Elk tribe

The Elk tribe was an Uthgardt barbarian tribe of the Silver Marches.

Lands
The Elk tribe's ancestral mound was the Flint Rock,    though by 1357 DR they'd largely abandoned it. Without the faithful to upkeep it, it fell into a decrepit state. However, by 1491 DR, they seemed to have returned to Flint Rock, for it was found in better condition. The Elk tribe's greatest warriors were buried in cairns here.

In the mid-to-late 1300s DR, the tribe typically ranged over the Evermoors, the plains east of the River Dessarin, and along the Dessarin and the lower Surbrin valleys,  as well as in the Lurkwood. In the late 1400s DR, they held roughly the same amount of territory, considering the Dessarin Valley their territory and roaming the Evermoors and the lands north of the Dessarin between Noanar's Hold and Yartar, exploring the Westwood and Sumber Hills and even as far as Mithral Hall and Nesmé.

Culture
In the mid-to-late 1300s DR, the Elk tribe were seen as the most arrogant, ill-tempered, and self-indulgent of the Uthgardt tribes and they were regarded by most as little more than raiders and pillagers. They regularly raided caravans and villages, even those of other tribes for food, for women, and just for the fun of it. They carried away prisoners to ransom, but if the ransom wasn't enough for their liking, they kept the ransom money and sold the prisoner to slavers.

By the, the Elk tribe completely shunned all aspects of "civilized" society. They avoided towns and cities, and typically did not bother homesteaders, shepherds, and other poor folk going about their work. However, they were not above taking livestock such as sheep when they had the chance, nor raiding caravans that were lightly defended, on isolated trails, and far from aid. Their population was too small to make many enemies among the city-dwellers. They still had a reputation as dangerous raiders, and were seen as savage bandits by their neighbors. They hired themselves as guides to outsiders traveling the Evermoors, and were skilled at evading or defeating its monstrous dangers.

Otherwise, they followed most common Uthgardt traditions and beliefs. The Elk tribe's ritual enemy—something young barbarians must face and defeat as a rite of passage and the target of ritual hunts—was "the ancient ones". In practice, any ruin, tomb, or sign of a lost civilization counted.

Members tattooed their foreheads with the symbol of elk horns.

A gesture of great gratitude among the Elk tribe was to smear one's blood on the face of one's rescuer.

Leadership
In the mid-to-late 14 century DR, the Elk tribe was led by Chief Zokan Thunderer, whom many considered a rude and ugly brute but also perhaps the most cunning, wealthiest, and most hated and feared bandit king in the North. There was a reward for his head, but he was hard to catch, let alone kill. He was well-protected by his warriors and a shaman. The tribe had two shamans: Berchtwald Bandylegs venerated the Elk totem and Trothgar Grunald led worship of Auril.

In the late 15 century DR, Rond Vaarson was great chief of the Elk tribe, an ancient warrior tired of battle yet clinging to life. Lesser chieftains waited for him to pass on so they could compete to take his place.

Religion
The tribal totem was the Elk,  a great spirit serving Uthgar. Shamans of the Elk totem possessed a beast power known as the Horns of Wisdom; this was similar to commune, but had the side-effect of elk antlers sprouting from the shaman's skull. Every use of the power (usable once a day) made the horns grow further. If they grew too long or heavy, they were shed in winter with a new set grown in spring, darker in hue. They could not be used to fight, as the human body was not built for it. They could however shapechange into elks. A barbarian empowered by the Elk spirit was swift-footed and could roam far and wide, as could their compansions. When in a battle-rage, an Elk barbarian could move especially fast and charge their enemies and knock them over.

However, in the 1300s DR, much of the Elk tribe worshiped other gods, primarily Auril the Frostmaiden but also Malar the Beastlord, Umberlee the Queen of the Depths, and Talos the Destroyer, whose clerics had gained a grip on the tribe by 1357 DR. This turn away from the Elk was attributed to Zokan Thunderer's lax rule. The followers of Auril, Talos, and Malar almost stamped out worship of the Elk totem. Auril's deep influence over the Elk tribe and turning them away from the Elk earned her Uthgar's ire. They seemed to have abandoned these gods and returned to the Elk totem in the late 1400s DR, however.

Relations
During the mid-to-late 14 century DR, the tribe had gained loose ties with the leaders of Luskan, but they had few other friends.

By 1372 DR, the Elk tribe were considered one of the 'better' Uthgardt tribes, at least in regards to settlers and city-dwellers of the Savage Frontier. Neither friends nor enemies, so long as the frontier did not encroach on their lands, they directed their ire elsewhere, to monsters and orcs and others. However this contradicts other accounts that claim the Elk tribe was no better than bandits during this time.

History
In ancient times, early followers of Uthgar who would found the Elk tribe interred a magical giant-crafted spearhead—a massive piece of mithral weighing and  in length—under the altar at Flint Rock to empower the ancestral mound.

Once a proud people, the Elk tribe joined the Uthgardt Alliance when, in the, the mages of the Covenant began to manipulate the various Uthgardt tribes. By the end of the season, all the tribes stood united and ready to battle the goblinoids of the Savage Frontier. These Uthgardt were tasked, in the, with hunting down and killing as many orc chieftains as possible. Twenty were eliminated over the next five years, preventing the formation of a horde. For another 80 years, the Alliance went from victory to victory over orc and goblinoid forces despite heavy losses. Notably, during the Goblin Wars in 753 DR, the Covenant forces drove the goblinoids out of Mirabar. Finally, they stood against an army of goblins and orcs led by ogres that marched out of the Evermoors in the. Though the Uthgardt defeated the horde, the Elk tribe warriors were nearly annihilated when they defended the Flintrock ancestral mound. The loss of the Uthgardt warriors and the suffering of the tribes led to the dissolution of the Alliance over the following five years.

In the aftermath, the Elk tribe was close to dying out. Though they survived, they eventually became not much more than brigans who harried the surrounding lands by the mid–14 century DR, when they were led by Zokan Thunderer. Under him, they turned away from the Elk totem toward gods of evil and practiced banditry, raiding, and slavery.

Yet they would rise to heroic defense once more. On the Evermoors sometime around 1400 DR, the Elk tribe battled the Cult of the Dragon for control of the helmet of disjunction, a relic with the power to break all magic, which was in the possession of the Elk chief Stanhard Grimwulf. In the conflict known as the Battle of the Evermoors, the Elk warriors outnumbered the Dragon Cultists, but they had the black dragon Rakor on their side and vomiting acid on the barbarians' ranks. Stanhard ordered a retreat and entrusted the helmet to his fastest rider, Ven Salafin, to carry to safety, before the chief was dissolved as well. Ven passed it to Xenk Yendar as he too died, and the paladin would remember the Elk tribe's brave sacrifice in defense of the helm. The fallen Elk tribesmen were buried at a sacred burial ground on the site.

Finally, in the mid–15 century DR, the armies of Mithral Hall and Nesmé broke the strength of the Elk tribe, ending their persistent raiding. In the decades after, though they recovered their numbers, they focused largely on hunting and foraging.

The elf explorer Aedyn Graymantle managed a peaceable meeting with a band of Elk tribesfolk led by Gyrt—aided in large part by them at first fearing her to be a powerful wizard, her greeting to them in Bothii, her valuable gifts, and her reassurance she was not in fact a wizard. Aedyn befriended Gyrt and through her learned much of Uthgardt and Elk culture.

Nevertheless, the Elk tribe continued to trouble the people of the Dessarin valley in the late 15 century DR. In the, a wandering band of Elk barbarians arrived in the Westwood, drove out some bandits there, occupied the woodcutters' camps, and began to hunt and explore. They were no friends of the elemental cults at Rivergard Keep and Scarlet Moon Hall. That year, Elk tribe warriors led by the berserker Fennor confronted Wiggan Nettlebee and adventurers who'd desecrated the barrow mound tomb of an early Elk chieftain, Javor, and welcomed the risen revenant. The adventurers resolved the situation one way or another.

Notable Members

 * Chief Zokan Thunderer, chieftain of the tribe by 1357 DR.
 * Berchtwald Bandyleg, shaman of the Elk totem by 1357 DR.
 * Chief Stanhard Grimwulf, who led the tribe against the Cult of the Dragon circa 1400 DR.
 * Holga Kilgore, a thief and adventurer of the late 1400s DR.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * The Junior Novelization • Son of Thunder (referenced only)
 * Adventures
 * Storm King's Thunder • Princes of the Apocalypse • Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
 * Film & Television
 * Honor Among Thieves
 * Comics
 * The Feast of the Moon