Underfolk

Jaskinisse

The Cavern Gnomes, or Jaskinisse, were the first surface-born lineage to establish an organised society within the Underhollows. They separated from the same original line as the forest and city Gnomes in the immediate aftermath of the Cataclysm. Like all gnomes, the jaskinisse absorb the nature of their environment. Their skin and hair may be light or dark, but lack vibrant colours, tending to grey and dull browns, with a limited chameleonic ability which allows them to darken or lighten the pigment in all or part of their skin. Jaskinisse settlements are built on hanging platforms and chambers suspended from the stalactites of vast chambers in the Caverns. Their society is formed of networks of collective communities and predicated on open dealing with one another. In their relationship with the 'downcavers,' they avoid strong alliances, and see themselves as creative disruptors, challenging social expec­tations.  

Holower Dwarfs

The Cataclysm destroyed most of the holds and halls of the anc­ient dwarf kingdoms. In the wake of the destruction, the Dwarf Clans sought first to repair, then to salvage and rebuild. Many were forced to move from their now-lowland territories in search of new mountains. Through this, the unity of the clans was tested, the privilege of Clan Adamant resented and rejected, and new social orders trialed. During the excavation of new holds, the Dwarfs in the deepest workings, most of whom belonged to Clan Mottlestone, heard a distant call, echoing through the stone, that they dubbed the Deep Song.   Believing the Song to be a call for help, many dwarfs answered, leaving the restoration projects to dig deeper. They were dubbed traitors by the Adamant, but these Hollower Dwarfs chose the Song over the goals of the Mountain Kings. They followed the call and discovered the Great Seals beneath the Underhollows, along with the last of their guardians. Delving halls into the cavern walls above the seals, the Hollowers took up the Deep Song, and the long vigil that went with it.   The Hollowers are still dwarfs, stubborn and proud, with long mem­ories and rigid traditions. Even after leaving the other Clans behind, they still have their holds and their kings, their smiths and miners and masons. The heart of their holds, however, is devoted to the seals and the Song: Guarding the seals, and ensuring that the Deep Song continues, keeping the forces of the Void in slumber.  

The Kindled

The Kindled broke from the collective effort of the Regime when they grew tired of being the ones who killed and were killed. To escape the Legion-Regime Wars, the kindled sought sanctuary in the underground, and then in the Underhollows. There they created their social order of benefices, each dedicated to holding a region of the Underhollows against the forces of The Abyss. The Benefices occupy the artificial caves called vaults; vast open spaces supported by intricate arches. The Vaults are created using Stone Furnaces, magical devices which use an alchemical process to break down rock to release breathable atmosphere and arcane flux. These furnaces allow Underhollowers to dispose of excess stone and keep the air fresh.  

Goblins

Goblins are traditionally undergrounders, but a number of goblin sibs have descended into the Under hollows and made their homes there. They tend to use variations of the traditional goblin settlement. Called a braggan, such a settlement is a network of dug tunnels and chambers, ranging in scale from a small village to an unpretentious city. Collectively a braggan may cover many acres, but individual chambers are rarely large.  

Kobolds

Underhollow Kobolds are simply those whose warrens have stretched down into the depths in search of Kulmarak's prison. They occupy complexes of small passages and chambers in the cuttings, almost always connected to the higher levels of a warren which, in turn, communicates to the surface.  

Derro

The Derro are natives of the Underhollows, never having dwelt above. Although similar in appearance to dwarfs - a comparison not wise to make around dwarfs or derro - and said to have been waked from stone, they reject both kinship to the Seven Ancestors and reverence to any dwarven god. Traditional derro culture regards the divine with pure abhorrence and the Archdevils as their pantheon.   Pure diabolism is no longer the dominant force in derro society, with the spread of the lineage from a single city state - Devrigr - to a multitude of colonies, accompanied by a growth of heterodoxy and theological openness. The surface, and in particular the Divine Twins, are still regarded with some horror. The Derro are also still fiercely isolationist, with a particular antagonism towards the Hollowers.  

Miconids

The last major demographic in the Underhollows are also the strangest. The Miconids are one of the only Mortal Lineages whose structure is not animal. Their fungal anatomy has many aspects of the outward eladrinate form, but lacks discrete internal organs. Their bodily functions and consciousness are distributed throughout the fabric of their being, which means that they are almost impossible to kill, although massive damage is still traumatic, and can result in significant memory loss. Myconids are also capable of transmitting their memories through spores, so that the lived experiences of a myconid colony's members blur into a larger collective.   As only creatures with a collective, continuous consciousness and a tremendous resistance to violence can, myconids take a peaceful attitude to the World. Each colony, led by elders in whom the memories of the colony accumulate, is engaged in a multi-generational search for truths and understanding. While willing to fight in self-defence, they are generally pacifist, and prefer to avoid conflict, often via the use of defensive, psycho-active spores. Myconids, as individuals and as colonies, are capable of guided adaptations. Each part of the greater whole can be cycled through a variety of expressions, allowing a myconid to shift into specialised forms for defence, infiltration or other phys­ical roles of the kind that the lineage typically find undignified.