Gazzarinian

Gazzarinians are a Drow race from the city state of Gazzarit. They are an ancient people with connections to not just the first exile of the Drow, but the collapse of the Shadow Empire in the Second Age. Gazzarians stalk the underdark of Cape County and the Petty Kingdom of Gwenydd, being immortalised in local legends as bogeyman like figures.
Gazzarian culture is based around a strict caste system. The lowest of these castes are the slaves, captured denizens of the underdark and surface world. The next highest set of castes are the Goldlings, Orelings, and Warlings. The Goldlings are the middle and merchant classes, often running stores and culture and acting as neutral diplomats. The Orelings are workers and workmen, responsible for running the mines and deep underground farms where they control Slaves to do additional manual labour. The Warlings are the foot soldiers of the city. The Highest castes are the Magakari, the Vasslarki, the Stratokari, and the Theokrati. The Magakari as the secretive mage class, the Vassalarki as the administrators and nobles, The Stratokari are the officer class, and the Theokrati are the religious leaders.
The Gazzarians recently suffered an enslavement by the Mind Flayers under the influence of Ucothah. Many of their leaders were enslaved or killed, while members of their mage and religious class continued to run some form of resistence, holding out against the beseiging ilithids as best they can.

Goldlings

The Goldlings are amongst the most numerous of the castes. They are a versatile group of people, specialising in the economic sector. They are considered the most neutral of the castes and occupy the majority of the city centre. They get on well with all the other castes, being respected and utlised for their roles in commerce, the arts, and leisure.
Goldlings are a flexible caste, with those that peform badly often being sent to the Orelings, and those that perform well often being recruited into the Vassalarki. The more pious Goldlings may undertake ceremonies to become part of the Theokrati, and these are also common.

Warlings

Warlings are the common foot soldiers of the Gazzarit culture. They suffered many losses during the Mind Flayer occupation, and much of their current ranks are promoted members of the Goldling and Oreling classes alongside demoted Stratokari. The Warlings function as guards and patrolmen throughout the city, whilst outside the city they function as scouts and raiding parties throughout the underdark and surface.
The Warling caste is prone to flexibility. In times of war and destruction their ranks will swell from recuited members of other castes, whilst times of stability tend to see their ranks stabilise and only fluctuate minorly. Warlings that perform poorely are more often sent to the Orelings, whilst the rare few will be sent to the Goldling Caste. High performing Warlings are awarded with promotion to the Stratokari only.

Orelings

Orelings are the function lower-middle class and working class drow. They operate the mines and farms of Gazzarit, ruling over only the slaves. They work long and hard days, and find little time for leisure. They are hardworking and tough, and although looked down upon by some of the higher up castes, the city could not function without their role.
Orelings are considered the lowest of the castes with the excpetion of the slaves. This means poor performing Orelings are never demoted, and only the most serious of cases of malpractice are punished, usually through exile or relegation to the untouchable Forsakelings, who are drow abanded by their caste and left to beg on the streets and live in the slave quaters. High performing Orelings are given promotion to either the Goldlings, Warlings, or the very rarely the Vassalarki. Like the other castes, pious Orelings can join the Theokrati after passing their tests.

Magakari

The magakari are a secretive caste, hidden away in a gated corner of the city known as the Magerium. Their members are powerful magic uses, either sorcerers, warlocks, or trained wizards. They have an expertise in planular travel, utilising portals to navigate them throughout the surface world and even into other planes of existence.
Magakari are recuited by the mysterious Crystallian Order , who will find young people in the city with high magical potential and take them to the Magerium for training. Those that are deemed failures by the ruling Magakari Council and are exiled into the Goldling Class. Magakari are rarely promoted, but do function as advisors to the rulers of the city.

Vassalarki

The Vassalarki are the caste of nobles and administrators. They formally ran the city, however, following the mind flayer occupation they were usurped by the Theokrati, who began to reform the city into a theocracy. The traditional nobles were either exiled, cast into the Forsakelings, or even executed. Those that remained were utilised as city administrators and beauocrats, subseviant to the Theokrati. They are generally depsied by the general population for their failure to defend the city against mind flayer occupation, many of their higher members being made thralls prior to the invasion in order to weaken the city.
Vassalarki are often demoted to either the Goldlings or sometimes the Stratokari. As amongst the highest ranking castes, there is no promotion from their caste to the others. This means that most Vassalarki families will remain in the city government for multiple generations, with very few ever being demoted or exiled. Other castes can be promoted to the Vassalarki by performing well in initial exams and earning a place in the Vassalarki academy

Stratokari

The Stratokari are the officer class of the military. They are a small group of officers, ranging from captains to spies to Generals. They are generally highly regarded and respected, as even though many were enthralled during the Mind Flayer occupation, many helped defend the areas of the city that escaped the inital siege.
They are tough autocrats, and those that fail or are considered dishonourable are demoted usually to the Warling Class. Those that perform well are often promoted to Vassalarki and become city rulers. Before the occupation, several prominent Vassalarki families had Startokari origins. Other castes can be promoted to the Stratokai

Theokrati

The Theokrati are the relgious aspect of the city. They are a large caste, with memebrs ranging from general priests all the way to the head of their church, the Matriarch. The Matriarch now also acts as the head of the city since the Theokrati used their goodwill after the occupation to usurp the position of the Vassalarki to become rulers of the city. They are pious and follow religious doctrine orthadoxily, and are considered infallible by the general citizenery.
The Theokrati that perform poorly in their function are demoted to Goldlings. Those that perform well used to be given positions in the Vassalarki, but that is now redundent. Promotion to the Theokrati is acheived by joining the Llothian Seminary after general education is complete. Those that pass their further studies are granted the right to join the Theokrati, but many fail and return to their own caste.

Forsakelings

The Forsaeklings are an unspoken caste, they have been exiled from their own caste and no other has accepted them. This is the lowest place a Drow can sink to. They are forced to beg on the streets and are given no work, and often made to take refuge in the wilds of the Underdark or in Slave Quaters where they are also treated with derision.

Culture

Grazzarian culture is heavily informed by its Caste System. It may be flexible, but it informs the manners of respect and politeness throughout the city. The highers castes are given automatic respect and their word followed by those below them. The Grazzarians also have a deep respect for those adept in magic, and even when their own children are taken by the Crystalline Order to become Magakari, this is a matter of pride for most of them, at least publically.
A key cultural aspect is the naming convention. Grazzarian names are in three parts, their first name, their caste name, then their family name. For more on this, read the naming conventions further below.
Grazzarians have a love of culture and the arts, especially sculpture and paintings. They consider themselves an artistic people, with their culture coming second only to their religiousness.
Grazzarit is an autocratic state with secret societies, slavery, and secret police that look out for any transgressions. Many Drow may harbour secret protests against their state, but they will never voice it in fear of torture by the ruling classes.

Archetypes

The Grazzarians, as Drow, are rarely seen or observed by the other cultures of Prima Terra. They are a versatile people that excel in many things. A Goldling may leave the city and travel the surface as a bard, a Theokrati may venture out as a dark paladin of Lloth, a warling may seek their own fortune as a wondering fighter, or even as rouge. A member of the Magakari may journey the surface in search of magical lore to bring home, or perhaps a member of the Forsakelings has escaped the underdark to find a new life above.

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Feminie first names came at the start of the name. They tend to end in -il, -ia, -ie,

Masculine names

Masculine names also come at the start of the naming tradition, they tend to end in -on, -io, -ol,

Unisex names

Unisex first names came at the start of the naming tradition. They general end in -ial.

Family names

Family names come last in the naming tradition of the Gazzarit Drow. These denote a number of things, either being a famous ancestor, their job, their historic clan, their place within the city, or an action they or an ancestor have become known by.

Other names

The middle portion of a Gazzarinian name is always their caste. An example of a full Gazzarian name would be: (fem) Cariel Theokrati Denorkal. This name would indicate they are Cariel of the Theokrati caste, in the family of the famous Drow Denorkal. (mas) Zadon Goldling Marranki. This would indicate they are Zadon of the Goldling caste, and their surname denotes merchant. (uni) Landial Magakari Abjoraidil. This name means they are Landial of hte mages caste, and their family is known for abjuration.

Encompassed species

• Drow