As Andoran’s forests dwindle and conflicts between fey, druids, and woodsmen ensue, fey are often cast as the enemy of progress. In some ways, they are—Andoren advances at the expense of nature are magnets for fey violence and mischief. But an older thread of Andoren-fey relations continues to work as a counterbalance. The Andoren folkloric tradition generally portrays fey more favorably, as protectors of humans from attacks by wild beasts or helping them survive natural disasters. This vision of fey is propagated across Andoran, even as more sinister tales of fey dominate around the campfires of logging camps. As a rule, the local fey tend to avoid human settlements and evade human travelers, as long as their sacred places aren’t threatened.
In the absence of direct conflict, a certain amount of cultural exchange takes place between Andorens and fey, both sides curious about the lifestyle of the other. The northeastern sport of prismati (see sidebar) is a good example of humans adopting fey cultural trappings. In some ways, with their adventurous spirit and natural egalitarian tendencies, Andorens are the people of Avistan with whom the fey have the most in common.
Prismati
Fey near the edges of the Verduran Forest can sometimes be seen playing a complicated and enigmatic game using gemstones, bright feathers or scarves, and unnaturally colored patches of ground. Some Andorens have simplified the game and adapted it for human play. Called prismati, the game is played by two teams of nine players each: a thrower, a setter, and seven catchers. Setters for the two teams compete to set an order of colors, and the thrower has to throw painted stones to the catcher in each appropriately colored area. Catchers who catch the wrong stone can pass it off to another catcher, but there are several picayune rules that dictate how this can be done.
When played among the upper classes, leather juggling balls are often used instead of rocks for safety, but most prismati players are children of timbermen or farmers and can’t afford such luxury. Purists claim that half the challenge of the game is throwing and catching the rocks without injury, so juggling balls are considered a poor substitute.
Regional Trait
Prismati Player (Andoran): You’ve grown up playing the confusing game of prismati and throw stones with accuracy and ease. You gain a +1 trait bonus on attack rolls with fistsized rocks or similarly shaped objects, and a +1 trait bonus on concentration checks.
Fey Courts: Humans who interact with fey sometimes notice that Andoren fey often wear emblems or devices giving hints to their allegiance, attitude, or temperament. Every youth who lives near the Arthfell Forest, for instance, knows that a sprite with two winterberries pinned to his raiment means it’s time to run for home, as the fey is in a violent mood. Some Andoren youths have emulated the fey, making up their own “courts” for anything from fistfights at the old quarry to picking sides in an election. These courts can cause town elders and parents no end of trouble as the youths aggressively assert their identity outside of the traditional bonds of family, religion, and profession.