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).