Bastardy in Andara

Many kingdoms in Andara handle their illegitimate children differently, with customs originating from a variety of religious, cultural and political doctrines. Whilst bastardy is a relatively common and unimportant part of life for many, there are certain circumstances where the implications of a child being illegitimate are far more serious, and require complex rules and laws to be in place, particularly in relation to monarchy and rule.

Saint Korin
Saint Korin, sometimes referred to as 'The Bastard in Blue', is the legendary bastard son of King Kavenfel, a human king who ruled Humania during the age of dawn. At this time in history, bastards in the human, elvish and smallfolk kingdoms were usually treated as second-class citizens. A plethora of unfair and sometimes odd rules were placed upon them, forbidding them things such as owning land, riding horses and even wearing the colour blue. As Korin grew to adulthood, he became increasingly frustrated with the treatment of bastards, and urged his father to use his influence to change things for the better. King Kavenfel was a lazy and weak king, and fearing his subjects revolting, did nothing of the sort.

Angry at his father's inaction, Korin is said to have fled the city on his father's horse, wearing a billowing cloak of deep blue to spite the laws against bastards. Korin rode between kingdoms, riling up the bastards of every town and city he rode through, calling on them to fight back against injustice and force the lords of the land to treat bastards as equals. Within two years, nearly every bastard in the human, elvish and smallfolk kingdoms had joined Korin's cause. Since bastards made up a sizeable portion of the population, many farms, smithies and other industries were left in dire need of workers in their absence.

Korin, who had now taken control of part of Humania by force, began amassing an army to accomplish what strikes could not. The ensuing battles would be collectively known as the Bastard's Revolt, and ended when King Kavenfel, along with King Tyvenar of the elves and Queen Shae of the smallfolk, agreed to abolish the laws that segregated bastards. Korin would go down in history as a hero of bastards everywhere, as well as a champion of the downtrodden. Though he was referred to as the patron saint of bastards even during his lifetime, it was not until much later during the age of stillness that he was canonized.

Today, many cultures which follow either the old or new faiths to some extent recognise Saint Korin, and illegitimate children are usually given the surname 'Korin' in his honour.

Bastardy in The Hjelkar Tundra
The strong and deep-rooted clan structure of dwarvish society means that bastards are still very much a thing of shame and dishonour. Bastards are almost entirely unheard of, because of the implications such a mistake would have upon a clan's honour. Long ago, half-dwarves were considered to be bastards, though the heroic actions of Clan Bastion saw this belief evaporate almost immediately after they ferociously fought back a frost giant siege at the gates of Mohrg Dow. However, no matter how tall a human might be, or how pointy an elf's ears might be, if they live in the Hjelkar Tundra, they must conform to dwarvish custom and accept that having children outside of marriage is strictly forbidden.

Bastardy in Shadowfen
The strict, xenophobic and sometimes backwards culture of the Underdark is reflected in their views on bastardy. Historically, most Underdark settlements have somewhat strict laws on breeding; controlling population growth prevented them from growing too big to support themselves with the Underdark's limited resources. Children born outside of marriage usually ended up with either one of two fates: the lucky ones would be sold into slavery, while the unlucky ones would be used in ritual sacrifice.

Today, these laws have relaxed slightly, though bastards are still seen as inferior beings and are prohibited from many of the luxuries and amenities that the rest of society enjoys. Since Drow culture does not recognise marriages between drow and overworlders, all dusk elves are seen as bastards, and other dusklings are similarly frowned upon. Duergar have a slight dislike for dusk dwarves, but can usually tolerate them among their ranks with little resistance. Finally, svirfneblin have little interest in a gnome's racial heritage, and dusk gnomes are view as equals.

Bastardy in the Monarchy
Following the Bastard's Revolt, laws were put in place that allowed a monarch to legitimize any bastard in their kingdom, thereby recognising them as a legitimate child of their parents. This brought on the possibility of an individual born a bastard being able to one day sit on the throne. It would not be until the age of stillness that this would happen. Queen Irilan of Warmwood, who never married, became pregnant by an unknown father. The daughter of this pregnancy, Sheena, was legitimised by Irilan on her deathbed, and thus would become the first individual born a bastard to become a monarch. Since then, a handful of other legitimized bastards have sat upon thrones, though it still remains something of a rarity.

Unimportance of Bastardy
There are some cultures in which bastardy is considered entirely unimportant, and in some cases it is not even a recognised concept.

In orcish culture, marriage is more common amongst mixed race couples. An orc in such a coupling will likely get married simply to please their partner, with little interest in it besides this reason. Orcs themselves do not typically marry one another, which stems from their history of polygamous relationships, although polygamy is decidedly less common among orcs today.

Similarly, bastardy in giant culture is seen mostly as a foreign concept. The nomad tribes do not marry, and thus every child is a bastard so the concept is null and void. For those giants who do marry, illegitimate children are only an issue for clan leaders, as legitimization is still not a concept in Kozgomogh. Other tribal societies, such as goblins, dragons, and kobolds also have no concept of marriage and therefore illegitimate children.

Finally, citizens of the Isle of Tydor are also unbothered by bastardy. The inhabitants of the isle prior to the Adventus Arcanum were polyamorous hedonists who had no concept of marriage and much like giantfolk nomads, this would mean that every single citizen was a bastard. Echoes of this culture can still be seen in the Isle of Tydor today, and legitimate children are actually the minority. For example, Scoria is the only one of the four thanes who is not a bastard.