When a zoog forest hosts a perilous and powerful spiritual entity, the zoogs typically build a shrine and appoint a priestly class to placate this force.. For example, zoogs living in a
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Zoog clerics exist, but they are largely focused on
appeasement Druids exist to draw strength and power
from their forests When a zoog forest hosts a perilous
and powerful spiritual entity, the zoogs typically build
a shrine and appoint a priestly class to placate this force
These priests perform whatever sacrifices and rites are
needed to minimize conflict
For example, zoogs living in a forest at the base of a
powerful red dragon’s mountain might set up a shrine
to the dragon and kidnap maidens from surrounding
hamlets that they might offer them up to the dragon to
prevent the creature from attacking their forest While
humans, naturally enough, see this activity as evil, the
zoogs view it as highly practical They don’t have the
ability to slay the dragon, so they do what they can,
at minimal cost to their community, to avoid trouble
As a result, zoogs have gathered a reputation for
worshiping evil and unholy beings This reputation
is deserved to an extent: benign forces don’t threaten
the zoogs, so they don’t feel a need to appease them in
this way But even zoogs who worship at the shrine of
a powerful devil are not necessarily evil themselves—
they do so out of pragmatism rather than fervor
Treaties
One of the best-known features of zoog law is their
universal recognition of treaties A given treaty is only
made with one entity or organization at a time A treaty
may be agreed between the forest and a nation, race,
or village, or even just a single person If two villages
each want a treaty with the zoogs, they must negotiate
separately While treaties can cover a wide number of
topics, typically the arrangement is for the zoogs to
permit free passage through their forest in exchange
for some consideration from the other party
Treaties can be predatory in nature For example,
when the cats of Ulthar attacked and defeated the
zoogs of the Enchanted Woods, they took a number
of noble zoog youths as hostages Those zoogs agreed never again to molest or eat a cat, and in turn, the cats agreed to keep their hostages alive Unfortunately for the zoogs, this treaty was not to their advantage, but such is reality Naturally, if the tables were turned, the zoogs would have enforced a treaty to their own ends
When a treaty is being considered, the zoog council
of nobles debates it If they reach a favorable decision, the other party is brought into the zoog colony, and all the zoogs convene to identify and learn to recognize that individual or group For example, when the zoogs
of Blackwood made the Treaty of Eternal Friendship with the gnomes of Willendilly, the gnomes sent several dozen gnomes, of all ages and walks of life,
to Blackwood so the zoogs could memorize the appearance and dress of Willendilly, and thus refrain from preying on them This treaty was eventually broken unwittingly by the zoogs when they captured and devoured three bleached gnomes from Willendilly, unaware that these pale, listless creatures were the same species as the other gnomes (since no bleached had been sent to the treaty-signing)
Treaties are not written down (at least, not by the zoogs), since every zoog in the forest is required
to memorize it Still, an old treaty may be unknown
to younger zoogs, and over time, treaties can “wear off.” This can happen quite quickly, considering the condensed breeding cycle of zoogs
Zoogs rarely break treaties on purpose, but they are known to abuse them to an extreme In one case, the zoogs of the Screaming Woods had a treaty with a particular family The oldest son of this family took a band of his friends into the deepest part of the forest, expecting that the zoogs would honor the family treaty, and thus grant them safe passage The zoogs trapped them all, then served them at a great feast The son alone was spared, but they forced him to partake in