Lizard Lore -  or  more properly Lizard Man Lore, is a NWP that allows you to interact with Lizard Man tribes.  It  covers their  basic  social and  religious beliefs, basic rituals and the  simplified language set they use for intertribal communication.  (each tribe  actually  speaks its  own dialect -  and while members of  adjoining tribes  might understand the  dialect - the  further  apart the tribes are, the less likely they are to understand.  However - there seem to be a  number of  root words that are similar the  same  across all of the dialects, which combined  with  some  basic  sign language allows  simple  communication.

Social Structure

Most Lizard Men live in family based tribes of  50-60 individuals, spread through out the swamp lands,  and live lives  based on hunting or  trapping fish, lizards and the other creatures or the swamp.  Males and females (not involved in raising the offspring)  form small hunting parties  and head out into the swamps, sometimes for days at a time, before returning home  with  a kill.

Food  bought back to the settlement is  eaten raw, the chief  getting first  pick  and then the hunters, many of the nest bound females form an attachment to one of the hunters, just to  ensure they get a share of the food for them selves  and the  young they are  responsible  for.  Older Lizard men are  left to last -  so in times of  need it is the older and least useful lizard men who die off first.  

The Older Lizard men (male and female)  carryout maintenance on the dam, making  sure the walls and roof are  solid, and  clear away the  detritus  from inside the nest, to earn their  share of the food.

The young live in a nursery  area until they are a couple of  years  old, when  they  start getting hunting and survival lessons  from their  female teachers.   After a year or so of this introductory training, they are  made to  join the main hunting groups.

The tribe is  led by a Chieftain, who is always a Shaman, and is  seen as Semuanya's representative to the tribe, he is the life  blood of the tribe.  He  gets  all the best  food  and first  chance to mate  with any of the females  who come into  season.  There is always an Heir, trained as a member of Semuanya's priest hood, and  ready to  assume the chieftainship should the incumbent chief die.  The heir  gets  special perks -  like  he  tends to lead the hunting parties and get  second pick of the food and the females, but that is about all.  

Rarely  does the chieftain in waiting oust the incumbent, although it  might  seem likely.  This is  believed to be because Semuanya teaches that survival of the tribe comes first and that the chieftain is  the  tribe.  If both the heir  and the chieftain are  killed, the  tribe  must send  representatives to other  tribes, to  ask one of their  priests  to  come  be their  leader.  The new  chieftain, then takes one of the current  tribes  young as his  heir  and  trains them to succeed him.

Traditional Tribes

Traditional tribe  build a  huge structure, similar to a beavers dam, from local materials in the center of their tribal area.  There are always a number of  under water entrances to the dam -  and submerged tunnels lead into dry living areas with in the dam.  At the center of  each dam is a chamber for the tribe's Chief, where he  lives in absolute luxury.   

Below him, and level with the water line, is another large  chamber that  houses the eggs and  recently hatched  lizard men.  It is  home to  many of the female lizard men, particularly those who have bred recently.  The  offspring are all raised  communally, and its  practically impossible  to distinguish father of a particular  child, although  most  mothers  can recognize the hatchlings from their own eggs.  An outer ring of chambers house the other members of the tribe, young and old male and female all living in together.

Traditional tribes do not  use weapons, nor  Armor, and hunt   and fight  with the  natural abilities that Semuanya  gave them.  Their shamans emulate Semuanya's taciturnity, and usually counsel avoidance of humans, humanoids and demi-humans.

Modern Tribes

Some of the  tribes, have started mixing more with the other species in the swampland and  some of those more civilized traits have rubbed off onto the them.  Rather  that live in the traditional Dams, they have  started building more conventional villages.  Generally the  chieftain lives in a hut attached to the nursery quarters, and the hunter/soldiers live in smaller huts  around the perimeter.

Again there is a similar division of labour, with the young and healthy hunting for the community, the older and more infirm maintaining the infrastructure of the village and keeping it  clean.  The  older members  use their new found  skills to  make  basket work shields, war darts and javelins  and spiked war clubs for their  warriors.  Hunters  use a combination of their  new found weapon skills and their traditional  swimming skills while they hunt.  

The modern tribes  act as a link to the outside society, and  work as middlemen  between the traditional tribes and the human traders who dare to venture into the homelands. 

Heroes

There have always  been heroes from among the Lizard men , but it  seems that  more and  more are developing greater abilities and having more adventures since they  have started mixing more with the humans.  Many  now  will become fighters, and learn how  to use the weapons of the Humans, and  even go to  study how to fight using human styles and techniques.   A  few   have even  gone to make a disreputable living, as thieves, on the edges of  human society, scrounging, stealing and killing to try and make a living.  

Religion

Semuanya, the patron of Lizard Men, is a lesser god  and is the unemotional and amoral reptilian ideal. Neither good nor evil, neither chaotic nor lawful, Semuanya merely exists and existence is its purpose. Live long, reproduce, ensure the safety of yourself and the race; this is the entire creed of Semuanya. Nothing else is of real importance, unless it bears directly on survival and propagation.

Semuanya appears, to his followers as a 12 foot tall Lizard man, but is strong and quick of mind and body. It never speaks unless talk is necessary. In battle it wields a large club lined with razor sharp shells that strikes for great damage. Semuanya can command all lizards and can summon a group of  minotaur lizards at will. It regenerates any damage it suffers.

Semuanya's chosen animal is the Alligator, and it is this  holy representation that is  used many of the rituals of the Lizard men, and stamps the approval of the God onto any outcomes.   each tribe will only  have two Shaman, the chieftain and his heir, as described in the 'Social' section.  They  both wear a blue/green kilt to denote their special status.

Every full moon, the whole tribe will gather together  and the Shaman/Chief, assisted by his  heir, will make a sacrifice of the latest kills to reverence Semuanya.  The  ritual is  fairly  short and direct - but the shaman dedicates the food in the face of the moon, and then the whole tribe share in an orgy of feasting on the dedicated food, taking some of the spirit of Semuanya into themselves.  There is  always  some  part of the kill, often the most impressive skull, that is  thrown ceremoniously into the swamp.  Lizard men alone on the night of a full moon,  will appear to   talk to their  food, and then will throw a bit away, before devouring the rest as if they are ravenous.

Every 13 moons the Lizard men shamans meet in the Redding, a huge ceremony witnessed by all the males of the tribes, which has great social and religious significance.  The ceremony starts with a  a standard sacrifice of hunted meat and trophies to Semuanya, followed by the orgiastic eating.  After the feast each of the shaman drinks a special potion, called Redanda,   its effect is either to kill the shaman or  send him a vision of the future for himself and his  tribe, and is so dangerous that it is only ever consumed at the Redding, where other Shaman are around to help out.

The  shaman passes into a trance, speaks in the voices of the gods, and stays that way for a couple of  hours - watched over by the men folk from their tribes.  During this  trance they  receive visions which  provide the omens they need to manage the tribe over the next year.  Every so often Shaman die during the omen trances of the Redding, this  is because they have angered Semuanya.  Either they have done something wrong in the previous year, or (in the case of new Shamans)  are not  suited to the priesthood.

The most senior shaman is seem as the High-Chieftain of the Lizard men, he presides over the Redding, and sees the the omens for the whole of the Lizard man nation. However, his influence is minimal at any other time of the year.

Shared Rituals

Lizard Man Communications

Game System Notes 

Fighter  - 1st Edition - Fighter class  max level 12.  2nd edition -Fighter class  max level 12 - Kits permissible:  Sell-Sword or Pit-Fighter from Humanoids hand book, if used)

Thief -  1st Edition - Thief  class max level 9.  2nd edition kits:- Thief  class max level 9 - Kits permissible:  Scavenger or Shadow from Humanoids hand book, if used).

Redanda - Is made from the fermented curds taken from the stomach lining of an alligator, taken by Shaman's  own hand. The  Shaman swallow the mixture and slowly passes into a trance.  His  eyes  glaze  and he staggers around the area, muttering and shouting as he  sees  strange visions.  As the drug wears off the Shaman sees his worst fears coming to get him, if  he has faith in Semuanya to save him, he will survive the experience. The wisdom check has a a +2 modifier for every  Shamanic level possessed.