Barbarian Ash Desert Garama

The Garama

The Garam
The Garamante

Overview

The Garam (Berber/Aubaydi: iɣerman, "castles, cities"), known in the Aubayd Caliphate as the Saqlab are among the most mobile of Barbarians on the continent. They are based in the Slaverlands and the neighboring Deserts of the area, ranging throughout the region in a desperate war against their former captors.

Atlantis Library Records

There is evidence of several wars against the Garamantes, sometimes crossing into the desert to assault their heartland, and the Garamantes are described as ‘a wild tribe much given to plundering … nomads who wandered from one inaccessible encampment to another’ (Tacitus). Other writers described desert-dwellers as ‘barely human’. ‘Ancient writers from the time of Herodotus depict the Garamantes as menacing the entire region from their desert strongholds. Consider the epithets used to describe them: numerous, savage, fierce, indomitable, outermost, panting, naked, miserable, tent- or hut-dwelling, scattered, promiscuous, lawless, receivers of booty, light-armed, given to brigandage.

Garamante Population and Distribution

Four thousand people may have live in the Wadi based capital of Garama itself, with another 6,000 in suburban satellite villages close by, making as many as 10,000 in the wadi as a whole. This, however, may not be the full extent of Garamantian territory. Garama and the Wadi Ajal were at the centre of a wider Garamantian territory in the deserts and hotsprings . The Garamantes control chains of wadis and oases on the desert caravan routes extending throughout the Eastern and South Eastern portions of Slave lands and beyond.

Much of their wealth comes from control of the non-slave caravan trade. Slave caravan trains receive no protection and are often attacked by the Garamanteans.



The Garam are related to the Scalvin in so far as they derive from the same source - a population of Ex-Slaves. They have extensive knowledge of the deserts and geothermal fields of Atlantis but are less mobile than the Scalvin. Indeed they sometimes recruit from the Scalvin in times of hardship. They are not pursued as much by Pursuitgivers, and will at slaver convoys heading into the Slaverlands, but prefer to fight against their former masters by attacking the Abuyadi Directly rather than attacking their agents.

Views of Technology

The Garam are semi-barbaric, in so far as they have come from a civilised area but have rejected it out of necessity to live in freedom. Like the Scalvin they do not accept metal encasements as a form of armor - having witnessed too many literally cooked inside such suits for the pleasure of their masters.

Weaponry that allows them to use metal to inflict vengance on their captors is accepted - but only in it's pure natural form - not altered by magical energies. Such abominations of crafting are to be ground down.


The Garam are not as anti-mage as other Barbarian groups - being more accepting of summoning magicks but this is the limit of their acceptance of such powers among mortals.

Metal Weaponry

Prohibited:

Most metal weaponry (iron, steel, bronze, brass, and adamantium)

All Metal Weaponry that is magical

Garama Permitted Metal Weaponry:

The Garam have been known to use the following metal weaponry:
Daggers, Broad Swords, Longswords, Scimitars, Short Swords, Scimitars, and Spears.

Usual - non-metallic weaponry used by the Garam include:
Spear, Sling (due to lack of wood for missiles), Darts, Bows

Engenii-ed Weapons

The Garam, unlike the Scalvin achieved their freedom through the use of other slaves. They used the slavery of other beings to achieve their own emancipation, in doing so they do not fight against slavery for the freedom of others but to punish those who perpetuate it against other humanoids.


This is a very complicated 'deal' that has been struck.

The Garama achieved freedom through the use of Djinn or Genie forces helping them to leave slavery. The result is that each Garama must carry a stoppered miniature bottle similar to a Genie Bottle or Lamp. This is used to store all magical metal dust that is collected by it's owner. Many Garam feel that they are 'feeding the bottle' rather than filling it.

Any player character of the Garama can wield a metal weapon of the following types - provided they have silver on them and preferably the weapon itself will be an alloy of silver.

Non Weapon Proficiencies

The Garama Barbarian automatically gains the following three Non Weapon Proficiencies (Free):

Riding, Land-based 1 Wisdom 3 Player's Handbook (pg. 62) PHB 62


Animal Training (Horse or Dog) 1 Wisdom 0 Player's Handbook (pg. 56) PHB 56


Animal Lore 1 Intelligence 0 Player's Handbook (pg. 56) PHB 56

Beyond this, other Non Weapon Proficiencies must be purchased as normal - unless stated otherwise.


By Level 3 they are expected to have learned:
Direction Sense 1 Wisdom 1 Player's Handbook (pg. 56) PHB 56, and

Genie Lore 1 Intelligence 0 Al-Qadim Arabian Adventures (pg. 74) AlQadim 74



By level 5 they are expected to gain:
Animal Handling 1 Wisdom -1 Player's Handbook (pg. 56) PHB 56




Falconry 1 Wisdom -1 The Complete Ranger's Handbook (pg. 83) CRang 83

OR


Riding, Horse Specialization 1 Wisdom 4 Al-Qadim Arabian Adventures (pg. 76) AlQadim 76

Metal Armor

All metal armor is prohibited.

Magical Non-metal armor is acceptable if plain in appearance.

Magical Bracers are accepted by the Garama after achieving Level 4.

Shields are Permitted but not commonly used.

Magical Item Usage

Standard for Barbarians - except for enchanted bottles and decanters which the Garama seek to remove the enchantment of and reuse rather than destroy the container itself. All other items of magic they seek to destroy.

Trade

Garamantes trade with other ethnicities - most especially Scalvin. As with all Barbarian tribes they will trade in magic metal item dust.

Naming Traditions

Family names

All family names of the Garamante follow the same rules as the Scalvin, they must include at least one of the following letters: I, V, X, L, C, D and M. These letters are the Roman Numerals, and are the basis for numbering of the slaves when they are caught by the Caliphate of Aubayd. The escaped slaves are said to turn part of their number into a part of their family name to show that they have outlived their capture and thrived.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

The language of the Garamante is Aubaydi. The dialect is said to be changing over time - but each new influx of escaped slaves ensures that the language largely remains the same. Many slaves have second, third and even fourth languages which are their original native tongues from when they were enslaved in the past. (15% only know Aubaydi)

Common Dress code

The Garamante wear clothing that allows them to blend in within the barren sand-swept landscape and volcanic fields around the slaver lands. They are covered from head to toe in robes and headgear that protects their eyes, mouths and nose, from the sand and winds of the area. The coloring of the clothing preferred are therefore browns, blacks, ochres and greys.

Encompassed species

• Human - Atlantean

Related Items

• Barbarian Weapon of Renown
• Weaponising Flask

Related Locations

• Atlantean Slaver Lands