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Kingdoms - Astol
Climate: Average Seasons
Known As: Astollians
Primary Lang: Common, Astollian
Capitol City: Mistryy
Ruler: King Erik the Hard of Hand
People:
The people of Astol are a hardy lot. They come from a rougher climate than many and their years of isolation from other countries have left them both self-sufficient and a little behind the times. Even when they do get news from the outside, they are unlikely to believe it. If it comes from an Astolian it's either hearsay or he's been travelling and if it comes from anyone else, he's probably lying.
Astollians consider strength the best measure of a man, followed by endurance. Intelligence is not particularly high on their list. Their sense of humor leans towards the rough and they are used to working hard for what they need and have little trust in those who seem to have things too easy. Although there are Astollian mages, there aren't many, so gaining new spells can be difficult, which is just the way Astollians like things.
Brief History:
Astol has always been a very harsh kingdom. Astol started out as a small kingdom residing on the western shores of the northern continent. Slowly but surely they started to move east, greating a war with the elves of Lyvival. Just about all the land of Astol was once owned by the elves. The actions of the Astollians is what caused Lyvival to close it's borders completely to the humans. Astol has always been ruled with a strong and tight grip over it. The borders are heavily patroled, the laws are harsh and exact, and while their army is not as big as some kingdoms they are rumored to be the most fierce soliders that anyone has ever seen. But with very little interest outside it's border, Astol has had very little to do with worldly affairs outside of a few small border expansions here and there.
Culture:
Astollians believe they have the right to rule the land if they are strong enough to take and hold it and others are not. This makes them a rather aggressive people. Their games, even from childhood, reach levels of violence that few would expect in a supposedly civilized nation.
They are a very pragmatic people, able to make decisions others would find difficult or impossible, like when to stop feeding a pet or an elder.
Ruling Structure:
There is a ruling family that controls the kingdom, but even life is hard for royalty. At the age of 15 the eldest child is considered eligable for the throne of Astol. From their 15th brithday until they take the throne they are fair game to their siblings and cousins, who can actively seek to remove their relative from their eligablity for the throne (main cause non-eligability is the sudden stopping of life). While the current ruler can offer aid to their eldest offspring, it is little more then advice or an item or two, since the child already commands his own entourage and batallion of men to help in their survival. It is purely survival of the fitest. However, they are not without honor. Once the child takes the throne, they are celebrated for their resilancy and respect is shown. Basically, no more attempts are made on their life.
Economy:
The economy of Astol is largely self-sufficient since they do not like to trade with others. They have recently done some Ithaky, although neither side seems eager to describe exactly what they traded.
They are a society of woodsman and small farms. The average Astollian takes more than half his food from the land. The fact that this is harder to tax than a field of wheat is not lost on the shrewder citizens.
Sub Structure:
Astol is broken up in to six baronies that are ruled by the cousins of the King. Taxes are usaully heavy on the peasants, while the ruling class lives in the lap of luxury. Generally all the barnoies are friendly towards each other, but it is well known that they are always working against each other on some plane or another.
Technology:
Astollians place little value on most technology. They have well-made weapons and armor, but aren't much worried about advances in tools and other areas. They tend to be slightly backwards in their thinking.
Arts:
Astollian woodcrafts rival those of even the elves and there are many gifted craftsman among them. The men favor crafts like wood-carving, carpentry, and stone-work (which they aren't as good at) while the women go in for pottery and leathercrafts.
The winters in Astol are fairly long and many a craft project is finished in the depths of winter to await a debut in spring. For those from the outside, it sometimes seems as if the Astollians themselves have bloomed when the snows finally recede.
Fashion:
Astollians pay little attention to fashion believing that all clothing should be functional first and attractive last. They favor somber, woodland colors, except for festivals when they break out brighter garb.
Men traditionally wear full length breeches tucked into calf-high boots while women favor dresses with long, but not overly full skirts. Most Astollians dress in layers and it can give the unitiated the impression that the entire country could stand to lose a stone or two
Politics:
Astol, for the first time in over 1000 years has become involved in the affairs of the world by making it's alliance with Ithaky well known as they have started to move against the borders of Corison. The mobility of their army has made Lyvival very tense.
Astol has a bad taste for anyone who's not Astollian. They are usually loud, rude and very violent towards people around them.
Playing an Astollian character
Common Roles
Astollians naturally don't trust anyone and are very detail-oriented. In an adventuring party they do a good job with tracking treasure and mapping. They are also good at laying in supplies. Their lack of social skills regarding those of other regions makes them poor negotiators.
Adventuring Archetypes
Outcast: Many travelling Astollians have departed their homeland for a reason. These outcasts may have been kicked out by their peers or have left on their own.
Overly Curious: Some Astollians can't believe the world ends at their borders and become adventurers to learn more of the world.
Spy: Although they won't admit it, the Astollian leaders realize there are good ideas in other parts of the world. They sometimes ask young Astollians to travel and learn.
Role-playing Hints
No matter which archetype you are, feel free to confuse your companions about your true objectives. You really don't trust anyone who isn't an Astollian, so why would you tell them your secrets? You do need to be careful that your patriotism doesn't become a burden on the rest of the group. Astollians believe in preparedness and record-keeping. They don't have to be anal, but they do like to have a plan and a clue.
Creating an Astollian character
Naming Conventions
Astollian names, both male and female, tend to be hard. Their native tongue is full of hard consonants. Soft sounds are rarely heard. Ideally, even your name should sound angry, with clipped speech common.
Ability Scores
Astollians may subtract up to two points from any single attribute (other than Consitution or Strength) and add them to their Strength and/or Consitution. They could take a -2 Wisdom and add 2 to Strength, 2 to Constitution, or 1 to each. They can not subtract one each from two stats though.
Racial Abilities
(Considered trained in skills listed)
Skills:
+2 miscellaneous modifier to all strength based checks
Feats:
All Astollians get Toughness at 1st level
Astollian fighters become Specialized at 4th level
Astollian priests gain Expertise at 4th level
Astollian Rogues gain Expertise at 4th level
Astollian Wizards/Sorcerer gain Spell Mastery at 4th levelAstollians gain access to the following special feats which must be taken at 1st level unless otherwise noted. These are not bonus feats - they are feats which are available only to natives of this region.
- Blooded
- You know what it's like to fight for your very life and are hard to catch off-guard. You get +2 initiative and +2 on spot checks for hidden attackers/dangers.
- Immovablity
- You are very difficult to move or knock down. You gain +4 to your opposed roll when someone attempts to trip or overrun you.
- Knock Prone
- You strike powerful blows in combat. Any time you score a critical with a non-piercing weapon, your opponent must roll a Fortitude save with a DC of 10 + the damage you roll for the hit or be knocked to the ground.
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