Mortals:Hexen
The Quill already spent a season each on the ‘civilized’ people including: dwarves, elves, urchins (smalfolk) and orcs; along with humans. There are other mortal beings across the land. Mortals are considered to be sentient people who have a finite existence and are subject to death: they are not immortal. Follow the posts this season and the mortals tag to learn more about other sentient beings of Taluma and fantasy settings in general. Note: the classifications of the people of Taluma are different than the ‘monster types’ in core rules.
Hexen are fey who share strange, hideous, or unpleasant features due to exposure to corrupt magic. All hexen generally have limited ability to be in the light, but sunlight and day especially are anathema to them. They have weird eyes, pale or sickly skin tones, and slimy skin, and grotesque versions have other aberrant elements like disease, tentacles, etc.
The hags, and their broods with them, are normally at odds with each other, each wanting to be the sole leader.
Hags
The hags are like queen bees, only one per tribe, spawning their broods. Hags can mate with humanoids which spawned the first hexen but may also mate with their offspring which results in degenerate, savage versions compared to those sired with humanoids called grotesques. The offspring of hags are only male except when they use eldritch rituals to create new hags. Hags usually are the only ones that use magic: they maintain control by making their brood think of it as an unsavory, feminine, art. Those hexen that do learn and use magic, usually having to steal it from hags, are seen as outcasts among their kin. This is most common among goblins. Medusas and harpies are types of hags.
Wretches/wretched
The wretched are the offspring of hags with another mortal. They include goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, and trolls. Goblins are the brood of humans, hobgoblins from elves, and bugbears from dwarves; while trolls are sired by an orc.
Grotesques
The beings known as grotesques are the offspring of a hag and a wretch, or sometimes a different being—usually another type of fey. Fomorians are the offspring of a hag and a troll. Troglodytes are the offspring of a hag and a bugbear. Banderhobbs are the offspring of a hag and a bullywug.
Hexen of Taluma
It is said that hags were mortals corrupted directly by Sezsezkya, but they have a different origin. In what is now called the Swamp of Lost Tears there was once a fey forest. A coven of women fey, possibly dryads, worshipped Stel. When Stel was shattered into the countless stars, Luna cried in grief. Her tears flooded the land, turning it into the swamps. Her grief washed upon the land, making it a place of negative emotions. The fey who lived there were overcome and became the first hags. After time, many hags left the swamps, spreading across Taluma, but it remains the home of the hags and the highest concentration are there, and the most other hexen originate there as well. Because of their dark origins, many turned to darkness and were wooed by Sezsezkya--hence the theory he was their creator--but many are godless, while a few worship Luna, though in an aspect of vengeance.
During the war, when hags allied together and warred with the mortals, it became slightly less reviled for a wretch to wield magic, mainly as they saw they needed the magic to combat the magic of mortals.
