Now That I have officially settled in Drakeholm I think it is time that I take A deeper dive into the Biome that I will be living in. Hopefully this will become a good reference for myself, for my Fellow members of Drakeholm and possibly even our friends to the north in Baxteria. We don't have a full breakdown of the Shrub Steppe by SBS but with some references from SBS are my google machine we can piece together what it may be like.

What is the shrub steppe?

The Shrub-steppe is a type of low rainfall natural grassland. While arid, shrub-steppes have sufficient moisture to support a cover of perennial grasses and/or shrubs, a feature which distinguishes them from deserts. The Best examples of the shrub-steppe are found in North America in south-central British Columbia down into southeastern Washington state, eastern Oregon, and eastern California, and across through Idaho, Nevada, and Utah into western Wyoming and Colorado, and down into northern and central New Mexico and northern Arizona. This area is most abundant with stone with deposits of minerals and clay. I does not have large forests but arid trees are present. It also has a large and diverse wildlife which I will talk about later on. Being a grasslands it makes a good place for its Neran population while the rocky terrain and arid climate is also suitable for the Waerd. Below are few examples of what parts of the Biome may look like.

Climate in the Shrub-Steppe

The Shrub-Steppe has all four season but can get very cold in the winter and hot in the summer. According to Wikipedia (which isn't a approved source but I'm going to use it anyway because your not my college professor) It can get as hot as 113 degrees F and as cold as -67 Degrees F. Now we don't know how extreme SBS is going to make the weather changes but this does give us an idea what the climate is doing to be like over our time playing..

Fauna the Shrub-Steppe

After some reading about the types of animals one might find in the shrub-steppe I went through the list on Fauna In the CoE wiki. I came up with a list of animals that we may find there in the Wild.

Canis Rabbit

The Canis Rabbit was confirmed to exist on the 6th February 2016 in Twitter.[1], with the context that the Canis Rabbit will be a dangerous creature.

Conifer Rat

The Conifer Rat comes in a set of three, each a tiny rat. While they don't look like much, when left alone they curl up into a ball resembling a pine cone.

Fortunately for you, they're very light sleepers, and are known to make a sound when woken up by people (or things) moving near them.[1]

“ They can curl up into what resembles a pine cone! The rarely-observed conifer rat is usually found in forests where it can feed on pine needles and hide from predators by rolling itself up to look like a pine cone. They are shy and prefer to ride in their owner's pockets or pouches. They are often trained for reconnaissance and infiltration due to their cleverness and natural camouflage.[2] „

I was initially skeptical that this creature would be in our biome but according the the Wiki it is native to the Grasslands and can be found contentment-wide. My personal theory is this creature will may look less like a Pine cone and more like prickly bush in the shrub-steppe.

Fox

The Fox is similar to Domino Fox apart from the lack of an armoured head. These animals are adept trackers and are known to help adventurers in their hunts. The Fox will be one of the available in-game Pets.[1]

“ Adorable and sly, a great companion for the dexterous. Foxes have an excellent sense of smell and hearing, allowing them to effectively scavenge for small rodents and other creatures for their owners. You may also benefit from it's keen intuition that can warn you of nearby dangers, but they may become overwhelmed in towns. They also get along great with dogs! [2] „

Wild Goat

All Fear the wild goat! May we domesticate them all!

Wild Horses

Horses are a common mode of transport within Elyria being frequently found within a wide range of biomes and as such are domesticated for use by Mann; Horses can be used as farm labor or driving specifically medium or small sized transport vehicles or siege weapons.

Horses are also used as a resource with the skins, meat, hair and bone being used for crafting or consumption

I have seen enough cowboy movies to suspect that there are some wild horses in them hill.

Wild Oxen

Oxen, are found in the shrub-steppe.

Buffalo

The American Buffalo is a animal that is pretty unique to the grasslands in North America. They once roamed all through out the Shrub-steppe in the United States.

Elk

Certain species of Elk are very common in the shrub-steppe.

Trison

Trison are found throughout the Plains of Elyria and I do not think the shrub-steppe will be an exception.

wolf

A wolf's pack is its family, when one adopts a wolf, they are adopting a fiercely loyal companion. Family in spirit, if not in fact.[1]

Wolves can be used in groups of 2 to 6 to pull sleds, or kept as pets. Wolves can be trained and domesticated.

cougar

Cougars or mountain lions are one of the top predictors of this Biome.

addendum

A few added creators we may encounter, Thanks to our friend Huntsmaster.

Coyote

The coyote is a typical canid intermediate in size between the foxes and the gray wolf.

The pelage of the coyote is grayish, buff, pinkish cinnamon, or brownish, or a combination of those colors, often overlain by blackish tipped hairs on the ears, muzzle feet, and dorsum. The lips and eyelids are black, accentuated by contrasting borders of white fur. The underparts are paler than the remainder of the body. Considerable variation in color and markings of coyotes is evident among individuals and regionally east and west of the Cascade Range. True albinos with pink eyes and pink foot pads are known to have occurred in Oregon.

Pronghorn Antelope

Pronghorn get their name from the prominent pair of horns they display on the top of their head. The horns are branched with two points, made of bone, and covered with a keratinous casing which is shed and regrown annually. These animals measure four to five feet long from nose to tail, and are approximately three and a half feet tall. The females weigh around 75-110 pounds, while the males weigh 90-140 pounds. They are reddish-brown in color and have a white stomach, behind, throat, and parts of the facial area are also white.

How to Survive

Now that we know a little bit more about the Biome the issue becomes how does one survive in the shrub step and what are the hazards.

Water

The First thing we are going to have to secure is water, This is a very arid climate with limited rainfall. Keep in mind Arid does not mean warm or cold just that it lacks rainfall. So no matter if its hot or cold we have to figure it out. In this case we are in luck. Most places on the map have access to a major river or wells in their settlement.

Winter

I have a feeling that the first round of winter in CoE is going to be rough. So when in comes to surviving that first winter we are probably going to have to prepare a bit. That means making sure we have stores of food and winter clothes.

Food

This brings us to what i Think is the most difficult to achieve for large populations in the shrub step but this one has the most options to solve.

Hunting

Hunting and gathering is the way that all early people survived and since gathering is pretty scarce hunting is the way to go. In fact travailing nomads who followed the heard for hunting was the way that most steppe people survived in both north america and Asia. Now most of us are going to live in a settlement so we probably wont hunt that way but the earlier list of animals that I presented might give you an idea what you are looking for and what you might want to avoid,

Pastoral Farming

Pastoral farming (also known in some regions as ranching, livestock farming or grazing) is a form of agriculture aimed at producing livestock, rather than growing crops. Examples include dairy farming, raising beef cattle, and raising sheep for wool. In contrast, arable farming concentrates on crops rather than livestock. Finally, Mixed farming incorporates livestock and crops on a single farm. Some mixed farmers grow crops purely as fodder for their livestock; some crop farmers grow fodder and sell it to pastoral farmers. The shrub-steppe has a lot of open space for grazing but it is unclear if we will have something like the traditional dairy cow. My theory is that we will have Goats, Sheep and oxen that are more suited to the harsher environment.

Dry-land Farming

At this point you may have been like "Hey cool all those cool Fauna Pictures were great but what about the flora?" The reason is because Plants are boring unless I can eat them to not die. My personal opinion. So Looking at the foods that grow in arid climates on the CoE wiki I came up with a few theories about what would be possible. Bare in mind that this is not earth, So even if technically some of these may not exist in the shrub steppe that doesn't mean its not possible in CoE. Looking at the Crops for Arid Biomes I used a little common sense to decide which I should include but like all things I could be wrong and it subject to change by SBS.

Flax Crop

Flax is grown for its seeds, which can be ground into a meal or turned into linseed oil, a product used as a nutritional supplement and as an ingredient in many wood-finishing products. Flax is also grown as an ornamental plant in gardens. Moreover, flax fibers are used to make linen. The specific epithet, usitatissimum, means "most useful".[17]

Flax fibers taken from the stem of the plant are two to three times as strong as cotton fibers. Additionally, flax fibers are naturally smooth and straight. Europe and North America both depended on flax for plant-based cloth until the 19th century, when cotton overtook flax as the most common plant for making rag-based paper. Flax is grown on the Canadian prairies for linseed oil, which is used as a drying oil in paints and varnishes and in products such as linoleum and printing inks.

Linseed meal, the byproduct of producing linseed oil from flax seeds, is used as livestock fodder. It is a protein-rich feed for ruminants, rabbits, and fish.[18]

Maize(corn)

Most historians believe maize was domesticated in the Tehuacán Valley of Mexico.[10] Recent research in the early 21st century has modified this view somewhat; scholars now indicate the adjacent Balsas River Valley of south-central Mexico as the center of domestication.[11]

An influential 2002 study by Matsuoka et al. has demonstrated that, rather than the multiple independent domestications model, all maize arose from a single domestication in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago. The study also demonstrated that the oldest surviving maize types are those of the Mexican highlands. Later, maize spread from this region over the Americas along two major paths. This is consistent with a model based on the archaeological record suggesting that maize diversified in the highlands of Mexico before spreading to the lowlands.[12][13]

Archaeologist Dolores Piperno has said:[11]

A large corpus of data indicates that it [maize] was dispersed into lower Central America by 7600 BP [5600 BC] and had moved into the inter-Andean valleys of Colombia between 7000 and 6000 BP [5000–4000 BC].

— Dolores Piperno, The Origins of Plant Cultivation and Domestication in the New World Tropics: Patterns, Process, and New Developments[11]

Tepary Beans

Domesticated tepary bean is a traditional Native American food crop and a drought-tolerant crop in minor use in dry regions worldwide. The seeds are primarily used as dry shell beans but are sometimes processed into meal.

Winter Wheat

Although typically grown as a cash grain, winter wheat can provide most of the cover crop benefits of other cereal crops, as well as a grazing option prior to spring tiller elongation. It’s less likely than barley or rye to become a weed and is easier to kill.

Grapes

Grapes can be eaten fresh as table grapes or they can be used for making wine, jam, juice, jelly, grape seed extract, raisins, vinegar, and grape seed oil. Grapes are a non-climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.

Sunflowers

are cultivated in temperate regions and some tropical regions as food crops for humans, cattle, and poultry, and as ornamental plants.

Arid Fruit Trees?

So arid fruit trees exist I guess, I mean I thought avocados but I didn't know. Anyway None of the settlements I've seen have foraging as a available resource in the shrub-step too my knowledge but it is in all the county and duchy resources. Now what that means I don't know but as I stated earlier this is not earth so there is a chance we may discover them and learn to make orchards. The don't exist on earth but maybe someday in Elyria and all these examples come from the CoE wiki.

Pomegranate trees

The pithy tissue lying under the skin and around the seeds of larger ripe fruits is the only part eaten. The seeds are said to be bitter, caustic and to cause sores on the tongue. The skin of the unripe fruit is extremely sour.

n the well vegetated areas of the island the foliage is little grazed, except in a prolonged dry season, when the fallen dead leaves are eaten. In drier areas, goats eat the leaves and especially the new shoots of smaller and more prostrate shrubs, while sheep eat dry plant litter. It is not palatable to cattle. Goats are fond of the immature fruit. and small stock also like the flowers, fresh or dried.

Apricot trees

An apricot is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus Prunus. Usually, an apricot tree is from the species P. armeniaca, but the species P. brigantina, P. mandshurica, P. mume, P. zhengheensis and P. sibirica are closely related, have similar fruit, and are also called apricots.

Almond trees

The almond // is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries as well as Central Asia, but widely cultivated elsewhere. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree.

The End

Thank you for reading if you got this far and for helping me put some thoughts together. I hope it helped free to comment below or message me about life in the Steppe or if your a long lost soul looking for a home your welcome in my city and can always talk to me or my fellow members of my county on our discord. linked bellow

City of :Widow's Reach

HammerBull collective My Main Discord