Celts game culture document

 

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.