Overgrown Secrets: The Forest People

Map of Overgrown Secrets

By default, the heroes of Overgrown Secrets are from the forest people. The forest people live in the depths of the jungle, where the shapeshifters cannot follow except at an extreme disadvantage. In the jungle, they hunt, they sleep, they craft, and they hide. The Forest people can make some goods, but they prefer to trade animal products like skins, feathers, sinew, and fresh meat to nearby villages for their clothing, tools, and weapons.

Each tribe has four to nine clans, each with its own territory. Each clan has around 20 people, including the very young and the very old. Clans are very closely related to each other, usually consisting of a few siblings, their spouses, and their descendants. The entire tribe tends to be quite inter-related as well. Some marriages cross tribal lines, but its just as common for young forest people to marry their second cousins. Such is life in an isolated and low-tech environment. Most members of a tribe know most of the rest of the tribe, and they certainly know the rest of their clan very well.

The Forest People are TL1, when considering their access to the metal tools and pottery of the villagers. Due to their life style of hunting they are especially wealthy, having double the starting wealth of TL1. They are fairly egalitarian though, so higher wealth that that is quite rare. Exceptionally valuable items should probably be purchased as signature gear rather than increased wealth: the individual does not have greater income, they just own more valuable possessions than their peers.

Foreign Relations

Some Forest People tribes (like those our heroes will belong to) defend their forests and the villages within them from the shapeshifters. Like all Forest People, the bulk of the tribe have excellent woodcraft skills and competency with at least some weapons, but they also keep Anhui, train to identify shapeshifters, and wear amulets that protect them from shapeshifter abilities. This lets them protect the villages within their boundaries from the shapeshifters in exchange for a few "gifts" each month (often food or small manufactured goods).

Other Forest People Tribes submit to the shapeshifters. While they don't let the shapeshifters enter their camps, they let them pass through their territory and generally defer to the shapeshifters wishes, especially in villages. The tribes that oppose shapeshifters don't see the complicit tribes as the allies of the shapeshifters, but rather as additional victims. The tribes hostile to shapeshifters view other forest people as potential allies that need to be inspired and taught how to drive out the evil monsters!

Each of the villages in the forest has about a hundred people, about as many as a tribe. They live by growing crops, and trade simple goods like pottery, cloth, and metal to the forest people. Villages are commonly infiltrated by shapeshifters looking for a meal, unless protected by agreements the shapeshifters make with their local forest tribes.

Leadership

Each tribe has six elders that form its guiding council, though any member of the tribe may speak in council. Each elder has a home clan, though most travel throughout the tribe in the course of their duties. Two elders of each type are kept to ensure redundancy of knowledge and skill. Any of the elders may call a tribal council.

Each tribe has two sages, plus their apprentices. These sages keep the writing that tells of the history of the world, of agreements people have made, of the strange practices of peoples, and of many other things. They also teach the songs of the tribe, and make new ones. The sages and their apprentices move from clan to clan, singing the songs, telling the story of the world, and teaching children.

Each tribe has two keepers. The keepers have charge of the greatest and most terrible weapon of the tribe: The Anhui. Slumbering Anhui are kept deep in the forest by the keepers, hidden from the shapeshifters, who would love to destroy them. The Keepers are the authorities on when using an anhui is appropriate, and evaluate candidates to recommend to the tribe in times of need.

Each Tribe has two warchiefs. The warchiefs have charge of the tribes' tactics and actions during war, lead the warriors into battle, and keep an eye out for threats by neighboring tribes or shapeshifters. They also teach young tribe members about melee weapons (ranged weapons are used in hunting and don't require any extra practice). Their authority is great, but mostly limited to combat situations and their vote on the council.

Play Experiences with the Forest People

In Overgrown Secrets, the tribe worked out fairly well. It helped to establish how the players knew each other. It also provided a much more insular environment than we usually see in RPG's. In most games, there is a town that's fairly large, and the players might wander off to a different town at any moment, and an unremarkable and unnoticed number of NPC's will wander in. Overgrown Secrets had a different feel, and if you play RPG's to experience different places, I can recommend playing a tribal warrior attached to a small tribe.  

I was happy with how the tribal council turned out. I gave each of the NPC leaders a personality and some objectives (one sage was a PC), and they made the tribe feel organic and yet driven. One warchief was always trying to make sure the villages were protected. One Keeper was a stickler for the taboo about not exploring ruins, despite the explicit exemption the PC sage dug up. The PC's were given more objectives than they could fulfill at once, which gave them a choice about what to do without letting them go completely off of the rails. 

The culture of the forest people ended up mostly implied: they're low-tech hunters who live in the jungle. We didn't really get deep into their culture, spending more time on their politics. But I really enjoyed it, and it was one part of the campaign that really worked. 

I hope this inspires you in your own games!