Etherfarer Society (GEP)

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If a body's heard of the Society, she's likely heard chant about how etherfarers are the explorers of the Ethereal Plane. Make no mistake, the Etherfarer Society is bent on piercing the darks of the infinite Deep; however, in this quest, the Society has grown into something more. 'Course, it helps that the solid ether chunk upon which the Society is founded manifests gravity like most worlds of the Prime. 
See, just by establishing a permanent Motherhouse for members, the Society created the seed for a community. And it didn't take long for bashers with a scent for profit to join. The town known as Freehold City evolved on the chunk of stable ether surrounding the Society Motherhouse (the entire mass is called Parers' Freehold, or just Freehold). 'Course, the etherfarers realized the benefits of an economic community tied to their own activities, and they nurtured the city's growth. Fact is, a few members left their residences in the Motherhouse and established guilds and enterprises in and around Freehold City, promoting the construction of the community's many attractions and making Freehold a preferred stop for any travelers on the Ethereal Plane.
When visitors to Parers' Freehold pierce the fogs surrounding the area (the ethereal medium surrounding the entire area is thin enough that the entire area is visible to those within 1 mile), they'll likely wish to make for the Landing, an artificial pier that stretches outside of the gravity field. Visitors approaching on other sides or from above come into the attractive field that extends in 250 feet in all directions
* The Etherfarer (Character Kit)
==The Landing==
Built to provide frequent travelers an easy way to leave and return to the Freehold, the Landing is a construction of stable protomatter of exceptional strength and rigidity. Its lambent white length stretches some 500 feet to a circular platform 50 feet in diameter. The platform is completely outside the attractive field of Freehold, allowing visitors to touch down upon it and make their way gradually into the gravity field without danger. Typically, Id 10 people come and go from the landing at any one time, and it's possible that one or two small ethereal cruisers are anchored along the platform's periphery at any given time. Those travers ing the Landing eventually come to stand upon the surface of Freehold, where the First House stands. 
==First House==
A large construction of red- I'm BIASED. dish stone, the First House is a visitor's first source of information regarding the Freehold. It also allows the society to keep track of those who pass to and from their ethereal island. The First House is manned by Jarve Murk (Pl/♂ human/F12/Etherfarer/NG) and 30 nathri enforcers in case of trouble (Pl/♂ nathri/F5/var).
Jarve is an easygoing fellow, but he does trouble all visitors for their names, affiliations, and purpose for visiting the Freehold. Peaceable visitors can get the chant on Freehold and its various locations, as well as directions to the Hostelry for temporary lodging. Hostile travelers are dealt with by Jarve and his gang of nathri, but in the event of a serious conflict, one of the enforcers runs up a red flag visible from the Society Motherhouse (and all over Freehold). A "red flagtt from the First House (or anywhere on the Freehold) draws an elite force from the Motherhouse to deal with the problem, as described under the Motherhouse entry. 
==Hostelry==
Good food, camaraderie, spirits, and comfy beds can be had at the Hostelry. Leesa of Lornath (Prn human/T6, Ill7/LG) runs the establishment, charging a fair bit of jink per night's stay-1 gold piece. 'Course, that includes dinner and breakfast, as well as a couple of pints of the house ale, more if Leesa's feeling generous. Besides Leesa and her staff of five (Pl/ o and var/F2/var), the Hostelry usually holds 6-12 travelers from various worlds and planes. Labeling the mix of patrons as merely "esoterictt does it a disservice.
Leesa is not a member of the Society, but she maintains good relations with the group. Pilgrims wishing to join or those seeking an audience with the Society often lodge at the Hostelry in the interim.
==Motherhouse==
This is the center of Farers' Freehold, both because of its impressive size and architecture and its unique membership and activities. There would be no Freehold City without the Etherfarer Society Motherhouse, as every berk knows. See, the Motherhouse serves as base of operations, member training, individual homes, policy center, and information and artifact storehouse for all the diverse secrets and mysteries of the Ethereal Plane discovered by the Etherfarer Society.
That's quite a claim, but the Society is made up of bloods with an urge to know all the myriad darks of the Deep and the worlds it borders upon. What makes etherfarers happy is the fact that the Ethereal is infinite. Thus, no matter how much they find, there will always be more to discover. The society is always happy to consider a like-minded individual's application for membership (see the Etherfarer kit below).
Those already possessing the privilege of membership can always call kip in reserved quarters within the Motherhouse. 'Course, to maintain membership, dues must be paid on a yearly basis; those consist of a monetary contribution in keeping with each etherfarer's standing as well as all new chant gathered in the Deep. The Society Library, buried deep in the Motherhouse, is a treasury of information spanning many thousands of worlds, demiplanes, features, and individuals of power in the Waveless Sea.
Every etherfarer has the right to attend the monthly meetings in the Society Conclave (a massive chamber in the Motherhouse) and to be heard during discussions of policy; however, a directorate of five etherfarers runs the Society. The individuals comprising the directorate are high-ups by any standard, powerful both in body and mind and in possession of specific planar knowledge far in advance of most other bloods. The members of the directorate can usually be found within the Motherhouse (or at least on the Freehold), although from time to time individuals go on personal quests of discovery within the Misty Shore. The current directorate includes the following individuals: Egallus Dreamchaser (Pr/ ♂ human/F9, M14/Etherfarer/CG); Ariane (Pr/ ♀ elf/MI 6, CB/Etherfarer/LN); Om the Free (Pl/ ♂ nethling/F 18/Etherfarer/NG); Darcy Stray light (Pl/ ♀ bariaur/ M 14/Etherfarer/N); and Shayth Marl Drim (Pl/ ♂ earth genasi/Pall6/Etherfarer/LG), previously a member of Sigil's Mercykiller faction.
Besides the high ups, there are always between 50- 100 other etherfarers of various classes and level in residence at any given time. Additionally, a staff of some 35 0-level individuals of various races is also always found on the premises. The Motherhouse contains many more chambers set aside for currently traveling members, so that on average, a majority of the chambers within the Motherhouse are empty but ready at a moment's notice to once again host owners. 'Course, probationary members can only claim a bed in the common bunkrooms until they've established themselves as valuable contributors to the Society. Many of these members have secondary residences down in Freehold City, or they lodge in the Hostelry while in residence.
Outsiders most often come to Farers' Freehold in hopes of obtaining some rare item, ingredient, or some bit of chant not otherwise available. All these th.ings can be had, for the right price (though physical items are more cheaply found in the Agora). Sometimes, however, visitors wish to join their fortunes with that of the Society. Visitors who petition for membership must meet the requirements. Prospective members who do not already have a kit have the possibility of picking up the etherfarer kit if all the requirements are met and the proper amount of time is spent in study. Prospective members that already subscribe to a kit can still join, though they are etherfarers in name only, not in skill (ignore bonus proficiencies and special benefits granted to those with the etherfarer kit)
==Freehold City==
Some 500 individuals live and work in this ethereal burg, ranging widely in race and creed as befits a city that draws its population from the Ethereal and all the dimensions bordered by the Deep. Besides the fact that the city lies in such strange surroundings, it contains many services and structures that communities all across the multiverse have in common, including a smithy, a tannery, a mason, and other such businesses. Of course, all these materials are brought from other planes, and so prices for these and related services are high by some standards. One of the most interesting businesses within the city is the etherworks, where busy craftsmen create items out of stable protomatter, attempting to manifest special properties when possible. Many of these items are available in the Agora, the Freehold City market.
===The Agorea===
Items both mundane and esoteric can be found here, as Freehold City serves as an Ethereal crossroads of sorts. Some of the most popular items include strands of stable protomatter (of phase spider manufacture), extraordinarily strange pets from demiplanes no one's ever heard of, and dreambom relics recovered from ruptured dreamscapes.
===The Grange===
Many small, cooperatively owned farms and ranges cover this side of the Freehold. While much food and other staples are imported, the bulk of the food and animal products utilized by the island's inhabitants come from the Grange.
===Shipwork===
The Shipworks was originally chartered by etherfarers interested in building vessels of discovery fit for the Ethereal Plane. In time, the complex grew to its present size, offering ships to both the etherfarers (for a discount), and to any buyer who can come up with sufficient jink to purchase an ethereal planecruiser. Though planecruisers come in all sizes, most cutters can only afford the basic planecruiser (though the high ups of the Society are rumored to possess true ethereal caravels in massive garages deep below the Motherhouse). Ethereal ships created here are launched by simply dropping them from the "cradle" when they're finished. All physical objects dropped off the side of the Freehold quickly fall away from the range of the island's gravity (from the underside of the Freehold, the island's gravity field acts like a repulsion field).
====ETHEREAL CRUISER====
: Time to Build: 6 months
: Cost: 15,000 gp
Measuring some 20 feet in length from bow to stern, the basic model of the Ethereal Cruiser contains a 10-foot x 10 foot on-deck cabin, a below-deck hold also measuring 10 feet x 10 feet, while the deck itself is sufficient to hold five or six passengers. The bulk of the ship is built of Prime-harvested wood; however, various critical components of the cruiser are crafted of protomatter.
Diaphanous sails of glowing solid ether can be unfurled from masts situated along four axis points of the craft (both above and below the deck, and to either side). When deployed by a skilled crew of at least four, the sails can propel the entire cruiser at a movement rate of up to 55 through the Ethereal Plane, with the comfort and security of a cabin to call kip and storage space to move valuable cargo conveniently. A long strand of protomatter can serve as an anchor if trailed out to its full length of 600 feet. If an ethereal cruiser ever suffers the misfortune of materializing on another plane, it is ruined, as its ethereal components soon evaporate. 
===Tarn===
Water is a vital commodity to any community, and to this end the Society created a permanent portal to the Elemental Plane of Water long ago. The portal currently exists at the bottom of the Tarn and is sometimes used by bashers interested in traveling to that plane (and sometimes natives of the plane of Water come through to trouble the Freehold, but that's another story). Since the portal acts as an inexhaustible spring, the overflow constantly pours off the side of the Freehold, forming the famed Empryeal Falls 
===Empryeal Falls===
Often named as one of the "must see" sights of the Ethereal, the Empyreal Falls is a tumble of sparkling water fresh from the Elemental Plane of Water. As it falls off the literal edge of the Freehold, roiling and twining in its luminous majesty, it quickly leaves the associ ated gravity field behind. Inertia is responsible for its continued flow for some hundreds of feet before it disperses in true clouds of moisture and massive spheres of water, adrift in the Deep.