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"It seems like the Chief and his hordes will not stop until they reach the ocean; I have seen it. But this cave will be safe, as long as these snake hounds are at my side."
— Good Medicine
Hiitheti' Tho'wa'unochu (Arapaho: "It is Good Medicine", IPA: / hiːˌθɛdˈiː θɑːˈwɑːˌʌnˈoʊçˌʌ / HEETH-ed-EE THAH-wah-UHN-ohch-uh), commonly known as "Heath" or "Good Medicine" to non-tribals, is a former shaman of the Broken Lodges tribe residing in the Mojave's Bloodborne Cave in 2281.
Background[]
Early years[]
Born in the late autumn months of 2247, Good Medicine was named at birth Teesou'u Besiiseii ("They Are Bright Eyes") for his abnormally light colored hazel eyes. He was born into the Tah'wotih' Beyahwuu (Broken Lodges) tribe of central Colorado in Arapaho Basin, colloquially known as "The Basin". While the Broken Ledges were a proud warlike tribe, Bright Eyes instead distinguished himself as an adept hunter and mastered the use of tomahawks, a Broken Lodge warrior's signature war and ceremonial instrument, for bringing down big game.
Broken Lodges shaman[]
In 2263, Bright Eyes was contacted by ancestral spirits that appeared in his dreams. At first, he thought nothing of it but night after night, he had the same dream. In this dream, tribal elders who had passed on led a cryptic narrative of The Basin's destruction.
Hunting alone in the spruce forests outside of the main Broken Lodges camps, Bright Eyes was adorned in war paint. A lone coyote slinked out from behind the trees. Startled, Bright Eyes hastily delivered a tomahawk into its side. The coyote disintegrated into gold and red aspen leaves and blew to the east; the wind that carried them away whispered "the chief is coming". When all the leaves had disappeared, a thunderous rumbling of hooves quaked the ground. The tree line fell as thousands of stampeding bighorner bulls trampled through the forest. Bright Eyes fled for his life and was chased back to the Broken Lodges for which the tribe was named. Dark, hot clouds formed over the camp; thunder boomed and a heavy crimson rain fell. The clouds fell over Bright Eyes and obscured his vision; wisps of spirits surrounded him and he remained unscathed during the stampede. However, when these clouds dissipated, all signs of the Broken Lodges were gone and Bright Eyes was left naked in the cold.
Bright Eyes sought guidance and told the Broken Lodges shaman Haa'eiht Cheithwooono' ("She Who Knows Spirits") about these dreams. Upon hearing that spirits were contacting Bright Eyes, she suggested that he should focus on vision quests and devote his time to communing with these Broken Lodge ancestors to see what they could teach them. According to She Knows Spirits, Bright Eyes had a rare gift and should not be squandering it by simply hunting for the tribe.
Over the coming years, Bright Eyes aided the Broken Lodges in interpreting good ancestral spirits and handing down the advice to the tribe, as well as warding off evil spirits that sought to misguide them. By 2267, he had made quite a name for himself within the tribe and outside of it, particularly with the few trade caravans that navigated The Basin. It was in recognition to Bright Eyes' expertise in making protective and lucky medicine bundles that the Broken Lodges chieftain Heenah'ainen Nih'ahsah' ("He Hunts in the Rain") bestowed upon him a new name: "Hiitheti' Tho'wa'unochu" ("It is Good Medicine").
The Chief is Coming[]
In winter of 2278, 15 years after his initial dreams, Good Medicine's dreams proved to be prophetic. Caesar's Legion was on the warpath in Colorado and were coming to conquer the Broken Lodges as well. What followed was the Broken Lodges War, which ultimately resulted in The Basin being sacked and the Broken Lodges being exterminated by Caesar's Legion.
In the spring of 2279, Good Medicine and She Knows Spirits, however unlikely, were in the cellar of a lodge gathering the last of their dried plants when the Broken Lodges were sieged by the Legion and the lodge collapsed on top of the cellar door. Trapped beneath burning rubble, the shamans were able to survive while the rest of The Basin burned. They remained in this hotbox cellar for three days and nights before the cellar door collapsed under the weight of a heavy snowfall and allowed the shamans to escape the incidental sweat lodge. From their time in the cellar, they were visited by the spirits of past war chiefs, including Heenah'ainen Nih'ahsah', and told there was little they could do for the Broken Lodges, but they could still warn other tribes of the Chief and his hordes.
Good Medicine and She Knows Spirits emerged from the cellar to witness a days old massacre; scavengers were already picking apart warriors and noncombatants alike. The shamans performed the Broken Lodges funeral rites the entire day and night before they began their journey west.
Journey west[]
On their way out of Colorado via U.S. Route 40, Good Medicine and She Knows Spirits were able to live with the peaceful Kannah and Yampa tribes and warn them of the Chief and his hordes before entering Utah. While in Utah, they managed to warn the Uinta and Cactus Runners as well, but were not exactly welcomed by the Canyonhawk tribe. The shamans fled from them and happened into New Canaan. The Mormons allowed them shelter for several months and the shamans slowly became part of the tribe, mixing traditional Broken Lodges spirituality with Mormonism.
She Knows Spirits did not take well to life outside of the Rocky Mountains and developed chronic radiation sickness in the months after they left The Basin. Despite the efforts of Good Medicine and the Mormon doctors, the damage was already done and she passed away in August of 2279. Good Medicine performed the customary Broken Lodge funeral rights preceding Bishop Mordecai's Mormon funeral service.
She Knows Spirit's death seemed to renew Good Medicine in his quest to spread the word about Caesar's Legion. He made his way from tribe to tribe until his recent arrival in the Mojave Wasteland. Near Lake Mead, he was set upon by a squad of patrolling legionnaires; outnumbered and outgunned, he fled from the ambush towards a cave where nightstalkers happened to nest and set upon Good Medicine's assailants. The nightstalkers treated Good Medicine as one of the pack and led him back to their lair in Bloodborne Cave. Since then, he has lived in the cave, mending his wounds and mediating on where the Broken Lodges spirits want him to go next.
Appearance and abilities[]
Good Medicine has a muscular bulk to him, standing a little below six feet tall (1.8 meters) and 160 pounds (73 kilograms). His Native American heritage gives him a medium brown, tanned skin tone, but his eyes are abnormally pale, being a light hazel rather than the common near black. His head is completely shaved and his facial features are noticeably defined.
With a majority of his life as a Broken Lodge medicine man, Hiitheti' is a master of preparing tribal medicines, like teas, salves and poultices. For this reason, he is always carrying a number of plants materials, like leaves, herbs and roots. He has an adequate understanding of human physiology, but is not classically trained as a doctor meaning technologically advanced medicine, like stimpaks and chems, are somewhat foreign to him. From his short time as a warrior and even longer time being engrossed in a warrior society, Good Medicine is well versed with melee weapons, especially tomahawks. At times, Hiitheti's paranormal link with spirits can give him a sense of warning and alert him to dangers that are normally unforeseeable and animals seem to not bother him, even coming to his aid on occasion.
Being born into a culture that praises tradition over innovation, Good Medicine learned to focus on utilitarian qualities rather than intellectual qualities; in short, he is less intelligent than average and is slow to learn new skills. Hiitheti' also has a fair bit of tribal in him still, even if the Mormons diluted some of it, which wastelanders might find a bit suspicious and seek to exploit.
Equipment[]
| Apparel | Weapon | Other items | On death |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leather leggings Broken Lodges shaman garb |
Tomahawks (x4) Hunting rifle |
Broken Lodges calumet tomahawk 30 .308 rounds (Roll 3d4 to determine column, then 2d8 for randomized equipment: Column 1 1-Ant egg 2-Cave fungus (2) 3-Healing powder 4-Nightstalker tail 5-Antivenom 6-Cazador poison gland (2) 7-Honey mesquite pod (3) 8-Pinto bean pod (3) Column 2 1-Banana yucca fruit (2) 2-Coyote hide 3-Jalapeño pepper (3) 4-Pinyon nuts (2) 5-Bark scorpion poison gland 6-Coyote meat 7-Maize 8-Prickly pear fruit (3) Column 3 1-Barrel cactus fruit (3) 2-Coyote tobacco chew (2) 3-Mantis foreleg (2) 4-Radscorpion poison gland (2) 5-Bighorner meat (3) 6-Fire gecko hide 7-Mole rat meat 8-Spore plant pods Column 4 )1-Broc flower (3) 2-Gecko hide 3-Nevada agave fruit (3) 4-White horsenettle (3) 5-Buffalo gourd seed (3) 6-Golden gecko hide 7-Nightstalker blood 8-Xander root (2) |
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Weapons[]
Good Medicine carries four iron headed tomahawks, the traditional weapon of Broken Lodge warriors, and uses them for both striking and throwing. To supplement these when close quarters combat is simply unfeasible, he has a .308 caliber, bolt-action hunting rifle.
Apparel[]
Hiitheti' wears water proofed leggings made of bighorner leather, which are perfect for the deserts of the wasteland. He has the knowledge of how to craft winter clothing, but the low elevation of the west does not normally call for such clothing. He also carries his ceremonial shaman garb, composed of a leather loincloth, a cloth anklet, a stone adorned armband and a necklace made of raw turquoise and red-tailed hawk feathers. He seldom uses it, but keeps it as reverence to his tribe.
Miscellaneous[]
As reverence for his tribe, he also carries a ceremonial pipe tomahawk made from catlinite, a reddish-brown metamorphosed mudstone for use in smoking regional entheogens for meditation. He also carries a satchel filled with any number of assorted natural plant and animal products he has collected for use in creating tribal medicine.
Personality[]
Good Medicine is generally docile and easy going. He enjoys a joke as much as the next person, but mocking tribals (or his tribe especially) hits a nerve for him and that is where he draws the line. More often than not, he will warn someone that they have gone too far before escalating to a violent confrontation. He does not enjoy killing, but his upbringing in a warlike tribe has taught him how to do so effectively. The only killing Good Medicine openly condones is that which has been done in hunting, and only if it is done with respect to the prey's sacrifice.
Spiritualism is a major aspect of Good Medicine's life and he is quite transparent about it. Many decisions are based on guidance imparted upon him by his ancestors or premonitions he experiences during meditations. Good Medicine is far from a man of science and respects the use of wisdom and intuition far more than mere intelligence and blind acceptance of authority. Experience and insight have been far more influential in his life and he intends to continue using them until he joins his Broken Lodge ancestors in hiyei'in ("our home").
Theme song[]
Arapaho Intertribal