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Naj’ka

Player’s Knowledge #

  • Description & Ambiance: Travelers are greeted by the humid, heavy air of the deep wetlands, but the gloom is broken by magical wisps harnessed in lanterns. The architecture is a blend of stone ziggurats and massive, woven canopy-palaces. There is a constant, low-frequency hum in the air—the collective psychic resonance of a peoples in tune with their land.

  • Government & Public Law: Naj’ka is a benevolent Monarchy ruled by King Tiz’ik. The law emphasizes communal cooperation and hard work. Slavery and caste-based discrimination are strictly forbidden and carry heavy sentences of exile into the wilds.

  • Exports & Reputation: Naj’ka is world-renowned for alchemical reagents and psionic focusing crystals. They have a reputation as fiercely protective of their borders, deeply spiritual, and possessing an eerie, hive-like coordination that allows their hunters to move and strike in perfect silence without ever speaking a word.

  • Rumors & Folklore (Unverified):

    • “The trees in Naj’ka don’t just grow, they watch. If you spill blood on the roots, the forest remembers your face.”

    • “They say the old nobles of Jha’kara didn’t all leave, they just moved into the tunnels beneath the swamp and are breeding an army of monsters.”

    • “Some say the King isn’t a Skrak at all, but an ancient spirit of the swamp wearing a lizard’s skin.”

DM’s Lore #

  • Formal Name: Naj’ka

  • Type & Rank: Monarchy, Regional Power

  • Population: 114,625

  • Language/Name influences: Nahuatl, Sanskrit, Tlingit

  • Synopsis: A resilient swamp-nation of psionic reptilians who overthrew a millennium-old oligarchy to reclaim their spiritual roots.

  • True History & Key Dates:

    • 24,468 BR: The tribes of the Skrak and Ik’sska began as simple hunters, eventually uniting into the communal society of K’tharr, following the devastation of The Withering. During this era, settlements were woven into the swamps and canopies, establishing a shared connection to the land that prioritized tribal wisdom and communal survival over individual rule.

    • 15,483 BR: Rapid population growth and clashes over hunting grounds eventually necessitated a shift from communal living to a centralized authority. Tor’ek, a shrewd Skrak leader, used physical might and diplomacy to unify the warring tribes, establishing himself as the first Mirelord and carving the nation’s power into the wetlands to defend against northern incursions.

    • 5,271 BR: The authority of the Mirelord was eventually usurped by dominant familial lines, leading to the establishment of Jha’kara and a society defined by rigid castes and inherited status. This era was marked by intense political intrigue and the hoarding of wealth by powerful matriarchs, while the common folk’s attempts at rebellion, such as the disappearance of the dissenter Vayun, were systematically silenced by the ruling elite.

    • 2,809 AR: Following the awakening of psionic and magical gifts across the population, King Kormax led a populist revolution to topple the decaying noble houses and reclaim the people’s heritage. The founding of Naj’ka restored the monarchy under a single wise ruler, initiating a golden age where the Scalekin utilized their mastery over the magical arts to transform their forests into a formidable natural fortress against any who would threaten their unity.

  • Internal Conflicts & Secrets:

    • The Parasitic Tunnels: Beneath the gleaming city of Ssketh, remnants of the old noble houses have tunneled into the roots of the living fortress, siphoning the city’s protective magical wards to fuel their own dark psionic rituals.

    • The Psionic Blight: A growing number of commoners are developing a volatile psionic sickness that causes their powers to lash out uncontrollably, which the King is desperately hiding to prevent mass fear and potential violence.

  • Key NPCs & Power Structure:

    • Coming soon

  • Economy & Military Might:

    • Economy: While trade mostly consists of rare psionic focusing crystals, herbs, and medicinal treatments, they also create magical versions of mundane items like iron lanterns that flare red when a lie is spoken or a woven sleeping pad that remains bone-dry in the dampest bogs.

    • Military: While they do have a standing army, they also utilize trees and vines that have been magically trained to entangle and crush invaders on command.

  • Adventure Hooks:

    • Political: King Tiz’ik hires the party to act as neutral “witnesses” during a summit with noble families, fearing an assassination attempt that a Scalekin might be blamed for.

    • Exploration: Locate the Lost Spire of Tor’ek, rumored to hold the original charter of K’tharr, which could strip the old noble families of their remaining legal claims.

    • Intrigue: A surge in psionic echoes is causing commoners to go mad in Ssketh. Investigate if this is a natural phenomenon or a noble-led attack.

Nation