There are two main cultures that inhabit the Demon Wastes: the Carrion Tribes and the Ghaash'kala. The Carrion Tribes are by far the larger group, and most of the humanoids within the wastes belong to one of the tribes. As a general rule, the Carrion Tribes are xenophobic and violent towards outsiders, even (especially) members of other tribes. They get their name from their tendency to consume the flesh of those they kill, a behaviour born from necessity in the unforgiving wastes.
Each tribe worships a specific Overlord or other powerful entity, and their territories are warped and influenced by the powers they worship. The tribes are granted some limited power over this influence, allowing them to survive in regions that would otherwise be totally inhospitable. Cannibalism, fiendish pacts, sacrifice and violence are all the rule, rather than the exception. Survival in the wastes is a constant challenge, there are countless ways for someone to meet their end and precious few resources, never enough to go round. What food and drink is available is tainted, and generations of living in this environment has led to mutations within the population. The weak have long been weeded out.
The conflict between the various clans prevents them from banding together and presenting a real threat to the Ghaash'kala, much like the lack of cohesion between the Overlords eventually allowed the dragons and the Couatl to defeat and bind them. That said, the less temperamental tribes do have some trade with each other, exchanging resources they have for resources that they can't acquire in their own territories.
Much like the Ghaash'kala, the Carrion Tribes adorn their skin with tattoos and ritual scarification, with each tribe having their own unique designs.
Notable Carrion Tribes
- The Carrion Hounds, who serve The Wild Heart
- The Cindercarvers, who serve Bel Shalor, the Shadow in the Flame
- The Deathbringers, who serve Katashka, the Gatekeeper
- The Dusk Vipers, who serve Masvirik, the Cold Sun
- The Enshrouded, who serve the Lurker in Shadow
- The Hexgeists, who serve Sul Khatesh, the Keeper of Secrets
- The Tyrant's Horns, who serve Tol Kharash, the Horned King
- The Howling Hatred, who serve Kan Paralesh, the Tempest of Ruin
- The Moonreavers, the oldest of the current tribes, who serve the primordial Night Hags
- The Plaguebearers, who serve Ashurak, the Slow Death. The plaguebearers are a relatively new tribe, as Ashurak's vassal tribes are always destroyed by the others, eventually.
- The Razor Wind, who serve Rak Tulkhesh, the Rage of War
- The Scarred, who serve Sakinnirot, the Scar that Abides