Puffari Tribes

The Puffari tribes are a loosely connected network of nomadic bands that wander the Osirion Wastes, the Scorching Highlands, and at times into the Riverlands. Though biologicall unified, the Puffari are culturally diverse.

Social Structure

Puffari tribes are generally small, numbering between fifty to two hundred individuals. Leadership is held by a Pathfinder - an elder or particularly skilled wayfinder chosen for their ability to read the desert's signs and protect the tribe, rather than through hereditary succession.
Decisions are communal, and prestige within a tribe is earned through acts of cleverness, survival skill, and the ability to protect the group's well-being without unnecessary conflict. Great importance is placed on subtlety, adaptability, and discretion.
While each tribe is autonomous, alliances are occasionally formed during times of scarcity, large migrations, or external threats.

Traditions and Beliefs

The Puffari hold a deep reverence for the desert, seeing it not as an enemy, but as a living, ancient force. Their oral traditions speak of the First Sands, the time when the desert itself taught the Puffari how to move unseen, how to survive without drawing the wrath of the sun, and how to honor the unseen spirits of shifting places.
Central among their traditions is The Art of the Trick:

• More than mere deception, the Trick is a philosophy of survival through misdirection, cunning, and agility.

• Practitioners learn to evade stronger foes, mislead threats, and find sustenance where others see only death.

• The highest mastery is known as the Grand Trick, an honored skill that blends illusion, sleight of hand, survivalist instinct, and intimate knowledge of desert ways.

Outsiders often misinterpret the Trick as thievery or dishonor. Within Puffari society, it is viewed as a sacred expression of harmony with the desert's harsh laws.
Other common rites include:

• The Rite of the First Wind: A coming-of-age ceremony where a young Puffari must survive alone under the open sky, relying solely on instinct and wit.

• The Waterkeeper's Vow: An oath undertaken by those entrusted with safeguarding oases, wells, and sacred watering holes.

Relations with Other Peoples

Relations between the Puffari and other factions with the Northlands such as the Free Cities of Al-Khet, Skrulan Empire, Warlords of the Red Dunes, and Ta'jak Dominion are marked by caution and pragmatism. Trade is occasional and often conducted under strict protocols.

Type

Geopolitical, Nomadic tribe

Government System

Tribalism

Economic System

Barter system

Location

Osirion Wastes

Official Languages

• Common

Neighboring Nations

• Free Cities of Al-Khet
• Skrulan Empire
• Ta'jak Dominion
• Warlords of the Red Dunes

Related Species

• Puffari