Visse and Halflings (A to Z Challenge)

Behind the Curtain: The Sea of Stars began (and continues) as a Dungeons & Dragons campaign world, it was designed partly in reaction to the last two campaigns I had which featured very narrow choices of kin and restrictions on classes, the Sea of Stars was to be wide open yet based on D&D 3 rules, so the kindred allowed in that book needed to be included in some way, but I wanted them to have their own unique backgrounds and ties to the campaign world.

First, they needed a new name, Visse is what came to me, though I have no idea why.  It has been retrofitted into Draconic, vis is to serve, the suffix -se is “one who”, so a visse is a servant in general but a Visse is one member of the people created by the dragons to serve them.

Second, what makes halflings special?  What is unique to them as a people. how does that define them?   Ask anyone who I game with and they will tell you that I love halflings, not just halflings in general but specifically hobbit-inspired halflings.  (I actively dislike the “natural thieves” version of halfling that populate the Forgotten Realms.)  So, I decided to lean heavily in the hobbit ideal for the Visse.

Third, the Visse are a created kindred, they did not exist before the Sundering and emerged soon afterward.  The Empress was involved but on what level is unknown but she took to the Visse soon populating both her household and the Imperial Bureaucracy with them.  Having Visse servants become a sign of Imperial favor and thus status, soon, they were everywhere to the point (which is still true) that Visse and bureaucrat are effectively synonyms in the Sea of Stars.

Fourth, the nature of the Visse makes them both loyal and less afraid of dragons than most.  So, if they are loyal, one might ask, how did the Sen’tek conspiracy to overthrow the dragons come about?  Simply, their loyalty became corrupted by ambition, ambition imparted by draconic blood.  [After the Sen’tek Betrayal, dragons and the dragonblooded were banned by Imperial law from mating with the Visse.]

Fifth, the Visse homeland are the vast fertile and green fields that surround the Imperial Capital where most of the Visse are raised in small rural communities before being dispatched to the big city to find domestic or state service.  The Visse have a deep attachment to their bucolic lifestyle and most who retire from service return to the Visse countryside.  Yes, this is the idyllic countryside of the Shire or middle England and it is where the heart of the Visse resides.

Sixth, the Visse are generally content to work in the stability of domestic service, in their towns and farms, or in the bureaucracy.   But a few have the desire for more and set out to become venturers, such Visse are viewed as black sheep and much talked about and almost never in an approving fashion.  Such ‘wanderers’ usually never return home to the Visse countryside but the few that do are viewed with suspicion by their neighbors and relatives.

Seventh, Visse family names are often very prosaic among the ones that I have used: Flinttinder, Foldcloth, Glassgrinder, Polishbright, Threadneedle, and for a friend’s player character Tallymoney.

Notes: So, as you can see, I embrace the hobbitness of the Visse very deeply.  Indeed, my favorite hobbit family names exist as Visse family names as well: Sugarfoot and Grapestomper.

This completes the major Kindreds of the Sea of Stars (though, arguably, the Sen’tek are a minor Kindred) and how they fit into the world.  You can read about the others: Earthkine and Elves, Gemkine and Dwarves and Sen’tek and Gnomes, if you wish.

The Visse tend to show up more in the background and as supporting cast but there have been a few quite fun characters over the years too.

Image photo from PublicDomainPictures.net and is in the Public Domain.