Page 96 - D&D - Player's Handbook

LOST TRIBES OF THE UTHGARDT roamed the forests of the North, preventing humans
Given the rebirth of the Blue Bear tribe in recent years, it from banding together to rise up against them. Into
might be incorrect to assume that any Uthgardt tribe is this turmoil came Uthgar, who challenged each of the
truly extinct. Nevertheless, several tribes are known today great spirits, one at a time, besting them and subju-
only by prior reputation, not present accomplishments. gating them to his rule. Each of the defeated spirits
The Thunderbeast tribe has not been heard from in became embodied in the totem of one of the groups of
several years. When the Thunderbeasts made their annual humans who followed and revered Uthgar. Thus were
pilgrimage to Morgur's Mound in Neverwinter Wood, they
found their holy site desecrated. Soon thereafter, their born the tribes of the Uthgardt, each taking the name
chieftain took them back into the depths of the High For- of their totem spirit.
est, and they have not emerged since. The sites of Uthgar's victories are marked even today
The Gray Wolf tribe, made up of lycanthropes, was de- with the great ancestor-mounds of the Uthgardt. Each
stroyed by a Selunite crusade because of the tribe's curse. is said to have been built over the remains of a tribe's
Some of the su rviving Gray Wolves took shelter among totem spirit, along with the tribesfolk who died while
other Uthgardt tribes. helping Uthgar to fight the creature.
The Griffon tribe came to an untimely end when it rose A tribe lays claim to the territory around its ancestral
against the forces of Luruar allied with giants and ores. mound for many leagues, declaring it as the grounds
The Red Pony and Golden Eagle tribes vanished cen-
in which the tribe hunts and sets up camps. Generally
turies ago. They were last seen in the vicinity of the
One Stone, the ancestral mound those tribes shared speaking, Uthgardt bands of a given tribe will range as
with Sky Pony. far as two to three weeks' travel away from the tribe's
ancestral mound, with raiding parties going much far-
ther afield. These holy sites are scattered through the
connection to places she saw as providing prey for
North; in almost all cases, the exact location of one is
her tribe.
known to few people other than members of that tribe.
If a band of Uthgardt come upon your campsite, my
Almost all of the original tribes of the Uthgardt are
advice is this. First, do what you can to hide all signs of
active in the North today. Even a tribe thought to be
magic or spellcasting. Then show them hospitality and
lost or destroyed might be represented somewhere by
invite them to warm themselves. If you have jewelry or a
a small number of humans who claim to be descended
fine weapon, offer these gifts to the one who seems like
from the one of the tribes of old, but such people, where
the leader. Ask how their hunting goes, and give them
they exist, aren't numerous by any means, and their
a chance to brag. Be appreciative, but not obsequious.
claims are often spurious.
Tell them you have heard of the prowess of the Uthgardt
people- their hunting skills and strength first and fore- The Uthgardt take their ritual practices and taboos
very seriously. Most taboos and traditions vary from
most- but attribute these claims to a tribe other than
tribe to tribe, but at least one stricture is universal
their own. The strongest among the band will insist on
among the Uthgardt: magic other than that of the sha-
the chance to prove him- or herself better than the sto-
mans or the magic of weapons and armor is forbidden.
ries you've heard, and will want you to bear away tales
The priests of the Uthgardt revere their ancestor-god
of about his or her tribe instead.
and also invoke the names of their totems as interces-
You or one of your companions might need to agree
sors with the Father of the Tribes. Their ethos is simple:
to a challenge of some kind, a feat of strength or a bout
strength is rewarded with more strength, and when
of fisticuffs, by which the band may measure your prow-
strength fails, it is because a person is not worthy.
ess. It doesn't greatly matter if you win or lose, though.
Simply express a desire or a willingness to compete,
WARLOCK'S CRYPT
and you will earn some measure of respect. If you win
the challenge, be gracious, and express gratitude that On the western edge of the Troll Hills lies an area of
you finally found someone of great status to test yourself bizarre terrain: shattered rubble is strewn across the
against. If you lose, be self-effacing and rueful, and give landscape, between and among mounds of upturned
the victor the best part of the meal at hand. earth and deep furrows of the sort one commonly sees
This advice will not always work, of course. Some in the wake of trebuchet blows that miss their mark.
bands aren't so easily assuaged, particularly if they are Farther in from the perimeter of this blasted land lies
out deliberately hunting you or folk like you. At all times, a scattered mess of buildings, some relatively intact,
remember that these are a proud and strong people with others half-collapsed and leaning on their neighbors.
a fierce love of life and its simple pleasures. Demon- In the center, rising above it all, is a handful of twisted
strate an outlook complementary to theirs, and they towers looking for all the world like talons clawing at
might make of you a comrade. Show fear or contempt, the sky. These towers can be seen from a good distance,
and they will respond with quick violence. seemingly unharmed by the cataclysm that produced
the damage around them. Indeed, because of their pris-
THE PEOPLE OF UTHGAR tine condition, some folk conjecture that these towers
The Uthgardt trace their origins back to the mighty must have been built after that event.
hero Uthgar, a warrior without compare. During my The truth of the place now called Warlock's Crypt
time with his tribe, Gyrt spoke freely of the tales of is something different altogether. All of the structures
Uthgar that have been passed down among his people. visible here, from the now-shattered outbuildings to the
The saga begins in the distant past when the humans central towers, comprised a city that floated atop a disc
of the North lived in fear and isolation. Great spirits of stone during the time of ancient Netheril. When the
CHAPTER 2 I THE SWORD COAST AND THE NORTH
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