The Marianans are an ethnic group of Azarketi native to the continent that bears their name on Memory.
Appearance
Marianans appear as regal, athletic humans. Their soft, hydrophilic skin ranges in tones from pearlescent white to pinkish, greenish, or brown tones reminiscent of coral. Marianans with hair are somewhat rare; many sport fins or scaled ridges on their heads instead. Like their pre-Titanfall ancestors, they often have violet eyes. Their aquatic lineage is obvious thanks to the sets of three gills on either side of their necks, as well as their webbed hands and feet. Marianans have been known to live longer than humans, although they mature at about the same rate.
Adventurers
With their affinity to water, nautical navigation skills, and athletic capabilities, Marianana make great rangers. thier versatility both on land and in water makes them particularly formidable fighters, while their direct connection to the sea leads others to become druids. As many Marianans have a connection to alghollthus' occult magic, a good few Marianan become sorcerers, though more academically inclined individuals sometimes become bards or wizards instead.
History
Most of the human inhabitants of ancient Mariana died during Titanfall. A few were saved by the Marianans' original masters, the mysterious alghollthus, who took in a small number and fleshwarped them to survive in their aquatic domain far below the waves. Strangely, once this transformation was accomplished, the alghollthus seemed to lose interest in the Marianans, leaving them to freely form their own society in the following millennia. Despite this ancient abandonment, some Marianans still serve as spies for their alghollthu masters.
Society
Marianans lack the center for combined culture that helps other groups maintain a cohesive identity. The vastness of the oceans and waterways spread these swift-swimming people across the Inner Sea and beyond. Many Marianans rely only on the small familial groups in their immediate community and prefer smaller populations with comrades they trust and know intimately.
Some Marianans prefer to foster connections with their surface-dwelling brethren. Living in ports, river towns and along the shore allows Marianans a greater scope of opportunities not afforded to exclusively land or sea peoples. Although integrating with land society can be difficult, Marianans manage by forming bonded communities. Members will often have fond familial names for one another, regardless of actual relation.
If they have the means, some Marianans dress in attire reflecting their heritage. More commonly, Marianans do their best to remain inconspicuous when they emerge from the water. Many will wear shemaghs or other head wrappings, which both hide their gills and provide a few extra comfortable hours out of water if soaked before donning.
Religion
As they are typically outsiders to the domains of surface life, Marianas tend toward deities with an affinity for the ocean or other forms of water, the most popular being Stormlord. They are also likely to give reverence to other deities of nature or navigation, such as the Lady of Dreams.
Some Marianans are tempted toward the call of the deep and serve their old alghollthu masters as gods. These individuals are enticed by eldritch entities such as the mysterious veiled masters—powerful beings of the deep ocean responsible for both uplifting and destroying the Marianan people.
After the Titanfall
A Place Undersea
Due to their association with the alghollthu, Marianans often face discrimination on the surface. Below, however, they are just another ocean denizen. Many revel in the isolation from their human ancestors, finding true peace in the depths.
Alghollthus
Marianans have a complex relationship with alghollthus, who saved but then enslaved their people. Marianan sentiments toward these creatures vary: some fight fiercely against their ancient enemies; others bargain for power or safety, or even serve through compulsion.
Marianan Types
Marianans live near the ruins of Mariana or in the deepest trenches of the ocean and lead isolated and mysterious lives. River Marianans settle at the bases of waterfalls, or hidden away in the caves behind them. Small nomadic Marianan groups have taken to land in rainy or marshy locations, though such groups are rare.
Fighting Spirit
Surface Marianans often keep to the margins of human society, working menial jobs or filling roles that allow them isolation when necessary. Many consequently have a chip on their shoulder and are only too eager to prove themselves in the face of skeptics. Such Marianans often take up the life of a mercenary or adventurer.
Legacy of Mariana
Directly descended from the people of Mariana, Marianans have preserved their ancestors' culture through art, oral traditions, songs, and stories. Marianan scholars study the history of Mariana and Titanfall, elders recite tales of Marianan legends, and musicians sing songs to long-lost gods. Most Marianans know the location of the nearest Marianan ruin, and many possess a piece of Marianan jewelry.
Other Sea Creatures
Marianans are one of many ancestries to live beneath the water's surface. They have the most contact with locathahs, humanoid fish-folk with an easygoing, friendly demeanor. Marianans find merfolk territorial neighbors, though their shared private tendencies lead to mostly amicable relations. Together they combat their shared enemies, the monstrous but intelligent sahuagins.
Names
Marianans often take the names of nautical, weather, or geographical features important to the Marianan's family. Other Marianan groups will choose human names in order to encourage conformity with surface cultures. Some Marianan names have been passed down through so many generations that they still use ancient Marianan roots or refer to bodies of water that no longer exist.
Sample Names
Aft, Aliz, Cascade, Delta, Harbor, Ilani, Inkua, Jib, Lagoon, Lobay, Marine, Tidal, Windward, Zarket
Marianan
Source Absalom, City of Lost Omens pg. 393
Marianans, inheritors of a shattered empire's legacy, hold their proud traditions close but still surface to interact with the rest of the world.
The aquatic humanoids of Memory’s oceans share a somber and burdened history. Most refer to these aquatic peoples as gillmen, though they typically refer to themselves as marianan. After Titanfall, these proud humans were mutated into aquatic servants by their alghollthu foes. Feeling like they don't fully belong with their human brethren nor with the sea that binds them, many Marianans struggle for a sense of identity and purpose. Though they remain distrusted by the surface dwellers, Marianans celebrate their unique lineage and their descent from the venerated ancient culture.
You Might...
Ambitiously seek to defy negative perceptions and prejudice laid against you.
Be reclusive and skeptical of strangers.
Regard the water as your home, but be intrigued by societies along the shore.
Others Probably...
Assume you are an ambassador to the sea and ask for your advice on nautical matters.
Misunderstand your gentle gestures and mild expressions.
Treat you with distrust or suspicion and anticipate betrayal from you.
Marianan Mechanics
Hit Points 8
Size Medium
Speed 20 feet Swim 30 feet
Ability Boosts Constitution, Charisma, Free
Ability Flaw Wisdom
Languages Common, Alghollthu
Additional languages equal to your Intelligence modifier (if it's positive). Choose from Aklo, Aquan, Marianan, Draconic, Elven, and Undercommon and any other languages to which you have access (such as the languages prevalent in your region).
Low-Light Vision You can see in dim light as though it were bright light and you ignore the concealed condition due to dim light.
Hydration While you are an amphibious being equally as capable on land as in the water, your body requires you to return to aquatic environments at least once in a 24-hour period. You must submerge in water in order to rehydrate your water-acclimated skin. If you fail to do this, your skin begins to crack and your gills become painful. After the first 24 hours outside of water, you take a –1 status penalty to Fortitude saves. After 48 hours, you struggle to breathe air and begin to suffocate until returned to water.
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