Xuuluu

Xuuluu adventurers typically wear gear that is a mix of both traditional and modern equipment. Their white markings are not painted on, but are actually a part of their skin.

## History

The Xuuluu are one of three human lineages that arose on Surmusra, a large jungle-covered island in the Dawn Sea to the southeast of Gerrim. Scholars believe that in ancient times, as early as 10,000 BH, a single group of humans arrived on Surmusra, and that over time it was from this initial population that three separate lineages arose.

Much of the oral tradition that bore the history of the Xuuluu has been lost, but what is clear is that at some point after the island had been thoroughly settled, disputes began to break out between clans over territory and resources. These eventually escalated to full-scale wars, and the Xuuluu are the descendants of the eventual victor clan.

The end result of these wars was that the clans that lost were forced by the Xuuluu ancestors to live on the least fertile and productive land that the island had to offer, the slopes of the great volcano Fjallokull at the island's center. Trapped here, living on unforgiving land and on scarce resources, these defeated clans would diverge from the Xuuluu culturally and physically in significant ways, becoming the lineages now known as the Stelites and Fjallans.

These clans would harbor a lasting resentment for the Xuuluu for generations. The Stelites clung especially tightly to their hate, and over the millennia they would launch thousands of violent incursions into Xuuluu land seeking to reclaim what they had lost. Unfortunately for the Stelites, the Xuuluu never lost their combat prowess despite long eras of peace. Their fierceness in battle combined with the devastating divine powers gifted to them by their goddess, Mawuu, ensured that the Stelites never stood a chance. In the surviving Xuuluu history, there are no accounts of any single Stelite attack- instead, they are spoken of as if they were a constant threat of fairly little consequence, like bad weather.

Life continued this way for the Xuuluu for thousands of years with all of the tribes united, living off the land and sea around Surmusra and organizing lavish festivals for their goddess and her spirit children, most of which included ceremonial combat between the strongest warriors of the time or sacrifices of captured Stelite warriors. This would all change in 45 HE with the arrival of a Havenic exploration force led by the Iron Helix Syndicate.

Before they could be stopped, the Iron Helix and their detachment of Havenic troops landed and made their way to the island interior, where they made contact with the Stelites and the Fjallans. The Stelites persuaded the foreigners to take their side in a new clan war against the Xuuluu in exchange for Haven's rights to plunder Surmusra for all of its mineral resources. The deal was made, and the war was begun. With the introduction of the raw destructive power of the Iron Helix, however, the conflict quickly escalated from a war of territorial reclamation to a war of extermination. Millions of Xuuluu men, women, and children were crushed and cut down by the Iron Helix in the span of a single day, with no survivors left standing on the main island of Surmusra.

The only survivors of this brutal genocide were the families residing on the minor outlying islands off of the western coast of Surmusra, and the few individuals that escaped the carnage in time to warn them. Together, these few remaining Xuuluu gathered what possessions they could and took to the sea in their fishing boats, bound for the the only nearby foreign land they knew was not fully sworn to Haven: Gerrim.

Scared and desperate, the Xuuluu refugees hauled their boats onto shore and made a long trek inland to Gerrim City where they hoped to find some sort of help. They had had limited interactions with the Gerrimites over the years, mainly due to the fact that the Gerrimites' elemental nature made the Xuuluu deeply uneasy; the Gerrimites' very existence conflicted strongly with the Xuuluu worldview as a place where the forces of nature were governed by Mawuu, not by the elements' own discrete souls and minds. The Gerrimites, for their part, also had little interest in interacting with the Xuuluu- they were a people highly focused on trade and industry, and the Xuuluu had little to offer that the Gerrimites could not procure themselves.

Despite their differences and distant relations over the years, the Xuuluu pleaded at the gates of Gerrim City for some kind of assistance or mercy in their time of need. To their surprise, the figure that stepped forward to help them was not wholly of earth, fire, air, or water like most Gerrimites, but instead remarkably similar to themselves. This man was known as Rej, a successful and well-respected merchant from Gerrim City's Earthen Quarter. Indeed, Rej was a half-earth elemental with Xuuluu ancestry on the human side of his family. After discussion with the elder refugees about the plight the Xuuluu faced, Rej made it his mission to help them. Using his considerable personal wealth and the abilities of his earth elemental family members, Rej purchased a small piece of land on the south coast of Gerrim and led the way in building a new home for the displaced Xuuluu.

This small coastal town would be named Bandari, and within just several weeks of the Xuuluu arriving on Gerrim, it became their new home. Many were still uneasy about the enormous changes they were now dealing with; a new climate, new strange elemental neighbors, and most of all, a new sense of uncertainty about their goddess and the fate of their people. These worries would be assuaged when, in what the Xuuluu considered to be a good omen, it was discovered that Bandari was built on coastline containing an extremely pearl-rich oyster bed. Pearls were one of the few materials that Gerrimite merchants had almost no access to, and so within a short time Bandari made itself a small fortune through pearl trading.

Today, many years after the horrors that befell them on Surmusra, the Xuuluu have adapted to their new way of life in Bandari, continuing their pearl trade and also the sale of special potions and medicines made according to their ancient recipes. Few of these solutions are of much use to the inorganic Gerrimites, but they have become highly sought-after products for merchants and adventurers from all around, including Haven.

For the first five years of Bandari's existence, the Xuuluu refused to deal with anyone arriving in ships with the flags of Havenic companies or guilds, their hatred for their atrocities still burning hot. In most cases, they would threaten them away before they could dock. However, since the events of the Leviathan Impact, the Xuuluu have been open to dealings with Haven. The way they understood things, because Haven and their demonic allies had taken the lives millions of Xuuluu, Mawuu had reaped her vengeance by claiming the lives of billions of Havenites. Feeling now that things had been cosmically balanced, the Xuuluu of Bandari opened their docks and even began traveling to the cities that would catalyze Haven's reconstruction, Norvesh and Phulubos. Indeed, some Xuuluu would even permanently immigrate to Norvesh and become part of the founding generation of the Norveshi people.

In modern times, the Xuuluu are still a people few in number, but they are as strong as their ancestors ever were and are ready to face the challenges of an ever-changing world.

## Personality

To outsiders, the mannerisms of a Xuuluu may seem erratic and unpredictable. During the course of a typical conversation they can rapidly switch between intimidatingly stern to contagiously jovial and back again without much warning. This is not intentional, it is merely a rhythm that permeates all Xuuluu interactions, and most Xuuluu are generally unaware of the behavior.

Their conversational quirks aside, the Xuuluu are a generally straightforward and practical people. Outside of their religious ceremonies, they are not prone to strong emotions, and will remain levelheaded in all but the most dire situations.

Xuuluu tend live a highly active lifestyle, whether through fishing, pearl diving, or carrying out the labor and maintenance need to sustain Bandari. Even if they are not active in their job on a given day, Xuuluu will go to great lengths to exercise their bodies, whether through normal workout regimens, physically intense ceremonial dancing to honor Mawuu and her spirit children, or through sparring.

## Physical Description

Xuuluu are roughly average among humans in terms of height and weight. Adults usually stand between 5 and 7 feet tall, and usually weigh between 120 and 320 pounds. Xuuluu, due to their demanding lifestyle, will usually be in very good shape with pronounced musculature.

Xuuluu have dark skin, generally ranging from a deep tan to charcoal black. The white patterns on their bodies, despite appearing to outsiders like ceremonial paint, are actually part of their skin. These patterns are referred to as "mifupa" and are usually passed down through families, with slight variations emerging in each generation. Some Xuuluu do not bear any such markings; the significance of this depends on which Xuuluu social circle one may ask. Some see those without mifupa as unattractive or possessing bad luck, while others see a lack of mifupa as an indicator of purity and nobility.

Their eyes are normally shades of brown, though green-eyed and blue-eyed Xuuluu are not unheard of. Both Xuuluu men and women tend to prefer to keep their hair very short, with many opting to shave their scalp entirely.

## Relations

Though historically intolerant of outsiders due to the atrocities that had befallen them, in modern times the Xuuluu are highly amiable to nearly all who come to the docks of Bandari, with the exception of the Stelites. The Xuuluu have forgiven Havenites due to the cosmic rebalancing that they perceived in the Leviathan Impact, and they have even forgiven the Fjallans due to the fact that they historically had few encounters with them and know them to be a simple people who were likely coaxed into war by others, rather than by their own malicious intentions. But the Xuuluu still harbor a burning hate for the Stelites; despite the fact that the Xuuluu themselves reigned dominant over the Stelites for thousands of years and treated them essentially like inferior beings, the Xuuluu see the extermination war they initiated as brutally excessive and unforgivable.

In addition to the Stelites, the Xuuluu reserve special hatred for two other groups. One of these is the Iron Helix Syndicate, for their particularly vicious acts against the Xuuluu race. The other is any person or group that does anything to disrespect or cast doubt upon their goddess Mawuu. The Xuuluu will tolerate those of other faiths, and are increasingly open to the idea that Mawuu may be but one part of some form of pantheon, but they will almost certainly be provoked by excessive evangelizing or suggestions that there is a higher or more powerful deity than Mawuu.

In terms of their political structure, the Xuuluu are governed by a mostly informal council of elders called the Baraza, a body open to all Bandari Xuuluu who are more than 50 years of age. Though none of the elders are officially higher in status than any other, Rej is looked upon by most Xuuluu as the de facto political leader of their people. Rej is aware of how he is perceived, and since Bandari's founding he has tried to govern fairly and responsibly, and has succeeded tremendously. He is universally approved of by the Xuuluu, and though he has tried to transition away from an active role and into an advisory one, he is still present at most Baraza meetings to weigh in on the issues of the week.

## Alignment

Xuuluu tend to be Neutral Good, True Neutral, or Lawful Neutral. Xuuluu possess an intense loyalty to those they consider to be their people, including those of their own race but also to their party or guild. They will do whatever it takes to help their people, so long as it does not go against their religion and is not outright evil or cruel.

## Lands

Historically, the Xuuluu inhabited the jungles of Surmusra, but in modern times their home is the small coastal town of Bandari on the southeast coast of Gerrim. In contrast to the sweltering jungles of Surmusra, Bandari lies in a more temperate climate, and its seasonal swings in weather and temperature, while familiar to Havenites, took the Xuuluu several years to adapt to. Bandari is an important trade port, serving as both a convenient resupply stop for ships transitioning between the Gerrim Sea and the Dawn Sea, and also a location for adventurers to acquire rare and potent potions and medicines prepared by the shamans of Mawuu.

## Religion

Historically, there were many variations of the Xuuluu religion, though only one variant currently survives. In the modern Xuuluu faith, Mawuu is worshiped as an all-powerful high goddess, mother to seven powerful spirit children, all of whom are tremendously powerful beings in their own right. They each have two primary responsibilities, assigned to them by their mother. Collectively, these children are called the Vodun.

* Sakpata - Vodun of Earth and Disease.
* Xevioso - Vodun of Thunder and Justice.
* Agbei - Vodun of the Seas and Travel.
* Gu - Vodun of Metal and War.
* Ageh - Vodun of Forests and Agriculture.
* Joh - Vodun of Air and Knowledge.
* Legiba - Vodun of Fertility and Chance.

The Xuuluu faith is semi-organized, led by a circle of seven priestesses called the Saba. Each priestess of the Saba takes on the ceremonial mantle of one of the seven vodun. These priestesses serve until they die, and their mantle is usually passed down in a hereditary manner, with their eldest daughter taking their place in the Saba. The Saba directs the weekly rituals and ceremonies of Bandari, and acts as a sort of spiritual advisory body to the Baraza, the ruling political council.

Mawuu and her Vodun are also represented by clerics inside and outside of Bandari. These clerics are almost always female, and are referred to as mambo. A few rare male clerics do exist, and are referred to as houngan. In the process of becoming a mambo or houngan, the aspiring cleric will train under one of the seven members of the Saba, specializing in the rites and ways of one Vodun.

In addition to the Saba, mambo, and houngan, the Xuuluu faith is also supported by a number of shamans. The primary duty of the shamans is to procure the many materials needed for the other religious leaders of the Xuuluu to be able to properly conduct Mawuu's ceremonies and to cast divine spells. The shamans also serve a secondary role as medicine men, concocting special potions from ancient Xuuluu recipes to improve the health of the citizens of Bandari. These potions are so effective that they have drawn significant attention from traders and adventurers from distant lands, and so the shamans and their work have become an important source of revenue for Bandari.

## Language

All Xuuluu are fluent in Common and Xuuluu, with many also having some ability to converse in the elemental languages (Ignan, Terran, Aquan, and Auran) due to Bandari's close contacts with Gerrim City.

## Adventurers

Due to their martial prowess and their devotion to Mawuu, most Xuuluu adventurers tend to follow the path of the Barbarian, the Fighter, the Ranger, or the Cleric. Xuuluu Rogues and Monks are rare, but not unheard of. Xuuluu adventurers of other classes are extremely rare; though they are physically capable of wielding arcane and psionic powers, the divine powers they may receive from Mawuu are so strong that they generally feel no affinity for the paths of classes like the Wizard or Psion.

## Xuuluu Racial Traits

* Ability Score Increases:
	+ +2 STR
	+ +2 CON
	+ +2 WIS

* Skill Proficiencies:
	+ Athletics
	+ Survival

* Size Class: Medium

* Special Abilities:
	+ Proficiency with spears and related weapons (e.g. javelins, tridents, etc) regardless of class
	+ Xuuluu Connections: Deeply discounted prices when trading in Bandari
	+ Vision of Mawuu: While asleep, a Xuuluu can make a wisdom check to search their dreams for a divine answer to a question or problem

## Musical Inspiration

Tiriba by Mamady Keita

Voodoo Too by Godsmack

## Cultural Influences

The Zulu people of southern Africa

The Swahili people of Africa's Swahili Coast

West African Vodun