Cultures of Arkos
In a typical sword and sorcery campaign, the majority of player characters and non-player characters are human. The following broad cultural archetypes can be used to further distinguish between characters who would otherwise have the same racial abilities and national outlooks.
Savage | Nomadic | Civilized |
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Savages include warriors from the frozen north and witchdoctors from the snake-infested jungles of the south. Savages tend to have a close connection with nature but remain ignorant of many developments that more civilized people take for granted. ... and have the following cultural traits: Ability Adjustment: +2 to Strength
| Nomads roam the empty wastes beyond the civilized cities; quick to strike and bound by no laws. Nomads live with their animals and usually ride into battle with them; they feel ill at ease without them. ... and have the following cultural traits: Ability Adjustment: +2 to Dexterity
| Eventually, Savages and nomads gather together to cultivate the land, build great cities, develop trade, and study medicine, mathematics, and languages. In the civilized lands dwell, noble knights, wise kings, and learned sages — as well as greedy merchants and cunning thieves. ... and have the following cultural traits: Ability Adjustment: +2 to one mental ability score (Civilized characters get this bonus creation to represent their versatile nature.)
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Enlightened | Decadent | Degenerate |
A few great civilizations will rise above all others gaining a half-mythical status. Learned beyond normal men, people of enlightened cultures are builders of cyclopean pyramids and towers that pierce the skies. Their magnificent buildings can last forever, and likewise, the flesh of the enlightened ones can withstand the passage of time like no other mortals. ... and have the following cultural traits: Ability Adjustment: +2 to Wisdom
| All that rises must eventually fall as all great civilizations reach their peak and eventually start to decline. Often ruled by jaded nobles, corrupt priests or wicked slave-traders. Demon-worship, human sacrifice, and drug abuse is all too common in these cultures. ... and have the following cultural traits: Ability Adjustment: +2 to Charisma
| The last survivors of decadent civilizations start to feud over dwindling resources or are driven away by stronger cultures. Fleeing into the wilderness, or deep underground beneath their ruins, they start to inbreed and devolve into something no longer entirely human. Degenerates may outwardly resemble savages, but they carry the evil taint of fallen empires. ... and have the following cultural traits: Ability Adjustment: +2 to Constitution
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