The Hunter Birdfolk

This article is one of a series providing basic information for someone choosing to role-play a Birdfolk of the Hunter Culture in a TTRPG based in the World of Cartyrion. The series is designed to encourage preparation of a Player Character by focusing on the nature of the character without focusing on the game statistics.

You are from a culture that prizes hunting skills and the ability to fend for oneself in conditions most Awkwana would avoid. Birdfolk encountered in a forest setting are almost always members of your Hunter Culture. In addition to being at home among the trees, you are also gifted with a physical trait that marks you as one of the Hunter Birdfolk: your fingers end in sharp, pointed, birdlike talons rather than the more human-like fingernails that most Birdfolk have. Birdfolk beaks are already formidable weapons regardless of culture, but as a Hunter, your talons are also useful weapons that you always have at your disposal.

Cultural History

Common wisdom says the Birdfolk were first Awakened in a high mountain environment, and the tales of wanderlust-filled Awkwana who left the high peaks to follow a lifestyle on the sea are well-known. But before the Waveriders left the mountains for the shores and waves beyond, there were other Birdfolk that descended the mountains and ventured into the forests to hunt. Game was more plentiful, and as the Birdfolk are primarily carnivores, it was necessary to seek out bountiful sources of meat. For convenience, those early hunters established settlement camps beneath the trees at the base of the mountains, and it was in these camps that the Hunter Culture began to develop. In this age, some of those camps have grown into true permanent settlements, and while none are large enough to rival the mountaintop cities or seaside ports, they are large enough to support a distinct subculture within the Awkwana.

A Hunter Birdfolk

Geographic Distribution

The Hunter Birdfolk have chosen to live in an environment that most Birdfolk find daunting: the Forest. As with all Birdfolk, you have a desire to be useful and productive among your folk. Since the differences that mark you as a Hunter make you well suited to track prey in the wilderness, you find yourself as much at home in forests as you do on rocky mountainsides. You follow the game where it goes - and it often goes into the forest.

WIthin the regions where Birdfolk are most prevalent, small groups of Hunters may establish camps or small settlements in the forests between the Farspine Range and the seacoast. In the rest of Cartyrion, there are rumors of a few small Hunter camps in other forests. These will tend to be near the edges of the woods and, if possible, near to a coastline.

The Hunter culture of Birdfolk is the one most likely to produce individuals that are willing to strike out into the wide world in search of adventure. Though Birdfolk of any culture may choose the path of the Adventurer, it is more likely that an adventuring Awkwana encountered in the world will be one of the Hunter culture.

Role-Playing a Hunter Birdfolk

Interacting with Other Birdfolk

Your place in Birdfolk society is important -- your people are among the principle suppliers of food for the Awkwana that live in the mountains above your forests. But as with all Birdfolk cultural interaction, you do not really pay much attention to how you are different, and you never think about why you may be better than (or inferior to) your cousins on the mountaintops or along the seashores. You are what you are, and they are what they are, and each has a purpose to fulfill.

Interacting with Folk of Other Races

When encountering any Folk -- including your own party members -- that are not used to interacting with Birdfolk, you will find that they will have trouble reading your emotions and moods. This is because you lack the facial expression and body language capabilities they are probably used to. This works both ways, though. If you are not from a background that included interaction with non-Birdfolk -- and as a Hunter, you probably aren't -- you may not understand the body language and facial expressions of your fellow party members either. This may make for some awkward social interactions at least early on.

If you find yourself surrounded by individuals or groups of other Folk that have customs, traditions, or attitudes that you find objectionable, you will not make attempts to convince them to change - nor will you obsess over it. All Birdfolk are taught from an early age to let others live their lives as long as it doesn't directly keep you from doing the same. The one exception to this may be in the event a party member is consistently so loud or careless that they impede your ability to keep an eye on your surroundings. The Hunters learn to be quiet, patient, and stealthy -- you will have been raised to expect these behaviors from your associates and may not be fully tolerant of loud or clumsy companions.

Interacting with Your Adventuring Party

As with all birdfolk, initial interactions with your party mates could be awkward since your expressionless features never belie your emotions or moods, and if you are not experienced around non-Awkwana, you will not read their body language well either.

Your most likely contributions to party success will come from your awareness - especially in wilderness surroundings - and your ability to defend yourself with talons and beak in addition to any weapons or magical skills you may have mastered.

Traditions and Taboos

The Hunter Birdfolk adhere to the common ideals of all Birdfolk: find a place to be productive and mind your own business. In addition, you have a special respect for the creatures that you hunt. They, like you, have a role to play in the Birdfolk society. Even though that role is to be food, the creatures of the forest deserve your respect.

Hunting is a necessity of life, but your respect for your prey requires that your kills be quick and efficient. You will not attempt a kill unless you are fairly certain your strike will be swift and final. And if you should fail to brind down your prey with the first strike, you will never leave a "kill" uncompleted. You will track the prey to complete the kill to the exclusion of any and all other activities.

Likely Professions

Your unique talents make you well suited for hunting and tracking in wilderness ranging from rocky mountainous terrain to dense forest. But your choice of professions is wide and varied. You may have been a craftsperson making arrows, or tanning hides and crafting the leather armor that your culture prefers. You may have been responsible for smoking or salting meat to preserve it. Or perhaps you were trader visiting nearby Mountain or Waverider settlements to trade your meat for other goods.

Preferred Dress / Gear

Hunter Birdfolk that make their living as hunters and trackers in the forests will select clothing and gear that gives them an edge. Colors that blend into the forest surroundings are preferred. Armor, when worn, will almost always be leather-based, both because leather armor generally permits greater mobility, and because it is quieter in forest hunting situations. You will generally not wear gauntlets of any kind, so as to keep your talons ready for use should the need arise.

While you are perfectly capable of defending yourself with nothing more than beak and talons, you will still likely train with one or more weapons. Small, agile blades for close combat are preferred. Shortbows - and occasionally longbows - are also common among those who hunt larger game, though some prefer spears.

Naming Convention

Hunter Birdfolk (like Mountain or Waverider Birdfolk) generally go by a single name which is given at, or soon after hatching. With the Hunter Birdfolk, parents may delay naming for a year or more to have a chance to see what a child will be like. But before their second Hatchday, a name will be give that typically refers to success in hunting or tracking. Examples of such names are "Relentless Tracker", or "Patient Stalker". If, after reaching adulthood, a Hunter achieves some unique and memorable success, a new name may be given by associates and peers. Thus, "Patient Stalker" may become "Slayer of Owlbears".

When you become involved with an adventuring party that consists of Folk other than Birdfolk, you will typically give the Common translation of your name rather than expect your party-mates to be able to properly pronounce your name in Awkwan - a language with a number of unique phonetic structures. If your party associated understand Birdfolk culture, they may eventually give you a new name to commemorate a notable victory.

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