Campaign guide plight of the tuatha (1) 23

Campaign Guide
lived in peace and shared their ways and skills with each
other. This cooperation caused Grimaland to become a
powerful city which the humans from the region believed
was home to the gods.
It is said that a foreign god became jealous of this great
city and sent a plague and eternal night in order to destroy
the bonds between the races. Over the next dozen years,
thousands died beneath a sunless sky, and none who were
born survived longer than a year. So the civilization split
with the dwarves heading to the islands to the south and
the elves continuing their travels to the east.

Human
Much like the trees of their forests, Ostmen humans are
stout and proud. The harshness of the Ostmen Islands
have forged these humans into examples of the strength
of body and soul humans are capabile.
Physiology
Ostmen tend towards fairer skin and lighter hair colors.
While Ostmen have blonde or light brown hair, reddish
hues are not unknown. The harsh environment of the
Ostmen Isles has resulted in a larger and sturdier human
frame. Males tend to be between 5’10” and 6’6” while
females are most commonly between 5’7” and 6’1”.

Society
The humans of the Ostmen Islands have an agriculturally
based society, with a focus on fishing and the rearing of
cattle. Plots of land require much work as the bulk of the
island’s soil is too rocky to produce much. However, the

humans have shown great skill in working the land and in
a growing number of locations larger areas of fields and
forests now can be seen.
While most fomoire have taken control of the coasts,
and the dwarves reside in the mountains or plains of stone,
the humans live between the two groups in the forests that
they have grown. They live in an uneasy peace with the
fomoire who require wood from the humans’ forest to
build their ships, but they have a fairly amicable relationship with the dwarvish clans. Many dwarves see human
habitation as the will of Volsung; dwarves create the land
and humans transform it from rock to field

Arts
Ostmen human art is approached in a religious manner.
Very little art is created for the sole purpose of creating an
image. Instead, the goal for the majority of Ostmen art is
to either glorify their pantheon or attempt to control and
guide the mystical forces in which the islands are immersed.

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Most art is created by carving wood or bone into a
desired shape, though those with more affluence will tend
to work metals such as steel, gold, or silver into their pieces.
Particularly important sites, however, are marked by
the inclusion of stonework.

History
Humans are relative newcomers to the Ostmen Islands.
They arrived around four to five thousand years ago via

the Ightfal Tundra and, having found a relatively more
hospitable environment, began to build settlements. Their
arrival to the Islands was initially met with some hostility
and conflict, but soon the humans became entrenched in
the easily defendable forest areas.

Fomoire
Ferocity and brutishness are marks of the fomoire. Though
their bodies very greatly, the power of the fomoire is plainly
written upon their rippling muscles and thick hide.
Physiology
Fomoire are an extremely varied race in terms of their
physiology. They range from stocky frames around 4 feet
tall to gangly giants reaching almost 9 feet in height. Some
bare sharp teeth and a voracious appetite, other have small
gills on their necks, even other might be seen with unnervingly large eyes.
All fomoire, however, are tied to the ocean and its waters,
so much so that they must consume salt water in much the
same way as other races drink freshwater. The consumption
of salt is such a physical necessity that many fomoire carry
bags of it to add to any liquid that they consume.

Society
Fomoire society is a harsh and violent one based upon the
notion that only the strongest deserve to survive. Families
provide little aid to the sick or weak among their numbers believing that if they are worthy of their god Balar,
then they will find a way to survive. Younger fomoire are
constantly given tests throughout their youth to weed out
those who have little physical prowess to add to their clan.
While fomoire do build strong ships and weapons,

many of the more day-to-day objects that the fomoire use
have been gained through raids. Large portions of their
food, clothing, jewelry, and even coinage has been taken
from any other land that their ships can take them to.
The raid culture is so strong that the fomoire calendar
is designed around the seasons in which performing such
raids are the most profitable. Celebrations mark the days
when the seas and oceans are deemed safe for travel, the