Ragna'ar

= Ragna'ar = (rag-nar)

Nickname: the Ogres

Ancestral Affinity: Earth

Ancestral Land: Vikaa'ra

Average Lifespan: 450 - 500 years

Makeup/Costuming Requirements
Green makeup highlights. Choice of tusks or medium to large horns.

Racial Advantages
May purchase the Regeneration advantage at half cost.

Racial Disadvantages
All Ragna'ar are born with a Mild Allergy to manufactured perfumes or perfumed items (soaps, deodorants, cologne, etc). This does not include naturally occurring plants or substances (flowers, etc), only those artificially combined to create an artificial scent. To clarify: this does NOT mean that you cannot shower on site! Just please be sure that you do not slather yourself in obvious artificial fragrances. Unscented deodorant, etc is preferred, but floral scented is acceptable if you wear or carry on your person an obvious phys-rep of an appropriate flower.

*** Please note: Ragna'ar may not take any physically limiting disadvantage without Plot approval. Doing so will result in the addition of Disgraced to your character sheet without the benefit of gaining any additional points. They are to be taken on only as a roleplaying challenge.

Callings
Grip (warrior class)  - Reduced cost buy-in for membership in the Jewelcrafters' Guild.

Grump (soothsayers and shamans)  - may purchase the Divination advantage at half cost.

Grunt (working class)  - Reduced cost buy-in for membership in the Warcrafters' Guild.

History
In Vikaa'ra, only a Ragna'ar may take the throne as High Chieftain, though members of the War Council may be of any race. The War Council members rule each of the five tribes, and each have their own distinct territory. The High Chieftain resides in the capital city of Lochnaa’r and makes all final decisions in all matters of politics and state. The Ragna’ar are reputed to be a warlike people, easily offended, and angered at the slightest insult, but the race itself is actually very loyal and very protective of its kinfolk, much like their Kaliskan brothers. While their tribal nature lends itself to bitter rivalry, if you are lucky enough to be called Friend or Brother by a Ragna’ar, you can count on them to back you up at any cost. Perceived by outsiders as pigheaded and stubborn, in reality they are simply set in their ways and bound by their ancestral traditions.

To take the throne, a Ragna’ar must challenge the High Chieftain to combat to the death. The winner takes the horns of the loser. If the King wins, he simply adds another horn to his collection. One horn becomes the King’s personal property, the other is placed on the Wall of Challengers in the Great Hall in Lochnaa’r. If the challenger wins the battle, he casts away his old drinking horn and replaces it with the Horn of the Fallen. The other goes upon the Wall of Kings Remembered, with the dates of the previous King’s reign etched beneath it. Such customs keep written record of the Ragna’ars’ history, as well as the history and lineage of Vikaa’ra itself.

Horns play a major role in Ragna’ar culture, as the bigger your horns, the more impressive you are to a potential mate. Ragna’ar courtship centers around flowers and natural scents. The bigger and brighter the flower offered, the more interested the potential mate is in courtship. Courtship Contests are often presided over by village elders when multiple people vie to court the same individual. As it is considered an act of cowardice to turn from a challenge, you will seldom see a Ragna’ar back down from anything, no matter how minute. Guild officers have learned that to negotiate with a Ragna’ar, one must first and foremost NEVER issue a challenge, threat, insult, or dare, and must phrase things very carefully so as not to offend.

Most Ragna’ar however, despite their fierce reputation, have an equally fierce sense of humor, and their skill at Weaponcraft is matched by no other race. In fact, the Ragna’ar claim to be the ones who first discovered the secrets of gem-forging, which led directly to the modern ability to produce gemstone weaponry.