- Phoenix-
- self-sacrificing but vain
- Have varied colored hair
- Spirit Mages
Lynx- - shadowy but lonesome
- Tends to deal with Ram and none other
- Have furry ears that come to a point
- Slavers and dealers in difficult to obtain objects
Sheep- - willful but easily led
- Often rounded up by Lynx
- Can have white hair and pink eyes
- Farmers and factory workers
Ram- - strong but stubborn
- Merchants known for being willing to sell anything/one
- Often considered gaudy or new money
- Have ears that are as hard as bone and curl, similar to their namesake
Rabbit- - loving but weak
- Another easy pick by wolf or lynx
- Tend to have buck teeth and wide-set eyes
- Craftsmen of high quality goods and competitor of Ram
Dragon- - fiery but prideful
- Have “scale” tattoos from arms to neck like where wings would be
- Sole proprietors of High magic
Cougar- - tough but rash
- Are short and muscled; have bright green eyes
- Warriors and thugs for hire
Bear- - fierce but stupid
- Big and hulking with blunt faces
- Warriors and thugs for hire
- Less patriotic than Cougar
Mouse- - quick but fearful
- Nimble fingers with nails that are sharp like claws
- Make crossbows and specialty mage tech
Moose- - brave but lumbering
- Are drafted to war if there aren’t enough Bear, Cougar, or Wolf
- little nubby horns similar to a faun/satyr on their heads
- Farmers and factory workers
Crow- - cunning but ambitious
- appear bird-like
- Thieves and beggars
Wolf- - appear wolfish
- Raiders
Note: Every tribe, even the non-mage tribes, has its own healers.
Okay, so apparently this cycle follows one similar to the zodiac, with one major difference. The child is claimed by their totem. It is undetermined whether the earth magic tied to the peoples of Askinov causes certain members to go to certain tribes, or if chance or bloodlines causes some to be born hulking like a bear, while others in the same breed pair have the nimble fingers of Mouse.
Birth ceremonies are about finding the child’s totem, and gifting them a sigil. A sigil is a carved image of the child’s patron totem. Elders of that totem are responsible for passing along their totem’s stories and beliefs, and showing the younger the ways of their animal spirit. They are also fully responsible for the health and wellbeing for the child, as soon as that child is chosen by their patron.
Each tribe has specific duties and abilities that fit their place in society. All Dragons are mages that study High magic. All Lynxes are slavers. Which brings up another matter: Slavery exists in this universe. It is possible for a playable character to be enslaved, or to start out as a slave, or to escape from slavery. The terms that allow this to happen are that a character cannot be enslaved without the consent of that character’s writer.
Murder is also an option, again, as long as both parties (the murderer and the victim) consent to this action being taken. The victim’s player, once that character is bereft of life, may reroll a character immediately, and rejoin the game.
There are a few things to consider when choosing your character’s tribe. First, personality and tribe really go hand in hand. If you want to write a character who has all the character traits ascribed to Phoenix, put him in Phoenix, not Moose. Second, your tribe is your family in every way that matters. Out of game, your tribe is essentially your team. Tribe members look out for each other, protect each other, fight for each other. Another point about tribes is that different tribes, broadly speaking, have different social status. The hierarchy looks roughly something like this:
1. Dragon
2. Phoenix
3. Mouse
4. Rabbit
5. Ram
6. Cougar
7. Bear
8. Sheep
9. Moose
10. Lynx
11. Crow, Wolf
Lynx, Crow, and Wolf are outsiders, pariahs in their cultural structure. They can be incredibly wealthy, though the norm is that they live in poverty. Moose and Sheep are working classes; they tend to have small incomes, and run farms or work in factories. Cougar and Bear are warriors, either fighting for the city of Askinov and her interests, or as thugs-for-hire by any that would pay. Ram is a merchant class, selling anything for the right price. They tend to be fairly wealthy, and can afford several slaves. Rabbit are dual, with the ability to make fine clothing and weaponry as well as acting as Ram’s main competitor on the free market. Mouse are craftsmen whose magic allows them to enchant nearly anything, giving those objects more durability, or better use. Phoenix use spirit magic to affect a person’s soul or, perhaps, mind. Dragons use High magic, affecting the physical world with spoken spells.
The city of Askinov is divided into four districts:
1. Upper Market-- main market, craftsmen stalls, plus the areas where most of Ram, Rabbit, and Mouse live.
2. Lower Market-- black market and the slave market, along with slums inhabited by Sheep, Moose, Mouse, or Lynx
3. Flash-- the fancy nice district where most Phoenix and Dragon and the richer elements of some of the other tribes live. Cleaner and prettier than everywhere else. This is also where the Council’s meeting house and other official buildings are.
4. Quad-- the place where most of the military barracks and training grounds are and where most Cougar and Bear live.
5. Sprawl-- Spreading outward from the city is an area composed partly of the cheaper suburbs where most Sheep and Moose live, and partly an extension of the slums, inhabited chiefly by Wolf and Crow,with factories and assorted outbuildings interspersed between the dwellings. Further yet from the city these buildings give way to farmland, chiefly maintained by Moose and Sheep.
The City of Askinov is ruled by the Council, which is supposed to be a representative council made up of twelve councilmen/women, one from each of the tribes in the city. In practice, the Council is exceedingly corrupt: there is no Council member for Crow, the member for Wolf is just a puppet, and most of the other Council members are in the pocket of Dragon and/or Phoenix.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_bwA7lxIPKuLVRfOGxDRWRIS1E/edit
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to topple the council. This can, of course, be achieved by banding together. This can also be achieved by being a complete and total bastard. Your goal is to get a tribe (possibly your own, maybe a coplayer’s) in ruling power of the city-state.
A final note about slavery, it’s a permanent thing. A slave is branded with an earring, and then when they are sold, the owners information is then magically attached to the slave’s ear. A slave missing their tag is summarily and immediately killed. Returning a runaway slave is like returning a lost wallet-- generally, if someone sees someone from another tribe wandering around, they’re likely to take them back to the address on the tag.
). I'll keep it in mind, though.
