Rhenne (Greyhawk)

Also known variously as Varisians or Vistani.

Exiles from another world, the Rhenne are so culturally unintegrated that there is limited contact with other human peoples. It is speculated that they fled from some oppressive force or that they simply outstayed their welcome on their previous world.

Strong Abilities

Dexterity, Intelligence, Charisma.

Cultural Traits

Clannish, Laid back, Chauvinistic, Manipulative.

Real-World Models

Gypsies (or a travesty thereof). Rhenne are maligned outsiders and refugees in a world that find them odd and hard to accept.

Alignment

Rhenne value freedom above all else and are chaotic to a fault. At the same time, they value friendships and clan loyalties very highly, but such loyalties can change quickly if honor is at stake. A stable society with well-defined laws is anathema to them, as is the stable servitude to a higher power, even one of chaos. Whatever the powers of their old homeworld were like, they have left deeps scars and an even deeper distrust among the Rhenne.

Practices

Adoption, Birth control, Promiscuity (and prostitution) outside clan and culture.

Casual sex outside the group is encouraged to renew the bloodlines within a clan. The child of such a liaison is the responsibility of the mother's clan, tough a gift from the possible father is appropriate. This has nothing to do with marriage and relationships, and is sort of a civic duty. This translates very easily into prostitution when in contact with other cultures.

Taboos

Incest (very wide definition). Religion, including worship of demons, devil, and other supernatural beings. This precludes the cleric, inquisitor, oracle, ranger, sha'ir, summoner, and theurge classes. A Rhenne breaking these taboos is exiled from his tribe and considered an outcast.

Family

Clan. Couples often live as married, but arrangements are casual and the responsibility of family is shared in the clan. Clan elders keep track of lineages and enforce the incest taboo, which is very deeply and subtly ingrained in the culture. Adoption (even to the point of kidnapping), breeding outside the culture, and inter-clan transfer are seen as healthy ways to avoid incest problems.

Magic

Rhenne refuse to use divine magic and are very careful with arcane magic. Their preferred magic is not magical at all, fooling the unwary with sleight-of-hand and legendarmain. Only women have genuine magical gifts; they are bards or witches and focus on the arts of divination, enhancement, and illusion. Rangers (and ranger magic) is tolerated even for men; Rhenne rangers draw their magic from minor nature spirits and never have a patron deity.

Pantheon

None. The Rhenne honor ancestors and former tribal leaders, but they do not worship them. They disdain gods of all stripes.

Traits

Lucid Dreamer (Racial): Your dreams are a special place of power that only you get to enjoy; driving away threats to your subconscious is as easy as slamming a door. You receive a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (planes) checks and a +2 trait bonus on Will saves against effects on your dreaming mind or subconscious, such as a night hag’s dream haunting ability, the nightmare spell, and illusions of the phantasm subschool.

Harrow Born (Racial): You grew up around the mysterious fortune-tellers. You start play with a harrow deck passed down from a relative. Because of your skill with fortune-telling, you gain a +1 trait bonus on initiative checks.

Rhenne Outcast (Racial): You grew up among the Rhenne, but are no longer one of them. You broke a taboo or offended a leader, and now you are known as an outcast. You might still be considered a friend of the people, but you are no longer of the people and have been forced to make your own way in the world. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Bluff and Disguise checks, and one of these skills is always a class skill for you.

Rhenne Wanderer (Racial): You were raised among or have spent time with a group of Rhenne nomads, whether travelers, Sczarni criminals, or entertainers, and have learned their ways. Choose one of the following skills: Diplomacy, Perform (choose one type), Handle Animal, Knowledge (geography), Knowledge (local), Profession (fortuneteller), Profession (sailor), Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, or Survival. You gain a +1 trait bonus on this skill, and it is always a class skill for you.

Trifler (Racial): A childhood spent at your mystically gifted grandmother's side has taught you the basics of real magic. You may cast prestidigitation three times per day as a spell-like ability. This spell-like ability is cast at your highest caster level; if you have no caster level, it functions at CL 1st.

World Traveler (Racial): Your family has taken the love of travel to an extreme, roaming the world extensively. You’ve seen dozens of cultures and have learned to appreciate the diversity of what the world has to offer. Select one of the following skills: Diplomacy, Knowledge (local), or Sense Motive. You gain a +1 trait bonus to that skill, and it is always a class skill for you.