Lore and Legends of the Dezzyverse

Tag: D&D

  • A Crossroads in the Deep

    A Crossroads in the Deep

    A Settlement on the Underworld Frontier

    Far below the surface world, a vast Empire rules a web of tunnels and caverns. The Empire of the Spider Queen is a dark mirror of the Elven realms that bathes in the golden light of the Sun. The founders of the Empire of the Spider Queen were the losers of a war against their Elven cousins ages past, and driven from the sunlit world into the lightles underworld. Over generations, they recovered from their grievous loss, adapted to their subterranean world and forged a dominion to rival their sunlit cousins.

    Genzhymyl

    Genzhymyl has changed greatly over the past ten years. Initially a trading post on the K’Kephredoc River and along the shore of the lake, Genzhymyl lasted for decades as little more than a permanent camp. The closest settlement was K’zeldremn, which was on the far side of the nearby causeway tunnel.

    Genzhymyl experienced rapid change following the Year of Rage. Every House in every colony of the Empire of Spider Queen, including K’zeldremn fell into anarchy as the Demon Princes raged through the Underworld. As demonically-feuled riots and chaos tore the cities apart, refugees from K’zeldremn fled to Genzhymyl, swelling its population and growing it into a proper town, independent of domination by the Empire.

    The town’s architecture is a chaotic mess of pavilions, temporary, and permanent structures. The oldest buildings, dating from the original Flayed Matron Manor and Kyrzhiim’s Mill are made of set stone and reflect styles from the nearby city of K’zeldremn. The Dzhuol Goblin Tribes and surface-influenced styles are common among the semi-permanent buildings that have been used since before the Year of Rage. Many of the newer permanent buildings are built by Klaarg Azhgov and are designed to be very efficient and sturdy, if not decorative. Finally over the ten years since the Rage of Demons, the refugees have begun to build out their tent encampment into semi-permanent buildings, owing to no architectural style other than what is the fastest and most convenient to build at that time.

    Genzhymyl’s independence is secure for the moment, the Empire and her dispersed colonies will be rebuilding for a long time to come. Although the Demon Princes have been banished back to the Pit, Demons still roam freely in the Underworld. And it is still not known when the Demon Queen of Spiders will once more establish her direct authority over her Empire.

    Rulership in Genzhymyl

    Genzhymyl is governed by a town council consisting of Vethric Ghaul – owner of the Flayed Matron Manor, Ztorv – Preadarch (Cheiftan) of the Dzhuol (the Goblinfolk tribe across the K’kephredoc), and Johayya (Viscount) Ivynna Kvarik of Klaarg (Clan) Azhgov. Vethric acts as head of the council with Ztorv representing the Dzhoul, and Ivyanna representing Azhgov interests in Genzhymyl.

    The government of Genzhymyl becomes informal below the town council, though there are some semi-official positions that have become permanent during the past ten years. Town Herald is one such post, answerable to the town council, which makes official pronouncements and proclamations public, and likewise hears any statements made by the citizens to bring to the council’s attention. The current Town Herald is “The Khabtyn Dhahabei” (the Gold Captain in his native tongue), Ehriegan Staav, a human from a great city on the surface who has prospered as a broker in Genzhymyl for twenty years. The Khabtyn Dhahabei employs a dozen “Town Criers” as deputies.

    In addition to Town Herald, there is the post of Magistrate, who mediates disputes among the population in the name of the town council. Though not exactly a Judge, since laws in Genzhymyl are not codified, the Magistrate, and their Adjudicators provide for settlements without need for violence. The current Magistrate is a Svirfneblin woman, Ynzylith, the oldest child of the owner of the town mill, Kyrzhiim

    The Master of Markets directs the shops and stalls of the Genzhymyl Bazzar, it is their duty to maintain order and peace within the Bazzar as well as collecting the taxes and fees from the merchants trading within the settlement. At present the office is held by a ruthless woman, a Drow by the name of Avzenthe Djerrn. The Mistress of Markets (as she styles herself), employs a small team of “Managers” and “Collectors” to enforce her authority.

    Locations of Note

    • The Flayed Matron Manor
      • The Flayed Matron Manor is owned by Vethric Ghaul and managed by Jeegan Thatz. Over the past 200 years, the Flayed Matron has served as a way-stop, a gambling den, a brothel, an inn, and a tavern. Currently it is all of those, and serves as the council chambers for government.
        • Jeegan (a Half Orc/Human) is Vethric Ghaul’s chief Lieutenant. She manages the day-to-day operations of the Flayed Matron Manor in Vethric’s place when he is away or otherwise occupied. Jeegan is a priestess of the Mistress of Whips and is a sadist. She has leveraged this trait into a profitable arrangement at the Flayed Matron Manor, serving a special clientele of powerful,influential people who have masochistic or submissive needs that need to be fulfilled with discretion.
    • Kyrzhiim’s Mill
      • A large water mill used by the town for processing all manner of seeds and grains for a small fee. The owner, Kyrzhiim is a Svirfneblin and one of the wealthiest people in Genzhymyl. He lives in an ostentatious mansion on the shore of Lake K’kephredoc.
    • The Grey Lantern Inn
      • The primary house for renting rooms. Since the Year of Rage, the owner, Ghazrahd Sablemane (a Duergar with rarely-seen black hair and beard) has expanded the grounds from a single building to a small campus with stabling, barracks, and suites for extended leasing.
    • “The Tent”
      • Before the Year of Rage, a goblin by the name of Gheez set up a huge pavilion on the then-edge of the Camp. “The Tent” as it came to be called, offered cheap, moderately secure space for patrons to sleep for a few hours. Since then, Gheez has died and “The Tent” has been rebuilt as a permanent structure (but remains a large, open building) operated under management of Klaarg Azhgov through Virdiloma Yth.
      • The “innkeeper”, Virdiloma keeps a shrewd eye out among her tenants for those in desperate circumstance. Individuals who don’t have family, money, or friends who wouldn’t be missed, escaped slaves, or known fugitives from one of the power centers in the region. These vulnerable people are targeted for abduction or capture by Klaarg Azhgov.
    • The Genzhymyl Bazzar
      • Along the road stretching from the Flayed Matron Manor at one end to The Tent at the other. The Bazzar is the central forum of Genzhymyl. The Market here never fully closes, with commerce being practiced at all hours. Nearly anything can be found here for sale, timbers from the Yyngvath Forest, fish from the nearby lakes, exotic wares from the Surface word as well as the Deeps. Also, of course, slaves being auctioned by Klaarg Azhgov.

    New Background: Enslaved

    • Ability Scores
      • Strength, Constitution, Widsom
    • Feat
      • Alert
    • Skill Proficiencies
      • Insight and Survival
    • Tool Proficiencies (choose one)
      • Cooks’ Tools, Leatherworkers’ Tools, Potters’ Tools, Tinkers’ Tools, Weavers’ Tools, Woodworkers’ Tools
    • Equipment (these items are either stolen, or the property of the character’s owner)
      • A toolkit that matches the proficiency chosen, An Explorers’ Pack, (Un)Holy Symbol, Manacles
      • or 10 gold coins
    • Disadvantage
      • The Enslaved bears a permanent mark of their bondage, a tattoo, scar, brand (or similar). This mark is easily recognized by most people. All Social Interactions with folk who are aware of this mark are made at Disadvantage.

    The character is or was a slave. Owned by another person, or household as property. They have either been granted their freedom, or escaped, but the marks of their bondage remain. If a fugitive, there is likely a bounty for their capture and return (GM’s discretion). The character’s time in servitude has taught them to remain aware of the people around them, reading their body language to divine their mood or to intuit their whims.

    Conclusion

    The caverns of Genzhymyl hold endless opportunities for adventures to explore the unknown along the periphery of the Empire of the Spider Queen. During the Year of Rage, earthquakes have changed the geography in the surrounding area, caving in and closing the tunnels that led to the surface, and revealing new passages. Secrets long hidden or lost in the Deeps have been revealed, waiting for the reckless, bold and curious to discover.

    The Township of Genzhymyl functions as a “home” for adventurers to return to when they need resupply, rest, or training. It’s independence and relative stability contribute to it’s reliability. Yet, since the catastrophe of the Year of Rage, Genzhymyl has become a new center of intrigue, as survivors and refugees jockey for power and influence. There is plenty of opportunity for “agents of fortune” to find good paying work and patrons in need.

  • The Síoraí

    The Síoraí

    Tribes of the North Part 3

    The Síoraí (pronounced “see-or-EYE”) were born from mortal people whose spirit had been displaced by a spirit from the Fæ realms. Though their bodies remain mortal, albeit with extended lifespans, their Færie spirits reincarnate into newborn bodies after their former body expires. Since time in the Fæ realms passes differently than it does in Fahr Ryasc, a given Síoraí’s Færie spirit may reincarnate quickly, or ages will pass before the spirit sees the world through mortal eyes again.

    Over the centuries as the Síoraí developed as a people, the influnce of the Færie spirits has become more pronounced. The Síoraí have grown more distinctive among themselves, assuming a physical form more pleasing to the Færie who live within their mortal vessels. While, in some regards, this continued metamorphosis of the moral bodies are considered beautiful by other mortal peoples, they have grown inceasingly inhuman by contrast.

    The Færie spirits inhabiting the Síoraí have long memories, sometimes being able to recall events from past incarnations. However, their time as spirits within the Færie realms is hidden from them, and they can only remember the fullness of their many lives when existing as spirits there.

    Basic Information

    Anatomy

    Síoraí are humanoid in appearance, though they are taller and thinner on average. Síoraí have two sexes and reproduce heterosexually. Their physical bodies go through puberty before reaching maturity and women experience menopause during middle-age.

    Síoraí also have two folk, which derive from the Fæ courts their spirits belong to. The Deasíoraí are connected to the Deadí Færie court of Long Days. The Bansíoraí are connected to the Banyte court of Long Nights. The Fæ are ruled by the Deadí from the Spring Equinox through the Autumnal Equinox and the Banyte from the Autumnal Equinox through the Spring Equinox.

    While the Deasíoraí and Bansíoraí are the same people, they each vary in complexion and hair color. Deasíoraí tend towards deeper brown and ruddy complexions coupled with fair red and yellow hair and light eyes of green and blue. Bansíoraí tend towards pale skin coupled with black hair and dark eyes.

    Genetics and Reproduction

    Síoraí reproduce sexually, most often births are singular, but dual and multiple births are not unheard of. Infants are not yet possessed of Færie spirit at birth, but by the time the child reaches it’s second anniversary, about the time they begin to learn how stand and take their first steps, their Færie spirit fills the mortal vessel and they develop into Deasíoraí and Bansíoraí as appropriate.

    Growth Rate & Stages

    Síoraí grow similarly to other mortal peoples, reaching maturity in 18 to 20 years. Once reaching adulthood, they age half as fast due to their Færie nature. Thus, Síoraí reach Middle Age by 60, and old age by 100. They survive for another 50 years, with a natural lifespan of 150 years.

    Behavior

    Síoraí often seem indifferent to others, and self-centered. They have an unusual perspective on events and relationships due to their multiple incarnations through out ages. Even though the mortal body they inhabit may be only decades or a century old, their spirit, being of the Færie, can recall memories from multiple lifetimes. The Síoraí have difficulty relating to the here and now, or to people who will inevitably become only distant memories of past lives.

    There is an exception in other Síoraí. Síoraí recognize and can empathize with other Síoraí in ways that are simply not possible with other mortal people. Síoraí are among the very few people in Fahr Ryasc who have the shared history of experiencing multiple lifetimes over the course of ages, and can form tight bonds with the inherent promise of those bonds renewing in future incarnations. Síoraí are able to share with one another first-hand experiences of events that no other living mortal could have been through.

    This also makes Síoraí rather archaic as a people. They derive a certain comfort from the familiar, being grounded in habits and environments of their previous lives. They tend to speak with outmoded diction, being accustomed to the language they have been conditioned to speak over dozens or hundreds of lifetimes.

    Additional Information

    Social Structure

    The Síoraí develop their societies as a mirror of their courtly civilizations within the Fæ Realms. They Organize based on their Færie nature as Deadí and Banyte Fæ and their positions within those courts, whether Noble or Small (or Common) Fæ. However, other mortals who live among the Síoraí are appointed into social positions, but are always treated as lesser, since their mortal contributions are perceived by the Síoraí as “temporary by nature”.

    Síoraí who live among the other mortal realms of Fahr Ryasc, often live so apart from the established social structures. Their multiple lives and sense of mortal impermanence extend even to the great empires of Fahr Ryasc. They can’t help but see the achievements of other mortal people, even nations, as fleeting. The Síoraí find “progress” distasteful, especially the rapid progress of mortal people, unless, of course, that progress compliments themselves or their aesthetic concerns.

    Physical characteristics

    There is a definite sense of the otherworldly about the Síoraí. They are at once beautiful and distrubing to behold, especially as they mature, their mortal bodies exaggerating the mortal form, growing tall, willowy and deft with long, delicate fingers and toes.

    A Síoraí’s face is long and oval, with sharply angled almond-shaped eyes, high cheekbones, a sharp blade of a nose, long tapered ears and a narrow mouth. There are further distinctions between the Deasíoraí and Bansíoraí. Síoraí men can grow facial hair, but it’s normally thin, fine and short, matching the hair covering their head and it usually comes in after middle-age. Síoraí women do not normally grow such facial hair. Both sexes grow sharp angled eyebrows, and tend towards high foreheads. Neither sex develops wrinkles or sagging until very late in life, 130 years or older.

    Síoraí hair remains a consistent color throughout their lives, seldom going grey or white with age.

    Geographic Origin and Distribution

    The Síoraí can be found nearly everywhere in Fahr Ryasc, but are most common in their realms located in the Tanglewild forest in the South, the Elderwild forest in the North, and beneath the Auborobua mountains.

    Average Intelligence

    The Síoraí possess typical mortal intelligence. However their Færie spirits provide them access to knowledge from their past lives and a perspective that is more supernatural than the average mortal experience. This gives the perception that Síoraí are more knowledgeable than most people (also are eternally irritating to sagacious professions that deal in secretive information as a Síoraí, after an evening of meditation can recall some bit of esoterica which takes others days or weeks of research in archives).

    Perception and Sensory Capabilities

    Síoraí, being born from mortals, have senses of smell, taste and touch that are similarly sensitive as their cousins throughout Fahr Ryasc. However, their Fæ ancestry makes their senses of sight and hearing almost supernaturally sharp.

    Civilization and Culture

    Major Language Groups and Dialects

    Lazáqo is the primary language spoken in the Síoraí’s homeland of Záqu, hidden deep in the Tanglewild forest. The Elderwilde forest is home to the northern realm of Taur Ymagar, speaks a dialect of Lazáqo named Vakláno. The Síoraí realm of Berízal deep below the Auborobua Mountains speaks a dialect of Lazáqo known as Berxáno, which is the most widespread common language of the underworld civilizations beneath Fahr Ryasc