Nightcats:Peoples
Peoples of Jhelum
[edit]“A man’s blade may be sharp, but it is his people who hone it.”
In Jhelum, a person’s origin is more than birthplace—it is the first shaping of the soul. Jungle, river, temple, and sea each leave their mark. Ways of speaking, ways of fighting, ways of surviving—all are learned long before a blade is ever drawn.
After selecting your character's people, select your first boon from the list given under each.
Chaaya
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“Where the river fattens, the Chaaya build—and where they build, power gathers.”
The Chaaya (cha-AI-ya) are the great city-builders of Jhelum, masters of trade, law, and quiet intrigue. They form the majority of inhabitants of this vast land. Their cities rise along rivers and coasts, dense with temples, courts, and bazaars where fortunes change hands in a single afternoon.
They are a literate people, keepers of records and fragments of older worlds. In their archives lie dead languages, forgotten maps, and truths better left buried.
Yet refinement breeds ambition. Among the Chaaya, every courtesy may conceal intent—and every agreement may carry a hidden edge.
Chaaya dominate the great city-states of Jhelum. They are found as merchants, officials, priests, and power-brokers wherever wealth gathers. Many of the Sorcerer-Kings trace their origins to Chaaya courts and academies.
Outsiders say: “A Chaaya will sell you the rope—and charge extra to tie the knot.”
What They Value
[edit]Wealth • Influence • Knowledge • Advantage
Reputation
[edit]Clever • Ambitious • Subtle • Decadent
Taboo
[edit]To be publicly proven a fool in negotiation is a lasting disgrace.
Appearance
[edit]Chaaya tend toward a refined, composed appearance. Their features are often fine and expressive, their bearing controlled. Skin tones range widely but are often described as smooth and even-toned, the result of sheltered, urban life.
Hair is typically dark and worn long or carefully styled. Eyes are sharp, observant, and rarely still.
Chaaya dress emphasizes status—layered fabrics, jewelry, and subtle markers of wealth or profession. Even a poor Chaaya often carries themselves with deliberate poise.
Chaaya Boons
[edit]A Chaaya character must select their first boon from among the following:
Silver Tongue • Reads the Lie • Learned • Commanding Presence
Manjav
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“All things move in cycles. Only fools believe they stand apart from them.”
The Manjav (MON-jahv) are a people of discipline and contemplation, their lives shaped by temples, monasteries, and long traditions of study.
They believe the world turns according to hidden rhythms—cycles that bind gods, men, and beasts alike. To disrupt this order is to invite ruin, and so they regard reckless ambition—and especially sorcery—with suspicion.
Where others seize, the Manjav endure. Where others speak, they listen. Their strength lies not in force, but in restraint.
Manjav are found in temples, monasteries, and along the long roads between cities. They serve as priests, healers, teachers, and wandering ascetics. In times of unrest, they may stand as calm voices—or immovable obstacles.
Outsiders say: “A Manjav will watch you drown, then explain why it was necessary.”
What They Value
[edit]Balance • Discipline • Wisdom • Restraint
Reputation
[edit]Pious • Disciplined • Thoughtful • Calm
Taboo
[edit]To act rashly or in anger is seen as a failure of the self.
Appearance
[edit]Manjav dress reflects simplicity and purpose. Garments are practical, often plain, and chosen for comfort over display. Signs of devotion—threads, marks, or small tokens—are more common than jewelry.
Hair may be worn simply, bound, or partially shaved, depending on custom or personal discipline.
Their bearing is steady and unhurried. Even in motion, they conserve effort. Many appear calm in situations where others would show strain.
Those who leave temple life may adopt more varied clothing, but often retain an air of restraint that sets them apart.
Manjav Boons
[edit]A Manjav character must select their first boon from among the following:
Inner Fire • Omen Reader • Iron Will • Savant
Shikanti
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“The sea does not forgive the timid—and neither do we.”
The Shikanti (shee-KONTEE) are a warrior people of an island chain scattered across the Sea of Blood. Their lives are bound to tide and storm, their culture forged in salt, steel, and relentless motion.
They are a matriarchal people. Lineage, command, and inheritance pass through women, and the greatest captains and war-leaders are almost always daughters of proven bloodlines. Men fight, sail, and die alongside them—but it is the women who rule.
They prize strength, courage, and independence. A Shikanti child learns to fight early, to sail soon after, and to trust only what they can hold.
They bow to no king. They take what they need. And they do not forget a slight.
Shikanti ships range far beyond their islands. They are encountered as pirates, mercenaries, duelists, and captains of fast-moving vessels. Coastal settlements both fear their raids and rely on their strength in times of war.
What They Value
[edit]Strength • Courage • Freedom • Reputation
Reputation
[edit]Proud • Bold • Fierce warriors • Unyielding
Taboo
[edit]To refuse a direct challenge is shameful.
Outsiders say: “A Shikanti woman commands. The wise listen.”
Appearance
[edit]Shikanti favor bold, practical dress suited to sea and combat—wrapped fabrics, layered belts, and gear that can endure salt, wind, and sudden violence.
Adornment is common but rarely delicate: metal, bone, shell, and trophy pieces are worn openly. Tattoos or markings may signify lineage, deeds, or command—especially among women, whose rank is often visibly declared.
Hair is frequently braided or bound for function, though styles may also signal status or affiliation.
Their stance is open and unguarded—not from carelessness, but from confidence.
Shikanti Boons
[edit]A Shikanti character must take their first boon from among the following:
River-Born • War Cry • Relentless • Panther Grace
Dhulé
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“The Mahāraṇya does not speak—but it listens. The Dhulé know this.”
The Dhulé (DOO-lay) are the children of the Mahāraṇya, born beneath its canopy and shaped by its endless hunger. They do not tame the wild—they move within it, as one more living thing among many.
To outsiders, the vast jungle is death. To the Dhulé, it is pattern, sign, and presence. Every broken branch, every distant cry, every shift in the air speaks—if one knows how to listen.
They strike without warning and vanish without trace. Few who hunt them ever see them clearly.
Dhulé are sometimes found in the borderlands of civilization as scouts, trackers, and guides. Armies hire them when they can—but just as often, those same armies fear the sudden raids of Dhulé warbands slipping out of the Great Green.
Outsiders say: “If you see a Dhulé, it is because they wish to be seen.”
What They Value
[edit]Survival • Cunning • Silence • The Hunt
Reputation
[edit]Fierce • Patient • Skilled Hunters • Distrustful of Cities
Taboo
[edit]To waste food or kill without purpose invites the jungle’s anger.
Appearance
[edit]Dhulé dress is shaped by the jungle. Clothing is light, functional, and often minimal, adapted for movement, heat, and concealment.
Materials may include woven fibers, leather, or scavenged cloth. Body markings—ash, dye, or mud—are often used for camouflage, ritual, or identity.
Ornament, when present, tends toward the practical or the symbolic: teeth, bone, carved wood, or tokens taken from the hunt.
Their movement is quiet and efficient. Even at rest, they seem ready to move.
Dhulé living in cities often adopt local clothing, though their habits—how they sit, watch, and move—rarely change entirely.
Dhulé Boons
[edit]A Dhulé character must select their first boon from among the following:
Jungle Born • Sneaky • Beast-Friend • Brawny