Srazhedy

The Srazhedy are an agrarian culture of isolated farms and plantations, spread out across the north. They are a proud and warlike people, uncommonly devout, and most dangerous.

Appearance

The Srazhedy are of average height (5'6"-5'8") and muscular build, with black or brown hair worn long on both men and women, and almost universally brown eyes. Men tend to have closely trimmed beards or are entirely clean shaven. They wear leather or woolen clothing, or sometimes furs, thick and heavy to combat the cold.

Society / Government

The core of Srazhedy society is the farm or manor, an agricultural establishment run by a landowner, his family, and his servants. These warrior-farmers (Called Ozyain) and their families work the land, and employ and house any number of servants, in exchange for room, board, and protection. The smallest of these farms may consist of a single bachelor living alone and farming his own land, whereas the largest resemble small cities. More traditional is a man, his wife, sons and unmarried daughters, as well as two to five families of servants. Everyone works the land - even the Ozyain and his family.

The Ozyain typically lives in a large manor house, situated on the best elevation in the area, to keep his home safe from the same common flooding that feeds his fields. If the structure is large enough, the servants live there as well. If not, they live in cottages somewhere on the land. The Ozyain traditionally owns everything he can see from his house, but there are cases of two or more landowners living closer together, for mutual support and security.

The Ozyain himself is dedicated to one thing aside from his farm - his sword. Typically a masterwork Sabre or a Longsword, but occasionally a larger sword, even up to the Odachi, this sword is often a family heirloom, or the sword of a man he killed in a duel. All Ozyain are, by necessity, practiced swordsmen.

Duels, while theoretically an acceptable solution to any matter, typically occur over one of two things - women or land. Suitors for a woman's hand, if they are of the Ozyain class, will often duel to decide who gets her, if her father does not simply pick one of them. These duels are not always to the death.

The second type of duel is for an estate. Any young man with a sword over the age of 14 may challenge an Ozyain for control of his estate. The Ozyain typically sends out a couple of challengers first - typically a servant or two and then one of his sons. The challenger is supposed to defeat them without killing them, to prove control and skill, but this does not always happen. If the challenger is not driven off or killed by these battles, the Ozyain himself comes out and they face off. This always ends in Death. A new Ozyain cannot afford to have the old one still alive, so that his servants might think on his possible return, and the current Ozyain must strike down the challenger, to ward off future attackers and prevent this one from returning once more. Should the challenger win, he becomes the new Ozyain, and inherits the land and servant families. The family of the old Ozyain swears fealty to him and they become a new servant family, though he is expected to treat them kindly and may marry one of the daughters to secure ties. These types of events typically happen in the spring, when young men of age wander out to seek their fortune.

Role of Women

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Religion

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Skills

Craft

Societies differ in what technologies they have developed. Here is listed the normal maximum for skilled craftsmen in this society - a character coming from such a society would have no higher a modifier than this (modifier being the specialization in that division of craft).

Items whose craft DC is more than the given number +20 will be rare, potentially costing twice as much as normal, and those whose DC is the given number +25 or higher cannot be attained. This rule may be broken in trading hubs, where items have been shipped in that are not domestically produced.

A zero here means that this society has no knowledge of this type of craft.

Division	Societal Maximum
Alchemy	0
Bowmaking	25
Calligraphy	3
Carpentry	25
Casting	4
Composition	2
Fletching	12
Forgery	1
Gemcutting	4
Glassworking	2
Leatherworking	23
Machining	0
Pottery	3
Sailmaking	5
Smithing	40
Stonework	9
Tailoring	2
Trapmaking	4
Weaving	14
Woodworking	20

Heal

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Division	Societal Maximum
First Aid	?
Long-Term Care	?
Surgery	?

Profession

Common divisions of Profession are:

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Knowledge

Common divisions of Knowledge are:

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Perform

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Common divisions of Perform are:

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Other

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Magic

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