Thursday 4 February 2021

Folk on Mother Sea

 For a Pirate Setting. Might end up as a GLOGhack, dunno. 

Mood Music


Firefolk 

Most numerous folk. Humans. 

Come in all colours and shapes. 

Like Fire, in that they spread, they destroy - and they drown quicker and easier than anyone else.

They dance brightly, cause a lot of chaos, and are gone just as quick, with naught but ash remainder.

Firefolk rot when they die. Particularly mighty or puissant Firefolk combust. 

Originators of blacksmithery, gunpowder and sailing ships. Myths say they invented the last since Mother Sea rejected them, which is why they’re good at drowning. 

Firefolk blood is warm and red.


Stonefolk

Stoic, melancholy, fleeing a westerly homeland destroy’d by vicious twin Leviathans. 

Tall, grey, heavy, and thick of limb. 

Like Stone, in that the only thing that ages them is the wind and rain, and that they can neith’r swim or drown. 

Stonefolk become rocks, if something manages to kill them. 

Stonefolk often walk along the bottom of harbours - though falling into the rolling main is as good as death, even if you cannot drown. They approach with patience, caution and determination. 

Stonefolk blood is cold and clear. It resembles spring water, but is actually quite poisonous to other folk.


Treefolk

Numerous in the forested interior of Nauswood. Historians and philosophers. Original inhabitants of the Nauswood land. 

Bark-clad folk with leaves for hair. Come in any appearance a tree does. Feet like roots, sturdy bodies, long limbs. They’re not trees, themselves, but they’re kin to them. 

Like Trees, in that they never halt growing, fear fire and float upon water. Usually find ships unsettling, in the way you might find a ship made of animal bones unsettling. Can stand perfectly still for hours at a time. Very hard to tell a dead treefolk from a live one. 

Treefolk become trees when they die.

Their never-halting growth means you can only play a young (<200) treefolk, since their true elders (>600) are half of what’s referred to as Giants. 

Treefolk blood is tepid, viscous and honey-red, like sap.


Cloudfolk

Live high above the clouds, or in the Sea of Ice to the north, or in the distant south on the Sea of Winds. They sail using the mysterious high currents above the clouds. Unclear relation to the beings variously called Storm, Cloud or Fog Giants. 

Slender, bluish folk, with floaty, cloud-like hair.  Walk on their tiptoes and don't (can’t?) blink. 

Like Clouds, they seem to weigh very little, and are always above the sea - Cloudfolk physically can’t get underwater.  Cloudfolk are immune to fall damage, but can be quite easily blown away in a gale. Often wanderers. Rarely use guns for reasons known only to them.

Cloudfolk evaporate when they die. 

Many cloudfolk have long, canoeish boats that can sail on clouds. You do, as well. It’s only a one-person boat, however, and cloud-sailing has its own challenges (such as the big fucking gaps). 

Cloudfolk blood is cold, white, and evaporates quickly.


Seafolk

Are Whales. You can play a Whale, should you want, but it’s hard to do piracy as a whale. Oldest of Sea’s childr’n, by fathoms. 

Like Sea, in that they’re vast, capricious, and terribly powerful. They can speak the Small Speech, certainly, but never will unless provok’d by some terrible insult or desperate plea. Most know powerful magic and are glad to form allegiance with the Young Kin and their ships. 

Nobody knows how Seafolk die. Most assume they secretly return to Sea, as whalefall or whispered tidal ghost. 

As Giants are to Treefolk and Cloudfolk, Leviathans are to Seafolk. 

Seafolk blood is red and boiling hot.



 

2 comments:

  1. You make a really strong case for humans as representatives of elemental fire!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! I was kinda stuck on what element to make humans until i struck it, haha

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