Troglodyte Society and Culture (fluffness!)

[Nephallim]

Back when VSE was running, and I was playing Tybal, the scaly little stinker of doom, I wrote a series of (very short) articles about Troglodyte society. These articles are still up somewhere... I might link them when I get home from work. But, I figured it would be good to post a little about the basics of Troglodyte culture in case anyone else plans on playing one.

Origin Myth

In the beginning there was nothing save the Void Serpent. His majestic scales drank in all light. His gaping maw consumed anything of substance that violated his domain. His aweful yellow eyes ensured that nothing violated his holy emptiness. Then, the Potter came and banished the darkness with light. This blasphemer filled the blessed void with creation, rousing the ire of the Void Serpent. The two fought endlessly, until the Serpent's righteous revenge was thwarted by the Wills of the Worlds. The Wills bound up the Potter and the Void Serpent in seperate prisons of ivory and obsidian, fortelling that their fates would be decided by the chosen at a later date.

Disgusted by the rapid rate at which the Potter's creation spat up life, further polluting the shattered void, the Serpent cracked his prison and vomited the people of the thousand scales, the troglodytes, to wreak destruction and mischief upon the world.

Civilized vs Savage

There are two varieties of troglodytes in Blin: those who live alongside human settlements and serve the Darkest Suffering and those who dwell in the far northern wilderness and follow a variety of religious beliefs (largely justifying their role as supreme predator).

The major difference between the two cultural groups is that one possesses relatively advanced knowledge of metallurgy while the other does not. This distinction leads to others. The more advanced civilized tribes organize around human settlements that provide them with food and raw materials (troglodytes do not farm or mine, and it is really in the best interests of their human neighbors if they have recourse to hunt) where savage tribes roam the blasted landscape of Blin, searching for meat and temporary shelter. Civilized tribes tend to become martial defenders or any divine class, while savage tribes tend towards martial strikers and any primal class.

Names

When troglodytes are hatched, they are given two names: a personal title called a 'egg name' and a public title called a 'deed name.' Those troglodytes who do not distinguish themselves carry generic deed names, such as 'Youngscale' or 'Oldscale.' Those who distinguish themselves in righteous battle (or who get too hungry and massacre their human neighbors) might earn the name 'Mancleaver.'

There are a set number of deed names in a given community, and only one troglodyte may hold one at a time. New deed names may be created by the spiritual leader of a community and a troglodyte may be challenged for his deed name in a fight to the death.

When a troglodyte leaves his community in exile (self imposed or otherwise) or is assumed dead, his deed name is redistributed. If a troglodyte turns up later and seeks to rejoin his community, he must challenge the new holder of his name to a fight to the death, challenge another troglodyte for a more prestigious deed name, or earn a new deed name.

Trophies and Cannibalism

Both varieties of troglodyte have a strong tradition of trophy taking. Savage tribes prefer to take sculls, while more civilized tribes prefer to take teeth. Teeth symbolize the strength of their opponent, to the troglodyte, as it is a common 'natural weapon' to many races. Troglodyte communities in both cultures keep communal trophy halls. For savage tribes these are merely chambers stacked to the ceiling with centuries old sculls. For civilized tribes these 'ivory halls' are community meeting places: huge caverns with floors covered in teeth, the testament of their skill.

Troglodytes also often ritually consume parts of their worthy enemies. This is different from the common troglodyte practice of eating sentient creatures for food. Common body parts eaten as a sign of respect to a fallen opponent include the heart, brain, and eyes. The eyes are especially prized in troglodyte society. The vile lizards believe that the consumption of a foe's eyes can lend one insight into the way they see the world and the battlefield, leading to a greater understanding of one's enemy.

((More coming soon!))

[Nephallim]

Lifespans and Anatomy

For a race that wreaks such havok and destruction, troglodytes enter the world in a surprisingly peaceful manner. Troglodytes lay eggs. These eggs are laid already fertilized. There is no male or female. There is no competetion for mates, or mating at all. When a community needs young, troglodytes that are not yet experienced enough to take up arms and join in raids will retreat deep into their tribe's cave complex and each lay a clutch of eggs. These troglodytes will then return to their lifes as usual, leaving the elderly of the tribe to care for the eggs and the coming hatchlings. Given this unique reproductive style, it is unsurprising that troglodytes lack libido, or anything resembling a sex drive.

Troglodyte eggs are laid with incredibly thick shells, which gradually thin as their embryo's absorb the calcium from them. A good indicator of how healthy a troglodyte hatchling will be is the tone its egg makes when struck. It is not an uncommon practice for, in large tribes, to purge a clutch of all but the most healthy eggs. In this way, in the past hundred years civilized troglodytes have gradually increased from about the size of dwarves to towering above most humans.

Side Note: Clutch Size and Frequency

The size of troglodyte clutches and the frequency with which they are lain is a factor of how readily available food is for that tribe. In this way, tribes fed by prosperous human communities may grow to metropolitan numbers while savage tribes struggling to survive on the edge of what is habitable by mortals barely produce enough hatchlings to replace those warriors who fall in the hunt.

Hatchlings are raised by the elders of the tribe, those troglodytes so old that they are no longer able to leave their caves to raid. Of course, these are the troglodyte talented enough to -survive- a lifetime of raiding. Their supervision and training of the tribe's hatchlings is ruthless and brutal. Hatchlings are pitted to compete against eachother in frequently lethal contests of strength, speed, and endurance. This is also the beginning of a troglodyte's religious education. Every night, before the hatchlings retire to a light sleep (for those who dream to deeply often end up victim to rivals) their elders will recite to them the origin myth of their race. In some savage communities that revere other divinities, tales are told which link the troglodyte race to that entity.

Side Note: Fervor

Connection to the divine is an integral part of the troglodyte psyche. It has been observed that even troglodytes hatched and raised apart from others of their race will begin to invent stories painting them as the chosen of whatever diety they are taught to worship, or find via their own soul searching.

Trolodytes are fully mature within two years of hatching, at least physically. In civilized tribes, the mature youth of a tribe will train for eight to fifteen years, learning the arts of the axe or the divine. In savage tribes, troglodytes often begin raiding as soon as they become mature.

Troglodytes will remain with their original raiding group until that group is slain down to the last troglodyte. Survivors are then consolidated into new raiding groups and the process is repeated. Troglodyte warriors, especially those who have not earned a deed name, identify themselves by how many raiding groups they have survived.

It is uncertain whether or not troglodytes can die of old age. Their society is constructed in such a way that they usually only survive a hanful of years after retiring from active raiding before a younger troglodyte decides it can make a name for itself by challenging an elder for its deed name. Troglodytes do, however, certainly show signs of physical aging, usually around the age of 40 or 50. It is these manifesting weaknesses that spur a troglodyte to retire to elder status. Some scholars of Blin speculate, however, that this weakening is only the next stage of a longer lifecyle, and that a troglodyte allowed to survive his weakening would fade into some sort of dark spirit. If this is true, it is probably in the best interest of the world if this was never allowed to happen.