RECOGNIZING THE TRIBES
At last count, there were something like ten different human cultures within the Lost Valley, not counting strange races like the Sakkhra. Here's how to tell them apart. Except where noted, most of the people of the valley have a dusky, mesoamerican-indian skin tone.
Barako: These people look as hard and craggy as the mountains they live on. They wear clothes made of bear-hide, and carry stone-headed clubs and bows and arrows.
Barrab: These people have a slightly more Asian-yellow skin tone than the other tribes in the valley. They live on the tops of mesas and wear heavy fur clothing. Their weapons include spears (thrown with atl-all spear throwers) and stone knives.
Disquiqui: These folk are heavy on the grass-skirt-and-flower-lei look. It's easy enough to tell one of the Disquiqui: At long range, they seem to sway and stagger a lot even when not dancing, and at close range show evidence of recent contact with high-proof alcoholic beverages. Don't light any matches around them. Those that carry weapons tend to have stone knives. They're friendly folk.
Haakur: You can always tell one of the Haakur from the other people in the valley. A Haakur is likely to be the ugliest son of a gun you've ever seen, with a massive, muscular body and a face that looks like it's been worked over by a printing press. They wear rough fur clothes and carry stone-headed clubs, spears, and knives. Stay upwind of them.
Jukari: These folks are southern mountain-dwellers, not too bright They live near the volcanoes. The men wear just loincloths and boots, while the women add short vests to their outfits. They carry big, frightening-looking stone axes, as well as stone knives.
Kurak: This tribe lives in the middle of the jungle. They wear nicely abbreviated garments made from the fur of giant cats, and they carry spears, bows, and stone knives.
Nahuatla: A lot of these people wear elaborate feather headdresses. All of them tend to wear clothing made of cloth rather than leather or fur. The Nahuatla warriors carry obsidian-edged swords, stone knives, stone-headed clubs, stone-headed spears, and atl-atls (spear-throwers); many wear leather armor and carry shields.
Pindiro: These folk wear clothes made of something like deer-hide, and have a sort of American Plains Indian look to them. Their weapons include the boomerang, the spear, and the stone knife, and they also carry shields made of (I kid you not) Stegosaurus hide.
Sakkhra: These guys aren't exactly people. They're a breed of large lizard which walks around on their hind legs. Professor Rafkin claims that they're intelligent; he talks to them and claims that the hissing noises they make are conversation. They carry spears and stone hammers.
UraIi: These people live in the swamp. They have a lighter, more sallow skin tone than the other tribes, and have beady, suspicious eyes. They're not a very friendly folk. They wear short tunics and loincloths made of light crocodile-like hide. Their weapons include the spear, the bow, and the stone knife, mostly stolen from other tribes.
Yolaru: This is a black-skinned tribe living in the jungle near the Kuraks. The men wear loincloths, the women loincloths and breast-bands. Their weapons include the atl-all, the throwing axe, the spear, and the stone knife.
Shamans: Incidentally, if you see a tribesman who has all sorts of strange symbols painted onto his face, treat him nicely. This is a shaman, a sort of witch doctor, highly respected by the tribesmen. It doesn't pay to antagonize them. (See the section on Healing later in this chapter.)