[Written] CARPS Racial Background

This information was gathered from the CARPS rulebook.

Accesses: Major Earth, Minor Fire, Minor Water
Primary skills: Animal Ken, Wilderness Lore
Secondary skills: Toughness, Resist Pain
Best at: Defending nature, aggression to those who would destroy it
Size: Man size

Costuming for a Ga’Vin:

• Paint your skin grey or brown (the color of the bark of a tree)
  
• Wear practical earth-colored clothing

About Ga’Vin:
Ga'Vin are the defenders or guardians of nature, actively seeking out and destroying those who would ruin the forests and glens of Phantara. The Ga‘Vin came to be in ancient times, when the Andar and the Drethrin started to build their great cities and spread out across the world. Their civilizations were not very kind on the natural world, and many species of plants and animals began to die out from their incursions. Ga‘Vin came into the world to help protect it and fill the void left by that which had vanished. Ga‘vin were there the first time the world was broken by petty wars, and being the survivors that they are they made it through that conflict—and countless others since—unchanged.

But an ancient race can hold ancient grudges. They have been on bad terms with the dwarves for over 20,000 years due to an incident they‘d rather not discuss (not to mention the dwarves‘ stubborn insistence on ripping into the earth with their huge mines and burning peat and trees.) A bout of subjugation under the descendants of the An‘Dar humiliated them yet did not crush their spirit. They remember these dark days, spent as the subjects of experiments and the fathers of An‘Dar‘Vi-created monsters. Yet for all their close bonds that only years of hardship and subjugation can forge, the Ga‘Vin are perhaps the most ideologically conflicted race in Phantara.

There are three major Ga‘Vin philosophies. The members of each philosophy are fiercely loyal to each other, but not amongst the other groups.

The first group is the extremist faction, or ―Firewalkers‖. These aggressive Ga‘Vin are fed up with the way other races have abused them and, more importantly, the planet itself. They feel that they are the true survivors of the world, welcoming hardship and pain so they may prove themselves worthy of the name Ga‘Vin. Firewalkers kick their children out of the community at a young age, leaving them to fend for themselves. The children must then prove their worth by surviving on their own until adulthood—only then are they able to return to their home. But the worst is not yet over. What remains for them is the Trial of Fire, a gruesome event that requires them to stand within a massive bonfire for as long as possible. The longer they endure the flames, the higher their rank within Firewalker society will be.

The second group is a newer faction. They focus on seeking forgiveness and healing the wounds the past has given them. They often exist on the fringes of human society as loyal servants, Skilled laborers, and able craftsmen.

The third faction is the oldest and lays claim to the most adherents. They feel that Ga‘Vin should continue doing the maintenance for the world in whatever way they can. They have the equivalent of little 'villages' all over the world, preferring uncivilized areas like the Darkwood. They feel that the other races have earned just as much right to the world as they have.

Even though Ga‘Vin and wood elves share similar goals, each has earned the other‘s dislike due to their methodology.