Overview
The Rovers are a group of Flan barbarians driven nearly to extinction by Iuz and his fiends. Their territory has traditionally been the lands north of the Fellreev, between the Opicm River and the western edge of the Griff Mountains and Bluff Hills. They are seldom found in any numbers now, living instead a furtive existence and confining themselves mainly to the northern and eastern parts of the Barrens. The land is aptly named, for it is poor and the living has always been difficult. The hardy tribes of the Rovers have adapted well to this land, enduring its bitter winters and dry summers, while taking from it all they need to survive.
Among their war bands are riders as expert as any among the Wolf or Tiger Nomads, and a group of fleet-footed runners of legendary endurance. These are the Wardogs, masters of close-fighting techniques whose weapons are the hatchet and knife; their agility and outrageous bravado are renowned throughout the Flanaess, giving rise to the expression “wild as a Wardog.” The Rovers are only lightly armored, if at all. They typically use hide-covered shields, and ply the lance and javelin, although they have many excellent bowmen as well. In addition, some of the Rovers specialize in using the lariat, and their skill with rope is extraordinary.
Traditionally, they live by the hunt. Elk and bear are their favorite prey, though any beast is fair game to the tribal providers. The Rovers once actively exchanged furs and hides with their neighbors, but this trade has ended. Mostly, the tribes now scavenge and hide, hoping to find enough to survive each day. Their skills as warriors and hunters are not lost, but they despair.
Wardogs — Masters of the Barrens
The story of the Rovers of the Barrens goes back centuries, even before the Invoked Devastation and Rain of Colorless Fire brought an end to the great civilizations of the west. The nomadic Flan tribes wandered throughout the north from Lake Quag to the White Fanged Bay. Tenha village dwellers traded with the wandering tribes, who otherwise avoided contact with settled peoples. The Migrations brought strange peoples to the lands of the Flanaess, and it was not very many years until the northern Flan encountered them. Where the Tenha adopted many of the ways of the new people, successfully competing with their Oeridian and Suel neighbors, the Rovers kept to their old ways and rejected writing, farming, and town-building. For this reason, they were called barbarians.
In the central Flanaess, the natives were assimilated or pushed aside, while the new immigrants made themselves masters of the rich lands. The tribes of the Barrens were fortunate, in that their land was unattractive to the new civilized states of the Flanaess. There were conflicts, certainly, but the Rovers were left to their own rule through the early centuries of Oeridian conquest. It was not until several centuries after the Aerdi had built their empire, about 320 CY, that the Rovers’ mastery of the Barrens was strongly challenged. The Relentless Horde had arrived.
Revenge of the Horde — War with the Baklunish
The Baklunish nomads were a people similar in spirit to the Rovers of the Barrens, warriors as “barbaric” as the Wardogs and as indomitable. Their initial push eastward brought them as far as the Griff Mountains, and the Rovers were driven before them. The Rovers had never encountered so agile a foe, and their own mounted warriors were not then the equal of the Baklunish. With time, this changed; the Rovers learned much from the warfare of the Horde, and added to this knowledge their own warfare and hunting techniques. They drove the Baklunish from the Barrens, and pressed them hard on the Dulsi plain as well. They continued to battle the Wolf Nomads here for decades, until the growing might of Iuz separated them for a generation.
Rovers of the Barrens — Defeat at the Hands of the Horned Society
The disappearance of Iuz from his land in 505 CY allowed the Rovers to resume their raids against not only the Wolf Nomads, but northern Furyondy as well. However, in the absence of Iuz rose the evil Horned Society, whom the Rovers fought at the great Battle of Opicm River (515 CY). The Rovers were sorely defeated there by the Society and forces still loyal to Iuz. Despite later alliances with elves and centaurs of the Fellreev, as well as the Wolf Nomads, they have begun a decline that has continued for many decades.