Tāngata

Colonisation

Tāngata were the first of the free people to reach the land of Whenua. The first interaction with the Māuikura was not peaceful, the natives wanted to defend the land from the new invaders, but their huge number and advanced technology brought the war to a stalemate. After some time, Tāngata figured out that they would never win a war against Māuikura and ended up to an agreement with them: Māuikura would let them stay in Whenua and Tāngata would not settle inside the secret land and help the natives to improve their technologies.  

Variety in All Things

Tāngata are the most adaptable and ambitious among the free people. They have widely varying tastes, morals, and customs in the many different lands where they have settled. When they settle, though, they stay: they build cities to last for the ages, and great kingdoms that can persist for long centuries. An individual Tāngata might have a relatively short life span, but a nation or culture preserves traditions with origins far beyond the reach of any single Tāngata’s memory. They live fully in the present—making them well suited to the adventuring life—but also plan for the future, striving to leave a lasting legacy. Individually and as a group, Tāngata are adaptable opportunists, and they stay alert to changing political and social dynamics.  

A Broad Spectrum

With their penchant for migration and conquest, Tāngata are more physically diverse than other free people. There is no typical Tāngata. An individual can stand from 5 feet to a little over 6 feet tall and weigh from 125 to 250 pounds. Tāngata skin shades range from nearly black to very pale, and hair colors from black to blond (curly, kinky, or straight males might sport facial hair that is sparse or thick. A lot of Tāngata have a dash of nontāngata blood, revealing hints of other lineages. Tāngata reach adulthood in their late teens and rarely live even a single century.