The following sections were supposed to be part of the Age of Lords Player’s Guide,
but due to Open Game License restrictions, they cannot be included in published works
by Third Party Publishers like myself. However, as a fan of both Dungeons & Dragons
and the Age of Lords Campaign Setting (a little biased on the last one, I admit)
I am presenting these flavor backgrounds in the hopes it will enhance and expand
your game time while on Braugh. -Jeff Gupton
CLASSES
Avenger- Avengers are the religious missionaries of the world, sometimes taking their
faith to the extreme. Trained in the temples and monasteries of the world, they hone
their martial skills in such a way that, as they see it, their chosen deity would
be proud. Similar to Paladins, Avengers try to live as their deity has preached,
but not to the letter, more a passionate interpretation. Unlike Paladins, however,
Avengers have a broader spectrum of zeal, from the simply devout all the way up to
the extremists who are all too often disavowed from their chosen religion. An Avenger
never stays in one place, having a wanderlust beyond their Cleric and Paladin kin,
and are almost always connected to a group of adventurers. Having no lust for gold,
an Avenger takes only what they need to survive and carry on their mission, giving
the rest back to their deity in tithe. They are, however, not above acquiring newer
and better items, even magical, to further assist them in their cause. Avengers
are handy to have around, often diving into battle with a lust for success that provide
advantages to other types of adventurers.
Invoker- Invokers do not have regular religious training like other Divine classes,
they hear a “higher calling”. Unlike Clerics, Paladins and Avengers, Invokers are
granted power and knowledge directly from their deity. Zorm, Gorrand, Threllion
and J’choral all have directly connected to followers and granted them power directly.
An Invoker is not always an existing follower of a deity that has chosen them, occasionally
they were in fact a follower of another God or Goddess. Invokers do not turn away
from their calling, to do so would be suicide. People from all races, backgrounds
and training can become Invokers, but not by their choice. Even the most holy of
follower might not be chosen as an Invoker, and no one knows the criteria the deities
use to choose. Some Invokers have fallen from their chosen path and turned their
power against the deity that granted it, but when this does happen, retribution from
the deity does happen, usually when the Invoker least expects it.
Shaman- Living in The Wild, your only means of survival could be in the hands of
the leaders you entrust with your safety. These leaders come by this trust, not
through birthright as in the cities, but by proof and power. Shamans get their power
from the animal instinct that lives in all creatures, their primal nature. Having
the ability to tap into that instinct is acquired from birth and takes years of training
to focus and sharpen those powers. Shaman leaders can have as many as six trainees
to take their place when they leave this world. When an existing Shaman dies, all
of their apprentices gather together and fight each other into submission, occasionally
death, to claim leadership over the tribe. This is called The Passage and can take
up to a full cycle to determine a clear victor. The remaining Shamans who did not
survive The Passage, can chose to remain within the tribe, but may never bid for
leadership again. The Shaman who fell last must remain with the tribe until new
apprentices can be found, in the even the current Shaman dies. Most adventuring
Shaman’s are ones that did not survive The Passage and chose a life of exile and
wanderlust. With many of the world’s treasures buried in the ancient ruins of The
Wild, Shaman adventurers are coveted greatly due to their connection and knowledge
of nature and tribal sociality.
Warden- Within the tribal circle there are elite warriors who rise above and beyond
the call of duty to defend not only their tribe, but the very fabric of nature itself.
Having the ability to call upon both the power within and the power of nature, Warden’s
make for very deadly allies. Sworn to defend The Wild from any enemy, Wardens often
travel outside of their tribal lands to bring peace and vengeance to other lands
when aid is summoned. Unlike other primal counterparts, Wardens are not trained
by humans. When a child is born unto a tribe that bears the markings of the beast
in the form of a paw print birthmark, that child is placed with the animal kind the
birthmark represents. It is believed that Wardens are animal spirits brought back
to life to defend The Wild in ways they could not in a previous life. By returning
the child to its animal kin, the child can relearn their ways and apply them to their
now human form. This belief is confirmed by Wardens having dreams and visions of
their previous life, which often provide clues to the purpose of their reincarnation.
Often, when a Warden has these visions and cannot recognize the surrounding area,
they will leave the tribe to seek their true kin, setting out to find their purpose.
This explains the fact that Wardens are known to travel with other adventuring companions,
often leaving at random times, only to return when their paths cross again.
RACES
Deva- Devas are an enigma to most, if not all, folks of Thallorand, at least the
ones who have claimed to actually seen one. Once existing in peace on another plane,
parallel to the one Braugh now resides on, Devas lived in solitude and sought education
and wisdom from surrounding planes. Having the ability to move in and out of the
astral sea at will, they were able to gather entire world histories in one journey.
This knowledge was communal and shared with every member of their race through a
telepathic link. When another race of astral travelers discovered what the Deva
had been doing, greed overcame them. Wanting to take the acquired knowledge for
their own, to twist and manipulate for ill-gotten gains, the travelers attacked the
Deva’s home plane. The aggressive race of travelers showed no mercy and, when it
looked like their genocide would be complete, a small group of surviving Devas left
their home plane, taking a small portion of it with them and brought it to Braugh,
the closest inhabitable planet, where they secured it in a temporal pocket, preserving
a fraction of their original homeland. As a result of the invasion coupled with
the evacuation of their people, the Deva witnessed the collapse of what remained
of their home plane, destroying it forever along with the invading travelers. With
their home plane destroyed, their telepathic ties were severed and they were left
with mere shadows of their former powers. Occasional glimpses into their past show
them who they were, but only for fleeting moments. Devas rarely venture out into
the world of Braugh, preferring to live in the safe haven they created for themselves,
but they have been seen from time to time. Still unsure of their connection to Thallorand,
Devas will often go on quests for knowledge about Braugh and compare it with what
they were able to bring with them, hoping for clues as to why they are there. Their
high levels of knowledge lend themselves to more arcane roles in life, but Devas
are not above the calls of a deity. Some Devas have grown bitter over the loss of
their home world and have lent themselves to darker lifestyles as Rogues or Fighters
forsaking their desire for knowledge to pursue vengeance. These types of Devas branch
out over the face of Thallorand looking for any living members of the astral race
that destroyed their home plane.
Goliath- Spending their entire lives living among the Border Mountains, Goliaths
are the unofficial guardians of passages leading to The Great Tundra. Descended
from Giants, Goliaths have a kinship to the rock and tunnels of their anscestors,
living in tribes and villages scattered along the mountain ranges. In ages past,
Giants had learned the ways of the arcane, believed to possess the power in the
same way a Sorcerer is born with the talent. Using this magic, Giants took pieces
of their flesh and manipulated them into beings they called Goliath. Bred for the
purpose of slavery and gladiator sport, Goliaths were treated poorly by the Giants.
When their numbers grew to a significant number, they rose up against their oppresors
and forced them to flee the mountains, scattering them across Thallorand and The
Great Tundra. Banding together, they made lives for themselves in the caverns and
plateaus along the mountain range. It was after this show of force that Zorm appeared
to the Goliaths in an event called The Great Dream. Zorm praised the Goliaths for
their resolution to throw off their oppressors and asked them to be his “Chosen People”
tasking them with the guardianship of the passages to The Great Tundra. Goliaths,
many generations later, still hold this oath in high esteem and fight to the death
against any trespassers. Goliaths favor the more aggressive classes such as Barbarian
and Fighter, but are not above a calling of Zorm to serve in his honor as a Cleric
or Avenger. There are rare occasions where a Goliath child will turn away from Zorm
for whatever reason, and take up the mantle of Cleric for another deity.
Shifter- In a move that J’choral thought was absolute brilliance, she created a race
of powerful shape-shifters with an equally powerful bloodlust called Lycanthropes.
Threllion, who saw this as an act of unbalance, took the majority of this race and
gave them the same knowledge of good and evil that she bestowed upon Humans. This
created a new, hybrid race of Lycanthropes called Shifters, able to retain mostly
a Human form and freedom but with the passion of their animal ancestors. Shifters
live exclusively in The Wild and cannot stand being indoors very long suffering from
a form of claustrophobia. Despite growing up in tribes, or packs if you will, young
Shifters do like to stay in one place and will spread out across Thallorand looking
for adventure to overcome the boredom of tribal life. Once they reach the end of
middle age, they will feel the pull to return to their tribe and raise a family.
Shifters are quick to anger and quick to action, spending their entire lives thinking
they have something to prove. They do not take insults well jumping into violent
confrontations rather than talking things out. Shifters are, however, loyal to their
companions and will honor a Debt of Life until their last breath. A Debt of Life
is where a Shifter will promise their undying protection for those who have saved
their life in combat. If a Debt of Life oath is made and the protected subject dies
while the Shifter is alive, then that Shifter will take an Oath of Vengeance and
see to it that all responsible parties are punished by death, and once complete,
will take their own lives. A Shifter making a Debt of Life oath will even ignore
the call of family to protect their savior unless they have been released or the
subject dies by other means. Due to their anger streak, Shifters prefer melee combat
over ranged and follow classes that encourage this like Fighter or melee Ranger,
but are not above Shaman or Warden due to their connection to The Wild and their
animal bloodline.
