Peoples of the Savage North Part 1

As the leaves fall from the trees and a chill develops in the air, I’m hard at work on completing the draft of Swords of the Savage North. Here’s a work in progress excerpt from the Characters chapter, which introduces the three groups of people that player characters who originate in the Savage North come from.

Player characters usually come from one of three groups of people

• The Free Peoples of the Drakar nations of Nortland and Sonderland. These peoples are descendants of humans once enslaved by the Vampire Lords and revolted against their tyranny at the end of the Age of Blood. As a result, they revere personal freedom above all else, which clashes with their tendency to elevate strong chieftains to the rank of Kings. Currently, the Kingdom of Nortland is fragmenting after the Northern Crusaders of the Gatanese Empire invaded and rebuilt its capital. Their king is in exile in a remote part of the land. The Kingdom of Sonderland, is ruled by Morgus the Drooler, a mad tyrant, the type of king whom Drakar folklore warns them about. Monster Hunters and sell swords are finding much work in Drakar presently.
• The tribal confederacy of Bogdan. Even more loosely organised than the Drakar. They have their origin as the people who followed Krum the Uncaring out of the bondage of the Vampire Lords, and were left to their own devices when he turned his back on them and disappeared into the Wilderness. They have been followed by waves of invaders who washed across their misty homeland and were absorbed by it.
• The Gatanese Invaders come from the south, from the Empire of Gatan (see OpenQuest page 204) and consider themselves the only true civilised people in the Savage North. Most of them are members of the Second Northern Crusade, which is attempting to conquer the Savage North and bring the Drakar and Bogdan into the light of the Imperial Revelation. As well as being Imperialist in nature, it is often presented as an act of self defense, because both groups often raid the Empire and provide mercenaries to the Empire’s enemies,

The Drakar and the Bogdans are loosely allied but regularly raid each other. Normally, both groups are at the Gatanese’s throats. These stereotypical rivalries need not extend to the player characters’ relationships. The region’s chaotic state means people from different cultures often work together to survive and thrive.