CITY-DWELLERS, BARBARIANS, AND SAVAGES
Thule may be a cruel and hard land of many dangers, but it is not hell on earth. Many people lead decent lives and enjoy their share of ordinary pleasures in their due season—feasts and revels, family and children, the satisfaction of work well done whether they are illiterate barbarians, simple craftsmen, or great nobles.
People in Thule fall into one of two broad categories: tribesfolk and city-dwellers. In general, these two cultural groups distrust and dislike each other. The uncivilized jungle hunters or tundra nomads regard the people of the cities as corrupt, decadent, untrustworthy, and greedy beyond all reason. In return, Thule's city-states' citizens think of the continent's barbaric peoples as ignorant, lawless brutes, all too ready to meet any obstacle or setback with senseless violence. City-dwellers, naturally enough, are the people of Thule's civilized realms. Only the upper classes are literate, but all are subject to the city's laws and customs in which they live. Many city-dwellers are farmers or frontier-folk who live outside the protection of city walls, tending the fields and groves that feed the masses.
Barbarians are not far behind civilized folks in some areas, particularly the crafting of weapons and armor. Some are nomadic or semi-nomadic, moving from place to place to follow food sources such as migrating herds. Others are settled and tend fields much like civilized people. The chief differences between these settled barbarian tribes and civilized folk are the lack of written laws and records and the social hierarchy's simplicity. In a typical tribe, a barbarian answers only to their conscience, serving no lord or master. Chiefs and elders are respected and listened to, but they do not rule—they lead.
Savages, on the other hand, are significantly less advanced than barbarians. The savage tribe people use only those tools and weapons they can find in the world immediately around them; they know nothing of metalworking, writing, or commerce, and very little of magic or other secret lore. Despite the preconceptions of civilized folk, savages aren't stupid. After all, surviving in Thule's wilderness with nothing but stone, wood, and fire requires a good deal of planning and inventiveness, and any savage warrior is quick to appreciate the value of a bronze or iron blade. They are wary of change and suspicious of different cultures. The most well-traveled individuals from all three groups (adventurers, for example) soon learn that there are good and bad people wherever one goes. Many tribal wanderers find their fortune in one city or another, and plenty of civilized merchants and mercenaries form fast friendships with people of the tribes they meet.
People in Thule fall into one of two broad categories: tribesfolk and city-dwellers. In general, these two cultural groups distrust and dislike each other. The uncivilized jungle hunters or tundra nomads regard the people of the cities as corrupt, decadent, untrustworthy, and greedy beyond all reason. In return, Thule's city-states' citizens think of the continent's barbaric peoples as ignorant, lawless brutes, all too ready to meet any obstacle or setback with senseless violence. City-dwellers, naturally enough, are the people of Thule's civilized realms. Only the upper classes are literate, but all are subject to the city's laws and customs in which they live. Many city-dwellers are farmers or frontier-folk who live outside the protection of city walls, tending the fields and groves that feed the masses.
Barbarians are not far behind civilized folks in some areas, particularly the crafting of weapons and armor. Some are nomadic or semi-nomadic, moving from place to place to follow food sources such as migrating herds. Others are settled and tend fields much like civilized people. The chief differences between these settled barbarian tribes and civilized folk are the lack of written laws and records and the social hierarchy's simplicity. In a typical tribe, a barbarian answers only to their conscience, serving no lord or master. Chiefs and elders are respected and listened to, but they do not rule—they lead.
Savages, on the other hand, are significantly less advanced than barbarians. The savage tribe people use only those tools and weapons they can find in the world immediately around them; they know nothing of metalworking, writing, or commerce, and very little of magic or other secret lore. Despite the preconceptions of civilized folk, savages aren't stupid. After all, surviving in Thule's wilderness with nothing but stone, wood, and fire requires a good deal of planning and inventiveness, and any savage warrior is quick to appreciate the value of a bronze or iron blade. They are wary of change and suspicious of different cultures. The most well-traveled individuals from all three groups (adventurers, for example) soon learn that there are good and bad people wherever one goes. Many tribal wanderers find their fortune in one city or another, and plenty of civilized merchants and mercenaries form fast friendships with people of the tribes they meet.
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