Bodren
Heritage
Regardless of an individual’s Culture, their ancestors likely come from one of the following groups which determines a few of their notable physical characteristics.
For Bodren, this mainly affects their skin tone, markings, and ear style. Some groups will have more common body types or unique facial features as well. The largest influence is whether they live a purely land-bound lifestyle, purely aquatic, or somewhere in between.
Note: Your Heritage choice is purely for storytelling and may have narrative implications, but will not affect your characters stats, attributes, skills, or abilities.
The features listed below are the most common for each specific Heritage group, but features that are not mentioned will default to the typical physicality found on the Biology page. You can find the general physical traits on the main Species page.
Legend
✤
Some features are marked with a clover to indicate a unique trait exclusive to that Heritage group.
rare [
Luck test: 8]
Some features may show a test associated with them. These are optional dice rolls, for those who are interested in leaving any features up to chance.
Syrlothlian
[ser•LOTH•lee•an]
“Of Riverpetal” or “Riverpetalian”
Location of origin: Heartlands and any temperate or wetlands environment
The most commonly-seen Bodren Heritage outside of the Brittle Bog and Bay, the Syrlothlian Bodren have been primarily land-dwelling since the Bodren have existed. They are named after one of their oldest land-based settlements, Riverpetal, which is now subsumed into the greater Everpetal settlement in the modern day. The original people of Riverpetal were almost exclusively Bodren, but as the city grew and changed, many of these people ventured out into other urbanized areas that exist in areas with sufficiently humid ecosystems. The Syrlothlian people have especially become larger members of the Crownlands societies since the establishment of Willonia and its impact on trade and travel, essentially cementing the term Riverpetalian in the common vernacular in lieu of the Sylvan Syrlothlian.
These people tend to be the most consistent in complexion, usually having markings that are naturally about one shade removed from their base skin color. They commonly have dark hair like most Bodren, but it’s not uncommon for them to have mid-range, cool tones as well such as soft blues, purples, and greens. Their facial features are the least outright Sylvan-featured of all the Sylvan people, with smaller, more humanoid eyes, and sharper, more angular features.
Riverpetal Bodren are mostly part of the native Deltren culture, but some still grow up with more traditional, Hydren values. Many of them take on other cultures as well.
Common Features
HAIR
✤ Lighter options in addition to typical Bodren hair tones
EYES
Smaller, more humanoid eye size and proportions
FACE
Less fish-like or traditionally-Sylvan features, more ethereal, sharp, and angular
MARKINGS
Spotty, slightly darker
Note: While the Riverpetal heritage does include the Bodren of mixed-Sylvan parentage, this genetic combination of other Sylvan species, and even a combination of other Bodren heritage groups has uniquely affected them to become the most consistent, baseline aquatic version of themselves. While this does not offer any unique features or characteristics (as many other mixed-species heritage groups do) these Bodren are the most widely familiar and established throughout the known world.
Fyndanir
[FIN•da•near]
“Fenwild”
Location of origin: The Brittle Bog ridgelands, riverlands, and surrounding land-based settlements
While the Fenwild Bodren are land-dwelling, they have lived more rustic lives for so long that they tend to appear more amphibious than their Riverpetal sistren. Though they are rarely seen integrating with other people outside the central wetlands, the Fyndanir people have established the most populated settlements within the Brittle Bog itself, making up hte majority of the bog’s native inhabitants.
Fenwild Bodren don’t have unique skin tones or hair color, but their eyes tend to be deep-set and their natural markings often create a higher contrast against their base color, making them appear two-toned. Their sharp eyes trend towards the warmer tones such as bright green, gold, amber, vermilion, magenta, and violets.
Most of Fenwild Bodren are of the native Hydren culture, as they are the primary group who established the Hydren values and ideasl, though some idealize more with the ways of the Deltren. Either way, the overwhelming majority of them still reside in the Brittle Bog to this day.
Common Features
EYES
✤ Warmer colors such as Rose, Pink, Ruby, Peach, Citrine, Honey, Topaz, and Gold
FACE
Round faces, prominent mouth, lips, and jaw
MARKINGS
✤ Two-toned, much darker
Myrkvellan
[MERK•vel•lan]
“Of the Clouds of Moss” or “Mosscloud”
Location of origin: The Brittle Bog and surrounding, temperate and cool, freshwater wetlands
The Myrkvellan people of the bog have lived in the most isolated areas of the Brittle Bog since the beginning of Bodren. They don’t often interact with the outside world, so they often appear particularly creature-like compared to many of the more established heritage groups. They have evolved to be a solid amphibious group, equally residing on land and underwater.
Due to the incredibly overcast and foggy nature of the central boglands, their complexions and markings are some of the deepest and richest tones of all Bodren. They are rarely seen with pale or bright skin shades, better to blend perfectly with their murky surroundings, but they often feature markings that are lighter, producing a unique dappled-light effect.
The Myrkvellan Bodren have developed a unique, rounded ear spine anatomy that resembles those of the webbed toes of a frog or salamander. They contain a smaller proportion of bony cartilaginous support than the typical Bodren fan-like ears, which allow more control and movement. Myrkvellan Bodren’s expressions are often exaggerated because each part has more individual freedom of movement.
Since most Bog dwellers value the freedom between land and water that their homeland offers, each individual decides which lifestyle is more appropriate for them. Myrkvellan people are the most obvious example of this very clear split between the native Hydren and Merdren cultures, bust some occasionally break from tradition and become Deltren as well.
Common Features
SKIN
darker
EARS
✤ Rounder, more amphibian- or lizard-like.
FACE
Square jaws, flat noses, prominent teeth
MARKINGS
✤ Dappled, slightly lighter
Irisollum
[eer•EE•sol•lum]
“Sunny Cliffs” or “Suncliff”
Location of origin: Southern Brittle Bog, warm and tropical, freshwater swamps and wetlands
The Suncliff Bodren originate from within the mangrove swamps of the Fen and Reach in the southern and eastern areas of the Brittle Bog, as well as the southern marshes of Torgalia. Here, the fresh waters of these warm and sunny environments provide an equally vibrant and dangerous place to live. Their skintones and hair colors are similarly as vibrant, reaching levels of brightness that could make a Faekin jealous. They are the only Bodren who genetically have truly light hair colors.
The Suncliff markings are a dramatically different color from their base tone, creating two-tone skin colors that other Bodren do not have.
Their ear shapes from some of the stranger, unique creatures to their tropical, freshwater homeland, but also commonly have traditional fin-shaped ears.
Suncliff Bodren are mostly freshwater Merdren, but some have been influenced by the land-dwelling cultures of other nearby coastal people, such as the Mau’kali and Ukamimba. Their freshwater nature allows them a more easy transition to land-bound life if they deign to leave Merdren life.
Common Features
SKIN
✤ Brighter tones, including warmer colorsa outside of the typical Bodren colors. Warm tones are muted, cool tones are more dramatic
HAIR
✤ Light tones, rarely dark
EARS
✤ Fins resemble more freshwater fish and aquatic creatures than traditional Bodren fan ears
MARKINGS
✤ Dramatic color change
Vynthryslen
[vin•THRISS•lenn]
“of the Root Reef” or “Rootreef”
Location of origin: The Brittle Bay and other southeastern, saltwater locations
The most naturally diverse in complexion of all Bodren, those of Rootreef heritage have developed warmer and more vibrant skin complexions on average, such as soft peach, bright coral, carnation pink, and bold magenta. In addition to this, they often have very dramatic natural marking patterns from birth, like stripes and spotting.
Their ears do resemble fins like most Bodren, but due to their exposure to saltwater, they often have unique fin shapes such as frilled, triangular, or rounded fins.
Rootreef people are rarely seen outside the native Merdren culture, due to the difficulty to live a life away from their saltwater ecosystems. Land life is not impossible, however, and those who have become another culture are often transplants from generational relocation or some other dramatic circumstance.
Common Features
BODY
Stronger [Super, Athletic]
SKIN
✤ Tropical, warm colors of Pink, Coral, Peach, Orange, and Yellow, rarely the typical Bodren cool tones
HAIR
lighter potential than typical Bodren, midtone cool colors
FACE
Strong chins
MARKINGS
✤ Patterned stripes, spots, slightly darker
Cúvithie
[kuu•VEETH•ee•ay]
“Saltstorm”
Location of origin: Oceans along the Northwestern coast and the Stormlands
It is thought that these people, while rare, were a small group of Bodren who traveled down-river from the central wetlands before the establishment of the Rootport Dam in the Age of Witches. Their long-time existence in isolation in the cooler, more turbulent waters of the northwest have created a strange and fierce people that come across as unsettling at first glance. Despite this, their people have actually traded, intermingled, and even integrated with the coastal folks of the north for hundreds of years. Some Armadic tales even tell of interactions with the ‘fish people’ before the establishment of Willonia itself.
Living the most survival-focused lifestyles of all Bodren, the Saltstorm people have evolved to prioritize predatory aquatic tendencies. These Bodren appear the most alien to outsiders, often intimidating and unsettling due to their sharp teeth and large, inky eyes.
The Saltstorm Bodren are mostly water-dwelling, but due to the proximity to the Stormlands and Westland surface settlements, a small number of the Saltstorm people have been known to assimilate into the surface settlements of the Armadian and Greyrock people.
Common Features
BODY
Lightweight [Thin, Athletic]
SKIN
Muted tones of grey, blue, and purple from pale to dark
EYES
✤ Enlarged Black Iris, heavily tilted shape
FACE
Sloped foreheads, elongated cranium, sharp teeth
MARKINGS
✤ None
The Beanut Lands 