Wood sylphs are typically fond of skilled sport. A perennial favorite is Bokan Chen (Plume Ball), a game where players pass a feathered ball and try to bounce it off of a raised, carved post. Players wear feathered bands tucked into their clothing and are counted ‘out’ if one is removed. Some variants use long wood-and-leather ‘cradles’ to carry and fling the ball. Cradle variants typically use higher target poles. The fierce loyalty common among wood sylphs is often expressed through attachment to Bokan Chen teams. Bokan Chen fans are often violently supportive of their teams, and riots have been known to erupt between tight-knit communities over team rivalries.
Meris Toshesa (Forest Runs) are very popular as well. Meris Tochesa are footraces between skilled meisylvan acrobats. The courses run partly along clear ground, partly through rough terrain, and partly between closely-spaced trees. Large settlements often have purpose-grown Meris Tochesa courses, enormous wooded tracks wound around central platforms full of spectator seating.
Meisylphs, along with dorn and kurgan, appear to have independently invented dice for games of chance. Meisylvan dice are prisms with numbered faces, which roll like wheels rather than tumbling. They range from five to sixteen faces and are used for a variety of games. One of the more popular, simply called Mood (Grow), uses piles of colored stones connected by lines. Die rolls allow each player to place stones on or adjacent to his existing groups, spreading his color around the playing field. Rules variants abound, especially concerning the way groups of stones influence territory and how the array of lines and spaces is drawn up.
Wagering on animal races or even fights is common among meisylphs, though the more violent contests are roundly denounced by the Belassal church. The effective illegality of such fights, combined with many meisylphs’ strong attachment to seeing their spirit animals triumph over others, has created fierce outlaw animal fighting rings.
The use of Aser sedrennans (Creeping Fire, common name ‘Grayleaf) is extremely common among wood sylphs. It is typically smoked in carved pipes but also rolled into thin cigarettes popular with soldiers. It has a mild calming and sedative effect but is habit-forming. Due to its limited chemical dependency, the social effects posed by grayleaf are not generally problematic. However, the renewed popularity of Uld betassins (Flowering Blood, common name ‘Red Laurel’) is more troubling. Red laurel has a stimulant effect when smoked and is more addictive than grayleaf. It was once extremely common among meisylphs, especially soldiers. Its use was brought under control for decades but is experiencing a resurgence in Kaliba and Enoth.
Meris Toshesa (Forest Runs) are very popular as well. Meris Tochesa are footraces between skilled meisylvan acrobats. The courses run partly along clear ground, partly through rough terrain, and partly between closely-spaced trees. Large settlements often have purpose-grown Meris Tochesa courses, enormous wooded tracks wound around central platforms full of spectator seating.
Meisylphs, along with dorn and kurgan, appear to have independently invented dice for games of chance. Meisylvan dice are prisms with numbered faces, which roll like wheels rather than tumbling. They range from five to sixteen faces and are used for a variety of games. One of the more popular, simply called Mood (Grow), uses piles of colored stones connected by lines. Die rolls allow each player to place stones on or adjacent to his existing groups, spreading his color around the playing field. Rules variants abound, especially concerning the way groups of stones influence territory and how the array of lines and spaces is drawn up.
Wagering on animal races or even fights is common among meisylphs, though the more violent contests are roundly denounced by the Belassal church. The effective illegality of such fights, combined with many meisylphs’ strong attachment to seeing their spirit animals triumph over others, has created fierce outlaw animal fighting rings.
The use of Aser sedrennans (Creeping Fire, common name ‘Grayleaf) is extremely common among wood sylphs. It is typically smoked in carved pipes but also rolled into thin cigarettes popular with soldiers. It has a mild calming and sedative effect but is habit-forming. Due to its limited chemical dependency, the social effects posed by grayleaf are not generally problematic. However, the renewed popularity of Uld betassins (Flowering Blood, common name ‘Red Laurel’) is more troubling. Red laurel has a stimulant effect when smoked and is more addictive than grayleaf. It was once extremely common among meisylphs, especially soldiers. Its use was brought under control for decades but is experiencing a resurgence in Kaliba and Enoth.