The Guildhall Podcast - Fantasy Campaign Setting

I feel that I need to warn you before I continue. An outsider traveling through this area is in danger. Unless you are recognized as one of the clans you could find yourself up against a small army of these ruthless combatants. Some of the tribes are as organized than a raider band and unfortunately these groups stay closest to the border. Some of the tribes are friendlier to outsiders, so long as you are able to prove yourself, by combat or by deed. Unless you travel those areas regularly, I suggest you start in the south to find a guide willing to take you to the northern lands.

The southern clans are the most "civilized". The roads from Rodania always head south through (Barbarian City). Hundreds of clans travel to the area for trade with the West. Weapons, armor, food, ale, all of these are traded through the region. Any travelers wishing to head into the north should stop here and find a guide. Usually a member of one of the tribes who has left for an easier life. While Cassian ships trade openly with the area, Rodania trade is illegal though goods still continue to stream in. The center of the city has a few permanent structures, large wooden buildings, continually rebuilt and kept in order by the trading guilds.

In the north, the area land and the tribes are harsher. Battle and death is a way of life to those tribes. They find themselves constantly in combat with the other clans, the draconic armies, or from the Frost Giants. If death doesn't find them in combat, the weather can also kill. The temperatures in winter is a frigid cold, and the short mild summer can still have frost some nights. The land is harsh and breeds very strong people to withstand it. Most of the clans stay to themselves, tracking game across their territory, occasionally sending a trader to (Barbarian City) to sell furs for medicine, new weapons, food. Some of the larger tribes even have regular trade caravans travel from the south to trade with them. It isn't uncommon for a makeshift bazar to be setup if the clan is large enough.

The Elder Clan

The Elder Clan consider it their sacred duty to protect Ancestor's Pass. Every year their forces take the most losses to the Frost Giants. Most years the Frost Giants do not make it through, but in recent years wars with the other clans has reduced the Elder Clan's numbers greatly. Now they number too few to keep the Frost Giants out, but still they stay, attempting to protect their land. Some consider the clan the first barbarian clan in the north and if true they have maintained their duty for millenia. Barbarians from this clan are larger than all others and legend have it that they have giant blood in them. The only Goliaths in this region of the world all have their ancestry dating back to this clan, and it may very well be the origin of the Goliath race.

Legends

Most of the legends that are traded in this culture (and I mean that literally, a good story can buy you more from these tribes than gold), is about their ancestors. Most of the young will tell stories about their parents, grandparent, and ancient kinsmen this is before they starting earning stories for themselves. Almost all of the clansman can spend hours telling stories over the bonfires on the long winter nights.

The Feast of the Long Night

The tribes often find themselves fighting with each other over land or game, but the strange thing is, every year on the Winter Solstice all of the clans come together for the largest feast I have ever seen. During my time with the tribes, I have seen many amazing sights, but there is little in my time has ever lived up to the Feast of the Long Night. Bonfires are erected as high as the towers of Dragonreach. In the firelight, the tribes seem to multiply, as they say all of the tribes ancestors walk the land once more that night. Fights break out constantly, but not out of anger, but out of the pure joy of battle and competition. At the first light of dawn, a dawn which will barely reach above the sea, all of the tribes send out their greatest warriors to journey across the ice towards The Forever Lands, where they will continue the battle with the Frost Giants along with their ancestors. There is no greater honor among the tribes than this.

Spirit Talkers

The clan's tradition is passed down through a chain of shamanistic Spirit Talkers. They claim to speak for generations of barbarians and in battle channel the fury of the ancestors through their kin.

Shifters (Change title when you name the Tribe)

Barbarian tribes tell story of a tribe known as the Druid Tribe. These warriors could channel the spirit of animals when they fought. Some of the legends even claim that they would take the shape of hulking bears, swift wolves, cunning mountain lions and other animals. The clan is said to have disappeared one summer when they traveled south towards the Forbidden Forests. The lost tribe is said to still be fighting for the honor of the barbarians and will return when the Titan Cold Titan once again walks the earth at the end of days.