Uthgardt
The barbaric tribes of the north, founded by Uthgar - the warrior king. The original members were those who after the death of Uthgar Gardulfsson took up the worship of the warrior through thirteen spirit-beasts said to have been tamed by the mighty warrior. These formed the tribes in the north and they are at once a whole in their worship of Uthgar, and truly divided from each tribe.
Nine tribes are known to still exist:
- Black Lion tribe
- Black Raven tribe
- Elk tribe
- Gray Wolf tribe
- Great Worm tribe
- Griffon tribe
- Red Tiger tribe
- Sky Pony tribe
- Thunderbeast tribe
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
Yhinna, Marr, Olni, Traai, Beli
Masculine names
Throgin, Gaul, Roffen, Krogg, Srenn
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
The uthgardt speak Bothii, which is an ancient off-shoot of Common as it was then spoken on the islands off the Sword Coast. Most, but not all, also speak Common. Some learn the languages of their enemies, such as Giant.
Common Etiquette rules
The people of Uthgar respect strength and many of them will latch onto any sign of weakness and use it to tear someone apart. They are extremely hostile to outsiders and some tribes will outright attack anyone who doesn't look like they fit in. But for the most part, once you have shown both that you're strong but you defer to the even greater strength of someone else (maybe also by offering some gift), you usually in. And most of the people can be very friendly and jovial to those who are considered to be part of the in-group.
Never do anything to imply that you're stronger than someone else. Never do anything that makes it seem like you're trying to avoid saying that you're stronger. Unless you really are stronger and you're prepared to take on the consequences. If you're new and it looks like you might end up in a fist-fight - that's not because they don't like you, that's because they're considering that a way to figure out if they like you.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
Every Uthgardt tribe claims an ancestral mound as holy. Several tribes share some of these, but there is no doubt as to which location is sacred for each tribe. These are some sites where Uthgar is said to have defeated incredibly powerful monsters and in honour of this, every autumn equinox, the Uthgardt who can travel to their ancestral mound to take part in Runemeet. Though the rituals can technically take place anywhere, some Uthgar thinks their power will wane if they don't have the ancestral mound.
Coming of Age Rites
When a child is ready, they are brought to the tribe's ancestral mound during Runemeet. There, they are given a ritual hunting task (which may or may not include hunting something actually dangerous). If they complete the task and return with they prey, they are considered adults. If not, they are children, at least until the next Runemeet.
Common Taboos
Most uthgardt trust only things that they understand. Magic is decidedly not easy to understand. If an enemy puts their axe aside, you can trust them to talk. But a magic user can never be trusted and so most uthgardt are raised to think that a likely magic user should simply be killed on sight. It hasn't improved the impression others have of them that uthgardt have been known to attack someone just because they didn't look heavily armed enough to be on the road without using magic.
However, the uthgardt tribes do have shamans who are druids and clerics of Uthgar. Their powers are so intuned with the tribes' understanding of the spiritual elements of the world that it isn't an exception to the rule against magic, it simply isn't considered magic at all.
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