The Skaven of Aleria.

The race / term "skaven" is  uniquely connected to the games workshop  intellectual property. It's their monster. However if I  wanted to use evil, intelligent, rat men and call them by any other name in my game I might as well say  "These are skaven but I called them Skitterlings and wooah, I should have just said Skaven."



I see no reason to re-skin a monster that has already been done. When I say skaven at the table every one already knows what I'm talking about which  saves me time.

There are differences between Games Workshop Skaven and the  Alerian Skaven.

Skaven by HaiKai

First of all I don't know any of the games workshop lore. In fact I'm really not interested in the games workshop lore to be honest. So none of the  GW tidbits about skaven really apply here. There is no Horned rat, no massive under city,  the number 13 means nothing to Alerian Skaven.

In fact Skaven  appear in one location in Aleria, and that's the ruins of Careth. And while they are numerous, and  reproduce quickly the dangers of the ruins control their numbers.

The Careth Skavens are a young race, only as old as the ruins.(about 200 years.)  They were first reported after the fall of Careth when survivors from the catastrophic battle that raised the city  reported seeing them at night. There is speculation that the powerful forces of magic that destroyed the city gave rise to the Skaven. As it is now they stick to the  dark corners of the  ruins, living underground in a series of  excavated warrens.

Skaven are not learned or mechanical inclined, but they are exceptionally perceptive and devious. They  live by scavenging and  can make use of just about any found object. Skaven warrens are generaly a miss match of found and stolen objects being used in  strange inventive ways.

Very little escapes their darting eyes or sharp ears. They are crafty hunters preferring to attack when they have advantage and  make use of their environment when ever possible.
A lone or outnumbered Skaven will generaly retreat, they are universally fast, nimble, and good at hiding.

The Skaven come in three general types. 

From War hammer online.

The scout which is a small fast Skaven. These Skaven generaly carry  small javelins or crossbows , wear no armor  and  rely on running away to stay alive. Scout Skavens are also the  kind that are most likely to raid a human party camp or outpost looking for food. Generally one or two will distract a group while others sneak int to steal what ever they can.

Warriors: These are larger Skaven up to  5 foot tall hunched over, they will wear mixed armor and use what ever mixed weapons they can find. Warrior Skaven act as guards for warrens and also deal with any external treats that present them selves. Warrior Skaven always attack in packs, and generally will retreat rather than fight if they are obviously out-gunned.

Civilian Skaven or run of the mill Skaven. While they are capable of fighting, they often do not carry weapons relying on claws and teeth instead, and will often flee in the face of well armed opposition.

All Skaven share one ability when cornered they can go into a feral fury which allows them three attacks in one around as long as one of those attacks is a bite. So a civilian or scout might get a claw claw, bite, while a warrior might get weapon , weapon, bite.
The Skaven consider the bite a last resort held over from their days as just  normal rats. While not  particularly damaging  the  bite will often cause infection and disease in humans which makes the attack something to be feared.

slapping paint

Skaven rumors:
These can all be found out by talking to people around the  town situated near the ruins of Careth, these are rumors and may or may not be true. The Characters will have enough time to gather up some of these rumors between games.

• Skaven often raise giant rats as pets.
• Skaven are adept at tracking by scent.
• Scout Skaven are difficult to track  visually  because they are so  light on their feat.
• Skavens are very good at hing in shadows and melting into their surroundings.
• Rarely some skavens can  speak a broken common and have been known to trade found items for food.
• Skaven armor is usually made up of found  objects and is a point of pride to the  Skaven wearing it, a subculture of "who can make the  most interesting armor" has cropped up among Skaven warriors.
• Rarely a skaven will grow to unusual size (ROUS) these Skaven generaly  become leaders or the guards of leaders.
• They worship something under the city but nonone knows exactly what.
• Most Skaven wear simple cloaks, which allow free movement.
• A Skaven stole my baby.
• Skaven can  control packs of normal rats.
• Physical mutations are not uncommon among Skaven. (Vern once saw one with two heads!)
• Skaven have a perfected a way of making small smoky bombs out of clay pots.They often use these to  cover their escape when retreating  from particularly strong enemies.
• They hoard nutts.
• Their leader is a Rat-witch-Were-Rat.
• Skaven have no taste for sour, they simply don't taste it, making  just about anything edible to them.
• They have been seen  at nigh t in small groups out side of the confines of the  ruins, exploring the  country side. Nothing good can come of that.
• Skaven realy like  sweets, and will trade for candy.
• Skaven fear snakes, and will try to kill them, or run away on sight.

Careth area Map

Movement  of three Hexes a day can be expected.

Small villages of  between  20 and 100 people can be found  about every  three to four  miles.
with an average population density of about 50 per square mile on average. (Making it more populated than  the British isles during the  mid evil times , but  less so than say France or Germany.)

The country side is littered with  burnt out farms and ruined villages all but taken over completely by the local forests. There're many unexplained hedge rows and low walls crisscrossing the  country side which speaks of there once being a much greater population in the area.

A historian  woudl be able to  speak about there being much  death and destruction  in this area during the  Alerian / Orduth Wars and that this is still considered a frontier. The area is too far North of Aleria to be considered under the empires control and  yet South of  the  Orduth ruins.


The  Rivers flow  North, away from the large Iron-Spine Mountains that loom further to the  South.

Twin Stream and  Hill Fjord are small towns
Populations around 1000 to 1200 people.

Hill Fjord is a walled town situated on the only high country crossing of the river Clear-Mead. The town has grown up around a large milling facility  leftover from pre war times. A stack of  six water wheels following along the waters edge drive several large grinding stones, the nearby population will travel to bring their wheat to the mills and pay a fair price from grinding. The  town is also known for it's  dried pasta products and is a popular setting off point for those traveling to the mountains from the south.

Twin Stream, is a hunters village that in known for its furs and it's furriers. In the  fall caravans will head south from Twin streams to sell their goods to mountaineers who will then sell the furs to merchant caravans heading into Aleria, or Torin to the south. Twin streams is one of the many small villages that are the first cog in a system that feeds the empires hunger for materials.

Glaston Fields is notable in that it is the largest town in the area.
Population 2000.
Situation on excellent farmlands Glaston Fields is a  walled town  that is  nearly 100% agrarian.
The town also hosts tradesmen that are needed to support it's population, but it;s bread and butter is in the  growing and trade of  food stuffs with  smaller towns and villages. every  20 days there is a large street market held in Glaston that attracts vendors, travelers and merchants from a fair distance.

Glaston Fields is maintained and overseen by a Baron, a position  currently held by  Baron Richtag Sveld and his wife the  Baroness Sveld.
this title was granted by a regent of the Alerian empire generations ago. The Sveld Family still holds the authority in Glaston the title provides In truth it is  a forgotten title held by a forgotten frontier patron, whose family has not  been to court or paid a tax levy in well over a hundred years.
Regardless the Sveld's rule fairly and have produced two  heirs, the people seem happy and the title is not in dispute.

Traders leap is a a tiny  village of under 100 regular residents. It is only notable in that it's the place where adventurers and treasure sneakers mount sorties into the ruins of Careth.
In fact the things coming out of  the  ruins in the form of art, gold and  usable tidbits and the people going in to find such things are the  villages only industry. Farms nearby make a solid living selling food and consumables those who pass through.

Careth area map

Calendars of Aleria

Calendar of Krom and the  high north lands:

Month:
Each month is 40 days except Orith which is 45 days long.

Kal: Summer
Vel: Sumer
Brin: Fall
Dusk: Fall
Orith: Winter
Ens: Deep Winter
Blum: Winter
Ariv Srping
Wyvri Spring

notes

• The sun never fully sets during the month of Kal. 
• Vel is known as the Month of last growth.
• Harvest festival held on the 15th of Brin. It is called the month of Laying up.
• The sun never rises during Orith it is known as the month of darkness or the month of Larder
• The "Day of the Five" is celebrated on the 15th of Orith in remembrance of the  first five wyverns which saved the men of Krom.
• The 30th of Blum is known as planting day.
• Feast of arival is held on the 15th of Ariv.
• All wyverns are born during Wyvri.

Midlands calendar:
The sparse men of the midlands measure time by the changing of the seasons. The peoples of the middle longitudes generally break the  year into four major months, with those further north mixing use of the middle kingdom calendar with that of the Krom northern  calendar.

Months:
(each month spans 90 days)
Salari: Spring time planting time.
Sulan: Summer
Dulan: Fall
Dulari: Winter.

Notes: 

• Those who dwell in the middle longitudes also do not  figure days per-month as do northerners.They would not say "today is the  third of Sulan." They would "Today is the  ninety third day in Sulan." 
• Every 10th day is festival day: Each family spends the day in tribute to whatever god they worship. The pantheons of each village and even each household can vary widely in the mid lands.
• The 30th day of Salari is known as "The day of trees." it si a festival of ancestor worship in most areas.
• Days 300 to 310 of Dulari are the days of exchange, in many  villages food stores are accumulated then  redistributed in a celebration of winters near end.

The Ruined city of Careth.

Why are we here:
Willhelm discovered that the thieves guild that used the  symbol on the amulet he received from his old friend Calvin  "the win" Winchester was last active in the city of Careth  several hundred years earlier. (It is the  same symbol used by the thugs that cut off  Willhelm's hand.)
The master and Johan agreed to travel to the ruins of Careth to investigate the  source of the thieves guild.

Current Focus:
The current focus of the game is Willhelm's quest to take revenge on the ones who took his hand.

During The last game:
The party arrived at the ruins of Careth.

The once proud city having been reduced to  a vast pile of stone rubble two centuries ago. On the  edge of the ruins a small town has cropped up, subsisting on and providing for those who wish to  explore the ruins seeking lost wealth.

The party (The master shape changed into a cat.)  discovered a broken culvert leading into the depths of the ruins and at the same time the  apparent lair of skaven scavengers.

Rumors:

1. The building rumored to be the location of the old thieves guild is currently occupied by humans with snake like torsos.
2. During the  battle of Careth  "something" crashed into the city and exploded, something that just appeared in the sky.
3. Careth was destroyed by a rampaging army lead by the  "Grey man." Who latter marched to Dairhouse.
4. Surrounding towns avoid the ruins. Those who live near the ruins are looked upon with suspicion.
5. There are strange shards of brass covered with gnomish runes sometimes found in the ruins. Careth never had a population of gnomes.
6. The Skaven often raid the nearest villages, sometimes in packs and sometimes as loners, usually for food.

Moving forward:
The group has decided to use the culvert The Master discovered to search the under ruins of Careth and  hopefully to work their way into the old guild hall.