Order of section two: Work How others view them Burial Tools Clothing/Appearance Critters Combat Art Magical Tattoos Horse Notes Festivals Sample NPCs Bibliography WORK The Jennites take pride in their work, but mostly do it because it is neccesary for the survival of their tribe - they work for communal reasons rather than personal. Often a Jennite tribesperson skilled in a trade will not work mostly in that field bec ause the tribe does not need it - rather, they will go into some work the tribe does need at which they may not be as adept. The concept of being paid to do work is utterly foreign to the Jennites. Even when they trade, it is for other goods rather than for coin. HOW OTHERS VIEW THEM Andrieus, a Milenian sculptor: "These Jennite savages create some impressive works despite their utter lack of civilization. It is startling that a people so barbaric, that can't even build a house, can produce such fine works that normally only us artistes should be able to make. If I were to hazzard a guess, it would be their close interaction with the natural elements that allows them to make such exquisite portrayals of various animals. I am sure that should they come to accept civilization, hardly likely of course, that such works would soon be history. A little bit of culture would ruin the lovely designs of the primitive mind I believe." Grintinos, a Milenian cleric of Tarastia and Lighthouse scholar: "One must admire the commitment to honesty and justice found in the Jennites. I wish my countrymen could learn from their example in this matter. Imagine it! A place where bribes are not only not commonplace, but do not exist at all. A place where justice is given the respect she is due. We had some Jennite priestesses and priests here..oh, the heads of their religion are *royalty*, a sign they have true respect for Tarastia...where wa s I? Oh yes, we had some of their clerical figures here a few months ago and they were absolutely wonderful. Suffering from a bit of culture shock obviously, but kind and outgoing. One should not judge them harshly, as my countrymen are prone to do, sim ply because their habits differ in many ways. They might be able to learn some things from us, but there are things we can learn from them. Al-Kilab, a Nithian foot soldier: "Bloody savages. Even those Milenian dogs realize the Jennites are such. They bombard you with arrows, scared to fight you one-on-one. I laugh when I see one off his horse in a fight..they just look so stupid..they obviously haven't been trained the slightest in REAL combat rather than their wimpy arrow-and-horse stuff. They even let their women fight! Talk about wimpiness! Men should protect their women, not rely upon them for help! I am confident we could wipe them out should they ever adopt real combat tactics. Unfortunately, the scum won't let us fight them the real way. Wimps!" Note:They of course see themselves as superior to other cultures, enforced by the Spell of Preservation as well as typical ethnocentrism BURIAL Burials are a major affair among the Jennites, as they see the departed off to the "heavenly pasture". Jennites are buried under large mounds, with a tunnel dug out into the tomb itself. Larger tombs are made for great warriors, priests or leaders. The deceased is buried along with all their earthly possessions, ranging from weaponry to jewelry and art objects to horses (which are killed if still alive when their owner passes away). As the nomads are sometimes not likely to pass by the mound again, they occasionally set up defenses of it because the Milenians, Nithians and Tanagoroans all have targeted burial mounds for theft. Also, due to the nomadic nature, wife and husband are rarely buried together, though the slain of a major battle are often buried in one tomb. TOOLS The tools made and used by the Jennites are rather simple inventions. Ploughs, stone files, nails, mallets, poorly assembled ladders and the like are produced by the Jennites. The one thing they do manufacture well are cauldrons - huge, flawless ones at that. Foreigners believe these huge cauldrons, carried around in the wagons, are magical and used for bizarre rituals. CLOTHING/APPEARANCE The phyiscal appearance of Jennite tribespeople can be found in the Hollow World boxed set. As mentioned before, they often decorate themselves with tatoos, sometimes random patterns, sometimes animal and monster designs. Both men and women wear a wide assortment of jewelry (sometimes magical, with usual enchantments or supposed enchantments including Protection from Undead or 'good luck' charms), including (but not limited to) diadems, necklaces, belts, bracelets, amulets, pendants, earrings, torques and rings. The more costly the better. CRITTERS Apart from the animals identified in the Hollow World books, there are several rarer monsters and animals present. Lions, wild boars, hippogriffs and even blue dragons are known to exist in the Jennite plains. Two of the more important critters are the cheval and the werehorse. The chevalls (described in B10) live among the horses of the Jennites, ensuring that they are protected from dangers or the EXTREMELY rare Jennite who mistreats their steed. They consider the Jennites by far the most civilized peoples and fight alongside them. Their actual presence isn't known to most Jennites but they exist in many stories and myths of the tribes. Their biggest worry are the werehorses, who also exist in many Jennite tribes (there is even one tribe of 'Jennites' that consists solely of them!). The werehorse was created by Rathanos to avenge his loss to Tarastia during the war of the Outer World tribes. They seek to undermine and damage the Jennites in any way possible but have had a limited impact. New Monster Werehorse Armor Class:6(9 if in human form) Hit Dice: 5+1* Move:120' (40') Attacks:2 hooves Damage:1d6/1d6 No. Appearing:Varies Save as: Fighter 5 Morale:12 Treasure Type:C Alignment:Chaotic (wholly devoted to Rathanos) XP Value: 400 Notes:Treat lycanthropy the same as with all other wereanimals. Exception:Werehorses cannot summon Jennite horses who have been trained so well they resist the charm effects. They still can summon horses that have not yet been trained or that are native to other lands. COMBAT Jennites bombard the opposition with a storm of arrows to start any encounter. These arrows may be blessed, magically enchanted (arrows that cause darkness, enchanted by clerics, cause great havoc to Hollow Worlders who rarely are exposed to dark), thorned, 'screaming', poisoned (from adders caught for such a purpose) or otherwise unusual but most of the arrows are standard. Once the opponents close or the arrow storm ends, they switch to melee approaches. They are not blood-thirsty and will retreat if out-numbered or out-classed (the exception is if they are defending an important burial mound, at which point they will fight to defend their ancestors). They do not give up - if the enemy seeks to follow them, they will adopt hit-and-run tactics, not meeting a superior enemy directly, relying on their excellent archery and horsemanship for success. Jennite troops are highly disciplined and obey the orders of their commanders. The nearby Nithians and Milenians both fear Jennite tribesfolk in combat and worry about their borders despite the fact the Jennites don't raid all that frequently. The one aspect of their combat tactics which is most barbaric is their tendency to scalp slain enemies. Their combat equiptment is summarized in the Hollow World boxed set with a few exceptions. There is the gorytus, a combination bow-case/quiver. It is larger than a standard quiver and wider due to the bow-storage and is worn from the belt. Most Jennites wear two, one on each side, giving them a large supply of arrows (as opposed to the one mentioned in the HW players' book). A flap seals the gorytus when riding. Some weapons used only occasionally by their neighbors are seen more frequently among the Jennites - flails (treat as maces), lassoes (used to capture horses, treat as a whip with half the damage but with the 'special effects' of a net) and special daggers. These include ones with inward-curving blades (treat as normal daggers) and the akinae, a short double-sided dagger attached to the sheath on the left leg in place of the normal daggers when used. A wielder of an akinae gets -1 to hit, due to the extra caution required, but is 5% more likely to inflict double damage (that's a roll of 20 for unskilled/basic, 19-20 for skilled, 18-20 for expert, 17-20 for master and 16-20 for grand master). Magical versions of all these are available in Jennite lands . Finally if you are playing AD&D the amazons of the Jennites do not get the bonuses in the complete priest/fighter handbooks because their reputation is well-known in nearby lands. ART Most of the Jennite art is small and of a decorative nature. It is not art for art's sake but rather trying to make practical objects look nice. Many outsiders enjoy their art though, especially the Milenians. The one type of art at which they are a total failure is their pottery. Many of these objects are also made to please the spirits of the ancestors who watch over the Jennites from their viewpoint in the heavenly pasture. Animal and monster motifs are very common among Jennite artwork - goats,eagles,dragons,horses,boars,lions,swans,beavers,griffins,stags (most common motif),leopards and many creatures that exist only in myth. Many outsiders of course may assume these imaginary creatures exist in Jennite lands when they see them alongside normal animals. Floral patterns are also common. Much of their weaponry and horsewear (harnesses,saddlecloths,reins,bridles) is designed fancifully..their horses tend to be VERY colorfully decorated, offending the austere tastes of the Nithian and Milenian military. Fighting animals are often depicted on saddles, as this is thought to make the horse more fierce and effective in battle. SAMPLE MAGICAL TATTOOS - DMs and Jennite Tattoist PCs are free to devise their own additions - these are just to serve as a guideline - if two tattoos exist in the same location neither has any effect - the mage spell Permanency does not work on magical tattoos but a Permanent Tattoo power may exist if the DM wishes it to Level 1:Ignore Cold Duration:1 turn per level of caster Design:Flame, any size Effect:Makes the affected being ignore temperatures down to 0 degree Farenheit. Treat lower temperatures as if they were 40 degrees higher..people would function as well at -20 as they normally would at 20 over. Also reduces damage from magical cold attacks by half. Range:Touch Time To Inscribe:1 round Placement to Have Effect:Anywhere on body Level 1:Nonmagical Tattoo Duration:Permanent Design:Any Effect:Places a non-magical tattoo on the target's skin. No save if unwanted. The tattoo may take up 4 inches per level of the caster. Very intricate designs may be made with this spell. Range:Touch Time to Inscribe:5 rounds Level 2:Swim Duration:1 day per level of caster Design:Rainbow Trout, 3" long Effect:Allows a non-swimmer to become a good (but not great) swimmer for the duration of the tattoo. Also removes all fear of water. Range:20 feet Time To Inscribe:3 rounds Placement to Have Effect:Upper Arm (either). Does not work if this part of the body is covered. Level 2:Hover Duration:3 turns Design:Feather on top of sandal, 1' long Effect:Wearer of this tattoo defies gravity to a limited extent. They may hover up to 20' above the ground as long as this tattoo is in effect. Spell-casters may not use magic while under the effects of this tatoo Range:Touch Time to Inscribe:Instantaneous Placement to Have Effect:Anywhere Level 3:Eagle Eye Duration:1 week Design:Eagle eye, roughly 2" from top to bottom and from side to side Effect:Improves the wearer's vision to that of an eagle. Does not work on the blind. Exact vision will be affected by outside factors such as weather conditions and as such the DM's say as to distance and focus applies here. Range:40 feet Time to Inscribe:1 turn Placement to Have Effect:Forehead. No effect if helmet worn over forehead. Level 3:Beserk Duration:1 battle Design:Crossed swords, any size Effect:Instills up to two recipients with a beserker rage (+3 AC, +4 damage, double damage on 20, inflict wound on self on 1). The recipient(s) may remove the effects whenever desired. Range:10 yards Time to Inscribe: 1 round Placement to Have Effect:Chest Level 3:Shadow Guard Duration:1 round per level of caster Design:Small dark splotch Effect:The wearer of this tattoo becomes blurry and shadowy, making them harder to hit. -2 to AC and +15% to Hide in Shadows. Range:Touch Time to Inscribe:1 round Placement to Have Effect:Center of Right Hand. Does not work if metal gauntlets are being worn Level 4:Electric Aura Duration:1 turn Design:Lightning bolt, 7" long Effect:Surrounds the tattoist with an invisible electric field. Anyone coming within 2' of the caster takes d6 damage per round. Any blow to the caster not done with a wooden weapon causes d10 damage to the attacker as well if they hit. Range:Tattoist only Time to Inscribe:Instantaneous Placement to Have Effect:Anywhere on body. Level 5:Ignore Elements Duration:1 hour per level of tattoist Design:Whirlpool surrounded by flame surrounded by rock. Takes up whole hand Effect:The wearer of this tattoo totally ignores fire, cold, lightning or rockfall. Note:indirect damage still applies - you can suffocate if you get drowned, your clothes still can burn up and if you're buried under a mountain you ain't gonna live long. Magical effects do half damage, save for a quarter. Elementals and Fundamentals do 1/3 damage, save for one-sixth. Range:Touch Time to Inscribe:4 rounds Placement to Have Effect:Either hand. Cannot work if anything is worn on the hands. Level 6:Double Vision Duration:1 hour Design:Small eye inside a larger one. Size of a human eye. Effect:Allows the caster to see behind him with a second, magical pair of eyes, of 20/20 vision. Prevents backstabbing and surprise and is just darn handy overall. Does work on the blind. Range:20 feet Time to Inscribe:2 rounds Placement to Have Effect:Forehead Level 7:Multiple Tattoo I Effect:Allows the caster to place twice as many tattoos of a single spell as normally allowed by that particular spell in the same amount of time normally taken to inscribe the standard allowed by that spell. All other aspects of the spell remain the sa me. Range:Touch Level 8:Fleet Feet Duration:1 year Design:Horse-foot. Size of a horse's foot. Effect:Doubles the movement speed of the target. The recipient ages 5 years in the one year this effect is in place. Range:Touch Time to Inscribe: 1 turn Placement to have Effect:Stomach. Does not work if stomach covered. Level 8:Treble Duration, effect, size of design needed all tripled on any other tattoo. Takes one additional round to inscribe. OTHER HORSE NOTES As has been pointed out directly and indirectly numerous times, the Jennites are a horse-oriented peoples. Several topics not discussed before are thus worth mentioning here. There are no special horse-trainers among the Jennites, each tribesperson being counted on to train horses well. From youth after all their lives revolve around the equine. They are trained in all aspects as children - avoiding obstacles, shooting from horseback, mounting and dismounting moving horses without problems. These are the 'games' of the Jennite youth, as are numerous other, similar horseback experiences. Two other notes of minor concern - firstly, the more valuable and prized horses have their ears branded to signify this worth and secondly the horses' manes are trimmed so as not to interfere with the archers' line of sight. FESTIVALS The Jennites celebrate a number of festivals during their year. One week a year is reserved for the Great Trials when all the tribes gather in the central plains. The festivals includes horse races, horseback archery and other contests pitting the grea test Jennite warriors and horsefolk against one another. Grand prizes are often given to the winners of the Great Trials. The Jennites have one another national festival - the Day of Oaths. On this solemn day Jennites enter into long term contracts of any sort. During a ceremony before their tribal leader's fire, a Jennite gives his promise to follow a set contract for a set amount of time. To break this oath is unheard of as it means death for the offender. A man that breaks his oath can not be trusted and is therefor a liability to the tribe and is banished from it. Most of the festivals though take place in individual tribes. Celebrations for births, weddings or skirmish victories are held and annual ceremonies of various types, including the 'founding' dates for each tribe. SAMPLE NPCS Triodian History:Triodian was born 44 cycles ago in a tribe that traditionally has roamed the northern border of the Plains. As a result, they often skirmished with the Tanagoroan peoples living north of them. Triodian's mother died in one of these battles and he has sworn to avenge her death. This need for revenge and the conflict with the Tanagoroans has consumed most of his time. He has not married and has little time for other activities. Personality:A very hateful warrior, Triodian's lone kindness is to his father and his siblings. He is a family man and a Jennite nationalist but does not do a good job of applying the law of Tarastia universally, not following it when it comes to dealing with foreigners. He can easily come across as cold, distracted or simply a man obsessed, which he is. Does not back down in combat even when it would be wise to do so. Appearance:Triodian has skin slightly darker than usual for a Jennite tribesman but is mostly normal in how he looks. He does bear quite a number of scars from various battles and is better-built than most Jennites. Nothing truly outlandish or outstanding here though. Combat Notes:He is a 4th level fighter. AC 6 (Leather, Dexterity Bonus); hp 16; at 1;D 1d12 (skilled with sword) or d6+1 (arrow);save F4; ML 11;AL N; S 12, I 9; W 7; D 14; Co 11; Ch 8. Languages:Neathar,Jennite. General Skills: Riding (Horse) (D), Bravery (W+2), Storytelling (Ch) Allasia History:Allasia was born 22 cycles ago to a small but otherwise typical Jennite tribe. She has seen her share of combat but is mostly busy learning smithing so as to take the place of the aging and much honored and skilled craftsman Erinithal. She is being courted by the tribe's weaver, a man named Trulodon. Right now her eyes are set at the future when her teacher will no longer be able to work his craft and she must take his place. Personality:Allasia is generally a kind soul, willing to help out a tribesperson in trouble and fairly chatty. Of course she is much less kind towards outsiders and is as violent towards them as your typical Jennite is. She is very religious and guides her life by how she believes Tarastia would want her to act - she is continually wondering how her diety would react if Tarastia were in her boots. Appearance:Standing 5'3" and being a bit on the thin side, Allasia is hardly imposing but is certainly capable of handling herself in a fight. She prides herself on her jewelry, all of which is her own work. If someone is critical of this work she will be highly offended. She is fairly average in appearance. Combat Notes:She is a 2nd level fighter. AC 7 (Leather) ; hp 8; at 1; D 1d8 (sword) or d6+1 (arrow); save F2; ML 9; Al L; S 10, I 12, W 11, D 12, Co 8, Ch 10. Languages:Neathar, Jennite. General Skills: Riding (Horse) (D), Mysticism (W), Craftsman (Smithing) (I+1) Diothor History:Born 58 cycles ago, Diothor started on the path to Tarastia like all Jennites. He though showed even more talent in understanding the justice systems of the lands and as a result was apprenticed to the tribal cleric, Erisica. She saw even more promise in him, thinking him a likely future priest. Her judgement proved right and Diothor was officially made a priest 22 cycles ago. He married soon after and is the proud father of four children. Personality:Diothor is very dull to listen to. He is good with facts and logic but is hardly an inspiring orator or lecturer. He doesn't understand why some people just aren't as interested in learning as much as they possibly can. Diothor is also some what of a wet blanket, opposing alchohol and some other entertainments. Appearance:Diothor stands 5'9" and is of average weight. He wears a medallion of Tarastia but otherwise dresses like all other Jennite horsefolk (with the exception of the bow at the ready). His hair is gray now and he isn't able to withstand as much physical strain as he could in his younger days. Combat Notes:He is a 6th level cleric of Tarastia. AC 5 (Chain) ; hp 19; at 1; D 1d8 (axe); save C6; ML 10; Al L; S 9, I 14, W 17, D 11, Co 6, Ch 11. Languages:Neathar, Jennite, Tanagoroan. General Skills: Riding (Horse) (D), Honor Tarastia (W), Mapping (I), Knowledge (Jennite legal system) (I), Animal Empathy (Horse) (W) Pinioca History:Pinioca was introduced to this world 31 cycles ago, the daughter of an advisor to the royals of the tribe. She was very intrigued by foreign politics and when she got older she decided to join the spies of the Jennites who helped find weak spots in opposing defenses. For the past five years she has served well in this duty and has earned considerable praise from this law-and-order people for her dirty work. She is single and will likely never meet anyone she finds as thrilling as her work. Personality:Willing to accept any challenge for the good of the nation, Pinioca is a brave soul. She loves action and adventure and gets bored rather easily (though when she has work to do she is very patient and cautious). She is not evil, just less constrained by rules than other Jennites. She would never violate the laws of Tarastia but often violates the spirit of them or bends them considerably. Appearance:Pinioca stands only 4'11" and is under 100 pounds, a wiry and scrawny woman. She dresses in concealing clothes and almost always has a Fleet Feet tattoo inscribed on herself. She is slightly attractive but might be too thin for the tastes of some Jennite men. Combat Notes:She is a 5th level rake. AC 5 (Leather+Dexterity Bonus) ; hp 15; at 1; D 1d4+1 (akinae+2, strength penalty) or d6+1 (arrow), save T5; ML 10; Al C; S 8, I 16, W 12, D 14, Co 9, Ch 13. Languages:Neather,Jennite,Milenian,Nithian. General Skills: Riding (Horse) (D), Stealth (City) (D+1), Profession (Scout) (I), Deceive (Ch) Other equiptment:Ring of Safety (2), Everfull Gorytus BIBLIOGRAPHY The authors used the following books and webpages in their research on the Scythian and Sarmatian cultures on which the Jennites are based. If you are interested in learning more about the horse-archers of ancient times, these may be a good starting place. The webpages likely will get outdated in no time flat of course. Scythians by Tamara Talbot Rice - a very good oversight of the Scythian peoples, their customs, their times and their culture. World of the Scythians by Renate Rolle - this struck me as less likely to be factual than Rice's book and more prone to assumptions on the culture but does bring up some new information and topics not covered in Rice's earlier work http://www.csen.org/article%20review.html - very brief discussion of the warrior-priestesses http://wsrv.clas.virginia.edu/~bam4c/NOTE0227.HTM - some notes on gruesome Scythian rituals