Fast. Quiet at first (as the raiders move into position), then loud as they drive the herd
> Are Praxian beasts ever fenced off or tied up when a clan is camped up,
> in order to keep them together, or is the herd always allowed to graze
> where it will, relying on the skills of the herders to keep them
> together and close by?
Doubtful that anything other than "let 'em graze" would be used - enclosing them means either some sort of permanent fenced area, or hauling the fencing with you. The best a praxian could hope for ould be some terrain that would be close to "closed off" - a box canyon or bend in the river. Trying to tie them up would mean hours each evening and morning putting on or taking off the hobble/rope/whatever that you used to tie them. *If* the herd is trained to follow a lead bull/cow, then tieing up one animal might do the trick.
> Would raiders use lassos or similar in order to grab target livestock,
> or rely on just 'driving' them towards their own encampment? I'd have
> thought that antelopes particularly would do their damnedest not to be
> driven in one direction, especially not by a charging herd of bison
> riders.
For a raid, I'd say they are most likely going to drive the herd off into thw plains and collect them at their leisure (they'll also try to drive the personal riding beats of the target tribe along with the herd - both becasue that's more animals, and because the target tribe can't follow you (-10 to "Run", because Praxians are -10 when off their mounts!). I wouldn't be surprised if they also used lassos to make sure of a specific animal, (or to grab the "Lead Bull"), or to gather up strays. But the praxians haven't been portrayed with them in the past, so...
> 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? (Defending one's
> own livestock may be a different matter I suppose).
Deaths are not an intentional outcome of the raid, but if someone is sleeping right where the herd stampedes... Any defense will be dealt with swiftly, so there won't be time to make sure he's dead before riding off with your booty - one pass with a lance or bow will be all you get, unless the defender decides to pursue.
> 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?
Raiding parties among the Plains Indians were formed by a successful raider, and were as large as he was willing to lead.
RR
C'est par mon ordre et pour le bien de l'Etat que le porteur du présent a
fait ce qu'il a fait.
- Richelieu
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