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Adept: A rare individual capable of spirit reading. Those capable of spirit manipulation are also adepts, but more commonly called Masters. Ancients: The people of the First World, i.e. before the Demon-Kings. Anima: The aspect of spirit that provides motive force. Rocks do not have anima, animals do. Even plants have limited anima. Anima is possessed by all life. Animist: A Master who can alter Anima. Properly, a Master is called a "Master Animist", while an adept who has extensive minor morphic devotions may be called simply an "Animist". Animate: A fully Spirit-vested object. A person in an artificial body. Also called a Manikin. Archon: The head master of a city. Archons are chosen by the priest class. Aspect: One of the three divisions of the Spirit. Specifically Morphia, Anima or Psyche. May refer to the spirit itself or the study of that aspect. Artifact: A leftover creation of the Demon Kings. Usually powerful and dangerous, although lumina is technically an artifact.
Barbarian: Non-city dweller. Can be human, beast or mutant. Barbarians may have adepts, but they do not have masters. Beast: Humanoid animal. Descended from animals blended with human spirits. Blue House: House of prostitution. Book of Standing Stones: Religious text known to most civilized areas. Gives pattern for adept-centered culture, and is derived from a reading of the Standing Stones by sympaths.
Chimera: In general, any unique monster of the wilderness. Usually created by a Reaver or some unspeakable crossbreeding. Pronounced KY-mer-ah. Compare to Kraken. City: Properly, the settlement formed around a Master and attendant adepts. Barbarian cities are usually called camps. Cohort: Spirit vested follower of an adept. Not usually as enhanced as a Paladin.
Demon-King: Non-human beings of unknown origin and unimaginable power. They destroyed human civilization, altered the environment and ecology, and eventually disappeared, presumably in a civil war.
Enhance: To increase the spiritual proerties of an object. For instance to make something or someone stronger, faster, or smarter. Often used interchangeably with Vest.
General: The title for the head of a city's army. In times of War, the general takes on the title of Warlord, a position perhaps more powerful than the Archon. Golem: An object vested with anima for movement and morphia for the movement's pattern. Usually human shaped and used for simple labor. Grandmaster: A master of all three forms of spirit manipulation, who has proven his title by creating an animate. Guardian: A Golem or animate specifically created for the defense of a City or Master.
Highmaster: A master of two forms of spirit manipulation. Example Psychist/Morphist. Human: Specifically, unaltered humans. riven are not humans, neither are mutants, animates or beasts. Paradoxically, paladins are altered but are still considered human. Adepts are human. In general parlance, someone who could walk down a street in modern times without raising alarm.
Kraken: In general, any unique monster of the sea. Usually created by a Reaver or some unspeakable crossbreeding. Pronounced KRAY-ken. Compare to Chimera. Kosher: Meat or animal by-products that have been verified not to come from any sentient Beast.
Ley Lines: The invisible lines that connect an adept to those things which he has altered. They weaken and attenuate with distance and time. They can also be transferred from adept to adept. Lineman: Military person who holds ley lines for enhanced equipment. Lumina: Artifact light-producing crystal. Comes in a variety of colors and can only be activated by an adept.
Manikin: A fully Spirit-vested object. A person in an artificial body. Also called an Animate. Master: A adept who can alter spirit. See: Morphist, Animist, Psychist. |
Middle World: The age during which the Demon Kings held sway. Ended with the coming of Prometheus. Mistress: Feminine form of Master. Use is optional. It is not unusual for a Mistress to be referred to as "Master". Morphia: The aspect of spirit that provides shape and physical integrity. All physical objects possess Morphia. Complex and organic objects have a more complex morphia. Morphist: A Master who can alter Morphia. Properly, a Master is called a "Master Morphist", while an adept who has extensive minor morphic devotions may be called simply a "Morphist". Motor: An object vested with raw, undirected and unshaped anima. Most common motor is a simple wheel. Mutant: A person whose morphia, anima or psyche is naturally different than human norm. It may be inherited or it may be a unique incident.
New World: The modern world, the age after Prometheus. The campaign era.
Old World: The world of the Ancients, before the coming of the Demon Kings.
Paladin: The personal bodyguard of an adept. Extremely dangerous spirit-vested warrior. Prometheans: Legendary disciples of Prometheus. Prometheus: Legendary banisher of the Demon Kings and the founder of civilization. Psyche: The aspect of spirit which provides thought and direction. Psychist: A Master who can alter Psyche. Properly, a Master is called a "Master Psychist", while an adept who has extensive minor morphic devotions may be called simply a "Psychist". Purist: One who gives special consideration towards purity of the races.
Reaver: a wild force. Balls of energy that roam the wilderness mixing and shifting spirits in a chaotic and harmful manner. This action is called reaving. Relic: Leftover creation of the Ancients. Most are in very bad shape, but a few are mysteriously preserved. Retinue: The body of followers (family or friends) of a particular adept or master. Rex Infernae: The Demon-Kings (q.v.) Riven: Those who have been altered by Reavers, or the act of being altered by a Reaver.
Shifter: Another name for Reaver. Sight: Also Spirit Sight. This is the sense that all adepts have, the ability to perceive spirits. Sighted: Possessing Spirit Sight, Adepts. Spirit Manipulation: The talent of master. The ability to strengthen, weaken, alter and shift the spirits of objects and animals. The techniques vary from region to region. Spirit: An invisible, intangible aspect of all things in the universe. A spirits can have at least three aspects. Different objects have different amounts of each aspect. See Anima, Morphia, Psyche. Spiritual Ideal: The default state of a being or object, without enhacements or alterations. Spiritism: The philosphy, culture, religion and technology taught by the Standing Stones. Details vary from region to region. Standing Stones: Artifact of the Prometheans. The stones teach how to read and manipulate spirit, as well as give the pattern for society. Sympath: A prophet. An adept who is particularly attuned to Standing Stones. Sympaths are authors of the Book of Standing Stones.
Talker: Animal with human psyche, but animal morphia. Beast birds tend to be Talkers. Template: In an adept's parlance, the target spirit one is trying to emulate.
Vest: verb. To attach a spirit or part thereof to an object or animal, or to give an object or animal new or better spiritual qualities. Vestiture is the noun form. Often used interchangeably with Enhance, though Vest is usually more formalized, often carrying bonds or obligations. Virtue: In art and religion, a symbolic being embodying an abstract concept, such as Justice, Mercy or Rage.
Wilderness: Area between Cities, whether inhabited or not. Also called the Wilds.
Zombie: Dead body vested with either a whole or partial spirit. |
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Oaths and ExclamationsKings and Reavers!: Slightly blasphemous Demon Kings! General disapproval. By the Stones! Word and Way! Used only by City Dwellers SayingsMost of these are self explanatory As likely as a rich beast Poor as a beast Dumb as a Deezel The Courts of the Kings are paved with good intentions Folly is something that can be purchased by the poorest mouse General Slang
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Diragatory Terms
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Different groups of people have different naming conventions. Although there are always exceptions, here is a general guideline to the naming of characters in the Savage Earth.
Tallonites will have only one name as a rule. Few have family names. Instead a title, usually based on occupation is added. Thus Master Farralon, Merchant Hamilton, Swordsmith Dnall, or Innkeeper Koda.. Names themselves are usually won down names from the before times. They might have been personal names already (Hamilton, Gustav). They may have come from brand names (Koda[k], Farralon [connectors]). Given the original peoples of this area of the world, they may be Eskimo (Inuktitut) in origin (Ningan, Kamlak).
Barbarians are so numerous and varied in kind that a single naming convention may not exist. However, nicknames are common: Hando the Slayer, Kamlak of the Shattered Isles.
Animates usually have a first and last name. The first is usually a rustic-sounding common name of ancient times, while the last name is somehow derived frim their material of construction. Thus: Hank Woodman, Peter Shroud, Mac Skillet. Some exceptions draw their name from material only: Brassman, Gem.
Rabbits usually have names evocative of gardens, growing things or the country life. Thus Heathertoes, Pip, Cinnamon.
Dogs have traditional names such as Ace or Digger, or less common human names: Otto, Zeke. It is interesting to note, that dogs in service to a human employer will often ask that human to name their children. This is usually only in the case of long term servants such as family retainers.
Cats name themselves whatever they damn well please.
Foxes tend to have names that are nonsensical, but pleasant-sounding or high-sounding words Where they may appear to duplicate an ancient name, it is usually cooincidental.: Faliol, Cassandra, Jareek.
Rats name each other by a distignuishing physical characteristic and they are rarely complimentary or pleasing. Thus rate will have names like Black Fang, Chop Nose, Bent Tail, Redeye and so on. The most notable exception is Norway, whose name origin is not likely to be revealed soon.
Gators tend to be named harsh sounding nonsense syllables. Thus: Garlok, Aglar, Mostar, Ch'Gai, Angob
Deep Riven have "drippy-sounding" names: Bluruba, Namulpla, Galudrib, Dorlup, Mulbala
Saginaw (adepts) seem to have a normal first name followed by a nickname or title: Yuriko Hawkeye, Fenris Stonetalker
The diversity of language you would expect in a world such as the Savage Earth, with its multiple pockets of enforced isolation, is downplayed in the interests of role-playing ease. By and large, most of the people of the Merikia speak Merikian Anglish, the Lingua Franca of the campaign. A character from Tallon is likely to understand a character from Halfax, over a thousand mikes away. The biggest changes would be accent, plus a liberal sprinkling of local words, particularly those that deal with the philosophies derived from the local group of Standing Stones. The Halfaxians use words such as upspeak, and zealot, that have no coresponding meaning in Tallon. Similarly, mutant kinships such as the Devil Merks, use many words unique to themselves that don't even have a lexigraphical meaning in Anglish. Tarn and Dogan are Devil Merk rank titles with no discernable relation to Anglish, but Anglish is undeniably their chosen tongue.
There are, of course, exceptions. Societies not based on the Standing Stones can have vastly different modes of language. The Mundabans, the Yzlonders and the O Kabekwa all use languages only vaguely related to the common speech.
Finally, scattered throughout the guidebook, there are numerous references to Ancient English, or the English spoken before the coming of the Demon Kings. This would have the same relation to Merikian Anglish as Old- or Middle English would have to Modern English. However, to give the player the same sense of foreign-ness that a native Merikian would feel for Ancient English names, a faux Latin is employed. Thus the Demon Kings are referred to as the Rex Infernae. It could just as easily be Regis Diaboli. It doesn't really matter, since the use of Latin is merely to evoke an emotional reaction, not to be etymologically correct. If we were to use Old English, the term would be something like Mare Cyning, which does not have the same psychological impact.
Here is a list of languages either encountered or hinted at:
Merikian Anglish: Although there are many regional dialects and accents, by and large, all of the people of the Standing Stones inhabiting the land mass that was once North America can understand each other. Merikian has a sprinkling of Inuktitut (Inuit) words.
Yzlondic: Descended from Icelandic, and very little changed. Used by the raiders of Yzlond, and much of Greenland and the even parts of the Shattered Isles.
Kabekwa: Descended from French as spoken by the Quebecois. It is spoken only by the small Kabekki tribe called the O Kabekwa (O="haut" or "high").
Mundaban: This language is likely derived from Inuktitut, the language of the old Inuit people. It has some similarity to Anglish, however.
English: Also called Ancient English. This is the English spoken before the time of the Demon Kings, what we would properly call Modern English. It is difficult to impossible for an Anglish speaker to communicate with an English speaker.
Ramany:This is the common tongue used by the people of Ropa (Europe). It is a Romance Language bearing many similarities to French and Italian in particular.
The only languages which sould receive a bonus for similiarity would be English and Anglish, which share 1 point of similiarity.
lossary
aths, Slang and Idioms