Gehen Volki
Gehen Volki are a fierce pastoral people that work iron and adamantine from the hills and mountains into weapons of war. They have a complex and colorful culture with many oral traditions. Content in conflict and struggle they are not a united people but are deeply spiritual and revere Nature and the Five Elemental Devils and believe in reincarnation, because they in fact remember fragments of their past lives. Their lands are far stretching plains, savanna and the grassy hills of Gehen Ort.
The many small kingdoms and numerous tribes of the Gehen Volki are separated by the great rivers that run through the Gehen Ort region, all massive and near non-fordable waterways. The eight Gehen Volki kingdoms which hold the greatest economic, magical, and political power are collectively called Zugbrücken, or "Migratory Bridges". The reason they are called this is because Zugbrücken are the central feature of each of the eight kingdoms. Zugbrücken are places the plain or savanna has been extended with incredible engineering and brute feats of magical might to create a mile wide grass covered passage where natural migratory herds, the flocks of Shäfers, or the herds managed by Elchreiters can cross the the massive rivers in Gehen Ort. The Zugbrücken are artificially created to control the natural migrations of the beast which feed the Gehen Volki themselves and fuel their economy, and as a main means to exact a toll tax which maintains the kingdoms which in turn maintain the Zugbrücken.
The name of the eight Zugbrücken are Kein Ort, Leer Ort, Dieser Ort, Ohne Ort, Dort Ort, Einin Ort, Jeder Ort, and Alle Ort. Trade treaties with kingdoms dictating non-aggression and non-expansion of various other cultures' colonies and the constant raids of independent tribes of Gehen Volki keep the entire situation extremely volatile, without it flaring into all out war.
Gehen Volki life is based on the trade of metal forged in the hills by the either small kingdoms or minor tribes and the meat of migratory grazing beasts that they tend in nomadic flocks and herds on the plains and savannas. The main settlements are way stations of trade between these powers that be, divergent ways of life, and the outside world.
Most Gehen Volki have no easy way to bring trade for goods from other cultures as they are viewed with suspicion by the other cultures which have colonized their coastline due to the frequent raids by independent Gehen Volki tribes which the other cultures take way more personally than the Gehen Volki do. Even if trade with foreigners were easy, these fiercely independent people would rarely want such a thing. A standard Gehen Volki views foreigners as weak, clueless and softened by their lifestyle. Gehen Volki value strength and wisdom, and both come from struggling. This comes out in many aspects of their day to day lives.
Given the nomadic aspect of their pastoral food base the Gehen Volki tend to be the second best traveled of the five cultures. This helps them appreciate the natural world, its cycles and the harsh beauty of its ways.
Classes
One of the major destinctions between different cultures are which Classes are available for members of that Culture. These are not idle options nor general guidelines but rigid metephysically restrictions hardwired into each soul of character capable of gaining Class levels in the first place based on Culture and the placement within the Obvious Fated Hierarchy the character recieved at birth. Without being a Souled being with a Culture it isn't even possible to gain Class levels, and it is Culture and Fates defining characteristic to shape what is even possible, and it does so on a metaphysical level. Within the Classes available to each Culture only certain Class Options are expressed as well, making the Culture and their placement in Obvious Fated Hierarchy extremely important. These differences in Culture means they don't work the same way when addressing issues, don't value the same resources, and in general feel very different to be within. The Gehen Volki haveBarbarian
The Gehen Volki have four different Paths Barbarians of the Gehen Volki may choose from. The Barbarians on the Path of the Ancestral Guardian pull the tattered fragments of ancestral souls which remain behind in the Five Hells as Gehen Volki are reincarnated to power some of their Class abilities. The Barbarians on the Path of the Battlerager lean their whole being into sadistically vicious martyrdom to make those that attack them pay dearly. The Barbarians on the Path of the Beserker channel their efforts to stoke their fury even higher than other Barbarians. The Barbarians on the Path of the Totem Warrior temper their Rage and martial prowess with spiritual shamanistic practices of their Culture.Barbarian Class Options
Druid
The Gehen Volki only have a single type of Druid, the members of the Circle of the Shepard. The pastoral economy and resulting largely nomadic lifestyle of many Gehen Volki are supremely suited for this type of Druid because of the Gehen Volki Culture's focus on beasts, especial the great herds of Gehen Ort and the predators that track them. Other types of Druids are not found in this Culture because except as waypoints for the travel of others to maintain Zugbrücken, Gehen Volki do not generally set down roots. The magical might referenced in the description of Zugbrücken comes from these types of Druids, and they are greatly respected and frequently admired in Gehen Volki Culture.Druid Class Option
Ranger
The Gehen Volki are an extremely mobile people (The Culture's name literally Translate "Walking People"). Rangers play many roles within this mostly nomadic pastoral culture from guides, protectors, providers, and toll enforcers to lone wanderers, brigands, rustlers, and raiders. Rangers whom become a Beast Master forges an extremely strong bond with a Beast which aids them in many ways, frequently managing herds or more militant tasks. Rangers whom become a Monster Slayer focuses on attuning themselves to spiritual forces to act as a bane to supernatural threats. Rangers whom become a Hunter chooses to specialize in specific combat situations. Rangers whom become a Horizon Walker become the archetype of thel wanderer, able to meander as mystical vagabond among the Planes of Existance themselves.Ranger Class Options
Warlock
Warlocks are regarded with mixxed feelings among the Gehen Volki, always respected and frequently reviled for their service to Devils to bring infernal tyranny from the Five Hells to Virtateron or selling their eternal Souls to powerful Elemental beings who will forge them into sentient weapons. Warlocks with the Fiend Patron are the former, while those with the Hexblades are the later. Either way, while undeniably Welborn or Highborn the members of this Class carry a Stigma of desparation and/or malice.Warlock Class Options
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
First names
Common feminine suffix include frau which becomes weib after marriage, mädel which becomes grattin after marriage, and all such suffix become witwe if she becomes a widow.
Masculine names
Names
Masculine suffix include bub which becomes mann after marriage, zucht which becomes gatte after marriage, and all such suffix become witwer if he becomes a widower.
Family names
Trade Based Common Surnames
Elchreiter (Large Animal Herder), Elfenbein (Ivory Trade) ,Gerber (Leather Trade), Metzger (Butcher), Shäfer (Small Animal Herder), Schilf (Reed/Grass Craft)Prominent Ancester based Common Surnames
Hordenachkomme, Kampfnachkomme, Rudelnachkomme, Streitnachkomme, Wutnachkomme, ZornachkommeIdeals
Gender Ideals
Male Gehen Volki are universally talented at combat, while female Gehen Volki are universally talented in magic. These two things are accepted as universal truths but does not mean magic is exclusively practiced by females nor combat exclusively practiced by males. Struggling is valued so Gehen Volki do not always choose the easy path.
Courtship Ideals
Interracial and Cultural Breeding and Marriage
The Gehen Volki is made up of five races, all of which are capable inter-marriage that’ll produce offspring (the only other Culture with such a boast is Frum). The Gehen Volki Culture and the Jundo-no-min Culture share an exclusive abnormally, they have ability to interbreed some races between those two Cultures, even though intermarriage is impossible without the Jundo-no-min being Gehen Volki god-tainted. The children born of such mixed Culture couples universally favor the mother’s Culture. Two common threads among the Gehen Volki courtship is that within the Gehen Volki Culture reproductively viable interracial marriage is seen in a very positive light, and proving oneself a worthy mate is not exclusively a male burden, but vary greatly beyond that from kingdom to kingdom in local customs which express those ideals and the Gehen Volki core value of appreciating conflict and strife as tools of growth.Relationship Ideals
One interesting legal tradition the Gehen Volki have is that if a female Gehen Volki kills any male for her to be punished it must be proven that she did not have a good reason to do so. This makes husbands step lightly around their wives, even though also by tradition males are deferred to in public.
Both Patrilineal and Matrilineal
Paternity is especially ambiguous out of wedlock, but for males in wedlock they can be certain due to the magic of the marriage ceremony and that the first child conceived during their honeymoon is theirs. The Gehen Volki are both Matrilineal and Patrilineal due to these factors, surname derived from the mother for all children except the first child conceived, which carries the father's surname. Inheritance follows the surname,Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
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