Legends of Belariath

Satyrs

Satyrs - Sex/nature creatures of the woodlands, plains, water and air. Several races united mainly by the fact that they are male only, very libidinous followers of the Great Generator. Satyrs are a male only race thought to be called into existence by the sexual ambience of Belariath itself. Nobody, including Satyrs knows where they come from. (One widely held legendary belief is that Gaea creates them from exposed or lost infants of all races who she raises to their 18th birthday on a paradisiacal island after which they are transformed, memories erased and teleported to a territory where they are needed.) About small to average height with no more than average human musculature. They do not tend to fat. They have pointed ears, the horns and legs of goats with otherwise generally human features.

Character Creation

Starter Classes: Artisan, Entertainer, Laymen, Druid

Advanced Classes: Hierophant, Earth Mage

Starting Stats:

	STR	INT	AGI	RES	STA	SPL	LFE
Basic Stats

Special Abilities

Sexually they are VERY well endowed with stamina to match. Satyrs have pheromones. These are substances which generate love and sexuality in both sexes of all races fairly well. It is unclear how these work or even what they are. They do not have a discernable odor and work in a general radius of the Satyr seemingly unaffected by wind conditions.

The effect of the Satyr pheromone, while it has naturally been a subject of much study, is still unclear. In women its effect seems to be to generate feelings of sensuality and sexual abandon, in men it has the same effect with some additional stimulus to aggressiveness.

There is considerable dispute as to whether the Satyr pheromone generates aggression in males or whether the aggression sometimes observed in males is a by product of the sexual arousal produced.

The effect of the Satyr pheromone is very primordial and the only thing sure about it is that the overall effect is sexual and that it will vary greatly from person to person and from time to time. In some people it has no effect at all (RP note: its effects on both sexes require OOC consent. It cannot be used to circumvent the existing rules on rapes requiring OOC consent. Nor can the simple presence of a Satyr be seen as an ongoing harassment of another character and so circumventing the rules concerning fights requiring OOC consent)

Penalties

MUST have sex at least once every 24 hours or some illness will result. The effect varies with individuals and increases over time. Generally it manifests as irritablity followed and compounded by feelings of generalized discomfort and nervousness. If left to go for long but unspecified periods it can result in physical pain and confused, aggressive behavior. It is not known whether a Satyr can die from it.

Society

Politically, they are the strictest type of individualistic anarchists. Their religion is dogmatic in few areas but the prohibition of any type of authority among Satyrs above that of the individual is one. While some older and/or wiser individuals are recognized and respected they are careful that no individual or type of council should ever have authority over them.

Generally, they are fairly scrupulous in obeying the laws of the places they find themselves in and in respecting the customs as far as their beliefs will permit. They enjoy some limited protection by law in most areas, see customs and history for reasons why.

Customs

Satyrs see themselves as necessary parts of the nature they inhabit. They are not, however, stewards, like elves but rather see themselves as promoters/facilitators of natures natural processes and fruitfulness. Satyrs believe that having sex is the main activity in which they promote all of nature’s fruitfulness.

The highest and most moral life for a Satyrs to live as a wild creature who guarantees the fruitfulness of a certain small area through ravaging all females he comes across there. They believe that this not only promotes fruitfulness of nature in their area but also is a genuine favor to the ravaged. Satyrs genuinely love all women unreservedly and will also protect them from harm to the small limit of their abilities while they are in their territory. Children, the sick, weak and old similarly will be protected.

The hard realities of their own characteristics and life on Belariath makes life difficult and sometimes fatal for Satyrs, who are otherwise thought to be immortal. Noone knows quite how Gaea knows when an area has lost its Satyr but they are quickly replaced with at least 3 or more others. These compete to see who will be the Sinosian in that territory. The competition is not violent but performance based. Gaea is the final judge here, the means by which she does so is a closely guarded secret of the Satyr religion. The losers must accept one of several other lifestyles. While it is recognized that sexual prowess is a main factor here it is also known that Gaea can and often does allow many other factors to enter into her final decision. Satyrs do not regard their differing lifestyles as matters of status.

Next in desirability of lifestyle are “town” Satyrs, these live in the town and at the Inn, enjoying the laws protection which prohibits their murder or harm. The law on Belariath, however, is made to be broken, and these Satyrs are the one’s who cultivate grace and charm to survive.

A Satyr collared to one master alone should be a miserable creature, but the one real constant among Satyrs is that to all rules there will be exceptions.

Similarly there are many cases of Satyrs being in voluntary monogamous relationships and a very few have collars on others. While some maintain their religion condemns slavery, this is by no means a generally held belief. They are almost universally noted as kind and solicitous, if sometimes demanding, slaveholders.

By far the greatest number of Satyrs practice a combination of the first two lifestyles above, living a reclusive life in the country and coming to town and Inn on an irregular basis when necessary.

Their circumstances make earning a living difficult at best. Fortunately, the lifestyle most valued by them does not require much money. The Satyr pheromones lead to the main source of employment for them as both sexes use them as love philters.

While Satyrs cannot impregnate a woman themselves they will almost guarantee pregnancy will result from the next sex a woman has if it takes place within 24 to 48 hours after sex with the Satyr. This makes them valuable to women who have difficulty having children who want to (another main source of employment) and this has resulted in a limited amount of protection by law.

Satyrs never wear clothing, even in the coldest weather. Horn size among Satyrs does not, contrary to popular belief, indicate virility or social standing. However, they make little effort to discourage this belief.

Taboos

The religion of the Satyrs is such that they have a very real taboo against taboos themselves. Satyrs compete with each other in sometimes doing outlandish things just to show that they have no prejudices or preconceived notions of what is proper behavior. This makes it very difficult to make any very general statements about Satyr’s behavior as they often take positive delight in playing against type. (This is sometimes carried to the length that a Satyr will be conservative or stodgy in outlook just to confound his fellows or the general public.)

Entertainment

Satyrs are generally creatures of appetite. Their great stamina is a general characteristic when applied to any form of pleasure. Sexuality is always first and foremost but few races can match Satyrs in the enjoyment of good food, strong drink or pleasant companions either. While this endurance is markedly absent from their fighting ability they are generally famous for an admirable, if sometimes comical, tendency to have courage far exceeding their abilities. Additionally, they are justly famed for their genial personalities.

As well as their main talent they are also often good musicians and gifted entertainers. While they are terrible fighters generally, a sex match between a Satyr and a strong Nymph should be an arena promoter's dream.