Cimmeria, by Lawrence Whitaker

[VincentDarlage]

Well, to be honest, I was planning on expanding on the tribe thing in the Cimmeria book... but as you know, I wasn't asked to write that one, so, no... I can't give an example. A tribe is what you make it to be, I guess. I would suppose the tribe would all have a distant ancestor in common, and would be more than just an allied clan, but that is really up to you as GM, or you can just dismiss the whole tribe thing.

The clan is more important than the tribe, which is why it is focused there. A tribe rarely unites except in emergencies under a tribal chief.

 

[tarkhan bey]

In the background that I am working on for Cimmeria, Clan Morgach was once a much larger clan. In fact, it was once larger even than the mighty Clan Murrough. Then came a falling out between the twin sons of the dead chieftain and the clan split into two factions. The slightly smaller faction, led by the younger twin, left the settlement of Irongate and journeyed east into the great glen(Gleann Mor) that separates the Broken Leg lands from the Hoath plateau. This glen was the home of numerous smaller clans, none of whom had the strength to stand up to these invaders and, in typical Cimmerian fashion, could not put aside their differences. The leader of the invaders was named Manach and his clan became known as Clan Manach or The Manachta.
The lesser clans were crushed or coerced into joining a confederation for the mutual defence of the Great Glen. Several hundred years later and the Clan na Mor had evolved. Manach had married his sons and daughters into the other clans and formed strong blood ties with them. A score of villages dotted the Great Glen from the foothills of the Eiglophians in the north to the shores of Loch Manach in the south and given the time the Chieftain could put more than 500 warriors into the field.
The current chieftain is Malchai mac Manach and he dwells at the settlement of Dun Manach on the shores of the loch.
The great glen is one of the most fertile areas of western Cimmeria and is jealously watched by the irascible villains of Clan Murrough as well as the warriors of their estranged kin, Clan Morgach. Relations between Clan na Mor and the latter are cordial, if not exactly friendly. Malchai has often invited them to join but with no success. Bhern believes that the Morgachta should be the leaders if they join, a situation which Malchai finds intolerable.
Clan na Mor are what I envisage a Cimmerian tribe to be. All the other clans of the Great Glen have their own identities but have the blood of Clan Manach in their veins.
The other clans may have different names, such as the Clan Lorrcan who guard the Eiglophian passes against the Nordheimr, but they are all men of the Clan na Mor.

 

[tarkhan bey]

I believe that the word 'Fine'(Feena) means tribe or family in Irish. So the tribe might also be referred to Fine Mor.

 

[Supplement Four]

In the background that I am working on for Cimmeria...

If you start a development thread, like I did, I'll keep up with your creations, taking some of the things to use in my own campaign. And, obviously, you're welcome to take whatever you want from my developlement thread.

 

[Supplement Four]

One thing I meant to add to my review in the OP: I would have liked to have seen a discussion about heavy winter clothes and any armor protection that they may give (unless that is presented in some other book).

There's a pdf book called Frost & Fur (published by Monkey God Enterprises...think it's out of print now) that is useful to any campaign set in the north, and one of the things I like about it is that it gives stats for padded wool clothes or light armor made from animal skins. That type of thing would work well in the Conan RPG for Cimmerians and Nordheimer characters who are all bundled up for the winter.

 

[tarkhan bey]

Nice pic,exactly how I imagine Vanir dogs to appear. :x

 

[Hervé]

Here they are: