http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/HeroQuest-RPG/files/Salmon%20Run/
The setup is also below for convenience. I usually do 100 words for major npcs too, as I am a big fan of the ability to turn a description into a character, but in this case I am short of time so we just have some notes. A lot of the initial skethches here came from ideas from the players:
The Salmon Run
When the Salmon swim upsteam to spawn, the Great Spirit, Earthmaker,
blesses the Rathori people with food in abundance. There are five
species of Salmon that spawn in Fronela: king, silver, dog, pink, and
the magical rainbow. Every year the salmon swim up the Janube River
and follow its tributaries up through Rathorela. These fierce streams
originate as meltwater inValind's Glacier, and tumble over rocks and
falls to join the main flow. Salmon do not eat as they travel
upstream so they cannot be caught with bait, instead fishermen use
nets, traps, and harpoons to land the fish. The clan makes these
tools on site, from wood, bone, plant fibre and flint.
The Rathori shaman tell that the salmon are a race of immortals who live under the ocean. Each year they turn into fish and swim upriver to feed the people. After eating salmon, the people throw the bones back into the water, so that they might be washed out to the ocean again where the salmon people will be reborn. Failure to return the bones means that the salmon man or woman will not be reborn and return to feed the people. This is taboo, for all the people suffer from such selfishness. The Rathori treat the first salmon caught each year as an honored guest. A respected member of the clan welcomes the salmon into the camp, cooks him, and serves him to the people. Only then the fishing begins.
The Salmon Run is a time of celebration. The people have an abundance
of food, enough to gather the whole clan in one place. It is a time
for old friends, laughter, and stories around the fire. It is also a
time for the clan to show hospitality, inviting neighbours to visit,
entertaining them at lavish feasts, and being received in return. At
such meetings the clans seal alliances, negotiate marriages, and
exchange news of the outside world.
Following the Salmon Run the clan's finest hunters hold their Great
Hunt – whoever brings back the greatest beast from the wilderness
becomes the master hunter for the following year.
The Teasirl Clan
Seven dens or families, descended from the daughters of Old Mother
Teasirl, make up the Teasirl Clan. There are 150 people in the clan,
83 adults and 67 children. 48 of the children are pre-adolescent,
and 7 of those are newborns with nursing mothers. There are 12 elders
within the clan. The clan respects thier wisdom and treats them with
reverence, knowing that this winter may be their last. The
distribution of people amidst the families is broadly even, 12 adults
of whom 1-2 are elders and 9 children of whom 1-2 are infants.
Because of the hardship of the summer migration families cannot
support many pregnant or nursing mothers at a time.
The Teasril Clan meet every Earth Season to fish the king salmon, which swim up river at that time of year. This is the clan's major meeting of the year, for it guarantees enough food for everyone to gather in one place. They camp at the ancestral site of Eu's Point every year, where they have fished since Eu killed Aki Strong-Heart and one the Lightning Strikes Feud. The Viltawni clan have never accepted the Teasirl clan's claim to Eu's Point, but have been forced for many years to fish the scrawnier upriver salmon. Resentment occasionally boils over into violence, as the Viltawni try to camp at Eu's Point.
At Eu's Point the clan builds a fish wier to catch the spawning salmon. The wier has seven permanent support pilings, one maintained by each family and the clan strangs a fresh lattice work of hazel wands between them to form a fence that admits water but not fish. Seven openings pierce the fence, leading into corrals, where the families have piled rocks and boulders, to make the water shallow at make it easy to harpoon the fish. The seven dens build the lattice work over seven days. They will then fish it for seven days, opening the corrals at night to allow fish to swim upstream duing the darkness. Eu gave the people these timings, hoping to prevent clans upstream from resenting the catch being made at the wier. Still in some years the Viltawni try to sabotage the wier by sending logs downstream to crash into the fence.
The clan builds a smoke house of cedar wood, where the smoke from the constantly burning fire preserves the salmon, cut into strips and hung from the rafters.
Who's Who in the Teasirl?
White Bear Warrior: Jari Broken-Mind
Jari is the white bear warrior who protects the Teasirl clan, but his
mind has been broken by a hundred years winter. He spends his days
drunk on the fire-water that he buys from the traders with pelts, and
only stirs to action when the drink runs dry. He tries to forget what
he has seen. He is undependable, but cared for by those around him,
against whom he often lashes out.
Eldest sister of the Ulawi den: Heli Brave-Heart Heli is the oldest sister of the Ulawi den, a position of respect, if not of leadership. She fears that the old ways are lost with the death of Rathor. She points to the example of Jari for' what the old ways bring' She seeks new avenues for survival. She will be most receptive to the overtures of the Lunar Empire.
Master Hunter: Einar Keen-Smell
Einar is the clan's master hunter. His identity is subsumed by the
hunt, he identifies himself with the beasts he has stalked and
killed. He is proud of his ancestry on the male line, an unusual
thing, but he is descended from Eu, who won this place from the
Vitalwni. Yet he always feels he lives in his ancestor's shadow.
Black Oss told him of a dark ritual to survive winter, by eating a
troll's heart, but while he does not fear to hunt the trolls on the
ice, he fears the risks of Black Oss's magic and the price the shaman
might demand for the secret.
Elder Grandmother: Irja Willow-Thin
Irja is the oldest living maternal ancestor of the clan. She is the
voice of tradition, of the old ways, and keeps the lore of the clan.
She often invokes the voice of the maternal ancestors and the needs
of future generations. She worries how the clan will survive the
winter. She hopes someone will be able to cross to the other side and
find the white bear spirits again, so that the traditions may be
preserved.
The Vitalwni Clan
The women of this clan all trace their decent from Grandmother
Vitalwni. Two large dens, one of 30 adults and 30 children, the other
of 20 adults and ten children make up the clan, of whom 4 are
newborns with nursing mothers, and eight are elders.
The Vitalwni clan have never accepted their loss of Eus' Point to the
Teasirl clan. They know that Eu was a heartless warrior who ambushed
and killed Aki Strong-Heart to earn his place back in his clan after
being exiled for drunkeness. The Teasirl call them `scrawnies' to
insult them, now they grow fat on their plump salmon. The Vitalwni
don't have a wier either, they just fish along a line of broad rocks
in the river, where the fish can be netted out of the water as they
follow the channels up between.
Who's Who in the Vitalwni?
White Bear Warrior: Kost Brave-Heart
Kost survived the Big Sleep to protect his people, but little seems
left of him now than the guardian who watches over his people. He
does not speak, except the bellow his furious war cry, he does not
act, but to wield tomahawk, spear or bow. His eyes seem fixed on some
point in the distance, staring past those around him.
Elder Grandmother: Aila
Aila's skin is withered and her fingers gnarled from rheumatism. Aila
hates the weak and respects the strong. She despises sniveling and
wining from members of the clan, and reminds them of their duty. Many
say fear of Aila kept Kost sane during the Big Sleep.
The Blue Pine Clan
There are bout 75 people in the Blue Pine clan, some 45 adults and 30
children. There are only two living elders and there are four nursing
children.
The Blue Pine are a desperate group fleeing the emergence of the
Kingdom of War in their old territory. Many of their number have died
on the trail. So far they have only asked for passage through
territories, but with the approach of winter they need lodge houses
to sleep out the darkness. They hope that another clan will welcome
them, or at least welcome a few of them in marriage. The hsunchen
lifestyle is marginal and the Teasirl and Vitalwni clans could not
adopt these people without considerable hardship themselves.
Who's Who in the Blue Pine?
Master Hunter: Varni Borken-Nose
Varni has never been this frightened before. His people saw the
kingdom of war. They lost kin to its remorseless killing. He has
forgotten how long they have been running, but he knows that his
people are tired and need to rest for the winter. The worst of his
nightmare is that the hunters on his trail were once of the people
led by a terrible shaman called Black Oss.
Elder Grandmother: Kalia Grey-Tressed
Kalia is exhausted from the long-flight. She knows that she will
probably not wake from this year's winter sleep. She needs to know
that her children and grandchildren are safe before she goes to join
the ancestors.
Aldryami
There is a Vronkali (green elf) andryami grove, Sudden Snows, near to
Eu's Point. About a hundred elves live here. About 40 of these are
wardens, guardians of the forest, another 40 are gardeners, and the
remainder healers, traders, crafters and philosophers. The aldryami
live in a two bunkhouses made from trees and plants shaped and
encouraged by crafters to grow into walls and small spaces for
bedding and personal storage. Human visitors tend to use the meeting
hall in the grove when visiting the Aldryami, which is composed of
arches of living trees.
Who's Who in the Aldryami?
Speaker: Thorn
Thorn is the Vronkali who most outsiders speak, so most humans
mistakenly think of him as the `leader' of Sudden Snows. The elves
were awake during the Big Sleep. The normal cycles of growth and
taking were interrupted.
Lunars
These missionaries come to the Salmon Run each fall from the city of
Riverjoin. The missionaries have worked their way through the salmon
runs of the clans as they have awoken, bringing them word of the
goddess. So far they have had little success. This year though they
have a new edge, brothers and sisters from Sylila who bring the
Rathori word of the Moon Bear.
Missionary: Orstakalor Falem-Haired
A Sylilan follower of the Moon Bear, Orstakalor travelled across the
Empire to find the people of the bear, in the hope that he could
share stories of the Moon Bear with those who would learn of the
healing power of the goddess. Newly arrived this is his first time at
the Salmon Run and his first chance to uncover these people's tales
and compare them with his own. Orstakalor is genuinely keen to help
those who would turn to the goddess.
The Servants of the Gulper, War's Outriders This company of the kingdom of War is a terrible evil for the people because it is made up of Rathori. These people were desperate enough to join the kingdom after waking from the Big Sleep, perhaps because they had no other way to survive the winter. They are outfitted uniformly in linen clothes of forest green and a large hooded green wool cloak. They have bronze armor, a chain hauberk, a long bronze hatchet, and bronze arrows for ther longbows. A king's ransom of metal! Their leader is a twisted Rathori shaman. All of them follow the taboo practice of Grasper, King of Below, and have spirits of darkness and death to do their bidding.
Who's Who in the Gulpers?
Rathori shaman: Black Oss
Black Oss was once of the Teasirl, but he left in search of `new'
magic, never content with the knowledge that he had, always wanting
more, always pushing the edges of what was acceptable. Walkabout on
the glacier Black Oss learned he would rather be a troll than a bear.
Waking from the Big Sleep Black Oss learned that the Old World is
Over and the Takers will inherit Glorantha. Amidst the Kingdom of War
he found the strength he sought, to contact the new spirits of the
White Bear's domain – the children of Grasper, King of Below.
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