Suel (Greyhawk 4E)

Greyhawk for 4E

Humans are the dominant race of Greyhawk, even after the resurge of the fey. This means humans need to be treated in greater detail than in most D&D campaigns. These variants of the basic human differ in details, but follow the general humans on humans as outlined in the Player’s Handbook, including the bonus feeat and extra at-will power. There are three differences besides purely cultural traits. Attributes are specified, with a +2 bonus to two different attributes. Bonus skills are specified to one of a short list – not to class skills. In some cases the second language is specified as well.

Racial Traits

Heirs to a long-lost empire, the Suel are now scattered far and wide. Their culture is proud and assimilates poorly with others, which has forced them to run from Oerdians for centuries.

• Attribute bonuses: +2 Str, +2 Int
• Recommended classes: Fighter, Warlord
• Cultural classes: Fighter, Warlord, Wizard, (Monk, Barbarian)
• Languages: Common, Suel.
• Bonus Skill: Any one of Arcana, Athletics, History, Intimidate.

Descended from refugees of the homeland that is now the Sea of Dust, the Suel are a fair-skinned folk. Most Suel have merged with Oerdian and Flan to form a mixed population in the central Flaness; the groups that remain culturally Suel have done so because of isolation or xenophobia.

Cultural Traits

The Suel are a race of contrasts, and their traits can manifest in very different ways, often in pairs of virtues and vices. Suel tend to go to extremes in alignment.

Thrifty/Selfish, Competitive/Domineering, Honest/Blunt, Self-assured/Opinionated, Ambitious/Proud.

Alignment: The Suel are traditionally tolerant about good-evil variations. Even in the Scarlet Brotherhood, good members can be tolerated as long as they contribute to the power of the order. Instead, the conflicts within the Suel are between Law and Chaos. There is a constant conflict between loyalty and pride within each Suel. Few Suel are ever neutral on the Law - Chaos axle; it is not uncommon to have a crisis of faith, where the individual changes his past allegiance and decides to either roam free or adhere to order. Even seemingly lawful Suel often have some hidden vice, while the most freedom-loving and proud can accept great trials to uphold an oath or some tie of loyalty.

Marriage: Conventional. The nuclear family is very strong, the extended family too complex and interwoven to function. Men can have children out of wedlock, women cannot. Decent is traced through the same gender, females having matrilinear descent, males patrilinear descent, leading to incredibly complex family trees. This is further complicated by strict rules against incest of second cousins, which means keeping track of familiy trees is very important.

Sexual Practices: Birth control (often post-natal), Monogamy.

Sexual Taboos: Breeding outside race, Incest.

Magic: Suel have an deep attraction to magic and use it to change the world around them with transmutation spells or to summon and bind supernatural servants with conjuration spells. Great theorists, the Sueloise prefer wizards to sorcerers or bards. Divine magic is often focused on means rather than ends; Suel classify miracles by domain rather than ethos.

Pantheon

Suel gods tend to be impersonal manifestations of ideas. They are very lawful or very chaotic and examples of skill and ability rather than great leaders with a personal agenda. There was a great turnover of Suel gods after the twin cataclysms; Lendor, the leader of the pantheon, became very withdrawn and is hardly known today which left a power vacuum others were quick to usurp.