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Caligo Rektek is a roughly rectangular region, one of the larger of the Caligoi. It is inhabited by Pliv, Zun, Krinth, TTambroc, Glaethryn, and Slithu.
Jhray and Yith are under a curse which supresses their intelligence, or possibly just their powers of language. They are thought of by others as ordinary tree and swamp-dwelling carnivore, respectively.
The Pliv and Krinth living in Rektek have a long-standing feud which at times has escalated into a real war. According to their traditions it dates from the time of the Sundering; each race blames the others' ancestors for causing the coming of the Mists, and credits their own ancestors for the fact that some land and people were saved from the Mists.
The northern part of Rektek is a plateau at some thousand meters higher elevation than the southern prairie. There are mountain ranges bordering the Mist on east and west. Several rivers flow southward, some having their sources in the mountains or hills of the the northern plateau, but two having their sources in the Mist to the north and north-east.
Most Zun and Slithu live in the north. Most of the Slithu are serfs ruled by Zun of a nation that grew around the city-state of Zunthou.
Pliv live in caverns under the southern mountains and prairie.
The Yith live in a great swamp in the northeast, through which a couple of rivers flow out of the Mist, then southward.
The Zun consider themselves superior to all the other races. They are patronizing to the Slithu and contemptuous of everyone else except the Glaethryn, which they treat rather like country cousins, because of their advancement in the magical arts.
The Slithu chafe under the "benevolent" rule of the Zun and respect the other races as equals.
The Pliv consider the Krinth totally depraved, are envious of the Zun, and are somewhat patronizing to the other Surface races.
The Krinth consider the Pliv quite demonic, but have some respect for the other races.
The TTambroc distrust most other races, especially the Zun. They respect the Glaethryn because of their bond with nature and have some sympathy for Slithu.
The Glaethryn see the Zun as pious snobs, the Slithu as violent or boring, the TTambroc as interesting, if uncouth, equals, and the Krinth and Pliv as pudge-headed, violent creatures, fighting a war for no reason.
The Krinth religion in Rectek is different from that in Torodoth or Skargard in that it institutionalizes the war against the Pliv.
The Krinth religion is based on the worship of the Four Winds, the Sun, and the Moon. The Four Winds are Kylker, the North Wind, Squalun, the South Wind, Khestrahn, the West Wind, and Koochlul, the East Wind. These are the sons of the Sun, Squenklam, and his first wife, Squeena, who was killed by the Demon Pliv. The fifth son of Squenklam and Squeena, Keklan, fell from grace and was made mortal by Squenklam. Keklan became the father of the Krinth to expiate his sins. The Moon is Squenklam's second wife, Kymli, who watches over her brood of chicks, the stars.
Squenklam is the High Lord, worshiped by all and patron lord of priest Krinth. His palace is... Yes, in the sun! He is often pictured bright with flames, wrestling with the Demon Pliv, who is surrounded by darkness.
Squeena is the Queen of the dead Krinth. Her palace is above the clouds, where all dead Krinth may fly free forever. She is often pictured swinging her Flaming Scythe at screaming Pliv.
Kymli is the High Lady, worshiped by all and patron lady of all healers and broodmothers. Her palace is in the Moon, where she constantly watching over her chicks, the stars. She is often pictured cradling a wounded Krinth while the stars are raining down on a group of Pliv in the background.
Kylker is the lord of warrior Krinth. He lives in a palace made of the bones of dead Pliv beyond the northern mists. He is often pictured throwing a spear with one hand and strangling a Pliv with the other.
Squalun is the lord of scholar Krinth. He lives in a large library paneled with ornate wood beyond the southern mists. He is often pictured reading an old tome titled "101 Ways to Kill a Pliv" and writing "How the Pliv Summoned the Mists" simultaneously.
Khestrahn is the lord of laboring Krinth. He lives in a large farm house beyond the western mists. He is often pictured in work clothes, fertilizing a field with barely recognizable Pliv corpses.
Koochlul is the lord of civil servant Krinth. He lives in an office building beyond the eastern mists. He is often pictured standing on moneybags full of rotting Pliv parts while filling out a 10001 page form authorizing a Krinth battalion to descend on a Pliv encampment.
The Pliv have several legends about how their war with the Krinth started, though there is no hard evidence for any of them.
In ancient times, (according to one legend), the Pliv and the Krinth were friends and allies, and the most advanced of all the races. The world was much bigger, having no bounds, and not surrounded by mists. There were also several other races with souls, which are now extinct. The Krinth and Pliv co-operated in exploratory expeditions and found backward races like the Zun and Glaethryn and lifted them up from their savagery.
But scientists among the Krinth, against the advice of their Pliv colleagues, tried out experiments in interdimensional physics much less cautiously than they ought to have, and one day they opened a portal to a world full of mists, and mists began pouring through, dissolving all space and time and matter that they touched. The Pliv set up a sanctuary, setting up a machine deep underground that would, if it worked right (of course there was no time to test it) hold back the mists. They worked feverishly rescuing as many of every race as they could, graciously including the Krinth in their invitation. Four races, however, refused to come, and one accepted the invitation but mysteriously disappeared soon after the barrier was created and the mists halted in their advance.
The Krinth, jealous of the Pliv's rescue efforts, began spreading propaganda among the primitive races that the Pliv had loosed the mists that had killed most of their friends and relations. The Pliv angrily denied these rumors, and the primitives, hardly knowing which of their former benefactors to believe, chose to ignore both as they went to war. The war quickly reduced both to a much lower technological level and reduced their populations as well. In the aftermath, as the Krinth and the Pliv slowly recovered from their first terrible skirmishes, the Zun and Glaethryn became the most advanced races, and forgot about this; but the Pliv remember.
The Krinth have a similar legend, but in their version (wouldn't you know it) the Pliv loosed the mists, the Krinth rescued everybody, and the Pliv started the rumors against the Krinth. Nobody but some Pliv and Krinth believes either version.
Another less popular legend about how the war started is that the Pliv were placed in the world to defend the earth's bounty of metals and stones from the destructive habits of those incarnate demons the Krinth. This is the belief of a certain sect that call themselves the Guardians of the Silver.
NAMES: The Pliv in Rectek have three names; the first is their given name, the second is the given name of their most recent distinguished ancestor, the third is the name of their home cavern. Many personal names start with a consonant-L cluster. Some legendary and historical Pliv modern characters might be descended from are Glafnastri, Plantasgor, Klandoz, Vlignorph, and Tlombranch. Some of the largest caverns are Kletok, Tlegnek, Blekhnonstri, and Dlenekvlin.
[For the Pliv creation story, see the general Pliv document. This addition to it is unique to Caligo Rektek.]
... But after a long time, when the Krinth and the Pliv had worked together at the Surface for many centuries, there came another One, whispering of brighter light and spacious Air free from gravity to the Krinth, and of richer ores and deeper caverns to the Pliv. He offered wings to the Krinth, who accepted it, and to the Pliv, who rejected it as a temptation to pry into their neighbors' affairs. He demanded that the Krinth and Pliv cease their work together at the surface and separate, and follow him in all his instructions. The Pliv knew him for an Enemy of Dlarbrandok, and refused to listen and abandon the benighted Surface creatures as he required. But the Krinth listened, and followed his instructions, and opened a Hole into the other One's creation; a world of Mist, an ill mixture of Air and Water and Earth, brightness and darkness, and this Mist rushed through and began to destroy Dlarbrandok's creation. The Pliv worked feverishly to stop the spread of the mist, and made a haven where the mists could not come. Six sentient races were saved besides the Pliv themselves, though some more worthy than the Krinth could not be rescued in time.
The other One seemed to have departed, his worst mischief done, but the Krinth, in their spacious guilt, blamed the Pliv (Dlarbrandok alone knows why) and have warred on them since. The Pliv continue to defend themselves and to fight back, and have never abandoned the Surface races, who have, free from the menace of the Krinth, advanced now further than the Pliv.
A minority sect among Pliv in Caligo Rectek, the Guardians of the Silver, believes that Dlarbrandok's primary object in creating the Pliv was to prevent the depredations of other races upon the minerals in the Inside. They differ among themselves in the degree to which they object to use of the minerals. Some do not want to see them used for frivolous purposes, others simply do not want to see them wasted, and some want no one to excavate them. They are orthodox in all respects, but place a good deal more emphasis on these aspects of the Pliv majority religion than most.
The Slithu of Caligo Rectek are partial to silly parodies of Zun legends and histories, and verses mocking Zun leaders' pomposity.
Old Chancellor Zoardre,
Sat on a nail.
He issued an order,
For double-head nails!
Silly Zingrad the Tree,
Said we mustn't fight.
Then `long came a Slithu
And punched out his light!
The Zun are the citizens of the city-state of Zunthou.
As you can see by reading some of the various races' myths and legends, it is pretty clear that there is, or was, a seventh sapient race somewhere. There have been lots of speculations about what the seventh race is. Some folks say that it is probably too small to be seen. Many suppose that they must have died of some plague many centuries ago. A surprising number think that the Yith (see section below) are the seventh race.
There is also an old joke that females (or males) are the seventh race.
The Yith of Caligo Rektek are under a curse which seems to suppress their intelligence. They are thought of by members of other races as unusually cunning wild animals. However, the Pliv and Krinth have a tradition that the Yith have souls.
Zun scientists believe that the Yith are merely animals, but the Krinth and Pliv (yes, they do have something in common!) assert that in ancient days before they lost most of their scientific knowledge in the extremely destructive First War of Revenge, they had instruments that could detect souls, and that by these measurements the Yith indeed had souls, or at least something that only eleven (at that time) other animal species also had, and which in the other eleven cases was associated with intelligence. The Zun (and indeed most other people) believe this is nonsense like all the other Krinth and Pliv legends.
The Jhray in Caligo Rectek are under a curse of some sort; perhaps their intelligence is suppressed, or perhaps merely their telepathic and telekinetic powers. At any rate, it is not generally believed that they are sentient.
The Glaethryn and TTambroc hold the Jhray sacred and think it wrong to cut them down. Zun have no moral compunction about cutting Jhray, but because of danger of assassination from Glaethryn or TTambroc, they generally have Slithu mercenaries do it for them.
When the Sundering occurred, only a couple of thousand Wexivanov lived in the region that is now Caligo Rectek -- fewer than of any other race living in that region. They lived in several small villages and a town in the area east of Zunthou City. A few years after the Sundering, a plague began which rapidly killed most of them. In the last days of the plague, when fewer than two hundred Wexivanov survived, a plan was formulated. Some argued against it, but most agreed in the end. Each Wexivanov, in the last conscious stage of the plague, would swap minds with some alien and so survive the plague. About one hundred and fifty Wexivanov succeeded in transferring into the bodies of Zun, Slithu and TTambroc with whom they had been acquainted before the plague began and those races began avoiding the Wexivanov villages. Practically no one suspected anything, and it was generally thought that the Wexivanov had utterly perished.
Most of these Wexivanov lived more than a thousand years after that, skipping from one body to another as needed. Eventually, they inhabited bodies of all six races. From time to time, two Wexivanov would find male and female bodies of the same race, and manage to secretly raise a child or three as a Wexivanov, teaching them their old language, customs and psionic disciplines. For a long while the scattered Wexivanov planned a grand magic which would restore them all to proper Wexivanov bodies, once they had restored their numbers sufficiently. They set a goal of three thousand persons. But, by the time they had attained this number, about fifteen hundred years after the Sundering, the old ones' memories of their old bodies were too indistinct to use as a basis for transformation magics. So they remained Hidden for another twelve hundred years, until space travellers from Torodoth visited Rectek while re-establishing contact among the Caligoi.
The government of Zunthu, where most Zun and many Slithu live, consists of a four-house parliament and an executive council.
Each of the four houses is elected by a different segment of the population, and a bill must pass three or four of the houses to become law. When several of the houses consider the same bill at once, and amend it, and pass their amended versions to the other three houses, bills can get complicated and take forever to pass; so, usually, each tries to avoid considering a bill while other houses are considering it. However, they will sometimes consider a bill simultaneously if it seems very urgent, or if there is a mixup in communications.
The individual houses have the power to change their internal rules of procedure, to increase or decrease the number of their members and the rules for how they are elected, and to expel or discipline members.
The House of Priests is elected by all the master priests. The House of Scholars is elected by all the master scholars of the universities (except for the College of Madness at Zunthu University). The House of Merchants is elected by all the master craftsmen, merchants, and restauranteurs of Zunthu city. The House of Lunatics is elected by the master scholars at the College of Madness at Zunthu University. (For qualifying procedures to become a master of priestcraft, scholarship, crafting, or merchanting, see above under Social System.)
Why the House of Lunatics? For much the same reason that certain barbaric tribes held all their councils once drunken, and once sober; so that all ideas would flow freely, but none should be decided upon too hastily. Its existence is why approval of only three houses is required for a bill to become law.
Some anthropologists see a connection with Slithu tradition of respecting the mad and treating them as oracles.
This is the second largest Zun-Slithu city in Rektek. It lies to the northeast of Zunthu city, about 112 miles from it. It is near several dalvar spawning grounds, making it a good place to hunt.
In the center is the administrative building, jail, police force, etc. in a 2 block by 3 block area surrounded by a circular walkway known as the *Fhiloc*, or central circle. From it are many walkways extending to other parts of town, rather like a crooked wagon wheel.
Down near the southern gateway is a small tavern called the Dancing Dalvar. This is a favorite haunt of many hunters and adventurers. Below is a floor plan:
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| B A R B A R | @@@ |
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1) Behind the Bar - The owner, Salaeya, and his son, Illinau, usually
work here. They serve many different kinds of drink, for a full list
of all they serve, see below.
2) Kitchen - Salaeya's wife, Tcaimbri, cooks here. They specialize in
poipunya pie (5 ZP), dalvar steak (10 ZP), and, for a very high price,
fried llalnopper steak (80 ZP).
3) Commons Area
Drinks served - Description, Price per serving
gwultay juice - invigorating juice, 2 ZP
poipunya juice - tasty fruit punch, 2 ZP
fermented coipta - mild alcoholic beverage, 4 ZP
dark fruit punch - severe alcoholic beverage, bitter taste, 5
ZP
The Trantar Mountains lie to the west of the River Zharhn. They are the home to numerous Glaethryn, living in a clannish village system. There are no major cities, but a large fort and surrounding town is not an uncommon site.
Some of the forts were already existent at the Coming of the Mist, but others, those more poorly constructed, were built by the Glaethryn to protect them from the ravages of other clans or mountain and jungle animals. The Pre-Mistian forts are constructed from a weird kind of rock, one that is almost impossible to be cracked or chipped. Throughout all of the mountains, only about 20 of them have been found. The Glaethryn word for them is *Tmagrok*, meaning ancient mystery.
There are a number of cavern systems, and all connect to one another to some degree. Some go down many miles. Entrances to some of the caverns are in the Trantar Mountains and in the Tranlor Mountains; the main ones, however, are at the Pliv Entrance Holes in the far south. The surface entrances to the northern caverns are mostly found at the base of the Plateau, though they connect with the southern caverns deep underground.
Nearly all of the shallow caverns (less than a mile deep) in the south are inhabited by Pliv, as are some caverns in the deep. The Pliv Entrance Holes were artificially excavated to connect with some of the caverns having no natural outlet to the surface. They are wells with sturdy stairs built into their sides, which go down up to 2000 feet before joining the natural stone caverns. The entrances of the Holes are heavily fortified, as they are frequently attacked by the Krinth.
Why build such entrances? Wouldn't the natural ones in the Trantar Mountains be easier to defend against the Krinth? And why have so many entrances? They are a prime spot for the Krinth to attack.
The best caverns for living in were found in the deep, about a hundred miles south of the mountains. They were spacious and had nearly level floors, but many lacked good air circulation. Though the mountains have several natural entrances to the caverns, those natural entrances are far from the best living caverns. And some say that the large public entrances were built in the ancient days when Krinth and Pliv were allies.
Some of the largest caverns are Kletok, Tlegnek, Blechnonstri, and Dlenecvlin.
The caverns are entirely too vast and complicated to describe briefly. However, some of the recurring geological formations underground can be described.
All the largest caverns that have been discovered (over 1,000 feet in diameter) are very nearly spherical, and it has been speculated by some that they were great air bubbles trapped in the rock at some time when it was hot enough to be liquid. However, modern engineers consider this very unlikely, considering the amount of energy that would be needed to melt thousands of cubic miles of common rocks. If the world had once been as hot as the sun -- but how could that have been?
Tunnels connect the caverns in roundabout, meandering paths. Probably many of these, if not all, were excavated by dwixiv activity (see dwixiv under Fauna and Flora: Caverns). Others, less meandering, but not straight, nor horizontal nor vertical, were mostly made by vantast vines tunneling through the rock, growing larger, and then being cut out by Pliv so that they could use the tunnels.
Other tunnels, commonly called wells, go straight up and down for great distances with very smooth walls. These often convey updrafts of warm oxygen produced by tlargontrag activity. How these wells were formed is a mystery.
The Zuthu Piece is the standard form of currency for the Zun and Slithu. Its abbreviation is ZP or è. It comes in 1/4, 1/2, 1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 Zuthu Pieces. { what's it made of, Ynza?}
The TTambroc trade among themselves by clan credits. Whenever you want to buy something you spend a certain no. of credits from your clan's account. This usually does not work too well outside of TTambroc culture.
The Tel Piece is the standard form of currency of the Tran. Its abbreviation is TP or ë. It comes in 1, 5, 10, and 50 Tel Pieces.
The Deln is the standard form of currency for the Krinth. Its abbreviation is Dl or ê. It comes in 1/10, 1/5, 1/2, 1, 5, and 10 Deln. Deln is made of a hypergold-hypersilver alloy. (that is, it has 4-dimensional properties and is found only in the 4th dimension.)
The Jharlnak chip is the standard form of currency for the Pliv. Its abbreviation is JC or í. It comes in 1, 3, 9 and 81 pieces. This comes from the wood of the Jharlnak tree. These trees are fairly rare, take a long time to grow large (though they live thousands of years under good conditions) and none grow near the Pliv caverns.
EFFECTS: J'kroda potion has different effects on different humours:
AODIN: Augments power of any spell cast by user x2 for 10 days. Increase AG, EN, and SP by 1d6+2.
WYNORA: Increases ST and AG 1d8+2 for 14 days. Any object bleached will be able to be traced mentally until time period ends.
History: The Amulet of PsunPhire was first created by Fkarmlak, the Lost God of Magic. He gave
Powers: The amulet of PsunPhire is a small golden amulet with a circular ruby in the middle of it's golden disc. It is a gateway between the prime plane and the plane of PsNpHr, the plane of light, heat, and fire. The wearer of the amulet may focus the energies of this plane through the ruby, creating a beam of blinding light which will ignite any flammable thing it hits and has a 50% chance of doing the same to any flamable object within 10'. Any living creature hit must test con vs 7 twice. (those especially suseptible to fire get only one roll, those resistant to fire get 3 rolls) with their results applied on the following table:
---------------------------------------------------------------------- | Sucesses | Effect | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | 0 | The character loses 10d10 hp and all items carried are| | | destroyed 75% of the time by the heat. | | 1 | The character loses 5d8 hp and all items carried are | | | destroyed 35% of the time by the heat. | | 2 | The character loses 3d4 hp and all items carried are | | | destroyed 5% of the time by the heat. | | 3 | The character is unharmed and all items carried are | | | destroyed 5% of the time. | ----------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition, any being in sight of the beam must consult the following table regarding blindness: (for the purpose of the chart, a pliv wearing sight ajustment goggles is a non-pliv.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------- | Condition Effect | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | Non-pliv, | No effect. | | eyes closed, | | | facing away. | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | Non-pliv, | Temp. blindness 1d4 rounds, 45% of the time | | eyes open, | | | facing away. | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | Non-pliv, | 5% chance of perm. blindness, 75% chance temp. | | eys closed, | blindness for 2d6 turns. | | facing beam. | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | Non-pliv, | 15% chance of perm. blindness, 95% chance of temp. | | eyes open, | blindness for 3d8 turns. | | facing beam. | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | Pliv, | 10% chance of temp blindness 1d4 turns. | | eyes closed, | | | facing away. | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | Pliv, | 35% chance of temp blindness 2d8 turns, 5% chance | | eyes open, | of perm. blindness. | | facing away. | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | Pliv, | 20% chance of perm. blindness, 90% chance of temp. | | eyes closed, | blindness for 3d8 turns. | | facing beam. | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | Pliv, | 45% chance of perm. blindness, 100% chance of temp. | | eyes open, | blindness 5d10 turns. | | facing beam. | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------
History: This powerful magic item was given to Corgamund, the high priest of the Kwahntarzi clan of Glaethryn, by Tzaywai, one of the Lost Gods. This was a reward for saving Tzaywai's son, who was disguised as a small bird at the time, from banisment to Oblivion by a Myst who had wounded him. Corgamund lost his arm in the battle, but he was given a silver arm by Tzaywai to replace it. The sceptre is currently resting in its Holy Case, also provided by Tzaywai, in the central room of the Temple of Kwahntarzi.
Powers: Cure Magical Affliction (7 charges); Negate poisons within 5' (3 charges); Bless Water (3 charges); repel all undead within 5' for 1d10 rounds (5 charges); Remove all curses within 10' (6 charges); & serve as a holy, silver, & +3 weapon (0 charges). Bearer recieves +5 to all saving throws but poisons, which it gives +7 to. It will regain 5 charges for every month it is kept in it's Holy Case, up to it's maximum of 77 charges. It is bound to the high priest of the Kwahntarzi clan, if anyone steals it, it will be returned "mysteriously" within a day, sometimes killing the thief in the bargain.
History: The first one of these was made by Haldronah, a Glaethryn enchanter, for a friend of his, KKhaldric-Tiarna, the son of a chief of his tribe. KKhaldric was so skillful with this weapon that his fame became very wide-spread, and many Glaethryn, Slithu and TTambroc asked Haldronah for similar spears. Haldronah made several more (the best documented number being seven) and then taught the method to a friend of his who requested it and retired in solitude to the deep recesses of the forest, never to be seen again. His friend, Jalnoj, made many more of these during his lifetime, and taught the secret of making them to his son, and so all direct male line desendents of Jalnoj know this secret, and it is considered a severe loss of honor to give this method out.
Powers: A flying spear looks much like an ordianary TTambroc or forest Glaethryn spear, but has some runes carved near the point. These runes are only used in enchantment and can be defaced without loss of power in the spear. When thrown, the spear will strike it's target 95% of the time and do double damage.
History: The Ring of Glaesmyr was invented by the Glaethryn enchanter Thoz. He made quite a lot of them (at least fifty or sixty) but died before teaching anyone else how to make them, or recording any exhaustive list of their powers.
Powers: The Ring is a silver band with an emerald set in it, with runes on the inside of the band, which must not be defaced or the Ring will lose its powers. To use it, it must be worn. The emerald cannot be shattered by any known means.
If the wearer covers the emerald, he becomes invisible. If he wets it with water, then touches someone with it, they will begin to drown unless they are holding their breath. If he places the emerald in open flame, then touches someone with it, they will ignite and suffer flame damage unless they have sufficient presence of mind to Stop, Drop and Roll (or jump in the water or whatnot). If he dips the ring in a bit of drying concrete or plaster or such, then touches someone, he can paralyze them for awhile.
Ring of Humour Transference (W)
Powers: The Ring of Humour Transference causes the wearer to absorb the humours of anyone he kills, even if ordinarily they would be incompatible with the humours the wearer already has. He has to kill his victim by ordinary means, e.g. strangling, sword attack, etc. and not by magic or with a magic weapon.
History: The Pliv manasmith (and part-time jokester) Tlartozzo made a lot of silver threads and gold sequins, infusing each with the power of one of his best jokes. The Slithu weaver Jaserna wove them into a silk robe. For a joke, Tlartozzo presented it to Zazhano*, Chancellor of Sou!ang University, for him to wear for his speech during the triannual graduation ceremonies.
"Students and faculty," he began, and was greeted with titters. He glared sternly at the front row, and they subsided. He continued: "It is a great honor --" Uproarious laughter greeted him, and he paused, cleared his throat, and said to an honor sentry, "Can we have a bit of order?" The sentry thought it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard, and rolled on the floor laughing for several minutes.
Some minutes later, Zazhano* realized what was happening, retired to his rooms, and took off the Robe, tearing at it in frustration; but it didn't rip. He changed into a different robe and returned to the great Hall for the graduation.
Later, he threw the disgraceful Robe in the rubbish, but a student rescued it from the rubbish bin before it was removed and used it to good effect. He sold it later, and it has passed through many hands since.
Powers: Whatever the wearer of the Robe says will seem uproariously funny to all who hear him, unless (like the Yith) they have no sense of humor at all. The response will be proportionate to the hearers' innate sense of humor; if the Zun thought Zazhano*'s speech was funny, you should try it on an audience of Slithu!
History: This type of weapon was origionaly created by Zerkle, the famous Zun enchanter, who made 50 of them, selling all but ten, which he gave to his friends. About 80 years later Jlertoc, a Pliv manasmith, forged and enchanted numerous daggers very similar to the origional 50. Of the 50 Zerkle made, 47 are known to exist, 2 have been destroyed, & one has disapeared during an expedition into the mysts.
Powers: (in this section, the stats for the plivian dagger is given, then in parenthesis, Zerkle's dagger is described. A spirit dagger will give +3(+4) to whatever skill you use to attack with it. It's most interesting property is that it will pass through all nonorganic things and do triple dagger damage (3.5 times reg dagger dam.) to organic things.
History: The Staff of Moons was first created by a hermit Zun named Znailron the Lonely. He lived in a cave on the west banks on the river and had always been facinated with magical items and had duplicated several minor ones with slight changes. The Staff of Moons was his first magic item he ever designed and created, and therefore it was one of his favorites. He made 13 in his lifetime: 3 for him, 2 for the High Zun Priest, 1 for a TTambroc chieftan he had befriend- ed, 6 which he sold to a Glaethryn merchant, and 1 which he gave to the Lost God Fkarmlak in exchange for 23 new spells. Fkarmlak thought this was a neat item and made several more, giving them to deserving people throughout the years.
Powers: The staff of moons can create magical spheres which the staff bearer can control by thought. They glow a milky white and have slightly rough surfaces, thus the name "staff of moons". Each sphere is 1' in diameter and can produce any amount of light, from soft glow to dim light enough to light 100' area, for as long as they last (3d10 + 5 hours each) Each sphere takes up 1 charge, and spheres can be reabsorbed at any time to recharge the staff 1/2 of a charge. Any particular staff might have 5d6 charges and most have a maximum charge limit of 35 charges, though it is rumored that the ones created by Fkarmlak can hold up to 75 charges. The moons can be moved about in midair with the staff bearer's IN speed, and can strike with INd4 hp damage.
History: This is a fairly common magical item, availible from most talismongers for 5-20 ZP. It is not known who first created these, but the knowledge of how to is fairly well known.
Powers: When these beads are hurled at an animate creature/plant/ creation/etc. and manage to hit flesh/hide/scales/etc. that are a part of the target the beads will explode, freezing the creature exactly how they were before impact. They stay like this for 1d10 + 10 rounds and when they awake they do not know what has happened beyond a sharp impact and whatever is different about their surroundings.
History: The Sword of Peace was made by the Zun magician Zerkle at the request of his friend, the philosopher Zingrad the Tree (so called because he advocated standing tree-still when assaulted). Zerkle thought it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard of, and after he made the sword he went on to make at least a dozen daggers with similar properties. Zingrad gave the Sword to a Krinth who was visiting Zunthu City, and asked him to give it to the High General of the Krinth military forces with his regards. He did so, and the High General was subsequently deposed for his heretical ideas about peace with the Pliv. After awhile the nature of the Sword was realised, and it was taken down into the Pliv caverns and abandoned. A Pliv found it a short time later and gave it to a friend who was a member of a War Society. The Sword passed through many hands before its properties were realised. At last it was abandoned in a storage cavern with a warning message attached to it. It was later removed, no one knows by whom. Meanwhile, the twelve (at least) daggers were sold to various buyers at a weapon shop in Zunthu city, quickly pawned at other shops, and were lost track of.
Powers: The Sword causes anyone who carries, wields, or psycho- kinetically manipulates it, to be converted to Zingrad's philosophy of nonviolence. The subject has a VERY slight chance of resisting partly; (save vs. spells three times in a row.) The change is only temporary and will last 2-5 years. The Daggers of Peace have the same effect, but it lasts only 1-2 years; on a successful resistance (save vs. spells twice in a row) the subject is not affected at all. The effect usually begins, when one touches the sword (it works through gloves and all but the most powerful magic shields), with a mental vision of all the bloodshed swords like this have caused, and how awful war is, et cetera ad nauseum. It hardens after a few minutes into total pacifism: the victim will be unwilling to attack or to defend himself or others. After the total pacifism has worn off, there is a 75% chance the owner will remain reluctant to fight unless absolutely nessesary, even after the sword is no longer owned by the person. The Sword has some ordinary rust protection and sharpness spells as well, but has, not surprisingly, never drawn blood. Persons with the Licatona humour are, of course, immune to its effects.
History: This magical weapon was once wielded by the legendary Pliv warrior, Khadokt. After his death, Khadokt passed it on the his son, Tkemrelt, who went out and slew 1,000 Krinth with it, but failed to return. He is believed to have been overwhelmed and killed, but "Tlangrok" dissapeared entirely. Many years passed, with the Pliv slowly losing ground in the war, until a young Pliv journeyed north to find the Temple of the Lost Gods, and challenge one of them to a duel. He fought Szliltath, the reptillian god, and won a magical item of his choice. He chose "Tlangrok". Tzaywai, the ursinoid god, appeared before him, handed him the weapon, and dissapeared.
Powers: "Tlangrok" is a large mace that does +5 dam.(+7 to birds) It counts as magical and silver in combat, though it is made of adamant. Once every 48 hours, the bearer may cause a limited earthquake in the vicinity. The bearer is immune to the effects, and stands on a piece of stable ground. Once every 18 days, the bearer may summon 1d4 targamands (1d12+10) under his control. They will stay 24 hours, or until half are killed. Once per week, the bearer may call upon "Tlangrok" to heal himself of all magical wounds. The bearer's skill in maces (& other related weapons) is doubled & his agility, dexterity, strength and endurance are all multiplied by 1.5 rounded up.
0 The Krinth (or the Pliv) release the mists and the Pliv (or the
Krinth) set up the haven of Caligo Rectek to hold back their
advance.
End of the Krinth-Pliv Alliance, beginning of the Krinth-Pliv
War.
~50 A cabal of Zun magicians curses the Jhray and Yith into
nonsentience.
A mysterious plague wipes out the small settlement of Wexivanov
in Zunthu City, but a few of them manage to mindswap into
bodies of other races and escape the plague.
Mysterious plagues decimate the Ttambroc, leaving some of their
more powerful humours rarer than before.
1790 Zingrad the Tree born.
1703 Zerkle the magician born in Zunthu city.
1790 Zerkle creates the Sword of Peace at the request of Zingrad.
1840 Zerkle dies.
1842 All-out war between the Pliv and Krinth ends.
to ~2000 The Pliv and Krinth try to avoid one another.
~2000 on Small raids and duels occur, but no large, organized
battles for a long while.
2702 A rocket plane from Torodoth arrives, manned by two
Wexivanov and a Slithu.
Slithu:
Scimitar like sword.
Quarterstaff like poles with spiked balls on
each end.
Long daggers with 3 points at end.
TTambroc:
Long pikes for throwing and jabbing.
short knives with jagged edges, used for cutting
Bows and arrows, poisons and SE arrows included.
slingshot like poles whicjh launch large rocks.
Special wariors have magical weapons called "?"