The World of Eave: V'taran People

[Playtest]

V'tar (human)

"I have never encountered a people who were fierce as well kind, though the way most of them treated women definitely left something to be desired."

-Lady Rosilar Ulsham

The V'taran people are a diverse race of humans that have settled the Northern Reaches of the Eavlan Continent.  They are a hearty breed of people that still hold true to the ancient primal religions.  They are divided into a variety of Clans based on the totem animal that the clan reveres.  They are further divided into a variety of tribes.  They used to be a heavily paternal, women having little to no rights save for the Witches that have a near mythical standing in their society. 

Now there was a couple of other clans.  The Wyrm, the Kraken, the Sleet Elk, the Frozen Seals and the Hail Muskox.  During the wars with Nerath, they were destroyed either in the fighting by the Wyrm when they would not join them.  Many of the Clans did join them at first, mainly out of fear and did not turn against the barbarian horde when after Lady Rosilar saved the Witch Klee.

V'tar Witches are an all-female cadre of wizards.  Other arcane spell casters, sorcerers and some warlocks.  They are usually tested by the Witches and if they are found worthy, they are taken in by them to renounce their Clan and tribe.  They serve all the V'taran people, for they are usually called upon to settle disputes by Clans and tribes.  They are usually protected by an all-female group of warriors, the Shield Wardens.

There are thirteen different Clans.  Each Clan reveres a particular totem animal that they gain their strength from.  Each tribe gains a bonus to according to the totem that they revere.  Other than the totem gift, they are just the same as normal humans save they may lose their totem gift if they displease their totem. 

• Blizzard Eagle are a semi-nomadic tribe that mainly lives in the Vale of Hyrak within the Barony, with high mountainous walls amid the rivers that run thick and wide.  They live by fishing as well as foraging.
• Totem gift: they gain advantage on Perception skill tests that deal with sight.
• Flurry Ram, noble and majestic they live in small families in high cliffs of the mountains and because they are so remote to get too, they have a near mythical quality about them.  They have in recent years become allies with a clan of storm giants, supposedly due to a wedding between a prince of the Ram and a storm giantess.
• Totem gift: as long as they do not wear heavy armor, they gain advantage on Athletics checks when climbing.
• Frost (Saber-toothed) Tiger are a savage people whose male warriors as a rite of passage go out from the tribe for a year to prove themselves before coming back to be anointed a full member of the tribe.  They are still a paternal tribe and women are not that well known.  If they do not have any reason for coming back, the female warriors do not come back.
• Totem gift: they gain a +1 on all damage that they do.
• Glacial Otter who, like their totem are excellent swimmers and very family oriented and build excellent ships.  They like to swim in the ice cold waters.  In fact, every year when the ice melts, they have a contest to swim their fjords.  In the capital of their clan, hundreds of naked people of the Otter clan to swim their fjord and the winner is showered with prizes.  The ships that they build are not for the oceans, for they are built for the Northern Sea, a large, landlocked sea.  Ever since the age of Nerath, a great glacier came in and cut off the Northern Sea from the Adarac Ocean.  The Witches often commission the Icebound Otters to make the base for their Witch Boats.  They live in the Barony.
• Totem gift: as long as they do not wear medium or heavy armor, the gain an advantage on Athletics checks for swimming. 
• Hoarfrost Wolverine are like the Frost Tigers and they have a rivalry going back generations.  Like their totem, they are some of the fiercest warriors and many great heroes are found.
• Totem gift: when they rage, they may rage for an additional 2 rounds.  The Wolverine totem has been known to grant this to non-barbarians.
• Ice Bear, silent and taciturn and powerful warriors.  They live a semi-nomadic lifestyle and are master foragers, and can survive on things that would make other people sick.
• Totem gift: they gain advantage on all Survival checks.
• Rime Owl are a mysterious tribe who live in the great woods.  Silent and deadly.  The Hallow, their main home and hunting ground is within the Barony though the keep their autonomy.  They have a secret lair of the Witches that lies deep within the forest, Ysigdal.  Closely aligned with the Snowstorm Foxes, they are the most mystical of V'taran people.
• Totem gift: As long as they do not wear heavy armor, they gain advantage on Stealth checks.
• Slush Boar are a rude people, but they are strict adheres to honor.  They are usually what people describe as barbarians, mean, rude and powerful warriors. 
• Totem gift: if they go down, they only have to make two death saves instead of three.
• Snow Lion are the most technologically advanced tribe as the Snow Lion are now known as the Theocracy of the Sun.  They are getting away from their barbarous past, but there are still the hold outs that still believe in the old ways.
• Totem gift: they may choose any Skill to become proficient in, being highly skilled.  This is this the new gift granted to the followers of the Snow Lions.
• Snowfall Lynx, quiet and stealthy the Lynx's are consummate hunters.  They live in the hills and valleys of the south mountains that overlooks the Andian Plains.
• Totem gift: As long as they do not wear heavy armor, they gain advantage on Stealth checks.
• Snowstorm Fox the only matriarchical tribe.  Lives mainly live in Wynterfrost, the capital of the Barony of Ysigdal.  They possess a knack for diplomacy.  They are a small clan that has gained a great clan status due to their actions during the Nerath War.
• Totem advantage: gain advantage on Perception that deal with hearing.
• Tundra Mammoth.  They are a hearty people of the north, living near great geothermal vents in the ice.  They are big people given to excess.  Mainly lives in their cities that they have claimed in the north.  Two towns and a countless villages.  They are part of the Barony and the largest clan.
• Totem gift: they're powerful and gain a +4 to their strength when calculating their lifting and carrying capacity (PHB 176).
• Winter Wolf live in nomadic tribes for their home was destroyed by the Wyrm clan during the Nerath War.  They were nearly destroyed and as such they are secretive about their people to outsiders.  They guard against the horrors that they suffered by the Wyrm always on the lookout for the evil that they brought.  They are a noble people and have strong warriors.
• Totem gift: gain advantage on Perception tests that deal with smell.

Stuff of Note

• Shield Wardens are mainly fighters, though barbarians and rangers are not unknown.

Stuff to Build

• V'tar Shamans, based on druids
• V'tar Witches, based on wizards
• New backgrounds