Great Apes

"Sir, I am an ape, and I will remind you not to call me a monkey again unless you're happier with one less limb"

Chimpanzee

Whenever the word "ape" is mentioned, often the first mental image one brings up is that of the playful chimpanzee.

However, most of those who imagine a chimpanzee as being playful and fun-loving have never actually met a chimpanzee. Located on the southern continent of Pandora, Chimps have one of the most sophisticated forms of government in the world, something that they call a "parliamentary legislation", wherein representatives are chosen from bodies of population to debate important political issues and often taking months to send a petition or potential law through dozens of votes and subcommittees to hammer out the details. This horribly inefficient system is led by a "Prime Minister", who is selected by the greater body of chimpanzee society. Chimpanzees often take a conservative stance on their political issues, usually preferring that outsiders like zebras keep their striped noses out of their business.

Religion is one of the most important aspects of chimpanzee life, but their religion does not resemble the spiritualistic religions of most other apes. Chimps believe that a divine creator sent down its one true representative, an unknown creature collectively called the "Allgood". The Allgood taught the chimps about civility and reason before ascending back to wherever the Allgood came from.

They are also master tacticians and hunters able to come up with complex plans and adapt a plan quickly mid-hunt, they mostly hunt the non-sapient colobus monkeys in teams of five, each with different roles.

Orang-Utang

A race of arboreal apes native to northern Pandora, the Utangs are the most culturally and technologically advanced of the three ape species that they share both a common ancestry and their forest homes with. The utan race is bulky, with arms longer than they are tall and a thick pelt of orange-brown hair covering their entire bodies. Male utans can grow as tall as five and a half feet, and tend to dominate their society. Females are shorter, and are usually subservient to the males.

Utans are excellent capitalists, and when Equestrian explorers first discovered the Utangs, the utans first and foremost established trade with the ponies, exchanging rubber, lumber, and rare ores for processed textiles and cultural artifacts. The orangutans generally regard themselves as religiously agnostic, and thus do very little in the way of religion.

Bonobo

Close relatives of chimpanzees, bonobos have a culture that is far more free-spirited than that of the chimps. Bonobos follow the same religion as the chimps, but have different interpretations of the Allgood's lessons.

Politically, bonobos occupy a position on the moderate to far left of their spectrum, making them dyed in the wool liberals. While chimps prefer isolationism, bonobo politicians often push for stronger ties between the apes and neighboring races. While a chimp representative will be quick to retaliate if their land is threatened, a bonobo representative will often push for a more diplomatic solution. At a personal level, bonobos tend to solve issues with sex, sex, and more sex. These "love apes" are known to engage in any kind of sexual encounter with just about anything, including non-apes. The chimps usually regard this as indecent and quite the sin in the eyes of the Allgood.

the Bonobo's "make love, not war" policy has also led to a very peaceful society. Two males want a female? sex, releasing tension and strengthening friendship. a female hits a baby and the mom chases her? sex. a male's really mad? a female grabs him, and, you guessed it, sex.

Gorilla

While chimps and bonobos divide their beliefs based on species, gorillas are much more tolerant of different ideas, and have a society that has many different sets of ideals. They too worship the divine teachings of the angelic Allgood and her sisters, but they are not nearly as "in your face" about it as chimps or bonobos.

More aggressive than bonobos, but not nearly as temperamental as chimps, gorillas prefer to keep to themselves, and to this day they are the least understood of the civilized apes.

Sasquatch

Large and hairy apes native to the forests of Equus, sasquatches possess the ability to use magic, usually in the form of elementalism and minor illusions. Sasquatches are not like other apes in that they prefer absolute solitude over any kind of sociability. And above all things, they prefer peace and quiet in their forest homes.

But the few sasquatches that communicate with the world outside of their forests say that they are never alone; they are always surrounded by their brothers and sisters. It took years of philosophical ponderings and questioning of the sasquatches to finally learn the truth: they consider the trees themselves to be family. A common behavior among sasquatches is to knock on the trunk of a tree with a branch or antler, and this has been revealed to be a form of communication with the trees themselves or a form of long range communication with other sasquatches that is passed along by the network of trees. Any time they eat a nut, a leaf, or a berry, it is a gift of life from the forest itself, and all a part of their worship of their great goddess of earth. The only time a sasquatch ever expresses anger or acts violently is when an outsider attacks his family, and even then the sasquatch is hesitant to use his most potent weapon: a spell that animates many of the trees in his forest into living elementals which beat any invaders into pulp.

Western Yeti

Western Yetis reside in the Frozen North of Equis, often living solitary lives in caves scrounging a meager existence.

They're notoriously territorial, however they can often be placated with an offer of food, and in exchange for this they might even begrudgingly let a weary traveller or two take shelter in their cave so long as they leave the moment the weather improves.

Bili

The Bili are a tribal society, more nomadic than any of their relatives.

Their skin is usually as dark as a gorilla's, and their thin fur is black, dark brown, gray and sometimes white. This coat is denser on the arms and legs, which helps them to not be readily identified among the bushes. The Bili are hierarchical and gregarious, which leads them to learn certain social norms and limits by way of discipline. Their form of interaction is the game and learning. Whoever takes the command is a dominant male (King) who directs and gives its name to the tribe. In the hierarchy he is followed by older females, young adults and teenagers eventually. This means that they respect each other for age and experience, but not by force. But in some cases, this has its exception, especially when the life of one of the leading members is at stake.

Rarely, they are organized militarily for security, despite the hierarchy they follow, which indicates that the principle is not the conquest or protection of land, but life in society.

For their food, the Bili have developed a number of positions and tools according to their needs. Those who live in the cliffs and caves are less mobile but require more time to look for food, because they are located in strategic places (visible and high) where they sit, wait and watch. Because of their proximity to waterfalls and valleys, they can select and capture a wide variety of animals. To hunt large animals such as mammals, they form a group and surround them. They then use thick sticks and prepared stones (sliced) to immobilize them, hitting them again and again or sometimes by strangulating them. They drag them down and with the help of their powerful teeth they tear the flesh, taking the portion they wish.

For fishing, they approach the water's edge looking for low spots, where they can fish with ease. Their skill is such that they sometimes capture them by hand, sometimes even reaching into the water from tree branches.

As a tool, they use woody stems, with a pointed end, similar to a sharp spear, and with some skill and aiming they successfully catch fish.

When meat is part of the diet, as in this group, they supplement it with a variety of juicy and tender foliage, because the fruits are not readily available.

Among the dry dead tree trunks, they hunt small invertebrates with aid of long poles, thin or hollow. They use these poles to suck up larvae and worms or to lick off ants and termites that adhere to them. But their main eating tools are their fingers and toes, which they use with great ability.

With regard to the group living in wild places, they base their diet on fruits, stems, insects, mammals and fish. Their tools are not as elaborate but equally functional as there is a wide variety of food on hand. They prefer land birds because they are easy to catch in the bushes. Here they use large sticks to immobilize them. Hunting for them is not necessarily a pre-planned physical or mental effort, rather an action that conforms to what they find on the road. They cover large areas in searching for food, so this task takes between 8-10 hours per day.

They do not have not a religion per se, but follow many doctrines and commands which allow them to live in society and think about their preservation. We could say that it is not a religion based on the mythological aspect but one which explains the phenomena of nature, which is taken for their own benefit, as the light of the moon and hunting rituals, rain as a sign to take advantage of food, sun for nourishment, and many more that are not associated with luck, omens, superstition or offerings. Death is synonymous with old age, defeat in war or disease. They are not afraid of death, they don't cling to life and there’s no lengthy ritual for the eventual death of a member.

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Old World Apes:

Baboons

Among the sapient monkeys, none are so infamous as the Baboons.

The Baboons, also known among themselves as the Tongani (oddly not distinguishing between species) and known among the various Zebrican tribes as bobbejaan, əntər, adaka, Babūna, daanyeer, nyani, Babūn, Inaki, and imfene, are social monkeys, and most are nomadic, traveling in moving towns of up to 250 individuals, meaning when two or more meet, they form a small city.

Baboons are polytheistic, but only worship one of three gods:

Babi is considered a dark god, a red baboon symbolizing aggression and war, but also symbolizing safety and victory

Thoth is a neutral god of wisdom, often portrayed as a yellow baboon or an ibis, a sacred animal to the baboons.

Finally, there is Hapi, a black baboon who has the role of fertility and river god, but who also guards the underworld.

Baboons are divided into the following species:

Hamadryas

The northernmost of the Zebrican baboon tribes, the Hamadryas are also fairly good sailors, and are common in Saddle Arabia. They are also known as "Cliff Baboons" because of their preferred terrain.

The hamadryas are unusual among baboon species in that their society is strictly patriarchal. The males limit the movements of the females, herding them with visual threats and grabbing or biting any that wander too far away. Males will sometimes raid harems for females, resulting in aggressive fights. The hamadryas believe in strict rules for ritual combat: no tools beyond one's teeth and fists are allowed.

However, they will often raid nearby zebra villages, using bone and rock weapons.

Gelada

Among the least aggressive of the baboons, the Geladas keep to themselves, travelling in groups in the Zebrican highlands. However, they are still fierce fighters. Unfortunately, they are secretive, so little is actually known about their culture.

Mandill

Mandrills are jungle dwellers who live in live in large, stable groups called "hordes". Hordes often number in the hundreds, possibly averaging around 620 individuals and reaching as many as 845. They share good relations with the Gorillas and Bonobos, but keep their distance from Chimpanzees.

Unusually for most baboons, they share relatively good relations with equines, particularly zebras, often trading and sharing valuable medicinal knowledge.

Mandrills a well known for being very peaceful and inventive, as well as fun-loving and wise.

However, Mandrills have just as much a capacity for violence as other baboons, as shown with the two battling shamans above. Mandrills are also more likely to use tools in these fights, as well as strategically planning moves.

Almast/Almasti

The indevidual known as "The Storm King", so far the most well known of the Almasti, though not a typical member of the species in regards to behaviour

standing at about 8ft tall, the Almasti originate from the land of Satyria (meaning they're often mistakenly referred to as Satyrs), a desolate land located in the frigid north east of the North-eastern continent of Raubtier.

Due to the arctic nature of their surroundings the almasti tend to keep to themselves, hiding away from the cold in great underground cities (which are a sight to behold should one find themselves wandering within the borders of Satyria), although they do have pragmatic trade deals with their southern neighbours, the Griffons & Minotaurs, trading minerals naturally abundant in the area like coal and metal ores in exchange for food which they would struggle to grow in the arctic wastes of their homeland.

on the whole the Almasti are a determined and stubborn race, which explains why they've chosen to remain where they are rather than heading for more prosperous lands, and at first impressions can come across as somewhat cold, though should you find yourself within the walls of their great cities you can be sure of a warm welcome whilst being treated to a feast accompanied by many a lively story

Eastern Yeti

Eastern Yetis as seen in the service of the Storm King's army

one of Terras "nationless" races, the Eastern Yetis can be found spread throughout the north of Raubtier, where their natural strength and imposing stature makes them well suited for roles such as blacksmiths, steelworkers, miners, and mercenaries (particularly as shock troopers). As such they tend to adopt the local culture and traditions of whatever nation they inhabit.