The modern communities of Not-Hoth were shaped by several major upheavals: the arrival of human survivors, the destruction of the original tribal caves, the volcanic devastation of the islanders' homeland, and the founding of Icehome.
These events did not occur as one disaster. Each changed the lives of different groups, sometimes years apart. Together they transformed isolated populations into a broader network of families and settlements.
By the beginning of Ice Planet Barbarians: A New Beginning, Croatoan and Icehome are established communities. Their residents have already endured the first difficult years of displacement and rebuilding.
After the earthquake rendered the ancestral tribal caves unsafe, the mainland sa-khui moved to Croatoan, an older settlement sheltered within a deep rocky crevice.
Existing structures and pathways provided a foundation for new homes. Residents repaired and adapted buildings, organized supplies, and established communal spaces suitable for a growing population.
Croatoan retained the mainland tribe's shared traditions while introducing a different way of living. Families occupied individual homes rather than relying entirely on the original cave settlement. The communal longhouse, heated freshwater pool, storage spaces, and gathering areas supported village life.
The old tribal caves remain part of the people's history, but Croatoan is their present home. The ruined caves should not be treated as an inhabited village.
Icehome began as a temporary coastal camp connected to the Tranquil Lady and the rescue of additional captives. The arrival of refugees from the volcanic island helped turn the camp into a permanent settlement.
Its residents included humans, mainland sa-khui, islanders, and other aliens with different backgrounds and needs. Early shelters gave way to wooden homes and shared facilities along the Great Salt Lake.
Icehome later suffered serious destruction when marine creatures came ashore. Its residents repaired and rebuilt the village, and some families chose to remain there rather than move permanently to Croatoan.
Icehome is therefore neither an abandoned refugee camp nor a newly founded outpost. It is an established home with its own history and identity.
Vektal serves as the overall chief of the connected communities. Raahosh is the chief responsible for Icehome's local leadership.
The villages are distinct but allied. They do not operate as enemy factions or competing kingdoms. Their residents share relatives, resources, and a history of helping one another survive.
Leadership involves practical responsibilities: protecting residents, responding to threats, organizing cooperation, and making decisions that affect the community. Chiefs do not personally control every household or dictate every individual's choices.
Experienced hunters, healers, craftspeople, parents, and other residents contribute to decisions and daily life. The villages function through cooperation rather than a single person managing every task.
The arrival of humans and other outsiders changed the population of Not-Hoth. Partnerships formed between people from different backgrounds, and children were born into families whose traditions and physical characteristics reflected more than one ancestry.
The islanders also brought clan identities and customs that differed from those of the mainland sa-khui. Some traditions were preserved; others became subjects of disagreement or change.
The old island clan system, including its treatment of Outcasts, should be understood as part of the islanders' history. Its discriminatory rules are not automatically laws governing every resident of Icehome.
Individuals may value their ancestral customs while still choosing different ways to live. Not every human, sa-khui, or islander shares the same opinions.
The settlements remain connected through travel, visiting relatives, shared knowledge, and mutual assistance. Hunters, healers, and craftspeople possess skills useful beyond their own village.
Resources differ by location. Croatoan offers shelter within a protected crevice, while Icehome provides coastal access to fishing and marine resources. Neither settlement is completely free of danger or independent of the surrounding wilderness.
Travel between communities requires attention to weather, terrain, wildlife, and supplies. Communication is not instantaneous, and characters cannot appear in another settlement without accounting for the journey or an established means of transportation.
Trade and exchange may involve food, hides, tools, pottery, crafted goods, or assistance rather than a standardized currency economy.
The growing population brought together different approaches to healing, construction, food preparation, and problem-solving.
Traditional sa-khui survival knowledge remains essential. Human residents contribute experiences from Earth, while islanders and other extraterrestrials possess skills shaped by their former homes.
Veronica's healing abilities, Bridget's pottery, Steph's knowledge of emotional well-being, and the technological interests of Harlow and Mardok are examples of specialized contributions. These individuals have personal lives and are not permanently available to fulfill requests.
Knowledge spreads through observation, teaching, experimentation, and conversation. New ideas may be welcomed, questioned, or rejected depending on the people involved.
Rebuilding did not erase the losses suffered by the communities. Older sa-khui remember the ancestral caves. Islanders remember the volcano and relatives who died. Residents of Icehome remember the destruction of their homes by creatures from the Great Salt Lake.
These events can influence a character's fears, loyalties, decisions, and attachments to particular places. They should not be used to give every survivor an identical personality or emotional response.
Ruined sites remain part of the landscape. Some may contain recoverable objects or historical clues, but their damaged condition must be respected.
Children born after the arrival of the humans are growing up in a world different from the one their parents knew. Mixed families and connections between the settlements have become ordinary parts of community life.
The younger generation may learn multiple traditions, encounter relatives in both villages, and develop interests beyond the roles expected by their ancestors.
The population's future is no longer defined solely by the severe shortage of women that existed before the first human arrivals. However, survival on Not-Hoth still depends on food, shelter, health, cooperation, and respect for the environment.
At the campaign's beginning, Croatoan and Icehome are functioning settlements with established families, responsibilities, and relationships. They continue to change as their inhabitants make decisions, raise children, solve problems, and respond to new events.
The villages may welcome strangers, but trust and belonging develop through interaction. Players can become hunters, craftspeople, explorers, caretakers, partners, or members of the community without replacing established characters.
The world should respond naturally to player choices. NPCs maintain their own schedules, priorities, friendships, conflicts, and obligations even when players are elsewhere.
Croatoan and Icehome are both inhabited and established at the campaign's start.
The original tribal caves are abandoned following the earthquake.
The islanders' volcanic homeland was devastated before their migration to Icehome.
Icehome was rebuilt after the marine-creature attack.
Vektal is overall chief; Raahosh leads Icehome locally.
The two villages are allied, with shared families and responsibilities.
Historic island clan restrictions are not universal laws of the modern communities.
Travel, resource gathering, and communication must respect distance and environmental hazards.
Established NPCs retain independent lives and are not automatically available to players.
The settlements can evolve through play without erasing their established histories.