!!~Endrykas/Drykas Info~!!

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!!~Endrykas/Drykas Info~!!

Postby Prophet on August 28th, 2016, 8:23 pm

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Dear Players,

This is a public service announcement from the DS of Endrykas. Over and over and over again, I get PMs asking me questions regarding backstories and permission to do things with the histories of a character. So instead of answering the same things over and over…and over again, I am going to give some soapbox rattling, cobweb clearing explanations. Granted, some of the poorly conceived notions were fed by former STs who lacked understanding of how Endrykas was to function and how it was designed.

I’ve read the lore on Drykas many times (MANY!!!) and probably more than most of you (with a few exceptions). Can someone show me where the animosity towards every non-Drykas is listed? It’s really interesting and sad that anyone not born Drykas wants to come into the city as a slave who has been poorly treated, abused, raped, sold, bought, starved, abused, raped some more and then ends up on the green side of things after wandering in the Sea of Grass for weeks on end blindfolded and bound at the wrists. Just stop. Mistrust, distrust or being wary does not mean savagery is the only option. The Drykas believe, as a people, that life is precious. While there have been periods of slavery, the Drykas don’t have a traditional approach to the practice. If they take slaves, it’s to bolster their numbers which means they would eventually make these slaves part of their families. Treating someone like crap isn’t going to get it done. If you want bloodthirsty and senseless, go to Sunberth and die in an alley for a handful of copper Mizas.

The Drykas are slow to trust and as outlined in the Race Relations portion of the Codex they tend to react poorly to a specific group of races. Not willing to trust an individual or a group is completely different than not accepting them. No human would be enslaved on sight. Outsiders aren’t treated poorly as a rule. There is no class system in Endrykas. The horseclans are hunters, gatherers and herders. They don’t care for brick walls and the restraints of a stationary life but it doesn’t make them brutal and unfair. If you want that kind of story, go to Wind Reach or Kenash where the elite can take and do whatever they please. Endrykas is built around survival, hard work and community. Take your broken trail to a lame existence elsewhere. Why would a city dependent upon trade be jerks to everyone? If anything, Drykas might look at a stranger with pity since they would not have the understanding of what is and isn’t important in life. The mentality of a Drykas fall somewhere between “My life is perfect because I have everything I need” and “How can I please the gods and prove myself worthy?”

No group of bandits is going to pillage a small pavilion. Small pavilions exist only within the sphere of the city itself and the few large pavilions that travel on their own are going to be small cities in their own right (we’re talking upwards of fifty people or more and please know that this is rare). “Bandits and slavers and evil men did it!!!” Bandits, if they have any brains at all, avoid the Sea of Grass and stick to the Kabrin Road. Why venture into a dangerous environment where you have no eyes or ability that can’t be outmatched by a natural predator when you can hang out on the road and pick off unsuspecting travelers?

The Drykas know a stranger is near miles and bells before that person realizes the city is close by. If they’re not going to extend an invitation, the Watch would simply observe the person or group until they are deemed a threat or the city moves on. Here’s something important: No one person can survive in the SoG on his or her own without having mastered Wilderness Survival and even THEN, it’s a stretch. It’s not because there aren’t resources. People don’t starve in the SoG. It’s because you’ll be eaten! Humans and humanoids are far from the alphas on the SoG. It is only through strength of numbers and organized awareness that they cohabitate in the grasses with the wild things.

Aside from pointing out some of these misconceptions, I wanted to address a larger issue and possibly the root behind this message. Complicated character histories hinder your ability to RP. K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) You can always add flashbacks. I have yet to see, in my twenty plus years of online text-based roleplay, a single person generate a PC with a huge written history that can be detailed and meticulous enough to display a need for the lengthy backstory in his or her writing. NOT. ONE. SINGLE. PERSON.

I don’t want to read your life story in your CS. I want to read it in your threads. Your Reader’s Digest Condensed Version is a waste of time because the details, no matter how hard you try, will pale in comparison to a series of Flashback threads. Furthermore, Mizahar has so much detail and realism in its design that the more you to try to squeeze in to that history, the more you’re going to violate some written rule of a skill or a culture. If you are dead set on building this massive story to explain your character then I encourage you to do so…in thread.

Let’s recap.

Endrykas is a city that moves every few days because its populace live off the land as opposed to on it. It’s full of people who work hard for what they have which tends to lack fluff. No one owns an abundance of random junk like the crap you have piled up on the floor of your closet, stuffed under your bed or tucked in your mom’s attic. Deeply rooted in their community, the Drykas don’t trust outsiders but it doesn’t mean they kill, harm, bully or mistreat them (unless you share qualities with a Zith or other beast in which case you would be dead before you ever saw the horseclans.) Bandits and the like avoid Endrykas because they fear the wrath of her people. Finally, keep your character sheet histories small and simple. It will allow room for development and growth through RP (which is why we’re here) and helps prevent you from making errors and conflicts regarding lore within the game.

That is all.
Prophet
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