User:Paleomancer/Emerald Sun (3.5e Campaign Setting)/Cultures

Cultures

Crescent Sea

The Crescent Sea is the Mediterranean and Caribbean of Tellur, dominated by powerful coalitions of city states which nominally serve the holy city of R'lyeh. Each Great Old One is the patron of one major city state, with R'lyeh as the unified capital of them all. There are no real independents, although Saswan is as loosely affiliated with R'lyeh as it is safe to be.

Hinterlands

The barbaric lands to the north, upon which the R'yehans seek to establish their dominance. A sizable contingent of human clans, collectively referred to as the Fomorians, live here, fighting one another as often as they fight outsiders. Further north, the hidden cities of the trolls and their Jotun cousins

Amber Coast

The westernmost coast of Gondwana, a rich and powerful collection of empires and tribal nations.

Languages

There are many languages throughout Tellur.

Somnian

The language of the Dreamlands.

Rituals

Like any religion, worship of the Great Old Ones is dominated by rituals that emphasize the role of worshiper with respect to worshipee.

Pilgrimage

Most citizens of the R'lyehan Hegemony are expected to make a pilgrimage to R'lyeh and to the city of their chosen patron at least once in their life.

Thrice Named

Most people call the Great Old Ones by their titles, not by their names. There is a belief that saying a Great Old One's name three times within a short time (about three times within a minute) can summon the entity. This is only done in certain rituals or spells, where the name is surrounded by praise and prayer to the Great Old One, in the hope that it will not simply manifest and eat your face (depending on the Great Old One, this may or may not work).

Forbidden Lore: This is not some mere superstition, and characters risk a great deal if they ignore it. Great Old Ones are so powerful that speaking one's name can grant it entry to your location in space, or even into your mind. If you speak a Great Old One's name once, that attracts its attention; twice, and it can pinpoint your position. Thrice, and the name provides a portal of sorts that the Great Old One may use, either to manifest itself physically, or possess the speaker. Either way, it rarely ends well for the speaker and those around him or her, unless the characters have something to offer a ravening Great Old One that is better than their bodies, minds, and souls.

Thought Tithe

The citizens of R'leah offer much of their lives in the service of the Great Old Ones, but few rituals are as horrific as the Thought Tithe, the ultimate expression of subservience to the Great Old Ones. In this ritual, mortal subjects of the Great Old Ones offer a portion of their sanity to sate the hunger of the Great Old Ones, which can range from solitary offerings of R'leahan monks, to the large-scale sacrifices on holy days in R'leah. The ritual requires a leader with at least 8 ranks in Thuamaturgy, and one or more subjects (of which the leader is usually one). The ritual takes 10 minutes, requires 3 DC 20 Thaumaturgy checks, and deals 1d6 points of Wisdom damage to the participants. Followers of Sukhet are not required to perform this ritual for him, but must reaffirm their alliance with R'leah once per year in this way.

Forbidden Lore: TBA.

Blood Tithe

A variant of the Thought Tithe required by the more bloodthirsty Great Old Ones, except that it additionally deals 2d6 points of Constitution damage, and the leader of the ritual usually is not one of the victims. Ixthotlu is notable for the amount of blood he demands.

Forbidden Lore: TBA.