Warhammer Cultures: Coastal Southlanders

"It seems curious, to me, that our scholars can write endless libraries on the differences between the Imperial tribes — detailing how one folk are different from another, across borders that are for all intents and purposes purely political — and yet refuse to accept a mirror of that diversity elsewhere. To the ignorant mind, all those from the Southlands must surely be the same. They are, after all, all Southlanders!

Oh how I wish my old professors could meet the handful of Coastal Southlanders I have had the privilege to speak to. The differences in countenance and language alone would have you believe I had gathered folk from the four corners of the globe, as opposed to a four-mile stretch of coastline." 

This article is now available in Polish!

Warhammer Cultures: Coastal Southlanders

The Warhammer World is full of diverse cultures, and their intermingling and antagonism is a core theme of the setting. Over the next while, I’m hoping to expand on the base cultures presented on Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4^th Edition, page 24, to include this diversity for your games. Today, we’re going to look at Humans (Coastal Southlander), the last of the three Southlander cultures (Humans (Kwitanghur), and Humans (Musaany) being the other two).

Note: This article deals with a lot of new and unofficial lore for Warhammer. The Southlands are a tragically under explored region in the setting, so what very little there is to go on had to be expanded with the author's own creative license. As such, take all of this with a pinch of salt. This is my interpretation of the Warhammer world: it doesn't have to match yours.

Humans (Coastal Southlander)

The Coastal Southlanders are by far the most varied of all the Southlander peoples, sharing very little in common between the various villages that make up its population, other than circumstance and shared way of survival. The coasts of the Southlands are verdant, but almost perpetually lashed by storms, leading to an incredibly difficult lifestyle, which is built on mobility and subsistence fishing, and framed by a defined (though fluid) caste system.

Coastal Life

The scattered communities of the Southland coasts make them easy targets for predatory reavers from afar, opportunistic merchants from Araby and Ulthuan, and powerful warlords from the continent's interior, so the folk of the Southlands have learned to be experts in avoiding conflict wherever possible, and fighting fiercely, when they cannot. These harsh environs have created a series of peoples who value mobility, practicality, and resourcefulness above all else. However, many of the tribes who dot the coastline also believe fervently in the riotous expression of life: favouring colourful displays in fashion, warfare, and transportation; a fierce love of defiant music; and a proud warrior tradition that would shame the fiercest Norscan raider. Life along the coast of the Southlands is, sadly, cheap... but those who make their homes there are determined to make the most out of what they have.

The Caste Systems

Given the highly mobile, and often erratic lifestyles along the coastline, the peoples there have learned to trust more in affinity groups, where those concerned with an aspect of life are given control over it, and deferred to in relation to those matters. This framing has given rise to a caste system: warriors control all matters and decisions relating to warfare, fisherfolk do the same with gathering food, etc. Each caste in each tribe typically has an archetypical figure that they elevate to a pseudo-Chief (of that aspect of life), who stands in as the perfect example of what it means to be a baker, or a fisherman, or a warrior, or a priest, and so on. The other members of that caste typically vote on who fills this Archetype role, though other systems of choosing exist.

In most tribes, the caste one is born into need not be the caste they grow up to join, and once joined, a caste is rarely for life. Instead, castes are chosen and joined as a child grows into an adult, and their aptitudes are shown, and the needs of the tribe expressed. Further, as an adult's skills develop throughout life, they may change castes, perhaps becoming a knowledge keeper rather than a weaver, or a warrior after being a spear-turner.

Coastal Religious Practices

The caste system has also, in most coastal tribes, merged with the indigenous beliefs of the Southlands, and given rise to patron animistic spirits of each caste. Though specific to each tribe, some commonalities exist, such as bird spirits being favoured by scouts and runners, tigers and sharks being favoured by warriors, monkeys being favoured by wise folk, and fish naturally being favoured by fisherfolk.

The ideal, in most coastal societies, is to express the values of one's caste so as to aid the tribe as best as possible, and ultimately give one's spirit over to the collective animistic whole upon death. Then, one's own ability at that trade will be passed on to later generations.

Coastal Attitudes to Outsiders

Few coastal communities in the Southlands are able to produce everything a community might need, so trade is very common between them, as well as intermingling of families and castes, with countless alliances, confederacies, and other inter-weavings of the countless cultures. However, those outside of the coastal cultures, are viewed very differently.

The Kwitanghur are often viewed with deep suspicion, as it is believed by many Coastal Southlanders that the only reason they haven't been conquered by their far more organised cousins is that the coastlines are too difficult to control, and the people who live there too riotous to keep cowed. Whether true or not, this feeds back into the sense of identity for the Coastal Southlanders: they are riotous because life is short, but by being riotous they believe themselves safer, and therefore prolong their lives.

Other outsiders — most notably Old Worlders and Elves — are viewed with fear, and often hatred, for the crimes that have been done to their people. Furthermore, these outsiders tend to bring disease and other hardships with them. Curiously, however, the Coastal Southlanders find if they merely retreat into the jungle whenever interlopers appear, the jungle — the fauna, and the sicknesses that the Coastal Southlanders know how to cope with with ease — deal with them shortly, forcing them to in turn retreat.

Coastal Southlander Stereotypes

Given the riotous nature of the Coastal Southlanders, many outsiders view them as — perhaps paradoxically — carefree at some times, and overly bullheaded at others, that is, when they manage to actually interact with them. At other instances, they believe them to be needlessly skittish and fearful, or little better than myths — shadows in the jungle. From the outside, their cultures appear as if caught in a state of madness: constant fidgeting, fear, and movement, mixed with unnecessarily blustery and audacious displays of personal prowess. To those who live on the Southland's coastline, these traits are easily explained: seize the day now for it might be your last.

Human (Coastal Southlander) Skills & Talents

Skills: Charm, Cool, Dodge, Endurance, Gossip, Language (Mxua), Melee (Basic), Perform (Dance), Play (Drums), Row, Sail, Swim

Talents: Gregarious or Tenacious, Lightning Reflexes or Warrior Born, Seize the Day, 2 Random Talents

Options: Caste System

Due to the nature of the Coastal caste systems, many Coastal Southlanders learn more from what they do than any shared collective set of cultural Skills. Coastal Southlander Characters count the Skills of their starting Career as Species Skills for the purposes of Step 4 of Character Creation (Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4^th Edition, page 36).

New Talent: Seize the Day

Max: 1

The folk of the Southlands' coastlines are often unable to plan their lives too far ahead, which has resulted in them prioritising the short term over the longer-lived plans of most other cultures. You cannot take Long-Term Ambitions, but gain an additional Short-Term Ambition instead. Furthermore, you gain an additional 50XP for completing a Short-Term Ambition that was established at the beginning of the same session it was completed in.

What Next?

PHEW! That was a big one... or a big three, rather?! I'm so happy to have been able to write about the Southlands, though! They've been done dirty for far too long, so I hope my little additions go a ways to remedy that. But now I'm not sure what I'll tackle next. What would you like to see? Comment below to let me know!

Warhammer Cultures: Musaany

"It's a truly wonderful thing, to see a procession of elephants across the plains. One would expect from them a lumbering countenance, but they move with surprising grace. Further, one would expect of their keepers a level of stubborness to rival such creatures — like a bulltamer to a bull. But, indeed, the grace of the elephants was surpassed only by their guides.

It boils my blood to think of how their folk were disparaged. Indeed, I suspect much would have been avoided had we listened to what they could teach instead of assuming ignorance from them." 

This article is now available in Polish!

Warhammer Cultures: Musaany

The Warhammer World is full of diverse cultures, and their intermingling and antagonism is a core theme of the setting. Over the next while, I’m hoping to expand on the base cultures presented on Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4^th Edition, page 24, to include this diversity for your games. Today, we’re going to look at Humans (Musaany), the second of three articles focusing on the Southlands (you can find the first — Humans (Kwitanghur), here).

Note: This article deals with a lot of new and unofficial lore for Warhammer. The Southlands are a tragically under explored region in the setting, so what very little there is to go on had to be expanded with the author's own creative license. As such, take all of this with a pinch of salt. This is my interpretation of the Warhammer world: it doesn't have to match yours.

Humans (Musaany) / (Sub-Durbaita Southlander)

The Sub-Durbaita Southlanders are aesthetically the most similar to the various peoples of Araby, though culturally they are very distinct, sharing few of their neighbours customs or beliefs. Though broken into countless smaller tribes, they collectively refer to themselves as Musaany, after which the Musan Hills — where the majority of their lives are spent — are named.

The Musaany are largely pastoral and generally nomadic, guiding great herds of elephants through the lush bushlands of the Musan Hills, and further afield, as traders. The elephants hold great significance to the Musaany, in many different ways.

The Musaany & Elephants

For one, the great elephants of the Musan Hills produce milk which, when churned into butter and cheese, acts as the primary foodsource for the Musaany. Additionally, this cheese is highly sought after by any who have tried it, for its sharpness is unmatched throughout the rest of the Warhammer world.

Second, the elephants are — to the Musaany folk — physical embodiments of their animist ancestor spirits. Though deriving from the same indigenous beliefs as the Kwitanga religion, the faith system of the Musaany focuses on the cultivation of Elephant within the individual, and a belief that one's aspects can shift over life. Those who act against the community might give up their soul to be reborn as a jackal or vulture, whilst those who work for the good of all give their lives to become great elephants. Elephants who, in return for the protection afforded them by the Musaany, protect them in turn. It's difficult to invade a country where the gigantic fauna have a symbiotic bond with the locals, after all!

That being said, the Musaany often trade elephants which have been pushed out of their herds due to unruliness and aggression. The armies of Araby are all too eagre to take on these violent bulls for their endless in-fighting.

Nomads or Not?

Despite being nomadic, the Musaany do not live like most other nomadic peoples. Most specifically, the Musaany do build permanent structures in the form of schools and libraries, where they collect books and knowledge from afar. Musaany passing through one of these settlements are expected to read what they can, and to listen to stories and readings given by Musaany knowledge seekers who have journeyed to far away lands bringing back books.

Additionally, the Musaany fiercely defend their borders, which they determine by the extent of the last of the Musan Hills. This defense usually relies on out-thinking an opponent, and indepth knowledge of their neighbours' tactics and military histories. It's often said that the only people who know the truth of any historical 'fact' are those who were involved, and the Musaany knowledge seekers.

Musaany Stereotypes

Outsiders often consider the Musaany to be cowardly — fleeing in the face of danger, rather than fighting — and foolish for placing so much importance in 'mere animals', often going so far as to doubt their intelligence. However, the Musaany are a deeply savvy people, who prize long-term thinking, and though rarely violent, are masters of defending their lands.

Musaany are commonly found outside of the Musan Hills — as traders, guides across the Sahra Desert or Kwitanga Jungle, or as knowledge seekers — but rarely do they settle outside of their own lands, or travel by ship. The few who have made it as far north as the Empire often do so as part of the retinue of Arabyan or other Southlander travellers. Very few Musaany stay in the Empire, or abroad at all, and usually feel the call back home pulling strongly.

Human (Musaany) Skills & Talents

Skills: Animal Care, Athletics, Charm Animal, Dodge, Drive, Gossip, Language (Any), Language (Mxua), Lore (History), Lore (Musan Hills), Outdoor Survival, Ranged (Throwing)

Talents: Crack the Whip or Read/Write, Lightning Reflexes or Savvy, Way of the Herd, 2 Random Talents

New Talent: Way of the Herd

Max: 1

The Musaany are a tight-knit culture, that believe in strength-in-numbers, and community above all else. However, due to the nomadic and often difficult lifestyle they live, the boundaries of these familial groups can ebb and flow like the spring rains. Your presence confers a +10 bonus to Cool and Endurance Tests to other Characters with the Way of the Herd Talent, or herd animals under your care, whilst you're within line of sight. Characters and Creatures can only gain a maximum of +10 from this bonus, regardless of how many Characters with this Talent are present. You may allow Characters you consider your family to purchase the Adopted by the Herd Talent for 100XP.

New Talent: Adopted by the Herd

Max: 1

The tight-knit culture of the Musaany is, perhaps paradoxically, particularly welcoming to outsiders who prove themselves trustworthy and true. Folk who are considered family of a Musaany may be be given the option to purchase this Talent. It cannot be gained in any other way. You count as having the Way of the Herd Talent for the purposes of gaining a bonus, but cannot confer that bonus on to others. Additionally, you cannot allow others to purchase this Talent.

The Future of Warhammer Cultures?

Two down, one more to go! I hope you've been enjoying this look at the Southlands, and have been thinking about what comes next. If you've got ideas for what I should write after the Coastal Southlands, let me know in the comments below!

Warhammer Cultures: Kwitanghur

"Perhaps the most terrible, and at times, the most hilarious fact about my countrymen is their lack of critical thinking. It is well known that during the Crusades, many auxiliaries from the Southlands were recruited, and that their folk — when the fighting was done — often chose to settle in the Empire to establish trading routes. Why then do so many believe those whose skin is coloured like charcoal would be scarce in our so-called 'Old World'? Where, exactly, do they think such folk went?

Truly, if the folk of the Southlands have a talent for invisibility, I would much desire to hear of it. How often would such come in handy, especially in these bleak times?" 

This article is now available in Polish!

Warhammer Cultures: Southlanders (Kwitanga)

The Warhammer World is full of diverse cultures, and their intermingling and antagonism is a core theme of the setting. Over the next while, I’m hoping to expand on the base cultures presented on Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4^th Edition, page 24, to include this diversity for your games. Today, we’re going to look at Humans (Kwitanghur), which is the first of three cultures I am writing about that occupy the Southlands!

Note: This article deals with a lot of new and unofficial lore for Warhammer. The Southlands are a tragically under explored region in the setting, so what very little there is to go on had to be expanded with the author's own creative license. As such, take all of this with a pinch of salt. This is my interpretation of the Warhammer world: it doesn't have to match yours.

(Also, lastly, apologies for how long it took to get to this one. I wrote it a while ago, now, but have been consulting with a sensitivity reader on this and the following two articles. I wanted to get them right.)

An Overview of the Southlanders

The Southlands is a continent far to the south of even distant Araby, comprised mostly of dense jungle, but threaded through with vital trade routes and bustling cities. To the outside 'explorer', the Southlands might be considered uninhabited. Such beliefs are, frankly, ridiculous; more the lies of enterprising fops who failed to achieve their goals than anything resembling truth. The Southlanders are evidence of that. Though far from a unified culture — as disjointed as the various Imperial nations — Southlanders in the Empire have a habit of putting aside their differences in favour of cooperation.

Southlanders are loosely divided into three large cultural groups: Sub-Durbaita Southlanders — who hail from the lands around and immediately south of the Gulf of Durbaita, and border the Caliphate of Agade in Araby; Coastal Southlanders — who live in the smaller settlements that dot the coastline of the Great Ocean; and the Kwitanga Southlanders — who control the massive cities of the Southland's interior jungles. These three groupings are massively simplified, and cannot hope to fully capture the differences in culture within them, though even this distinction is lost on the most learned Old Worlders — most of whom refuse to believe anyone at all lives in the Kwitanga... despite many migrants who were born there living in Imperial cities.

Humans (Kwitanga Southlander) / (Kwitanghur)

The Kwitanga Jungle is a dense, heavily overgrown jungle that spans the majority of the Southlands. The weather is almost always harsh, being lashed by monsoons and storms near-year-round, with high humidity and tropical temperatures. The fauna is often dangerous, with aggressive monkeys, tigers, and other large predators stalking the gigantic trees that cast the jungle floor in nearly perpetual twilight. So inhospitable is the Kwitanga that most explorers from the Old World have declared it uninhabitable, and refuse to believe anyone who says otherwise. This is almost certainly to save face, as the Kwitanga is anything but uninhabited.

The Kwitanghur Empire is a vast coalition of massive city-states that occupies the interior of the Kwitanga Jungle, whose name derives from the Empire itself. With a history stretching almost as far back as the Empire of Sigmar, the Kwitanghur have held sway over the majority of the continent's trade and politics through an equal measure of force and cunning — though they fight near constantly with the Southland Lizardfolk, the only other civilisation in the region to rival their power. Much like the Empire of Sigmar, the Kwitanghur Empire is more of a collection of smaller kingdoms held together through mutual benefit, though it faces far less internal strife than its northern opposite. The Kwitanghur accept, above all else, that stability is good for business, and business is booming.

Kwitanghur Economy

The primary trade of the Kwitanghur is gold, as it has been since the Empire of Khemri controlled its vast jungles. Indeed, over 75% of the entire world's mined gold comes from the Kwitanga, and the merchant princes and kings of the Empire know the best ways to leverage this wealth. Under the guidance of their greatest Empress — Maxla mu Mahandhi — the Kwitanga established a system of trade with the outside world where they would sell gold, for a small profit, to non-Kwitanghur exporters (such as the Musaany to their north), who would then shoulder the costs of transporting it to the Old World, and would then be bound to sell it back to Kwitanghur representitives in northern cities. The merchants who repurchased the gold would do so at a higher rate than they originally purchased it, but would then go on to sell it for an even more inflated price. Choosing to not on-sell it to the Kwitanghur representitives would mean that exporter would be locked out of future purchases. In essence, this allowed the Kwitanghur to ensure profit from their gold initially, forgo any damages and risks in the exporting, and then if the gold arrived in foreign ports, to be assured its trade. It is no surprise, then, that the Kwitanghur Empire became obscenely wealthy.

Kwitanghur Religion

The Kwitanghur religion is quite different to nearly all other systems of belief in the Old World or beyond. Rather than worshipping core figures as Gods, the Kwitanghur instead see divinity in the aspects of various animals — Monkey, Tiger, Fish, Vulture, and the like. Each animal spirit represents a part of the whole that makes up all life, and Humans — and other sentient creatures — share a different combination of these aspects. One person, a thoughful but reactionary leader, might be said to share parts of Elephant and Tiger over any other. Another, a tricky individual who is constantly looking for the next big way to succeed, might be said to espouse Monkey and Crow... On death, it is said that one's soul spreads out back to these animistic spirits, ready to be reborn in the next generation. For this reason, one's ancestors — whether blood or spirit — are deeply important to the Kwitanghur.

However, the Kwitanghur, as a trading Empire, and one that was for so long under the thumb of Ancient Khemri, is a mixing pot of religious practices, alongside the indigenous animism above. Several key aspects of Nehekharan belief persist in the Kwianghur psyche, such as the multi-facetted nature of the soul, creating a truly complex relationship with religion and spirituality. This constantly changing religious landscape is made more curious by the fact 'religion' is seen more as a vector for culture, rather than its source. Unlike almost every other culture they interact with, the Kwitanghur view culture quite openly as a means to an end: religion is less based on faith, and more based on how it helps them structure their society; social customs are less important for their meanings, as they are for their results. A perfect example of this is Maxla mu Mahandhi's other great social change: the introduction of the Arabyan religion into the Kwitanghur consciousness. Maxla mu Mahandhi saw how well the monotheistic religion of the Arabyans could assist in social unity among her people, and encouraged its spread in her Empire to great effect. The result was a deep cultural and dogmatic shift, without so much of the spiritual connotations.

Therefore, the Kwitanghur view the world through many lenses: an animistic undertone that colours how the self fits into the natural world; a complex view of how death and rebirth functions within this system, as well as the sanctity of the soul, based on old Nehekharan beliefs; and the Arabyan religion, focused on the veneration of one 'Sun God' — a combination of Solkan and Ptra — which espouses a model for social unity rather than mere faith...

Kwitanghur Stereotypes

The Kwitanghur are often seen as cold and analytical by outsiders, viewed as calculating and terrifyingly pragmatic. Some consider them more stone-like, comparing them to Dwarfs and Elves, more than other Human cultures. However, this is a wild simplification, and doesn't give credit to the true nature of the Kwitanghur: they are merely well accustomed to being pushed around by the vagaries of foreign rulers, and the whims of their home jungles, and have learned how to view life on their own terms.

Most Kwitanghur come to the Empire as merchant princes, purchasing gold from exporters to onsell to their host cultures, and vice versa purchasing spices, furs, and other materials to send home. However, this practice has been ongoing for many centuries, and most large settlements in the Empire, Estalia, and Tilea contain countless generations of Kwitanghur to the point where they have entirely naturalised and become no different from their host cultures. Indeed, the vast majority of 'Kwitanghur' that are found in the Empire are, culturally, entirely Imperial.

Human (Kwitanghur) Skills & Talents

Skills: Bribery, Charm, Cool, Drive, Evaluate, Gamble, Haggle, Intuition, Language (Mxua), Leadership, Lore (Kwitanga Jungle), Trade (Merchant)

Talents: Dealmaker or Numismatics, Segmented Soul, Sharp or Suave, 2 Random Talents

New Skill: Language (Mxua)

Mxua — pronounced mm-SHOO-uh — is a language common to much of the northern Southlands, and southern regions of Araby. The language lacks its own written script, so often utilises the Neheshkh script, or goes unwritten. Mxua appears to share roots with the languages of Lustria, and the Slaan Empire there, which baffles the few linguists who have studied its structure.

New Talent: Segmented Soul

Max: 1

Due to a surviving piece of doctrine from the religion of their old overlords — the Nehekharans — the folk of the Kwitanga jungle hold a deep set belief that their souls are multi-faceted. To the Kwitanghur, the soul exists in multiple pieces, the two greatest of which are the Body and the Mind. Like many such beliefs, it holds a measure of truth — though the reasoning behind this baffles the few theologians aware of the practice. You have a different pool of Corruption Points for Physical and Mental Mutations, and each is mutually exclusive. However, Advances to the Bless or Invoke Talents, or the Pray Skill, cost twice as much XP as normal for you.

(Quick note: After questions on Rat Catchers' Guild, I have the following two points to clarify:

• Both pools of Corruption are determined the same as normal, so each equals TB+WPB. If you get any Talents that increase this amount — such as Pure Soul — it increases both pools.
• It is up to the GM which pool is added to in the instance of a Dark Deal. Usually this will be based on the type of Test being re-rolled: a physical Test (Athletics, Endurance, Melee, etc.) will influence the Physical Corruption pool, and vice versa for a mental Test (Charm, Cool, Lore, etc.)

I hope these help clarify this Talent!)

More Southlanders to Come!

PHEW! That was a big one... By far the most I've written about any culture, thus far, in this series. But that's just Part #1 of the Southlands, with Musaany and Coastal Southlanders yet to come! 

Djinncraft: The Magic of Araby

"By far one of the most curious and foolish traits of my countrymen is the assumption that those who hail from a different culture to us are at once inherently exceptional and exotic, whilst also implicitly beholden to the same environmental contexts. Scholars of my birth nation would argue that someone from afar is capable of great acts unheard of at home, but that this is some consequence of blood or their alien culture... Rather than the vastly more rational fact that they live in a different place that plays by different rules."

Djinncraft: The Magic of Araby

Araby, as most of you will likely be aware, is a pretty shameless transplant of “Arabia” into the Warhammer setting. As with all non-Empire areas, Araby is pretty basically/sparsely sketched out in the fiction. And as with all non-Europe analogues in the setting, it’s… not great, even in those little tiny pieces that are shown. Araby is given the short end of the stick, and even that tiny piece of wood is termite-ridden and rotting.

So today I’m going to talk a little bit about the magic of Araby — a place I have written about before — and make the first steps towards an attempt at making it not awful. However, as with my other attempts at un-awfulling parts of the Warhammer lore, I am going to try to keep as much of the canon facts still true. Everything else that’s been written that isn’t 100% factual will be considered one of:

• Imperial propaganda,
• In-setting ignorance / racism,
• Or just consigned to bad writing, and ignored.

I’m going to go offbook a lot, obviously — adding my own spin and content to the lore — but I will try to keep in the facts that we know. However, this approach to keeping things as close to the canon as possible bumps into one serious and immediate stumbling block: genies. Genies are, sadly, inherent to the canon picture of Araby, so we’re going to have to talk about them…

Why “Sadly”?

I say “sadly” for two reasons:

1. Genies are a stereotype that are woefully overdone in “Arabian-inspired” things,
2. Genies often (this instance included) use the worst parts of that stereotype, and sadly ignore all the cool things about real-world djinni lore and mysticism.

As someone who grew up on folk stories of djinn (or jinn, as they’re known in Maltese), this is very frustrating: I am caught on the knife’s edge between keep the stupid stereotype and djinn are cool, actually.

So, I’m going to make Araby djinni awesome. That’s my main mission, today.

What Are Djinn?

Djinn, in the Warhammer world, are daemons of Chaos bound to the material plane, and trapped in some way, so that they can be forced to do the bidding of those who wield them. They are distinct from typical daemons in that they:

• Are made physical,
• Are anchored to the real world,
• And can be commanded with a level of reliance.

So, then, why are these special type of daemons only found in Araby? What causes this weird exceptionalism based on real-world Orientalism? Let’s figure some things out…

Why is Arabyan Magic Different?

Magic in Araby is different to magic found elsewhere in the Old World for many reasons:

1. Due to its location along the equator, Araby is one of the furthest nations from either polar Chaos Gate, meaning the Winds of Magic naturally flow slowest there,
2. Being almost equidistant from both results in the Winds from each Gate colliding often, causing sometimes intense Storms of Magic which can cause widespread destruction. Additionally, Dhar is more common in Araby, relative to the other Winds, than in most places (though in general, still in far lower amounts than places closer to the poles), because the Winds swirl together, and flow stagnantly.
3. Much of the sand of Araby’s deserts is comprised of minerals called “monazites”, which have a similar warping ability — though to a far lesser extent — as lead on the Winds of Magic. This means the Winds rarely settle in Araby — instead sliding over the desserts in waves — and have a tendency to be more erratic when they do blow across the sands.
4. Lastly, the Arabyan folk have a deep-seated wariness of magic, as they are more aware of what it can do, as opposed to the general hysteric fear of magic held further north.

These four points give rise to Djinncraft as the primary sorcery performed in Araby, though those gifted with the spark do sometimes travel to Altdorf in the Empire to learn from the Colleges of Magic, mostly gravitating towards the College of Light.

What is Djinncraft?

Djinncraft is focused on the creation of Monazic Vessels, and the summoning and binding of daemons into semi-stable forms. Monazic Vessels are glass jars, lanterns, or lamps blown from the monazite sands of Araby, and containing a simulacra of one of the natural elements — a precious stone, a candle’s flame, a measure of water, a vulture’s skull, a handful of sand, a golden coin, etc. The daemon which is summoned is bound into this elemental form, and trapped within the Vessel, in an attempt to force it into a stable state where it can perform sorcery on behalf of the Binder, rather than the Binder themselves performing the dangerous magic.

Whilst utterly heretical in the eyes of the northern nations, this practice is surprisingly safe, as — other than the initial daemon summoning — it relies on magic-by-proxy. However, it does come with several pitfalls that are not found in other forms of magic:

1. The daemon-turned-djinn must be kept appeased, and heavily warded, requiring intense upkeep and study by the Binders.
2. The djinn can be tricky, and if allowed too much free-will, may cause problems for the Binder in their attempts to escape.
3. The djinn is severely limited by their bound elemental forms, and thus their magic is curtailed significantly. For example: A djinn bound to a candle’s flame can only manipulate fire — it cannot create new fires like a Bright Wizard — though it can do so with unsurpassed skill and subtlety.
4. A Binder’s Monazic Vessels are vulnerable, and if broken, the djinn — or even the bound daemon within — is freed and able to wreak havoc. Usually, this is targeted first at those who bound it.

Due to the dangers of summoning daemons, most Binders focus on the manipulation of already bound djinn, and inherit their Vessels from their masters. All Binders are taught the creation and upkeep of new Vessels, as well as the Spells to transfer a djinn from one Vessel to the next, but the sorceries required to summon a new daemon, and bind it into a djinn, are jealously guarded by the most powerful and cautious Binders.

That’s All… For Now?

That’s enough for today: an explanation of what Djinncraft is, and how to make that aspect of Araby’s lore not just randomly thrown in Orientalism. Next time (if there is a next time, which there probably will be, at this rate), I might make some rules for putting Djinncraft in your campaigns!

Liber Etcetera: Rhya's Gifts

"But it wasn't all bloodshed. No, I remember innovation, too. 'Progress,' they called it. 'The March to the Grave' may have been more fitting, as folk ripped Rhya's Gifts from the land… 

I remember, clearly, 'guardians of the wilds', wise women, great Druids, and other keen folk peddling their potions and tinctures, cure-alls and elixirs. At first, it was just 'the way things were.' The world was harsh, and civilisation was about protecting us from the outside world. Then, with the advent of industry, these same wise folk called their mixtures 'Natural' and 'Clean', as opposed to the filth of cities and urban living. So much for the march of progress.

It's not all doom and gloom, though — well, it wasn't up until relatively recently. Only a fool would say that the apothecaries were hacks, or that they didn't do immesurable good for countless folk before the end. But it still leaves me with questions:

Where would we be if we had left well enough alone Rhya's Gifts?"

Introducing Liber Etcetera: Rhya's Gifts!

Liber Etcetera: Rhya's Gifts is an unofficial fan supplement for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4^th Edition, focusing on Herbalism and Potion Making. Rhya's Gifts allows your Characters to craft potent magical Potions, and gain tangible benefits from travelling far, and hunting terrible monsters — Potion Ingredients! For more information, and for the download link, head over to the Itch.io page now! Rhya's Gifts is also available in French!

Rhya's Gifts are Here

Rhya's Gifts was actually one of the first hacks for 2^nd Edition that I ever wrote, many many years ago. I posted the old version on my old blog versamus, which I have no idea if it still exists. If it does, I'm certain the old link won't work for the download, anyway. Which, in truth, is for the best: this new one is so much better!

I completely overhauled the old system, added in a bunch of new types of Ingredients, based off of the Spell Ingredients in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4^th Edition and completely changed… well… basically everything from the original. It's, essentially, all brand new.

This system is rather niche, and should give a lot of utility to those Players who like to finagle with interesting mechanics (like me).

Until next time (and the next release), I hope you have more Warhammer in your life.