The many different cultures and one non-human race (Ogier) in WoT are the cornerstones of the story. There are a number of semi-independent city-states and kingdoms which interact with each other through trade. There are also nomadic groups (the Aiel) in the desert to the east.
These cultures have many things in common. For one, the GURPS tech-level of Robert Jordan's world is between late 2 and very early 4, and this is quite consistent across the races (though there are some high-magic-tech items here and there from the Age of Legends. Also, the attitudes toward men who can channel vary only slightly from immediate ostricizing to hatred.
On the other hand the various cultures tend to be very distinct in most other ways. Thus, they each get their own section below.
A powerful group of female mages who act as a sort of magical police force, cutting men who can use the Power off from the Source; manipulating politics on a grand scale; and generally being unpleasant. On the other hand, they have been indispensable when the Power was needed (e.g. the Trolloc Wars). The general lack of need for such powers has been leading to an ever-eroding public opinion of the Aes Sedai, and some have begun to agree with the Whitecloaks (a fanatical group of crusaders) that all who use the One Power are acting on behalf of evil.
One of the few things that keeps public opinion in check is the fact that the Aes Sedai have all taken three oaths (which are excerpted here exactly, since Aes Sedai often take the literal phrases as far as they can be stretched):
Each of these counts as a 10 point Vow (pp. B37). Aes Sedai in training (Novices and Accepted) have not yet taken these vows.
Aes Sedai tend to develop an ageless appearance, which renders them somewhat identifiable. This counts as a 1 point disadvantage, but does not count toward your 5 quirks.
Aes Sedai can bond at will with a Warder (regardless of the man's willingness, though the subject is, by tradition, usually trained for the roll and willing). Warders are telepathically bonded with their Aes Sedai. For the Aes Sedai they count as a 30 point ally (10 points for the point value of the Warder, times 3 for appearing all the time). The telepathic link is a wash, point-value wise, because of the massive impact of the Warder's death: Make a Will Roll or die. On success you will have to go through a massive greif process for at least 6 months, during which you should make a will roll to avoid suicide.
The Telepathic link will allow both Warder and Aes Sedai to guage the direction and very rough distance of the other. It also conveys some emotion, and allows the Aes Sedai to compel their warder to perform certain tasks (in general, the Warder will be willing to do anything which does not place the Aes Sedai in danger or violate any fundamental beliefs). For more detail on Warders, see the Templates entry.
The Aes Sedai are organized into Ajahs. There are seven that the Aes Sedai will admit to:
The Tower flatly denies that there is a Black Ajah, in the service of evil. This is incorrect, the Black Ajah has members in all of the other Ajahs, and is directly influenced by the Forsaken (the most powerful mages of evil, who were born during the Age of Legends).
The Aes Sedai headquarters is the White Tower, on the island of Tar Valon. They are lead by the Amyrlin Seat, who is elected by the Sitters of the Hall of the Tower (three members of each Ajah).
The Aiel are mostly a mystery to people of Cairhien and the rest of the west. They live in the Aiel Waste, a large desert to the east of Cairhien.
Characters who are Aiel will have several unusual features:
Aiel are fierce fighters. They train to a point which most westerners will never achieve. To represent this, it is suggested that you use the martial arts rules from GURPS Martial Arts. Specifically, the Kobujutsu style (realistic, pp. MA89-90) with a focus on Staff, Shield and Spear. They will also tend to have the Bow, Knife, Knife Throwing and Net skills (pp. B50-51).
Aiel women who can channel (and some who have other Talents or mundane abilities) become Wise Women. These Wise Women hold a position of power and respect in Aiel life.
Aiel men who can channel will ``voluntarily'' leave their homes and travel north to the Blight where they fight the shadow-spawned creatures there until they are killed or go insane from the Taint.
The Asha'man (``guardian'' in the Old Tongue) are a group of men who can channel. Set up by the Dragon Reborn, they are learning to use their power as a weapon to fight the Last Battle. Like Aes Sedai, the Asha'man go through stages of training. [Insert stages of Asha'man training here]
Any Asha'man who shows clear signs of madness from the Taint will be killed. Usually by poison in their drink. This is something which is generally known by those who have been Asha'man for some time, but rarely, if ever, spoken of.
The headquarters of the Asha'man is in Andor, and it is called the Black Tower.
The Atha'an Miere are also known as the Sea Folk. They are a sea-faring people who keep most of their culture shrouded in secret. What is known is that they tend to be a matriarchal society, with a woman in charge of each ship, and a Mistress of Ships [correct name?] who leads them. Each ship also has a Windfinder, who can channel, and is particularly trained at weather-working. In fact, the Atha'an Miere tend to have the strongest weather-workers in existence, but this fact has been carefully hidden from the Aes Sedai, to avoid having their wind-finders taken to the tower.
The Atha'an Miere are masterful traders, and will generally have several professional skills related to commerce, even if they are not directly involved in trading themselves. Those in charge of negotiating for a ship are among the most respected negotiators and hagglers in the world.
Like most isolated cultures, the Atha'an Miere have a unique name for, and legends surrounding, the predicted champion of good. It is assumed by those few who know of their Coramoor prophesy that the Coramoor is just a different name for the Dragon Reborn, and so far, the Atha'an Miere seem to be acting on this assumption as well. But they, like the Aiel seem to have not quite as much awe in the face of their promised one as those expecting the return of the Dragon. Part of the Sea Folk legends appears to rotate around one of the two most powerful angreals ever made, which, unknown to anyone else, is located on one of their islands. This is the female half of a pair of large statues of which the other is located near Cairhien, and has just recently been unearthed.
Andor is a kingdom which covers the central portion of the continent. It is immediately bordered by all of the other kingdoms with the exception of [insert list here].
The kingdom of Andor has existe since Manertheren (sp?) fell after Artur Hawkwing's time. The monarch has traditionaly been a Queen, though the occasional, but never successful King has cropped up. The tech level is slightly above average, as Andor is ideally located for a great deal of trade, second only to the sea-ports. High tech level 3 items are available, and the occasional tech level 4 item will crop up in the aristocracy, but always as a result of new research.
Caemlyn is the captital city of Andor, and is, itself located at the eastern end of the kingdom. The throne in Caemlyn is quite famous and is called the Lion Throne, after the decorations that are carved into it. References to the Lion Throne are often made instead of directly refering to the Queen.
To the extreme west, just before the Mountains of Mist, are the Two Rivers and other areas that are somewhat isolated, and so tend to be part of Andor only in name. Even taxes are lightly collected, because of the difficulty in managing areas so remote from the capital.
Tar Valon (the home of the Aes Sedai) is also located in Andor, to the north-east, and while it is not directly governed by the Lion Throne, the Queen of Andor has traditionally always trained in the Tower, regardless of her ability.
Characters who are from Caemlyn will tend to be somewhat more understanding of the Aes Sedai because of this close relationship with their government. They will also tend to have fairly negative feelings about the Whitecloaks and their Aes Sedai-hating ilk.
Appropriate professions for characters from this area include merchant, courtier, farmer (tobacco and food products are one of Caemlyn's major exports) or any of the craft skills.
[Need racial info, as well as culture]
[steddings, Longing (see Disadvantages), etc.]
[Include damane, etc and what is known of social structure]
Tinkers is the name that various groups in and around the main continent in WoT use to refer to the Traveling People, a pacifistic group of traveling entertainers and merchents. Their history is shouded in mystery, but they will readilly discuss their search for ``The Song''. While they do not know what song this might be, they are convinced that when they find it, they will know. As such, they will be interested in any musical traditions that players might be familliar with, and will invite them to sing and play at their gatherings.
Tinkers have a Major Vow, precluding all forms of violence. They will also tend to have skills in acrobatics, singing, musical instruments, mercantile skills and negotiation.
Their pacifism is taken to a fanatical extreme, and they will gladly lay down their own lives rather than allow violence to occur.