Before the Gods

Before the first god appeared, the universe was filled with primal chaos, ruled by ancient elementals and various other creatures of chaos. During this early era many sentient mortal races could have emerged, but survival was beyond the grasp of the most. According to most Alagronkatari scholars, the only mortal race to survive the primal universe were Alagronkatari, now known as Skullheads. Whether true or false, members of this race still reside within the ruins of the first empire - within the Voidlands.
Voidlands, a long lost realm, is the last remnant of the universe before gods. When gods took over the universe, they banished all shattered parts of the first empire into oblivion, however, one fragment remained just at the edge between the universe and the eternal nothingness of the Deep Null. Here, in the constantly fading realm, far away from all other realms, Skullheads thrive and plot against the gods. All of them believe that the existence before the gods was the true life, the untainted existence, and everything now is just a corrupted and unacceptable way of life.
Naturally, all Skullheads have very negative views about morally good gods and reject their rule whenever they can. However, it only applies to the gods of the positive energy plane - Skullheads happily make deals with demon gods, wicked eldritch entities and other greater evil powers. In fact, Skullheads quite often cooperate with Asmodeus and Nine Hells, though, this cooperation is typically one sided with the most of the benefit going to the Nine Hells.

Civilization and Culture

Skullheads are a peculiar race. Even though they have the means to relocate into any other world, they choose to reside within a dark and cruel realm. Their existence and life are constantly threatened by various monsters, other native inhabitants, various deranged conquerors, and other deadly threats. Trying to build anything within the Voidlands typically ends in the failure, however, being among the original inhabitants of this realm, Skullheads managed to build their own civilization in the ruins of the first empire - there are various secret settlements of Skullheads within the ruins of the central city of the Voidlands.
Skullheads always align themselves with others of their kind, but despite that there is very little unity within their race. They typically live in small groups and pursue their own interest in their own way. It is quite rare to see more than a few dozen of them cooperating with each other to do anything. Though, they still have a unique culture and from time to time they gather up for common purposes. One of those gatherings happens every 5 cycles (approximately once every 1.75 years) where most Skullheads gather in an agreed location to honor the Dark Star Rider - a legendary hero of their race whose example is still followed by most Skullheads even after a few thousands of years passed since his death.
Culture of Skullheads is based on rituals, symbols and a strong sense of individualism, and it is very hard to push for changes. Skullheads still follow traditions they followed hundreds of thousands of years ago, and they still use the same symbols to represent their life, to read into the future and make decisions about the present. Therefore, explorers and inventors within their race are typically treated as outcasts, seen as someone who have no respect for their past and traditions, however, because of innate sense of individualism they are still tolerated and even given a purpose. The most outgoing and curious Skullheads often become ambassadors of their race into a new and unknown world... or sometimes sent to explore the edges of the Voidlands... depending on how much favor they gather with other members of their race.

Exploration of the Borders

Absolutely insane and death-worthy task, and often a punishment for refusal to adhere to the old ways, being sent to explore the edges of the Voidlands is a gruesome task. The Voidlands is a dangerous place even at the most safe settlements, but the further away you move from the central city - the more dangerous it becomes. Thick jungle surrounds the central city, and going deeper into the jungle becomes more and more dangerous. Various creatures live within these jungles: dragons, monstrosities, giant carnivorous worms, various mutated organisms, bizarre undeads and other creatures. Almost everything in here exists only because they hunt, and they hunt to continue to exist. Survival of the fittest is the absolute rule in the jungles of the Voidlands.
Voidlands do not have a set border. It is more like a shore of the river, constantly shifting, changing, and could never be accurately mapped. However, the border could be easily identified by a fog: a dark fog which erases everything it touches is the border with the oblivion and the white fog which seems to scatter everything it touches is the border with the universe. Finding these borders is not an easy task, however, sometimes it is quite rewarding. Why? Well... nothing is lost forever. Sometimes the border of the Voidlands moves back and reveals something which was lost: ruins, remains, or even ancient artifacts. Skullhead explorers work more as collectors of the artifacts rather than cartographers.

Diplomacy, Faith, Trade and the Spread of the Dark

Long ago a sole Skullhead explorer and inventor rose up as a shining star to guide his race. He set the entire race on the dark course - a plot against the divine order of the cosmos and a plan to revive the Voidlands to recreate the first empire.
The plan to revive the Voidlands was quite simple - to anchor its power within various worlds in the material plane thus slowly dragging the Voidlands away from oblivion. To achieve this goal, Skullheads ventured into various worlds to kidnap gifted children, took them back into the Voidlands and tethered their existence to this realm. After that, the abducted children were returned back into their home worlds to spread the influence of the Voidlands. Over hundreds of years this plan was yielding results and drawing Voidlands closer and closer to the material plane, though, way slower than first envisioned by the original creator of the plan.
Among other plots, Skullheads also try to form various diplomatic relationships with chaotic and evil races. Trade of goods and information does happen, however, it is done in complete secret. Even if a big clan of Orcs does make a deal with Skullheads, only the leader of the clan (or someone who does wish to become a leader) knows about these dealings. Even if a kingdom of Drow secures a trade agreement - only those who deal directly with the Skullheads are informed about the deal. Secrecy is essential for any diplomatic relationship with the Skullheads, not only because of various strategic reasons, but also because that is how Skullheads deal with other races.  It is part of their ritual-filled life, thus it must be followed by anyone who seeks their own benefits in dealing with this race.
The Cunning and resilience of the Skullheads should never be ignored. All of their diplomatic relationships, trade deals and other agreements are done for one purpose - to spread the influence of the Voidlands. To corrupt people, to draw the Voidlands closer back into the cosmos, to fulfill their original purpose and to realize the dream of their hero who is now called as the Dark Star Rider.
When it comes to faith, Skullheads believe only in the old ways, ancient evil entities, and sometimes do adopt the faith in various greater fiends, though, their faith is based not on devotion to rules of the greater beings, but on the one desire burning within all of the Skullheads - to restore the first empire, to return the universe to how it was before the gods. Everything Skullheads do and believe in can be tracked down to this one desire.

Crisis Within the Voidlands

Quite recently something started to change. The link between the material plane and the Voidlands started to grow faster and faster. More portals connecting both started appearing. Strangers enter the lost realm by accident more and more often, and creatures of the Voidlands rush into other worlds more and more. It is not known whether this started happening because of the Skullheads or because of some other reason, however, the influence of the Voidlands grow and Skullheads are getting ready for see their dream realized.
If nothing changes, then in less than 100 years the Voidlands may merge back into the material plane. But what does it mean to denizens of the material plane? Will the Voidlands emerge just as a new planet, or does it have the power to disrupt all other worlds? Well... nobody knows.
Return of the Voidlands would worry some of the oldest gods, however, only very few still remain who remember why the fragments of the first empire were banished. Only the oldest gods know what the return of the Voidlands would mean to the material realm, however, for some reason gods are not interfering with the process just yet. Why is that? Skullheads believe in various reasons as to why their plot is not being disrupted, however, their beliefs are based on nothing but their own egos. 

Legacy of the Dark Star Rider

Few thousand years ago Skullhead was in a crisis. Their society was breaking apart more and more, losing hope and purpose, being swallowed by the darkness of the Voidlands. But one Skullhead rose above all to lead the way: a wizard, philosopher, explorer, inventor and a natural born leader - now known as Dark Star Rider, he unified the Skullhead race and reminded them of their true purpose - to revive the first empire.
Dark Star Rider has built several strange machines to assist his race. One of those machines was Madness Amplification General Array - a device which was capable to siphon psionic energies from sentient creatures and then use those energies to warp reality itself. Several replicas were made and sent to be used in various worlds, however, most replicas were flawed and would malfunction with prolonged use. Nevertheless, every machine built based on the designs of the Dark Star Rider proved their worth in furthering the goals of Skullheads.
Even after a few thousand years have passed and even the actual name of the Dark Star Rider is long forgotten, his legacy still lives on. His ideas and technological achievements are still studied today, and he is venerated as a mythical figure by the Skullheads of the Voidlands.

General Knowledge

Typical Skullhead is between 190 cm and 260 cm in height (from 6.2 to 8.5 feet) when standing straight. They weight between 70 and 110 kg (from 154 to 242.5 lbs), and generally look alike as others members of their race. Because of their similar appearance, they tend to fashion themselves with various pieces of jewelry to differentiate themselves from others.
Common Skullhead names are: Arrad, Karral, Ordall, Katari, Krawla, Krall, Zorts, Gorts, Steve, Narrol, Norral, Xoglax.
A typical Skullhead adventurer would be some sort of a spy or an outcast. They would be quite secretive and would try to disguise their true appearance, and would be quite curious about any events, notable individuals, and would be keen in learning any information for later use.