The Afridhi

[Havard]

Nice writeup on your blog Havard. Unfortunetly short though. Seems strange that, given they have been such a long time part of Blackmoor, there isn't more written about them or that ZGG didn't produce a sourcebook.

Thanks!
There's more coming
One reason I kept it so short was that I wanted this article to focus on the origins of the Afridhi in the campaign. I plan on writing something longer later on, but I am also hoping this thread can give us some ideas first. The best official source on the Afridhi is DA4. It actually has more information on the Afridhi than on the Duchy of Ten, so the title is somewhat misleading.

Matriarchy - so can you elaborate on this? My sense is that its an assumption because of Toska Rusa and her priestesses, but having a female priesthood, even in a theocracy does not alone a matriachy make. In fact, its not unusual for cultures to reserve spiritual roles to women where they are otherwise considered secondary to men. In such societies women may become shamen/whiches/priests to gain some power in their lives. I'm not sure what the case may be with the Aifridi.

Interesting question.
It seems like the authority of women extends well beyond the spiritual. The leaders of society are the Sisters of Fire, who act as judges, tax officials and leaders. Then there are the Hand Maidens of Death who are a kind of elite soldiers or commanders. On the other hand there is a secret group called the Children of Zug which wishes to the end female dominance.

Black skin -I forgot about that and its a very important detail because black skin is of course a biological no no in northern climes where lack of sunlight results in low production of vitamin D. To survive and maintain black pigmentation, the Aifridi must either have a secondary source of Vitamin D in thier diet or be biologically different from other humans.

interesting to note that both black skin and red hair have been thought by people to be the "mark of Cain" and associated with murderous rage. Also Kali is black as midnight. Perhaps Dave was drawing on that imagery.

My impression is that it is an unnatural blackness to their skin. In the ZG version, Zugzul is the God of Fire and Darkness, so there could be a link here. I do like the Mark of Pain parallell though...

The connection to EPT is extremely interesting since it would imply that Toska Rusa and the Aifridi are a kind of import from EPT culture and EPT could be used as a source to expand our info about them.

Of course there is also the obvious connection to ancient zoroastrianism.

Definately interesting ideas. Perhaps something Jeff can help us with...

-Havard