You were raised in the Ashbarrow to one of the tribes following the religious code of Ak'almata, which details a very rigorous set of rules regarding every aspect of life. The code is a strict tradition of honor and hospitality, but also caution. You are to always receive guests, feed them, and ensure they have a place to sleep while in the barrow, lest you be left to suffer alone in the wastes yourself. You are to fight with honor, but not bravery, it is better to run and live than to die bravely. Magic is forbidden to all except the Ash Whisperers, who interpret the spirits of wind, ash, and fire to guide your people safely. You belong to any one of the tribes: Oz’gad (symbol: a bundle of arrows bound in fire), Gorun (Symbol: A coiled wyvern), Ilsirat (Symbol: A flaming eye), Xagas (Symbol: an eight pointed star), Malamzel (Symbol: A set of boots on a path). The tenets of the Ak'almata are as follows:

• Shelter strangers, lest you be turned away in your time of need.
• Avoid and shun magic, for it leads to the ruin of men.
• Carry with you the stories of our people, for they link us to our past.
• Save who and what you can, but do not risk life and limb.
• Move cautiously around outlanders, do not trust, but remain respectful.
• Honor your family and tribe with your actions, but do not act in bravery.
• Do not kill unless provoked. Have mercy for surrender. Brook no second offense, mercy or no.
• If you have two mouths to feed, and only enough for one, feed yourself first.
• Those born with severe deformity are to be left in the barrow to await their fate.

The Drak are a tribe given to violence and murder, utterly in the face of the code. The Drak tribe tends to capture and kill those not of their tribe, torturing information out of their prisoners before using them as “hostages.” They claim to follow the code, but most see it as a perversion of it. Their warriors regularly use magic and subversive tactics to fool people; they have been known to murder entire caravans and dress as them to fool others into trusting them. Their symbol is that of a four-legged red drake with a sword through its head. They count powerful sorcerers among their members.

The Ashbarrow is a small desert on the isle of Lesser Leyarain, 75 miles wide and long, consisting of deep ashdunes, petrified trees, and ashmounts spewing ever more ash into the air. It is hot, arid, and dark as the constant ashfall blocks the very sun. You have learned to navigate this deadly environment with your people, learning to rely on and be relied on. The deadly creatures of the barrow are known to you, as they must be lest you perish horribly.

Your people speak a rare, or so you've heard from the Deneirian scholars, language called Gotrean. It is lost to much of the world and is apparently the subject of great interest for the learned types of the outside world; this language is a source of pride for your people, as it is used to tell the oral traditions of your people. These stories go back thousands of years, following the journey of the tribes from before they settled in the Ashbarrow.

A variant of this background is called the ashen exile, which is for those who break the Ak'almata and get exiled to the ashmounts on pain of death.

Skill Proficiencies: Nature, Survival

Tool Proficiencies: Vehicles (land).

Languages: One of your choice. You also know Old Gotrean.

Equipment: A staff, a shortbow, arrows, a hunting trap, an amulet with your tribe's symbol on it, a set of traveler’s clothes, and a pouch containing 10 gp

Suggested Characteristics

Ashwanderers are perhaps the only pleasant thing to exist within the otherwise twisted hellscape that is the Ashbarrow. You have strong ties to community, and are raised with a strict set of morals and values. Most do not understand the Ak'almata but it is not for outsiders to understand.

d8	Personality Trait
1	I wish to see the world beyond the ashmounts, to see sprawling forests, deep caves, and high mountains.
2	I keep my friends safe no matter what, Ak'almata be damned.
3	The thrill of the hunt is second to none.
4	I believe the world is full of spirits who can guide us if we listen.
5	Wealth doesn't make sense to me, having all the money in the world won't save you from an azure scorpion.
6	When I get overly excited or emotional I revert to speaking Gotrean.
7	I want nothing more than a warm home and people I love by my side.
8	I enjoy sneaking around at night to listen in on private conversations.

d6	Ideal
1	Survival. The tenet I believe in most is to look after yourself before others, I can't help if I need help myself. (Chaotic)
2	Community. I live to see my tribe flourish. (Good)
3	Honor. If I dishonor myself, I dishonor my whole clan. (Lawful)
4	Secrets. The less my tribe knows about me or my plans, the better. (Any)
5	Respect. I am always polite, even when people try to provoke me. (Lawful)
6	Curiosity. I constantly wonder why... about everything. (Any)

d6	Bond
1	A Deneirian scholar once came to my tribe and I stole one of his books. I can't read the language, but I want to learn.
2	One of my parents is an exile and I seek to clear their name.
3	The Drak deserve to die, and I will hunt each one down for killing my family.
4	I am the last of a fallen tribe, taken in by another. I will see that the stories of my people are never forgotten, and that their killers will be punished.
5	I received a mysterious missive one day with a threat and conditions.
6	It is in my nature to nurture, and I will care for my tribe.

d6	Flaw
1	I secretly do not believe in Ak'almata.
2	I can be too trusting of others, and I've been taken advantage of because of it.
3	I believe I am the best hunter, no beast large or small is above my skill.
4	I don't trust easily, and I am obstinate.
5	Shoot first has always been my motto, and it hasn't let me down yet.
6	Don’t expect me to save those who can’t save themselves. It is nature’s way that the strong thrive and the weak perish.