The Northern Clime
The Northern Clime is a place where water decides everything. Swamps and forests stretch for miles between the northern and southern territories, a humid expanse of cypress trees, dark water, and hanging moss where flat-bottomed boats are the only reliable means of travel. Houses perch on stilts above seasonal floodwaters. The few roads that once cut through the region have long since been swallowed by root and mud. Travelers who do not know the area well risk wandering the misty forests indefinitely, and the locals have little incentive to correct that problem.
Three settlements have carved distinct philosophies out of the same swamp. Roan's Rapids is a Baywalker community built around a river mill, where disputes are settled with fists and the worst betrayals end at the Tipping Pole. The Border is a religious settlement on the flat land to the south, where the End of the World Cult maintains the boundary between life and death with guarded towers and sacrificial reptiles. The Estate is a pre-Fall mansion occupied by the Bill Sworn, civilized Semper Mort who farm the only arable land in the region and sustain themselves by purchasing blood from other Strains.
The people of the Northern Clime are survivalists by necessity. Hunters, brewers, sawbones, and marksmen adapted to the swamp, tanned by wind and sun, wearing animal skins and imported fabric. Feeding yourself matters more than debating philosophy. Outsiders should stay polite, because the locals know where the gators sleep and which stretches of water have undertows that never let go. The undead here are not the slow shamblers found elsewhere; the River Hunters are fast, waterborne dead adapted to the terrain, and the feral Cursed lurk in the Cypress Forest near Roan's Rapids, surviving on the blood of anyone who ventures too deep into the trees.
Three settlements have carved distinct philosophies out of the same swamp. Roan's Rapids is a Baywalker community built around a river mill, where disputes are settled with fists and the worst betrayals end at the Tipping Pole. The Border is a religious settlement on the flat land to the south, where the End of the World Cult maintains the boundary between life and death with guarded towers and sacrificial reptiles. The Estate is a pre-Fall mansion occupied by the Bill Sworn, civilized Semper Mort who farm the only arable land in the region and sustain themselves by purchasing blood from other Strains.
The people of the Northern Clime are survivalists by necessity. Hunters, brewers, sawbones, and marksmen adapted to the swamp, tanned by wind and sun, wearing animal skins and imported fabric. Feeding yourself matters more than debating philosophy. Outsiders should stay polite, because the locals know where the gators sleep and which stretches of water have undertows that never let go. The undead here are not the slow shamblers found elsewhere; the River Hunters are fast, waterborne dead adapted to the terrain, and the feral Cursed lurk in the Cypress Forest near Roan's Rapids, surviving on the blood of anyone who ventures too deep into the trees.
Geography
Swamps and forests dominate the Northern Clime, a humid expanse of cypress trees, dark water, and hanging moss that stretches for miles between the northern and southern territories. The terrain morphs from swamps into woodlands, then hills and ridges further from the waterways. Seasonal rains sweep through the area, causing flooding that necessitates stilted construction. Houses perch on platforms above the water. Flat-bottomed boats are the primary means of transportation, as the trees grow so thick that only shallow-draft craft can navigate the interior waterways. The few roads that once cut through the region have been swallowed by root and mud. Travelers who do not know the area risk wandering the misty forests indefinitely. The Roan River provides both a trade route and a proving ground, with one canyon stretch of boulders and undertows that tests young Baywalkers every spring. Gators are abundant throughout the waterways. The Cypress Wood near Roan's Rapids harbors feral Semper Mort. Fast-moving River Hunters, specialized undead adapted to aquatic environments, replace the slow shamblers found in drier regions.
Swamp wilderness region of stilted settlements, Baywalker pragmatism, and waterborne dead
