Lovers of nature, strong drink, the arts, and partying, fauns are a capricious race that attempts to live life to the fullest. Easily identified by their long pointed ears, short horns, and goat-like legs, fauns are never far from the center of attention.
Shards of Orn verison 4.0 Information
| Costuming | Faun | Fauns must wear small horns (2” or less), pointed ear prosthetics, and furred pants. Hooves are optional. |
| Passive Effect | Immune Fatigue | You are Immune to Fatigue Effects. |
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Combat Effect
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Magic, Soothe |
You trigger a Magic ability by speaking an incantation. Incantations must be at least nine syllables in length, distinguishable from normal speech, and related to the nature of the effect. The ability cannot be interrupted unless you are Subdued. If you are “Muted”, you cannot use the ability. Once the ability is triggered, you deliver the effect by throwing a packet at the intended target. The target may not attack the user. This does not prevent them from attacking the user's allies, compel them to attack their own allies, or force them to obey the user's commands. The effect ends if the user attacks them. |
| Narrative Effect | Insight |
You are able to gauge the disposition, motivations, and/or sincerity of a nonplayer character. For insights about conditions, creatures, objects, and places use Inspect actions (“Inspect Arms”, “Inspect Aura”, “Inspect Evil”, “Inspect Magic”, “Inspect Nature”, “Inspect Secret”, and “Inspect Wound”). |
Fauns must wear small horns (2” or less), pointed ear prosthetics, and furred pants. Hooves are optional, but if a combat-ready hoof option such as boot covers can be found, they add significantly to the effect. Clothing styles of fauns tend to vary with the dominant culture around where they live. In general, fauns seem to gravitate towards earth tones with bright pops of color as accents. Some fauns feel that they do not require coverings from the waist down as they have fur, others see this as either an unnecessary vulnerability or uncivilized.
Fauns are lovers of all. Lovers of art, nature, people, places. Fauns live roughly two Commoner lifespans, with the oldest seeing nearly 200 winters.
Fauns have a unique, inborn trait, granting them the ability to see the greatest potential in all things. When a faun looks into another being’s eyes, they are given a vision of that being’s highest potential, and this frequently leads them to falling in love. After all, how could you not fall in love with the best form of every person? This connection causes some fauns to become companions and trainers of heroes, hoping to help individuals to develop into the very best versions of themselves possible.
This gift only extends to primary sight, reflections do not work. As such, the only person whose potential a Faun has not seen, is their own. This drives many Fauns to become adventurers, seeking out greater and greater challenges to prove that they are achieving the heights of their potentials.
Seeing too much failure, too many people moving down dark paths away from their best, causes some Fauns to turn dark, cynical, and jaded. In the worst cases, a Faun may actively hunt down those that they deem to be squandering their potential.
The history of the Faun, as passed down by The Cloven Circle, is such:
The first Fauns, the Arite, were created by Antasia to serve as protectors of nature. They were made strong, martially minded, but with the ability to find beauty in all things so that they would not forget what it is they fought to protect. As time moved on, as the Arite began to have more and more interactions with other sentient beings, they began to see the beauty in these other beings as well. Their cultures, their art, their different ways of life were all alluring.
Some of the Arite split off from their original duty, leaving the wilds and entering into towns, villages, and cities. Over time these Faun became the Pannite; less aggressive and more focused on art and beauty than the Arite, they became poets and bards singing the tales of heroes. These Pannite Faun would become the typical symbol of their race, having the most interactions with other groups, and their zest for life would become a defining characteristic.
After The Shattering, the fading of Antasia, and the ascension of Loreyza, it became apparent that the Arite in their capacity as protectors were no longer sufficient. Loreyza created the Cernunnite Fauns to be shepherds and healers of the wild, to heal the damage that had been done by The Shattering, to see nature through.
If one looks hard enough, one will see a glimpse of horn, hear a hint of laughter, or catch a whiff of mead, in almost all of the heroic tales of old. Fauns have not made a mark in this world in the way of great heroes, but in the continuation of those heroes' stories. Many epics, legends, and songs were written or composed by Fauns who accompanied the heroes first-hand to record their tales.
The oldest bloodline of the Faun refer to themselves as the Arite. The Arite Faun are easily identified by their spiraling ram-style horns. Having been created to be defenders and protectors of nature, the Arite tend to be more martial, aggressive, and militaristic than other Faun types. Arite are quick to make decisions, and rarely back down from challenges, finding great beauty in the martial arts and the flow of bodies in combat.
The middle child, and most numerous, of the Faun family tree are the Pannite Fauns. The Pannite Fauns are what most people think of when they hear the word “Faun”, identified by their relatively small, slightly curving goat-like horns. Pannite Fauns have a great love for the art-forms of society and community, enjoying paintings, sculptures, and of course more carnal pursuits.
The newest form of Faun is the Cernunnite faun. The Cernunnite fauns are distinguished from their bretheren physically by the presence of small, branched horns more akin to an antler, and a more reserved demeanor. Cernunnite fauns are often found tending groves deep within the wild places, planting seeds and tending to saplings, arranging circles of stones into appealing patterns and weaving the wilderness into a living tapestry.
The cultural center for the Faun race is a group of elders known as The Cloven Circle. The Cloven Circle meets twice a year, once at each solstice, unless a special session is called to order, though this has not been done since The Shattering. The primary job of members of The Cloven Circle is to perform the divinations necessary to provide a Faun with their birth-tree and to reside over a Faun’s coming-of-age rights. Communities made purely of Fauns are extremely rare; as such, Fauns living in mixed or primarily non-Faun societies obey the rule and governmental structure of their current residence.
There are two deviant cults within Faun society; one well known, and one that The Cloven Circle tries to keep secret from other races. The first is known as The Battered Herd. The Battered Herd is made up almost exclusively of Arite Faun, and is dedicated to the immortal Githal. The Battered Herd serves as a mercenary company, roaming from warlord-to-warlord, seeking ever more glorious battle to prove themselves. Some members of The Battered Herd feel as if they failed their duties as protectors, and so they seek out battles where they may redeem themselves. Other members have become obsessed with perfecting themselves, seeking stronger and stronger opponents to hone their skills, and continue moving their ideal self forward. They are identified on the field by their red armor emblazoned with a black cloven hoof.
The second group is known as “The Lost”, their members known as “Twilight Fauns”. The Lost are a group of Fauns who have been so jaded, so disappointed, so broken by how far the world has come from it’s best possible self, that they gouge out their own eyes so they can no longer see these visions. These fauns go against all things Antasia had intended for them and instead worship Dhuroscht. The Lost seek to bring power to Dhuroscht and end the world, to put it out of it’s misery and end the disparity between what Orn could be, and what Orn is.
Fauns value nature, beauty, and free-will above all things. Beauty being subjective, of course, leaves much to interpretation, and what one Faun may find captivating, another may find revolting.
It is customary that when a Faun child is born, that within their first week of life they are presented to a local member of The Cloven Circle. The Cloven Circle member will consult the will of nature and reveal a prophecy about the child’s future. Upon returning from these prophetic visions, the elder will assign the child a tree, based on their fortunetelling Ogham, that applies to this prophecy. While nearly all birth trees are assigned at least somewhat good interpretations, all Fauns hope their children are not assigned the Blackthorn, tree of strife.
Upon reaching the age of twelve summers, Fauns being raised by traditional families will once again be taken to a member of The Cloven Circle to take part in their coming-of-age ritual. The coming-of-age ritual is intended to always remind Fauns of their connection to nature and the danger inherent in beauty. Upon receiving the elder’s blessing, the young faun will venture forth into the wilds with nothing but a tunic and a hunting knife. The young faun will remain in the wilds, surviving and communing with nature, until they have managed to commune with a Beast of the Land, Beast of the Sea, and Beast of the Sky, receiving a token from each. The Faun, in the final stages of the ritual, will create a totem out of the tokens. Traditional Fauns keep these tokens displayed on their persons at all time.
Fauns are often seen as silly, or that they have trouble being serious. In a good light, Fauns are seen as friendly, witty, creative, and romantic. In a negative light, Fauns are sometimes seen as drunkards, loud fools, and hyper-sexual beings.
Elves - Elves recognize a fellow nature spirit in Fauns, but often view them as too hedonistic. Elves see Fauns as passionate about art, but immature, spending so much time enjoying art that they never gain the proper discipline to master it.
Dwarves - Dwarves enjoy Fauns' penchant for strong drink and their excellent skill at making meads, but often see the race as foolish and unprepared for the trials of the world. They make for great companionship as party, but are seen as just too soft to stand in a Dwarven shieldwall.
Golems - Fauns often feel uneasy around Golems. As Golems do not possess eyes, a Faun’s ability to see their true potential doesn’t function. Instead, if a Faun looks into a Golem’s name, they only see a fractured and distorted image. This inability to see a Golem’s potential self leaves many Faun to feel uncomfortable around them.
Angori - Angori have mixed feelings towards the Faun race. On one hand, Fauns have two horns. On the other hand, Fauns smell and taste like delicious goat. Arite fauns and angori have been known to get along quite well.
Before The Shattering, Fauns revered Antasia as not only the mother of the woods but their own mother as well. Drelani, the matron of plenty, was also revered by many Fauns, especially as they began to venture out of their sacred groves and into the societies and communities of the world. After The Shattering, Fauns shifted their focus from Antasia to Loreyza, although some traditionalist fauns still offer thanks and prayers to the faded immortal. With their penchant for wandering and free spirits, many Fauns also pay tribute to Ivelis.
Fauns have mixed reactions with Etejeril and his followers, recognizing death as a natural and necessary part of nature, but loathing the undead as having stopped the cycle. For the same reasons that Fauns often revere Ivelis, they abhor Hexadus, finding restrictions to their free will to be worth fighting for. Finally, all but The Lost detest Dhuroscht and will actively attack his followers in the open. Fauns see Dhuroscht as an end to all things, potential cut short, beauty scarred and marred.
Fauns are born with an innate wanderlust and will become adventurers for many reasons. Some Fauns seek out battle and adventures to improve themselves as a way of ensuring that they become the best them possible in the eyes of their kin. Other Fauns see a mortal, or hear tales of heroes, and decide they wish to find and follow someone with great potential, to drive them to further and further heights while writing the exploits of their champion the whole way. Other Fauns decide that they must venture out from their groves to tend to the world as a whole; to heal nature where it is most broken.
Are you a buck or a wether!? A Buck is a term for a male Faun, and a Wether is a term for a castrated goat. This phrase is frequently used by fauns to goad another into greater acts of bravery
For Hoof and Hollow! A common battlecry heard among grove-dwelling faun
In winter’s depths, there is summer within. A phrase of encouragement
There is a path over every mountain. One should not give up too easily