Rudari Shifters

The Rudari are a nomadic culture throughout northwestern Khorvaire that arrived in Daskara between Karrn the Conqueror in -1000 YK and the War of the Mark in -500 YK. While primarily composed of shifters, the Rudari include a significant percentage of humans and Khoravar as well as small numbers of other races. While the Rudari tend to only marry other members of the culture, joining the culture does not require being born into it — membership is about active participation in the Rudari communities. Similarly, being born into the Rudari does not mean permanent membership; someone who leaves the caravans stops being a member of the Rudari. The Rudari have a long tradition of accepting orphans as they travel, teaching children of any age what it means to be a Rudari.
Most Thranes know the Rudari by their colorful clothes, living wagons (which the Rudari refer to as “vardo”), and their music and dancing. While the Rudari wear flashy, flowing clothes, all Rudari clothing includes some form of pants or leg coverings that go from the navel to the ankle. Even before the Arcane Congress and the Twelve made major advancements in public hygiene, the Rudari emphasized a need for cleanliness and have long used minor magical rituals to prevent the spread of disease.
Within Thrane, the Rudari promote commerce and communication, trading goods and sharing stories as they follow its well-developed roads. Thranish children often look forward to the performances the Rudari host whenever they arrive in town, with free-wheeling music and stories unlike those endorsed by House Phiarlan.
The Rudari do not follow the Sovereigns nor are they members of the Church of the Silver Flame — beliefs which have historically brought them into conflict with the rulers of Daskara and Thrane and kept their culture both separate and unlanded. Rather, the Rudari worship Eberron, the Progenitor, herself. Rudari bards call upon the song of creation both through music as well as through dance. Throughout northwestern Khorvaire there are numerous tales of Rudari bards defending their communities by animating not just everyday objects but also their vardo. Rudari druids most often tend to the community’s animals, but the wide range of capabilities afforded to them by primal magic allows them to fulfil many roles.
The Rudari strongly reject any sort of pact-making with unnatural entities, as they intrude upon the natural blessings of Eberron. The Rudari emphasize the role of individual choice here — a warlock chooses to corrupt themselves (even a deal with the fey invites trouble), while sorcerers and tieflings are simply who they are.
Unfortunately, the Rudari have become a common target of the Pure Flame and the Silver Torch, especially in Thaliost. These groups’ distrust of shifters has remained since the end of the Silver Crusade, when zealous templars massacred shifter communities in the name of rooting out lycanthropes. In seeking social control, puritans have spread propaganda accusing the Rudari not just of thievery and general criminality, but specifically accusing them of harboring werewolves and wererats to spread the curse along their paths of travel.