Argerkin: Unter and Uber
Hello Friends,
Daemons, or more properly formally Argerkin (‘Those of Wrath’), are in 316 CR the most populous demographic on Verd. They live in the mountains and in the forests, build their homes where human empires once flourished, and even thrive in the depths of the sea. All Verdians know of the daemon, and most have been impacted by the invasion personally (and tragically). That said, even with this awareness, there are few in the east or west that have much of an understanding of daemonic classification or society (few believe the argerkin to have any society at all).
With the Crypstorm having raged for over three centuries by 316 CR, an uncountable variety of daemons have found their way onto Verdian soil. Most died out soon after their arrival, however- victims of their brutal kin or the Verdian climate. Those that have survived and propagated themselves formed societies of their own, some of which rival human realms in terms of size and complexity. Given this reality and the complex nature of daemonic stratification (from a human perspective), I thought it would be fun to write this post touching on the topic. Hopefully by the end, the concept of daemons and how their place in the world of Verd will be made a little clearer.
But first, a sacrifice to the gods of administration. Here's an outline of what I am planning to upload in September (I’m thinking - if I find the time - of throwing this upload schedule up on the front page of the website, which will hopefully be helpful for folks):
September 9th: A bonus blog post! Usually on the first Wednesday of a month I’d be posting a realm guide, but since I’ve just finished the five major guides, I thought I would change it up for September. This time, I will be posting a special entry to the blog announcing a new project I’ve been working on, tentatively called the Zet Platoon! Look out for details!
September 14th: The Liberty Still, a short one-off adventure- With the Legend of Emerlane’s Folly completed, I decided it would be fun to write a short one-off adventure. In The Liberty Still, the heroes are tasked by a band of morose pirates with rescuing the famed Liberty Still from daemon and governmental attack. If the Still is lost, there will be no more Liberty Rum, and if that’s the case, what’s the point of even being a pirate? Look out for this tongue-in-cheek adventure if it sounds like your cup of tea!
September 21st: Anabosis Chapter 6, Project Sigma Ultima- In this Chapter, Emma continues her review of Anabosian charters with project SIGMA ULTIMA. Asking the question, ‘What if two artificial intelligences were given an unchecked capacity to learn and improve themselves, and then were pitted against one another in a game of life or death?’, Sigma Ultima is one of the highest stake projects Emma takes on during her stay. When the AI’s suddenly turn themselves off without warning, the research team is sent into a panic, and Emma is left wondering if the Anabosians might be pushing into realms beyond their control.
September 28th: Blog Post- Unless I change my mind, I am thinking September’s post is going to cover the topic of International Politics on Verd, specifically in the West. To keep the war going, the three western realms have become intensely interconnected with one another both politically and economically. This mutual reliance is what has truly preserved the west and is a topic that bears discussion.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about daemons.
Attempting to categorize the myriad daemon species across Verd is, from the start, a doomed task. You simply would never finish the job. While one might observe and record the common daemons found in a given region, they are almost certain to have missed some of the many plants, insects, fungi, or even microbial daemons that simply escaped observation. Then, move one region over, and you would have to start all over again, with only a few very common breeds spanning both regions. Even if you were able to meticulously record details on daemons from across the entirety of the continent, by the time you did so your bestiary would be out of date, given that a hundred or more species tear forth from the storm each and every day.
So, what are those seeking an understanding of daemonkind to do? Well, the prudent have, over time, determined a handful of classifications that pretty much all daemons can be sorted into. While broad, these rules were not developed with rigor in mind, but rather threat assessment. Basically, Verdians find it a lot more useful to know if the band of daemons heading their way is relatively benign or needs to be avoided lest it kill everyone. To that end, four major categories of daemons exist: Domestic, Unterkin, Uberkin, and Aberrations.
Domestic Argerkin are those that experience dictates pose little to no threat to humans and can generally be dealt with without the use of military force. Most plants, fungi, and herbivorous daemons fall into this category, as do others known to be mostly peaceful (like some forms of giants). Some domestic daemons have even, as the name suggests, been domesticated by humans, or at least proven exploitable.
Unterkin are the largest family of daemons and are considered dangerous but manageable without too much difficulty. These are the runts and biters of the world, but also include more dangerous Argerkin, like Saala and Schwerekin. Essentially the rule of thumb is if local militia can handle it without expecting heavy casualties, it’s likely an Unterkin. When daemons of this sort are discovered in a region, they can generally be dealt with quickly and without too much issue.
Uberkin, on the other hand, are far less manageable. These are Argerkin who represent a significant threat to even well-armed and organized forces. Uberkin can, unless stopped, threaten entire villages and towns on their own, and necessitate the intervention of the military to neutralize. Often when an Uberkin is identified, local forces will set up a special operation to study and keep tabs on the creature while a response is organized and planned. A policy of avoidance and containment is pursued in the meantime. Ravagers, famed for wiping out entire tribes in the east, are an example of Uberkin.
Finally, Aberrations are daemons that have either never been encountered before, or that simply very little is known about. Since the threat posed by these daemons is uncertain, observation and study are key. Then, the best means of elimination can be determined. The enigmatic and ethereal Uni are considered aberrations, as few have ever been encountered, and none have been studied closely.
So, if that’s how daemons are categorized by humans, what do people know about the daemon community?
Military scholars in the west largely consider daemon society to have three levels of development: Solitary/familial units, mono-cultural collectives, and poly-cultural structures (often called hordes).
Most daemons are encountered in the first of these categories, and do not belong to any organization larger than a familial group. The hostile world of Verd is a dangerous place for daemons, and most simply try to keep to themselves and survive (or lack the intelligence to do otherwise). Unfortunately (at least from their perspective), solitude offers little in the way of protection from predation.
As an alternative, some daemon breeds show a penchant for collecting themselves into social structures based on cultural likeness. In these organizations, be they tribes, kingdoms, or what have you, daemons band together for mutual protection, support, and even prosperity. Runts demonstrate this tendency, and on their own have been seen to readily organize themselves into city states and townships, much like early humans. While most of the time daemons will only live alongside those of their own species, there are examples of coexistence when cultural similarities are present.
Finally, and most famously, some kinds of daemons have a tendency to dominate their neighbors, impressing them into service or extracting tribute. While not necessarily an accurate descriptor, since some of these systems rival human realms in complexity, these organizations are commonly called hordes in the west. Usually what will happen is that a particularly powerful daemon or band of daemons will bully a lesser group into submission, and so empowered with their new subjects, continue this cycle until they are at the head of a newly established horde. Argerkin hordes, especially when led by a powerful or charismatic leader, pose the greatest existential threats to human realms, as even skilled armies can be overwhelmed by their ferocity and numbers. The Saala, domineering and brutal, are famous for their penchant to form feudalistic hordes.
So, there you go, a little bit about the daemons of Verd from a human perspective. Hopefully this helps give a little bit of clarity on the subject, and if you have any thoughts, feel free to leave them in the comments.
Best,
Eric
