Vundarkin Packhunters

Vundarkin, Packhunters, Wildlings

“The Pack and its Whisper — hold these close to your heart and you will never falter”

Symbol: 

The Vundarkin are not united by any one membership in their Packs and some shared culture between different communities. That said, many Packs feature some kind of Symbol or ornamentation that reflects their association. When driven to decide on a shared symbol, the Packs associated with the Free Tribes decided on a snarling wolf’s head.

Lore: Low

Packhunter lore is primarily the basic knowledge of one specific Pack and their Whisper (if any). Straightforward and easy to absorb.

Aesthetic: 

During the warmer months, the Vundarkin wear the basic essentials, with light cloths, or animal skins. Their shoulders, limbs, and faces display tattoos or scarification of their various achievements and successes. In winter, they bundle beneath heavy furs laced with incense or other smell-dissipating odors. They know little of drawn out war, but the bloody hunt and the camp’s defense are their lives. They wield spear, hatchet, long knife, bow, and firearm with proficiency and rune-guided expertise. 

Outlook:

Adaptable and Cunning: Foolish is the person that believes the Packhunters to be nothing more than savages. The Vundarkin are cunning, woodwise, and incredibly adaptable. While they might not have access to certain technologies or magics because of their nomadic natures, they are skilled in the use of many devices and even weaponry. For example: though an uncommon sight, many of the Vundarkin wield firearms and Rune Wands.

Communal Items: Equipment and supplies belong to the Pack as a whole. Some items are personal, such as Reagents, trinkets, or family treasures, but everything else is communal property. This means that a Packhunter has no qualms with sharing their weaponry or equipment with people they perceive to be part of their social group. On the other hand, this can lead to misunderstandings when that same Packhunter borrows their ally’s item without asking.

Might makes Right: The wilderness is ruthless, striking down the weak and infirm among the Packhunters with disease or mishap. While the Vundarkin try to take care of their own, they respect those who display strength and prowess. These folk, especially if they have charisma and seniority, often end up being a Pack Guide or even a Pack Elder.

Outsider to Villages: The Vundarkin are accustomed to the rules and mores of the natural world, but not of living in villages and cities. While they understand the basic rules of property (see Communal items) and propriety, they may sometimes misunderstand social situations due to their unfamiliarity. Fortunately, most townsfolk expect as much from Packhunters so any sanctions beyond humiliation or hilarity may be muted. 

The Pack is all: For the Vundarkin, their Pack is almost everything in their lives. Not only were they raised by their Pack, but their daily lives rely on cooperation with their Pack. Many times, their survival is a result of their Packmates’ assistance. Thus, the Pack is second only to one’s family.

The Whispers are watching: The Vundarkin are believers in spiritual entities, both baleful and benign within the World Beyond the Fall. Thus, the Packhunters make sure to follow any taboos or rites that they need to perform, sometimes making Outsiders think that the Vundarkin are superstitious folk. Almost all Arcanists among them are Animancers that serve or commune with the Whispers of the Wild. 

The Wild Provides: In the verdant wilderness beyond village and city, the Vundarkin have found food and carry their own shelter. After an entire life of survival, these hunters and gatherers can find their own food and supplies, trading their surplus with outsiders to items they do not have. These individuals prefer lairing in the outskirts of town or staying outdoors rather than in its clutches (or indoors), barring certain weather or climate conditions. 

Names: 

The Vundarkin are nothing if not pragmatic. Their names are therefore short, simple, and easily identifiable. Due to the dangers of their nomadic travel, Vundarkin children are given a cub name two years after they are born; beforehand, they are called cub, little one, or childling. This cub name is usually related to or an aspect of their mother’s name (e.g. Wind being a daughter of Storm or Stone being a son of Hill). 

Upon reaching adulthood, an individual Vundarkin chooses a name for themselves that is derived from the environment around them. A Pack Elder, a Tender to Souls, or Speaker to Whispers may assign them a descriptive surname for when an individual with a similar or identical name may be present. Although the Vundarkin dislike changing a given descriptor, it is little more than a name with little sentiment attached to it.

Example Names:

• Winter Shroudmoon was named during the coldest, darkest night. Her sister, Root, was given the same descriptor. 

• Rock Redhand is a simple man, naming himself after the first thing he saw. The Pack Elder called him Redhand from a minor wound he acquired while skinning a stag.

• Snow Loudwind was given their name during a blizzard while the Pack sojourned within a cave. They chose the name itself because the blizzard was the first snow of the year.  

Example Character Ideas:

The following are some character concepts that may be seen from this Free Tribe. If desired, feel free to use or alter one of these for your character.

Speaker to Whispers: While the world is full of malevolent entities and dangerous spirits, the Whispers are the primal powers respected by the Vundarkin. A Speaker to Whispers is a conduit to those spirits, often self-taught in the Arcanist’s arts, but serving primarily as a guide and a soother to the rest of their pack. These individuals are not always the leaders to a Pack, but they serve well in positions of command and guidance. 

Suggested Classes: Arcanist, Counselor

Tracker of Flesh: The flora of the new earth and the yield of the sickle are not the only fruits pursued by the Pack. They hunt for flesh as well—fleeing, bleeding, screaming, fighting flesh. The Pack hunt and track as one, as Pack, Pride, or Flock, descending upon their prey and striking with ferocity and cunning. The Tracker of Flesh leads these hunts, bringing their Pack to bear upon quarry or rival Packs.  

Suggested Classes: Ranger, Warrior

Keeper of the Den: When the Pack is threatened by beast, human, or horror, its watchers arise to its defense. Trackers may wield spears and bows and rifles, but they do so behind raised hide-bound shields and carapace bucklers. And when the initial volley does not drive off their foe, the Keepers are the foremost in pushing against the Pack’s enemies and the last to leave if the Pack should escape. 

Suggested Classes: Counselor, Warrior

Stitcher of Skins: When the hunt is finished and the prey breathes its last, much still remains to be done. The Stitchers of Skins fashion supplies out of the fallen quarry, whether it is food for the hungry, furs for wearing, or new weapons for the Pack to wield. Of course, even between the hunting and the gathering, the Weavers’ tasks are always calling to them; there are tents to be mended, furs to glyph, and wounds to be sewn. In a healthy Pack, all must work for these tasks, but the Stitchers do them best and lead the others in what must be done. 

Suggested Classes: Arcanist, Builder

Tender to Souls: Where the Pack lairs to rest and lights its bone-fires is its den. Therein, the Stitchers and the Tenders bring forth brew and breath so that young and old can find rest for the next day’s struggles and hunts. While they are skilled in physical and medical treatment, Tenders specialize in more spiritual recuperations. By the bone-fires, they will sing and speak of the Pack’s triumphs and, in tents, they listen to their Pack’s failures. They ensure that the Pack knows of troubles that they face and the solutions that they have discovered. Oftentimes, they are who their leaders turn to when speaking with other Packs or with the Caged (i.e. non-Vundarkin).  

Suggested Classes: Builder, Counselor

Leadership:

There is no one leader among the Packhunters. Thus, the other Free Tribes have to deal with the Packhunters with a per Pack basis.

Naturally, this makes it absolutely maddening for when the Free Tribes attempt to coordinate or meet with each other to discuss important topics such as what happened before the War over Embers. To contact any Pack, messengers must be sent to the many different towns with the hope that it reaches the targeted Pack by luck (when they visit a town to sell their wares or resupply certain goods). 

Packhunter History

Important Events

The Fall of the Old World (0 BTF): Humanity flees their cities and megalopolises during the Long Fall. What once were havens became horrifying infernos or deadly hunting grounds. The ancestors of the Packhunters are those who survived the wilderness and found the Wildling Whispers waiting for them. Each Pack has its own myths and traditions regarding its Whisper. 

Descent into Wilderness (16 BTF): Like the Scavver Caravans, the Packs discover that settlements and villages had survived the Long Fall. Though they occasionally trade supplies and weaponry with these communities and with each other, each Pack largely remains their own isolated society. They remain in the wilderness though it is not wholly their home -- many places are gnarled with eldritch energies or haunted by deadly monsters.

The Vundarkin (23 BTF): Their existence had been known for a while, though few truly went out to speak to them. Though they share certain cultural aspects, each and every Pack is its own community. A Cartel scholar dubs them “Vundarkin” -- an pre-Fall word meaning “Those who Remember”. In vain, she attempts to catalog the hundred or so Packhunters in the wilderness. The Vundarkin take to the name or care little for it, but they continue to avoid major interactions with most communities.

Eaters of Flesh (28 BTF): Several Packs are reported to worship a bloody handed Whisper called the Red Path. These individuals relish the thrill of battle and the hunt with a berserker’s zeal. They also cannibalize those monsters they kill, though they quickly learn that some creatures are deadly to eat. The God Slayers, the Pale Wolves, and the cannibalistic Carrion Cults are said to be sibling Packs to the Red Path. 

Edge of Obliteration (36 BTF): The Pack of the Red Path is almost extinguished by an Eldritch Entity known as a Flenser. The survivors lick their wounds and gather like minded souls after a half-decade, successfully avenge themselves. This would be one of the several times the Red Paths would tread the edge of obliteration.

The Verdant Ones (46 BTF): This is the first recorded instance that outsiders have met and spoken with the Circle of the Green Leaf’s Elder. This self-proclaimed “Archdruid” is said to be ageless and leads his people into the depths of the wilds to cleanse corruption from themselves.

Herding Cats (65 BTF): The Devil Cats are formed by Lil (now Grandma Lil). She draws her Pack from the castouts and the forgotten of Mid-Atla. They are disdained by both Vundarkin and most other communities, but their unity and Lil’s wisdom allows them to survive the wilds. 

Against the Night (76 BTF): The Stonebrood are seen descending from their sacred mountains -- with the defeat of the Night League in the area, they are no longer as secretive or as elusive. 

Reaching out (83 BTF): With the arrival of the Templar and the Illustrados, the Cartels send out emissaries to other communities in Mid-Atla. Their hope is to cobble together an alliance called “the Free Tribes” in case the Archfactions attack. However, the Packhunters’ response is miniscule. Their nomadic natures make it difficult for word to get out or for them to care about the threat of invasion.

The War over Embers (90 BTF):  The Packhunters do not join until the Ember War is in full swing. Dozens of Packs join the Free Tribe’s banner. Their own contributions are largely unsung, due to their own preference as irregulars and scouts instead of mainstay fighters. However, several victories are attributed to them. Due to his defeat at their spears in the Salvation of Solace, the Laughing Liar harbored a great hatred for them until his end at the Battle of Libertina. 

The Aftermath (99 BTF): The Packhunters have been changed immensely by the Harbinger War. Once unwilling to traffic with communities except for the most basic of commodities, they are seen more often and in greater numbers than before the War. They come to barter or even to lend protection, recognizing that there is a place for them even if they want to preserve their way of life. 

Important People and Groups

The Free Tribes: A group of communities and tribes based in and around the Mid-Atlantic (aka Mid-Atla) area, but also within the New England, Tidewater, and Midwest regions. These include the Grailguard, the Scavver Caravans, the Hellhounds, the Dustriders, and the Packhunters. 

The Harbingers/Harbinger Hosts: Four sorcerous entities of incredible power and the monstrous armies that followed them. They came from the west and savaged their way to Mid-Atla until they were stopped by the combined efforts of the Free Tribes, the Illustrados, and the Temple. 

The Illustrados Union: An Caribbean-based Archfaction known for their technological wonders, their mercantile bent, and their naval prowess

The Scavver Caravans: More than a dozen nomadic communities that travel with wagons and carts, some of which are motorized with Magna-tech. They are named for their looting of old world cities. 

The Temple of the Shattered Mother (aka Templars): An northern Archfaction based on their faith to the God-Empress and dedicated to the destruction of wickedness and eldritch evil.

The Vundarkin Packhunters: The Vundarkin Packhunters are simple and small bands of associated families that wander the wilderness. Many choose a spiritual “Whisper” to follow as a guide.

Packhunter Power Groups

Listed below are six of the many, many Vundarkin Packs. These groups are not the leadership of the Packhunters, though they have won influence and renown in recent years. 

Player Characters may come from any Power Group. It is recommended that those willing to write backstories intertwined with the Packs below contact Game Staff for further information/guidance.

It is the requirement of Game Staff that players who create their own Packs as part of their backstory submit a profile of that group to Game Staff (for further use in plot if need be).

The Brood of the Stonefathers: Nomadic warriors that seek out enlightenment in the wild and have beast totems. Worshippers of the appalachian mountain range.

The Circle of the Green Leaf: A medium sized Pack of spiritualists and survivalists that eschew most technologies and seek to purge corruption and vileness from the land. 

The Pack of the Devil Cats: A Pack of cunning outcasts and scouts, never truly part of any community except their own.

The Pack of the Pale Wolf: A quiet Pack that venerates a deathly Whisper and practices death rites on all that pass from this life. 

The Pack of the Red Path: This is a bloodthirsty, belligerent Pack of warriors, slayers, and devourers.

The Pack of the Serpent River: Worshippers of the Serpent River, travelling up and down its length in an eternal pilgrimage.

The Brood of the Stonefathers

Stonebrood

“We are the children of the mountains. Strike us and be broken.”

Basic: Nomadic warriors that seek out enlightenment in the wild and have beast totems. Worshippers of the Appalachian mountain range (aka the Stonefathers).

Symbol: Their tents and banners have three mountains painted on them. 

Territory: The Stonebrood do not claim any territory, but are one of several Packs that roam the Appalachian range. However, they believe that many places are too sacred or too dangerous for them to travel through. 

Overview: The Brood of the Stonefathers are the biggest and bloodiest Pack of those that wander the Appalachian range. Their history is rife with strife and violence as they not only fought the monstrosities that laired in the shadow of their “Greatfathers of Stone” but also the depredations of the vampiric Night Kings. As such, many of them are accustomed to the rigors of guerilla warfare.

As to be expected, these people are a hardy Pack, as enduring as the mountain range they venerate. Their woodwisdom is strengthened by their spiritual insight and incredible cunning. Each carries a runed stone (aka a stoneheart) on their person or hangs it as a necklace -- this represents their legacy as the mountains’ children. Though the Pack and each individual is free to live their lives, they believe that their fates are inextricably tied to their ancestors and they will always return to it. 

The Stonebrood only offered their strength to the Free Tribes because the Night Kings had been scattered by the Templar and the Hellhounds several decades in the past. Though they sought to ally and learn from those groups, they proved their worth against the Harbinger Hosts time and time again in small skirmishes and swift raids. Though the War over Embers is over, the Brood of the Stonefathers regards the other groups with grim regard. While they have largely returned to their mountain wanderings, they occasionally send out individuals to the other parts of Mid-Atla to learn new things and bring back knowledge to the Elder.

Leadership: Hill Mountaincloud is the Pack Elder of the Stonebrood. A Bestial Chimera, he is known for the ragged mantle over his shoulders and for his skill with Longarms and machetes. Of significant note are his necklace of Necrotic fangs, each of which belonged to a Night League minion that he and his ancestors have slain.

Hill is a man of warmth and friendliness, willing to share food and fires with strangers. He is wise enough to know that not all Necrotics are of the Night League, but becomes wary and cold when they are around. It is said that his Pack has tracked down and slain several groups that they believe are Night League spies and diplomats -- this has run them out of several towns in Mid-Atla. 

The Circle of the Green Leaf

Greenleaves

“Corruption and abominations have no place in this world”

Basic: A medium sized Pack of spiritualists and survivalists that eschew most technologies and seek to purge corruption and vileness from the land. 

Symbol: Their tents and banners feature a green tree or a broad, green leaf

Territory: The Circle of Greenleaves travel all over Mid-Atla but they are drawn to areas where there is an infestation of Eldritch energies, such as Shroudlands or similarly affected regions.

Overview: It comes as little surprise that the Circle of Greenleaves venerates the Green Oak. They have an intense hatred for that which they consider corrupted and unnatural  (as opposed to things that have merely adapted to the unnatural). To that end, they seek out places where the Eldritch has taken root and expunge it from this world with spell and prayer. Their methods are slow, seeding an area with holy trees and allowing those arbors to bring harmony to an area afflicted with otherworldly energies.

The Greenleaves and similar Packs came to the aid of the Archfactions against the Harbinger Hosts. Though their magics had been honed by generations of practice and the favor of the Green Oak, the Greenleaves could not triumph against the Harbingers alone. When the dust settled, the Circle of Greenleaves were the only Pack of their kind to survive and not without significant losses. 

Reduced to approximately fifty people, the Greenleaves remain dedicated to their cause. A new generation of the Circle rises to meet their latest challenge: the Shroudlands. These regions are afflicted with foul magics. It was these Shroudlands that swallowed the Grailguards’ old fortress and the area west of Snakewater. Others such pestilent regions are rumored to exist across the continent, even as far as the Mojave. These corruptions have resisted the Greenleaves’ efforts at reclamation and have even claimed some of their lives. In desperation, the Circle seeks wisdom from every source they can, even the Eldritch using Templars. This exchange of ideas and lores has resulted in several Greenleaves becoming Dryadic Eidolons. 

Leadership: The Greenleaves call their Pack Elder the Archdruid or “His Verdancy”. He is a mysterious figure of great Arcane power, having taught the Greenleaves much of their magical skill. His Verdancy is an individual of great reverence, almost equal to the Green Oak themselves. The Archdruid’s teachings demand that his followers reject most of the trappings of technology and embrace discipline and simplicity. Thus, the Greenleaves use beasts of burden and avoid the use of firearms or magnatech in their daily lives.  

The Pack of the Pale Wolf

Pale Wolves

“And in the twilight of her breaths, she beheld a Pale Wolf and was gladdened of its arrival”

Basic: A quiet Pack that venerates a deathly Whisper and practices death rites on all that pass from this life. 

Symbol: A Wolf Skull is painted upon their tents and banners.

Territory: The Pale Wolves travel in the wilds of the northern Mid-Atla, straying toward New England at times. As it is with anyone with any sense, they steer clear of the New Amsterdam ruins.

Overview: It would be easy to mistake the Pale Wolves from Carrion Cults and Cannibal Gangs that hunt humans for their flesh. The white or grey ashes that mark their faces make them look like the living dead and do little to recommend them to others. Their use of Necrothergy and bone weapons only fuel suspicion from others. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that when the Ember War came, the Pale Wolves fought alongside the Archfactions with dark magics and devilish tactics.

Like the Carrion Cults that spring up across Mid-Atla before immediately being wiped out, the Pale Wolves believe that they gain power from death. However, what puts them apart from mere cannibals is the respect they give to the dead -- they do not revel in suffering or in cruelty. Foes are cremated and their ashes are baked into blackened bread. Their blackened bones are wrought into weapons or worn as ornaments alongside their grey or white furs. The Pale Wolves’ prayers to the deceased and to their shadowy Whisper grant them power against a cruel World that was upended by calamity.

Surprisingly, few of the Pale Wolves are Risen folk. As one of the larger Packs, they are rostered by Chimerics and by Seraphs. Those touched by death or incredible grief sometimes seek them out. Far from being dark zealots or ravenous savages, the Pale Wolves are quiet, calm, and reserved. Besides the lonely horns they blow and a messenger said ahead of time, they arrive with little fanfare and leave with the same silent grace.

Leadership: Ashen Snowfallen is a Seraph and the Pack Elder to the Pale Wolves. She is learned in Animancy and Necrotherugy, balancing spiritual power and deathly magics. As her father before her, she is also a Speaker-to-Whispers and communes with the Shadowmane. In times of doubt, she lets the Whisper speak through her, pulling down her Animus Crown upon her face and intoning guidance over a smoky bonfire. The Pack listens to the Shadowmane closely for his ways are their ways and there will come a time where he will lead their souls into the great beyond. Sometimes, she sends them individually or in small groups to different parts of Mid-Atla to learn things and come back to her -- all at the behest of their shadowy Patron. 

The Pack of the Red Path

Redpaths

“To eat its meat, you must hunt the deer”

Basic: This is a bloodthirsty, belligerent Pack of warriors, slayers, and devourers.

Symbol: An open-mouthed wolf’s head (or a similar beast) is painted upon the Redpaths’ tents and banners.

Territory: The Redpaths’ wanderings take them across the entirety of Mid-Atla. They have been reported as far south as Tidewater and as far north as the Templar’s Bastion du Rachat. 

Overview: A sibling Pack to the Godslayers (now the Cartel’s Peace Makers), the Redpaths are regarded by many as insane. They are obsessed with the hunt, whether it is to chase down the migrating herds of deer or tracking a particularly deadly Horror. Doing the latter has led to the nigh obliteration of the Pack time and again as they attempt to strike down a monster too powerful for them. But it has not stopped them from trying nor has it stopped people from joining them, though these are often survivors of monster attacks or those with more bloodlust than sense. 

One of the more insane practices of the Pack of the Red Path is their consumption of fallen monsters. Not interested in fragile humanity, the devouring of the inhuman is a mark of triumph among the Pack. It is not enough to defeat a monster, but to feed its strength and spirit to one’s allies ensures that the Redpaths remain powerful. Unsurprisingly, beneath the bloodstained furs that they favor, many of them have the Necrotic Stigmata from surviving deadly encounters. 

The War over Embers proved an immense challenge for the Redpaths. Knowing their predilections, the Pack was prevented by their allies from engaging the Harbingers themselves. Instead, they were unleashed upon smaller groups and engagements to devastating effect. However, they could not be denied forever -- during the Battle of the Broken Bell, the Redpaths fell upon the Harbingers with savage fury. Their warriors and hunters were annihilated almost to a man, with a handful of survivors. The Redpaths’ only regret is that they were unable to taste the flesh of the Harbingers.

Leadership: Fenroc is the current Pack Elder of the Redpaths. He barely survived the Battle of the Broken Bell by being flung several dozen yards away by a sorcerous explosion. Fenroc awoke hours later with the Necrotic Stigmata and a hunger for flesh. The current era has the Redpaths roaming the land looking for monsters to eat, as per usual. Getting paid by a community for “pest control” is also acceptable, though banal to them. However, what would truly whet their appetite is the emergence of a new Harbinger -- Fenroc believes that devouring such an entity would bring him and his Pack divinity.

The Pack of the Serpent River

Serpentfish

“River, river, take my soul

With your currents, bring me home”

Basic: Worshippers of the Serpent River, travelling up and down its length in an eternal pilgrimage.

Symbol: A serpentfish (eel) is usually found painted on their tents and banners 

Territory: The Pack of the Serpent River is one of several communities that wander along the banks of the Serpent River. Swollen and purified by the Long Fall, this river cuts across Mid-Atla, passing by the ruins of Libertina and terminating into South Bay. 

Overview: The Serpentfish are a people on an eternal pilgrimage. They are one of several communities that venerate the Serpent River. In particular, the Serpentfish and walk along its shores, always returning to it whenever they leave it. Though once poisoned by the sins of humanity, the River now sustains its children in body and soul, whether it is through the fish or through ritual bathing. While, they give deference to other rivers that they encounter, but these are little siblings to their patron Whisper.

The Pack of the Serpent River are more martially inclined and more socially inclined than their fellow river children. Throughout the history of Mid-Atla, they are known to have traded with nearby settlements for weaponry and news. They are not always welcome however because they are said to attack those they perceive to be defiling their river with dark magics. The rumors of them drowning passersby to gain the river’s blessing are unfounded, but did much to tarnish their reputation with other communities.

These Packhunters were drawn to the Ember War not by the aggregation of the Archfactions, but when the Harbinger Hosts finally brought war to their sacred river. The Serpentfish lent intelligence and support at first, but as the battles raged bloodier across Mid-Atla, they had no choice but to bring spear and rifle to bear against this unnatural invader. 

Leadership: Min Kalchild was born under an auspicious moon and thus was wrought into the form of a Seraph, capable of breathing water as easily as one breathes air. Her father was the previous Elder for several decades, but it was a surprise that she was chosen to replace him. She proved herself well in the Ember War, stepping up to a temporary leadership role when he was slain. The Elder of the Serpentfish leads her people along their divine pilgrimage, but she wishes she could search for her father’s killer -- her investigations into the matter have yet to yield any results and Min usually directs her efforts toward managing the Pack instead.

Vundarkin Society

The Vundarkin Packhunters are a diverse and varied people. Each group of them have their own traditions and rites -- below is a general overview of their societies but one can expect deviations or even subversions of these guidelines when dealing with any particular Vundarkin Pack. 

The Pack

Second only to the nuclear family, the Pack is the prime social structure of the Vundarkin. These are usually but not always based on familial relations. Packs are small or medium sized groups, numbering approximately 10-100 people in size and persisting beyond one generation.

Packs are often formed when bigger Packs split or when a group decides to leave another Pack. Some are formed by a vision from the Speaker-to-Whispers, calling them to do so or a Speaker who wants to lead their own Pack. 

Social Strata

The Pack Elder leads their people, designating its roster and how resources are managed. Bigger Packs may have Guides: skilled, senior individuals that advise the Elder and enforce their edicts. The influence of a Guide is dependent on each Pack. Some groups are practically ruled by the Guides themselves while in others, the Elder’s rule is absolute until the Pack dissolves or mutinies beneath them. 

Otherwise, there is little in the way of hierarchy within the Pack -- it is largely egalitarian. Elders and Guides are chosen by the adult members of the Pack and they retain these offices only by the implicit approval of their peers. Furthermore, they do not get more resources than the other members of the Pack. There is momentum to these positions, it takes an overwhelming amount of disapproval to remove someone from them.

• Elder: The leader of the Pack, making decisions for the group as the whole.

• Guide: Advisory body to the Elder and assists in their rulings, approximately 1 Guide per 10 Packmates. 

• Packmates: The main body of the Pack.

• Cub: The children of the Pack before they become adults.

• Outsider: These are non Pack-Hunters, treated warily and occasionally with hostility.
  

Examples of Guides:

Speaker-to-Whispers: These are shamans and witch-doctors -- some have skills in herbalism while others read the stars. They are conduits between the Pack and the unknown, including the Whisper that they revere.

Stitcher-of-Skins: These are makers of clothing and tents, as well as weaponers and other craftsmanships.

Tender-to-Souls: These are menders of bodies and of souls. They are also keepers of lores and stories passed down to the new generations and created by the old. 

Tracker-of-Flesh: These are no mere trackers but those specialized in knowledge of beasts and capable of leading hunts.

Keeper-of-Dens:  When the Pack is threatened by beast, human, or horror, its keepers arise to its defense. These individuals are protectors, watching for danger and wielding defensive weaponry.

Upbringing

Colloquially called “Cubs”, the children of the Pack are raised both by their families and communally. Because most parental figures are busy hunting, gathering, crafting, or doing similar tasks, childcare is handled by specialized Packmates during the day. At night, cubs stay with their parents in large familial tents or similar family sized living spaces. Childcare also includes small menial chores as well as simple education from the Pack’s Speaker-to-Whispers and/or their Tender-to-Souls. These tasks and lessons are structured as play during the Cub’s early years. Because of necessary dealings with outsiders, most Cubs are also taught literacy to ensure that they are not bereft in that regard.

The life of the Pack is a hard one, though it is one that they feel is the right path. That said, wounds are a common occurrence and death is often known at an early age. Those Cubs who survive these trials grow to become a true member of the Pack. 

Stigmata among the Packhunters

The Packhunters feature an overwhelming amount of Chimeric and Seraphic Stigmata, though the numbers of those without any Stigmata is also sizable. 

Regarding Grafted Stigmata, almost no Metabionics or Eidolons are among the Packs. Those with Grafts are often Necrotic, rising up from proximity to a Deathstone or similar energies. Still, the Packs do feature a few Grafted individuals -- these are usually recent converts or Grafted by outsiders.

Laws and Punishments

The laws of the Packhunters are few but usually cover the critical areas -- they are rarely codified beyond the basics. They do not allow Packmates to murder or assault each other (assault being defined as grievious injury). Besides necessary supplies, property is not especially important to the Vundarkin as long as it remains with the Pack. That said, many individuals find it best to learn the laws of the places they visit lest they run afoul of it. Thus, most Pack-Hunters stay in the fringes of the settlements they visit rather than enter it fully - to them, the depths of a town can be as hazardous as the wilds.

Law Enforcement: The entire Pack is expected to assist with the enforcement of laws and the capture of lawbreakers. The Elder is given full authority to judge the innocence or guilt of a lawbreaker, though Packmates are allowed to speak in the accused’s defense.

Punishments and Sanctions: Those found guilty of breaking the law may find themselves facing the sanctions below.

• Toil: The upkeep of a Pack requires tasks across the spectrum of tolerable and brutal. Examples of the latter include latrine work and dung collection.An Elder can sentence the criminal to a week, a month or even a year of Toil.

• Exile: The lawbreaker is ejected from the Pack and is never allowed in their midst. They are4 usually given a week’s worth of supplies but this may be eschewed during leaner times. 

• Execution: An extreme and rare measure is the Execution -- these individuals have become too dangerous to Pack or have committed an egregious offense to the Whispers. The methods of execution vary, from being buried to the neck and fed to animals or being drowned in mud. These are dependent on a Pack’s beliefs and traditions.
  

Territory

The Packhunters have no territories to speak of, roaming across the vast swaths of wildernesses and following herds of prey. Packhunters trek all across the east coast, from New England all the way to Tidewater. On occasion, they will lair within the ruins of a town or within some shallow caves to rest -- sometimes they may do this for weeks at a time to wait out blizzards, Magnetic Mana Storms, or similarly terrible weather.

Despite sometimes being viewed as savages, these Packs must tread the balance between wilderness and humanity. Far too many are the dangers that await them in dark forests, the depths of caves, and even the open skies. Trading supplies and news with other Packs or even other societies is necessary for any Pack’s existence, if only once every few months. 

Vundarkin Religion and Rites

Vundarkin Faiths

The Pack-Hunters revere the Whispers of the Wild: spiritual, invisible entities that aid and guide them with boons and omens. Though they rarely invoke these divinities, they are a big part of the Vundarkin’s life. After a hunt or a harvest, some of it is set aside for their Whisper as thanks. Similarly, the changing of the seasons may see rites asking for good weather or good fortune. The Speakers-to-Spirits and/or the Pack Elder usually administers the various rites  that involves the Whispers. 

Pack-Hunter Tenets

Might makes Right: The wilderness is ruthless, striking down the weak and infirm among the Pack-Hunters with disease or mishap. While the Vundarkin try to take care of their own, they respect those who display strength and prowess. These folk, especially if they have charisma and seniority, often end up being a Pack Guide or even a Pack Elder. 

The Pack is all: For the Vundarkin, their Pack is almost everything in their lives. Not only were they raised by their Pack, but their daily lives rely on cooperation with their Pack. Many times, their survival is a result of their Packmates’ assistance. Thus, the Pack is second only to one’s family.

The Whispers are watching: The Vundarkin are believers in spiritual entities, both baleful and benign within the World Beyond the Fall. Thus, the Pack-Hunters make sure to follow any taboos or rites that they need to perform, sometimes making Outsiders think that the Vundarkin are superstitious folk. Almost all Arcanists among them are Animancers that serve or commune with the Whispers of the Wild. 

Life Rites

Birth

The nomadic Pack-Hunters are typically on the move, but they will stop and make camp for the birth of one of their own. They even stop a day or more beforehand to ensure that the mother is better situated for their ordeal. For most Packs, game meat is hunted and vegetables are gathered for a feast celebrating the entrance of a new Vundarkin into the world. A Speaker-to-Spirits and a Stitcher-of-Flesh is usually involved in the birthing process as well as in the ceremonial feast afterward.

Depending on the condition of the mother, packing up the camp is performed on the next day, after a few days or even after a week if the birth was a troubled one. Regardless of their social status, mothers and children are allowed to ride a pack animal for the next few weeks. Younger children are always allowed to ride on wagons or to be carried by their family, so the Pack is not slowed down on its travel. As soon as a child is able to perform chores, they are tasked with menial tasks to prepare them for life with a Pack.

Adulthood

The rites to adulthood vary immensely between Packs. Some have their youths perform a grand hunt to feed the whole Pack. Others subject the ritualists to grueling tests and torment to harden their resolve. There may be ritual tattooing, scarification, or piercings. 

However, one thing that is shared by all Packs is that everyone is involved with the rite. Whether their role is being part of the rite, preparing for it, or ensuring that the new adults have a Pack to return to. 

Marriage

Weddings among the Pack-Hunters are another affair that involves the whole Pack, though it is also custom to have multiple weddings happen at the same time. As with most rites, they vary with each particular group. 

Generally speaking, the entire ceremony is ministered by the Pack Elder and/or a Speaker-to-Spirits. The individuals who are getting married exchange both vows and personal items. The day then ends with a feast and a celebration. Vundarkin like to have their weddings near a village or a town. In this manner, they can more easily source the food and festivities, bartering furs and other goods for what they need.

Funeral

With the Pack-Hunters, funerals are somber affairs. In these rites, the Speaker-to-Spirits and/or the Pack Elder will speak of the deceased and commend their spirits to the afterlife or to the Whisper that they serve. Afterward, the body of the deceased is buried and returned to the earth. This may instead be a token of the fallen, if their body could not be recovered. Only in times of dire tragedy and trouble will Vundarkin make mass graves for their own. 

Some Pack-Hunters might not use earth to take care of their dead. Some cremate their dead, a process that takes much wood and time. Their ashes and bones are then buried or sprinkled over a body of water sacred to the Pack. Other Packs may employ certain gruesome methods -- they lure carrion animals to rip and consume the body, ensuring that it is truly returned to the world. A rare few Packs perform ritualistic cannibalism on an honored Packmate. In these cases, the heads are not eaten (because they contain a part of the soul) but instead are mummified and carried with the Pack forever. 

View of the Afterlife

Those that believe in the Whispers of the Wild typically believe that their afterlives are intertwined with that Whisper, especially those that serve a Death Taker. For example, the Pale Wolves have faith that their Whisper will take their spirits away to a distant haven. On the other hand, the Serpentfish and the Mountainbrood believe that they will join their ancestors if they live a pious and virtuous life. The Green Oaks believe in reincarnation, becoming stronger and stronger as they live more lives within the Circle. 

Some Packs are like the Devil Cats and the Red Path -- their afterlives are not as intertwined with the Whisper they serve. Instead, they simply believe in an underworld where all souls tend to go if they are not destroyed or captured by evil magics. Moving to this next life is irrespective of piety or goodness, it’s simply a fact of nature, like a river pouring into a lake. 

View of Magic

Regardless of how things were in the World that Was, most magic and spirits are considered to be a natural part of the world. The Vundarkin also believe that these supernatural elements have good and evil types. 

As can be expected, most Vundarkin overwhelmingly tend toward Animancy more than any other Tradition. Animancers reflect their spiritual beliefs, with their Anima resembling or being similar to the Whispers they venerate. Pack-Hunter Diabolists and Talismongers exist, of course, but they are immensely rare. Xenotheurgy and Necrotheurgy is also a rarity because most Whispers disdain these alien magics -- the Pale Wolves and the Devil Cats are the only ones who are willing to train in these dark disciplines.