Cimmerian

## Overview

Cimmeria is a bleak nation of forested hills and towering mountains. Rank upon rank of dark hills rise and fall in all directions, forested with strange, dusky trees which give the land a frightening, menacing appearance even by day. Its appearance at night would terrify a civilized man to the brink of sanity. Rain clouds hover perennially over this moody terrain, bringing stinging rain, slick sleet, and freezing snow. Its depressing forests are home to a million or so dark-haired, despondent savages. Descended from ancient Atlanteans, the fierce savages of this oppressive realm are grim survivors in a kingdom which kills softer men.

Tall and powerful are the Cimmerians. Their eyes sparkle blue or grey beneath their dark manes. Cimmerians are regarded as among the most fierce and savage peoples in the world, while many in the far south regard them as semi-mythical. The Aquilonians used to despise them, considering them rude villagers of small consequence. The battle of Venarium proved the Aquilonians wrong, for the Cimmerians united against a common foe and slew every Aquilonian man in the fort, leaving no survivors save for a Gunderman named Gaeric and an Aquilonian girl named Tamera, the daughter of Metrius, commander of Venarium. Gaeric the Gunderman is now the Count of Raman, a county of Gunderland.

The songs of the Cimmerians tend to be sombre dirges inspired by their dark moods and the grey lands surrounding them. Cimmerians don't hope that the gods will help them nor do they ask for aid from any source, divine or mortal. They are a practical people of tradition, custom, and honour. Cimmerians are solemn folk who never boast of victories, which would be considered prideful and rude, as an invitation to be forced to prove themselves. Unlike the Vanir and Æsir, Cimmerians rarely feast in a loud, boisterous fashion and they don't engage in ‘friendly’ brawls when drunk. If a Cimmerian fights, that Cimmerian kills.

## True Warriors

Primarily hunters and gatherers, Cimmerians are also raiders and plunderers, striking south into the Hyborian nations, west into the lands of the Picts, east into the Border Kingdom, and even north into the frosty realms of the Æsir or Vanir. Cimmerians also raid amongst themselves, fighting blood-feuds and stealing cattle or wives. Battle for the Cimmerians is a way of life and the mark of manhood. The Cimmerians scream out a strange, ululating battle-cry when a battle is joined, an eerie sound that strikes fear into the soft hearts of Cimmerian enemies.

The Cimmerians rarely practice refined sword-play, as do the sword masters of Zingara or the martial artists of far off Khitai. Instead, they battle with well-earned experience bought in blood on numerous battlefields where survival is not so much a matter of technical skill as it's intense spirit and indomitable will. Even the children rarely pick up sticks to pretend at fighting. Fighting is a serious business among the Cimmerians. One does not make an enemy of a Cimmerian unless one is willing to fight for one’s life.

That attitude makes Cimmerians polite to one another, although they lose none of their blunt directness in such courtesy. ‘Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing.’ Impoliteness is an invitation to a quick fight to the death among the Cimmerians. Of course, few Cimmerians fear death.

Although Cimmerians will happily plunder those they kill in battle, they are never petty thieves and none make their living in Cimmeria stealing from the clans, especially their own. Such thievery is considered cowardly and dishonest. If a Cimmerian cannot win what he wants by fighting for it, then the Cimmerian solemnly goes without.

Cimmerians never respect weakness or civilized softness, since what they don't respect they would just as soon kill as leave alone. Even Cimmerian women display this savage strength, fighting alongside the men in battle.

## Clan and Kin

The tribe or clan is the most important aspect of life in Cimmeria. Except for the outcasts or those who leave Cimmeria, most Cimmerians owe allegiance to their clan, taking their clan as their highest allegiance. Belonging to a clan gives a Cimmerian a traditional set of enemies and allies. For example, Conan, as a member of the Snowhawk (or Canach) Clan treats Picts as racial enemies. A Cimmerian clan on the other side of Cimmeria may never have seen a Pict, so that clan may have, say, Hyperboreans as racial enemies. Likewise, Conan’s clan considers the Murrogh Clan as an enemy, and vice versa.

Any dispute between two Cimmerians automatically involves the kin of those Cimmerians, so kin often watch out to make sure their relatives don't do anything controversial or unwarranted. Few Cimmerians travel outside the areas controlled by their clans except in groups to make raids or trades because, once outside their territories, no law protects them. Simply put, no kin, no protection. Kin are expected to stand with one another against all threats, physical or legal.

The Cimmerians put a high value on conformity; non-conformists are a threat to everyone in the clan. Anyone who betrays their clan is hated and cast out. A Cimmerian clan will never re-admit a treacherous Cimmerian. A Cimmerian cast out from his clan is considered kinless and is often called headless, for that Cimmerian is as good as dead. Only a man of exceptional Cimmeria strength and prowess can survive in Cimmeria without kin – only a man such as Conan. Those who successfully go it alone are regarded with fear and awe by most Cimmerians.

## Hair and Clothing

Cimmerians make their clothing out of linen or wool. Cimmerian men wear léines with braecci (trousers) or trews. A léine is a saffron-coloured linen shirt that hangs to below the knee on men and to the ankle on women. If worn with trousers or trews, the léine hangs to mid-thigh. Trews are woollen trousers worn tight on the legs with buttons on the back from the ankles to mid-calf. Cimmerians usually wear belts to hold up their braecci or trews and around the léine. Personal items are carried in a pouch depending from the belt. Shoes or boots are worn as well as a mantle. Cimmerians also wear woollen inars, jackets with a type of pleated skirt.

Women wear tunics for the upper body as well as one-piece, full-length dresses with sleeves. They also wear peplums, which are tubular-type dresses without sleeves. Skirts are worn around the waist, as are belts. The belts hold pouches for personal items. Shoes and cloaks complete the outfit.

Hair is worn long by both sexes. Cimmerians also wear a rectangular cloak made of wool called a mantle. The longer the mantle, the more affluent the Cimmerian is among his people. Most mantles are edged with a fringe.

## Women

Cimmeria is a land where the men are the primary force; however, women are respected and treated with far more freedom than other women in Hyborian lands. While women are expected to take care of the home and the children, a strong-willed Cimmerian woman can easily break this pattern and become a respected warrior or even rise to become clan chieftain. An unknown female warrior or chieftain is likely to be treated with disdain when encountering other Cimmerians, but those whose reputations are well known are likely to be regarded with almost superstitious awe and given more respect than males in their position might earn.

## Social Standing

Families and tribes are the basic political units in Cimmeria. A tribe is comprised of several clans, or families. Each clan has its own clan chief. A tribe is ruled by a tribal chief. Each clan has its warrior elites and the chieftains are usually drawn from these. The most fit warrior is most often the one chosen, not the one closest in descent. Cimmerians also have a class of oracles and skilled craftsmen who make weapons and jewellery. Conan’s father is from this class. All others in Cimmeria are farmers, fishermen, hunters, trappers, and minor craftsmen.

Technically speaking, the order of precedence, from top to bottom, is as follows: tribal chieftain, clan chieftain, warrior elite, oracle, craftsman, blind bard, commoner (farmers, trappers and fishermen).

## Slaves

A Cimmerian also doesn't keep slaves or sell his people into slavery. He sees slaves as weak, else they would not be slaves. For this reason, Cimmerians never make good slaves, so slavers avoid Cimmeria. An adult Cimmerian would rather die trying to escape slavery than just meekly submit.

(Note: If you want to RP as a slaver or slave, do not be a Cimmerian).

## Religion

Cimmerians believe in a rather dark pantheon of gods, all of whom are ruled by Crom and are of his race; these gods and their religious practices are discussed in more detail in faith and fervour. As an overview, Crom is seen as a dire god, as gloomy and dangerous as the Cimmerians themselves. The Cimmerians never pray to Crom, nor do they worship him or any of his kind. Crom and his race of gods despise weaklings who call on them for aid and would likely make a situation worse for the petitioner. The Cimmerians value individuality and self-worth; their gods expect them to take care of life themselves. Indeed, Crom only takes pride in a Cimmerian if that Cimmerian never calls upon him for aid in his life. Cimmerians are supposed to take what they want from life, not ask a god for blessings, wealth, health or anything else.

## Government

Cimmerians are self-governed on a clan or tribal level. Their government consists of a chieftain who is placed in power by consensus of the people who will follow him. A Cimmerian chieftain must have (or be perceived as having) courage, honesty, integrity, loyalty, and physical prowess. A loss in any of these areas and the chieftain is likely to be abandoned followed by a new chieftain. The health of the clan is identified with the health of the chieftain, so if he's wounded or sickly, he is expected to stand down. Often there is an aspect of hereditary titles but this is not preordained. The clan chiefs are not dictators and are required to at least listen to the respected members of the clan before setting the clan on a course of action. Most often, the decisions of a chieftain accurately reflect the will of the people, else he risks being deposed or even outcast.

Disputes are handled via kin. If a dispute is brought before a chieftain for judgement, that chieftain usually makes the entire family of the wrong-doer responsible for any fines, compensation, or other punishment.