Neanderthal

Neanderthals, otherwise known as cavefolk, were an ancient humanoid race distantly related to humans. They were descended from the same archaic humans who lived during the Days of Thunder.

Description
Neanderthals largely looked like humans, albeit with a number of distinctions. They were tall and thickly built, had long arms, and were incredibly hairy. Their heads were generally a bit larger than those of humans, with a sloping brow and protruding jaw.

They were often known to adorn their bodies in war paint or a crude form of tattoos. Crudely tanned hides were the most common form of armor for them.

Personality
Unlike many intelligent races, neanderthals had no interest in the alignment concepts of good, evil, law, and chaos. They also rarely felt an ambitious drive to expand their territory, though would defend their homes quite fiercely.

Despite their primitive way of life, neanderthals were largely just as intelligent and cunning as humans.

Biology
Neanderthals were known to possess a slightly greater degree of strength and keener sense of smell than humans, though their eyesight was considered to be poorer than average.

Neanderthals were also known to have a great tolerance for extreme climates, suffering little in environments where temperatures ranged between. Despite all these distinctions, neanderthals were still largely human and could be affected by the same things as them. The offspring of a human and neanderthal coupling could easily pass for either parent's race.

Combat
The fighting style of neanderthals was generally comparable to that of a barbarian, though many were also known to be capable druids.

Neanderthals fought with weapons made of stone or otherwise considered primitive. The weapons typically used by them included bolas, clubs, harpoons, shortbows, slings, spears, and throwing axes. Out of all of these, spears were the most commonly used.

History
Around 1340 DR, a tribe of fifty neanderthals inhabited the lower hills north of Phlan.

At some point prior to the Time of Troubles of 1358 DR, a group of neanderthals living in the isolated reaches of the Thunder Peaks acted as lackeys for the rune magic disciples of Valmous. Among those disciples, the healer known as Erigol was an ardent advocate for their rights.

As part of maintaining the illusory Stranded Tern, the green dragon Tarith disguised a number of neanderthals and other creatures roaming the Thunder Peaks as the establishment's guests and staff using the powers of the Dragon's Pearl.

Society
Neanderthals had a hunter-gatherer society, with men hunting for food animals and women gathering edible plants. They lived in clans, consisting of six to ten extended families. The names of these clans were typically derived from an animal predominant in their area. When interacting with outsiders a neanderthal always referred to themselves by their clan or profession, with their personal name reserved for only close friends and other clan members.

Scrimshaw was one of the few art forms that neanderthals were known for, such as carving hunting scenes upon fangs harvested from a saber-toothed tiger. Their druids were known for crafting talismans from skulls.

Neanderthals were known to domesticate saber-toothed tigers, elk, and glyptodons, and using the latter two as mounts and pack-animals. Some were also known to keep white-furred apes as pets.

Homelands
Following the rise of human civilization, neanderthals were displaced from the lands they traditionally inhabited. They were forced to move far away from their cousins to largely isolated and uninhabited areas. They never built their own homes, instead often lairing within large cave networks or caverns. Some were known to lair within ancient ruins or the crevasses of rock formations when such caves were not available.

The area surrounding a neanderthal clan's lair was considered their hunting grounds. These were usually no larger than a half-day's travel, since neanderthals preferred to return to their dwellings by nightfall. These hunting grounds were often marked with crude fetishes made of skin, bone, and trophies taken from their defeated enemies.

Diet
Neanderthals were typically known to hunt bison, caribou, deer, horses, ground sloths, glyptodons, woolly mammoths, and branta.

Religion
Religious belief varied widely among neanderthals throughout their history, with faith being taught by their druids or sorcerers through oral tradition and cave paintings. Religion was considered a significant part of their society, as it provided a framework for explaining everything they couldn't understand about the world.

Worship of specific deities was rare, though a few clans were known to worship the giant gods Thrym and Ulutiu. They would build elaborate fetishes or crude altars at which to worship them or perform sacrifices. More common for them was reverence of fire and clans often had a central bonfire chamber that they sought to keep burning eternally.

Other clans practiced a form of ancestor worship and would mark graves with a complex series of cairns. The clans who practiced this form of faith believed that their ancestors watched over them throughout their lives, protected them, and then judged them once they died.

Languages
Neanderthals spoke a crude form of modern Common and had no written language. Instead they used cave paintings and a rich oral tradition to maintain important concepts and stories. Some were also known to be familiar with the languages of dwarves, orcs, and giants.

Relationships
Neanderthals traditionally had poor relationships with other races. Most notably with frost folk, orcs, ogres, goblins, and kobolds. They often competed with ogres over caverns and the same sorts of prey.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * The Shattered Statue • Ruins of Adventure