Azurite

Azurites are a cultural set of Humans from Greyhawke. They have been encoutered several times. 
*Sonja Traveler bought charms from an Azurite woman at the Steadfast Maul.
*Eldirman an Azurite magician was traveling with the Blackmanes and was caught with them in the Dimensional inversion.
*Mikki Ashby had an Azurite caster pointed out at the inn at the start of the National Geographic Greyhawke Expedition.
==A Brief History==
Azue Island was a place to the west of the Norse lands. Loki decided that the Norsemen under his control needed to colonize this place. Truth is they had been there for years but never prospered.
Auze Island had an indigenous population as well. A people heavily into tattoos and piercings. A people that lived on the edges of the land more so than even the sea-borne Norse. They constantly warned the Norse not to penetrate the land. An evil dwelt there, a thing man was not meant to know. This was the reason they worked charms and protections into their body. The evil was all pervasive. The Norse had experienced births of children that were twisted, and a low fertility among their livestock, but they scoffed at the idea of an evil their gods could not deal with.
The main problem facing the Norse was a vast bowl towards the center of the island. The land took in the water but had few exits. They were determined to drain the source and make pastureland of the basin. Again the natives strongly urged that they should not. The first men in did not return. Well armed warriors went and did not return. The natives warned they were messing with something deeply evil. Stop now. No the Norse had their fangs in it and proceeded with the best warriors and heroes their coin could bring. 
This time there were survivors. They spoke of a eldrich creature that was a mass without form, and a thing of hideous shape at the same time. The natives were packing. The Norse called on a hero of legend from outside their own. Kirt Hellreaver. A being that had been to Hell and back. Kirt went in, and manged to get back out. The difference is he knew what it was, an elder evil. A true thing of utter madness, the Auzerites where correct. But by this point it was far too late. The beast had stirred from its bed. Kirt called on Coran to put it down.
The beast knew its limits. On spotting Coran it opened a gate to the elder evils seeking help. Coran called in help of his own. Demigods were tasked with evacuating the island. By the time the cataclysm was over the gods had managed by dint of great power and effort to stuff the elder evils back down their hole and close the gate, but there was nothing left of Azue Island. No further mortal lives had been lost, but the Island itself was gone.
In the aftermath of this total disaster Tesral offered the homeless Azurites a home. Some accepted this offer and settled in various places in the Eyrian Empire, mainly on the coasts to the South of Seahaven. Some of the people swore never to settle again and became a traveling people. They are welcome on the roads of the Empire. 
Loki has not lived it down; Yea Loki, drain the swamp.
==Azurite Culture==
The Azurite people, either settled or the traveling clans, are the descendants of the survivors of Azure Island. Azurites deal in charms usually in the form of piercings, amulets, and tattoos. They originally used these charms to protect from the constant evil they had to deal with. An earring to keep evil out of the ears, tattoos around the lips to keep evil from corrupting speech. A charm in the vulva to bless the newborn child, one in the penis to keep the seed pure and so forth. This practice has not abated with any of the Azurite clans.
The average Azurite will have far more tatoos and piercings than any other culture. Facial tattoos are a mark of the Azurite culture. The protections for eye ear, nose, mouth and genitals are the least any Azurite will have. Various piercings or tattoos cover the purpose. Which are used will vary among the clans of Azurties.
Spells can also be embedded in this fashion. Magical tattoos to be effective must be bare. Azurite magicians of any type and either gender will be bare from the waist up to expose the many tattoos they have. The average witch or mage will have enough ink and metal for an entire punk band. They will have fetishes and amulets galore.
Azurites are also noted for not wearing shoes. This is not so much a firm cultural thing as the totems, but is common. Bare feet are common among sailors of any culture. Unshod feet give better contact with the deck and the ropes of vessels of all kinds. It became a habit. In a mild climate the lack of shoes is not a detriment and feet get hard as leather when unshod. The lack of shoes is less seen among the traveling people. Hard roads are hard on feet not to mention the risk of wheels and the hooves of horses. It is not a certain identifier but in general a lack of shoes indicates a settled Azurite and wearing them a traveler.
Azurites do not steal. If they catch one of their own number in theft and they are adults that person is cast out with skin red from the ritual that strips them of their tattoos. Piercings will be wrenched from their bodies as well. Children are severely disciplined. Note: taking from the dead (provided they are long dead) is considered recycling. Killing someone and taking their stuff is only permissible if that person attempted harm on you. Destroying undead is an act of sanitation.
Azurites are fearful of birth defects. A deformed child will destroy a marriage. The children themselves are usually quietly killed. The birth of such a creature taints the parents. A second such will see them cast from the clan. The old practices of burning the womb of the mother and castrating the father have been firmly stamped out by the Empire. They also make it plain that unwanted children are wanted at the orphanage. If the orphanage is close the infant might make it there.
Animals that produce defective young will be slain. Food animals are slaughtered for food, the genitals will be buried with the defective young far from the village. The defective young is never eaten.
Azurties are not modest among their own people. If people the Azurites consider outsiders are present they cover up in a hurry. The special considerations of casters is an exception to the general rule. A bare breasted Azurite woman is a caster--period. Azurites consider two feet a good conversational distance.
===The Traveling Clans===
The traveling people of the Azurties have the highest number of casters per capa. They deal in small charms, simples, entertainment, and trade work. Some will trade luxury goods along fixed routes. Clans tend to be small, five or fewer families. Each family will have a wagon or two and horses. They might drive a handful of goats and own a box of chickens or three. Their horses are their main wealth and support for their means of living. The Azurite moral code is the main thing that makes them more welcome when other traveling peoples might not be. 
===The Settled Clans===
The settled clans live much as they did on Azue Island, they are fishermen. They have a fear of taking anything from the land, planting in it or harvesting. That fear is fading with the current generations, but those but a few generations removed still fear that which grows from the broken land. Fishers they remain. 
They live generally one clan to the village. These clans are larger than the traveling peoples' clans. They do keep livestock. 
==Azurite Magic==
The Azurite caster is generally illiterate. They imbue their amulets and fetishes with the spells they cast. These serve both as spell book and casting focus. even those that can read will continue this practice of spell craft. Every spell they know will have its tattoo or fetish.
Azurite casters can sacrifice a spell slot per spell level to permanently etch a spell on their person. They must have at least three spells of that level to do so. Such spells must be of a personal protective or divination nature. Protection, armor, comprehend languages, resist elements, elemental resistances, fortification, true sight, and like effects.
Azurite casters can make tattoo items for themselves or for others. Such items cost less as the item is not portable. Once inked on you cannot get rid of it. Tattoo items must either be of a constant nature such as protections or armor, or they can be of a "X per day" nature for spell casting items. Charged items are not something you can make with tattoos. Spell tattoos must be bare to be useable. Protections do not have to be visible.
==Game Information==
*Azurites are Humans and get normal Human bonuses. If stat shifting is used it is suggested that Wisdom and Intelligence be favored.
*Azurites have a +2 culture bonus against any charms, enchantments, or influence effects. This bonus will stack with other bonuses. The traditional eye, ear, nose, mouth, and genital protections be they piercings or tattoos are considered slotless. These are the body of work that grant the +2 bonus.
*Azurites can use twice as many amulets, rings and body slots for the face eyes and arms.
*Azurites have to buy literacy and never start literate.
*Azurites have a -2 to reaction rolls due to their "outlandish" appearance.
*Azurites casters cannot use clothing or magic items that would block or cover their existing tattoos. This means that any robes, armor, shirts and like items are out of the question.
*Azurites never steal. If an Azurtie character ever steals they lose the +2 bonus permanently.
The classes of Bard, Craft, Fighter, Healer, Magician, and Ranger are open to Azurites. Azurites cannot be rogues, the act of stealing is an anathema to their culture. No Azurite will start as a Cleric as they have no faith in gods. 
Category:Groups
Category:Culture
Category:Greyhawke
Category:Supernatural