Dyllarian Hobling

WAR Culture Package

Dyllarian Hoblings

This package is in addition to the information found in the NERO International Hobling Race Package.

Society Personality Marriage Birth Death Interracial Family Leisure Legends, Heroes, & Lords Dialect Names History

All Hoblings in Dyllaria are from the Lumberton Shire part of the northern Forest of Tears. This is their only established homeland in the region. They are a fun-loving group of lumberjacks who care little for the affairs of the outside world.

The Hoblings are very mobile and do not always stay in one place. They have a few permanent winter sites within the Forest of Tears, and these dwellings look like mounds built into the earth. The Hoblings only live in these structures during the winter months. During the summer months they are traveling around seeking out good lumbering opportunities. They live in temporary huts that they take along with them, and they domesticate small dogs known as Vorks to help them with their moving, and also enjoy the companionship that the gentle Vorks offer.

The last Hobling King of Dyllaria, the Great Old Guy was the only form of government that the Hoblings had. After his death, his apprentice Berry Thimblethorn took over, but after two weeks he became bored and quit. This caused the Hoblings to stop their lumbering operations because there was no one directing them. When Artemis Silvertree became the Count of the region, he decided to make the running of the lumber operations a game for the Hoblings. He brought a list of things that needed to be done and a big hat that he named The Great Old Hat. He said that whoever wears the hat gets to be in charge and gets to make sure that the list gets done. When the Hobling in charge tires of playing the game, he gives the hat to someone else so that they can play at being in charge for a while. The anarchist nature and small numbers of the Dyllarian Hoblings prevent them from being more influential in the region, but their trade treaty with Stonegate is a very important agreement for both sides. All Hoblings respect King Balladan and Count Silvertree above all others (except for the Great Old Guy of course).

There is little to no distinction between the sexes in the society of the Dyllarian Hoblings. Males and females share work loads, and there is no such thing as a male-oriented job or a female-oriented job.

Laws

Just after he made the bad Faeries go away, the Great Old Guy established some laws that the Dyllarian Hoblings have lived by ever since. They are called the Rules of Seven. Any Hobling that breaks one of the rules will be sent into the deep forest to a place called the Haunted Grove where he will have to stay the night (a very scary experience!).

The Rules of Six

No killing or fighting.
No stealing.
No public nudity.
No wandering in the woods alone.
No chopping trees with spirits.
No playing with Fae.
Always listen to your elders.

Personality: TOP

Hoblings are the most easy-going, fun-loving race in all of Dyllaria. They love stories, singing, dancing, and all sorts of games. They talk in high‑pitched voices and have a tendency to really annoy anyone, save for one another.

Hoblings are not very good at combat as a result of their disposition. All Dyllarian Hoblings have extremely curious attitudes toward new things. Often items happen to end up in a Hobling's pouch for one reason or another. Usually it got there by accident, according to the innocent looking Hobling.

Dyllarian Hoblings love to trade and generally collect all kinds of junk. Most of them are easily distracted and cannot remain on the same subject for more than a few minutes. Dyllarian Hobling stories are filled with exaggerations and half‑truths, which make them look heroic. They seldom lie blatantly, but instead use their imagination and a convenient omission of facts to shed a more favorable light on things. In any event a Hobling seldom stops talking unless he is scared or asleep.

Marriage: TOP

Dyllarian Hoblings "marry" freely and of their own will. Hobling "marriage" is a mockery and a game. Usually two Hoblings claim to be married for a week or two, at which time they grow tired of playing games with one another and go out in search of new husbands and wives.

Birth: TOP

In the past, Hobling women were selected to attend to the Great Old Guy at different times. A man of his age needed constant assistance in day-to-day activities. Mysteriously these Hobling women always terminated their service to him in time to give birth to a child. How these two incidents occurred was a mystery to nearly all Dyllarian Hoblings except for the Great Old Guy. Hobling men knew nothing of where children came from, and the women were nearly as mystified.

After the Great Old Guy died, there were no Hobling babies born for two years. Count Silvertree, afraid that the Hoblings would die out, came into the village and showed the hoblings a new game that will make new Hobling babies. The Hoblings now understand how babies are made, but the process of making them is a bit mystifying. Rumors constantly start that different things will make you pregnant, such as holding hands, walking alone in the dark, swimming naked, and countless other things that have little to do with the actual process.

Death: TOP

Dyllarian Hoblings are only sad when someone they know has died. This sadness and mourning lasts for ten to twenty seconds before they begin singing songs and dancing to celebrate the death. Hoblings do not bury their dead, but instead usually burn the body. This is of course a cause for celebration.

Interracial Relations: TOP

Dyllarian Hoblings like all races. Even though sometimes certain ones get grumpy, they are usually a lot of fun.

There is no such thing as a conventional family in Hobling society. Instead the entire community takes care of raising the young. The group is one big family, which sleeps, eats, and plays together. The Hoblings also prefer to sleep outside on the ground when the weather permits, and they will always sleep in a big pile.

Leisure time is all that Hoblings have. They make a good game out of their work. They will play any game as long as it is simple. If the rules are too difficult they will quickly lose interest. If there are no games to be played Hoblings will make up their own. Hoblings are so attuned to making games of work that they often learn skills so that they can “play” along with their friends. A Hobling therefore has no set preference as to what skills he will take, but these will reflect the type of “play” that he has engaged in during his past, as well as what types of friends he has hung around with.

The Great Old Guy – The oldest and wisest of all hoblings. He died in 599 because he was old.

Ambassador/General Thistlethorn - Nearly defeated the Orc King Aug single-handed. Died in the Hobling Massacre of 596.

Raspberry Woodenleaf - Found the key to the Great Old Guy's treasure chest in his pouch. It had fallen in there by accident.

King Balladan – Second-greatest leader in Dyllaria. Deserves the most respect that any Hobling can give him. Also gives out really neat shiny stuff to Hoblings (and sometimes you don’t even have to ask).

Count Silvertree – Friend of the Great Old Guy and all of the Hoblings. Has really neat horns and teaches use fun games.

The Haunted Grove - This grove deep in the Forest of Tears is haunted by all sorts of ghosts, and any Hobling that breaks the Rules of Six will be sent there. Thank goodness no one has ever broken the rules!

Dialect: TOP

Dyllarian Hoblings speak the common tongue of Tyrra (English), and they have totally lost the use of the ancient Hobling tongue in their speech.

Most Dyllarian Hobling names have to do with something found in nature. A Hobling child is named at birth, but adults sometime change their name as they get older. Some hoblings are known to change their name every year or so just because they want to, but this is becoming less and less common. Males and females use the same first names, as there is little distinction between masculine and feminine roles in the society. Family names have become prevalent in the last few decades, with the child adopting the mother’s family name. An example of some Hobling names are:

First Names

Family Names

History: TOP

The Dyllarian Hoblings were originally sent to this region by a group of Evil Wizards called the Keepers of the Eternal Gate. The Keepers lived in a backwater barony to the east of present-day Dyllaria, and they wanted the land that the Hobling village occupied. The peace-loving Hoblings were forced to declare war on this group of powerful sorcerers, and the fighting led to the entire village being rifted away to Dyllaria. The Hoblings were also cursed so that they and their descendants would forever live a child-like existence.

This forced migration and subsequent curse were made possible due to a bargain made by the wizards with a powerful Fae lord. For the next several years the Fae greatly delighted in tormenting the Hoblings of Dyllaria, until the Great Old Guy found them. These initial years in Dyllaria were hard, as the Hoblings had lost all memory of what had happened to them. By 498 they had degraded to a nomadic existence and lived solely on the nuts and berries that they gathered in the forest. Most of their people had died, and the Fae relentlessly tormented them for their own entertainment. It was then that The Great Shaman and the Great Old Guy came to their rescue.

The Great Old Guy was ill when he first came to the village, but he got better thanks to The Great Shaman’s medicine. He eventually took over running the village and cast a great spell that made the Fae go away. He also looked for a way to end the curse that had been placed on the Hoblings, but was never able to find a cure, and so he cared for them as his own children until his death in 599. He made it a strict policy that no Dyllarian Hoblings should marry or mate with each other in order to try and introduce new blood lines as a way to phase the curse out over time, but this did not seem to work. His teachings are remembered by the Hoblings (albeit most have childish reasoning behind them), and the long time friend of the Hoblings, Count Artemis Silvertree, has taken over as the new patriarch of the Dyllarian Hoblings.

Time Line (Taught to all Dyllarian Hobling children, although they may forget it)

This is the time line of Dyllarian history from the perspective of the Dyllarian Hoblings.

The Great Old Guy gathers up the Hoblings who are scattered over Dyllaria playing games and teaches how to cut down trees.

The Great Old Guy scares away the bad people for good. He tells us that we have to learn to sing and tell good stories about stuff that has happened. We try, but the stories that we like best are the ones that have to do with stuff that never really happened.

We sold lumber to these soldier guys for some pretty rocks so that they could build a city. Silly soldiers.

The Great Old Guy meets Palinor Lorne for the first time. He is ok for a guy with skinny eyebrows.

Freddie Cowpie pulls a big fish out of the lake. We call him Freddie Fisherhobling.

Bristle Oakenberry finds King Grell's axe when he visits the Great Old Guy. Good thing, what would a Dwarfie King be without his axe?

Balladan becomes Lord of Stonegate. We invite him to a big party, but he must have got lost because he didn’t make it.

We declare war on King Aug, but he got lucky and destroyed our village and killed lots of us. But we beat him up later.

The Great Old Guy dies. We all cry and then go and lead all the Dwarves, Humans, and Elves to the bad guys in the Horde.

604
Spent most of the year moving village to new location because of a big flood. It took the whole year because it took a while to chop wood under water.

Ash	Crasanthis	Ivy	Oak
Beany	Daisy	Lark	Pine
Berry	Elm	Leafy	Rose
Brushy	Fern	Maize	Sprig
Cotton	Holly	Millet	Sprout

Ashbriar	Burrlip	Lillyhair	Songwhistle
Berrymouth	Burrowback	Mellonlip	Tanglefoot
Brandymoss	Gardentoe	Oakenweed	Thistlethorn
Bristleberry	Greenthumb	Ricecup	Thornapple
Brushybrow	Honeydew	Roseythorn	Trailfoot

Laws

The Rules of Six

Interracial Relations: TOP

Dialect: TOP

First Names

Family Names

History: TOP

Time Line (Taught to all Dyllarian Hobling children, although they may forget it)