Briaur

Typical Attributes

Bod 5, Chi 5, Mnd 5, Ref 6

Schticks

• Elfin Senses (#).
• Fleet-Footed.
• Sure-Footed.
• Twin Body.

Briaurs are half-elves, half-antelopes, with humanoid foreparts. Smaller than a centaur, they have the long, thin legs of an antelope. Briaurs are the ultimate fusion of mount and nomadic tribesman - tough, slim, fast and stealthy nighttime raiders who slip into enemies' camps and then depart like shadows before the dawn.

Briaurs are most active by night. Their excellent night vision puts them at an advantage relative to other desert dwellers. Most can see clearly up to 200 yards under moonlit conditions.

Briaurs live in deserts and are constantly seeking new hunting grounds, new water holes, and new sources of resources for bows and fletching. When traveling they carry their goods in packs or drag them along in litters. They treat human and giantish desert tribes with respect and are willing to make peace or raid them as circumstances demand. Briaurs avoid and fear the genies. They rarely enter towns except to trade for goods they cannot produce themselves. The territory of a tribe of briaurs generally extends across hundreds of miles, and they are glad to steal cattle, camels, or goats they come across, as they consider domestication of animals a crime. Oddly, they see no contradiction in the fact that they usually immediately butcher and eat the animals they "free" from their owners.

Each tribe has a priestess who functions as a water finder and reader of oracles. The priestess rules in all matters of justice among tribe members and in all matters of diplomacy with other desert dwellers. Raiding and hunting parties of briaurs are led by experienced trackers. These leaders make the final decisions as to where the tribe roams and where it raids. Some briaurs serve as caravaneers or caravan guards, usually employed as expert scouts. A few briaurs are said to have settled down and irrigated the lands around oases to create rich desert gardens. Although caravan masters and travelers all know this to be true, no one can say where these oases are. The farming briaurs either swore their discoverers to silence or subject the non-compliant to some worse fate.

All briaurs are polygamous; both males and females may have up to four mates. Generally these families are centered around either a single powerful male or an influential female. The males generally grow long beards which they elaborately curl and oil into perfect form. The females wear the veil, but take few other cares about their appearance.