The Norlythe (NOR-lithe)

Situated in the frigid northern mountains of the western continent, the Norlythe is a vast forested wilderness populated by a wide variety of tribes and clans. Their city-state chiefdoms bring a hint of civilization and culture to the otherwise untamed forestland. Here is also found, in the farthest northern mountains, the last remaining dwarf stronghold.

Norlythe Regional Benefit

You know either Norlythin or Trentsmin in place of Common. You add Nature to your class skill list, and you gain a +2 bonus to Perception checks.

Known History

The Norlythe has never been safe. From bears and giants to the undead, its woodlands and hills are infested with the foulest creatures of this and other worlds. Here they have hidden since the earliest years of history, content to pick unwary travelers off one by one. The heathfolk first began mapping the region less than one hundred years ago. Their trappers began the first relations with the native humans and goliaths, but have made little impact on the area since its discovery.

Dwarves and Colonial Presence

In the year 1277 of the Annoloth, a Trentsmund slave ship was hijacked by a large band of dwarf escapees. The colonial humans followed them to the northern shore of the Norlythe, where they found a growing colony of escaped slaves, most of them dwarves. The colony became known as Ykhel, and has since grown to be a dominant though relatively solitary force in bare mountain tundra.

Upon discovering the empty Norlythe, the slave traders began making slave runs there to acquire fresh cargo. The goliath and human inhabitants were most coveted, and in time colonial powers began settling on the south-western shore of the region. The advent of colonial presence in the Norlythe has stirred the pot of war. Tension is rising between the native city-states and their new neighbors.

Sundered Valley

The colonies very recently became aware of a small culture of humans that claim to have fled Trentsmund at the behest of a lesser god, whose true name is no longer known. In a small valley that is completely isolated from the surrounding lands by thick forest and mountains, they built a village and lived a sheltered agrarian life alongside their god. In the last fifteen years, however, the Sundered Valley inhabitants have begun to interact with the surrounding tribes, and are slowly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the forest.

Culture of the Norlythe

There is a wide variety of subsistence in the Norlythe, from fishing and farming to mining and herding. Only the colonists from Trentsmund build prolifically, hugging the bare coastline as a belt of growing log cabin villages. The human natives build with stone quarried in the Caskalle Mountains to the east.

The colonists first arrived ready for battle, and only after five or so years of fruitless war did they settle down and make peace. A tense truce is all that stands between peace and widespread bloodshed. The goliaths generally mind their own business, but hate the colonists for their slave raids. The dwarves try to remain out of sight, but have been known to send battalions out when their neighbors were out of line.

The colonial dress is much the same as in Trentsmund, with a more rustic flair. The native humans sport thick, feathered boots and fur aprons. Often their skin is tattooed in spiraling and zig-zagging lines, almost imitating goliath birthmarks. In battle, they wear bone armor and tall helms. Dwarves have a characteristic textile they produce called magkra, like a thick, woven silk, which they trade to foreigners only in rare circumstances. Their clothing is usually comprised of simple, loose pants tucked into boots, with a coat intricately adorned with belted straps and buttons.

One of the most influential bodies in the Norlythe is Terratorumme University, an educational institution that has grown considerably in power since it was founded thirty years ago. It now employs its own standing army, and has a hand in nearly every political issue among the colonists. It operates as a sort of crude city-state within the colony of Terratorumme.

Racial Distribution

Humans 63%

Dwarves 17%

Goliaths 12%

Other 8%

Character Possibilities

Natives to the Norlythe are zealous in their freedom. They embrace the primal power source, as it gives them a connection to the spirit of the land in a way that overcomes the difficulty of life in the wilderness. Colonists and dwarves gravitate much more toward martial or divine sources. Some few look to the arcane as a symbol of the forbidden.

Between the different racial groups there is little in common, and much misunderstanding. Religion plays a large role in the lives of the natives, who largely worship Sarnoss, the Lord of the Wild. This “ignorant” cult worship is greatly disdained by the colonists.

Player characters from the Norlythe are likely to be mercenaries, trackers, or practitioners of the primal arts. The most common are rangers, seekers, wardens, and warlords.

Nations of the Norlythe

Caraquetularác

Colonial Holdings

Haracuraquét

Maricuälatán

Sundered Valley

Ykhel

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