Friday, April 5, 2013

Pangea: Language and Class

The people of Pangea are as varied as the land itself. Customs, languages and the roles of individual lives are widely different as you traverse the world. Player characters all come from somewhere, and their origins and journey grants them differing understanding of their place in the world. So below are some notes on the languages customs and the role of the classes in Pangea.

Languages
Dakkati and Adamu hunters sometimes share territories.
"Language is to the mind more than light is to the eye." -William Gibson
Adamu (Common): This is the "common tongue" of Urantia. It is a language made up of bits and pieces of other tongues, as so it can be at least vaguely understood by man-kin races with 20% accuracy, even if they dont have the language as determined by intelligence.
Aquan (Water): The fluid language of water spirits, aquan is a very difficult language to learn.
Auran (Air): A language of long breaths and and sighs. Auran is the language of air elementals, and is a difficult language to learn.
Awani: The Awani language is mostly gestures and grunts, and can be confused with ape noises.
Celestial: The language of the Heavens and those who dwell there. Celestial is often used in Divine Magic of the Good variety and when turning undead. Evil outsiders are incapable of understanding Celestial.
Dakkati: The Dakkati language is simple, but full of symbolism and usually punctuated with whistles and body language. The Dakkato language lends itself well to song.
Draconic: The language of the Dragon Kingdoms and Old Lemuria. Much of the language of Arcane Magic used Draconic.
Giant: This ancient language, and the runes it uses shares a great deal with Northern Adamu and the Dakkati tongue.
Ignam (Fire): The language of fire elementals, Ignam is full of hissing and crackling. Those with knowledge in this tongue can attempt to summon elementals by speaking to an open flame with a 20% chance of success.
Infernal: The language of the hellish Lower Planes, Infernal is favored by evil spellcasters. Infernal involves a great deal of moaning and screaming, sounding more like the noises of those under torture or severely ill.
Kobold: Kobold is similar to Draconic, but far simpler. The overall effect sounds much like the yapping of small dogs.
Ruhin: The language of the Ruhin is full of whistles and hoots, and involves a great deal of hand gestures. Ruhin is thought to be excellent for telling jokes.
Sylvan (Plant): The language of plant spirits and fey. Sylvan is a meandering language that takes its time. There are no abbreviations in Sylvan.
Terran (Earth): This rough language sounds much like the clashing of stones, punctuated with deep rumbles. Only those with considerable phlegm, and deep chests may afftempt this language. Speaking to virgin stone with Terran has a 20% chance of summoning an earth elemental.
Troglodyte: Troglodyte language is very complicated, and has some commonality with both Draconic and Infernal. Hisses and growls as well as body language (using a tail) is a major part of this language.


Classes
Left to right: Fighter, Magic User,  Sorcerer, Cleric, Barbarian,  Scout.
Most of the classes in the Blood and Treasure Players Handbook are appropriate for use in Pangea. However, some notes about the classes are in order. As follows:

Cleric: True clerics are relatively new in Pangea, being either from The Church of Heaven or The Church of Night. These two types of cleric are on the "Good" or "Evil" variety, with no specialty priests as-of yet. The Church of Heaven is centered at Meru, The Holy City. but its clerics are spreading far and wide across Urantia, looking for converts.

Druid: Druids are the strongest adherants to the "old religion" of Pangea, that of reverence of the forces of creation and a host of elemental, fey, and other spirits of forest, rover, stone and sky. The Druids maintain sacred places, observatories and a wide number of sacred groves across the land. In communities under their leadership, Druids are the keepers of agricultural lore and advise the people as to how to hunt, when to plant and harvest and all of the other variables of rural life. Druids, Bards and Rangers are the only magic-users trusted by tribal peoples.

Fighter: The fighter class is the most widespread in Pangea, as fighting men and women are always in demand. From village warriors to the armies of petty lords and mercenaries, the fighters life is rarely dull.

Barbarian: Barbarians are the ultimate warrior to the wild tribes, embodying the savagery of the wild with many useful skills.

Duelist: The Duelist class is rare in Pangea. Those that do exist are usually from the city-state of Trigas, where fighting on the deck of ships favors agile use of weapons. Some wise fool traditions among the tribal peoples of Pangea, as well as fighting thieves amongst the thieves guilds sometimes give rise to Duelists.

Paladin: Paladins are relatively new in Pangea, with most of them coming from Meru. All Paladins are adherents to The Church of Heaven, and are opposed body and soul against The Church of Night.

Ranger: Rangers are well respected in Pangea, and along with the Druid and Bard are often the spiritual leaders of tribal communities.

Magic-User: Magic of the arcane sort is widely and rightfully feared in Pangea. Magic Users are the product of study and so are most often born of cities. Such mages must study ancient tomes written in inhuman languages and consult spirits for their lore. Most Magic Users are trained in Artelmis, Trigas or Nochs, but apprenticeships are also not unknown in more remote places.

Sorcerer: While magic users are feared, sorcerers are despised. Seen as the product of unnatural unions between demons and men, sorcerers are often suspected of being evil. Most sorcerers learn to hide their power, either pretending that their magic does not exist, or passing themselves off as holy men.

Thief/Scout: In the cities, thieves guilds rule the shadows, giving thief players ample opportunities for training and opportunity. Scouts are also widely in use in armies on the move and among tribal peoples as hunters and skilled trackers.

Assassin: Assassins are specialized killers for hire, and thus are creatures of the city. Those who sneak about to do their killing in the wilds are despised regardless of their skill. Most assassins are trained in Thieves Guilds amongst the city-states, but the most notorious Assassins come from the city-state of Nochs. The Awani adore the Assassin class, who see them as magicians of the best sort for their skill in poison and the quick kill.

Bard: The Bard is the most widely respected type of arcane spellcaster in Urantia, and is particularly loved among tribal peoples. Bardic training involves such a wide range of knowledge that experienced bards are seen as the equal to the greatest sages.

Monk: The training and discipline that gives rise to the Monks wondrous abilities hales from the distant lands of Mu. Monks are seen as priests by the majority, and are widely respected for their skills and prowess.


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