Cloaks & Daggers: The Criminal Guilds of New Mithrak

Crime is a serious problem in Mithrak. The lack of proper law enforcement, the widespread injustice and inequality, and the opportunity available to those willing to do anything draw criminal enterprises from across the realm. The urbzthrong are able to respond to individual crimes done against them with their personal security but are hardly capable or interested in policing the city. Most of the business minded vithzar would rather pay off these criminals for some sort of immunity without really thinking about the naivete of trusting them. The citizens, particularly small business owners, have no choice but to deal with these crooks and thugs on a daily basis. Arguably, some of these organizations contribute to the city in more positive ways than their corporate overlords do and others are larger and more terrible than even Smaragdine the Green Dragon of the Emerald Bank.

Gangs 

The Bogeymen. Goblins and orcs are relative newcomers to Mithvale and it is a testament to the city's creedo of "opportunity for all" that they aren't run right out of town. After all, the reputation of goblins and orcs are that of invaders, cowardly and brutish, and their name is dirt with the native population. But just because their welcome and have "opportunity" doesn't mean the opportunity is equal to that available for dwarves, gnomes, halflings and humans. Goblins and orcs are expected to take what they can get, job-wise, and forced to live in ghettos by the urbzthrong who want to keep an eye on the "green bastards". This ill-will has led to the rise of the Bogeyman.

By positioning themselves as heroes of goblinoid and orcish kind, the bogeyman run a number rackets among the ghetto: they offer protection to their neighborhoods with armed thugs positioned to push out other gangs, they often enforced tolls, that are little more than polite theft, on those who travel through their neighborhoods, and are known for their lack of scrutiny. Bogeyman are popular hires for jobs that nobody else wants to do, whether due to the dangerous nature or the immoral nature. Bogeyman prey on men, women, children, dwarf, human and their own kind alike. Gold is gold.

Bogeyman have no honor. Or so the other gangs say.

The leadership of the bogeyman is often shifting between the hands of the toughest and meanest orcs and hobgoblins. Their symbol is a green humanoid figure.

The Brick Dragons. The Brick Dragons started out as an adventurers guild that tried to establish themselves in the city. After their membership ballooned, leadership changed hands several times, and they wound up embroiled in a gang war, the Brick Dragons became another street gang that, occasionally, offered mercenary and treasure hunting services, but more often than not engaged in the same sort of criminal enterprises of the other gangs. They still operate under the auspices of "an adventurer's guild" but it is merely a front for recruitment. Many young and naive adventurers wind up in the grip of the guild, bound by contract, debt or loyalty, and reduced to a life of petty crime.

The Brick Dragons can be spotted by their formal aesthetic, often wearing formal dressware and hats, adorned with patches of the red and brown dragon symbolizing their guild. 

 

Their leader is a human druid named Harlock, a bit of a nutjob, who says he can hear the city's thoughts.

 

The Clan Bastards. Dwarven culture is built upon family. Your clan name is your history and your history defines you. In a city partly ruled by prominent dwarven clans, those that come from lower families, those disowned and exiled by their clans, often turn to forming bands of mercenaries or, in the case of Mithrak, thugs. The Clan Bastards are small change crooks, running protection and shake-down rackets, and pitfighters in the outer rings of the city. They wear no symbols of their houses and abandon their family names. Instead, they wear the bastard's symbol of a boar's skull with crossbones, and go by nicknames specific to their reputation. The Clan Bastards are famous for riding pigs and boars around the city.

Their leader, Guncan Fingerbreaker, operates pit fights throughout the city, being a former champion of the ring himself.

The Hatpin Harpies. The city can be a tough place for anybody, including young women. This tough scene creates tough women and none are tougher than the Hatpin Harpies. The harpies often work in conjunction with the Washwomen's Guild but also provide protection for orphanages, widows, and women of "ill repute". The harpies have a reputation for their disrespect for patriarchy, particularly dwarven misogyny, and take pleasure in taking opportunities to show of their disrespect for the city's institutions and the other guilds (particularly the clan bastards and the brick dragons).

Their half-orc & half-elf leader, Arabella Halfsong, started the gang after being pushed out of the Bogeymen several times. Their symbol is a yellow canary carrying a pin.

The Midnight Revelers. Punks, junkies, carnies, and sadomasochists make up the nastiest gang in the city of Mithrak. They consider themselves "artists".

The revelers might be a guild if not for their chaotic nature, being joined by their involvement in various annual festivals and carnivals held throughout the regions, and are known for their "eccentric" appearances, random acts of frivolity and violence, and their relationship with pain, drugs, and insanity. The revelers often through block parties, without the permission of the urbzthrong, that get increasingly raucous. When challenged by authority figures or other gangs, they respond with horrible violence. Their gang are all known to use any number of concoctions to increase their revelry, all of which have turned them into little more than slaves to their addictions and appetites, and ruined their lives/minds.

Their business is mostly being paid to perform/NOT TO PERFORM by citizens but they also deal in the sell of drugs & contraband that even the most ruthless businessmen have the sense not to hoist upon the populace.

Their leader is a tiefling bard, Bungler, who often calls himself the "prince of mayhem". Bungler is believed to responsible for a string of elaborate murders....and taken credit for some elaborate atrocities. Their symbol is a purple and red jester's cap.

The Sewer Scorpions. Ratfolk, perhaps even more-so than orcs and goblinoids, have been slighted in New Mithrak. After all, they have been here longer than the Founder. They make their homes in the "under-city", in the sewers and ruins that New Mithrak is built upon, and provide services relevant to their knowledge of the under-city. With little opportunity above ground, and due to the harsh nature of under-city, it is no wonder that ratfolk turn to crime. Most are part of the criminal enterprises of the Santitation Union but many youths form their own sewer gangs. The biggest and most infamous, currently, are the Sewer Scorpions.

These young toughs and scrappers claim a large portion of the city's sewer ways and demand respect for any passerbys foolish enough to find themselves in the sewers. They are common pickpockets and thugs but, within the confines of their domain, are the only crooks who know the secrets of the sewers.

They are also the most notorious "taggers" in the city, using paint to mark their territory and sometimes even making elaborate murals depicting their heroes, and the symbol of the scorpion is found on walls all over. The fact it often looks like a spider with a spiked club is another story.

The Semi-Legitimate Guilds

Their is no formal guild system recognized in the city of Mithrak. That doesn't mean there aren't guilds with a formal structure, from membership dues to retirement funds, and that these organizations manage to find a way to exist in the city.... as long as they don't threaten to unite the laborers against the urbzthrong.

The Working Women's Guild.  Maybe the guild was formed by prostitutes or maybe they were formed by washwomen, seamstresses and midwives. Or maybe both. All that matters is that the Working Women's Guild, the WWG, is formed by like-minded ladies looking out for each other in business. In a city dominated by male ambitions, the WWG is formed of equally ambitious, industrious and business-minded women. And business is booming.

While the reputation of the WWG is often slighted by less-respectful opponents, they aren't afraid to defend their reputation. A fool who goes around calling a working-woman a "whore" is quickly going to find it hard to get his socks repaired and even harder to get his socks off. It is generally considered important to follow the rules set by the WWG to protect their members and they're not afraid to respond to any infractions by calling on the harpies or other hired muscle to teach them a little respect... or throw them in the sewer.

The leader of the WWG is Prudence Redlace who operates a home & school for wayward girls. Their symbol is a cursive WWG over a corset/hourglass.

The Bodysnatchers. In a city of Mithrak's population, death is an unavoidable part of every day life. Whether there is a work accident that needs to be discreetly cleaned up or a blight tearing through the outer ring, the snatchers are called into take care of the bodies. They store the bodies for a period of time until they are either claimed or left to rot. The snatchers collect fees from those claiming the bodies and provide funerary services in the graveyards that they have collectively gathered under the banner. The urbzthrong have paid for corporate cemetaries for the bodies of employees that aren't claimed, that might as well be mass graves. But even these mass graves are better than what happened to the bodies that go completely unclaimed.

The snatchers definitely sell of their possessions but rumors abound about what the guild does with the bodies: some say the guild just throw the bodies into the sewers, others say they sell their organs and body parts to alchemists and necromancers alike and the wildest rumors claim the snatchers eat the dead. They are called "ghouls" for a reason.

The guild is currently led by a council of their most elder members. Their symbol is a coffin with crossed shovels.

The Rubythroats. Entertainment is big in New Mithrak and professional actors, singers and dancers have formed the Rubythroats. Originally, the Rubythroats were a family of gnomish bards but quickly grew their theater company, expanding to providing all sorts of membership benefits and expanding until they shifted into an unofficial guild that controls the theatre and club scene within the city's walls. Membership is earned through audition, apprenticeship and due payments.

While other entertainers are allowed to entertain in the city, the Rubythroats are known to control the best spots and their reputation carries enough wait to encourage enrollment. They have a black list that is infamously effective and any artist who's name winds upon the list would be lucky to perform on a street corner without getting harassed by "critics".

They are known to carry business cards with the symbol of a green and pink hummingbird. They are still led by the Rubythroat family and their current matriarch, Guerda Rubythroat.

The Sanitation Union. The city of New Mithrak is filthy. It produces tons of waste, both industrial and humanoid, every day that are not only unsightly but often dangerous. And, if it wasn't for the Sanitation Unions efforts, the city would be up to its knees in trash and the sewer drains would back up with waste. They keep the sewers running and they clean the streets at night. They also help ship garbage off on barges going down river and bury it in the pits under the city. Without them? This city would fail. There is no guild as underestimated and omnipresent as the Sanitation Union.

There are many gangs in the sewers. There are many who operate in the sewers. But there is only one king in the sewers and the sanitation union, all ratfolk, are his subjects, his family, and his army in a socio-political game he has been waging for a decade. The Big Cheese is a legendary figure in the sewers and his name is well-known to hang on the breath of the vithzar. If it were up to him? He would be a vithzar. Whether or not this criminal genius will ever get his due, whether or not the ratfolk will ever get respect, and whether or not the sewers will remain in the hands of their native inhabitants remains to be seen.

The vithzar don't share power easily with non-dwarves and non-gnomes.

Secret Organizations

There are at least three organizations in the borderlands that don't want their name on any outsider's lips. They operate outside the law and prefer to operate outside of common knowledge. They oppose each other vehemently and the war that they fight in the shadows could determine, not only their own fates, but the fate of the world.

The Coil of Apophis

"The snake that cannot cast aside its old skin dies. The man who cannot cast aside his identity dies too." An Apophisian Proverb

There are many snake cults in Narya. Most of them are evildoers who have tried and failed to bring about their ascension to world dominance or the very end of the world. They have overthrown and foiled several times throughout history. But, like a hydra, every time a head is cut off, the serpent splits into new horrors. The most infamous of these organizations, known and feared by scholars, political leaders and do-gooders alike, is the Coil of Apophis.

The Coil can be traced back almost a thousand years ago, back to the snake cult that installed Apep II, the colossal demigod serpent, as the god-king of Ptah-Hamut, and their members would have you believe that they are much older than that. After the death of Apep II, the snake cult was banned in Hamutia but they have simply slunk into the shadows to grow into a new and terrible form as one of the premier organizations dealing in death.

The Coil takes in orphans, training them in stealth and martial arts, and build them into completely loyal servants of the Coil. These assassins are then let loose into the world, handed missions to be carried out with no hesitation, and serving the whims of their unseen masters. Most members don't even know the name of their organization or their master's identity as they take missions from handlers. Only those assassins who earn the trust of their masters, impressing them with their skill and loyalty, learn the true nature of their purpose. They are transformed and become part of the conspiracy leading the cult.

Currently? It is no known who bears the mantle of the guild's leader, the one they call the Apophis. It is also unknown what their larger goals are beyond destabilizing the power structure of the realms and growing their own power. It is possible that many of the leaders do not believe in the cult's goals and instead play along for their own power.

Traitors are dealt with and suffer horrible consequences.

The Coil's symbol is the ouroborus, a snake eating it's own tail, often with a body in an endless loop or a spiral, representing the endless cycle of birth, growth, death and rebirth that is the coda of the cult.

The Masquerade

"We are none and we are all." A Masquerade Assassin

The Coil is driven by ambition. That is clear. What drives their rivals? What drives the Masquerade?

The members of the Masquerade, the Masqs, are strange figures. When they choose to be seen, they are always wearing a mask that is unique to them. This guild item is something that they are said to make unique to them and the guild pays good coin for the return of these masks, as well as the bodies of their fallen members, and pay even more to punish those that would keep them.  They often wear cloaks, gloves and other clothing items to disguise as much of themselves as possible. They consider it a great dishonor if anyone ever learns more about them, whether it be their appearance or anything about the guild, than they would wish to share. While the Masquerade deals in assassination, their main business is the acquisition, silencing and sale of information & secrets. They have an affinity for espionage that leaves even their customers uncomfortable.

A member of the Masquerade will always choose death over capture and are known to be unbreakable under interrogation. While the members of the Coil are known for lurking in the shadows and using the cloak of night to commit their misdeeds, the Masquerade operates in a very different manner. Masqs operate in the open. They use a mix of research, craftsmanship, and magic to create disguises that are seamless. They create or steal personas that fit perfectly into their surroundings, tailored to achieving their missions, and can live out this false-life for years and, only upon completing their mission, disappear as if they never existed. Some are so capable that they create elaborate alibis for their personas disappearance-- either killing them off to avoid suspicion or having them leave for an extended period until they have need of them again. They pull of these disguises with supernatural ease that has many question whether they are even human or some sort of chameleon humanoids. If their conspiracy is uncovered, they will flee immediately and, if forced to fight, they are notoriously deadly and fearless. Or so it seems. It is impossible to read the face of a masked assassin.

At least one captured Masq was revealed to be a changeling, a shape-shifting human/doppelganger hybrid, but reports were unable to confirm this allegation after the prisoner committed suicide with a strange poison that reduced their body a heap of silver goo.

They have no symbols or known history.

The Shepherds Guild

"The good people are like sheep in a world filled with wolves. We are the shepherds. We are the sheepdogs." The Shepherd's Decree

Not all organizations that choose to operate in secret are assassins, thieves or worse. In the case of the Shepherds, they are the opposite. They are perhaps the only neutral adventurer's guild that puts itself above simple mercenary work or treasure hunting. They have no specific religious allegiance and act outside of any rigid system. They do not serve any particular state and they do not pick sides in times of war. They are independent and they fight evil at every turn. They, perhaps naively but definitely boldly, consider themselves heroes.

The Shepherd's Guild is a secret organization ran by and composed of like-minded adventurers with the objectives of exploring the world of Narya, acquiring powerful and dangerous magical items/artifacts, and opposing the worst sorts of villainy. Ultimately, they see themselves as defenders as against threats to the world. After all, it was formed after the second Dark Age, after the beastmen horde of Kalibos almost wiped out the northern continent and threatened all of Sublanarya. Their ultimate goal is to oppose the threats to peace, justice and life that are always present and to prepare for those that are waiting for their opportunity to strike. Without the actions of the goodhearted and brave, the world would've fallen into darkness countless times. The guild finds and recruits the brave, the goodhearted and the talented and puts them to work.

Up-and-coming adventurers that join the guild are called "sheepdogs" and are expected to go on quests posted at their secret guild headquarters by the senior members of the guild, "the shepherds". These locations are carefully guarded and, somehow, are all connected by a magical network that allows for instantaneous travel between each HQ's chimney. This network is just one of many reasons the guild operates in secret due to hot it could be used for great evil purpose. The guild doesn't collect dues but it does expect the members to utilize their services, hand over powerful and dangerous artifacts for research and share in information that is useful in their war against the forces of darkness.

 The Shepherds may not always be seen by their flock, but they are always vigilant and watching over them.

The Borderlands: Mithvale (...so far)

South of the grey mists and black shores of Zholtovka, north-east of the cursed Lake of Gold, and just a sliver to the west of the Howling Mountains, nestled between the Mith and the Demorna Mountains sits the Mithvale. Mithvale was once a prosperous dwarven kingdom established shortly after the Wyrd Wars and famed for its craftsmanship, its industry, and its army of "tin soldiers". It stood as one of the shining kingdoms in the Age of Wonder, but dwarven prosperity never lasts and all that shines fades. Mithvale's wonders were nearly lost to the first dark age. Giants invading from the north demolished the defenses of the dwarves, crushing their armies, looting their treasures for their own vanity, erasing dwarven innovation and enslaving the survivors of the invasion. Mithvale would've faded into the stuff of legends if not for the recent reclamation of the ancient city of Mithrak.

 NEW MITHRAK: THE CITY OF PROGRESS

Two centuries ago, seven dwarven clans and thirteen gnomish familie left Rhyn-Durazar, fleeing from the draconic invasion of the Saesun Civil War, and took their combined fortunes and skills to rebuild in their ancestral homeland. These families were ambitious and industrious folk-- merchants, craftsmen, and investors, who after being failed by the leaderships of kings and priests, sought to build a new type of community atop the ruins of old Mithrak.

The twenty families formed powerful organizations, called The Urbzthrong in dwarven tongue or "clan conglomerates" in common tongue, that used their combined skills to craft and sell a number of cheaply priced but adequately produced & clan-branded products throughout Sublanarya. Each of these family corporations is overseen by Vithzars or, in common, "corporate lords". The city is structured to best serve the interests of the urbzthrong:

At the bottom of the city, the ancient dwarven ruins of old Mithrak have merged with the city's complex sewage system that transports waste out of the city. The sewer systems are operated by native ratfolk and other "undesirables" that are forced to live in the subterranean ghettos built into the ruined passage. On street level, the city is surrounded by a wall maintained by the urbzthrong's cooperation. Surrounding the wall are the outskirts, home to tent cities, cheap taverns, inns, stables and other basic services, resembling a border town that stretches around each side of the city, and provides for the needs of the corporate laborers and passersby. The gates of the city are guarded to allow and monitor the passage of laborers through the entertainment and business districts and into the industrial districts. 

The entertainment districts are home to bars, clubs, theaters, brothels that attract the coin of laborers and lords alike. This is district is commonly owned and controlled by criminal organizations & foreign guilds to act as a front for any number of unsavory practices. The business districts house smaller businesses that make their products and serve their customers on site. Most of these businesses do not own their properties and are either indebted or partially owned by one of the urbzthrong. The industrial district is home to a maze of massive factories and plants, with steam and smoke rising up and forming a permanent cloudy haze over the area, and is divided by the various urbzthrong. The laborers wear uniforms specific to the urbzthrong that owns their plant and each campus is guarded by corporate security.  These plants serve as the lifeblood of the city, drawing laborers from hundreds of miles away for the opportunity available, and producing everything from textiles to metalwork to food stuffs to weaponry for customers from Grand Saeffura to Undai.The wealthy management, the corporate lords, live in the central district. The central district, also called the Cloud District, is home to impressive "cloud scrapers', building that tower several stories above the pollution of the city. These elites look down upon the city below and rule with a golden fist.

There are no elected officials or laws in this city. Justice comes at the hands of corporate security, little better than mercenaries paid to represent the interests of the vithzar and wearing the colors of their prospective urbzthong, and but have little interest in the rights of the city's citizens. Their job is to maintain order, which means just as often tracking down thieves and apprehending murderers as it does cracking down on would-be unionization and unrest, and to serve as the personal army of the vithzar. Disputes between corporate lords or often resolved in shadow wars between these mercenaries that can end in literally hostile takeovers. Mithrak is a place where wealth and connections are power. But, recently, a revived ancient technology threatens the balance of power: the return of automatons.

Disputes between corporate lords are often resolved in shadow wars between mercenary groups that, in the past, end with literally hostile takeovers. Mithrak is a place where wealth and connections equal power. Recently, a revived technology of the ancient Mithrak dwarves has threatened the balance of power: automatons.

Automatons are artificial humanoids made of metal, wood, porcelain and magic. They were originally built to fight during the Wyrd Wars. each automaton is created by a combination of engineering, magic and a small spark of the divine: artificers build the bodies, mages concoct the the runic instructions that inform the automaton's programming, and the creators each add a little both of their souls to give the automaton life. Automatons are slaves built to do mundane, tedious and/or hard labor. They make excellent laborers due to their hardiness and their low cost of upkeep. They usually lack enough self-awareness or consciousness to question the commands of their masters or proests poor treatment. They can easily work in twenty hour shifts before needing a short four hour recharge. But not all automatons remain so simple...

Some automatons are "awake" and have become self-aware. Many of these automatons are immediately "decommissioned", effectively destroyed, upon discovery by their overseers but other owners allow these models to remain operational, giving them more complex jobs that fit their personalities, and some are even given some freedom to do as they please. But many oppose the use automatons wholesale.

Many laborers have found it harder and harder to find work as the workforce is automatized and believe this trend will just get worse. Others have ethical concerns about the creation of artificial life and fear an inevitable uprising from this physically superior slave class. Attacks on automatons and their creators have been undertaken by several groups but the corporate lords have crushed most rebellion and dissent. The vithzar do not believe they can continue to compete without taking advantage of the efficiency of automatons.

And despite all of the inequality, with the vithzar controlling everything and guaranteeing the continued success of their families, the city portends to be a bastion of freedom and equality. It does open its doors to everyone: goblinoids, half-orcs, and even kobolds can be found working in Mithrak. The best example of this is the Emerald Bank. It is most important banking institution of the entire continent, it is owned by a green dragon named Smaragdine and operated by goblins and kobolds.

The Urbzthrong

Of the 20 urbzthrong, gnomish and dwarvish "corporate clans" that rule Mithrak by controlling the various industries of the city of progress, some are more prolific than others. Here are some examples:

• The most powerful conglomerate in Mithrak is Forge Tech. This corporation is composed of the gnomish Tinktonk family & dwarven Brokenforge and Strongbeard clans. The Tinktonk and Brokenforge are the architects of New Mithrak. The Strongbeard were once a strong crime family and bring their skills in espionage, smuggling and security to strengthen the urbzthrong. They are also responsible for the innovation of incorporating automatons into their manufacturing and produce goods including: armor, building materials, tools, weaponry, and components such as wagon wheels and anchors. Their products can be found throughout the realm and are a favorite among merchants because, while low quality, they are cheap and widely available for restock.

• The Silver-Rings are a dwarf family that control a chain of mining operations throughout the northern continent and specialize in the crafting of high-quality jewelry. They have carried over these skills into the crafting of small pieces for clockwork and machinery. Their symbol, three interlocking rings, is a symbol of fine work respected by purveyors of luxuries and engineers alike. 

• The Button-Eyes uniquely earned a spot among the urbzthrong by being the only halfling family to earn the respect of the big families and controls much travel along the Ribbon River that winds throughout the valley. Impressively, they have managed to keep the city from building causeways carrying pollution into their river, often via sabotage, and have one of the cleanest waterways. The Ribbon River is a difficult river to fjord but they've managed to make it an invaluable route for shipping goods to and from Mithrak, Zholtovka, the Imperium and the dwarven holds to the west.

There are over a dozen other urbzthrong operating in the city today, competing to dominate their market, push out the competition and to expand their influence. And there are other forces at work in the back alleys and sidestreets that operate outside of the urbzthrong's influence.

Mithrak is the city of opportunity and progress. But it is not the only civilization to be found in Mithvale. 

THE MITH MOUNTAINS

The Mith Mountains stretch along the shores of the lake of Gold and serve as the southern border of the Mithvale. These mountains are formed of white and grey stone, tinged with green and red growth, and are a beautiful, wild but hospitable sight to the natives of Mithvale. Just over the mountains and past the passageways through it, are the temperate and jungle environments found in the Imperium, and all manner of exotic threat. Luckily, these threats are usually dealt with by the Imperians and dwarves serving at the Saint Gates.

In the shadow of these mountains, are numerous dwarven, human and gnomish settlements. While some exist as satellites or way points for the wagons and riverboats carrying goods from New Mithrak, others have managed to make a home here even before the reclamation of the city, and have their own storied pasts. Mostly agricultural or mining settlements, these small towns and villages have managed to survive and now thrive thanks to their remote location. They make good trade with the supply trains and merchants traveling to and from the city. Many of these settlements, much like Mithrak, are built on or nearby ancient settlements and ruins that are of interest to historians and treasure hunters alike.

But explorers should be weary of all manner of monster and goblinoid that have taken these ruins as their lairs.

 

THE LONELY MOUNTAINS OF DERMONA

Cold and lonely. Those are the words that describe the high peaks and deep crevices that form the land that the snow elves call "Demorna". The mountains of Demorna form the natural barrier between Mithvale and the Hold. They start in the foothills of the valleys that form the titular Mithvale and quickly steepen into the sides of the mountains that raise up and dominate the eastern horizon of the land. The mountains themselves are some of the tallest and most treacherous of Sublanarya, with frigid winds that quickly transform the slope into a canvas of white speckled with black stone that offers little refuge, and would seem inhospitable to all but the hardiest of creatures. And yet, some still manage to call these mountains home.

The Olossar
The snow elves of the lonely mountains made their home here during the first dark age and have isolated themselves ever since in the frozen peaks. They've adapted extremely pale white skin and hair to better blend into their environments and are shorter, stockier and hardier than their iaurdin cousins. They are known to spend their time focusing on survival and occupy themselves by crafting objects of beauty. Perhaps no peoples are better adapted or more knowledgeable of the secrets of these mountains.

They are known to hunt the orcs and other evil-doers who invade their mountains with extreme prejudice, help lost travelers indirectly and fiercely defend their mountains against under-elves who would enslave them.

Morgana La Fey, The Terrible and Magnificent
Lesser gods are known to walk among the borderlands of civilization. The goddesses of witchcraft, far from zealous priests and meddling mages, play out their feuds, wrestling with forces natural, divine and magic alike for power are not to be trifled with lightly. Their petty vengeance is legendary and perhaps, save Baba Yaga, none are more infamous for their inscrutable pettiness than Morgana La Fey.

Morgana was once a fey princess of some long-lost civilization that settled between the planes in the valley. There was a great calamity and that civilization, like so many civilizations of antiquity, was lost to time. Morgana remains as an immortal and terrible artifact of the Tuathans. Legends say the tuathans could take the form of animals and wielded great power. Some legends, spoken by the snow elves, say that tuathan refugees hide among the peoples of Mithvale. From what do they hide? Morgana.

Morgana makes her lair in the Raven Tower, high in the peaks of the lonely mountains, and looks down upon the Mithvale with a jealous interest. Her goals are indiscernible but her every action sends ripples throughout the realm. She commands a great host of orcs, goblinoids and barbarians that have fallen under her thrall and sets them to all manner of terrible tasks. Entire villages are wiped out by her army for refusing her requests, families are hunted down by mercenaries to be dragged back to her ebony tower for gods know what, and, to remind any who would forget who truly rules the realm, she takes the form of a great black feathered dragon and casts shadows over the homes of those that would call themselves lords and gods. Only a fool would refuse her.

UZKOLGAZT: THE NIGHT FOREST

To the north, bordering Zholtokva and Mithvale, is the dark and gloomy forest of Uzkolgazt. It is also called the Night Forest and stretched for hundreds of miles. The name comes from the density of the trees and the Northern winds that sweep storm clouds from the Dead Sea, across the neighboring swamplands, that perpetuate cold, damp and darkness in all but the height of the summer months when the forest becomes steeped in humidity. It has a notorious reputation thanks to its proximity to the supernatural horrors of Zholtovka and the orcish tribes that call it home. It is mostly avoided by humanoids but it would be foolish not to keep an eye on this contested region.

The Boarshead
Nago, the pig-headed demon prince of brutality, is known to manifest through the children of his worshipers. A scion, with a boar's head, was born and quickly rose to prominence. He slew all chieftains that opposed them and butchered their children until so many tribes fell under his thrall that he formed the largest orcish horde the continent had ever seen. Nago would've lead the horde on a path of destruction but he was challenged & slain by the orcish folkhero Smalldog (Smagund). But that did not completely stop the threat.

Nago's worshipers, his dark priests, salvaged the head and, using necromancy, manage to preserve and commune with the demonic boar's head. The Boarshead Cult manages to maintain a strong hold over the orcs of the region and stand as a threat to civilization should they ever mobilize past small raids.

 The Red & Blue Company
The goblins and bugbears that have settled into this region are often little more than scattered tribes scraping along from their cave and ruin homes. The Red & Blue Company, led by hobgoblins, stands as a prolific mercenary band that has taken the old dwarven fort of Azramidgal as their base of operations. The Red & Blue mostly engages in raids on the communities of Mithvale and into the Hold but do send small bands of warriors to seek employment as mercenaries. Their leader, Fulgrass, hopes to legitimize their services and looks for opportunities to build their reputation and warchest.

Otterlings
Even in the most hopeless places, there is hope.

These natives of the swamps of Zholtovka are a small race of aquatic muskelid humanoids resembling river otters. They have managed to survive in one of the cruelest environments of the realm by a mix of caution, cooperation and good fortune. They carefully monitor their waters for threats, quickly spreading information via their musical language, and avoid the prying eyes of would-be predators with ease. Many fisherman can spend years in the same waters without knowing they share them with entire communities of otterlings. 

Most people know otterlings from the few that get jobs aboard the Button-Eye trade-ships as navigators along the Ribbon River.

Naryan Class Options: Roguish Archetype ~ The Sniper

"Good, bad... I'm the guy with the gun."

-Ash, The Army of Darkness

THE SNIPER

Some rogues are expert assassins or thieves or faff about with arcane trickery. The magic marksman, the sniper, is the archetype that prefers to do their dirty work at a distance. Snipers build custom bolt rifles that fire magical projectiles at their intended target. They use this tool to pick off targets at a distance and cripple the enemy line with shots that would make anyone think twice before leaving the safety of cover. Some are just hobbyists, some are monster slayers but all experts at obliterating whatever gets caught in their cross-hairs.

Magic Marksman

When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you have combined your interests of magic and marksmanship to craft arcane rifles. You gain proficiency with the Arcana skill. You gain proficiency with the Light & Heavy Crossbow and Bolt Rifles. You learn the Prestidigitation and Mending cantrips.

Fighting Style

You gain the Archery Fighting Style: You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.

Bolt Rifle Aficionado

At 3rd level, you also gain proficiency with the Carpenter's Kit.

By taking 1 hour, expending 25 gold, and using a Carpenter's Kit, you can customize a Light or Heavy Crossbow into a Bolt Rifle. The Bolt Rifle is a magic weapon that uses a powerful arcane apparatus to hurl magical bolts through the air from the end of a long barrel. Your Bolt Rifle deals 2d6 magical force or fire (your choice) damage per bolt and has a range of 200/800. It requires two hands when you attack with it. It weighs 20 lbs. It does not use ammunition.

Only you can use your custom Bolt Rifle.

Hawkeyes

And at 3rd level, you can use a bonus action to make a Wisdom (Perception) check to spot a hidden creature or object.

You also gain proficiency in the Perception skill if you don't already have it. You proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check that you make using that skill.

Homicidal Geometry

By 9th level, you have improved the rifling of your Bolt Rifle's barrel and increased the caliber of each bolt so that it penetrates your targets. Whenever you fire your Bolt Rifle at a target, you may expend you may instead choose to fire in a beam, which is 1 foot wide and 800 feet long, and you make an attack roll against each creature or object in that line until you miss. You may only use this feature once per round.

Use Magic Device

By 13th level, you have learned enough about the workings of magic that you can improvise the use of items even when they are not intended for you. You ignore all class, race, and level requirements on the use of Magic Items.

Overcharge

When you reach 17th level, you can take a bonus action to overcharge your weapon. When you do so, you aim at a point within your Bolt Rifle's range. Each creature in a 20-foot radius sphere centered on that point must make a Dexterity saving throw (8 + your proficiency bonus + your intelligence modifier). Each creature takes 20d6 force damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

A nonmagical object that isn't being worn or carried also takes the damage if it's in the spell's area.

After you use this feature, you can use it again until you take a short or long rest.

Goblins & Orcs: Strength in Weakness & Weakness in Strength

To the peoples of Sublanarya, there is little difference in the orcish and goblinoid invasions from across the waters between the Dead and Dragon Seas. They are merciless conquerors, like locusts, who devour their crops, demolish their townships and enslave their peoples. They have sharp teeth, red, green or grey skin, pointed ears, speak strange tongues and worship strange gods. And yet, these two different groups fight each other as often as they fight the native population. They are, despite the surface similarities, psychologically opposed.

Goblins find strength in weakness and orcish weakness comes from their strength.

Goblinoids are a race that dates back to the Wyrd Wars. They were created by Gob the Horned Master, a diabolical duke associated with conquest and slavery, to serve him as his soldiers in his conquest of the material plane. Their legends say that he first tried to conquer a dwarven hold with his diabolical minions until both forces were decimated and brought to a standstill. The dwarven leaders offered a parley for peace. Gob was so disgusted that he hocked a mouthful of mucus onto the blood soaked mud at his feet. An army of diminuitive humanoids, green of hue as his mucus, rose up and finished off the dwarves. These were the first goblins and Gob imbued them with his ambition and cruelty.

Gob was slain by Urd the Forgefather, the patron god of the dwarves, and left the goblins without a master to guide them and a millenia long hatred for dwarves. The goblins were scattered across the world without leadership.

Goblins are a diminutive race, standing between 3 and 4 feet tall, with a dexterous frame with yellow to green colored skin (with some variance). They have sharp teeth, long & pointed ears, broad and pointed noses, beady yellow or red eyes, and with black hair-- males are prone to varying signs of baldness. They make up for their size and weakness with ferocity and numbers. Goblins breed and mature quickly, reaching adult age within 10 years, and often having broods of two to six per short pregnancy. This feature allows them to quickly fill the numbers for any horde.

Goblins live in familial tribes, usually building their lairs in caves far from other humanoids, and have a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. From a young age, goblins are taught that nothing is fair, that you have to fight for your own survival and that ruthless aggression is rewarded. Male goblins spend a lot of time gathering resources, usually through theft and banditry, and making short-term alliances with other tribes and monsters to raid villages. Goblins know they value of strength in numbers because it is their biggest strength. Female goblins usually rear the young and maintain their lair but, just as often, join the males in their raids.

Bugbears are the outliers of goblinoid society. With yellow skin, furry bodies, sharp claws, short-carnivore snouts and a hulking muscular form, bugbears are easily the most physically intimidating of the goblinoids.

They were created by Gob's son, Zorguhl the Brute, who valued strength above all else. Zorguhl is a cruel god who demands sacrifices from his priests who, unfortunately for Zorguhl, are few because of the inherent laziness of his creations. Bugbear are predators who live in small family units, but just as often prefer to live on their own or seek out a tribe of goblins to bully into servitude. Bugbears, like their god, are afflicted by laziness. Bugbears are opportunistic and cruel but lack the ambition or intelligence to lead like their hobgoblin counterparts. In goblin hordes, they most often serves as scouts, hunters and as brutal bodyguards for hobgoblin warlords.

Zorguhl was no replacement for his father Gob and he was leading the goblins with disastrous results of the goblins and bugbears fighting each other and making reckless decisions. Mal-Dorig the Dread Conqueror subdued Zorguhl and took the reins. Under Mal-Dorig, the goblinoids reached the zenith of their civilization. His biggest contribution was the creation of hobgoblins, from cross-breeding humans and goblins, to create a race of medium sized soldiers that are stronger and more menacing than their diminutive goblinkin and smarter than the brutish bugbears. They are leaders of goblinkind and the driving force behind any goblin horde.

Hobgoblins have shorter noses and ears than goblins, with orange to reddish hued skin, dark hair, often with facial hair, and stand between 5'6'' and 6'6''. Some hobgoblins have unique features with "blue-noses" being common among famous warlords. And there are plenty of famous hobgoblin warlords.

They are far more disciplined than their lesser kin, being born and raised as part of a warband mercenary group or an army. By nature, they are more "civilized" than goblins and bugbears, living in tents and forts, making their own weapons and armor, and making powerful alliances to form armies capable of conquering wide swaths of territory. They also are notoriously proud and haughty, feeding into the already caustic temper goblinoids are infamous for, and fly into violent rages when challenged or humiliated. Their reputation is more important than their own children.

Rank and position is the measure of that reputation. Unlike lesser goblinoids, open revolt is frowned upon. Instead, hobgoblins are expected to rely on earning their rank, challenging their superior to a duel, or, valuing subtlety, successfully assassinating a superior. Hobgoblins that are caught using subterfuge to get rid of a superior are admonished but are often let off easy if the performance of that superior had been lacking. Hobgoblins live for the glory of battle.

On a side note, hobgoblins are also famous for employing warmages in combat. Goblins are also attracted to the potential uses of magic but hobgoblins, who desire respect from their adversaries, have actually established scholarly keeps dedicated to learning and teaching magic to the most talented of their kind.

Ironically, the biggest survival trait of goblins is their weakness. They often survive situations that would otherwise decimate them by hiding, running or begging for their lives. The competitive and violent nature of goblinoids puts the smartest, cruelest and strongest on top. The problem is that while goblins are loyal to the tribe, leaderships is constantly challenged by rivalry and mutinies are a weakly threat. The best way for a goblin leader to survive is to make sure their rivals are occupied and nothing occupies goblins like making war. This all feeds into the ruinous cycle of goblin conquest, inevitably ending in their decimation.

The best way for a goblin to survive and thrive? To be weak, pathetic and cowardly. If other goblins don't see you as a threat, they won't see you as a rival, and they won't take you out. The most successful goblin tribes are those that are the most cowardly.

Some goblins have even escaped the cycle of violence and cruelty by taking on a new philosophy: profit! Goblin miners, merchants and bankers have built a new identity for goblins who leave their kin behind in the city of Mithrak. These entrepreneurs worship at the altar of gold and follow the teachings of Zreebo the Goldgoblin.

Orcs are strong. Orcs stand between 6 and 7 feet tall, powerfully built with grey to green skin, dark eyes, long hair, snort and flat noses, and pointed ears. Their most iconic aspect is their tusks which protrude from their lower jaw. They mature at a similar rate to humans, perhaps a little earlier, and breed often. Twins are extremely common among orcs.

Orcs live in small tribal groups, building tents and hunts or living in cave systems, led by a chieftain and a shaman. The chieftain is a position passed from father to son and they serve as the martial leader of the clan. The shaman is the spiritual leader who provides medicine and religious guidance to the tribe. Shamans communicate with spirits of the dead and share the teachings of Namu the Cave Mother. Orcs have no strict line of leadership outside of these roles, positions being based on meritocracy with the strongest being warriors, fastest being scouts, stealthiest being hunters and everyone else serving the tribe as caretakers of the young and elderly.

Unlike goblinoids, orcs are inherently neutral.

Orcs, ideally and by default, prefer to live unmolested, hunting and gathering, in their ancestral territory. When they need more resources or feel threatened by outsiders, they seek to expand their territory, often resorting to a psuedo nomadic lifestyle, and to expel outsides with extreme prejudice. They treat orcish and non-orcish outsiders alike and rely on their own strength and tenacity to overcome them. When their strength fails, orcs turn to drastic measures and seek power from a willing shaman's contact with a darker force. This is the source of all corruption of orcish society and leads them to a path of violence, conquest and savagery.

The orcish distrust of other races can be traced back to the primordial age when Namu the Cave Mother awoke after her brothers, the patron gods of elves, gnomes, and dwarves, and found herself alone. Namu was a capable huntress, strong and beautiful, but without her family-- her tribe-- she was lost. Orcs resent the other races for leaving her behind in the World Below. Namu wandered for some time before she was found by a handsome demon prince, Nago the Furor in the Dark. He deceived her, knowing of her importance, and used magic to enchant her to fall in love with him. When she gave birth to twins, Brother Rom and Sister Rem, he tried to steal the godlings away to corrupt them. Namu took the form of a great wolf, repelling Nago in his true form, a great demonic boar, but he left his mark on orc kind.

Their tusks are symbols of his influence and the fury of orc kind is his curse. Rom and Rem also bore the curse. They fight constantly. This symbolism is often represented in orcish heraldry with the symbol of two wolves chasing each other to represent inner struggle, growth and balance. Namu guides her children as a symbol of elders, wisdom and tradition. But some orcish tribes turn to Nago and other demonic forces for power. This leads them down a darker path.

Orcs that allow demonic influence to overtake their tribe become the cruel and violent brutes that other cultures think of. They destroy everything in their path, aligning with other evil forces, and make hordes that threaten to destroy civilizations.  They become stronger, their territories expand beyond their ancestor's greatest expectations and they destroy the very thing they were trying to protect by losing their sense of family to become power hungry beasts.

The temptation of power that is bred by this curse has defined orcish history but it doesn't have to be that way in the future. Half-orcs are often the end result of this cruel conquest but they can also be a bridge to their people to peaceful coexistence with their neighbors. This means throwing off the shackles of demonic influence and learning to trust the other races.

But this is only possible if the other races give them a chance.