Planegea

Feasts & Festivals Vigils. Before important hunts or in response to various
Whenever hunters bring back a large kill or gatherers milestones or dangers, the shaman or elders may call for a
discover a large food supply, as well as at certain holidays vigil, requiring some or all of the clan to stay awake and
such as the equinox or solstice of each season, the clan ceremonially focus their attention in mediation, supplication,
celebrates with a feast. These can last several days, concentration, and so on.
depending on how plentiful the food and drink are and how
safe their encampent is. Initiations. The inauguration of a new shaman, the
appointing of an elder, the recognition of a child as an adult
Feasts. Celebrations of bounty are less formal and less or a scout as a full-blooded hunter—the clan gathers to mark
predictable, but represent occasions of great joy when they passages from one status to another, with various levels of
happen. A feast occurs when the clan finds more food than ceremony depending on the occasion.
they can eat or preserve. Horns are blown and messengers
are sent out to neighboring clans to gather as many as Each Clan is Different
possible to partake of the bounty, as it is considered a great
shame to waste the plenty of a feast in selfish hoarding. Since No two clans are exactly alike, differing in resources,
feasts are unplanned, there are rarely ritualistic activities, but hazards, traditions, temperament, leadership, and the
when clans come together there are often hastily-organized demands of their gods. But some clans are organized entirely
games, competitions, dances, performances, feats of magic, differently, without the conventional hunter-gatherer division.
and the like. Feasts are known for their joyous, chaotic nature Some examples include:
—a feeling that anything could happen at any moment.
Warriors. These clans are organized around conquest,
Festivals. These seasonal occasions mark celestial events, usually led by a warlord with a subordinate shaman. Warrior
important remembrances, and divinely ordained celebrations. clans subjugate weaker clans and force them to do their
Festivals are carefully planned and prepared for, often for labor, with the conquering clan focused on preparing for their
weeks or months in advance, and feature displays of next battle.
pageantry, ritual, and shamanic rites of great importance.
Young people who have married into other clans will often Raiders and scavengers. These clans rely on sudden
make perilous journeys across great distances to join their surprise attacks and theft, taking from other clans by force or
families for festivals. Festivals are known for their elaborate stealth to gather the materials they need. Such clans have few
performances, ornate costumes, rare delights of food and children or elderly, shedding their weakest members and
craftsmanship requiring skilled labor to create—and a sense keeping on the move as much as possible.
of great anticipation as the festival builds to its crescendo.
Spellskins, Sorcerers, and Chanters. Often at odds with
Rites & Rituals shamanistic practices, some clans are led by arcane
Certain events mark the passage of time and life in the spellcasters. These clans have their own quirks. Spellskin-led
memory of a clan. These occur as the occasion calls for them, clans tend to be less mobile, preferring habitations near their
and serve as moments for the clan to come together and leader's sanctum. Sorcerer-led clans tend to be very
witness something of significance. instinctive, impulsive, and chaotic, often relying on trade and
alliances to survive. Chanter-led clans are usually wandering
Namings. When a child is born, the parents ask the performers, bringing pageantry to their neighbors in return
shaman for a name. Most shamans treat this duty with for a share in provisions and crafted goods.
utmost gravity, for a child's name has great magical power
over its destiny. When a name is chosen, the entire clan is Ascetics. Some clans practice hunger as a virtue, pushing
gathered, the name is announced, and the infant is officially themselves to the limits in search of greater enlightenment.
adopted into the clan. These clans tend to be withdrawn, disciplined, and found in
places that are hard to reach for both allies and enemies.
Weddings. Usually following long courtships and
exchanges of gifts and promises (sometimes begun at feasts Druids. Most see druids as traitors, allying themselves
or festivals years before), a wedding is the moment when the with the natural world instead of sharpening spears against
shaman publicly blesses a union before the entire clan, it. Druidic clans tend to be founded by outcasts, hidden away
usually requiring the clan to take an oath to safeguard and from those that would snuff them out if they could.
strengthen the marriage.
Outliers. Some clans are entirely shaped by their
Funerals. Death and burial practices vary from region to environments. Those who dwell in the shadow of the giant
region and god to god—sometimes destroying the body, empires or at the edges of the world-fangs have their own
sometimes preserving it, sometimes committing it to the sea practices and survival strategies that may be radically
or air or earth. In any case, the shaman leads the clan in different than the rhythms and and practices of the Great
remembrance and honoring the soul of the departed. Valley clans.

Punishments. Transgression agains the clan is rare, but it Cults. Not all gods are understanding. Some clans exist in
does happen. When justice must be meted out, the entire utter dependence or fear of their local deity, and spend all of
clan gathers. This is the rare rite that is not overseen by the their effort and energy to satisfy its demands. This practice
shaman. Rather, the elders of the clan mete out punishments can be parasitic—the god consuing its clans without
as they see fit. Theft, greed, and the breaking of taboo are the compassion—or symbiotic, with the god providing all the clan
most serious offenses in most clans. The worst punishment needs while it engages in endless rites and rituals in the
is to be cast out and shunned by the clan, condemned to the service of the god.
ravages of predators and denied funeral rites at death.
Others. Clans are as varied as the scope of life, and can
exist in any pattern or configuration. From ruin-guardians to
tree-dwellers, from dream-walkers to enchanter-bandits,
clans live and die and mix and mingle in all conceivable
forms, limited only by imagination and the Black Taboos.

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Find Your Planegea

THE WORLD OF PRIMAL ADVENTURE IS
wide and deep. Every group has adventures in
its own Planegea, each one different than
every other. Some parties may love hacking
and slashing their way through pimordial
monsters, while others seek to undermine the
politics of empires and establish gods.
Whether you're battling savage monsters, corrupt
spellcasters, evil cultists, the armies of warlords, dragons,
gods, or giants, Planegea is ready for your adventures.
Consult the Flavors of Fantasy section (DMG 38–41) for
inspiration about how to build your own preshistoric
campaigns.

The world is wild & full of wonders. Glory to the hunt, and
blessed be the gathering.

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Credits & Notes Version Notes

Creative Team 0.1.1
Expand geography section
David Somerville, Author Expand playable race section
Alex DuFault, Beau Severson, Bryan Scott, Jeffrey Add feature for switching shaman subclasses
Martin, & Michael Somerville, Creative Consultants Add mender (artificer)
Michael Somerville, Playtester Rename warlock to heretic
Change half-orc to orc
Artwork Replace druidic & scavengers cant features with sidebar
Patch satiety to resolve goodberry exploit
In order of appearance: Naomi Savoie, SIXMOREVODKA Fix grammar, spelling, credits, & formatting
STUDIO, Rafael Zanchetin, Vivian Rocray, Ramon Acedo,
Phoebe Herring, Daniel Zrom, Way Way, Pavel Oliva, Jakub 0.1.0
Rozalski, Raphael Lacoste, Johanna Rupprecht, Rafael First public release.
Lacoste, Carson Lowmiller, Iga "Igson" Oliwiak, Norbert
Toth, Tomasz Jedruszek, Marianne Eie, Jaime Jasso, Mario Thank You!
Loca, Nicolas Mendoza, Sergey Avtushenko, Stephen Oakley,
Mathieu Seveno, Min Guen, Mike Johnson However you happened across this setting, thanks
so much for checking it out. It's been a labor of
Inspiration love for a long time, and I hope you have many
thrilling adventures in the world of Planegea.
10,000 B.C. (2008 film)
1491 by Charles C. Mann If you'd like to follow future updates to the
Adventure Time with Finn & Jake (2010 show) setting, you can keep an eye out for @planegea on
Alpha (2018 film) Twitter or u/smrvl on Reddit. To support the
Apocalypto (2006 film) project, please share the love on your favorite
The Appendix N Book Club (podcast) social media platform or pass this guide along to
"A Story of the Stone Age" by H.G. Wells someone you think would like it. If you got this
At the Earth's Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs PDF for free and enjoyed it, please consider visiting
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001 film) paypal.me/smrvl to contribute salt to the pile. If
Battle in the Dawn by Manly Wade Wellman you want the money from that to go towards
Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel original art for Planegea, just say so, and it will.
The Croods (2013 film)
Dawn of Man (2018 game) Good luck and happy hunting!
Early Man (2018 film) —David "Smrvl" Somerville
Far Cry Primal (2016 game)
The Flintstones (1960 series) This project is dedicated to
Food—A Culinary Cultural History Podcast (podcast) the r/dndmaps community,
Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal (2019)
History of the World Podcast (podcast) who caught the vision,
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017 game) and to N.L., who wouldn't
Living in the Stone Age (podcast) have understood a word.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015 film)
Many Waters by Madeleine L'Engle
Moana (2016 film)
Prehi/stories (podcast)
Quest for Fire (1981 film)
Road to El Dorado (2000 film)
Stuff to Blow Your Mind (podcast)
The Time Machine (2002 film)

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