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Bardic Knowledge, or Knowledge (history) or (the planes) DC30:
The Blackblade of Orz is an ancient artifact, a sword said to be forged of compressed darkness. A +3 Vorpal bastard sword, it automatically snuffs any light source it touches (dispelling magical ones below CL20), and can slash open portals between the Material Plane and the Plane of Shadow.
Knowledge (history) or (nobility & royalty), or Profession (soldier) DC15:
Despite their peaceful nature, Hamilians do have a standing army for national defense, but unlike most in human nations, it is composed entirely of women. The Order of the Motherspear, as it is called, was founded by Magister Cowell III in CY 924, with the reasoning that "the male army is essentially rapist" and inevitably falls to predation upon its own people during peacetime.
Knowledge (history) or (nobility & royalty), or Profession (courier) DC20:
Hamilia has one of the best postal systems on Oerth. The noble family of Thurn & Taxis operates a highly organized network of couriers across the entire country, so selling letters or freelance couriers are rarely needed here. However, there are a handful of small, rival postal services here and there, which usually soon fail. The most dedicated of these, called the Trystero, is believed by scholars and minstrels to have been operating from the shadows for millennia, and to specialize in delivering countercultural mail (such as the letters of cultists, anarchists, and spies). Trystero couriers are said to dress in black and travel by night on black horses, sometimes even ambushing Thurn & Taxis couriers to disrupt their services.
Many argue that the Trystero are a myth or an ancient service that failed long ago, but which believers sustain the idea of by attributing random acts of violence to. Nonetheless, the tales perist. The Thurn & Taxis sigil is a post horn, which their couriers carry to announce mail delivery; the Tystero sigil is said to be a muted post horn, symbolizing their eternal mission of silencing the great House of T&T.
Knowledge (local) or (history), or Profession (librarian) DC25:
The city-state of Medinnat al-Salaam in the Burning Sands of Rokugan is known for its scholarly traditions, and the Great Library of Malik there is said to house more than one million books, scrolls, clays, story-knots, and more, including hundreds of thousands of records collected from around the world. Many scholars believe it to be the greatest repository of knowledge on Oerth. The Medinnites have been at war with the Yodotai (a fiercely warlike but small island nation just off the west coast) on-and-off for centuries; the expansionist Yodotai thirst to conquer the great city-state for ostensibly religious reasons, but have never been able to overcome its natural defenses and numerous powerful driftmages.
Knowledge (history) or (nobility & royalty), or Craft (stoneworking) DC30:
In noble households of Rokugani settlements, especially those of the Emerald Empire, a common heirloom seen displayed with pride is the ruyi, a kind of ceremonial scepter with a rich history in their culture. Originally a simple backscratcher, ornate versions became popular gifts, gradually growing so rich that they lost their functional use and become ritual symbols, icons of good fortune, then of teaching, then of wisdom and reflection.
"The Draconic words for "true tongue" refer to the (arguably mythical/theoretical, see chapter 5) primordial ur-language that existed at the dawn of time. Most linguists and truenamers believe that all true names are mere words in this language, and that to speak it is no different from creation and control of the reality around oneself. Some faiths believe that the most ancient gods (or possibly the entities that predated them) used it to fashion the cosmos, simply by describing what they envisioned (see footnote 3 regarding The Light of Pelor 1:12: "And Pelor said, "LET THERE BE LIGHT", and the sun was born, and there was light, and it was good."). It may well be that both arcane semiotics (including spellbook notation, magic runes, power word spells and--to a lesser extent--other verbal spell components) and communicative languages (such as Common, Elven, Gnoll, Giant, and thousands of others--though Draconic is one of the purest) evolved from this true tongue. This is perhaps why multilingual scholars and arcane mages take more easily to the study of truespeech. Almost all of the true tongue has been lost or forgotten over the eons, but serious truenamers strive to relearn fragments of it, for the power such knowledge confers: deep mastery of the entire language would be tantamount to omnipotence." -The Legendary Truenamers
Knowledge (psionics) or (history) DC20:
The geckofolk city of Hezsiljab's High Council of Archmagi created the first psionic half-giants as slaves millennia ago. Many have since escaped into the deep deserts to establish hidden communities, and others traveling further to be now found in disapora throughout the world.
Religious Holiday: Breadgiving Day
Knowledge (religion) DC12: Celebrated on the winter solstice, Needfest 4th, by followers of Saint Cuthbert. Cuthbertines spend the day giving food (especially bread) to the poor, and take the opportunity to preach and gain converts, as well as provide security for the event. The faiths of Pelor and Rao also participate, and try to keep the Cuthbertines from getting too sanctimonious or aggressively preachy.
Knowledge (history) DC15: This holy day began after the Greyhawk Wars, originally as a charitable event for refugees.
