Zulutaur Steppe

At the southern end of the continent lies the **Steppe of the Zulutaurs**. Zebra centaurs with the torsos of black tribal warriors. They follow a primitive natural religion whose central philosophical question revolves around whether their zebra half is white with black stripes or black with white stripes. Depending on the interpretation of this question, bloody tribal are waged, ending in the martially superior tribe robbing the mares of the inferior tribe and making grotesque fetishes out of the heads, ears and hooves of the men, which they use for voodoo magic. Apart from such martial customs and brutal initiation rituals, they are generally open to strangers and very hospitable. The apex predator of the Zulu steppe is the eight-legged coloss-lion.

## History

The Zulutaur Steppes are perhaps the most diverse of the beast folk nations. While in many other regions the beast folk self segregate, with the dominant race often driving out the others, the zulutaurs live peacefully alongside several other races, and have made no attempts to systematically drive out or exterminate several others they are sometimes hostile with.

As a result, the steppes is somewhat of a lens with which to view the past of the continental south, before humans became dominant, and when dozens of beast folk once co-existed with each other.

There have been some changes though, the Azanese settled nearby Asvaran, and forged a canal through the southernmost part of the steppes. Trade "factories" dominated by humans have cropped up in various places. And the occasional invasion attempt by Dsrvyth or the Gokmavi have been driven off, usually with the help of other human powers.

## Zulutaurs

**Zulutaurs** are one of the species of mammalian beastfolk living in Giantstep. Zulutaurs are a kind of centaur, with an upper part of humanoid shape and a lower half of a zebra. They measure around 2.65m of height, a height they use to great effect as archers or as spear throwers. Their lower half has a striped black and white coloration, used to camouflage themselves within the tall grass of the steppes, especially when alongside other zulutaurs. They are powerful runners, having great stamina to chase their prey all throughout the savannah, though they are somewhat fragile as well. Wounds to their legs are incredibly difficult to heal, especially without proper treatment, and a broken leg usually means death. Their humanoid upper half tends to be very slender, but with surprising muscle strength. Their fur tends to disappear at the height of the bellybutton, looking more like a human body, but with certain differences. In particular, their ears are identical to those of an equine, and their hair usually has the same black and white coloration their equine part has.

Zulutaur culture is rather strange. They are an incredibly violent species, with each zulutaur tribe waging near constant warfare with the other zulutaur tribes nearby. Their religion is one center around dualities. As their black and white stripes, they see the world in binary terms, always trying to differentiate what is the foundation and what the addition. This leads them to commit bloody atrocities against those zulutaurs that do not share the tribes’ particular vision of the world, with some of the most brutal acts seen being skinning their defeated opponents and wearing their hides as trophies. However, despite this level of brutality, the zulutaurs are surprisingly gentle and cordial with other species. Many zulutaurs believe they are a chosen species, with their knowledge of the duality of the world elevating them over the rest of mortal beings. As such, they treat other sentient creatures with a mix of cordiality, pity and contempt, as they never had the chance to know the secrets of the universe as they do. Whereas other zulutaurs, however, they are just as elevated as them, but choose to follow heretical beliefs, leading them to war.

Zulutaur foals grow within an environment of war, always on the move pursuing their prey and fighting their zulutaur neighbors. It is very frequent that a zulutaur foal will be captured one or two times before adulthood into another tribe, either as a prisoner for future exchange or to integrate within the tribe to increase its numbers. Many do not mind this, as their “might makes right” philosophy means they are weak and will become stronger due to being in the winning tribe. It’s only when a zulutaur reaches adulthood when they pledge allegiance to whatever view of the world they choose to have, and they will keep it until the day they die.

## Government

The zulutaurs and most of the other inhabitants of the steppes are tribal and prone to infighting. Many follow a “might makes right” philosophy, though for the zulutaurs, this mostly just applies to inter tribal warfare.

A number of trading companies have set up "factories" (large trading posts) in the Steppes. The government structure of these varies based on the nature of the company.

## Economy

Most of the tribes of the Steppes are hunter-gatherers or grazers, but there are a wide range of commodities that even the more primitive tribes can potentially trade with foreigners for manufactured goods. Rare pelts, live animals, alchemic components, and more fetch high prices.

Trading is done at both small trading posts, as well as the larger port-warehouse-town-fortress combos known as factories. Several factories are located near the old Azanese canal, but attempts to control it by either a local or foreign faction have inevitably failed as the other factions gang up on the one trying to tax trade.

### Zulutaur Peninsula’s Factorial Companies

See Zulutaur Peninsula’s Factorial Companies

## Foreign Relations

### **The Shattered Realms of Dsrvyth**

A major trading partner for the Steppes, though some in the Steppes haven’t forgotten Dsrvyth’s past invasion attempts. On the other hand, Dsrvyth has helped some Steppe tribes against the Gokmavi.

### **Azan Empire**

Another major trading partner, though again, past colonization attempts have not been fully forgiven.

### **Asvaran Confederacy**

Another trading partner. There is some disgruntlement in the Steppe that the Asvarans essentially walled off a portion of their territory, but most don’t care as the Asvaran region was mostly human inhabited even before the arrival of Azanese colonists.

### **Blind Bastard’s Domain**

Does some trade in the Steppes via their outposts in Mona Ki Ngi Xica Savannah, but mostly with the more amoral, predatory tribes. The Domain has recently taken an interest in enslaving inhabitants of the Steppes, either with direct raids or indirectly via local slavers.

### **Nasr Satrapies, Maneater Islands, and Ortuga**

These regions also sometimes launch slave raids on the Steppes, though the slaves are often sold to wealthy third parties as exotic curiosities in any number of nations where slavery is legal, or where the law is corrupt enough it might as well be.

### **Confederated Chiefdoms of Badgassi Mara Honi**

Small clans of badgassi are common in the Steppes, having lived there for ages. However, the relatively recent alliance between the largest badgassi tribes, the slaughter of the zidazzi, and the attempts to bring new regions under the rule of the Confederated Chiefdoms have raised tensions to say the least.

### **Gökmavi**

The Gokmavi and their predecessors have made several attempts to expand into the Steppes, but these attempts have always been defeated by unusual alliances of Steppe inhabitants, and sometimes foreigners like Dsrvyth.

### **Mona Ki Ngi Xica Savannah**

Some zulutaurs and other Steppe races live in the Savannah, working as mercenaries for the Domain, or descended from past mercenaries hired by the Azanese to guard their route. Most Steppe inhabitants dislike the Mona Ki Ngi Xica, seeing them as thralls to the Domain. The zulutaurs have a particular dislike for the Mona Ki Ngi Xica though. Aside from the fact they worship a lion animal spirit (the zulutaurs dislike lions), and ride zorses (which the zulutaurs find vaguely sacrilegious) there is the widespread legend among the Mona Ki Ngi Xica that the zulutaurs were creating by fusing a tribe of humans to their zorse mounts. A few zulutaurs claim to believe an opposing legend that the zorses were created by splitting a zulutaur into a human and a zorse.

### **Moreaux Island**

Few in the Steppes even know this island exists, but a handful of zulutaurs and other beast races were recruited from the Steppes to guard this now abandoned research facility.

### **War-Wel**

A few zulutaur have visited these islands while working for the Azanese and consider them to be thoroughly cursed. Word spread back to the Steppes, where other zulutaurs coined the island’s most commonly used name.

### **Ettin-Range**

There is a large, unofficial buffer zone between the two regions (not that either care much for formal boundaries). The ettins tend to scare off even the hardiest of Steppe dwellers, and the mozadizz are also a bit of a nuisance, though few in the Steppes have much worth stealing.

## Geography

The Steppes are a vast expanse of hilly, dry grassland, bordered by mountains in the northeast. Most of the inhabitants are nomadic and sleep outdoors, but a few set up tent villages and other primitive shelters when they plan on staying in an area for a while.

The factories and trading posts use a wide range of architectural styles depending on who sets them up.

### The coastal cities

#### Meferesh

The city of Meferesh is the oldest of the Zuluaur’s coastal cities. Founded back in the days of the ancient war between Azan and the Western Elven Empire, it was the result of an elven fleet that ended up stranded ashore after a storm. Isolated from their kind and without any recourse to fix their ships, they decided to build a fort using the wood from their destroyed ships. Months and years passed, and the crew realized there was no way back for them, as the route back though land was in azanese hands, and any hope for a rescue fleet from the Western Elven Empire was long gone. Thus, they decided to settle permanently in the area, attracting many of the local populations such as servalala joos, desert dryads and humans. By the time an azanese exploration team discovered the place, the war had long ended, and the original fort had grown into a considerable town. The single survivor and her children were brought to the Western Elven Empire, and the imperial authorities allowed helping the fledging town, investing in its infrastructure and bringing many settlers to the city. However, azanese diplomats were sent to the Western Elven Empire to stop this move, as the expansion of the elven nation towards the Zulutaur Steppes so shortly after the war was seen as an aggressive move. In the end, Azan and the Elven Empire signed a series of deals that made all further growth towards the region stop, at least overtly. This turned the city of Meferesh as a neutral grounds of sorts, getting trade from both Azan and the Western Elven Empire, and growing accordingly. After the centuries, however, Meferesh has decayed considerably due to the growth of other cities along the coast, competing and creating different routes through the steppes.

Most of its original population consisted of elves, mostly drow and a couple of colonies of sea elves, though nowadays the human population has surpassed the elves, as both foreign and local humans married and settled in the city. Most of the architecture of the city comes from elven designs, though done with poorer and humbler materials, and nothing that could reach the peaks of elven architecture back in the day. The local leadership has become decadent and vain, with most of them dedicating most of their time in the city’s arena, betting enormous quantities of money in the gladiatorial rings, where slaves and mercenaries fight to the death. The factorial companies located around the city are encouraging this behavior, as it gives them more and more power to fight for total control over the local economy.

#### Agoule

The city of Angoule was the first city founded in the Shores of Silver, on the eastern side of the Zulutaur Peninsula. Back in the days after the wars between Azan and the Western Elven Empire, the routes to the east were mostly done by caravans, crossing the long journey to the eastern nations, crossing the zidazzi hives and the lands under Gilgemash, all by land. However, the travel was quite slow and still underdeveloped, with not enough trading posts or resting places for the caravans to resupply. However, it all changed when a series of azanese explorers, alongside their servalalan guides, found a natural port near three small hills and close to a forested area. The conditions of the area were ripe for building a city, and preparations started immediately. However, the many treaties and accords between Azan and the Western Elven Empire limited their expansion in the area greatly, and building a city there would be under clear violation of the terms. As such, they resorted to more underhanded ways: they slowly but surely bribed many nomadic servalala clans around the area to begin settling down in the region, so that they could claim they were not colonizing the region. Once an outpost was established, Azan began establishing diplomatic ties with the town of Agoule, promising them help building their dockyard and their infrastructure if they were given special privileges. Despite this, the growth of a decent dockyard in the Shores of Silver caught the attention of the Western Elven Empire. Negotiations ensued between the two powers, and in the end, the city was left as an independent population, with Azan losing their privileges to keep the peace between.

Nowadays, the city of Agoule is still an important dockyard, one of the main places where ships from the Sea of the End can be built. While the local forests are not that plentiful anymore, the factorial companies in the city have pushed greatly for acquiring wood from all available shores, and even then, the vessels of the Sea of the End are considerably smaller than those in the seas outside, with the only exceptions of the dismantled ships that arrive through Sho-Too. However, this condition as one of the main dockyards of the Sea of the End also attracts a lot of attention from pirates from Ortuga, which tend to kidnap their vessels to demand a ransom for them. The city also holds a great amount of servalala clans who have settled in the area throughout the centuries, making up for most of the populations, though the aristocratic families are still from azanese or elven origins.

#### Hedeyjya

The city of Hedeyjya was born during the days of the azanese wars against the witchelven and the drow. The grave unrest and destruction caused in azanese territories caused many to start thinking a way to exit the empire. The lands within Giantstep were threatened by deep witchelven raids, the lands of Scimitarian and Wanaidheain were threatened by the drow, and that was before the beginning of the Azanese Civil War. Many groups, often from the areas most affected by the war with the drow and the witchelven, began escaping from the empire. The reasons from this varied wildly, from people fleeing from the bloodshed, refugees who had lost everything or just people running away from the levies or as deserters. Seeking to run away from everything, they went to the one place they believed to be far enough from the wars to be safe: the wild lands of the Zulutaur Peninsula. As Azan had invested in many small outposts that had grown into trading posts or even cities, there were enough links to the mainland to accept the newcomers, though the fear of bringing the war to the south was an ever-present threat. In fact, the azanese colonies from the Asvaran Confederation, who were already using many technicalities and pretexts to avoid entering the wars, altogether refused the entrance of most of these refugees. As such, the coasts of the Zulutaur Peninsula began receiving a great deal of refugees that nowhere else to go. However, the strain that caused on the local area, combined with the fights with the local population and the inevitable infighting resulted in many of these settlements becoming abandoned, with the fates of many of these refugees being unknown. One of the few places that actually managed to prosper was Hedeyjya, as it was founded mostly by deserting soldiers and their families, and had the discipline and the organization to establish a stable settlement.

Due to their past as defectors, Azan declared the city as a whole as “turncoat”, and promised retribution, a punishment that never came due to the rebellion of Changrila. The ties between Hedeyjya and Azan were only reestablished many centuries after the end of the Azanese Civil War, when the exhaustion from the wars surpassed the resentments of the past. Nowadays, the inhabitants of Hedeyjya have adopted many elements from the local populations to differentiate from themselves from Azan, and especially from the Asvaran, towards whom they have a particular hatred due to their rejection during the wars. As one of the cities with the least amount of ties with the old powers, they are one of the smallest and poorer coastal cities in the Shores of Gold. This results in a smaller amount of factorial companies vying for power and influence, allowing the local city council to organize the city more freely. However, as a city founded by soldiers, the city has developed into a martial entity, keeping peace and order within its walls with considerable brutality. The population often serves as bodyguards and explorers, even for caravans organized by other cities. Recently, the city council has been opening more diplomatic ties with Changrila, as due to an incident with a group of members of the Red Lotus cult has made the council worry of a possible spread of the faith across the Zulutaur Peninsula.

#### Sho-too

The city of Sho-too was founded during the azanese attempts of reaching the lands of the Great Norossor Peninsula. After the founding of the Kingdom of Nosso Lar as part of Azan, the needs to tie together that far distant piece of the empire with the rest grew considerably, especially since soon after Gilgemash managed to recover part of their territory, effectively creating an annoying, but costly, barrier to the goods of the east. As such, azanese explorers launched once again campaigns to connect the two sides of the empire. The exploration campaigns in the south finally managed to make a great discovery, the Sho-too Isthmus at the very edge of the world. While the strange nature of the world’s edge fascinated the men of science, the men of money and power saw potential in the isthmus as the shortest land road between the two seas. Thus, a city was quickly founded in the area, with many roads connecting the barely 40km between the two shores. The city of Sho-too was, in fact, two different cities, each on a different side of the isthmus, and rule by Western Sho-too. While it seemed as the perfect place for trade to go through, the reality of the matter is that it was only as effective as it sounded during periods of calm in the ocean. If the storms in the side facing the Sunset Ocean were strong enough, the long voyage through sea would force many vessels to stay in Asvaran for weeks, if not months, making the land route seem attractive by comparison. Still, the Sho-too has proved to be the most lucrative out of all of the cities in the steppes, despite how remote it is.

Sho-too has a great deal of influence around the area, as the relative small space they have to watch over and travel through in comparison to the others is remarkable. This allows them to set up a considerable amount of defenses around the area, with many watchtowers and outposts looking out for any trouble. Many of the local populations, especially those dedicated to agriculture and herding, find working around Sho-too quite profitable, as the city needs quite a lot of produce, and the protection from them makes sure the beasts are kept away. Sho-too also has one more unique quality, in that it is the only zulutaur city that is used to transport entire vessels from the Sunset Ocean to the Sea of the End. As piracy from Ortuga became more of an issue, some of the factorial companies sought to get more firepower against them, buying entire ships from the big powers from the west, disassembling them, shipping the pieces to the receiving city through Sho-too and then rebuild them there. The biggest ships in the Sea of the End arrived there through this system, though it is prohibitively expensive to build a fleet like that, only having 2-3 big vessels like that for city on the Shores of Silver.

#### Zarafarin

The city of Zarafarin was created during the chaos that the campaign of Hibila the Terrible caused to the zidazzi hives. The surprise campaign of destruction that the badgassi brought to the zidazzi forced many to run away for their lives. While most of them managed to flee north, a few of the hives near the border with the zulutaur lands were forced to cross the Namabass Desert and go south, alongside the coast. Dying of thirst and starvation, they were rescued by a local tribe of dryads, who helped them grow just enough flowers to be able to settle in, at least for the time being, alongside their dryad saviors. The running zidazzi began building a hive around the few flower fields they could cultivate. However, eventually the badgassi pursuers managed to find the settlement, and they sent a scout force to deal with it. While small, it was big enough to threaten the lives of all the people within. Seeing no way to defend themselves, the dryads went to the cities to beg for help to avoid a massacre, which they did manage to obtain. Preocupied that the badgassi would begin extending their influence across the Zulutaur Steppes, the mercenary forces from Meferesh, Hedeyjya and Agoule went to the zidazzi’s rescue, and managed to dissuade the badgassi from attacking, but by that point the flower fields were unsustainable and would die in short time. The mercenary forces promised to escort the zidazzi to the north, in areas near the Onyx Mountains where they could reunite with the rest of their species. This left the colony of Zarafarin completely abandoned, but the infrastructure built by the zidazzi had been solid enough for the other cities to begin occupy it, and soon enough, the city of Zarafarin was built on top of the zidazzi hive.

Zarafarin has grown quite a lot over the years, as Meferesh, Hedeyjya and Agoule are investing in its development so that they can control it from behind the scenes. Due to this, it is very common to see a local as head of the town, seeing as someone working by one of the three cities would cause quite a lot of tension between the factions. The original dryad population is still around, often taking care of the few agricultural plots around the city, though due to the harshness of the land and the growing number of people, most of the food comes from outside, as well as from its small fishing fleet. While Zarafarin is not particularly well suited as a dockyard, it serves as a resting point for the caravans that decide to go through the badgassi lands.

#### Idonum

The city of Idonum was originally part of the original azanese settlements which would eventually become the Asvaran Confederacy. However, the inhabitants of Idonum were never in harmony with the rest of the settlements in the Azydiwi Peninsula, as the leaders of the colony were set on becoming independent from the get go. Their attempts to rile up the other cities into rebellion led to disaster, as the other cities not only rejected their propositions, but they took their leadership down in a short but bloody war that nearly razed the city to the ground. The tension and distrust between Idonum and the rest of the cities of the region did not but grow over time, and this disdain was palpable in all levels of population. So when the envoys of Fenhu Xianhiao were sent to Idonum to gain their support in the coup, the local authorities gladly accepted. After the failed coup, the city of Idonum sided with Changrila, and began a war between the Asvaran Confederacy and Idonum. As Asvaran and Idonum were too far from the conflict, resulting in no aid coming from the mainland for either side. Despite the preparation and a quick lightning invasion by Idonum, the superior numbers of Idonum meant that after two years of conflict, Idonum had been completely taken over by the confederacy. The resistance against the Asvaran was bloody and violent, with plenty incidents of assassination and terrorism, and the repressions to the people of Idonum were given back in kind. After the Treaty of Nankin, one of the accepted accords was that neither Azan nor Changrila would claim ownership of Idonum in any way, resulting in the total independence of Idonum after decades of occupation by the Asvaran Confederacy.

Nowadays, the people of Idonum try to distance themselves from their azanese roots as much as possible. This makes Changrila the closest power to the people of Idonum, and after a couple of centuries, changrilese nobility supplanted the local powers. This is not something widely popular within the local population, as they just saw it as another power (someone that they fought for more than a decade for) taking them over. However, the resentment against Azan and especially against the Asvaran makes them accept their rule, since without their protection and influence, nothing keeps the Asvaran from invading them once again.

## Demographics

> **Zulutaurs** – The most prominent inhabitants of the Steppes, these beast folk roam the steppes in small tribes, often fighting against each other brutally, but are surprisingly friendly with many other races.
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> **The Hind** – A southern human race, cousins to the Mona Ki Ngi Xica, the Aruandans, the Mumak, and the jungle tribes, among others. They are primitive by human standards, perhaps seeing themselves as having too much in common with the other Steppe inhabitants to properly civilize.
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> **Orcs** – A fairly common race in the Steppes, less civilized than many of their cousins, though perhaps more civilized than some. There are some that believe the Steppes are the original orc homeland, though others believe it is somewhere on the west coast of the continent. Steppe orcs are nomads that often travel riding large hyenas and warthogs, and even occasionally rhinos, though strangely they often fight on foot.
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> **Ostrichfolk** – An odd example of the beast folk, with human upper halves on an ostriches body and legs, they are gatherers known for being highly territorial against peaceful folk, but prone to fleeing at the first possibility of violence. Although primitive even by regional standards, and often seen as a bit of a joke, more than a few would be predators have found out the hard way that even unarmed, the speed, body mass, and large talons of an ostrichman or woman make them surprisingly dangerous.
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> **Pigfolk** – Foul humanoid warthogs, they are barely smarter than trolls, but bred quickly, and are tough and dangerous enough that few want to tangle with them for no reason. Their innate cruelty has led some to think they have at least partial demonic origin. Despite seemingly placing no value on material goods, they seem to enjoy stealing from or enslaving others, even when it serves no clear purpose.
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> **Man Beasts** – Cousins to the hogmen (neither resemble hogs), they seem to be genetically compatible with humans and orcs, which can led to problems when the raid for mates. Foreign humans hate them, and orcs sometimes enslave them, but most other Steppe inhabitants see them as just another hunter-gatherer race that minds its own business most of the time.
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> **Hippotaur, catfolk, and scorpionfolk** – Rare but dangerous beast folk with humanoid upper halves and the body and legs of a hippo, lion, and scorpion respectively, they can be found scattered throughout the southern continent and are generally best avoided.
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> **Badgassi** – Humanoid badgers, they are far more common in their newly founded nation to the east, which is creating tension for the badgassi in the Steppes due to fear of expansionism.
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> **Desert Trolls** – Barely sentient predatory brutes, most Steppe inhabitants avoid them whenever possible, though orcs and others occasionally manage to tame them.
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> **Southern Giants** – One of the last surviving giant races, they are limited to a few pockets in the Steppes and Dsrvyth. Standing 7 meters tall, and shockingly thin for those use to ettins, ogres, and trolls, they are peaceful, shy hunter-gatherer who generally avoid other races. For poorly understood cultural reasons, they almost always wear ceremonial masks of varying quality.
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> **Servalala** – Slender, weaselly humanoid feline beast folk, they are cousins to the Joois, and in fact are quite likely the same species, but with some cultural and physical differences due to millennia of separation.
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> **Harpies** – Sometimes called vulturefolk, it is unclear how they are related to the more common northern subspecies, though their vulture like appearance and crude behavior has caused some to question as to whether they are a type of beast folk.
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> **Dryads** – One of the few true fey found in the Steppes, dryads in the Steppes have a withered look to them while in hybrid form, but apparently this is normal.
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> **Desert Ogres** – Generally not considered a “true ogre”, but instead perhaps some type of beast folk. Vaguely resembling an ogre, a troll, an orc, and a hippo, and very rare, they defy easy categorization, making them a nuisance for pendant scholars.
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> **Foreigners** – Most foreigners stick to the trading posts and factories, and most are humans of several different cultures, though others are not unheard of.
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## Religion

Nearly all the tribal religions practiced in the Steppes are some form of animal spirit worship. The animal spirits are similar to the faerie lords in that they vary in power, and don’t fully exist on this plane of existence. However, they are far more wild and chaotic than the faerie lords, with many barely seeming sentient at all, and are instead unfocused collections of instinct and emotion. Many southern races consider this or that animal spirit to be their patron, or perhaps even their creator god, though unlike many faerie lords, it is rare for an animal spirit to take any interest in the day-to-day affairs of their followers.

Few animal spirits grant magic to their followers the same way gods or faerie lords sometimes do. However, some followers have developed a form of magic known as voodoo which involves entreating the animal spirits (typically minor ones) for help directly. Voodoo is unpredictable and unreliable. It takes time for a practitioner to build up a rapport with a particular animal spirit and get a sense of what they are and aren’t willing to do, and what needs to be offered in exchange for services. Sooner or later, the animal spirit becomes bored with being summoned by a particular individual, thus putting the practitioner back to square one. Some animal spirits are also quite dangerous, so drawing their attention is generally risky.

The zulutaur mostly worship one of two spirit animals, simply known as the black zorse and the white zorse. One is said to teach survival of the fittest, the other is said to teach the importance of doing things for the good of the tribe. In practice, these two philosophies often result in similar courses of action, but zulutaurs strongly dislike followers of the other spirit animal, which is a common cause for fights between tribes.

## Military

The Steppe inhabitants are mostly primitive tribes using spears, clubs, slings, nets, and bows for both hunting and warfare. The smarter tribes sometimes trade for steel weapons, or even firearms, while the more primitive have barely mastered the club. However, the tribes are more dangerous than they first appear. Many of them are far faster and/or stronger than a human. The fact that nearly ever inhabitant is a capable warrior allows them to field large armies on the rare occasions when they work together.

Although often mocked by foreigners, voodoo is a potentially powerful magic with a wide range of potential uses that users of more conventional magics find hard to predict and counter.

On any given day, there are more than a few skirmishes going on somewhere in the Steppes between tribes or non-sentient predators. Fights over mates, territory, religion are common, as are fights to avoid becoming prey for desert trolls, the eight-legged coloss-lion, and other predators, both sentient and non-sentient. Even the more civilized tribes of the Steppes simply see this as the natural order of things. However, some tribes are known to fight to enslave others, or to murder without purpose. This is often seen as a sign said tribe has fallen under the thrall of a particularly violent animal spirit.