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# The Gord'Un

## Mythos

### The Coming of Horse

Back before the World went Mad, Grandfather Gopher lived on the Great Plain with his children and everyone was happy. There was enough food to eat, nobody got ill and the Gophers ran on the open steppe and basked beneath the Sun.

Then came a new thing - the Horse. Some said it was Hippogriff mutilated, some said it was Hyalor’s plaything, other said it was one of Kargzant’s children. Whatever the case, it came and invaded the Plains and began eating all the grass.

Grandfather Gopher, realising that all the grass was being eaten and his children would be hungry, decided to speak to Horse and to ask it not to eat all the grass. Off he went to Horse and asked it not to eat all the grass otherwise grandfather Gopher’s children would go hungry. "Nay", said Horse, "for then my own children would be hungry." And with that Horse stamped hard on Grandfather Gopher, driving him deep within the ground.

Grandfather Gopher was annoyed by this and scampered around beneath the ground until he reached where his children were, and called out to them. Quickly, they burrowed after him. The younger ones kept a lookout in case Horse came looking for them while Grandfather Gopher and his children hatched out a plan.

Horse and his children liked to drink from a certain river on the Plains, so Grandfather Gopher crept beneath the ground near the river. He made many holes in the ground by burrowing to the surface and looking out. When Horse came near with his Children, Grandfather Gopher looked out and challenged him. Horse and his children charged forward into the trap. Although Horse managed to avoid the trap, his children did not and many twisted their legs in the holes, falling lame and broken. Even though Horse was furious and trampled on the ground, he could not hurt Grandfather Gopher as he was already underground.

From that time on, Horses and Gophers have always been enemies.

### The Gor-Dun

A long while ago, one of Gordon the Gopher's sons completed a HeroQuest where he tunnelled to the Sky and broke the legs of one of Kargzant's stallions, stealing its Blinding Flash, When he returned, he became known as The Flash. However, he was troubled by a dream of Fire and Ice which he saw every night. He consulted the shamans and they told him that the Fire and Ice would separate him from his kin but make him stronger. The Flash gathered together his friends, family and people from all the towns and together they performed a great ritual, making a tunnel through the Spirit World. They emerged on a strange new steppe, covered in ice and the tangled wrecks of burned trees. After several years the ice melted and the trees were cleared but Flash's Gord'Un stayed hidden beneath the earth. They contacted the spirits of the land and discovered they were in a land called Erigia, a land once covered in forest that had recently been burned away when the Skies fell to the earth. Soon after, the horsemen of the Char-Un came to Erigia and fought a long war against the mad Aldryami that lived there. The Gord'Un made their presence known in the Battle of Broken Legs where they stopped a Char-Un charge by breaking the ground. Ever since, they have been enemies of the Char-Un. Over the years, their name was changed from the Gord'Un, or Mighty Gophers, to the Gor-Dun, or Bloody Rodents. Since both are pronounced the same way, the Gor-Dun have not complained.

### Gordon the Gopher

Grandfather Gopher had many children, some were small and scurried beneath the ground, some were not so small and walked on two legs, some were mighty and had powerful spirits that helped the Gord'Un, but only one was as strong as Grandfather Gopher himself. This son was Gord'on, or The First Gopher. Gordon the Gopher soon realised that his gift concerned keeping the Gord'Un alive and well and he became their leader. He fathered many litters over the years and became Father of Many. Some Gopher Towns are filled only with his descendants. Gordon the Gopher, or Gord'on Gord'Un as he is known to the Gord'Un, is the demigod king of the Gophers. He lives in a Gopher City, deep within the Pentian Steppe, in a small group of hills and is surrounded by his daughter-wives and his warrior sons who act as his bodyguard.

## Culture

The Gord'Un are Gopher Hsunchen, following the ways of Grandfather Gopher. They live in underground towns and cities in Pent and Erigia.

Gord'Un towns and cities consist of many underground burrows connected with a series of tunnels below ground and roads above ground. Sometimes there are small buildings above ground where visitors may live. Gord'Un towns may have several hundred people living there, Gord'Un cities have several thousand inhabitants. The Pentians know of some of the Gord'Un towns and try to destroy them, but they have a disadvantage in that their horses do not operate well underground and the Gord'Un can open up holes in the ground to break the horses' legs, so any large scale assault is doomed to failure. So, the Pentians and the Gord'Un have an ongoing feud where any Gord'Un caught outside his tunnels is tortured over a roaring fire and any Pentian accidentally finding a Gord'Un town is buried to the neck and devoured by the Hungry Earth.

The Gord'Un have a primitive culture, based on their hsunchen background. They live in underground burrows and live by hunting and gathering. They can harvest roots and tubers below ground and can gather grains from the steppe grasses above the ground. Some Gord'Un will scatter the seeds of favourite plants near their burrows so that their food is easily accessible. Some Gord'Un hunt the small animals of the plains and supplement their diet with extra meat.

As they burrow beneath the earth, the Gord'Un have access to some of the earth's treasures. They have people who can work metal, making primitive tools and weapons, and can work gems and make jewellry. The Gord'Un trade these with outsiders for the things they cannot make.

Gord'Un towns are made up of interconnected burrows, each burrow containing a family unit consisting of a group of females, normally sisters, their common spouses and their children, called a Nest. Normally, the sisters make a new burrow then they grow up, or they inherit their mothers' burrow. Each group of sisters takes a number of husbands who are held as common spouses, each husband is bonded to a single sister, but is also the husband of the other sisters. Gord'Un women have multiple births, normally with three or four offspring per birth. Single births are a rarity and the single offspring is treated as a special Gord'Un and normally becomes a shaman. All the children of a Nest are cared for by their parents, aunts and uncles, so each Nest is an extended family. Gord'Un stay in their Nest until they reach adulthood when they move to a Bachelor Nest. Bachelor Nests are single sex burrows containing single men or single women and give the young men and women the chance to live a little before they settle down in their own Nests. Most of the Nests in a Gord'Un town are related, with either the Nest-Sisters or Nest-Husbands coming from other Nests.

The Gord'Un are a peaceful people, timid and shy. They do not have an army and have few warriors. They have Guards who keep the towns safe from enemies. When they are in danger, they will vanish beneath the earth, only to reappear when the danger is over. Their lookouts are positioned on nearby outcrops and can see danger approaching from a long way off, giving a warning cry, or Meep, when they spot any enemies. If the Gord'Un need to fight, they use their Iron Claw followers to shred their enemies, their Grandfather Gopher followers to make the small holes and trip up their enemies and their Hungry Earth followers to raise up skeletons and devour the bodies of ther enemies.

## What the Gopher Says

Who are you?

I am Ranna of the Three Burrows Nest, of the Four Hills Town, of the Gord'Un. I was born into the Bluebell Nest and my mothers were born to the Redwater Nest and were daughters of Gordon. I am a Guard and a follower of Iron Claw and Grandfather Gopher.

Who are we?

We are the Gord'Un, sons and daughters of Grandfather Gopher and Gordon. We are descended from the earth and are brothers of the gophers that live on the steppe.

What makes us great?

Our Nests and ancestors make us great. Gordon, Father of Many, makes us great. The earth makes us great. The Three Burrows Nest is great because the Nest Husbands are all brothers from a single litter and because our Nest Sisters are blessed by Kalleea.

Where do we live?

We live in the Three Burrows Nest, of the Four Hills Town in the Land of Pent. Our town is beneath the Four Hills between Hell Crack and the Rockwoods Mountains.

How do we live?

We live beneath the earth in the embrace of the Earth Mothers. We hunt and grow our own food. We follow Gordon's Way and tend to our Nest Brothers and Nest Sisters. When the time comes, we will become Nest Wives ourselves and produce a new generation of Nest Brothers and Nest Sisters.

What is important in my life?

My Nest is important as that is where I live. My Nest Brothers and Nest Sisters are important. Our town is important for the other Nests provide Nest Husbands and help protect us. Gordon is important for he is our King and is second only to Grandfather Gopher in our affections.

What is the difference between men and women?

Women make Nests and form the Nest Sisters. Men come to the Nests and become Nest Husbands. Women bear the next generation of the Gord'Un.

What is evil?

Kargzant and his kin are evil for they are our mortal enemies. Valind is evil for he covers our land in snow and ice, making it difficult for us to find food. Chaos is evil for it devours everything in its path.

What is my lot in life?

I am a Guard and I protect the Three Burrows Nest from enemies. When my sisters and I are older, we will take over the Three Burows Nest and become Nest Wives ourselves. We will raise our litters and extend our Nest.

Who are our enemies?

The Pentians are evil for they follow Kargzant and attack us.

Who are our spirits?

We have many spirits. Our ancestors live in the Ghost Nests and return to us in our times of need. We have many spirits of the earth, helping us heal, build and tunnel. We also have spirits to guard our Nests and to fight our enemies. We can even make the dead walk to bring our ancestors to life to fight, even though they frighten us.

What is there to do around here?

We can work to guard the Nests, we can play on the open Steppe, eat grass and look for tasty tubers. We can follow the horses and make holes for them to trip up in.

## Gord'Un Homeland Keyword

Look and Feel: Small, timid people, hiding from their enemies and struggling to eke out an existence on the Plains of Pent.

Occupations Available: Digger, Guard, Healer, Hunter, Shaman

Native Abilities: Small 10, Gord'Un Customs, Gord'Un Myths, Geography of Pent, Find Food, Find Water, Live Underground, Wilderness Survival

Typical Personality Traits: Timid, Fearful, Cautious, Hate Pentian Nomad, Hate Horses, Resiliant

Typical Relationships: To Nest, To Town, To Gordon the Gopher

Magic: Common Magic, Gopher Traditions

### Professions

As a fairly small and primitive culture, the Gord'Un do not have many professions. Normally, their professions are not restricted by gender, except for Nest Mothers who must be female.

Digger
Beginning Hero Suggestions: Some diggers may have tunnelled their way out of their town and want to learn about new places and dig holes in them.
Appropriate Homelands: Pent, Erigia
Abilities: Digging, Endurance, Ignore Dark, Know Earth, Know Tunnels, Strong, Tough, Underground Survival
Typical Personality Traits: Timid, Fearful, Cautious, Hard Working, Hate Pentian Nomad, Hate Horses, Resiliant
Typical Relationships: To Nest, To Town, To Gordon the Gopher
Typical Followers: Some diggers may have guards as followers, especially if they usually dig outside the towns
Standard of Living: Common
Typical Equipment: Shovel, Apron, Digging Claws

Elder
Beginning Hero Suggestions: Elders sometimes need to travel to other towns or to talk with other people
Appropriate Homelands: Pent, Erigia
Abilities: Command Respect, Speak With Authority, Talk For Hours
Typical Personality Traits: Hate Horses, Hate Pentian Nomad, Resiliant, Self Important, Timid
Typical Relationships: To Nest, To Town, To Gordon the Gopher
Typical Followers:
Standard of Living:
Typical Equipment:

Entertainer
Beginning Hero Suggestions: Entertainers often wander between Nests and Towns, especially when they are in Entertainment Bands.
Appropriate Homelands: Pent, Erigia
Abilities: Compose Entertainment, Concentrate, Good Memory, Group Performance, Know Nest, Know People, Play (Drums, Grass Flute, Horns, Pipes), Play Audience, Prescence, Spot Trouble
Typical Personality Traits: Kind, Cautious, Hate Pentian Nomad, Hate Horses, Resiliant, Wanderlust
Typical Relationships: To Nest, To Band, To Gordon the Gopher
Typical Followers: Entertainers sometimes have guards as followers, especially when travelling between towns
Standard of Living: Good
Typical Equipment: Drums, Horns, Grass Flute

Grower
Beginning Hero Suggestions:
Appropriate Homelands: Pent, Erigia
Abilities: Know Tunnels, Know Grassland, Know Plants, Tend Plants, Underground Farming, Work Hard
Typical Personality Traits: Timid, Fearful, Cautious, Hate Pentian Nomad, Hate Horses, Resiliant
Typical Relationships: To Nest, To Town, To Gordon the Gopher
Typical Followers:
Standard of Living: Common
Typical Equipment: Agricultural tools

Guard
Beginning Hero Suggestions: Gord'Un guards may have left the Nest in search of adventure or to look for vengeance against Pentian attackers
Appropriate Homelands: Pent, Erigia
Abilities: Identify Foe, Know Pentian Tactics, Scan For Danger, Scouting, Vigilant, Claw Combat
Typical Personality Traits: Brave, Alert, Cautious, Hate Pentian Nomad, Hate Horses, Resiliant
Typical Relationships: To Nest, To Town, To Gordon the Gopher
Typical Followers: Skilled guards may have other guards as followers, some may even have a digger or healer attached to them
Standard of Living: Good
Typical Equipment: Claws, Travel Equipment

Healer
Beginning Hero Suggestions: Healers sometimes leave the Nests to search for new healing techniques and spirits, others accompany Gord'Un raiding parties on raids against Pentians
Appropriate Homelands: Pent, Erigia
Abilities: Calm Patient, Carry Wounded, Chew Herbs, First Aid, Make Medicine, Recognise Disease, Spot Weakling, Treat Disease, Treat Poison
Typical Personality Traits: Timid, Fearful, Kind, Cautious, Hate Pentian Nomad, Hate Horses, Resiliant
Typical Relationships: To Nest, To Town, To Gordon the Gopher
Typical Followers:
Standard of Living: Good
Typical Equipment: Bag of herbs,

Hunter
Beginning Hero Suggestions:
Appropriate Homelands: Pent, Erigia
Abilities: Archery, Butcher, Catch Animal in Traps, Dodge, Hide, Keen Senses, Know Pentian Animals, Know Local Area, Track, Wilderness Survival
Typical Personality Traits: Timid, Cautious, Curious, Hate Pentian Nomad, Hate Horses, Resiliant
Typical Relationships: To Nest, To Town, To Gordon the Gopher
Typical Followers: Some hunters have helpers to carry game and equipment
Standard of Living: Poor
Typical Equipment: Snares, Bow and Arrows, Butchery Equiment

Nest Mother
Beginning Hero Suggestions: Nest Mothers rarely leave their town, but sometimes they try to find lost children or Nest Sisters
Appropriate Homelands: Pent, Erigia
Abilities: Know Nest, Care For Young, Identify Runt, Help Sisters
Typical Personality Traits: Timid, Fearful, Bossy, Cautious, Hate Pentian Nomad, Hate Horses, Resiliant
Typical Relationships: To Nest, To Nest Sisters, To Town, To Gordon the Gopher
Typical Followers: Nest Husbands, Nest Daughters
Standard of Living: Poor
Typical Equipment: Household goods

Shaman
Beginning Hero Suggestions:
Appropriate Homelands: Pent, Erigia
Abilities: Gopher/Mother Earth Tradition Knowledge, Open Spirit World, Follower of (Majestic Spirit), Shamanic Escape, Spirit Ally, Spirit Face, Spirit World Travel, Worship Grandfather Gopher
Typical Personality Traits: Fearful, Crazed, Hate Horses, Hate Pentian Nomad, Resiliant
Typical Relationships: To Nest, To Town, To Gordon the Gopher
Typical Followers: A Shaman normally has a couple of apprentice followers
Standard of Living: Common
Typical Equipment: Fetishes, charms

Trader
Beginning Hero Suggestions: Traders often seek out new places for trade
Appropriate Homelands: Pent, Erigia
Abilities: Bargain, Barter, Know Earth Treasures, Know Gord'Un, Persuasive, Well Travelled
Typical Personality Traits: Canny, Eloquent, Inquisitive, Hate Horses, Hate Pentian Nomad, Resiliant, Wanderer
Typical Relationships: To Nest, To Town, To Gordon the Gopher
Typical Followers: A travelling trader often has a couple of guards and porters
Standard of Living: Good
Typical Equipment: Trade Goods,

### Common Magic - The Safe Earth

The Safe Earth provides a bolt-hole when the Gord'Un are in danger and also provides food and shelter. All the Gord'Un know the earth and can use it to provide help in times of need.

Talents: Burrow Beneath the Earth, Dry Earth, Find Shoots, Shout Alarm Meep, Sharp Eyes, Tireless Lookout, Spot Horses, Hear Hooves, Move Through the Earth

### Specialised Religion - Gord Un Traditions

Sample Spirits of the Gord'Un Tradition

Digger (Iron Claws, Iron Teeth, Deep Diggers)
Grower (Plant Spirits, Earth Spirits, Earth Mother Spirits)
Guard (Keen Eye Spirits, Little Holes, Red Claw Spirits, Watch Spirits)
Healer (Healing Spirits)
Hunter (Eating Spirits)
Nest Mother (Burrow Spirits, Nest Spirits)
Shaman (Bone Spirits, Fire Jar Spirits, Fire Quenching Spirits, Spirits of the Silent Halls)

## The Gord'Un Traditions

The Gord'Un do not have separate traditions for the sexes, but do have two general traditions, one for being Gord'Un and one that honours the spirits within the earth. There are several practices within these traditions and the Gord'Un normally follow the practices corresponding to their professions. The Gord'Un may change practices without any penalties and need not leave a practice when joining a new one, for all belong to the Gord'Un.

### The Gopher Tradition

This is the Tradition of the Gopher Spirits, children of Grandfather Gopher himself. Each Practice follows one of Grandfather Gopher's descendants and teaches skills and spirits that help the Gord'Un gopher-folk.

Core Practices: Grandfather Gopher, Iron Claw, Mana-Ma, Ranash Far-Sighted, Sandarin Fire-Quencher

Abilities: Hate Pentians, Hate Horses, Spirit Face, Understand Gophers

Grandfather Gopher

Grandfather Gopher is the most important spirit of the Gord'Un because he is their ancestor and the source of their culture.

Entry Requirements: Must be born or adopted into the Gord'Un

Abilities: Follower of Grandfather Gopher, Grandfather Gopher Practice Knowledge

Practice Spirits:

Gopher Spirits: Command Gopher, Dig Fast, Dig Deep, Loud Meep, Slick Fur, Speak With Gopher, Strong Claw, Teeth of Iron, Tireless Digging, Tunnel Through The Earth
Gord'Un Spirits: Ancestor Spirits
Little Holes: Break Ankle, Broken Ground, Lame Horse, Slow Horse, Trip Horse
Secret: Become Gopher

Iron Claw

Iron Claw was a Gord'Un guard who was attacked by Pentians but found a way to burrow through the iron-hard permafrost. He found that his iron claws were equally effective against the horses of the Pentians.

Abilities: Close Combat (Claw and Tooth), Dodge, Follower of Iron Claw, Iron Claw Practice Practice Knowledge

Practice Spirits:
Iron Claws: Dig Thrugh Stone, Dig Through Permafrost, Dig Through Ice, Ignore Cold, Tear Horseflesh, Tear Through Iron
Iron Teeth: Bite Through Metal, Bite Through Stone, Gelding Nip, Unbreakable Teeth

Mana-Ma

The daughter of Gordon the Gopher, Mana-Ma was the first healer and controls spirits of healing.

Abilities: First Aid, Treat Disease, Treat Poison, Follower of Mana-Ma, Mana-Ma Practice Knowledge

Practice Spirits:
Healing Spirits: Cleanse Disease, Easy Birth, Heal Wounds, Make Healing Earth

Ranash Far-Sighted

Ranash had the eyes of an eagle and could see farther than any of the Gord'Un. He saw the Golden Horses when they tried to attack Gopher Town.

Abilities: Spot Hidden, Scan For Enemies, Follower of Ranash, Ranash Practice Knowledge

Practice Spirits:
Keen Eye Spirits: Keen Vision, See Horses, See Into The Hear, See Through Disguises, Sharpsight, Spot Enemies
Watch Spirits: Miss Nothing, Never Distracted, Remain Motionless, Stand For Hours, Tireless Watch

Red Claw

A son of Grandfather Gopher, Red Claw helped the Gord'Un survive through the Darkness. Once, the Gord'Un only ate grains, roots and tubers, but they started to die and the Gord'Un became hungry. Red Claw went to Mother Penta for help, but she was bare. He was ambushed by the Red Ones, carnivores and hunters on the plains, but he escaped and stole some of their powers. He teaches hunting skills to the Gord'Un, so that they may survive on more than grains, roots and tubers.

Abilities: Hunting, Know Pent Geography, Red Claw Practice Knowledge, Follower of Red Claw

Practice Spirits:
Red Claw Spirits: Track Prey, Follow Prey Underground, Leap at Prey, Slashing Teeth, Ripping Claws
Eating Spirits: Eat Meat, Settle Stomach, Eat Unusual Food, Try Food

Sandarin Fire-Quencher

Sandarin was a shaman who was expert against the Pentian Fire Spirits.

Abilities: Endure Heat, Endure Flame, Fight Fires, Follower of Sandarin, Sandarin Practice Knowledge

Practice Spirits:
Fire Quenching Spirits: Cover Fire With Earth, Hold Fire, Quench Fire, Build Firebreak Wall, Burn Firebreak
Fire Jar Spirits: Trap Fire, Bind Fire in Jar, Control Fire Spirits

Zaza the Bone Gopher

Zaza was born when Grandfather Gopher was buried during the Darkness. He crept from Grandfather Gopher's bones and could see the spirits of the dead as well as those of the living. He was the first Gord'Un Shaman and is the father of shamans.

Abilities: Craft Fetish, Open Spirit World, Spirit Combat, Spirit Face, Follower of Zaza, Zaza Practice Knowledge,

Practice Spirits:
Bone Spirits: Summon Ancestors, Terrify Horse, Endure Dead, Know Spirit Tunnels, Travel Spirit Tunnels

### The Mother Earth Tradition

The Gord'Un live beneath the earth and rely on the spirits of the earth to help them survive. They do this through the Mother Earth Tradition.

Abilities: Spirit Face, Know Mother Earth

The Deep One

He was a Gord'Un digger who dug so deep that he entered the Underworld. He brought back secrets of the earth and spirits to help deep digging.

Abilities: Hold Breath, Shore Up Tunnel, Sense the Earth, Underworld Navigation

Practice Spirits:
Deep Diggers: Collapse Tunnel, Dig Quickly, Dig Straight Down, Ignore Darkness, Move Through Collapsed Tunnel,
Earth Secrets: Find Buried Food, Find Buried Treasure, Listen to Whispers in the Earth

Bannia the Black

A son of the Deep One, Bannia was born in the Underworld when the Deep One visited the Silent Tunnels. He came back to the surface and taught the Gord'Un how to travel to the Silent Tunnels after death.

Abilities: Prepare Corpse, Prepare the Dying, Follower of Bannia Bannia Practice Knowledge

Practice Spirits:
Spirits of the Silent Halls: Calm Angry Ghost, Hasten Death, Speak to the Dead

Secret: Escort Dead - allows a spirit to be taken to the Silent Halls to ensure it doesn't come back as a ghost or evil spirit.

Mother Penta

Mother Earth, this is the spirit of the Land of Pent, in which the Gord'Un live. She is the source of their food and shelter. The Gor-Dun follow Mother Erigia, who has very similar charteristics.

Abilities: Plant Lore, Find Plants, Find Water, Follower of Penta, Penta Practice Knowledge

Practice Spirits:
Plant Spirits: Grow Juicy Plants, Grow Quickly, Strengthen Plant
Earth Spirits: Strengthen Burrow, Walls of Earth, Moving Earth, Support Tunnel

Kalleea

Daughter of Mother Penta, Kalleea is the Mother of Many, wife of Grandfather Gopher and many other creatures of Pent. She is the Great Mother of the Gord'Un and helps in childbirth and with the women of the Gord'Un.

Abilities: Midwifery, Cure Sick Child, Cure Sick Mother, Follower of Kalleea, Kalleea Practice Knowledge

Practice Spirits:
Earth Mother Spirits: Large Litter, Healthy Birth, Reduce Pain, Eat Sickly Children, Ignore Runt of Litter
Healing Spirits: Cure Disease, Suck Out Poison, Bury Disease, Healing Earth

Maggan the Builder

Daughter of Grandfather Gopher, Maggan was the first to dig burrows beneath the ground. Her followers dig and manitain the Gopher Towns and Cities.

Abilities: Hold Breath, Tunnelling, Shape Earth, Follower of Maggan, Maggan Practice Knowledge

Practice Spirits:
Burrow Spirits: Dig Fast, Hide Entrance, Dry Earth, Strengthen Burrow, Support Tunnel, Move Through Earth, Throw Clods of Earth
Nest Spirits: Dry Nest, Fill Nest, Warm Earth, Hide Scent, Smoke Out Parasites, Store Food

The Flesh Eater

Dagorma is a daughter of the earth who eats the flesh of corpses buried within the earth, The Gord'Un honour her so that she does not eat them when they burrow beneath the earth and also to eat the flesh of their enemies.

Abilites: Appease Dagorma, Follower of Dagorma, Dagorma Practice Knowledge

Practice Spirits:
Hungry Earth Spirits: Animate Skeleton, Command Skeleton, , Consume Foe, Devour Corpse, Keep Corpse Uneaten, Protect Flesh, Skin Foe, Strip Flesh
Earth Mouth Spirits: Open Hungry Pit, Tunnel of Teeth, Second Mouth, Sharp Stones

## Hero Bands

### The Gay Gordons

Most Gord'Un stay at home in their Nests or move to another Nest in their town. A few have been touched by Wanderlust and travel between towns. Some of these joined together to form The Gay Gordons. These are a band of entertainers and traders who travel between the Gord'Un towns and cities, spreading news, telling stories and trading. The Gay Gordons are mostly bachelor men but there are sometimes single women, but these are rare for they will have left their Nest Sisters back home.

Common Names: The Gay Gordons
Form: Band of entertainers
Typical Homeland: Gord'Un
Cultural Context: The Gay Gordons provide an outlet for those Gord'Un with wanderlust to band together and travel in relative safety with like-minded people.
Ideology: "We are happy, we are gay, drink and be merry for tomorrow is another day"
Look and Feel: Entertainer troupe, gaudy clothes
Purpose: The Gay Gordons are first and foremost entertainers whose job is to bring joy and news to the scattered towns and cities of the Gord'Un
Headquarters: The Gay Gordons do not have a fixed headquarters, they carry their headquarters with them on their travels.
Reactions: When the Gay Gordons come to town there is an air of excitement and expectation. The Gord'Un all enjoy the arrival of the Gay Gordons. Some think the Gay Gordons steal children away with their music, but most are happy that wanderers are taken into a band of friends. The Gay Gordons keep a lookout for Pentians on their travels and report any that they see, although they are normally quite capable of taking on small numbers themselves.

Resources:

Leader: Larrie Gayeson is the leader of the Gay Gordons. He was Gaye's last child and was born after Gaye was slain by Pentians. He joined the Gay Gordons as a child and was raised by them, learning all their skills. He became their leader many generations ago and seems to have inherited the longevity of Gord'On, his grandfather. Larrie is skilled with the Grass Flute and the Drums, he is also a skilled dancer and singer. His main talent, however, is in organisation and he keeps the band together. Many of his band members are his children, fathered when he visited Nests during his travels.

Renowned Members: Most of the members of the Gay Gordons leave after a few years, so do not become famous. Some, however, have remained. Varga The Flute has trapped wind spirits in his grass flute and can charm the stars fro the sky. Janjar Skullbasher plays the skulls of defeated Pentians as drums. Fallar the Bold is a guard who can see Pentians even from behind a hill. Dugger the Digger is responsible for making the camp defences and can surround the camp with a six foot wall in an hour, he controls spirits of the earth and can open a pit thirty foot wide beneath Pentian cavalry.

Membership: The band has around fifty members, of whom twenty are entertainers, ten are traders and the rest are guards, diggers and healers.

Other Contacts: The Gay Gordons are friendly to all the Gord'Un settlements and enemy to all Pentians. If they ever meet another troupe of entertainers, the would be friendly, but no troupes travel this far north, except Pentian ones and the occasional band of Lunar missionary-entertainers.

Organisation:

The Gay Gordons are led by a council of elders who are the longest serving members of the band. Typically, members come and go quite often, men usually leave to marry into a Nest, women usually leave to return to their own Nest once they are tired of travelling. Members often arrange themselves by function or by home town, but this is an informal arrangement. The band consists of entertainers and traders, for the most part, but there are some guards, diggers and healers who help out with setting and guarding camp.

Membership Keyword:

Membership Requirements: Any member of the Gord'Un may join The Gay Gordons, but Nest Wives and Nest Husbands must give a valid reason for wanting to join, so as not to upset the Nests. Children are welcomed if they are old enough to travel. Non Gord'Un are rarely accepted unless they are skilled entertainers and are enemies of the Pentians.
Skills Taught: Dance, Know Wilderness, Play Drums, Play Grass Flute, Play Horn, Dance, Sing, Travel Safely
Typical Personality: Cheerful, Outgoing, Wanderlust
Magic: The Gay Gordons normally follow the Gord'Un traditions and can follow any of their practices. The Gord'Un do not have a specialised trader or entertainer Practice, so they have no specific spirits to help them. Any entertainer or trader who gains specialied magic is given an exalted position in the band.

Gaye Gord'on (Guardian):

Gaye was a son of Gord'on who first felt the impulse to wander. He heard the wind whistling through the grass and learned to play the first grass flute. He heard the thundering hooves of the Pentian horses and copied them to make his first set of drums. He made his first horns from captured cattle. The Pentian Daisy is especially sacred to him, for he was killed while admiring its beauty. A group of entertainers found his body and spoke to his spirit. He led them away and became their Guardian.

Method: Archetype
Form: Gaye Gord'on is felt in the daisy chain the members wear.
Communication: Members feel happy when Gaye speaks to them, or uneasy when he warns them
Guardian Requirements: Members must remain unmarried and must divorce if already married. All members must wear a daisy chain at all times.
Functions:

- Awareness - Sense Mood
- Blessing - Pleasant Music
- Defence - Sense Pentians

## Were Gophers

Occasionally, a Were Gopher will be born to a Gopher Hsunchen couple. The Were Gopher may transform into a Gopher at any time, not needing the cult Transform spells. If the Were Gopher uses Transform magic while in gopher form they act as augments to his natural gopher abilities.

## Notes

The Gord'Un were originally just called Gopher-Folk with a Hero called Gordon the Gopher (for those who don't know, Gordon the Gopher is a puppet character on the BBC) until Trotsky named them the Gord'Un. It couldn't have been better if I had planned it.

The name of the hero "Flash" came from the Unspoken Word's Sons of Kargzant module where they mention the Gor-Dun as gophers led by Flash Gor-Dun.

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