Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms
Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms
Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms
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People of<br />
Rashemen<br />
<strong>The</strong> people of Rashemen are sturdy, hardworking, and deeply<br />
respectful of the land. A traveler here will never see a logger<br />
casually cutting down trees for greater profit, nor a stream<br />
dammed to power a mill. <strong>The</strong> Rashemi understand that they<br />
must respect the land as they would a neighbor, for the spirits<br />
punish those who take what they don’t need.<br />
Rashemi are a short, hardy folk, built for strength rather<br />
than speed. Men grow beards but keep them trimmed short.<br />
Both sexes keep their hair long: <strong>The</strong> men wear a pair of thick<br />
braids, while the women have only one. <strong>The</strong> length of one’s<br />
hair is a measure of status, in marked contrast to the shavenheaded<br />
Red Wizards. <strong>The</strong> penalty for adultery in many villages<br />
is to have one’s hair cut short, and others shun shorthaired<br />
Rashemi for this crime against the family.<br />
<strong>The</strong> berserkers of Rashemen are organized into lodges named<br />
after local creatures. <strong>The</strong>se represent an extended family, and<br />
a member of a given lodge in one village can always find<br />
friends and a place to sleep in the appropriate lodge-house of<br />
another village. A lodge also focuses on special skills, weapons,<br />
or fighting styles, all based on the creature from which<br />
it takes its name. Some lodges are larger and better known<br />
than others—the Great Stag and Wolf lodges have a presence<br />
in many settlements, while a smaller lodge may only exist in<br />
one tiny village.<br />
<strong>The</strong> lodge-house itself is a typical Rashemi edifice that<br />
serves as a tavern, boarding house, and meeting place for<br />
members. Many Rashemi berserkers live in their lodge-house,<br />
while others visit regularly to drink with their friends, and<br />
still others come only when trouble is brewing and they are<br />
needed. Each lodge-house is watched over by a telthor, usually<br />
of the creature bearing the lodge’s name, which warns the<br />
berserkers of approaching danger.<br />
Members of the lodges honor and respect one another as<br />
brothers (and sisters, for women are not excluded), although<br />
there is much rivalry for skill at fighting, hunting, wrestling,<br />
jumping, swimming, and feats of strength. To join a lodge, a<br />
character must demonstrate the ability to fly into a barbarian<br />
rage and pass through a ritual of initiation. This ranges<br />
from an all-night drinking contest to a single-handed battle<br />
against every other member of the lodge (usually dealing<br />
subdual damage, but not always). An outlander must know<br />
something of Rashemen and its ways to join (2 ranks in<br />
Knowledge [local—Rashemen]), and must have proved his or<br />
her worth in battle against the enemies of Rashemen.<br />
Some of the better-known lodges follow. Each has a gift or<br />
fighting style that is reflected in a feat listed in Chapter 3:<br />
RASHEMEN<br />
Berserker Lodges<br />
136<br />
Typical Rashemi dress is simple, made of wool, leather, and<br />
pelts. Men wear trousers, loose shirts, and fur vests, while<br />
women dress in long woolen skirts and blouses of linen. In<br />
times of celebration, both sexes dress colorfully, preferring<br />
vests and blouses of red, blue, and yellow, embroidered in red,<br />
white, and green. Rashemen is relatively poor in metal, and<br />
most of that goes to making weapons, tools, and armor, so<br />
Rashemi jewelry is made of carved stone, bones, and ivory decorated<br />
with complex patterns and runic markings. <strong>The</strong>se pieces<br />
are often used as trade goods.<br />
Long ago, these people were forced to defend themselves<br />
against the greed of Narfell and Raumathar, two magical<br />
nations that constantly fought each other, usually in the<br />
lands the Rashemi called home. This ongoing battle against<br />
aggressive neighbors turned the Rashemi into insular warriors,<br />
distrustful of outlanders and honoring kinfolk who destroyed<br />
the most enemies. That mentality persists today,<br />
fueled by the greedy attacks of the Red Wizards and Rashemen’s<br />
relative isolation. With such a history, it is no surprise<br />
Regions and Feats. Only members of a particular lodge may<br />
learn that lodge’s feat. It is possible for a berserker to change<br />
lodges, and there is no stigma in doing so. Changing lodges<br />
does not prevent a berserker from using his old lodge’s fighting<br />
style.<br />
Ettercap: <strong>The</strong>se strange berserkers undertake grueling<br />
tasks that would kill a normal human, including subjecting<br />
themselves to various animal poisons. <strong>The</strong>ir lodge-house<br />
guardian is usually a telthor horse.<br />
Great Stag: <strong>The</strong>se berserkers charge recklessly into combat<br />
and often rush opponents through ranks of their own allies.<br />
<strong>The</strong>ir telthor guardian is always a stag.<br />
Ice Troll: <strong>The</strong> members of this lodge toughen their skin<br />
with strange draughts and frequent exposure to frozen conditions.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y shrug off hits that would disable a normal<br />
person. A telthor badger normally guards Ice Troll lodgehouses.<br />
Owlbear: Members of this lodge practice wrestling and<br />
take pride in their ability to bring down creatures larger than<br />
themselves. Some wear armor spikes to more easily damage<br />
their foes. <strong>The</strong> telthor of a lodge-house is usually a bear or<br />
large owl.<br />
Snow Tiger: <strong>The</strong>se berserkers wear the skins and claws of<br />
snow tigers, wading into combat with the ferocity and skill of<br />
their spirit animal. <strong>The</strong> claws are weapons, treated as claw<br />
bracers, and can be enhanced as if they were masterwork<br />
items. A telthor snow tiger is always the guardian of the<br />
lodge-house.<br />
Wolf: Like their spirit animal, Wolf lodge berserkers are<br />
fond of laying out their opponents and then chopping them<br />
to pieces while they’re down. Telthor wolves protect their<br />
lodge-houses.