Zipsum

Aquatic Turbo Squirrels...

Unlike most other Karians the Zipsum barely remember the countless eons under the protection of the Dusk Sages, though they've heard it was a golden age of safety and plenty. Back then, the Zipsum were eager servants of the Sages, running messages, being eyes and ears, receiving gentle strokes and sitting at their feet learning lore. All of that changed just over two centuries ago with the explosive arrival of the Cheldrun and the subsequent, sudden, departure of the Dusk Sages.

With a lifespan of about 20 years, achieving maturity around 3 and bearing children around 5, the Zipsum have been through almost 40 generations since the cataclysm. It is no wonder then, that they have already forgotten most of what the Dusk Sages taught them, but they are aware that they once were wiser and more powerful than they are today.

It is this awareness that has propelled them into their new role as information gatherers, spies, and couriers. Just 10 years ago they realized that the Vorax, the traditional keepers of lore among the Karians, were dying out and other Karians were forgetting the magics of the Dusk Sages just as the Zipsum had. In a rare moment of complete accord the heads of the 21 circles agreed that the Zipsum should learn everything they could. (They argued and were unable to come to complete agreement as to why or how the information should be organized and recorded.)

The Zipsum have excitedly taken over for the Vorax as the keepers of diffuse knowledge among Karians. Endlessly curious and universally underestimated, the Zipsum are perfect information gatherers, though they can rarely distinguish secret lore from really good recipes or exciting stories. By trial and error they learn and absorb a huge amount of information, but it is not very organized and so not all that useful. The 21 Circles (100 member committees from each of the 21 tribes of Zipsum) have yet to come up with any use for the information gathered and in the meantime all Zipsum everywhere are improvising - a normal state of affairs.

Because of this chaotic dispersion Zipsum vary as to their attitudes toward the Cheldrun. There are basically two types of Zipsum: 'domesticated' and 'wild'.

Domesticated Zipsum have decided to submit to servitude (even slavery) among the Cheldrun in order to spy on them. Savvy domesticated Zipsum, jabber to wealthy Cheldrun by the hour, who pay for the privilege of possibly learning absurdly important information that no one else knows. Others have become smugglers, petty thieves, beggars and pranksters. These Zipsums do not consider themselves "owned", though they may appear that way. Nevertheless some of them grow very comfortable in Cheldrun civilization and have a difficult time adapting back to the forest.

Wild Zipsum are impervious to conquest. The Cheldrun have been trying, ceaselessly, since Zipsum enclaves are nearest to the cities among the Karians. However, their speed and disorganization makes them basically impossible to master, corral, or even restrain in large numbers. Some of the tribes have run into more trouble when the Cheldrun descend to slash and burn tactics, but this has led to a fierce resistance among them. Wild Zipsum disdain their domesticated brethren and loathe the Cheldrun. Unable to mount any serious threat to Cheldrun forces they resort to sabotage, and guerrilla tactics, which is a continual annoyance to the Cheldrun.

***

Players who wish to play a Zipsum should determine whether they will play a domesticated or a wild Zipsum, which of the 21 tribes they will come from, and should discuss in detail their background and travels with the GM to determine what kind of knowledge they may have stored up in their cranium. Zipsum are often skilled martial artists and archers (in human form), though their culture prizes far more the arts of foraging, scouting, exploration, and information gathering.

Appearance: In their human form Zipsum are svelte and beautiful people, with natural allure. They are beguiling brunettes with an aura like a fine mink stoll - inviting and sensual. They do not retain their animal features like ears or tails, but they have an animal magnetism. They are fond of simple clothing made of luxurious materials like silk and satin. They carry themselves with grace, like dancers or martial artists. In their animal form they appear as normal sized squirrels with a small set of gills behind their ears and webbing between their toes. They come in a wide variety of colors, from normal browns and grays, to pink, yellow, green and anything else. Their fur color is affected by what they eat, so they may change color throughout their life.

Example Tribes: the Cascadejumpers, the Cloudclimbers, the Duststorm Tribe, the Lightningstrike Tribe, the Riverswift Tribe, the Thunderrunners, the Windspring tribe etc...

Example Names: Brags-too-Much, Eats-through-Nose, Head-breaks-Rock, Jumps-over-Jevumm, Kills-giant-Frog, Pretty-like-Flower, Smiles-like-Wolf, Wet-behind-Ears, etc...

Example Attributes: Combat Technique, Extra Actions, Extra Defenses, Features (animal empathy & appearance), Heightened Awareness, Heightened Senses, Jumping, Melee Attack (Unarmed), Melee Defense (Unarmed), Mind Shield, Organizational Ties (tribe), Ranged Attack (Bow), Ranged Defense (Dodge), etc...

Example Skills: Acrobatics, Area Knowledge, Burglary, Climbing, Foreign Culture, Forgery, Gaming, Languages, Navigation, Seduction, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Wilderness Survival, Writing, etc...

Domesticated Zipsum attitudes towards….

Cheldrun

Oooo! Shiny cities, bright lights, whirring motors, smart peoples. What is not to like about these wonder-workers from the stars?

Allskins

These are soft and nice people compared with the others. They pay us money and listen to us tell our stories.

Biomade

Smoothskins are mindsensors, but they cannot read us, so they do not like us. They are dangerous, but they have a lot of information. Treat with caution.

Mechified

How it hurts when they kick us with their metal feet! They are rough and rude people, who make loud noises and terrible smells.

Karians

We are the people of the past. Cheldrun are shiny and new. We should learn from the new people or we will be dead people.

Anakarix

They move too slow. The future is fast, fast, fast. They will not make it long, before the future outdistances them too too much.

Gogajin

Strong, strong, strong and when they are drunk they talk so much. They make good allies if they are willing to work hard for the city people.

Jevumm

While we are in the city they cannot eat us! They are scared of fire, but the city people use it in everything. Phhhhhbttt!

Prill

They are so pretty, but they are only worried all the time about the forest. The future is the city. They should sing city songs.

Vorax

We miss the Vorax. They were the only people who knew more stories than we do. Too bad they get sick around the Cheldrun.

Zipsum

We are fast and smart and if we learn from the Cheldrun we will become faster and smarter.

Wild Zipsum attitudes towards….

Cheldrun

They are stinky and horrible. They think they know everything, but they cannot see and hear everything we can. We will learn all lore to defeat them.

Allskins

These are the most impotent of the Cheldrun, despised even by their own kind.

Biomade

These are the ones who know the most, among the Cheldrun and therefore the ones we must really fear.

Mechified

They look scary, and they’ll hurt you if you let them get close, but they can never catch us.

Karians

We are Karia’s emotional expression. Our jubilation is her jubilation. We must grow in happiness for her to grow in happiness.

Anakarix

Boring! They do nothing but sit, sit, sit. If you can get them talking, though, they know so much.

Gogajin

They make us laugh and laugh when they are drunk. They are so stupid, but we like them.

Jevumm

Hiss! We hate them. They eat us and scratch us if we are not careful – but they are easy to scare with fire.

Prill

So many rules! They are always following traditions and rituals and talking about the past. They are stuck like ants in tree sap.

Vorax

Sigh. We miss them so much. They were storytellers before us and they knew so much about far away places.

Zipsum

We are the fastest and smartest people anywhere and it is our job to use our fast and our smart to make Karia happier.


3 comments:

Paul Wise said...

I'm not sure I really know how to conceptualize a society where people are physically mature at 3 and die of old age at 20. I suppose at the very least, only three years of maturation means that they wouldn't have anything even remotely resembling our own view of children. O_o

At what point are the Zipsum considered to be old and infirm? DO they get old and infirm, or do they just drop dead some point after their twentieth birthday? How long are they capable of having children?

Douglas Underhill said...

i like this, how you incorporated some things i sent. the cool thing is that i want to play all of the races of karians and cheldrun. at first i was like "donkey-people? i dunno...", but after giving them some thought and reading your flavor text, i was more sold.

one thing i'd like to see is more about the world overall. are most of the karians that the cheldrun interract with enslaved or being hunted or fighting guerilla wars? are there regions that are more peaceful than others? what do the various continents look like? how does the cheldrun technology play out in a given city? are the cheldrun adopting karian cultural traits to adapt to their new home?

Aric Clark said...

@Paul

It is tough to conceive a society with such different age ranges. I think they treat children similar to mammals in the wild - ie: they care for them, but with somewhat less regard than we humans have. In danger the young and the elderly might get left behind to be eaten.

They get old and infirm quite suddenly somewhere around their last year of life. Their hyper-metabolism causes them to sort of sputter and go out like a candle. They can have children till about their 15th year or so.

@Doug

Glad the different races are appealing. I happily incorporated much of what you sent, because it was cool.

I definitely need to get some more general world-view type stuff up. In brief though...

The Karians don't have any kind of united front so it isn't all out war, and there probably are some exceptions - meaning, individual tribes that have made peace treaties with the Cheldrun. Unfortunately, much the way the Europeans rarely abided by the treaties they made with the Native Americans, the Cheldrun basically ignore treaties when it is convenient. The Karians have begun to realize this and so they are more violent then they were before. The Cheldrun regard the Karians as sort of half-way between animals and humans - ie: possibly useful, but mostly to be regarded as a nuisance. They have no respect for Karian property, culture, or beliefs. The Allskins are more gentle and patronizing to the Karians than the Biomade or Mechified.

Excepting the domesticated Zipsum, Karians in Cheldrun territory are probably enslaved, or hiding.


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