Post by Head Moderator on Feb 5, 2015 16:16:36 GMT -5
MAJOR ORGANIZATIONS & LEGENDARY FOLKS
Madder Guard
The noble army of the Madder Guard numbers one thousand swords and is often supplemented by hired mercenaries. The Captain of the Guard is the extremely strong and cruel man named Leopold Maine (NE - male human). The Madder Guard wear cloaks and armbands of dark green, with the badge of a silver sword transfixing a silver anchor.
Madder's Floating Monks
The good ship Botanica is a fabled vessel of knights, monks and clerics of Dannui. The Botanica has continuously sailed for uncounted centuries promoting the worship of Dannui, helping those in need and educating the poor. The Botanica possesses the largest floating library in the world, containing over 50,000 book titles and maps, which are sometimes sold for modest fees to support the vessel's operations. The ship itself is nothing like any other known ship. It is 900 ft long, and 100ft wide, and 60 ft deep. Within its 9 decks, it can house over 3,000 crew and compliment. It has no physical weapons, using only magic to protect itself. It returns to Delving ever now and again for repairs and upgrades, but has not docked in over 30 years.
Bone Marauders of Madder
The seas of Madder are crawling with these pirates, attacking the merchant ships and selling their contents on the black market throughout the lands through their ties with the Blackfeather. These marauders are fearless, ruthless, swashbuckling and daring and the sight of a Bone Marauder ship on the horizon freezes the heart with fear of even the most seasoned of sailors for they are known to show no mercy, to man, woman or child. Within the port cities of Madder, they hold just as much power and control on land as they do at sea. Unlike the normal pirate's jolly roger, a Bone Marauder flag is simply two bones crossed into an X, no skull involved.
The Silent Hammer
Alignment: Neutral to Evil
The Silent Hammer are a secret organization of those focused on raiding, thieving and circumventing the laws of Madder. They are also very involved in the production of forged papers. Their center of leadership is in Delving. The members are of varied races, from the common races of the lands all the way to monstrous races. They also span from the simple pickpocket, to the elegant art thief. There is no known leader of the Hammer, though many attempt to take the spot, and all those associated with the group have been given alias names they go by.
These are the rules of the Silent Hammer:
Never steal from another member of the guild.
Never perform another thief’s assigned task or “steal” jobs from another thief.
Never let your own jobs interfere with the guild’s jobs.
Don’t attract attention to the guild, especially not the attention of the town fathers.
10% of the take from your jobs goes to the guild; you keep the rest.
100% of the take from guild-assigned thefts goes to the guild, and maybe you get a taste.
Don’t kill anyone in the commission of a job, except in self-defense. It attracts too much attention.
Order of the Marsh Druids
Alignment: Neutral
The Archdruid of the Order of the Marsh Druids oversees all the druids within Madder. He also is responsible for the annual gathering of the Rite of the Grove, where druids from all over Madder gather in a different grove each year to celebrate together, meet together and present their grey robes to newly appointed druids. Groves of the Marsh Order can be found all over Madder and rarely will an encounter with a druid, of any race, within the borders of Madder be with any other druidic order. Druids still hold a modicum of respect within Madder, though in other kingdoms due to the inner workings of some of the high ranked clerics, druids are losing their power. Though there are a few Order of the Marsh Druids that can be found in other kingdoms, they have no power in any other land except Madder. They are easily picked out from other druids as their robes are a dusky dove grey, instead of stark white.
"A city is where they cut down the trees, then name the streets after them." -- Sharalenth, Elven Marsh Druid
Deathslayers
Alignment: Non-evil
Deathslayers are destroyers of undead and have devoted their whole lives to cleansing the world of undead abominations that are against the natural order of things. They often work with Mourners. They forsake all for their life quest, and seldom have families of their own and have few friends. Typical Deathslayers have had a close friend or family member succumb to the undead, or even worse, become an undead
Creepers
The Creepers are a ragtag, highly dispersed group of gypsies that infest the wetlands of Madder. They consist of outlaws, cutthroats, bandits, crazies, and miscellaneous refugees of various wars. Refugees, the more honest segment of the transient Creeper masses generally live by hunting, fishing or working on rice farms. The largest, semi-permanent camp of Creepers is called Toadsukr, a ragtag village of scum-turned-bushfolk found in the Glade region of Darklea Swamp.
Dravages
Dravages are diabolical and nefarious druids, who still hold a love for nature. Some might call the Dravages "eco-terrorists" today. They've been known to destroy crops, burn buildings, steal livestock, send undead animals to attack hunters, release dangerous beasts into villages, poison watering holes, and otherwise harass swamp villages.
Marsh Rangers
Marsh rangers are a motley mixture of races, including but not limited to humans, half-orcs, half-elves, gnomes, halflings and even lizardfolk. They are sworn enemies to hags, harpies, and medusas. They are especially adept at detecting oozes floating in water, or deadly fungi. They often are accompanied by a black bear companion. They are expert trackers of the marshlands, and useful guides. They also hunt and bring justice to criminal Creepers. Even the Crown of Madder respects the knowledge that the Marsh Rangers have of the land they live in. Marsh Rangers work closely with the Marsh Druids.
Freak Knights
Alignment: Lawful Good
Freak Knights are sometimes hired as guides and guards on forays into the Madder swamps. The meeting chambers of the Freak Knights are said to be in an old, half sunken monastery in the swamp. Little is known about this Order of knights, except that anyone hideous and tough enough to join is likely to be unstable, weird, and intelligent. The worse one looks, the better. (Members generally have low CHA scores). Freak Knights are lawful good. The original Freak Knight was a Moor Knight named Arouses. She led an expedition to retrieve an evil artifact from some sunken, native ruins in the swamp and while Arouses has never revealed what happened there, she returned hideously deformed with gruesome disfigurements, a terrible smell, diseased skin and a rasping voice. Her face was covered in scars, and she had an aura of terror about her. Despite her honor, valor and boldness, she caused great fear where she went and was shunned and taunted. The title "Freak Knight" was given to her as an insult, but she began inducting comrades into the new knightly order. Freak Knights are congenial, and compassionate generally. They protect the downtrodden and feed the poor.
The Freak Knight Code
- Master thy fear before mastering others.
- Character is exemplified by honor.
- Judge not more than one's spirit.
- Faulty estimation is founded on superficiality.
Marshwardens
Alignment: Any Good
Marshwardens are wetland clerics with expertise in survival in wetlands populated with undead. They believe that the swamp is the giver of life, providing shelter, food and prosperity to those who embrace it. The sacred mud is to be revered as the shelter of the dead. Death is to be embraced as the natural end of life and in doing so, gives honor to life.
The rank of marshwardens is thus: Earthling, Mud Digger, Clay Potter, Grave Guardian, Cemetary Sentinel, Mire Marshal, Barrow Warden, and Dark Boghound.
Once you've reached Dark Boghound, you join an elite group of Marshwardens that are collectively known as the Dominar. There are several ranks within the Dominar Priests in ascending order: Wetland Diviner, Quag Keeper, Gem Castellan, Master Marshling, and Black Dragon.
Claymail Armor: Claymail is made from interlocking rings of clay that have been reinforced wtih reptile blood, hardened in an earthen kiln and warded with divine incantations. This type of armor can only be used by a marshwarden because if it is not cared for with the proper rituals and physical upkeep, it can fall into dust.
Swamp Punters
These are half-orc loners that hire themselves out as resourceful guides within the swamps of Madder, using a punting pole to move a bateau boat and it's cargo through the swamp with ease. Punters have detailed knowledge of the wetlands, the safest waterways and the darkest monsters.
Races of The Swamp
The Marshfolk (Race)
"Dem say da hand dat rocks de cradle, is da hand date rules de world. I just want dem ta stop cryin'." -- Meedla Fallsweaux, Marshfolk Mother
The Marshfolk are a primitive human folk, most consider to be backwards in their thinking and mode of living. Rather than tend proper crops and raise livestock, the Marshfolk live along the banks of the swamps of Madder and it's tributaries.
The primary source of food for the tribe comes in the form of river catfish and carp. These bottom feeding fish breed in large numbers and make muddy wallows for their breeding. The tribe knows that after the eggs have been laid, the adults are fair game. It has become a sport among the tribe to see who can pull the largest fish from it’s den.
Some consider the Marshfolk to be a barbarian tribe of Madder as they are mostly hunters and foragers. They are often filthy, poor tempered, and ill-educated, and when times are lean on the water, they enter the townships along the river like a plague of river rats.
There are several factors that mark the marshfolk as being barbarians and outsiders. The most prominent factor, after their muddled stench, is that they speak a pidgin form of the common dialect. This swamp talk uses a smattering of common words, but uses just as many trollish and goblin invectives as not. To a common person in a village, their language sounds like a horrible mish-mash, using gutteral alien sounds and mockeries of the common lingo.
"Da monster dat do no' kill me, makes me stronger." -- Dansoo Libet, Marshfolk Adventurer
The tribe is highly superstitious, as they have long lived under the fluctuating taboos and demands of the watery divinities they revere. Most fight with bone hooked spears, bone tipped arrows, and large wooden shields that can double as small rafts.
Major Personages
Babalawi - A marshfolk elder and shaman, Babalawi is entering his late 50’s and is considered old among the folk. He has many decorations, a looted sword and piecemeal armor and lives like a king among the marshfolk. He has three wives, 13 children and every year has the honor of sacrificing the first of the catch to the gods of river and water. He knows the strength of his people, their knowledge of the land and the general lack of resources that settled folk want, and he also knows their weaknesses, such as lack of training, discipline, or metal arms and armor. He is a diplomat who speaks with the townsfolk when they start getting agitated and look like they might plan to push the marshfolk out of the area.
Weregators, Wererats, Werebears (Races)
Weregators are chaotic good creatures that prefer to keep their race a secret, and work closely with the marshfolk, rangers and druids. Wererats are generally part of the Creeper gangs. Werebears are the third largest were-creature of the swamp. There have also been tales of werefrogs, weresnakes and werespiders in the swamp. Oddly enough, there have never been tales of werewolves in most of Madder.
Lizardfolk (Race)
Lizardfolk are totem worshippers and throughout the swamps one will see totem poles that they have painted in bright colors with faces of animalistic gods and goddesses. The poles mark holy ground for the lizardfolk. Various tribes permeate the wetlands of Madder, most of them within Darklea Swamp. Tribes fight over territory rights quite often.
"Humanity is nature's sole mistake, but I forgive her." -- Lizardfolk proverb.
Mud Dwarves (Race)
The dwarves are descended from dwarves that moved into the swamp generations ago. Even in the swamp, the dwarves maintain a relationship with the earth. Their homes are shored up burrows similar to sod homes, and they mine black diamonds though they only produce a handful each decade. They also use a smithing wheel to produce iron agricultural items and weapons. Mud dwarf music consists of turtle shell drums, conch shell horns, oak clappers, single stringed bow harps, ankle rattles, click-sticks, reed whistles and cypress flutes. They entertain themselves with grog, music, and pottery.
Zoghby Rustbucket is the current authority figure.
"A wise man can see more from the depths of a swamp than a fool can from the mountain top." -- Mud Dwarf philosophy
Important Folks of The Swamp
Green Hag Covey: Mina Har, Dina Har, Lina Har
The Har sisters are a powerful green hag covey of sorceresses said to live in the Foulspawn Swamp. It is said they have a large intricate dwelling of mud, sticks and slime within the swamp. Some myths state that they sometime crawls from the swamp at night, taking on the form of young maidens to make away with the children who live in nearby villages. Some even say they has produced children by seducing men and returning to the swamp to bear half-breed children.
Beauregarden
Somewhere near Ninesay is a group of standing stones with a lone, giant cypress growing in the center. The tree is actually a treant named Beauregarden, and the standing stones are it's grotto. It's about as old as a treant can be, and considers itself the Grand Druid of the Swamp. It has a detailed knowledge of the native people of ancient days. Beauregarden patrols the swamp at night, and returns home before daybreak. He is friendly with many of the bayou halflings, but to others he exacts a price before giving information - sending them on a task to prove their worthiness.
ITEMS OF NOTE
The Spectral Pirogue
This sinister apparition appears in the Dimmet. The captain was a sinister serial killer whom took great pleasure in murdering and torturing innocent women and children. He was captured by a weregator and tied to a tree to die of exposure. The serial killer returned as a spectre, and destroys life as it did in life. The creature paddles a flying spectral pirogue near where it died.
The Ghost Punter
This is a lawful good ghost. She is deformed and mangled from her death by alligator, and punts her splintered bateau boat forward on the darkest and mistiest of nights, seeking to help travelers in the swamp. Frequently she roams the Deepswamp and the Dimmet helping desperate passengers on her phantom raft.
[/font]