Nodin

The Nodin - or Bugbear - culture is actually a collection of seasonally nomadic tribes that inhabit the forests and mountains of both the Northern and Southern regions of the Edoyan continent. Nodin territories stretch along many areas of the Dragonscale mountains in Northeast Edoya, in the Mosswood and Tickwood areas near Sog’s Lake in Middle Edoya and the foothills in Central Edoya that lies east of Monbeckia and south of Copan Shire.

They are traditionally divided into tribes, however, these tribes share a common culture and belief system. Folk tales depict most Nodin as both bugbears and rampaging, murderous gangs that raid settlements and travelers alike. The raiding is true to an extent, the truth is more complex than the folk tales indicate.

Society

Through moonshadow trees as the moon is high,
the necromancer, the mage, and fiends dance in the night.
Close your eyes little cub,
I hear their dance on the trail.
Close your eyes little cub,
the nasty magi steals away,
naughty cubs who won't sleep

— Traditional Bugbear lullaby

Despite folk tales otherwise, Nodin tribes are peaceful communities. However in comparison with other cultures, the Nodin are crude and rambunctious with a healthy sense of community. This has been misinterpreted as rampaging and violent. Proof to that is often pointed to Nodin tribes whose Mahala - or spirit leader - has been subverted by an outside force. Sometimes that could be an abyssal, infernal or other outer planar being from the Outlands plane. Other times it is an opportunistic lich, mage or other being from Elohey who has access to powerful enough magics.

This has lead to many Nodin to develop a healthy suspicion of mages and sorcerers until said magic user proves themselves trustworthy. However, once that trust is earned, the Nodin are fierce and loyal allies.

The foundation of the Nodin society is the 'clan-family'. This is often a group of four to six adults, some of which are grandparents or aunts and uncles, who collectively raise - on the average - a collection of two to six children considered a 'pack'. Outside of the 'clan-family' is a group of clan-families that comprise a 'tribe'. There can be as few as ten clan-families or as many as twenty or more to a particular tribe.

Nodin trace their lineage through matralinear lines. Toward that end, when a male Nodin marries, he joins his wife's family. Even then, the Nodin must prove his worth through a successful raid on his future clan-family to collect an item of spiritual significance without being detected.

Most celebrations are a huge affair for the Nodin and weddings are no exception. The entire clan-family arrives to hold a feast. Meat grubs are roasted, tubs of mead flow and there are wrestling competitions on a suspended platform over an open fire. Celebrations for Nodin are a huge, rambunctious affair with more than a few bruises passed around. All of which are remembered fondly and with embellishment in the retelling.

However, if the last living female member of that clan-family passes, its the responsibility of the eldest male to recite the name of the clan-lineage to the Mahala at a ceremony the Nodin call "The Passing". The Passing is a time of mourning and remembrance. Stories are told and a feast is held. Unlike other celebrations of births, weddings and more, this one celebration is quiet and contemplative. There is no wrestling, just a time of community coming together to honor the passing of a lineage. Once done, the males are allowed to remarry into a new clan-family.

Banner for the Nodin culture by CB Ash

Encompassed species

• Bugbear
• Goblin
• Human

Languages spoken

• Hareno
• Hebar

Bugbear is the most common species represented among the Nodin. Humans and goblins are the next most common, followed by medusa and orc.

Nodin Cultural Traits

Ability Scores Constitution +1

Skills Stealth +6, Perception +8, Intimidate +6, Survival +3, Climb +2, Heal +1

Languages Common, Cuali, Hareno (Nodin "Common"), Hebar (Nodin tribal "common/trade" sign language)

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Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Yaarka, Ninsuh, Muna, Sunki, Takoda, Kashine

Masculine names

Bruthazmus, Hidock, Muata, Eefka, Gavug, Razag

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CULTURE

Major language groups and dialects

There is no common Nodin language. Each tribe has their own unique language with its own inflections, tones and more. However, long ago, the tribes developed a common spoken and sign language shared by all Nodin. These are used to handle trade and other communication between Nodin tribes or between a tribes and non-Nodin.

The spoken "Nodin common" is called Hareno and the sign language is Hebar.

Common Etiquette rules

Due to the folk stories of 'murderous bugbears', it may seem the Nodin have little etiquette. However, this isn't true. Nodin have a strong sense of honor to the clan-family, the tribe, and personal. It's considered honorable and polite to announce yourself to the clan matriarch when entering a clan-family's territory with the phrase 'I see you, I am seen'. To which the reply is 'You are seen and step softly'. Not doing so is considered a grave insult.

Another long standing taboo is stealing the a Nodin's spirit animal totem. Taking it is almost the worst insult, taking it and then wearing it openly is the worst insult of all. The latter can make the thief marked for a swift and brutal death.

However, if the thief takes the totem, only to leave their own spirit animal totem in its place, this is different. Such an action is the offer of a Lifebond. This is the same as 'battle brothers' or a 'blood bond' in other cultures. When a Lifebond is made for a Nodin, its an unbreakable promise or oath. Burning the totem breaks the Lifebond, but this is only done in the darkest of situations - such as one of the members of the Lifebond being exiled or performing dishonorable acts. No Nodin willingly will break a Lifebond without clear evidence to do so.

Signs and Portents

When a Nodin is born, the Mahala reads the signs and assigns a totem animal to the child. It could be an eagle flying overhead during the birth or a dire boar was seen to appear at the edge of the settlement. The Nodin aspire to the aspects of that totem animal, learning its ways and wisdom. As a consequence, the Nodin isn't allowed to kill that type of animal until after their Time of Changing. Doing so curses the Nodin until they complete a task given by the animal's spirit through the tribe's Mahala.

As stated, this changes when the Nodin reaches adulthood, or the Time of Changing. During that time, the Nodin young men and woman coming of age are to partake of a four day trip where they are to take only a blanket and live, meditate and sing with the spirits on the nearest mountain. At the end of the four days, the young men and women that return are to explain what skills the animal spirits taught them. Then they are considered adults.

The only animal that is always revered no matter what the age of the Nodin is the owl. For the Nodin, the owl is the living embodiment of the silent hunter. Nodin are forbidden from killing owls. Any that do so, will be marked for death by all Nodin tribes.

The Nodin read the movement of animals, nature, or even seemingly prophetic dreams as messages from the spirit world. They take this into account when making most any plans. For some tribes, this can actually make it almost impossible for the tribe to conduct a long term war or conflict. However, any exiled from the Nodin culture may not hold to ill-portents as closely as their tribal cousins.

Nodin are fond of crafting totems. Unlike some cultures, totem creation isn't limited to the tribe's spiritual leader - in their case, the Mahala - but any Nodin can make a totem and it be considered sacred. These totems could be the spirit animal from when the Nodin was young. It also could be a likeness of a favored enemy that fought well before dying. In the latter case, the belief is that in the afterlife, the Nodin will be able to hunt alongside that enemy as an ally and recount - very embellished - tales of glory.

Tales of Raiding

That was the thing of it. Those Nodin bugbear scouts, were deep into their cups the night before the raid. Next morning, we couldn't get them out of bed. But by the time we reached the bandit camp, there was nothing to attack.
Those scouts cut down the bandits like a farmer cuts wheat. It looked like the bandits never heard those hundred pound scouts coming. The captives? Not only had the scouts freed them, they left a pot of soup on the fire for them filled with vegetables and a surprising lot of meat.
We didn't ask what was in the soup.

— Geldar Republic Arbiter on the rescue of the Shalemet Guild caravan kidnap victims.

Central to the Nodin way of life are the rituals around kuruk, or the time-honored traditional habit of raiding. This could be other tribes, other clans in a tribe, or nearby settlements. The concept of a kuruk isn’t unique to the Nodin. It’s a concept shared by other cultures, such as in Copan Shire, or KaraKorum.

The Way of the Kuruk is taught to all young Nodin in the form of pranks and games, especially the former which most Nodin enjoy. It isn't uncommon for young Nodin to stalk their siblings, their elders, even close friends of the clan-family. Which can be disconcerting if those friends aren't fully aware of this part of the Nodin culture! However, these games hone the skills of Nodin so that when an adult, they can perform these uncanny feats of stealth.

However, the Kuruk is not all pranks, wedding proposals or other benign events. The Kuruk is also when a Nodin tribe - or some of its members - go to their version of 'war'. When a Nodin tribe or a group engage in the Kuruk for battle, they can be a silent - and unimaginably lethal - killing machines. This also allows exiled Nodin to make excellent mercenaries, or chaos-corrupted minions of liches, necromancers, fiends or worse.

It was a moonless night. The rain had stopped no more than an hour back but the clouds were still moving on. Then I heard the sound of a floorboard creaking, or the faint yowl of a fox. I just couldn't tell, it seemed just another one of the dozen or more noises you hear when on night watch.
Then without warning or any sound, it was just there filling the doorway to the guard post on padded, bare feet. The thing rolled it's shoulders, making the necklace of bones rattle like a necromancer's wind chimes. Lamplight glinted of the long curved blade in his massive hand. Above those massive shoulders, a block-like head tilted. The thing's bat-like ears tilted and turned at every noise. I held my breath and the hilt of my sword. It... he... was a Nodin bugbear, and he looked like he was spoiling for a fight.
I figured I was about to have a no good, very bad, day...

— Elias Benton, City Watchman

The last reason for the Kuruk is one that has inspired hundreds of horrific legends surrounding Nodin, and specifically bugbears. Because Nodin place such high value on honor - specifically the honor of a clan-family - they have trouble seeing mistreated children, abandoned orphans or even occasionally families. Many stories of Nodin - or bugbear - raids that brutally wipe out a settlement exist. Some of those stories are even true.

However, the remainder of those stories spawn from Nodin slipping in to offer help to mistreated children, abandoned families in need of help and so on. In these cases, the children that accept the offer are quietly spirited away to the particular Nodin tribe and formally adopted. Where after that, they are treated as if they were born to that tribe.

They are taught the language, customs and more. The same is for families. In the case of entire families, they would be packed up and taken back to the tribe. The former dwelling of the newly adopted family? That is utterly destroyed - and sometimes burned - as an offering for a good omen and honor for the new tribal members. But the destruction is part of the source of the "brutal killer" folklore.

Art & Architecture

Nodin structures are that of the Peltak, or 'clan longcave'. A peltak is a long tent that is often roofed with shaved and treated birch bark to stave off weather. The cloth used is a rough mix of leather, hand-knitted fabric. The result is a multi-colored quilt that blends in with the surrounding environment the tribe has settled in for that season. Similar quilting techniques are used to fashion belts, vests and other clothing items for the Nodin.

The Nodin art takes the form of song and storytelling as they follow an oral tradition with their history. Likewise, totem creation is another form of their art, with adult Nodin able to whittle elaborate totems with life-like detail. Quilting, as expected, is another art form for the Nodin. Through their quilting, the Nodin develop patterns and styles unique to each clan-family that are intended to ward off disruptive and evil influences that might harm the clan-family.

An odd art form for the Nodin is the art of wrestling. For the Nodin this isn't a form of combat as is understood elsewhere, but a form of exercise and an art. This is why most Nodin festivals - such as weddings or birth celebrations - have some sort of wrestling competition. Often in a setting many cultures consider dire - such as on an unstable platform over an open fire pit and so on. To the Nodin, this is high art.

Clothing and Styles of Dress

Nodin clothing trends toward basic, loose fitting trousers for both men and women that are wrapped at the calf and ankle with a cloth tie to gather the material close around that part of the body. This also helps reduce snags on briars. Shirts are also made of linen and dyed in various colors that resemble the local environment for that season. Their most common outermost layer is either a quilted vest or full jacket. Colors and materials are the same that are used to make belts and other art as mentioned.

However, this is the common style of dress when at home. When raiding, things can be different. Often armor, usually a thicker quilted armor or a leather lamellar armor is worn over a quilted padded layer with ties that allow the most freedom of movement. This is especially important since Nodin raids rely on stealth and surprise.