Celts
game culture document
First
and foremost, this is a fantasy world, with elves and dragons and
magic, this is certainly going to color the “reality” of the
setting. Along with the mythological stuff, it also includes extinct
thing from earth, Ice Age mammals, and dinosaurs.
The
“core” human culture is descended from ancient Celts, pre-Roman
Gauls & Britons, Gaels and Celt-Iberians. Some conceits of the
setting include a more modern outlook towards equal rights for
everyone.
Women
had it pretty good, by comparison to their Mediterranean neighbors at
least, here they have it better (although there is still some
chauvinism left to overcome, mainly in preference to males for
inheritance rights).
Racism,
does not exist, not regarding other humans at least. A case could be
made for the existence of racism regarding other sentient species,
but that would be primarily in regard to their distrust of the newly
arrived humans, which feels more like tribalism, or xenophobia.
Slavery,
it's a sensitive topic for most people (and it should be). What I
will say is that slavery was never as widespread among the ancient
Celts as it was in the Mediterranean world, but it did exist. I am
going to say that my extrapolation of slavery in this new world,
given the harsher climate than the homeland, and the literal hordes
of non-human enemies, slavery is more a concept than a practice at
this time. The unfree exist, but their treatment is more like serfdom
than outright chattel slavery, and upward mobility to freedom is
exceptionally possible.
This
Campaign Setting -
This
is a primer for new players in my “World of Garnia” campaign
setting. I was planning to run this as a straight up, by the book
AD&D core rules setting, but Darryl suggested that we should play
in a very early era of this setting, one which hadn't been explored
as a possibility for use yet. I was intrigued enough to agree, so
here we are.
The
basics-
You
belong to tribal groups of Iron Age Celts that were part of a
pan-Celtic religious movement, a movement that was based around a
prophecy of the destruction of the Celtic world and way of life.
These groups gathered themselves for a ritual that would protect
them, and take them to a place where their way of life could always
be ascendant. This movement was organized by the Archdruid Math the
old.
Celts
from the entire Celtic world came individually or as entire tribes,
gathered in Gaul and then disappeared. All record of this was lost to
the people of earth, as Gaul was in the middle of being conquered by
the Roman empire. Movement from earth to the new world didn't end
with the first mass migration, but it did significantly slow, with
one further large migration from Britain in the face of the Roman
invasion of 43 AD.
It
has been 35 years since the first people got here, the climate was
harsh compared to your homelands, cold, barren plains rather than
temperate forests. The challenges were many, unknown species of
deadly monsters, wielding strange magics, disease, starvation,
freezing temperatures. Your people have prospered in spite of this,
and have expanded beyond the river valley of your initial settlement.
Your task is to explore the world beyond the valley, and find new
lands for your growing tribes.
What
are Celts?
For
our purposes they are the culture(s) that dominated Europe, mostly
north of the Alps, from the bronze age until the Roman conquests of
the 1st centuries BC and AD. They are a huge chunk of Europe's
pre-history. Their cultural zone ran from the black sea coast of
modern Bulgaria to the Atlantic coast of modern Spain and France, and
included the British Isles; from the North sea to the Mediterranean,
they expanded into northern Italy following the Etruscan collapse
(which also led to the rise of Rome as a power), and they colonized
the central part of modern Turkey. Renowned and feared as warriors,
they served as mercenaries as far afield as Carthage and Egypt and
Persia.
Assuming
we're not all scholars, I am going to define them as five main groups
(divided somewhat along linguistic lines), and a couple of
sub-groups. Gauls, Britons, Celt-Iberians, Irish and Picts are the
main groups, and Ligurians and Belgae are the sub-groups.
Gauls
(mostly) come from modern day France and the low countries, they
speak what is called P-Celtic or Brythonic, which is a
simplification, as there were dozens of Gaulish languages and
dialects, and D&D poorly models linguistic reality, so we're
going to call their languages “Gaulish” and call it a day. Gauls
are the “civilized” Celts, they lived in proper towns, and had
magistrates. They had had a lot of contact with the Mediterranean
world.
The
Ligurians were, perhaps, Gauls that dwelled in a mountainous region
along the Mediterranean sea coast, or maybe another group entirely
(pre-Celtic peoples that were influenced by Celtic culture). I
include them here because scholarly opinion was divided the last time
I looked into it, but it seemed they leaned Celtic pretty hard at a
minimum.
The
Belgae (from whom Belgium gets it's name) are the “Savage Gauls”
of the north, noted for their ferocity. Scholars are divided over
their actual ethnicity, some considering them a Germanic people. I am
using Belgae as a term for any Germano-Celtic people, and, since
Caesar called them Gauls, I am assuming they spoke Gaulish, which
makes them Celts in my view.
The
Britons (or more accurately “Pretani”) are the majority culture
of the Island of Great Britain in pre-Roman times. Like the Gauls
they are a P-Celtic speaking people. The Romans considered them to be
more primitive, but closely related to the Gauls. Round buildings and
war chariots. Way less contact with the Mediterranean world made them
a scary race of savages sitting at the edge of the known world to the
Romans.
The
Celt-Iberians are the Celts of modern day Spain and Portugal. We're
not entirely certain, but we think they were Q-Celtic or Goidelic
speakers; which makes their tongue more similar to modern Irish or
Scots-Gaelic than Welsh. The Romans considered these Celts to be
primitive and savage compared to the Gauls too. It is entirely
possible that these people were from an earlier wave of Celtic
settlement (and/or conquest) than the Gauls, their material culture
suggests some melding with the aboriginal inhabitants of the area,
the Iberians. The Romans adopted their shortsword design though as
the “Gladius Iberius” usually simply referred to as the Gladius.
The
Irish were the Celts from beyond the edge of the world to the Romans.
They spoke a Q-Celtic language, never saw a Roman invasion, and would
go on to colonize Britain in the wake of the Roman collapse, most
successfully in Scotland. Other than the language, they are
culturally and materially very similar to their Briton cousins.
The
Picts are the great enigma of Celtic culture. Scholars cannot be sure
if they were P-Celtic speakers, or Q-Celtic speakers, or a 3rd
unknown Celtic language variant, or if they spoke a Celtic tongue at
all. Their material culture suggests, at a minimum, strong Celtic
influences. They were considered by the Romans to be fierce, savage,
and, of course, primitive. Ultimately their homelands in the modern
Scottish highlands were considered not worth the effort of
conquering, so, rather than complete their domination of the island
of Great Britain, they chose to build a couple of lines of
fortifications across the entire island, the most famous of which is
Hadrian's Wall.
All
of these groups have cultural similarities and religious bonds to
each other that far outweigh any of the differences. They are what
are called “Heroic Cultures”, greatly valuing individual martial
prowess and physical fitness.
But
wait, there's more!
We've
all heard of Druids and Bards, both of which are a part of the
priestly caste of the Celts. Celtic music and art are still fairly
popular today. Plaids are widely associated with Scotland, but are
really a Celtic thing rather than a specifically Scottish thing.
Halloween is one of our most popular holidays, it's origins are
Celtic.
A
few cultural bits might be useful going into playing in this setting,
so, in no particular order of importance we have-
Head
Hunters. The Celts are head-hunters, they take the heads of important
or valiant enemies as trophies. They would preserve them and bring
them to feasts and talk to them, there was also a trade in
prestigious heads.
The
Torc. A torc is a neck ring, and it has some religious significance
to the Celts, they were known throughout the Celtic world and were
important enough to a warrior that he would rather not go into battle
without it, and it is said would put them on before armor or weapons
in an emergency situation. They were generally made of as precious a
metal as the warrior could afford, examples have been found in
bronze, copper, silver and gold (although primarily bronze and gold);
and as ornate as possible. It is also possible they were used as a
form of currency.
Fearlessness
is somewhat religiously motivated. Celts were said to be fearless in
battle because they were certain of their afterlife. An account I
read spoke of warriors making deals to pay back debts to each other
in the next life if they died in battle. Their fearlessness is such
that they accidentally disrespected Alexander the Great when he asked
them what it was such great warriors as themselves feared, expecting
the answer to be some idle flattery like “you alone my lord”,
instead they answered that “they feared only that the sky above
might fall”, which is to say “nothing really”.
The
head is the seat of “personhood”, this may be the motivation
behind head hunting.
Some
random facts about the campaign world -
Since
coming to this world 35 years ago, your people have discovered a
number of interesting things. Here are a few of them.
Magic
is strong here. In the old world magic was often found in the realm
of coincidence and wishful thinking, here when you call lightning it
comes, you can summon fire from nothing, and some people have flown
like birds. Your people are still adapting to this arcane might, but
the Druids have made the entire valley of the Aver Danu warm and
fertile through their prayers and rituals, in stark contrast to the
cold, arid steppes that surround it. Not everyone seems to have the
gift for tapping into the magic of this place, but enough of the
people do.
What
do we eat? Most western/northern European ancient food crops are
grown here, so various grains (Oats, Barley, Rye, Wheat) and pulses
(green peas, fava beans and others), various fruit trees (apples,
pears, plums, cherries, apricots and even oranges), root crops
(turnips, carrots), other vegetables (onions, garlic, leeks,
cabbages) along with a few Mediterranean ones (Grapes & Olives
being foremost among them). The people brought herds of livestock, so
cattle, sheep and goats, pigs, horses provide meat, milk and dairy
products and leather. Flocks of chickens, ducks, geese and
doves/pigeons provide eggs, meat and feathers. Fishing in the Aver
Danu provides a wide variety of freshwater fish (some new species),
and amphibians. Hunting brings in significant amounts of protein to
the diet, as well as providing greater variety. Most meals are going
to come out of a pot, a lot of stews and soups, with bread. Roasted
animals lose the fat cooking off into the fire, which smells great,
but cost resources, so are usually reserved for the wealthy and
celebrations. The people brew beer and mead, they drink milk, and the
water is pure enough that it's safe too usually. Various teas are
made from herbs.
Other
races of men live here. You are not the first men to to come to this
place, but all of the others are primitive savages that do not work
metal, they live in caves or in temporary dwellings and follow the
herds. (In real world terms these are Neanderthals and Denisovans,
perhaps some as yet undiscovered sister species of modern humans.
They can and do breed with modern humans creating hybrids, their low
population densities make such children rare, but playable as a
character “race”)
The
people have identified two distinct species of demihumans, Dwarves,
with whom the people have a generally guarded relationship, but do
conduct trade with their outposts to the south of Dun Math; and the
Sidhe (Elves) who are somewhat enigmatic, but seem to share some
common foes with the Celts. The Sidhe are a magically potent species,
all of them seem to be adept at it's use. They are also skilled
warriors. Their weakness is iron, they use wooden, stone or bronze
weapons and tools mainly, with some of their highest status folk
using a “silver-steel” for weapons and armor. They do not ride
horses, or chariots. The Sidhe occasionally wander into human
settlements, not so much for trade, and usually just as solitary
individuals, but there is a high degree of sexual attraction between
the species, which suggests a common heritage. The same can not be
said for humans and dwarves.
Then
there are the humanoids, bestial savages that seemingly live for
slaughter and plunder, there are scores of different types, and their
groups range in size from small bands to tribes that can field
hundreds of warriors. They are an endemic threat on the steppes, and
the Sidhe hunt them there.
The
Undead. The down side of a world with potent magic is that there are
those that practice the foulest necromancies, and some of the dead
rise to make war on the living.
Megafauna-
A startling array of large, but otherwise mundane beasts roam the
cold plains surrounding the Aver Danu. Think Mastodon, Mammoth or
Woolly Rhinoceros, as well as Bison, Irish Deer, and Moose. More
exotic things like the Short-Faced Bear, the Giant Beaver, or the
Giant Ground Sloth exist too.
Magical
Beasts- The cold steppes are also home to a variety of quasi-mundane
animals, that have some magical features or mutations. Blink Dogs and
Displacer Beasts fit this category; as do magical hybrids like
Owlbears.
Mythological
Creatures- Dragons, Giants, Basilisks, etc.; they are here too.
Languages
– A “Common” tongue for the Celts has developed, it's a
simplified Celtic base, with loan words from the various Celtic
tongues that made the trip over. It's useful for trade, and basic
communications between the various tribes of Celts present, but it is
a second language. The mother tongue spoken by each party member will
be their own tribal dialect, which will have a degree of
intelligibility with related tongues, falling into the groups I
mentioned before, mainly Goidelic/Brythonic, which I am going to call
“Gaelic and Gaulish”. Forget all the silly languages they gave
all the demihumans in the party, while you have the capacity to learn
these tongues, you haven't had the opportunity, having been raised
among the Celts. Language isn't genetic (I am willing to entertain
the argument that SOME native languages might be), it's learned. I am
also introducing Fluency as a concept to AD&D, which has always
held language as a binary. You either speak it, or you don't. Having
studied a bunch of languages over the years, and attained some
fluency with them, I hate the binary approach.
Other
ancient human tongues from Europe/North Africa/West Asia may actually
be present, I assume not everyone who made the trip was a Celt, it's
possible an Egyptian trader came too, or a Greek soldier, or
whatever. Of the hundreds of thousands of people here, not all of
them will be culturally and racially homogeneous. In future
generations they'll have been absorbed wholly into the Celtic
cultural milieu, but this early on, it's possible someone had a
Carthaginian dad.
Literacy-
There exists evidence for a couple of distinct Celtic writing
systems, the Ogham “Runes”, that may have been a secret druidic
writing system, and a set of “Celtic Runes”, not unlike Germanic
runic systems, which are seemingly based on the same sources as both
the Latin and Greek alphabets, nevertheless, Celts tended to use
Latin or Greek letters when they kept any written records at all,
although sometimes in their own languages. Because it's more fun and
game-ey, I am going to keep the secret druidic tongue, (and it's
written version Ogham), and let people choose to become literate in
“common”, which will use the Latin alphabet. Scholarly types may
choose Latin or Greek as languages, or even more exotic ones like
Punic, Hebrew or Egyptian.
This
is an ancient Celts themed game, that will be moving towards a more
AD&D standard in the world's future, but, rules wise, the world
is in flux right now. Watch this space for changes. For today, I am
removing weapon restrictions by class entirely, LotFP style, and
armor restrictions too. The caveat being that I am introducing arcane
spell failure for people wearing armor. I am thinking something along
the lines of “No chance if unarmored and unencumbered, roll a check
when casting if wearing any armor at all (on a d20), the number you
need to meet or exceed being 10 + the level of the spell, + 1 for any
shield, +1 for any helmet, +2 for light armor, +4 for medium armor,
+6 for heavy armor” I will probably let you add your INT bonus to
your die roll though. There could be other situational modifiers too.
Darts-
I had removed them from the equipment list, because it's just another
example of a thing Gary got wrong. They should be short javelins (or
possibly plumbata), but everyone thinks they're bar darts. Fine, they
can be bar darts. They're grandfathered in to the equipment list, at
d3 damage and a rate of fire of 3/round. Useful as a last resort
melee weapon for d3-1 damage.
Catching
Your Breath – Any PC can take a full turn rest to recover 1d4-1HP
immediately after any combat in which they took damage.
Bind
Wounds – an action that can be taken by any character to stop the
“bleeding out” of another character that is “Down and Dying”,
it immediately restores them to 0 HP, regardless of how deeply
negative they were.
Negative
Hit Points – Standard rule is that everyone gets -10 HP, then dies.
They also state that a character who has gone into negative HP can
only rest for 1 week/negative point. I changed this to the
dramatically less harsh -1 to hit for 1 day/negative hit point. I
might make other checks have a similar penalty, but I also want
adventurers to be able to adventure.
