Picts as characters?

[High Lord Dee]

Hello,

Just checking to see if anyone plays or runs a Pict in a campaign? I have had a request by a PC to run one. I am not sure that that will work in a wandering hero type of campaign. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

HLD

 

[VincentDarlage]

A Pict leaving Pictland would be like a Cimmerian leaving Cimmeria. Not likely, but the results could be impressive. One would definitely have the barbarian vs. civilisation theme going on.

 

[Bregales]

I agree. Although his stories take place millenia before Conan's day on the Hyborian earth, I'd recommend maybe reading any of Howard's King Kull stories. I'm thinking of Kull's advisor, Brule the Spear-Slayer. Though the Picts have fallen into a worse state of savagery by the time of our Conan game, it might inspire more of the noble savage idea, unless your player really wants to go the full Huron warrior killing all the white folks he sees route (to pun a Saturday Night Live song skit).

Gives a different feel than reading stories like "Across Thunder River". Hope this helps. 8)

 

[Seeker]

Hi.

One of my players has a Pictish character. He's a Guide (Borderer/scholar) who was trained in the ways of Jherbag Sag.

He was inspired by Brule, Hawkeye (of the Last of the Mohicans) and The Beastmaster (old S+S film).

A member of the Hawk tribe, he began as a tribal hunter. The shaman of the tribe recognised his affinity with animals and trained him in nature magic.

After an agrument with the chief of the tribe, he was driven out. He traveled to Zingara and Argos where he worked as as a scout/guide.

He is skilled with bow and sword and communicates with a hawk familar who he contacted during a dream trance.

This background makes him an interesting character for GM and Player.

 

[Vincent791]

I'd recommend the essay about the Hyborian Age by Howard. Actually the picts didn't appeal to me, but when I read that I found them as a very interesting conmplex race, with a huge rol on the history of the Hyborian age.

 

[High Lord Dee]

All good suggestions. Thanks guys.

Ummm...now if I could just figure out how to get a pict and a cimmerian to get along? :?

HLD

 

[Oly]

Ummm...now if I could just figure out how to get a pict and a cimmerian to get along? :?

Well if you're the GM then that's the players problem to work on. You just tell them that their characters need to be able to get on and then let them come up with a plausible character basis for that to happen.

Worked for me anyway

 

[High Lord Dee]

Ummm...now if I could just figure out how to get a pict and a cimmerian to get along? :?

Well if you're the GM then that's the players problem to work on. You just tell them that their characters need to be able to get on and then let them come up with a plausible character basis for that to happen.

Worked for me anyway

Actually, I will disagree a bit on this one. As a DM, I want to ensure that the game holds true to Hyboria along with creating an enjoyable game for the players. Being a huge REH fan, I want to "protect the field" so to speak. A group of wandering Cimerians and Picts may be fun for players but may not fit into the setting very well. I always try to find a happy medium that makes it playable but true to the setting.

Otherwise, might as well play D&D...

HLD

 

[Oly]

Actually, I will disagree a bit on this one. As a DM, I want to ensure that the game holds true to Hyboria along with creating an enjoyable game for the players. Being a huge REH fan, I want to "protect the field" so to speak. A group of wandering Cimerians and Picts may be fun for players but may not fit into the setting very well. I always try to find a happy medium that makes it playable but true to the setting.

Well it should go without saying that the GM still has to give the final approval to whatever the characters come up with.

For example if the players when asked for a reason as to why Picts and Cimerians would be together just say, "ah, right, well we met in an inn and became friends one night" then that's a no no.

However if they put some work in and come up with a more detailed and "true" backstory then that could well be fine.

All I'm saying is that problem of coming up with the reasons is for the players, the GM just has to guide and approve.

I've actually got a Pict in my group. The player wanted to play one and I just started them all out washed ashore on a desert island with no memory of their past. REH never revealed that much about Conans past or what set him adventuring. I quite liked throwing them all into it and getting the story rolling without too much preamble, that felt very REH to me.

 

[High Lord Dee]

Actually, I will disagree a bit on this one. As a DM, I want to ensure that the game holds true to Hyboria along with creating an enjoyable game for the players. Being a huge REH fan, I want to "protect the field" so to speak. A group of wandering Cimerians and Picts may be fun for players but may not fit into the setting very well. I always try to find a happy medium that makes it playable but true to the setting.

Well it should go without saying that the GM still has to give the final approval to whatever the characters come up with.

For example if the players when asked for a reason as to why Picts and Cimerians would be together just say, "ah, right, well we met in an inn and became friends one night" then that's a no no.

However if they put some work in and come up with a more detailed and "true" backstory then that could well be fine.

All I'm saying is that problem of coming up with the reasons is for the players, the GM just has to guide and approve.

I've actually got a Pict in my group. The player wanted to play one and I just started them all out washed ashore on a desert island with no memory of their past. REH never revealed that much about Conans past or what set him adventuring. I quite liked throwing them all into it and getting the story rolling without too much preamble, that felt very REH to me.

Gotcha. That is a good way to start out. I tend not to go too deep with character backgrounds until they are at higher level as well (both as a player and a DM). You want to make sure they survive long enough to justify the time and effort. Generalizations are fine at lower level. I also find that the characters storylines can ebb and flow with the campaign.

I guess what I am still looking for is the reactions of other races to a Pict in an urban setting. I will take the barbarian in the civilized route (plenty of material on that!) but was wondering if there may be even stronger resistance to acceptance based on race?

HLD

 

[Bregales]

By the way, don't know if this would be any more than a time consuming read for you HLD, but here's another thread with various bits of info about dealing with Picts, so it may help in thinking about your player's wishes?

Anyway, here's the Question about Picts thread.

Hope this helps 8)

 

[High Lord Dee]

By the way, don't know if this would be any more than a time consuming read for you HLD, but here's another thread with various bits of info about dealing with Picts, so it may help in thinking about your player's wishes?

Anyway, here's the Question about Picts thread.

Hope this helps 8)

Thanks Bregales. BTW, I miss your old avatar!

HLD

 

[Bregales]

Thanks, so I miss the ol' dancin' Dean too.

 

[MadDog]

Bah. Picts are savages; fit only to die on Aquilonian steel.

Mad Dog

 

[Valaryc]

...and they are very useful for my "medical experiments" in the dungeon of my tower 'cause they think it's an honor to be "tortured" :twisted:

 

[Evil_Trevor]

Hello,

Just checking to see if anyone plays or runs a Pict in a campaign? I have had a request by a PC to run one. I am not sure that that will work in a wandering hero type of campaign. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

HLD

I havn't had anyone ask for a pict yet, but should it happen then there would be questions,

How and why did the pict leave the pictish wilderness ? Through Cimmeria or Aqilonia or Zingaria and how did he/she overcome the kill on sight attitude of most of the inhabitants of those lands ?

Given that regardless of 'charisma' most people will be at least distustful or more likley openly hostile toward a wandering pict how have you survived ? A Pict should be unable to gain much if any employment except as a guard/soilder/scout which are all rather dangerous proffesions and a pict would defintly be 'canon foder'.

why are you wandering alone in a hostile and cruel world instead of returning home to family and clan at the earlist opportunity ?

 

[kintire]

Through Cimmeria or Aqilonia or Zingaria and how did he/she overcome the kill on sight attitude of most of the inhabitants of those lands ?

I'm not convinced the Zingarans necessarily have a "kill on sight" attitude. Zogar Sag traded for those Ostrich plumes he was wearing with someone!

Given that regardless of 'charisma' most people will be at least distustful or more likley openly hostile toward a wandering pict how have you survived ? A Pict should be unable to gain much if any employment except as a guard/soilder/scout which are all rather dangerous proffesions and a pict would defintly be 'canon foder'.

Why, why and why? A Pict isn't going to do very well in Aquilonia, sure, but then neither are Cimmerians. I don't particularly see why anyone who has no border with Pictland should be especially hostile. Nemedians might be quite friendly ("Pict? oh yes, your people kill Aquilonians don't they? Good job! do you need any weapons?") and once you are out in Shem, Koth and points east or south, who will ever have heard of them?

why are you wandering alone in a hostile and cruel world instead of returning home to family and clan at the earlist opportunity ?

well you could ask that about anyone.

 

[Strom]

Hello,

Just checking to see if anyone plays or runs a Pict in a campaign? I have had a request by a PC to run one. I am not sure that that will work in a wandering hero type of campaign. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

HLD

I havn't had anyone ask for a pict yet, but should it happen then there would be questions,

How and why did the pict leave the pictish wilderness ? Through Cimmeria or Aqilonia or Zingaria and how did he/she overcome the kill on sight attitude of most of the inhabitants of those lands ?

Given that regardless of 'charisma' most people will be at least distustful or more likley openly hostile toward a wandering pict how have you survived ? A Pict should be unable to gain much if any employment except as a guard/soilder/scout which are all rather dangerous proffesions and a pict would defintly be 'canon foder'.

why are you wandering alone in a hostile and cruel world instead of returning home to family and clan at the earlist opportunity ?

I agree that some questions should be asked - just like any new character.
This is Hyboria - different races are all over the place. Sure the PC should have to come up with a backstory explaining why he/she left but to think he/she would be the only Pict wandering around is unlikely. Granted in western Hyboria, the timeline of your campaign would really dictate how the PC was treated generally but even then there are motivations and schemes that could use a Pict for some nefarious purpose.

 

[Darkspawn]

As a GM, I do not allow either Picts nor Darfar to be used by players. With that said, it all depends on what type of campaign the GM is running. If it is like a standard REH story written in the (unfortunately) racist 1930's, then neither Picts nor Darfari are going to be ok as PCs. Unless the entire group is going to be one of those races. A campaign set on Picts trying to get "their" land back from the encroaching settlers would be interesting. Both of these races were pretty much "bad guys" by the time of Conan. Darfari are raised from birth as cannibals, you can't tell me that a party of Cimmerians or Brythonians or whatever are going to let one join the party as an equal to be trusted. I wouldn't trust one myself, who knows when you are going to wake up in the Darfari's lunch bucket if you let him stand guard one night while the rest of the party sleeps?
Picts aren't cannibals, but they are just as bad about whacking you in the night for your scalp to take home. That's how REH wrote about them in the Conan books, which is what this game is based on.
But as a GM, it's your campaign, do with it as you will. However, I think that not only the players, but also the GM would have to come up with a real good story as to why either of these two races would be included in a mixed race group.
I just started a group and only one person wanted to be a Pict. And he wanted to do it just to be different, I believe. By different, I actually mean difficult. As in, causing dicord within the group. And not in a roleplaying sense.
To me, it's in the same realm as allowing a player to be a Necromancer who loves to summon demons and sacrifice people, even other player characters. Would a Necromancer and a priest of Mitra join forces to raid a tomb? Maybe once if they were forced to, but there would be no trust between them. And their alliance would not last long.

 

[Faraer]

If it is like a standard REH story written in the (unfortunately) racist 1930's, then neither Picts nor Darfari are going to be ok as PCs. Unless the entire group is going to be one of those races. A campaign set on Picts trying to get "their" land back from the encroaching settlers would be interesting. Both of these races were pretty much "bad guys" by the time of Conan.

You're really underestimating REH there: while Picts are antagonists from the point of view of the Hyborians, and in the few Conan stories where they appear, overall Bob was very much in sympathy with the Picts and they're strong protagonists in the Bran Mak Morn stories.