Roh Kin'toni Clan

History

The Roh clan was founded by Varla, the Daughter of Night, when she rescued several new kin'toni from being burned alive. They hid inside deep dark caves within the dark forest they now call home. Fearing for their safety, they stayed in the caves and fed off bats and other creatures of the night. For years they hid during the day and only dared come out at night when others would be asleep. Due to this choice of life they began to change. They became more like the animals of the caves and grew a weakness to the light of the day.

During their treks through the forest at night the clan members discovered small camps at the edges of the forest. Whenever the camps held zu'aan they would snatch those they could to feed upon and turn. When the camps were kin'toni the Roh would attempt to kill them in ther sleep and drag off any zu'aan they may have been holding captive. Yet because they hid during the day no one could find them while searching during the day. The more they fed and the more they turned, the stronger and more animalistic they became. Soon the forest became empty and quiet except for at night.

As time went on the Roh stopped wearing clothes and started covering their bodies in mud as they went out every night to hunt for more to feed on. Whispers began spreading that the dark forest was haunted by some horrific creatures. For a while most zu'aan started avoiding the forest and only the more aggressive kin'toni hunters dared to enter. During one of the nightly hunts, Varla was slain while protecting her clan members as they were escaping. While she still clutched to life, she managed to lead the hunters away from their caves and killed three of her attackers.

The clan, having evolved a social structure revolving around a female leader, sought out a strong zu'aan female and turned her. They then designated her as their pack leader. Under her leadership, the clan fully embraced their animalistic predilection and began sharpening their nails and teeth. They started using their teeth and nails to rip their kin'toni prey apart and drain their zu'aan prey and turn them instead of dragging them off to the caves. After a long time their nails became claws and their teeth became fangs. Now when the sun sets they leave their caves.

And roam the nearby regions looking for those to feed on and those to turn. They attack all of those they come across regardless of if they show hostility or not. They care not for borders or walls and will attack any settlements they find. Their brutality and recklessness have caused them to be spoken of as monsters to make zu'aan children stay inside at night. The forest has become a place that all save the very brave or very reckless fear to go. It is believed that while the Roh only appear at night, they can smell any who enter their territory and will track them back to their homes once the sun sets.

Biology

The eyes of a Roh have pink irises with black sclerae and horizontal slit pupils. Due to they’re avoidance of the day, their eyes are quite sensitive to light and if one goes out into the daylight they would be struck blind. This perpetuates their fear of being caught out of their caves during the day. They have an especially good sense of smell that is extremely sensitive towards blood, particularly fresh blood. A Roh clan member is known to be able to smell fresh blood from as far as twelve leagues. As a trade off their sense of touch is muted to the point that they can’t tell when something hits them.

And their hearing is good though sensitive to the effects of sun-audible frequencies. Due to their avoidance of the sun their skin is pale, though surprisingly thick and tougher than most. They can take quite a large amount of damage before they go down for good. However, they are vulnerable to both the extremes of heat and cold and extremely vulnerable to fire. It’s this vulnerably that first took them to the caves to begin with. They are utterly terrified of torches and will avoid them at all costs. Their bodies are covered in long coarse fur which goes rigid at the sight of fire and makes them appear larger.

They are large and bulky with pronounced muscles all over their body. This makes them strong and fast. Due to the nature of their mutation, they are quadrupedal. Their fore legs have long sharp jagged claws with vicious hooked tips. This allows them to cut into their prey and rip out organs. They have also been used to lift their prey to them when they’re hiding up in the trees of their dark forest. Their hind legs have shorter curved claws. These allow them to climb up several different types of surfaces. This is how they are able to get into walled settlements.

It also is how they are able to hook into the walls of their caves when they go to sleep for the day. Utterly carnivorous they have three rows of sharp fangs including four very pronounced fangs where the canines once sat. These extended fangs allow them to bite through bone. While the extra rows give them incredible grip strength with just their jaws. Once a Roh clan member clamps their jaws down on a person they won’t let go. They have been known to bite off the heads of the kin'toni they hunt. Their feet have separated thick pads to cushion them with every step.

Besides helping them run fast on all fours, this helps to mute their steps making them hard to hear when moving slower than an all out sprint. Due to their bulk and quadrupedal nature, they are strong enough to smash through wood and roughly mortared brick walls. Some have sent their attackers flying with a single movement of a massive arm. Others have flattened their prey with the sheer weight of their bulk.

Culture

Unlike many of the other clans, the Roh are more animalistic and feral, choosing to dwell in dark caves under the heart of their dark forest. They sleep during the day out of the fear of discovery and the pain of being blinded by the sunlight. They cling to the walls and stalactites out of sight from the crevice opening they crawl out of every night for the hunt. The pack leader is the only one to sleep apart from the rest of the clan in a secluded outcropping that can only be reached by climbing. She sleeps curled in a ball to disguise her appearance from any possible intruders.

Utterly feral and covered in mud and their own often matted fur, the Roh only wear the skulls of large animals on their heads to hide their faces and to become more bestial in appearance. Which animal skull chosen is a matter of reflection and identity for each clan member and it often changes based on how they see themselves. Some dip their collections of skulls in the blood of the other kin'toni they feed on. Others take the skulls of their kin'toni kills, dip them in blood, and place them around the border of their dark forest. Amongst themselves they can be quite communal.

Preferring to hunt in groups and as a pack rather than go off alone. They will share kills and bring the best meat to the pack leader. She will then take her fill and pass the rest out equally amongst the entire clan. While still relatively small in number, they are very protective of each other and will hunt extra to bring back enough to make sure even the wounded are able to be fed. They communicate with each other using growls and body language. They all look to their pack leader as their mother, and she views them as her children. She will fight to her death to protect every single one of her clan.

And they would all kill to protect her. They mark the trees good for climbing with a serpentine scratch from a single fore claw. Those marked with an x are where they will bury the bones of their kin'toni prey. While those marked with three parallel slashes are where they bury the belongings of the camps that come within their territory. Several trees have been uprooted by the Roh to make a natural appearing path in the hopes that they can attract prey to journey closer to their home. They also have spread certain smelly moss throughout their forest to attact animals to feed on when their are large hunting campaigns nearby.

Outside of hunting, they avoid all the other clans out of fear. To them all living things are both their prey and their predators if given the chance. So they took to being completely nocturnal and hunting everything they can while the sun is set. Otherwise they sleep in their caves and hide the entrances with tree bark.

Government

Having no actual formal government, the Roh clan operates under Pack Law. Led by the will and protection of the pack leader, the clan is extremely loyal to each other. The pack leader guides them in everything they do and they follow her without question. This is not out of fear or obligation. Rather they see her as their mother, and she sees them as her cubs. She chooses where they hunt and if they hunt as a pack or in smaller groups. She chooses which zu'aan to turn and which to leave to hunt later. And it is she who decides the manner in which they will strike their kin'toni prey.

It is her will that the largest of them always be the first to leave their caves when it’s time to hunt, and that they must always be in the company of the runts of the clan. This is to give protection to the smallest in the clan, and provides the largest with aid from the trees. Fore many of the smaller members prefer to hunt their prey from above. The largest of the clan are also the most likely to be targeted by the other kin'toni clans, which gives the smallest clan members the opportunity to strike. It is also her will that has them approach the high walls of a zu'aan city with caution even when on the darkest of nights.

As those zu'aan are more likely to use fire against them. Rather she has them target the smaller settlements and villages which are easier to get into. The pack leader is also the one who chooses who gets to eat what and in what order. This is to prevent the hoarding of food and allows every clan member the chance to eat. And if one of the clan members dies, she leads the entire clan in mourning and digs the grave to place their bones. The first law of the pack is to never bare one’s claws at another. This means that there is absolutely no actual fighting between clan members.

While they may play fight and spare with each other, they must never attack in anger. If any breaks this law, the pack leader will kill them and feed them to the rest of the clan. Starting with the largest portion going to the clan members who was attacked. The bones are then left unburied in the dark forest. The second law of the pack is to never leave one’s siblings to the fire of their enemies. This means that they always hunt in groups and never leave a fellow clan member, living or dead, behind to be taken by their prey. The clan will protect each other and if one dies on a hunt.

Those with them will carry their corpse back home to the pack leader. If only one clan member is alive, they send out a howl to call the rest of the clan to their location to help carry the dead and offer protection. If a clan member leaves the others to go off on their own, they are not allowed back. They are disowned by the clan and will be hunted during the next night.

Military

The Roh are pack hunters. They have no standing military or actual warrior sect. Instead, they wander the night in groups or as a pack in search of prey. Though they will leave their own territory during hunts, they always make sure they can make it back to their caves before they can be caught. Preferably they try to make sure they can make it to their caves before daybreak. However, in case they are likely to be caught out when the sun comes up they always plot their paths near where they can hide and sleep without fear of discovery.

They do not distinguish what is prey and what is not. To them, every living creature is both their prey and their predators and must be treated as lethal no matter what. They will often try to sneak into position close to their targets and then attack all at once in a vicious surge of claws, fangs, and raw animalistic strength. Another tactic they use is to make noise to draw the prey out individually and strike before they can make a sound. The first tactic was developed to handle kin'toni campers near the Roh’s forest. The second tactic was for any zu'aan campers.

The Roh does not use any weapons when they hunt. They rely on their brute force and speed to attack their prey using their lethal claws and jaws. With their foreclaws, they can slash and rip through their prey’s bodies and pull out any organ they can get ahold of. They can use their hind claws to latch onto almost any surface and attack from an unsuspecting angle. Their triple rows of razor-sharp fangs allow them to clamp down on the body of a foe and rip whole chunks out of them. Their extended fangs that replaced their canines can cut through bones, making it possible for a Roh clan member to bite off the head of their target.

When not dealing with campers the Roh will start by attempting to surround the band of targets and stalking them until they feel confident of victory. Then one half of the group would break out of cover and charge their prey to drive them into the waiting clutches of the second half. They will then proceed to tear into the trapped targets. If they are zu'aan they are taken to be judged by the pack leader and turned. If they are kin'toni they are ripped to shreds and later fed upon. When dealing with actual hunters, they prefer to pick them off one at a time and bite off their heads to immediately kill them.

When striking a settlement they will often sneak into the homes and snatch the smallest victims first and then let out a howl and run through the buildings killing all they find before disappearing into the night. If they see anyone carrying a torch most of the clan will hide while the biggest members will try to attack the torchbearer before they can react.

Religion

The closest thing to a religion the feral Roh clan practices is their devotion to and reverence for the ways of giant predatory beasts. Their adherence to the ways to such a radical degree is what led to their practically cannibalistic view of hunting and the mutations to their bodies. It's what led them to wear the skulls of large animals as masks. And what dictated their social structure. In the deepest, darkest part of their being every member of the Roh clan believes they are animals who had been trapped in the form of the zu'aan they once were.

They believe that wearing the skulls lets the spirit of that animal flow through the clan member and grants the wearer the power of the beast. The killing of large predators is considered a sacred ritual. Their very first such ritual is something they have to compete alone while the rest of the clan watches from up in trees or from nearby cover. They must first study the movements and attacks of the animal before they must attack and kill it with its own methods. They then must tear the head off and present it to the pack leader for her to pick the skull clean.

They believe every new moon is sacred and signifies that the animal within needs to be reawakened. That night they end their hunts early, bathe in the blood of their last meal, and climb to the top of the trees within the heart of their dark forest. Once there, the pack leader leads them in a howl of awakening that can be heard throughout their territory. After the howl is done they run. The pack leader takes them as far in one direction they can reach just before the dawn. They then sleep in a nearby shelter until the sun sets, and they race back to their forest and the promise of more things to hunt.

They believe that the use of weapons and armour is an admission of weakness and of forsaking the inner beast. That is why they refuse to wear clothes and to take up traditional arms during the hunt. It's why they view the other clans as prey. When in battle they will only touch the weapons of their enemies when they are struck. Otherwise, they will make sure all weapons are dropped before they actively rip into their prey. Whenever a member of the Roh clan dies, they believe the spirit of the inner beast is trapped within the flesh of the body.

To free it, they bring the body to the pack leader who leads them in a mournful howl. She then cuts off the meat from the skeleton and washes the bones. The entire clan quietly partakes in the meat, growling all the while. This is to make the spirit of the inner beast angry enough to leave the flesh and go into the bones. Just before dawn, the clan places the bones in the grave and then lets out a very loud roar to challenge the inner beast.

Miscellany

Nearby Groups

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Roh Kin'toni Clan

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