I don't see many clans in Sartar having a high proportion of hunters. There just isn't enough uncultivated land. The majority of hunters won't need such services anyway as they'll hunt within a day or twos journey from a stead. From the Odalyan writeup in ST it's clear that they just aren't the sort to set up a hunting camp.
>Looking at Dragon Pass, we find hunting cultures just about
>everywhere. Sartar and Tarsh have their portion of hunters, the Tarsh
>Exiles even more so, and the Grazers have an entire age group styled
>"hunters". Not to mention the Beastfolk, Tusk Riders, Uz and Dragonewts...
>
>This pretty much leads to the question which kind of prey is hunted by
>whom in which season.
>
>Migratory birds probably have two hunting seasons (passing through).
>Praxian herd beasts (possibly including tribal beasts) will be hunted
>whenever climate draws the herds or individuals to the western edge of
> the chaparral. The annual Stinkwood Boar migration appears to be a
>historical hunting event of the Bush Range, now down to too few beasts
>to excite a major hunting season.
>
>Mountain hunting (ibex?) would be seasonal - either the hunters being
>able to get to the higher ground, or the prey forced down into the
>valleys.
>
>What other roaming herds remain in the Pass region?
>
>We know about dinosaurs, as well as them being sacred to Exiles and
>claimed by dragonewts.
>
>We know that the aurochs has been extinct for quite a while. Forest
>bison (like the European Wisent) would be scarce, too. Tusk Boars
>don't have mass migrations any more.
>
>
>How common are bears, moose and other (solitary) large mammals in the
>area?
I'd guess they are the most common large animals living mainly in the more inaccessible parts.
>How important is the hunt for predators (both for pelts and for
>security of herds and people), pests (e.g. Rubble Runners) and
>rivalling grazing herds?
>
>
>Balazar and the Elder Wilds give various herd beasts that might
>migrate through the Pass region as well. Probably avoiding the densely
>settled lands of Grazelands, Tarsh and Sartar. If there are any such,
>there has to be a reason why they haven't been over-hunted like the
>Tusker Boars.
I'd got the impression that the Grazelands weren't anything like as densely populated as Sartar. The main Grazelander occupations are warrior and hunter so I'd expect some large herds of animals for them to hunt. Given the small size of the area the grazelanders may have developed techniques for managing the herd population rather than just killing. If so a cause of disputes between them and nearby Sartarite clans will be who is entitled to hunt where.
>Non-roaming beasts would be the standard prey of Dragon Pass hunters -
>deer, lesser boars, beavers, hares, rabbits, probably a variety of
>antelope or two (similar to the Balazaring Eubuck), and all kind of
>fowl. Add to this beasts hunted for their skins (or other benefits)
>rather than for their meat.
>
>
>A lot of successful hunting is done with traps (of all kinds - snares,
>pits, chasms), which would be situated around a hunting lodge or a
>permanent settlement where the preservation can be handled (and
>defended against predators and carrion-eaters). Such a hunting lodge
>would be little different from a transhumant herders' lodge, with
>facilities for meat preservation, restocking of necessities, and a
>transport link to the main settlements. The presence of a
>semi-annually occupied stead-like area probably makes an area part of
>the clan tula, too (possibly one not directly connected to the rest).
TR page 22 includes hunting land within the tula. I'd expect such lodges to be shared by herders and hunters with the population varying depending on the season and abandoned during the worst of winter.
>The greater opportunity hunt events won't be left to the professional
>hunters alone, but would include several times their number from the
>normally non-hunting population. This is similar to hay-making or
>grain harvest, or forming a warband for a raid.
I think in most parts of Sartar this is going to be more hunting for predators and dangerous animals like boars than for food. Then the hunters track the animal down and warriors kill it while everyone else acts as beaters.
>In case of migratory herds, there will probably be reusable hurdles
>that help entrap parts of a herd, or even entire herds. Chasing herds
>over a cliffside, into traps or into a dead end valley is one of the
>most effective mass hunting methods (though not necessarily a
>sustainable method). Possibly along the Praxian border?
I'd suggest that's what happened to the aurochs and other large herd animals in the past. I can't see wild herds surviving in competition with the cattle the Heortlings keep.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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