Greetings everyone, here's a preview of another race for the Blood Throne setting, the Gheldrin. Enjoy
Gheldrin
The fabled race known as Gheldrin come from obscure backgrounds. Some believe they are an ascendant race created by Enâra, while others insist they are the half-breed offspring of gnome and dwarf. The truth, however, rests somewhere in between.
The first Gheldrin (often referred to as halflings or little folk) were indeed progeny of Shieldwall dwarves and Seguire gnomes, birthed in the Age of Steel when the two races began to mingle in the years before the Shek-tar and Ashoi-Notkah made war upon the elder races and drove them from the Wild Lands. Not surprisingly, the offspring were universally rejected by both cultures, their parents ostracized, forced to leave their ancestral homes under threat of violence, in many cases from family members who viewed the indiscretions of their brethren to be shameful acts which diluted the family line.
Many parents, having grown resentful of their children, left them in the wilderness to die. Hoping to find solace in anonymity, others moved to larger cities such as Megath-Tor, Ardrennen Falls, Fairhaven or White castle Harbor. Sadly, they found little respite from the prejudices of man and elf, who looked upon their strange children with thinly veiled revulsion, openly mocking the little folk with their rounded faces skinny bodies, pointy ears and white hair. It wasn’t long before they too were forced to leave the great cities of the elder races and venture into the wilds of Simarra.
And troubles followed them still…
In those days, long before the roads were patrolled, long before the mana wells were tapped, evil lurked in the wilds of Simarra. The little folk found themselves preyed upon by brigands looking for an easy mark and foul beasts looking for an easy meal. Foul gretchclaw, wild orcs, goblins and a host of other fell beasts hounded the steps of the halflings, hunting them incessantly; to such an extent that their numbers were so small the world soon forgot about them. Indeed, the Gheldrin (as they came to call themselves) might very well have been wiped out during those dark times, but fate intervened.
Legends say the mother goddess Enâra took pity on these creatures for all the troubles they endured in their short lives. She whispered into the hearts and minds of the little folk, beckoning them to journey to a place on the far eastern shores of Simarra, to an expanse of isolated lowlands no eyes had yet seen. There, Enâra bestowed the race with the ability to touch the minds of those who might seek to do them harm and remove all recollection of ever having encountered the Gheldrin.
The mother goddess further blessed Gheldrin females with increased fertility, and their numbers grew tenfold in the first years living in the lowlands. Enâra also taught them of secret paths throughout Simarra known as “Shadow Warrens.” Enâra warned that, while the shadow warrens had grown exceedingly dangerous in recent years due to the efforts of the dread god Thûrak to infest them with shadow spawn, they would nevertheless lead those who had the courage to travel them to safe havens in the most remote places of the world. The importance of the shadow warrens could not be stressed enough, for there would come a time when the world would be plunged into a darkness so great, that the people of the world would have great need of the Gheldrin and their knowledge of these dark paths.
Seeing her work complete, Enâra left the Gheldrin, but not before issuing a decree; The Gheldrin were to refrain from seeking vengeance upon those who had mistreated them in the past. Furthermore, they should always seek to help those in peril or unable to help themselves, and above all, remember to use the shadow warrens in those dark times, for the need to travel in secret would be great.
Left alone, the Gheldrin built the fabled city of Shalledrin, which came to be known as Haven in the common tongue. The halflings constructed secret outposts throughout the Meregost Mountains so they could watch for those who might seek to intrude upon their lands. Those explorers and would-be settlers who ventured too close to the land of the Gheldrin were captured, transported far away via shadow warrens and then released, but not before the experience was wiped from their minds. Some explorers, still retaining cloudy fragments of the journey, spoke of the little folk and their secret lands. Thus, the legend of the mysterious Gheldrin, the mythical city of Shalledrin, and their secret land known only as the Vale of Mists grew.
During the Age of Plenty, the Gheldrin spread across Simarra. Their knowledge of the shadow warrens grew immensely, and the halflings founded settlements in numerous places both on Simarra and in other places; islands and continents not yet visited by the other races. Soon, the Gheldrin began to sneak down into the cities of man, elf and dwarf, always keeping a watchful eye over their distant cousins. Some even established permanent residence in cities such as Ardrennen Falls and Megath-Tor, secretly taking over entire neighborhoods over the course of years, or even building subterranean complexes housing whole communities of Gheldrin who came and went among the other races in the guise of gnome or dwarf. For the most part, the Gheldrin who lived among the other elder races were content to simply watch them, ever mindful of the words Enâra spoke to their ancestors — that there would come a day when the Gheldrin would be called upon to aid those in need. Other Gheldrin, however, cared little for the teachings of their elders, and made their way in the world as thieves, spies, or assassins, using their skills and abilities to selfish ends.
By the end of the Age of Plenty, the Gheldrin had managed to make the shadow warrens relatively safe for travel, either slaying the horrors outright or trapping them in powerful mana shards. Additionally, the Gheldrin had nurtured a vast, intricate informant network rivaling that of some Simarran governments. Known as the Shadow watch, the informant network enabled the Gheldrin to closely monitor the affairs of the world and keep tabs on unscrupulous organizations such as the Arcanus League and monitor the activities of the Sundaari blood magi. And so it was, when the Keza-Drak invaded, the Gheldrin were not entirely unprepared.
Of Derius Trel and the fall of Megath-Tor
Members of the shadow watch had been following the movements of the Othrännän for some time; those of Agärazôn in particular. Members of the shadow watch — a shadow hunter by the name of Derius Trel in particular — assigned to monitor the activities of the Arcanus League in the Cradle of Life began noticing strange changes in the behavior of the god spawn. Agärazôn became increasingly reclusive. He spent most of his time poring over ancient texts and memory shards dating back to the end of the Age of Steel. The god spawn began traveling abroad more often in the years leading up to the invasion. Agärazôn began using the shadow warrens once again, something the Othrännän hadn’t done since the Ascendant wars. Worse, Agärazôn, knowing of the existence of the Gheldrin, woke the sleeping horrors of the shadow warrens, undoing the efforts of the shadow watch to make the secret paths safe for their kin.
Derius watched in horror as Agärazôn — the most powerful of the god spawn — attacked unsuspecting Gheldrin as they moved through the shadow warrens. He wanted to fight and die with his brethren as the betrayer used eldritch spells, laying waste to way-stations in the warrens; but he couldn’t bring himself to drop the obfuscating magicks and reveal his presence to Agärazôn. Something larger was happening, and it was up to Derius to find out what it was and stop it if he could.
Derius followed Agärazôn on his journey to places hidden even from the Gheldrin and watched as he broke the seals binding the dread Morargrim. The shadow hunter paled in abject horror as Agärazôn and the sinister agents of Thûrak nearly eradicated the rest of the god spawn at the Narballa Henge, listened as the betrayer announced his plan to fuse the stone gates open and facilitate an invasion of the world. The halfling fled back into the shadow warrens, thinking only to warn as many people as he could, to save as many as he could. The rest of the shadow watch needed to know the things Derius had seen and heard. Stopping the invasion was a fool’s errand; it was inevitable. The elder Gheldrin had long spoke of the coming of darkness. They told and re-told Enâra’s words throughout the ages, and now her prophetic words were coming to pass. No, there would be no staving off what was to come. Now was the time to embrace the destiny the mother goddess had designed for the Gheldrin so long ago.
The flight back to Megath-Tor was a frenetic, mind-bending journey. Twice the shadow hunter had to fend off attacks from Morargrim and shadow hounds loosed by the betrayer on his trip north. Looking to cut off the people of Simarra from any potential means of travel, Agärazôn had sent his minions to cull the shadow warrens of life; a task they performed with brutal efficiency. Way-station after way-station lay in ruins. Derius did what he could for the survivors, providing healing salves and food. Always, before leaving them, he urged his kin to flee the shadow warrens and prepare for the coming darkness.
The full story of Derius’ flight to Megath-Tor is a harrowing tale best told some other time. Suffice it to say, the shadow hunter barely survived the journey. When he exited the shadow warren in a hidden cellar underneath the popular tavern called the Rusted Blade in Megath-Tor’s market district, Derius found the city in turmoil. The Arcanus League had begun their inquisition which was nothing short of an ethnic cleansing of all Shodonai in the Cradle of Life. Derius wasted little time gathering other members of the shadow watch, many of whom had already begun a long-planned evacuation of the city in the event that such a calamity came to pass. The halfling quickly related the past month’s events, of the betrayal of Agärazôn, the corruption of the shadow warrens, and the unleashing of the Morargrim.
After a hurried debate, it was decided that they would stay in Megath-Tor and do their best to deal with the uprising and work to counter Agärazôn’s plans. Under Derius’ leadership, the shadow watch spread through the embattled city, trying to convince as many citizens as possible to take their families and leave before it was too late.
But it was already too late.
As the shadow watch fanned out through the city, a great roar erupted from the Sedrin Henge. A single column of pale white light shot up into the air, and then expanded at the base, rending apart the fabric of reality to form a great portal. Silence blanketed the city for an impossibly long moment as frightened people turned and bore witness to the event. Suddenly screams rent the silence, followed by a flood of panicked people running through the streets, shouting to anyone who would listen that strange creatures were flooding through the rift, killing anyone who stood in their path. The invasion had begun.
Gheldrin in the Age of Blood
The vast majority Gheldrin have embraced their destiny, braving the horrors of the world, doing what they can to help as many people as possible in accordance with the decree of the mother goddess. Derius Trel and other members of the shadow watch chose to stay in Megath-Tor and resist the invaders. They formed one of the first insurgencies in the early months of the invasion, allowing themselves to be captured and locked away in the sprawling ghetto known as Kaz-Rakhûl or “the rat’s nest.” Distrubingly, a number of Gheldrin have turned their backs on their brethren, succumbing to selfish, base desires. Some have even joined with the mighty armies of Thel-Kaza, using their abilities and skills to hunt down renegade slaves or root out insurgents, even going so far as to hunt down their own kin.
The shadow warrens are fiercely contested; the shadow watch struggling against the Zôrùn-Ahmrê and the Morargrim for control of these pathways. Many of the way-stations have been rebuilt and reinforced, but more people are needed to occupy them. Some Gheldrin have suggested revealing themselves to the elder races and recruiting them to the cause, but even after nearly two thousand years, there is resistance to this idea, especially from the elder Ghedlrin. In the mean time, the Gheldrin struggle to keep their cities hidden as more and more refugees of the war seek to find solace in the remote places of the world.
Gheldrin Culture:
Gheldrin culture has been shaped and molded by the races’ experiences with other races during the Age of Steel. Fundamentally secretive, the halflings teach that the outsiders — the name by which the Gheldrin refer to the myriad cultures of Simarra — must be kept at arm’s length to ensure the safety of their people. Children are taught the fundamentals of moving silently at a very young age. Techniques often incorporate games and dances performed without music, reinforcing the ideas that sounds are anathema to stealth.
Description:
Gheldrin have surpsingly lithe features, given the dwarf and gnomish blood which runs through their veins. Standing an average of two feet tall, the race have round faces, their hair color ranges from pale white to jet black. They tend to wear simple clothing which helps them blend into their surroundings.
Characteristics
STR 2d6+1 ( 8 )
CON 3d6 (10)
DEX 3d6+6 ( 18 )
SIZ 3d6 (10)
INT 3d6 (10)
POW 3d6+3 (13)
CHA 2d6+6 (13)
Hit Locations
D20 Hit Location AP/HP
1-3 Right Leg –/2
4-6 Left Leg –/2
7-9 Abdomen –/3
10-12 Chest –/4
13-15 Right Arm –/1
16-18 Left Arm –/1
19-20 Head –/2
Weapons
Type Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Dagger 26% 1d4+1 1/1
Pistol 18% 2d6 3/5
Special Rules
Combat Actions: 3
Damage Bonus: -1d6
Movement: 4m
Strike Rank: +14
Traits: Dark Sight
Skills
Athletics 46%, Perception 43%, Lore ( Shadow Warrens ) 33%, Stealth 38%, Survival 33%.
