Great GUMAR HUNTERS I have known...

GUMAR HUNTER (#14/31, #42/365) [POT]

SKILL: 7

STAMINA : 8

ATTACKS: 1

WEAPON: Javelin, Spear or Dagger

ARMOUR: Leather Jack

DAMAGE MODIFIER: None

HABITAT: Marshes, Rivers, Lakes

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 1-3 or 4-24

TYPE: Humanoid

REACTION: Unfriendly-Hostile

INTELLIGENCE: High

GUMAR HUNTERS are a fearsome tribe of monster-riding, swamp-dwelling Allansian humans found from the Kaylong Marshes in the west, at the delta where the Kok River debouches into the sea, to the Fenlands surrounding Lake Nykosa in the distant east, and south to the great Swamplands of Silur Cha, and likely exist on other continents as well. Gumar Hunters have bronze-brown skin; the men have shaven heads and faces, the women have hair coloured brown or black. They wear loose fur jerkins and loincloths, adorn themselves with feathers, bone charms, and copper bracers, and are armed with javelins, spears and hunting knives.

However, their most fearsome weapon is their telepathic mind-link with their monstrous steeds, which could be any kind of hideous swamp beast. This allows the Gumar Hunter to direct their creature without speech and leaving them free to fight on foot. They need no riding gear, and can also perch on their steed's back, spine or shoulders. To determine the type of monster being ridden by the Gumar Hunter, roll two dice and consult the table below (if more than one Gumar Hunter is encountered, all will have the same type of creature):  

First Roll Second Roll Monster

1-3 1 Chaos Slime Beast

1-3 2 Crocosaurus (adult)

1-3 3 Spinosaurus (adult)

1-3 4 Brontosaurus (adult)

1-3 5 Mudgrinder

1-3 6 Giant Mudworm

4-6 1 Pool Crawler

4-6 2 Pool Beast

4-6 3 Swamp Mutant

4-6 4 Hydra

4-6 5 Great Serpent

4-6 6 Flesh-Eater

If the Psionics rules from the Magic Companion (pp. 70-84) are being used, then each Gumar Hunter has the following Psionics profile: 

Academic Psionicist (PSIONICS 6, Magic-Psionics 3, Psy Points: 18, Abilities: Animal Control (3), Telepathy (2), Mind Shield (1))  

Unfortunately, should either the Crocosaurus or the Gumar Hunter be slain in combat, its companion will go berserk as the mind-link is severed, doing an extra point of STAMINA damage with each successful attack. However, this frenzy is so taxing that the survivor (whether it is the Gumar or the Crocosaurus) will lose one point of STAMINA every Attack Round until it has avenged its companion or died trying.  

The Gumar hide their villages deep in the swamps, behind dense thickets of spiny swamp-bamboo and tall marsh grasses, with floating huts of reeds moored to a central rock, islet or fallen tree-trunk, upon which will be a shrine to Vurrk, the God of Mud. Each village has four to twenty four inhabitants, of which 1-3 will be Gumar Hunters as per above, while the rest will be typical Gumar villagers (SKILL 6 STAMINA 6, Dagger, No Psionics).

In the wet season Gumar Hunters range far and wide across the swamplands, hunting game, raiding over the swamp's borders, and fighting other tribes, whether Swamp Warrior, Marsh Goblin, or Kokomokoa. During the Lotus-flowering season, Gumar Hunters are known to use Purple Pervalia dye as camouflage to help them capture the reptilian Crocosaurus, and the hideous Giant Mudworm, among others. The tribe will eat a mixture of swamp birds, marsh deer, fungi, and wetland plants.

In the dry season, when the swamps drain and the sun beats down, Gumar Hunters and their battle-mounts hire themselves out as trackers, mercenaries and assassins to warlords and other despots. For example, rumour has it Baron Sukumvit of Fang's vizier Jaiphrai Ah'Cha hired the Gumar Hunter Blood-Feather the Bold (and his Crocosaurus) to assassinate the first hero to complete Deathtrap Dungeon, and restore the baron's reputation.