Tester Stereotypes and Opinions on Other Groups

Bearers on the Others

  Hear the words of Enfys the Rainbow of Death, expatriate of Swynfaredia.   The Decadents: They are kindred spirits though our paths seldom cross. We test the bodies of mortals and they test the institutions of mortals.   Herders: It is embarrassing that anyone calling himself a Tester would lie with sheep.   Peacebreakers: War is good for testing the strong and the weak, but war only tests the soldiers while disease tests all.   Raiders: Petty children seeking shiny trinkets. Some of these will grow out of this phase and transform themselves into true servants of Maylar, but most will get unlucky and die trying to rob the wrong person.   Independent Testers: They may lack the ambition and vision to aid Maylar in major ways like is but they make useful contacts.     Mera's Tenders: They are our enemies. They cannot cure disease as fast as we can spread it, but nevertheless kill these weaklings whenever and wherever you can.   Korus' Stewards: Life and death are not opposites, they are one and the same. The Stewards understand this.   Greymoria's Children: Allies of convenience. We have no true common cause with them but we share many enemies in common.   Nami's Rovers: Irrelevant drunkards. Pay them no heed.   Khemra's Keepers: They are our enemies. Very inflexible and secretly cowards.   Zarthus' Lanterns: They are our enemies. They are relentless and clever, do not underestimate them.   Hallisan's Guardians: They are our enemies. Just as inflexible as the Keepers, but they are not afraid to die and they will never stop hunting you as long as they draw breath.   Phidas' Masks: They are our enemies. They are more cunning than most but very cowardly.    

Decadents on the Others

  Hear the words of Lady Felicja Wiern, exiled Fumayan noblewoman.   Bearers of the Ill Wind: They skulk in the wilderness annoying their betters. Almost like goblins. Pay them no mind.   Herders: Peasant shepherds falsely draping themselves with Maylar’s mantle in order to feel powerful.   Peacebreakers: They have admirable zeal but they are too ambitious. They aim too high every time and are always exposed and killed. We know how to pick our targets and remain undetected.   Raiders: They may lack imagination but they are useful in their own way. They cannot use half of the things they steal so they rely on us to fence their stolen goods.   Independent Testers: Some of them are undeclared to a faction because they are too strong to need a faction. Some are undeclared to a faction because they are too stupid or weak to be accepted by one. Be careful when dealing with the so called independents, it is not always obvious who is weak and who is strong.       Mera's Tenders: Harmless weaklings beneath our concern.   Korus' Stewards:  They are dangerous when provoked but it takes a lot to provoke them.   Greymoria's Children: Useful contacts, but make sure you project strength when dealing with them or they will try to make you into a pawn in their own schemes.   Nami's Rovers:  The Bacchites are kindred spirits and worthy allies should you be able to make contact but the rest of Nami’s lot are irrelevant.   Khemra's Keepers: As a last resort you can appeal to them for sanctuary and hide behind their love of the Compact, but only as a last resort.   Zarthus' Lanterns:  The Lanterns actually care about the filth shoveling peasants and they can be dogged investigators. Do not underestimate them.   Hallisan's Guardians: They are good at fighting with swords and lances but they are totally inexperienced fighting with cloaks and daggers.   Phidas' Masks:  Our paths seldom cross. When they do, we can get them to aid us or at least stay out of our way with a small bribe. Make sure to haggle fiercely and seem like they reluctantly cowed you, it makes them feel big.    

Herders on the Others

    Hear the Words of Ujarek of Fumaya.   Bearers of the Ill Wind: They are cowards because they avoid direct confrontation with their foes. Worse, they are arrogant in their chosen mission. It is Maylar alone to decide who falls ill and who recovers. It is not for his followers to take this into their own hands, much less manipulate the forces of disease for personal gain.   The Decadents: The idea of high born people being better than commoners is folly. Strength is all that matters. You don’t demonstrate strength by torturing the helpless. The Decadents try to hide their weakness behind their social rank.   Peacebreakers: Enough wars happen without the Testers fanning the flames of conflict. All the Peacebreakers do is draw enmity towards all Testers everywhere.   Raiders: I respect their mettle, but not their methods. At least they are not cowards hiding in the shadows.   Independent Testers: Some of them are true believers with true strength, but most of the faction-less Testers resembles Maylar’s Raiders in that they simple use Maylar as an excuse to take what they want from whomever they wish, but they are less bold. More like Maylar’s Burglers.     Mera's Tenders: They are stronger than they let on. Bear them no malice, but keep your distance.   Korus' Stewards:  The closest thing we have to friends among the other priesthoods. Do not make demands of them, it is enough that they talk to us.   Greymoria's Children: They claim to be kindred spirits but if you get if get in bed with them, figuratively or literally, they will make you a patsy for their nefarious schemes.   Nami's Rovers: Some of Nami’s most violent members often ally with Maylar’s Raiders. The less violent Rovers secretly envy them for their lack of inhibitions. A few reach out to us, hoping to have a wild adventure with us, but they are usually disappointed by how pragmatic we Herders are.   Khemra's Keepers:  They are our arrogant but we must be polite around them and humor them about the Compact and their Nonagons. Without their support, we would not be able to operate openly and we would be forced to skulk in the shadows like the lesser Testers.   Zarthus' Lanterns:  They do not trust us and they would love to catch us committing a crime. They are easy enough to distract. Play up on their on their love of outcasts to paint the Herders as kindred spirits and complain about the Masks to them, and they will leave you in peace.   Hallisan's Guardians: They watch us for the slightest err. Do not give them cause to be your enemy. If you pretend to ignore them, it will wound them more than a spear ever could.   Phidas' Masks:  Like the Lanterns and Guardians, they do trust us. Unlike the Lanterns and Guardians, they will not to wait to catch you sinning before trying to punish you. They will fabricate false claims against us when it suits them. Outside their marketplaces and cities the Masks are toothless, another reason to avoid civilization as much as possible.    

Peacebreakers on the Others

    Hear the words of Lysisastrata, Scourge of Penarchia   Bearers of the Ill Wind: They would be useful allies if they weren’t so short sighted. While it is true that it takes three theurgist healers to stem the damage of one theurgist plague bearer, there is always a fourth healer. But if they were to concentrate on wartorn areas where the healers already have their hands full, we would be an unstoppable team.   The Decadents: They have admirable zeal and ruthless but they think too small. Why kill one meaningless peasant as part of a four hour ritual when you can kill thousands of people with one war?   Herders: These traitors and heretics dare try to make peace with our enemies!   Raiders: They have admirable zeal, but they lack vision and direction. Leave them be unless you are cornered and need a patsy.   Independent Testers: Very few join the Testers seeking to be Peacebreakers, so we have to draw our recruits from among the independents. Be polite to any independent you meet and watch them carefully to see if any desires true power.       Mera's Tenders: We seek to spread war and they seek to spread peace. Fortunately few take them seriously. They are our enemies but do not kill them. This will only create martyrs.   Korus' Stewards:  Irrelevant tree huggers. At least they stay out of their way.   Greymoria's Children: Who cares about the goblins and the aranea and whozawhatits? They wish to spread death from the monsters skulking in the shadows but the true bringers of death are those commanding mighty armies.   Nami's Rovers: They may seem like fools but they are good listeners, but they are well informed of what is really going on in the lands they travel. If you can hide your true affiliation and befriend them they are valuable source of information.   Khemra's Keepers: The scroll heads are their own worst enemies, too mired in red tape of their own making to be a true threat to us.   Zarthus' Lanterns  They are clever opponents but they are not half as clever as they think they are. If there are powerful Lanterns in the area you are in, wear a silver mask and commit some atrocities, then melt into the shadows watch the show.   Hallisan's Guardians:  They are formidable opponents but they are tied to the secular feudal lords by oaths and honor. If you get the feudal lords fighting, they will drag the Guardians along with them and there is nothing they can do about it, even when the Guardians are forced to fight other Guardians by these chains of loyalty, delicious.   Phidas' Masks:  They will stab you in the back given half a chance, but that is because they understand how the world works.      

Maylar’s Raiders on the Others

  Hear the words of Zomath, half-orc brigand.   Bearers of the Ill Wind: Blech! Maylar may be the god of disease but you don’t have to embody that aspect of our great Father so literally.   The Decadents: They have an overinflated sense of their own worth, but they can be useful contacts if you can flatter their egos, though they will sell you down the river in a second if it suits their needs.   Herders: Their peaceful ways are an affront to great Maylar, but don’t underestimate them. They are tougher than they look. They couldn’t have survived this long if they were as weak as the sheeple they surround themselves with.   Peacebreakers: Their hearts are in the right place, but they are too good at attracting the attention of hostile governments and dogged adventuring parties. Give them a wide berth lest their enemies become your enemies.   Independent Testers: They are kindred spirits since we are pretty independent ourselves. If you find yourself needing to reach out to an outside Testers, best pick one not tied up in factional goals of the other Testers.       Mera's Tenders: Misguided weaklings. They make delicious targets.   Korus' Stewards:  They are stronger than they look. Do not war on them unless you are truly looking to test yourself.   Greymoria's Children: Allies of convenience, we share many common enemies but sleep with one eye open when working with the Children.   Nami's Rovers: Maylar’s only true ally is Nami, he may even love her. Out of respect for our great Father, leave the Rovers in peace.   Khemra's Keepers:  They are mighty when roused but they are slow to mobilize. Keep moving and the Keepers will never be able to hurt you.   Zarthus' Lanterns:  Lanterns are individually dangerous but they are not very good at working with groups. We understand the strength of a pack, our foes do not making them vulnerable.   Hallisan's Guardians: Implacable foes. To beat them, we must be everywhere and nowhere. Their weakness is their pride.   Phidas' Masks:  Implacable foes. To beat them, we must be everywhere and nowhere. Their weakness is their cowardice.    

Independents on the Others

    Hear the words of Blood Mystic Detlef, swordsmen and summoner     There is strength in numbers, but joining one of Maylar’s so-called factions will only bring you new enemies.     Bearers of the Ill Wind: They always get caught because everyone reviles them so much that they will put aside existing enmities to remove the Bearers from the earthly plane.   The Decadents: Once the social structures that protect them are removed, they are utterly helpless.   Herders: These heretics have betrayed everything that is to be a Tester just to eat the table scraps the Nonagon councils throw them.   Peacebreakers: Scarterrans will make war just fine without your interference. More often than not, Peacebreaker involvement has the opposite effect as intended by giving rival factions a common enemy to unite against.   Raiders: Some of them are wise, but most overextend themselves then make one enemy too many then die.       Mera's Tenders: They are weak, but they have friends who are strong. Never forget this.   Korus' Stewards:  Our paths seldom cross and this is all for the better.   Greymoria's Children: Reasonable allies if you can keep your interactions with them short.   Nami's Rovers:  A few of them are worthy companions, temporarily. Most are not worth the effort.   Khemra's Keepers:  The Dusk Order make for dangerous foes but the rest of the Keepers are useless scroll heads.   Zarthus' Lanterns:  I hate to admit it, but we don’t get along because we are very much alike.   Hallisan's Guardians:  They hate us. They outnumber us. This is why I stay independent. The Guardians cannot kill me for the crime of being a Tester if they do not know I am a Tester.   Phidas' Masks:  They are very image conscious and they are widely mistrusted. Some of them will stir up hatred against Testers just to improve their own tarnished image. If they try this, kill them, and leave a lit lantern next to the corpse to deflect suspicion.