[OOC] The Dawn of the Civilization (Stone age tribal NRP)

[Raylah]

The humans, once frightened creatures crawled up in caves, are evolving. No longer solely dependent on hunting and gathering – crops are being planted, small huts risen, villages founded. The tribes are no longer just a group of families bound together by hunger and fear, but real primitive nations, each with a different culture, beliefs or government. Some tribes thrive, rich crops harvested from fertile lands or stolen in raids from weaker opponents, others try desperately to survive in a hostile environment, suffering from harsh weather, wild beasts or greedy neighbors. All are oblivious to a new danger arising, unnoticed in the caves beneath the great mountains, the darkness which is ready to send its forces to the surface to feast on human flesh and souls.

Welcome, I hope that the short intro had caught your interest. I’ve been thinking about this idea for a while now and I believe it is ready to see the light of the world. This is going to be a story-driven nation RP from tribal era. There will be no stats or rolls, it is entirely up to you how powerful your tribe will be, what will be its strengths and weaknesses (but I will ask you to keep things in balance). Your tribes should be fairly small, couple of dozen people in the ideal case - remember that you should make a plausible explanation on how they gather enough food and other supplies to survive.

I think you can get the best idea about the setting from the sample sheet in the IC and the questions in the tribe sheet template, but I have also put together some basic information about the world to use as a baseline. Most of the things written in the "magic" description are meant only as examples, I will be happy if you come up with your own original pantheons and ways of worship.
The RP will be casual, I am not expecting you to write pages of text (altough you are welcome to), but I expect some coherent ideas and story. If you have any questions, suggestions or tribe ideas, feel free to ask me here or to shoot me a PM.

Races
Only humans allowed. I’m sorry but mixing half-centaurs with faeries and lizardmen just creates chaos.

Technology
The technology level will be fairly primitive – think late stone age, so sticks, stones and bones, no metal.

The World
The map is just to give a rough idea of the world. Most of the tribes so far are nomadic, but there is still a lot of space for both more nomads and also permanent settlemets. If you want something added, let me know.

map

The fauna and flora will Earth-like, depending of course on the environment you are in. Since this is set in the past, you can add extinct animals like mammoths or sabertooth tigers or even slightly “mysterious” things like giant squids etc.

Magic
No active magic as in fireballs and telekinesis etc. is allowed in this world. There will however be a more subtle magic present in the form of blessings (or even curses) from your tribal deities. Each tribe will have a different system of “religion” – they might be worshipping the sun and moon, a mountain, some kind of animal or even a spirit that reincarnates as a seventh son of a seventh son each generation. This deity will require your people to worship it in a certain way - it can demand eating the hearts of your enemies, sacrificing part of your harvest or maybe kissing a tail of the sacred mouflon. Failing to meet the demands of your chosen gods might result in losing the gifts blessed upon you by your deity, or even a “curse” of some kind. Keep in mind this will be entirely up to you and your storytelling, I will not interfere with that at all.
As for the type of “blessing” that your tribe can get, it might be as simple as better harvest or calling the rain when needed, or more complicated, like giving your warriors strength in battle or allowing your people to see better in dark. All I ask is that you keep it on the mystical side of things rather than magical.

The Story
At the start of the RP, the life of the tribes will just go the normal way (whatever that might be for your people). Soon however, a new danger will emerge – fierce, demonic-like beasts, that will start appearing all over the continent, attacking all living things. How will your tribe react to this enemy? Will you stand up and fight, cower and hide, rely on the mercy of your gods, blame the neighborhooding tribe or even attempt to communicate with the creatures in hope of striking a deal with their master?

The Monsters
The monsters are flesh and (sort of) blood, that usually resemble some existing animals or their combinations. They will take up features and behavior of their respective species. Their bodies look ‘corrupted’ and slightly decayed, as if you took a few days old animal carcass and brought it back to life. The beasts spread a foul rotting odor around them, and their flesh doesn’t seem edible (although some things might happen if for some crazy reason someone would decide to eat it). Their bites tend to get infected and bitten people often die if they aren’t treated well. The monsters are fierce and dangerous in combat, slightly more intelligent than their animal counterparts, and very hard to scare away, with the exception of fire – as they spend most of their lives underground, they aren’t fond of the daylight or any other sources of light. They will prefer to attack at night.

The wolf monsters – will usually travel and attack in packs of anything between three and fifteen individuals. They are good at coordinating their attacks, very similar to regular wolf packs. Their sense of smell is exceptional, and they can track their prey for several days.

The bear monsters – huge and tenacious creatures, created to tear apart anything that moves. They aren’t very smart, but once they enter battle rage, they are almost impossible to stop. Normally they move alone, but under the orders from their master, they are willing to accompany other monsters without attacking them (or at least without killing too many of them).

The amphibians – creature based on a huge squid, mixed with reptilian features that allow it to move on dry land. Their true power however lays in water – they are able to move in both fresh and sea waters, sliding gracefully on long distances, using their long tentacles to catch their prey. Their size varies, most are between eight and sixteen feet.

Nation sheet
Feel free to make the sheets prettier or add some additional sections if you are a dedicated world-builder. A paragraph or two in each section will be sufficient.

Tribe sheet

Name:

Brief description: A quick reference to describe the tribe. Are they nomads or have a settlement, conquerors or peaceful people, hunters or farmers?

Main deity:
Please describe the main deity worshipped by your people. You can add a short origin story or just a few words about who/what it is and what it does. How would one go about pleasing it? What angers it? How does it influence the lives of the people?
Side deities:
You can have two or three additional spirits or guardians or sacred objects

Government:
Is there one person leading the tribe, or a council of multiple people? Chosen by their strength or wits or by the power of the gods? Are your people free to speak their mind, or punished when they insult a leader? Is the tribe friendly to outsiders?

Inhabited area and settlements:
What is the environment your tribe lives in? Are there harsh winters, rainy springs? Is it a dense forest or open plains?
Does your tribe have any permanent settlements? What does it look like? Or do you move around, building temporary shelters?

Warriors:
What types of warriors does your tribe have (if any at all)?

Story:
What is your people's origin? How do they believe the world and their tribe became to existence?

Important people:
Entirely optional for now, later you should list the characters that will be important in your story.

Discord link - Discord

[Lady Selune]

The Glittering Collection

A relatively peaceful semi-nomadic society, following the personification of intelligence... And yet also greed. The Collection are seasonally nomadic, roaming during the spring and summer months and returning to their ancestral homes in the autumn and winter. Furthermore, many members of the tribe remain at their home year around, where farming is used to supplement the normal diet of fish, wild fruits and berries.

Worship:
The Spirit of the Magpie leads the Glittering Collection. The Magpie is said to be the craftiest of all creatures made by the gods. When the birds were challenged to see who could fly highest, The Magpie perched on the back of the Great Eagle, and when the bird was tired, fluttered off of his back, claiming the crown for himself. He preens himself with pride, his collection growing every day. Under the Magpie, the tribe shall not want. Harsh times may come, and some may die, but there will always be just enough food for the next hunt, just enough water to last until the next oasis, and just enough obsidian to finish a spear. The Magpie also leads the tribe to areas where there is plenty, especially in food or his 'shinies.' In exchange, the Magpie requires his insatiable appetite for glittering trinkets satisfied. Blandness cannot be tolerated, and dullness is the mark of an outcast. Furthermore, he himself claims a portion of the best, under his 'right' as king of avians.

Long ago, the Magpie was another lowly bird. He was not as fast as the Peregrine, as powerful as the Eagle, as beautiful as the Macaw, as large as the Condor or as fit as the Albatross. However, he did have an eye for precious items. Scooping them up, the Magpie would jealously protect his glittering horde, until one day, one of the Gods came down, curious as to what the gleam was from Magpie's nest. Astonished at what he had created, the God was also concerned that the Magpie would collect all the precious materials in the world. To prevent this from happening, he scatted the great horde far and wide, however in return, granted the Magpie something to make him truly special- intelligence. He was not as fast as the Peregrine, but he could take a faster route. He was not as powerful as the Eagle, but he could trick the other birds into giving him food. Amusing his collection once more, he draped himself in fine blue robes, to become as beautiful as the Macaw, and could ride on other creatures for far longer than the Albatross could fly. However, he was alone- without another to match his intellect.

This changed when he found humans however, as in them he saw a kindred soul. Humans were not as strong as the Elephant, as ferocious as the Lion, as lithe as the Gazelle, as fast as the Cheetah or as resilient as the Rhino. But Magpie saw cleverness within the humans, and where there was cleverness, there was guile. Together, promised the Magpie, the humans would never want, but they would need to help him in assembling his 'shinies' again.

Alongside the Magpie, two other avian spirits are worshipped. The Mark of the Raven is a small wooden likeness of a bird, the wood blackened and charred. Said to contain the spirit of Magpie's oldest friend, it is affixed to a strip of leather, with numerous jet-black feathers and obsidian and gold pieces. It is a sacred and extraordinary precious trinket, and to lose it would bring disgrace to the entirety of the tribe. Anyone wearing the Mark of the Raven gains a new insight on life. Everything seems clearer and easier to understand, and even the most complicated of puzzles become child's play whilst wearing it. However, the wearer changes in other ways. They become more distant and capricious, their great intellect tempered with a flighty and eccentric nature. Furthermore, it seems to push away the Mark of the Eagle, making wearing the two together impossible.

There is also the second fetish, The Mark of the Eagle. An eye made from amber, it too is attached to a leather necklace, however the necklace is instead marked with white and bronze feathers, as well as bird talons and shards of iron. It too, is a sacred and precious trinket, and its loss would be a great a mark against the tribe as losing the Mark of the Raven would be. Those wearing the Mark of the Eagle are the greatest hunters the tribe has ever been blessed with. They can spot prey from great distances, aim their bows and spears with pinpoint accuracy, and never tire in the pursuit. They also seem unnaturally lucky with finding prey- and they will never search for days, only to come up empty handed. However, those wearing the mark become haughty, arrogant and overbearing, and the wearer cannot stand the wearer of the other Mark.

Leadership:
The Collective are a polygamist Matriarchal society, where woman and men can both have multiple partners. Whilst the men gather the 'shinies' and are the main force behind the nomadic season, it is the woman who clean and polish stones, raise the children to appreciate the Magpie, make amulets and weapons alike, and fish during the autumn months. Woman are also considered more responsible and determined than the men, and sons are expected to listen to mothers over fathers. Decisions are made in the Winged Council- four women who are elected from the tribe upon one's death, lead by a fifth who communes with the Magpie for guidance.

Warriors:
The Collection strives not to fight, instead preferring to trade and showcase their wealth to each other. However, it would be a mistake to underestimate them. They produce high calibre archers and spear-throwers, and their obsidian arrows are prized for their resilience and edge. When forced to fight, they generally prefer hit-and-run methods, attempting to dissuade their foes from launching attacks on their vulnerable settlements rather than sweeping their foes from the battlefield in a glorious fight.

Important Figures:
Mother Pyari: The youngest member of the Council. She acts as a liaison between the council and the members of the tribe, assisted by her reputation as a caring and considerate figure. She spends her time in the permanent camp, caring for children and teaching others in the skills of making jewellery and fetishes.

Speaker Okaya: The current leader of the Council, and bearer of the Mark of the Raven. A thin figure, she secludes herself from all others, spending much of her time in discussion with the Magpie, or with the council, behind closed doors. Most find her eccentric at best, esoteric and impossible to understand at worst.

Huntsman Vyarin: Current bearer of the Mark of the Eagle. A peerless hunter, he spends most of his time away from his fellows, only returning when he has caught his quarry. In times of need, Zayzhe is also leader of The Falcons, a group of other hunters who serve as assassins and marksmen for the defence of the tribe.

[Lady Selune]

@Raylah
Better?

[Raylah]

@Lady Selune Well it's not exactly in the sections, but it is really well thought out so I'll take it :) Just a reminder though to the gold and especially iron - that it would probably be just stones or raw pieces of metal picked from the ground, not in a smelted form. I can imagine that with some effort they could be able to smelt gold (even though it would not serve any practical purpose), but smelting iron is much more advanced technology.

[Raylah]

Also anyone with approved tribe feel free to start posting into IC.
I will wait about a week before I start with the story, so all is well and peaceful for now.

[Lady Selune]

@Raylah

Oh yeah, it's literally just little nuggets of shiny stuff. They like to polish it, but they can't smelt any of it.

[Lady Selune]

Wanted to give some insight into how their love of shinies effects everyday life. Lots of colour and brightness with the Collection 😊.

For those wondering, the colours on Teyeka's home are red and white.

[Enigmatik]

Would anyone like to collab regarding an Aishrek raid?

[Raylah]

@Irredeemable Feel free to create some NPC tribes if you want to, not sure if the hippie tribes will be eager to fight :D

[gowia]

Might this perhaps still be open for me to join? I am certainly interested

EDIT: I put together a sheet for the tribe I'd be interested in, as I am an eager beaver.

The Narthskr People

The Clans of the Narthskr

The People:
Hailing from the northern lands of the world, the Narthskr are a comparatively sedentary tribe who move between a number of rocky outcrops on the mountain based on the seasons. During the warmer months they descend lower down the slopes, enjoy the bounty of hunting, fishing, and gathering stuffs that can be taken from the forests at the foot of the mountains. When the temperatures drop, however, and lots of resources become scarce, they retreat further into the mountains where they live off the excess they have collected and hide away scraps in case of times of shortness in the highest points that remain permanently frozen - though they live lower than that.

The lifestyle and climate has made the Narthskr a tough and gritty people, used to hardship and unafraid to suffer for their survival. This does leave them less populous than other tribes which enjoy a simpler and easier life, but the question of moving down from the mountains has been rejected flatly any time it comes up. They are a highland people, this is all they have known.

The Faith:
The Narthskr practise a form of ancestor worship, honouring their dead for the loss of each person is felt even more acutely than in other tribes. If the person lived to the benefit of the society, their name and deeds will be remembered in the Laaj Wal. The Laaj Wal is the Narthskr equivalent to a consecrated ground; found on the apparent location of the first Narthskr home, it is a cliff face, oddly smooth and sheer, which has the names and deeds of every past member of the tribe to die having completed services to the tribe. Suffice to say those ejected from the tribe are not remembered there.

The path to this mystical area is dotted with shrines erected by the different clans to the memory of truly remarkable people. Most complete offerings with small crafted object, as the act of creating such a trinket is supposed to channel the energy of the crafter into empowering the ancestors spirit. Another outcome of an existence that allows little time for leisure or play.

The Leader:
The Narthskr exist in perpetual danger, as do all in this age, and so do not waste the young and energetic on matters of tribe direction, instead utilising the wisdom of the old and the frail. The eldest member of each clan acts as the head of their family and, regularly, meets with the other elders to discuss any matters concerning the tribe as a whole. Given the autonomy of most clans in the tribe, however, there has been no need for any extensive mechanism of governance.

The Home:
There are a number of rocky outcrops with enough flat space amongst the mountains and in the highlands near the forests in the north to allow for the tribe to move according to the seasons around a single area. With one permanent residence near the Laaj Wal, which they inhabit in force during the bleakest and coldest winters, leaving the barest makeshift houses for people to live in during the warmer months in case they need the Laaj Wal, their home at all other times is an easily packed away and moved collection of tents. The secrets of farming and husbandry allude the Narthskr - keeping them from the age of bronze - and so their travels down the mountain are more expeditions for resources than any actual attempt to reside there any longer than necessary.

The Conflict:
Given that permanent warriors are nothing but a drain on resources most of the year round, the Narthskr have none. Instead each person is held accountable for their survival and, if a rival tribe comes into conflict, required to serve the interests of the tribe and repel aggressors. The tools of war are their tools of hunting, a flint spear meant for a boar kills a man just as easily.

The Story:
The Narthskr tell their children a story that in the time before people, giants and great natural entities fought for dominance over existence. Each sought to exact their will permanently on the land and, in time, destroy all others. There was no single victor, however, and imstead an uneasy peace was established, creating the world in a changing image where one part of nature struggles with the other and the weather, enviroment, and land changes according to who is winning this conflict. The beings, no longer corporeal, live as spirits in the land now.

It was following this that the first people emerged, having been hiding the previous violence and uncertainty in a different world. They came down from the mountains and dispersed into their tribes to eek out a new existence in the new peace of the world. Acceding to the story tellers the peace cannot last, and the world goes through a cycle of peace and conflict when the spirits fight once again. The last recorded moment of this was the previous age of ice that settled on the land and finally passed.

Persons of Note:
To be expanded.

[Raylah]

@gowia Of course. I like it, you are accepted! :)

[LordZell]

Might I suggest a discord.s

[Raylah]

As you wish - Discord

[DELETED32084]

If you're still keeping this going and looking for another player, please consider this my application!

The Tribe of Vargar

The Tribe of Vargar

The People:
The Vargar inhabit the interior Hinterlands of the world, among the forests and tall hills as they reach down to the great river. They are a settled society that has built a village of rounded houses with tall wooden rooves, defended by a rough stone wall topped with sharpened palisade. This region is rich in game, fish, and other resources the tribe needs to survive and grow. The relatively mild winters and long summers have made farming and animal husbandry an attractive activity to some as well.

They are a fiercely protective people, having domesticated wolves that serve as guard dogs and even as family pets. While they welcome other tribes for trade they do not share land well with others and have engaged in more than the odd pitched skirmish with neighbours and nomadic peoples alike.

The Faith:
The Vargar worship the Wolf, honouring the family traditions and protective nature of the wolf pack. They believe that the world was brought into being by Vargaria herself, a giant she wolf that killed an ancient elk and when its blood spattered the earth it gave the land shape, the corpse itself decayed to give the land life, and the hills within which they live were thrown up by the drumming hooves of the dying animal.

The Wolf is therefore revered, celebrated, tamed, and hunted by the Vargar. Warriors of the tribe wear the wolf skins and edge their heavy wooden clubs with the canine teeth of others. Wolf cubs are domesticated and trained into fierce companions to help protect the people and their land. To repay Vargaria for her protection, the tribe sacrifices two children every year, taking them into the wild and leaving them for the wolves to hunt, as sort of "tit for tat", if you will.

Individual offerings to the wolves are done through carvings done in bone or wood. The people believe that Vargaria herself blesses them with swift feet, improved hearing and sharp eyes.

Leadership:
Much like the wolf pack, the Vargar are led by two alphas, one male and one female. They share equally in the task of leading the pack and are selected by virtue of a series of trials designed to test strength, cunning, and resourcefulness. This has led to the leaders often being among the most intelligent and strongest of the tribe.

The Town:
The Vargar inhabit a sizeable settlement known as Dun Cotte, meaning "strong little houses". Perched on a steep sided bluff with easy access to the river and a only a narrow spit of land to reach it, it was an ideal place for the tribe to settle. Over time as conflicts with other tribes, notably hostile nomadic types, became more common a wall was built around the settlement. At night the entire tribe, livestock in tow, withdraw inside the walls to spend the night in safety.

Defending the Tribe:
All members of the tribe are expected to know how to defend themselves. Each individual takes their turn standing sentry on the walls, or patrolling the fields with a wolf at their side. No person leaves the walls without a weapon and everyone is expected to dedicate one moon cycle, every six cycles, to training with their weapons. Skill with the bow is widely encouraged for hunting as much as fighting an enemy. Skills meant for hunting are simply a part of combat.

Tales of the Tribe:
WIP

Named Men and Women:
To be expanded.

[Raylah]

@The Wyrm Sure, looks nice, just make sure you dont make it a bit too civilized.

[gowia]

By definition stone age tribes really shouldn't be 'permanently settled', nor farming, or any form of metal working :L. Like, the whole defining characteristic of the beginning of the bronze age is the establishment of permanent settlements (Coming from the development of farming and husbandry that made a nomadic lifestyle obsolete since you could have access to those resources without moving) and the ability to begin working more technically with basic ores to produce hardier tools.

Also, post is up, made a brief reference to a nasty happening you are welcome to play off @Irredeemable of being responsible for and we can look at a future collab from there :)

[DELETED32084]

@gowiaFair point.

@RaylahI am going to redo my app after work, I’ll let you know when it is done!

[Raylah]

@The Wyrm Well I wouldnt be that strict about permanent settlements, it is a fantasy after all, just be careful about general technological level.

[Raylah]

Just in case some of you arent on the Discord - you have about a day before I introduce the monsters, so if you want to post something, do it now, or at least let me know you are planning to ;)

[DELETED32084]

The Muhit

The Tribe of Muhit

The People:
If you travel West to the Great Water you must first cross the long rolling plains that bring so much life to the world. The oceans of grass give way to sand dunes and eventually to the rolling swells of the Great Water itself, an obstacle so vast it defies realization. And yet, on those sandy shores and among the never ending cascade of coloured corals and beautiful fish, a people known the Muhit can be found.

They arrived several hundred years before, driven from their distant lands by the far more warlike Aishrek. They journeyed across the plains until they came to the Great Deep and on those crystal shores they found a home. Alsakhrat, the Mighty Rock, is an otherwise unknown monstrous formation of granite rock that rises above all the surrounding land. Acting as a natural barrier to weather it provided an ideal bay for fishing and for the Muhit to settle.

The weather here is more or less consistent in its warmth and generosity, allowing the Muhit to settle and build what could possibly be the first permanent settlement. They prize fishing, deep diving, and their connection with the water over all else. They are a fiercely protective people, having domesticated wild dogs to serve as guard dogs and even as family pets. While they welcome other tribes for trade they do not share land well with others and have engaged in more than the odd pitched skirmish nomadic peoples, land and sea faring alike.

Men and women are considered equals for most tasks. Women are encouraged to sleep with many partners so that when a child is born, anyone could be the parent, thereby making it the responsibility of the whole tribe to raise the younglings. Some chose to have a single partner for an extended period of time but the Muhit have no concept of marriage.

The Faith:
The Muhit worship all water as the giver of life. They believe that the world was born through the antics of the sea creatures they know as Dualifin, a long log shaped creature of high intelligence and humanlike humour. The bones, particularly the skulls, of the Dualifin, are prized by all members of the tribe and are believed to bring luck when at sea.

The ability to dive deep and harvest the bounty of the ocean is valued greatly and more than a few Muhit can claim a Dualifin as a friend.

The people believe that dualifin bless those who swim with them, providing the ability to swim faster, dive deeper, and even see more clearly underwater.

Leadership:
The Muhit are led by two Chiefs, one male and one female. They share equally in the task of leading the tribe and are selected by virtue of a series of trials designed to test strength, cunning, and resourcefulness. This has led to the leaders often being among the most intelligent and strongest of the tribe.

The Town:
The Muhit live in a series of cave dwellings along the face of Alsakhrat. What began as simply caves to hide in slowly developed with screens for the openings, then more permanent walling methods were used to protect what was inside. The dwellings overlook the main bay where the fishing fleet is drawn up on the beaches every night. No vessels sail after dark for fear of the beasts that lurk in the black water.

Defending the Tribe:
The Muhit have no dedicated warriors. All are of course expected to know how to wield a spear, or trident, for catching fish. Bows are used for larger fish in the shallows and tribal members carry clubs embedded with a black rock found in the deeper caves to defend themselves from wild dogs, or the much larger feline Asada that hunts in groups.

Tales of the Tribe:
The Muhit themselves have no real written language, though they enjoy song and music, which they use to tell their tales. They once lived along the mighty river that cuts the world in two but clashes with the far more savage Aishrek led to many of them fleeing west. As a nomadic people they had lived in tents of fur, leather and wood and domesticated wolves to serve as companions and to help battle the Aishrek. When they went west they took it all with them.

It took the Muhit several generations to migrate west. Their dogs interbred with wild dogs of the plains to the point that little remains of the original wolf they had known in their homeland. They encountered horses and were fascinated by them. Some they captured and found them to be of good eating.

When they at last reached the Great Deep, and Alsakhrat, they found at last a home they could make their own. They absorbed a small tribe already living in the area and quickly began to grow. When the seasons did not change and the winters remained mild, the Chiefs decided they would stay. There was more than enough food and shelter. The Muhit had come to stay.

Named Men and Women:
To be expanded.