The Andashi people's history of nomadic survival lends itself to group loyalty and prosperity. Even now as the Andashi people take to the cities of their lost past and even the cities forged by their own hands, they bring this idea of communal loyalty and owing your time to others with them. Between tithing, a strong sense of hospitality and the clan and tribe structure, it is of little surprise that the Andashi tend towards groups.
It may be tempting to think that as a nomadic people, the Andashi lack groups connected to the land, but this is far from the truth. While yes, your group could be purely nomadic, crossing the entire length and breadth of Andash in its wanderings, it is far more likely that they find themselves based in a particular region, or even a particular area within that region. When designing your group it would be a great step to look at the maps of Andash and select a region and terrain that matches your style and intention. A hunting clan that wanders the eves of the Greenweald in the True Wilds of The Tribelands would be very different from a hunting clan that chases plains deer on the Priado Expanse of Mukarrem. The Andashi are a people defined by the lands they walk upon, allow that land to infuse your group and you will find yourself drawn into the world and into Andash.
This is doubly the case for a group that has put aside their nomadic past and taken up residence in a city or settlement. As Andash grows, the rivalry between the various settlements that make up its urban heart is only growing (threatening to mimic the rivalry of the old Artebazzani settlements of Posta Lerona and Vidania). The separation between ancient cities that are beautiful and mystical like Obregon and the hard earned, rough and hardy places forged by the Andashi like Nazafeza is a notable one that likely affects how your group reacts to others. How do you show pride in your city? How do you express rivalry with other settlements? How does your slice of the city streets make you different from a group of nomads upon the sands? Important elements to consider for any group.
Regardless of what form your group takes within Andash it is important to consider how you can represent hospitality within your play and story. For a people who traditionally had so little, to give was seen as the most honourable and kind thing to do. How you make guests feel welcome should not only have that effect but should also evoke your particular people. Powerful cattle families in the West of Mukarrem may make lavish displays of meat and savoury foods. City-based scholar clans may allow guests to peruse their vast library while they wait, or perhaps receive a text recommendation. Equally important is how your group rescinds or avoids hospitality to those they do not wish to welcome. Is it as simple as the notable lack of what is expected or is there an additional step? The removal of texts from the area, moving away from the smells of good food, or even refusing to speak to them within the bounds of your camp. Hospitality is uniquely suited to the Summit format as you have space to have this active back and forth with real feeling.
Bands in Andash
See Andashi Clan
The traditional Andashi grouping is that of a Clan. When multiple tribes come together to pursue a cause, make use of an opportunity, or survive a great struggle, they will form a Clan. Clans are based on careful loyalty and the drive to complete their task, providing a unique mixture of social pressures and dynamic ambition. This combines some of the best parts of being in a band, which is why it is our recommended Band concept for Andashi, be they city based or nomadic.
But the Andashi are no strangers to change. With the growth of Andash once again and the arrival of The Concord, more varied groups are beginning to grow. Merchant guilds, Mercenary Combines and Corsair Fleets are all perfectly valid ideas for Andashi bands. As always, read the Clan concept and see if you can find space within that idea as it includes Andashi ideals of equality in struggle and living a dynamic idea. But outsider ideas are welcome.
Even if your Band is not a Clan, it is important to decide how your members tithe both to the group and Andash as a whole. Is the expectation that members will give a portion of their income? Or dedicate a certain amount of their time to supporting the Band? From there does the Band give some of its time to the Realm? Or seek to support the Realm with funds and resources? You are a part of the larger web that is Andash, which is only strong if it holds together.
To create a band you must submit your group concept through the Group Submission form, found Here.
Sects in Andash
Like stone and sand, city and nomad, the Spheres are often viewed in mirrored pairs among the Andashi. Lumos and Stallia, the sun and the moon, hope and truth, pieces of each other but also opposed. Arcadian and Cervitas, the champion and the people, strength and support, looking inward or lifting outward. Anarch and Panoply, new change against establishing power, destruction and gathering, careful planning and reckless abandon. For some Andashi, these pairings are inseparable, forming two parts of the same whole. For others they are opposing forces that contradict each other. When creating a sect, particularly one that supports two Spheres, you should examine how you treat this relationship. Combined Andashi sects are never two disparate ideas, but rather two ideas coming together to create a third, perhaps one greater than the sum of its parts.
Andashi sects often view faith as above regular life. The Spheres guide us and we should dedicate time to their understanding and their teachings. With this in mind priests often push Andashi to take real time to sit and consider their soul and their faith, rather than simply including such ideals in their work (as a Valleyfolk may) or in their role in society (like a Bordevarian). Sects should lead the people in introspection, should teach through fables and encourage people to take time out of their lives to consider their soul. Some sects refer to this as ‘Tithing towards The Travel’