Ratfolk

Ratfolk are one of the major ancestries found on Kishar. Though they value their large families highly, they are equally fond of travel, and can be found across much of the lands surrounding the Three Great Seas.

Location

Ratfolk live in many parts of Kishar, but most reside around, or under, the Three Great Seas, and in particular Thadria, the Aban Steppe, the eastern coast of the Chaska Sea, the Taizzan Expanse, and the mountains of the Shields.

Culture

Traditionally ratfolk organize themselves into nomadic tribes, and while many continue to do so, others have joined sedentary societies, especially in regions like Thadria. In the modern day roughly half of ratfolk live on the surface of Kishar and half live below in the Depths, often in warrens connected by extensive cave systems.

Ratfolk often have very large families and feel close connections to all their relatives - a sibling, a cousin, maybe even a second cousin are viewed roughly equally and cared for to very similar degrees. These ties persist even across large distances, for lines of communication are typically kept with members of one's family even should they travel far away, often relying on subterranean warren-dwelling ratfolk couriers to carry messages up to hundreds of miles away. This level of separation is not unusual either, for many ratfolk find themselves called to explore the world, whether as adventurers, merchants, or simply to find a new place to settle down and establish a family of their own.

In some parts of the world ratfolk are looked down upon or treated as outcasts, usually because they are either viewed as unclean or diseased, like in Erenon, or because they are associated with various monsters of the depths, a stigma that affects the Etti particularly.

Lifespan

Ratfolk generally have a maximum lifespan of around 50 years.

Heritages

• Bukran ratfolk
• Etti ratfolk
• Quradu ratfolk