Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Sunday, June 7, 2015
The Ten-Tribes
Briar's Edge
Leader: Eagle Klah (human male)
Population: 570 (37% human, 20% gnome, 18% elf, 10% halfling, 7% half-elf, 5% dwarf, 3% half-orc)
Hunters-Elect: 2
Exports: Berries, boats, fish, livestock, timber, wood crafts
Considered the 'last bastion' for the sane and civilized peoples of the Whipwater Plain, Briar's Edge is an important resource point, where timber can be culled from the Old Barrowbriar forest without much danger to the cutters. Like other plainsfolk, they graze livestock, but also host a number of woodworkers and other craftsmen who thrive on the woods' edge. Traders and trappers from Dregroot, deeper into the forest, make this their one commerce stop before returning to the dangers and rewards of the shadowy woodland, so anyone seeking goods from therein, such as tasty nuts, a variety of rare berries and roots, and relics from the Glade of the Carvers should seek them here. Eagle Klah is a solemn, elderly man who is both a fair judge of character and quite knowledgeable about the deeper woodlands, a sage of the natural and an ardent servitor of Ydum.
Cleftown
Leader: Rekker 'Ogre-knees' (dwarf male)
Population: 450 (37% dwarf, 20% human, 18% halfling, 10% elf, 7% gnome, 5% half-elf, 5% dragonborn)
Hunters-Elect: 3
Exports: Game (Arbordark), herbs (Arbordark), stone crafts, wood crafts
Clefthome is built into the very face of the Plateau itself, on a series of ledges and bridges which span the Cleft itself at its most narrow. It is both the launching and returning point for the Long Hunt, where game and herbs and other acquisitions are bartered and worked and then spread to the rest of the Ten-Tribes. Well defended, access to the Great Arbordark floor can be severed by a series of winches and pulleys that the dwarves conceived, and most steep walking paths can be guarded by just a few able men and women. Domiciles are built above grown of earth and rock, positioned to best shelter denizens from the strong winds of the Howling Tors. The God-spear Rekker resides over the hardy populace, a veteran of many Long Hunts who got his name of 'Ogre-knees' from the amount of brutes he had felled. He tolerates no threat to his people, and very little mischief, so thieves and troublemakers are often sent hiking or plummeting to the 'Dark below...dependent on the severity of their crimes.
Court-of-Crows
Leader: Grand Mask (human ?!?)
Population: 970 (79% human, 9% halfling, 5% elf, 3% dwarf, 2% half-orc, 1% half-elf, 1% gnome)
Hunters-Elect: 8
Exports: Cloth, crops, fish, livestock
The most populous of the Ten-Tribes, likely due to its ready access to water, fish, and being the primary source for breeding and killer livestock for milk, meat and bones. Surrounded by a little noose of the Whipwater, the village is offered a great deal of natural protection from large predators and over-eager orc brigands who haunt and hunt the waters. Most goods of the other communities make there way here, so it is a center for trade, but also the political heart of the Ten-Tribes, where seasonal Moots are held with either chieftains and elders or their representatives. The enigmatic shaman-hero 'The Grand Mask' holds the Court, considered by most to be as close to a 'leader' for the Plateau peoples' as a whole as anyone, a potent sorcerer, but also an enigma due to the large helm of bison skull and ornate feathers that is constantly covering him (or her) up. All that is ever heard is the gravely, echoing voice. The Spent Men, a company of grizzled Long Hunt veterans, operates from this very place, highly protective of the Grand Mask and organizing patrols of the entire Whipwater Plain. They are a great source of work for any able bodied fighting man and woman.
Dregroot
Leader: Zlazash (human male)
Population: 270 (79% human, 9% elf, 5% gnome, 3% halfling, 2% dwarf, 1% half-elf, 1% dragonborn)
Hunters-Elect: 2
Exports: Berries, fish, hides, nuts, relics, timber, wood crafts
On the Eastern banks of the Bone Lake in Old Briarwood lies this quiet community, a hovel which is spread through both the ground level and sturdy branches of a cluster of the strongest trees in the forest; and heavily camouflaged as a defense against roving goblin raiders and greater threats. The leader, Zlazash, was chosen mostly out of fear. A man of short temper who wishes to keep his many wives secreted away, a good portion of the human population is directly related to him. Outsiders are tolerated, provided they bring something of value to the community, but of all the Ten-Tribes this is the place least friendly. Regardless, it's an excellent source for woodland goods, which are brought to Briar's Edge to trade elsewhere and keep Dregroot insulated. Duthar's Wives, an amazonian sect of barbarians, rangers, and druids, roam the woodland, 'keeping the peace' as best they can against the Boneshade and Droolrot goblins, and some say they also maintain the secrets of the ancient Carvers, whose most well known ruin lies not a great distance from the Bone Lake.
Flaxwall
Leader: Elder Kloob (halfling male)
Population: 310 (79% halfling, 9% human, 5% elf, 3% dwarf, 2% gnome, 1% half-elf, 1% dragonborn)
Hunters-Elect: 2
Exports: Cloth, crops, livestock, mints, relics
The largely halfling population of Flaxwall leads a quiet, pastoral life, maintaining the richest crops of corn and various grains in all the Ten-Tribes. All structures here are made from burrows and rolling rises straddling both the Verdant and the Whipwater Plain, and their paths and ways are protected by tall grasses patrolled by Stilt Sentries and, further out, dinosaur riders whose signal fires can be seen well out into the Plain. Some relics are brought here by explorers that have braved the City of the Carvers, southeast of Flaxwall in the foothills of the Ayrie of the Ancients, and most journeys into that dark, fell place are launched. Elder Kloob is among the friendliest of Ten-Tribes chiefs, always willing to lend a sympathetic ear and steer his people right, and has lots of lore and helpful tips for adventurers passing through the place.
Isle-of-Idylls
Leader: Far Strode Ferrikan (elf female)
Population: 360 (96% elf, 2% half-elf, 1% gnome, 1% human)
Hunters-Elect: 3
Exports: Berries, exotic crafts, herbs, teas
Home to the less integrated, more aloof elven-kind of the Cleft Plateau, Isle-of-Idylls is located on a lush, wooded islet on the Mirrormoon lake. One of the more insular of the Ten-Tribes, visitors are often met with suspicion and closely supervised, escorted about their daily business. The elves work their wonders on the local flora and fauna, coming up with some of the more exotic items for trade, like potions and finer spun cloths, but they rarely share their secrets, and less than a dozen non elves have taken up even a fleeting residence. Far Strode Ferrikan gets her name for being perhaps the most well traveled individual of all the Ten-Tribes. If one can gain audience with her, she will spin tales of lands far beyond the Arbordark, both civilized and savage...cursed, plagued, or thriving. She claims to have seen places where iron and bronze reign. Her Idyllguard are considered some of the more elite fighters and archers on the Plateau, never far from her side.
Misthome
Leader: Mother Henn (dwarf female)
Population: 630 (37% human, 20% elf, 18% halfling, 10% dwarf, 7% gnome, 5% half-elf, 5% half-orc)
Hunters-Elect: 5
Exports: Boats, cloth, fish, relics, stone crafts
The infrastructure of Misthome predates the Ten-Tribes, since the foundations of the village are built upon Carver ruins with cellars and sub-cellars, natural irrigation fed by the Gods' Tears. Visibility is low in the area during most times of the year, since the place holds true to its name, but it really all depends on the variable temperature. To combat this, hanging torches and other light sources provide guidance to visitors and residents alike, and the place suits those whose race grants them better visual acuity, many who sign up for the Blue Lanterns, a local organization of explorers and guards. Mother Henn is an elected leader here, a robust wise-woman who is among the more pacifistic of the Ten-Tribes, often infuriatingly so, since she guards the gateway to the potential dangers of the Ayrie above, and the lair of Saurvax, the green dragon which considers The Verdant and much of the entire Plateau to be its hunting grounds. Several expeditions or Long Hunts have been arranged to stop the creature forever, none successful, and often causing some inter-tribal unrest with the people of Place-of-Scales, who share a bloodline with the beast. Misthome doesn't produce much by way of natural resources, apart from some fishing at the falls, but some of the most skilled craftsmen and thinkers among the Tribes consider it a breathtaking, inspirational place.
The Nest
Leader: Tanziver the Wasp Rider (gnome male)
Population: 150 (96% gnome, 2% human, 1% dragonborn, 1% halfling)
Hunters-Elect: 1
Exports: Berries, fruits, honey, wax.
The forest gnomes of The Nest rarely communicate with outsiders apart from their commerce in the honey and wax their bee-farms produce, and the fruits they farm from the region. Their tiny hamlet is built almost entirely from the stalks and caps of massive mushrooms which occasionally clump up throughout The Verdant wetland. Not to say they are particularly unfriendly, in fact a traveling gnome trader is a delight to encounter out in the wild, but they are a race of strange humors and practices which many other find irritating or arbitrary, and simply do not understand. As such, you can likely count the non-gnomes who live among them on two hands. Tanziver, their leader, is a veteran and Fire-Carrier of the Long Hunt who has inherited the job, and holds on to it due to the skills of he and his Wasp Riders as they range the Verdant, protecting the gnomes from the Stinkstalker Goblins and other potential dangers.
Place-of-Scales
Leader: Wralasar (dragonborn male)
Population: 250 (79% dragonborn, 9% human, 5% elf, 3% gnome, 2% half-elf, 1% halfling, 1% half-orc)
Hunters-Elect: 2
Exports: Berries, bone crafts, herbs, hides
A river tribe east of the Waterscar Falls which carry the Whipwater off into the west of the Great Arbordark, the dragonborn of Place-of-Scales have always been welcoming, and other races live among them safely despite their intimidating presence. Though Wralasar and his kin trace their lineage to the same ancestors as the local terror Saurvax, they have proven time and again that they are valuable members of the Ten-Tribes, often on the front line in Long Hunts and when arms are raised against the various orc, goblin and ogre incursions. The dragonborn are also skilled bone crafters, and the most reliable arms, armor and tools of that material are produced here by the shores of the Whipwater, from the skeletons of dinosaurs and other large predators and livestock.
Slipstones
Leader: Grumdi the Bright (dwarf male)
Population: 120 (96% dwarf, 2% human, 1% halfling, 1% half-elf)
Hunters-Elect: 1
Exports: Gems, stone crafts
A secluded stretch of covered and open-air caverns, Slipstones is located on the banks of the Whipwater as it surges beneath the rocky hills and peaks of the Howling Tors. Though it boasts the smallest population of the Ten-Tribes, almost all of whom are hill or mountain dwarves, it actually exists in the widest amount of space, and the residents have many amenities. They scourge the caves for gems and primitive ore, and the craftsmen here make the best stone weapons on the Plateau, but they also face a lot of natural subterranean dangers...flooded caves, underdark predators, and raids from the Deeper Night, an access point which leads miles below the Tors to gods-know-what threats beneath the earth. A chapter of the Blue Lanterns of Misthome prides itself on guarding the locals as best they can, though there have been incidents here of smuggling between some of the more reclusive residents, and local humanoid menaces like the Roarwater Orcs and Redspine Ogres.
Leader: Eagle Klah (human male)
Population: 570 (37% human, 20% gnome, 18% elf, 10% halfling, 7% half-elf, 5% dwarf, 3% half-orc)
Hunters-Elect: 2
Exports: Berries, boats, fish, livestock, timber, wood crafts
Considered the 'last bastion' for the sane and civilized peoples of the Whipwater Plain, Briar's Edge is an important resource point, where timber can be culled from the Old Barrowbriar forest without much danger to the cutters. Like other plainsfolk, they graze livestock, but also host a number of woodworkers and other craftsmen who thrive on the woods' edge. Traders and trappers from Dregroot, deeper into the forest, make this their one commerce stop before returning to the dangers and rewards of the shadowy woodland, so anyone seeking goods from therein, such as tasty nuts, a variety of rare berries and roots, and relics from the Glade of the Carvers should seek them here. Eagle Klah is a solemn, elderly man who is both a fair judge of character and quite knowledgeable about the deeper woodlands, a sage of the natural and an ardent servitor of Ydum.
Cleftown
Leader: Rekker 'Ogre-knees' (dwarf male)
Population: 450 (37% dwarf, 20% human, 18% halfling, 10% elf, 7% gnome, 5% half-elf, 5% dragonborn)
Hunters-Elect: 3
Exports: Game (Arbordark), herbs (Arbordark), stone crafts, wood crafts
Clefthome is built into the very face of the Plateau itself, on a series of ledges and bridges which span the Cleft itself at its most narrow. It is both the launching and returning point for the Long Hunt, where game and herbs and other acquisitions are bartered and worked and then spread to the rest of the Ten-Tribes. Well defended, access to the Great Arbordark floor can be severed by a series of winches and pulleys that the dwarves conceived, and most steep walking paths can be guarded by just a few able men and women. Domiciles are built above grown of earth and rock, positioned to best shelter denizens from the strong winds of the Howling Tors. The God-spear Rekker resides over the hardy populace, a veteran of many Long Hunts who got his name of 'Ogre-knees' from the amount of brutes he had felled. He tolerates no threat to his people, and very little mischief, so thieves and troublemakers are often sent hiking or plummeting to the 'Dark below...dependent on the severity of their crimes.
Court-of-Crows
Leader: Grand Mask (human ?!?)
Population: 970 (79% human, 9% halfling, 5% elf, 3% dwarf, 2% half-orc, 1% half-elf, 1% gnome)
Hunters-Elect: 8
Exports: Cloth, crops, fish, livestock
The most populous of the Ten-Tribes, likely due to its ready access to water, fish, and being the primary source for breeding and killer livestock for milk, meat and bones. Surrounded by a little noose of the Whipwater, the village is offered a great deal of natural protection from large predators and over-eager orc brigands who haunt and hunt the waters. Most goods of the other communities make there way here, so it is a center for trade, but also the political heart of the Ten-Tribes, where seasonal Moots are held with either chieftains and elders or their representatives. The enigmatic shaman-hero 'The Grand Mask' holds the Court, considered by most to be as close to a 'leader' for the Plateau peoples' as a whole as anyone, a potent sorcerer, but also an enigma due to the large helm of bison skull and ornate feathers that is constantly covering him (or her) up. All that is ever heard is the gravely, echoing voice. The Spent Men, a company of grizzled Long Hunt veterans, operates from this very place, highly protective of the Grand Mask and organizing patrols of the entire Whipwater Plain. They are a great source of work for any able bodied fighting man and woman.
Dregroot
Leader: Zlazash (human male)
Population: 270 (79% human, 9% elf, 5% gnome, 3% halfling, 2% dwarf, 1% half-elf, 1% dragonborn)
Hunters-Elect: 2
Exports: Berries, fish, hides, nuts, relics, timber, wood crafts
On the Eastern banks of the Bone Lake in Old Briarwood lies this quiet community, a hovel which is spread through both the ground level and sturdy branches of a cluster of the strongest trees in the forest; and heavily camouflaged as a defense against roving goblin raiders and greater threats. The leader, Zlazash, was chosen mostly out of fear. A man of short temper who wishes to keep his many wives secreted away, a good portion of the human population is directly related to him. Outsiders are tolerated, provided they bring something of value to the community, but of all the Ten-Tribes this is the place least friendly. Regardless, it's an excellent source for woodland goods, which are brought to Briar's Edge to trade elsewhere and keep Dregroot insulated. Duthar's Wives, an amazonian sect of barbarians, rangers, and druids, roam the woodland, 'keeping the peace' as best they can against the Boneshade and Droolrot goblins, and some say they also maintain the secrets of the ancient Carvers, whose most well known ruin lies not a great distance from the Bone Lake.
Flaxwall
Leader: Elder Kloob (halfling male)
Population: 310 (79% halfling, 9% human, 5% elf, 3% dwarf, 2% gnome, 1% half-elf, 1% dragonborn)
Hunters-Elect: 2
Exports: Cloth, crops, livestock, mints, relics
The largely halfling population of Flaxwall leads a quiet, pastoral life, maintaining the richest crops of corn and various grains in all the Ten-Tribes. All structures here are made from burrows and rolling rises straddling both the Verdant and the Whipwater Plain, and their paths and ways are protected by tall grasses patrolled by Stilt Sentries and, further out, dinosaur riders whose signal fires can be seen well out into the Plain. Some relics are brought here by explorers that have braved the City of the Carvers, southeast of Flaxwall in the foothills of the Ayrie of the Ancients, and most journeys into that dark, fell place are launched. Elder Kloob is among the friendliest of Ten-Tribes chiefs, always willing to lend a sympathetic ear and steer his people right, and has lots of lore and helpful tips for adventurers passing through the place.
Isle-of-Idylls
Leader: Far Strode Ferrikan (elf female)
Population: 360 (96% elf, 2% half-elf, 1% gnome, 1% human)
Hunters-Elect: 3
Exports: Berries, exotic crafts, herbs, teas
Home to the less integrated, more aloof elven-kind of the Cleft Plateau, Isle-of-Idylls is located on a lush, wooded islet on the Mirrormoon lake. One of the more insular of the Ten-Tribes, visitors are often met with suspicion and closely supervised, escorted about their daily business. The elves work their wonders on the local flora and fauna, coming up with some of the more exotic items for trade, like potions and finer spun cloths, but they rarely share their secrets, and less than a dozen non elves have taken up even a fleeting residence. Far Strode Ferrikan gets her name for being perhaps the most well traveled individual of all the Ten-Tribes. If one can gain audience with her, she will spin tales of lands far beyond the Arbordark, both civilized and savage...cursed, plagued, or thriving. She claims to have seen places where iron and bronze reign. Her Idyllguard are considered some of the more elite fighters and archers on the Plateau, never far from her side.
Misthome
Leader: Mother Henn (dwarf female)
Population: 630 (37% human, 20% elf, 18% halfling, 10% dwarf, 7% gnome, 5% half-elf, 5% half-orc)
Hunters-Elect: 5
Exports: Boats, cloth, fish, relics, stone crafts
The infrastructure of Misthome predates the Ten-Tribes, since the foundations of the village are built upon Carver ruins with cellars and sub-cellars, natural irrigation fed by the Gods' Tears. Visibility is low in the area during most times of the year, since the place holds true to its name, but it really all depends on the variable temperature. To combat this, hanging torches and other light sources provide guidance to visitors and residents alike, and the place suits those whose race grants them better visual acuity, many who sign up for the Blue Lanterns, a local organization of explorers and guards. Mother Henn is an elected leader here, a robust wise-woman who is among the more pacifistic of the Ten-Tribes, often infuriatingly so, since she guards the gateway to the potential dangers of the Ayrie above, and the lair of Saurvax, the green dragon which considers The Verdant and much of the entire Plateau to be its hunting grounds. Several expeditions or Long Hunts have been arranged to stop the creature forever, none successful, and often causing some inter-tribal unrest with the people of Place-of-Scales, who share a bloodline with the beast. Misthome doesn't produce much by way of natural resources, apart from some fishing at the falls, but some of the most skilled craftsmen and thinkers among the Tribes consider it a breathtaking, inspirational place.
The Nest
Leader: Tanziver the Wasp Rider (gnome male)
Population: 150 (96% gnome, 2% human, 1% dragonborn, 1% halfling)
Hunters-Elect: 1
Exports: Berries, fruits, honey, wax.
The forest gnomes of The Nest rarely communicate with outsiders apart from their commerce in the honey and wax their bee-farms produce, and the fruits they farm from the region. Their tiny hamlet is built almost entirely from the stalks and caps of massive mushrooms which occasionally clump up throughout The Verdant wetland. Not to say they are particularly unfriendly, in fact a traveling gnome trader is a delight to encounter out in the wild, but they are a race of strange humors and practices which many other find irritating or arbitrary, and simply do not understand. As such, you can likely count the non-gnomes who live among them on two hands. Tanziver, their leader, is a veteran and Fire-Carrier of the Long Hunt who has inherited the job, and holds on to it due to the skills of he and his Wasp Riders as they range the Verdant, protecting the gnomes from the Stinkstalker Goblins and other potential dangers.
Place-of-Scales
Leader: Wralasar (dragonborn male)
Population: 250 (79% dragonborn, 9% human, 5% elf, 3% gnome, 2% half-elf, 1% halfling, 1% half-orc)
Hunters-Elect: 2
Exports: Berries, bone crafts, herbs, hides
A river tribe east of the Waterscar Falls which carry the Whipwater off into the west of the Great Arbordark, the dragonborn of Place-of-Scales have always been welcoming, and other races live among them safely despite their intimidating presence. Though Wralasar and his kin trace their lineage to the same ancestors as the local terror Saurvax, they have proven time and again that they are valuable members of the Ten-Tribes, often on the front line in Long Hunts and when arms are raised against the various orc, goblin and ogre incursions. The dragonborn are also skilled bone crafters, and the most reliable arms, armor and tools of that material are produced here by the shores of the Whipwater, from the skeletons of dinosaurs and other large predators and livestock.
Slipstones
Leader: Grumdi the Bright (dwarf male)
Population: 120 (96% dwarf, 2% human, 1% halfling, 1% half-elf)
Hunters-Elect: 1
Exports: Gems, stone crafts
A secluded stretch of covered and open-air caverns, Slipstones is located on the banks of the Whipwater as it surges beneath the rocky hills and peaks of the Howling Tors. Though it boasts the smallest population of the Ten-Tribes, almost all of whom are hill or mountain dwarves, it actually exists in the widest amount of space, and the residents have many amenities. They scourge the caves for gems and primitive ore, and the craftsmen here make the best stone weapons on the Plateau, but they also face a lot of natural subterranean dangers...flooded caves, underdark predators, and raids from the Deeper Night, an access point which leads miles below the Tors to gods-know-what threats beneath the earth. A chapter of the Blue Lanterns of Misthome prides itself on guarding the locals as best they can, though there have been incidents here of smuggling between some of the more reclusive residents, and local humanoid menaces like the Roarwater Orcs and Redspine Ogres.
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