Cimmerian Blood

[Water Bob]

-- SEVEN STONES RIDGE --

CAMPAIGN BULLET POINT III



Finn brought his new bride back to Grathmuir to live among the Duncohrs. He was 24 years old, but Lyme had only seen 9 winters. On his honor, Finn did not know her as a woman, though, until she became one, at age 15. Her parents, the shepherd and his Aesir wife, left Grathwold eastbound, but they were never heard from again. That spring, when the snows thawed, the remains of a man and a woman were found to the east, savaged, dismembered and unrecognizable. Trackers found the prints of the horse-sized nordwolves, but it is thought that the giant wolves only fed on fresh dead bodies. Otherwise, the norders would have taken much of the meat back to their lair. The years passed, and this mystery was never solved nor were the bodies ever identified.

The taunting and abuse Finn faced from his clanmembers never subsided. Fionn had been against the marriage, but he stood by his son and the Duncohr family honor. That Fionn was a mastersmith needed by the clan as a whole kept the Duncohrs from the same fate faced by Lyme's family. There was talk that her parents were butchered by Grath once they left the safety of the clan's territory. In spite of all that the Duncohr family received in the face of Finn's marriage to the half-Aesir, Fionn had noticed a change in the clan as a whole. People acted differently--less tolerant, more savage. Disputes between Grath villages were common and sometimes bloody. Honor had become twisted. Respect for the old ways seemed to be fading. As progressive as the clan had become, the Grath seemed to be moving backwards, as if the clan were destroying itself from within.

Fionn couldn't explain it. It was just something he knew, the reason for which could not be expressed--at least not logically. Some reasons were only deciphered by the hair that stood up at the nape of his neck. Something unnatural was afoot among his clansmen. He believed it. It was something that was inexplicable.

Each Grath village is dominated by one family. The second family is always weaker politically, known as the underfamily. Grathmuir is the only Grath village to serve as home to three Grath families, and the Duncohrs were the middle family--one of the two Grathmuir underfamilies. It is not uncommon for an underfamily to break away from its home village to start a new settlement where it can be dominate. Fionn claimed this right, and the Duncohrs followed the Diamondrun river south, out of the mountains, into the foothills of the Eiglophians. There, the Diamondrun cascades into a waterfall on a small plateau that overlooks the plains to the south. This place is known to all Grath and most other Cimmerians for it is also the place where the Seven Sacred Stones stand. These rune covered stones stand from time forgotten as a reminder of Crom's victory over the Titans. This plateau is known as Crom's Battleground, and it has been a traveling destination for centuries.

It is here that Fionn planted his tent, brought his forge, and relocated his family.

The Duncohrs would be the dominate family of the new Grath village called Seven Stones Ridge.

 

[Water Bob]

Interested in my development thread? If so, you might find this thread interesting too: Good Stuff on Nordheimir Clans.

 

[Water Bob]

-- Typical Ages and Character Level --




Most people in this campaign range in character level from 1-10. Characters that are level 11+ are true heroes, in deed, known and recognized in many directions. Hyborian kings, arch-mages and great sorcerers, and clan heroes are the types of characters that can be statted at level 11+.

Otherwise, most of the population in this game can be judged by the chart below. But, beware, it is only a rule-of-thumb. It's a rule that is made to be broken.

For example, Finn, elder of Seven Stones Ridge, is 57 years old and 7th level. The chief of the Ice Leopards, though, is about ten years younger than Finn yet he is a level higher.



Level 1 - typical age is 15-16

Level 2 - typical age is 16-18.

Level 3 - typical age is 18-21

Level 4 - typical age is 21-25

Level 5 - typical age is 25-30

Level 6 - typical age is 30-36

Level 7 - typical age is 36-43

Level 8 - typical age is 43-51

Level 9 - typical age is 51-60

Level 10 - typical age is 60-70

 

[Water Bob]

CIRCLE STEP combat maneuver

You circle around your opponent, always making yourself the hardest possible target while looking for an opening in your opponent's defenses to deliver your own strikes.

Circumstance: The character must have initiative and be in melee combat with a single opponent.

Effect: The character must attack from his starting square then use his five foot step to circle his opponent, moving to one of the two squares beside his opponent. If his opponent is right handed*, then the character's move to his opponent's right side will gain a larger dodge bonus than if the character moves to his opponent's left where the character is an easier target for a right handed swing. The opponent is allowed to keep step with the character, adjusting his facing as a free action. The character receives a +1 or a +2 bonus to Dodge Defense for the rest of the round when the move is completed depending on which side the character moved and the handedness of his opponent. Parry Defense does not receive a bonus from this maneuver.

*There is a 10% chance that a character is left handed.



Example --

Conan battles a Vanir. The Cimmerian crouches in the classic combat stance, his gleaming broadsword in his right hand and his left arm extended wide for balance. He studies the Vanir, wielding a large axe with both hands. Seeing his opponent favors a swing from right to left, Conan knows to keep him off balance by circling to the Nordheimer's right.

In game terms, Conan is in melee combat with a single opponent and has initiative. When the Cimmerian attacks, he will attack from his present square (the attack is resolved before movement) and then end his turn by placing Conan's figure to the right of the Vanir, using Conan's five foot step to do so.

Now, it's the Vanir's action, and his figure is allowed to turn and face Conan as an immediate (free) action, then make his attack normally. If Conan dodges this attack, then the Cimmerian will receive a +2 bonus to his Dodge Defense. If, for some reason, Conan decides to parry, then the attack is resolved normally without bonus.







GIVE GROUND combat maneuver

You retreat a few steps, in the face of an onslaught of powerful blows by your opponent, in an effort to steal some of the energy from his fierce swings and jabs.

Circumstance: The character cannot have initiative and must fail a parry, and be damaged, from an attack while in melee combat with a single opponent.

Effect: If the character is damaged after his opponent defeats the character's parry, the character can use an immediate action in the form of a five foot retreat directly backwards. Doing so will rob the attack of some of its energy, reducing damage by 1 point. Once the attack is resolved, the attacker can decide to use his five foot step normally, if able, to keep step with the opponent.


Example --

Conan battles a Vanir. Conan swings his massive sword using both hands at the Vanir. The northman throws up his axe to block Conan's blow and takes a few steps backwards just as Conan hits. The Cimmerian's strike loses some of its energy with the Vanir's maneuver.

In game terms, Conan has initiative and attacks and damages the Vanir. Conan may be intending to use the Circle Step maneuver above, but the Vanir robs him of that option when the Nordheimer moves directly backwards by five feet after failing to parry Conan's blow. The damage put to the Vanir is reduced by 1 point with this maneuver. Conan can now use his five foot step to move towards the Vanir and continue melee or remain where he is, in which case the Vanir begins his turn five feet away from Conan.




MOVEMENT NOTE: The Circle Step maneuver is a use of the character's Five Foot Step, therefore the character cannot move any farther this round. The Five Foot Step associated with the Give Ground maneuver, on the other hand, is an immediate action and therefore is a free action that does not count against the character's movement during the round (as with the Dance Aside maneuver).

 

[Water Bob]

Getting The Drop On Another - When sneak up behind an enemy and place a blade to his throat (or the point of a sword into his kidney), catching him flatfooted, you have the drop on him. Likewise, if you cover a flatfooted character with a crossbow or drawn bow (how long can you hold it?), but not a sling, you are considered to have the target covered and have gained the drop on him.

If you have the drop on a target and make a successful attack throw, a Massive Damage check is made no matter the total damage inflicted.

If the target's Massive Damage save is successful, the wound is still subject to the Permanent Damage rule.

 

[Water Bob]

When to use the Permanent Damage Chart

1. When a character rolls a natural 1 on his defense throw.

2. When a character's hit points fall to 0 or below.

3. When damage to a character equals or exceeds the character's threshold.

4. Whenever a characer must make a Massive Damage check.

 

[Water Bob]

BRANOC


Remember that your brother is Branoc. He's the older twin of Caelis.

He's got a sense of humor. He's quiet. And, he's typically slow to answer because he chooses his words carefully. When he speaks, he uses a strange speech pattern where the end of a sentence is spoken before the beginning of it. Instead of saying, "I will try," Branoc will pause, think hard, and then say, "Try, I will."

Some might criticize Branoc as being too cautious because he takes the time to think things through completely before making a decision. He listens, and solicits, advice from others. Nevertheless, he won the Ras Croi (ross-croy, the race of the heart), and he is the Ar Grais (are-grye), who is the chief of the current "class" of warriors-in-training, that includes both player characters.

Branoc is a competent leader, though, and there is no doubt that he loves his brothers. He would die for either of them. And, he considers Thrallan just as much of his own blood as is his twin, Caelis.





GRAIIS


The graiis (grye-is) is the current "class" of early teens training to become adult warriors for the clan. The current graiis includes five young members of the clan: Thrallan (age 14) and Caelis (age 14), Dahkus (age 13) and Brial (age 13) all under the leadership of Branoc (age 14), who is the Ar Grais.

As Ar Grais, Branoc wears a necklace made from the bones of the Cimmerian Blue Fox. This necklace is called the grai madda ra (grye-modda-raw), which is the symbol of leadership for the Ar Grais.





THREE YEARS


The graiis spends three years (or there abouts) training to become (accepted as) warriors for the Blue Fox clan. The process starts off in a general fashion as the young boys develop the muscles to become warriors. In the second year, the training gradually becomes more specialized--several important skills are developed (hunting, weaponsmithing, leatherworking, etc), and it is here where the graiis are set upon a path for a profession, some becoming apprentices to other clansmen.

The third year builds upon the other two but with a strong focus on battle. The graiis must acquire their own weapons as one of the tests (that teaches the ability to overcome problems) in becoming an adult, and once they settle on one, they train night and day to be invincible with it.

The third year ends when the graiis go through the final rite, called the deasghnath (dee-as-nath), where the young warrior, now aged about 15, must make a kill on his own, without help from a single other soul. The type of kill is up to the warrior, and typically results in a feared animal being taken down and returned to the villiage. But sometimes, Clan enemies or targets of a Blood Fued are used to fulfill the deasghnath. A warrior has some input into the esteem he will recieve after undergoing the deasghnath by the target he chooses to kill. It is not unusual to see a warrior return with the heads of three wolves, but this warrior does not find his place beside that of the warrior who returns to the villiage with the head of a member from an enemy clan.





THE MANTLE


Once a warrior completes the deasghnath and is recognized as an adult by the clan, the warrior is presented with a mantle. This is a large, warm, cloak, big enough to protect the warrior in winter and when sleeping in the wild. It can be made into a hammock or a wilderness shelter. Every person in the Clan contributes to the creation of the warrior's Mantle, from those hunters who provide the fur, to those who clean and skin the dead animals, to those who actually stitch the cloak into one piece. Young and old, every clansmen's hand touches the mantle and contributes to its creation, after which, it is presented to the warrior in a ceremony in front of the entire clan.

It is not unusual for a warrior to keep his mantle for his entire life. The cloaks are stitched in such a way that it is quite easy to invisibly lengthen or widen the garment as the warrior grows. The length of the mantle tells others the warrior's place in the social structure of the clan. A clan elder may have a quite large, long and wide mantle, where as a young warrior fresh from his deasghnath may have a mantle that only stretches to the top of his legs or the bottom of his knees.

What the warrior does on his deasghnath determines the length of his mantle presented to him by the clan.

 

[Water Bob]

FINN'S CHILDREN

There are three life paths that are regarded as necessary to the survival of the Blue Fox clan, and although Cimmerians have little concern for status among their peers, warriors who follow one of these three life paths do garner more respect from their clansmen than do those who follow other paths.

As it stands, the three Duncohr brothers each travel down one of these different life paths.

Let me remind you that the number three is a sacred number.



Seven Stones Ridge is quite prosperous, as far as Cimmerian villages go, and that success is directly tied to the quality of work produced by the Duncohr forge. Trade is strong with the Blue Foxmen not only because of the clanholm's location, but mainly for steel produced by the master smiths Finn and Dael Duncohr. Recently it has been announced that the two have taken on an apprentice, Finn's son, Caelis.

Defense of the clan is always of paramount importance, and Clan Urrough (the Cimmerian word for "Blue Fox") stands a few men whose vocation is war and only war. Every Blue Foxman is a warrior, having survived the tests at early age, but a select few have no other life path than the martial protection of the clan and its territory. The third Duncohr elder, Eanbotha, is the current clan war chief (second to the clan elder, Finn Duncohr). Finn's first son, older twin to Caelis, is Branoc, and he has announced his life path to follow his uncle Ean along the path of the true Urrogh warrior.

Every new day, one task is supersedes all others--that of keeping the clan fed. Food is always a primary concern, and it is the clan's hunters that fulfill that need each and every day. It is a solitary life, occasionally, out in the wild, sometimes alone for days, tracking beasts so that their meat can be brought back to the clanholm to feed those who support the clan through tanning, and weaving, and leatherworking, and other ways. These hunters also serve as the eyes and ears of the war chief, serving as far scouts and reporting any discoveries that are out of the norm. Thrallan, Finn's last son, has chosen this path, learning the work of a hunter from his older sister, Drachena.



Caelis is apprenticed as a weapon smith to his father, Finn, and uncle, Dael.

Branoc will become an Urrogh warrior, serving under his uncle, the war chief Eanbotha, once he is accepted by the clan as a man.

Thrallan is primarily mentored by Drachena, his older sister, learning the ways of far hunter and scout.

 

[Water Bob]

NAMING CIMMERIANS

The Blind Bards tell of a time, in ages past, when Crom and other gods walked the earth. There were seven demi-gods back then, all brothers, called Titans. There names were:

Foilloch (Foil-lock)
Huogh (Hugh)
Thrallan (Thrall-an)
Caelis (Kay-lis)
Daollcohr (Dale-core)
Silaigne (Sill-ay-knee)
Padranag (Pa-dran-age)

Crom had given the Cimmerian people the secret of steel--something that, before then, was only known by the gods. At that time, there were gods greater than Crom, and one of them, the god called Dagda, was greatest of all. Dagda sent the seven Titans to punish Crom for divulging the secret of steel to the mortals, and Crom faced all seven at once. A huge battle ensued that left the earth scared. But, when the combat ceased, only Crom remained standing. Crom had killed all seven of the Titans, and from the side of the mountain, he drew forth seven headstones, setting them in the ground in a circle, burying the seven Titans in a radial grave, like the symbol for the sun or spokes of a wheel when viewed from above. Crom then returned to face Dagda, defeated him as well, and Crom became the greatest of all gods, as he remains to this day.

The battle described in the legend took place on the very ground where your village now stands. At the outskirts of town is a circle of ancient, rune-covered, stones that jut 30 and 40 feet up into the sky. Think of the sight as being similar to Stonehenge in England, except these large stones do not have cross-pieces. They are seven monolithic stones that taper to a narrow point near the top resembling black teeth erupting from the ground.

These seven stones are where your village gets its name: Seven Stones Ridge. In the Cimmerian tongue, the Seven Standing Stones are known as the prachaun grul (Praw-con-grool).

And, it is said that the blood of the Titans that has seeped into the soil makes the warriors of your clan larger and stronger than even most other Cimmerians.

The prachaun grul is a protected clan resource, but Cimmerians from other clans will sometimes journey thousands of leagues to see the site where Crom defeated the Titans. Your clan elders allow pilgrims from other parts of Cimmeria to approach the stones under a watchful eye.

Cimmerians respect honest effort, even in defeat. If a person gives it his all, he is respected whether he wins or loses. Cimmerians can respect defeated enemies if the enemy fights with honor and never gives up. Thus it is with the Titans who faced Crom. It is said that each of the seven fought bravely against Crom. Crom showed his respect at their effort by burying them with the seven headstones so that all would remember them (otherwise, Crom would have left their bodies to rot on the battlefield where they fell, soon to be forgotten in time).

Because of this sentiment in Cimmerian culture, it is an honor to take a name from the Seven Titans. Most of the time, only family names are taken from the Titan names. Your family name is Duncohr (Dun-core), which is taken from the Titan Daollcohr. But, family names are almost never used by Cimmerians. Note how Conan only ever used his given name--never his family name or his clan name (this also had to do with the fact that Conan is sometimes considered an outcast, not associated with the clan or family).

Every once in a while, a Cimmerian's given name will be taken from the Seven Titans. This is very unconventional, but it is done from time to time--usually only with a reason. It is an honor to be given such a name.

Caelis is the son of the village Elder, Finn Duncohr. Thrallan is Finn's adopted son. Both are part of the first generation to be born of the Blue Fox Clan (Finn used to be a member of the Grath clan--that's another story. Your clan is new--just now a generation old.), and to honor that fact, Finn named his sons after the Titans.

Branoc, Caelis' living twin, was not named for a Titan as your mother, Lyme, named him for her father, Branard, as she was giving birth. Then, as the birthing turned dangerous, and Caelis fought his way out of the womb past the dead triplet Padran, it was Finn who named the other children (Caelis, Padran, and Thrallan).

What this does is set the PCs off as a bit special. You're not only the chieftain's sons, and you're not only part of the first native generation of Blue Fox clansmen, but you've also got given names taken from the Titans.



Your family name, Duncohr, is taken from the Titan Daollcohr.

Your dead brother, Padran, takes his name from the Titan Padranag.

One character was found at the foot of the Thrallan headstone as a babe, so Finn named him for that Titan.

Finn then named his unnamed son, Caelis (and the dead triplet), for the Titans with Standing Stones on either side of Thrallan.



Remember that the number 3 is a sacred number among the Cimmerians. Rutcrana, the old, blind hag of an oracle in the village, was heard to have said that Thrallan stands with life on one side and death on the other. Was she referring to the position of the Titan Standing Stones, or the Thrallan character, with the dead triplet and the Caelis living character, or both? Does Caelis represent life? With the way he is thought of fighting his way out of his mother's womb? Does the dead triplet, Padran, represent death and weakness because he was not born?

Food for thought.



From time to time, Cimmerians pick up names that further describe them and their experiences. These are usually not self-picked names, but names that have been placed upon them by others for deeds or actions or witnessed experiences. Burok Bear-slayer, Brig Tall-Wood, and Gard Foehammer are all good examples. Most people, however, go through life using only their given name. Conan, Cul, Daol, and Maev are all good examples.

Your characters, for better or worse, have both been saddled with additonal names.

Thrallan was the first to pick up a name. He is called Thrallan Stone. Some just refer to him as Stone. This is a reference to how he was found as a babe, abandoned at the base of one of the Seven Standing Stones. Remember, when Thrallan would not quit the Ras Croi even though his ankle had been pulled, and he attempted to jump the gorge and catch Branoc to win the race, this event was praised by the clan watching the race.
Since that time, Thrallan has been given an honor afforded only one other Blue Fox clan-member. The warrior Beck was the first to complete the Ras Croi, becoming the first Ar Grais. The fallen tree he used to cross the gorge has become known as "Beck's Bridge".

Now, the previously un-named gorge that Beck's Bridge crosses--the same that Thrallan attempted to jump--has been named Stone Gorge, in honor of Thrallan's effort.

Branoc may have become the Ar Grais, but Thrallan has a part of the Ras Croi named after him.



Caelis has been attached to the name "Red-Birth". Caelis Red-Birth. This is a reference to the thought that Caelis killed his own brother in his mother's womb in a fight to be born.

Today, most refer to these player characters as either Thrallan or Caelis, or, more formally, Thrallan Stone and Caelis Red-Birth.

 

[Water Bob]

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