The People (Nearmen or more commonly, Mud-men)
The People, as they call themselves, are a race of tribal nomadic humanoids that prefer to live in areas far from civilization

They have a strong oral tradition, which among other things contains the belief that they were the first inhabitants of Erth, created by Dunamis long before the first Age of Man. They believe that Dunamis gave all of Erth to them, and favored them with their great hunting and warrior skills so that they could manage Erth on his behalf. It is the fault of the Shattered Gods that the lands of the People, and as a result, the Tribes and the People themselves, have been displaced and scattered.

Several leading theologians have stated that there may be some truth to the Mud-man's beliefs, perhaps Dunamis created the Nearmen as a prelude to Man, perhaps as a test or in a form of practice. It is a fact that Mud-man tribes exist throughout Erth, albeit scattered, and Mud-men are mentioned in some of the few histories that survive from the first Age.

Personality
Nearmen are often solemn and thoughtful, particularly when around non-People. They speak slowly and carefully amongst other races, perhaps because they are not the most gifted intellects, or perhaps because they are wise enough to wait until they have something to say. They are rarely loud or boastful, although they are immensely proud, simply preferring to let their actions speak on their behalf.

They are slow to anger, but if sufficiently provoked, even slower to forgive. They do not care overly much for the niceties of civilization. The intricate mores and etiquette of city life bewilder most Mud-men, but even those who comprehend generally choose to remain apart.

It is difficult to gain the trust of a Mud-man, but once gained, the Mud-man will be loyal until betrayal or death.

Physical Description
Mud-men are taller (up to 7’) and broader than humans (commonly 250lbs or more), and much stronger. They have sloping foreheads, protruding eyebrows, elongated arms, and a dense pelt that covers all but their faces. Their fur is usually brown or gray, leading to the derogatory name of “Mud-men”. Mud-men will wear armor, preferably light armor or fur, but shun most clothing beyond a simple breechcloth. They have a lifespan similar to humans.

Relations
Other races are slow to see the virtues of The People. They do not have any special racial likes or dislikes, rather all the other races look down on them as primitive savages. The very terms “Nearman” and “Mud-man” are rarely seen for the derogatory labels that they are. Even the enlightened among humans do not recognize this point of view as anything but the natural order – at best seeing them as noble savages, at worst as stupid and barbaric.

Alignment
Nearmen are most often Neutral. Many tend towards Good, but their quirky rules of honor sometimes cause them to take actions that other races would view as Evil. Those that lean towards the Chaotic often become priests or druids or storytellers, while those with Lawful leanings tend to be Chiefs or wise men/woman. Most Mud-men are warriors, and a Mud-man female is as likely to be in the front line of a battle as a male.

Mud-man Lands
Within the Tribes, there is a complicated system of honor and combat. The Tribes are frequently at war with each other, but it is usually a form of raiding, as much a test of skill as anything else. Rarely, Tribes will ally into larger groups to take on a common foe, but this is usually because the target tribe is believed to have “gone wild”, and the conquest is seen as necessary to continue The People’s harmonious existence with Erth.

Mud-men build simple temporary shelters out of local materials as they follow game and the weather from place to place. They rarely remain in one place for more than a month or two. They are adept at surviving in extreme cold (and for this reason flourished during the Age of Frost).

Due to their size and body shape, Mud-men are unable to ride any but the stoutest horses. Most Tribes eschew any sort of riding mount, but there are exceptions: For instance the Tagalo tribe of the Ur Plateau has domesticated a breed of giant stag beetles for use as mounts and beasts of burden.

Mud-men who choose to live near other races are often employed for menial tasks unwanted by others. One of the few avenues for advancement for Nearmen is in the City Watch, or as a merchant’s bodyguard, or similar capacity where their strength and loyalty can be put to good use.

Religion
All of the Nearmen tribes in the Ur Plateau are worshippers of Dunamis, however unusual it may seem to worship him directly rather than one of his aspects. Their view of Dunamis varies wildly from established dogma: To Mud-men, Dunamis is a god of Nature and War. Clerics of this sect choose from these two Domains. Preferred weapon: Maul.

Worshippers of this sect gain a special ability from their god that can be used once per week: Plant Lore. They are also required to sacrifice a portion of any meat they eat by burning, and are expected to tithe 5% of any goods or wealth they acquire.

Language
Nearmen speak their own language, and their tribal dialect. Those who live near other races also speak Common. They do not have a written language, and very few Mud-men have learned to write other languages.

Adventurers
Nearmen typically take on a life of adventure due to strife at home. Most commonly, the adventuring Mud-man is a second or third child in a home that has insufficient honor to share amongst all siblings. These Nearmen do not get to take the family name, but can found their own if they can attain enough honor. Perhaps the tribe wise man or woman has decided that the Mud-man has gone wild. Perhaps game is scarce and many in the tribe are dispersing.

Each Mud-man must determine his own honor. The wide variances in honor between one Mud-man and the next often seem random to others, perhaps unsettling or even scary. But their steadfast loyalty and strong arm makes them very useful to a group of adventurers.

Nearman Racial traits

+2 Strength, +1 Wisdom, +1 Constitution, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma

Nearmen are Medium and have a base movement of 30 feet

+2 racial bonus to Track, Knowledge (Nature), Hide (when outdoors or in natural surroundings)

All Mud-men have Animal Empathy as if it were an untrained skill

+2 saving throws versus cold, -2 saving throws versus fire

Prohibited Class: Nearmen have no dragonblood: A Nearman can learn to be a Wizard but can never be a Sorceror

Favored Class: Barbarian

There are no Half-Mud-men. They are unable to reproduce with other races.

Playing a Mud-man
You need to make a few extra decisions that are specific to this race. Explanations follow, but these are the choices:

1. What determines your honor?
2. Are you wild, or do you have a family name?
3. What is your tribe?

Your honor
First pick a number, at least two, very difficult to go much higher than a dozen. This is “your” number, and the higher it is, the more honor you can gain.

You must always pay respect to your number. It reflects on you, and you reflect on it. For instance, if your number is seven and you have seven arrows left in your quiver, break one to maintain the sacredness of your number - arrows are mundane and your number is anything but. On the other hand, to avenge the death of a friend, you may take a vow to kill seven of the wrongdoers, to pay special honor and respect to the fallen.

Next, for each number, choose some specific act that you will always perform, or never perform, or in some other fashion follow as your personal honor. Have fun with this, be as creative as you want. The more difficult an honor code is, the higher the honor you can attain from following it. But don’t get carried away and accidentally cripple your character. There are lots of great examples in literature and pop culture. You could probably fill out a dozen Mud-men by watching a single Klingon episode of Star Trek. Here are some examples:

Always treat a friend as a brother

Never lie about anything

Never forget to greet the sun each day for it is your father

Forswear weapons of metal

Never wear yellow/always wear yellow

Refuse to ride any mount (bad choice if you are Tagalo)

Protect your guests as your own family

Always act as family when the guest of another

Repay someone who saves your life with your life

Never eat anything green

Never say anything kind to a swamp creature

Your Family
If you are not wild, you have a family name. In order to continue earning the name, you must also follow the personal honor of your father, and if living, your grandfather (or mother and grandmother if you are an Old Woman). So pick more numbers and add more honor codes – you must follow the additional honor codes, but these extra numbers are not “your” numbers and do not require any special attention. Also, there should be an explanation in your background why a Mud-man in good family standing is adventuring.

It is probably simpler to be wild. No extra honor codes, etc. But you will be treated as if you do not exist by other Mud-men who do have family names - and you will probably agree with them. Your character may feel driven to earn your own family name (at your discretion of course).

Tribes
There are three main tribes available to PCs

The Bonadi are very strict animist vegetarians. That carrot you are eating has a spirit. It’s okay to eat it if you require sustenance, but ask it’s permission first and never ever harvest more than you need

The Old Women are the only tribe in this area that is a matriarchy. They have many codes of honor about hand-to-hand combat and believe ranged attacks are dishonorable (more below).

The Tagalo are herders and have many codes of honor about theft (it’s bad) and property (it’s good) that are not shared by the other tribes. Tagalo PCs begin with a Tagalo Beetle mount (a smaller form of Giant Stag Beetle, I’ll provide stats if anyone is Tagalo)

There are thousands of tribes of Nearmen in other parts of the world. If you wish, you can make up your own tribe, but please include a reason in your background why you are so far away from home (it is difficult to get to this area from the rest of the world). You will also need to include a general idea of the tribal codes of honor.

Old Women

The Old Woman are like Amazons except they use clubs and coup-sticks instead of bows. Which I guess means not really like Amazons at all. A lot of their tribal honor is tied up in the succession of tribal leadership, how to determine the greatest warriors and wise women that will lead the tribe.

When it comes to combat, style counts as much as results, determining when to combat and how. Great pains are taken to avoid taking advantage of an enemy's weakness, whatever that may be, as it is more honorable to defeat an enemy by overcoming their strength (this is peculiar to the Old Woman).

Men are not subservient like they are with the Drow - they are the primary hunters, and the only ones that use missile weapons because even an Old Woman can't run down a deer and bash it with a stick. But an Old Woman would never attack an enemy from a distance - it is an insult to the skills of the opponent. Male usage of missile weapons is one of the reasons they can never be a tribal leader (there are others - men are considered too rash and impulsive and ruled by their emotions).

Especially important for a Druid: all mudmen , not just Old Women, believe the Erth is male which is really unusual.