River Folk & Bogs

From: David Swanson Millians <dragon_at_netcom.com>
Date: Wed, 7 Feb 1996 03:53:25 -0800 (PST)


This is probably about as far as I should go with this line of thought, and I do recall that there was a rather lengthy, more general dispute concerning bogs some months back.

My reason for pursuing these questions further is to flesh out my understanding of the river folk as a society. There really is very little material on them in published sources, yet there are thousands of them in a society dispersed all along the Zola Fel, and they are presumably one of the most ancient human societies in Prax.

Recognizing that bogs and marshes are among the richest available sources of food and material and that the river folk have dwelt therein for uncountable generations, I think they are likely to be the subtle masters of such places. After all, their magic would be strongest in these places of water and land union, and as far as they are concerned, they nymphs and spirits of the bogs are their distant relatives, all drawn together by the deeds and ever flowing strength of the river father.

I also recognize the significance of other bog inhabitants, especially the hostile ones. During an early part of my game, when the characters were still all children, one of them was ambushed and nearly taken by a morokanth scout, and she has had a (game enhancing) fear of morokanth ever since. The appearance of a small band of broo has disrupted the whole northern end of the Great Bog as of last week's game, throwing off the typical migratory patterns of a number of clans and forcing some at least temporarily to adopt some new habits. In fact, the players' clan headed downriver early and has met some morokanth, who need some help....

I think for the very reason that the river folk do so well in the bogs that many of the other peoples of Prax either only skirt the edges or avoid them entirely. It's just too much trouble. They venture there on occasion, but it's just not their land, not their way.

Anything's possible. I want to be able to toss out anything to my players. I'm simply trying to establish for myself what's common or likely.

David Millians


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