Life is a lot like the weather. Most of the time, you want it to stay just the way it is.

Not because it's particularly good, but because it has the potential to get so much
worse.

Anonymous Grabenite

Landscape

he island of Graben lies about seventy-five miles east of Nova Vaasa in the
Nocturnal Sea. Located near the southern edge of the Sea's navigable waters, this
isolated isle features a diverse landscape. In the north, the terrain consists of rocky
scrub, dotted with patches of particularly hardy grasses. Although agriculture is nearly
impossible in the hard soil, the scrub serves as adequate grazing land for the island's
many sheep and goat herds. As one moves southward, the landscape becomes less
severe, transforming into a gently rolling prairie. Here, the earth is blanketed with an
impressive variety of grasses, shrubs and wildflowers, all of which tremble under the
stiff, cold winds that whistle across the prairie. The rich, red soil is more suited to
farming, and the fields are flush with game animals and birds. Moving further south
still, the terrain becomes marshy. Eventually, the land is nothing but a frigid bog that
extends out into the sea along three fingerlike peninsulas.

The northwestern coast consists of jagged cliffs that soar up to heights of three
hundred feet at the north end of the island. Otherwise the coastline is abrupt and
unremarkable, though there is a sandy beach on the eastern coast. Precipitation is
frequent and heavy on Graben, and the island is cut with numerous flash flood
ravines. Thick coniferous forests run along these gulches, comprised of a fragrant
mixture of pine, fir, spruce and balsam. The overall climate is distinctly frigid and
harsh. Fog envelops Graben each night, and the island is constantly battered by
violent thunderstorms. In the winter, the inhabitants find themselves buried under
many feet of snow.

Government
Graben has no centralized government or even a traditional ruling lord. The only
authority on the island is the Grabens, an extensive family of jewel merchants who
were supposedly the first people to settle here. As the historical elders of the island, so
to speak, the Graben family claims all unsettled land by default. They neither dictate
nor enforce the law, however, and don't presume to have any say in how other
residents of the island live. The family is private and reclusive, particularly the older
generations, and few other Grabenites even have an opinion of the family for whom
the island is named. As the island's population slowly expands, the Grabens grant free
land to anyone who pledges to put it to good use.

Local matters of crime and justice in a given village are attended to by a council of
village elders called deacons, and enforced by a constable. Though the island has
nothing resembling a standing army, the citizenry is well armed, and a village can
summon an impressive militia should the need arise.

Foreign Relations
Though Graben is a reasonably prosperous island, the combination of severe weather
conditions and the insular character of the Grabenites has slowed the development of
regular trading relations with the outside world. Merchants from the eastern coast of
the Core occasionally appear in search of new markets for their wares, but the
Grabenites are rarely interested in anything other lands have to offer. Most folk prefer
the isolated character of their island, and believe that more frequent contact with
foreigners could bring unpredictable troubles.

Goods and Services

As stated, Graben has only limited trading contact with other lands, so few foreigners
are aware of impressive variety of goods produced by the locals. Agriculture is
dominated by the herding of shaggy breeds of sheep and goats. Prairie is burned back
in small patches to raise of a variety of crops, including flax, cotton, wheat, oats, rye
and corn. Wild game is abundant nearly everywhere on the island. Fowl and small
mammals are hunted for their meat, particularly on the prairie. Courageous woodsmen
brave the gulch forests, where wolves, cougars and bears are not uncommon. It is no
accident that all the island's villages are located on the coast, as fishing is
astonishingly productive. Schools of cod, haddock, mackerel and herring abound in
the waters around Graben, as do lobsters and other shellfish. Some more ambitious
souls hunt the local seals for their distinctive dun and black pelts. Mineral wealth is
nearly nonexistent, although there are persistent rumors of silver in the northern
reaches of the island.

Most common crafted and dry goods can be procured in the villages, although the
majority of skilled laborers work with cloth and fabrics. Spinners, weavers and tailors
of impressive skill can be found in even the tiniest hamlet. Wool, flax and cotton are
utilized in equal measure to produce cloth of excellent quality. Graben has its share of
skilled shipwrights, although they are accustomed to building only the smallest of
fishing boats.

People
Grabenites are pale-skinned and range from stocky to average in stature. The brutal
and persistent cold tinges their white cheeks a rosy red, even when they are indoors.
Most Grabenites dress in conservative clothing made of thick wool, the better to
protect them from the elements. Men favor large-brimmed hats, and prefer to be
clean-shaven despite the cold. It is considered indecent for women to publicly expose
any part of their bodies other than their faces or hands. Accordingly, they wear long
skirts, high collars, and tightly fitting bonnets.

Grabenites live a simple existence, most pursuing agriculture, fishing or crafts.

Children learn their parents' trade, as well as more generally useful skills like hunting
or sewing. In general, Grabenite communities are insular and entrenched in their
traditional ways, thriving on the routine of day-to-day life. Even in a relatively large
village like Graben, it is not unusual for everyone to recognize everyone else at least
by sight. Grabenites take comfort from this familiarity, even if their restrained nature
means they never get to know their neighbors on anything more than a superficial
level.

The Grabenite Mindset

Grabenites are exceedingly reserved people. They believe that a quick tongue is not
only a sign of foolishness, but also an outright moral failing. They are easily
intimidated by strange or new things, but always maintain a calm demeanor
outwardly. Although not exactly suspicious, they are unwilling to give information
freely. Most have a knack for making noncommittal small talk without actually saying
anything. Outsiders often find Grabenites almost unbearably bland, but this is perhaps
unfair. When with family and friends, they can be as merry and animated as any folk.

Language
The native language of Graben is Heldannic, an uncomplicated language that is
nonetheless often difficult for residents of the Core to master because of its unusual
alphabet. A handful of Grabenite villagers also speak Thayvian, the tongue of the
southeastern Core.

Religion
There is no faith native to Graben, and even the pervasive Church of Ezra has not
reached its cold shores as of yet. Nonetheless, those Grabenites who dwell in the
villages tend to be highly moral people. Deacons perceive themselves as upholders of
an ethical standard for the populace, and the constable must often employ draconian
measures in carrying out their will. As a whole, however, the folk are distrustful of
theology and religious ritual, which they believe distracts one from right thought and
right action.

Places of Interest
The Village of Graben is the largest village on the island, boasting one thousand
inhabitants. The town is nestled in a bowl-like ravine where a river feeds into the
ocean along the northwestern coast. The buildings are constructed with thick stone
walls and wooden plank roofs. Most commercial activity in Graben is concerned with
either fabrics or fishing, although nearly any mundane goods can be procured here.
The locals are skilled at utilizing fish and shellfish in numerous cooked dishes, and in
the springtime tiny, public wildflower gardens are tended dutifully by the womenfolk.
To the southwest of the village proper is the enormous Graben family estate, while
farmlands lie to the east.

Seeheim is a village of just three hundred people near the northern tip of the island.
Perhaps because of the barrenness of the surrounding region, wool is more important
in Seeheim than elsewhere on Graben. The village also boasts the only military
structure on the island, a tiny, crumbling fort located at the mouth of a river. Its
original purpose is unknown, though the locals insist that it must predate the arrival of
the Grabens.

Kirchenheim is situated just to the north of the eastern beaches, and like Seeheim, it
houses only three hundred souls. In addition to the typical Graben goods,
Kirchenheim natives make a unique dessert bread sweetened with goat's milk that
commands high prices in Graben and foreign ports. Oddly, attempts to fell trees for
firewood in the nearby ravine forest have met with a series of unusual accidents in
recent years.

Meerdorf is not located on Graben Island per se. Rather, it lies on tiny Knammen
Island just off the western tip of Graben. Barely a mile across, Knammen fortunately
boasts the same fertile prairies that characterize the central mainland of Graben,
allowing Meerdorf to subsist on its own. One hundred and fifty people call the village
home. Meerdorf's humble homes appear to be wildly different ages, the result of
mysterious fires that periodically break out in the little fishing hamlet.

Character Creation
Character Races: Human.
Character Classes: Warriors, wizards, thieves and psionicists. Also caretakers and
numenists. Both wizards and psionicists are rare.

Special Considerations: Grabenites have spent their entire lives enduring harsh
weather and learning to anticipate it. All Grabenite characters receive the Weather
Sense nonweapon proficiency for free.