Quillboar

The Quillboar are a race of creatures native to the continent of Kalimdor. Known most commonly as "Boar-Men" the Quillboar have aggressively battled against the Horde since they settled in lands that were previously controlled by their loose coalition of tribes.

Quillboar are primitive, resilient and often fearless creatures. They are hostile to all races regardless of faction, and are considered to be capable fighters, more than capable of fighting in a one-on-one battle. This is primarily due to their circumstances, having been forced to fight against the Tauren and Centaur for simple necessities, such as food, water and land. Despite their resilience however, the Quillboar are not above using ambush or suicide tactics, and many a valiant warrior has been claimed by a Quillboar sneak-attack or suicidal rush.

History
The history of the Quillboar is a short one, with many factors still quite unknown about their origins. What is known is that they are mortal children of Agamaggan, an ancient which fought and died during the War of the Ancients, when the Burning Legion first attempted to purge the world of Azeroth of all life. The Quillboar revere their ancient god, often gathering and settling around places where the ancients blood touched the earth. These places are marked by patches of massive thorn-ridden vines, but no place is more sacred to the Quillboar than the Razorfen. This large nest of thorn-vines is the location where the great ancient fell during the War of the Ancients, with the ancients skull marking the entrance to the Downs, one of two important areas within the Razorfen region the other being the Kraul.

Culture
(The following information is taken from the Warcraft RPG, use or disregard as desired)

The Quillboar are a scattered race. After many generations of warfare against the Centaur, Tauren and now most recently the races of the Horde (primarily Orcs and Trolls) they have been reduced to what one might consider territorial thugs. They have no recognized land of their own, and congregate around thorn-vine regions of Durotar and the Barrens until they are eliminated or forced from the region.

Within Quillboar society, strength is a highly valued trait. When a female Quillboar gives birth to a child, that child is inspected for weakness. If it is found to be sickly, weak or female, the baby is abandoned to become a feast for the next wild animal to cross its path. For those children that are born strong and not abandoned they are taught from birth to hate all other sentient species, they are indoctrinated, and as a result negotiation with the Quillboar is in most cases an impossibility. There are exceptions to this rule, with some particularly intelligent Quillboar negotiating with other races, but in almost all cases, these Quillboar are only working with other species to further their own ends, and do not care for anything else but what they can gain from a particular situation.

The Quillboar organize themselves into Tribes, before further splitting off into bands. Each band is lead by a Quillboar shaman, although in the case of small parties, the strongest warrior in the group, often considered to be a brute may lead in the place of a shaman. There is no Quillboar King or Queen, and rarely if ever will two tribes be found in the same place unless the leadership within the area is of an exceptional nature.

The rules of Quillboar society are simple. Survival is key; For the tribe to survive, the Quillboar must breed and the females must bear and protect worthy offspring and each Quillboar has their place in the overall tribal structure that must be adhered to. The Quillboar is a male-dominated species. Rarely seen by other species, the female Quillboar must constantly keep their heads, faces and quills covered. They are allowed no ornamentation and can be killed on sight for touching a weapon (although this is not always the case and varies from tribe to tribe). Despite the restrictions which some might consider harsh, the female Quillboar to not resent their role in the tribal society and in turn the males do not consider themselves superior to the females in any fashion.

Quillboar males grow taller, heavier and stronger than the females. A typical Quillboar male can grow to a height of 5-1/2 feet and can weigh anywhere up to 225 pounds. By comparison, a female Quillboar can grow up to 5 feet and weigh only 150 pounds. For this reason, many male Quillboar often choose to become warriors within the tribe while the females, maintaining a strong tribal instinct, often take up the role of the shaman within a tribe or band. That is not to say that the roles cannot interchange. Males may choose at any time to take up the path of the shaman, while females who prove themselves worthy can take up the path of the warrior. For females that do take up this path and prove themselves, they are shown great respect among the tribe. Even rarer however, are cases where a female child shows unnatural strength at birth. When this occurs, the tribe shaman may choose to declare her to be a male. While the gender of the child does not change, the female child is instead raised as a male would, taking up the path of the warrior and even gaining the opportunity to take female mates. Unconfirmed legends within Quillboar culture state that these unions often create warriors of exceptional skill and as such there are no stigmas attached to such situations.

Women and children in Quillboar society must defer to adult males, in turn, adult males must defer to any adult male that they cannot defeat in personal combat. All quillboar must defer to a shaman. Penalties for failing to defer properly can be quite severe, with the guilty party often losing an eye or a hand, although in some tribes death is also considered a punishment, especially in the case of women or the infirm who can no longer serve the tribe as they once did. Quillboar punishments are designed to cull the weak, and rather than die sick or in a bed, an elderly, weak or badly wounded Quillboar will instead throw themselves at an enemy they know they cannot defeat so that their deaths can better benefit the tribe. These observed customs gives many outsiders the impression that the Quillboar are a race of violent, barbaric predators, but in truth the Quillboar possess a rigid social structure and deep law-abiding personalities. The only laws they value however are their own.

Due to the rigors of their society, Quillboar mature very quickly. A Quillboar male is considered mature the moment he can walk and use a spear, which is effectively three years after they are given birth. Females do not coddle or care for their children, meaning that any Quillboar who become sick usually either recover on their own or perish. There are no family units within a Quillboar tribe. Females will always seek the attention of the strongest male in the tribe and the entire tribe attends to the infants. When a Quillboar feels that they are beginning to hinder the tribe either because they are weak, sick or elderly (for males) or past the age of child-bearing (for females) they will remove themselves from the tribe. In the case of females this is done by ritual suicide, but for males, many choose to die in battle so that their deaths may benefit the tribe. If no battle is to be found, an elderly, sick or weak Quillboar will instead perform the "walk" a ritual within Quillboar society where the person undertaking it will take a weapon and march out into the wilderness to die. Each one hopes to at least kill one creature that may have later been a threat to the tribe, so that their sacrifice will be honored.

Battlefield Tactics
(The following information is taken from the Warcraft RPG, use or disregard as desired)

Quillboar are ruthless in battle. They show no care for their own personal safety knowing that, if they die, that their death allows the tribe to grow further. To outsiders who observe them they seem suicidal, blindly charging into the thick of battle in the defense of their tribe. To the Quillboar however, death is merely seen as another stage of life, unwelcome but not feared.

Quillboar fight best in packs. Their quick charges and frenzied battle-cries lead their enemies to believe that they are a group of reckless, disorganized barbarians but there are solid tactics behind the movements of these boar-men. The Quillboar will flank wherever possible and will aid each other when attempting to take down a powerful foe. This form of pack fighting is highly coordinated, and unlike other military forces, the death of a pack-mate does not weaken the power of the pack, but instead inspires the other pack members to perform feats of even greater skill and cunning. The Quillboar believe that those pack-mates that are slain in battle continue to fight alongside the pack in the afterlife, and as such outsiders who have observed a pack in battle have found this idea very easy to believe.

When a Quillboar shaman, often called a Thornweaver, is involved in a battle, the Shaman usually provides utility and healing for the pack or tribe. They will not stand at the rear of Quillboar forces, but will engage in the melee like other warriors. While fighting a Thornweaver will use healing totems to bolster their allies, reinforce the pack with summoned spirits (which usually take the form of boars) and will entangle approaching or fleeing enemies with thorny vines to prevent movement. Like other members of the pack, if they observe a pack-mate dying in battle it will not weaken their resolve but instead empower them to greater acts, as the shamans believe that the spirits of the fallen can bolster the power of the shamans spells.

Quillboar will never willingly retreat from a battle, as they see this as a sign of weakness. They will always continue fighting until they have either vanquished their foes, or until they themselves have perished with the rest of their pack.