THE ZONATI

Introduction

The Zonati dwell primarily in Rathorela, although a few may be found further afield in Upriver or Tastolar. The total population is around 15,000, but most of these live deep within the forests, so that they are generally believed to be somewhat rarer by outsiders. They are generally a peaceful folk, and are willing to trade with foreign merchants on occaision.

Clans are relatively unstructured and vary in size from 20-50 members, including children. There are no marriage customs per se, with informal monogamous partnerships being the norm. These partnerships can be easily terminated by either party, although the woman must continue to look after any children.

Likewise, the Zonati do not live in villages, but instead a clan will have a number of permanent or semi-permanent shelters dotted about the central part of their home range. The home range is relatively small and fixed, since both hunters and gatherers prefer to obtain their food from known and familiar sources rather than explore too far afield. While there are both hunters and fishermen among the Zonati, much of their diet consists of herbs, fruit and edible seeds collected by the womenfolk.

Shamans may be of either gender, and are not restricted in the kind of work they perform as other Zonati are. Thus, male shamans may forage and look after children, while female shamans can hunt and prepare tools and weapons. In practice, they are likely to evenly divide their time between 'male' and 'female' tasks. In addition, shamans act as leaders of the community, although most decisions are reached by consensus among the clan as a whole.

Appearance

The Zonati are a fairly typical Wareran people, with lightly tanned skin and brown hair and eyes. It is rumoured among many civilised peoples that male Zonati are prodigously endowed [1].

Men wear leather tunics, trews and sandles, with long cloaks in winter. Women wear similar clothes, but with a tighter fit to make it easier to climb trees in search of nuts, fruit or other food. Both sexes stiffen their hair using a mixture of plant extracts, producing a spiky, brush-like effect rising vertically from the top of the scalp to a height of several inches. The men wear short beards.

FRONELAN PORCUPINES

Erithizon dorsatum

Natural habitat: Coniferous forest
Distribution: Fronela, Ralios, N Peloria
Male adult size: 85 cm head/body length, 18 kg

Unlike their Teshnan relatives, Fronelan porcupines are semi-arboreal, climbing trees to a considerable height in order to obtain food. Despite this fact, they have poor eyesight, cannot jump and are actually somewhat clumsy. They have dark brown fur with long paler-coloured quills. The single young are born after a 30 week gestation, and are able to climb trees within a few days of birth. In the summer, porcupines eat a variety of terrestrial plant foods, ranging from roots to grasses, flowers and seeds. During the winter they spend more times in the trees, subsisting on pine needles and bark. Porcupines are not social animals.

Stats

RQ3

STR	1d3+2	4		Move 2
CON	3d6	10-11		HP 8
SIZ	1d6+1	4-5		Fatigue 15
INT	4	4
POW	3d6	10-11
DEX	2d6+1	8

No effective attack (but see below)

Armour: 1 point quills
Skills: Smell 45-5, Listen 45-5, Hide 35+2, Climb 40
Hit locations as a typical quadruped.

The quills of a porcupine are easily detached, so anybody roughly touching one with bare skin will automatically get some stuck in them. Gentler handling, or brushing past the animal, requires a DEX roll to avoid being stabbed. A group of such quills will do 1 point of damage to the relevant body part.

GURPS: (see GURPS Bestiary p28)

[1] Except in Zoria, where they know this for a fact.