Skip to main content

Anttelius - Arthasians

I will start sharing some of the text I wrote for the various cultures of humanity in Anttelius - A World of Warlocks & Barbarians.

Arthasians


The sons of Arthasia, the goddess of earth, the mother of all living beings. The most common and widespread people in Anttelius. They are the common men and women, descendants of the many ethnicities that mingled under the rule of the Empire of Zartar.

They are a varied lot, with individuals of almost all builds, complexions and colors of hair and eyes. Their most characteristic trait, whoever is the easy assimilation of other culture’s customs, traditions and habits, showing a great capacity for adaptability and tolerance, which sets them apart for most of other people of Anttelius.

Recently, however, a new development has changed this characteristic on the Arthasians, as a large group of them founded the first free and democratic City-State in Anttelius, Esperas. The city is growing fast and prosperous, but its future is uncertain, as corruption and greed is starting to overgrow idealisms.

Arthasian Characters


Arthasian characters can roll on this table to generate random aspects of their characters to inspire their character’s Concept. Referees can also use these table to quickly come up with characteristics of random NPCs.

d20
Male Names
Female Names
Characteristic
Occupation
Curiosity
1
Alanus
Analeia
Spotted skin
Slave
Plotting a revolution
2
Barabus
Blanea
Mixed eye colors
Farmer
Has a demon possessed pet
3
Caneus
Cleia
Hairless
Servant
Murdered someone
4
Doemitus
Drusilea
Common face
Bandit
Superstitious
5
Ennius
Eralea
Welcoming smile
Carpenter
Atheist
6
Faebus
Feustina
Determined
Fisherman
Has a dangerous affair
7
Gallur
Gnaia
Outspoken
Grave digger
Talks more than they should
8
Hilarus
Hadria
Suspicious
Beggar
Talks singing
9
Iulius
Iavita
Hopeful
Bard
Loves gossip
10
Junius
Julian
Pessimistic
Hunter
Collects different hairs
11
Longinus
Liviana
Hairy
Soldier
Always sharpening their weapon
12
Merianus
Martia
Lash Scars
Shepherd
Carries a dissected tongue
13
Nerus
Nerva
Symbolic Birthmark
Messenger
Easily distracted
14
Otho
Paulia
Close talker
Ambassador
Scratches face all the time
15
Pomponius
Petrea
Emotive
Fencer
Always hides money in their underwear
16
Rigolur
Rafena
Impulsive
Smuggler
Believes they are extremely unlucky
17
Secundineos
Satarea
Calm
Trader
Seeks to be the center of attention
18
Tharecius
Thertia
Tongue-tied
Pickpocketer
Afraid of the sea
19
Vebius
Velaria
Naive
Destiny reader
Thinks people are always underestimating them
20
Zandius
Zerlia
Roll on another culture table
Scribe
Keeps notes on their journal

Arthasian Cultural Traits


A character from this culture rolls a d6 to determine their initial Cultural Trait.

d6
Arthasian Cultural Traits
1
I just know people
2
I know I can do it
3
I’ve endured things much worse
4
I have family here
5
I know a secret
6
I can stomach anything

What’s Happening with the Arthasians?


In order to make the game more alive and real, the Referee can roll on the following table to determine recent events affecting members of this culture. This can lead to adventure hooks or can just be used as narrative scenery.

d12
What’s Happening with the Arthasians
1
A large number of Arthasians are showing up dead and sinister massages left behind with their corpses. The messages talk about the cleanse, purity of blood and other nonsense like that.
2
The secret society of Arthasians that help those in need has been discovered and its members are being attacked by assassins.
3
A group of rebellious Arthasians are freeing slaves all over the City-States. Some are saying they plan to form an army and overthrow the elites of Anttelius.
4
A decrepit priest of the Mother Goddess, Arthasia, claims he saw the characters in their prophetic dreams and implores them to play their supposed roles in the events to come. The life of Anttelius depends on it.
5
A woman is forming a cradle of followers claiming to be the daughter of Arthasia an the rightful Queen of all the Arthasians. Some claim she can perform miracles and follow her. Others say she is an impostor and plot to get rid of her.
6
All Arthasians are being invited to a great ceremony in Esperas. No one really knows what is it about. Some even suggests it might be a trap.
7
A gigantic meteor made of a shining green metal has fallen in Esperas, destroying half of the city and killing much of the population. The strange meteor seems to be emitting a powerful aura of chaotic energy that is attracting all sorts of strange creatures and sorcerers wanting to know more about it.
8
A siege has been set in Esperas, as an army of a rival City-State demands the citizens to pay tribute to their monarch. The city is resisting bravely although with great losses. The food and water, however, is running low. The army attacking is threatening to summon “The Maw” if the gates are not opened.
9
A deadly and rapid spreading plague affecting only Arthasians all across Anttelius. Symptoms include bleeding through the eyes, eventually leading to blindness and ultimately death. They are calling it the Bloody Tears of Arthasia and suspect it is not natural. Some say it’s a sign that the mother goddess is unhappy with their children, while others say it’s a curse from the First Sorcerer-King who blames the Arthasians for the fall of his Empire.
10
A new prophecy has emerged among the streets, talking about an soon to be born child destined to become the King or Queen of Arthasia, leading all the people to a future of peace and prosperity. Of course, now hundreds of fathers and mothers come to Espetas claiming their child is the one from the prophecy.
11
A Zartarian Sorcerer-King returned and is capturing Arthasians to drain their blood to make a weapon against all races of humankind. Zartarians and Arthasians are banding together against this supposedly ancient one and maybe after different things once they find him.
12
The time for a new election in Esperas is approaching. Ten citizens will be chosen to occupy chains in the Senate of Sons and Daughters, but conspirators are working to sabotage the newly developed democracy. Sinister forces seem behind them and the free will of the people of Arthasia is at risk.

If you like what you've just read, check out my books over RPGNow and Lulu.

Popular posts from this blog

How to never describe a dungeon!

Artwork by Luigi Castellani I've heard it a thousand times. You probably heard it too. Some people , I don't know why, say that dungeons , especially large ones, are boring . The endless repetitions of rooms and corridors and having to choose to go left, right, north or south depresses them. I don't know why. Actually, I do know why. Because they don't really know how to run a dungeon in play. It seems easy, effortless. Just say what's in the room the PCs are in and where the passages going out of it go. But it's not. They get bored with the "you get to a intersection and there is a door to the north and two passages, one going east and one going west" because that's a terrible way of describing a dungeon environment and gives nothing really useful to the players to choose from. You never describe a dungeon like that . There's a lot more going on that we can initially see. A good referee will take all the context of what the dungeon w

My RPG Zine Trilogy is on Kickstarter!

 I can't believe I didn't post about it here! The Dead are Coming, Screams Amongst the Stars and Running Out of Time are on Kickstarter right now! These are 3 complete games, made using the system of Electric Bastionland and Mausritter as the basis (and with some modifications to fit my vision for each of them). As with my games, they all come filled with many tools and tables to generate gaming content, adventures, locations, NPCs and much more. They are compact, easy to use, and equipped to provide you with years of entertainment! Here's a brief description of each of the games. The Dead Are Coming The first of them is called The Dead Are Coming, a minimalist, OSR style RPG about survival in a post-apocalyptic world where the dead have risen and other survivors can be much worse than the undead. Characters in this game are common people who have been struggling to survive, find their loved ones, keep them safe and just trying to keep living. They all carry resources like

Dark Streets & Darker Secrets - Complete Game Text

November was NaGaDeMon (National Game Design Month), and I decided to create an Action Horror RPG using my system (updated with all the modifications of Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells). Inspired by Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, X-Files, The Chilling Tales of Sabrina, Grimm and many more TV Shows, comics and books, I quickly worte Dark Streets & Darker Secrets . It is written in a very direct and simple way, similar to Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells originally was, but with uodated rules and a lot of tools and tables to assist the Referee in creating adventures, NPCs, locations, artifacts, monsters and much more. The book itself will eventually be release in partnership with Gallant Knight Games , but the text is already written and ready to be used, so I am sharing it here with you all! There is no official character sheet yet. I am working on it. But a simple Index Card will work just as well! So here it is:  https://drive.google.com/open?id=1QlFYafvxvJAyk