Spear Families

There were countless families of **Spears** that dotted the vast Venswood, but only so many made a name for themselves on Nebelloren. This is not an exhaustive list.

### **Bronzewater**

"Not the last, but not the first. We still swim and hunt."

The Spears who live along the great river Ord are known as capable aquatic hunters, and consider themselves rivals to the Whitecaps and Wavecrest families when it comes to prey beneath the water - albeit in a freshwater context. The Ord river was (and perhaps still is) home to many dangerous species, such as the Chamelodile and the dreaded Dart-Mouth, capable of harpooning a kin off the bank from near-perfect stealth. The Bronzewaters are closely linked with the Dart-Mouth, as it is their chief prey and its tough scales their main trade item when they caravan to other settlements. The connection is also a spiritual one, as they combine its rending teeth with their own ancestors to create the variant Bonespear for which they are known, the Trident-like spear.

### **Hawkwood**

"First of the many. Last of the line."

The Hawkwoods are a collective of Endless Spears from the distant highlands of the Venswood. Idiosyncratic and reclusive, the Hawkwoods are thought of as unrefined and backwards by many among the Choir. Their reputation for oddity is rooted in their fatalistic philosophies and their obsession with knowledge of the supernatural world, beyond even that of other Endless Spears. Hawkwood solutions to traditional spear projects tend to be crude and improvised, but also flexible and functional.

Hawkwoods are generally not playable.

### **Mossbranch**

"For life, for opportunity, for friendship and fellowship."

The Mossbranch family is a diverse collection of Spears, Kihai, and even Hjen that takes great pride in their ancestors and culture. They are known for being open and willing to integrate new beliefs into their ever changing society as they strive towards a harmonious bond between their kin - both blood and adopted.

### **Quillpetal**

“No compass but our own, no road that leads home.”

The Quillpetals are, more than most others, formed by their environment. The hot dunes of the Badlands are an unforgiving home - Beastmen swarm any safe oases, Salt-Snakes are an omnipresent threat, and the border towns of the Dreadwastes offer little respite. Quillpetals traditionally traveled the dunes in small groups, usually led by a boneshaper. They scoured the desert, tracking the shifting of oases, and following the movements of the beastmen - though, centrally, their goal was survival.

### **Redfeather**

"Till the last."

The Redfeather Family are renowned for their unwavering loyalty and fierce fighting skills. Originally warriors of The Old Wood, they answered the call of The Amatl Dreadwaste tribes in battle against the Wildkin, suffering heavy casualties but never faltering in their commitment to the cause. The Redfeathers have since adapted to their new surroundings and fighting style, relying on the spear and their horseback riding skills. They appreciate the arts, mainly using calligraphy and sound to attract positive energies and spirits.

### **Ridgewalker**

"Where the sand blows, where the dust falls, where we stand guard."

A Spear family that resided in the Amatl Dreadwastes, the Ridgewalkers were a traditional and loyal family to the Venswood despite their inhabiting of the wastes, focusing their hunters and warriors on patrolling the wastes as a first line of defense against the regularly invading Mokobeast and Wildkin beastfolk. The odd flora that survived in the harsh wastes was also a source of interest to the Family, who would claim some aptitude in the realm of alchemy surrounding Planar's Guide.

### **Rosewing**

"We dream of fire."

The Rosewings are a close-knit family of Endless Spears from the riverlands of the Venswood. Their family traditions are drenched in mysticism, and the oldest of their heirlooms are believed to come from the first dragons slain by spears. Their beliefs result in family lines full of Boneshapers so rooted in the old ways that innovation tends to be rare, and families tend to be close. Rosewing Boneshapers tend to do the most traveling, seeking clans in need.

### **Stormcrow**

"When others fall, we rise."

The Stormcrows are a large network of families who span the mountain ranges North of the Vens. When people of other families fall to nature, a Stormcrow will often give their time to help support the family with whatever they need. In areas where people have fallen in great number, the Stormcrows will rally and fend off the threat, and help rebuild the community. Stormcrow families are huge, often having well over five children in any given household. Their views in the Otherside are that of true nature. Everything is an agreement, everything has a name, everything is connected. The value of life is not lost on these people, but is also not grieved, for it's all a part of the cycle. Stormcrows are often called to hunt creatures of corrupted nature, due to their greater understanding of the agreements of nature, and ability to pick out the unnatural elements.

### **Wavecrest**

"Storms in our wake."

The Wavecrests are people that believe you should constantly be overcoming your past failures. Never go against the current, let it lead you where you need to go and find a path to free yourself. While we may make mistakes in the past, those are only the storms in our wake that we leave behind.

### **Whitecap**

"Find a pass or carve one."

The Whitecaps are a fairly orthodox family, with little that differentiates them but the land they travel, and the paths they carve. They travel through mountainous regions, their stubborn nature lending itself in the form of tunnels and paths, shaping the land rather than being shaped by it.

### **Wildelock**

"Never conquered, always fighting, ever more."

The Wildelocks are an older family name, albeit not a very noteworthy one. They are a conventional family who remain fairly orthodox in their traditions and ideologies. However, are slightly notorious for their sometimes blatantly unnecessary hostility towards other families and their sheer willpower/ability in the heat of battle. Due to the family's outwardly aggressive approach to other families, they often struggle in the trading department. Forcing them to be as self sufficient as possible. They reside predominantly in the heart of the Venswood, and are often times be characterized as arrogant and boastful, due to their immense pride in their long-lived family line. Despite this, they hold a soft spot for those who have repeatedly done kindly by them. Their grudges hold strong, but so does their loyalty. This family values tradition, simplicity, and the spirit of battle.