stronger and faster than others of their kind. However, unlike other racial groups, one is not born an auroch but established by their growth and training. Technically, any minotaur can become an auroch if proven strong enough.
* Bovine - The remaining minotaurs who do not focus on physical training or lack the title of samurai are considered bovine. They still carry the speed and ability in combat most minotaur do but focus more heavily on other pursuits such as politics, administration, artisanry, and promotion of prosperity. Though often in higher echelons of society, some bovine minotaurs end up in menial or lower ranked positions amongst the deerfolk.
* Yak - The yokai of the minotaur, with shaggy fur and broad horns the yak have much bigger, broader bodies than normal minotaurs. Where an auroch or even bovine is exceptionally fast, a yak loses this for immense durability and staying power. Many liken them to gnolls, with hides tough enough to withstand shotgun blasts and still keep moving. In minotaur society most yaks are taken by the ruling daimyo where they were born to be trained as specialized soldiers known as Zuijin, set to guard shrines and temple gates as it is said they alone can slay other yokai with ease.



{{SpeciesHeader
|headerbgcolor = Purple
|headerfontcolor = white
|speciesname = Lagus
|imagebgcolor = pink
|naming = ''Male'': Ragnar, Sigmundur, Tryggvi, Vidir. ''Female'': Bryndis, Gunnhildur, Hildur, Ragna. (Icelandic Names)
|commonality = Common
|civilization = Warren Federation
|appearance = Giant humanoid lagomorph
}}
'''[[Lagus|For a full lore page, see here.]]'''

''Short Summary''
 
Lagus are a race of large sized humanoid lagomorphs known far and wide for their great psionic abilities and iron fisted control of the Warren Federation. Being the sole founder of the federation and having taken on kobolds as a vassal race, lagus were once the premier rulers of the federation in early recorded history before cultural norms shifted, in particular with the acceptance of the rodentfolk. While kobolds were by and large content and even happy with the status quo laboring under the lagus, the rodentfolk quickly campaigned their position as equals to raise up the kobolds as well, shifting what was one an authoritarian counsel consisting only of lagus clan matriarchs to a council of three racial representatives from each of the largest burrows. While this change was ultimately for the better, something even the lagus admit, they are loathe to give up their authoritarian natures and deep entrenchment within the governmental, militarily, and internal police of the nation. Much of their waning influence compared to the past comes from the reproductive limits that lagus suffer from, with only one male being born for every hundred females. While the average lagus woman can produce anywhere between one to six children every three months, the sheer lack of viable male offspring means that most male lagus are kept safely secured and all but enslaved within any clans seat of power. Male lagus are one of the mostly hotly contended criticisms of lagus society, as the rodentfolk and kobolds are keenly aware that these men are, by misfortune of birth, kept as breeding stock by members of their own clan and often traded or used as bargaining chips in both political and economic deals. So far, little reform has ever been done, as the only matter which will unite all lagus clans under a single unified banner that will bend all of its political might, both legal and illegal, is a threat to the status quo of how they treat their men.

Lagus political ability is well known, with lagus diplomats being rightly feared and well respected within their domains. Having a long history within entrenched authoritative power structures, both within their clans and socially, make the nature of lagus naturally inclined towards accepting their roles and positions within a hierarchy. In a way, this mirrors kobolds, as few lagus will have ambition and can find easy contentment even in simple work. Those few with ambition generally seek to start their own clans, usually upon securing a few males and enough influence, leading them to become matriarchs. Lagus are a common sight in any leadership, bureaucratic, or police role within the federation. Though it is long suspected (and never quite proven) it is believed that many lagus take leadership roles by using the natural influence generated by their psionic nature. Be it a diplomat reading the minds of those she is trying to convince, a commander carefully determining the state of morale of her troops, or even just an enforcer using the emotions and thoughts of a suspect to determine guilt, lagus have an almost supernatural understanding of how to lead others. The most famous (or infamous) example of the lagus psi-corps, a division of their internal enforcers who are given special training to allow them to directly read the thoughts and memories of others, with an even smaller sub-division rumored to be able to detect crimes before they happen and prevent them or capture the suspect the moment after. This division is largely why the federation burrows are considered one of the safest places to live, as crime is all but non-existent thanks to the lagus psi-corps and their ruthless enforcement.

Lagus are numerically smaller than kobolds or rodentfolk, as despite their rapid reproduction the sparingly few males make it near impossible to match the natural population growth of other races. Outsiders will often note the severe lack of males, with some thinking that lagus are an entirely female race, and may approach them with that idea in mind. Sadly for potential suitors, while a lagus will incorporate men of other races into their clan and raise these non-lagus children in a traditional manner through communal support, lagus struggle to conceive with men of other races. The chance is likened to a one in one thousand possibility, even with humans who are known for being able to intermix more readily with other races. These children are also of the fathers race and thus lack the psionic power that even the most humble lagus can boast of. The end result leaves lagus with lower numbers than most races across the world, a fact that frustrates many more ambitious lagus as the natural hierarchies that they form coupled with their innate supernatural powers would be a much greater force to be reckoned with if they merely had the population of other races. For now, lagus remain well entrenched in the power structure of the federation through careful labyrinthine political plots and intrigue and through careful use of diplomacy.

'''Subtypes'''
 
* Hare - The hare lagus is often thinner, taller, and much more prone to travel and speed than the other variations. Known to be good with firearms and quicker to draw steel than the normally diplomatic rabbit lagus, the hares are thus prone to wanderlust. Many can be found among ratfolk caravans, serving as coachman or employing their natural psionic abilities for pay. Those who remain within the federation often become enforcers and guards, thanks to their natural talents.
* Rabbit - The physically weakest of the lagus, the rabbit lagus are the most adept at psionics, carrying exceptional levels of intellect that set them apart from most races, not merely their own. The rabbit lagus are the best psions in the world, barring perhaps the kaxxis. They make up the majority of the direct political administration within the federation, serving all manner of positions from clerk to minister to diplomat.
* Jackalope - The spirit touched of the lagus, jackalopes are set apart by the growth of antlers on their heads, their teeth replaced with fangs, and their normally herbivore nature becoming obligate carnivores. Jackalopes make for poor psions, but are much tougher, faster, and stronger than even the hares. While a hare can be said to be quick to draw steel, only the jackalopes are known to actively seek conflict. This aspect often sees them falling in with the garm, whom they find kinship with given their similar physical changes and monstrous natures/appearances for those garm whom become afflicted.



{{SpeciesHeader
|headerbgcolor = black
|headerfontcolor = white
|speciesname = Garm
|imagebgcolor = gray
|naming = ''Male'': Magnus, Haakon, Brage, Fritjof. ''Female'': Sol, Alov, Helje, Ragnfrid. (Viking Names)
|commonality = Rare
|civilization = Independent (Federation Residents)
|appearance = Humanoid wolves, many suffering from monstrous mutation.
}}
'''[[Garm|For a full lore page, see here.]]'''

''Short Summary''
 
The garm are from a destroyed kingdom further south than even the warren federation, being victims of the elves first outward incursions. Formerly a civilized assembly of clans living in partially buried homes that formed large communities, much of their culture and ways have been destroyed in the preceding wars. Many garm also suffer from an affliction known as the feasting, a supernatural curse that causes garm to eventually devolve into wendigo if exposed to too much death and violence, a fact that leads many garm to face prejudice, if not outright bigotry.

Garm find kinship in only one other race, the lagus, with the spirit touched lagus known as jackalopes carrying a similar monstrous quality that sets them apart from their kin. The garm are a race scattered to the far reaches of the federation and carry little of their old ways in the common era. What little is remembered varies and changes from oral tradition and thus the garm are a people lost, more so than the result of the feasting. The feasting itself is a curse that often results in only two ends when a garm begins to show signs of the affliction. The 'normal' garm that succumb fully to the feasting become wendigo, retaining their mind but becoming horribly monstrous in appearance while being granted an unholy fortitude. These garm are just sane enough to be allowed to still live within the federation but few chose to do so, the prejudice and mistrust they face for succumbing to their affliction makes their lives brutal and short.

Still, those are the lucky ones, some garm fully succumb to the feasting and with it go entirely mad, evolving into supernatural and blood thirsty creatures capable of mysterious and deadly powers. Wendigo that have fully succumbed are often referred to as the 'lost wendigo' and cannot be redeemed, they will kill and rampage across the land until slain. A cruel irony of the garm is all of them wish to take revenge on the elves, both for destroying their homeland and for cursing them with the feasting, but garm succumb to the feasting by being exposed to death and violence. As a result, they are barred from the war front for their own safety and thus are left to languish with their revenge unfulfilled.

All is not misery for the garm though, many find their place within factions of societies more willing to tolerate them and their curse. The Sons of Baitaal are notorious for recruiting garm as the structure, order, and religious organization allows for many garm to control their curse and avoid becoming further afflicted or prevent becoming a wendigo entirely. For this reason, some rare garm do move on to become professional soldiers and mercenaries, often within close knit companies and troupes.

'''Subtypes'''
 
* Pure - A pure garm that has not been afflicted by the feasting, looking normal and otherwise unscarred.
* Afflicted - A garm that has started to show signs of the feasting, usually manifesting in longer black claws, bigger more vicious teeth, eye color darkening, or horns/antler beginning to grow.
* Wendigo - A garm that has fully succumbed to the feasting but managed to retain their sanity instead of becoming a supernatural beast. These garm are inherently monstrous, with the most common manifestation being the flesh of the face falling off and being replaced with bone-like dermal deposits that appear skull-like. Despite not becoming a full-fledged monster, wendigo are said to be undying revenants with unholy life-forces.



=Chimeras=
Chimeras are an off-shoot race that came about as a result of humans interbreeding or being weaved into a separate and distinct race. Chimeras can range from a human who merely exhibits minor cosmetic changes, like a half-orc having slightly pointed ears, subdued tusks, and red eyes to full blown changes that barely resemble humans at all. Many more exotic chimera are the result of weaving, a type of life magic commonly used in the Steel Legion, that for other races only allows minor changes from hair and eye color to the regrowth of bones, missing limbs, and other bodily repairs. Humans are the only known race to be easily and readily weaved into greater changes, with some humans even being weaved to resemble other races, at least in appearance.

Under normal circumstances, interbreeding between races results in a child of the sire. Ergo, an orc male and salamander female produce a full-blooded orc child. In humans, regardless of sire the child can be a pure-blooded human or exhibit qualities of the non-human parent. In some rare circumstances, such as with salamanders, this creates a stable sub-race but more often than not the resulting changes are merely considered chimeric. Most groups recognize chimerics as human and they can be found anywhere.

For rules regarding custom chimeric lore or custom races, see the [[Chimerics]] page.

 
 
[[Category:Guides]] [[Category:Lore]]

Lagus

2025-10-05T18:59:28Z

Possum:

Lagus are a race of large sized humanoid lagomorphs known far and wide for their great psionic abilities and iron fisted control of the Warren Federation. Being the sole founder of the federation and having taken on kobolds as a vassal race, lagus were once the premier rulers of the federation in early recorded history before cultural norms shifted, in particular with the acceptance of the rodentfolk. While kobolds were by and large content and even happy with the status quo laboring under the lagus, the rodentfolk quickly campaigned their position as equals to raise up the kobolds as well, shifting what was one an authoritarian counsel consisting only of lagus clan matriarchs to a council of three racial representatives from each of the largest burrows. While this change was ultimately for the better, something even the lagus admit, they are loathe to give up their authoritarian natures and deep entrenchment within the governmental, militarily, and internal police of the nation. Much of their waning influence compared to the past comes from the reproductive limits that lagus suffer from, with only one male being born for every hundred females. While the average lagus woman can produce anywhere between one to six children every three months, the sheer lack of viable male offspring means that most male lagus are kept safely secured and all but enslaved within any clans seat of power. Male lagus are one of the mostly hotly contended criticisms of lagus society, as the rodentfolk and kobolds are keenly aware that these men are, by misfortune of birth, kept as breeding stock by members of their own clan and often traded or used as bargaining chips in both political and economic deals. So far, little reform has ever been done, as the only matter which will unite all lagus clans under a single unified banner that will bend all of its political might, both legal and illegal, is a threat to the status quo of how they treat their men.

Lagus political ability is well known, with lagus diplomats being rightly feared and well respected within their domains. Having a long history within entrenched authoritative power structures, both within their clans and socially, make the nature of lagus naturally inclined towards accepting their roles and positions within a hierarchy. In a way, this mirrors kobolds, as few lagus will have ambition and can find easy contentment even in simple work. Those few with ambition generally seek to start their own clans, usually upon securing a few males and enough influence, leading them to become matriarchs. Lagus are a common sight in any leadership, bureaucratic, or police role within the federation. Though it is long suspected (and never quite proven) it is believed that many lagus take leadership roles by using the natural influence generated by their psionic nature. Be it a diplomat reading the minds of those she is trying to convince, a commander carefully determining the state of morale of her troops, or even just an enforcer using the emotions and thoughts of a suspect to determine guilt, lagus have an almost supernatural understanding of how to lead others. The most famous (or infamous) example of the lagus psi-corps, a division of their internal enforcers who are given special training to allow them to directly read the thoughts and memories of others, with an even smaller sub-division rumored to be able to detect crimes before they happen and prevent them or capture the suspect the moment after. This division is largely why the federation burrows are considered one of the safest places to live, as crime is all but non-existent thanks to the lagus psi-corps and their ruthless enforcement.

Lagus are numerically smaller than kobolds or rodentfolk, as despite their rapid reproduction the sparingly few males make it near impossible to match the natural population growth of other races. Outsiders will often note the severe lack of males, with some thinking that lagus are an entirely female race, and may approach them with that idea in mind. Sadly for potential suitors, while a lagus will incorporate men of other races into their clan and raise these non-lagus children in a traditional manner through communal support, lagus struggle to conceive with men of other races. The chance is likened to a one in one thousand possibility, even with humans who are known for being able to intermix more readily with other races. These children are also of the fathers race and thus lack the psionic power that even the most humble lagus can boast of. The end result leaves lagus with lower numbers than most races across the world, a fact that frustrates many more ambitious lagus as the natural hierarchies that they form coupled with their innate supernatural powers would be a much greater force to be reckoned with if they merely had the population of other races. For now, lagus remain well entrenched in the power structure of the federation through careful labyrinthine political plots and intrigue and through careful use of diplomacy.

 '''A quick-start guide:'''
* Hare-type lagus gain +10 vigilance and cognition and -5 biology. Hares have the ability to bypass or lower the cost of psionic abilities, if they are psions.
* Rabbit-type lagus gain -5 robustness and toughness but a massive +25 cognition. Rabbits gain a bonus to their total essence pool as psions and bypass or lower the cost of psionic abilities, if they are psions.
* Jackalope-type lagus gain +5 robustness, toughness, and cognition. Jackalopes cannot be knocked down and gain the ability to bull rush. Jackalopes are also carnivores instead of herbivores.

==Biology==
Lagus biology is differentiated by race and ethnicity but shares many similarities. Between genders, female lagus are taller, stronger, more broadly built, and often have thicker and more physically stacked bodies. A female lagus will generally be between eight and nine feet tall and tend to have much thicker, softer fur than males. Males tend to be between seven to eight feet tall, with slimmer bodies covered in shorter fur and much less stocky forms. All lagus have lagomorphfeatures, being a buttoned nose, rabbit-like tail, bunny ears, buck teeth, and paw-like feet and hands. Ethnicity between lagus is often but not always marked by the structure of the ears and the build of the body. Hares are often slimmer built with upward pointed ears that stand on their own. Hares will often have a 'runners' body, with long legs and forms suited to maintain distance and speed. Rabbit lagus will generally have ears that hang or flop around the head in a 'lop' style while having fatter, thicker bodies more suited for their mountain homes than the more nomadic hares. Jackalopes can wear their ears in either style, with their noted differences being more pronounced claws, antlers and horns, and their mouths full of sharp fangs, though they still have the trademark buck teeth with sharpened tips. Lagus colors come in the same earthy tones that can be found in regular rabbits, ranging from black, white, gray, to tan, wheat, straw, and even very dark blue navy tones. Eye color among lagus is generally black, but red, white, and even blue eyes are not unheard of as naturally occurring.

==Culture==
Much of lagus culture can be considered an extension to the federation, even the aspects changed by the introduction of kobolds and later rodentfolk. The federation considers itself an ancient empire, on par or even older than the dwarves and ogres as much of their mountain holds are marvels of engineering said to have been first built by the dragons themselves. These ancient fortresses were only later settled by the lagus, whose oral history maintains that after the dragons vanished they took control of their former holds in accord with the wishes of the kobolds who were left leaderless and helpless without their masters. Whether this is the true history or not is subject to debate, but no one can deny that the splendor of these mountain holds far exceed anything that any modern engineer, even legendary goblin masons, could ever hope to build. As lagus communities are naturally formed into stratified clans, lead by the most ambitious, the largely peaceful nature of lagus is the end result of their preference for order and their psionic abilities. While all lagus are in some degree or another naturally psionic, those whom choose to train and empower their abilities are quite common and surprisingly are rarely treated differently than those who don't train or progress their abilities. Lagus psions can be found anywhere lagus reside and in any role, but most tend to naturally gravitate towards leadership roles or roles on which their natural abilities are best suited for.

As a primarily female dominated society, they naturally are considered peculiar to other races. Lagus do not really make much distinction between gender, only purpose and role, and thus do not really care about the opinions of genders that other races or cultures may hold. To a lagus, a male of their own race is a resource to be used for the continuation of their clan and species, that is his role and purpose and his opinions on the matter have little importance. The highest positions within lagus society are almost exclusively lead by matriarchs, women who hold dominion over an entire clan, and thus largely occupy the highest roles within government structures that more often than not have entire departments made up of her other clan members. It is not unusual for an entire lagus clan to be solely devoted to a singular business or even civic department where they hold sway. This somewhat adversarial position is exceptionally good at rooting out corruption, as clans are loathe to let others benefit where they otherwise could, the constant competition and political posturing means that most civic departments are highly skilled and incredibly competitive to earn favors, more public support, and thus greater funding that goes directly to the clan controlling it. If the empire or legion can be considered models of culture and responsibility respectively, the federation can be considered the perfect model of efficiency, as it is in the best interest of each lagus clan and the public to always be improving, always be excelling, and to always do the job right.

This aspect of being within the workings of political power extend beyond merely civic duty, as many lagus make up leadership roles within the federation military and much of its structure across the board in civil protection. Enforcers are commonly lagus, given their much greater size and strength over kobolds or rodentfolk and their natural psionics making them exceptional at taking down potential criminals. Use of mind reading, augury, and other methods of psionic adapted telepathy are widely used and relied on by enforcers, who will proactively make an effort to stop crimes as they are happening or even before if they are capable. Much of the federations extremely low crime rates and incredibly peaceful society is due to the constant work of these dedicated officers. Unlike the legion or empire, where personal safety is considered a personal issue and thus few people go anywhere without a gun, weapon, or spell handy, the federation is one place where it is often perfectly safe to remained completely disarmed, a far cry difference in a normally hostile world, even in other places considered safe.

==Mentality==
Lagus share a similar blend of ideals that hit the midpoint between minotaurs and kobolds. Lagus love order, efficiency, and structure as minotaurs do while having an innate urge and desire to form functional clans between kin based on blood and ties. Lagus are an easily content race, their personalities often finding a role within their clan in which they can find a peaceful and simply life performing the duties that benefit themselves, their clan, and the federation as a whole. Unlike kobolds, however, lagus are still individuals and may choose to wander, as hares often do, or become ambitious and seek to form their own clans to garner power and influence. As natural psionics, lagus often look towards the most powerful psion among them as the authority, though this can vary depending on that psions individual abilities. Lagus greatly respect those among them who become exceptional in their supernatural powers and offer equal respect in other races who can maintain the same level of talent, such as the kaxxis. Relations with lagus among other races is often easy and diplomatic, being naturally skilled in dealing with others as a whole, lagus rarely have animosity among any race. While lagus are generally tolerant and accepting, a cultural mentality makes them loathe to be commanded or otherwise controlled by outsiders, as lagus see themselves as rightful rulers, even if they are a party of one.

 
 
 
 
[[Races|Back to Races]]

Lagus

2025-10-05T18:26:28Z

Possum:

Minotaurs

2025-09-27T18:40:12Z

Possum:

Minotaurs are an unusual race of giants, being huge, amply armed, and strong of body and mind. Minotaurs are considered the larger cousins of the Kaxxi and Deerfolk, due to the faint visual similarity. Minotaurs have a reputation for being as brutal and dominating as gnolls, with a known trait among them being their cultural desire for dominance in both males and females. As a result, many minotaurs are looked upon with more apprehension than even the Kaxxi, but are tolerated due to their propensity to work in large families living together as formidable, intelligent for-hire workforces for a wide range of basic physical tasks ranging from building, transport, security, fighting, or even artists and specialized artisans.

If orcs can be said to be born warriors than minotaurs can be considered born soldiers. All minotaurs, from the weakest and frailest artisan to the oldest and venerable ancient are capable fighters and prepared for battle at a moment's notice. Minotaurs do not believe that they go to heaven, hel, or the dark forest upon death and universally believe that those who die honorably will be reincarnated, with the most noble deaths leading to reincarnations as samurai. Because of this unshaking belief minotaurs are fearless fighters who see death as nothing more than temporary reprieve from a life of conflict and are more than willing to throw themselves upon their swords if honor or their daimyo demands it. However, death is rather uncommon given how stubborn and capable minotaurs are as soldiers, not to mention how quickly a minotaur can flee on hoof if their forces are routed. Being the fastest race in the world while stampeding minotaurs are first in and first out of a fight.

Though a warrior culture at heart, minotaurs are far from a single note. A minotaur is expected to continue to learn and cultivate skills and talents throughout their entire life, with artistic and humble crafts seen as the apex of choice, in particular for minotaur who are samurai. Many minotaurs thus become tailors, painters, musicians, and game masters ranging from card, board, and gambling games. Skills at a particular craft or game is all but required. Many minotaurs who have the time or discipline pursue intellectual matters by reading and writing books or poetry, with haikus in particular being a popular past time. A minotaur who can make haikus on the spot or have well known and quite memorable ones are often quite lauded by their fellows.

 '''A quick-start guide:'''
* Auroch minotaurs have +10 robustness and toughness and -5 cognition.
* Bovine minotaurs have +10 toughess, +10 biology, and -5 mechanical.
* The yokai minotaur known as the yak have +15 robustness and tough and -5 biology, mechanical, and cognition.
* All minotaurs have the ability to stampede, increasing their already high speed even further. Auroch and bovine minotaurs can bullrush enemies, grapping them from further away and at a higher tier grapple tha normal. Yaks lose their coordinated grapples for the ability withstand any amount of pain or bodily damage without slowing or weakening for a short time.

==Biology==
Minotaurs are a large sized race of cow and bull like humanoids gifted with strong lithe bodies suited for battle. While generally humanoid in shape, minotaurs differ by having heads dominated by large horns, bovine tails, and hooved feet with bodies covered in fur. While stockier than humans, minotaurs are not as broad as ogres, their bodies much more suited for speed than purely strength. Minotaurs are naturally strong, where as other races will atrophy in muscles over time to drop even below their baseline, minotaurs naturally produce a protein and steroid when digesting any form of food. This means that even minotaurs who live inactive and sedentary lifestyles will still be quite strong and physically fit, though far below what a physically active minotaur would, as long as they continue to eat regular meals. The physical speed of minotaurs is an aspect they are best known for, being able to move swiftly when charging and having exceptional hand-eye coordination. While lacking in the precision skills that a rodentfolk or goblin would have in minuet precision minotaurs make up for it by exceptional reflexes. Minotaurs have a highly developed sense of kinetics and spatial awareness, this trait making them exceptional wrestlers, combatants, and highly suited for tasks requiring fast movements.

==Culture==
Minotaur culture is a strange concept, as minotaurs do not share many of the similarities found in other nations. A striking difference between other people often stems from their island home nation that minotaurs had long since conquered by waging extermination campaigns on the dangerous predators that had once threatened the legions people. This had, or should have, given the minotaur and deerfolk people a golden age of peace. Yet without the struggle of survival and a prevailing conflict, minotaur clans began to turn inwards and fight with each other. Much of early minotaur history is measured by great conflicts and violent wars rather than any measure of real time. Battles and rivalries lasting centuries of skirmishes, violence, and short lived peace until one ruling lord formed the fighting force that would later gain complete control of their island nation. Known as the Steel Legion, this fighting force of a thousand men armed with the first steel forged weapons began a brutal and bloody campaign to bend all other warlords to their will or die in resistance.

With unification, a relative peace came, with war becoming a more ordered affair under a dictatorship known as the shogunate. Local lords controlling various territories are driven by instinct and goading of the shogun towards infighting, though the nature of this conflict is less open war and more one of armed men paid to fight in battles away from civilians to avoid the destruction of valuable resources and industry. Minotaurs make a big show of honor and their code of ethics, known as bushido, but few actually believe in this in private. Minotaurs are pragmatic people who will do whatever it takes to win, even if it means lying, cheating, stealing, or using underhanded tactics. That does not mean that they are without honor. Minotaurs must maintain a public face that follows the code of ethics to avoid dishonor, as to become dishonored is a swift way to be exiled or killed. As minotaurs believe in reincarnation, they do not see any true loss in death, being utterly fearless in the face of danger. While this fearless approach to death is generally only found in samurai, this aspect tends to unnerve other races, in particular those who learn that minotaurs will ritualistically kill themselves when ordered to redeem themselves or do so preemptively to avoid dishonor entirely. This prevailing nature is one of the most important controlling factors of corruption of minotaurs, as many will choose to remain honorable to avoid the punishment of self inflicted death and thus forced to return to the cycle of reincarnation. Pragmatism among minotaurs thusly often remains rather moral, as to be corrupt is to incur death, a far more brutal and direct application of justice than other races who would otherwise tolerate far more with far less severe punishment.

While minotaur culture is one steeped in dominance, be it of the self, the soul, or the world around them, this nature is channeled in a far more ordered structure than something like an equally aggressive race like gnolls would have. Minotaurs require self discipline in all matters regardless of what they are doing. Work, training, even leisure activities and vice must be regimented and given a minotaurs entire focus. They are loathe to remain at rest, even when setting time aside to do so. It is not unusual for a minotaur to plan his or her entire week by writing a schedule that plans out when they work, when they relax, what they relax with, or even when they shall get drunk and how long they shall remain so, even accounting for their elapsed time for a hangover. For all their physical abilities and desire for control, minotaurs respect order, hierarchy, and structure within their lives. As natural authoritarians, minotaurs are maintainers of peace and status quo and keepers of order. The island of the Steel Legion is, without any doubt, the safest place in all of the known world as a result. People do not need to carry weapons, because danger is simply not the way of life it is everywhere else. When conflicts and crime arise, it is swiftly dealt with, when a man feels so wronged that his debt must be paid for in blood, even this is an ordered affair by the purchasing of the services of samurai who will handle the matter before the courts through the spilling of blood.

Minotaurs cannot stand disorder and it is one of the reasons that the shogun took an immediate liking to both the Onokrin Empire and Warren Federation before forming a peaceful alliance, as the empire shared the concepts of honor, discipline, and sacrifice and the federation meets with an equally authoritarian approach that the legion maintains. Minotaurs also shared a level of religiosity that other races do, though their interpretation of faith is wildly different than most races. The trinity of Baitaal, Ravendara, and Xaal are treated as the three great kami, whose lesser spirits make up hundreds of thousands of demi-gods, lesser gods, daemons, and spirits whom capricious natures must be kept at bay through the rituals and offerings at various shrines, maintained by a caste of priests, priestesses, and temple guardians who dedicate their lives towards appeasing or combating the yokai as needed. As minotaurs do not believe themselves subject to an afterlife, the relationship they take with the great kami is more business-like and adversarial. They understand that these gods are powerful and more than willing to intervene with mortals, but rather than worship them out of faith, they do so out of duty, with a vast majority of minotaurs paying sole homage to Baitaal and lip service to the other two. Once again, even spiritual matters are approached based on pragmatism rather than how other races choose to approach faith.

==Mentality==
The mentality of a minotaur is quite simple. Order, discipline, self control. To sum up the simplicity of the matter. Minotaurs believe their are only four paths in life, that of the priest, the magistrate, the farmer, or the artist. This path that they choose is one in which they will move towards with the steadfast and implacable direction of an arrow. It will rarely ever be blown off course or miss its mark. Dominance within their field is seen as a must. If they are a priest, they must be the most devout and the most learned. If they are the magistrate, they must rule with perfection, with skill, they must be a statesmen whom others seek for guidance and whose leadership is irreplaceable. If they become an artist, they must be the best, they must make art which touches the souls and moves the most immovable of hearts. Even the humble path of the farmer must be approach the same, they most have the most beautiful of fields, the most productive and best tasting produce, the healthiest of animals, the most pristine and ordered gardens and paddies. Minotaurs do not consider the idea of a half measured half ass'd approach to anything. They must be the best, at everything they choose to do, no matter how humble or minuscule the task.

 
 
 
 
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Trolls

2025-09-20T16:48:09Z

Possum:

Trolls are by no means stupid, but their sheer physical power and lack of education often leads to this misconception. Physically trolls are the strongest race around, hulking in size and easily able to overpower ogres and even orcs thanks to their natural brawn. Trolls are solitary creatures, however, and are extremely rare as a result, often living as hermits or in singular family units claiming wide swathes of wild territories to hunt or farm in. Though trolls generally enjoy solitude, this is by no means required, and it is not unusual for a troll ranger or woodsman to appear from time to time in various rural towns where they come to trade. Trolls also eagerly sell their skills as mercenaries for exotic and unusual foods, making them a common sight in populated areas as even the most frugal mercenary company is willing to put up with the logistics of keeping a troll fed and happy, if it means having one under their command.

Trolls share a commonality with rodentfolk in that they live for their stomachs, desiring the best and most varied food they can find. This desire for the greatest sustenance often leads trolls to travel and occasionally enter towns in search of ingredients and spices. Though often hermits, trolls are widely accepted among the kaxxis and salamanders for never overstaying their welcome and being so widely traveled and worldly that they pass on news of other towns and the actions of the nations. Trolls survive in the wilds where even lords would hesitate to go alone thanks to their absurd regenerative abilities, being able to regrow even lost limbs within seconds. Trolls are extremely long lived, capping out at around three centuries and have lifetimes of experience as a result. Sadly, this longevity also results in trolls being the rarest species as neither male nor female trolls become reproductive until they reach eighty years of age, though adulthood is recognized at around thirty years.

Troll culture is largely down to the individual but common trends beyond desire for the best food and isolation in the wild come from the religious nature of trolls. All trolls recognize that they are the chosen of Ravendara, the goddess of nature and healing. Officially recognized as the scions of the wild god, trolls make up the highest levels of priesthood as their ability to survive in the wilds, heal rapidly, and being highly animalistic in appearance naturally make them everything Ravendara desires from her followers.

 '''A quick-start guide:'''
* Trolls gain +20 vitality, +10 robustness and toughness, -15 cognition, and -5 mechanical and biology.
* All troll bodies resist embedded bullets, melee weapons, and can regenerate injuries at the cost of nutrition, including lost limbs and organs. Regeneration requires a full stomach and will knock a troll out while it works.

==Biology==
Troll biology is somewhat difficult to quantify and thus can only be described in broader strokes due to the inherent nature of trolls being wildly inconsistent. Of the traits universal to trolls, they are a large race with often discolored skin and extreme hues of hair color, ranging from extremely dark to vibrant. That is quite literally where the consistency ends between trolls, as even trolls within the same family might look nothing alike. They might have horns, tails, hooves, claws, tusks, pointed ears, goat eyes, cat eyes, and have proportions ranging from nearly human, stocky like an ogre, or even animal like such as a gorilla or monkey-like shape. Some trolls even incorporate plant-life into their flesh, have bark-like skin on the back, leaves growing natural within their hair, or limbs that are entirely plant-like. The complete inconsistency and wild nature of a trolls appearance is both their most widely known trait and a source of pride, as this seemingly random set of mutations is often believe to be the direct result of divine meddling.

==Culture==
Much like their appearances as individuals, troll culture is also widely varied, sharing a similar nature to salamanders in that their isolation and lack of communities offer only broad strokes of cultural norms. However, unlike salamanders, trolls prefer isolation from other races but not from each other. Trolls will form small communities and clans that roam nomadically and cover wide swathes of territory where individuals or families make homes separated from each other by a few miles but kept in touch by regular visits. Trolls are consummate hunters and require a great deal of food to keep up their immense regenerative abilities, as a result, trolls will often spend a great deal of time hunting, fishing, cooking, and feasting, in particular as small groups. Whether it be ones family, neighbor, or spouse, trolls will almost never work alone, be it with chores or leisure.

Beyond strong family ties, all trolls are religious, paying homage to Ravendara as their primary patron. Trolls universally believe that they are the direct children of Ravendara, as proven by their deeper connection to nature and wild forms compared to other races. As trolls live the longest of any race, with some trolls surviving for nearly three centuries, quite a few ancient troll druids steeped in equally ancient magic roam the wilds, maintaining a balance in nature by hunting undead and shepherding their younger kin in the rites and rituals of Ravendara between maintaining various holy sites and shrines. Further proof that trolls in particular are favored by Ravendara, those who pray and uphold the principles of the goddess are given direct aid while those who turn there back are beset by wild animals, find their gardens produce rotting on the vine, and experience terrible storms and weather bearing down on them. This rather direct favoritism is a source of pride among trolls, who believe they represent everything Ravendara wishes from her followers.

Being the children of the goddess of wild nature, troll norms beyond these broader strokes are not as well known, however, some aspects are directly universal. Trolls are the only known race who can survive in the wilds, something that even some lords would struggle to do for long. This aspect is reflected in trolls ability to regenerate and the fact that many dangerous and wild predators will avoid a troll if possible. While by no means an apex predator, trolls hunt in packs and are extremely hard to kill to the point that a recently killed troll can be revived by a druid through the use of ancient magic (resurrection often requiring divine intervention for other races, though some rare groups like the Ascendant have discovered modern, less effective and more difficult methods of revival). This is believed by other races to be the reason animals flee or avoid trolls, even extremely dangerous ones that could put down an entire squad of heavily armored mage-knight ogres, as killing a troll will only temporarily bring it down before it comes back for revenge. Trolls believe that the avoidance of animals is done by Ravendara, but are loathe to boast off this lest their fickle goddess decide to rescind the favor.

Another aspect among trolls unique to them is there ability to live peacefully with normally ornery, primitive, and hostile races such as giants, ettercaps, gnolls, intelligent magical beasts, and other similar types. Trolls are known to establish diplomatic relations with these groups, though how or why varies heavily by the individual and it is often simple pacts for trade or non-aggression. On rare occasions, troll communities can host other races for mutually beneficial pacts, though these tend to only last for a few years or a decade before trolls move on to new hunting grounds. Of civilized races, trolls are friends of the kaxxis and salamanders for practical and pragmatic reasons, often sharing news gathered in a trolls travel and, culturally, respecting the desire of both races to be kept at arm's length. Some trolls do not remain in the wilds and instead become mercenaries, seeking exotic foods and spices across the world where they are often given lucrative contracts as any mercenary company will readily see the value in a strong, powerful giant who can regenerate from any wound, act as the perfect scout, and has little fear of death or injury thanks to their regenerative abilities.

These types of trolls generally seek employment in smaller communities, avoiding cities and even towns to instead work on frontier villages. When not employed by mercenary groups, some trolls find easy employment as guides in the wild, having adept knowledge of the dangers and terrain that is considered invaluable by adventuring parties who wish to delve into old ruins. Being tribal by nature and thus uncivilized in many ways, trolls tend to find animosity among humans and orcs for their primitive ways, but the easy going nature of trolls and generally peaceful attitudes allow them to be begrudgingly accepted, in particular by ogres who respect trolls druidic magics. Village or frontier locations in particular ensure that trolls are treated (and fed) extremely well, as their usefulness rivals salamanders for these often struggling communities.

==Mentality==
Trolls are a wild bunch, a mentality that is not readily apparent. One can liken how a troll thinks and feels is entirely like an avalanche. They are, in a vacuum, peaceful and easy going, but their emotions grow and compound with external factors. Slow to anger, slow to rouse, slow to laugh, slow to every emotion that reaches a much greater emotional crescendo than with other races. Trolls can reach an unbreakable calm and an unrelenting savagery that can easily startle other races who are not familiar with how a trolls emotions are displayed. This makes them, in many ways, an acceptable savage where as a gnoll or others would be reviled, trolls are welcomed due to their innate self control reflected in their 'slow to grow' emotions. Where as a gnoll, if insulted, would draw a weapon and savagely attack another in a fit of sudden anger, a troll would not. Only through repeated abuse could one draw the savagery within a troll. Where as the opposite is also true, repeated kindness will draw the best from a troll, an unshakable loyalty and kinship can be thusly developed and with trolls century long lives, making them the longest term friend one could find.

 
 
 
 
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Trolls

2025-09-19T16:25:41Z

Possum:

Ogres

2025-09-16T20:43:30Z

Possum: /* Culture */

Ogres, sometimes called oni, are massive hulking creatures of incredible strength and intelligence. While ogres are both cunning and brutal, their main claim to fame comes from their innate magical prowess, allowing them to become powerful wizards, mages, and summoners in addition to warriors, leading many ogres to becoming mage knights, battle wizards, and elemental warriors. Ogres and Oni are considered one in the same by most, though ogres internally have a distaste for oni, leading to ogres to having widely varied appearances, from blue and red to brown and pink skin tones, varying numbers of horns from one to three (which they are loathe to use as weapons), or glowing eyes of unusual colors and numbers, such as one or three eyes. All ogres have thick manes of hair, sometimes curly and sometimes straight, usually colored red, white, black, or gray. Among themselves, ogres believe themselves to be the eldest race behind dwarves and dragons and therefore have a level of haughty nature sometimes considered reasonable given their exceptional talents.

Despite their known martial prowess and great strength ogres are as a general rule extremely jovial and fastidiously kind. This nature of good cheer, polite speech, and social skill have deeply ingratiated ogres within empire society despite being the last to be given citizenship. Among goblins they can readily speak of magic, among orcs they can match them blow for blow in boxing and sport, among humans they almost see them as lesser cousins in need of guidance. Many ogres believe, given the longer history of their race that humans and orcs are racial cousins that diverged through adapting to their environment. Some base this on the visual appearance as ogres look like larger humans and the fact that both ogres and orcs have deviants who are collectively known as oni. The particular name oni actually comes from the steel legion, where ogres can be found in decent number as minotaurs are quick to curry favor with oni under the belief that they are touched by the yokai and see them as good luck and status symbols.

Unlike a kaxxis or salamander who carry arrogance as a rule, ogres are careful never to let their own show. As the eldest race barring the few remaining dwarves ogres believe other races need to be guided to their full potential, encouraging orcs to higher levels of culture, guiding goblins to greater creativity, and cheering humans to new paths. Be it for a privately conceited notion or not, ogres are rarely disliked by most races, though they are rather uncommon sights across the world. Their numbers have never quite recovered from the war of the rune and thus most ogres are keenly aware of their humbled history. The last heir to the ogre kingdoms, Sad King Briareus, is king in name only. However, all ogres recognize his sovereignty and would be loath to ever speak ill of their king for the misfortune of inheriting a throne destroyed. Many respect their sovereign's choice to have his bloodline end with him, as no heir has been born, humbly accepting that the time of their kingdom is over and they are empire citizens forever more.

 '''A quick-start guide:'''
* Ogres are strong and intelligent, gaining +10 robustness, +10 cognition, and suffer -5 vigilance.
* Oni are even stronger than regular ogres and in tune with alchemy, but suffer massively from care free personalities. They gain a massive +20 spirit, +10 robustness, and +10 toughness but suffer -10 vigilance, mechanical, biology, and cognition.
* Both ogres and oni act as magical conduits, increasing the speed at which rune lanterns refill their mana based on how many ogres are nearby (this effect stacks). Base ogres are broad, stocky, and resist nearly all forms of knockdowns from creatures or people. Oni are not nearly as balanced, but gain a hefty boost to their inspiration gain thanks to their free spirits and closer magical ties.

==Biology==
Though ogres can be highly varied in appearance, more so than most races, the actual restrictions in appearance are based entirely on subtype. Regular ogres resemble very stocky humans scaled up to a much larger size. They are broad bodies, broad facial features, and a towering, if top heavy, body. At a distance or from a photo without a scale, many ogres could be mistaken for a regular human. White, pink, or tan skin are quite common, with hair colors often being brighter colors, such as red, blonde, or white. On rare occasions regular ogres will have tusks, similar to orcs, and small budding horns jutting from the forehead. Ogres and oni may have round or pointed ears and can be 'regular' sized or larger, similar to both orcs and humans.

The stranger variations are within the oni, who can resemble regular ogres or have more exotic features, such as larger pronounced tusks, larger horns, and glowing eyes. Oni can have blue, red, snow white, or even pitch black skin, though hair colors tend to be the same. Some oni have three eyes, with a third eye within the forehead or may have a larger, singular eye that dominates the the space above the nose. Oni generally have pointed, sharp nails that do not serve as claws and more muscular but thinner bodies than regular ogres.

Both types generally will have curly hair and said hair often grows quite fast, leading to many ogre and oni having lone manes of hair that will either be a mess of curls or straightened for stylistic choice. Though it is now quite known why, ogres bodies are innately magical, acting as conduits for magic around them. While few ogres can harness this in any meaningful manner on their own, this meta-biological aspect is exploited with rune lanterns, a type of runic magic primarily used and entrusted to ogres. The more ogres that are near each other, the more powerful this effect becomes, to the point that a full regiment of ogre battle mages can effectively never run dry of mana. This benefit effects everybody, not just ogres, but does not extend to other forms of magic at present.

==Culture==
Ogre culture is largely intact despite the destruction of the ogre kingdom and movement into the Onokrin Empire. Ogres maintain a steadfast and jovial approach to life, an aspect reflected in how they behave and how there beliefs are shaped. Ogres are consummate leaders and advisors, always seeking to improve the presence and standing of those around them, such that despite their low numbers it is not uncommon to see at least one or two ogres within any group, faction, or business. Ogre culture is largely summarized as 'we all lift together', focusing heavily on teamwork and cooperation. In any community an ogre resides, it can be expected for them to take an interest in local affairs and put forth effort to improve the position and standing of everyone else.

This innate cultural belief has entrenched them heavily within the Onokrin, arguably more so than goblins who are another later joiner race despite predating ogres by some centuries. Orcs and humans consider ogres lost cousins, a feeling that is shared between them due to physical similarities and conditions. Ogres have adopted over time the same imperial dogma of the Onokrin, seeing civilization and culture as the most important aspect of a person and looking down upon tribalistic or barbaric races such as gnolls. This attitude, unfortunately, harms their relationships with their oni kin. Much like orcs, an ogre can be born as an oni or become one through a process that is often unique and entirely accidental due to bad luck or circumstance.

Oni are much more boisterous and wild than their ogre kin, being considered by many wild and care free to the ogres normally mild mannered nature. Oni favor extremely strong drink, feats of strength, and are quicker to physical violence than the usual diplomatic nature of ogres. Being a subtype of an already low numbered race, oni often choose to leave Onokrin territories for either the Steel Legion or to become bounty hunters, adventurers, or traveling mercenaries, leveraging their size, toughness, and natural magical natures to accomplish a great deal of extraordinary feats. This almost legendary quality of lone, wandering oni working with various groups is often the only way an oni can become accepted by their kin, as ogres are lovers of storytelling, poetry, and romanticism. A well traveled oni thus can return, pockets heavy with their collected wealth and a lifetime of stories to tell.

Regardless of type, ogres have a deep appreciation for art, innovation, and magic. These aspects are largely indulged with other races within the Onokrin, mirroring the same appreciation among orcs, goblins, and humans respectively. As ogres live much longer lives than anyone within the Onokrin, ogres tend to accumulate large amounts of generational wealth between family members. However, unlike most races, they see little purpose in hoarding material wealth and thus often spend gregarious amounts of their wealth on parties, gifts, and art projects ranging from personal galleries, public museums, and even civic projects to improve the general appearance of where-ever they dwell. Generally speaking, however, while ogres are often willing to lavish others in sharing their wealth, they do maintain a deep level of influence shared between important figures and organizations. Trading favors, organizing deals, and approaching both lords and nobles through diplomatic means is a very common part of how ogres operate within the Onokrin, largely for the benefit of the common man, but not always.

Ogres are, much like orcs and humans, not above displays of incredibly and effective violence. Being the largest race and competing with orcs to be the strongest, ogres are incredibly capable fighters further supported by their prevalence of magic and keen minds making them capable tacticians. This fact is most widely known by the rank of battle mage, a position that is largely held within the empire by ogres. Given suits of incredibly durable heavy plate armor further enchanted with a wider variety of benefits, magical weapons, and working together in squads of other ogres to keep their magical equipment powered means that a single squad or a full legion of ogre battlemages are deployed as an immediate, incredibly violent solution for the empires problems. While the small numbers of ogres means most end up working on artillery teams, maintaining, protecting, and firing mana cannons on the front lines of the ongoing war, the few legions of battle mages are deployed in the most bloody theaters of war where elves are proving too numerous to keep back.

Ogres tend to far blunt weapons as a matter of course to use their size and physical strength to crack open armor, but if someone thinks this makes them less dangerous than using a bladed weapon, they are sorely mistaken. Whether an individual ogre is an elemental warrior, battle mage, or sorcerer knight there most effective and proven tactic is to use ranged magic before closing the gap between enemies, enhancing themselves through spells or magical equipment, and beating their enemy to a literal pulp. As ogres are pragmatic, nearly all ogres and even oni practice what is known as the 'ogre double-tap' as a standard operating procedure. While considered extremely brutal by other members of the empire, it is a necessity, ogres will often use their maces and warhammers (or katanas in the case of oni) to either sever the head or crush it into a meat paste to 'double tap' the enemy and ensure no necromancy or healing can bring a fallen foe back up.

==Mentality==
Ogre mentality is strange, when observed in juxtaposition to the key aspects that shape who they are today. Ogres are jovial, kind, and often inherently helpful to others without hesitation or expectation in return. This attitude, however, also comes with a certain meloncholy that when understood paints their jovial natures in a sadder picture. The nations of the ogres have been destroyed during the war of the rune, a war they themselves started out of greed for the rune magic that once belong solely to the dwarves. This cataclysmic war is often never spoken of, but the entire northern and northwest territories that were once the mountain homes of ogres and dwarves is now a wasteland of ruins and destroyed biomes only capable of supporting the most dangerous and brutal of fauna. There numbers, once equal to the Onokrin or Federation, are now vastly depleted and the pride of their race now lay in ruins, with only the memory of greed as a bitter reminder of the cost of their failure.

This manifestation of racial guilt is accepted by ogres, by and large, seen as their collective failure. It is both their greatest regret and their greatest motivation, as much of ogres kindness, of their desire to improve and build upon the Onokrin communally and individually, stems from this regret. It is why ogres not only wish to enjoy life, but ensure that everyone around them also enjoys it just as deeply, be they kin, a fellow citizen, or their descendants set to inherit what they have built.

 
 
 
 
[[Races|Back to Races]]

Ogres

2025-09-16T20:42:35Z

Possum:

Ogres, sometimes called oni, are massive hulking creatures of incredible strength and intelligence. While ogres are both cunning and brutal, their main claim to fame comes from their innate magical prowess, allowing them to become powerful wizards, mages, and summoners in addition to warriors, leading many ogres to becoming mage knights, battle wizards, and elemental warriors. Ogres and Oni are considered one in the same by most, though ogres internally have a distaste for oni, leading to ogres to having widely varied appearances, from blue and red to brown and pink skin tones, varying numbers of horns from one to three (which they are loathe to use as weapons), or glowing eyes of unusual colors and numbers, such as one or three eyes. All ogres have thick manes of hair, sometimes curly and sometimes straight, usually colored red, white, black, or gray. Among themselves, ogres believe themselves to be the eldest race behind dwarves and dragons and therefore have a level of haughty nature sometimes considered reasonable given their exceptional talents.

Despite their known martial prowess and great strength ogres are as a general rule extremely jovial and fastidiously kind. This nature of good cheer, polite speech, and social skill have deeply ingratiated ogres within empire society despite being the last to be given citizenship. Among goblins they can readily speak of magic, among orcs they can match them blow for blow in boxing and sport, among humans they almost see them as lesser cousins in need of guidance. Many ogres believe, given the longer history of their race that humans and orcs are racial cousins that diverged through adapting to their environment. Some base this on the visual appearance as ogres look like larger humans and the fact that both ogres and orcs have deviants who are collectively known as oni. The particular name oni actually comes from the steel legion, where ogres can be found in decent number as minotaurs are quick to curry favor with oni under the belief that they are touched by the yokai and see them as good luck and status symbols.

Unlike a kaxxis or salamander who carry arrogance as a rule, ogres are careful never to let their own show. As the eldest race barring the few remaining dwarves ogres believe other races need to be guided to their full potential, encouraging orcs to higher levels of culture, guiding goblins to greater creativity, and cheering humans to new paths. Be it for a privately conceited notion or not, ogres are rarely disliked by most races, though they are rather uncommon sights across the world. Their numbers have never quite recovered from the war of the rune and thus most ogres are keenly aware of their humbled history. The last heir to the ogre kingdoms, Sad King Briareus, is king in name only. However, all ogres recognize his sovereignty and would be loath to ever speak ill of their king for the misfortune of inheriting a throne destroyed. Many respect their sovereign's choice to have his bloodline end with him, as no heir has been born, humbly accepting that the time of their kingdom is over and they are empire citizens forever more.

 '''A quick-start guide:'''
* Ogres are strong and intelligent, gaining +10 robustness, +10 cognition, and suffer -5 vigilance.
* Oni are even stronger than regular ogres and in tune with alchemy, but suffer massively from care free personalities. They gain a massive +20 spirit, +10 robustness, and +10 toughness but suffer -10 vigilance, mechanical, biology, and cognition.
* Both ogres and oni act as magical conduits, increasing the speed at which rune lanterns refill their mana based on how many ogres are nearby (this effect stacks). Base ogres are broad, stocky, and resist nearly all forms of knockdowns from creatures or people. Oni are not nearly as balanced, but gain a hefty boost to their inspiration gain thanks to their free spirits and closer magical ties.

==Biology==
Though ogres can be highly varied in appearance, more so than most races, the actual restrictions in appearance are based entirely on subtype. Regular ogres resemble very stocky humans scaled up to a much larger size. They are broad bodies, broad facial features, and a towering, if top heavy, body. At a distance or from a photo without a scale, many ogres could be mistaken for a regular human. White, pink, or tan skin are quite common, with hair colors often being brighter colors, such as red, blonde, or white. On rare occasions regular ogres will have tusks, similar to orcs, and small budding horns jutting from the forehead. Ogres and oni may have round or pointed ears and can be 'regular' sized or larger, similar to both orcs and humans.

The stranger variations are within the oni, who can resemble regular ogres or have more exotic features, such as larger pronounced tusks, larger horns, and glowing eyes. Oni can have blue, red, snow white, or even pitch black skin, though hair colors tend to be the same. Some oni have three eyes, with a third eye within the forehead or may have a larger, singular eye that dominates the the space above the nose. Oni generally have pointed, sharp nails that do not serve as claws and more muscular but thinner bodies than regular ogres.

Both types generally will have curly hair and said hair often grows quite fast, leading to many ogre and oni having lone manes of hair that will either be a mess of curls or straightened for stylistic choice. Though it is now quite known why, ogres bodies are innately magical, acting as conduits for magic around them. While few ogres can harness this in any meaningful manner on their own, this meta-biological aspect is exploited with rune lanterns, a type of runic magic primarily used and entrusted to ogres. The more ogres that are near each other, the more powerful this effect becomes, to the point that a full regiment of ogre battle mages can effectively never run dry of mana. This benefit effects everybody, not just ogres, but does not extend to other forms of magic at present.

==Culture==
Ogre culture is largely intact despite the destruction of the ogre kingdom and movement into the Onokrin Empire. Ogres maintain a steadfast and jovial approach to life, an aspect reflected in how they behave and how there beliefs are shaped. Ogres are consummate leaders and advisors, always seeking to improve the presence and standing of those around them, such that despite their low numbers it is not uncommon to see at least one or two ogres within any group, faction, or business. Ogre culture is largely summarized as 'we all lift together', focusing heavily on teamwork and cooperation. In any community an ogre resides, it can be expected for them to take an interest in local affairs and put forth effort to improve the position and standing of everyone else.

This innate cultural belief has entrenched them heavily within the Onokrin, arguably more so than goblins who are another later joiner race despite predating ogres by some centuries. Orcs and humans consider ogres lost cousins, a feeling that is shared between them due to physical similarities and conditions. Ogres have adopted over time the same imperial dogma of the Onokrin, seeing civilization and culture as the most important aspect of a person and looking down upon tribalistic or barbaric races such as gnolls. This attitude, unfortunately, harms their relationships with their oni kin. Much like orcs, an ogre can be born as an oni or become one through a process that is often unique and entirely accidental due to bad luck or circumstance.

Oni are much more boisterous and wild than their ogre kin, being considered by many wild and care free to the ogres normally mild mannered nature. Oni favor extremely strong drink, feats of strength, and are quicker to physical violence than the usual diplomatic nature of ogres. Being a subtype of an already low numbered race, oni often choose to leave Onokrin territories for either the Steel Legion or to become bounty hunters, adventurers, or traveling mercenaries, leveraging their size, toughness, and natural magical natures to accomplish a great deal of extraordinary feats. This almost legendary quality of lone, wandering oni working with various groups is often the only way an oni can become accepted by their kin, as ogres are lovers of storytelling, poetry, and romanticism. A well traveled oni thus can return, pockets heavy with their collected wealth and a lifetime of stories to tell.

Regardless of type, ogres have a deep appreciation for art, innovation, and magic. These aspects are largely indulged with other races within the Onokrin, mirroring the same appreciation among orcs, goblins, and humans respectively. As ogres live much longer lives than anyone within the Onokrin, ogres tend to accumulate large amounts of generational wealth between family members. However, unlike most races, they see little purpose in hoarding material wealth and thus often spend gregarious amounts of their wealth on parties, gifts, and art projects ranging from personal galleries, public museums, and even civic projects to improve the general appearance of where-ever they dwell. Generally speaking, however, while ogres are often willing to lavish others in sharing their wealth, they do maintain a deep level of influence shared between important figures and organizations. Trading favors, organizing deals, and approaching both lords and nobles through diplomatic means is a very common part of how ogres operate within the Onokrin, largely for the benefit of the common man, but not always.

Ogres are, much like orcs and humans, not above displays of incredibly and effective violence. Being the largest race and competing with orcs to be the strongest, ogres are incredibly capable fighters further supported by their prevalence of magic and keen minds making them capable tacticians. This fact is most widely known by the rank of battle mage, a position that is largely held within the empire by ogres. Given suits of incredibly durable heavy plate armor further enchanted with a wider variety of benefits, magical weapons, and working together in squads of other ogres to keep their magical equipment powered means that a single squad or a full legion of ogre battlemages are deployed as an immediate, incredibly violent solution for the empires problems. While the small numbers of ogres means most end up working on artillery teams, maintaining, protecting, and firing mana cannons on the front lines of the ongoing war, the few legions of battle mages are deployed in the most bloody theaters of war where elves are proving too numerous to keep back.

Ogres tend to far blunt weapons as a matter of course to use their size and physical strength to crack open armor, but if someone thinks this makes them less dangerous than using a bladed weapon, they are sorely mistaken. Whether an individual ogre is an elemental warrior, battle mage, or sorcerer knight there most effective and proven tactic is to use ranged magic before closing the gap between enemies, enhancing themselves through spells or magical equipment, and beating their enemy to a literal pulp. As ogres are pragmatic, nearly all ogres and even oni practice what is known as the shatter method as a standard operating procedure. While considered extremely brutal by other members of the empire, it is a necessity, ogres will often use their maces and warhammers (or katanas in the case of oni) to either sever the head or crush it into a meat paste to 'double tap' the enemy and ensure no necromancy or healing can bring a fallen foe back up.

==Mentality==
Ogre mentality is strange, when observed in juxtaposition to the key aspects that shape who they are today. Ogres are jovial, kind, and often inherently helpful to others without hesitation or expectation in return. This attitude, however, also comes with a certain meloncholy that when understood paints their jovial natures in a sadder picture. The nations of the ogres have been destroyed during the war of the rune, a war they themselves started out of greed for the rune magic that once belong solely to the dwarves. This cataclysmic war is often never spoken of, but the entire northern and northwest territories that were once the mountain homes of ogres and dwarves is now a wasteland of ruins and destroyed biomes only capable of supporting the most dangerous and brutal of fauna. There numbers, once equal to the Onokrin or Federation, are now vastly depleted and the pride of their race now lay in ruins, with only the memory of greed as a bitter reminder of the cost of their failure.

This manifestation of racial guilt is accepted by ogres, by and large, seen as their collective failure. It is both their greatest regret and their greatest motivation, as much of ogres kindness, of their desire to improve and build upon the Onokrin communally and individually, stems from this regret. It is why ogres not only wish to enjoy life, but ensure that everyone around them also enjoys it just as deeply, be they kin, a fellow citizen, or their descendants set to inherit what they have built.

 
 
 
 
[[Races|Back to Races]]

Ogres

2025-09-16T20:23:38Z

Possum:

Ogres, sometimes called oni, are massive hulking creatures of incredible strength and intelligence. While ogres are both cunning and brutal, their main claim to fame comes from their innate magical prowess, allowing them to become powerful wizards, mages, and summoners in addition to warriors, leading many ogres to becoming mage knights, battle wizards, and elemental warriors. Ogres and Oni are considered one in the same by most, though ogres internally have a distaste for oni, leading to ogres to having widely varied appearances, from blue and red to brown and pink skin tones, varying numbers of horns from one to three (which they are loathe to use as weapons), or glowing eyes of unusual colors and numbers, such as one or three eyes. All ogres have thick manes of hair, sometimes curly and sometimes straight, usually colored red, white, black, or gray. Among themselves, ogres believe themselves to be the eldest race behind dwarves and dragons and therefore have a level of haughty nature sometimes considered reasonable given their exceptional talents.

Despite their known martial prowess and great strength ogres are as a general rule extremely jovial and fastidiously kind. This nature of good cheer, polite speech, and social skill have deeply ingratiated ogres within empire society despite being the last to be given citizenship. Among goblins they can readily speak of magic, among orcs they can match them blow for blow in boxing and sport, among humans they almost see them as lesser cousins in need of guidance. Many ogres believe, given the longer history of their race that humans and orcs are racial cousins that diverged through adapting to their environment. Some base this on the visual appearance as ogres look like larger humans and the fact that both ogres and orcs have deviants who are collectively known as oni. The particular name oni actually comes from the steel legion, where ogres can be found in decent number as minotaurs are quick to curry favor with oni under the belief that they are touched by the yokai and see them as good luck and status symbols.

Unlike a kaxxis or salamander who carry arrogance as a rule, ogres are careful never to let their own show. As the eldest race barring the few remaining dwarves ogres believe other races need to be guided to their full potential, encouraging orcs to higher levels of culture, guiding goblins to greater creativity, and cheering humans to new paths. Be it for a privately conceited notion or not, ogres are rarely disliked by most races, though they are rather uncommon sights across the world. Their numbers have never quite recovered from the war of the rune and thus most ogres are keenly aware of their humbled history. The last heir to the ogre kingdoms, Sad King Briareus, is king in name only. However, all ogres recognize his sovereignty and would be loath to ever speak ill of their king for the misfortune of inheriting a throne destroyed. Many respect their sovereign's choice to have his bloodline end with him, as no heir has been born, humbly accepting that the time of their kingdom is over and they are empire citizens forever more.

 '''A quick-start guide:'''
* Ogres are strong and intelligent, gaining +10 robustness, +10 cognition, and suffer -5 vigilance.
* Oni are even stronger than regular ogres and in tune with alchemy, but suffer massively from care free personalities. They gain a massive +20 spirit, +10 robustness, and +10 toughness but suffer -10 vigilance, mechanical, biology, and cognition.
* Both ogres and oni act as magical conduits, increasing the speed at which rune lanterns refill their mana based on how many ogres are nearby (this effect stacks). Base ogres are broad, stocky, and resist nearly all forms of knockdowns from creatures or people. Oni are not nearly as balanced, but gain a hefty boost to their inspiration gain thanks to their free spirits and closer magical ties.

==Biology==
Though ogres can be highly varied in appearance, more so than most races, the actual restrictions in appearance are based entirely on subtype. Regular ogres resemble very stocky humans scaled up to a much larger size. They are broad bodies, broad facial features, and a towering, if top heavy, body. At a distance or from a photo without a scale, many ogres could be mistaken for a regular human. White, pink, or tan skin are quite common, with hair colors often being brighter colors, such as red, blonde, or white. On rare occasions regular ogres will have tusks, similar to orcs, and small budding horns jutting from the forehead. Ogres and oni may have round or pointed ears and can be 'regular' sized or larger, similar to both orcs and humans.

The stranger variations are within the oni, who can resemble regular ogres or have more exotic features, such as larger pronounced tusks, larger horns, and glowing eyes. Oni can have blue, red, snow white, or even pitch black skin, though hair colors tend to be the same. Some oni have three eyes, with a third eye within the forehead or may have a larger, singular eye that dominates the the space above the nose. Oni generally have pointed, sharp nails that do not serve as claws and more muscular but thinner bodies than regular ogres.

Both types generally will have curly hair and said hair often grows quite fast, leading to many ogre and oni having lone manes of hair that will either be a mess of curls or straightened for stylistic choice. Though it is now quite known why, ogres bodies are innately magical, acting as conduits for magic around them. While few ogres can harness this in any meaningful manner on their own, this meta-biological aspect is exploited with rune lanterns, a type of runic magic primarily used and entrusted to ogres. The more ogres that are near each other, the more powerful this effect becomes, to the point that a full regiment of ogre battle mages can effectively never run dry of mana. This benefit effects everybody, not just ogres, but does not extend to other forms of magic at present.

==Culture==
Ogre culture is largely intact despite the destruction of the ogre kingdom and movement into the Onokrin Empire. Ogres maintain a steadfast and jovial approach to life, an aspect reflected in how they behave and how there beliefs are shaped. Ogres are consummate leaders and advisors, always seeking to improve the presence and standing of those around them, such that despite their low numbers it is not uncommon to see at least one or two ogres within any group, faction, or business. Ogre culture is largely summarized as 'we all lift together', focusing heavily on teamwork and cooperation. In any community an ogre resides, it can be expected for them to take an interest in local affairs and put forth effort to improve the position and standing of everyone else.

This innate cultural belief has entrenched them heavily within the Onokrin, arguably more so than goblins who are another later joiner race despite predating ogres by some centuries. Orcs and humans consider ogres lost cousins, a feeling that is shared between them due to physical similarities and conditions. Ogres have adopted over time the same imperial dogma of the Onokrin, seeing civilization and culture as the most important aspect of a person and looking down upon tribalistic or barbaric races such as gnolls. This attitude, unfortunately, harms their relationships with their oni kin. Much like orcs, an ogre can be born as an oni or become one through a process that is often unique and entirely accidental due to bad luck or circumstance.

Oni are much more boisterous and wild than their ogre kin, being considered by many wild and care free to the ogres normally mild mannered nature. Oni favor extremely strong drink, feats of strength, and are quicker to physical violence than the usual diplomatic nature of ogres. Being a subtype of an already low numbered race, oni often choose to leave Onokrin territories for either the Steel Legion or to become bounty hunters, adventurers, or traveling mercenaries, leveraging their size, toughness, and natural magical natures to accomplish a great deal of extraordinary feats. This almost legendary quality of lone, wandering oni working with various groups is often the only way an oni can become accepted by their kin, as ogres are lovers of storytelling, poetry, and romanticism. A well traveled oni thus can return, pockets heavy with their collected wealth and a lifetime of stories to tell.

Regardless of type, ogres have a deep appreciation for art, innovation, and magic. These aspects are largely indulged with other races within the Onokrin, mirroring the same appreciation among orcs, goblins, and humans respectively. As ogres live much longer lives than anyone within the Onokrin, ogres tend to accumulate large amounts of generational wealth between family members. However, unlike most races, they see little purpose in hoarding material wealth and thus often spend gregarious amounts of their wealth on parties, gifts, and art projects ranging from personal galleries, public museums, and even civic projects to improve the general appearance of where-ever they dwell. Generally speaking, however, while ogres are often willing to lavish others in sharing their wealth, they do maintain a deep level of influence shared between important figures and organizations. Trading favors, organizing deals, and approaching both lords and nobles through diplomatic means is a very common part of how ogres operate within the Onokrin, largely for the benefit of the common man, but not always.

==Mentality==
Ogre mentality is strange, when observed in juxtaposition to the key aspects that shape who they are today. Ogres are jovial, kind, and often inherently helpful to others without hesitation or expectation in return. This attitude, however, also comes with a certain meloncholy that when understood paints their jovial natures in a sadder picture. The nations of the ogres have been destroyed during the war of the rune, a war they themselves started out of greed for the rune magic that once belong solely to the dwarves. This cataclysmic war is often never spoken of, but the entire northern and northwest territories that were once the mountain homes of ogres and dwarves is now a wasteland of ruins and destroyed biomes only capable of supporting the most dangerous and brutal of fauna. There numbers, once equal to the Onokrin or Federation, are now vastly depleted and the pride of their race now lay in ruins, with only the memory of greed as a bitter reminder of the cost of their failure.

This manifestation of racial guilt is accepted by ogres, by and large, seen as their collective failure. It is both their greatest regret and their greatest motivation, as much of ogres kindness, of their desire to improve and build upon the Onokrin communally and individually, stems from this regret. It is why ogres not only wish to enjoy life, but ensure that everyone around them also enjoys it just as deeply, be they kin, a fellow citizen, or their descendants set to inherit what they have built.

 
 
 
 
[[Races|Back to Races]]

Ogres

2025-09-16T20:14:07Z

Possum:

Ogres, sometimes called oni, are massive hulking creatures of incredible strength and intelligence. While ogres are both cunning and brutal, their main claim to fame comes from their innate magical prowess, allowing them to become powerful wizards, mages, and summoners in addition to warriors, leading many ogres to becoming mage knights, battle wizards, and elemental warriors. Ogres and Oni are considered one in the same by most, though ogres internally have a distaste for oni, leading to ogres to having widely varied appearances, from blue and red to brown and pink skin tones, varying numbers of horns from one to three (which they are loathe to use as weapons), or glowing eyes of unusual colors and numbers, such as one or three eyes. All ogres have thick manes of hair, sometimes curly and sometimes straight, usually colored red, white, black, or gray. Among themselves, ogres believe themselves to be the eldest race behind dwarves and dragons and therefore have a level of haughty nature sometimes considered reasonable given their exceptional talents.

Despite their known martial prowess and great strength ogres are as a general rule extremely jovial and fastidiously kind. This nature of good cheer, polite speech, and social skill have deeply ingratiated ogres within empire society despite being the last to be given citizenship. Among goblins they can readily speak of magic, among orcs they can match them blow for blow in boxing and sport, among humans they almost see them as lesser cousins in need of guidance. Many ogres believe, given the longer history of their race that humans and orcs are racial cousins that diverged through adapting to their environment. Some base this on the visual appearance as ogres look like larger humans and the fact that both ogres and orcs have deviants who are collectively known as oni. The particular name oni actually comes from the steel legion, where ogres can be found in decent number as minotaurs are quick to curry favor with oni under the belief that they are touched by the yokai and see them as good luck and status symbols.

Unlike a kaxxis or salamander who carry arrogance as a rule, ogres are careful never to let their own show. As the eldest race barring the few remaining dwarves ogres believe other races need to be guided to their full potential, encouraging orcs to higher levels of culture, guiding goblins to greater creativity, and cheering humans to new paths. Be it for a privately conceited notion or not, ogres are rarely disliked by most races, though they are rather uncommon sights across the world. Their numbers have never quite recovered from the war of the rune and thus most ogres are keenly aware of their humbled history. The last heir to the ogre kingdoms, Sad King Briareus, is king in name only. However, all ogres recognize his sovereignty and would be loath to ever speak ill of their king for the misfortune of inheriting a throne destroyed. Many respect their sovereign's choice to have his bloodline end with him, as no heir has been born, humbly accepting that the time of their kingdom is over and they are empire citizens forever more.

 '''A quick-start guide:'''
* Ogres are strong and intelligent, gaining +10 robustness, +10 cognition, and suffer -5 vigilance.
* Oni are even stronger than regular ogres and in tune with alchemy, but suffer massively from care free personalities. They gain a massive +20 spirit, +10 robustness, and +10 toughness but suffer -10 vigilance, mechanical, biology, and cognition.
* Both ogres and oni act as magical conduits, increasing the speed at which rune lanterns refill their mana based on how many ogres are nearby (this effect stacks). Base ogres are broad, stocky, and resist nearly all forms of knockdowns from creatures or people. Oni are not nearly as balanced, but gain a hefty boost to their inspiration gain thanks to their free spirits and closer magical ties.

==Biology==
Though ogres can be highly varied in appearance, more so than most races, the actual restrictions in appearance are based entirely on subtype. Regular ogres resemble very stocky humans scaled up to a much larger size. They are broad bodies, broad facial features, and a towering, if top heavy, body. At a distance or from a photo without a scale, many ogres could be mistaken for a regular human. White, pink, or tan skin are quite common, with hair colors often being brighter colors, such as red, blonde, or white. On rare occasions regular ogres will have tusks, similar to orcs, and small budding horns jutting from the forehead.

The stranger variations are within the oni, who can resemble regular ogres or have more exotic features, such as larger pronounced tusks, larger horns, and glowing eyes. Oni can have blue, red, snow white, or even pitch black skin, though hair colors tend to be the same. Some oni have three eyes, with a third eye within the forehead or may have a larger, singular eye that dominates the the space above the nose. Oni generally have pointed, sharp nails that do not serve as claws and more muscular but thinner bodies than regular ogres.

Both types generally will have curly hair and said hair often grows quite fast, leading to many ogre and oni having lone manes of hair that will either be a mess of curls or straightened for stylistic choice. Though it is now quite known why, ogres bodies are innately magical, acting as conduits for magic around them. While few ogres can harness this in any meaningful manner on their own, this meta-biological aspect is exploited with rune lanterns, a type of runic magic primarily used and entrusted to ogres. The more ogres that are near each other, the more powerful this effect becomes, to the point that a full regiment of ogre battle mages can effectively never run dry of mana. This benefit effects everybody, not just ogres, but does not extend to other forms of magic at present.

==Culture==
Ogre culture is largely intact despite the destruction of the ogre kingdom and movement into the Onokrin Empire. Ogres maintain a steadfast and jovial approach to life, an aspect reflected in how they behave and how there beliefs are shaped. Ogres are consummate leaders and advisors, always seeking to improve the presence and standing of those around them, such that despite their low numbers it is not uncommon to see at least one or two ogres within any group, faction, or business. Ogre culture is largely summarized as 'we all lift together', focusing heavily on teamwork and cooperation. In any community an ogre resides, it can be expected for them to take an interest in local affairs and put forth effort to improve the position and standing of everyone else.

This innate cultural belief has entrenched them heavily within the Onokrin, arguably more so than goblins who are another later joiner race despite predating ogres by some centuries. Orcs and humans consider ogres lost cousins, a feeling that is shared between them due to physical similarities and conditions. Ogres have adopted over time the same imperial dogma of the Onokrin, seeing civilization and culture as the most important aspect of a person and looking down upon tribalistic or barbaric races such as gnolls. This attitude, unfortunately, harms their relationships with their oni kin. Much like orcs, an ogre can be born as an oni or become one through a process that is often unique and entirely accidental due to bad luck or circumstance.

Oni are much more boisterous and wild than their ogre kin, being considered by many wild and care free to the ogres normally mild mannered nature. Oni favor extremely strong drink, feats of strength, and are quicker to physical violence than the usual diplomatic nature of ogres. Being a subtype of an already low numbered race, oni often choose to leave Onokrin territories for either the Steel Legion or to become bounty hunters, adventurers, or traveling mercenaries, leveraging their size, toughness, and natural magical natures to accomplish a great deal of extraordinary feats. This almost legendary quality of lone, wandering oni working with various groups is often the only way an oni can become accepted by their kin, as ogres are lovers of storytelling, poetry, and romanticism. A well traveled oni thus can return, pockets heavy with their collected wealth and a lifetime of stories to tell.

Regardless of type, ogres have a deep appreciation for art, innovation, and magic. These aspects are largely indulged with other races within the Onokrin, mirroring the same appreciation among orcs, goblins, and humans respectively. As ogres live much longer lives than anyone within the Onokrin, ogres tend to accumulate large amounts of generational wealth between family members. However, unlike most races, they see little purpose in hoarding material wealth and thus often spend gregarious amounts of their wealth on parties, gifts, and art projects ranging from personal galleries, public museums, and even civic projects to improve the general appearance of where-ever they dwell. Generally speaking, however, while ogres are often willing to lavish others in sharing their wealth, they do maintain a deep level of influence shared between important figures and organizations. Trading favors, organizing deals, and approaching both lords and nobles through diplomatic means is a very common part of how ogres operate within the Onokrin, largely for the benefit of the common man, but not always.

==Mentality==
Ogre mentality is strange, when observed in juxtaposition to the key aspects that shape who they are today. Ogres are jovial, kind, and often inherently helpful to others without hesitation or expectation in return. This attitude, however, also comes with a certain meloncholy that when understood paints their jovial natures in a sadder picture. The nations of the ogres have been destroyed during the war of the rune, a war they themselves started out of greed for the rune magic that once belong solely to the dwarves. This cataclysmic war is often never spoken of, but the entire northern and northwest territories that were once the mountain homes of ogres and dwarves is now a wasteland of ruins and destroyed biomes only capable of supporting the most dangerous and brutal of fauna. There numbers, once equal to the Onokrin or Federation, are now vastly depleted and the pride of their race now lay in ruins, with only the memory of greed as a bitter reminder of the cost of their failure.

This manifestation of racial guilt is accepted by ogres, by and large, seen as their collective failure. It is both their greatest regret and their greatest motivation, as much of ogres kindness, of their desire to improve and build upon the Onokrin communally and individually, stems from this regret. It is why ogres not only wish to enjoy life, but ensure that everyone around them also enjoys it just as deeply, be they kin, a fellow citizen, or their descendants set to inherit what they have built.

 
 
 
 
[[Races|Back to Races]]

Deerfolk

2025-09-14T17:59:57Z

Possum:

The deerfolk make up the commonfolk of the steel legion, forming most of the servant and menial labor roles beneath their minotaur masters. Deerfolk are often seen as second class citizens within their own nation despite the fact their minotaur masters would not survive without them. Deerfolk are adept farmers, sailors, artisans, and the creators of the life weaving magic path. Though accomplished and treated poorly by their bovid masters, deerfolk are loathe to leave their island nation as it is the only place one is safe from wild predators, as the minotaurs have slain them all and ensured the safety of their small island nation.

Whereas kobolds are humble but united and thus difficult for any one group to mistreat, deerfolk are far less unified and hold a culture similar to minotaurs. Animosity between villages, families, and clans are common and can extend multiple decades or even generations. Legion culture can be described as direct and brutish at the best of times but among the deerfolk direct confrontation is rare. Deerfolk are disallowed from carrying weapons of any form and are restricted from having names, their official title being whatever craft or job they happen to have, though most deerfolk keep a private name amongst themselves and only use their public jobname among their minotaur masters. The ban on weaponry makes many deerfolk poor fighters who rarely leave their island despite the relative freedom they could obtain by doing so. Among those who are capable of combat train in secret, often as ninja who are employed as assassins, spies, or protectors that use improvised weapons disguised as or outright farming tools modified for a killing edge.

Deerfolk are the originators of the magical process known as weaving, a mixture of healing and transfiguring magic that was originally used for restoring the body of wounded or dying soldiers. This practice later evolved into cosmetic transformations, allowing most races to change minor attributes such as eye color, bone shape, height, or fur/hair color. The later discovery that humans could be weaved far more extensively than others created a thriving and bolstered industry for the legion as a whole. The exact process and creation of weaving is not quite understood by anyone, much to the vexation of minotaurs, whom the deerfolk could neither be persuaded nor forced into revealing their secrets. While some independent weavers ply their trades outside of legion territory, in particular in Far Water, only the most exceptional of magi can learn and use the complicated process.

 '''A quick-start guide:'''
* Nodo deerfolk, representing the general commoners gain +10 vigilance, +5 mechanical/biology/cognition, and -5 robustness/toughness.
* Yayoi, representing the coastal deerfolk gain +10 vigilance/spirit, +5 mechanical, and -5 cognition/vitality.
* Yuki deerfolk, considered to be yokai, gain +15 cognition, +10 vigilance, and -10 spirit.
* All deerfolk subraces have a bounding gait, allowing them to ignore terrain slowdown and potential tripping due to difficult terrain. Nodo and Yayoi deerfolk gain inspiration for cleaning up messes, while Yuki increases the magical regeneration of anyone bearing a rune lantern by merely standing near them, similar to ogres.

==Biology==
Deerfolk are exactly as one would expect, humanoid deer. Deerfolk have hooves, cervine tails, and may have antlers or horns depending on gender and ethnicity. As a general rule, female deerfolk do not have antlers or horns unless they are a yuki. Male nodo will exclusively have antlers while yuki will have singular, pointed horns that face directly upwards. Physically speaking, this is the only readily noticed distinction between a nodo and yayoi while the yuki are readily set apart by having a more 'reindeer' appearance of cervines bordering colder regions. Deerfolk will not shed their horns yearly as normal cervines do unless they are lost entirely, though some antlers may being growing again if only partially damaged. While the nodo and yayoi are quite similar, both having earthy colored fur of brown, white, tan, wheat, straw, or auburn colors, the yuki will stand apart by being born with snow white fur that changes during puberty, darkening to black, mahogany, or chocolate colors save for white spots left on the hips and shoulders. Unlike the nodo and yayoi, who are separated primarily by having horns or antlers, yuki can have either.

==Culture==
Deerfolk culture is largely the other half of legion culture, where as minotaurs are forward, blunt, and often times direct, the status of deerfolk being essentially a second class of people leads them to be largely reserved. Though in the distant past, deerfolk were equal to minotaurs and could reach the same ranks of nobility and societal positions, this changed after the unification of the Steel Legion as a polity and culminated with the rebellion of Kenji the Mountain and his three hundred ronin nearly four centuries prior to the present day. Kenji, who has now become a mythical hero among the deerfolk, was the only deerfolk samurai to successfully rebel when the then shogun began to disarm and crackdown on deerfolk collectively. His rebellion ended with the death of the shoguns son, killed in battle by Kenji, who was then granted the honor of a samurais death, along with that of his men. It is generally believe that, though the disarming of the deerfolk continued, that Kenji's rebellion prevented the shogun from instituting the worst of his edicts, lest another rebellion begin.

The ramifications of this rebellion are not fully understood among the minotaur caste, as the garnered animosity and understanding that this warrior caste is capable of defeat is a fact few deerfolk have forgotten. While the peaceful nature of deerfolk prevents another full scale rebellion, in particular given the rather decent standard of living within legion areas, deerfolk are resolute on maintaining autonomy where they can. Those samurai who had returned to civilian life after the rebellion began training in secret, choosing to use their discipline and training to adopt skills within subterfuge, political intrigue, assassination, and spying. Former samurai clans became shinobi, turning towards the profitable work of court manipulation, spying, and contract murder to retain their positions of influence and wealth, though done now in secret. Where as a minotaur might cut an imposing figure, a giant clad and armor and wielding a mighty weapon to strike fear in his enemies, a deerfolk represents a different kind of terror, one that is impossible to see among a crowd of other deerfolk, mingling with servants, with attendants, clerks, workers, menials, anyone of them carrying a weapon or poison beneath a coat or hidden within a sleeve.

While the status quo of not being directly involved with the current shogunate remains, the deerfolk are the power behind the throne, with clans of shinobi ensuring that the shogun nor his daimyo ever go too far. Minotaurs and deerfolk are loathe to speak about this, even in secret, but all are keenly aware that there is a balance of power maintained between the two races and the idea of master and slave is something only a fool would say aloud, lest he find himself awakening to a masked face plunging a knife into his throat or being cleaved in two by a minotaur who knows that letting such words stand unchallenged is as much a threat to them as the speaker.

==Mentality==
Deerfolk have a peculiar mentality of peace through retaliatory violence. They enjoy a simple, humble, working life among family and friends. Deerfolk generally lack ambition as a whole, they desire little in life beyond having their basic needs met and being treated well and fairly. This easy going nature is part of why they find themselves in the position they are in, being second class among their own nation but still treated quite well, barred from positions of military or leadership but otherwise free to live as they choose knowing that a daimyo or noble who demands too much or becomes too cruel will often swiftly die of natural causes. Deerfolk are natural pacifists but are more than capable of great violence, they are far from harmless, and as long as they are largely left alone to their peaceful lives, they are content.

 
 
 
 
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Deerfolk

2025-09-14T17:09:24Z

Possum:

Gnolls

2025-09-12T16:55:35Z

Possum:

Gnolls are perhaps the most contentious of all races, being violent and vicious slavers who form tribalistic war bands to raid and attack various other tribes, villages, and even factions. While the average gnoll can be described as sadistic and cruel, this trait is not universal, with many gnolls treating their more useful slaves and family members in a way that could be somewhat considered respectful. A Gnoll's natural endurance and will to dominate makes them difficult to root out, leading to them being widespread in the wilds as both bandits and mercenaries. Gnolls are well known (and hated) for hitting supply caravans and committing train robberies, but a few isolated gnolls are accepted into various more civilized society despite the obvious prejudice they face.

Gnolls are stoics at heart, seeing the world set against them for both fair and unfair reasons. The average gnoll does not think of the consequences of their actions in the immediate and often look towards the long term. Gnolls culturally believe that life after death is determined, and they shall end up in Baitaal's heaven. What this life is like is based entirely upon how many creatures and people they have killed in life, for every person or animal killed by a gnoll is thought to be enslaved in the afterlife and the more slaves a gnoll obtains the richer and more luxurious their eternity shall be. This core belief is why gnolls rarely take prisoners and live in a culture of kill or be killed, with only the unworthy of being killed being captured as slaves. While monstrous, this is not without its own peculiarities. Gnolls enjoy lording over their status among themselves, if they have something it means they were strong enough to take it and fight to keep it. Thus, gnolls will often flaunt their status by taking many slaves unworthy of being slain and then treating these slaves well. Between tribes, gnolls will decorate their slaves with beads, tattoos, and elaborate clothing and leathers while feeding them well to show that they are so successful and wealthy that even the lowest dregs of their tribe live better than members or even chieftains of other tribes.

Loyalty and obedience are another sign of affluence and a gnoll whom has his slaves armed, obedient, and willing to follow orders or die for their master is a sign of extreme affluence. Rightfully hated by other races, gnolls are still uncannily capable of bringing other races or their own into zealous loyalty, which makes many speculate some gnolls are capable mesmerists and psychics though this has never been proven. More often and more practically, slaves being treated well and rewarded for willing servitude simply comply rather than face retribution from their ever-vicious masters. Though, amusingly to some outsiders, gnolls hold no racial prejudice whatsoever for any particular race and merely treat everyone equal, even if that equality means treating everyone with equal brutality.

 '''A quick-start guide:'''
* Tribal gnolls gain +20 toughness, +5 vigilance, -10 cognition.
* Civilized gnolls gain +15 toughness, +10 vigilance, and -10 spirit.
* Hell touched gnolls gain +25 toughness and -5 biology and mechanical.
* All gnolls gain a perk that increases toughness by +25 when dealing with pain related mechanics. Civilized and tribal gnolls gain a perk allowing them to ignore all pain, knock out, or stun effects for a short time. Hell touched gnolls gain the ability to frenzy for a short time.

==Biology==
Gnolls are humanoid hyena-like people who lean on the heavy set and strong side. Gnolls are physically set apart by gender, with female gnolls being larger and stronger than males. Gnolls almost universally have brown fur with black spots that can range from lighter shades to almost black, with any other color only appearing through being weaved. Some gnolls have longer hair around the head, in particular female gnolls, but having short hair for both sexes is rather common. Physically, gnolls are tall, ranging from six to seven feet on average with very broad shoulders and top-heavy bodies suited for physical tasks. Gnoll fur is course, rough, and difficult to cut and stems from their leather like hides. Gnoll skin is closer akin to treated, reinforced leather utterly devoid of the majority of pain sensory found in other races. A gnoll will generally be unable to feel pain even in the most grievous of injuries as a result of their thick skin. While gnolls have claws on their hands and feet, they are not suitable as weapons, but gnoll snouts and teeth are large enough to be a serious weapon, being strong enough to break through and chew bones. As scavengers and raiders, gnolls are able to eat and devour nearly anything for food, including severely rotted meat or entirely raw meat, without suffering any side effects. A secondary effect on this powerful stomach makes gnolls incredibly weak to alcohol, being able to get severely drunk with only one or two glasses of booze. This weakness to booze is well known, as gnolls heavily favor securing alcohol during raids and addiction is extremely common. While the life expectancy of a gnoll is not quite known for sure (as few live to old age) gnolls reproduce rapidly, with a single female gnoll normally producing three to six pups after a short pregnancy of only four months, leading them to be numerous despite their brutal conditions.

==Culture==
Gnoll culture can best be described as savage, pure and simple. Gnolls have a culture and instinctual urge to dominate others, being barely able to tolerate other races and only willing to afford respect to members of their own tribe, while all outsiders are seen as little more than slaves and potentially meat in hard times. Earning the respect of a gnoll is possible but doing so often requires being incredibly useful or of particular charisma to befriend one. Gnolls are innately selfish and often savagely murderous, as all gnolls believe that Baitaal rewards gnolls in the after life by making any creature a gnoll kills their slave for eternity. This unique cultural belief is a double edged sword. Weak individuals outside the tribes and other gnolls are not worthy or notable slaves in death and thus will be spared (or more often turned into slaves in life) while respected warriors will be killed to improve the standing of that individual gnoll in death. The more slaves a gnoll has after death, the most prestigious and wealthy their eternity shall be. Slavery among tribes is also a staple, with gnolls being extremely lazy and unwilling to do the difficult work required for tribes to survive, captured slaves are instead employed and beaten into submission to accomplish the day to day tasks. This brutal part of gnoll culture has no redeeming qualities save for one, slaves who are uniquely useful in ways that cannot be easily replaced will often be treated extremely well by slave standards, even obtaining something similar to a respected member of the tribe, in particular if said slave is favored by a high ranking elder or chief. Extremely wealthy tribes will flaunt wealth by outfitting slaves in finer hides and leather, gifting them jewelry, weapons, and even firearms as both a sign of great wealth and to show their dominance towards other races. These displays are often used to encourage slaves or members from other tribes to abandon their own (preferably with stolen loot) to join the wealthier tribe and thus increase their power and influence.

Sadly for gnolls, inter tribal warfare is more common than conflict with other races as gnolls will constantly raid each other for food, slaves, supplies, and new members. Even the wealthiest and most capable tribe will completely collapse when whatever strong or wise leader who maintained them dies of old age or is killed in battle, with the large tribe fracturing into civil war as successors attempt to seize control or escape with treasure and slaves to start anew. This constant shifting of alliances, loyalties, and strength makes gnolls distrust other tribes even more greatly as whatever tribe they belong to grows in power and wealth. It becomes a self correcting problem, as gnolls are simply incapable of maintaining a large enough tribe to become a serious threat to other nations. Gnolls are, however, extremely numerous and thus remain a problem even after centuries of constant internal and external conflict.

==Mentality==
The gnoll mind is shaped to only understand what they instinctual feel. Dominance, violence, and a surprising level of long term thinking given their religious beliefs. Gnolls take an approach of satisfying the here and now and killing to 'improve' the eventual end they will find. It is a strange juxtaposition to other races, as a gnoll can be observed killing a man to steal his drink, get drunk, and then pass out on the corpse of the man they just murdered in front of a crowd of people. To the gnoll, he has satisfied two needs, the collection of a slave for the afterlife and the immediate need for a drink. To the gnoll, this is what should happen because he was quick or strong enough to kill the man, therefore he deserved it. The only aspect that stops all gnolls from doing this daily is the consequences. If the crowd around them are all gnolls then they will do whatever their personal strength allows. If the crowd around them are orcs, they will have more care, because the more cunning part of the gnoll will understand they will be killed in reaction and thus cannot collect more slaves or satisfy themselves again later. As gnolls cannot make slaves of each other in the afterlife and they understand on some level they are united against other races, a duel system of justice applies to the tribe and to the outsider. This method of thought shapes every action a gnoll makes.

 
 
 
 
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Salamanders

2025-09-11T18:57:21Z

Possum:

Salamanders are an offshoot of humans that are considered stable and numerous enough to be considered their own separate race. The end result of magically compatible humans cross breeding with dragons in ancient pre-history, human-exemplar salamanders resemble humans in the face, torso, and upper thighs whilst their forearms, shins, feet, glutes, and head display draconic traits ranging from claws, scales, tails, horns, and slit-like lizard eyes. Draconian-exemplar resemble more of a dragon that has taken human shape by being draconic in all ways except for being bi-pedal humanoids. Salamanders are inherently magical, but this natural display of magic only manifests as pyromancy, though some salamanders do become mages to further train these abilities or branch out into other magics. Most however, tend to become blacksmiths, weaponsmiths, and armorsmiths as their affinity for fire and natural talents make them exceptionally skilled, with their natural magics easily being infused into their metallic creations much like how dwarves used runes.

Salamanders are chiefly known for three aspects, their skills as smiths, their determined isolation, and their ancient magic. Salamanders are consummate smiths, being creators with fire and forge in ways that rival the rarest and highest quality dwarven artifice. Salamanders infuse every bit of steel they work with a part of themselves, each hammer blow cracking the metal and filling the seams with fractures of that particular smith's soul. Salamanders put such a heavy pretense on smithing and this cultural belief that the metal is infused by the salamander's very soul that most salamanders can tell who forged an object at a glance, if it was made by one of their own. It is for this reason that a salamander home is most easily spotted by the forge and workshop attached to it, the smoldering chimney a sure sign of its draconic inhabitant. That said, few ever see a salamander's home as they are determined to be as isolated as possible. Salamanders despise the company of others, tolerating only their immediate family members or chosen mates. Even among their own, salamanders are loathe to live in towns larger than a few hundred people and it is a given that homes are spaced far enough apart that one could not see their neighbors house from their porch.

The bonds that salamanders do make, however, are considered as sacred as their forges. Salamanders primarily enjoy the company of other salamanders, humans, trolls, and kaxxis that they have bonded with over long periods of time. A bond with a salamander is often recognized officially by the offering of a heart scale, a scale that grows over the back of the neck. This particular scale is heart shaped and grows very slowly, for it is incredibly sturdy and will never break. Because of how long it takes for this scale to regrow if pulled off and offered to another it is considered a deep sign of affection, more so because the removal of the scale leaves the salamander's neck unprotected by their natural armor and thus physically as well as emotionally vulnerable. This somewhat known ritual is merely another facet of salamander culture that is often steeped in mysticism and ritual, though their separate and isolated nature leaves many salamanders with unique and novel rites that differ from family to family. The heart scale ritual is the only one shared among all salamanders.

 '''A quick-start guide:'''
* Draconic exemplars gain +10 robustness, toughness, cognition, and -15 spirit. In addition, draconic exemplars may conjure a fireball in hand to act as a ranged weapon and take 50% less burn damage from all sources (magical and non-magical).
* Human exemplars gain +10 robustness, toughness, mechanical, and lose -15 spirit. In addition, human exemplars may repair damaged weapons and tools they are holding and get a base +5 to every stat across the board from a perk. This adjusts there total stat change to +15 robustness/toughness/mechanical, -10 spirit, and +5 cognition/vigilance/biology/vitality.

==Biology==
Salamanders are a hybrid race between dragons and humans and carry a mix of both traits. Starting with what is collectively called human exemplars, salamanders of this breed have a large portions of their humanity still remaining and represent the best qualities humans can have. Human exemplar display draconic traits in the forearms, below the thighs or waist, often have horns or webbed spines on the head, and have draconic tails. The remainder of the body is human with the exception of the back of the neck and shoulders having scales and due to their draconic blood is often physically fit, without flaws, supernaturally beautiful, and supernaturally tough. The human exemplar of the salamander are often exceptional both physically and mentally, though they lack the stronger magical natures of the draconic exemplar. Draconic exemplars lack the human aspects, being entirely draconian aside from the shape of their humanoid bodies and potentially having hair on their heads. Both groups vary greatly in appearance and due to isolation and slow population growth, some salamanders can have their lineage recognized solely through their scale, skin, and hair color. In general, coloration tends to be complimentary, with scales being darker and skin or hair being lighter. Colors can range across the spectrum but tend to favor darker, more earthy colors. Scales are commonly black, brown, gray, red, orange, and yellow while skin tones tend to be brown, tan, or lighter shades depending on lineage. It is not unheard of, nor uncommon given the recent propagation of weavers, for a salamander who have more exotic colors such as green, white, blue, or even purple. Regardless of lineage, all salamanders have indestructible claws, tough scales, and unbreakable horns. While this does not extend to their other, internal bones, the unbreaking nature of their horns and claws is considered a prize among necromancers, but the use of such practice is so anathema to all lawful people across the world that to carry a weapon or item made from a salamander's bones is a swift way to be imprisoned or killed.

==Culture==
Salamander culture, for what exists of it, is so highly varied and changing between families and extended clans who make a huge effort to keep as far away as possible from each other that it would be a genuine challenge to describe more beyond the broad overtones. Salamanders universally despise being around others for long periods of time and must have extended periods of total isolation from nearly everyone, even close lovers and family members. This trait is well known and structures much of their society, as salamanders will often refuse to even tolerate the presence of outsiders in their homes unless forced and racially only enjoy the company of trolls, kaxxis, and humans familiar with salamander culture. Of the former two, trolls and kaxxis equally enjoy isolation, so they are known never to overstay their welcome and, if they are bothering a salamander, do so for a good enough reason. For humans, the result are mixed, general humans are avoided but salamanders will tolerate humans who can adapt to their need to isolate themselves. Salamanders are also, due to their nature of lineage, often forced to enter human settlements and areas for the sake of survival, commerce, or search for a mate. Given their exceedingly long lives, salamanders tend to be more forgiving and friendly when they are younger and only grow a more ornery nature as they reach the century mark in age.

As salamanders are innately magical, tough, and independent, they will often create self sufficient homes in the wilds, being only one of two race known to be capable of surviving the dangerous predators of the world without serious challenge and struggle. Those living within larger communities will generally choose housing on the edges of towns and will almost always choose small communities, usually struggling frontier towns trying to grow into established towns and often specifically choosing communities so small they lack defensive walls common to nearly every community. Their presence is often very discretely welcomed and celebrated, as salamanders will offer both their skills and smiths and their survival knowledge to these fledgling communities in return for respect, payment, and deferential treatment. Another aspect of salamanders within these communities is they are often looking for a companion. While salamanders of both genders are extremely choosy, to be courted by a salamander offers more than mere companionship for a human. Due to the magical nature of salamanders, their chosen mates will gain extended life spans after procreating with a salamander, their age matching that of any other salamander. This somewhat known fact is another aspect that both works for and against salamanders, as many people would be more than happy to double or even triple their lifespan, but the incredibly selective nature of salamanders means few ever become lucky enough for this to happen and being overly forward is a great way to earn a salamanders ire.

While salamander culture is so widespread that much of it boils down to the individual guided by their general instinctive natures, two aspects of salamander culture are entirely universal and shared by all within their blood. The first is the ritual of the heart scale. The heart scale is, unsurprisingly, a heart shaped scale found at the back of a salamanders neck just above the spine. This scale is the only scale on a salamanders body which cannot break, being made of the same material as their horns and claws. This slow growing scale takes years to regrow if lost and, should it be pulled from the flesh, will leave the salamanders neck exposed and vulnerable. Removal of this scale is done almost entirely as a sign of love, pulled off and given to another as a physical sign of vulnerability in mind and body. Few salamanders will ever pull this scale free, with the only common occurrence done due propose marriage between two individuals. It is tradition for salamanders to exchange heart scales and wear them as necklaces to signal they are married to another. Within salamander families, salamanders will rarely have more than one child and at most may have two or three, usually spaced apart so that when the first comes of age the second is born and so on. Salamanders care for immediate family members and are willing to tolerate them for longer before seeking isolation, but generally once a child leaves his or her family they will only return every few years or decades to retain a vague sense of contact unless they have business or other non-familial reasons to keep in touch.

The second universally shared trait among salamanders is their innate skill and understanding in metal smithing. A salamander without a forge would be like a human without hands and eyes, directionless and helpless. Salamanders believe that the shaping of metal is sacred and will spend potentially years working on a single blade, a single suit of armor, or even just a set of braces of a wagon wheel. If the quality is anything less than perfect a salamander will not stop until it becomes so. The common belief and desire for perfection in their metal work stems from the belief that the working of metal creates fissures within the material, letting the soul of the earth escape as it is beaten out by a salamanders hammer and the cracks filled with the soul of the smith. This belief is further reinforced by the fact that most salamanders can tell a salamander forged object at a glance and those familiar with a particular smith can spot an object made by them solely based off what they refer to as reading the soul of the metal. To produce an imperfect object is to make an imperfect vessel for the smith's soul and this belief creates an extremely high material that is in higher demand from the smallest racial populations in the world. Salamanders are aware of this and will establish incredibly lucrative one sided business deals with extremely wealthy patrons who are often willing (or forced) to bend over backwards to meet the demands of a salamander smith. How they are paid is often subject to change but salamanders will often demand specific materials, supplies, or a wealth of gold and gems in compensation. Salamanders apart of fledgling communities who are younger will generally work for the benefit of their small communities by demanding supplies needed by others, while middle aged and secluded salamanders will often demand very exact forging supplies, food, and other necessities of extreme quality in compensation. Old salamanders, one whose works are capable of producing artifacts of legends, will often have so much wealth and influence that they will rarely be tempted by any offer, only willing to part with their work for a literal dragon's hoard of gold and gems.

==Mentality==
Salamander mentality is often directly obvious in their nature and culture as a whole. Salamander are few in number, being the only race besides trolls who have no established communities and can be considered fewer in number than even the garm. With long lives, desire to remain alone, and finding happiness in their labors and self sufficiency, some may go their entire lives without ever even encountering a salamander in person. This rarity gives them an air of myth that is spoken of like a legend, though in reality most salamanders are much like humans despite their marked differences. Salamanders themselves are almost self centered in how they think and believe, a decidedly inhuman trait believed to come from their draconic heritage. They concern themselves with their own happiness, own life, own direction, and those they deem worth caring about. Even the care a younger salamander has for the fledgling communities they become apart of could be considered selfish, as the success of this frontier village can be considered their success. Salamanders carry a degree of ego that only grows as they get older, becoming more demanding, greedy, and often short tempered with outsiders beyond their established social circles. In a way, salamanders are born human in mind and become more draconic with age, a trait that most salamanders are aware of and some try to keep tempered for decades before falling to the same hubris that age forces upon al.

 
 
 
 
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Orcs

2025-07-21T20:06:24Z

Possum:

Orcs are often considered like humans, everywhere and common, what sets them apart is their greater focus on class, higher tempers, and much greater strengths. Orcs are loathe to act or be seen as bestial or tribal and hold a great deal of open and direct bigotry towards anyone they consider uncivilized. To an orc, nothing is more important than living as a gentlemen or lady and getting into vicious but sporting fights. Offer an orc a fine cigar and he will thank you, compare him to a pig and he will fight you, no matter who wins a drink will be bought for you and himself. Orcs are deeply bonded with humans, with most considering orcs the brawn to the humans brains.

Orcs are creatures of passion that practically require fine amenities to survive. An orc would sooner go naked than wear dirty or scuffed clothing. From work clothes to drinks to even architecture orcs contain a level of personal, national, and civic pride. Orcs are the first to require that all levels of society be treated with respect and be expected to held to a high standard, be they orc/human or any other race. Orcs put heavy emphasis on style and substance and thus can be considered natural artists and heavily pragmatic. Clothing is to be stylish but made from sturdy material. Drinks must be expensive and of good vintage but reasonably priced. Cigars, a factor of orc culture considered near and dear, must be elaborate and refined. Orcs even extend this ideal to how the Onokrin empire is shaped, much of the culture and style of empire is attributed to them. Public, civil, and private buildings are required to be aesthetically pleasing and fitting to the style of the empire, be it as simple as a water tower or as complex as a town hall or civic works.

Much of the empires innate disdain and nationalism comes from orcs, who take an imperial approach to groups not considered as 'civilized' as them. Part of this is rooted in a history of shame, as the first orcs were little more than barbaric raiders preying upon early human farming settlements. This later turned into an ally of convivence when encroaching gnoll tribes from the south threatened both the orcs and humans. It is this shame that reminds them that they must be better than what their naturally combative and violent instincts drive them towards. It is why orcs are prone to vice and favor sports and combative past times such as boxing or hunting, it stems the inherently wild blood they feel within. This does not mean orcs are ultra-nationalists, nor xenophobic, the same history that makes them imperialistic also makes them very open to those they see as equally refined, such as the Steel Legion and Warren Federation, whom are regarded as social and national equals. Where orcs vent their hatred is tribals, in particular gnolls or those rare tribal orcs, whom they offer open bounties and see as creatures to be made sport of as much as any other beast.

 '''A quick-start guide:'''
* Both onokrin and tribal orcs are capable of bouts of hyper strong frenzies, become stronger when working together, and have a natural aptitude with weapons that prevent them from being disarmed.
* The deviant subrace of orc, the Oni, lose their ability to grow stronger as a group and instead become much stronger when drinking.
* Onokrin Stats: They gain +10 robustness/toughness and lose -5 vigilance.
* Tribal Orc Stats: They gain +15 robustness, +10 toughness, and -10 vigilance.
* Oni Stats: They gain +15 robustness, +10 toughness, +10 cognition and lose -5 vigilance, -5 biology, and -10 mechanical.

==Biology==
Orcs are humanoid creatures with strong, strength leaning bodies and durable rugged physiques. The average orc is around six to six and a half feet tall, generally taller than bulkier than their human counterparts. Orcs favor a top heavy build with broad shoulders and barrel chests suited to supporting their muscles. The average orc will have varying shades of green skin that change with exposure to sunlight, darkening withe more time in the sun. Orc hands and feet have sharp black nails that are not true claws but do some to natural points. Orc eyes range in color from red, to yellow, to green, and very rarely gray or black. Orcs have naturally pointed ears and tusks, with males have larger, more pronounced tusks and both sexes have a majority of fangs for frontal teeth, with flatter ones towards the back. Orc noses are generally flat and can vary greatly from being upward and stubby like a pig nose, pointed like a bat nose, identical to a human nose, or flattening to merely being two slits. Orcs generally have very pronounced facial hair in males and will either shave clean or stylize said beards and hairs. Between genders, orcs do not show much difference in physical strength, with orc woman being just as suited for feats of strength as men.

==Culture==
Orc culture is, in many ways, Onokrin culture as they and humans were the founding races that began the Onokrin Empire. Onokrin culture places a heavy emphasis on imperialism, refinement, art, and civilization. The approach that the Onokrin has, lead by the current emperor Lucius Aratus, is largely diplomatic with greater powers such as the Steel Legion or Warren Federation and largely indifferent to smaller powers unless they prove a nuisance. Onokrin culture is heavily based upon honor, merit, martial strength, and individuality. As humans and orcs make up the largest portion of individuals within the onokrin, they set the standard of how everyone must behave. Little patience is given to individuals who go against empire culture, with law breakers, tribals, and problematic individuals being swiftly detained, exiled, or in many cases challenged to a duel and killed in combat for offending the honor of another. The imperialist approach by the empire largely begins and ends with their direct propensity to violence, be it placing open bounties on tribal communities or their complex network of dueling.

Honor to orcs and humans is everything and to insult anothers honor is to invite a challenge for a duel. The laws for duels are old, draconian, and kept in place across the Onokrin, though may be subject to changes depending on the ruling lord or direct intervention by the emperor. While the specifics may vary the general rules remain the same. If an individual feels someone has insulted his honor, he may petition the magistrate for the writ of duel, stating his casus belli (the reason for the challenge) and his demands. The challenger decides if the duel is to the death or to yield, but the challenged chooses the time, location, type of duel, and weapons allowed, subject to agreement by the challenger and the overseeing magistrate. If, for whatever reason, the challenger and challenged cannot come to an agreement, then the local lord or magistrate may dictate the terms in the fairest way possible. Duels to the death are considered legally sanctioned executions conducted in honorable standing, thus the winner is exempt from all repercussions. Should the challenged refuse the duel or otherwise miss the appointed date and time, they will be imprisoned indefinitely and their possessions given to the challenger, with the only path to freedom accepting the duel.

While other races may see such ruthless forms of legalized combat as barbaric, this tradition dates back to an older rite from which orcs and later humans used to weed out the worst of their society. Rather than be concerned with lengthy trials, criminal warrants, investigations, potential corruption, and the eventual housing of criminals it was deemed far simpler to just let parties in conflict kill each other and be done with it. A man of terrible repute might, through guile, corruption, intimidation, or wealth avoid conviction for a crime, but within the onokrin, that man will likely have duelists lining up for miles demanding his head mounted on a pike. One way or another, if imperial law does not deal with the worst of their society, the people will do it themselves.

This level of brutality, surprisingly, comes mainly from humans, not orcs. Orcs put a far greater emphasis on refined and civilized aspects of culture due to their few but still irksome tribal cousins working with gnoll tribes in the southern plains. Orcs care deeply about appearance and social standing, to the point that many elaborate social rituals and industries are built entirely around maintaining the appearance of perfect civility or embracing the more civil aspects of violence and even vice. In terms of refinement, orcs have a great preference towards fine clothing, architecture, art, and music and will spend untold amounts of money to have what they consider improvements to their social standing. Appearances, however, play second fiddle to actual merit and accomplish. What work an orc chooses as his profession and his success in said field is far more important than appearances. A skilled craftsmen who is austere and responsible with his money will have far greater standing than a foppish inheritor of great fortune who frivolous spends his money on the most expensive of wares. A part of this merit is also an orcs martial skill. Many orcs place great standing on sport, often violent sport, such as hunting, boxing, rugby, wrestling, target shooting, and dueling. This focus on physical sports is often seen as the proper way to channel orcs natural aggression into a civilized outlet and thus being both highly skilled and capable is of high note. Finally, orcs are prone to vice, but see select vices are 'civilized' compared to others. Orcs are consummate smokers and drinkers, having elaborate rituals for how a cigar is sourced, how it is wrapped, how it is smoked, how it is held, and even how it is disposed of that vary from location to lcoation. Drinks are less attributed to careful ritual, but no less looked at based on refinement, vintage, cost, and who produced said alcohol. To be seen drinking what would be considered swill is a social faux pax as a great as failing to observe the rules of proper smoking.

==Mentality==
Orc mentality is one of duality best represented by the difference between tribal orcs and onokrin orcs. One can look upon orcs and see their veneer of civilization, from the fine clothing, the civic pride, the intrinsic development of culture to the point of rejecting their history of barbaric tribals in their totality. No orc among polite society would ever risk even the accusation of barbarinism, such is their shame and pride. Yet, known only to those deeply familiar to orcs, the same rage, the same violence, the same deep seated desire to dominate and fight still burns in the blood of every orc. Every orc struggles with this duality, that the instinct towards baser desire is held at bay by the greater societies expectations of nation and kinsmen. To them, the greatest virtue is to overcome themselves and master their rage. To be an orc is their greatest fight, that is both a curse and a blessing, as to overcome is to prove your own self worth.

 
 
 
 
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Orcs

2025-07-21T19:26:04Z

Possum:

Orcs are often considered like humans, everywhere and common, what sets them apart is their greater focus on class, higher tempers, and much greater strengths. Orcs are loathe to act or be seen as bestial or tribal and hold a great deal of open and direct bigotry towards anyone they consider uncivilized. To an orc, nothing is more important than living as a gentlemen or lady and getting into vicious but sporting fights. Offer an orc a fine cigar and he will thank you, compare him to a pig and he will fight you, no matter who wins a drink will be bought for you and himself. Orcs are deeply bonded with humans, with most considering orcs the brawn to the humans brains.

Orcs are creatures of passion that practically require fine amenities to survive. An orc would sooner go naked than wear dirty or scuffed clothing. From work clothes to drinks to even architecture orcs contain a level of personal, national, and civic pride. Orcs are the first to require that all levels of society be treated with respect and be expected to held to a high standard, be they orc/human or any other race. Orcs put heavy emphasis on style and substance and thus can be considered natural artists and heavily pragmatic. Clothing is to be stylish but made from sturdy material. Drinks must be expensive and of good vintage but reasonably priced. Cigars, a factor of orc culture considered near and dear, must be elaborate and refined. Orcs even extend this ideal to how the Onokrin empire is shaped, much of the culture and style of empire is attributed to them. Public, civil, and private buildings are required to be aesthetically pleasing and fitting to the style of the empire, be it as simple as a water tower or as complex as a town hall or civic works.

Much of the empires innate disdain and nationalism comes from orcs, who take an imperial approach to groups not considered as 'civilized' as them. Part of this is rooted in a history of shame, as the first orcs were little more than barbaric raiders preying upon early human farming settlements. This later turned into an ally of convivence when encroaching gnoll tribes from the south threatened both the orcs and humans. It is this shame that reminds them that they must be better than what their naturally combative and violent instincts drive them towards. It is why orcs are prone to vice and favor sports and combative past times such as boxing or hunting, it stems the inherently wild blood they feel within. This does not mean orcs are ultra-nationalists, nor xenophobic, the same history that makes them imperialistic also makes them very open to those they see as equally refined, such as the Steel Legion and Warren Federation, whom are regarded as social and national equals. Where orcs vent their hatred is tribals, in particular gnolls or those rare tribal orcs, whom they offer open bounties and see as creatures to be made sport of as much as any other beast.

 '''A quick-start guide:'''
* Both onokrin and tribal orcs are capable of bouts of hyper strong frenzies, become stronger when working together, and have a natural aptitude with weapons that prevent them from being disarmed.
* The deviant subrace of orc, the Oni, lose their ability to grow stronger as a group and instead become much stronger when drinking.
* Onokrin Stats: They gain +10 robustness/toughness and lose -5 vigilance.
* Tribal Orc Stats: They gain +15 robustness, +10 toughness, and -10 vigilance.
* Oni Stats: They gain +15 robustness, +10 toughness, +10 cognition and lose -5 vigilance, -5 biology, and -10 mechanical.

==Biology==

==Culture==
Orc culture is, in many ways, Onokrin culture as they and humans were the founding races that began the Onokrin Empire. Onokrin culture places a heavy emphasis on imperialism, refinement, art, and civilization. The approach that the Onokrin has, lead by the current emperor Lucius Aratus, is largely diplomatic with greater powers such as the Steel Legion or Warren Federation and largely indifferent to smaller powers unless they prove a nuisance. Onokrin culture is heavily based upon honor, merit, martial strength, and individuality. As humans and orcs make up the largest portion of individuals within the onokrin, they set the standard of how everyone must behave. Little patience is given to individuals who go against empire culture, with law breakers, tribals, and problematic individuals being swiftly detained, exiled, or in many cases challenged to a duel and killed in combat for offending the honor of another. The imperialist approach by the empire largely begins and ends with their direct propensity to violence, be it placing open bounties on tribal communities or their complex network of dueling.

Honor to orcs and humans is everything and to insult anothers honor is to invite a challenge for a duel. The laws for duels are old, draconian, and kept in place across the Onokrin, though may be subject to changes depending on the ruling lord or direct intervention by the emperor. While the specifics may vary the general rules remain the same. If an individual feels someone has insulted his honor, he may petition the magistrate for the writ of duel, stating his casus belli (the reason for the challenge) and his demands. The challenger decides if the duel is to the death or to yield, but the challenged chooses the time, location, type of duel, and weapons allowed, subject to agreement by the challenger and the overseeing magistrate. If, for whatever reason, the challenger and challenged cannot come to an agreement, then the local lord or magistrate may dictate the terms in the fairest way possible. Duels to the death are considered legally sanctioned executions conducted in honorable standing, thus the winner is exempt from all repercussions. Should the challenged refuse the duel or otherwise miss the appointed date and time, they will be imprisoned indefinitely and their possessions given to the challenger, with the only path to freedom accepting the duel.

While other races may see such ruthless forms of legalized combat as barbaric, this tradition dates back to an older rite from which orcs and later humans used to weed out the worst of their society. Rather than be concerned with lengthy trials, criminal warrants, investigations, potential corruption, and the eventual housing of criminals it was deemed far simpler to just let parties in conflict kill each other and be done with it. A man of terrible repute might, through guile, corruption, intimidation, or wealth avoid conviction for a crime, but within the onokrin, that man will likely have duelists lining up for miles demanding his head mounted on a pike. One way or another, if imperial law does not deal with the worst of their society, the people will do it themselves.

This level of brutality, surprisingly, comes mainly from humans, not orcs. Orcs put a far greater emphasis on refined and civilized aspects of culture due to their few but still irksome tribal cousins working with gnoll tribes in the southern plains. Orcs care deeply about appearance and social standing, to the point that many elaborate social rituals and industries are built entirely around maintaining the appearance of perfect civility or embracing the more civil aspects of violence and even vice. In terms of refinement, orcs have a great preference towards fine clothing, architecture, art, and music and will spend untold amounts of money to have what they consider improvements to their social standing. Appearances, however, play second fiddle to actual merit and accomplish. What work an orc chooses as his profession and his success in said field is far more important than appearances. A skilled craftsmen who is austere and responsible with his money will have far greater standing than a foppish inheritor of great fortune who frivolous spends his money on the most expensive of wares. A part of this merit is also an orcs martial skill. Many orcs place great standing on sport, often violent sport, such as hunting, boxing, rugby, wrestling, target shooting, and dueling. This focus on physical sports is often seen as the proper way to channel orcs natural aggression into a civilized outlet and thus being both highly skilled and capable is of high note. Finally, orcs are prone to vice, but see select vices are 'civilized' compared to others. Orcs are consummate smokers and drinkers, having elaborate rituals for how a cigar is sourced, how it is wrapped, how it is smoked, how it is held, and even how it is disposed of that vary from location to lcoation. Drinks are less attributed to careful ritual, but no less looked at based on refinement, vintage, cost, and who produced said alcohol. To be seen drinking what would be considered swill is a social faux pax as a great as failing to observe the rules of proper smoking.

==Mentality==
Orc mentality is one of duality best represented by the difference between tribal orcs and onokrin orcs. One can look upon orcs and see their veneer of civilization, from the fine clothing, the civic pride, the intrinsic development of culture to the point of rejecting their history of barbaric tribals in their totality. No orc among polite society would ever risk even the accusation of barbarinism, such is their shame and pride. Yet, known only to those deeply familiar to orcs, the same rage, the same violence, the same deep seated desire to dominate and fight still burns in the blood of every orc. Every orc struggles with this duality, that the instinct towards baser desire is held at bay by the greater societies expectations of nation and kinsmen. To them, the greatest virtue is to overcome themselves and master their rage. To be an orc is their greatest fight, that is both a curse and a blessing, as to overcome is to prove your own self worth.

 
 
 
 
[[Races|Back to Races]]

Humans

2025-07-21T19:04:10Z

Possum:

Humans, you know them and either hate or love them. Humans are one of the most common races among the Onokrin Empire, letting them be known far and wide among all races for better or worse. As a result, humans are highly varied, in both physicality and in body as many humans are considered half breeds or chimerics, making them visually quite unusual in appearance as well as body and mind. All humans share an intrinsic bond to orcs, making them largely interchangeable in many regards. Most consider orcs the brawn and the humans the brains of the empire.

Humanity is an interesting race among all the species of the world. This facet is twofold in that humans are the only known race to be able to mix attributes between other races, whereas under normal circumstance the mixing of species results in a pure member of the father's race with humans they are capable of creating half races or even new races in the case of multiple generations or with the process of weaving. Which is a trait that is attributed to the other factor that humans are peculiar for. Humans are adaptable in ways that marvel and sometimes confuse other races, though a human would never outshine an orc in strength or an ogre in magic or even a goblin in mechanics they can physically adapt to nearly anything.

To say that humans are merely a jack of trades understates their adaptability, thanks to weaving and interbreeding humans can adapt to any locale and any conditions that would readily kill any race not specifically tailored for said conditions. From the inhospitable northern mountains and frozen hells to the coastal regions to the treacherous swamps of the southeastern islands, humans can adapt to live and thrive anywhere above or below. Anyone who can respect humans will find it is their adaptability that is truly worth praise.

 '''A quick-start guide:'''
* Humans and all chimeric subtypes gain +15 additional points to assign during character creation, increasing the skill point limit to 75, up from 60.

==Biology==
With a highly modular biology, both through weaving and interbreeding, very little is static among humans or chimerics.

[https://hammersfall.wiki/index.php/Chimerics#Common_Chimerics For a list of common chimerics derived from the result of humans pairing with other races, click here.]

==Culture==
Human culture is, in many ways, Onokrin culture as they and orcs were the founding races that began the Onokrin Empire. Onokrin culture places a heavy emphasis on imperialism, refinement, art, and civilization. The approach that the Onokrin has, lead by the current emperor Lucius Aratus, is largely diplomatic with greater powers such as the Steel Legion or Warren Federation and largely indifferent to smaller powers unless they prove a nuisance. Onokrin culture is heavily based upon honor, merit, martial strength, and individuality. As humans and orcs make up the largest portion of individuals within the onokrin, they set the standard of how everyone must behave. Little patience is given to individuals who go against empire culture, with law breakers, tribals, and problematic individuals being swiftly detained, exiled, or in many cases challenged to a duel and killed in combat for offending the honor of another. The imperialist approach by the empire largely begins and ends with their direct propensity to violence, be it placing open bounties on tribal communities or their complex network of dueling.

Honor to humans and orcs is everything and to insult anothers honor is to invite a challenge for a duel. The laws for duels are old, draconian, and kept in place across the Onokrin, though may be subject to changes depending on the ruling lord or direct intervention by the emperor. While the specifics may vary the general rules remain the same. If an individual feels someone has insulted his honor, he may petition the magistrate for the writ of duel, stating his casus belli (the reason for the challenge) and his demands. The challenger decides if the duel is to the death or to yield, but the challenged chooses the time, location, type of duel, and weapons allowed, subject to agreement by the challenger and the overseeing magistrate. If, for whatever reason, the challenger and challenged cannot come to an agreement, then the local lord or magistrate may dictate the terms in the fairest way possible. Duels to the death are considered legally sanctioned executions conducted in honorable standing, thus the winner is exempt from all repercussions. Should the challenged refuse the duel or otherwise miss the appointed date and time, they will be imprisoned indefinitely and their possessions given to the challenger, with the only path to freedom accepting the duel.

While other races may see such ruthless forms of legalized combat as barbaric, this tradition dates back to an older rite from which orcs and later humans used to weed out the worst of their society. Rather than be concerned with lengthy trials, criminal warrants, investigations, potential corruption, and the eventual housing of criminals it was deemed far simpler to just let parties in conflict kill each other and be done with it. A man of terrible repute might, through guile, corruption, intimidation, or wealth avoid conviction for a crime, but within the onokrin, that man will likely have duelists lining up for miles demanding his head mounted on a pike. One way or another, if imperial law does not deal with the worst of their society, the people will do it themselves.

This level of brutality, surprisingly, comes mainly from humans, not orcs. Humans are far more willing to use violence than their orc counter parts, even if the latter is more suited for such. Much of the most aggressive and directly violent methods employed by the empire is a direct result of humans. Factors such as culture, art, and even magic primarily come from orcs, goblins, and ogres respectively. However, humans do contribute in one major way compared to other races and that is with industry. From the primitive beginnings as farmers, to smithing and metal working, to mechanical innovation, to the modern age of magical power grids and mana powered devices, all can be directly said to stem from humans. Not that they created said items, as this is often done by ogres or goblins, but that they created the commerce, industry, and widespread adoption of said advancements. Much of the empires economic success can be said to be the direct result of humans being able to apply and mix all the best traits of other member races. This well known fact is often why ogres researching runic magic or goblins working on innovative technology will often employ a handful of humans. They are innately creative, innately capable of applying existing or new ideas in varied ways, and even if they fail to work out the particulars the more magically or enginerial adept ogres and goblins can make such ideas come to fruition.

==Mentality==
The mentality of humans is as heavily varied as their appearance, but among all humans and chimerics is a few shared traits that they rarely lose. Innovation, open mindedness, and a direct propensity towards violence mark anyone of human heritage. They are consumed with ambition, able to adapt and yet always looking to improve. Humans are not a race anyone could ever make a slave, because if they cannot find a way to break chains through violence, they will adapt and invent a way to over come. To be human, is to be a master of yourself and everything around you.

 
 
 
 
[[Races|Back to Races]]

Humans

2025-07-21T18:09:39Z

Possum:

Humans

2025-07-21T18:09:26Z

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Humans

2025-07-21T18:08:54Z

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