Flint Rock

Overview

The spirit mound of the Elk tribe is situated in the midst of the Evermoors atop a gnarly knob of flinty stone that's perpetually shrouded in fog. Its rings, cairns, and altar mound are created from piles of heaped rock, barren of plant growth. The altar is a rectangular slab of stone 10 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 3 feet tall, its surfaces worn smooth by time. The enormous basin surrounding the altar mound is shaped like the silhouette of a leaping elk, although this image isn't readily apparent when the area is seen from ground level. Buried under the cairns are the bones of the Elk tribe's greatest warriors.
On the higher ground of the ring outside the basin, placed outward from the altar along the cardinal directions, are four menhirs of solid gray stone that the Elk tribe's shamans use to track the passage of time, the changing of the seasons, and the movement of the stars.

Ancient Relic

Casting detect magic on the altar reveals a faint aura of divination magic originating from underneath it. The slab weighs several tons and is too large to be lifted or moved by any creature smaller and weaker than a stone giant, but multiple Small or Medium creatures lifting in tandem can move the stone if at least five of them succeed on a DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check. The altar can be broken in half to get at the ground underneath; it has AC 17, 100 hit points, a damage threshold of 10, and immunity to poison and psychic damage.
Uthgar's early followers who founded the Elk tribe buried a relic of giantkind under the altar to empower it: a 5-foot-long mithral spear tip weighing 75 pounds. The spear tip is the source of the faint aura of divination magic, though it no longer has the powers it once held.

Uthgardt Barbarians

The Uthgardt barbarians are a black-haired and blue-eyed people - large, 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. 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.
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.

Elk Tribe

The Elk tribe 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 (CN male Illuskan human gladiator), 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.

Type

Barrow / Burial ground