Cultures of Quartus

Culture represents all the socio-political aspects of your upbringing. In some cases, a culture and a nation of origin are coterminous; in many cases the culture is extends between nations and may only be a minority in any of them. People of many lineages have similar (enough for game purposes) cultures, so you can pick any culture regardless of your lineage. Different lineages tend to express shared cultures slightly differently, but that’s between you and your GM.

Choose a culture that fits the origin of your character. You gain the features listed below. If the ability score increase is the same as the ability score increase from your lineage, choose a different one that does not overlap. You cannot have more than a +1 to any individual ability score from your combined lineage and culture.

In general, any lineage can come from any culture. Restrictions are as noted in each description. Cultures specify

• Region (where they’re mostly found)
• Ability Score Increase (+1 to one ability score from the list given, cannot overlap with your lineage choice. If it does, pick a different one).
• Extra languages. 1 or more languages other than Common, which every adventurer speaks.
• Proficiencies. 3 total proficiencies (tools, skills, or otherwise).
• Feature. One major-equivalent feature. Culture features are not replaced by plane-touched features.

Gender and Sexuality

Many of the lineages and cultures of Quartus have traditional attitudes toward gender roles. But adventurers are known to be weird. So they get a pass. You can play any gender, including non-binary. Be warned that some NPCs will react differently depending on their perceptions of your gender and how it meets the culture’s expectations.

A few specifics:

• The dwarves of Fuar Uulan are very strictly heterosexual and monogamous. All regular adults are married and stay married to one person. They react badly to adultery or divorce, and look at unmarried/non-traditional dwarves with confusion and pity.
• The high-ranking gwerin tend to do arranged marriages; adults only gain stature in the community if they’ve provided at least one child as part of a contract marriage. Some of the higher-society houses are still quite male-dominated, but the lower ranks and the more progressive houses are egalitarian. In either case, no one cares who (if anyone) you are attracted to as long as you provide your requisite children to the house.
• The ihmisi, especially the more tribal folks, have very relaxed gender roles. Anyone can fulfil any societal role. Similarly, goblins have virtually no concept of gender and very little grasp of individuality within the tribes.
• The orcs of Wyrmhold tend to hold their women in regard; women tend to be the glue that holds the clans and tribes together. They don’t care who you are attracted to, although refusing to provide children is considered weird.
• Halflings are generally deeply matriarchal, treating men as some combination of decorative, protected, and/or weak. Almost obnoxiously so. Female sexuality is unconstrained, but men are expected to be tied to their wives. Most male halfling adventurers break this expectation, often fleeing from forced marraiges.
• The the Tuura Adam tend to place women in the gate-keeping role for relationships. Men are expected to prove themselves worthy. Non-binary or non-traditional gender roles are fully accepted, as long as you’re good at whatever you do. Incompetence is the only thing not respected.

Generic (multi-region)

These backgrounds are not specific to a region or culture, but instead represent a way of life common to all or most regions.

Cosmopolitan

You grew up in one of the major cities dotting Noefra, surrounded by people of many lineages and cultures. The constant rush of commerce, the babel of different languages, all these shaped you.

Maritime

You grew up by of the of the major bodies of water (inland or oceanic) and spent your early life in and around the water, even if you didn’t sail as a profession.

Tribal

You grew up in a close-knit family, tribe, or clan, whether settled or migratory. Unlike most rural dwellers, your clan came first, rather than any nation or regional allegiance. Survival in the wilderness was often a top concern.

Religious

Your upbringing was full of religion, faith, ceremony, and worship. Whether of one of the gods or some other Ascendant, this pattern of worship dominated your early life even though you were not necessarily a priest or acolyte at any temple.

Rural

You grew up part of a civilized nation, but like the majority of the population, you grew up outside the major cities and towns. Farming, ranching, keeping sheep or cows, and hunting made up most of your days.

Specific

These cultures tie you to a specific region of the world.

Wall-builder

The wall-builders are the dominant culture of those whose ancestors fled the Cataclysm into the Sea of Grass in central-western Noefra. Their name comes from their historical pattern of always building a wall around every settlement, no matter how minor. Even isolated hamlets and farms have at least a palisade or berm. Highly religious and consensus-driven, they believe in community and finding your expected role in society without making waves.

Wyrmhold Clan

Wyrmhold, the nation of orcs, dragonborn, and goblins on the eastern edge of the Nocthian Caldera, is a very martial culture while also being clannish (although the clan-based structure is fading in more recent years). Everyone is trained in wielding a weapon and strength is prized. The three lineages each play their own parts and leave the internal affairs of the others alone, which is both a strength and a weakness.

Child of Night

Byssia, located to the south of the Nocthian Caldera, is a land culturally obsessed with mysteries. Keeping them from others and finding them out. They also are notable for not being conventionally religious: they worship either the nature spirits (kami) or the Ascendant Nocthis, patroness of the moons and of mystery. Their society is rural and decentralized, with much of it making conscious efforts to live in harmony with nature.

Fang-kin

The Jungle of Fangs is home to several nations who share a common culture, history, and religion. Most of the natives of the region are descendents of those who served the Old Masters (who disappeared about 400 years ago) and were changed by them. They dominantly worship the Queen Ascendant, a recently-ascended (about 45 years ago) eternal queen figure, doing so via dance and music. They prize the arts and commonly revere snakes. The color blue is reserved for nobles by long-standing tradition. Culturally, they are very caste oriented, with strong boundaries between nobles, tradesmen, and commoners.

Uulani

The Uulani are mostly dwarves, but some humans and halflings who have adopted their ways. Unlike the Wyrmhold clans who prioritize family, the uulani prioritize ideology. Each clan is a shared mind-set, and switching clans as one grows up is not unheard of or unwelcome. Like the wall-builders, they are consensus-driven; unlike them they have no problems making waves and questioning things. They prize hard work and good workmanship in everything; idleness is one of their major sins. Not incredibly religious, they revere specific ancestor figures (called the Paragons) as examples of what a good Uulani should be and pay homage to the God of Mountains and Silent Endurance, Korokonolkolm.