Harvester Roasp

The harvester roasp is a hive-minded, scavenging insect that combines many aspects of cockroaches and wasps. They were created to gather usable materials from old waste disposal sites and the environment in general.

Each strain of roasp can sense a different kind of material and uses this to build its nest. When released on an area which contains this stuff, a swarm of roasps gathers and cleans it, then constructs a hive around the queen with it. Their hardiness means they can enter into toxic environments and bring out purified material. They do not eat their nesting matter, instead being omnivorous scavengers and opportunistic predators.

Humans keep harvester roasp colonies and move them around the wilderness, searching for old deposits of valuable material. At the start of winter, most of the drones die off, and the queens can be taken from their hives, which are then sold as raw material.

Roasp keepers are often adventurous and strange people who spend more time in the company of

Armor

What protection is available to those venturing into dangerous situations?

  • What is it made of?
    • Small bits of metal are readily available, but as the pieces get bigger, the cost grows geometrically - anything heavier than a breastplate is astoundingly rare. Bracers and greaves are a bit more available, but still very expensive.
    • Leather is far more available, generally trollizard patches sewn together, and sometimes augmented with studs of metal.
    • Composite armors similar to bullet-proof vests are possible, but relatively expensive. They are be made by layering several kinds of rare hivespun, some of which are very specialized.
    • Shields are a common candidates for metal investment.
  • What about magic?
    • Self-repairing armor is the most prevalent.
    • Resisting specific damage types (fire, fray) is the next most common.
    • Armor that staunches bleeding and administers medication is sought after.

Dreg

The garoulin and other semi-intelligent beasts speak Dreg, a simple, harsh language concerned only with food and survival. Dreg has no written form other than a few trail markers.

Borderlands

The hills and forests surrounding The Land of Still Waters are peppered with small fiefdoms, keeps, and ancient manors. The lords of these regions are tolerated by the other kingdoms because they act as a buffer to the perceived threats of other nations and the wilderness. Some are nobles or dissidents serving terms of banishment in "the wilds"; others are entrepreneurs or freedom-lovers. Many consider their realms to be separate nations, but they are not widely recognized.

The official intent of the Treaty of Still Waters was to stabilize the nascent nations and create a pact of non-aggression. Freed from concerns about war with their most powerful neighbors, they were able to prosper. Some of the architects of the treaty, though, saw what would happen to these nations in a couple hundred years, and set a hidden safety valve into it, in the form of the Borderland Clauses. These "non-interference" clauses state no one nation may have too much influence on any one Borderland.

House of Kings

In sharp contract, and often direct opposition to, the Journeymen, the House of Kings are masters of finding where misery does not exist and filling that void. Extortion, underground gambling, and political fixing form their livelihood. Though strongest in Jorvik, their influence extends to all the nations, and exerts a slow, choking pressure on many borderlands.

Hendam University

The university for which one of the Jorvian states is named. Founded by a band of Ethereals, this sprawling campus is the most catholic educational institution to be found in the Land.

Burnt Mark

A criminal syndicate specializing in providing things people are not supposed to have. Whatever power they cannot draw from drugs, prostitution, or organized fights, they arrange in the form of protection rackets. Therir presence is strongest in Acadia, whose stringent moral laws ensure the highest prices for their services.

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