Back to the Background Information(this page written by Mark Shirley)
Back to the Background Information
Combat is a matter of status in hrool society. The horns of slain satyrs are made into necklaces, which the heros wear. The typical hrool has one horn, and this (by tradition) may not be taken away, but those gained beyond this can be taken by a hrool who bests another in combat. The leaders of the hrools are the ones with most satyr horns (or other suitable insignia) which show that they are brave and strong enough to be successful in war. The other hrools, even the albinos to some extent, always listen to these heros and normally obey their dictates. Half of all hrool have no horns (meaning they are not warriors), one quarter have only one, and the rest have from 2 to 5. The albino hrool do not wear satyr horns, because they are not warriors.
Hrool technology does not include metal - they utilize bone, stone and rarely wood.
All hrools have the ability to scare off ghosts. Make a stress roll and add the Magic Might of the hrool. If this equals or exceeds the ghost's Might, then it is driven off. To perform this power, the hrool jumps up and down, screams, and waves their hands over their heads. If more than one hrool joins in, they can all add their Magic Mights together.
A hrool's body contains 1 pawn of Animal vis. Each satyr horn contains a variable number of Corpus vis. Each satyr horn owned grants +2 Magic Might to its wearer.
Albinos are honoured members of the tribe, and serve as shamans of sorts. They are quite a bit smarter than the other hrool; in both cleverness and knowledge. They possess passive magical powers as well, which enable them to mold stone, wood and bone at a touch (this process is very slow, taking several days to accomplish a major change in a large object). They can hurl small objects by mere force of will - this acts like Wielding the Invisible Sling at the cost of 3 Might. They often fashion special pointed rocks for this purpose - +12 damage.
Of course, none of these Virtue/Flaw packages take into account that the hrools are giant bipedal ferrets...
The ras-hrool live in forests. They are russet brown in colour, and generally more slender than the an-hrool. They have more pointed snouts, and a crest-like mane of short hair. They tend to be very xenophobic.
The tes-hrool live in thick undergrowth, prefering heathland and bramble. They are pale cream in colour, and have spines within their hair that they can erect as a defensive measure. The tes-hrool are the most pugnacious of all the breeds.
The lal-hrool live near rivers. They have thick fur and broad strong tails, and are all excellent swimmers (Swim 4). Very few can speak Latin but they have a finer sense of aesthetics than most hrool.
The nad-hrool are fossorial. They are squatter and broader than the an-hrool, and are more akin to moles than ferrets, with soft velvet-like brown fur and huge spade-like hands.
Hofot is the greatest hero. His tribe are Makers (bonecarvers and masons), and worshippers of Kaldus and Markush. A few of the more zealous of Hofot's tribe have tied one of their arms behind their back in imitation of their god, Kaldus. Hofot has 5 devoted mates, and recently lost a leg fighting the RockGrinder. Hofot has a left arm that is pure white, a testament of his relationship to Nungansing, the chief of the Albinos, who is his sister. Two of Hofot's children are also albinos - Yuzod and Arz. Hofot has 11 satyr horns.
Lyam is the oldest son of Hukla, and leader of the next largest tribe. The chief worships the demigod Appolon, Destroyer of Monsters, and leads a band of fellow heros, which all have a crew-cut in emulation of the long-dead Napoleon. Though not the largest tribe, it is the quickest growing, having the highest proportion of jills (females, males are called hobs), which seem to have become more prevalent since the move to Santare Hill. Because of this large number of jills, it is a tribe of Givers, who cook and weave for the entire community. Lyam has 6 horns, and has only recently taken a mate, Kalal.
Hukla is the oldest hrool at Malinbois, and leader of the whole community as well as the chief of a tribe. Although Hofot has more satyr horns than Hukla, Hukla is respected due to his age (over 50). Many of the hrools here are his descendents. Hukla's tribe is the smallest of the 3 here. Hukla is a devotee of Sayr'in - the only worshipper of the Death Goddess left, as most now follow Arlenna. Hukla's tribe are the Sayers and Doers - they have the highest proportion of albinos, who all worship Detteh. Hukla's tribe also contains the few followers of Limantris, who are all jet-black and wear a hood that covers half their face. They are lead by the sinister Jarat, Hukla's youngest son. As since the recent War in Heaven Limantris is now the King of Gods, Jarat and his cronies are afforded much more respect than they used to receive. Hukla's tribe contains Nungansing, who is one of his wives, Kremin, her albino son (though not by him), and the rest of his children, excluding Lyam. Hukla has 8 satyr horns.
| Type | Hukla's Tribe | Hofot's Tribe | Lyam's Tribe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adults: hobs / jills | 12 / 6 | 23 / 13 | 10 / 17 |
| Kits: hobs / jills | 7 / 4 | 4 / 6 | 5 / 10 |
| Albinos: hobs / jills | 3 / 7 | 2 / 4 | 2 / 2 |
| Totals | 39 | 53 | 48 |