Riven

Riven are one of the seven original humanoid species. Hear it pronounced.

Traits

Riven don’t value life, including their own. They are known for spreading diseases; all species burn riven corpses. They sleep more than half the day in short naps. They are the greatest danger to those leaving town.

The riven are not intelligent or wise, their judgment colored by hate, boredom, and lazy thinking. They are easily fooled. They are weak inside and out. They have terrible endurance and stamina, sometimes passing out on their feet. Their dexterity is poor. Riven are only concerned about not getting sicker or hurt again, but when in a battle frenzy, they are without fear.

Appearance

Riven have slightly round faces and round chins. Their narrow, bloodshot, squinty eyes are deep set beneath a strong brow, and heavily lidded as if on the brink of sleep, with violet pupils. Their eyes glow in the dark. Their often broken noses are too large. Thin lips hide rotting teeth and horrible breath. They have sharply pointed ears. Unkempt hair is cut short to minimize lice and other infestations.

Riven are three to four feet tall, thin, malnourished, and carrying sickness. Their small feet are twisted and misshapen, one leg sometimes shorter than the other. They are weak from lack of exercise or hard work. Their bones are thin and easily broken. They wear stolen, mismatched, torn, and filthy clothing. An unpleasant odor surrounds them. They have poorer senses than other species.

Habitat

Riven prefer forests because these offer many hiding places. Mountains involve too much climbing. Deserts offer no protection, food, or entertainment. Rainforests are too dangerous. Since riven spend most of their time outside, they prefer warmer climates.

There are no settlements that riven have built. Riven are dependent on other species because they lack the desire or skills to hunt, cook, or farm. They strongly prefer living near querra, who are the easiest target for raiding for food. In addition, querra will flee, possibly abandoning their homes, with riven can take over for better shelter.

Magic

Riven laziness, indifference and procrastination make it very hard for them to become wizards. Sorcerers are reasonably common, since it takes less effort and skill. They tend to be deadly and chaotic.

Gods

All species acknowledge Llurien’s twenty-eight gods. The four gods of the violet sphere created rive and heavily influence their outlook.

Blaekynor, Goddess of Haste, Chaos, Misfortune, Impatience, Accidents, Mischief

Blaekynor causes riven to do everything hastily and poorly. Ideas are typically bad and executed worse. Their actions make them seem dumber than they are. They learn from experience, though. Riven thrive on chaos and random opportunity. They don’t have the patience to see anything through. They are prone to accidents and perpetually hurting themselves.

Mooryndal, God of Hate, Contempt, Murder, Revenge, Vengeance, Tyranny

Riven hate everything without reason and have contempt for life. They jump to negative conclusions and then attack someone over it regardless of its size, including every humanoid species and animal. They are so hateful that they frequently kill each other, keeping their population down.

Ilioth, God of Cynicism, Disease, Sickness, Doom, and Poison

Riven are prone to sickness and diseases. Their bodies are given to malnutrition and quick aging. The average life span is just twenty-five years and they reach milestones twice as fast as humans. They’re highly susceptible to infections. Plagues are attributed to them. Riven have twisted, paranoid thoughts. They have no faith in anything and trust no one.

Raekynlor, God of Sloth, Passiveness, Silence, Irresponsibility, Indecision, Procrastination, Indifference, Boredom, Winter

Raekynlor makes riven indecisive, slow to move, and indifferent. They are notoriously lazy and don’t care about the consequences of actions or inaction. Raekynlor causes their sleeping habits and narcolepsy. They are devoid of imagination and desperately bored accept when attacking someone.

Ideology

Riven live in small tribes between twenty-five to one hundred. Few ever travel far past the boundaries of their land. Their society is anarchy. They have no laws and respect nothing.

They encourage murder against other species and tribes, and this is only somewhat frowned upon within a tribe. Riven are too lazy to do anything with a corpse, but they’re aware of their rampant diseases and so burn all riven corpses where they lie, which is exactly what everyone else does. They don’t bother with rituals.

Riven have their own spoken but not written language. They usually know Antarian, too, but that’s all. Except for white riven, they are all illiterate.

Combat

Riven run as a group at their targets, swinging wildly once near. Their laziness and haste keep them from gaining skill, so they attack with whichever blade they have. Riven show little regard for their own safety. They cannot engage in a siege. Those enemies who fall to the ground in the midst of a riven swarm will never rise again.

It is known that if their attack doesn’t kill you, a disease you catch from them might. Their preferred weapon is a riven dagger. Species prefer using missile weapons against riven, to prevent disease and avoid their frenzy. To minimize bloodshed in hand-to-hand combat, crushing weapons are preferred. Magicians are especially fond of using fire, lightning, other energy sources against riven, or swallowing them in the earth.

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