The Tahziri Tribe are the wandering @Burrowcarver Gnome people who traverse the Brimstone Badlands—a cracked expanse of sulfur-stained hills, jagged ridges, and mineral-rich ravines. Unlike other nomads, they travel beneath the land as much as across it, using their giant badgers to dig shifting tunnel-roads and drag their rumbling burrow caravans from one discovery to the next. Renowned as master alchemists and mineral prospectors, the Tahziri supply the desert with rare reagents, peculiar concoctions, and knowledge pulled from the very bones of the earth. Friendly, eager traders, they nonetheless carry a mischievous streak—especially when chasing a new formula, reaction, or experiment.
Burrowcarver gnomes are compact and sturdy, standing barely 3 feet tall but built with strong legs and long, nimble arms perfect for digging and climbing. Their skin carries earthy shades—red clay, dusty beige, slate gray, or sandstone brown—with freckles or patches reminiscent of lichen or chipped stone. Their hair is thick, wiry, and often tied back in messy knots or braids, holding bits of dust, twigs, or herbs collected during travel. Their eyes are bright and expressive, typically amber, moss-green, or garnet-red, glowing with restless curiosity.
Their clothing is practical: layered leather aprons, reinforced vests, and belts overloaded with pouches, vials, mortar-stones, and tinker tools. Everything they wear seems stained by minerals, soot, or plant dyes.
The Tahziri build no permanent homes; instead, they live within burrow caravans—wood-and-hide wagons designed to be dragged partially underground. Every caravan is effectively a moving workshop, filled with alembics, ore-crushers, drying racks, and scribbled recipe tablets. They place enormous value on curiosity, innovation, and the sharing of discoveries. Young Tahziri are encouraged to apprentice under alchemists, herb-hunters, or tunnel-scouts, each learning to balance delicate craft with survival in an unforgiving landscape.
While typically cheerful and welcoming, the Tahziri possess the infamous “gnome tinker’s obsession.” When an alchemist nears a breakthrough, the entire caravan may halt for days or weeks, all hands helping solve the problem—sometimes unwisely. Their playful tricks and chaotic experiments have led to minor explosions, glowing fogs, and one legendary incident involving a runaway phosphor badger.
The tribe is currently guided by Marzin Copperflare, an elder alchemist whose caravan has uncovered some of the rarest reagents in the Badlands.
The Tahziri roam the Brimstone Badlands, rarely lingering in one place. Campsites are dug into hillsides or carved into shallow cave clusters, often abandoned after a few days once minerals are harvested or roots are collected. Surface markers—color-coded stone piles and carved sigils—warn other caravans of unstable tunnels, aggressive wildlife, or especially rich alchemical finds.
They maintain a loose network of “mixing circles”: communal meeting grounds where multiple caravans gather to trade recipes, perform demonstrations, and celebrate new discoveries.
The Tahziri flourish thanks to their mastery of mineral extraction, alchemy, and subterranean foraging. Their giant badgers unearth ore veins and expose roots found only in deep-packed soil. They gather sulfur blooms, petrified lichen, crystalfungus, and rare metals that no surface race could obtain safely. Their alchemical goods—smoke bombs, tonics, adhesives, firepowders, and experimental brews—are highly sought after by desert tribes and distant cities alike.
Food comes from hardy root vegetables grown in portable soil troughs, small game flushed out by badgers, and fungi cultivated in cooled burrow chambers.
Their main water source comes from alchemic processes they do, using various types of minerals and reactions to purify liquids otherwise dangerous for consumption.
Though not a warlike people, the Tahziri Tribe defends itself through ingenuity, mobility, and mastery of terrain. Their society blends survival alchemy with disciplined combat roles, many of which evolve naturally from caravan life and burrow defense.
Tahziri warriors favor alchemical weapons and battlefield control over brute force. Swift scouts such as Sparkblades patrol trade routes and outer tunnels, striking quickly with infused blades and disabling bolts before fading away. Within the tribe’s ranks, Burrowmasters act as battlefield captains, anchoring defenses and directing formations through precise, alchemy-charged strikes. At the pinnacle stand the Alkahim—elite alchemical commanders trained from youth to wield controlled chaos through volatile brews, mutagens, and battlefield mixtures. Alongside them fight specialized warriors such as Stormflare Alchemists, whose explosive, mobile combat overwhelms enemies, and Flameforged Strikers, shock troops who break enemy lines with fire-charged hammers.
Defense within the burrows falls to Tunnelwards, disciplined guards trained to hold chokepoints and repel intruders, while commoners—miners, traders, and caretakers—form the resilient heart of the tribe, prepared to defend themselves long enough for true warriors to respond.
In battle, the Tahziri fight alongside giant badgers that erupt from the earth to scatter foes and collapse tunnels. Their tactics rely on ambushes from below, collapsing terrain, blinding powders, smoke, and unstable firebrews. Often underestimated, a prepared Tahziri caravan can transform the battlefield into a shifting maze of earth, vapor, and explosive surprise.
Common Tahziri Roles (examples include):
@Tahziri Sparkblade – Scouts, patrol fighters, and caravan guards
@Tahziri Tunnelward – Burrow and chokepoint defenders
@Tahziri Burrowmaster – Tactical leaders and battlefield captains
@Tahziri Stormflare – Mobile alchemical battlemages
@Tahziri Flamestriker – Frontline shock warriors
@Tahziri Alkahim – Elite alchemical commanders and scholars
@Tahziri Commoner – Miners, traders, foragers, and caretakers
The Tahziri Tribe consider the Khazk Horde brutal despoilers who collapse tunnels and scorch valuable mineral sites. Any encounter is violent and brief. They are treated as hated enemies.
The Tahziri Tribe despise the Khenan Raiders for targeting burrow caravans and reagent stores. Raiders who venture underground rarely return. They are treated as ruthless enemies.
The Tahziri Tribe enjoy strong trade relations with the Ashken Tribe. Alchemical goods and rare minerals are exchanged for crafted tools and supplies. They are treated as friendly trade partners.
The Tahziri Tribe respect the Qarroshy Tribe’s martial strength but rarely interact due to distance. Relations are friendly, though limited.
The Tahziri Tribe maintain warm relations with the Shishan Tribe through merchant networks. Trade is steady and mutually beneficial. They are treated as friendly allies.
The Tahziri Tribe hold the Ruyen Tribe in mild but positive regard. Contact is infrequent, but relations remains polite and fair.
The Tahziri Tribe share mutual respect with the Zhainin Tribe for their devotion to the desert. Cooperation occurs when paths cross. They are treated as friendly allies.
The Tahziri Tribe view the Karkrei Tribe with cautious friendliness. Their practices are unsettling, but distance prevents conflict. Relations are friendly but reserved.
The Tahziri Tribe have an unusual but cordial relationship with the Tallesdin Tribe. Experimentation and preservation clash, yet mutual respect endures. They are treated as odd but valued allies.
The Tahziri Tribe have no direct relations with the Scorvian Queendom. They are regarded with fear and avoided entirely.
The Tahziri Tribe see the Green Republic as distant outsiders. Limited trade occurs, but trust remains low.
The Tahziri Tribe consider Grassborne Poachers enemies of the land. Those caught are trapped, poisoned, or buried underground without mercy.
The Tahziri Tribe view the Sszarath Sandscale Dominion as disciplined and powerful, but distant. With little overlap in territory or interests, contact is rare.
The Tahziri Tribe maintain friendly relations with the Indaks Tribe, bonded by shared interests in stone, minerals, and craftsmanship. Exchanges of knowledge, tools, and techniques are common, and both peoples value practical cooperation.
The Tahziri Tribe possess little knowledge of the Brackish Consortium. Their name surfaces only occasionally through rumors and secondhand trade routes. As such, the Consortium is regarded as nearly unknown, neither trusted nor distrusted.