“Cousin,
You will appreciate my hesitation in writing to you on this matter. As quartermaster it is my duty and my delight to keep the city guard’s equipment in perfect working order. But now rust begins to tarnish new swords within weeks, and chainmail links fall asunder and will not be mended. Something is terribly wrong. Please come soon.
Malachy”
Who are the Creidhe?
Beloved and highly appreciated residents of Tirneach with a reputation as menders of the broken, the Creidhe are one of the playable species of the Five Realms. If you are playing a Creidhe, perhaps you have a love of fixing things and joined a band to keep their weapons and armour in working order. Or perhaps you are a skilled blacksmith who crafts excellent items for your comrades (for a price.) Or you might just be a curious individual, eager to see the world and find out how things fit together.
The Creidhe have a well earned reputation as menders and fixers without peer. Even as children, Creidhe are known for their love of taking objects apart to see how they work, and putting them back together again. As they get older the second part becomes more frequent and successful. Every settlement, no matter the size, wants at least one resident Creidhe for their valuable skills and are willing to tolerate the curiosity of their children for the sake of the skills of adult Creidhe. A Creidhe will seldom have problems entering a new town or finding employment.
Few Creidhe are known for innovation or new discoveries, instead generally preferring to maintain and perfect what already exists. The Creidhe have a saying that they pass down to all their children to live by: “If it is broken, fix it. If it isn’t broken, give it regular maintenance to keep it that way.”
Sometimes dark whispers arise of Creidhe who never move on to the “putting things back together” phase and instead revel in destruction and sabotage. Most dismiss these rumors as nonsense, and local Creidhe take pains to ensure that any activities causing such rumors stop, permanently.
Origins of the Creidhe
The Creidhe have long been a part of life in Tirneach and due to their reputation for usefulness can be found in most settlements across every region.
Some claim that they were the last species made by the Shaper, for the purpose of maintaining and perfecting the wonder of their creation.
Others speak of a different species deep in the Eastern Reaches with green fingers and a reputation for farming as the Creidhe do for smithing, and a possible common ancestry.
Whatever the truth of their origin is, the consensus is that people are very glad the Creidhe are here.
Playing a Creidhe
The Creidhe have the golden touch for fixing things, and as such all Creidhe should phys rep golden fingers. The simplest way of doing this is applying gold nail polish to your fingernails. If you do not wish to paint your nails you may cover your fingers in gold paint.
Creidhe characters start play with the Golden Touch Feat, which shows off their skills at tinkering and mending. This Feat allows the Creidhe to repair weapons, shields and other non-armour items in only 10 seconds, while other species take a whole minute! Also, Creidhe are able to repair all armour types, while other species require three Feats to get to that level of prowess.
Most Creidhe live a life of relative privilege and success, as they are so welcome everywhere. Many own smiths and forges, while others own repair shops or work maintaining machinery and constructions like bridges, sewers or mills. The Creidhe are a low difficulty phys rep race for players interested in playing crafters, menders, or just someone with an extreme interest in how things work.
The lifespan of the Creidhe:
Average life expectancy: 80-90 years
Maximum life expectancy: 100 years
Common causes of death: Old age
How Creidhe view the other species:
Drakeblooded: They understand that you need to take care of the important things.
Fathach: Living beings that are built not born, I would love to take one apart to see how it works .
Firetouched: Most of what they create can’t be fixed, but if you like music while you work, invite one over.
Humans: An adult human is basically an extremely obstinate Creidhe child. Don’t leave anything you can’t fix yourself near them.
Krieger: If you ever need lots of work, just go somewhere with lots of Krieger.
Leasiar: They build the most beautiful things to maintain, and they appreciate a well crafted tool.
Vartach: If you remember to bow and scrape and be ever so grateful for any work they give you, you will have a valuable customer for life.
Wildlings: Make sure you look at their faces, if you see a nice berry or a crop they probably need some harvesting tools fixed. If they have fangs and thorns, bar your door and run out the back.
Some Creidhe You Might One Day Meet…
Leigh Lamahanóir originally hails from Siabhal. Since she was a child, Leigh longed for a more adventurous life. Instead of following in her father’s footsteps and taking over his shop, Leigh journeyed to a small village in Bruid where she was welcomed with open arms and immediately set to fixing their tools and weapons. She relishes the challenge of life in Bruid but lately at night she has been hearing strange howling outside, and finding deep gouges in the villages walls.
Jarlath “Jiffy” Murnaigh is a former gallóglach who earned his nickname by always having things fixed in a jiffy. Since retirement Jarlath has moved to the lowlands of Baol. He is enjoying the quieter life of fixing pots, pans, wagons and other items for the villagers, as well as helping see off the occasional Highland raid, and telling stories of his exploits in taverns to encourage youngsters to join the Gallóglaigh.
The Wrecker may be merely a legend. Most of what is known of the Wrecker is rumor and hearsay. They speak of a Creidhe in love with destruction who can be hired to sabotage any machine or building, no matter the size or security of it. Some say they are a devout adherent of the Breaker heresy, others speak of them working for the Riverborn. Other Creidhe vehemently deny their existence, and seek to make that denial a reality.