Peoples of Syann: The Rovers, Traveler-folk, the People of the Long Road

History of the People of the Long Road Part One Who are the Rover Folk? Travellers, Rovers, Caravaners, Nomads they go by many names in many lands but all share in common a history and The Curse of the Long Road. Their tale starts in the first city of man where they were the lowest caste of a cruel techno-arcane magocracy. They were relegated as a caste of slaves, dregs and the unclean, forced to serve their masters who were becoming less human day by day. By the time the first city fell into the hidden mists of prehistory its noble houses had died or had become twisted monsters. The common man of that legendary place however (the workers, the dregs, the untouchable were left masterless and homeless) and It is said the disappearance of the first city left their souls marked for eternity. These lost humans wandered to every corner of the world carrying the last vestiges of the first city in their memories. In those days the Rovers were welcome among the barbarian tribesmen for the knowledge they shared to the tribes, and the tribes gave them food and goods in exchange for the secrets of metalwork, writing and arcane magics. Yet no matter where they traveled they could never settle for long due to their curse and so they went on teaching and trading knowledge in their wake. The Rovers of today are still wanderers, the curse of their ancestors appearing in every rover and passing on to their children. Though their role as teachers and wise men has long been replaced with distrust and accusations of thievery, kidnapping, con-artistry and black magic (often they are abused as scapegoats by petty and cruel people) few places turn them fully away knowing full well the value of their trade goods, rare knowledge and various services.
Part 2 Rover Culture today Rover Culture is somewhat gender split, men are expected to know how to fight, handle animals, hunt and perform the bulk of building and repairs. Rover Women are expected to learn cooking, sewing, brewing, herbalism and most importantly arcane magic. -Rovers on Arcane Magic The rovers are a magical culture and it can not be denied that magic and the ability to use it’s deeply rooted among the Rover Folk. Strangely they dislike men learning arcane magic and often reserve their largest distrust for human males who are talented in the arcane arts, strangely they seem to hold no reservations of other races males wielding such powers. A male Rover is not forbidden from learning such arts but it comes at a price. He is denied many of the social pleasantries and in some cases seen as a walking hex. Other Rovers will rarely show aggression but they often treat their male spellcasters as bad luck or a magnet for unwanted spirits, thus it is that many male Rover Folk gifted in the art will leave their people behind rather than continue to live as second class people.
Rover women who practice arcane magic are held in great importance among Rovers. Often these women especially the elderly and exceptionally skilled and knowledgeable of these women gain the title of Grandmother regardless of any actual children or grandchildren they may have, non rover women are also sometimes granted this honour.
-Rovers on Divine Magic Rovers treat Divine magic with an odd set of rules as well in that a priest is expected to be the opposite gender or orientation of their deity, deities who have both or no gender may have priests who are male or female. This is due in part to rover priests being “Wed” to their god or goddess upon initiation into their faith. It should be noted that rover clerics do not suffer the same stigma as arcane spell casters for not following gender laws and at worst may face a few jokes from their peers. Also Rovers rarely if ever recognize large organized religious structure and so long as a Rover follows Rover Law what a rover follows as faith is often inconsequential.
-Rovers on Trickery
-Rovers on Combat
-Rovers on the arts
The Laws of the Long Road
1.Your last name shall be your mother’s for the debt of life you owe her.
2.Do as thou will or will not to outsiders, but know that whatever you take or harm you do must never exceed the wrongs done to your family, or your need for what is taken.
3.All who share the curse of the long road are family, until they stop acting as family should.
4.Borrowing from family and friends is not stealing, borrow what you wish but expect to be borrowed from in turn. If you do not wish something shared, make it known and keep it hidden away. Those who borrow must also remember to return or repay the party borrowed from otherwise it is base thievery and will be punished as such.
5.Let the world see your wealth, to hide it away for yourself alone invites greed and sinful thoughts.
6.Share and share alike with family what is yours is theirs and theirs is yours.
7.Family is as much spirit as blood, an adopted rover is a rover no matter their race, creed or code.
8.Magic must never be used to harm family, do as you please to outsiders.
9. Only women may be trusted to gaze into the skeins of fate and understand the tapestry that unfolds.
10. Mother Knows Best, Grandmother knows better.
11. Protect your own so long as their acts are not vile and innocent blood does not spill their hands. The grandmothers or council of Men will decide the punishment if any of our kind break our laws or commit acts that can not be forgiven.
12. If there is no reason to stay, leave and be done.
The great tribes The Folk of the Road are divided along tribe, clan and family with the tribes being the largest major cultural distinction between groups.Each Tribe is named for their founder or founders mother’s name as Traveler-Folk trace their names along matriarchal lines in spite of men and women alike playing equal roles in most rover groups.The most infamous and well known Rover Tribes are listed below, however this is far from a comprehensive list and there are countless tribes with their own tendencies and preferences found nearly everywhere humanity can be found.
Asena- Another eldar tribe the Asena are quiet collectors of lore and rare trinkets. Their founder, supposedly a talented mage devoted herself to finding and keeping dangerous secrets and objects feeling outsiders can not ever be trusted with such things. The Asena favor divine spell casting and their women engage in occult practices and studies to contain dark magic and items of power; they also regularly engage in cons and schemes to acquire dangerous knowledge and objects from their current owners. The Asena claim it is their holy duty to do what they do and their gods will forgive any trespass they commit to protect the world from terrible knowledge and powerful objects. Their intellect is respected but many tribes find their zeal off putting. Tribal Skill focus: Knowledge: History, Arcana, Religion
Charani-Can be immediately identified by the Phoenix emblazoned banners that fly from their wagons. They claim that Charani, their founding mother was a slave who discovered a strange egg in a nest of spices and dry wood in her dessert home. When her masters claimed they were seeking the egg she lied to them and went to the egg to add more spice and flammables to the nest. She didn't know why she did it but she felt connected to the strange egg. It wasn’t long before her masters found her and threatened to end her. As her master prepared to end her life the strange egg burst into flame and a blazing Phoenix arose killing her wicked masters in a wave of sacred fire that left Charani untouched. She and the firebird became inseparable friends killing slavers especially focused on freeing Traveler-Folk who were enslaved by outsiders. The Charani are hated by tyrants, slavers and warlords who have been targeted by their ideal fueled crimes against them. Charani see no moral qualms against cheating, using and even murdering people who are cruel, abusive and tyrannical to the innocent. Some feel the Charani are just as bad as the so-called monsters they oppose and claim they are little more than criminals and vigilantes. The other tribes tend to keep them at arms distance unsure of what acts might trigger the Charani’s fiery sense of justice and vengeance. Tribal Skill focus: Intimidate, Diplomacy, Survival
Florica- Florica “The Flower” was famous for her tranquility and contemplation of nature's secrets even at a young age. When she became a tribe mother she taught her people to embrace the wild and find truth in nature. Often considered less refined and unimpressed with more “Advanced” devices and creations the Florica Tribe are famously talented in dealing with the fey, knowledge of herbs, natural remedies and the hunt. They also have the most disdain for cities and the folk that call them home having little to no compunctions about milking wittless city folk dry of their hard earned coin and goods. Tribal Skill focus: Knowledge: nature, Survival, Profession: Herbalist
Gillie-The second eldest tribe the Gillie are paragons of art and especially music. Bedecked in bright colours and sparkling bangles they will proudly tell the tell of how Gillie created the written language of the Traveler-Folk, collected all the songs of the people and invented half a dozen or more instruments. The Gillie are honest if not flighty folk prone to indulging in their love of beautiful sights and sounds. While many accuse them of being thieves and swindlers mostly in part to the actions of other tribes, in truth the Gillie Tribe are most often motivated by their honest love for beauty in all its forms. Alas their love for beauty often gets them in trouble and in some cases has indeed motivated them to underhanded means to acquire something lovely they feel they deserve for themselves.Tribal Skill focus: Appraise, Perform: Any, Craft: Any
Kisaiya- The undeserved reputation as con artists, swindlers and seductive thieves comes from the less than savory Kisaiya tribe. Barely trusted by even other Traveler-Folk the Kisaiya often feel hurt by this distrust as they hold the good and honest treatment of other Traveler-Folk in very high regards. Conversely they regard all outsiders unless proven otherwise to be little more than a resource. It should be noted that the Kisaiya rarely if ever engage in violent crimes or kidnapping, finding the first to be distasteful and the second abhorrent. Tribal Skill focus: Bluff, Sleight of Hand or Appraise.
Layara- The Layara are well known among most of the tribes for their red hair and come hither glances. Men and women alike from this tribe pride themselves on appearance and word play with some jokingly saying their red hair and silver tongues are a gift from the devil. Others darkly note the tribe has a large number of sorcerers and tieflings born among its caravans. As much as the Layara like to talk their own history is kept shrouded in half truths and outlandish tales of a witch named Layara who seduces and or outwits dragons, devils, gods and a countless host of supernatural powers for the good of her people. Stranger yet is that even magical spells seem to tangle and become befuddled when used to unravel the history of the tribe as if some divine power obscures their true past. Tribal Skill focus: Bluff, Diplomacy, Perform: Oratory
Malina-The Story of the Malina is a bittersweet tale told around somber campfires on quiet autumn nights. Malina was the youngest daughter of a powerful fortune teller who was born hunch backed and lame. Her mother lamented her poor childs twisted spine and legs and went to great lengths to seek a way to mend her child. Like many desperate mortals before her she turned to the power of darkness. A group of hags known as the Nighthorn Coven offered to reshape Malina and heal her twisted body. However this came with a price, the hags would be allowed to turn a generation of the tribes children into their spawn. Malina grew tall and beautiful inheriting her mothers talent with magic. When she came of age her mother confessed her shame and the dark deal she made with the hags after her daughter became curious about the number of malformed boys and witch eyed girls in the village. Malina cursed her mother for her foolishness and promised she would end the Nighthorn Coven herself. Forming the hag spawned youths into powerful coven she and her friends waged war on the Nighthorn Hags, her victory came at the price of the hags gift being taken away. Her back became twisted and her legs lame. Her mother disappeared and Malina who now outstripped her mothers power and knowledge was named tribe mother. Witchery and magical power is in the blood of Malina’s women while its men tend to be powerfully built and fearsome warriors. Though they balance this with a certain somber and level headed approach to life. No one doubts their magical knowledge though many distrust the Malinas ties to dark magic and their willingness to practice it even to protect others. Tribal Skill focus: Knowledge: Arcana, SpellCraft, Craft: Alchemy
Syeira- One of the oldest tribes Syeira has much of its history lost to the fragments of time. Claiming to be the last remaining true heirs to the kings and queens of the Traveler-Folk many other tribes consider them insufferably arrogant. Syeira claims to have written and created the laws of the people, tamed the first horses and befriended the first dogs. They are masterful animal breeders and riders and many put up with their arrogance to trade for their high quality animals. Though most other traveler-folk take their claims of royalty with a heavy grain of salt. Tribal Skill focus:Knowledge: Nature, Handle Animal, Ride
Tsura The Tsura family are younger than most of the other tribes having been created less than two generations ago. They once bore another name but buried it in shame of the deeds done under it. For generations they were slaves to a vampire lord who forced them to kidnap children, drug unsuspecting travelers and commit all manner of sins. The Tribes salvation came when an aasimar girl was born with blood that was poison to the undead. Tsura “the Light of Dawn” was trained in secret to become a slayer of monsters. When the time was right she seduced the vampire and as he drank her poison blood, the vampire grew weak and she ended him with the wooden stake and silver Kukri hidden strapped to her leg. Tsura was named grandmother and the family took her name vowing never to be enslaved by monsters again. The Tsura are known as experts on fey, undead, fiends and other magical horrors providing legitimate knowledge and charms against such creatures though sadly their warnings often fall on the deaf ears of outsiders who consider them little better than hucksters. Tribal Skill focus: Knowledge: Nature, Religion, Planes or Arcana
Racial Stats for Rover-Folk (Cost:10 RP) Type: Humanoid (Human) Size: Medium Base Speed: 30 Ability Modifiers: +2 to Any one Stat Languages: Common, Rover-Talk, Any Traits -Flexible Bonus Feat :Members of this race select one extra feat at 1st level. -Skilled: Members of this race gain an additional skill rank at 1st level and one additional skill rank whenever they gain a level. -Static Bonus Feat: Gain Skill Focus feat in a tribal Skill -Curse of the Long Road: Rovers who remain stationary, IE sleeping in the same location such as a house, inn, camping spot or imobile wagon for longer than a month suffer a -1 to all skill checks until they travel at least 30 Miles away and rest at a new location overnight. -Blood of the first City: