New Mountain Clan/ Wildling Tribes

[Paedrig]

For our game play i did have invented this three mountain clans. Perhaps they can be usefull for other rpg groups. I would be also interested in your own creation of new clans/ tribes of wildlings/ mountain clans...

[b]Brothers of the Mist[/b]
Area: north-western mountain flank of the Mountains of the Moon
Strength: around 1.000 people (at the moment)

The Brothers of the Mist are one of the smaller tribes which live in the Mountains of the Moon. Far away from the Bloody Gate and living on the north-western flank of the mountains they did know very little about the old feud of others tribes with house Arryn. Their main enemies (and favourite targets) are the ‘flatlanders’ of the northern Riverlands. For centuries this clan raided the area near the mountains. Old tales mentioned that their warbands even reached the Twins and the Green Fork although this was long time ago.
However they were always a thread for every house with lieges between the Bite and the Kings Road. The Mist Brothers fought numerous skirmishes and (small) battles against local houses like house Aran, Dannett and (in recent centuries) Blyth of Dragonport and Krayenhorn. During these fights the clan lost some of its territories in the mountain foreland and had to retreat deeper into the mountain. But this success of the ‘flatlanders’ were always won with a high price, always contested and at risk in times of winter, war or civil war. At least since the time of the Targaryans some local houses tried to built a ‘limites’ against the Mist Brothers and their allies: a line of watch towers, supported by scouts and cavalry patrols. But this fortifications and concerted action didn’t last very long, although there are attempts to revive it.
Centuries of (not always martial) contact with the ‘flatlanders’ did also have some effects on the Brother of the Mist. The mountain foreland was (and major parts is still) an contested area, a ‘borderland’ with overlapping cultures, uncertain borders, where outcasts, brigands, clansmen, half bloods and other ‘half civilized’ or ‘half barbaric’ elements fight but also cooperate.
Between times of war, raiding and kidnapping of women there were also times of peace, of alliances and even peaceful intermarriage with the ‘flatlanders’. It is whispered that house Fallkirk (a relatively young house of the region) did have clansmen blood in their veins – or at least some of their bastards. House Fallkirk did use clansmen as mercenaries and allies repeatedly and is said to trade iron, bronze (and even weapons and armors) with the Mist Brothers.
Because of this and other (violent and non violent) contacts with the ‘flatlanders’ the Mist Brothers are relatively well armed – most of their warriors did have iron weapons and better armors than many other clans.

However under the rule of Ture ‘Stronghand’ son of Torvan, who tried to take revenge for some defeats by house Blyth of Dragonport, the clan lost many men. Some of the local houses tried to revive the idea of a ‘limites’ in the contested mountain foreland, increasing the pressure on the Mist Brothers. This resulted in internal turmoil, bloody clashes and even the separation of some parts of the clan. Other clans like the Shadowcats did use this opportunity for raids. It is unclear what the future will bring (and how and if house Fallkirk might influence the fait of their allies)…

[b]Shadowcats[/b]
Area: north-western flank of the Mountains of the Moon
Strength: several hundred
Living deeper into the mountains than some of the other clans this tribe is mostly unknown in the Dale or the Riverlands. But they did have a fierce reputation around other clansmen. Even the Burned Men did tread them with some respect.
While only their chiefs, great warriors and ‘wise’ men and women wear the fur of the shadowcat, it is said that all of this clan did have the fighting spirit and blood thirst of this mountain predators. It is also said that some of their chiefs and fiercest fighters are skin changers who could communicate with shadowcats and other predators - or even transform themselves into such beasts. There are valid stories of warbands which were accompanied by real shadowcats. While the people of this clan did claim that they have lived in the Mountains of the Moon since the days of the First Men, some stories mentioned them arriving this area during the Long Night – either as refugees or (much worse) as scattered soldiers of the ‘White Wanderers’. Other even more gruesome stories whispered that the Shadowcats might be the result of the mixed blood of humans and the Others (ore some of their now long forgotten soldiers and followers). Certainly the Shadowcats are hardy warriors, ruthless, bloodthirsty and cruel – even to their own kin. Only the strongest children survive and only men and women who pass dangerous trials can become respected members of the clan, leaving the other in an underprivileged status with meagre rights and not much to say.
Some stories mentioned that the warriors of the Shadowcat must past such hard trials because it is their duty to guard dark secrets of the past, some long forgotten evil, hiding in the mountains. Other tales say that the brutal selection of potential warriors should stale them for a long foreseen war…
A common trial for would to be warriors/ warrior women is a raid against other clans or against the ‘flatlanders’ to get iron, food, cattle (garrons, sheep or goats) - and prisoners (preferably young women or strong children to ‘strengthen the blood’). In contrast to other clans they did not kill male prisoners automatically. Instead the Shadowcats sometimes give them a chance to become part of the clan – but only if they did pass dangerous trials. If they are not successful, well the real Shadowcats are always hungry…
There are also rumours that the Shadowcat-clan might in fact practice cannibalism but this tales are unproved for the moment.
Living in an area of high altitude (partially even beyond the altitude where trees could grow) they prefer to live in caves just like the animal the clan is named after.
The Shadowcats paint their faces and bodies grey and black if they go to war, giving them an almost ghostly appearance when they attack out of the mountain mists. Because of their rather remote territory iron weapons (or even armors) are very rare. They prefer maces, axes, spears, javelins, slings (and lassos and nets if they want to capture their foes alive).



[b]Seals People[/b]
Area: southern coast of the Bite
Numbers: more than 1.000 (including half bloods and outcasts, outlaws etc. which live with them)

The Seals People claim that their founding father Daran came into this area thousands of years ago, fleeing the ‘White Death’ from the North. Some time after his arrival he witnessed a group of seals at the shore, stripping of their fur and changing into beautiful young women. Daran did hide one of the furs and when the seals wanted to return into the sea, one of them had to stay human, becoming the wife of the ‘Father of the Seals People’.
However the story ended tragically because after giving birth to four children, Daran revealed his wife that he had hidden her seal skin all the time. His wife took the fur, changed back into a seal and vanished into the ocean. Daran ended his days searching the waves for his beloved wife. Like this, most tales about romances between the Seals Peoples and the ‘sons and daughters of the waves’ end tragically. There are many stories (often linked with the founding tales of the Seals People) about skin changers who can communicate with seals or even change into them.
Anyway, in contrast to other clans the Seals People did have mastered the sea – beside hunting, some cattle and meagre crops, they earn their living mostly by fishing, hunting seals (notwithstanding their founding story), dolphins and even small whales with open boats. Their small villages with round huts made of stones and grass tiles could be found on cliffs and other places on the coast which are good to defend.
Living at the coast the Seals are much more ‘civilized’ than other clans – but this does not mean that they are weak or peaceful. Often they did use their boats for piracy and raids against coastal villages, and they are clever enough to built alliances with local lords, pirates, brigands and smugglers. Besides raiding they also trade peacefully or could be hired as whalers and mercenaries – but such agreements are often short lived. Because of such activities they are relatively good armed. After centuries of either peaceful or violent (including kidnapping) contact with ‘flatlanders’, shipwrecked sailors, outcasts etc, there are many half bloods in this clan with mothers or fathers from places as far away as the Iron Islands, Dorne or even the free cities.

[Mrjamespj]

Wow I really like all 3 write-ups, I actually am starting my own game in the Vale in a few weeks and was gonna create a few mountain clans myself, with your permission could I change a few bits here and there and use these? Not that I consider your stuff wrong or anything like that, I'd rather just not totally steal all your fine work and use it as my own!

The shadowcats sound like the ones I'd least like to meet!

[Paedrig]

Of course you have my permission to use them at your free will. Beeing a sort of inspiration for others is a compliment for me.
I would be interested in the result of your modifications.

And concerning [quote]The shadowcats sound like the ones I'd least like to meet[/quote], yes, this was my intention for this tribe...

[aprewett]

Awesome, just in time before my players take a trek into the hills.
Thanks

Allan

[Willem Manderly]

Very nice write-ups, Paedrig. My group has had some interaction with the Clans, and I even have a plot involving them that has created some nice back-story for a feud amongst 3-4 Houses. But this level of detail from the Clans' perspective is really nice.

[Gurkhal]

Just skimmed through it but it looks very nice. Well done!

[Mrjamespj]

So my game is a year before the events of the books, and I feel like messing with them about potential supernatural stuff

I intend to have the group come across an overturned wagon on the road, where they find some wounded smallfolk who are clearly very scared and who claim "the spirits" descended on them from the hills and took their women. The PC's will basically be directed to a cave where there is a weird thin layer of mist, and some of the Shadowcat tribesmen live here and basically paint themselves totally grey. I have this image of them seeing the tribesmen in the torchlight and basically rolling fear checks as the players all think they have actually just come across some real spirits, at least until they start stabbing up the first few. This is literally a thought that popped in to my head that I haven't really fleshed out, the whole thing about painting their bodies basically inspired it though.

[Paedrig]

Glad, that you like my ideas (allthough they are not completely mine ).
Tell me, how it went with your players.

Should this wildlings be a group who lived permanently at this cave (perhaps some outcasts who migrated closer to the civilised areas) or only use it as a hideout during raids?

[Mrjamespj]

Yeah I was thinking they are just a small group who were originally raiding, but with the King's Tourney in King's Landing, they have basically had to use this cave temporarily since there are knights and men at arms everywhere, the main clan is actually elsewhere (and in far greater numbers).

[ceranko]

The Mountain Clans have the blood of the first men. Pretty rough dudes.

[ceranko]

In a campaign I ran I had the mountan clans live in Broghs and cliff dwellings made of shale and rocks kinda like ancient picts.

some examples
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/2184/brochad100.jpg

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/4992 ... mburgh.jpg

http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/brochs/index.html

http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/earth- ... bister.htm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alphadslr/ ... /lightbox/

[ceranko]

http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/185899/enlarge

Imagine the cliffs surrounded by forests and maybe a weirwood in the area, but the caves would be darker rock.

[ceranko]

http://www.visitourchina.com/guide/beij ... ncient.jpg

http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/185899/enlarge

Imagine the cliffs surrounded by forests and maybe a weirwood in the area, but the caves would be darker rock.

[ceranko]

http://www.featurepics.com/FI/Thumb300/ ... 607688.jpg

http://www.vagabondjourney.com/photos/1 ... turkey.JPG

[Kajani]

Many of the pictures made sense, but some of the pueblo-like settlements look a bit to well build if I compare it what we have seen until now from the Shagga son of Dolf-people... I think that may be exclusive for some clans deeper in the mountains which have a good valley for hunting/ their tamed animals/ lowtech agriculture nearby, and which are strong enough to keep their "savage" brothers away.

[ali123]

nice-------

[DaimosofRedstone]

Yep, nice.
But i would advocate cutting down on exterior finesse too.
It is first something that takes surplus time not taken by surviving, makes the dwellings more obvious and would be invisible under snow for half of the time anyway when it is not eaten away by melting snow.

[Canarr]

On a slightly related note: do mountain clan tribes also live in the mountains of the Westerlands? Or are they restricted to the mountains around the Vale?

[DaimosofRedstone]

They are never mentioned in the Westerlands, and so i would say the distinct free-men, raiding, raping, traveller-robbing Mountain Clans are of the Vale.
That does not mean though that their might not be slightly more civilized breathren of them in the Hinterlands of the Westerlands, probably more in line with the Northern Clans in Stark territory.

[Canarr]

That would work, I guess... if not, there's always bandits

[Kajani]

I would guess, in the Westlands and perhaps in the Stormlands too there are more no mens land, areas in which the lords did not have much controll and in which larger groups of bandits operate, sometimes in cooperation, sometimes in hostility to local communities. I mean, the charming character of Lord Tywin and some of his loyal "mastiffs" may lead to some kind of grassroot-resistance, people which flee the iron fist. And of course the golden road is a possible target. I would see such groups more like the brotherhood of the Kingswood than like the Clans. They are less seperated by culture from the main society, but by law. Of course they could survive only as long as they have places to hide, in areas, were the military might of the lords did not matter so much

[DaimosofRedstone]

Westeros is about the size of South America with less than a fifth of the population at the highest estimates of about 75 million people.
When subtracting densely packed cities like Kings Landing you probably arrive at something less than 4 people per square kilometer.
That is half the population density of the British Isle in the year 1000.
If you take out the north it gets higher with 60 million people in 8920000 sqkm for a density of roughly 6 people per square kilometer.
That is still few and far between.

[Gurkhal]

I think that this is a very cool topic and so decided to bring it back to life since I have some additional Mountain Clans to add to the mix.

Iron Brothers
Founded by deserters from the Blackfyre Rebellion they started as a group of bandits but over time came to become a proper clan and win the grudging tolerance of the other local clans, as the generations passed. As a very young clan the Iron Brothers are held in low esteem by their fellow mountain clansmen. The clan's traditions are much inspired by the lowland Westerosi lands and are ruled by a lord and his company of warriors. Succession is done by contests of arms among the lord's male children and death and mutilation are very common. The Iron Brothers prefers to settle disputes by duels between the quarreling parties.

Antler Men (I know about those in King's Landing but these are some other guys)
This clan claims descent from a mystical figure known as the Horned Man, who was a great raider and warrior and had a great set of antlers. It is said that he sired a thousand sons and that these men became the Antler Men clan. The clan's traditions holds the deer as sacred and forbbids its members to harm those animals, and indeed brough battle to other clans and men from the Vale who have sought to hunt deer in or close to the clan's territory. The champions of the clan goes to war wearing antlers but these are only allowed to be taken from animals that are already dead or carved from wood. Similar to the traditions of the Ironmen and their salt wives, the Antler Men captures women from other clans and the lowlands and make them servant-wives to their warriors. The ammount of wives and children a man can boast to have is seen as a reflection on his manly virtues and fortune.

Night Howlers
A notorious clan the Night Howlers uses a form of primitive psychological warfare and night-based tactics to attack their enemies. They paint themselves in dramatic fashion with dark colors and prefers to attack during the night when they can sneak up and come howling out of the darkness against their targets. These tactics have made the Night Howlers notorious and they are considered a bit queer by the other clans. The famous war-howls of the tribe is fairly well known among both the local clans as well as the men of the Vale.

Eaglekin
The Eaglekin decorates themselves with eagle feathers and holds these birds as sacred and to be warriors reborn into the world. A peculiar way that the Eaglekin uses to execute prisoners is to draw out their lungs in the resemblance of an eagle, and the clan often feeds the fallen to eagles atop the mountains in the traditions of the sky-burial when the birds of the sky can consume the dead and release his or her soul to the heavens and to be returned as a bird. The clan has a fairly advanced intellectual system regarding what different birds means in omens and what type of birds a certain person will be reborn as. To kill a murder is blasphemy that the clan is all to eager to reward to violence and torture, provided it wasn't done under the proper ritual circumstances.

Red Heads
This clan paints its faced red when going to war and are fierce warriors who relies on overwhelming power and brutality to overtake their enemies. They often try to take prisoners and executes these in mock duels which are belived to magically ensure the clan's continued success and the defeat of their enemies.

Children of Aresta
A clan which claims descent from a distant ancestor known as Aresta in the Age of Heroes. According to their legends Aresta was a woman who wandered the world and was tutored in the magical arts, including the secrets of immortality. She had many heroes as her lovers and from them gav birth to a score of children who she nourished to become the clan which is named after her. The clan belives that Aresta left much magical knowledge in their hands and they are drawn to supersition and magic like few others. According to the legends of the clan Aresta still wanders the mountains and take great heroes as her lovers.

[apocripha]

Seals People

Those are great. I actually reused this idea in my game with a twist. During chargen, along with their house I had my players come up with neighbouring lords, so they have a friednly one in Barrowton, a rival in Flint's Finger, and Hill tribes as neutral force. Since they have been fighting off some of their raiding bands I've had to flesh them out.

The Car'Glenn. Hillmen tribe of the Northern Rills.

Long ago, in the days before the Andals stole the lands and when the Marsh King bend the knee to none, when Winterfel was but another stronghold and the Stark but a petty Winter King, lived King Erl of the Forest.
He knew no wife that bore him sons for he always desired a fairer maiden. One night as a wandered through his forest he encountered the most beautiful women bathing in a lake, but as she saw them, they dressed themselves in deer skins, transformed into a herd of does and disappeared into the woods. As a peerless hunter he tracked them for weeks until he caught them bathing once again, but stole a skin without being noticed. As the doe-women finished bathing, all but one turned and left into the woods. The remaining one agreed to become his wife for 20 years in exchange for the return of the skin.

King Erl had many sons from his mysterious wife known only as the Polymorphess. In the final year of her engagement, she fell pregnant once more and gave birth to a daughter on the day before the return of her skin. She left that very night turning into a deer never to be seen again, though her daughter grew up to look identical to her mother and was said to have the same shape shifting power.

A few years later King Erl was grievously wounded in battle and his daughter took him away to mend his wounds and neither was seen again in years. Once every few generations either King Erl or his daughter the Polymorphess is seen again, to lead a great band into victory over other clans.

(Yes I am aware that I am liberally inspiring myself from various folklore.)

Skaagosii

My PCs have met a Skaagosi bard (with a unicorn/narval tipped spear) telling them of the legends of his home country. Amongst them I retold the story of Suur Toll http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suur_T%C3%B5ll, with the Skaagossii replacing the native Estonians and the Starks as the invaders. Generally I have portrayed them as Eskimo/Balts.