Need Help With Celtic Style Setting [Archive] - Wizards Community

Need Help With Celtic Style Setting [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
nave13
07-31-07, 06:20 PM I'm looking to make a celtic-style setting, and I need a little help. If anyone could find resources such as sites with celtic info and races listed in celtic legends, that'd be great.

~Nave
Tbird
07-31-07, 06:35 PM Try wikipedia, encyclopedia mythica (http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/europe/celtic/), Godchecker (http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/celtic-mythology.php).

Look into the old WotC articles on Fae, I think dicefreaks has some things about Fae too. As for races, you should have some luck using the Irish migration myths. Look up Firbolgs, Fomorians etc.

Thats all I can think of off the top of my head, good luck.
Shan_TheBabau_Burke
08-01-07, 02:50 AM I ran an entirely Celtic campaign a few years back. I saved all my notes, if you will give me a week or so to type them up, I can give loads of ideas.

I adjusted classes, researched and made monsters, redid the available equipment lists, the whole shebang.

Those websites are pretty cool too. Lotta neat stuff there.
Darth Syntax
08-01-07, 03:41 AM If you want to get into the real meat of the mythology, you might want to read (or at least skim) such works as The Mabinogian and The Táin Bó Cúailnge . The former is a collection of Welsh stories from medieval manuscripts and the latter is part of the Irish Ulster Cycle and deals with some of the deeds of Cúchulainn. The Mabinogian is available online at Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/results) in several translations. However the Táin Bó Cúailnge is not as there seem to be no public domain translations of the work.

Tbird is right about the Irish migration myths providing some inspiration for possible races, although to be true to the mythology you're going to have to substantially beef up the Fomorians (as they were a race of gods) to be sufficiently frightening.

One of the more obvious roads to take would be the make the elves the greatly diminished descendants of the Tuatha Dé Danann and some group like the Milesians. As for the Tuatha themselves, they might be represented as a 'race' of native outsiders with exceptional arcane abilities (especially in the fields of transmutation, illusion, and divination).
Sigurd van Norhusen
08-02-07, 07:04 AM I ran an entirely Celtic campaign a few years back. I saved all my notes, if you will give me a week or so to type them up, I can give loads of ideas.

I adjusted classes, researched and made monsters, redid the available equipment lists, the whole shebang.

Those websites are pretty cool too. Lotta neat stuff there.
Greetings.

If you do that,will you upload it somewhere? I'd be interested in that as well.
Aneutralshadeofblack
08-02-07, 03:56 PM You might also look into the Slaine RPG (can't remember who publishes). One of my acquaintances swears by it - as a linguistics and history Masters, he says it's quite close to the original Celtic myths, and as an RPG player and DM, he really likes the mechanics introduced (it's a d20 game with a few specific elements).
Shan_TheBabau_Burke
08-02-07, 09:08 PM Sigurd van Norhusen: I will do that if you wish. Most of what I have is for the Celts in Brittan and the like, but I can do a little research and expand it to the Gauls of Germany and France as well if anyone is interested.

Aneutralshadeofblack: Slaine? I will look into that! Thanks for the heads up!
Sigurd van Norhusen
08-03-07, 12:05 PM Sigurd van Norhusen: I will do that if you wish. Most of what I have is for the Celts in Brittan and the like, but I can do a little research and expand it to the Gauls of Germany and France as well if anyone is interested.
Well, I won't say no. Thank you. :)

I think I'm gonna look at that Slaine RPG too.
Golem011
08-05-07, 11:10 PM If you want to get into the real meat of the mythology, you might want to read (or at least skim) such works as The Mabinogian and The Táin Bó Cúailnge . The former is a collection of Welsh stories from medieval manuscripts and the latter is part of the Irish Ulster Cycle and deals with some of the deeds of Cúchulainn. The Mabinogian is available online at Project Gutenberg in several translations. However the Táin Bó Cúailnge is not as there seem to be no public domain translations of the work.

The MabinogiOn, actually, but still. :P

I agree here. Y Mabinogi and the Irish equivalents are interesting from a historian's or anthropologist's point of view (as well as, of course, a campaign builder's), simply because they portray semihistorical events and personalities in a completely different style and light from our own.

Other sites to look at are already mentioned here, but I would suggest including the Tuatha De Danann and the Tylwyth-Teg somewhere in any celtic setting.
nave13
08-14-07, 03:32 PM Thanks a lot everyone, these sources will be a great help. =)
Bacchus2530
08-17-07, 01:02 AM Gurps also put out a Celtic resource guide that has a lot of great information that could translated to any game system.
Naderion
08-17-07, 06:54 AM There was a "Celtic Campaign" for 2nd Ed., but I think it would be pretty difficult (and likely expensive) to get a copy of it.
die
08-17-07, 11:43 AM I also recommend GURPS Celtic Myth, Mongoose's Slaine and the Avalanche Press book Celtic Age for good ideas.

I also gathered up some stuff for my own Picto-Celtic Campaign, maybe you can find something useful out of it
Picto-Celtic Campaign
It is essentially a rural world of farms and villages where the typical person is a farmer with the boredom of day to day life broken up by the occasional cattle raid and fey pranks. The deep forests, long barrows, barrow mounds and moonless nights are still feared.

The deep forests harbor mixed wood elf, tallfellow halfling, treant and fey communities of a few families each, they are semi nomadic and only build temporary structures in the winter, they trade with the forest gnomes whose tunnels riddle the forest floors and with the firbolgs. Near forgotten stone circles, bogs and barrow mounds dwell packs of wood elf were-wolves, skulks and unseelie fey, the people under the hills (I'm using Underfolk from Races of Destiny) still come up from beneath their ancient long barrows to steal cattle on moonless nights.

Fomorians live in fortified island villages off the coast and are communities of mongrelfolk fishermen and farmers, half-orc pirates, half-ogre champions and fomorian overlords.

To the west lies a land of warring tribal humans, hill giants, goblinoids, ogres and orcs, just as happy to fight their own kind as each other, the northern part of this land is a mountain chain ruled by frost giants and white dragons, further west are mountains dominated by fire giants and red dragons. To the east is an archipelago inhabited by a kingdom of bronze dragons and high elves. To the south are more civilized areas of human city-states, some ruled by merchant princes and others dominated by snake worshipping theocracies.

PCs can be humans, half-elves or outcasts from the forest or underfolk trying to blend in, and the ruling druids are a bard/druid prestige class, Fochlucan Lyrist from the Complete Adventurer. The PCs fight/unite other tribes, fend off fomorians, raid/explore the forest or barrows or the western or eastern lands, trade with the advanced southern human merchant/slavers, etc.

History
(4,000 years ago) Wood elves and fey dwell in the forested river valleys and a small population of scattered neolithic human farmers live in small stable communities of rectangular log cabins built on the upland hills and on the coastal plains, avoiding the thickly wooded valley bottoms. They plant wheat and barley, and raise sheep, cattle and pigs and hunt as a supplement to their agriculture. They build communal graves that also serve as centers of religious activity centering on a cult of the dead and fertility. They are driven from the coastal plains by the Fomorians.

(3,000 years ago) Builders - These bronze age folk were farmers, archers, brewers and metalsmiths, they lived in round thatch-roofed houses and built round barrow mounds for their warrior-chieftains and stone circles on the neolithic religious sites for their own gods. They fight off the Fomorians from the coastal plains and slowly drive back the neolithic people who begin hiding in caves under the hills and the wood elves and fey deeper into the forests. 1000 years later after being weakened by a famine and plague, the Fomorians having grown strong again, strike back and kill the rest. The famine was brought about by increased cattle stealing in the winter by the people under the hills (as the neolithic folk are now called) and half the wood elves embracing a dark god of vengence and their clerics are cursed with lycanthropy, the elven were-wolves destroyed outlying settlements and small groups of travelers.

(2,100 years ago) The Black Hand - An orc tribe settles in the area and within a few years are decimated by the lycanthropes and Fomorian raiders, a plague finishes the rest. Some of their human slaves survive and form their own society, worshipping at the great stone circles and 100 years later are defeated and forced into serfdom by

(2,000 years ago) High Elves - with horses, better weapons and powerful magic drive back the lycanthropes and the Fomorians. They avoid the stone circles and barrows. 500 years later they are defeated by

(1,500 years ago) Pritani - Several iron age tribes who build farms (stone houses and separate, walled fields), hillforts, a warrior aristocracy, they hunt with large wardogs and do not pray at the stone circles, in fact they scavenge the smaller stones to build their houses and walls, they do adopt the practice of barrow mounds for their dead though. 1000 years later the last of the high elves have gone away or died, although those with elven blood still exist (half-elves) and their culture merges with that of

(500 years ago) Picts - An iron age warrior culture led by druids begin settling in the area

Present - The Pict tribes are a group of peoples loosely tied by similar language, religion and culture. They have no central goverment and are quite as happy to fight each other as anyone else. They are warriors, living for the glories of battle and plunder, nailing the severed heads of enemies to the doors and wearing them on their belts, warfare is a sport. Clans are bound together very loosely with other clans into tribes, each of which has its own customs. Druids act as priests, political advisors, teachers, healers, and judges. They have their own universities, the right to speak ahead of the king in council, act as ambassadors in time of war and uphold the law. They are the glue keeping together the culture and hold their religious rites in woodland groves, waterfalls, springs and bogs.

Heads taken in battle if carried or tied to your horse give a +1 to saving throws, +1 AC and +1 to charisma based skill checks if it belonged to someone of equal or higher level. If the head was taken from someone 4 levels higher add +1 to hit and damage as well. Lasts for one day per level or one week per level if nailed to your house. If nailed to your house the head give you a +4 to Spot and Listen checks to detect an enemy near your house. Druids can preserve a head in ceder oil or make a skull into a cup and the effects last indefinately but only one preserved head's bonus affects the character.

Permanent Lesser Geas - Every pict starts with at least one lesser geas, each tribe has its own, common ones include
never kill a fey (or bard or woman or crow)
never harm a horse (or druid)
never eat mutton (or dog or horse or fish or during a raid)
never drink mead (or during a full moon)
never lie
never refuse a meal, etc, etc, you get the idea.
Characters who get to 10th level get to add a Permanent Geas as well.

Religion
For the most part the picts revere nature, rivers, mountains, oceans, lakes, the standard D&D druid religion, plus each tribe also has its own various ancestor demi-gods and gods, two are so common that they have become Intermediate deities. They worship in sacred groves, springs, lakes, waterfalls and bogs, not at the stone circles.

Brigit - chaotic neutral red haired goddess of fire and poetry (maiden, mother, crone), female priesthood, domains - Magic and Fire (charm for maiden, protection for mom and knowledge for crone).

Her clerics get three domains, one of which changes (its charm until she has a child, then its protection until she reaches old age and then its knowledge).

No armor, pro w/ swords, daggers, spear & shortspear and once per day can perform a greater turning against undead in place of a regular turning (they burst into flame and burn to ash, the undead that is, not the cleric).

Horned God (combination of Arawn and Cernunnos) - antlered pale skinned man who leads the Wild Hunt (might make a specialty cleric for him as well)

Other common patron dieties of tribes include
Corellon Larethian, Olidammara, Fharlanghn, Kord, Obad-Hai, Ehlonna, Wee Jas and any from the elven pantheon.

The Formorians worship Erythnul and Karontor

So its a mix of mythology, history and D&D
The high elves are the Tuatha De Dannan from mythology, the builders are the beaker culture from history, the formorians are the vikings.

I want to make an outline of two or three neighboring tribes and was thinking about common geas for the different tribes, like one against drinking mead. And a background story for an elven chainshirt awarded a past human chieftain by local wood elves and the Merrow (aquatic ogre, aka Grendal) that has it in his lair for a starting adventure. Basically along the lines of the PCs are on their first cattle raid and come across a destroyed farmhouse and tracks leading into a mist covered bog.

Each magic item should have a history, like the +1 longsword the party finds after defeating the merrows avenging brothers was made by the duergar for a human traitor who led Formians to a sacred wellspring to ambush some druids and then he threw it into the well years later overcome with guilt. The +1 dagger was made by a high elf for his daughter long ago and lost when she was mislead by will-o'-wisps and drowned trying to sneak off one night to elope with her human lover etc, etc.

Classes
As far as 3.5 D&D classes since everyone runs around with just a spear, sword and shield I'm modifying them
Rangers giving them 2 more skill points in exchange for medium armor proficiency.
Fighters are the nobles and lose medium and heavy armor proficiency and gain 4 more skill points and the skills Knowledge (nobility and local) as class skills.
Barbarians lose medium armor proficiency and gain their wisdom added to AC if wearing a loincloth or skyclad.
Bards and Rogues no armor, pro w/ swords, clubs, daggers, spear & shortspear, add Survival to their class skills, gain a bonus feat at 1st level.
Wizards get the Spell Mastery feat at first level instead of scribe scroll since I'm going to say their spellbooks are the stone monoliths and aren't very portable. Pro w/ clubs, daggers & quarterstaves.
Sorcerers have to be elves or half-elves or if human have some kinda bloodline (fey, dragon, celestial, elf, etc) from either a feat or Unearthed Arcana. Pro w/ swords, clubs, daggers & quarterstaves and add knowledge(Planes) to class skills.
Druids, no armor, pro w/ swords, clubs, daggers, spear & shortspear, add knowledge(History, Local & Religion) to skills, wisdom bonus to AC.
Clerics, right now its just one for Brigit
Monks and Paladins are not present among the picts.

Prestige Classes
Mystic Theurge, Horizon Walker
Fochlucan Lyrist, Virtuoso (Complete Adventurer)
Earth Dreamer (Races of Stone)
Mindbender, Seeker of the Song, Sublime Chord (Complete Arcane)
Arcane Hierophant, Ruathar (Races of the Wild)
Frenzied Berserker, Reaping Mauler, War Chanter (Complete Warrior)

Custom classes for the wood elves like the
Barbarian Variant: Hunter (as in Unearthed Arcana)
A barbarian who prefers crafty hunting over pure ferocity
Gains favored enemy and archery combat style (as ranger) and the Track feat
Loses all the rage abilities and medium armor pro

Sorcerer/Wizard Variant: (as in Unearthed Arcana)
Gain an animal companion (as druid; treat sorcerer or wizard as a druid of half his class level).
Lose their familiar

And custom classes for the people under the hills like the
Illusionist Variant: Shadow Shaper (as in Unearthed Arcana)

Shield and Spear [Style]
You have learned to use a spear or longspear one-handed while using a shield
Prerequisite: Str 13, Weapon Focus (longspear), Weapon Focus (spear), proficent with shield, base attack bonus +4
Benefit: ummm, something, something, feel free to help on this

A bonus to something for running around covered in woad?
A 3 level woad warrior prestige class?
a ritual? (knowledge religion check)

Random bits of unorganized Picto-Celtic information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictish

Each tribe is led by a king, who is subject to an Ard Ri or High King, there are two high kingdoms: one of the north, the other in the south.
Elected Kings lead the tribes and society is divided into three groups: a warrior aristocracy, an intellectual class including druids and bards and everyone else.

Women participate in warfare but not in kingship (maternal grandsons and maternal nephews can be elected king).

One of the most important cultural oddities about the Picts is their system of matrilineal line of succession, descent through the female line, not the male.
After a battle they often dedicate their enemies weapons to the gods and throw them into a river or lake.

Warfare is endemic, society is organised around warfare but this is more of a sport focused on raids and hunting. Tribal conflicts over leadership, land and resources are commonplace, it is more a matter of ritual, than of slaughter, most of the time, this is an age of Hillforts, brochs, crannogs and duns.

The chiefs and the wealthy wear armor taken in battle, bought from other cultures or copied from other cultures.

Though they have a written language, the Ogham script is only used for ceremonial purposes and the picts have an oral tradition. All classes are illiterate except bards, clerics, druids and wizards.

Males are clean-shaven with moustaches, some tribes favor ritualized scarring for the barbarian and fighter warrior elite, some tattoos, some a mix of both.
Copper is used for blue tattoos, ash for black, woad is used for battle wounds and dye.

The intellectual class (bards & druids) use tattoos on their legs to help remember things (+1 to a Knowledge skill check for each tattoo).
Merlin gets to be the leader of the woads cause he is covered with the most dirt and doesn't do anything (King Arthur movie reference).

The ritualistic killing of aging Kings and replacing their Kings who have any infirmities, losing a finger or eye or even going bald, basically any perceived weakness, real or not.

No towns. The basic economy is mixed farming and a few farmsteads around a broch are the norm, cattle raising is more important than cereal cultivation in some rocky, colder regions. Wealth is determined by the number of cattle, horses and followers you have, but gold and silver are good too.

Criminals are killed during a holiday with their guts festively strung in a sacred oak tree, drown in a holy spring or thrown into a bog with their throat cut, each tribe has its own custom.

soon to be outdated books I own :weep: (http://boards1.wizards.com/showpost.php?p=12091752&postcount=18)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
nave13 07-31-07, 06:20 PM	I'm looking to make a celtic-style setting, and I need a little help. If anyone could find resources such as sites with celtic info and races listed in celtic legends, that'd be great. ~Nave
Tbird 07-31-07, 06:35 PM	Try wikipedia, encyclopedia mythica (http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/europe/celtic/), Godchecker (http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/celtic-mythology.php). Look into the old WotC articles on Fae, I think dicefreaks has some things about Fae too. As for races, you should have some luck using the Irish migration myths. Look up Firbolgs, Fomorians etc. Thats all I can think of off the top of my head, good luck.
Shan_TheBabau_Burke 08-01-07, 02:50 AM	I ran an entirely Celtic campaign a few years back. I saved all my notes, if you will give me a week or so to type them up, I can give loads of ideas. I adjusted classes, researched and made monsters, redid the available equipment lists, the whole shebang. Those websites are pretty cool too. Lotta neat stuff there.
Darth Syntax 08-01-07, 03:41 AM	If you want to get into the real meat of the mythology, you might want to read (or at least skim) such works as The Mabinogian and The Táin Bó Cúailnge . The former is a collection of Welsh stories from medieval manuscripts and the latter is part of the Irish Ulster Cycle and deals with some of the deeds of Cúchulainn. The Mabinogian is available online at Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/results) in several translations. However the Táin Bó Cúailnge is not as there seem to be no public domain translations of the work. Tbird is right about the Irish migration myths providing some inspiration for possible races, although to be true to the mythology you're going to have to substantially beef up the Fomorians (as they were a race of gods) to be sufficiently frightening. One of the more obvious roads to take would be the make the elves the greatly diminished descendants of the Tuatha Dé Danann and some group like the Milesians. As for the Tuatha themselves, they might be represented as a 'race' of native outsiders with exceptional arcane abilities (especially in the fields of transmutation, illusion, and divination).
Sigurd van Norhusen 08-02-07, 07:04 AM	I ran an entirely Celtic campaign a few years back. I saved all my notes, if you will give me a week or so to type them up, I can give loads of ideas. I adjusted classes, researched and made monsters, redid the available equipment lists, the whole shebang. Those websites are pretty cool too. Lotta neat stuff there. Greetings. If you do that,will you upload it somewhere? I'd be interested in that as well.
Aneutralshadeofblack 08-02-07, 03:56 PM	You might also look into the Slaine RPG (can't remember who publishes). One of my acquaintances swears by it - as a linguistics and history Masters, he says it's quite close to the original Celtic myths, and as an RPG player and DM, he really likes the mechanics introduced (it's a d20 game with a few specific elements).
Shan_TheBabau_Burke 08-02-07, 09:08 PM	Sigurd van Norhusen: I will do that if you wish. Most of what I have is for the Celts in Brittan and the like, but I can do a little research and expand it to the Gauls of Germany and France as well if anyone is interested. Aneutralshadeofblack: Slaine? I will look into that! Thanks for the heads up!
Sigurd van Norhusen 08-03-07, 12:05 PM	Sigurd van Norhusen: I will do that if you wish. Most of what I have is for the Celts in Brittan and the like, but I can do a little research and expand it to the Gauls of Germany and France as well if anyone is interested. Well, I won't say no. Thank you. :) I think I'm gonna look at that Slaine RPG too.
Golem011 08-05-07, 11:10 PM	If you want to get into the real meat of the mythology, you might want to read (or at least skim) such works as The Mabinogian and The Táin Bó Cúailnge . The former is a collection of Welsh stories from medieval manuscripts and the latter is part of the Irish Ulster Cycle and deals with some of the deeds of Cúchulainn. The Mabinogian is available online at Project Gutenberg in several translations. However the Táin Bó Cúailnge is not as there seem to be no public domain translations of the work. The MabinogiOn, actually, but still. :P I agree here. Y Mabinogi and the Irish equivalents are interesting from a historian's or anthropologist's point of view (as well as, of course, a campaign builder's), simply because they portray semihistorical events and personalities in a completely different style and light from our own. Other sites to look at are already mentioned here, but I would suggest including the Tuatha De Danann and the Tylwyth-Teg somewhere in any celtic setting.
nave13 08-14-07, 03:32 PM	Thanks a lot everyone, these sources will be a great help. =)
Bacchus2530 08-17-07, 01:02 AM	Gurps also put out a Celtic resource guide that has a lot of great information that could translated to any game system.
Naderion 08-17-07, 06:54 AM	There was a "Celtic Campaign" for 2nd Ed., but I think it would be pretty difficult (and likely expensive) to get a copy of it.
die 08-17-07, 11:43 AM	I also recommend GURPS Celtic Myth, Mongoose's Slaine and the Avalanche Press book Celtic Age for good ideas. I also gathered up some stuff for my own Picto-Celtic Campaign, maybe you can find something useful out of it Picto-Celtic Campaign It is essentially a rural world of farms and villages where the typical person is a farmer with the boredom of day to day life broken up by the occasional cattle raid and fey pranks. The deep forests, long barrows, barrow mounds and moonless nights are still feared. The deep forests harbor mixed wood elf, tallfellow halfling, treant and fey communities of a few families each, they are semi nomadic and only build temporary structures in the winter, they trade with the forest gnomes whose tunnels riddle the forest floors and with the firbolgs. Near forgotten stone circles, bogs and barrow mounds dwell packs of wood elf were-wolves, skulks and unseelie fey, the people under the hills (I'm using Underfolk from Races of Destiny) still come up from beneath their ancient long barrows to steal cattle on moonless nights. Fomorians live in fortified island villages off the coast and are communities of mongrelfolk fishermen and farmers, half-orc pirates, half-ogre champions and fomorian overlords. To the west lies a land of warring tribal humans, hill giants, goblinoids, ogres and orcs, just as happy to fight their own kind as each other, the northern part of this land is a mountain chain ruled by frost giants and white dragons, further west are mountains dominated by fire giants and red dragons. To the east is an archipelago inhabited by a kingdom of bronze dragons and high elves. To the south are more civilized areas of human city-states, some ruled by merchant princes and others dominated by snake worshipping theocracies. PCs can be humans, half-elves or outcasts from the forest or underfolk trying to blend in, and the ruling druids are a bard/druid prestige class, Fochlucan Lyrist from the Complete Adventurer. The PCs fight/unite other tribes, fend off fomorians, raid/explore the forest or barrows or the western or eastern lands, trade with the advanced southern human merchant/slavers, etc. History (4,000 years ago) Wood elves and fey dwell in the forested river valleys and a small population of scattered neolithic human farmers live in small stable communities of rectangular log cabins built on the upland hills and on the coastal plains, avoiding the thickly wooded valley bottoms. They plant wheat and barley, and raise sheep, cattle and pigs and hunt as a supplement to their agriculture. They build communal graves that also serve as centers of religious activity centering on a cult of the dead and fertility. They are driven from the coastal plains by the Fomorians. (3,000 years ago) Builders - These bronze age folk were farmers, archers, brewers and metalsmiths, they lived in round thatch-roofed houses and built round barrow mounds for their warrior-chieftains and stone circles on the neolithic religious sites for their own gods. They fight off the Fomorians from the coastal plains and slowly drive back the neolithic people who begin hiding in caves under the hills and the wood elves and fey deeper into the forests. 1000 years later after being weakened by a famine and plague, the Fomorians having grown strong again, strike back and kill the rest. The famine was brought about by increased cattle stealing in the winter by the people under the hills (as the neolithic folk are now called) and half the wood elves embracing a dark god of vengence and their clerics are cursed with lycanthropy, the elven were-wolves destroyed outlying settlements and small groups of travelers. (2,100 years ago) The Black Hand - An orc tribe settles in the area and within a few years are decimated by the lycanthropes and Fomorian raiders, a plague finishes the rest. Some of their human slaves survive and form their own society, worshipping at the great stone circles and 100 years later are defeated and forced into serfdom by (2,000 years ago) High Elves - with horses, better weapons and powerful magic drive back the lycanthropes and the Fomorians. They avoid the stone circles and barrows. 500 years later they are defeated by (1,500 years ago) Pritani - Several iron age tribes who build farms (stone houses and separate, walled fields), hillforts, a warrior aristocracy, they hunt with large wardogs and do not pray at the stone circles, in fact they scavenge the smaller stones to build their houses and walls, they do adopt the practice of barrow mounds for their dead though. 1000 years later the last of the high elves have gone away or died, although those with elven blood still exist (half-elves) and their culture merges with that of (500 years ago) Picts - An iron age warrior culture led by druids begin settling in the area Present - The Pict tribes are a group of peoples loosely tied by similar language, religion and culture. They have no central goverment and are quite as happy to fight each other as anyone else. They are warriors, living for the glories of battle and plunder, nailing the severed heads of enemies to the doors and wearing them on their belts, warfare is a sport. Clans are bound together very loosely with other clans into tribes, each of which has its own customs. Druids act as priests, political advisors, teachers, healers, and judges. They have their own universities, the right to speak ahead of the king in council, act as ambassadors in time of war and uphold the law. They are the glue keeping together the culture and hold their religious rites in woodland groves, waterfalls, springs and bogs. Heads taken in battle if carried or tied to your horse give a +1 to saving throws, +1 AC and +1 to charisma based skill checks if it belonged to someone of equal or higher level. If the head was taken from someone 4 levels higher add +1 to hit and damage as well. Lasts for one day per level or one week per level if nailed to your house. If nailed to your house the head give you a +4 to Spot and Listen checks to detect an enemy near your house. Druids can preserve a head in ceder oil or make a skull into a cup and the effects last indefinately but only one preserved head's bonus affects the character. Permanent Lesser Geas - Every pict starts with at least one lesser geas, each tribe has its own, common ones include never kill a fey (or bard or woman or crow) never harm a horse (or druid) never eat mutton (or dog or horse or fish or during a raid) never drink mead (or during a full moon) never lie never refuse a meal, etc, etc, you get the idea. Characters who get to 10th level get to add a Permanent Geas as well. Religion For the most part the picts revere nature, rivers, mountains, oceans, lakes, the standard D&D druid religion, plus each tribe also has its own various ancestor demi-gods and gods, two are so common that they have become Intermediate deities. They worship in sacred groves, springs, lakes, waterfalls and bogs, not at the stone circles. Brigit - chaotic neutral red haired goddess of fire and poetry (maiden, mother, crone), female priesthood, domains - Magic and Fire (charm for maiden, protection for mom and knowledge for crone). Her clerics get three domains, one of which changes (its charm until she has a child, then its protection until she reaches old age and then its knowledge). No armor, pro w/ swords, daggers, spear & shortspear and once per day can perform a greater turning against undead in place of a regular turning (they burst into flame and burn to ash, the undead that is, not the cleric). Horned God (combination of Arawn and Cernunnos) - antlered pale skinned man who leads the Wild Hunt (might make a specialty cleric for him as well) Other common patron dieties of tribes include Corellon Larethian, Olidammara, Fharlanghn, Kord, Obad-Hai, Ehlonna, Wee Jas and any from the elven pantheon. The Formorians worship Erythnul and Karontor So its a mix of mythology, history and D&D The high elves are the Tuatha De Dannan from mythology, the builders are the beaker culture from history, the formorians are the vikings. I want to make an outline of two or three neighboring tribes and was thinking about common geas for the different tribes, like one against drinking mead. And a background story for an elven chainshirt awarded a past human chieftain by local wood elves and the Merrow (aquatic ogre, aka Grendal) that has it in his lair for a starting adventure. Basically along the lines of the PCs are on their first cattle raid and come across a destroyed farmhouse and tracks leading into a mist covered bog. Each magic item should have a history, like the +1 longsword the party finds after defeating the merrows avenging brothers was made by the duergar for a human traitor who led Formians to a sacred wellspring to ambush some druids and then he threw it into the well years later overcome with guilt. The +1 dagger was made by a high elf for his daughter long ago and lost when she was mislead by will-o'-wisps and drowned trying to sneak off one night to elope with her human lover etc, etc. Classes As far as 3.5 D&D classes since everyone runs around with just a spear, sword and shield I'm modifying them Rangers giving them 2 more skill points in exchange for medium armor proficiency. Fighters are the nobles and lose medium and heavy armor proficiency and gain 4 more skill points and the skills Knowledge (nobility and local) as class skills. Barbarians lose medium armor proficiency and gain their wisdom added to AC if wearing a loincloth or skyclad. Bards and Rogues no armor, pro w/ swords, clubs, daggers, spear & shortspear, add Survival to their class skills, gain a bonus feat at 1st level. Wizards get the Spell Mastery feat at first level instead of scribe scroll since I'm going to say their spellbooks are the stone monoliths and aren't very portable. Pro w/ clubs, daggers & quarterstaves. Sorcerers have to be elves or half-elves or if human have some kinda bloodline (fey, dragon, celestial, elf, etc) from either a feat or Unearthed Arcana. Pro w/ swords, clubs, daggers & quarterstaves and add knowledge(Planes) to class skills. Druids, no armor, pro w/ swords, clubs, daggers, spear & shortspear, add knowledge(History, Local & Religion) to skills, wisdom bonus to AC. Clerics, right now its just one for Brigit Monks and Paladins are not present among the picts. Prestige Classes Mystic Theurge, Horizon Walker Fochlucan Lyrist, Virtuoso (Complete Adventurer) Earth Dreamer (Races of Stone) Mindbender, Seeker of the Song, Sublime Chord (Complete Arcane) Arcane Hierophant, Ruathar (Races of the Wild) Frenzied Berserker, Reaping Mauler, War Chanter (Complete Warrior) Custom classes for the wood elves like the Barbarian Variant: Hunter (as in Unearthed Arcana) A barbarian who prefers crafty hunting over pure ferocity Gains favored enemy and archery combat style (as ranger) and the Track feat Loses all the rage abilities and medium armor pro Sorcerer/Wizard Variant: (as in Unearthed Arcana) Gain an animal companion (as druid; treat sorcerer or wizard as a druid of half his class level). Lose their familiar And custom classes for the people under the hills like the Illusionist Variant: Shadow Shaper (as in Unearthed Arcana) Shield and Spear [Style] You have learned to use a spear or longspear one-handed while using a shield Prerequisite: Str 13, Weapon Focus (longspear), Weapon Focus (spear), proficent with shield, base attack bonus +4 Benefit: ummm, something, something, feel free to help on this A bonus to something for running around covered in woad? A 3 level woad warrior prestige class? a ritual? (knowledge religion check) Random bits of unorganized Picto-Celtic information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictish Each tribe is led by a king, who is subject to an Ard Ri or High King, there are two high kingdoms: one of the north, the other in the south. Elected Kings lead the tribes and society is divided into three groups: a warrior aristocracy, an intellectual class including druids and bards and everyone else. Women participate in warfare but not in kingship (maternal grandsons and maternal nephews can be elected king). One of the most important cultural oddities about the Picts is their system of matrilineal line of succession, descent through the female line, not the male. After a battle they often dedicate their enemies weapons to the gods and throw them into a river or lake. Warfare is endemic, society is organised around warfare but this is more of a sport focused on raids and hunting. Tribal conflicts over leadership, land and resources are commonplace, it is more a matter of ritual, than of slaughter, most of the time, this is an age of Hillforts, brochs, crannogs and duns. The chiefs and the wealthy wear armor taken in battle, bought from other cultures or copied from other cultures. Though they have a written language, the Ogham script is only used for ceremonial purposes and the picts have an oral tradition. All classes are illiterate except bards, clerics, druids and wizards. Males are clean-shaven with moustaches, some tribes favor ritualized scarring for the barbarian and fighter warrior elite, some tattoos, some a mix of both. Copper is used for blue tattoos, ash for black, woad is used for battle wounds and dye. The intellectual class (bards & druids) use tattoos on their legs to help remember things (+1 to a Knowledge skill check for each tattoo). Merlin gets to be the leader of the woads cause he is covered with the most dirt and doesn't do anything (King Arthur movie reference). The ritualistic killing of aging Kings and replacing their Kings who have any infirmities, losing a finger or eye or even going bald, basically any perceived weakness, real or not. No towns. The basic economy is mixed farming and a few farmsteads around a broch are the norm, cattle raising is more important than cereal cultivation in some rocky, colder regions. Wealth is determined by the number of cattle, horses and followers you have, but gold and silver are good too. Criminals are killed during a holiday with their guts festively strung in a sacred oak tree, drown in a holy spring or thrown into a bog with their throat cut, each tribe has its own custom. soon to be outdated books I own :weep: (http://boards1.wizards.com/showpost.php?p=12091752&postcount=18)