Mortals:Fiends
The Quill already spent a season each on the ‘civilized’ people including: dwarves, elves, urchins (smalfolk) and orcs; along with humans. There are other mortal beings across the land. Mortals are considered to be sentient people who have a finite existence and are subject to death: they are not immortal. Follow the posts this season and the mortals tag to learn more about other sentient beings of Taluma and fantasy settings in general. Note: the classifications of the people of Taluma are different than the ‘monster types’ in core rules.
Our first classification of mortals are fiends. Fiends are mortals with infernal heritage, originally the offspring of demons and devils. This includes demonkin or lesser demons, who are the result of two infernals or an infernal and another mortal mating, and the orc and their kin who are offspring of demons and mortals. Demonkin include beings like cambions, the direct offspring of an infernal and a mortal, gnolls who are descended from half-infernals, and minotaurs who were transformed through infernal worship. The most numerous fiends are the orkin which includes orc-like beings like ogres, ettins, merrows, and oni.
All of the fiends described here (along with their infernal masters) count as the fiend creature type.
Orkin
The orkin are a classification of related mortals with a similar origin and ways of life. The orcs are related and are often considered members of the orckin, though in some lands they have joined the civilized people—such as the orcs of Taluma. Centuries, even ages, ago the ancestors of the orckin were the spawn of demons and humans. Like gnolls, they gathered in groups and had their own offspring, forming their own lineage of people.
Because of their infernal origins, they are innately brutish beings: savage and cruel. In addition to the orcs, who have always been most like humans, some evolved into much larger beings like Ogres (and their magical cousins the Oni), and even adapted to become the aquatic terrors called merrows.
Orkin of Taluma
In the land of Taluma, some orcs have joined the civilized people, but there are still many who remain savage and warlike and will resort to violence as their first way to react to other people they come across. These savage orcs usually are found among ogres. Ogres still live in the wilds, making them dangerous places to travel. Though even the savage orcs are more intelligent than ogres, they respect strength and will follow the lead of ogres. Once nomadic people, the orcs have either settled in communities, or around the haunts of ogres. Ogrillons, the offspring of ogres and orcs, are more intelligent than their ogre cousins and only slightly less powerful and often rise among both orcs and ogres to positions of leadership. Some ogres or ogrillons swear themselves to an infernal and in turn are given powers similar to how warlocks are empowered by a patron.
Gnolls have become the most prominent and feared orkin, taking the spot once held by orcs. In the vacuum left by the migration of orcs and wretches (goblins and their kin), the wildlands in the center of Taluma have become overrun with packs of gnolls. They essentially control all of the Gywventooth Valley. Rumors among those who live in the wilds and encounter gnolls hint at them being led by an arcanoloth.
They have become even more of a threat since they were able to take control of Maggniforj—the sacred forge and stronghold of the dwarves that fled west—and have been using it to craft better weapons and armor. How they have been able to ignite the forge and use it is both a mystery and an affront to the dwarves of Taluma. There is an opportunity for an adventure to reclaim the forge for the dwarves. You can run with the idea and come up with an adventure yourself, or stay tuned for more information for DMs on what is happening at the forge in a future post.
