The Reigar are a minor[1] spacefaring race of humanoids in the Spelljammer campaign setting.[2][3]
"To a reigar, art doesn't imitate life, it is life"[4]
Overview[]
The reigar are a near-legendary race of accomplished artists, musicians and magical artificers,[5] and are only rarely encountered by the average spacefarer. Although they are few in number, they are powerful and influential,[3] and are famed for their artistic prowess and fabulous command of craftsmanship.[2]
Description[]
The reigar are a humanoid race, and by human standards are considered androgynous: their men are very beautiful and their women are extremely handsome. They are usually tall and willowy, with reddish-blond hair. Their natural beauty is augmented by a halo or "glory" that surrounds each reigar. This "glory" consists of a cloud of twinkling, glittering motes that change color in random patterns.[2] The intensity of the radiance surrounding a reigar typically reflects their emotional state: when a reigar is calm their glory is usually lighter in color, becoming darker or more vibrant as the reigar becomes more agitated.[5]
While reigar are visually stunning to begin with, they are experts at heightening their already striking appearance. Hairstyles are an expression of individuality and, of course, artistic creativity. Men and women both wear short or long tresses, highly decorated or intricately styled or both. They ornament themselves with fine jewelry and exquisite raiment of their own design, while facial makeup and tattoos for both sexes are not uncommon. All of this is not a function of class status or of wealth, it is merely a facet of reigar life – one should always strive to outdo everyone else in all aspects of life, and do it with style, beauty, and elan.[2]
Behavior[]
"Art for art's sake." and "The ends always justify the means." are both common reigar motto's.[2]
The reigar always strive to seem larger than life, to appear both real and unreal at the same time. All reigar crave to be the center of attention, hence their proclivity for outlandish attire and adornment. Their passion for artistic creativity extends to all aspects of their lives, and they are justly famed for their accomplishments as artists, musicians and craftsmen.[2] Their cultural snobbery is equally famous. As the reigar see it, they will always be at the cutting edge of fashion, art and music.[5]
Reigar are consummate users of magical spells, especially those that enhance the creative process. Items such as Nolzur's marvelous vestments and lyres of building are particular favorites. The reigar are not limited to any particular school of magic, though they are unlikely to include illusions in their repertoire – the reigar consider it gauche to create something that isn't real. Any spell can be considered to have artistic merit; it all depends on the time and place. For example, offensive spells like cloudkill afford the artistic caster a greater enjoyment of their opponents' deaths – rather than frying instantly, as with a fireball, the poor wretches choke, writhe, gasp – and beg. To a reigar, this is art at its best.[2]
Combat[]
Reigar prefer not to engage in combat personally, as their time is better spent in artistic pursuits (naturally). If attacked, they first send in their helots, golem-like creatures that serve the reigar as both servants and guards. If the helots are defeated, the reigar will then call in the lakshu, their elite all-female bodyguards and shock-troops. Only if the lakshu fail to defeat their opponents do the reigar deign to go toe-to-toe, as it were, with their attackers. And when they do, several hells break loose.
In combat the reigar use a magical item called a shakti, a small (palm-sized) statuette that resembles a figurine of wondrous power (an item rumored to have been first create by a reigar). A shakti may be worn around the neck on a chain or cord, or hung from a kirtle or belt, or carried in a pouch or bag. Each shakti is designed by and for its user, and traditionally resembles the reigar's chosen totem animal or magical beast,[6] such as a panther, a dragon or a phoenix, rendering each one effectively a unique item.
When a command word (known only to the creator/user) is spoken, the shakti transforms into a mode of transportation. The resulting "vehicle" resembles the totem creature lying prone, amd increases in size to roughly eight feet in length. The reigar may sit or stand on the shakti in this form, and mentally command it to move or stop.
When a second command word is spoken, the shakti transforms into a suit of armor and an accompanying weapon (or weapons).[7] The armor is reminiscent of the animal or beast incorporated into the shakti's design, as is the special attack it bestows on its wearer. The weapon can be anything from a sword to a trident to a weighted net, and always generates a specific magical effect when used in combat. The effect may merely be for flash and effect, or it may relate to the type of injury caused. For example, a sword might emit a shower of colored light when swung at an opponent, but inflict no additional damage, or a net might paralyze a trapped victim.
The armor is always made of a metal harder than steel, which is only known to the reigar. More often than not, the chest plate is decorated with an embossed head of the creature incorporated into the shakti's design. As mentioned previously, the armor also bestows a special attack on its wearer. If the creature depicted is a panther, for instance, the attack might be a magical rending attack, performed by making a slashing motion with their arms. If the armor represents a dragon, the attack could be a simulation of the dragon's breath weapon, activated by placing the wrists together with the palms facing outward.
A third command word returns the shakti to its dormant form from either of the other forms.
Reigar usually only create shakti's for themselves or for their elite lakshu bodyguards.[8] The items will only function in the hands of their creator or designated user, and should anyone else gain possession of a shakti, by way of theft (not likely) or spoils of battle (even less likely), the shakti is inoperable. However, a reigar may create a shakti as a gift or as a reward for someone who has done something very, very important for them – like save their life or provide them with transportation. This kind of "gift-shakti" is typically far less powerful and is only capable of undergoing a single transformation once per day, either into a vehicle, suit of armor or a weapon.[2]
Society[]
The reigar have been without a homeworld for millennia. According to rumor, their pursuit of art for art's sake led them to the total destruction of their world in what became known as the Master Stroke. The war was primarily conducted by those reigar who had already left their planet onboard their esthetics, with little to no regard for those remaining on the surface of their world. They pursued the ultimate artistic expression of war through means never heard of before or since, neatly epitomizing the reigar world view - “Anything for art, nothing without style, and everyone for himself”.
Ever since the destruction of their homeworld, and the decimation of their race, the few remaining reigar have taken to wandering from sphere to sphere in search of artistic inspiration. The reigar are largely self-sufficient, as their needs are met by their living ships, the esthetics, who not only provide shelter and protection, but nourishment and entertainment as well. The esthetics also support their crews of helots and lakshu.
It is possible to commission a reigar to create an item, but the cost would be astronomical (no pun intended). There is very little a normal spacefarer could have that would interest a reigar (except possibly transporting their esthetic to another sphere), but flattery goes a long way toward successful negotiation.[2]
Rumors[]
The reigar are the source of many legends across the Known Spheres. It is said they taught the elves and the dwarves everything they knew about creating beautiful items – and they then forgot most of it. Their love of creation for its own sake supposedly inspired the tinker gnomes of Krynn, who ignored the reigar's love of beauty and seized on the creative process, taking it to its technical extreme.
It is also rumored that the reigar built the first spelljamming helm, and continue to supply the arcane. This is of course highly unlikely, as it implies repetition in creation, a bane to the reigar. Art is not a repetitive process. A reigar may well have created the first spelljamming helm, but they would not have gone on to mass-produce them. That would quell their artistic expression and prevent them from pursuing their ultimate artistic experience.
Many of the tales about the reigar concern their relationships with other races. The arcane, who look on all other races with total disdain, are said to bow to the reigar and do as they are told, without question. Similar rumors exist about the mind flayers, but they are hotly denied by any mindflayer questioned on the subject. Still other legends would have the listener believe that the reigar created these races themselves, as an expression of their creativity and artistic license. Some go so far as to credit the reigar with the creation of humans – again, hotly denied by the race in question. The neogi refer to reigar as “damn liars”.
One race the reigar are never credited with creating are the clockwork horrors: the reigar detest these life forms as “bad art” and refer to them as “springheads”.
Depending on which rumors are believed, the reigar have either had a significant effect on their environment (aside from blowing up their own planet, of course) – or they have done nothing but make pretty trinkets. The only unquestionable fact is that they destroyed their homeworld, and did so with weapons more powerful than can be imagined. No one knows for certain whether the reigar retain any knowledge pertaining to these weapons, but if they did, it would be extremely valuable to anyone, and dangerous in the extreme (especially in the wrong hands – like that of the neogi).[2]
Notable Reigar[]
- Cholana was a reigar woman who attempted to channel the rainbow-hued ether of the phlogiston into a wildspace mural in her own honor. By all accounts the resulting explosion was spectacular.[9]
- Cosette was a travelling artist visiting Skyport in Pirtelspace whose magical necklace was stolen by an elven rogue named Alton.[10]
- Lord Hastain was a guest of Prince Andru and resided in a noble villa on the Rock of Bral. What few realised was that Hastain was one of the architects of the Master Stroke, and that his artistic passion lay in the arts of war.[11]
- Hemar was the captain of the trader Penumbra which crashed into a farmhouse on Krynn while fleeing from the neogi. The reigar woman was fatally injured in the crash, and handed a mysterious cloak to the farmer, a young man named Teldin Moore.[12][13]
Signature Spelljammers[]
The reigar live almost exclusively on their esthetics, biological living ships which were first created at the time of the Master Stroke. It is not known for certain whether an esthetic can propagate, or how this could be done should an esthetic be destroyed. Each esthetic will have no more than one reigar on board, but will have a compliment of helots and lakshu to take care of mundane tasks.[2]
Appendix[]
External Links[]
- Reigar article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
- Reigar article at the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition Wiki, a wiki for official Dungeons & Dragons content from 2nd edition AD&D.
References[]
- ↑ Jeff Grubb. AD&D Adventures in Space; Lorebook of the Void, TSR, Inc., 1989, Major and Minor Races side bar (pp.50, 52 and 54)
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Karen Boomgarden, Newton Ewell, MC7 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix, 1990, (TSR Inc.), Reigar entry
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Jean Rabe, SJR7 Krynnspace, 1993, (TSR Inc.), Wildspace Societies section, Sphere Overview, page 6
- ↑ Steve Kurtz, "An Artist's Errand", Dungeon Magazine issue 45, January/February 1994, (TSR Inc.), page 8
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Steve Kurtz, "An Artist's Errand", Dungeon Magazine issue 45, January/February 1994, (TSR Inc.), page 9
- ↑ Elaine Cunningham, The Cloakmaster Cycle, The Radiant Dragon, 1992, (TSR Inc.), Prologue, page 3
- ↑ Steve Kurtz, "An Artist's Errand", Dungeon Magazine issue 45, January/February 1994, (TSR Inc.), page 10
- ↑ Karen Boomgarden, Newton Ewell, MC7 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix, 1990, (TSR Inc.), Lakshu entry
- ↑ Elaine Cunningham, The Cloakmaster Cycle, The Radiant Dragon, 1992, (TSR Inc.), Prologue, pages 2-7
- ↑ Steve Kurtz, "An Artist's Errand", Dungeon Magazine issue 45, January/February 1994, (TSR Inc.), pages 9-11
- ↑ Richard Baker, SJR5 Rock of Bral, 1992, (TSR Inc), The Noble Council section, part 2: A House Divided, pages 24-25
- ↑ TSR Trading Card #717, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Captain Hemar
- ↑ David "Zeb" Cook, The Cloakmaster Cycle, Beyond the Moons, 1991, (TSR Inc.)