Green Kin (Wermspittle)

Andrikus Dermak has made an extensive study of the 'Green Kin,' and related humanish, abhuman and pseudohuman offshooots. His 'Codex Humanika' is considered all but definitive and is an essential reference work to be found in all reputable libraries, scriptoria, and related institutions. Private collectors have been known to pay outrageous sums to possess Dermak's original manuscript, of which there are no fewer than seven currently in circulation among the diverse members of the underground market in contraband folios and banned works. It is thanks to Andrikus Dermak's impeccable scholarship that we have any of the following details. By Dermak's estimate, there are four main branches of the Green Kin: The Tremish, The Vanjorro, The Verdante, and the degenerate-hybrid Groniz.

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Tremish
The Tremish have notably vivid yellow or violet irises in addition to their lustrous green skin. Their hair tends to blonde, often with greenish tinting. In most respects they appear to be human, despite their obvious differences in appearance and lifestyle; Tremish are primarily vegetarians who have difficulty digesting any but raw plant-derived foods. They tend to live for centuries, if not killed by accidents or violence, and are iconoclastic isolationists who, for the most part, prefer to withdraw unto one or another Mezzoglune, Epi-Plane, or similar such space. Tremish are reputed to possess the innate ability to Detect Ley Lines, Locate Weak Points, and Detect Magic at will. They also have a tendency to Spontaneously Transition from one place to another in what appears a random manner, most often brought on as an involuntary reaction to panic or stress. This involuntary ability may be the root cause for their wide dispersal across numerous planes and worlds.

Vanjorro
The Vanjorro are tall, lithe and slightly narrower in cross-section than most other forms of humanity, and a substantial number of scholars consider them to be abhumans or pseudohumans, not true humans at all. Their green coloration tends to be a mix of lighter and darker shades in a sort of piebald patterning. Their eyes are a lustrous green due to a secondary membrane and their hair is actually a coarse collection of symbiotic fungal capillaries or filamentous tubules. Vanjorro eat sparingly, preferring mostly-rotted flesh over fresher fare. They are immune to the paralyzation effects of undead, such as ghouls, leading some to take up the pursuit and capture of such creatures as a lucrative trade. Vanjorro are most at home in underground environments and are known to have established several scattered settlements, typically not far from the Unterrails, but almost never near any of the established stops or depots. Dermak noted the Vanjorro as being prone to rapid decay upon death. It wasn't until several years later that his original notes were brought forth and it was amended that upon death, a Vanjorro's body will rapidly form a patch of feral green-speckled fungi that may be highly toxic. It may be for this reason that the Vanjorro lack any funeral rites whatsoever and are so fascinated with the undead.

Verdante
The Verdante are a heretical sect of radical vegetarians driven out of their separatist communities across the Three Empires during the Red Purge when all nonconformist and troublesome groups were conveniently blamed for the recent, devastating double outbreaks of Red Weeds and the Red Plague. Easily spotted for their distinctive green skin and wild black hair, the Verdante were easy victims for intolerant demagogues and mobs stirred-up by penny ante rabble-rousers. But even so, they were never the primary target of the Purge. Whenever they were caught by a mob, there were only children who claimed to be orphans and pleaded for mercy from their antagonists. Most often the Verdante children were allowed to take what they could carry along with them into banishment from the great cities. The persecution battalions tended to simply drive them off, since there appeared to be no adults among them, they were rarely considered worth the bother to harass them any further. The Verdante left behind the great cities and small towns to prowl the wilderness until they either found refuge within the Low Lands or found their way to Wermspittle where a significant number of them took up service in the Sewer Militia. To this day, no outsider has ever seen or met a Verdante elder. Since General Order Twenty-Seven signed by Grand Marshal Maxillard Frem over three hundred years ago made it illegal to harass any Verdante on the basis of their age or experience, people have pretty much just taken it for granted that there are quite a few green-skinned kids who serve in the Sewer Militia. Whatever secrets the Verdante may or may not have, they are under no obligation to divulge them, nor will they allow themselves to be persecuted or driven out from their homes ever again.

Groniz
The Groniz are a fierce, hybridized people partly descended from Morlock exiles who fought against the White Sphinx and lost, as well as Tremish and possibly Verdante prisoners originally taken along as potential food-sources. They have since become the undisputed rulers of the Underforests surrounding the False Suns of Iglix, a semi-mythical place that may be a Mezzoglune or possibly some sort of obscure and ancient subterranean redoubt left-over from before the Fall of the Surrigan Empire. They combine the worst features and traits of both groups in an unhealthy, unpleasant amalgamation that has proven extremely durable, viable and fecund, much to the chagrin and horror of numerous isolated villages, small townships, and the like who have been raided or taken-over by the Groniz. It is rumored that the Groniz have only recently sent representatives to Aman Utal to petition for recognition as blood-kin, but this might be errant folklore or pointless gossip.

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Source: A pair of Green Children, a brother and sister, were discovered by the villagers of Wolfpit sometime in the 12th Century. They had an unfortunate time among the villagers, the brother died soon after baptism and the sister went on to become a servant who was regarded as more than a little wanton. The children were said to claim they had come from 'St. Martin's Land'; an underground redoubt where all the people had green skin. The tale has been told and re-told countless times since it was first recounted, and it only gets more peculiar with repetition, making it perfect for adapting to our nefarious purposes...

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