Kochtarni Warbands

Kochtarn is a harsh land where those who want to survive group up into warbands to secure scant resources and take from others what the land cannot provide. They are interested in self-preservation and continuance of their band above rules of civility. They tend to think of things in zero-sum terms although they have been known to cooperate under extraordinary situations.

While there are dozens of smaller warbands, the larger ones have grown in preeminence in part due to their connection to primal energy and the spirits of the land. The leaders of these warbands are the strongest and most cunning in battle. They are aided by the oracles who are most connected to the land and its spirits. Each of these warbands started by taking inspiration from one of the beasts surviving in this harsh climate. In addition to the worship of the local spirits, each of the warbands feels a connection to one of the four horsemen who are said to stalk Kochtarn. Some of the warband elders say that as the bands roam, they are following, not too closely, in the wake of a lone rider

### Swift Fang

This warband is the most bestial of them. While still far from mindless savages, during times of conflict they can become bestial through mystical forces or shear rage. Many within this warband are lycanthropes who hold a special place within the warband. Spreading lycanthropy is forbidden among members of the band, instead aspirants must complete a journey among the worgs of the Sandstream Canyon. This warband is most frequently seen raiding the southern parts of the Canter Empire.

Leader: Riklar, The Shadowhunter

Inspiring creature: Worgs

Marches in the wake of: Conquest

Oracles: Battle

### Hollow Hunger

This warband is the largest of them. While the swift fang appear bestial in combat, the druids of this warband, and there are many, shift into large and terrifying beasts. The druids of the tribe also assist them in avoiding the migrations of predators in order to save their strength. Their oracles are connected to the stars which they use to plot the best course for their own migrations.

Leader: Tokmar, The Immense

Inspiring creature: Elephant

Marches in the wake of: Famine

Oracles:Cosmos

### Skybound Claw

This warband utilizes terrifying magic to enhance their already formidable strength. This band reveres and hunts dragons, drakes, and failing that, dinosaurs. This reverence leads many to adopt draconic tendencies of pride and tyranny. Past members of the warband who have felled dragons were able to ritually bathe and ingest the blood of the wyrm. Sometimes the offspring of such an individual will carry the magic of the dragon in their own blood as sorcerers called forcers, this .

Leader: Gottwald, Fireblood

inspiring creature: Drake

Marches in the wake of: War

Oracles: Flames

### Trackless Horn

This warband has the tightest connection to the land and its beasts. Some members of this tribe form bonds with individual animals which then live among the tribe. Most common of these beasts are the triceratops who are excellent companions in battle both offensively and defensively. The spirits of primal life are abundant in these beasts giving their oracles influence over life energy unmatched by any others.

Leader: Tinrath and Kota, Soulbound

inspiring creature: Triceratops

Marches in the wake of: Death

Oracles: Life