Förresten: Liknande kampanjer
Nedanstående text är från ett aldrig färdigt spel jag skrev som avr sword n' sorcery i smådjursmiljö; rollpersonerna är alla smågnagare, och stilen är ungefär som i Conan, Elric och Fafhrd & Gråkatt.
Det hela skrevs på engelska för jag tänkte lägga det som ´freeware på webben när det blev klart, och om jag inte skrev det på ett världsspråk skulle jag inte hitta mer än en person som ville läsa det.
Om det nu går att förstå...
(Det är alltså inte drakar men handlar om en kampanj som är åtminstone vagt besläktad med vad tråden handlar om, och det är knappast några speltekniska grunkor i den.)
<font size="4"> The Seven Sapient Peoples </font size>
’The Seven Sapient Peoples’ is an appellation which is used to refer to the seven major rodent races. It is misleading, for there are other sapient (i.e. , thinking) races as well, and some of them can even be labeled ’peoples’. Some of them are even rodents. However, they are either alien enough (like the Moles), live so far away (like the legendary Lemmings) or are so few in number (like the Black Rats) that there is little social contact between these folk and the major rodent peoples, and thus the appellation has stuck. Besides, it sounds cool.
To the Seven Sapient Peoples are commonly counted the Forest Voles, the Field Voles, the Water Voles, the Forest Mice, the Field Mice, the Deep Mice and the Brown Rats. Sometimes they are summarized as the Three Kin: Volekin, Micekin and Ratkin.
<font size="3"> Volekin </font size>
Volekin are rotund and robust. They are skilled diggers and create the best tunnels of all the rodent peoples. They are generally the most vegetarian-minded of them, as well, and cooked food does not sit well with their stomachs either. Ale and wine does, however, and many like to nibble on strong-tasting or aromatic herbs.
Voles are practical and down-to-earth, and direct, sometimes blunt. They have little time for social fripperies. They are generally brave and generous, though they have cowards and skinflints among them as well.
All Voles have a +1 bonus Dice on the Endurance, Guts and Tunnelwise Abilities, and a Might of 0.
Forest Voles
Forest Voles live, unsurprisingly, in the deep forests known as the Northern and Eastern Wilds. They are tribal barbarians who live primarily by gathering edible plants, seeds and roots.
They are famed for their knowledge of the forest and their skill at fighting off monsters like foxes and weasels. They live in strongly defended clan-burrows, often below trees. Their chieftains respect the Druids, their priest-sages, but they do not rule as is usually the case among the Forest Mice.
They wear little or no clothing, usually only a harness for carrying weapons, tools and similar stuff. Warrior Voles may wear cloaks made from the beasts they have slain, or headdresses made from raptor down. Female Voles likewise only wear a harness for carrying their tools, and usually their children. They wear little jewelry, but what they wear tend to be of the crude and large-and-clanking variety, not small and ornate rings and brooches. Old Voles often carry a staff, the sign of authority and wisdom. The favorite Forest Vole weapon is the greatspear.
Forest Voles are stoic and honorable. They tend to stereotype all foreigners, especially Field and Deep Mice, as dishonorable cowards. The exception is the Water Voles, for which they have a certain kind of respect. The only thing they really fear is magic.
Forest Voles have two names: a personal name, which is descriptive (Graywhisker, Beastslayer, Stout) and a clan name, which simply is the personal name of their clan’s founder.
Forest Voles have a +1 bonus Dice on the Woodcraft Ability.
Field Voles
Field Voles are civilized cousins of the Forest Voles. They live as farmers on the Sunken Plains and the Giants’ Meadow, where they create well-defended burrow-steads. They often work together with the Field Mice of their homelands, in which case they live in the special Vole district of a Mouse city-state. Often their skill at tunneling is what created these cities in the first place, and the backbone of the city’s army will consist of Field Voles.
They wear little clothing, most often just a long cloak, a tool-harness and a cap for men, and a short hooded cloak, a vest and a skirt for women. In war, they may carry a helmet, but seldom other armor. Their clothes are spun from rough plant-fibers. They seldom wear any jewelry or other trinkets. Since
Field Voles tend to fight in tunnels, they favor halberds and short swords in battle (yes, halberds are excellent for tunnel fighting).
Field Voles tend to have lots of common sense and little imagination. They respect nothing more than hard work and practical skills. They often see the Field Mice and Deep Mice
as soft city folks and other foreigners as ignorant savages.
Like Forest Voles, Field Voles have two names, the first being a personal name. However, the second name is the name of their home, i.e. either a Vole-stead (in which the case the name will always end in “–stead”) or their home block of a Field Mice city. If necessary to avoid confusion, they will tell you what their father’s name was.
Field Voles have a +1 bonus Dice on the Common Sense Ability.
Water Voles
Water Voles live along the reed-covered coasts of the Great Gray Sea, and support themselves with fishing and water gardening. They get a substantial income from trade and piracy, however, since they are the world’s best sailors. They are credited with the invention of the sail and the rudder, two of the few things that were not invented by Micekin. Despite having the clearest difference between male and female roles, their females are the most influential among all the Seven Sapient Peoples. Their oldest females rule their clans.
Male Water Voles usually wear only a harness for carrying stuff and a helmet or cap, often adorned with teeth or claws of water-monsters. Their women, however, wear as many skirts, shawls and bandannas as possible, preferably of foreign origin, to show off their menfolk’s skill in trade, piracy or both. Female Water Voles also tend to carry as much jewelry as they (or their husbands) can afford. In war, Water Voles are famous for carrying large, round shields with a central spike, and big axes or hammers.
Water Voles are fatalistic and gloomy. Although only a minority actually belongs to the dark Snake Cult, most believe in its tenets, and despite otherwise being death-defyingly brave, they have a deep fear of sea-monsters. They respect other Voles, but see Mice as dishonest and Rats as murderous.
Water Voles, like other Voles, have two names: a descriptive first name, often associated with water and the sea, and a second kin-name, the name of their clan, which is usually the emblem carried on their clan ships.
Water Voles have a +1 bonus Dice on the Seamanship Ability.
<font size="3"> Micekin </font size>
Micekin are the most numerous of the rodent races. They are sleek and quick, both in body and in mind. Almost all technological and philosophical development in the world stems from the Mice. They tend to be clever and quick-witted, but are often both physical and social cowards.
All Micekin have a +1 bonus Dice on the Athletics and Awareness Abilities, and a Might of -1.
Forest Mice
Forest Mice live as tribal barbarians in forests of the Eastern and Northern Wilds, and in the jungle along the northern coast of the Great Gray Sea. They are hunter-gatherers, with some farming on the side. They live in large villages, who gather together in tribes for purposes of worship and defense against enemies.
They wear little more than a loincloth. Both males and females favor large amounts of jewelry, fetishes and clanking trinkets. They are all tattooed; the more tattoos the higher status. In war and during religious festivities, they wear large amounts of body-paint. In war, they favor missile weapons like boomerangs, poisoned darts and arrows.
Forest Mice depend on stealth and trickery to defeat their enemies, and consider the honor-obsessed Forest Voles to be foolish. They appreciate cleverness in all forms. Unlike their Vole neighbors, they do not fear magic, but are awed by it. Among them druids, sage-priests and witchdoctors rule. Many of them emigrate to more civilized lands where they find work as scouts, thieves or assassins. They are the origin of the dark Owl Cult.
Forest Mice have three names: a use-name, which is descriptive like Vole names, a clan-name, which is the name of their clan stronghold, and a secret name. A druid gives the last name when the mouse is accepted as a grown-up, and they only reveal them to their closest friends. If you know someone’s secret name, they believe, you have power over him.
Forest Mice have a +1 bonus Dice on the Stealth and Woodcraft Abilities.
Field Mice
Field Mice are the most numerous of the Seven Sapient Peoples. They have hundreds of burrow-cities on the Sunken Plains, the Giants’ Meadow, and the Farsouth Plains. Some also live in the Northern Wilds as settlers and some live as slaves/serfs/servants to the Deep Mice rulers within the Giants’ Dens. They are a civilized folk of farmers, craftsmen and traders who almost always cluster together in big cities.
Their craftsmanship is unequalled among the Seven Sapient Peoples, and only the Deep Mice rulers are richer than their merchant-lords are.
Field Mice wear a pair of trousers, a hat and a short cloak if male, a vest, shawl and skirt if female. They favor small, exquisite pieces of jewelry, and both sexes are especially fond of earrings and tail-torcs. In war, they usually use a rapier or a short sword, and many carry them in peacetime to show that they are a full citizen of their home city (i.e. are required to bear arms in war).
Field Mice are down-to-earth and practical. They find law and order very important, and see the good of the community as more important than the good of the individual. They can be very greedy, to the point of foolishness, but are rarely misers, since their society encourages generosity. They look down on the Forest Mice and the Volekin as rustics and barbarians, and fear the Ratkin and the Deep Mice greatly.
Field Mice have three names. Their personal name is a name in the Ancient tongue of the Deep Mice (any typical fantasy-istic made-up name should suffice). Their Citizen name is the name of the city-block were they live. Those who are not full citizens all carry the name of the City itself instead. The third name is the name of their family, which is descriptive, just like Vole names.
Field Mice have a +1 bonus Dice on the Common Sense and Commerce Abilities.
Deep Mice
Deep Mice are a strange race of Micekin, related to the Field Mice, who has changed irrevocably by living within the Giants’ Den for generations. According to legend, their whole race, or at least their leaders, the Deep Sorcerer-Kings, were created by the Giants as some kind of servants. They rule over a large population of Field Mice used as servants and workers and Brown Rats used as warriors. All Deep Mice are theoretically ‘noblemice’, though only with respect to their underlings – the true nobility of their Empires look upon the lower Houses of Deep Mice as being just one step above the slave races.
Deep Mice wear only clothes to show off – the more outlandish, the better. Clothes that you can’t move in are a status symbol, because it shows you have slaves to carry you around. Both sexes carry much jewelry and especially the females usually have heavy makeup, although Deep Mice see nothing feminine in wearing rouge or powder. The favorite Deep Mice weapons are weapons that look wicked and cruel – not necessary good weapons in a fight, though. A sure way to spot a skilled Deep Mice warrior is that he carries a two-handed sting-sword, the most efficient of Deep Mice weaponry, usually made from a Giant’s needle and of unbreakable steel.
All sorcery and most technology in the Known World ultimately come from the Deep Mice, who invented it, or, some say, stole it from the Giants. They are creative, intelligent and charismatic, and also fundamentally deceitful, unpredictable and indulgent. They look upon all other peoples as slaves to their ‘superior race’, not even worthy of being despised. It is typical that it was they who originated the decadent and sadistic Cat Cult, though the official religion of the Deep Mice kingdoms is worship of the uncaring Giants (‘the High Ones’) and the deceased Sorcerer-Kings.
Deep Mice have several names. First is a High Name in the Ancient Tongue (use any outlandish collection of syllables you prefer). Second is a Common Name, which is a descriptive moniker, and used by people who don’t know you well or are your social inferiors. Third is your House name, the name of the (supposedly) noble House you belong to, again in the Ancient Tongue. Fourth is your Lineage name, the name of your Line (i.e., immediate family), which is also descriptive.
Deep Mice have a +1 bonus Dice on the Giant Ken and Deep Society Abilities.
<font size="3"> Ratkin </font size>
Brown Rats, like all Ratkin, are big, tough and resilient. They prefer meat to vegetarian food, but will eat almost anything. Many relish the taste of miceflesh. They live as wandering bands of robbers in the Northern and Eastern Wilds and on the plains, as pirates in hidden coves along the Great Gray Sea, and as slave-soldiers among the Deep Mice.
Rats wear little clothing and never jewelry, which they find ‘sissy’. They tend to carry outrageous leather harnesses loaded with spare weapons like daggers, spikes and bludgeons, and are the only warriors to wear armor with any regularity. They favor large, two-handed weapons, preferably with many spikes, hooks and similar stuff on them. A Rat specialty is the tailduster, a mace-head attached to the tail by a clasp and used for secondary attacks in melee.
Rats are violent, cruel and bloodthirsty, and live only for war. Their main redeeming features are that they are incredibly loyal and honest, though in no way honorable according to Vole standards. They are very good at adjusting to new environments. They seem fundamentally incapable of working magic on their own, but some have been seen to use magic gained from deities. Many Rats follow the Crow or Dog Cults, which both fit their mentality very well. They despise everyone who is weaker than them, including other Rats. Most of them have a healthy respect for the Deep Mice, though, since the Rats recognize that their sorcery and cunning is also a form of ‘strength’.
Rats have just one name, and it is supposed to be impressive, so most Rats have names like ‘Throatslasher’, ‘Ripper’, ‘Steelfang’ and the like. However, Rat custom has it that another person’s name is what you decide to call him. If you think your boss is a wimp and wishes to challenge him, address him as ‘Crybaby’ or ‘Shitlesscared’, and watch the effect. Similarly, if you wish to impress someone, you call him by an impressive name when speaking to him, and you do the same thing to your loyal scrap-mates. As a result, Rat chieftains end up with a long list of gruesome epithets for a name.
There is a race of Black Rats, but they are very rarely seen. Once, it is said, they ruled the land with great wisdom and greater cruelty, and it is whispered that they might come again. Unlike their Brown cousins, they are very skilled at sorcery, and Brown Rats seem to instinctively either hate or fear them, as the Brown Rats are said to have driven the Black ones out by violence and treachery. They are not suitable as Player Characters, and are thus not detailed.
Brown Rats have a +1 bonus Dice on the Endurance, Guts, Melee and Stealth Abilities, and a Might of +1.
Erik
. Är Elmsund ditt eget påhitt eller är det baserat på någon bok eller film?
mäktiga varelser som inte bryr sig så mycket om andras bekymmer...
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