Hello, I just found this game and so far I love it! I've read the rules and a ton of stuff on this forum already. I'm going to have to get some minis ASAP!
But, I have a few questions about the Devanu. They seem the least "fleshed-out" race/faction as far as culture, history and abilities.
The Devanu do tend to get a little bit neglected, but they are certainly not forgotten!
1. First, how "intelligent" are they? Can they read/write? How well can they do math or understand science?They are probably close to human levels of intelligence, but they certainly don't have any formal education. Maths and science don't have much place when your primary focus is where the next meal is going to come from.
2. The fluff talks about their "towers". What did these look like? How large? What were they made of?They varied a lot, but they were tall structures so the Devanu could look out over their lands for as far as possible. The fubarnii would live in small villages scattered across the Devanu territories. I should do a sketch at some point!
3. Did they live in constructed villages or camps? How do they live now? In huts? In caves? Sleep in the open? Do they make fire? (To stay warm? Or are they cold blooded?)They used to live in the towers. They now try to live in large home-trees, sleeping in branches and hanging kills etc from them as well (reverting back to how they used to live before they enslaved the fubarnii). The grishak are kept around the base. They are more often forced to live in better hidden locations. They don't generally make fire. They really don't like the cold (a fact that allowed the Delgon to flourish even while the rest of the Fubarnii were enslaved) and will often keep skins from animals to keep them warm when it is cooler. They are warm blooded (or near enough).
4. Do they only hunt or do they also raise livestock? Do they cook?They used to keep livestock (the Fubarnii...) but now they are rarely stable enough to keep animals (except as hunting beasts). They rely on hunting and tend to eat meat raw.
5. Do they have art? Or religion? Or music? Or clothes or jewelry?Yes, but fairly minimalist. I'll go into that at some point when I have more time!
The figures (which are either nude or clothed in scraps, and not always armed) don't suggest anything too advanced. Yet, they were advanced "enough" to enslave the Fubarnii, who are themselves quite intelligent/cultured.It doesn't take much intelligence to enslave something that is half your size. For a very long time they just hunted the Fubarnii, but then some enterprising Devanu realised that it was more efficient to keep them alive (or possibly it was the Fubarnii that worke dthis out).
They relied on the Fubarnii to make stuff for them - they never mastered metalwork themselves and now scavenge any weapons/armour they need. Some old pre-empire weapons are still carried, but they are rare and thus most weapons/armour aren't really designed for them.
Some Fubarnii would theorise that Fubarnii culture was itself formed by the pressures exerted by the Devanu masters, but that is open to (quite violent) debate.
I hope all this isn't overwhelming! Certainly not! Feel free to ask for more details etc and I'll do my best to answer.