3. Barbarians

Barbarians

  • F

    I am working on a character concept drawing heavily from the barbarian culture of Narfell as described in the source books.

    I would like a sort of official word on the current state of Narfell's Barbarian/tribal population.
    Obviously, given the large time gap from the server's inception (50 years post-3e) and everything that has happened since then, Narfell has seen significant development and civilisation, and is now very far removed from the tribal culture described in all the FR literature.

    (Please note at this point that i'm not condemning this detattachment from source material; in fact I welcome it, as it seems like quite a natural progression following such influx of adventurers over the years)

    But my question is - What happened to the Tribes? Did they become so appalled by the civilisation and cosmopolitan ways the land has adopted that they just upped and left? Or did they just go with the flow and evolve with it?

    In particular, I would like to know if the following tribes have ever had any mention in the server's plotlines (all taken from Bloodstone Lands & FRCS).

    Harthgroth
    Abordabe
    Aingst
    Creel
    Dag Nost
    Far Quey
    Qu'ima
    Qu'encesta
    Ragnor
    Var

  • Legion

    A little bit of history from the wiki:

    @b4035d7e2d:

    In 1098 DR the Barbarians from the south, seeking to plunder the wealth of Peltarch, began full assaults against the city walls. Both guilds, being more apt to fight at sea then at land, became little more than bit players in the conflict. Up until this point, defense of the city had been mostly private individuals and groups with a vested interest in protecting their products. The Senate, realizing that a catastrophe was in the making, passed the Guardian and Defenders Act in an emergency session. The bill created two branches of the military, the Guard for threats at home and the Defenders for threats from abroad. The private town militia was quickly drafted into the new governmental organizations and set to the task of turning back the barbarian threat, the final blow coming at the Battle of Nars Pass.

    After the battle, the city of Peltarch was faced with the moral dilemma of an overwhelming number of Prisoners of War captured during the battle. The barbarians had abandoned their disgraced comrades and refused to negotiate for their freedom. The Senate was reticent to free the men for fear they would simply regroup with their tribes to attack again. The Guildmaster of the Seafarer's at that time, Ruith "Red Blood" Snydders, convinced the Senate to grant him possession of the prisoners and dispense them as slaves. Washing their hands of the whole affair, the Senate granted Snydders request, in essence condoning the slave trade in Peltarch. Snydders took several of the more brutal and loyal men and used them as his own personal bodyguard. The rest he sold into slavery to the town of Hoarsgate and some whispered rumors that some slaves were even sold to the Giants of the Giantspires. The Seafarers, having tapped into a lucrative monopoly in human chattel, refused to stop with the sale of the prisoners, and began the dirty business of buying and selling.

    While many in the city opposed slaving, foremost the Wavebreakers, it was over a hundred years until the practice could be stopped due to the Seafarer's immense influence on the Senate.

    That ancient history but it does go some way toward explaining the fate of the barbaric Nars tribes.


  • My understanding (as a loremaster, not as a DM or official source) is that the tribes you list haven't been involved in any way. In regards to the barbarian tribes of the Nars, there are three that I know of.

    The Norwick Tribe
    The Heyokarr Tribe
    The Featherflight Tribe

    The Norwick Tribe became Norwick, as you know it today. Most believe that the old blood died out many, many years ago, but there are still some with the blood of Norwick in their veins.

    The Heyokarr Tribe left the realm many years ago, due to the incursion by adventurers and others who defiled their land.

    The Featherflight Tribe mysteriously disappeared some IG years ago, their camp is empty and littered with human remains. No-one knows what happened to them, although some have ideas.

    Most of those who play Barbarians in Narfell that play them as actual Barbarians, base their players as having come from either the frozen north, or the glacier. Others have come and gone, but that's the majority that I've seen.