"All Roads Lead to Zenithstrand"
AUREUS DI COA
Kudzu
The tribe before all, in life and in death. The Jackal, best known for their acceptance and use of necromancy, were a proud and powerful kudzu tribe alive before the sundering. Some time around the shattering of the islands, the Jackal tribe was destroyed. They were declared scavengers and the survivors eventually became what we now know to be the Coyote Tribe. After a Millennium as scavengers, a Jackal awoke and began to teach the old ways to the Coyote, many of who have changed their markings and are claiming the title of Jackal once more, rebuilding their old ways and reclaiming their old society.
JACKAL TRIBE WILD ELVES OF ZENITHSTRAND
TRIBAL TATTOOS
Traditional
These are the markings of the average member of the Jackal tribe. They are given to all children of the tribe, and the majority of jackal tribe keep them for the entirety of their lives.
The Rejected
These markings signify a member of the tribe who has rejected the use of necromancy. A pair of rejected are not official members of any pack, but are still full members of the tribe. Raising Rejected as undead is one of the few crimes that the tribe recognizes. Becoming a rejected is a voluntary process that a tribe member engages in when they do not wish to be raised, or they wish to pair with a member of the tribe who is already rejected. It is done at a meeting of the pack and involves the one time that a rejected must be raised. The rejected must, placing faith in their tribe, slit their own throat. A member of the pack then will raise them as a lesser zombie, and order them to peel the tribe markings from their decaying flesh. Once this is done, the rejected is lifed and are re-tattooed with their new markings. This process is also used for any wild elf from outside of the Jackal tribe who wish to join the tribe and change their markings to those of the jackal.
Guardians
These markings are those of the lowest members of jackal society, the undead guardians of the tribe. Usually liches, one pair of greater undead Guardians exists per pack. It is the responsibility of the Guardians to retrieve the bodies of their packmates when they die and to guard over them in death. The territory of the guardian pair is the burial grounds for the pack. It is also the responsibility of each guardian to monitor the corruption of undeath in their mate. Should one see it beginning to take hold, they must destroy their partner and then call a pack meeting to determine which pair will be next to make the sacrifice of becoming guardians. Once the choice has been made, the new pair is marked as guardians and then must seek out undeath. Once undeath is achieved, the new pair of guardians must return to remaining guardian of the old pair and destroy them so they can not harm the living. Becoming a guardian is considered the greatest sacrifice, and the greatest show of devotion to the pack that one can possibly do. The guardians are quite literally giving up their eternity for the good of the pack.
CULTURE
Pairs
The smallest and most commonly encountered social group in the Jackal tribe is the monogamous mated pair. Each pair lives and hunts within a small patch of the overgrowth, and respects the territory of other pairs. In jackal society, the pair is considered to be the same. Anything done to one, is considered to be done to both, and the pair is not considered to be present at pack gatherings unless both members are present. Pairing with a Rejected requires the non-rejected to become rejected. It is allowed for a tribe member whose mate has died to find a new mate.
Packs
Packs are assemblies of pairs from the surrounding areas. All pairs in the pack are considered to be equals, except for the packs guardians, who, while respected, do not have a voice in the decisions of the pack. A pack meeting up is an uncommon occurrence, and must be called by a pair in the pack for a specific purpose. It is accepted that pairs from outside the pack, ether nearby pairs of Rejected or from other packs entirely, can show up to assist the pack that has called for a gathering, but there is no expectation of them to show up.
Should a situation call for it, in times where large groups are needed, the pack can call on their ancestors, the “Pack Eternal” as they call it. The pack’s necromancers travel to the territory of the guardians, where all the pack’s dead are buried, to raise a tremendous force of undead wild elves to assist. Once the situation has passed, the undead tribe members are laid back to rest in the burial ground.
Values
The rules of the Jackal tribe are few and simple:
● Place the good of your mate above your own
● Place the good of the pack above that of your pair
● Come when your pack calls
● Respect the will of the Rejected and do not raise them as an undead
● Respect the territory of other pairs
RELIGION
Within the jackal, you can find individuals who worship most gods and follow most dragons. The exception being any god who ether disallows the use of necromancy, or claims dominion over it. Vesmir and Malagant, and Ll’yandra are equally disliked by the Jackal because of this.
GRUDGES
The thorn were the ones that destroyed the tribe in the first place, and many members of Jackal society have placed the blame on them for the millennium that they spent being stepped on as coyote.
ROLEPLAY TIPS
● Your partner and your tribe come before anything, even yourself. If your tribe or partner is in danger, you will do what it takes to defend them.
● Undead are people.They will eventually fail to contain their appetites and seek to harm the living, but until that point the unliving are no different in your mind than any of your living brethren.
● Putting down undead who have lost control is unpleasant, but necessary to preserve the tribe. All undead eventually lose control over themselves, at which point they need to either be subjected to magical control, or destroyed. Killing someone for this reason is unpleasant to you, but you understand that it needs to happen
● Necromancy is the same as healing. Both come to us through the ley lines, from their respective planes, they are just the inverse of each other. If one were to claim that Necromancy is corruptive of the soul then they have to accede the same for healing.
● If you choose to be white-marked, there is some reason that you do not want necromancy to be used on you, but are not necessarily against its use by the tribe.
CONTRIBUTORS
Daniel McCoshen
Graeme Preston-Deitner