Vendetta
First Post
OK, here's the rest of the information on the Xeph (and a tiny bit more "understanding" into Xerxes at the end)
Xephs
Xephs are acknowledged for their skill in feats of agility, their uncontested ability at generating bursts of speed, their matchless knowledge of movement and distance, and their capacity for humor. Xephs are celebrated for the fabulous objects of subtle beauty they produce for trade. Their lands lie far to the east, contained within a great rift that hides a broad valley permanently plunged into darkness, except for several psionically illuminated forests. Despite the lack of sunlight in this environment, Xephs thrive.
Personality: Xephs are quick to laugh or joke, welcoming of strangers, and especially, charitable to those who really earn their confidence. If they are betrayed by a friend, Xephs are dwarflike in their resolve to seek justice and redress. Xephs value artful sculpture, beautiful paintings, expensive clothing, and other art objects. They prefer to avoid a fight rather than wade in, but they are not timid if combat is their only recourse.
Physical Description: Xephs stand about 5 ½ feet tall and are slender and graceful, usually weighting about 140 pounds. Males are typically taller and heavier than females. Xephs’ skin is typically brown, and their eyes are dark. Their hair is usually black and straight; some wear it clipped short, while others shave their heads except for a topknot and weave that hair into a single long braid.
Relations: Xephs get along well with humans, half-elves, and Halflings. They think that elves might be a little too good to be true, while they view half-orcs and half-giants with some suspicion. Xephs and Maenads (OOC: another Psi-race) tend to rub each other the wrong way; Xephs see Maenads as too stiff (little realizing the reason why), while Maenads envy Xephs their free and easy attitude.
Alignment: Xephs tend toward good. Those who take up the soulknife class learn to be lawful, though on balance, the race is somewhat chaotic.
Xeph Lands: Xeph cities are found far to the east across wide-open savannas, then deep below the lip of a great rift, where darkness reigns. There they practice their arts and sing their songs under the boughs of a gloriously illuminated forest. Members of other races are welcome in the forest, though some ancient temples are off limits to those not of the blood. The wealth the Xephs own is due in part to their artistic bent, and in part to their desire to travel far and wide to trade for the wealth and art of other cultures. Some prefer overland caravans, other seagoing ships.
Religion: The chief deity of the Xephs is Fharlanghn, the Dweller on the Horizon. He is the deity of travel, roads, distance, and horizons, all of which are concepts that stir the Xeph soul.
Language: Xephs speak their own language, which uses the same alphabet as Common. Some also learn Sylvan, the language of fellow wanderers.
((OOC: The “Names (male, female and sur)” section is left out… A) I don’t want to type it and B) I doubt it is really something you NEED… but if it is, I’ll add it… though, it should be noted that many Xephs that wander from home often take the name of their city as their sur-name. Xerxes chose to keep his “real” name to honor his father))
Adventurers: A Xeph adventurer is usually motivated merely by the thought of travel and exploration itself. A Xeph may also be motivated by the desire to see new wonders, feats of might, psionics, or magic great enough to inspire the Xeph to greater works of personal Art.
And so ends the info on the Xephs. A couple of things to note based on Xerxes history. Xerxes family lived on the outlying areas of the Xeph rift. The cult was evil and I intentionally didn’t flesh it out for two reasons. A) They had no real need to chase after Xerxes and after he and Cyrus got away, they gave up looking for them (Though, Cyrus didn’t know that and continued to wander further and further away from hope, afraid they might be followed) and B) If you did, for some reason, decide you wanted to have this cult make an appearance then I figured you could have room to make them fit into your adventure more easily.
Secondly, Cyrus was not an artist (Which is why he was a servant) and so, did not teach Xerxes any art. In the future, I’ll be developing some artistic abilities in him as he begins to learn more and more stuff. Cyrus kept them on the move for his youth and he never really got to experience any culture, other than just stories that Cyrus would tell Xerxes about home.
Xephs
Xephs are acknowledged for their skill in feats of agility, their uncontested ability at generating bursts of speed, their matchless knowledge of movement and distance, and their capacity for humor. Xephs are celebrated for the fabulous objects of subtle beauty they produce for trade. Their lands lie far to the east, contained within a great rift that hides a broad valley permanently plunged into darkness, except for several psionically illuminated forests. Despite the lack of sunlight in this environment, Xephs thrive.
Personality: Xephs are quick to laugh or joke, welcoming of strangers, and especially, charitable to those who really earn their confidence. If they are betrayed by a friend, Xephs are dwarflike in their resolve to seek justice and redress. Xephs value artful sculpture, beautiful paintings, expensive clothing, and other art objects. They prefer to avoid a fight rather than wade in, but they are not timid if combat is their only recourse.
Physical Description: Xephs stand about 5 ½ feet tall and are slender and graceful, usually weighting about 140 pounds. Males are typically taller and heavier than females. Xephs’ skin is typically brown, and their eyes are dark. Their hair is usually black and straight; some wear it clipped short, while others shave their heads except for a topknot and weave that hair into a single long braid.
Relations: Xephs get along well with humans, half-elves, and Halflings. They think that elves might be a little too good to be true, while they view half-orcs and half-giants with some suspicion. Xephs and Maenads (OOC: another Psi-race) tend to rub each other the wrong way; Xephs see Maenads as too stiff (little realizing the reason why), while Maenads envy Xephs their free and easy attitude.
Alignment: Xephs tend toward good. Those who take up the soulknife class learn to be lawful, though on balance, the race is somewhat chaotic.
Xeph Lands: Xeph cities are found far to the east across wide-open savannas, then deep below the lip of a great rift, where darkness reigns. There they practice their arts and sing their songs under the boughs of a gloriously illuminated forest. Members of other races are welcome in the forest, though some ancient temples are off limits to those not of the blood. The wealth the Xephs own is due in part to their artistic bent, and in part to their desire to travel far and wide to trade for the wealth and art of other cultures. Some prefer overland caravans, other seagoing ships.
Religion: The chief deity of the Xephs is Fharlanghn, the Dweller on the Horizon. He is the deity of travel, roads, distance, and horizons, all of which are concepts that stir the Xeph soul.
Language: Xephs speak their own language, which uses the same alphabet as Common. Some also learn Sylvan, the language of fellow wanderers.
((OOC: The “Names (male, female and sur)” section is left out… A) I don’t want to type it and B) I doubt it is really something you NEED… but if it is, I’ll add it… though, it should be noted that many Xephs that wander from home often take the name of their city as their sur-name. Xerxes chose to keep his “real” name to honor his father))
Adventurers: A Xeph adventurer is usually motivated merely by the thought of travel and exploration itself. A Xeph may also be motivated by the desire to see new wonders, feats of might, psionics, or magic great enough to inspire the Xeph to greater works of personal Art.
And so ends the info on the Xephs. A couple of things to note based on Xerxes history. Xerxes family lived on the outlying areas of the Xeph rift. The cult was evil and I intentionally didn’t flesh it out for two reasons. A) They had no real need to chase after Xerxes and after he and Cyrus got away, they gave up looking for them (Though, Cyrus didn’t know that and continued to wander further and further away from hope, afraid they might be followed) and B) If you did, for some reason, decide you wanted to have this cult make an appearance then I figured you could have room to make them fit into your adventure more easily.
Secondly, Cyrus was not an artist (Which is why he was a servant) and so, did not teach Xerxes any art. In the future, I’ll be developing some artistic abilities in him as he begins to learn more and more stuff. Cyrus kept them on the move for his youth and he never really got to experience any culture, other than just stories that Cyrus would tell Xerxes about home.
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
