Each year Bellis plays host to several hundred transient lumberjacks who come in the spring, work, then leave before winter. Members of the “old families,” as native Bellisians call themselves despite the fact that the town is barely 50 years old, generally view the rowdy lumberjacks as irritants they must tolerate since they need more loggers than the town’s population can provide. The lumberjacks tend to spend their off-duty hours drinking, fighting, and making nuisances of themselves. For this reason, most of the lumberjacks live in the so-called Pit, a natural hollow adjacent to the Sellen River filled with tents and shanties, while the old families live in the surrounding high ground in a ring of permanent homes and larger buildings. The town authorities take a hands-off approach to the Pit, ignoring all but the most serious crimes.
Bellisians regard the production of honey with the same passion other towns devote to the making of wine and sincerely believe they can tell the difference in year and production technique by taste alone. Though many outsiders view such fussiness as slightly ridiculous, even the roughest woodsman can appreciate the resulting quality of the town’s mead.
Bellisians see forestry as their birthright, and virtually all of them learn at least its rudiments, though they insist upon calling themselves “foresters” as opposed to “lumberjacks,” whom they regard as undisciplined amateurs. (Angry Bellisians often call the target of their scorn “jack,” as in “Are you talking to me, jack?”). When searching for a metaphor or other sorts of descriptive language, Bellisians tend to use forestry terms. For instance, a Bellisian might be more likely to use the term “rotten” for a person of low character, or describe a pretentious person as “full of sawdust.” They also have a rather low opinion of Taldor and its inhabitants, believing them decadent and corrupted by every imaginable vice. They often pepper their conversation with the phrase “perfumed Taldan.” For instance, “That nag pulls about as much weight as a perfumed Taldan.”
Bellis
Large Town standard (democratic government) AL NG
GP Limit 2,000 gp
Demographics
Population 4,800
Type Mixed (79% human, 9% halfling, 5% elf, 3% dwarf, 2% gnome, 1% half-elf, 1% half-orc)
Authority Figures
Brigrim Tell (male human expert), mayor; Fayette Tount (female human cleric of Erastil), Telgara Raym (female human wizard), confectioner; Ulfas Blust (male human expert), logging magnate.
Bellis Traits
Only characters from Bellis may select the following traits.
Bellis Axe Master (Regional): No one knows how to swing an axe better than a Bellisian! You gain a +2 trait bonus on all rolls made to confirm critical hits with axes (battle axe, hand axe, or greataxe).
Bellis Honey Harvester (Regional): Your frequent exposure to bees—and their stings—makes all such creatures seem more like nuisances than actual threats. You gain DR 3/— against damage dealt by swarms and a +1 trait bonus on saving throws against distraction and poison from swarms.
Bellis Log Roller (Regional): The time you spent leaping between slippery logs as they whirled down the Sellen River taught you how to keep your footing. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Acrobatics checks and a +1 trait bonus to your CMB when attempting to resist trip attacks.