Inhabitants of the world. Any need for illustrations?

[Steel General]

Another great piece... there is a deity of plagues and such in the pantheon if you wanted him associated with some kind of religion.

[12rounds]

This time a composite image of Cycopsilus and 4 members of the Sect of Flagelmus that accompany the Plague Knight.
------------------

The sect members are extremely resilient and the members have learned to delight and revel in the pain they both cause and withstand. They go barefoot almost all the time to feel pain and they punish their bodies in whatever ways they can think of. The sect members are all either survivors of the plague or suffering patients and carriers. The common denominator seem to be a destabilised state of mental health. Their reasoning is still intact and they are not idiotic in any way. Instead their minds have warped into a psychotic state in which they have embraced the plague as their true calling and fate. It is uncertain whether the disease is to blame on the deterioration of mental faculties or whether they have been brainwashed by someone ... or something.

Their numbers fluctuate heavily all the time since many can not take the added punishment of a wearing and debilitating disease combined with self-torture, starvation, mutilation and rampant violence they get involved in while entering new areas to ravage, burn, maim, rape, pillage, torture and kill any and all who they come in contact with. For some unknown reason, women are very rare among their ranks. Most of the sect members are human males, but the sect is not discriminating and there have been vague reports from Groam about whole groups of mostly elven or dwarven members.


### PIC ###

link to bigger sized image; above is apparently scaled down by forum software

[Ascension]

Look like a bunch of punks - I could take 'em Heh heh.

[Ghostman]

They look like they're on their way to a S&M convention or something

[Redrobes]

Awesome ! I can just imagine the faces of players in a group... "You go around the corner and theres these guys waiting for you"... yeah !

[su_liam]

I think you came up with a better explanation for Firefly's Reavers.
The guy with the torch is the scary one. He looks deceptively friendly.

BTW, has anybody come up with a description for what the Plague does?

[12rounds]

Name: Maximillian Castillo
Race: Human
Location: Udynaesses, Groam


Max is a brother to Jaime Castillo, who runs a protection agency in Udynaesses. Max and Jaime shared a ship in the old days and Max was the first mate whilst Jaime helmed the vessel (him being the elder of the two). When Jaime ditched the life on the high seas and established his land-based operation, Max declined both his brother's ideas: that Max would either take command of the ship or that Max would become Jaime's full partner. Instead Max went into a personal adventuring mode and spent the coming years travelling. He had amassed quite a hefty bag of gold so he needed not worry about income whilst travelling. Still he did accept the odd job just out of curiosity or because he had made drunken promises, lost bets or because he just wanted to help someone who had provided food or shelter for him with no questions asked.

Now Maximillian is back in Udynaesses with his brother and is partly employed by Jaime's outfit and partly unemployed. He is without a doubt one of the most experienced men Jaime can rely on. Not only because Maximillian has tremendous combat skills, but also because he speaks several languages he had picked up whilst travelling and is also knowledgeable about different cultures, customs and habits. And to top that, Max has also mastered interesting useful and highly sought after skills in carpentry, horsemanship, tracking and blacksmithing. Sure, he is no master artisan, but he has more than basic understanding in each.

Unfortunately Max has some disadvantages that make him unsuited for many operations. He has great animosity towards gnomes, halflings and dwarves. Even to the degree that he is known to have sabotaged his own job just to cause harm to a dwarven client Jaime and him were helping out. He is also prone to drinking binges that render him absolutely useless for any job. While drunk, Max doesn't get violent or abusive as such, but he becomes extremely loud, impatient and exceedingly unfocused. When confronted, he always promises sobriety for a spesific mission or an upcoming job, but half the time he either shows up already unfit for duty or if sober, at a whim he may just simply stop and forget whatever he is doing and get wasted at any available joint. Jaime is very careful when using Max because he knows his own brother is a risk and a liability that needs constant management. Whenever there's a suitable mission, Jaime makes sure Max is not left unattended. Usually Jaime puts Zane in charge of Max, but sometimes he himself takes the "babysit shift".



### PIC ###

[C'nor (Outermost Toe)]

If you're still taking requests, I've got some stuff that I'd like you to make:

Full Name: Tonkiir Aduay Nolos (Lesser Elf Demon)

Name: Antiasha

Description: The Antiasha are tall, with red skin and orange to yellow eyes. Their hair ranges in color from ash-grey to bone-white. They have long (6-7 foot) tails, which terminate in a small wolf-head.

There's more on them, so let me know if you want cultural details.

Also, a skeletal version would be cool too.

[12rounds]

Name: Jarl Halvor Jaern
Race: Human
Location: Arborea, Halgestia, Thanelands

The second-most important person in the petty kingdom of Halgestia, Halvor only kneels to Halgestia's present king Thorsten Jaern - Halvor's cousin. The family of Jaern wields the most might in the small kingdom, but the kingdom's relative geographical isolation has made it's impact on the whole loose alliance of the Skolvendun kingdoms unimportant. On the other hand the area slumbers in relative safety - a proof of how hard it is to conquer is that the Jaern family has been keeping the power in their hands for 250 years and counting. The only important trade routes are through waterways although some rare merchants dare their lives using narrow mountain passes. Mostly these are merchants whose houses have little or no influence in the cities of Kelrani and Halgest and are thus forced to run their operation land-bound.

Jarl Jaern is the fifth ruler of the city of Arborea since it's erection about 150 years ago. Life is harsh in the area and the huge Halgestian forest holds many unspeakably dark secrets within it, but nevertheless Arborea itself has not been succumbed to the ravages of actual war. Sure there have been skirmishes between humans and some lesser orc tribes who penetrate the area regularly from the mountains when the winters make the mountainous regions uninhabitable even to them. The famine-stricken orc attacks, however, are no match to the city's defenses and it's location on top of a hill make it easy to defend from brute force attacks.

Jarl Jaern and his family is well respected among the peasants in small forest villages and among the population of the city itself. Much of this respect comes through Halvor's just heart and kindness as well as his adamantine will power. His stance (him being a formidable 6'6" in height and packing some serious muscles underneath his no-nonsense garments), demeanor and intense stare is enough to end many a disagreement. In general the people in the Skolvendunian kingdoms don't give a rat's ass to lines of heritage but instead eagerly accept even the lowliest peasant's daughter to lead should she prove herself worthy. Halvor has seen his fair share of violence and bloodshed and has lead many small campaigns against the innate threats of Halgestia and the dangerous mountains to the south and east. Many of these have been pre-emptive measures that would destroy potential threats before they become actual threats against Halgestia or Arborea.

Generally regarded as just and reasonable, Jarl Halvor Jaern enjoys the trust of his people. His control of land masses cover almost half of what Halgestia is comprised of - although again half of this is very dangerous and almost impenetrable ancient forests and equally harsh mountainous areas. The population of Arborea is not numerous and Halvor is not eager to increase the population either. In fact to live in the city for over a season, a person needs to prove himself/herself worthy by excelling in some talent or profession or by doing something that benefits the city. The duty of selecting inhabitants is a responsible one and falls under a jury of three Arboreans - positions that are volatile at best and appointed by Halvor to accomplished persons who ask for it. No one is expected to stay in this jury for long. But the existence of this jury and Halvor's strong support to keep "unworthy" people out of the city is met with some anger and resentment since this tradition has a tendency to deny citizenship from elderly people and small children alike.

Jarl Jaern is not involved in the politics of Halgestia and has shown no interest in what happens in the cities Kelrani and Halgest. This is not being taken kindly by the more powerful lords in those cities who are thinking that Jarl Jaern is trying to cut Halgestia into half by establishing his own kingdom. To lessen the worries of those lords, Halvor has appointed his eldest son as liaison to the king - his cousin - and for now it has been enough to cast away suspicions.



###PIC###

[12rounds]

Name: Sir Marmol Havil
Race: Human
Location: Motherhallow, The Jaiyat Highlands


One of the only true towns in the highlands, Motherhallow is also the most notorious. Not so because it has a corrupt regime, but more so because of the short life expentancy of strangers. Sir Havil is the de facto leader of the town's warrior presence because of his status as the Headmaster of the "Mercenaries Guild of Motherhallow". The guild is regularly being used by the town regime to restore peace in the area and also to make life more difficult for the political enemies of whoever it is who is paying. The town has a smallish military force of it's own, but the leadership between "Town Guardsmen", "Motherhallow's Might" and "Alder's Templars" is torn between different factions and a constant political battle is being fought among the leaders of the town. To make matters worse, no exact mandate is being forced upon the military factions and so there's also a constant ****ing match on whose authority is the biggest concerning the peace of the town, peace in the country side and allegiances to the crown.

Sir Havil just picks the most lucrative offers being presented to the mercenaries, does whatever is being asked from him and shares the wealth gained between the mercenaries taking part. As a result, a membership in the guild is highly sought after and granted only after arduous testing of the applicant. The guild has a huge and well protected guild mansion at the edge of the town facing the lake and a gradual shift of power has been taking place in the recent years - a shift from the town rulers towards the guild. Rumors speculate that Sir Havil is in actuality planning to eventually take over the whole area and dispose of the current feeding hands of the corrupt regime.

The town is unlawful, rowdy, filthy and a generally dangerous place to be. A big contrast to the Alder's Temple not far north that is a place of immense serenity, peace and enlightenment. The "Alder's Templars" is a group of dissidents that have been forced out of the temple and is now using the temples name to mock it. The group is not particularly strong, but it has a devout following. it has been rumored that the group is involved in strange rituals and the townsfolk have been growing increasingly suspicious on what exactly the group is after.





### PIC ###