Bófir – BO-fihd
Bófear (singular) – BO-farr
Tréada – TREED-uh
Tréad (singlular) - TREED

Bófir are a race of large, powerful bovine-esque humanoids native to Capasha.  They are bipedal, with a body shaped like a large, powerfully built humanoid.  Their bottom legs end in cloven hooves like those of a cow, and they have bovine-like heads, complete with horns.  Their bodies are covered in short, coarse fur; they tend to have longer tufts of hair on top of their heads.  A typical bófear will stand around seven feet tall and easily weigh four to five hundred pounds.

The history of the bófir is one of strife and suffering.  Despite their fearsome appearance, they are a largely peaceful people.  Bófir cling to agriculture, but in their homeland, they were relentlessly hunted, persecuted by a race of tiger people (the kazari).  The bófir people were kept as slaves, often being eaten when they had outlived their usefulness.  The bófir of Antaron are all descendants of refugees that fled Capasha.

The history of the bófir tells of collaboration with shipbuilders who designed special, shallow drafted vessels that could give hope of crossing the treacherous Titan’s Fall Reefs.  Apparently, despite the shallow drafts, most of the ships were still flung upon the rocks by horrible storms – but a handful did survive.

Seeking to avoid any conflict, the bófir sailed to the western coast of Antaron, where three colonies were formed. 

The first was formed on the Chindari Plains.  The native Plainsmen are a peaceful, nomadic people who do not see land as a thing that anyone can own; they did not interfere with the refugees.  As such, the survivors there have thrived, and their farms dot the western reaches of the Chindari Plains.  They trade with the plainsmen, and by and large live in peace.

The second colony was formed south of Bayris, on the Taskarren Coast.  The land there is wild and dangerous, and the three human cities in the region act independently, proud of the fact that they have no king.  The countryside is sparsely populated, so the bófir were able to settle here with little opposition.  As with their cousins in the Chindari Plains, the bófir of this region live largely in peace, tending their farms and trading with the nearby folk.  Indeed, the cities of the area view them and their agricultural skills as a boon; they have risen to be important suppliers of grain and vegetables to the cities, which has in turn helped reduce their dependence on shipborne trade.

The third colony was formed on the Blood Plains.  At first, the nomadic Arvox Collyra ignored these newcomers, perhaps unaware of their presence.  Soon, though, the aggressive nomads began to raid the farmsteads of the bófir.   To survive, the bovine folk had to make use of their strength and cunning.  This colony by necessity sees the tréada of bófir work together in a more intertwined fashion than their northern cousins.  In the same vein, these folks must live far more martially focused lives, lest the human raiders plunder and murder them all. 

The People: While physically imposing, bófir are by and large very peaceful, reserved creatures – if not necessarily openly friendly to outsiders.  They have a natural affinity for agriculture, which they derive great pleasure from.  Hard work is a symbol of status; laziness is the worst sort of character flaw and is never tolerated among bófir society.   

Despite the peaceful nature of the race overall, male bófir are known to be short tempered when they feel threatened or challenged.  Seeing a large – but docile - creature like this go into a seething rage with seemingly little provocation can be a terrifying sight.

Bófir are not a long-loved race, with a typical life expectancy of fifty to sixty years.

Dress: In day to day life, bófir tend to wear little in the way of clothing aside from loincloths and utilitarian items such as belts and the like.  However, in formal or celebratory occasions, brightly colored scarves and the like are very popular; it is common for multiple such scarves to be worn in festive times.    Some bófir elect to wear jewelry in their ears or noses, and a few will even drill holes in their horns to similarly adorn them. 

Warrior bófir may wear hide type armors, occasionally with iron breastplates, but this is fairly rare. 

Culture and Society: Bófir live in extended family groups called tréada, working together for mutual benefit.  Each individual tréad is largely self sufficient and quite independent, but bófir tend to view every tréad as part of an all encompassing tréad, and as such, will gladly assist others of their kind in times of need.

Most bófir - roughly eighty to eighty-five percent - are female.  As such, a family group typically consists of one patriarch who has several mates, as well as all of their children.  Bófir do not observe marriage in the same manner as many other races; if a female is unhappy with her living arrangement, she is free to seek another male to become mated with.  Any offspring will follow her to the new tréad, and she will bring her wealth and property with her – which diminishes the status of the male she leaves behind. 

Bófir society is patriarchal in the sense that males tend to hold all leadership roles, but a male’s perceived power is very much defined by the number of females willing to choose him as their mate.  A male who cannot find and retain mates is viewed with scorn, as a weakling unfit for respect.

Bófir prefer to live in large homes of felled logs with thatches roofs, where they bed together in a large sleeping area.  The lack of trees in both the Chindari and Blood Plains means that the bófir have had to learn to adapt; in these areas, homes tend to be instead constructed of mud bricks, mud, and thatch.  In all cases, homes are kept fastidiously clean, and fresh straw is used for bedding (bófir sleep on the ground; the concept of a bed is alien to them). 

Livestock are kept in similar buildings, construction again depending on the raw materials available.  Livestock are used almost exclusively for their products, not their flesh; most bófir are complete vegetarians.

Smithing is a relatively common skill, as farmsteads have need of many sorts of tools.  Bófir warriors tend to use weapons that have roots in implements of peace – axes, hammers, slings, and the like.  Swords are virtually unknown among these folk, and missile weapons such as bows and crossbows simply do not exist. 

Learning among the bófir is largely oral-tradition.  Twice per year – once before the spring planting, again after the last harvest - the various tréada will gather together to feast, to mingle, to tell stories and repeat the tales of old.  Storytelling is treated with reverence – stories are used to connect modern day bófir to their roots. 

The harvest feast is particularly important, as this is when adults who are coming of age will most often seek out mates.  It is always of interest to see which tréada have grown in size, which have diminished, and even to see the new ones formed after this celebration.  Bófir breed in the autumn, with calves born in the spring; both of these events tend to take place not long after the seasonal celebrations.  Most bófir bear single young at a time, though twins do happen – and are viewed as a sign of favor by the gods.

Magic is largely unknown to the bófir.  They do not seem to pursue the study of magic at all.

Trade and Commerce: most trade is simple barter, though the bófir of the Taskarren Coast region have more sophisticated trade with the free city states there.  Money is of little intrinsic value to the bófir; while they understand the value of it in trade, they seem to have no drive to hoard coins for the sake of wealth.  Bófir largely export food items – grain, vegetables, and the like – and import iron, fancy cloths, and the like.  They have a particular fondness for the camlut cloth that the Chindari spin; this is one area that they have been known to be impractical in terms of trade.

Religion: Bófir are a spiritual people, but not a terribly religious one.  Their religious leaders are shamans, and these are exclusively female.  These shamans channel the powers of spirits to grant blessings or work curses.  Of course, these spirits are but aspects of the gods, known by other names.

The mostly commonly revered spirits are:

Bimi, the harvest spirit (Milleyah).
Norik, the sun spirit (Solanis).
Darvem, the earth spirit (Kith-Jora).
Jilka and Tolska, the moon spirits (Geala, Lleua).
Nurkya, the darkness spirit (Tyrannis).
Bokal, the rain spirit (Anskar).
Krovek, the frost spirit (Khamaruz).

Bófir do not build temples or religious structures of any sort.  Shamans are provided for by the rest of the people, for no one wishes to anger the spirits by neglecting their servants.

The bófir also revere their ancestors.  They will often invoke the name of some famous patriarch when seeking good fortune – “may Dolvak the Greater guide my efforts!” 

The concept of an afterlife for the Bófir is that of one vast tréad, where the fields are limitless and fertile, where one can live at peace forever with one’s ancestors.  The better life one lives, the happier and more fulfilled the afterlife is.

Values and Taboos: If any society were to truly embrace the idea of “live and let live”, it would be the bófir.  Most of these people are happy to tend their own farms, with the only real drive being to grow them (and their tréad) to be strong and successful.  They are extremely tolerant of other peoples and views, figuring as a whole that as long as they are not being harmed, what others do is their own business alone.

Bófir cherish hard work and individual accountability, and have no place for slackers, grifters, or thieves.  These traits will incite the ire of the tréada and will see the offenders driven from society – though such is almost never necessary. 

Most bófir cherish hearth and home above all, having little desire to travel or see the world.  Those who do almost always find that a life away from their own kind has an expiration date; even the boldest explorer or adventurer usually finds themselves yearning for the fields of home sooner rather than later.

Bófir value the survival of the tréad above all else.  In times of danger, these folk will unite and display unbreakable determination and fierce loyalty to one another.  A bófear who sacrifices themselves for the tréad is held in the highest regard, akin to a saint. 

Game Terms (OSGS):
+1 to STR and CON
-2 to DEX, -1 to WIS

Base movement rate is 15.

Due to their toughness, all bófir gain +1 to death saves, and +2 to paralyzation or polymorph saves.

Charging bófir are particularly effective – they gain a +4 to hit (instead of the base +2), and inflict an extra +2 to damage when doing so.  Any character that is half the bófear’s weight (or less) must make a successful DEX check when hit or be knocked prone.   A bófear must have at least thirty feet of space to get to full momentum to gain these charge benefits.

Regardless of class, bófir gain +1 to all hit die at long as their CON is 7 or greater.

All bófir characters automatically gain the agriculture and animal handling proficiencies for free. 

Unless your DM makes an exception, bófir characters may only be fighters or priests.