Marukan

Once a robust and hearty folk, the Marukans have become the most downtrodden race of Talislanta. They exhibit a wan and unhealthy appearance, characterized by sallow complexions, sunken eyes, and limp brown hair.

Disposition and Attire

• Temperament: Morose, gloomy, and chronically dispirited.
• Clothing: They dress in unflattering garments made of sackcloth, typically walking with downcast eyes.
• The Curse: They suffer from an ancient curse that has brought unending ill fortune. In many lands, they are shunned as "harbingers of doom" or plague-bearers.

History and Decline

The Marukans are descended from the ancient Numenians.

• Prosperity: After The Great Disaster, they earned enough from salvage to build the city of Maruk, briefly prospering as agricultural exporters.
• Misfortune: A series of crop failures and animal deaths broke the nation's spirit, leaving the city in a state of permanent decay.
• Social Collapse: Stable family units have dissolved as individuals leave to find work. Those who remain work in menial or desperate roles.

Governance and Economy

Maruk is effectively bankrupt and its legal system is in shambles.

• Ruling Council: Originally comprised of eleven leaders, the Council is now often filled by whoever has the energy to serve.
• Incentive: The Council still offers a reward of 100,000 gold lumens to anyone who can successfully lift the city's curse. [^1]
• Resources: Barren fields produce only bland tubers (for phlan gruel) and rock-lichen. A major export is now the dung of the giant ogront, sold for fuel and fertilizer.

Marukan Characters

• Skills: Language (Low Talislan - native), Cultures (Marukan), Laborer +2.
• Quirks: Unlucky. [^2]
• Starting Equipment: Sackcloth garments, shoulder bag, ogront leather boots, 3 gold lumens in copper.

Religion and Superstition

Marukans are obsessively superstitious, believing their lives are ruled by luck and omens.

• Talismancy: They rely heavily on Talismancers—minor magicians who create luck charms and medallions.
• Burial: Ancient, elaborate funeral rites have been abandoned. The dead are now buried without ritual, often in plundered ancestral tombs.

Language and Names

• Tongue: Conversant in Low Talislan.
• Names: Male names include Merdmire and Marud; female names end in "a" (e.g., Merdmira, Maruda).

[^1]: This offer occasionally draws optimistic mystics and savants, though far fewer than in previous years. [^2]: Marukan characters typically possess a "Luck Talisman" of some description, though its efficacy is often questioned by outsiders.