Pengembara

Brief description

**PERSONALITY**

Pengembara, in Penga, literally translates to Wind Travelers. This wild, but noble peoples, made their homes all throughout the dunes of Dustren and hunted out the many oases scattered among the scorching sands. Some scholars, even in Othia, submit that the Pengembara are the true native peoples of Dustren, and that their exile, albeit self-imposed, from Othia is a great wrong that should be corrected.

**PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION**

The Pengembara is a race of closely related humanoids also called Penga. Notable examples of the Pengembara race include, but are not limited to, Hobs, Bugbears, and Varag. They possess a typical humanoid anatomy, though their skin tone and texture is often somewhere between that of a human and desert beasts. Some Penga are covered in hair with thinner skin, while others are nearly hairless with thicker, darker skin to protect them from the sun, wind, and sand. Heights vary greatly among the differing species of Pengembara, ranging from 3 to 7 feet or more. Most Pengembara are built thick and muscular, with their faces possessing similar attributes. Their appearance is often regarded as repulsive by other races.

* Hobs - roughly the size of a human, Hobs are stronger and more menacing than their human cousins. While not as powerful as bugbears or as fast as Varag, they are regarded as the most intelligent of the Pengembara, with aptitude for knowledge rivaling humans, but with a survival instinct honed for the inhospitable climates of Dustren they are not to be underestimated.

* Bugbear - Bugbears resemble a more hairy and feral Hob that can stand more than 7 feet tall. Their name was taken from their noses and claws which are similar to bears. While their claws are not typically long enough or strong enough to use as weapons, so bugbears often armor and arm themselves with a variety of traded and purloined gear.

* Varag - Varag resemble their Hob brethren but are more spindly and posses a set of chitinous horns that curve away from the skull. They also possess a second set of joints in their legs giving them higher dexterity and agility, especially at sprinting speeds. Varag are roughly the same height as hobs if they stand upright, but are almost always in a hunched, gorrillesque stance, able to spring into action with a moments notice. While in this stance they appear to be smaller hobs, only 'standing' 4 feet or so. They enjoy covering themselves in cloaks while camping or traveling to appear like hobs and then spring into attack.

**RELATIONS**

Pengembara, since their self imposed exile into the wild sands of Dustren, do not ally with any other nation or group. While they still conduct plenty of travel and trade outside of the desert, their ultimate goal is to find a stronghold to call their own and until the scattered tribes. When larger oases are found, the tribes quickly unite around them until they are once again overtaken by the sands. If another oasis like Oasis of the Stars is ever found again, it is wholly decided that the Pengembara nation that would spring from it could overtake Othia within a decade unless they were supported from the outside.

When traders from East Landing and Zersch made their way to the Chorus Territories in 707 AC, they found large groups of Pengembara living and trading among the Frogfolk. It is now understood, as worldly relations with Cyclopia have improved, that the Pengembara began trading, teaching, and learning from the Frogfolk as early as or even before their exit from Othia in 513 AC. While they are not allied with the villages in Cyclopia or the Chorus territories, the bonds between these two races run deep, with many frogfolk learning the Penga language (and Pengembara learning frogfolk songs) before they learn the common tongue.

**ALIGNMENT**

In the early years after the Calamity the Pengembara were quite lawful, following and even enforcing the rule of law in Oasis of the Stars and into The Green. After the elevation of the first Voja in Othia the Pengembara felt that they were not represented adequately and that the old ways of the Oasis were dead, so they scattered into the deserts to find a new home. With the fracturing of the society into smaller tribes, the Pengembara became more chaotic, favoring raids on traders in the desert as a means to show their distaste for Othia and what it stands for.

**LANDS**

The tribes of the Pengembara roam the desert of Dustren, seeking shelter in the exposed caves and gorges, or around temporary oases that they find. The prefer to spend their days scouring the sands for resources and only shelter at night to sleep. They hunt the native creatures of the desert for meat and , likely to their own detriment, scour every bit of vegetation and water from any oasis that they find. These tribes are built upon the backbone of raiding trade caravans and misplaced travelers, and thus, their societies are built on bartering these ill-gotten goods among themselves or collecting them to trade in foreign lands for supplies.

Penga encountered outside of Dustren are usually hired as guards, soldiers, or mercenaries due to their innate combat ability and survival instinct. Nobels and dignitaries from other countries will send envoys, from time to time, into Dustren and recruit entire tribes to their cause if the extra muscle is needed and the reward is great enough to keep them in line.

**RELIGION**

**LANGUAGE**

**KNOWN TRIBES AND RELATIVE SIZE / SPECIALTY (IF AVAILABLE)**

* Blue Sky - 50-75
	+ desert agriculture
	+ Chief - Mayna
* Red Sun - 50-75
	+ raiders
* Black Star - 100+
	+ Weapon smiths and raiding
	+ Chief - Wahataf
		- Envoys (Blue Sky) - Balaag and Sargar
		- Inner Circle
			* Lotus - Fessick 20-30
			* Lotus - Mal'hai 20-30
			* Human - Jonah Seld (former Zerschian) - 40-50
			* Varag - Moddag - 50+
			* Witch - Hestiana of the Coven of the Everburning Stone - 25
			* Othian Human - Rashid - 30s
			* Penga - Gajjak of Green Moss (chief) - 40s
			* Frogfolk - Tenzo Tarton of Webbed Canopy - 40s
* Orange Coral - 60-80
	+ Coastal scavengers
* Yellow Lichen - 40-60
	+ Fungus collectors
* Ultra Violets - 50-100
	+ Oasis agriculture, specifically floral, apothecaries
* Smokey Pillar - 60-80
	+ Miners, find caves and gorges to mine gems and metals
* Silver Snakes - ??
	+ Raiders, but they infiltrate large caravans and steal by stealth, rather than violence.
* Painted Haze - 100+
	+ Herbalists, specializing in paints, dyes, and makeup