People

Book of the Chaosborn

[ earth / chaos ]

• Bru
• Craw, Black
• Craw, Red
• Denizens

Magic is Chaos disguised as Order.  When the Order breaks down the true nature of magic is released.  When magic escapes Order it is without form or purpose.  Magic without Order is corrupting; eroding at the surrounding Order until it eventually dematerializes.

The Chaosborn are beings created within the warp of Chaos.  Shortly following the dissipation of the first woven magics there have been Chaosborn.

Physiology:  Due to the nature of Chaos, no Chaosborn are created identically.  For this reason, most Chaosborn are not procreant, and do not appear again following their initial creation.  In rare instances, Chaosborn are created that may procreate (whether sexually or asexually).  If not destroyed, such Chaosborn may father a new race.

Sages that are aware of the Chaosborn mechanism often credit it with the wide variety of races existing on Teréth End.  Races who are viewed as Orderly, are given the benefit of doubt, and not classified with the Chaosborn.  Of the standard Teréth End races; Gru, Ikitikirittik, Ortor, Shul, Urdar, Werrid, and Zultaya have all been classified at one time or another as Chaosborn.

Psychology:  Most races that are classified as Chaosborn have chaotic natures, many bordering on psychotic evil (see Chaosborn-Bru).  Other Chaosborn are not evil, but are different enough (or misunderstood) from the standard races to be classified as Chaosborn (see Chaosborn-Denizens).

Magic:  Chaosborn are very magical but have difficulty imposing Order on the magics around them.  For this reason, Chaosborn magic is wild.

Bru

The most infamous and recognizable Chaosborn are the Bru.  The Bru are an early race that have spread throughout the World of Teréth End.  They are hated everywhere and killed when the opportunity presents itself.  Though annoying (even dangerous in outlying areas) their nature has prevented them from amassing formidable threats to civilized areas.

Physiology:  Bru are medium-sized bipedal goat-headed creatures with cloven hooves. Bru are physically stronger (on average) than a typical Uren.  Bru appear to be male (penises tend to be large and openly displayed).  Female Bru have never been observed among them their ranks.  Reproduction within the race is a mystery, compounded not only by the absence of females, but also the absence of young.

Psychology:  When defining chaotic evil, the Bru are a good place to begin.  Bru have no fear of death, failure or consequence.  They are driven perpetually by base needs and desires.  Thievery, rape (gender is unknown), and murder are rampant within Bru society.

Culture:  Despite their chaotic nature, Bru do have culture.  Bru live within a shifting society, where their superiors and inferiors are constantly changing, and one's position in the society is never secure.  A Zembran soldier, imbued with magics to understand the enemies' commands, once reported that during the course of an evening assault on the Dreamlands city, the Bru leadership seemed to change half-a-dozen times.  When an order was given others did not approve of, the commander was viciously attacked.

Magic:  Only exceptional Bru may master the arts of magic and even they may only employ clerical and sorcerous magics.  No Bru has the discipline necessary for book-learning and therefore wizardly magic is unattainable.

D&D:  Bru are not meant to be played as player characters, but rather NPCs.  Bru cannot be tamed or socialized to fit into civilized society, and will not join groups with non-Bru characters (except to eat them).  Bru parties are very chaotic and malicious.   Bru should take issue with even the slightest hint of insult and react with unbridled anger and violence.  Few inter-group battles and shuffles are fatal, though injuries are common.

GURPS:

Black Craw

These giant raven humanoids have existed within the Old Empire for longer than most can tell.  Depicted in ancient paintings as the guards of ancient kings, the Black Craw now lurk in the ruins and darkness of the crumbled empire.  It is uncertain whether they remember those long ago days when they held positions of esteem and honor.  Today, their lot is very different.  Society no longer turns a blind eye to their unholy appetites.  Many are hunted and killed when found.

Physiology:  More common than their red-plumed cousins, the Black Craw are the warriors of their race.  Beneath a thick layer of waxy black feathers, the hefty creatures are powerfully muscled.  Black Craw are carnivores in the strictest sense of the word.  More than this, they prefer the flesh of intelligent creatures, usually dining on the bodies of humanoids.  The preference is for living flesh (the Black Craw do not require the spices and slow-cooking that the Red Craw take such delight in).  If desperate, both Craw species will resort to carrion.

Psychology:  Though unenlightened, the Black Craw are far from stupid.  It is this mistaken perception that gives them their greatest advantage.  These Craw appear immune to emotion, pain and most mental weaknesses.  Among the intelligent races, the Black Craw are among the least susceptible to mental illness.  Their great discipline must have been what attracted the ancient kings so many years ago.

Culture:  The greatest weakness of the Black Craw (if you can come by it) is their word.  The species seems unwilling to renege on their promises, even at pain of death.  Moreso, in the uncommon circumstance that a Craw does go back on his word, his fellow Craws seem inexorably drawn into a cannibalistic feeding orgy.  Despite centuries of refinement and civilization, the final death for all Craw remains this final feeding.

Magic:  The magic of the Black Craw usually takes the forms of pendants or tokens granted them from their Red cousins.  Regardless of the magic practiced by others in a particular class, the Black Craw insist on the use of fetishes.  It would seem that they cannot work magic without them.

D&D:  Black Craw would not make very good player characters.  The race's propensity for feeding on the flesh of humanoids can be a deal-breaker in many parties.

¹ Alertness. Black Craw gain the Alertness feat.  The coal-eyed humanoids seem ever alert and on-guard, especially at night

² Iron Will . Black Craw gain the Iron Will feat

Red Craw

Mysterious creatures that live in pockets throughout the Old Empire, the Craw are most famously the residents of the City of Oth's dark Vishàshun.  These bird-like creatures prefer to dwell in ruins and shadow, watching the world around them with cautious baleful eyes.  Their speech sounds like a raspy cough, words seemingly ill-suited for their throats and large beaks.

Physiology:  A major reason for why the Craw are not more widespread or visible throughout Teréthor are their eating habits.  The Craw are carnivores that prefer the taste of intelligent flesh.  The cookbooks of these vile people are infamous and as detailed and well-planned as any wizard's spellbook.

Psychology:  Judging the mental state of creatures as alien to Uren sensibilities as the Craw, is a difficult endeavor.  Most outward indicators would suggest that the Craw are remorselessly evil, notable among them the Craw appetite for intelligent flesh.  In fact, this studious race have been known to work well with other peoples to ends which could be interpreted as positive.  The impetus for this social behavior however must be questioned.  Many who find themselves in productive league with the Craw are often left wondering to themselves, "I must not taste good".

Culture:  Not much is known about the culture of the Red Craw.  More than their black cousins, the Red Craw are loners preferring to carry-out their strange experiments and recipes in solitude.

Magic:  Though well-attuned to the magics of the Tapestry, the Red Craw seem unable to master the mysteries of sorcery (rf. sorcerer).  Their inability to harness wild magics have inspired them to experiment with these effects and attempt to discover the source of this "weakness".  To date, all attempts to understand this have failed, and some failures have been catastrophic.  In 642 DR, a localized earthquake rumbled through Kelspar in southern Oth collapsing half-a-dozen buildings.  Though the surface residents never learned the true cause of the quake, the Red Craw were forced by the set-back to abandon their subterranean laboratories in that area.

At first glance, the categorization of Craw as Chaosborn might seem misguided. Unlike their Chaosborn brethren, the Craw cannot wield with abandon the powers of the Unwoven or Unravelled (depending on your view of metaphysics), a key component to the Chaosborn dichotomy.  It should be noted at this point, that this state of affairs is a recent devleopment in the "evolution" of the species.  In the dawn of their inception, they like their spiritual kin the Bru and Denizens "danced among the Unfettered". A long millennia of close Uren association has changed this people, almost.  In the last few centuries, their revered company has been replaced with revulsion and their banishment has in turn fed a renewed interest in the Unwoven. Most Red Craw do not understand the compulsion and are attempting to grasp understanding of the raw energies without sacrificing centuries of teaching and ritual.  Those few that are watching this occur, fear that discovery and change could usher in a rapid transformation among the remaining Craw.  This sudden and explosive shift could very well happen under the black streets of Oth.

D&D:  Red Craw would not make very good player characters.  The nature of the race is self-imposed isolation and long study, interrupted by horrid feeding.

¹ Base Speed. Craw do not move quickly.  They seem unsuited for upright walking and incapable of true flight.  On the southern edge of Oth, the Craw are sometimes seen gliding down atop prey within the shadow of the South Wall and then climbing back up the cliffs with their quarry.

² Alertness. Craw gain the Alertness feat.  It is unclear whether the senses of the Craw are naturally enchanced, or whether this is a side-effect of their slow, deliberate and often quiet habits.

³ Knowledge (Arcana). Craw gain a +2 racial bonus to Knowledge (Arcana) skill checks due to their extensive study of the Tapestry.

Denizens (Othic)

Denizens are those things that were born and continue to live in the Lower Streets area of the City of Oth.  Although denizens come in all shapes, sizes, and temperaments, some basic selected features are common throughout.  These attributes are the result of poor living conditions, selective breeding, and stagnant magic.

Uren Denizens

Many inhabitants that live further from the dim realm of Vishàshun have adapted in more dramatic ways than those that live near the surface.  These more advanced adaptations only apply to those whose families have lived in the total darkness of the lower layers for hundreds of years.  For these reasons there are two Uren denizen packages.  Those that live in the first two layers of the Lower Streets, or whose families have not lived long (less than 400 years) in the dark regions are included in Package One.  The first package does not apply to those not raised in the lowest tunnels.

Those denizens whose families and communities have dwelled in the darkness of the Lower Streets for many centuries (Package Two) have adapted to the environment through selection and through the warping natures of the magics in that area.  All longtime inhabitants suffer from a loss of skin pigment.  Most are hunched from years of living in low areas, and bone disease.  Depending on the magic in the area where the people live, some denizens have developed Dark Vision while others have developed Dark Senses.

AD&D:

GURPS:   Human Denizens are 85 and 90 CP GURPS characters.

Each of the Human Denizen Packages include more points of Disadvantages than Advantages.  This is not a mistake.  Living in the sunless realm of the Lower Streets does not produce Humans equal to those that live above.  Denizen Package Two is more equal because those that have had longer to adapt have done so.  Those who have not lived in the dark for long, suffer the consequences of not being fully adapted to the environment.  All inhabitants suffer similar fates, so as long as denizens do not venture from their "home realms" they will mostly meet only their equals.

Other Advantages common to the lowest realms are Cast Iron Stomach (GC1p51) and Secret Communication (GC1p65).

Halver Denizens

The Oddfriends are not often found in the Lower Streets, though small communities have been found in the western reaches of the tunnels where the Run Dul first cuts through the Hole's layers.

There are no known Oddfriend communities below the first two layers of the Lower Streets.  Likewise, no Halvers have returned from those areas to give an idea how they would adapt to the harsher, darker conditions.

AD&D:

GURPS:  Halvers receive a single package of racial and denizen advantages and disadvantages.   Halver Denizens are 100 CP GURPS characters.  The "Halver Denizen Package" (see below) applies only to Oddfriends.  Other Halver subraces that find themselves denizens of the Lower Streets will have varying make-ups.

Neveren are not common in the Lower Streets.  Those that have been found are solitary dwellers, preferring to disassociate themselves with the communities of the dark.  The Neveren have decided advantages over most other denizens of the Forgotten Place.  They are among the most naturally adapted to the "unfriendly" environment, with the exceptions of Dwürden Nar and Deep Gnorm.

The Neveren most likely to be found in the Lower Streets are those that are descendant from the Nekrul Nelveral (The Moon Elve).  These demi-Human dwellers appear slighter and more pale than their Human cousins, with white or streaked white hair, and white or grey eyes.  Most Neveren are evil.

Some Neveren have been found beneath the layers of Tormolis and Uchor though they do not seem changed from those that dwell above.  It is believed that the Elve, Halvarel, and Neveren blood is resistant to selective change.

AD&D:

GURPS:  Neveren Denizens are 100 CP GURPS characters.

Races

The main races of Teréth End are:

Uren (Humans)
Chaosborn (Magic-Kin)
Duinu (Dream-Folk)
Dwürden (Dwarves)
Ejara (Dream-Folk)
Elve (Elves)
Faer (Changelings)
Faeri (Faerie)
Gnorm (Gnomes)
Gru
Grumun
Halvarel (Elf-Kin)
Halvers (Human-Kin)
Hörks (Elementals)
Ikitikirittik (Insectoids)
Neveren (Elf-Kin)
Ogren (Half-Ogres)
Ortor (Orcs)
Sha'al (Saurians)
Shul (Centaurians)
Urdar (Goblins)
Werrid (Lycanthropes)
Zultaya (Ichthyoids)