Sher'ka (SHAYR-ka) 28-July-1996 Modified 15-August-1996 ©Michael T. Richter Based on Epiphany(tm) by Greg Porter Released for public consumption under the terms outlined on page 41 of the first printing (June 1996) of the Epiphany rulebook. Description The Sher'ka are, in effect, a race of winged humans. They were created in the distant mists of time by an extremely powerful Air mage (or so the legend goes). They currently inhabit remote aeries in the mountains inside the Hollow Earth which ring the entrance near the nation of Lemuria. There are also sporadic reports of Sher'ka settlements deeper within the Hollow Earth or in very remote places in the Dyalands. These latter are, however, very likely to be apocryphal reports caused by BirdMen sightings. Appearance and Physiology The Sher'ka, when their wings are folded, look from the front like tall, slender, pale human beings. Their eyes seem slightly too large for their slightly too wide faces, and their amber irises can be disconcerting to gaze into, especially when combined with their tendency to blink much less often than most people. The Sher'ka are otherwise attractive to the eye due to their very aerodynamic shapes and well-toned muscle. An obese Sher'ka is a rarity and looks distinctly unnatural. (This affliction of obesity is most often found among the wingless Sher'ka -- c.f. below.) The Sher'ka have phenomenal metabolisms which force them to eat a lot of food on a daily basis. They also have much better eyesight than most human beings. Their hollow bones make them much lighter than equivalently-sized humans, a mixed blessing. Their metabolism results in a high level of body heat which permits them to survive more easily in the cold mountain peaks. A side effect of this metabolism, however, is a decided susceptibility to heat exhaustion in the warmer, lower altitudes. Most of the Sher'ka have splendid, feathered wings not entirely dissimilar in appearance to those of a swan. Unlike swans' wings, however, Sher'ka wings each have a distinctive, individual speckling pattern of black feathers in the plumage. These distinctive, individual patterns break up the otherwise nearly uniform appearance of the Sher'ka race. Approximately one winged Sher'ka in one hundred thousand has pure white plumage. Time-honoured Sher'ka custom has these as especially blessed and pure individuals destined for greatness. Birth of one of these "Pure Ones" into a family can raise its status immediately. One in one million winged Sher'ka are born with completely black plumage. These poor creatures, the "Dark Ones" are thought to be intrinsically evil and are mistrusted by all. Oddly, local superstitions prohibit the deliberate killing of such individuals, so they are rarely, if ever, killed at birth. Instead they are reviled and hated throughout their lives until such a time as they are driven to crime or murder, after which they are executed in vengeance - a viscious, self-feeding cycle. Some Sher'ka are born without wings at all - not even vestigal ones. The theories of non-Sher'ka scholars range from flaws in the original magics which created the race to the effects of interbreeding with human beings (an uncommon, but not unheard of, event). These Sher'ka live miserable lives in the aeries and generally do not venture forth from their homes very often. They are viewed with reactions ranging from pity to embarrassment to disdain by most winged Sher'ka - not outright hated, but regarded as being somehow sub-Sher'ka. Society and Politics Sher'ka society is introspective and isolationist. It is mostly self- sufficient, and that which it cannot make, grow or hunt for itself, it can easily get through small, tightly-controlled trade agreements with the outside world. While there are occasional winged Sher'ka who are consumed with curiosity of the world outside their aeries, this is a rare occurence. Far more common are wingless Sher'ka who wish to escape their tragic lives as "cripples." Most Sher'ka found abroad, in fact, are of the wingless variety; pathetic creatures who, having escaped the patronising attitudes of their social betters, find themselves considered barbarians in the rest of the civilised lands. These embittered souls often find themselves driven to lives of crime to survive in the uncomfortable lands they inhabit. The core of Sher'ka society is the extended family, nominally under the control of the most senior adult of either gender. Each extended family has one or two trade specialties to which they have exclusive license within their syndicates (c.f. below). Extended families band together into "clans" (a misnomer, but now sadly used everywhere) of families tied together by common trade and/or political interests (the two are often one and the same). Clans are run in theory by the head of the politically most influential member family, but in practice by a quasi-official group of the heads of the most influential families. Clans are themselves further organised into strong political blocks called "syndicates," each ruled in theory by the head of the most powerful clan in the syndicate (usually, but not always, the head of a family of soldiers), although, again, in practice strongly advised by an ad-hoc council of the most powerful clan leaders. These syndicate heads - called Syndics - band together into a council of Syndics which jointly rule two or three closely-linked valleys. In theory these Syndic councils provide a means for inter-syndicate disputes to be settled amicably in a fashion best for all concerned. In practice they are nests of intrigue, back-stabbing and power-mongering. Because of the economic focus of Sher'ka government, the focus of most politics in Sher'ka society is the defection of profitable families from one clan/syndicate to another. A successful defection brings many concrete economic benefits to the receiving clan/syndicate and causes a massive loss of face, revenue and power for the losing side. Because of this, economically profitable families and clans are highly prized in syndicates and given many favours and powers over those which are theirs by strictest legal theory. Due to the increase in the proportion of wingless births across the last thousand years, there is a (relatively) new undercurrent to Sher'ka politics: the so-called True Sher'ka movement. Part religion and part political ideology, this movement suggests, contrary to observed facts, that the original Sher'ka were wingless and pure. Under this ideology, the magical forces that created the Sher'ka were actually corruptions of the true Sher'ka form which have only slowly begun to repair themselves across the ages. This ideology was, until three or four generations ago, a peaceful (if subversive) one which comforted the afflicted wingless Sher'ka and provided them with the pride necessary to survive in a hostile social clime. A rash of wingless births in a powerful gemstone mining and cutting family, however, has resulted in a True Sher'ka leader becoming a major Syndic. A following rash of familial defections to her syndicate has now given the downtrodden wingless Sher'ka a powerful political voice. Violent incidents across the winged/wingless divide are becoming increasingly common and a major civil war may start brewing in short order. It is speculated that Dark Ones and True Sher'ka plot together against winged Sher'ka and Pure Ones, but there is no hard evidence to this effect. Sher'ka Characters Sher'ka make good player characters. They are made like any other character, but have some pre-defined burdens and boons. The assumed focus of an Epiphany campaign is the human-dominated regions of the planet. A pure-Sher'ka campaign would involve some modifications to the assumptions below, most notably the dropping of the "Outcast" burden. Winged Sher'ka While there may not be very many winged Sher'ka at large outside of the aeries, they are not unheard of. Winged Sher'ka automatically have the following: Burdens: Outcast; Enemies. Boons: Gift: Wings; Gift: Farsight. The enemies of all Winged Sher'ka are the True Sher'ka, who hate and plot against any of their more fortunate brethren (even the Dark Ones). The default level of such enemies is one Burden, but this may be increased at the player's judgement. A Sher'ka's wings allow sprinting flight faster even than a galloping horse and endurance flight at a speed roughly equal to a jogging human being. When flying, a Sher'ka is limited to one heavy item unless the character has the Strength attribute, in which case the limit is raised to two. Carrying one heavy item for a normal Sher'ka is exhausting and does not allow for any long-distance flight unless the added Attribute of Endurance is present. A Sher'ka with Strength can carry one heavy item without fatigue, but is fatigues similarly by two heavy items unless Endurance is present. The Farsight gift allows a Sher'ka the same benefits as possession of a Farglass. Many, but not all, winged Sher'ka have the following Burdens, Boons, Attributes and Abilities: Attributes: Agility; Physique. Abilities: Aerobatics (Agility). Physique, if taken, is assumed to be impressive height, but because of the hollow Sher'ka bones cannot be applied in Challenges unless it is specifically height which gives an advantage. For reasons not yet clear, very few Sher'ka have the Boon of Magery. In fact, only the Pure Ones and Dark Ones may have Magery (the Dark Ones, in fact, almost always have Magery). To be a Pure One or a Dark One is a further Gift, but being a Pure One allows one to have influence over other winged Sher'ka roughly equal to an additional level of status and wealth. Thus a Pure One at a status of 0 would have the starting possessions of a Below Average character instead of a Marginal one. In addition, if inside a Sher'ka aerie, this character's standard of living would be at a Below Average level. Outside of such an environment, however, the standard of living drops. A Dark One also automatically has an added Burden of Enemies: Winged Sher'ka. Again, this enemy is only one Burden in most cases unless the player decides otherwise. Wingless Sher'ka: ----------------- Wingless Sher'ka are generated as per winged Sher'ka, but without the Enemies Burden and without the Gift of Wings. The have a Curse on Agility as well since their misconstructed bodies are slightly out of the ideal balance (this implies that they do not have Aerobatics as an Ability, of course). Wingless Sher'ka often have the Physique Attribute, and may, at player's discretion, be interpreted as girth instead of height. If this is the case, then Physique may be applied normally in Challenges.