Varisian
Varisians are one of the most widespread peoples of Avistan, their lands stretching from their ancient homeland of Varisia in the west to the edge of Numeria in the east. They are a wiry, short people, with tawny, gold, or russet-brown skin and a wide array of hair and eye colors. While most have dark eyes and wavy brown hair, rare features such as violet eyes or platinum hair are not all that unusual. Outsiders may often associate Varisians with roaming merchant caravans, the practice of harrow card reading (a form of fortune-telling), and the worship of Desna, goddess of dreams. However, Varisians form the majority of permanent residents in the great cities of Magnimar, Lepidstadt, and others, where they outnumber their wandering kin a hundred times over.
Varisians have wandered Avistan since before the rise of many ancient empires, carrying their witty wisdom, vibrant performances, and deep mysticism across the continent. Their culture blends folklore, history, genealogy, and arcane secrets into intersecting layers of symbolism reflected in everything from the harrow cards they use to divine the future to their colorful clothing, energetic music, and intricate tattoos. A primarily nomadic people, Varisians tend to travel in brightly hued caravans, covering hundreds of miles every year as they trade with and perform for people from every corner of the Inner Sea region. While Avistan’s sedentary citizens may find Varisian travelers suspicious, accusing them of everything from theft to witchcraft to lycanthropy, they nevertheless cautiously welcome the caravans into their settlements, knowing that the traveling people prove reliable sources of entertainment, trade, and news in far-flung towns. Home, to a Varisian, has nothing to do with a roof or walls, and instead lies in the relationships and knowledge a traveler keeps. Too much focus on material wealth is a liability—change always comes, they say, and those with less to lose, lose less.
Beyond their ornate dress, Varisians are readily identified by their large, expressive eyes and thick, dark hair. Their skin tones range from pale in the east to richer hues in the west. Complex, whirling tattoos are so common that some rumors insist Varisians are born with their marks. Most Varisians tend toward delicate builds, but intermarriage with Shoanti tribes has created a sizeable minority of hardier body shapes. Most Varisians have little body or facial hair, and Varisian men rarely grow more than a thin mustache or light goatee. Given their small size and smooth skin, most Varisians appear younger than they are, sparking rumors of secret alchemies, cosmetics, or tonics that extend life and preserve beauty.
This wandering nomad life revolves around music and family. Varisians use their elaborate performances to entertain crowds, to bond as a clan, to teach history and other important concepts, and to celebrate momentous occasions. A dancer can’t learn the steps of the Butterfly Flight without also learning the legend of the Rabbit Prince, the bends of the Yondabakari River, and the names of her forebears who mastered the same motions.
Varisians rarely see the world in terms of good or bad; instead, the world is divided into degrees of closeness and importance, and anything could be either friend or foe depending on the circumstances. A Varisian takes care of her own needs first, her brother’s second, and her uncle’s after that. A family may unite against its caravan, but a caravan binds together against strangers regardless of inner conflicts. While practical, this philosophy makes the wanderers seem insular and secretive to outsiders.
Combined with the Varisian views on property—that individuals can’t truly “own” more than they can carry or haul in a wagon—such outlooks led to many problems when Chelish settlers first arrived in Varisia. To other cultures, the Varisian preference for wandering seems suspicious at best. After all, part of what ensures good behavior within a community is the potential for consequences, and a group of people that spends only days or a few weeks in a settlement has little incentive to obey its rules when they could move on, free of repercussions, at any moment. Rumors abound of a friend-of-a-friend being duped by an elaborate Varisian con game, of crime rates skyrocketing when a caravan rolls into town, and even of kidnapped children. In reality, while most Varisians think nothing of helping themselves to a few crops, milk from wandering cattle, or the contents of an untended crab trap, they generally have no desire to take anything that is clearly claimed and needed by others. More serious crimes—burglaries, robberies, and smuggling—can invariably be traced back to the Sczarni, a deceitful and organized Varisian criminal network. The Sczarni take advantage of the prejudice against all Varisians to disguise many of their crimes and let blame fall on innocent caravan folk, and as a result are not well regarded by their kin.
Shelyn, patron of beauty, music, and love, and Erastil, master of the hunt and community bonds, cater to Varisian day-to-day life and often share space with Desna in roadside shrines. Calistria and Cayden Cailean appeal to the Varisian free spirit. Those who worship Sarenrae focus on her role as goddess of the sun, which gives life but never stops moving. Additionally, many Varisians gravitate toward personal patron deities among the ranks of the Empyreal Lords, with Arshea, Black Butterfly, and Keltheald being some of the most popular. Evil Varisians pay homage to Urgathoa as the goddess of indulgence or to Norgorber as master of thieves, secrets, and greed.
Not every Varisian travels without end. Over the centuries, many Varisians have intermarried with other cultures, and large, settled populations of Varisians make up a healthy portion of many cities and nations in the Inner Sea region. Even among the caravans, the old or infirm often settle down, forming small villages or city neighborhoods where they keep Varisian treasures and lore safe and offer warm hearths to travelers. Caravans may stop in these settlements for a season to repair their wagons, gather supplies, or recover from their travels. Some Varisians settle temporarily for a few years at a time to raise a family or after a falling out with traveling companions. But even Varisians with four walls and a roof to call their own still hear the call of the road, and most find excuses to travel whenever time, finances, and their health allow.
Varisians use harrow decks to divine the future, employ unique magic, and tutor children about their heritage. Even non-Varisians feel the power in the occult suits, however, and harrow decks see use as mystical tools and portentous playthings in Absalom, Osirion, and beyond. Individual harrow decks are passed down between generations as priceless relics, and sometimes even as magical artifacts.
Decoration of clothing and jewelry also benefits from Varisian symbolism and the union of art and magic, with the same mystical runes that bedeck Varisians’ skin appearing on amulets, rings, and scarves. The magic items Varisians craft typically involve clothing or jewelry. Even initially mundane trinkets can grow so old and infused with spirit that they gain a bit of magic.
Varisians likewise have refined dance into a mystical art. Their gyrations can mirror the somatic gestures of spellcasting, creating performances that inspire joy or reverence in viewers, or enchant the unwary like field mice under a serpent’s gaze. The most fearsome dance— the Vimaturi—mimics Pharasma’s sway over the dead, invoking ancestral spirits and raising the departed.
Varisians associate most closely with the Shoanti tribes of the Storval Plateau, with whom they frequently travel, trade, and marry. Their distant shared history as subjects of the Thassilonian Empire causes some aspects of their art and mythology to overlap. They also have surprisingly warm relations with the Ulfen people of the north, as Varisians build few cities to raid, and the Ulfen are always in need of people with whom they can trade. Thanks both to centuries of slavery and modern colonialism, Varisians see only the worst aspects of the Azlanti and their descendants, the Chelaxians and the Taldans. Even the most lawful Varisian might look the other way when her sister robs a “chel.”
Isolated groups of both elves and dwarves in Varisia serve as occasional allies for caravans on little-used trails. For a people that distrusts most who are not their kin, beings who stand beyond the realm of humanity inspire no small amount of unease. Half lings and gnomes— jovial, adventurous, and similarly distrusted by others— stand apart from these rules. Many caravans journey alongside half ling or gnome travelers, sharing food and music. Varisian families are even known to adopt outcasts of other races, particularly half-elves and half-orcs.
Varisians are accustomed to having fey, draconic, and angelic visitors teach them of the wider world. They seem more at ease with intelligent but inhuman supernatural creatures than some other humanoids, and the sheer volume of sorcerers, aasimars, changelings, and other unusual bloodlines among Varisian populations speaks to this open-minded attitude.
A Varisian adventurer usually has an easy charm and a silver tongue, making her a likeable party companion. It is not until she builds close relationships with her comrades, however, that they begin to see her true nature behind the beguiling mask donned for strangers, or are allowed precious glimpses of her culture and heritage. Fortunately, the idea of treating traveling companions as a surrogate family is deeply ingrained in Varisian traditions, making Varisian adventurers likely to bond tightly with their adventuring partners.
Varisians have wandered Avistan since before the rise of many ancient empires, carrying their witty wisdom, vibrant performances, and deep mysticism across the continent. Their culture blends folklore, history, genealogy, and arcane secrets into intersecting layers of symbolism reflected in everything from the harrow cards they use to divine the future to their colorful clothing, energetic music, and intricate tattoos. A primarily nomadic people, Varisians tend to travel in brightly hued caravans, covering hundreds of miles every year as they trade with and perform for people from every corner of the Inner Sea region. While Avistan’s sedentary citizens may find Varisian travelers suspicious, accusing them of everything from theft to witchcraft to lycanthropy, they nevertheless cautiously welcome the caravans into their settlements, knowing that the traveling people prove reliable sources of entertainment, trade, and news in far-flung towns. Home, to a Varisian, has nothing to do with a roof or walls, and instead lies in the relationships and knowledge a traveler keeps. Too much focus on material wealth is a liability—change always comes, they say, and those with less to lose, lose less.
Appearance
Most people recognize Varisians by their vivid attire and prominent jewelry. Varisian clothing is tinted with colorful dyes and embroidered with rich flourishes depicting animals, plants, and arcane symbols, advertising everything from personal skills to family history. Jewelry is likewise impressive, as most Varisians would rather carry their wealth on their bodies than hide coin away in some vault. Scarves serve as clothing, tools, weapons, and priceless heirlooms; a kapenia—or family scarf—may record hundreds of years of clan history.Beyond their ornate dress, Varisians are readily identified by their large, expressive eyes and thick, dark hair. Their skin tones range from pale in the east to richer hues in the west. Complex, whirling tattoos are so common that some rumors insist Varisians are born with their marks. Most Varisians tend toward delicate builds, but intermarriage with Shoanti tribes has created a sizeable minority of hardier body shapes. Most Varisians have little body or facial hair, and Varisian men rarely grow more than a thin mustache or light goatee. Given their small size and smooth skin, most Varisians appear younger than they are, sparking rumors of secret alchemies, cosmetics, or tonics that extend life and preserve beauty.
Naming
Varisian masculine names include Bastian, Guillen, and Oriche; feminine names include Astella, Iguazel, and Merzez; and gender-neutral names include Cande, Guiomar, and Zorion.Society
Resourceful, flexible, and opportunistic, most Varisians are perfectly suited to lives of travel and adventure. The majority travel with caravans—which they treat as equal parts family and movable hometowns— for at least part of their lives. They gather what they need from the land, hunting for game, harvesting fruit from wild orchards and trading with or entertaining whatever settled towns they cross. Varisian children are often familiar with half a dozen cultures before reaching adulthood. Though their travels may seem random to non-Varisians, these caravans traverse ancient routes marked with secret signs. The caravans cooperate in maintaining the signs and important resources along the way: a caravan passing an orchard in the spring might tend it so those who come in the fall find fruit, while one drawing water from a hidden well might trim the brush around it so that it continues to disguise the location without impeding use.This wandering nomad life revolves around music and family. Varisians use their elaborate performances to entertain crowds, to bond as a clan, to teach history and other important concepts, and to celebrate momentous occasions. A dancer can’t learn the steps of the Butterfly Flight without also learning the legend of the Rabbit Prince, the bends of the Yondabakari River, and the names of her forebears who mastered the same motions.
Varisians rarely see the world in terms of good or bad; instead, the world is divided into degrees of closeness and importance, and anything could be either friend or foe depending on the circumstances. A Varisian takes care of her own needs first, her brother’s second, and her uncle’s after that. A family may unite against its caravan, but a caravan binds together against strangers regardless of inner conflicts. While practical, this philosophy makes the wanderers seem insular and secretive to outsiders.
Combined with the Varisian views on property—that individuals can’t truly “own” more than they can carry or haul in a wagon—such outlooks led to many problems when Chelish settlers first arrived in Varisia. To other cultures, the Varisian preference for wandering seems suspicious at best. After all, part of what ensures good behavior within a community is the potential for consequences, and a group of people that spends only days or a few weeks in a settlement has little incentive to obey its rules when they could move on, free of repercussions, at any moment. Rumors abound of a friend-of-a-friend being duped by an elaborate Varisian con game, of crime rates skyrocketing when a caravan rolls into town, and even of kidnapped children. In reality, while most Varisians think nothing of helping themselves to a few crops, milk from wandering cattle, or the contents of an untended crab trap, they generally have no desire to take anything that is clearly claimed and needed by others. More serious crimes—burglaries, robberies, and smuggling—can invariably be traced back to the Sczarni, a deceitful and organized Varisian criminal network. The Sczarni take advantage of the prejudice against all Varisians to disguise many of their crimes and let blame fall on innocent caravan folk, and as a result are not well regarded by their kin.
Faith
Varisians worship Desna first and foremost as their guide, patron, and creator. Varying myths claim the Song of the Spheres either delivered the Varisian people to Golarion or else spun them into being from her dreams, leaving the stars in her footsteps so her children might follow along to her celestial palace once they journey beyond the land of the living. Varisians offer her prayers and songs before long journeys, after vivid dreams, or for a bit of extra luck. Appropriately, even the most nihilistic Varisians shun the worship of Lamashtu and Ghlaunder.Shelyn, patron of beauty, music, and love, and Erastil, master of the hunt and community bonds, cater to Varisian day-to-day life and often share space with Desna in roadside shrines. Calistria and Cayden Cailean appeal to the Varisian free spirit. Those who worship Sarenrae focus on her role as goddess of the sun, which gives life but never stops moving. Additionally, many Varisians gravitate toward personal patron deities among the ranks of the Empyreal Lords, with Arshea, Black Butterfly, and Keltheald being some of the most popular. Evil Varisians pay homage to Urgathoa as the goddess of indulgence or to Norgorber as master of thieves, secrets, and greed.
Culture
Until Chelish colonists arrived to log and farm the wilderness of Varisia, the people of the land—Varisians and Shoanti alike—interacted little with outlanders following the fall of the Thassilonian Empire. Once enslaved, now set free to find their own way in a land littered with the work of their fallen forebears, Varisians are heirs to a culture that resonates with haunting traces of lost traditions.Wanderlust
Most Varisians feel a need to investigate what lies over the next horizon. Many wander the world in caravans of a dozen to a hundred members—some who are family by blood, and others who might as well be. They gather the supplies they need as they travel, and rarely camp anywhere for more than a few weeks. Most caravans have sites they visit yearly such as rich hunting grounds, friendly towns, and significant ruins, but the routes and schedules vary from year to year. Individual members come and go from the caravan as they marry, travel with friends, or chase other opportunities.Not every Varisian travels without end. Over the centuries, many Varisians have intermarried with other cultures, and large, settled populations of Varisians make up a healthy portion of many cities and nations in the Inner Sea region. Even among the caravans, the old or infirm often settle down, forming small villages or city neighborhoods where they keep Varisian treasures and lore safe and offer warm hearths to travelers. Caravans may stop in these settlements for a season to repair their wagons, gather supplies, or recover from their travels. Some Varisians settle temporarily for a few years at a time to raise a family or after a falling out with traveling companions. But even Varisians with four walls and a roof to call their own still hear the call of the road, and most find excuses to travel whenever time, finances, and their health allow.
The Harrow
Perhaps more than any other icon, the harrow deck represents Varisian mysticism. Each deck of 54 cards is divided into six suits and nine alignments, bedecked in rich heraldry and representing deep layers of arcane and folkloric knowledge. Harrowers—those Varisians capable of reading portents and meaning in the cards—are respected beyond measure and sometimes direct caravans according to the whims of fate. Like most aspects of Varisian culture, harrowers are rarely as straightforward as they seem. Some possess no magic at all or refuse to share their arcane gifts with non-Varisians. Many perform mundane harrow readings for non-Varisians simply by using the cards’ meanings to counsel their clients or tell them what they want to hear. Varisians excel at painting the mundane as magical and the magical as mundane.Varisians use harrow decks to divine the future, employ unique magic, and tutor children about their heritage. Even non-Varisians feel the power in the occult suits, however, and harrow decks see use as mystical tools and portentous playthings in Absalom, Osirion, and beyond. Individual harrow decks are passed down between generations as priceless relics, and sometimes even as magical artifacts.
Magic in Art
Varisians find magic in beauty and vice-versa, fusing the two with ease. Few Varisians come of age without decorating their bodies with elaborate tattoos. Varisians use abstract symbols, arcane marks, representations of plants and animals, and symbols passed down through their clans to emphasize their best features and nurture their talents. Varisian spellcasters sometimes permanently scribe their spellbooks into their flesh, while others carve out arcane conduits for magical energy. The tradition is so deeply ingrained within the Varisian soul that some children are born with blurry birthmarks that they refine with tattoos as they mature.Decoration of clothing and jewelry also benefits from Varisian symbolism and the union of art and magic, with the same mystical runes that bedeck Varisians’ skin appearing on amulets, rings, and scarves. The magic items Varisians craft typically involve clothing or jewelry. Even initially mundane trinkets can grow so old and infused with spirit that they gain a bit of magic.
Varisians likewise have refined dance into a mystical art. Their gyrations can mirror the somatic gestures of spellcasting, creating performances that inspire joy or reverence in viewers, or enchant the unwary like field mice under a serpent’s gaze. The most fearsome dance— the Vimaturi—mimics Pharasma’s sway over the dead, invoking ancestral spirits and raising the departed.
Relations
Varisians trust their family, their caravan, their fellow Varisians, and the Shoanti—in that order—and rarely put faith in foreigners. Likewise, most non-Varisians, and even those settled peoples of partial Varisian descent, view the wanderers with distrust. Despite this, Varisians are widely traveled, both as a culture and as individuals, and they find friends and enemies wherever they go. Some nations and cities impose strict laws restricting or limiting their movement or preventing them from settling anywhere for more than a few days. Caravans rarely respect borders, and their peregrinations sometimes inf lame political tensions in unrelated nations—tensions the Sczarni worsen with their rampant smuggling. Outsiders’ opinions of Varisians may be positive or negative, but it’s rare to meet an Avistani who doesn’t have an opinion at all.Varisians associate most closely with the Shoanti tribes of the Storval Plateau, with whom they frequently travel, trade, and marry. Their distant shared history as subjects of the Thassilonian Empire causes some aspects of their art and mythology to overlap. They also have surprisingly warm relations with the Ulfen people of the north, as Varisians build few cities to raid, and the Ulfen are always in need of people with whom they can trade. Thanks both to centuries of slavery and modern colonialism, Varisians see only the worst aspects of the Azlanti and their descendants, the Chelaxians and the Taldans. Even the most lawful Varisian might look the other way when her sister robs a “chel.”
Isolated groups of both elves and dwarves in Varisia serve as occasional allies for caravans on little-used trails. For a people that distrusts most who are not their kin, beings who stand beyond the realm of humanity inspire no small amount of unease. Half lings and gnomes— jovial, adventurous, and similarly distrusted by others— stand apart from these rules. Many caravans journey alongside half ling or gnome travelers, sharing food and music. Varisian families are even known to adopt outcasts of other races, particularly half-elves and half-orcs.
Varisians are accustomed to having fey, draconic, and angelic visitors teach them of the wider world. They seem more at ease with intelligent but inhuman supernatural creatures than some other humanoids, and the sheer volume of sorcerers, aasimars, changelings, and other unusual bloodlines among Varisian populations speaks to this open-minded attitude.
Adventurers
Despite their apparently carefree nature, most Varisians share deep ties to their families and traditions. They might undertake incredible journeys and suffer immeasurable hardships to protect their loved ones or recover lost scraps of lore. Many spend the summers of their early adulthood in pursuit of lost treasures or rousting monsters from their ancestral lands. Young adventurers often quest for gold and glory, hoping to earn the respect of others or the creature comforts of more settled folk.A Varisian adventurer usually has an easy charm and a silver tongue, making her a likeable party companion. It is not until she builds close relationships with her comrades, however, that they begin to see her true nature behind the beguiling mask donned for strangers, or are allowed precious glimpses of her culture and heritage. Fortunately, the idea of treating traveling companions as a surrogate family is deeply ingrained in Varisian traditions, making Varisian adventurers likely to bond tightly with their adventuring partners.
Where on Golarion?
Varisians travel far and wide across Avistan and beyond, but originate from the region that bears their name: Varisia. Prior to the rise of Thassilon and their subjugation by the runelords, Varisians’ origins supposedly lie anywhere from distant Vudra to the stars above. Now, they make up a sizable minority in Varisia’s three largest city-states— Korvosa, Magnimar, and Riddleport—while the majority wander beyond any city’s walls. Outside their homeland, Varisian caravans and villages dot the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, Lastwall, Molthune, Nidal, Nirmathas, and especially Ustalav. The furthest-ranging populations might roam east into Brevoy and Iobaria, south to Andoran, or north as far as the Crown of the World, where they trade seasonally with the Erutaki settlements or even journey to the northern reaches of Tian Xia.Several clans settled north of Lake Encarthan long ago, founding the nation of Ustalav, and Varisians remain the rulers and majority population of this mist-shrouded land today. The people of Ustalav retain their clannish nature and rich folklore, but a settled lifestyle and historical traumas have caused them to grow superstitious, and many Ustalavs hold xenophobic prejudices against their wandering cousins.
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Playing a Varisian
Traders, adventurers, and mystics, most Varisians travel the land in caravans, maintaining their ancient traditions despite the suspicion of more settled folk.If you’re Varisian, you likely:
- Enjoy traveling and meeting new people, and feel restless if you remain in one place too long.
- Believe that fate influences the events around you but that you can, in turn, influence fate.
- Are an expert at entertaining others through colorful performances and know how to tell a compelling story.
- Take great pride in your family heirlooms and traditions.
- Consider your close friends as much a part of your family as your blood relations.
- Assume most non-Varisians don’t trust you, but hope to change their opinions.
- Think you are an itinerant troublemaker, and possibly a thief or worse.
- Believe you can tell the future using harrow cards and curse those who cross you.
- Consider you an expert on magic, con games, and other forms of trickery.
- Assume you are not quite in control of your own emotions and passions.
- Expect you to worship Desna or some obscure empyreal lord.
- Think you grew up on the road, traveling far and never having a stable home.
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