Note: Some of this information if from the shaky mind of a gribblet scholar and as such may be incorrect.

Gribblets are a tall, lanky, even gaunt race that resides in the Swamps. Their hair tends to be brown, though any color has shown itself in the extensive racial history, along with every eye color of the rainbow. They usually wear their hair either short or long, but always straight and well cared for. They do not grow facial hair, even into their fifth century of life, and they retain their youth for their first hundred years or so. Their skin is an Olive color instead of the usual pale of the Elves or even the rare Humans, and their fingers are lithe and long, ready for fine manipulation of items. They are very quick in finding the correct answer in games of knowledge, though what they have in intelligence they lack in common sense. (In game terms, this means they get a –1 Charisma, a –1 Wisdom, a +1 Intelligence, and a +1 Dexterity.

Gribblets are a strange mix of a race. While the race as a whole is peaceful and prefers talk to the sword, they encourage their young to leave their cities at the ripe age of fifty and go about in the world to get a better understanding on how things work. This gives the race the stability and experience of the elders while the young tend to experiment and find their niches, coming up with interesting inventions or discoveries.

Gribblets are extremely versatile and may choose any class normally allowed by this world except for Paladins. These are also the ONLY race that may become a single-class mage of any specialist mage class with the restriction that they may Never learn any Necromancy spells or any spells over fifth level EXCEPT within their specialty. Therefore, a thirteenth level Conjurer would know spells up to fifth level of any he wished except for those of the strictly necromantic path and sixth level and up would know conjuration spells only.

The Race of the Gribblets hierarchy is simple. There is a ruling council of five, where one of them (usually the oldest) acts as the chair to the council. Below them are lords for specific realms of Pangaea, and both groups have a host of Knight Templars, who are trained in both physical and mystical combat. (Consider them to be Fighter/Mage for the lords and Fighter/Clerics for the Council)

The Council members are one for each of the five sub-regions of Pangaea, and are voted in by the local Gribblet population. As a whole, the council members have been every alignment except for chaotic and evil. The Lords are also voted in and must answer to their own particular Council Members any decisions that they make that they feel to be controversial, and any decisions done by any Lord may be taken up at the Council Meeting for a higher judgement if needed. This, however, is hardly ever done.

Council positions last until one of generally three things happens: the council member steps down, the council member gets too old, or the council member gets assassinated. Three members in the history of the Gribblets have been thrown out because of extreme bias one way or the other, though none have happened within the past two hundred and fifty years.

One of the strange things about the race is that no one has ever seen a Gribblet that has died of old age. This has given to the hypothesis that the Gribblets live at least as long as the Elves do, perhaps even outliving them by millennia. Due to their long life span, Gribblet Court usually meets once every five years or so. This is usually timely enough to allow minor inconveniences to solve themselves, to allow anger that may have built up to dissolve, and to be timely for any great discoveries, inventions, enchantments, or gifts.

Gribblets often start their life brash, which is why the tradition of adventuring for the young was started. Every elder Gribblet fondly remember the days when he or she was traversing Pangaea with sword in hand or spells at ready, prepared to face whatever was around the next corner. While this practice gives all Gribblets valuable experience and practice in dealing with the other races, it also has the added benefit of weaning out the weak of the race, considering that no Gribblet may choose a mate or sire any children until they return from their travels.

While this complex political structure is apparent to any Gribblet, and the few outsiders that they let in, the life of an average Gribblet is surprisingly plain. Most live in a simple dwelling with comfortable furniture, have a small garden for vegetables, maybe a Goat or two for milk and meat, and a family of bees to help pollinate their garden and provide honey. Considering that they live in Swamps, their greens may cause other races (especially the earth-dwelling Dwarves) to raise their eyebrows (and noses) at the dinners that are served. Their food is generally subtly seasoned with light spices, never anything stronger than salt or pepper. A staple to their diet is Swamp Rice, considering how hardy it is and how quickly it grows. Each Gribblet family has a carefully contained patch of Rice to add to anything that is being cooked. They hardly ever consume Alcohol, considering drunkenness a sign of craziness. Because of this, consider all Gribblets to have an expert level of the plants and animals of the Swamp, the dangers inherent of the swamp they were raised, and how to avoid the bigger creatures with sharp teeth or claws.

Gribblet households are widely spaced, as they enjoy their solitude. Some Gribblets do prefer living in the Cities, again this is generally Gribblets that have not yet gone beyond their one hundred seventy fifth year of life, so these idiosyncrasies can be excused for the young. There is, however, a small fraction of the Gribblet population that looks for patterns not only in arts and warfare, but also in people and their goings on, and this faction almost exclusively resides in the largest cities in Pangaea. There are also factions that look beyond Pangaea itself, looking below the surface or above the clouds on the highest mountain peaks, or even further up on the Great Snow Wastes themselves. Of all the races, the Gribblets are the ones that are by far the most inquisitive and explorative. The historic Homeland of the Gribblets, known as the Valley of Peace, is said to have the most accurate map in Pangaea. Also, the libraries and temples are the most exquisite ever seen by the race of Centaur by the lucky few who are invited to join. While invasion has been tried on the Valley of Peace several times by warlike races, they have been beat back by powerful magicks both of the usual spiritual spells and rituals, plus other magicks thought lost to antiquity when the Great Gem of Power was stolen from the Mortal Races by the great trickster Myratholus. Once a ravaging hoard of Gibberlings numbering over a score of scores was completely wiped out within the span of fifteen minutes, treaties of peace and neutrality with the Gribblets were hastily written up and presented to the Ruling Council. The current practice of the race in general is non-interference, and the attitudes towards Gribblets by other races are grudging admiration, godlike adoration, sullen acceptance, or hidden hatred. Gribblets do not look upon other races by the makeup of their body, but by the pros and cons of the individual.

Gribblet History is strange, even stranger than the Centaurs, the Original Race upon Pangaea. While the society now is peaceful, there was a period of War in which great engines were created, huge enchantments cast, gigantic creatures summoned, terrible threats, speedy counter-attacks, and many, many deaths. One of the most popular stories during the War era was about a pair of mountains with Gribblet encampments on both of them. In a drunken state, one of the resident Mages loosened a lightening bolt so that he can study a better spell for later in the night. Unfortunately, the lightening bolt hit the other mountain. Thinking this was an attack, they returned fire with catapults, fireballs, and webs. Considering this an attack from the second mountain, the first returned with lightening bolts, summoned demons, and controlled monsters. What was left of both mountains later that year was a crater with an island in the center of it, with the few last remnants of the two villages, which then roamed the mountainsides until they were crushed by a band of Ogres and Giants.

Gribblets have a fondness for patterns and designs. Some, after their adventuring, become poets of extreme renown, painters, playwrights, or the odd person a tactical and strategically inclined genius. The bulk of the race, however, is content to settle down, build a house, have a family with one or two children, and live out their life in the comfort and peace that they most desire, tinkering with things that interest them and making inventions to add to their way of life. (It is said that the Beer Taps at most bars are actually a Gribblet invention that was to purify swamp water and bring it into their house without going to a well. If this is true, then the model seen in most taverns are surely primitive compared to the original Gribblet invention.)

Gribblets are hypothesized to be a branch-off of Elves, considering the fact that they are thin and dexterous as the Elf is. However, their inherent wisdom and different way of looking at the world has caused many people to think of them as the original race of Elves, and the elves branched off of the Gribblets. It has also hypothesized that the Gribblets are actually the race between the Centaur and the Humanoid, and some folks conjecture that they are actually demons sent to torment them. Whatever the conjecture, the only truth shall be known by the Gribblets themselves and the Gods.

The Gem of Power is a diamond the size of a child fist clenched. There are five mites of light that swim through the gem, moving in a pattern similar to bees or other insects.

The Gem was originally created by the ultimate embodiment of evil. Few dare to speak his name yet, though the Black Dwarves still worship him. It was said that the Gem of Power was created to bring Magic to the world, just as the Alter of Serenity brought holy powers (priestly magic). It was originally stored in the Mountain of the Lava Dwarves who mined the energies of the world itself. After a time, however, the great shaman <insert her name> ventured forth to seek out this gem. After risking death and even worse peril in so entering the lair of the Lava Dwarves, the Lord of the Dark himself was found standing next to this awesome gem. The details of the discussion between the two were never shared, but no one could question the results. When the gem left the mountain, the power that the Lava Dwarves had over the very earth was interrupted and the mountain spewed forth its fiery heart over the surrounding countryside, reducing the surrounding farms and forests to ash. From this wasteland emerged the Shaman bearing the Gem upon the tip of a staff made of the palest ivory carved into the shape of a chalice at the end with the gem hovering within the cup not attached to anything. This is the historic entrance of Wizardly Magic into Pangaea.

It was said that while the staff was in the possession of a true student of the Arcane that Magic would not become tainted. For many generations the staff passed from one mage to the next, giving the wielder incredible power over the magical world, even over the four elements themselves. However, as time passed, the ownership of the Staff became more of a political race than an intellectual race. Then the ownership of the staff fell to Xard. Xard became ruthless, and became the pawn of the staff. He became a tyrant ruler of all that he surveyed, and caused a Great War to happen, bringing Pangaea into Chaos. His army was a killing machine, consisting of creatures summoned or Elementals controlled or demons that have been contracted into fighting. His army was unstoppable until the great clash of mages occurred. Magical spells kept the battlefield lit day and night. People were dying by the score. And just when all things seemed to be at their worst, Xard summoned an enormous elemental that was fire, earth, water, and air combined in the shape of a Great Wyrm. The great good mages of the world were hard pressed to defeat Xard and his hosts, until they contacted the priesthood of Allah and begged for help. Recognizing the amount of power at Xard’s disposal, Allah placed his priesthood to the attack as well. For another week they fought, holy spells along with arrows and javelins, angels and centaur side by side, enchantments and dispelling occurring almost simultaneously.

Then the great Archangel Myratholus tricked Xard. Under the disguise of one of the Demons, she approached Xard and bespoke him upon the way the battle was progressing. Xard was, by now, extremely tired and living off of Potions of Vitality and reading spells directly from his spellbooks, trusting his summoned minions to see to the minor things. Myratholus convinced Xard that the best thing he could do was sleep as soon as he summoned three of the Great Wyrm Elementals and let them do their thing. After being the general of the troops for so long, Xard agreed to this given the condition that Myratholus would guard him in his sleep. Having agreed, Myratholus watched Xard summon the power of the Staff to send three Great Wyrm Elementals to do war upon the forces of Good. Then, after seeing Xard safely to his pavilion and asleep, Myratholus cast an enchantment of Sleep upon the magus, causing his sleep to be deep and long. Then, with the blessing of Allah, he removed the Gem of Power from the top of the staff and set upon it an ordinary glass bauble with the likeness of the stars held within it. After doing this, Myratholus gathered the Gem of Power and disappeared.

As soon as she left the battlefield, the Elementals disappeared, the spells stopped working for all the mages, the Demons started crying out in pain, for the generator of Magic has left this world and magic is what keeps demons going. With one mighty cry, they all ran back to the Hell that they are a part of. The enchantments cast upon the dead were stopped and the living dead dropped in their tracks. At this sign, the centaurs and footmen troops rushed forward to the camps of Xard and, since his hosts were mostly summoned, met little resistance except for mages that could cast no spells. Xard awoke to find his army no longer there, and so raised his staff to summon a new one, yet his staff would not work. As the enemy neared him, he bellowed a great curse and crashed the false gem upon the ground, causing a whirlwind of light to explode out and harmlessly rise into the night sky. He was apprehended by the great Centaur General Phillipine, tied and brought back to the main camp to stand trial.

The generals agreed that the trial should be in the capital of Pangaea itself, with one judge from each of the races upon the council. He was kept incarcerated until one of each of the Dwarves and Elves, the Gribblet Council, the Human Clan-Chiefs, and the Centaur Tribunal gathered to judge the evil deeds that Xard has done. In the end, it was agreed that he should be given the mercy of allowing Allah to judge him. He was thence forth placed within an Arcane Circle and surrounded by Priests of each of the races, who then cast a great blessing upon the circle, in which they all joined hands and appealed Allah for judgement upon Xard.

Then a great white light sufficed the circle, and Myratholus appeared with a holy glow, armor of faith and a sword of vengeance. In a great, mighty voice, she proclaimed that Xard has attempted to bring himself above the gods, and in the Judgement of Allah, he must be punished. With this pronouncement, she faced each of the priests in turn, and bowed to the rulers of the races as one, and made one mighty swipe with her sword, detaching Xard’s head from his shoulders. She then pronounced that he would go to the God of the Black Dwarves, and abide with the dead of the Sunless Ones. She also pronounced that the Gem of Power was taken from this world, and that only the race of Gribblets, who showed the most neutrality of all the races, would keep the power of Magic within them at its fullest, and the rest of the races may only gain minor power to keep them in check. With that, she hugged the eldest priest there (who happened to be a Sea Elf) and left.

Since then, only the smallest of magics could be cast by the non-Gribblets, and only those of the highest discipline could do so. As for the Gribblets, they forbid any spells dealing with manipulating the Dead from any learning and destroy any copy they come across, save the one they keep in their library to study in case this problem ever comes up again. The Gribblets, while they took a huge hit when the Gem of Power left them, have grown in Magical Talent, and have gotten many of the old skills back. The greatest powers of the Arcane are still beyond their grasp, but they have had scant two millennia to study since the Gem of Power has been taken. They are the most talented of the mages, however, and are the only ones who are allowed by Allah to have the more powerful spells, although it is said that if the Gem of Power ever becomes possessed by a mortal again, Magic would come back to this world….

It is said that the original staff that the Gem of Power was set into holds mystical energies bled over from the gem itself. While none have known where the staff has gone since Xard smashed the false stone, there are rumors that it is still in this world, awaiting Magic to return

The Altar of Serenity is said to be a gift from all the gods to the mortals, to prove that they are among us. It can be found in the Temple of All in the Capital of Pangaea. It is a large altar with three attachments that form into one grand piece of art. The three pieces are entwined like a braid of hair, with three distinct levels when viewed from the front.

On the Top, made entirely of alabaster, is a scene from Heaven Almighty. This exquisitely polished work glistens when the sun beams down upon it so you have to squint to look closely. At the top sits Allah gazing down with extreme gentleness. Just below him are the angels, with their robes and wings. Below them sit the mortal creatures that live upon this earth, living happy lives and reveling in their happiness.

The Center piece is made of rose granite, pinkish in hue, and made of a firm cut of the rock, polished to smoothness but not to shine. It appears as a representation of the four elements with earth at its base, fire and water on the east and west, and clouds up above. Resting between all four of the elements is an elderly person whom is blindfolded with a scale as if to measure if one item is heavier than the other, one side being black, one side white. This piece represents Neutrality, keeping one side from winning over the other, keeping evil in check, keeping good from getting to ‘holier than thou’. It is rumored that, as Good or Evil gains power, the scales will actually rise and fall to reflect this gain and loss of power.

The Right is made of roughly shod iron, seemingly melted into place, causing the entire effect to be at best questionably reasonable and at worst horrific. From the top down, you see mortals toiling through their lives, working hard to do their work, though just below them you see demons whipping up at the mortals, laughing gleefully at their suffering. As you go down the pillar, you see the Caverns of the Underdark with Black Dwarves living there, further down you start to get the demons and devil-spawn themselves, and at the very base of the pillar, you see the Dark Lord of the Sunless Ones himself, looking up and laughing satanically, sitting upon a throne of flame with succubae and other evil spawnlings lurking around his feet. And at the extreme bottom of the pillar, set in the middle of a square, circle, triangle and diamond, is a crystal ruby the size of two centaurs fists placed side by side.

These three pillars each have their own set place of focus, though they are in fact entwined with each other like a braid. The three form within the alcove that it rests within and faces the world in the plane of reference that the artist wished everyone to see. The Heaven braid starts in the back with the Rose Granite in the middle, and the Metallic one starting in the very forefront. The Pillar of Neutrality shows up just above the one-third mark and glides its way up the center with the one who measures the good and evil of the world sitting right in the center, and then at the two-thirds mark you see Heaven enter the picture, with Allah Himself sitting above it all. If you are to look at this pillar from the front, you would notice that Allah, He of the Scales, and the Dark Lord of the Sunless Ones all sit exactly above and below each other. If you were to circle the pillar, you would notice the details getting less noticeable and fainter until there is just a slight etching of what could have been there at the far side, with the Dark Lord at the top gloating, the scale broken in the center, and Allah in Chains with the wings torn off of all his angels.

This altar has been there since the start of days, when Centaurs started roaming the world. It is said that the first three centaurs created were the incarnations of each force, and that they each in turn created their respective pillars. Since then, they each radiated extreme magic, each of it’s own type. The Alabaster pillar radiates Healing magic, and will heal any who touch it’s surface of any life-threatening disease. The Rose Granite of Neutrality is a protective one, and will protect any who touch it against beings of either good or evil, depending on the alignment of the one so touching. The Metal pillar, in it’s rough-hewn state, will curse any who touch it into doing something that will cause them to betray their friends within a week.

Centaurs, being a noble race, they put Honor above many other things. So, when an ambassador of the neighboring tree-folk known as Dryads journeyed over for discussions for a Trade Agreement, they were met with pomp and circumstance worthy of any court emissary. She enjoyed the attention and allowed it to proceed. Them the trade agreement was bartered. This included the trade of herbs and agricultural goods that only the forest could produce from the dryads, along with their miraculous wooden tools, while the Centaurs traded the more durable metal tools, along with a drink that the Ambassador grew fond of, fish, and seasonings.

This went on fine for a while until the Grand High Priest of the Centaurs heard that the Dryads worship plants and trees above all else, joking and even laughing about how a force that has never been seen could be worshiped. With this, the Grand High Priest gathered those closest to him and marched forth to confront the one known as the "Heirophant," the so-called leader of their holy order.

No one is exactly sure what was said behind the closed doors, but the meeting was suddenly made public when the walls and roof suddenly flew away with a great force to reveal both parties glowing with hatred for each other. The Centaur Grand High Priest declared "We shall not rest until you people have been eradicated!" and then muttered a quick teleportation spell, bringing himself and his party back to their homeland, where they quickly prepared for war.

Since then, the war has gone off and on for many hundreds of years. And though the hostilities are muted, the war continues on today….