Cimmerian

Cimmerians are among the oldest races, descended from the Atlanteans from a land that long ago sunk beneath the waves and was lost to history, and they have scarcely changed in appearance, demeanor, or temperament. Like the Atlanteans, they are dark-haired and have eyes of gray, blue, or green. They are tall and rangy, with powerful builds, and their skulls are long. Unlike the Nordheimer, though, Cimmerians are generally darker-skinned, almost as much so as the Picts, a race they despise. And also like the Picts, the Cimmerians are adept climbers, able to find purchase in any rock-face or tree and scale it quickly and without fear. In temperament, Cimmerians are a dour and moody lot, practical, yet proud, prone to both brooding and boast- fulness, often maddened by the futility of life. Cimmerians only exult in the heat of battle, and the rest of the time their moods are black and occasionally morose.

To Cimmerians, family and kith are the strongest bonds, and clans spread across settlements and throughout the land, so that they might find kin-folk far and wide. It is a rare Cimmerian that is curious about the world beyond their village, much less showing an interest in anything outside their grim and bleak country. Their language, called Cimmerian by others and *Gaeilge* by the Cimmerians them- selves, is their own, and is not spoken outside their lands. It has little in common with the speech of other folk, and has more to do with the Atlantean strain than any of the Hyborian tongues spoken by their neighbors to the south, or the language of the Nordheimer.

Cimmerians as a people are independent and clannish, and are stubborn foes, holding fast in their hills, their valleys, and their bogs, resisting even the ancient Acheronians, who could gain no purchase against them, leaving the fierce hill-men to their own rocky abode. Many have tried to unite them, to no avail. Generally, the greatest of their leaders is little more than a glorified clan chief claiming to be king or queen, but such boasts are empty and meaningless when one’s own neighbors show little interest in respecting any claim of rule.

## A Way of Life

Cimmerian villages are humble and smallish, and their homes are wooden, split-beam and thatch-roofed, though they oft dig into the sides of foothills and slopes to make their homes, and the roofs of these are covered in sod. They do not build castles, or even keeps, and few even are the villages with high halls where all might meet. They govern by way of a head-man for each village, an elder, and when a matter of great import arises, the clans gather and plan, a boisterous affair that usually ends in bloodshed. On the borders of their land, their villages have fences or walls surrounding, but this practice is not so common for Cimmerians that dwell far from their raid-prone neighbors.

The mighty kingdom of Aquilonia, which rules over many lands, sought foolishly to colonize Cimmeria, and built settlements among its border, thinking that nearby Gunderland was enough to keep them safe. The greatest of the Aquilonian settlements into the North was the fortress-town and garrison of Venarium, where they sought to cow the Cimmerians into servitude. Instead of docile cows, though, the Aquilonians faced enraged Cimmerian bulls, and the united force of dozens of clans of howling hill-men surged over the walls of Venarium one fell night and sacked it, slaying all within, leaving only ashes and broken stones. Tales are told of that night throughout the north and the south, and no other land has dared risk such a foolhardy trespass into Cimmerian territory.

One grim custom the Cimmerians practice is their habit of making stone piles before battle. Each able-bodied man or woman entering the combat contributes a fist-sized stone to the pile, usually immediately outside their village. On the return from the conflict, each living combatant removes a stone from the pile, scattering it into the wilderness. The stones that remain are tally of the dead, a sacred reminder of those that fell. To disturb these cairns is ill-luck, and it is believed that curses fall upon any who do so, though some witches do indeed steal these stones as talismans in fell magic.

## **Stereotype Summary**

Cimmerians are savages and typically act with brawl before brains. They typically have no allegiances to anyone. When raiding the typically want to kill then loot.

They are considered a mid level conflict character played solo.

## **Based On**

The Cimmerians (North West Europe) appear to have been based on the Celts, specifically the Dark Age Gaels who are the ancestors of the modern Irish and Scots. Howard states in The Hyborian Age that "the Gaels, ancestors of the Irish and Highland Scots, descended from pure-blooded Cimmerian clans."

## **Game Mechanics**

* Perk: Riddle of Steel
* Disadvantage: Must build in their natural biome. Cannot own business or establishment.
* Natural Biome: Desert, Tundra, Frozen North
* Prefered God: Crom
* God Restricted: Set, Jhebbal Sag, Ymir, Yog, Derketo

## Further Information Resource

https://www.modiphius.net/products/conan-the-barbarian-pdf