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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rystil Arden" data-source="post: 3349321" data-attributes="member: 29014">I wouldn't call it 'generic'.  It has a bunch of weird idiosyncrasies, and it is definitely a place of high action, swashbuckling, chivalry, and romance.  Think Three Musketeers meets Song of Roland with other stuff as noted and you're on the right track!Byblans are regarded as oddities by most.  They are respected by some among the learned and feared by some among the ignorant.  Generally, the Byblans ignore the Rowaini unless they are bothered.  They are happy enough to let the Rowaini govern the world of Tymadeau unless they try to do something bothersome.  Some among the Byblans are more gregarious, and some have slightly stronger ties due to having been an recently-ascended Rowaini, though that usually fades with time.Some witches manipulate things behind the scenes--these are often disaffected women who want power, sometimes even members of the nobility who use their magic to get ahead.  These witches are the ones that are often mobbed or slain outright.  All witches are distrusted to some extent because of this and also because they receive divine power that comes from neither angel nor saint.  The so-called 'good witches', such as they are, live peaceful hermetic lives in the woods and sell herbal remedies to heal locals of their ills.  There are many other kinds of witches, including the evil witch who lives in the woods and brews plots and poisons, the curse-specialist who sells her services to those who seek revenge, the witch who will make you a deal to grant your wish--though always with an unsettling twist, and maybe other sorts of fairytale witches.  Most witches learn from a witch mentor and are members of a coven or circle, and they value sisterhood.  Some are solitary.  It is even independent of sort.  Some benevolent witches live alone in self-exile, and some form societies of healers who venerate nature.  Many manipulative witches work alone for their self-aggrandisement, but perhaps the fears of the so-called 'conspiracy theorists' among the nobles are not so far-fetched--if real, an organised group of witches among the female nobility pulling strings could wield great power in a Shadow Court unknown to any but its members.The primary practitioners of magic are NPC Clerics, which by outnumber the others fairly significantly.  Witches are the next most common, though they are considered the least legitimate.  Next in number, far fewer than Witches or Clerics, are the rare NPC Rowaini Wizards who seek to emulate the Sages without giving up their humanity.  Byblan Sages are only slightly less frequent than that, though they are held in the most esteem except for the Clerics (and some hold them in more).    I mentioned some things about the culture of nobility and women before, but as mentioned, sexism is the norm--the refined noble is polite and genteel in his treatment of women and treats those close to him (mothers, wives, sisters, mistresses, etc) with love and warmth, but ultimately, they are wives, mothers, and sex objects.  Among the nobility, women are not considered to be stupid or inferior inhuman beings and they are not treated harshly--they are educated and pampered to be delightful companions, but they do not have the freedom to choose their life's path:  They'll be married off to cement alliances and maintain peace.  Others, even most other noblewomen, would consider it selfish to do otherwise--they are born to a life of luxury, and with that privilege comes responsibility.  Among the commoners, women have considerably more freedom.</blockquote>

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