The Xadras people of Helatia believe in
schooling. They have universities; they
even have universities for things other than magic. In fact, the first university in Helatia was
for the training of naval officers, so now (culturally) every university in
Helatia trains their students in the aspects of sea faring. What does this really mean? Well the mages are typically taught astrology
as the basis for learning about magic - astrology and star navigation. The mentalists are taught cartography and
geography, because chances are they are going to wind up being relay
telepaths. In knowing where the various
cities are and the continent’s lay out, they have a better chance of
understanding how the different relay stations will work.
But are there other impacts? You betcha!
If the culture believes in schooling, then if you plan to be more than a
“regular” soldier / warrior / fighter, then you better get some training. What does training in the martial arts lead
to? Specialization!
Standard soldiers in Helatia are
taught to fight with spear and shield and might even be trained to perform
maneuvers like shield walls and various formations. But that’s about it. Within Helatia, successful (surviving)
soldiers will typically choose a school to attend for further training, and
each of these schools has a different style of martial art. Just as Asian martial arts follow different
disciplines, so do these. But what do
they do?
Helatia is a port city, and it
was founded by people willing to travel the seas in order to find freedom. While the city is maintained by olive groves
and other farming, they still look to the sea for inspiration. So rather than have their martial arts
patterned after terrestrial animals, they pattern them after sea animals,
especially scary sea animals.
As we get into these, please
understand that in Helatia, soldiering is seen as an honorable
profession among professionals. In this
culture, these martial styles are seen as normal and even cool. Mocking a soldier because he has a shark fin
looking helmet will be a slight against his honor and every other soldier who
hears it is likely to help him defend his honor.
▪ Sharks (sometimes barracudas)
- These soldiers see themselves as juggernauts in battle. They smoothly slide through battle sites,
striking where they see opportunities, but always on the move. Obviously these types of soldiers do not work
in units that use shield wall tactics.
While they are one of the rarer styles, they can be incredibly effective
in battles that do not run in tight formations.
They are often heavily armored and seem to prefer plate mail styles,
with strong breastplates but lesser armor on their arms and legs to allow them
to move more freely. They are experts in
their armor, able to move far more quickly than would be expected in armor that
heavy. Their armor is always custom
fit. These are not standard militia
soldiers issued a suit of armor, but instead connoisseurs who can afford far
better. They are also infamous for
having some of the largest helmets, feeling that once they see where their prey
is, they need the protection over the ability to watch other portions of the
battle. Those helms are nearly always
decorated with some manner of crest, stylized to look like a shark’s fin. This makes it easy for their allies to see
them as they cut their way through a battle (since they don’t stay in formation).
Sharks are most commonly
dual weapon fighters. This allows them
to move through a battle slashing from both sides as they close in on their
prey. The “signature” move of a shark is
typically a double weapon parry followed by a disarming move. This is often the only thing that will slow
them in their movement around the battle, as stopping to block, double disarm,
and then attack does take a few moments (or most likely at least two
actions). They favor slashing blades and
will not use piercing weapons as stabbing and withdrawing would slow down their
smooth movements.
The
most famous (and wealthy) sharks will often wear their breastplates with shark
motifs etched into them, but then have some manner of exotic arm (and sometimes
leg) armor.
Since they want their arms
armored, but still to have as much freedom of movement, they have been known to
have dragon scale covering their arms, but steel everywhere else.
While something like
nemean fur would seem to
work better, they typically avoid the use of fur as it ruins the overall look.
A
historic (and really famous) shark was Janos Barlarkik (thought by some to have
been raised within the Xadras culture but actually of Rhoric blood).
He lost his right eye in a battle with the Tanta Bosh. Afterwards, he tended to move his head in an
odd fashion. It was his unconscious way
of compensating with his left eye for not being able to see out of his
right. While he was not considered a
saint while alive, after he died, the priests found out that he was indeed
favored by their war god and was quickly made a ranking officer in the
celestial army. He is therefore often
thought of as Saint Janos. While alive,
he trained hundreds of soldiers; some he trained to be sharks. His sharks wanted to be like their hero, so
they copied his odd head movements.
Typically only by imitation, this odd head movement has become common
amongst sharks. Many believe it is them
trying to see better out of their great helms, and perhaps for some it is, but
it is simply patterning their hero.
▪ Octopi - These soldiers are
trained to fight back to back, most typically with a sword and a baton (or any
parrying weapon). Obviously, they are
not cut out to face archers, certainly not at any distance. The idea is that with eight limbs (like an
octopus), the enemy never knows where the attack is coming from. They tend to strike out in unexpected ways,
including blocking for each other so the intended target can get an attack in
under the now blocked weapon. They are
often trained to kick as well, especially if they can pull it off as a
surprise.
They
would often be considered to be wearing “medium” armor, most commonly chain
mail, but often with added decorations (that will act defensively). Octopus shaped epaulets are often seen as are
some truly spooky helms. When three
octopi fight back to back to back, they are often called squids. As a normal course of battle, these teams
call out to each other in coded phrases that allow them to shift around,
further confusing their enemies as to exactly who they are fighting.
▪ Crabs - As might be expected,
a crab fights inside heavy armor and relies on that armor to keep him safe,
more so than most other forms of defense.
They do tend to use shields, but smaller shields that will block melee
weapons, because they typically are too slow to get out of the way. These are certainly “tanks” intended to
absorb damage from enemies while others kill those same enemies. It is not uncommon for crabs to use weapons
that are slow and ponderous, but if and when they hit, deal an enormous amount
of damage. Their fighting style is often
to wait for the perfect time to strike, even if that means that they don’t
attack as often as others might have.
▪ Eel - Eels are actually fight
mages, typically trained to have a spell in one hand and a weapon in the
other. The idea is that they will fight
in more of a swashbuckler or dueling style with their weapon (most commonly a
lighter, faster sword), and then when the time is right, unleash a devastating
spell right into the enemy’s face.
Though lightly armored, they are not the glass cannons seen in other
battle field mages.
We
went on a little too long on this one, so we’ll stop here, but we want to bring
the point home: Knowing things about a
culture, in this case that they prize schooling over experience and that they
are romantic about the sea, can directly lead to knowing more about how they
fight and what they will do in battle.
As a GM you may not need to know this about your world, but your games
will be a lot more engaging (fun) if you do.
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