The first three chapters of WARBRIDE will be taking place in a desert. Rocky terrain, low-sprawling plants, very little water... the typical stuff.

Any suggestions on the kinds of cultures that would live in this type of area, and any unusual traits or customs they might have?

I've got quite a bit (a lot actually), but I'm looking for as many little enriching details as possible.

Any help would be uber-cool.

Now the question is, exactly what kind of desert are you at.

Some deserts are rocky, yet have a great deal of plant life, there fore they could easily be herders of sheep and goats. They would be semi nomadic. Look to Native American tribes of the South West. They would be highly territorial, as this kind of area would have to balance on the amount of vegetation available for the animals.

I have seen that many of the tribes that live in the deserts are very superstitious. They usually have shaman, or which doctors. They usually seem very primal to larger cultures even if they have a very highly culture themselves. This might cause a lot of tension with outsiders.

Usually only a select group goes to trade with the rest of the world while the core of the people are safely away from danger or outer influence.

Some deserts dwellers are seen as very secretive, while others are very open. They do know their business in the deserts and if you want to cross, their prices are high.

Hierarchy is very important. In order to survive in the hostile environment, everyone must know their place and their job. To stray from the norm, could cause the loss of life of the herds or the lives of the clan or tribe. To move up or down in the hierarchy an individual must follow rules, customs, and usually prove them selves with challenges.

Also, many times the cultures are clannish and hold a "gathering" once a year, or every few years. This gives the clans a chance to find mates in other families so interbreeding does not occur. Again this is usually very structured, and will follow many rules and customs.

bout enough for now. might have more on this later

Hospitality is a common theme in all desert cultures, and only makes sense - if everyone helps out travelers, then when you become a traveler for whatever reason, people help you out. It forms a sort of communal safety net.

Another point is that desert people *can* have agriculture, often located either high on mountains (where there's appreciable rainfall) or deep in canyons (which serve as rain accumulators). However, in the latter case, complex dam systems are needed to prevent irrigation systems from disintegrating. The Anasazi of the southwest US are an excellent example, since they made a spectacular civilization that lasted many centuries until overpopulation taxed the land beyond what it could support. But still, there's no reason your characters couldn't encounter a similar group before the decline.

Desert groups, especially the nomadic ones, will often be war-oriented cultures, most often in the form of raiding. This is as good a way to find women, goods and slaves as working, and sometimes better. They will usually have horses, dogs, camels, or something similar which are highly developed and incredibly hardy. These creatures often take precedence over the family, and extensive records will be kept of the lineage.

Family ties are important, often spreading into huge groups of relatives. There is also a tendency towards heavy ritual and religion, as well as heavy penalties if the laws are disobeyed.

Clothing tends to be brightly colored and ornate, showing status and wealth in the form of jewelry and embroidery. Pottery, beadwork, embroidery and leatherwork are typical crafts of desert people, allowing them to trade for goods.

As Mokele mentioned, the hospitality factor is huge. In some cultures, a host cannot refuse a request for shelter. If the guest makes themselves useful, they might even be allowed to stay for a while, or possibly be adopted into the clan.

Thanks guys, I've gotten a few ideas from you that I intend to develop and use.

Still looking for some really "quirky" and unusual things though.

Oh there are a lot of interesting folks in the deserts! I just recommend that you just look online. Look up various kinds of deserts whether african or artic and then dig up some dirt on the people. I have a desert people I'm working on as well and I find the nomads of the Gobi desert to be very interesting. (National Geographic has a lot of good info on things like this.)

One of the most interesting customs of these people is that when they've settled down for awhile in an area and they leave their tent to hunt, gather water, etc. They will leave their tent open and travelers who come across the tent are welcome to take food, drink, and rest there. There's many more but I need to research it again. It's been awhile since I looked in on the subject.

There's also an African tribe that (forgive me if I'm not 100% acurate) holds a ceremony where the men get together and paint their faces yellow, they then dance and sing and hope to get chosen by a lady. Like I said taking a few minutes to research may turn up some interesting things.