The Uthgardt barbarians are a black-haired and blue eyed people-large, hale, bloodthirsty folk with inhuman dispositions. Few Uthgardt are willing to trade with civilized folk. Most are vicious raiders who pillage and destroy any caravan or homestead they come across.
Uthgardt barbarians take their name from Uthgar Gardolfsson, a great hero-chief who battled giants and conquered much of the North before ascending to godhood. In addition to revering Uthgar, each tribe venerates a totem animal spirit after which the tribe is named.
Numerous Uthgardt tribes have been vanquished over the years, and at least one tribe previously thought to be extinct has returned in force. There are currently eleven known Uthgardt tribes scattered throughout the North. Each tribe claims a vast tract of wilderness as its hunting grounds-territory that often overlaps with the hunting grounds of other Uthgardt tribes as well as land claimed by civilized races, orcs, dragons, goblinoids, and other monsters. Encounters with Uthgardt barbarians can occur almost anywhere in the Savage Frontier.
Uthgardt speak their own language (called Bothii), which has no alphabet. Each tribe is made up of several widely scattered clans, each with its own chieftain and tribal shaman. The chieftains of a particular tribe choose one among them to become the great chief of the tribe, with power comparable to a monarch.
Uthgardt barbarians bury their dead under cairns and earthen mounds. These burial sites are scattered throughout the North in out-of-the-way places. Each Uthgardt tribe also has a single spirit mound that is sacred to its people. A spirit mound is where members of the tribe gather to revere Uthgar, honor their ancestors, make sacrifices to their totem animal spirit, and choose a new great chief when the old one dies. The Uthgardt believe that their ancestors trapped their totem spirits under these mounds so that they and their descendants could commune with the spirits and gain their power.
Uthgardt barbarians fear magic so much that they will attempt to kill and dismember spellcasters they meet. Tribal shamans are not attacked because their power comes from the spirits of their dead ancestors.
Uthgardt hunt and forage for food. With one notable exception among the tribes, they don't build houses or permanent settlements, preferring a nomadic lifestyle.
Of all their enemies, Uthgardt barbarians hate orcs most of all. Even rival tribes will unite against a rampaging orc horde. The Uthgardt treat giants with similar contempt-the legends of the barbarians are replete with tales of how evil giants slew their ancestors and threatened Uthgar's rise to godhood.
Black Lion Tribe
The Black Lion tribe prowls the northern Silver Marches and the Druarwood, protecting its spirit mound at Beorunna's Well (which it shares with the Red Tiger tribe). The Black Lions have been known to raid poorly defended homesteads for food and supplies during harsh winters. The great chief of the Black Lion tribe, Stellok Kolraavi, wears armor made from orc hide and has a fearsome reputation. His younger sister, Tysis Kolraavi, is a shaman and Stellok's only trusted advisor. The siblings venerate Uthgar, and they have no tolerance for diplomacy or for the trappings of civilization.
Black Raven Tribe
The Black Ravens claim the icy foothills west of Mirabar, as well as the Ice Lakes and the land west to the Frozenfar. They like to prey on caravans that travel the Northern Means and the Blackford Road. Black Raven warriors often ride giant ravens (use the giant vulture statistics) into battle. The Black Ravens share their spirit mound at Raven Rock with the Gray Wolf tribe. The great chief of the Black Raven tribe is Ojin Voninsdottir, a cold, heartless woman with an orc-skull helm.
Blue Bear Tribe
The easternmost of the Uthgardt tribes, the Blue Bear tribe was thought destroyed more than a century ago. Recently, clans haunting the High Forest have emerged and begun to spread throughout Delimbiyr Vale, from the Nether Mountains to the northern edge of the High Moor-territory unclaimed by their Uthgardt rivals. The Blue Bears are careful to stay hidden when traveling to and from their spirit mound at Stone Stand, preserving the myth that they are extinct. The tribe's great chief is a canny old woman named Kriga Moonmusk, who travels in a fur-draped chair carried by four tribal warriors.
Elk Tribe
The Elk tribe (no relation to the Reghed barbarians' Tribe of the Elk) wanders the Evermoors and the land north of the Dessarin River, between Yartar and Noanar's Hold. The Elk barbarians shun civilization. Their spirit mound is a rocky tor in the southeastern Surbrin Hills called Flint Rock. The Elk tribe's great chief is Rond Vaarson, an old, battle-hardened warrior who has spilled so much blood that he no longer craves it. Younger chieftains are waiting for him to die so that they can vie for the honor of being his successor, but Rond doesn't plan on leaving this world anytime soon.
Gray Wolf Tribe
The Gray Wolf barbarians are murderous werewolves, which roam in packs with ordinary wolves. They hunt down and kill those who survive their attacks to prevent the spread of lycanthropy among non-tribe members. Gray Wolf packs (as the clans call themselves) can be found throughout the North, as far west as the Sword Coast and as far east as the Delimbiyr Vale. Adventurers from Neverwinter recently slew the last great chief of the Gray Wolves, Syken Nightblaze. Envir Sykensdottir has taken over her father's pack and plans to attack Neverwinter to prove that she should be named the next great chief of the tribe.
Great Worm Tribe
The Great Worm tribe has fallen under the sway of a brutal chieftain known as Wormblod. The tribe's spirit mound is located inside Great Worm Cavern, in the Spine of the World. Wormblod and his tribe strike out from this cavern only occasionally to defend their territory, which includes the surrounding mountains, the Fell Pass, the Frost Hills, the Lurkwood, and the northern reaches of the Silver Marches. The Great Worms also venture into the Crags and the plains west of the Surbrin Hills when food is scarce. Wherever he goes, Wormblod wages war and hoards any treasure he finds.
Griffon Tribe
The great chief of the Griffon tribe, Halric Bonesnapper, is the great-grandson of Kralgar Bonesnapper, who was killed by orcs many years ago. Like his ancestor, Halric longs to wipe out the cities of the North, but his tribe has made too many enemies of late, and its numbers are dwindling. The tribe still maintains a permanent walled settlement in the Surbrin Hills called Griffon's Nest, but it's more of a guarded encampment than the welcoming trading post it once was. The tribe's spirit mound, Shining White, is northeast of the settlement, near an artery of the Surbrin River. Some of the more jaded tribesfolk believe that the Bonesnapper clan has lost Uthgar's divine favor. Halric refutes such claims by staging bold raids. Griffon barbarians venture as far west as the Sword Coast and as far east as the Silver Marches, and they are known to raid homesteads and ranches in the Dessarin Valley north of Triboar and Yartar.
Red Tiger Tribe
The ferocious Red Tiger tribe shares the spirit mound at Beorunna's Well with the Black Lion tribe, and the two tribes are tenuous allies. Whereas the Black Lions tend to avoid settlements in the Silver Marches, the Red Tigers attack them often. They also prey on caravans traveling along the roads while skillfully avoiding the heavily fortified keeps built to watch over them. The tribe even attacks boats on the Rauvin River from time to time. Recently, Red Tiger hunters have moved into the forests that surround the Silver Marches, and are even making forays into elf-controlled regions of the High Forest in an effort to find the Grandfather Tree and lay claim to it. Seriska Hungermaw is the tribe's great chief. She is ruthless yet cautious.
Sky Pony Tribe
During the War of the Silver Marches, Sky Pony barbarians harried and attacked orcs that spilled out of the mountains. Great Chief Arnzan Vashk was badly wounded in one such altercation, leaving him with an orc spearhead embedded in his chest. He refuses to have it removed and tries to hide the pain it causes, not realizing that the tip of the weapon is close to piercing his heart and killing him. The great chief's rivals are circling and preparing to unseat him. The tribe's spirit mound, One Stone, lies in the Moonwood.
Thunderbeast Tribe
The spirit mound of the Thunderbeast tribe, a bone-strewn hill called Morgur's Mound, lies in the Crags. Members of the tribe have not visited the site in years, and there have been no encounters with Thunderbeast tribesfolk in what used to be their favored hunting grounds in and around the Crags. Great Chief Harthulk Hornspear is a monstrous man with a terrible scowl and skin as cracked and tough as dinosaur leather. He has convinced all of the Thunderbeast clans to hide in the depths of the Lurkwood and is arming them for a "stampede" through the Surbrin Hills and the Dessarin Valley to the south-a bold thrust that won't end until his people or their enemies are all dead.
Tree Ghost Tribe
After years of conflict with other Uthgardt tribes and the elves of the High Forest, the Tree Ghosts have declared themselves to be the protectors of the Grandfather Tree. Rarely seen, these Uthgardt share the High Forest with the region's native elves. Great Chief Boorvald Orcbane, true to his name, hunts orcs and frequently launches attacks against the crude Iceshield orc-holds along the western edge of the forest. Boorvald has six sons and three daughters, each of whom was given an oathbow from the tribe's elf neighbors as a gift of friendship. Living among the Tree Ghosts are members of various other Uthgardt tribes who found their way to the Grandfather Tree and gained some measure of enlightenment, such that they have forsaken their tribal allegiances and pledged to help the Tree Ghosts protect the tree.
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