Mythosa Design Notes IV: Cultures and Races

Mythosa Design Notes IV: Cultures and Races

The cultures and races of the new Mythosa aren't drastically different from the previous version. I did cut down on the number of human cultures in the main campaign area to keep things more manageable (five to three), though I expanded the elves and dwarves a bit, besides re-integrating them into the world itself. I've also become more inclusive this time around; players like options and I like making them available (within reason), so more races are available in the new Mythosa. Except halflings and gnomes - they're still absent.

Humans
Going from five to three cultures is not a big deal, and five isn't a huge number to begin with, but with fewer cultures I can devote more time to each one. In general, it hasn't really been an issue in the game anyway - I haven't emphasized the differences and unless there's a mechanical reason to choose a culture most players don't care anyway. The accepted norm has always been that humans are humans, so differentiating them is mainly fluff. Rolemaster makes a distinction between human races (as does the Wilderlands); I may have to consult with those for ideas when I further develop the Skalnir, Marrshites, and Varghani.

The biggest noticeable difference is the marked dichotomy between barbaric and civilized cultures. In the older versions of Mythosa, things tended to be more civilized, with "barbarians" just stuck in a corner somewhere. This time around, I'm integrating them into the setting more (my recent rekindled interest in Hyboria may be responsible).

Elves
I don't mind dividing elves into multiple groups, though I think too many worlds or sourcebooks overdo it. Mythosa has High Elves, Wood Elves, and Dark Elves. It doesn't have elves who are aquatic, savage, desert, arctic, or anything like that, and I don't foresee that changing.

The Ilidari/Sylvari division somewhat mirrors the human civilized/barbaric cultural split, which works out nicely if not intentionally. It's also a convenient tie into 4E, with the Ilidari being eladrin and the Sylvari being "regular" elves.

Dwarves
I've never been a big fan of dwarves but I've never hated them, either. Having them present but sparse suits me (and them, really) just fine. The Nalgrim are new. I do like the "steampunk"/automata stuff you see in some fantasy settings, though more as novelty and less as commonplace items. Usually gnomes get that but Mythosa has no gnomes. In light of that, dwarves usually get it but that wasn't the vision I had in mind for Mythosa. Taking inspiration from the "Dark Iron Dwarves" of WoW and the classic duergar, I created the Nalgrim.

Half-Elves
Not much to say about them; if you have elves and humans and decide they're genetically compatible, you're likely to end up with half-elves.

Viss'takh
One thing I've tried to do over the years is to present dominant races other than the typical collection of human/elf/dwarf/halfling/gnome. Unfortunately, I've never gotten very far with that. Lizardmen were one such race that was meant to be on the same level as the standard races. Because of that, I was open to the idea of using 4E's dragonborn. They're not "lizard" men exactly (obviously they're "dragon" men), but hey - close enough. With no effort on my part I now have a reptilian humanoid race that's accessible for PCs.

In Mythosa, the Viss'takh are the name the dragonborn have given themselves, to distinquish them from their lesser-evolved brethren (regular lizardmen). Their ancient empire from the "assumed" 4E setting elements may or may not have existed - naturally they claim it did but with history as spotty as it is, it's hard to say...

Dhazyra
The Dhazyra are another race that I never got around to developing. They have always been a nomadic culture, basically Mythosan gypsies. Human-ish but different in ways that were subtle but evident.

Given that, I decided to utilize another of the new races from 4E and make the Dhazyra tieflings. Granted, their strangeness is far more obvious (horns and tails), but I didn't see a reason why tieflings couldn't exist on Mythosa. And given that a "position" was available for them to fill, it was a fit I could make that didn't require a great deal of re-engineering. Plus, tieflings apparently have a Slavic accent, which is quite appropriate for gypsies!