Hillthrone Ideas

Traditions
+15% Fort Defence
+1 Attrition for Enemies

Queen of the HillEver since the conquest of Gnollish Businor, first at the hands of the Sorcerer-King, and later by the accursed Jaher and his elven legions, our once proud people have been sidelined and persecuted in our own land, forced to live in the highest peaks of the Khenak split into innumerable petty packs all across these mountains.\n\nSuch has been our situation for four hundred years until, capitalising on the ongoing Lilac Wars which kept Verne and Busilar busy in their own conflicts, a visionary leader arose: Xanzerbexis, the matriarch of a minor pack who began a brutal campaign of conquest and subjugation across the Khenak. By 1441, all 86 packs of the Hillthrone gnolls had been subdued and united under her leadership, through war, diplomacy and marriage, thus becoming the first undisputed Queen-of-the-Hill in recent history. Whilst her enemies accuse her of having sold her firstborn to demons in exchange for power, these claims only exacerbate her already fearsome reputation, for she would stop at nothing to keep her people free from human domination.
+15% Land Force Limit Modifier

The IvemkveragCenturies of life in the resource-poor Khenak Range pushed many Hill Gnolls to adopt mercenary work from the Border princes, eventually forming into packs of sellswords. These motley bands became known as the Ivemkverag, or "Dyed Thieves": a class of rich and influential soldiers of fortune, with the habit of dying their fur or turning the pilfered banners of their defeated foes into wearable trophies. By the first Lilac War, their adoption of human influences led to wildly diverse bands - from the Tellumite Pink Barkers to skull-faced Dead Dogs out of Bisan.\n\nHired for years at a time, their services were invaluable to the feuding Princes as fast shock troops, fearsome in night combat. To the Hill Queens, their experience made them the backbone of armies, swift to attack and strong in defense. Unlike disorganized levied hordes, the Ivemkveragi had the armor and discipline for long battles. Their riches and martial strength made them both vital and vexing to the Queens of the Hill.
-10% Mercenary Cost
+25% Mercenary Manpower

Wealth of the WingwyrmsGnolls not drawn to mercenary work often pursued hunting, particularly of the once plentiful venomous wyverns inhabiting the Khenak mountains. Originally spurred by relentless demand for wyvern toxin from human alchemists, the gnoll hunter packs developed creative uses for every part of the wyvern. Wyvern leather was fashioned into cloaks, nets, and drum skins. Hollow bones became climbing axes or intricately carved flutes and pipes, and harder bones were repurposed as spears or knives. Bone utensils would include intricate carvings, while wyvern leather would be scorched with designs of xhazobs or ivemkveragi victories. One lost tribe was notable for their primitive smoke bombs, which combined fat, charcoal, and toxins, popular both with hunters and mercenaries. Regrettably, these tactics and overhunting played a major role in the disappearance of the Khenak wyverns.
+10% Production Efficiency

The Brainmarrow PactAt the beginning of the 16th century it was apparent the technological gap between the Hillthrone gnolls and their human rivals had become too significant to ignore. To fix this, the seventh Queen-of-the-Hill, Zabrixa instituted the Brainmarrow Pact, demanding Hillthrone mercenaries working abroad to bring a piece of knowledge or technology every five years.\n\nThe plan saw great success, most likely because should they fail to meet that quota the mercenary's family would be executed, and whilst it didn't prevent the ultimate downfall of the Hillthrone Gnolls decades later, it did bring them closer to Cannorian culture and ideas.
-5% Technology Cost

A Tack in Businor's BootOnce rulers of Businor; the Hill Throne gnolls knew secret pathways between coastal Busilar, Verne and Sugamber and used them constantly to raid and smuggle undetected. During times of conflict, the Hill Queens adopted a policy of funding poorer gnoll bands, encouraging them to loot the Businorian countryside and spread terror. This served a dual purpose: exacting petty revenge on the human populace, and weakening the Busilari in hopes of reclaiming their former lands. As bands only attacked soft targets like villages and convoys, Busilari retaliation was typically slow and tepid.\n\nHowever, some disobedient bands exploited the routes for smuggling, growing rich through moving contraband. Ironically, the War of the Copper Hills which toppled the Hillthrone queens was not caused by the raids, but the smuggling, which had crossed the bottom line of the merchants and nobility of Busilar.
+1 Land Leader Manoeuvre

The Hillthrone Has EyesBefore Xanzerbexis's brutal conquest of the 86 gnoll packs of the Khenak Range, constant squabbling plagued the Hill Gnolls. To ensure order and obedience, Xanzerbexis and her successors each took hostages from every pack upon their rise to power. This was formalized by the 5th Queen-of-the-Hill, Egzeth, who mandated clans send young pups to her personal enforcers, the Vrestukex, or "Hill's Eyes."\n\nHostages from the same pack were never trained together, curbing tribal loyalties. Recruits were also conditioned to be loyal. Obedience was rewarded with better housing, equipment, and luxuries, while failure led to demotion, punishment, or starvation. When using the Vrestukex to oppress disloyal clans, the Queens made sure they were never used against their former packmates, to avoid potential conflicts of loyalty.\n\nIn later years, the Vrestukex acted as a counter to the influential Ivemkveragi, whose wealth and power became a threat to the rule of Queens-of-the-Hill.
-0.05 Monthly Autonomy Change

Inquisitive of All KultsOver time, Xhazobkult worship in the Khenak Range diverged from its Bulwari and Sarhaly roots, blending animism and parts of the local Cannorian faiths. For example, the Hill Gnolls sacrificed possessions such as animals, food, or jewelry instead of captives, as the Hill Gnolls believed that sacrificing treasured belongings was more meaningful than sacrificing cheap lives. Hill Gnoll sellswords and smugglers also converted to Regent Court worship to conduct business unbothered. However, as the Khenak Xhazobkult further adopted the practices of the Cannor Kults, more gnolls adopted the Cannorian faiths, especially the Ivemkveragi.\n\nThe ascension of Corin further increased the spread of converts: some Hill Gnolls viewed her as a human Xhazobine, empowered as she was as an avatar of Agrados. During the Crimson Deluge, many gnolls joined the widespread Corinite conversions, though they were more enthusiastic about waging justified war than its doctrine of banishing evil. This syncretism and conversions fostered a greater tolerance of the Hill Gnolls outside the Khenak Range, leading to decreased hostility from the Cannorians over time.
+2 Tolerance of Heathens

Ambition
+20% Improve Relations