Uthgardt

The Uthgardt are a black-haired and blue-eyed people - large, hardy folk descended from a mixture of Northmen fugitives, Netherese refugees, and a few savage tribes, including the Beorunni (folk of Beorunna who live by raiding, hunting, gathering, and farming. The Uthgardt are divided into 10 tribes (at the present). Sometimes there are more, sometimes less. The tribes are named for the beast totems which Uthgar conquered- Black Lion, Thunderbeast, Red Tiger, Blue Bear, Great Worm, Sky Pony, Tree Ghost, Blackraven, Griffon, and Grey Wolf. Although civilization has come to the north in waves throughout history, much of the land is wild and untamed, the unbounded home of the Uthgardt. Their tribal lands extend north into the Spine of the World, south as far as The Stone Bridge, east to the Cold Wood, and west to Neverwinter Wood. They avoid cities, the High Forest and the lands around Hellgate Keep. Although some tribes have embraced agriculture and fixed habitations, the Uthgardt have few stable villages. Most tribes wander the wilderness in small clan or family groups and live within a few weeks travel of their ancestor mounds, their holiest of holy grounds.

Culture

Culture and cultural heritage

Tradition is the centerpole of Uthgardt life. Yet it is blind devotion to tradition that keeps them savages. Strength is everything and civilization is a weakness not to be tolerated. Among the Uthgardt, men are warriors and hunters, and women tend to food gathering and family needs. They have no written language and little art beyond geometric carvings and clothing decoration. Their religions and philosophies focus on war, plunder, and survival in a harsh land. They are superstitious, with a paranoiac dislike of magic. To reveal oneself as a magic-user to an Uthgardt warrior is to ask him to kill you. The Uthgardt barbarians have little to do with city folk, other than to treat them as prey. Lone traveler or large caravan, both are ripe fruit for plunder (still, some Uthgardt have made beneficial "civilized" alliances). Though the Uthgardt prey on civilized folk and frequently fight among themselves, they are quick to unite, even with non-Uthgardt, against their common ancestral enemy: the orcs.

Common Dress code

The barbarians dress in fringed leathers and furs. They love bright colors, gaudy jewelry, and ornamental decoration - everything they own is embellished with complicated designs and geometric patterns interwoven with designs representing their tribal totems and other beasts. The men of the tribe tattoo their cheeks with simple images of their totem, and the women are the showcase for their warriors victories, wearing captured booty proudly.

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

The Uthgardt religion is close to nature and is tied to the change of the seasons. The holiest time of year occurs during the autumnal equinox during the month of Eleint (coincides with the festival of Higharvestide). At this time, all tribal clans converge on the tribe's ancestral mound for the annual Runemeet. These huge earthworks mounds, often shaped like the totem beasts, are sacred burial grounds, where only the greatest shamans and chiefs are interred. Here the Uthgardt worship their gods, set tribal policy, perform marriages, celebrate births, formalize adoptions, and mourn deaths. During the Runemeet, youths desiring to be adults and warriors of all ages participate in the ritual of the Runehunt, in which those involved seek victory over one of the tribe's ritual enemies - usually orcs.

Parent ethnicities