Fey found themselves easily susceptible to the influence of the magic coursing through their veins. They cannot filter which magic penetrates their soul. Before Ixindar started creating demons, it corrupted the fey to form the armies of pagus. Over a single evening, as the black star fell from the sky, a million fey walked from their homes, despoiled by the passing wave of darkness. Many of the unfortunate victims came from the chaparrans that took root in a large forest near the land later to be called Kakodomania. The corruption of Ixindar soaked into their hearts and poisoned their mind. They walked from their families and vanished into the night. A century later, the pagus emerged.
All other fey descendants disowned this new off-breed. Chaparrans swore to their destruction. No one is sure who started the term pagus. It is the singular and plural. The most unfortunate side effect of the pagus' corruption is their reproductive system. Unlike other fey species, pagus females enter into season every two weeks and gestation only takes three months. Pagus also do not require pair bonding to breed. After a century, their numbers quadrupled. Most of those that escaped Ixindar and developed independently on their own were still evil.
By the time the first hammer fell thousands of years later, pagus outnumbered all other elves combined. Amethyst reduced most to ash in his death throes. Few were saved. On the new Earth, they returned with an obsessed fervor. Ixindar lost control of most of them as pagus spread throughout the globe. Kakodomania found itself without much of an army, forcing them to reconsider their plans.
Without control, the pagus went wild. Raiding bands appeared across the globe, never coalescing. Many evil dragons took them in to form their own personal guard. Many became nomadic. Their hatred for the other fey races never died and they found new enemies with the humans.
Some pagus claimed freedom when away from the black lands but most still follow the rules corruption implanted in their souls hundreds of generations earlier. Oddly, every year, more and more pagus are born trying to better themselves. The further they are born from Ixindar, the greater the chance for redemption. This salvation occurs rarely. Those embracing this path must first escape their people and find a place of refuge to call their own. Few exist.
Though suffering comparisons to the kodiaks, pagus are more intelligent on average. Pagus know how to forge their own weapons and beat their own armor from an early age. They are taught every facet of war and the quickest routes to success. They are taught never to enjoy death, only the favorable outcome of war. Known as some of the greatest soldiers in history, most villages ban the use of magic unless it is channeled through weapons. The use of draconic words is prohibited.
The human mage Kereptis Rifts figured out that more than 10 million pagus walk the Earth today. Their communities never amount larger than a few hundred before internal conflict splinters it. The pagus culture only dates back to their time on Earth and not Terrors. They were not permitted to express themselves while under the influence of Ixindar. Only now have independent pagus attempted their own society. Currently, it is still ripe with violence. Their culture is noteworthy for what it lacks. They have no real writing style, they don't play music (not counting their drums), and they never dance. Since they were created for war and reproduction, the society that has developed indulge in such actions. The drums employed by their commanders have no rhythm and were employed only in combat. Pagus communities under pagus control have expanded their use with a festival of procreation they have called San Lossom ("The Founding"). This entails non-bonded pubertal and older pagus separating into two sides of males and females. Initially, high-ranking males will challenge females to single combat. The women are armed. The men are not. The men only need to disarm and disable the female while she attempts to resist with deadly force. Usually, the women only wield clubs but a few swords have snuck into the arena. If the man bests the woman, he has earned the right. Most often, the two retreat to a private stable, but they occasionally consummate on the arena floor. Between four to six challenges occur this way with varying results. Following, after the moon has risen to its fullest in the night, the remaining available males and females duel in a full combat brawl taking anywhere from five minutes to a full hour. Again, the men refrain from using weapons. In this situation, victors never retreat and procreation takes place there, amongst the blood and dying. Some die from their injuries during the act. All the while, the drums beat rhythmically. Rarely do females die during this ritual. At least two to four males are not as lucky. San Lossom occurs three times a month in most free pagus villages. In pagus villages permitting bonding, the defeated female is honor bound to bond with her mate. Only a few pagus communities allow bonding. The female is often free of her obligations after the evening has passed and is expected to compete again at the next ritual if she is not with child. Females enjoy the competition and often compare their honor marks with others by how many times they pass through San Lossom without impregnation. Being defeated or failing to sire offspring is an insult to the male and too many failures may result in humiliation or expulsion. Tribal chiefs are always expected to defeat their females.
Because female pagus can be as large and dangerous as the males, there is no separation of gender. Females have as many rights as the males and if a female reaches the rank of chief, she is expected to never be defeated by challengers. If such a chief wishes reproduction, she risks disgrace. In such a situation, she must make such a victory to male so sour as to discourage later challengers (inflicting a mortal wound, say, as injuries cannot be tended to until the morning's rise). Most demons and dragons discourage the pagus forming their own culture but a few have tolerated the San Lossom as it accomplishes two tasks: weeding out the weak and ensuring continued pagus stock. Like all fey, when pagus bond, they are monogamous. In areas where bonding is outlawed, pagus are denied any long term pairing. Mating with the same partner is dissuaded, though it often occurs. They are infrequently allowed to remain long under the same house and children are raised communally. This places a growing schism between pagus communities that allow bonding and those that don't.
Personality: Pagus don't believe in much other than what they see and feel. They act with instinct and seldom with reason. Because of their skewed disposition, their intuition endorses violence and an unwavering dedication to the one they consider their leader. When a pagus marks an individual as his leader, he swears untiring loyalty to that authority. Pagus blindly follow all orders, taking joy when those commands endorse their desires for destruction. For thousands of years, that fidelity was firmly tied to the forces of Kakodomania. No matter how powerful a pagus chief was, he always answered to a demon, dragon, or from a claimed calling directly from Mengus. When freed of that authority, pagus often wander wild. Uncontrolled, they follow their last instructions—to kill those against Mengus and encourage his path of total order. Unfortunately, pagus must be told to stop fighting and without those instructions, their path of blood would continue until they have wiped each other out.
Away from Kakodomania, pagus searched for leadership. Most fell under control of dragons while others elected their leaders from within. In almost all these cases, the pagus were instructed to continue their barbaric ways. Some sympathetic to them believe that if instructed in ways of peace and given a benign figure of respect, pagus could civilize. Evidence of this occurring has already been seen in Apocrypha.
Pagus think forward, never backward. They desire what they see and seldom plan ahead. They were created to kill and do so very well. They are so efficient in their talent that they take little pleasure in torture. Unlike the demons, pagus seldom play with their kills. They dispatch as quickly as possible, razing villages and eliminating its population. They then move on. If they have carnal desires, they commit so quickly in order to resume their regular duties. Pagus are impatient and easy to rouse. They will take to war over a morning meal with no preparation from the previous night. They are decisive in action and when ordered to commit or if taking a quest by choice, a pagus is narrow-minded in his fixation. They refuse distraction and have been known to refuse sleep for days in their obsession. Crossing a pagus is unwise. In battle, opponents are warned never to leave a pagus alive, for upon healing, he will remember who had wounded him, and will think of nothing else in seeking vengeance. Pagus have no war chant. They don't taunt opponents. They will not cheer. On the battlefield, they are silent, cold-hearted machines. They march forward and mark their targets. When a rival sees a pagus locking eyes upon him, that opponent must be ready, for that pagus is coming to kill him.
Physical Description: The negative flow caused veins to expose on the bruised, dried, and cracked skin of the old fey race. They lost all their hair from head to toe and grew a mass of muscle. After a century in darkness, only the ears remained the recognizable feature from the old elves, around the same length as chaparrans. Despite an obvious assumption, the female pagus, though hairless and having the raised veins like the males, still have elvish features. They are equally as massive as the males.
Relations: Pagus are despised by every single race, even the ones that rule over them. Demons think of them as cattle, slaves to take orders. All other races swear to their destructions. A small number of individuals in positions of authority have civilized such a judgment by saying the pagus cannot be allowed to exist as long as they continue to follow the directions of Ixindar.
Alignment: Pagus are often evil. A few rare cases are neutral and a few rarer cases are good. They are almost all lawful when in service of Kakodomania, chaotic when on their own.
Location: Many pagus live in Canam in their attempt to escape as far from Ixindar as possible. Millions still live around Kakodomania. Not even pagus know where even half of their own communities are. Most are nomadic.
Religion: Since most are evil, pagus worship the negative gate of Ixindar. Those embracing other alignments choose faiths of their desire from other cultures.
Language: Pagus demented their chaparran language to such an extent that it turned into its own vernacular, called paggin.
RACIAL TRAITS
The racial traits and rules for the pagus are identical to those of the MM orc with additional modifications:
- +4 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma.
- Medium: As medium creatures, pagus have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
- A pagus base land speed is 30 feet.
- Pagus have darkvision that extends to 60 feet.
- Automatic Languages: Paggin
- Favored Class: Fighter. Pagus often take Juggernaut or Weaponmaster as a Class Focus.
- Avoided Class: Rogue. Pagus don’t do subtle.
- Age: Pagus reach adulthood in 5 years. Their average starting age is +1d6 years. They reach middle age around 20 years, are old at 35, and are venerable at 40 years. Their maximum age is usually +2d4 years past that.
Unfortunately, pagus do not grow weak with age, quite the opposite. They get larger and stronger but not necessarily more intelligent or wise. If their WIS score is 11 or less, they suffer drops to their Charisma, Intelligence, and Wisdom as they age. These reductions to Int, Wis, and Cha are -1 at middle age, -1 at old age, and -1 at venerable age. If their WIS score is 12 or greater, the pagus gain the standard mental increases all races get when they age (+1 Int, Wis, and Cha at each stage).
Regardless which direction their mental stats shift, pagus physical stats actually increase with age. It is the reverse effects of other races. At middle age, they gain a +1 to Str, Dex, and Con. At old age, they gain a +2 to Str, Dex, and Cha. At venerable age, they gain a +3 to Str, Dex, and Cha. Because of this, pagus increase their challenge rating by +1 at their venerable age. Those gaining an increase to their mental attributes usually discover that pagus can survive better on their own without dragons or demons. As a result, despite the need for great warriors, all pagus in Kakodomania are euthanized by the time they reach 35.
- Pagus do not disrupt technology if held like all other echan races. They are never seen using them.
- Aversion to Water: Pagus hate water. Regardless of the class they take, they can never have Swim as a class skill and suffer a -4 to all swim checks. They avoid large bodies of water when necessary, especially salted water. It does not actually harm them.
- Although only as a point of interest, a pagus is not stricken with the same biological problems a fey would suffer with the absence of magic. If either Attricana or Ixindar were to close, a pagus would not instantly die from the absence.
HALF-PAGUS
Unfortunately, it's much easier to create a half-pagus than a half-elf. The parents don't need to pair bond to create their offspring. Pagus females are capable of giving birth to a child once every three months and she is capable of conceiving more frequently. There is no guarantee a half-pagus will gain anything resembling a positive childhood. Given that, most pagus still prefer to mate with each other. Its simple and there is less fuss. Half-pagus are more rare in this world then halfelves. The crossbreeds still emerge from a majority of parents that have pair-bonded pagus. In these situations, the pagus is usually the father.
Half-pagus carry a heavy burden. Most pagus despise them and many other cultures consider them unredeemable. They often travel alone, passing from town to town, never stopping long. Many are raised away from any community, forcing a curiosity the half-breed must satisfy. This, in addition to the aggressive pagus-blood already pumping through their veins, results in a half-pagus discarding the shackles of fear and restraint. They love taking chances. They have no fear of putting themselves in harm's way, going for the adrenaline rush every time. They seek adventure whenever they can find it. They share with the pagus their determination in whatever tasks they take.
Physical Description: Half-pagus are only an inch or so shorter than a full pagus. The half-breeds are stronger than normal elves, with cracked skin with many raised veins discoloring their already bruised body. Still virtually hairless, halfpagus will grow eyebrows.
Relations: Half-pagus are considered abominations within Kakodomania. They are rarely accepted anywhere though certain exceptions have been seen. Both Abidan and Limshau contain several half-pagus citizens. A few more have been spotted in the mines of the Finer Fire Pits. Like all fey, they are ostracized in Baruch Malkut. King Darius prohibits pagus slaves in every level of the market though a few have passed through. Pagus are exceptionally resilient to Malkut conditioning and are immune to the "Halo." A few outlaw markets have attempted pagus slavery but mutiny often ends such attempts.
Alignment: There resides a greater chance a half-pagus will be good compared to his parents. The odds are still low. Most are neutral and many are still evil. They often still follow law.
Locations: Half-pagus usually live outside of smaller communities. They seldom enter big cities. There are no dedicated half-pagus communities.
Religion: Again, religious beliefs of half-pagus depend entirely on the parents.
Languages: Half-pagus have no language of their own.
RACIAL TRAITS
Half-pagus follow the same racial template as the half-orc from players handbook with additional modifications:
•+4 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma.
•Medium: As medium creatures, half-pagus have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
•A half-pagus' base land speed is 30 feet.
•Darkvision: Half-pagus can see in the dark up to 60 feet.
•Pagus Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-pagus is considered a pagus.
•Automatic Languages: Paggin, English or Common
•Favored Class: Fighter.
•Avoided Class: Rogue.
•Half-pagus do not gain pagus age benefits and their lifespan is half the two respective races.
•Half-pagus do not disrupt technology if both parents possessed the ability. If one parent causes disruption, than the offspring loses this benefit. Note: Half-pagus are listed here instead of the player section because of the dangers of playing a pagus, even a half-breed. The DM should exercise caution and only allow such a race as a player character after due consideration.
