Confederated Tribes of the Ram

In the harsh north, the Goliaths eke out a life amid the snow and the fierce beast there, surviving but rarely thriving in the harsh environment.

General information

Language: Goliath (some Bekish, Golyan, Dwarvish and Common, but generally only enough to trade)
Demographics: Goliath, a few dwarves, humans, or elves travel with the south bands
Major settlements: no permanent settlements but the Great Gathering (held halfway between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice) takes place at Garun Rock every year and is the one time a year that all the Goliath tribes come together for revelry, trade, and other festivities
Major allies: the Republic of Golya
Major Rivals: the Kingdom of Bek

Government organization

The Goliaths are led by various elders and chieftains, as each band and tribe has its own leader, who altogether form the Great Council, who decide things yearly at the Great Gathering

Military

All adult Goliaths protect their tribes. The Goliaths rarely go to war altogether, but when they do, they select the strongest chief to lead the army.

Economy

Major Exports: art items, furs, incense, wild foods, etc
Major Imports: grain, alcohol,
Food: wild game (bear, mammoth, elk, deer, various fowl), wild plants (mushrooms, berries, etc), honey, fish (they rely heavily on hunting/gathering, although they do have small herds of goats and reindeer)

Culture

see https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Goliath for more (differences are here)

Descent & kinship systems: Goliaths are organized into clans, which are named after the animals that live in their environment, (ei, the Clan of the Bear or the Clan of the Elk).. There are several clans per tribe, but some clans exist in more than one tribe. Each tribe is usually about 40-60 people, and each clan has about 15-20 people per clan in each tribe, though the whole clan could have 200 or more people claiming membership. The clan or moiety claims kinship with the animal for which the clan is named, and common descent from a particular semi-mythological ancestor.
Marriage: usually marriages happen at the great gathering, between members of different clans.
In the summer, the tribes come together into larger, more fluid groups that wander around the steppes following food sources, but in the winter, each tribe forms a small village .

Religion

Main Deity: Alku
Secondary Deities: Irdal & Rayna
Goliaths mostly worship nature, they have many druids and mystics in their midst

Art, Architecture, & Literature

Main literary figures/works (ei, poetry, romances, histories, etc): Goliath stories often feature a fierce hero, who brave many things and does great feats, but their heroes usually end up meeting ill-fated ends.
Art styles & motifs: Goliath art is very fine and highly sought after by humans and dwarves. Beads made of polished wood, incised bone or ivory (from mammoths or walruses), intricately painted and carved figurines in a wide variety of materials, and finely worked textiles are all hall-marked of Goliath art. The motifs are usually abstract or mythological. Netting designs, stylized animals, and geometric figures in vivid, wild color are common.
Defining architectural features (ei, archs, fountains, use of particular methods or shapes): Summer tents are generally simple tents made from mammoth tusks or branches and covered in tanned hides, but in the winter, villages usually build a ringed palisade and have more substantial buildings made from stone, wood, and turf, with hides for the doors. The base of these is often a ring of stone with a wooden and bone framework above that in a kind of dome that helps support the sod roof

Geography
- The Goliath inhabit the vast and empty northern steppes, which vary between tundra, rolling foothills, and dense woodland. There are also many rocky outcrops (such as Garun Rock on the coast) as well as mountains. The steppes are also spotted with bogs.
- General climate: The climate can be mild in the spring and summer, but the winters are long and brutal, with heavy snows, sub-zero temperatures, and strong winds coming off the Northern Sea.
History
During the height of the Bekian Empire, the Goliath Tribes were force to submit and pay homage to the Bekian crown. They were instrumental in the Fall of Bek, revolting against them and helping Golya secede from the Empire.