Gypsies

What is known of the Gypsies of Dorwinion is that they hale from the wild expanse of Dorwinion, a country famous for its wine (even the court of the Elvenking of Mirkwood are known to enjoy it) and exotic airs to which is generally referred to as ‘east of everything else’. Dorwinion is a vast country flowing north and south, west and east of the Rhun, composed of rolling hills, vast fields and vineyards though deeper to the east arid lands and sand takes over. Like in other kingdoms of Men, the power and prosperity in Dorwinion is concentrated in the hands of the few. Though they do not have a titled nobility as lands filled by the Dunedain are prone to, the great and noble Merchant House Families essentially fill the same role, spreading wealth and prosperity amongst the Dorwinion peoples as well as politics, drama and the occasional spat, the greatest of which was known as the War of the Vine. In Dorwinion, land is power and power is wealth. Gypsies own no land, little tangible property, no titles and no respectable (IE - permanent) livelihood. Due to this they are of the lowest caste of Dorwinion. Amongst the wider expansions of Rhovanion, when Gypsies travel outside of Dorwinion they are known for bringing wine, women, and song with them, and thus are generally accepted as a passing amusement.

Playing a Gypsy of Dorwinion

- Gypsies share the same coloring as the rest of Dorwinion - they tend be of darker complexions with hazel, brown, or green eyes. Their hair tends to be thick and curly or wavy. They vary in the views on the stigma on mixing blood - some gypsy families welcome it (generally those that travel in Khilriad the border lands between Dorwinion and Rhovanion) and others abhor the very concept of it and judge it harshly in the fear of losing their culture.

- Gypsies are quite nomadic. The large majority are Itinerant workers, travelling the seasons to find work on  the lands’ various vineyards and small farms, or travel the countryside performing odd jobs for coin or trade. Some travel up and down the River Running on trade barges or small ships working as make shift traders or fishermen. In generations past, many would travel in wagons which they call -vardun- but that is a tradition long dying among younger generations and even then, exceedingly rare to be found outside Dorwinion because of its overtly obvious association with the Gypsy lifestyle. Gypsies rarely settle down even when a permanent job is offered, because of a distrust (perhaps deserved) of binding agreements with those outside their kith and kin. They enjoy the adventure and the life of the road. There are stories where the Gypsy refers to this lifestyle as the Way of the Wanderer or the Way of the Leaf. It’s a lifestyle that trades wealth and security for culture and freedom.

- Gypsy children learn to work with their parents from a young age. As few Gypsies read or write, and rarely involve themselves in the more structured Guilds, their traditions and handicrafts are taught by experience and memorized over a lifetime. Because of the high majority of gypsies who work as vineyard workers working to prune and cut vines and grapes they tend be skilled and familiar with handling small knives from youth. It’s thus rare to find a Gypsy that doesn’t carry a dagger or small-blade on them, whether out of habit or for the display that it could be used.

- Because of their constant travel, Gypsies rarely develop a distinguished accent from any of the Dorwinion regions and instead have their own mottled, blended accent which is particularly evident when speaking outside of their native tongue. It’s a curiousness that seems to make it seem like they are from everywhere and nowhere at all.

- When living amongst non-Gypsies, the Gypsy is fond of attempting to blend in, in whatever manner in which they may – be it with fashion and form, and in some cases politics and culture. Whether this is self-preservation or an attempt to conceal their low-caste status, the gypsy is rather good at this camouflaging way about their lifestyle. They tend to act overly deferent and polite to those they view as social betters as a way to seem well-bred and mannered. The Gypsies of Dorwinion are more apt to tone down their wildness and conceal, their low-caste heritage. Though, they are proud of who they are, their blending in is not out of shame, but out of the ability to linger longer in any one place before being run out. As a matter of pride, however, few will flat out lie or deny their heritage if the straight question of it is put to them directly.

A Dorwinion being called a Gypsy who is of higher birth and station would be a rather crass insult questioning one’s legitimacy in birth as well as the legitimacy of one’s employment or the propriety of one’s love affairs.

-The fact that some of their members seem taken to fall in with nefarious sorts and not exactly stay on the right side of the law can give them a touchy reputation, but to infer purely on basis of association that any Gypsy is a thief or dishonest purely by matter of being Gypsy is a matter of grave insult that can lead to physical consequences.

- Gypsies both male and female are known for wearing sandals and kohl around the eyes. Kohl is not a fashion statement but a practical means of shielding vision from the beating sun during work in vineyards and fields and as means to prevent sweat from entering the wearer’s eyes. Thus the wearing of kohl tends to be one of the last habits lost, even amongst those attempting to blend into outside society because of its practical purpose. The lack of it marks thus usually Gypsy who has been “domesticated” away from the traditional manual labor of their people.

- A male Gypsy generally keeps himself without a full or wayward beard as beards are common habitats for lice and other wayward pests one might pick up in their travels. Instead, they usually keep goatees or moustaches they usually meticulously groom as a sign of personal pride.

- A female Gypsy keeps her hair shorter than is common amongst the Men of Middle-Earth. It is rarely below shoulder length, because both of the expense of maintaining and cleaning longer hair and the impractical nature of it given their manual labors. It is very common for female gypsies to cover their hair with a headscarf (called a tichel) that they often decorate with charms, temple rings, bells, or trinkets from their travels.

- While there are promiscuous Gypsies that contribute to the low-caste group’s ill assumed reputation at times, it is not truly their way. Because of the high importance of personal honor and loyalty to one’s kin, there is a high belief in armaya (curses, ill luck, bad fortune) attached to the breaking of oaths or taboos.  Baseborn offspring are not hated nor seen as shameful in the capacity of being born a bastard though they are seen as poor-taste and the action of a ‘child’, someone without care or without wisdom for the ‘extra’ weight added onto their family or kin by adding on another mouth to feed.

It is not unknown for a group of Gypsies, or a family, to outcast one who continues to feed the ill-wrought rumors with tangible truth or one who keeps on adding to the extra mouths without a care for how they will be provided for. At  many times the offender will be shunned, but the children will be kept and fostered to other relatives so that they can be preserved and taught the proper ways of their kin. To be outcast and under prastlo, the shun,  is the worst sentence a Gypsy can be given by their own kin. As it is a mark not only against lives but potentially their souls, for the worst imagined afterlife of a Gypsy is cold and dark, and cut off from kith and kin.

Gyspies tend to avoid much dealing with the Law and as they own no property to risk, they often will adhere to a less formal union, where both man and woman seek out an approved union from the head of their shared family or the of their individual families. Once approved, the woman begins wearing a red scarf whether in her hair, on her head, or about her hips.

Commonly, once married the female Gypsy will knot her red scarf always on the left hand side and never the right side, for the right is sign of a widow stating that she would ‘welcome another hand’. This is where the similarities end amongst their kindred. Courting is an artform for the Gypsies and therein greatly varies. The male Gypsy is expected to astonish the female in some capacity and through his peacocking earn her unwavering love. Meanwhile the female will court with food for the art of cooking is one thing nearly any female Gypsy can do very well, their main domestic trait for Gypsies do not keep homes, but the making of traditional dishes provides the feel and security of home regardless of where they happen to be living.

- Gypsies tend to be superstitious, with a high belief in armaya  - curses, ill luck, and poor fate related to the breaking of oaths or taboos. They believe if they follow their traditional ways and stay away from things that bring armaya, they will be rewarded with a glorious afterlife they refer to as “the Golden Vineyard” a place where there is always warmth and friendship and wine flows forever without need for hard work and unending labor. Kris - it’s alternative is the place of judgement - a cold, dark, lonely place without friends or joy.

A figure referred to as “the Dancer in the Grass”  (the grass in question referring to vetiver a fragrant herb-grass exported from the region) is seen as the judge of whether people are fated to one place or the other, and he is often supplicated to in times of difficulty.

When depicted, the “Dancer” with his sylvan like imagined grace and lithe form give some hint to the idea by scholars that he is the remembered figure of an Elf from Ages past who had interacted with Dorwinions before the Elven exodus from the region, perhaps one of the Eldar who had taught them winemaking and handicrafts and his stories and likeness have been mythicized as they were remembered by oral tradition. Or, that it is a mis-gendered remembering of the Valar Queen Nessa. Trying to give such a stoic and sterile explanation of him to a Gypsy, however, is likely to meet with scoffing or offense.

- Gypsies, like many Dorwinions, often keep cats to ward off whatever lurks in the shadow and thus would never offer harm to a cat of any nature or kind. To do so, would be armaya.

- Storytelling, fortune-telling, poetry, and singing are favorites of the Gypsy and perhaps a telltale sign to their verbal history keeping as they’re stories and feats are ingrained into the soft minds of their youth over and over again so that their tales are never forgotten.

- Each Gypsy family is headed by a Da, a male Gypsy seen as Father to everyone in the family whether or not such is true. His wife is treated as the Ma of the family, as well, and everyone is brother and sister therein whether true or not. When it comes to children in the family, everyone in the family raises the child.

- The greatest of crimes amongst the Gypsy is selfishness. Yours and mine are not words familiar to Gypsies when it comes to family. They share everything but their spouses. To be indecent with the spouse or intended of a kin member is one of the deepest armaya to commit as it would be a compounded offense involving crossing multiple boundaries and taboos - most strongly as the spouse or intended of a kin member is seen as a brother or sister.

Gypsies of Dorwinion Culture Reference

- Gypsies are of the low-born caste and even therein are treated as the lowest of them. Even in Dorwinion they’re treated as outsiders, often looked at as criminals, wastrels and never-do-wells.

- Gypsies will attempt to blend in but only a very unwise one would dare to attempt to blend or to pass above their rank or as a member of one of the Merchant Families.

Low-Caste

The low-caste of Gypsies and Sailors/Pirates on the Inland Sea are all both fond of headscarves, sandals, and the use of kohl. Fine wares are very uncommon for these castes and if they’re wearing such, and they’re rank is found out, they are most assuredly going to be publicly ridiculed if not otherwise fined by the powers that be. The low stay low, is the saying.

The worst imagined fate for a working or middle class Dorwinion is to lose their land or their profession and to need to join the gypsies in their low-standing and manual labor.

The materials of the low-caste are goatskin and coarse wool. Brigadine is only permitted for those with official military association or as the private guards of the Merchant Families.

What Would Other PCs Know or Assume About Gypsies of Dorwinion?

- Gypsies are thieves and drunkards, cheats at cards and dice.

- Gypsies are all baseborn and stealers of hearts and virtue.

- If there were any accepted positives for hiring gypsies (for as long as they stay around at least) it would be as vintners, gardeners, farmers, cooks, or bards, work that they tend to excel at. You might need to keep an eye on them, but at least they’ll be polite while they are robbing you.

- Blond and red hair and blue eyes are unheard of amongst Gypsies.

- Gypsies, like other Dorwinions, are singers and tinkers, party-throwers and drink nothing but wine and brandies except out of desperation.

Suggested Backgrounds and Roles

Dorwinion Gypsy

Requires 2 RPP.

Strongly Suggested Skills: Dalish

Other Useful Skills: Foraging, Gardening, Farming, Cooking, Combat Skills as appropriate to your character’s background. Those wishing to choose the fortune-teller or minstrel route should prioritize Presence as a character statistic.

Background: You hale from the low-born caste of Dorwinion as a nomadic Gypsy. Either you make your livelihood as a seasonal laborer, a fortune-teller, a traveling minstrel, a pick-pocket, a wayward cook, or a mercenary and have the itch to travel, see new things, and fit in somewhere but like the rest of your kind – fitting in is hard and making roots is nearly impossible. Whether by fortune or misfortune, you find yourself in Utterby.

Free Racial language - Dorwinian and Haggle, +5 to Small-Blade

Stories and Songs

Players are encouraged to submit songs and stories for Gypsies of Dorwinion as they’re playing. Please respect all Copyright Laws. If it is someone’s work, heavily or loosely based on someone else’s work, or even that of work too old to maintain a maker’s name – give the source, when submitted, due credit.