| Spoken Language: Common. |
| Naming Conventions: Shoanti names are based on indigenous peoples of the Americas, particularly those in North America, without being specific to any tribe. |
The Shoanti are an often nomadic people who live in the Storval Plateau and Velashu Uplands regions of Varisia and well as the Hold of Belkzen and the Lands of the Linnorm Kings. Like their Varisian cousins, these humans descended from the enslaved workers of the ancient empire of Thassilon, but have since developed a unique and advanced culture of their own. Their culture has been formed by near-constant conflict with their challenging environment and their various human and non-human neighbors. This has made them a largely tenacious, stalwart, and mistrustful people who are oath-sworn to retain their lost homelands, and honor-bound to defeat all who would dismiss them as primitive barbarians.
Shoanti skin tones vary widely from fair but deeply tanned to dark brown, but most have a ruddy complexion. A Shoanti's birth name is only used during childhood, or by close family. Their full, or descriptive, names are given at adulthood and are typically short phrases that describe an aspect of their personality or an important even in their life. Shoanti do not use surnames.