Barbarians of The Dark Forests

Greetings!

I have been doing some reading again, and am in the process of developing a Barbarian confederation on the Northern Frontier, in my campaign world of Thandor. Have any of you wondered what life was like in our own world in say, 3000 BC, in the lands north of the Swiss Alps? What was going on in north of the Black Sea in 4000 BC?

What were the people doing, how were they living, and what kind of animals were roaming about? I have read a few things that have suggested that in the times of the Roman Republic, there were some reliable discoveries of living Dinosaurs around Africa and the Mediterranean. I remember also reading that Aurochs survived until I think the Dark Ages in Europe. Aurochs are prehistoric plains Cattle that are huge, like the size of a Rhino, I believe.

Still, the ancient cultures of Old Europe seem quite interesting, even before the arrival of the conquering Indo-European invaders. The Indo-Europeans began invading Europe and the Near East from roughly the period of 2200 BC-onwards. It was a tribe of the Indo-Europeans, the Aryans, that crushed India, and imposed the ancient Caste system that India remains enslaved to to this day. The Hittites were an advanced Indo-European tribe, and they established a powerful empire fairly quickly. It is noted that they effectively used Chariots in warfare, were ferocious warriors, and prodigious builders of skillfully designed and fortified hill-cities, walled cities that were cunningly built to take advantage of canyons, platues, and rugged ridges in hills and so on. They seemed to prefer hill-cities, and always sought to build on considerably higher ground than the standard settlement practice of the surrounding tribes of peoples.

In developing various barbarian tribes, do you advance them through the years as far as culture, magic, and technology goes? How do you develop barbarian tribes? Do you provide them with goals and dreams as they spread their culture out? Or perhaps they are on the defensive, and being crushed under the boot of more advanced, and more powerful kingdoms?

In working on some ideas for various barbarian cultures, in the northern frontier, I have developed the following as a typical mid-range encounter, and as a tribal template:

Race: Human (The Daerrhach)
Type: Humanoid
Size: Medium sized Humanoid
Class: Barbarian 6/Feat Master 2
HP: 6d12+2d6+16 (62 Hit Points)
Initiative: +2 (+2 DEX)
Speed: 40' FT.
AC: Varies by Armour type; (+2 DEX)
Attacks: +7/+2
Damage: On Foot: Great Axe; 1D12+3 Melee; or Shortspear 1D8 Ranged/Mounted: Battle Axe; 1D8+3 Melee; or Shortspear 1D8+3 Melee; 1D8 Ranged;
Face/Reach: 5'ft by 5'ft/5'ft.
Special Attacks: None
Special Qualities:
Fast Movement; Uncanny Dodge (DEX bonus to AC); Rage 2/day; Uncanny Dodge (Can't be flanked)
Saving Throws:
Fortitude: +7
Reflex: +4
Will: +3
Abilities:
STR: 14 (+2)
DEX: 14 (+2)
CON: 14* (+2)
INT: 10 (+0)
WIS: 10 (+0)
CHA: 12 (+1)

*2 Stat-gain points have been added to Constitution.

Skills:

Climb +5(STR) Craft (INT) Carpentry +3; Blacksmithing +3; Mining +3; Handle Animal +4(CHA) Intimidate +4(CHA) Intuit Direction +3(WIS) Jump +5(STR) Listen +3(WIS) Ride 11(DEX) Swim +5(STR) Wilderness Lore 6(WIS)Profession +3 (WIS)*Knowledge--Nature +3(INT)*

Cross/Class skills: Spot +2(WIS) Move Silently +4(DEX) Knowledge--War +2(INT) Hide +4(DEX) Tumble +4(DEX) Perform +3(CHA)

Cultural Skills: It is common for various members of the Daerrhach tribes to learn specific skills from the earliest years of childhood.

Female Daerrhach usually learn the following:
Knowledge--Hearth Wisdom +2
Heal +2
Craft, (Weaving)+2
Profession, (Herbalism) +2
Profession, (Cooking) +2

Male Daerrhach usually learn the following suite of skills:
Wilderness Lore +2
Spot +2
Listen +2
Move Silently +2
Swim +2

The above cultural skill ranks have not been added to the skill totals in order to account for whether or not the character is male or female.

Feats:

Dodge*Mobility*Spring Attack*Power Attack*Cleave*Great Cleave*Combat Reflexes*Mounted Combat*Ride-By-Attack*Spirited Charge
Cultural/Regional Feat: Skill Focus: Ride +3

Climate/Terrain: Temperate/ Forests, Mountains

Organization:

Gang (2-5); These are either a small group of Barbarian scouts or raiders, or perhaps a small group of Commoners, lvl 1-4, out foraging for roots and berries, or fishing in nearby streams.
(01-80, on foot; 81-100, on horseback.)

Equipment: For the whole group--
45% chance of Hide Armour
30% chance of Studded Leather Armour
25% chance of Chain-mail Armour

On Foot:
70% Great Axe, Shortspear, Dagger
10% Longsword, Shortspear, Dagger
10% Handaxe, Shortbow, Quiver w/20 arrows; Dagger
10% Battleaxe, Light Flail, Dagger. Plus Large Wooden Shield

Mounted:
70% Battleaxe, Shortspear, Dagger. Plus Large Wooden Shield.
10% Longsword, Shortbow, Quiver w/20 arrows; Handaxe, Dagger
10% Longsword, Shortspear, Dagger. Plus Large Wooden Shield
10% Battleaxe, Shortspear, Light Flail, Dagger. Plus Large Wooden Shield.



Patrol (5-20); This will usually be a long-range scout patrol of hardened barbarians, on foot or on horseback; or a grim patrol of raiders on foot or horseback, seeking to strike deep into unknown territory; A patrol will be led by a leader that is an 6th lvl Barbarian/4th lvl Ranger. Alternately, this can be a group of Commoners, lvl 1-4 seeking herds of goats or gathering roots, berries, or firewood. (01-60, on foot; 61-100, on horseback.)

Band (20-40); This band of Daerrhach barbarians will include two patrol leaders, plus a champion that is either a 6th lvl Barbarian/6th lvl Ranger, or a 12th lvl Ranger; This champion will also be accompanied by a courageous Skald, that is an 8th lvl Bard. This Skald will stay close to the champion, fighting with him in action, and at other times acting as a negotiator, as well as a chronicler of the bands actions, but also the great deeds of the champion. In addition, 1 8th level Druid, and 1 4th lvl Druid will accompany the band, both as healers and as important advisors.
(01-40, on foot; 41-100, on horseback.)

Clan (40-60); A Daerrhach clan will have four patrol leaders, 2-4 champions, a clan Chieftain that is either a 16th lvl Barbarian, or an 8th lvl Barbarian/8th lvl Ranger. The Chieftain will have 1-2 additional Skalds, being Bards of lvl 10-12 respectively. In addition, there will be a Clan Druid, that is lvl 10-12, and 1-2 additional Druids, usually lvl 2-4. The clan will also have 1-3 Rangers, of lvl 6-10. These Rangers are usually the best trackers and hunters of the clan. The clan will also have 1D20+10 ferocious wolfhounds as pets and guardian beasts. Such a clan will typically have 15+1D10 Cattle; 30+1D20 Goats or Hogs; 60+3D20 Horses; In addition to the strength of the clan, there will be an additional 50% of the total in women, and an equal number of children as women present.

Tribe (61+) A Daerrhach Tribe will usually contain at least 12 individual clans, as noted. A tribal Chieftan or King will be as a clan chieftan, except 16th-20th lvl. There will be a Tribal High Druid that is usually between 12th-16th lvl. There will also be found a Tribal Skald that is a Bard of no less than 12th lvl. There will be an additional Ranger of 12th-16th lvl, and a bonus of +25% of all the ratings for animals present, unless the tribe is especially impoverished. There will also be a section of 10+1D20 Adepts, usually women, who are lvl 2-6.

Challenge Rating: 8

Treasure: Standard; (As for characters of the appropriate level.)

Alignment: Usually Chaotic (Any)

Advancement: By Character Class

The Daerrhach tribes have lived throughout the dark forests for centuries. They have long since been master horsemen, and ride from a young age. The Daerrhach are ferocious warriors, with hordes of savage warriors screaming strange dirge-like chants as they surge into battle. The Daerrhach are expert at using ambushes, and leap into close hand-to-hand fighting with great enthusiasm. The Daerrhach often use mixed forces of ferocious infantry, which surge out of the dark, misty forest to grapple and pin any invading forces, while Daerrhach horsemen charge around the flanks of the enemy forces, cutting them off. The Daerrhach horsemen will send part of their force charging straight into the packed enemy forces, while other circle about, or lurk within the foliage, waiting to trample down any who escape, doing so with great roaring, and fanfare, as the enemy's trapped comrades can see their fleeing comrades trampled and hacked under the Daerrhach horsemen.

The Daerrhach will often encircle an enemy force in this manner, and then proceed to light groups of fires, in order for the wind to blow the hot smoke into the ranks of the enemy, causing them to become dreadfully thirsty and to scream in the heat; The smoke will also add to the encircled enemy's confusion, and also obscure the Daerrhachs' movements. Gradually, as the noose tightens, and the daerrhach make lightning strikes into the screaming mass of the enemy soldiers, the searing flames will creep ever closer, adding to the panic, and eventually bring any of the trapped soldiers to a screaming, burning death. Should the trapped enemy soldiers seek to escape, they must struggle through the hot flames and smoke, and, as they stagger under this tribulation, they can then be swiftly attacked by waiting Daerrhach warriors, axes ready for the bloody work to be done.

Should any enemy soldiers manage to survive such tactics, and struggle to some tree alive, any who are captured will be tortured by groups of women who follow their men into battle. The women will gather all of the prisoners up, lashing them to trees, or staking them out before crackling fire-pits, ready to introduce them to the ways that barbarians discover foreign secrets.

Before going into battle, Daerrhach Druid-women will often address the gathered warriors, dressed only in a dark robe, the Druid-woman will paint herself with ritual tattoos, and sometimes they will annoint their hair with the fresh blood of sacrifices, and as they wave their staves about, they will shout imprecations and admonishments to the assembled warriors, urging them to victory, or regaling them to the noble heritage of the tribes' past. The women of the tribe will have prepared special tinctures, ointments, and painted their men for war with bizarre, spiritually significant tattoos. In addition, the women will often inscribe the clan's totem animal rune into the men's skin, and the mothers or wives will prepare special jellies that aid the men in resisting pain, and in seeing visions from the spirit world to guide them in battle. Some jellies are known to provide such great courage to the warriors, as to make them immune to all fear, and which sends the warriors into a state of super-human ability and courage. The warriors' shields are usually decorated with individual family symbols, as well as a tribal and clan runic inscriptions, or pictographic symbols. The women will often gather in groups to sing and to begin choruses of dreadful wailing and chants, as they move through the fog in support of the tribe as it prepares to meet the enemy. Gradually, various members of the tribe will be worked up into a blood-thirsty frenzy, and the whole group of warriors will begin growling and mumbling a deep, low dirge-chant, which rumbles through the fog-enshrouded forest as the Daerrhach march to war.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Very interesting reading as always Shark.

I have played with the idea of stone age man in a fantasy game and tried to think about how they would intergrate into a world where elves and dwarves are just starting their decline.

Man would be a wander, following the herds. Elves saw them as beast but dwarves saw them as someone to trade with, this meant that the humans started to take the 'dwarf look'. This meant the stone age for man was shorter but the time before man settled and remained a wander was greater.

Started to map the world in a huge circle, north to south, along the migration of herd animals and the seasons.

Never went beyond that.

Looks good Shark!

Just a couple of small points:

Barbarians of the Dark Forest wouldn't be master horsemen. You won't find much use for horses, nor many horses, in a dark forest. That's for the wide open steppes.

And make up your mind regarding whether they're tattoed or just paint themselves. (The Romans used the same word, picti, for both, but that's not an excuse.)

Historically it would depend on what you're looking for - north of the alps the germanic tribes definitely painted themselves from time to time, and north of the Black Sea the Scythian peoples (horse riding nomads) probably tattoed themselves, as evidenced by a well preserved chieftain found in a grave, dated a couple of centuries before christ, if memory serves me well.


But most important - decide whether you want dwellers of the dark forest or horse nomad. Both are fun, and could well be found relatively close to each other.

Not bad... but the idea of starting fires egged on by druids doesn't sit well with me.


The presence of the more sophisticated arms and armor would seem to suggest a level of civilization in which specialization has occurred.

Perhaps I am wrong but I think the line between a barbarous culture and a more civilized culture revolves around the concept of specialization. In essence an individual barbarian warrior would have to make his own arms and armor, have them given to him as in from a relative, captured in battle or on a raid or traded for. This is in lieu of purchasing them from someone whose sole task was to spend several days or weeks creating an individual battle-axe or chain mail shirt. As a result a warrior’s weapons and armor would be prized above all else with the exception of a mount in the more mobile cultures.

I should note that a warrior class could only survive if there is someone to fight. I would further suggest that such a class would arise from a propensity for infighting. It other words the typical barbaric civilization would be divide into subgroups that generally fought among themselves but could be united temporarily to fight a common foe.

It could be viewed that such infighting is the primary reason a culture would remain grounded in barbarism. Specialization requires a high degree of cooperation in the division of labor.

P.S.
Shark, your posts are always a joy to read. They give.

Hello SHARK

Interesting as usual

Point to the timeline
If you go to the 3000-4000BC i think this early BA IIRC.
I would say/ druidic/shamanic magic, maybe uncut and uncontrolled but powerful, not necessry level related.
Think on rituals with the spirits of thel, plants animals.
Like Father Oak, The Wolf, the maiden of the well, nymphs etc.
Small godessess , spirits could be the representatves of the great mother in her three forms, or the consort or such.


The shamans would negotiate with the spirits holding rituals, guiding the spiritual needs of their people and such.

And the powers of the spirits could be great, if a few 1 st lev Shamans/druids made an plea to help to the river lord to drown the invading army, which magic-user could hope to stop with magic the great river drowning thousands.
Mabe the shamans must make a great sacrifice maybe the kife of a few of them.
More to not misuse this power.
Or the spirit of the forest or such.

The political organisation would be mostly small communuities tribes clans, great families, in an greater group of culture and faith, with the high druid or such who would appoint a leader in time of danger as war and immigration.
The druids/shamans of such a greater communitie would gather regularly for council and rituals and sacrifices.

The old sacred customs will guide this people.
Two handed weapons will be a raritiy.
delete blacksmith and mining on the skilltable, a smith would hold with awe in the community(Fear/respect) posibilly the smith would also be the adept of the communitie.
Specialist Artisans would be a rarity smiths, and a few others.
Mostly someone in the community would be a farmer/herder and also an artisan of something carpenter, barrelmaker, fletcher, waggonmaker.
Cloth and shoes would be most likely produced in every household great family, the spinwheel would be in every household.

Forest dwellers wouldn`t use much horseman it would be a rarity.

Equipment
Greataxes wouldn`t be used by many the main weapon would be spear and shield(a necessity), the heaviest armor the chain shirt, a scarity.

It gives a tactic by the housecarl, varangian guard to use a great or waraxe twohanded by one man backed up with spearman,
The axewielder would open the line and the spearman follow up and defend him.

Later time Germanic tribes

The longsword could be a wepon of the nobility and the rich(mostly the same) and their chosen henchmen.

Those who had many thralls and could work more fields.
Their priests could bless their weapons against foreign foes to do more damage or be poisoned.

Hey, it seems well-thought out. I have to agree with the earlier poster about the horsemen of the dark forest... It's okay to have different tribes of the same people who live in different environments, of course. Some could live in the forest, others on the plains adjacent to the woods, others along the coast -- they could be the same people, with the same customs and language, etc. but would live differently depending on their environment.

One thing to really think hard about is the other societies in your world. What kind of contact do your barbarians have with these societies? Things like weapons and making fire, etc., will be very much changed by contact with more advanced civilizations. Think about the first wave of German invaders of the Roman Empire. They quickly settled down, became farmers, and even joined the empire. Now, your barbarians don't have to settle down, especially if they remain in their home region (the dark forest, for example). But more advanced weapons and other technology would certainly trickle into the darkness. Whether different forms of magic would is a more interesting thought. Would any of them become Wizards or sorcerers even with the outside contact? Maybe, certainly bards would seem likely (Fafhrd the Skald?).

If you can lay your hands on a copy of Kingdoms of Kalamar, they have some interesting ideas about barbarian civilizations in that setting (one that is very Nordic and one that is somewhat similar to Native Americans).

Good luck with your endeavor and please keep us posted!

sword-dancer said:

Hello SHARK
Equipment
Greataxes wouldn`t be used by many the main weapon would be spear and shield(a necessity), the heaviest armor the chain shirt, a scarity.

It gives a tactic by the housecarl, varangian guard to use a great or waraxe twohanded by one man backed up with spearman,
The axewielder would open the line and the spearman follow up and defend him.

Later time Germanic tribes

The longsword could be a wepon of the nobility and the rich(mostly the same) and their chosen henchmen.

Click to expand...

I agree with all of this, but would add that the longbow also seems out of place. It should be remembered that longbows were very rare in medieval Europe, being almost exclusively the province of the English (who were famed for it and groups of English Longbow Mercenaries were highly valued). Therefore short bows are more likely (compound being also somewhat advanced). Another reason for this is that a short bow is at least as useful for hunting as a longbow, whereas a longbow is very useful in war because of its long range and ability to pierce armor. But in a society that does not have a special warrior class or profession -- and in a barbarian society every able-bodied male is a warrior but not exclusively -- it would be strange to have a tradition with long bows.

Food for thought.

Yuan-Ti said:

I agree with all of this, but would add that the longbow also seems out of place. It should be remembered that longbows were very rare in medieval Europe, being almost exclusively the province of the English (who were famed for it and groups of English Longbow Mercenaries were highly valued). Therefore short bows are more likely (compound being also somewhat advanced). Another reason for this is that a short bow is at least as useful for hunting as a longbow, whereas a longbow is very useful in war because of its long range and ability to pierce armor. But in a society that does not have a special warrior class or profession -- and in a barbarian society every able-bodied male is a warrior but not exclusively -- it would be strange to have a tradition with long bows.

Food for thought.

Click to expand...

There is a common misconception that longbows were not used in prehistoric times. There are several findings of longbows in England dated from BC 5300 to BC 3500. These are self bows, made of a single stave, and full size (although a bit smaller than the most extreme longbows). Arrowheads found at the sites indicate that they were used for hunting big game (e.g. aurocks), requiring a heavy bow with high impact.

BTW I have seen claims that these bows were in fact better than medieval longbows, as their shape is more in line with modern single-stave bows, but I have not been able to confim this with other sources

.Ziggy

That sounds like good stuff for the next number of The SHARK's notebooks, doesn't it?

Ziggy said:

There is a common misconception that longbows were not used in prehistoric times. There are several findings of longbows in England dated from BC 5300 to BC 3500. These are self bows, made of a single stave, and full size (although a bit smaller than the most extreme longbows). Arrowheads found at the sites indicate that they were used for hunting big game (e.g. aurocks), requiring a heavy bow with high impact.

BTW I have seen claims that these bows were in fact better than medieval longbows, as their shape is more in line with modern single-stave bows, but I have not been able to confim this with other sources

.Ziggy

Click to expand...

I know they existed, but I never heard that they were common or that they were better than medieval longbows. They were also not limited to England. Still, it seems unlikely that the barbarians of the "dark forest" would use them. Short bows make more sense for a "uncivilized" society, but of course you could always make exceptions.