Race relations in Bronn

 

I wrote up some notes on inter-species relations (seems important to establish as a compass at the get go) for the campaign, then promptly forgot about it. I really have to print this stuff out as quick reference, otherwise I just wing it: 

Relations between peoples in Bronn vary by region, but there are persistent themes: humans, goblins and dwarves in particular fight over mines. 

The fey and wood elves are often locked in conflict with humans over logging and the expansion of farmlands. Goblins, fey, humans and high elves fight endlessly over the forests themselves. Some woods are still guarded by ancient treants, while others have fallen into the grip of chaos beasts.

Gerts, the obstinate and aggressive goat men, fight over hills and mountains with the goblins, giants and dwarves. 

There are stories of winged bird-men and their inaccessible aeries in the Wornspines who were prized for their feathers and the (supposed) medicinal benefits of their ground wing bones, but they have not been seen in living memory.

Thrunds, known to some as ‘noble goblins’ are found in the east of Bronn, where their martial prowess is not to be underestimated. They congregate in barrens, forests and mountains. They are fine craftsmen, but their xenophobia limits trade.

Gnomes and kobolds have a deep blood hatred, second only to their animosity with goblins, who will enslave gnomes whenever the opportunity presents.

Dwarves hate goblins most of all, and have difficult relations with high elves, who also mine and covet their precious gems. Dwarves fear and stigmatize magic, which they have no aptitude, and are deeply distrustful of wizards.

Of all these relationships, the most variable is that between high elves and humans. In the north, humans hate and fear the high elves of Erynthal, who will regularly launch punitive expeditions from their island stronghold against those who desecrate their ancient temples and sacred forests on the continent.

Anvou, which has always prized nature and has a strong druid tradition, is an exception, but this has strained relations with their human neighbours.

In Avalon, high elves are revered, as they helped expel the armies of Mercia. It also helps that the numbers of the High Elves have dwindled over the centuries, and their realms shrunk in turn. Relations with fey and gnomes can be strained, thanks to industry and logging.

Avalon’s druids and verderers work diligently to right the imbalance; farmers even form alliances with fey, offering goods and food in exchange for enchantments that provide bounteous crops yields.
The Sea Kings, as well as the Norgrun, have had a long rivalry with Erynthal, filled with piracy, raids, blockades and outright war. Enslaved elves are common in the Norgrun villages, and vice versa.
The Gothic Kingdoms are an unstable region of ever fluctuating realms, beset by roving bands of warriors; the Skaelingweald is feared and avoided, for it is filled with goblins, spiders, ogres, trolls and worse.

Most races live in isolation from each other.

The Serene Republic of Juna is the exception to the rule: a multiracial hub in southern Arthea, many races associate peaceably here. There are ambassadors and merchants here from kingdoms a world away.

Catharn, at the eastern end of the Midsea, is also quite cosmopolitan, although there are occasional fits of xenophobia orchestrated by the dark cabal that rules this fragment of once great Elthar.

The capital of Setesh, on the southern rim of the Midsea, is also said to be a great cosmopolitan hub, where people and trade from the world over mingle. A land of dark sorcery and strange rituals, they are known for their cyclopean sculptures and elaborate desert tombs.

The Lakbans are populated by many different peoples, locked in an endless competion for territory and resources. It has been conquered repeatedly, with each wave of invaders overwriting the previous, leading to multi-generational grudges. Dragons, manticore and goblin raids from the mountains keep them militarized and impoverished. It is both the site of The All-Beings first revelation, and frequent outbreaks of the undead. Powerful magical energies flow through it, for good and ill.

There are other sites in Bronn where ancient magics were awoken in ancient times, fissures in the fabric of reality, through which the impossible can flow. And sometimes still does.

Many of these sites are lost to time, grown over and forgotten.

Magic is a rare and precious phenomenon, understood by few, accessible to fewer, and feared by many.