Junling (Jun-ling)
Dark-skinned halflings that dwell in the hot junguls of Ixuil, the junlings are dangerous hunters and deadly ambushers. Those that dwell in their ancestral home have formed a symbiotic relationship with a mighty living tree known as the Vran Tree.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
it is common for junlings to pick up Ignan, as many other races of Ixuil speak it.
Shared customary codes and values
All junlings highly value the ability to hide and hunt, and a trained in ambush and raid tactics.
Average technological level
The junlings utilize primitive technologies, and are afraid and suspicious of the advancements of other realms. They specialize in poisons, especially ones that slow or paralyze their enemies, and often have each different weapon on their person coated with a different poison.
Common Etiquette rules
Junglings are very aggressively territorial, often having concealed lookouts posted at their tribal borders. However, when approached cautiously and with respect, a outsider can gain permission to enter. Outsiders who are permitted entry are treated with great hospitality as long as they follow the tribes rules, and in the rare cases where the outsiders gain the true respect of the tribe, they many be branded with the tribal symbol and allowed to come and go as they please.
Common Dress code
Junlings often wear little-to-no clothing, often instead coating themselves in special mud that hardens around their skin. When not on hunts, they often adorn themselves in bone jewelry and tribal headpieces used for ceremonies.
Art & Architecture
Junlings craft small huts and hovels out of animal skins and bones, often weaving designs into trees so that they can easily ambush prey from both the sky and ground.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
Ritual sacrifice is a common punishment for those caught trespassing in junling territory, and junlings often consume the remains of said sacrifices.
Birth & Baptismal Rites
Junling babies are inscribed with tribal and family symbols shortly after birth.
Coming of Age Rites
A male junling youth must lead a hunt on their own when they come of age, to prove that they have learned the ways of the tribe. Should the be successful, they are allowed to select a female of a similar age to become their wife.
Funerary and Memorial customs
For junlings dwelling in their ancestral home of Rawhiss, they gift their deceased to become food for the Vran Tree, in return for the trees protection and guidance over the region.
Common Taboos
The junlings are suspicious and territorial of other races, and thus will often shame those who work closely with them, with each tribe having many tribal codes. They view those who joined the Tribe of the Eternal Way as heretics and traitors, and many banished junlings find their way into the tribe. An outsider, no matter how respected, is never permitted to venture to the Great Vran Tree, unless the tree itself requests their presence.
Common Myths and Legends
A majority of junlings worship Jistru, the halfling god of stealth and poison, but rarely can be found worshiping other members of the halfling pantheon. Like all members of those who join the Tribe of the Eternal Way, such junlings instead venerate Adinos, the spirit ancestor of the tribe.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
Junglings take great pride in crafting tribal tattoos, bone jewelry, and tribal headpieces.
Gender Ideals
Junling males become warriors and hunters, while females are required to become their wives. Junling wives are in charge of child rearing and of brewing the tribes poisons, and a junling husband knows that an unhappy wife could lead to a poisoned drink. A female that cannot give birth within the first five years of a pairing is then regulated to becoming a tribal shaman, as it is believed that those who cannot receive the joy of children are instead gifted with a closer relationship to Jistru.
Courtship Ideals
Junling females are selected as prizes when a male junling succeeds their first lead hunt. Most junling pick someone they are close with and that is of a similar age. While technically monogamous, it is common for junling females who are paired with someone that is not to their most liking to seek partnerships with their first choice as well. Such practice is usually accepted, as long as the original suitor remains the "primary husband", and the primary husband is the legal parent to all of his wives' children, regardless of who actually sired them.
Relationship Ideals
Junlings are very close to their tribe mates, having strong senses of tribal friendship and solidarity. Junling youth are often taught by many different teachers, and the tribe as a whole often acts a one large extended family.
Major organizations
Many junglings are members of the Tribe of the Eternal Way.
Random Jungling Homelands
| % Rolled | Homeland | Trait Gained |
|---|---|---|
| 01-55 | Jungle | Wild Shadow |
| 56-70 | River Town | Scrounger |
| 71-83 | Blasted Plains | Freed Slave |
| 84-94 | Mountain | Mountain Guide |
| 95-00 | Unusual Homeland | (Roll on Unusual Homeland table) |
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