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[Shootandrun]

Let's do this again.

We play as the Kingdom of Keldared, inhabited by the Keldars. The setting is in the dark ages: warrior culture and clannic systems rule. There is fantasy, with darker elements than before, but not outright dark fantasy /grimdark.

Intro
-----------------

Long ago, the Old Folk ruled these lands. They were a mysterious, magical people; they harnessed the powers of wild magic and lived in harmony with the spirits of the forests. However, those were old times; the rule of the Old Folk ended when the High Kin crossed the ocean upon great ships the likes of which were never seen again and claimed this land for their own. The Old Folk resisted and fought, but they were all but destroyed after a long and brutal war. The legend holds that the King of the High Kin took his crown off of the lord of the Old Folk's head.

The High Kin had not come alone. They had brought with them thralls and servants to serve them in this new continent. These inferior men bred freely between themselves and even some of the surviving Old Folk, while the High Kin kept to their own bloodlines in order to preserve the power they had brought with them from the Old World. Eventually, this lead to their downfall: soon enough, the High Kin were few and far in between, while their ancient servants spread throughout the kingdom in their thousands.

Two hundred years ago, the last King of pure High Kin blood died, and with him went his race. His lords, who were at the time all descendants of the first servants of the High Kin, elected a new King amongst themselves exactly a year after the ancient king's death, and started a tradition that would stand the test of time: upon the King's death, the lords would gather a year later to elect his successor amongst themselves.

Last week, King Alantor died at the venerable age of sixty-three. The news has spread throughout the kingdom. The race to the throne has begun: a year from now, the clan lords will elect a new leader for Keldared, and it is up to the pretenders to prove themselves worthy of their votes... Or to use fire and sword to acquire them.

--------------

Spoiler: Map (click to show/hide)

Strongholds represent the power base of the various clan lords. You can have me place one for you on the map if you wish to play as a Clan leader.
The lands are, from west to east: Lowlands, Riverlands, Highlands (south-east) Northlands (north-east) and the Isles.

Spoiler: Culture, religion, magic (click to show/hide)

Culture: The culture has a general emphasis on warriors and bravery. Yes, it's that vague. We are set in the dark ages, at the time of the chain mail but not of the full plate: the kingdom is semi-barbaric, which means a large part of the population is still hunter and fishermen and not farmers. Apart from that, it's fully up to the clan-leaders to fluff their clans from head to toe.
Note 1: Do remember the background history, all Clans are descendant from the men who came with High Kin.
Note 2: The "chain of command" of the kingdom goes as such: King, Clan-lord, Chief, Bondsmen, the populace

Religion: There are three religions in the Kingdom -
High gods: The gods of the High Kin. Emphasis on honor, bravery, warrior's feats.
Wild gods: The gods of the Old Folk. Emphasis on freedom, wilderness.
Barrows gods: A sect more than a religion, it is the worship of twelve Old Folk sorcerers who sacrificed their souls in order to curse the High Kin (for no immediate effect, although the death of the High Kin is often blamed upon them). An "evil" religion of sorts.

Magic: There are three types of magic in the kingdom. Spells generally require complicated formulas and ingredients, but if all the components are in place they are actually quite difficult to fail. Magic is generally viewed at the minimum with mistrust and at the worst with hatred, depending on the region.
High Magic: the "weakest" magic, once used by the High Kin (at their time, it was the most powerful, but used by men of other races it is weak), it does not affect its user's spirit. A Mage (user of High Magic) calling a Storm would simply cause a normal storm.
Wild Magic: the magic used by the Old Folk. It is more powerful than High Magic, but it increases the Wilderness of the user's soul. Wilderness causes Wild Beasts to be more interested in the user: this can generally lead to absolutely disastrous effects, such as being followed by direwolves or the Wild Hunt itself. Wilderness caused by Wild Magic can be fought back, with time and effort. A Sorcerer (user of Wild Magic) calling a Storm would cause a powerful storm, but not one that could not be normally seen in a terrible weather.
Barrows Magic: a dark, corrupted form of magic. It is formidably powerful, but it raises the Wilderness of the user at a tremendous speed, and that Wilderness is permanent. All users of Barrows Magic, unless they entirely stop using it early, are doomed to become cursed, hunted, soulless creatures doomed to run for their life for all of eternity away from evil spirits - a rather unfortunate fate. A warlock (user of Barrows Magic) calling a storm would cause an unnatural, destructive storm: a single thunderbolt of such an phenomenon would throw down a tower.

A note on clan leader: Being a clan leader does not mean you are necessarily a boring politician. This is a warrior culture. The leaders are generally badass in some form - go wild.

Character Creation:


Name:
Gender:
Race: May or may not go in. Vote below.
Appearance: Describe your character.
Bio: Describe your character's bio.
Skills: Spend three points. Being a clanleader costs one point. Skills listed below.

For Clan leaders:

Clan name:
Clan history:
Clan location: (I know there's a map, but describe what the region looks like)
Clan culture:
Clan religion (either High Gods or Wild Gods):
Clan banner: Describe (generally contain animals and have a distinctive color)

Spoiler: Skills (click to show/hide)

Weaponmastery (Blades): +1 to personal combat rolls/skill level in melee combat when wielding swords.

Weaponmastery (Axes): +1 to personal combat rolls/skill level in melee combat when wielding axes.

Weaponmastery (Blunt): +1 to personal combat rolls/skill level in melee combat when wielding blunt weapons.

Weaponmastery (Polearm): +1 to personal combat rolls/skill level in melee combat when wielding polearms.

Weaponmastery (Bows) +1 to personal combat rolls/skill level in ranged combat when wielding bows or crossbows.

Weaponmastery (Thrown): +1 to personal combat rolls/skill level in ranged combat when wielding throwing weapons.

Bravery: +1 to personal combat rolls when outnumbered/skill level

Agility: +1 to acrobatic, reflex & movement rolls/skill level

Subterfuge: +1 to pickpocketing, stealth & disguise rolls/skill level.

Charisma: +1 to persuasion & bartering rolls/skill level when dealing with others.

Tactics: +1 to tactic rolls/skill level.

Logistics: +1 to logistic rolls/skill level.

Offensive Strategist: +10%/skill level to army strength when on the offensive.

Defensive Strategist: +10%/skill level to army strength when on the offensive.

Magic user: Costs two points, can only start with one type of magic, cannot start with a bonus. Clan leaders can only use High Magic at the beginning.

Vote in your posts if you want playable non-human races. I personally vote No, but hey, if the majority is against me I'll figure something out (remember though, I am the one fluffing these races - you may not get exactly what you're asking for, although I won't voluntarily ruin the players' fun).

[GreatWyrmGold]

I would certainly be interested in nonhuman races. Or, at the least, humans modified by Barrows Magic or other means and/or magical creatures which happen to be intelligent.

Name: Grimore Fauna (born John Woodsman)
Gender: Male
Race: Human (probably)¹
Appearance: Looks thoughtful; wide, brown eyes; short, brown hair; lithe; tanned skin; short and broad-shouldered; wears a dark-colored tunic and a distinctive blue-and-red hat²
Bio: John Woodsman was born in the forests to the northeast of Beanie, in a village which subsisted on timber exports and hunting. His childhood was dully average. He was apprenticed to a woodcutter at age 10, and discovered his talent for magic entirely on accident about a year and a half later. By his 16th birthday, John had begun calling himself Grimore Fauna; he teamed up with his friends Zach Hunter and Jillian, who called themselves Tiger Saberdark and Robin Witchhunter, just before his 17th and left home to become a trio of adventurers. The three of them did okay; they saved a few people and defeated a group of minor bandits with Grimore's magic, Tiger's bow, and Robin's swords. During the bandit encounter, though, Robin was mortally wounded; Tiger and Grimore split up after that. Grimore was the best planner in the group, and therefore managed to become a minor officer in a clan leader's army. Now, however, he has severed ties with said clan leader for reasons he's keeping to himself, and has decided that he will probably freelance from now on³.
Skills: Charisma, Wild Magic

1: This may change, depending on your eventual ruling on nonhumans.
2: Imagine if a blue bicorn had a figurative child with the Red Mage's hat.
3: Unless you need me to be a "noble" of some kind, in which case he's decided to try his hand at being the one calling the shots.

Any problems?

[Taricus]

Name: Raesarla

Gender: Female

Appearance: Raesarla is of about 180cms in height, towering over most of her fellow clansmen. Her body is very muscled, enabling her to weild an oversized maul in two hands. Her skin is is fairly dark, her light silvery hair accenuated by the tone of her skin. She usually wears a thick suit of chainmail in combat, and woolen clothing out of it, along with a pair of hobnailed boots she wears both in and out of combat.

Bio: Raesarla is the only child of the last clan leader, who died in bed of old age. At age 22, Raesarla inherited the position, though not without critics or detractors who thought that a woman should not rule. Three years after becoming clan leader, any and all of her critics and detractors were silenced, either by death, hard work, or general apathy.

Now at age 28, Raesarla has more or less gotten accustomed to leading the clan. She is an honest and principled person, expecting others to uphold themselves to her standards. Though she is rather unambitious on a large scale, she is more than capable in dealing with others.

Skills: Clan Leader, Weaponmaster (Blunt), Agility

Clan name: Stone Wolf

Clan history: The Stone wolves were one of the last clans to fall out of the influence of the high ones, not particularly caring about the high king. This apathy for politics has remainedinto recent times, though it is not unheard of for a member of the clan (or several) to wander off adventuring.

Clan location: The Stone Wolf stronghold is located on the cliffs near the waterfall of the Smoothtide River, on a raised plateau (Whether it was natural or raised magically is subject to debate). The stronghold itself is surrounded by smooth stone walls, most likely raised or melded by magic. The structures inside the wall are mostly wooden with thatch roofs (Made from the reeds on the riverbanks). The surrounding area is a lush, evergreen forest to the north, the mountains, rich in ores, to the south and the river, rich in life in it's own way, to the west. Serval villages lie in the forest to the north, mostly along the river though a few are next to the streams that flow through it. Most of the outlying villages are dedicated to fishing and logging, though the ones in the forest devote their energy towards hunting instead of fishing.

Clan culture: Stone wolf Culture is not a particularly showy or remarkable thing in it's appearance on it's members; most of the clan dresses simply and lives simply, with small shrines to the gods in each personal house/communal longhouse.

The artisan's arts are viewed in high regard, especially those related to the shaping of metal. It is said that Stone Wolf armour is the finest in the kingdom, and only the Veordan make finer weapons. Masonry and other stoneworkers are highly vauled, especially there are so few that take up the call. Those that take up the call of a mason are generally also regarded as priests, and the most magnificent work is the idol of the clan motif: The dire wolf in the center of the stronghold, regarded both as a holy site, and as a treasure of the Stone Wolf clan.

The people of the stone Wolf clan are calm, slow-paced people. They are generally inclined to think about a situation and observe rather than charge in wholeheartedly. This has given rise to the view of the stone wolves being cowards, there is little truth to that fact. The stone wolves are much more opportunistic in battle, pulling feints, false retreats and other trickery that rely on their foe's overconfidance, although they still adhere to the warrior's code in combat, their strategies ignore it outright.

Clan religion: High Gods

Clan banner: A regal blue blackgroud emblazoned with a granite Wolf.

Spoiler: Stone Wolf Holdings and Assets (click to show/hide)

10 "Parcels"
10d In treasury

[Urist McBeanie]

Character

Name: Gragrar Hvķtr
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Appearance: Gragrar, aged thirty-one, is rather average in appearance, about 6 feet tall, with dark, shoulder length hair. He has a beard covering most of his jaw but hanging only a few centimeters beneath his chin. His eyes are brown and he has a slightly muscular build, strong enough to hold his own in combat but still stay sufficiently agile.
Biography: Gragrar was the second child of his father, Ęthelwulf. His father was fifty-three when he died, sixteen years after Gragrar's birth. His older brother, Harald, ascended to become the clan leader. Gragrar served his brother as his second hand, when unexpectedly, it was discovered Harald worshiped the barrows gods in secret. Five months later, Gragrar assassinated his brother. The general populace was unaware of Harald's terrible worship of the barrows, and they proclaimed Gragrar a kinslayer, and Ęthelwulf's fifth child became the new clan leader, for his third and fourth had died in battle serving Harald. The new clan leader, Gandįlf, practiced wild magic, and he simply... disappeared one day. Gragrar finally, as the only remaining heir, ascended to leadership of his father's clan. The people revolted almost immediately, but, Gragrar was able to seek out and crush the major rebel's leaders and their families. With no one to lead them, the people gave up and allowed Gragrar to freely take his place at the head of the clan. 
Skills: Clanleader; Weaponmastery (Blades); Subterfuge

Clan

Clan Name: The Steggir
Clan History: The Clan of the Steggir was founded five centuries after the fall of the Old Folk by a temperamental woman named Ęsa. She visited the forest one evening in search of some game and was attacked by a pack of voracious wolves. Just as her throat was nearly torn out, a White Stag burst through the woods and rammed into the wolf. The Stag impaled the wolf on it's antlers and fought the wolves as Ęsa lay unconscious. When she awoke, the Stag was dead, bleeding from several wounds to the throat and stomach, but she was alive. When no one would hear her story at her native clan, she was dismissed as a fool, for a white deer would never attack a pack of wolves. This enraged her enough that she fled back into the forest of the White Stag. Eventually, the old clan fell into chaos, with no heir and several chiefs fighting for the title of clan leader, Ęsa returned, with an army at her back, carrying a black banner of a White Stag. She marched on the stronghold and took the throne of the fractured, she then returned to the forest that she had been attacked by the wolves in thirty two years ago, to give thanks to the Stag for saving her. She called her clan the Steggir, meaning Stag in her language. The Steggir have worshiped the White Stag ever since.
Clan Location: Fjallhallr, The Stronghold of the Steggir is situated on a mile high hilltop, to the west and all of the southwest, it drops off on a sheer rock face into the ocean. The majority of the land is covered in plains and rolling hills, though it all drops almost straight down into the ocean. While there are some small amounts of game in the countryside, the best is to be found in the forests which are few and far between. Approximately one mile away from the stronghold is the forest of the White Stag, Hreinnskógr, it is where all clan leaders must go to be accepted as the new true leader. Unfortunately, given the chaos at home, Gragrar has yet to go there.
Clan Culture: To the Steggir, the White Stag is sacred, their forest must be visited by every clan leader, and hunting there is to be met with immediate execution, regardless of the perpetrators status. The people here are primarily fishermen, with only a few hunters given the sparsity of the forests. Since the first leader of the Steggir, it has always been so. They do their fishing primarily on the rocks at the bottoms of the cliffs, many rough hewn passages lead down, though it is quite common for people to fall from the paths and land one thousand feet below on the jagged rocks, and that is why no one above the general populace may fish, except as punishment.
Clan Religion: The High Gods
Clan Banner: The Face of a White Stag on a Black Banner

Voting yes for non-human races

12/29/12: Edited for clarity.
1/1/13: Added names for the stronghold and the forest of the white stag

[GreatWyrmGold]

Finished my character sheet, needs approval.

[Urist McBeanie]

Just so you know GWG, my land isn't called Beanie, it's just to show that it is mine because I haven't decided on a proper name yet.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Oh. Okay then. That makes more sense.

[filiusenox]

Name: Arcturn "Storm-born" Vertas
Age:16
Race: Human (descended from the Old One lines)
Appearance: A shock of white hair crowning a young face, storm grey eyes staring out from a sleek, drawn face, with a pointed, hooked nose and a prominent, pointed chin, all tell-tale signs of the Old blood. Marking his skin is a number of jagged, golden tattoos, each looking like an extended, winding lightning bolt. A small goatee, as white as his hair, crowns his young chin, hanging down a few good inches.
Bio: Born to the infamous Witch of the Thoa'ur Tower, Amaryllin, and the leader of the Dynderan clan, Arc Vertas. He was mewling when young, his father often fearing to hold the sickly, pale infant for fear of injuring it, being forced to leave it to his reluctant wife, Amaryllin. She, at first, left the infant to die out on her tower in one of the massive storms that rocked Thoa'ur to it's deep, dark foundations, but, the next morning, when she went to gather it's skull for a ritual, it was still alive, curled up and sleeping comfortably, looking healthier than ever.
His mother, always superstitious, took the child in and raised him carefully, eventually marking him as an Aliskyon worshipper, gifting him a red and white robe and tattooing him with golden lightning tattoos. She passed away, one day, according to him and a number of servants. She was followed a few years later by his father, leaving him the heir to the clan.
Skills:
Magic user

Clan Name: Skyon
Clan History: They always worshipped the old ones, and their land, strangely, was a place of refuge for those with the blood, making them a more wilder, temperamental, and fierce people, flightyy as the wind some days, but relentless as the storm others.
Clan Location: Isave
Clan Culture: See history.
Clan Religion: Wild Gods, special reverence to Aliskyon
                           

Spoiler: Aliskyon (click to show/hide)

Aliskyon, the God of Thunder, Time and the Sea, is blindingly beautiful ivory skin, long, pale golden hair, and eyes the color of bronze discs. He is very tall and very thin, and almost never smiles. He usually wears a hooded cloak dyed white and dark red.There are quite a few shrines to him near the sea. There are many myths involving his rough relationship with certain mortals, namely those with high blood. His followers are highly devout, and there's even talk of the barbaric practice of human sacrifice upon the coast land altars by clan heads.

Clan Banner: A jagged gold lightning bolt over a grey background.

Abstain

[thatkid]

Name: Grimmyr Villieldr, The Sword of the North Hal-Jor'dan "Magic" Johnson, but his tribal name is "More-Powerful-Than-Batman-And-Superman-Combined"
Gender: Male
Race: Human Hyuman. They're like humans, but they're more human than that.
Appearance: Tall and lean, Grimmyr is athletic, though not heavily muscled. His hair is a fiery red, and his eyes a sterling shade of silvery-blue. His symmetric, high-cheekboned features are clean shaven, as is the custom among the unmarried men of his clan, and his light skin is riddled with pink scars, hard won on the fields of battle.
Bio: The first of the seven sons of Kvisa Villieldr, a famed scoundrel and thief within The Valdyrbol Clan, and the only son of the seeress Rita (who had no surname, as her one true mate was to only ever be The Gods), Grimmyr was trained among the other youths of his clan as a warrior and protector of his people. While no proper historian would make such a claim, later generations speak of Grimmyr as if he had been blessed by The Gods for his mother's devotion. Regardless of the veracity of these claims, it is true, regardless, that Grimmyr was skilled in blade and tongue, and quickly found himself to be a leader of men.
Following several successful campaigns to rid the rivers of the Northlands of the banditry and horror that had plagued them for so long, Grimmyr, then known as The Sword of the North for his potency in battle, challenged the then-leader of his clan and, either due to his opponent's age or his own skill, won. Now the leader, Grimmyr, a devotee of the Old Gods, seeks to usher in a new age in the name of the gods he holds dear, and to restore his clan to their rightful place.
Skills: Clan Leader - The Valdyrbol
Weaponmastery (Blades) I - As each youth of the Valdyrbol clan, regardless of gender, is required to train as an arms man, Grimmyr Villieldr is a skilled swordsman, capable of holding his own against many a foe.
Charisma I - Handsome as he is, and the first son of the late Kvisa Villieldr to boot, Grimmyr's silver tongue is well-known within the Northlands.

Clan name: The Valdyrbol, which in the old tongue roughly translates to "The Wolves of Sorrow"
Clan history: The Valdyrbol were not always known as The Wolves of Sorrow. Once, long ago, their holdings spread from the river delta of the Northlands to as far, it is said, as the Riverlands of the southwest. In the days of the High Kin, long gone, that was, and perhaps the Old Folk before them. It matters not, of course- For in a time before the last High Kin fell, their power, the power of a clan who's name has since been lost to time, was broken. Driven back by some ancient force (perhaps the magic of the Old Folk sorcerers who are worshiped now by the Barrow People), The Valdyrbol were slaughtered, demeaned, and ultimately, finally, their very name was changed. This is the story, at least, which each of their young know by heart:

Spoiler: Of the Valdyrbol, A Children's Tale (click to show/hide)

TBE whenever I get around to writing this

Clan location: The Northlands Delta. Cold in the winter, and only somewhat warm in the summer, the Delta of the Northland forests are a harsh and unforgiving woodland where wolves roam free and hungry. In the summer, spring, and fall - the latter two especially- it rains heavily (though not heavily enough to make for a rain forest), and in the winter it snows. The river, however, rarely freezes, and so much of the food is freshwater fish. Scattered throughout the hills and forests are ancient stone monuments, perhaps built by the Old Folk, upon which ancient runes, unreadable both due to erosion and lack of recorded knowledge, have been wrought.
Not far from these monuments, the barrows of the Valdyrbol (and, rarely, more ancient peoples) can often be found.
Clan culture: The Valdyrbol are warriors to the last. Proud, powerful, and cunning, the only thing they prize more than the ability to lead in battle, is to fight on one's own. Often beset, in the past, by bandits of all stripes, given their position at the Northlands Delta, the Valdyrbol train their young, girls and boys both, in the use of weaponry from a young age. To them, names and blades are sacred things, and should a weapon earn a name all its own, it is even more sacred still.

Still, for all their emphasis on warriors and battle, worship of the Old Gods remains an important function. Within every village, city, and town a wild temple remains, a place where the wilderness is allowed to grow free and unreined. It is there that the Seers and Prophets of The Old Gods live, among the greenery, and where all soldiers go to pray for a guided blade in coming battles. It is there, also, in the eyes of the gods, which oaths are sworn, children and weapons named, and vital decisions made.

They bury their dead in barrows.
Clan religion: Wild Gods
Clan banner: A light blue sword and fang, crossed upon a field of white.

Humans and Hyumans only, please and thank you.
Edit: I'm going to be pissed if I'm the only guy who doesn't use magic :/ So I agree with Digital Hellhound's suggestion below.

[micelus]

Ye gods, another Yak? Well, let's hope that this one is a bit more...stable this time around. Have fun with your clan-yakking.

[Digital Hellhound]

Name: Maete of the Old Wild
Gender: Female
Race: Night Hag - presumably human, but who knows what manner of man and beast lurk in her bloodline
Appearance: Maete is old, frighteningly old, and hideous. Her features are almost deformed, with suspicious, bulging eyes. What little hair she has left is dead and dishevelled, hanging in thin, lonely strands down her skull. The sight of her teeth, rotten and black, have been known to cause children and women to faint. When needed, she uses her glamours to present a more lovely aspect, often a variation of an alluring young girl or boy.
Bio: Maete has lived in the dark and untamed places of the world as long as she can remember, like her mother and her mother's mother before her. Her ilk are rarely welcome in the more civilized places of the world, but are relied upon by the peasant masses when healing or brews are needed. Though some call them sorcerers, the night hag trade relies much on knowledge of herbs and brews, and the creation of protective charms and amulets. Only rarely do they cause harm directly, and are outmatched in combat with more pure magic users. Maete, like all night hags, uses the silent curse, the long death by hag's pox, or growing misfortune, sometimes taking years to come to fruition. She does think she has a sense of humor, though - a gluttonous elder turned into a pig here, a thief after gold sent to the skies as a crow there, a peasant girl longing for love torn apart by her admirers... a night hag's curse is never gentle, and a night hag's blessing is no blessing at all.

Maete claims she is many hundreds of years old, and remembers when the High Kin first came over the seas, and to be of the true Old Folk, to walk sometimes as a wolf or fly as a crow, and many other things. She is old, true, and the magics and brews she uses have obviously touched her mind. But behind those muddled eyes hides a keen and cunning wild-witch, with a quick tongue and quicker feet. Those who underestimate her will regret it, sooner or later.

Maete has come out of the wilds again, braving the distrust of a more civilized land, to see what these chieftains are made out of.
Skills: Magic User (Wild/Hag) [->Blood, Seed], Subterfuge

Ehh, pre-set religions and magic again? Okay, I see they're very vague, but still, boo. Not gonna stop me from joining with my night hag, though. Or making up fluff IC.

EDIT: Suggestion? Make Magic User take up two skill slots to discourage everyone from taking it. I'd be happy to drop Charisma for that.

[Shootandrun]

Magic costing two points sounds good. We'll do that.

[Ardas]

Name: Arathor Thorvalsson
Gender: Male
Race: Human.

Appearance: A tall and strong male in his early thirties, with long, braided hair and a beard to match, all of dark blond colour, blue eyes and a straight nose. His body bears few scars of hunts and duels done in the past, none of them too ugly or disabling. Those are accompanied by woad tatoos, marking him as a great warrior. More are to come as he grows in deeds and honour. He usually wears just leather pants, and a wolf pelt and a light linen shirt in cold weather. When in combat, he can be seen wearing tough leather armor under his wolf pelt.

Bio: As a son of the previous clan chief Thorval, Arathor always strived to honour his father and his clan in combat and in dealings with his fellow bondsmen. He fights well wth any weapon, but holds axe as his weapon of choice, as many of the forest-born do. His rise to leadership was not unanimous, as a long period of turmoil and few duels took place. Arathor had few gals in his life, but so far never settled permanently, with hunts, combat and settling of disputes occupying most of his time. He can sometimes be seen drinking a bit too much, a vice he refuses to aknowledge. He took to his position quite recently, just before King died, opening avenues for politics for Arathor.
He holds honesty and straightforward behaviour as qualities to be had. He is quick to anger however, if faced with undehand dealings, as he is yet to learn finer points of politics. He looks to forge strong friendships with people like him and is willing to follow those who can prove to him that they will do as he would - honour and clan coming first.

Skills: Clan Leader
         Weapon Mastery (Axe) +1
         Bravery +1

For Clan leaders:

Clan name: Veordan/Higlanders (colloquial)
Clan history: Veordans were one of the first people to break away from High Kin control, seeing as they inhabited the most distand ant hidden lands. They did retain their culture in religion and warrior practices, which continue to mark Veordan warriors as proud and honourable. Clan is wracked with periods of strife, when weak leaders and squabbling take over, or when many men are slain in service of king or to help other clans. However, the most recent history reveals prosperity and tranquility, with many tempted to go out and perform deeds of valour. Veordan people did not interfere much in high politics, with exception of Theomar the Broad, who after slaying a third of opposing clans during War of the Crown a hundered years ago was killed by an assassin after being king for 3 months.

Clan location: Highlands are one of the wildest but also the most beautiful regions of the kingdom. With its tall mountain forests and valleys and streams, it is a perfect place for a hunter or a forester. Meadows and small opening which are far and few in between are places where villages of beekepers, hunters and woodsmen live. Pine forests are a great source of resin and pitch, both important for survival and construction in this land, whereas Highland honey produces splendid mead. The clan hold is at the bottom of the mountains, facing down large forests below it, lording over the entire valley of Highlands.

Clan culture: Woad tatoos are a big part of social standing, where both men and women are tatooed as a sign of thier deeds in life. They are not too big, to allow for accumulation and combining of those with others. Men earn their tatoos in combat, hunt or "professions of the mind" (setting disputes, lore mastery and bardic skills). Women can also take up warrior path, but its more common for them to earn tatoos of mental professions and related to social standing, with wife being able to have some of the tatoos of her husband's family, marking their lineage and bond. they also face the burden of managing the clan while men are away or fighting outright when most men die in a foreign expedition. This sometimes means that they are the heads of their families and not their husbands!
All bigger families have their own subset of tatoos, marking out their kinship and being placed in addition to tatoos of deed. Tatoos themselves are placed on face, arms or upper body, where they can be seen. Tatoos are forbidden on hands or feet or ankles, due to their dirt and lack of respect if one were to show a tatoo on a hand or ankle.
Veordan people are hunters, beekepers and foresters mainly, but in places wihch allow they take up farming. they never cut down much forest for that purpose however, as they hold it as source of livging more than open land. They also work metal from their mountains, with forests provinding fuel and ore being plentiful in this wild land. While not yet being able to match the steel of the High Ones or the one coming from foreign lands, Veordan metal is something you can rely on in tight spot and they look to improve it with each generation.
Trade is done a little, with stuff like mead or iron being exported to obtain few luxuries like parchment or finer cloth or beer and wine.
Magic is seen as something untrustworthy a worst and as neutral force to be used carefully at best- mages are few, with one family being the only one holding tatoos for magic and being skilled in it. Bardic skills and history are held in high regard, with those professed in these being usually the "administrators" of the clan as they are liable to know writing and have the mental capacity for it.
Veordans are skilled carpenters, with clan hold being one of few places having any stonework in the land, due to its proximity to the mountains and its permanence as old High Ones fort.

Clan religion: High Gods - worship is done at altars built in the time of High Kin, usually in places of historical note or in the most important clan places, like the Veordan Hold itself.
Clan banner: A profile of a roaring bear head on blue background.

No to playable non-human races, ambivalent about non-playable non-humans.

[Urist_McDrowner]

Name: Grunwalder

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Appearance: Very tall, and strong. A warrior-king in his nature (though not really a king). He towers above most others and his immense stature was the reason he was selected to become the clan leader. He wears a thick fur coat and a thick fur hat with ear flaps during the winter.

Bio: He was born a very large baby, and when they opened his fingers, which were clenched in a fist, it was discovered that he had a blood clot in them, signifying by divine authority that he, Grunwalder, was to lead the clan over the last clan leader's son, who was small and sickly, as well as unpopular. In a brief, bloodless civil war between the young prince's 20 supporters and a huge mob, spurred on by the clergy, the young Grunwalder ousted the king.  With popular support, he was coronated as King, and has since been reigning over the clan with a centralizing fist. He is currently unmarried, his wife having died of the plague, leaving him and his son bachelors.

Skills: Clan Leader, Tactics, Weapon Master (Bows) I


For Clan leaders:

Clan name: The Saschen

Clan history: A principally maritime clan, they have subsisted both on farming their little island and lots of fishing. On their island of safety, they were able to break away from the Old Ones very quickly, and sustain their island against the initial attempts to reclaim them. They were never really all that loyal to any of the kings, and rather preferred to do their own thing and let the rest of the kingdom burn, only poking their heads up when foreigners invaded.

Clan location: The stronghold is set upon a cliff overlooking the sea. As for the island, it has a small hill in the middle, and smaller brooks running through the deciduous forests. Farms dot the coastline, as do private fishing craft. Inland, hunters practice their trade in those forests, hunting small forest creatures akin to tapirs and capybara. Horses are raised for milk and meat on the fertile coasts, nourished with rain, as well.

Clan culture:A massive emphasis is placed on sailing ability. "Age" in the clan is determined by how many times you've sailed on a boat. The "elders" will often be middle aged men with more sailing experience under their belt than Captain Ahab. They are natural mariners. Emphasis is also placed on maritime combat and raids. Often on the side, out of necessity or boredom, clansmen have removed their banners, making them unidentifiable, and go raid some minor clans for goods, or else they'll pirate some trade routes, always careful to leave nobody alive and not enslaved when they are done who can bear witness against them. This activity has been discouraged for the past few decades, but the tradition is still strong.

Clan religion:  High Gods

Clan banner:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Ghazkull]

Name: Voric Voricsson
Gender: Male
Race:  Human/Something Different*
Appearance: Voric is an Old Veteran. His long grey hair is hanging down in unwashed unkempt strands. Incontrary his fullbeard is neatly braided and kept clean. He is stickthin and doesn't really have the looks of a warrior, but what he does nto have in strength he keeps up with a trendemous endurance. his lower arms are covered in Tattoos showing his status as bondsman,right hand to the clanleader, his family bonds and his skill as warrior. His right eye is missing and in its place is a huge gaping scar where he was hit by a bear paw. He is usually wearing the hide of said bear as a cloak additional to the ancient chain armour and the axe both of which are ancient family heirlooms.
Bio: Voric's family is known as the Right Hand of the Veordan Clanleaders since the Clan has been founded. Whenever there has been a Veordan Clanleader there has been a Voricsson to take a place at his side. Voric himself has made a name of himself as exceptional Axefighter and Warleader. He is married to Heidi Wrensdottir and fathered two sons. Voric is generally the epitome of the grumpy old veteran, constantly complaining about the weather,young recruits, the weakness of these days enemies and so on and so forth. He is also a merry drinker and an expert player at the Game Keldured. 

Skills: Axe Mastery (Lvl1), Offensive Strategist (Lvl1), Defensive Strategist(lvl1)