Stargazers

[Howlando]

Make sure to request access to Stargazer Forum if you are playing one!

The Stargazers are a separate subrace of halfilngs that have evolved over the course of thousands of years in the remote Shrouded Archipelago.

As a subrace, there are a few common characteristics: unusually pale skin, a tendency to be nocturnal, and an affinity for the wild.

But as a group, they are an extremely varied people. There are dozens, if not more, tribes scattered across the Archipelago, each tribe having their own unique traditions and beliefs.

The majority of Stargazer tribes adhere to the "Old Ways," a largely non-evil system of belief that includes ancestor worship, reverence for the trees/jungle cats of the wild, and suspicion about the outside world and outsider-peoples. This belief system also includes somewhat macabre practices as the cannibalism of ancestors pending a natural death, although in the eyes of the Stargazers this is simply the natural way of things.

There are also a number of Stargazer tribes that do not hold to the Old Ways. These groups include a tribe that is obsessed with spider worship, an underground group that flays the skin of their enemies, and others.

Removed Feats: Lucky.
Bonus Feats: Darkvision.
Skills: Animal Empathy +2, Discipline +2, Lore +2, Tumble +2.
Favored Class: Barbarian.
Favored Alignment: Any.
Application: Yes.
Keywords: stargazer halfling.

Please note: Although an application is required to play this subrace, it is not difficult to approve assuming the player demonstrates a basic understanding of what the race is about. This is a setting specific group, and exiled Stargazer PCs are perfectly appropriate to play. It is not encouraged to play a Ghostwise just because you don't have to make an app when really Stargazers suit the setting much better.

[Howlando]

More info that should probably be posted here...

Totem Tribes of the Stargazer Peoples:

The Stargazer culture is filled with contradictions and complexities. Of key importance however is the idea of the "totem animal," or that animal which best represents the path of a particular Stargazer. Young Stargazers will most often follow the totem animal traditions of their family or village, but it is not uncommon for young Stargazers born of one particular totem to decide - typically through the process of a spirit journey conducted at adolescence - that it is another totem animal that best suits them and for them to thus join another tribe (in some cases moving away altogether, in other cases remaining in the same area but considering themselves to be of this other tribe).

Mythic or Legendary

The Fox Tribe:

No physical trace remains of the Fox Tribe upon the Archipelago, as it is said that long in the past their totem demi-god (also known as Kepti, who serves as a figure of trickery and cleverness among many Stargazer tribes) led them into the forest of the veil, where they disappeared into the Mist. Many Stargazers believe that through Kepti's cleverness his people have learned how to become truly unseen and dwell within the mist, emerging only occasionally to steal from other, less clever tribes.

Occasionally young Stargazers will claim that they have been visited by Kepti and and have joined the Fox Tribe, but as they show no sign of being able to disappear into the Mist, this is often dismissed as a youthful phase or vanity.

Old Ways

Although the cultural traditions of every Stargazer tribe can differ radically, the "Old Ways" tribes are generally on fairly good terms with each other and share in a certain philosophy that promotes balance, respect for nature, respect for ancestors, etc.

The People of the Starwood:

The Stargazer villagers in the Starwood are unusual in that they do not strongly associate with a single particular totem animal, but rather believe that each individual will, in time, find their own totem animal. The village is one of the key Stargazer communities, closely tied with the Order of the Zodiac and a center for learning, knowledge, and wisdom among the people of the Stars.

Totem Tribe of the Bear:

No villages or communities of the People of the Bear remain, and members of this tribe exist only as solitary hermits or wanderers. Although little is known of these people, it is whispered of how each member seeks one of the sacred bear stones of Ufdu. Members of the Tribe of the Bear believe that only when the four quarter sections of Ufdu are made whole will their tribe come together again. The character of its members is typically gruff, unfriendly, solitary, solemn, and confident.

Totem Tribe of the Jaguar:

Although there are very few true villages of this totem tribe, the people of the Jaguar are numerous indeed. They have a reputation for being solitary and skillful hunters, living throughout the islands of the Archipelago and particularly favoring forests and jungles. Wandering hunters or small Stargazer family units that dwell apart are perhaps most often of this totem tribe.

Totem Tribe of the Parrot

There are a number of different Parrot Tribe villages located throughout the Archipelago. The Stargazers of this tribe tend to favor colorful dress, to be relatively peaceful and communal, and to eat mostly gathered nuts and plant-stuffs. There are, of course, exceptions.

Totem Tribe of the Eagle

The Totem Tribe of the Eagle has one village, placed high in the cliffs of the Island Ymph and completely inaccessible except by flight. Villagers must travel to and fro atop the great eagles that they have befriended, although this is rarely done. The people of the Eagle Tribe tend to often be mystics, seers, and lore-keepers. Some of the key members of the Order of the Zodiac have been from the Eagle Tribe.

Totem Tribe of the Wolf

Although uncommon on Ymph, the Wolf Tribe are more numerous on some of the other islands in the Archipelago. The Wolf Tribe does not build villages, but rather regularly moves from den to den in the company of their great wolves. They are supreme hunters, and somewhat aggressive to any others who enter into their territory. Although they respect the Old Ways, among some Stargazers they are spoken of as fearfully as Flayers.

Totem Tribe of the Tiger

One of the smallest Totem Tribes, the people of the Tiger typically make their home in the foothills and mountains of Ymph. Each member typically has their own independent territory and hunting ground. There is however a sacred site where a small village has been built up in an expanse of ruins. Members of the Tiger Tribe are fierce hunters, arrogant and aggressive. The Order of the Zodiac has been known to call upon members of this Tribe to serve as Guardians in times of need.

Totem Tribe of the Frog

The people of the Frog live alone or in tiny villages among the swamps and bogs of the Archipelago. These mud dwellers are queer and eccentric even by the standards of their race, shy but often possessing of strange secrets or powers.

Although not renowned as warriors, the People of the Frog are considered to be highly dangerous in their own ways. Legends speak of members of this tribe who warbled terrible howls that could horrify all enemies, or who even covered themselves with powerful poisons and bizarre spells that harmed their enemies horribly even as they were struck at.

Totem Tribe of the Scarab Beetle

The people of the Scarab Beetle dwell in unknown numbers in the vast eastern desert of Ymph. They tend to remain distant and apart from the other Stargazer tribes, keeping to their own ways - much of which involves simply struggling to survive in the incredibly harsh conditions of the dry lands.

Totem Tribe of the Trout

The people of the Trout are simple fisher-folk Stargazers, rarely staying in one place but rather traveling in search of good fishing grounds, carrying their tiny round canoes upon their backs as they do. They are somewhat similar in attitude with the people of the Frog, except less peculiar.

Feral

Feral Stargazers - often called Flayers - are those tribes that do not follow the Old Ways, that typically hunt all others not of their tribe, and who often seem mindless and utterly savage to all outsiders. Some Feral tribes are capable of peace from time to time, but others are not.

Totem Tribe of the Rat

Typically dwelling among the ruins of the Ilythiiri, members of the Rat Tribe tend to be filthy, cowardly, conniving, and desperate. They are feral due to their utter lack of respect for the major cultural traditions of the Stargazer People, but due to their extreme cowardice are unlikely indeed to pick a fight with any other tribe and are even capable of simple trading and such.

Totem Tribe of the Spider

Easily the most numerous Tribe of any Stargazers in the Archipelago, the People of the Spider dwell in vast hives underground, engage in bizarre traditions and rituals, and hunt without hesitation all others who do not share in their cult-worship of spiders. They are poorly understood and feared by all not of their tribe.

Totem Tribe of the Graveworm

The people of the Graveworm seem utterly disgusting and mindless to all outsiders. It is not even known if the graveworm is truly their totem animal, but simply that their lairs - when occasionally raided - is found to have sacred spots where the skinned bodies of their enemies have been piled up and where graveworms live in great abundance.

Totem Tribe of the Wyvern

Until relatively recently the People of the Wyvern followed the Old Ways, but within the past generations they have changed and become unfriendly with all other tribes. Although they seem at first to be reasonable and orderly, the people of the Wyvern engage in terrible self-sacrifice, regularly feeding selected members of their tribe to their great wyvern guardians. They have also begun raiding other tribes in search of more sacrificial victims, and due to the great ferocity of their wyvern companions are rarely defeated in battle.

Totem Tribe of the Crab

The Totem Tribe of the Crab is predominantly made up of the mindless or insane. Dwelling in filth in tiny communities in rock caves along the coast, or even alone, these degraded Stargazers simply attack or flee from all others. They will eat anything.

[Howlando]

Until further notice please do not apply for a lycanthropic Stargazer.

[Howlando]

As a couple players have been asking:

Although the above listed "Tribes" are the major ones of the Archipelago, some (rare) Stargazers do associate with a particular totem animal that does not actually have a tribe. So for example, a boar/deer/badger/etc. attuned stargazer is within the realm of possibility.