Human, Tyeduan
PC Statistics
In NWN Avlis, this is a Human ethnicity. You can create a Human PC with this background. No need to specify subrace.
Favored Class: Any
Special Abilities:
Overview
Not all humans live under the feudalistic or parliamentary institutions of the great nations. A good number of them belong to tight-knit family and tribal groups that occupy the countryside, roaming around Avlis' diverse terrain in migratory fashion. The sheer number of tribes and groups that roam the lands are even more diversified than the lands themselves. However, the myriad of units and mobile nations can be grouped into three general categories: Romini, Jechrani, and Tyeduans.
Tyeduans live in the frozen tundra in the northern part of the continent of Negaria. A hearty folk, these humans live hand to mouth. They waste nothing, and are always at work making a living among the frozen wastes, in conditions which would kill most lesser beings. Their culture contains great myths and legends that tell of the early history of the ancient spirits that once roamed the world and also of the mysterious servants of Mikon, the Mikonators, who are said to have been the forebearers of the Tyeduan gods, and some say, the Tyeduans themselves.
Personality
All three tribal peoples have basic personality traits that belie their rural upbringing and codes. Superstition is a mainstay of their cultures, and all of them have rich oral traditions dealing with daily life events and how a person meets and participates in life's joy and pain. This proximity with the primal forces of existence gives them an inner peace and happiness, even at the same time that it toughens them to the elements and the cruelty that life can sometimes pose.
The mystical Tyeduans also live in a hostile environment, though the pressures exterted on their people have created more male-dominated atmospheres. At best, some Tyeduan tribes have equal rights for both genders, and no female-dominated tribes exist, though many hold their priestesses in high regard. It could be said that the cold has frozen the Tyeduan sense of humor and liveliness to a core, but this is not the case. These folk thrive on humor and storytelling, and have rich traditions in each. All of their oral traditions serve the dual purpose of providing pleasure and teaching about life in the tundra at the same time, so it can be passed on from generation to generation. No other group of humans can be said to have struck such a successful balance between work and play. When the going gets tough, the Tyeduans can be extremely serious and forthright, and even hostile, but when times are gentle, they can be passionate and caring.
Physical Description
For tribal humans, physical features are largely dependent on region. Tyeduan males are the tallest of the lot, often reaching 6 1/2 and sometimes 7 feet. Their females can sometimes reach 6 feet also. Skin and eye color also vary with region. The Tyeduans, who are northern dwellers, have lighter skin and eyes compared to their southern relatives.
Tyeduans have been rumored to interbreed with the divine servants of Mikon early on in their existence, giving them lighter coloring. Civilized humans of the Kurathene who exhibit this light coloring are also thought to have interbred with the Tyeduans.
Variations in dress are too numerous to describe here. Not only do they vary with major tribal category, but they also vary with individual tribes. Northern folk tend to wear more thick animal skins for warmth.
Relations
Nearly all human tribes are viewed with suspicion by their more civilized counterparts. The feeling is mutual, for tribal societies tend to be very superstitious and slow to trust an outsider. For the most part, tribal humans do not concern themselves much with non-human affairs. Tribes will often war amongst themselves, or with neighboring groups of nationalized humans over land rights and natural resources, but rarely do they get involved with the affairs of the wider world.
Aside from fighting one another, Tyeduan tribes will sometimes skirmish with Kurathene nobles in the northern parts of the Empire. They view the peoples of the empire as traitors to nature and to the spirit gods.
Alignment
Tribal humans have no particular majority when it comes to following morals or ethics. Their philosophies on law and chaos as well as good and evil vary by tribe and by individual. Among all the races, they deviate from their creator's alignment the most often.
Tyeduan Lands
After creation by Mikon, tribal humans collected in the areas all over the continent of Negaria. Those who went northward formed the Romini tribes, that eventually became the Kurathene Empire and the clans of Tyedu.
Tyedu is only marginally aware that it exists as a nation. The tribes within the area recognize a common ancestry, and to some extent, they communicate about larger matters affecting the areas where they live, but they barely hold any cohesive national ideal like the other nations of Negaria do.
Religion
Tyeduans have very unique religions compared to other races on Negaria. Their religion is based on "spirit gods", which legend holds are the offspring of refugee nature spirits and the divine guardians, or Mikonators, sent by Mikon to guard the fleeing spirits that were attempting to avoid the wrath of the evil Negerai. These spirit gods were discovered by early bands of humans roaming the north lands and the Tyeduans came to venerate them, and adopted them as their own deities. There are many of these deities that cover all walks of life and areas of nature.
Language
The language formally known as the Common Tongue was given to the first humans when Mikon created them. Since then, the language has remained largely unchanged, and it has been adopted as the universal language of Negaria by all races. Nevertheless, dialects of this language exist. Tyeduans speak a version called "Northman", or "Spirit-kin".
Names
Most tribal humans have a common tradition of being able to change one's name during their lifetime due to some great (or infamous) deed that they committed. Tyeduan tribes often take first names after animals, natural phenomena, or actions. Romini often take first names that are popular in the area where they live, and Jechrani can take either human or elven names. For all tribal humans, their last name either depicts who their father was (or mother, in the case of Jechrani), and they often have a clan designation after that.
Male Names
Moves Like Wind, Running Bear, Soaring Eagle
Female Names
Blizzard Breeze, Snowfox, Tearing Crow
Clan Names
Clan Yeti-lo The Snowbear Clan, The Rumbling Mountain Clan
Adventurers
Tribal humans value their home lives tremendously. After coming of age, they will rarely wander away from the tribe they are dutifully bound to protect and serve. However, many tribes have tests that require young tribal members to take long journeys of self-discovery by themselves. These can often lead to many new and interesting experiences. Other causes for leaving may include playing on their strong sense of duty and collectivism.