Nissi An (tribal land)

Also known as the Reaches of the Nissi An, a large bugbear-occupied region in north central Asia, dominated by the Tunguska Plateau between the Yenisey and Lena river basins. The Reaches occupy 729 twenty-mile hexes, almost nine tenths of which is taiga forest, bare rock or muskeg swamp. The population of bugbears in Nissi An is approximately 3,975, with clans of 6-36 bugbears living a low-technology existence as hunters and gatherers, typically moving to the high country in high summer and then returning to the lowlands in fall, where they will semi-hibernate during the long winters. Nissi An rests on the cusp between a sub-arctic climate in the south to a continental arctic climate in the north.

Origin & History

Bugbears are known to have occupied a much wider range before then 2nd century BC, extending from their present lands to as far east as the Khingan Mountains in China. However, the birthrate of bugbears was much slower than that of hobgoblins or norkers, and over time the bugbears found themselves out-competed by a large number of these lesser races. For a time, there were wars as the bugbears fought for territory, but it also happened that bugbears were less intelligent. As the hobgoblins in particular benefited from the technological development in China, the larger bugbear tribes began to break apart; many bugbears became servants of their lesser masters, who nevertheless treated the larger humanoids well, adopting them into their families like pets. Eventually, the whole bugbear race outside of Nissi An became the lackeys of others, until they dominated only in those distant reaches where life for other goblinish races proved to be too harsh.

See World