The Tanagoro Plainsmen Hollow World Reference by Mischa Gelman and Harri M{ki Introduction The Tanagoro are generally based upon the pre-British Zulu nation of our world, with a few changes. The authors tried to keep this link and added in a few aspects of neighboring peoples. The Tanagoro themselves have jungle-kingdom neighbors to the north that may be based on historical Southern African societies or be something entirely different - this is mentioned briefly in the PWA, but not in the original Hollow World set. The individual DM is free to develop these peoples as he or she sees fit, and work them into a Tanagoro campaign. The major difference between the Tanagoro and Zulu is the following - the dynastic Zulu, under Shaka, were a highly discplined people, as any militaristic society tends to be. The Tanagoro, on the other hand, are less authoritarian and more willing to question, perhaps due to the influence of a deity, Korotiku, who admires creativity, whereas the Zulu had no formal religion, therefore making the military the most important thing in their culture. Also, a few other comments before we get into the HWR itself - we used a variety of sources, of mixed reliability. There were some conflicts between them, so one cannot know how good a picture we have of the dynastic Zulus, as they had no literate historians and sociologists among themselves at that point in time. Also, any culture not in the Hollow World undergoes change - the Zulu of Shaka's era were far different than those of his father's or those of Dingane, his brother. With those disclaimers in mind, we continue... History The Tanagoro tribe was one of many on the Tangor peninsula in older times. Under the rule of one Senzibo (BC 3121-3028), though, they rose to prominence, defeating neighboring cultures and assimilating them. They incorporated some elements of these cultures, but mostly strove to form a fairly unified body able to resist outside aggression. As they became a mightier nation, they shifted focus, from being a very militant, expansionist force, towards a more tranquil, protectionist one. Under Senzibo's son, Akame, this trend continued - alas, this was the final stage of progress for the Tanagoro as the Blackmoor cataclysm ravaged the world and the society was transferred to the Hollow World. Since their arrival, the Spell of Preservation has maintained their culture as it was upon its entry to the interior of Mystara. The most important thing of note took place approximately 0 BC, when a large number of Tanagoro migrated to the Nithian lands and formed the city of Hapta. Clans The Tanagoro are composed of many clans, around 280 total, with each having from 300 to 8500 members. Many only occupy a sole village, but larger clans can fill a dozen or more. They rarely move locations, though will in times of trouble. Clans are generally headed by a male, but female chiefs are not unknown. The head is responsible for all final decisions, but advisors play a key role, oftentimes bigger than the chief himself. Clans are named after their ancestral founder, generally names dating back thousands of years - new clans still form in the Hollow World, but this is a rare occurence. Some clans give more military training than others, and some are known for having greater smiths, or diviners, or to excel in other areas. Each clan has a distinct "anthem." Royalty The people are very loyal to their leaders - they do not often question them, and when they have a good chief, no amount of bribery or torture will cause them to betray their leader. The death of a great chief will lead to national mourning, not just tribal sorrow. A bad chief, though, will often lose members to surrounding clans, or cause a separate clan to break up from his own, often under the lead of an independent and reliable son or daughter. Leadership is generally hereditary, but if one resorts to assassination, they are denied the role, a stark contrast from the Azcan people where this is expected behavior. Finally, leaders are human - everyone is responsible for daily chores - a male chief will still tend the aurochs, a female chief will still gather and prepare food. One is not permitted to carry weapons into the presence of the great king of all the Tangoro. Elephant tusks and leopard and lion skins are all royal property - any hunter acquiring such must turn them over to the crown, in return for a reward or present from the throne. Princesses are very independent, bold and stubborn women (just as in 95% of run-of-the-mill fantasy novels, interestingly) - they are as prone as any to leave the clan to start their own, or to become adventurers. Such characters can cause great problems for PCs, especially if her father is restrictive and does not accept such independence - they may well have to choose sides, placing their lives in danger. Combat The Tanagoro do not seek out violence, but are skilled fighters, and work hard to defend their homes from the Jennites, Milenians and Nithians. Their land is fairly peaceful, but the vast number of wild animals, coupled with the dangers of evil men to be found among all cultures, necessitate their always being ready to fight. For this reason, all Tanagoro of age 6 or above carry, at minimum, a cudgel [staff or club] with which to fend off trouble. Weaponry Other weapons include daggers, iWisas (a club with a strengthened head, often with studs or brass nails at the top as well, given the stats of a mace), pikes and a variety of spears. The more traditional spear, a long-shafted but flimsy one, is an assegai [javelin], more of a throwing weapon than a stabbing one - this is the primary weapon of the Tanagoro. When going to war, a tribesman will arm himself with multiple assegais, relying upon this distance weapon until (s)he either runs out of ammo or the opponent has neared melee range. At this point, he or she will switch to an iKlwa, a short, broad-bladed thrusting spear [spear stats] devised by Senzibo himself. Since this was not universally adopted by Senzibo's death, some Tanagoro do not employ it, relying upon their cudgel or iWisa in close quarters, or fleeing altogether. Some Tanagoro use bows or slings, but numbers are low - a tiny percentage of archers also will poison their arrows. This is looked down upon by the majority of Tanagoro tribes. Another projectile weapon used is the isiMonqo, a short-handled, heavy-headed throwing stick, used primarily for bird-hunting. Stats are the same as for Nithian throwing sticks. Like many other peoples, Tanagoro give names to their weapons. For defense, Tanagoro solely rely upon large auroch-hide shields, around 5 feet in height, that get strapped onto the back when travelling (also thus protecting one from ambushes from behind) and expecting danger. Two other items can be used for combat, but serve ceremonial purposes more than for general usage. These are the dancing-shield and dancing-stick (isiKwili). The former provides no AC bonus if initiative is lost, due to the smaller size and thus added time needed to position it properly for defense. The latter does d2 damage only. Rules of war and tactics Tanagoro, when they fought amongst themselves, began with a battle of champions - whether their opponent opts to agree with this custom varies, but such battles are still conducted in about 50% of encounters with their neighbors. This is a one-on-one affair, no assistance allowed from either side. After ten rounds of this fight, or after it has ended (whether with death, unconsciousness or even fleeing the field), whichever comes first, the battle as a whole gets underway. If the duel is conducted and the Tanagoro champion is victorious, add 10 to BR if the War Machine is used, or 2 to morale otherwise. If the Tanagoro champion is slain or knocked out, subtract 10 or 2 respectively. If (s)he flees, subtract 30 or 5 - the former champion is also not permitted to return to Tanagoro lands. Those captured in battle are not killed, but are rather ransomed back for aurochs. If the foe does not have auroch herds (often the case with the Nithians and Milenians) the captive may be in for a long imprisonment. The bodies of slain enemies are slashed open to free the spirit of the dead. The Tanagoro do not employ just warriors, but make use of other professions during large-scale combat. Spies monitor an opponent's advance beforehand, while sentries are in position if an attack is expected. Smoke signals inform the mass of the army as to the movement of their opponent, and also are used for general communications [Signalling skill required]. Boys not old enough to fight are often employed as equiptment carriers, to provide soldiers with an adequate supply of assegais. Doctors [rarely clerics, generally those with First-Aid skill] also often tend to the wounded even as the fight goes on. Fauna A wide variety of critters inhabit the Tanagoro plains, often requiring bold adventurers to remove them. Non-magical wild ones include crocodiles, hippos, hyenas, dogs, monkeys, cows, elephants, buffalo, gnus, deer, rhinos, boars, lions, jackals, warthogs, cheetahs, leopards, kudus, waterbucks, zebras, porcupines, cats, red ants, elands, bush-bucks, antelopes - in other words, a large range and anything the DM wants that's appropriate for the terrain. Hunting is both a private and public pasttime - a public hunt being called by the chief of a tribe, and being a fairly orderly affair. Sometimes, a sly chief will call a hunt for the sole purpose of removing a troublemaker from his clan, arranging the targeted man's death. The PWA also mentions a number of magical beings (or at least those not common to our own world) that inhabit the plains - rock baboons, giant beetles, bugbears, sabre-tooth tigers, cyclops, dinosaurs, grab grass, griffons, giant lizards, manscorpions, manticores, medusae, minotaurs, mummies, pterosaurs, giant scorpions, snakes, sphinx, giant spiders and trolls. Master hunters are often superb trappers as well as trackers. They know a variety of snares and camoflagued pit traps, sometimes with stakes at the bottom. One favorite trick is arranging a "fence" with several holes as "gates" - by each gate, a pit trap lies to catch prey fleeing through it. Other traps are designed to crush the trapped animal, bringing down stones on the beast as it reaches for the bait. Wicker-cages with bait inside are often used for smaller pests, the door closing behind it, or the hunter ready in hiding to spear anything that enters. Poison is most frequently used among the Tanagoro by hunters (and witches) - the favorite being to catch an elephant, by smearing a tiny fingernail-sized block with venom, loosely putting it into a spear haft, so that it will disinsert itself upon impact. Such poisons will kill an elephant in 6 hours. In the Outer World, witches would frequently magically charm leopards as their servitors. To this present day, many evil folk of vast power or resources will tame leopards, thus making that animal more widely feared than others of comparable power. The Land of Strange Magicks is full of odd creatures, gated in from other dimensions or simply mutants of those that wander in. The Purple Dragon (http://dnd.starflung.com/purple.html) is one example of the kind of beast to emerge from this land. Unicorns are also known to reside in the Tanagoro Plains, far from any clans. These were inserted in the Hollow World by Koryis in 314 AC in an effort to save a peaceful race then being threatened by Alphatian mages seeking their horns for research. Unicorns One reason they have gone undetected is a widely unknown ability of disguise. They are able to change skin colors at will (thanks to Nick O'Donohoe's "Magic and the Healing" series for this idea) and can also change the appearance of their horns to make it appear as if they were simply antelope or similar creatures, with a broken or damaged horn. The presence of the Spell of Preservation ensures their safety from wrong-doers. A typical unicorn will live for 400 years, but some live much longer - a handful still remain from the Outer World in the Plains society. They mate only once over 200 years, but such matings always lead to a live birth exactly a year later. It is not recommended that PCs play unicorns - they are timid creatures who only wish to associate with humans when they are pure women. They do not enjoy adventuring and have no incentive to do such. They love peace, beauty and nature above all else and will fight to protect their territory from the forces of chaos. Their XP gains more from helping others, and they do not gain XP from combat or treasure or other standard means. Level XP HD AC D Save General Age Range ---- -25,000 1d8 6 d4 C2 0-5 ---- -12,000 2d8 4 d6 F4 5-20 ---- -6,000 3d8 3 d8 C6 21-50 NM 0 4d8 2 d8 F8 51-death (few unicorns advance past this point) 1 25,000 5d8 1 d8 C10 2 50,000 6d8 0 d8+1 F12 3 100,000 7d8 0 d8+1 C14 4 200,000 8d8 -1 d8+1 F16 5 400,000 9d8 -3 d8+4 C18/F18 (best of charts for each save) 6 800,000 9d8+2 -3 d8+4 C20/F20 7 1,200,000 9d8+4 -3 d8+4 C22/F22 8 1,600,000 9d8+6 -5 d8+7 C24/F24 Unicorns do not advance above 8th level, and few reach that point. Those that do are great servants for the cause of virtue, morality and peace in the world and are to be feared by wrongdoers. Teleport Level -------- ----- N/A 1 HD 90' 2 HD 180' 3 HD 360' NM - Level 6 1800' Level 7-8 To protect the unicorns and assist them with some functions, Korotiku has encouraged the move of some female clerics and others to their lands, who then reside there for life, keeping the location secret. This also allows for the maintenace of some female independence, important to an immortal who enjoys freedom and individuality. Flora and Food Food consists of a range of fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, game, domestically slaughtered meat products and milk. Some foods are cooked in earthen pots. Among those things eaten are pumpkins, corn, maize, sweet cane, bread, melons, sorghum, sesame, curds and sweet potatoes. Meat of any kind is a rare dish, while curds are very commonly eaten. Fish are culturally taboo, despite a fair number of rivers running through Tanagoro lands. Some "experts" in neighboring countries swear that this is because local fish are poisonous, thus swaying their own members away from eating them. Truly, these fish are fine to eat, but the rivers are primarily inhabited by fish put into the Hollow World when they were headed to extinction on the Outer World. The Spell of Preservation helps discourage their being eaten, especially when mixed with a historical ban on fish among the plainsmen. Generally Tanagoro eat two meals a day - a midday meal and one at "evening" time (as such things are judged in the Hollow World). Meals are communal at times, sometimes simply family affairs, sometimes individual ones. One plant key to Tanagoro society is the acacia tree. This is a thorny form of vegetation, with a wide range of thorns included - from simple, tiny, sharp spikes all the way to 4-5 inch long thorns. Material from this tree is often used for fences, weapons, tools and medicines. It is unique to Tanagoro lands among the Hollow World and is integral to the culture in providing so much.