Ethnogenesis
History
Who Were the Tunguses?
The Tunguses were not one people but a constellation of related tribes speaking similar languages across the immense forests and river valleys of Manchuria and the Russian Far East. Chinese chroniclers grouped them under various names — Sushen, Yilou, Wuji, and most importantly Mohe — recognizing their kinship while acknowledging their disunity. These were peoples of the taiga, where coniferous forests stretched to horizons no farmer would ever plow. They hunted deer and boar through birch groves, fished salmon runs in rivers that froze solid for months, raised pigs in forest clearings, and knew every trail through woodlands that swallowed outsiders without trace. From these scattered bands would eventually emerge the Jurchens who conquered northern China and the Manchus who took it all — but in this age, they remained frontier peoples, formidable in their forests, marginal to the great civilizations surrounding them.
Homeland and Way of Life
The Tungusic homeland encompassed the drainage basins of the Amur, Sungari, and Ussuri rivers — a landscape of dark forests, marshlands, and mountain ranges where winter temperatures plunged far below freezing and snow lay deep for half the year. Villages clustered along riverbanks, their inhabitants combining fishing, hunting, pig-raising, and limited agriculture. The Mohe were famous for their pigs, which foraged in forests and provided meat, leather, and bristles for trade. Some groups practiced a shifting cultivation, burning forest clearings for millet before moving on when soil exhausted.
Life followed seasonal rhythms dictated by climate. Summer brought intense activity: fishing, gathering, tending crops, preparing for the long darkness ahead. Autumn meant hunting expeditions and the slaughter of pigs that couldn't be fed through winter. The cold months were spent in semi-underground dwellings, insulated against temperatures that killed the unprepared. Families lived in these pit-houses, gathered around central hearths, crafting tools and clothing from materials stockpiled during warmer seasons. Spring brought the thaw, flooding rivers, and the return of migratory animals — and the cycle began again.
Warfare, Power, and Limits
Tungusic warriors earned respect from every neighbor. They fought on foot and horseback, skilled with bows suited to forest ambush and close combat. Chinese sources noted their ferocity and their practice of taking heads as trophies. Their knowledge of terrain made them nearly impossible to defeat in their home forests — pursuing armies found themselves lost, starving, frozen, picked off by enemies they never saw. The Mohe raided Korean kingdoms, Chinese frontier posts, and each other with equal enthusiasm, taking captives, livestock, and goods they could not produce themselves.
Yet political unity eluded them. Tribes formed temporary confederations under successful war leaders, only to fragment when the leader died or fortunes turned. The exception was Balhae, founded in 698 CE by a Mohe leader after the collapse of the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo. Balhae became a genuine state, adopting Chinese administrative systems, building cities, and earning recognition as a civilized kingdom. At its height, it controlled much of Manchuria and maintained diplomatic relations with Tang China and Japan. But Balhae was the exception; most Tungusic peoples remained tribal, their settlements modest, their chiefs' authority limited to what personal prestige could command.
Beliefs, Customs, and Society
Shamanism pervaded Tungusic spiritual life. Shamans — men and women who could travel between worlds — communicated with spirits inhabiting every tree, river, and animal. They healed the sick, guided the dead, predicted hunting success, and interpreted omens. Their rituals involved drumming, dancing, and trance states during which the shaman's soul journeyed to realms ordinary people could not reach. Spirit poles marked sacred sites; offerings placated beings who controlled weather, game, and fortune.
Society organized around clans claiming common ancestors. Clans owned hunting territories, arranged marriages, and conducted blood feuds when honor demanded. Women held significant roles — shamans were often female, and wives managed households during men's extended hunting expeditions. Hospitality to travelers was sacred obligation; a stranger who reached your fire must be fed and sheltered regardless of tribal affiliation. This custom facilitated trade networks that moved furs, ginseng, and forest products southward to Chinese markets in exchange for iron, silk, and grain.
Contacts, Conflicts, and Legacy
The Tungusic peoples occupied a crossroads where Chinese, Korean, and steppe nomad influences met. From China came writing, Buddhism, administrative concepts, and luxury goods; from Korea came similar cultural transmission and frequent warfare; from the steppe came horse-riding techniques and nomadic political models. Balhae synthesized these influences into something distinctive — a kingdom that Chinese sources called "the flourishing land in the East," with cities featuring Chinese-style architecture, a court that sent students to Tang academies, and a mixed population of Mohe, Koreans, and others.
In 926 CE, the Khitan Liao dynasty destroyed Balhae, scattering its elite and absorbing its population. The Mohe who had formed Balhae's core dispersed — some assimilated into Khitan society, others retreated deeper into forests. But the Tungusic peoples endured. Within two centuries, one group — the Jurchens — would build their own empire, conquering northern China and establishing the Jin dynasty. The forest skills, the clan organization, the warrior ethos, the shamanic beliefs — all persisted through political catastrophe, waiting for the moment when descendants of these taiga hunters would remake East Asian history.
Abilities
These abilities capture a forest people who built modestly but defended tenaciously. The food cost imposed on enemies maneuvering through Tungusic provinces reflects the brutal logistics of campaigning in taiga — armies that entered these forests without adequate supplies simply perished. Cities with reduced hit points but dramatically cheaper construction represent the modest wooden settlements of the Mohe, easily built but vulnerable compared to Chinese stonework.
The ability to gain event blessings through action cube placement represents the shamanic tradition — spiritual practitioners who could invoke favorable outcomes through ritual intervention in cosmic affairs.
Tunguses I
, they must spend 1 
for each engaged 
and -4 
without cubes of your colorto gain 1 blessing from it
FAQ
What is "1 blessing from an event"?
Each event card has two bonuses at the bottom. When you use this ability, you choose and receive one of those two bonuses.
What happens if an opponent cannot pay the food cost to maneuver through my province?
If they lack sufficient food, they simply cannot perform that maneuver. They must find another route or abandon the movement entirely.
If an opponent maneuvers through two of my provinces in one action, how much food do they pay?
They pay twice — once for each province. For each province entered, they spend 1 food per unit involved in the maneuver.
What does "-4 resources" mean when constructing a City?
You may reduce your resource payment by up to 4 when constructing a City. This can be any combination of wood and stone — for example, 3 wood and 1 stone, or 2 of each, or 4 wood. Combined with -4 coins, your Cities cost significantly less than normal.