> Fairly specific question for you all. How would you
> generally portray a
> Praxian herd raid?
It depends not only on the kind of tribes involved but
also on the relative size, condition and relationships
between raided and raider.
A small group raiding a larger encampment being the
standard, but I suppose you can also have:
1) moving (not ecamped) herd being attacked
2) raid as part of a 'war' (to cripple and starve your
enemy)
3) raid as part of a hunt
4) raid as part of a 'pact' or even marriage: the
raider simulates a raid so that the raided's honor is
safe;
etc.
> Are Praxian beasts ever fenced off or tied up when a
> clan is camped up,
I suppose no: fencing and tying seems to me like a
fairly 'grounder' practice; nomads would keep the
herds in a natural limited place like a valley or the
bend of a serpent (creek) and constantly watch over
them using young and females. A particular fierce or
precious bull could be tied or confined but as an
exceptional measure.
Morokanths on the other hand, would most certainly
rely on lassoing and binding and nocturnal raiding
other tribes' herds. I don't think their herd men are
usually raided either, except for war puroposes.
> Would raiders use lassos or similar in order to grab
> target livestock,
> or rely on just 'driving' them towards their own
> encampment?
driving seems more fitting for large groups/herds; lassoing is for single targets or for sport. IMO praxian beasts are rather accustomed to graze and move even if different species (such as antelopes and bisons); something like African zebra/bison/antelope mixed herds. Of course beasts can't differentiate between a charging mounted bison and a panicked unmounted bison so impetuous raiding would result in much confusion and possible casualties. I don't think it's a usual raiding tactic.
> Would deaths (human or animal) be a common feature
> of such raids, or
> relatively unusual, given that raiding is a common
> part of nomad life,
> and that capturing livestock is more likely to be
> desirable than
> actually crucial enough to lay down your life over?
in routine/ceremonial raiding it's unusual but in war-feud raiding humand deaths are accounted for.
> How big do raiding parties tend to be? Or is it a
> case of a Foundchild
> devotee might sneak in and ride off on a single
> captured beast (though I
> have difficulty picturing an impala rider making off
> with a High Llama
> in such circumstances, unless he was good at
> climbing), whereas a
> family, a group or most of an entire sept might
> launch a raid depending
> on circumstances and opportunity?
standard raiding would be similar to hunting, so limited to small bands.
> Incidentally, if you're wondering which specific
> examples would be most
> useful to me, it would be Bison raiding any other
> tribe, and any other
> tribe raiding bison.
The art of war/ambush (by Sandy Petersen: you can find
the link at Lokarnos.com) gives plenty of examples for
intertribal fighting.
Raiding would resemble fighting if it's for war
purposes but if it's not I suggest it uses more open
and straightforward tactics: raiders would not like to
be mistaken for full fledged attackers. A sudden
daylight raid, without arrow shooting, looks less
hostile than a vicious ambush with war cries, war
paints and weapons drawn. The response should be more
a matter of riding skill and ability to impress the
attackers than a matter of slaying and weapon clashes.
Probably the nomads have a body paint code used for
raiding which is different from war paints and allows
defenders to immediately discern the purpose of the
raiders.
Ciao,
Gian
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