Talk:Free Folk
Here is the old entry on the free folk in case we want to re-use some of the ideas here elsewhere.
Contents
Description
Free Folk is the colloquial name given to the South Arcadian tribes that live in the Ashpire Desert and Vast Wastlands.
These people come from many different background and races, and form several hundred tribes, villages and small desert nations that often rival or wage war against each other. They share similar culture, customs and pray to the same desert gods. They also pride themselves on living in small, tribal and familial communities that set their own rules and are not beholden to any king or council.
Free Folk is the name they have given to themselves. Varandans usually refer to them as Ashpyre Tribesmen, Raiders or Wastlanders, based on the region where they come from. The Free Folk eschew those designations and prefer to be known as Free Folk, and go by their tribal or kin group names.
Demographics
Free Folk are mostly human with some tribes having small half-human minorities (usually Half Orcs). Further south one can also encounter tribes with Dragonborn members living alongside the humans. Elves, Dwarfs, Halfings and Gnomes are extremely rare and usually do not settle among the Free Folk.
Free Folk humans are usually ethnically diverse from Istmeri or the Islanders and do not usually mix or intermarry with those populations. They have tan skin and dark straight hair, which they usually shave due to desert heat and to maintain hygiene in extremely dry regions where water is precious.
Culture
Free Folk consider themselves to be the only truly free people in the world - able to shape their own destiny in the deep of the desert, where others must bow to rulers and abide by laws of others.
Unsurprisingly, they value personal freedom and autonomy above all else. Their loyalty is to kin and tribe first, and foremost and above any alliances. They are fiercely protective of their territories and their way of life and unwilling to accept alliances that would force them to compromise on their freedoms.
Free Folk have reputation for violence and barbarism, which is partially deserved. Some tribes raid trade caravans or pillage established and more prosperous settlements. Most however are peaceful, self reliant people that want to forge their own destiny. They build small desert villages, or lead nomadic lifestyle trying to avoid violence and conflict.
That said, life in South Arcadian deserts is hard, water is precious and resources are scarce, so even the most peaceful tribes are sometimes forced into violent conflicts out of thirst or hunger.
Groupings
The term Free Folk can sometimes be sued to describe the ethnic demographic, but it is mostly a cultural descriptor as evidenced by Dragonborn and Half Orc tribesmen fully integrated into the local kin groups. The designation usually refers to the fiercely independent desert dwelling people living North and South of Istmer, but not in the fertile regions alongside of its banks.
The Istmeri river folk and Shattered Coast islanders are not considered Free Folk because they have their own unique cultures.
The nation of Vast is considered a bit of anathema to the Free Folk way of life. While powerful warlords have in the past united many tribes, they usually did it by conquest or by forging temporary mutually beneficial alliances. For former free folk to bend the knee under a king and serve under a shared banner seems abhorrent. Thus people of Vast are not considered true Free Folk and are treated with mistrust and apprehension by most desert tribes.
Varandans recognize the following sub groups of Free Folk:
Sand Rakers
Sand Rakers is the name given to Ashpyre Tribesmen who live in permanent settlements and villages north of Istmer. They live of farming desert crops and herding desert adopted livestock and supplement with hunting and gathering. They are very territorial and guard their lands against poachers and trespassers. Some tribes collect tariffs from trade caravans while others are content to trade for northern or Varandan goods.
Sand Raker villages are usually small and populated by single extended clan lead by an elder patriarch or matriarch and two or three generation of their descendants along with their families and sworn allies. Larger settlements are rare, but not unheard of.
Ashpyre Nomads
The nomadic tribes that traverse the Ashpyre Desert and travel between the Green Steppes and Istmer. They are hunter-gatherer societies that often get in conflict with the territorial Ash Raker tribes. When the times get rough they supplement their hunting and gathering with raids on their settlements or on trade caravans. They are rough, hardy and uncompromising people that do what they must to survive.
They are infamous for building large sacrificial pyres when they sack a village or capture a caravan. They take all resources they can use, and burn everything else as the offering to the gods. Seeing one of their pyres on the horizon is a ill omen, as it suggests your village may be the next target.
Wastlanders
Wastlanders are the Free Folk farmers and traders that build their settlements south of Istmer but refuse to bend the knee to the King of Vast. Their tribes tend to be larger, and more organized than those of Sand Rakers because the Wastlands are harsh and uncompromising. Most consist of several related clans or kin groups, ruled by a council of elders or a chieftain. Majority of villages have defensive structures to protect them from raids, and trained warriors patrolling their territories.
Because Wastelander groups are larger, they are also more racially diverse. Many accept local non humans as their kin. Dragonborn are especially valued for their prowess as warriors and mages.
Raiders
Raiders are nomadic Free Folk who live south of Istmer. In recent years they have become restless and violent as they have been pushed out of their traditional roaming territories by the coalition of tribes that joined under the Vast banners. Being squeezed out of southern regions northward has put them in conflict with Wastelander tribes and Istmeri.
Having lost majority of their hunting and gathering territories these groups have turned to full time raiding and pillaging to survive. They are scourge of the south and are feared and despised by Wastlanders, Istmeri and People of Vast alike.
Raiders do not burn sacrificial pyres like their northern counterparts. They take everything and re-purpose or trade away the stuff they can't use. They also loathe to give advance warning to their next target. When they sack a Wastlander town they leave no stone unturned. When they leave there is nothing left save for blood stains in the sand, and loose gravel.
