Aiel
Proud, fierce, strong, and deadly, the Aiel live in the aptly named Aiel Waste, the vast rocky desert to the east of the Spine of the World. They rarely interact with people from the west- "wetlanders," in Aiel slang-except for the occasional peddler or trader. They implacably oppose the Dark One and his minions; Trollocs refer to the Waste as Djevik K'Shar, "the Dying Ground," because very few of them who enter it ever escape with their lives. But Aiel don 't limit their disdain to Shadowspawn; they regard wetlanders as weak, foolish, and generally contemptible.
"Till shade is gone, till water is gone, into the shadow with teeth bared, screaming defiance with the last breath, to spit in Sightblinder's eye on the last day." -Aiel Oath
Traits
Your Aiel character has a number of traits in common with all other Aiel.
Ability Score Increase: You gain a +2 bonus to your Constitution +1 bonus to your Wisdom.
Age: All humans reach adulthood in their late teens and live less than a century unless they are able to wield the One Power. It is not uncommon for Aiel in their teens to join and become full members of the warrior societies within their clan.
Alignment: Aiel tend towards Lawful Neutral, but generally their concept of Lawful is vastly different from others. Aiel follow a strict code of conduct known as Ji'e'toh that shapes their entire culture.
Size: Aiel (men and women alike) are taller than most all other human races. Your size is medium.
Speed: All humans have a base walking speed of 30ft.
Languages:* You can speak, read, and write Common.
Appearance
Aiel have tan skin and tend to be much taller than huam from other places. They usually have blonde, reddish, or even white hair and pale eyes. Aiel among the warrior societies often wear clothing they call a Cadin'Sor, which helps them blend into their surroundings in the Three-Fold Lands. Whenever an Aiel warrior is about to fight they will raise their black veils to cover their faces. This has lead to the myth that few alive have seen a 'Black Veiled Aiel' and lived to tell the tale; as usually you die shortly after seeing them.
Clans
The Aiel are divided into large groups, known as clans. Similar to the clans that make up Scottish society, each clan is a closely-knit group of people, bound by ties of blood, marriage and friendship. In the Aiel world, there are twelve of these clans.
- The Chareen
- The Codarra
- The Daryne
- The Goshien
- The Miagoma
- The Nakai
- The Reyn
- The Shaarad
- The Shaido
- The Shiande
- The Taardad
- The Tomanelle
Choose one clan that you are a member of. This has no inherent benefit but will change how members of other clans perceive you. Some may treat you as a friend and ally, and some may outright attack you.
The Three-Fold Land
Growing up in the harsh and desolate regions of the Three-Fold Land and constantly warring with neighboring clans has heightened your skills.
You are proficient in stealth and survival.
Ready to Strike
Your innate abilities of stealth and surprise allow you to often attack before your enemies even know you are there.
You made add your proficiency bonus to your initiative.
You may use this ability twice per long rest.
Surprise Attack
In the Three-Fold Land where even minor injuries can often result in death, Aiel have grown adept at finishing their foes off quickly.
If you surprise a creature and hit it with an attack on your first turn in combat, the attack doe and additional 1d6 damage to it of the same damage type as the initial attack.
You can only use this trait once per combat.
Bonus Feats
You may select one bonus feat from the list below.
- TBD
- TBD
- TBD
- TBD
Ji'e'toh
Ji'e'toh is the complex system of honor that the Aiel follow. Ji'e'toh determines all interactions in Aiel life; fighting, housing, even intimate relationships and marriage. The term is from the Old Tongue and literally means honor and obligation.
Ji is honor, and toh is obligation. The greatest ji comes from touching an armed enemy in battle without harming them. This incurs a great deal of toh upon the enemy, and the person who is touched usually becomes gai'shain, which in the Old Tongue means "pledged to peace in battle." The person who becomes gai'shain does so, not only to fulfill his "toh" but to reduce the "ji" of the person he becomes gai'shain to.
A gai'shain serves his or her captor for a year and a day, touching no weapon, doing no battle, and wearing only white. Wise Ones, blacksmiths, women with a child under the age of ten, and those under the age of 16 may not be made gai'shain.
The least amount of ji comes from killing an enemy, as the Aiel believe that killing is far easier than disarming or capturing an opponent.
Maidens meeting their toh by carrying dolls
Under ji'e'toh shaming acts incur obligation (toh) towards someone or oneself. Only the one committing the act can know the degree of shame (or obligation) incurred. Once met, there is no shame in having had toh.
Toh can be met by being gai'shain, enduring physical punishment, performing shameful or trivial labor depending on how it was incurred. The more toh incurred, the more harsh or shameful the punishment must be to meet it.
Examples of shaming acts:
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Reminding or asking gai'shain of their life before putting on white. Being gai'shain is a kind of parenthesis in Aiel life, so reminding gai'shain of their earlier life is reminding them of the shame that brought them to their station. As gai'shain are considered noncombatants mistreating them in any way, even by prompting them to remember their previous life, is shameful and thus incurs great toh.
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Asking publicly if you have toh. Asking means that you don't know or understand your shame, which is doubly shameful. Reminding someone of toh they have already met. After meeting toh, there is no shame or obligation from what incurred it. Reminding someone of their previous shame (for instance, by talking of their time as gai'shain) incurs toh toward them. Ji'e'toh is not a monolithic set of rules to be followed blindly. Sometimes what needs to be done would be against ji'e'toh. Committing such an act does not go against ji'e'toh so long as toh incurred is met afterward.
Encompassing duty and custom, law and life, all Aiel live by this honor system. Following ji'e'toh is what defines an Aiel, as demonstrated by Egwene al'Vere during her apprenticeship to the Wise Ones in Cairhien. The Wise One Sorilea told her she had the "heart of an Aiel" because she understood ji'e'toh and met the obligations she had toward the Aiel.
Wetlanders typically struggle to understand ji'e'toh, and therefore struggle to understand Aiel.