Schtadtlin
Home to the Noxwood and the Ghostmarsh, Schtadlin reaches from the Dharve Mountains to the Broken Heath and the Inner Kingdom.
King Sig One-Eye Rules from his seat at Heorot, commanding loyalty from his Thains by strength, strategy, and by the ancestral Andarvi Blade he wields.
Legend has it the Andarvi Blade was gifted by the gods to the Schtadt in the Jotun Wars as well as the mythic Schtadt Fury.
Truly, blood is the only currency in Schtadtlin, whether by combat or camaraderie. So much so it is said "A Schtadts money runs in their veins."
Structure
King
Among the Schtadt Chiefs all vying for power and control only one person has the strength to command their respect, their King. To be worthy of the title, a Chief much first prove their strength by facing the Rite of the Broken Wyrm. The Chief must swim from the shores of Lake Otan bearing only a sword and combat the dreaded Boros Serpents that live in its waters. After slaying just one of these beasts the Chief must then carry it to the hall of Heorot. Having proved their strength, the Chief then issues a challenge to anyone inside the hall to contest their right to rule. It is then that any King who still rules can meet this challenge and fight their would be usurper or they can forfeit and bequeath the Andarvi Blade to their challenger there by relinquishing their right to rule. Once King, blood is collected from their wounds and added to ceremonial mead to be drunk by the new kings chiefs as a show of fealty. Celebrations last for a month as word spread throughout Schtadtlin ensuring all chiefs make it to Heorot to show fealty. If a new king has managed to survive the Rite of the Broken Wyrm it is considered a bad omen as no chief will be bound by blood to the new king. The few that have managed to do this willingly wound themselves to "sanctify" the ceremonial mead and ward off ill fate. The King spends most of their time either crushing upstart Chiefs that seek to rival their power, collecting tribute from the chiefs and organizing raids of nearby countries. Rarely do they see to changing or improving the lives of their Thains except through matters of war.Chief
The most abundant governing "officials". Chiefs are made, and not appointed. When a Thain becomes respected and commands other Thains they can take to the title of Chief. Many Chiefs don't survive their first few years as they often take Thains from other chiefs and feud until mutual respect is earned or until the new Chief is destroyed. Chiefs control what their strength can afford them. Some collect tribute from several towns and offer protection from the other chiefs. While others guard the roads, demanding tithes for safe passage. Chiefs often fight among themselves for roads, towns and people. Some stay loyal to the previous chief while others bow to the new, leading to many bitter feuds between chiefs.Thain
Thains are the free people of Schtadtlin. They own what land they can defend and cultivate while giving tribute to their chief. A thain can either what they make and grow to their chief or they give themselves as tribute and fight alongside them leaving the care of their farmsteads to their families and Thralls.Thrall
Thralls are the most abundant group within Schatdtlin. Either taken from neighboring countries as spoils or captured thains from feuding Chiefs, Thralls are considered livestock and prisoners. Thralls are made to do the manual labor of a Thains home and act as servants. Thralls are only given basic necessities and if found with a weapon they are put to death as no Thain would allow a rebellious Thrall. Children of thralls are considered thralls themselves unless their master deems them worthy of freedom in which they then beccome ThainsHistory
The Birth of Rage
Near the end of the Silver Age, the people of Ulfar came under the lash of the Jotun Thrymr. The Schtadt, a small tribe, were captured and bred to be Thrymrs thralls. To work his fields and be the servants of his house. Over the years the Schtadt grew in size as did Thrymrs hold over the lands. So too did Thrymrs cruelty grow. Thrymr began to breed and slaughter his human thralls like cattle. Feasting on them every night. Every night the Schtadt prayed to gods of battle, the Aesir, for vengeance. Others prayed to the Alven Vanir to bring the Alfar and save them from Thrymr, Their prayers remained unanswered. One night, Thrymr celebrated a victory over the Dharve, cousins to the Natyrn, and slaughtered one hundred Schtadt children and feasted in his hall. As the remaining Schtadt served Thrymr, a madness began to take hold of one named Euric. Some legends say it was seeing the face of his child on a serving platter, others say he was born part wolf. whatever the case when Euric offered to cut Thrymrs meat he instead turned the blade on Thrymr, wounding the giant. Euric ran from the hall, Thrymrs warriors too drunk and bloated from the feast were unable to follow Euric and lost him in the chaos. When Euric stopped running he found himself within the black Noxwood. Grabbing a nearby stick Euric cut his palm and made a blood oath to hew every Jotun within Ulfar. Hearing his voice, wolves emerged from the Noxwood and greeted him as a friend, lapping up the blood from Eurics hand.The Jotun War
When Euric emerged from the Noxwood he traveled to what remained of the Dharve. Euric was able rally the Dharve leading them into a series of successful raids against Thrymr. It was during this time Euric was gifted the Andarvi Blade and for every Schtadt they freed Eurics legend grew. Eventually Euric was able to free and ally with the Sverse tribe and with the combined might of the Dharve, freed Schtadt, and the Sverse they met Thrymr for the final battle at the eastern marsh. Many died in that battle as Thrymr and his Jotun allies unleashed their full might against Euric and his forces. So fierce became the fighting that the Sverse broke and fled to the north in terror. Furious at the Sverse cowardice, Euric lead a charge into the enemy line straight for Thrymr intent on ending the fight once and for all. As the battle waged around them, Thrymr and Euric paid no attention as they struck at each other. Finally the battle was won. Euric drove the Andarvi Blade into Thrymrs heart felling the giant and ending his tyranny once and for all. Euric, having struck down his enemy, soon succumbed to his own wounds. As Euric lay bleeding on the field of battle his blood mixed with the marsh water and from it grew the vines of Red Henbane. It was Eurics last gift to the Schtadt. With it, the Schtadt would always have the strength to keep the Jotun at bay.The Long Night
During the Bale Night, fallen warriors of the Jotun War and began to lay waste to Ulfar. The strongest of these was Valeran. When the Sversans fled the battle of the eastern marsh it left Valeran and his forces vulnerable and to a man they were slaughtered before Euric could arrive with the counter-charge. Having awoken Valeran swore revenge and made his way north with the wraiths of his risen warriors. As Valeran marched north the eastern marsh became known as the Ghost Marsh. To this day many ghosts and spirits still haunt the Noxwoods, the Wisp Bog and the Ghost Marsh. It was during the Bale Night that the first Waergar appeared in the Wisp Bog. It is said that several Thains succumbed to the rage given by Red Henbane, others say it was a curse placed on the Schtadt by the gods for abandoning them. Whatever the truth may be, many Thains began to transform into half man and half wolf beasts, mindlessly slaughtering kith and kin. Those they wounded became cursed as well and they began to spread beyond the Wisp Bog.The Wolf Hunt
As the Spongepox devoured the Vael, it was discovered that nightshade poisoned the Waergar and could even halt the transformation. Using weapons coated in the juices of the nightshade berry, the Schtadt began to hunt down the Waergar. Leading them north the Waergar were finally destroyed by Schtadt and Sversan though rumors still remain of Waergar roaming the land.Raiding the Grub Men
With the Bale night now becoming a memory, word reached Schtadt lands of the Imperials involvement in the Bale Night. In retribution the Schtadt began to attack the newly named Holy Emipre of Illium. The Schtadt launched many raids into imperial lands and waged a war of scorched earth as they burned every town they came across. It was during this time the Schtadt began to call the imperials "grubmen" after the imperials simpering piety and their armor which looked like the articulated shell of insects. To the east in the foothills of the Norre Mountains the Schtadt viciously fought a war of attrition against the Imperial Nyztalene. Even at the expense of many lives neither side was able to gain ground. Eventually the Nyztalene began to fight a purely defensive war. Ceasing to advance, and fortifying their own positions the Nyztalene were able to keep the Schtadt from taking the Norre Mountains. Using the Etru mountain passes the Schtadt marched on Pompilium. The battle at Pompillium proved to be decisive. Having stretched their supply lines to the breaking point and with no reserves the Schtadt were fended off four miles from the gates. This defeat became a rout. Fleeing back to the Etru Mountains the Schtadt sent messages to Stineville, Surtras, and Dwerheim calling for reinforcements. Thains from all over Schtadtlin began to fill the Etru Mountains and when the legions of Myrmidons finally caught up with the fleeing Schtadt they found a horde pouring from the mountains. in an act of desperation the Myrmidons turned what siege equipment they'd brought with them and began to attack the mountain passes while the rest of the soldiers kept the Schtadt at bay. After a long and grueling fight the mountain passes were closed and the Schtadt were defeated.Meeting the Valaskarrans
The Schtadt watch impassively as the Valaskarrans took the vale of Svarheim. Once the Valaskarrans brokered a peace with the Sversans, Schtadt Thains began to travel to Svarheim to trade and to get a look at these warriors that had bested the Nyztalene. What the Schtadt found were hardy warriors that leaped into trials with a glee that nearly matched the Schtadts. With tales of how the Valaskarrans braved the Hellgate and of how they slew monsters on the Leviathen Sea on ships little more than rafts the Valaskarrans impressed the Schtadt and soon a trade road was made from Dwerheim to Svarheim.A note for Players and GMs
Playing a Schtadt
Aerra is based on a homebrew setting using D&D 3.5 edition rules. Humans born and raised within Schtadtlin follow these rules in place of the standard rules for Humans. More animal than Man: The Schtadt constantly fight against the wild animals of Ulfar and against each other. It has taught the Schtadt harsh lessons in how to survive and best to "tame" animals (whether they walk on two legs or four). This gives the Schtadt a +2 modifier on the Survival, Handle Animal, and Intimidate skills. Survival of the Strongest: Constantly fighting (or running) from the Thains of other Chiefs and from the dire beasts of Ulfar has made sure that only those with the hardiest constitution and the greatest brawn have survived. Because of this the Schtadt gain +2 to both Strength and Constitution when creating a new character. Schtadt Fury: As a rite of passage into adulthood Schtadt children are given mead fermented with Red Henbane. This changes the child as they begin to experience anger unlike any before. After a night of hunting and fighting to direct their anger the child is then considered an adult. This gives the Schtadt the Rage ability once per day. If a character already has the Rage ability through class abilities or feats it instead allows the character to Rage one additional time per day. Illiterate: Formal education and learning is not a priority to the Schtadt and thus many do not know how to read or write. By spending a skill point in Speak Languages a character can learn how to read and write.
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Leader
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Kratocracy
Power Structure
Feudal state
Location
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
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