V1.0, 30 Nov 2003

The town’s name comes from the great sunken structure in the nearby swamp, believed by many to be the burial barrow of an ancient leader or bandit king – and thus full of loot. The site attracts fortune-hunters and adventurers, which the locals gladly rent rooms, boats, advice, guides and supplies at incredibly marked-up prices. So far, nobody has managed to penetrate very far into the flooded structure.

Like other Sylvanian regions, the high incidence of ‘magic’ background radiation gives rise to strange creatures, weather and the occasional mutant along with the usual assortment of dangerous spirits. Luckily, there is a local witch to help deal with the more supernatural threats, along with the more mundane ailments and needs of the populace.

The witches of Witch's Rock have been in the area since as far as any one can remember. Old timers are more than happy to whisper spooky tales about witch's curses and their supposed rituals to anyone willing to listen. At least when an actual witch isn't around. Despite the secrecy shrouding their practices and organization the witches of the region take an active part in their communities as healers, midwives, and sentinels against supernatural threats. A trip to the village witch for a cure is probably a chore most children of Stonebarrow are familiar with.

The Kadies of Stonebarrow live in treehouse complexes organized by clan or family, usually in the same trees they farm for nuts or fruit. A typical Kadie clan will contain four distinct family groups and total up to 20 individuals spread through a dozen or more giant trees which are connected via rope bridges.

The layout of the treehouse reflects something of Kadie nature, with a single large cabin serving as a group meeting hall with outlying storage structures and surrounded in turn by smaller family complexes. Each family complex will also have a single large cabin where the entire family can meet, with a kitchen, nursery and ‘master bedroom’ attached. As children mature, they are moved to a separate cabin where they stay together until the age of 10, at which time the child is given a small cabin of their very own which they will maintain and live in until they marry or are traded to another family.

Kadies are very territorial by nature, and value their individual privacy. Once a Kadie has his or her own cabin, they will be very choosy about who they allow to visit (outside of immediate family members) and may also install secret hiding places in or about the cabin. This latter habit is due to their instinctive desire to collect and hide things, whether food or other items. A collection will usually evolve over time as the Kadie’s interests mature, eventually becoming something that uniquely reflects the owner.

While Kadies naturally vary in their degree of humanoid characteristics, adults generally will stand fully upright with a plantigrade or semi-digitigrade stance, while adolescents and children retain the ability to run on all fours in a pinch. Those who remain semi-digitigrade into adulthood can manipulate things with their toes, but not to the same degree as with their hands.

Common mutations and variations among Stonebarrow Kadies are unusual fur patterns (such as stripes or geometric figures), non-earthtone colors for fur or eyes, one off-color eye, black or darker than usual skin on the hands and feet, extra-large ears or tails and lack of head-hair. Attention deficit, stress-atavism, hyper-activity or obsessive-compulsive behavior generally affect one in ten adolescents, but are usually outgrown.

Notable Kadie clans include Silverfoot, Blacktail, Acorn, Apple, Pecan, Rootrunner and Wingnut. With the exceptions of Wingnut and Rootrunner, all of the clans engage in tree-farming, while the Silverfoot clan is the only one to live in the giant freshwater mangroves of the swamp. The Rootrunner clan is composed of ground-living Kadies, who cultivate grain and cereal crops as well as vegetables. The Wingnut clan lives in trees along the banks of the Mint river (named for the mint plants growing around it). This clan maintains a dam on the river to power their waterwheel-driven sawmill. The Wingnuts provide most of the construction and maintenance services for the community, and control the pumping of water from the artesian wells that supply the town-square fountain and the various Kadie tree-holds. They keep several workshops and warehouses at the base of their dam, and are generally keen on the prospect of the new construction envisioned by Erik von Richebeau. Among the various Kadie clans, the Wingnuts are best known for turning out crackpot inventors.

The most urbane of the Stonebarrow races, the Skeeks make up the middle-class of the community as skilled craftsmen, merchants and administrators. Knowing that they depend on the goodwill of their often larger (and potentially more violent) neighbors the Skeeks are careful to be even handed and friendly, and always keep the best interests of the community as a whole in mind in all of their dealings.

Skeek families live in cottages that make up the most easily visible part of the town – indeed, one might assume Stonebarrow to be a completely Skeek settlement from the road. Skeeks do not have clans as such, but concede to the same naming practice used by the Kadies and Akwavi to show profession-based affiliations. Thus, a Skeek apprenticed to the barrel-makers might be named "Nigel Cockle Cooper", even though he wasn’t part of the Cooper family by birth or marriage.

Skeeks come in a variety of body types and colors naturally. Like Kadies, the Stonebarrow Skeeks may be more or less anthropomorphic as adults. The most common mutations are considered to be ‘Skreekisms’ where Skreek-like features may appear, such as naked tails or dark-skinned hands and feet. Skeeks tend towards plumpness, but younger Skeeks are just as likely to be lean from activity.

While there are no official Skeek clans, there are nonetheless prominent families that tend to dominate certain professions:

The Streusel family runs the Frog and Peach Inn and the General Store, and also owns several cottages that are rented out. They tend to have the leading voice in town politics dealing with merchant matters.

The Miller family is based up at the Mint Damn, and owns and runs the Wingnut-built flourmill and pulping mill (for making paper). It is not unusual for the

Millers and Wingnuts to exchange apprentices, since the Wingnuts are the only Kadie clan that actually has apprentices anyway.

In town, the Cartwrights hold a monopoly on the construction and repair of wagons and boats, and also sideline into furniture making. Much of the fretwork that decorates buildings in the traditional Sylvanian style is produced by the carpenters of this family.

The Weavers make most of the raw fabric and textiles, and employ the most outside labor to work their looms. They have strong business ties to the Millers (supplying scrap cloth for paper production), the Chalks (for getting Rughrat wool) and the Wingnuts (for maintaining the looms). The actual family itself is relatively small, and not as wealthy as they could be if they depended on apprenticeships instead of outright employment. Their textiles are sold through the General Store, as most families make their own clothing.

The Coopers and the Tanners are the smallest of the town business families. The Coopers make the various barrels and casks needed for storing food or other items, which doesn’t require a lot of laborers. The Tanners have facilities at the farthest edge of the town, bordering on the swamp, where they ply the trade of turning skins into leather, rendering animal fat and reclaiming waste. While profitable, it tends to give the family members a subtle scent of ammonia that even their own soaps can’t completely eradicate.

The Brewers, predictably, brew things, providing most of the ale and alcohol for the community – although most families have their own stills, they’re just don’t produce the same quality of product as the Brewers do.

Smaller families either run their own secondary businesses based on the products of the more influential ones, or work in the employ of them or other clans.

There is only one Lapi Clan in Stonebarrow; the Chalk Clan. All Lapis belong to it, and by any measure it is an unusual grouping, structured more like a commune than a family. Jonas Chalk heads the clan, and has several mates, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. There is no actual marriage within the clan, but bloodlines are monitored closely by the clan elders and all matings between members are arranged. To avoid inbreeding, the clan aggressively tries to recruit any Lapis that visit Stonebarrow (or at least tries to get the males to stay awhile). Adolescents and young adults are also encouraged to seek out partners of other species. These practices and the occasional member leaving the community for the road keep the Lapi population stable and healthy.

The Chalks control a large underground chalk deposit, which gives the clan its name and immediate source of wealth and housing. Their warren tunnels are said to stretch to the very edge of the deposit and to an unknown depth underground. The topsoil about the chalk is only able to support a hardy strain of Bermuda grass, and is used for grazing the herd of Rughrats that provides the bulk of the family’s income from wool, milk, hides and even meat. The Chalks also raise Sylvanian rabbits, often selling them as pets or for their pelts. A few times every year, a mysterious foreign Lapi will show up and purchase a large number of live rabbits which are then taken south to the train depot in Blackshire.

The Lapis of Stonebarrow are fairly uniform in build and degree of anthropomorphism, with all of them being fully upright and plantigrade by adulthood. Fur colors and patterns are also within the normal range for Lapis elsewhere, with the only common mutations being head-hair and the rare male developing small horns or antlers. Personalities may vary quite a bit, however, from extremely timid to outgoing and gregarious.

The Chalks almost never let non-Lapi into their warren, and only the oldest members know the full extent of the tunnels.

The otters of Stonebarrow are a mixed bunch, split into two clans with very different lifestyles. The more conservative races view the Akwavi as being annoying, dangerous or refreshing depending on the fallout of their latest outrage or practical joke. The common belief is that the otters cannot take anything seriously for more than 20 minutes at a time. They love to play, and will make a game out of just about anything, no matter how dangerous it may be.

The largest clan of Akwavi is the Oggtons. They live on the swamp in flat-bottomed houseboats that are lashed together randomly to form makeshift flotillas and make their living as fishermen. Fish are traded to the other clan, the Snifflers, or to the Skeek Tanners to be made into oil, fertilizer and soap. It is not the most profitable business, but the Oggtons aren’t particularly keen on money in the first place, believing the best things in life are either free, easily stolen or caught in a net.

The smaller clan of otters are the Snifflers, which share territory with the Silverfoot Kadie clan. These Akwavi are water farmers, raising various plants, sponges and mollusks. They live in wickerwork homes woven between the roots of the giant freshwater mangrove trees that the Silverfoots have their treehouses in. They are marginally more respectable in the eyes of the other races, which favor farming and staying in one place over dubious things like hunting and drifting around at random.

All Akwavi dwellings in Stonebarrow have at least one underwater entrance. Oggton houseboats will have large square openings in their flat-bottomed hulls, while the Sniffler entryways are circular and may include whicker doors that can be closed. At home and in the water, Akwavi seldom wear clothing until they get married or have children of their own, whichever comes first. On land, they generally favor shorts and vests made of oilskin or leather that they don’t need to worry about getting wet.

Mayor Johan Streusel and his wife, Appela: The two heads of the Streusel family of Skeeks and owners of the Frog and Peach Inn and the General Store. Johan has run unopposed as Mayor for the past 15 years, mainly because nobody else can project their voice as well.

Erik von Richebeau: Nominal landlord for the entire region, Erik is a black Gallee poodle with lots of progressive ideas and the zeal of an idealist. He lives with his mother, younger sister, and a pig they believe to be his father, the Chevalier Montagne von Richebeau.

Emily von Richebeau: Erik's little sister, who is a friendly girl who just wants to have fun, put has to put up with her mother's attention and attempts to raise her as a proper young Gallee noble.

Morgan: The local witch, having been trained by his mother. While on duty, Morgan is officially female, which can cause some confusing situations. He lives outside of town, in the Gnarly Tree at Witch’s Rock. Morgan's familiar is a purple creen. There is a lot of secrecy shrouding the background and abilities of the region's witches.

Dr. Floribunda Pike: Resident of the old keep on the northern road, Pike is something of the resident mad scientist, complete with a strange assistant named Igor. Pike can be reclusive when she is deep into a project, but otherwise the Eeee can be seen around town purchasing strange animals that have been caught in the otters’ nets or other oddities. She will often have odd jobs for anyone willing to put up with her eccentricities.

Tarr and Fether: Tarr is a black Korv who is never seen without his derby and a cigar, and Fether his largely silent Rhian mare partner. These two don’t live in the town proper, and nobody really knows what they do when they aren’t around, but most agree it is probably something illegal. The pair is usually running some sort of scam when they’re in town, from hawking miracle-cures to selling treasure maps.

Emmett Oggton: The most popular (and notorious) otter in Stonebarrow, this 19-year old Akwavi has his own band (Emmett and the Oggtones) and, supposedly, a girlfriend in every clan. He is usually blamed for the peepholes that keep showing up in the walls surrounding the women’s bathing area at the hot springs.

Amelia Blacktail: This most recent Frog Princess is best known for being raised as a boy by her widower father, and as such tends to be more aggressive about things than other female Kadies. She often has an air of constant frustration about her because her preferred wardrobe (hand-me-downs from her older brothers) refuses to get along with her actual physique, and she is known to work this off by chopping wood and other activities that involve hitting things. At 18 years old now, she worries her father that he’ll never marry her off.

Clover and Parsley Chalk: These twin does are considered the top of the teenaged female hierarchy, and often act like it. Each blond bunny has a slightly different personality though, with Clover being the ‘leader’ and Parsley going along with her. The two are inseparable, and insist on doing everything together. They mercilessly tease, taunt and flirt to get their way, and only behave politely to those lower on the totem pole when being watched by adults or in the company of their sometimes boyfriend Emmett Oggton. Whenever the Chalk twins are in close company to Amelia Blacktail, quiet wagering will ensue as to how long it will take for the twins to tease or insult the Kadie, and how violent Amelia’s response will be.

The Frog King: No longer the menace of generations past, the new Frog King lives somewhere out in the swamp with his mutant siblings, waiting to meet Mrs. Right. Deemed harmless, in a pitiful sort of way. He has agreed to appear yearly at the local Frog Festival to reenact the rampages (and defeat) of his ancestor.

The Bog Fairies: Usually seen around the Barrow and in especially gassy regions of the swamp, they appear as tiny glowing figures with insect wings. They are rumored to feed on will-o’-the-wisps and are only seen at night. Dr. Pike has a standing offer of 50 shekels to anyone that can bring her a live specimen. Bog Fairy sightings are generally reported by Akwavis, who have reason to be out in the swamp at night.

Old Swampy: Allegedly a large, mutated Serendip, Old Swampy sightings go back for generations and usually involve alcohol and fishing. Nobody has ever told of Swampy attacking boats, but as the paranoid are quick to point out, "That just means there have never been any survivors to report it!"

Stranglers: It’s said that the trees of the Gnarly Wood will attack lone travelers, who can then be seen hanging from noose-like vines at the edge of the forest. Some folks maintain that bandits hiding out in the woods are the real cause.

Buffy the Vampire Lapi: Nobody has ever seen this creature, and most believe it is just a hoax meant to play on the notorious secrecy of the Chalks. Buffy is supposedly kept locked up in some deep, deep tunnel of the Chalk warren that is off limits to all but a few special people, who feed Buffy the blood of Rughrats and rabbits in return for some sort of supernatural insight. The Chalks always laugh this off rather than deny it.

Kevin: "Little children who don’t behave will be found by Kevin," warn parents. This bogeyman is described as an undead Cervani stag with glowing red eyes and a craving for flesh (especially that of disobedient children) who haunts the Gnarly Wood and occasionally mutilates Rughrats. The legend says that Kevin was originally an adventurer, who came across a lost temple to some dark spirit in the Gnarly Wood and was forever cursed as a result. Skeptics usually ask, "If he was alone with this happened, then who saw it to tell the story?" This reasoning leads the younger folk to think Kevin is either just a story made up to frighten children, or else really isn’t that dangerous. A very, very few realize that the story could have been made up to explain the existence of a very real monster, instead.

Montagne: A great black pig with a nasty attitude, this is supposedly the transformed Chevalier Montagne von Richebeau who was cursed in a battle with the Countess Draco. He tends to snap at anyone who gets too close to him, attacks Eeees on sight, and is generally rude and contemptuous (but then, most pigs are).

Julia von Richebeau: Mother to Erik and Emily, and wife to Montagne the pig, this woman is generally dreadful to be around. She criticizes everything her son does, and wants nothing more than to "put these yokels in their place" with the help of some armed Gallisian soldiers and the rebuilding of the Manor.

The Stone Barrow: Located out in the swamp, all that shows of this ancient structure is the worn domed top and narrow muddy beach that makes access difficult by boat (unless guided by a skilled, and expensive, Akwavi guide of course). The debris of past expeditions to excavate the site litter the surrounding swamp, which quickly floods any newly opened passages.

Witch’s Rock and the Gnarly Tree: In a clearing at the edge of the Gnarly Wood stands the Gnarly Tree, a great bent and ancient growth like those of the Wood itself, which is home to the local witch. Behind the tree rises up Witch’s Rock, a tall protrusion of granite rumored to be full of secret chambers, atop which are three standing stones supposedly used in occult ceremonies, although nobody has ever witnessed any.

The Gnarly Wood: Beyond the domesticated giant trees of the Kadie clans, the true Sylvanian rainforest sits heavy on the land. Dense undergrowth and huge, twisted trees leave these woods in twilight even at noon, and befuddle even the best trackers and foresters who venture within. The Wood is claimed to be home to monsters, bandits, and ancient structures that the forest is grinding down to gravel. Because it is forbidden, it is a very popular place for young Kadies to go exploring – but never beyond sight of the forest edge.

The Mint Dam: This wood and earth dam is the most impressive local structure outside of the Barrow itself. Spanning a good 60 feet, it tames the Mint river into powering waterwheels and providing a reservoir that is a popular swimming place in the hot summer. Akwavi like to bodysurf down the spillway, sometimes grabbing onto and riding up the waterwheels for kicks.

The Old Manor: Nobody remembers the last landlord to occupy this burnt out mansion. The grounds are completely overgrown, the roof of the manor itself has long since collapsed in and rotted. There are supposedly intact basements and cellars, full of who knows what, if anyone can ever find them.

Dontgointhe Castle: Home to Dr. Pike and Igor, this old and half-ruined outpost has long been home to eccentrics, the previous owner having been a vampire Eeee who played the role full hilt. Only the servant, Igor, stayed on to attend to the current tenant. Nobody knows how hold Igor really is, since some bits of him look younger than others. The place is a bit like a museum, due to Pike’s eccentric interests and collections, and the ruined portions are still largely unexplored.

The Hot Springs: Alleged to posses magical properties (and to people living in the wilderness, hot water coming out of the ground is plenty magical) this is a popular site for travelers and locals alike, especially in the cooler months. The nearby Wingnut clan has built a small cabin and fenced in area around one of the springs, divided into male and female sections for privacy. A small aqueduct supplies hot water from the springs to the town and outlying clanholds.

Naming Conventions: All PCs belong to a family, either one of the well known ones or to affiliated ones, depending on race. Lapis PCs will always have a family name of Chalk. Kadies will have a family name, and also a clan name if they belong to a family that is within a clan, for example: Sylvain Stutter Acorn. Skeeks may also have an extended name identifying the business family they are associated with. Akwavi will always be Oggton or Sniffler, since the otters don’t bother to track associations. Thus, a Sniffler man who marries an Oggton woman but becomes a fisherman with the Oggtons will be named Oggton, instead of Sniffler-Oggton.

In a small community, there’s a good chance of being known directly or through friends and family. Each PC needs to submit a ‘reputation’ entry along with the usual Stats and interests. This is something that any other member of the community will be expected to ‘know’ about the person, and can affect how the PC is treated.

Certain families will require certain Major skills. Wingnuts and Cartwrights should have "Woodworking" and/or "Mechanics". Oggtons require "Hunting and Trapping". Chalks require "Animal Husbandry". Rootrunners are expected to have "Farming and Land Management" skills. Skeek apprentices should also have the skills required by the clan they are apprenticed to. Snifflers need "Aquaculture", Weavers "Weaving", etc. The level of skill will reflect their standing within their families or clans, and the amount of income they’re likely to generate. All PCs are expected to have jobs, chores or family duties that will take up some of their ‘off camera’ time (and thus provide an excuse for them to BE off-camera if the player is unavailable).

The goal of Stonebarrow RP is to have fun! As such, many of the plots will be light, and each player is expected to chip in and run the occasional light RP as well, such as picnics, parties, and other social events their characters might be involved in running anyway.