Rovers of the Barrens

Ruled by His Mighty Lordship, Ataman of the Standards, Durishi Great Hound, Chief of the Wardogs

The Rovers are a group of Flan barbarians driven nearly to extinction by Iuz and his fiends. Their proper name is the Arapahi, which means "People of the Plentiful Huntinglands" in their native tongue. Their territory has traditionally been the lands north of the Fellreev, between the Opicm River and the western edge of the Griff Mountains and Bluff Hills, They are seldom found in any numbers now, living instead a furtive existence and confining themselves mainly to the northern and eastern parts of the Barrens. The land is aptly named, for it is poor and the living has always been difficult. The hardy tribes of the Rovers have adapted well to this land, enduring its bitter winters and dry summers, while taking from it all they need to survive.
Among their war bands are riders as expert as any among the Wolf or Tiger Nomads, and a group of fleet-footed runners of legendary endurance. These are the Wardogs, masters of close-fighting techniques whose weapons are the hatchet and knife, their agility and outrageous bravado are renowned throughout the Flanaess, giving rise to the expression "wild as a Wardog." The Rovers are only lightly armored, if at all. They typically use hide-covered shields, and ply the lance and javelin, although they have many excellent bowmen as well. In addition, some of the Rovers specialize in using the lariat, and their skill with rope is extraordinary.
Traditionally, they live by the hunt. Elk and bear are their favorite prey, though any beast is fair game to the tribal providers. The Rovers once actively exchanged furs and hides with their neighbors, but this trade has ended. Mostly, the tribes now scavenge and hide, hoping to find enough to survive each day. Their skills as warriors and hunters are not lost, but they despair. Their last ataman, Durishi Great Hound, no longer leads them and waits for death at Dogwind Bay. Few tribal elders have the will to endure, and the people now put their hopes in a young war sachem, Nakanwa (see later).

History

The story of the Rovers of the Barrens goes back centuries, even before the Invoked Devastation and Rain of Colorless Fire brought an end to the great civilizations of the west. The nomadic Flan tribes wandered throughout the north from Lake Quag to the White Fanged Bay. Tenha village dwellers traded with the wandering tribes, who otherwise avoided contact with settled peoples. The Migrations brought strange peoples to the lands of the Flanaess, and it was not very many years until the northern Flan encountered them. Where the Tenha adopted many of the ways of the new people, successfully competing with their Oeridian and Suel neighbors, the Rovers kept to their old ways and rejected writing, farming, and town-building. For this reason, they were called barbarians.
In the central Flanaess, the natives were assimilated or pushed aside, while the new immigrants made themselves masters of the rich lands. The tribes of the Barrens were fortunate, in that their land was unattractive to the new civilized states of the Flanaess. There were conflicts, certainly, but the Rovers were left to their own rule through the early centuries of Oeridian conquest. It was not until several centuries after the Aerdi had built their empire, about 320 CY, that the Rovers' mastery of the Barrens was strongly challenged. The Relentless Horde had arrived.
The Baklunish nomads were a people similar in spirit to the Rovers of the Barrens, warriors as "barbaric" as the Wardogs and as indomitable. Their initial push eastward brought them as far as the Griff Mountains, and the Rovers were driven before them. The Rovers had never encountered so agile a foe, and their own mounted warriors were not then the equal of the Baklunish. With time, this changed; the Rovers learned much from the warfare of the Horde, and added to this knowledge their own warfare and hunting techniques. They drove the Baklunish from the Barrens, and pressed them hard on the Dulsi plain as well. They continued to battle the Wolf Nomads here for decades, until the growing might of Iuz separated them for a generation.
The disappearance of Iuz from his land in 505 CY allowed the Rovers to resume their raids against not only the Wolf Nomads, but northern Furyondy as well. However, in the absence of Iuz rose the evil Horned Society, whom the Rovers fought at the great Battle of Opicm River (515 CY). The Rovers were sorely defeated there by the Society and forces still loyal to Iuz; despite later alliances with elves of the Fellreev, centaurs, and the Wolf Nomads, they began a decline that continued for many decades. They had some success against the Horned Society in 580, taking part of the northern frontier, but the gains did not last. The Greyhawk Wars brought them to the verge of annihilation; demons of Iuz stalked the plains, and wicked human mercenaries hunted Rovers for bounty. Though Iuz was soon bereft of his demonic servants, bandits remained a threat to the Rovers. However, the Rovers also gained a new ally: Tang the Horrific.
A former servant of Iuz and now the demigod's implacable foe, Tang had escaped with a small band of cavalry after a daring raid into the Howling Hills with the Wolf Nomads. Crossing the open plain to the Fellreev, Tang and his mercenary band encountered small groups of Rovers, gathering them at the village of Sable Watch. With their aid, together with Wardogs from the Forlorn Forest and beyond, he successfully attacked Iuzite forces in the Barrens, eventually capturing the fort of Hornduran. Most of the Rovers were still without mounts, so Tang made a fateful decision to raid into Stonehold for horses.
The town of Vlekstaad was chosen as the target of the Rovers' nighttime strike. With most Fists either in Tenh or fighting the Suel in eastern Stonehold, Vlekstaad had almost no able soldiers in residence. Such defenses as they had were quickly penetrated, thanks to the Wardogs' amazing stealth. The stables of Vlekstaad provided a trove of horseflesh, but escaping with them proved more difficult than Tang had anticipated. He and his companions were trapped by a patrol of Fists and forced to battle for their lives. The expedition might have been lost there had not a young Wardog, Nakanwa Daychaser (CG male human Rgr8), led his own band of warriors on Tang's trail. Trapped between the two forces of Rovers, the Fists were slaughtered, but Tang was mortally wounded. Nakanwa quickly assumed control of the surviving Rovers, ordering them to seize everything of value in the town, including its citizens. The remains of the town were set ablaze, becoming the funeral pyre of Tang the Horrific.
With the return of Nakanwa and the wealth of Vlekstaad to the Barrens, new hope rose among the Rovers. Their warriors now had mounts and the people had meat. Perhaps as importantly, the tribes had new members, for the captive children were quickly adopted and the captive women quickly wed. Only time will tell if the razing of Vlekstaad will result in the rebirth of the Rovers of the Barrens. They still remain an elusive people, not revealing their new strength, for they are wary of the vengeance of the Fists. Yet, for the first time since Iuz brought evil into their land, they have real hope.

Government: (formerly) Four loosely allied Flan clans, each composed of several nomadic tribes; each tribe led by a chieftain elected for fighting ability and leadership; best warriors joined the Wardogs (not aligned with any tribe), and best warrior of the Wardogs had limited authority over all tribal chiefs; (now) tribal organization in grave disarray, tribes scattered
Capital: None
Major Towns: None, only temporary camps of up to 5,000 people
Provinces: None (the Rovers are properly not a nation but a collection of closely related nomadic tribes who currently hold little defensible land)
Resources: Furs and hides, horn, gold nuggets, horses
Coinage: None; barter used exclusively
Population: 35,000—Human 37% (Fb), Orc 20%, Goblin 18%, Hobgoblin 10%, Halfling 7%, Gnome 5%, Half-orc 3%
Languages: Flan (several dialects), Common, Orc, Goblin, Halfling, Gnome
Alignments: CN*, CE, N
Religions: Obad-Hai, Beory, Pelor, other Flan gods, Telchur (from long-ago Oeridian contact)
Allies: Sylvan elves of the Fellreev, centaurs of Fellreev and Barrens, Wolf Nomads
Enemies: Iuz (including conquered Bandit Kingdoms), Stonehold

  Location in the Flanaess