The Journey
Your ancestor's lands are being lost. The Great Salt Sea is growing; each year more of the fertile lands are inundated in winter floods and many conflicts have already been fought between those being forced to move by the rising sea, and those of the higher lands still safe. Where the great herds once roamed is now underwater and it is time for your tribe to move. Somewhere new to call home needs to be found, but it's not that easy. All the good land is already claimed; tribes are guarding their hunting grounds with a wary eye, and more than a few have been forced into extinction, the survivors subsumed into a new tribe, with different gods. Sights are being set further afield, beyond the mountains of the north and south, lands of mystery where, with luck and the guidance of the ancestors, fresh, unclaimed land awaits.
Either voluntarily, or because you were chosen, you are one of your tribe's scouts. Sent out to find new lands beyond the horizon and return, hopefully before the rising sea makes it too late. You have already travelled ten sunrises, crossing through the territory of suspicious tribes, who watched you pass with a wary eye. Your people are relying on you, your skills and your vision, to find them a new home. A series of events occurs, changing the way you see the world. Is it for the better? A forlorn hope or a misplaced optimism?
A need to eat is the catalyst. Although it's summer, the weather has not been kind, and the fruits and grains once so bountiful are just not as common as they were. A lone aurochs is sighted, but it's almost certain death to attempt alone. As you wait to consider your options, you notice others, also watching that source of plentiful food. A silent agreement is made, the hunt is successful, the bounty is shared, and a bond is formed. Around the campfire, the new companions share their stories and reveal a common purpose, with one adding a final touch that provides the final touch to meld them into one.
"There are stories. Stories passed down in my tribe for many generations. A land beyond the mountains, a land where no one is hungry, where the herds await to be slaughtered and the fruits of the earth grow in uncounted numbers. Of mountains made by men and leaders dressed in shining stone. That is my destination. That is my tribe's salvation. Join me, save your own tribes too. Where one might fail, together we can succeed."
This is the stone age, if that's not already clear from the intro. NO metal tools. NO woven fabrics. Final say on technology is OPs. Your characters will be illiterate and primitive, but not stupid or uncultured, Mesolithic tribes were relatively sophisticated, with detailed religious beliefs and burial rituals. This is the age of stone circles and cave paintings, that period of time before agriculture and farming really took hold. Your tribe would've been semi-nomadic, following the herds in their own patch of territory, but returning to the same places regularly, building wooden structures and having sacred places. Your PC should be someone fairly exceptional in their tribe; a hunter, crafter or shaman, slightly better skilled and knowledgeable than most, with that spark of creativity that drives humanity forwards. The world, as far as you know, is a wild place, and based (very loosely) on northern Europe around the end of the last ice age (although it's not, so the maps don't apply here). Huge forests dominate the landscape, with wide plains where the megafauna carved out their grazing lands. Most of these giant beasts have gone; the mammoths and woolly rhinos hunted to extinction or moved north, where it's colder and the forests not so thick, but in their place the aurochs and giant deer thrive. The sabre-toothed carnivores followed their prey, for the most part; a few smaller species linger, but their rarity is only exacerbated by their status as a prize for hunters. Bears, lions and wolves still roam, larger than ever, a dangerous foe for the unprepared and ill-equipped. Life expectancy for most is short, and growing old is a rarity, the elderly either left to die, or treated as honoured links to the past, dependant on tribal beliefs.
Apply with the following:
Name: Try this name generator for some ideas
Age: Between 16 and 30. Any younger and you won't have the necessary skills. Any older and you won't have the teeth.
Identifiable markings: Let's face it, everyone will look broadly similar; dark hair, brown eyes, tanned skin, thin, unshaved, probably malnourished and parasite ridden. These are the markings that set you apart; face paintings, tattoos, scars, unusual hair style, etc
Skills: All the PCs will be able to make fire and primitive stone tools; you're still alive aren't you? But the art of making string and rope, stone blades, pigments, musical instruments, bone ornaments, etc, are usually secrets passed down between families. Good PCs will have something useful, but also something that adds flavour to the group.
Equipment:You're wearing furs or animal skins and probably carrying a wooden spear. What else? You've got a long way to go.
Tribal beliefs: Most tribes have some form of ancestor worship, but will also have a totem. What's yours? What does it represent? What does he/she/it do for your tribe?
Other: Anything unusual about your PC? Be creative, but remember the theme, I reserve the right to veto anything that doesn't fit.
Backstory: The gist is in the intro above, so you don't have to say much, but some indicator as to your PCs role in the tribe, family and so on.
Don't make your PC an outsider or taciturn; being part of a tribe requires cooperation and teamwork. Humans, more then than now, are social animals and their ability to operate as a coordinated team was key to their survival, so a desire to be part of a group is essential. Stories of tribal massacres and sole survivors are blase and won't work here. You need a reason to succeed, and saving your tribe is it. If you want your PC to be from the same tribe as another, discuss it amongst yourselves. If all parties are fine with it, so am I.
