Campaign Guide lived in peace and shared their ways and skills with each other This cooperation caused Grimaland to become a powerful city which the humans from the region believed was home to the gods It is said that a foreign god became jealous of this great city and sent a plague and eternal night in order to destroy the bonds between the races Over the next dozen years, thousands died beneath a sunless sky, and none who were born survived longer than a year So the civilization split with the dwarves heading to the islands to the south and the elves continuing their travels to the east Human Much like the trees of their forests, Ostmen humans are stout and proud The harshness of the Ostmen Islands have forged these humans into examples of the strength of body and soul humans are capabile Physiology Ostmen tend towards fairer skin and lighter hair colors While Ostmen have blonde or light brown hair, reddish hues are not unknown The harsh environment of the Ostmen Isles has resulted in a larger and sturdier human frame Males tend to be between 5’10” and 6’6” while females are most commonly between 5’7” and 6’1” Society The humans of the Ostmen Islands have an agriculturally based society, with a focus on fishing and the rearing of cattle Plots of land require much work as the bulk of the island’s soil is too rocky to produce much However, the humans have shown great skill in working the land and in a growing number of locations larger areas of fields and forests now can be seen While most fomoire have taken control of the coasts, and the dwarves reside in the mountains or plains of stone, the humans live between the two groups in the forests that they have grown They live in an uneasy peace with the fomoire who require wood from the humans’ forest to build their ships, but they have a fairly amicable relationship with the dwarvish clans Many dwarves see human habitation as the will of Volsung; dwarves create the land and humans transform it from rock to field Arts Ostmen human art is approached in a religious manner Very little art is created for the sole purpose of creating an image Instead, the goal for the majority of Ostmen art is to either glorify their pantheon or attempt to control and guide the mystical forces in which the islands are immersed 22 Most art is created by carving wood or bone into a desired shape, though those with more affluence will tend to work metals such as steel, gold, or silver into their pieces Particularly important sites, however, are marked by the inclusion of stonework History Humans are relative newcomers to the Ostmen Islands They arrived around four to five thousand years ago via the Ightfal Tundra and, having found a relatively more hospitable environment, began to build settlements Their arrival to the Islands was initially met with some hostility and conflict, but soon the humans became entrenched in the easily defendable forest areas Fomoire Ferocity and brutishness are marks of the fomoire Though their bodies very greatly, the power of the fomoire is plainly written upon their rippling muscles and thick hide Physiology Fomoire are an extremely varied race in terms of their physiology They range from stocky frames around feet tall to gangly giants reaching almost feet in height Some bare sharp teeth and a voracious appetite, other have small gills on their necks, even other might be seen with unnervingly large eyes All fomoire, however, are tied to the ocean and its waters, so much so that they must consume salt water in much the same way as other races drink freshwater The consumption of salt is such a physical necessity that many fomoire carry bags of it to add to any liquid that they consume Society Fomoire society is a harsh and violent one based upon the notion that only the strongest deserve to survive Families provide little aid to the sick or weak among their numbers believing that if they are worthy of their god Balar, then they will find a way to survive Younger fomoire are constantly given tests throughout their youth to weed out those who have little physical prowess to add to their clan While fomoire build strong ships and weapons, many of the more day-to-day objects that the fomoire use have been gained through raids Large portions of their food, clothing, jewelry, and even coinage has been taken from any other land that their ships can take them to The raid culture is so strong that the fomoire calendar is designed around the seasons in which performing such raids are the most profitable Celebrations mark the days when the seas and oceans are deemed safe for travel, the