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CimmeriaCimmeria

Cimmeria is © 2008 Conan Properties International LLC. CONAN®, CONAN THE BARBARIAN® and related logos, characters, names and distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Conan Properties International LLC unless otherwise noted. All Rights Reserved. Mongoose Publishing Ltd Authorised User. Cimmeria is released under version 1.0 of the Open Game License. Reproduction of non-Open Game Content of this work by any means without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden. See page 134 for the text of this license. With the exception of the character creation rules detailing the mechanics of assigning dice roll results to abilities and the advance-ment of character levels, all game mechanics and statistics (including the game mechanics of all feats, skills, classes, creatures spells and the combat chapter) are declared open content. First printing 2008. Printed in the USA.

ContentsContentsCreditsCimmerian WayThat Sombre LandShadows out of MenHunts and Wars like Shadows

Gods of the Everlasting MistCimmerian GazetteerRoleplaying in CimmeriaGamesMaster ing Cimmeriaindexlicense

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AuthorAuthorLawrence Whitaker.

Additional text Additional text Vincent N Darlage

EditorEditorNick Robinson

LayoutLayoutWill Chapman

Cover ArtCover ArtChris Quilliams

Interior ArtistsInterior ArtistsLeonel Domingos da Costa,

Marco Morte,Chad Segesketter &

Pulpapocalipsis Studio -Alejandro Lizaur,

Jorge Momparler &Vicente Sivera

Special ThanksSpecial ThanksVincent N Darlage, Nathan Baron

Creator of Conan and HyboriaCreator of Conan and HyboriaRobert E. Howard

Credits

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Cimmerian WayCimmerian Way

Cimmeria is, without doubt, a barbarian society. That is, Cimmeria has no cities, few settlements that could pass for towns, and an overwhelming reluctance to embrace or develop such structures or ideals. The landscape shapes the people and, because the landscape is harsh, grim, dark and forbidding, so are Cimmerians.

No true Cimmerian has any time for deliberate complexities or subtleties. A man’s word is his bond, and any man who breaks that bond pays with his life. Justice is fast, harsh and retributional. Everyone works or everyone starves: raiding a neighbouring tribe who has more than you is considered both work and survival. The strongest survive and the weakest die: it is evident all around. Cimmeria has no room for sentiment and little for sympathy. Yet Cimmerians are passionate and aware of the importance of certain conventions and constraints. For all their brutal hardiness every Cimmerian understands honour, integrity and dignity, even if these concepts differ markedly from what the civilised realms of the Hyborian age would understand by the terms.

The Cimmerian outlook revolves around fi ve key facets: Devotion to Clan, Conformity to Tradition, Honour and Prowess, Blood Vengeance, and a Clean and Honest Death.

Devotion to ClanThe clan is everything to Cimmerians. The extended family nurtures and supports, creates a fabric of social values, educates, and perpetuates the Cimmerian warrior spirit. It is for the clan’s honour that a Cimmerian makes war on his enemies; for the clan’s prosperity that he raids his neighbours; and for its continued existence that he ultimately lays-down his life.

Most Cimmerians are indivisible from their clans. Children are raised communally, by both the women and men, and schooled from the earliest possible age in the clan’s ways, duties, allies and enemies. Irrespective of its true position in Cimmerian society, the clan is the most noble, most hard-working, most potent in battle and most blessed of all the clans scattered across Cimmeria’s gloomy hills, valleys and forests. As he grows, the young Cimmerian usually learns that his clan’s position is not necessarily as

illustrious as his peers have described it, but by that point the clan’s spirit fl ows through his blood and the young Cimmerian perpetuates the clan’s strength to others despite knowing and understanding its fl aws.

For every Cimmerian the crowning moment is the clan adulthood ritual; the point where he ceases to be a child and becomes a man. Even though every Cimmerian upholds his clan’s values and traditions from the moment he begins to understand them, it is the adulthood ritual that demands he do so. Passing from youth to man confers on every Cimmerian the duty of protecting the clan and upholding its ways in the face of any adversity. Every adult in a clan is expected to be prepared to lay-down their life for the clan, and to take the life of its enemies without question.

The rite of passage varies from clan to clan, but there are many common elements and similarities. The rite of passage usually involves several tests involving bravery, cunning, martial prowess, mental fortitude, physical fortitude and a measure of the individual’s devotion to the clan and understanding of its nature and purpose. The Clans chapter develops these themes in greater detail, explaining some of the various rituals practiced by the clans of Cimmeria.

Conformity to TraditionCimmerians dislike change; some hate it and others positively fear it. The Cimmerian outlook is founded on things that work and ensuring they continue to work with as little interruption as possible. This means that Cimmerians act and think the way they do because it has always been done that way. Change is destructive; Tradition preserves and endures. Change alters everything; Tradition ensures predictability – and, in a landscape as harsh as Cimmeria, predictability is fundamental to survival.

Cimmerians have countless traditions: effi cient routines; clan-focused beliefs and rites; and modes of thought and action that have developed over hundreds and

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hundreds of years which have proved to be effective. Few traditions are maintained for sentimental reasons; almost all of them are developments from practical necessity. Some traditions are based on superstition and folklore, but few are designed to appease the gods outright.

Cimmerians who deny the traditions or actively balk at them are viewed with deep suspicion and hostility because, inevitably, such people are troublemakers. Traditions underlie the few laws Cimmerians have and, if these traditions are challenged, then so is the fragile rule of law. Respect for the tradition and the ‘old ways, the right ways’ is inculcated from birth and therefore any adult who wilfully takes a stand against a tradition is rejecting the years of teaching and wisdom the clan has tried to instil. The honourable option is to leave the clan; any who attempt to stay and create or impose change are likely to pay with their lives.

Honour and ProwessCimmerians live by a ‘rough code of honour’, as Robert E Howard describes it. Irrespective of the clan one comes from, Cimmerian Honour can be defi ned in the following terms:

Accept hospitality gracefully when it is offered, but always be waryAccept no imprisonmentAccept no insultDefend the honour of kith and kinDefend those who need defending; attack those who need attackingListen to those who seek your aid, but always be waryNever trust a sorcererOffer foes a clean and swift death, if they are deserving of itRemain true to one’s clan (and by extension the clan’s traditions and customs)Remain true to one’s wordShow no fearSometimes, even theft is necessarySpeak only the truth; punish liars and expose falsehoods

Take no woman by forceTake only what is necessary; taking more than is necessary

is theft

Cimmerians then, have a very simple view of what

constitutes ‘honour’: speaking and acting truthfully, and decisively, whilst maintaining respect for those who do likewise. To Cimmerians, honour does not need to be any more complicated and should always be a straightforward business. Cimmerians do not make the mistake of confusing honour, honesty and tact – something many civilised nations do. Neither do they believe that politeness and gratitude need to be dressed in false sincerity or fawning courtesy. When a Cimmerian offers his thanks, he means it. When he wants something, he asks for or demands it, depending on urgency. Most Cimmerians speak and act plainly, clearly and bluntly – but always honourably.

Prowess – personal excellence in a given area – is a matter of deep personal honour for all Cimmerians. Generally most Cimmerians place import on their prowess as hunters and warriors although, for some, prowess in other fi elds is held in higher regard. It is the desire of most Cimmerian youths to be considered fi ne fi ghters fi rst and foremost, but not all: some are destined to be better craftsmen or herders and, whilst the hunter-warrior creed is expected of all Cimmerians, it is understood at a cultural level that a range of skills and talents are essential for the clan’s survival. What is most important is the honesty and honour of understanding where one’s talents lie and achieving excellence in that fi eld, whilst still cultivating the ability to both hunt and fi ght well.

Thus all Cimmerians are geared towards being the best at what they do, because prowess yields success for both the individual and the clan. Every clan sincerely believes it produces the best fi ghters, hunters, crafters, herders and so forth in Cimmeria. Each clan’s traditions are bent towards this goal even though every clan exhibits different areas of excellence.

Yet Cimmerians are not innately boastful. Great pride is taken in every endeavour that proves personal excellence, but few Cimmerians use their expertise as the basis for boastful declamations. Such actions always invite challenge and, although Cimmerians never balk at a challenge, it is always better to err on the side of caution and reserve because each and every Cimmerian knows that life is harsh and unforgiving. No Cimmerian believes himself singled out by fate above his kith, kin or comrades; whatever success one realises is the result of hard work, training, listening, watching and learning. Boastfulness is foolhardy and most likely displays a lack of personal confi dence. And that – confi dence – is the key to both honour and prowess in Cimmeria. Every Cimmerian, despite their gloomy surroundings, is confi dent in his abilities and confi dent that he can be the best of the best; but displays of arrogance and misjudged pride always attract a fall. Cimmerians know

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this and simply work towards developing their prowess through deeds, not words. The truly excellent swordsman or crafter knows that his work will speak for him; if he is as good as he believes himself to be, it will be evident to others without the need for rash and arrogant boasts.

Blood VengeanceCimmerians are passionate and fi lled with pride for their clan. Slights can be weathered from time to time, but insults and assaults against the family or clan are taken seriously and never allowed to rest. The desire for vengeance runs through every Cimmerian as freely as their blood. Insults and assaults must always be paid for, usually in blood.

Because clan ties and personal honour are closely bound together, injury to an individual becomes the responsibility of the entire family or clan to avenge. Refusal or unwillingness to seek revenge is seen as a sign of weakness and is likely to attract further attacks. Thus, any Cimmerian who feels his honour, or that of his clan, has been challenged, always seeks vengeance against the perpetrator; the matter cannot be allowed to rest until vengeance has been satisfi ed.

Clans therefore can, and do, engage in feuds and war between themselves. Individuals may even accept the burden of extracting blood vengeance as a perfectly acceptable means of proving both their honour and prowess. It is commonplace for Cimmerians to brood upon an insult or attack for days, weeks, months or years before taking action, but action is always taken. Anything that challenges, insults or harms the honour of a person or the honour of the clan attracts a furious response. And, naturally enough, vengeance begets further revenge, resulting in long-running and bloody feuds that persist long after the initial provocation has been forgotten. Grandsons seek vengeance for long-dead grandfathers; clans battle clans for decades, becoming ignorant as to why, but retaining the certainty that they must. A Cimmerian who has been wronged becomes a life-long enemy and, given the insular and sullen nature of each and every clan, it is impossible to gauge what is likely to provoke vengeance.

This uncertainty leads clans and individuals to act cautiously whenever they encounter an unfamiliar clan or individual. Cimmerians do not like to give offence; not because they believe in being deferential (far from it: deference is for slaves – no Cimmerians will ever allow himself to be a slave), but because one can never be certain what will provoke a violent response. Once a certain level of trust and understanding has been developed, Cimmerians relax, but always take care not to overstep perceived boundaries. Known enemies, of course, never receive such

caution; but no clan wants to make more enemies if it can help it. Many clans have been wiped out through a constant willingness to attack and insult their neighbours; and, making an enemy of one clan usually results in making enemies of all the clans the injured party is allied with. A single insult can, and will, result in attracting a fi erce and disproportionate response.

A Clean and Honest Death.Cimmerians do not place any faith in their gods to provide them with a happy afterlife. Death is part of the natural cycle of things, and every Cimmerian knows that death is never far away. Death is not spoken of in hushed tones; it is discussed matter of factly and without sentiment. Every Cimmerian wants a death that is both clean and honest. That is, a death that would not bring shame on the clan or the individual. Dying in battle, sword in hand, surrounded by the bodies of the enemy, is a good and honest death. Being executed after capture, pleading for one’s life, is exactly the opposite. Dying whilst behaving with honour is the way every Cimmerian wants to die and they have no fear of it; but dying pitifully, weakly, and either denying honour or having it denied to them, shames the soul and clan.

Similarly, when dealing death, Cimmerians tend towards offering it cleanly and honestly. If a foe fi ghts well and honourably, a fast, cleanly delivered death is an honourable thing to offer. A clean death is delivered without cruelty and without resort to unclean methods such as poisons or venoms, which are the weapons of cowards who lack the prowess to slay their foes cleanly. When facing death from other Cimmerians, every Cimmerian expects a fast and clean death (assuming he has, himself, behaved honourably); but when dealing with outsiders, Cimmerians know that they cannot be guaranteed such a death. Plenty of outsiders do not understand the concepts of honour and an honourable death, and resort to tactics and weapons that deny such honesty. Foes who do not offer clean and honest deaths will always incur the enmity of a clan; foes who take lives as Cimmerians expect are simply acting with honour and will be recognised for it.

Those who die with honour are always highly regarded in the clan, but, again, never with undue sentimentality. Death comes to everyone and one cannot choose when they will die or by what method; but how one dies is important. Those who die bravely are honoured in song and reputation. Those who

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