Sandbox Tool: Random Exotic Barbarian Tribes

The barbarian and the exotic foreigner have a long history in fantasy. Fantasy world, just as much (if in my opinion not as often as they should) are filled with all manners of people and when one travel far away from the centers of civilization they might come across all manner of people which could be called 'barbarian' or 'savages', often in a pejorative manner. These tables certainly draw upon the imagery and tend to generate somewhat isolated and unusual people who exist at the tribal level: while it is very likely any character from a more sprawling civilization would see them as backward savages due to their less developed technology these people are by no mean stupid. They are simple unusual cultures which have naturally been shaped by their environments and would likely find the player characters to be the backward stupid ones for not knowing how to navigate the perils of their lands.

In fantasy settings, these tribes may be ancient keepers of long-lost sacred sites, have powerful supernatural patrons or have ancient and unique magical traditions which could very well explain why they never experienced the need to develop along the path one would expect from the rest of the setting. A few others are noticeably more advanced than one expect once they get past the initial prejudice and misunderstanding. Some are peaceful people who only turn to bloodshed when feeling threatened while others are vile, flesh-eating cannibals. Or maybe some are peaceful cannibals who only practice the consumption of their own dead. Hey you never know!

In general, 'fantasy barbarians' tend imply and be defined as:

• Living in tribal or semi-tribal society.
• Generally less technologically advanced from the rest of the world.
• Odd, strange and somewhat apart from the main cultures of the setting.
• Connected to (admittedly sometimes silly and misunderstood) concepts related to nature. Many of them are often vaguely shamanistic and pagan-ish in nature. When they worship a single god it's usually a war god of some kind.

These tables aren't exactly setting-specific but I do plan to use them for my Godbound Exalted game and as such does tend toward ideas and concepts which would work best in that game.

Goblin's business by Istvan Straban.

What is their culture like?

D4	Tribal Culture
1	Isolationist: These people are less advanced than their neighbors because of centuries of isolation from neighboring people for a variety of cultural reasons. They don’t like to show themselves to outsiders.
2	Warrior Culture: These people have waged wars (of any possible scale) on outsiders and their own kind for centuries. Their entire culture is built around fighting in some capacity.
3	Spiritual People: These people have a long and complex history of interaction with spiritual and arcane matters. There is a certain other-worldliness to them.
4	Degenerate Savages: Unfortunately, these people aren’t misunderstood, they really are closer to monster than people. Even their neighbors don’t like them but their history may hide tragedy which led them down this path.

D4	Isolationist
1	Fear of Assimilation: In ages past, these people encountered another culture group and saw their kind adopt the ways of the outsiders for good and for ill. Fearing to lose their identity, they isolated themselves and are now seen as backward savages by their neighbors.
2	Isolated Locale: These people simply live in an area most other people would not dare live and are not isolated by choice, or at least weren’t initially. They lay claim to dangerous and exotic locales, like top of jagged mountains or fetid monster-infested swamps.
3	Tribal Remnants: These people were once part of a larger culture but it has been destroyed by outsiders and the survivors only exist as isolated tribes which fear outsiders. Their history is sad.
4	Sacred Duties: These people believe themselves to have some sacred duty or purpose and their isolationist way of life is built around preserving the rites related to this purpose.

D6	Warrior Culture
1	Paranoid and Vicious: They don’t like outsiders and not only assume the worst from them but also themselves treat neighbors rather poorly, frequently attacking them (and outsiders) at the slightest provocation.
2	Ritual Combat: These people’s way of waging war is one of complex rituals of combat and their warriors spend years mastering the intricate fighting style of using their ancestral arms and armors. Roll on the Ritual Combat style table.
3	Tribal Warfare: These people constantly wage wars on each others and nearby cultures and these raids and battles are seen as an honorable way of life where one’s worth is judged by their skill with weapons.
4	Conquerors: These people have begun to expand and conquer other, weaker cultures around them including possibly a more ‘advanced’ civilization which had grown weak and decadent. They are a culture on the rise but changes are on the horizon.
5	Sacrificial Rites: This tribe is more known for capturing their foes and sacrificing them rather than simply killing them. There are complex religious motivations and meanings behind such acts.
6	Tranquil Warriors: These are a people more than willing to fight, with a proud history of combat yet they do not desire to start any hostility. They are currently in a peaceful moment of their history but will viciously defend this peace if threatened.

D4	Spiritual People
1	Spirit-Chosen: In ages past, some spirit/god/whatever chose these people as his favored people. They have not changed their way of life out of fear or respect for this otherworldly patron.
2	Inhuman Blood: There is something in the lineage of these people which account for their disconnect of nearby cultures, be it fae-blood, demon-blood or something along those lines. In some cases this has made them unfairly disliked. Roll on the Unusual Appearance table.
3	Arcane Traditions: In defiance to the stereotype that magic is a tool of the so-called ‘civilized folks’ these people have well-established, centuries-long traditions of sorcery. This is a powerful advantage for them. Roll on the Arcane Tradition table.
4	Guardians of the Sacred Site: These people established themselves to guard a place which is held to be sacred/magical in some way. They have long dedicated themselves to guarding it.

D6	Degenerate Savages
1	Fall from Grace: In the past these people belonged to a highly advanced (by setting standard) civilization which has since fallen from it’s own hubris. The survivors are a twisted, inbred lot.
2	Demonic Patron: These people worship a demon of some kind and their culture is twisted, alien and most likely violent. They dislike outsiders and in turn are disliked for their wicked ways. Roll on the Unusual Appearance table.
3	Ancestral Cults Gone Wrong: Worship of tribal ancestors is normal and expected. What is less expected is being ruled from beyond the grave by wicked ancestors who have become twisted and evil spirits. Roll on the Ghost-Touched table.
4	Cursed: A powerful curse has been laid on the ancestor of these people, which number and clouded their memory and destroyed their sanity. Unless the curse is broken they cannot act as normal people would.
5	Diseased: These people are afflicted by a mundane or not-so-mundane plague which has driven them into increasingly desperate measures to stave off the effects of the disease, such as eating brains or drinking blood. If it is not cured they’ll remain vile and twisted...or go extinct.
6	Enslaved: A powerful being, maybe a demon or sorcerer has enslaved these people for a generation or more. Their entire culture is being changed into something more suitable for his evil minions and the young people have only known violence and bloodshed.

D4	Ritual Combat
1	Wrestling: These people prefer (usually) non-lethal forms of ritual combat, specifically wrestling. While the intent isn’t to kill, their matches are vicious and brutal affairs and outsiders who wish to engage with them should know this in advance.
2	Specific Weapon: These people have ritual combats with a specific weapon, which is seen as sacred. There are entire ‘schools’ and ways to dedicate to using the weapon in a specific way against a specific fighting style.
3	Blood Hunt: Ritualistic seek-and-destroy rituals where individuals must hunt each others down in the wilds, sometimes naked with just a knife. They must bring back the head or skin of the defeated.
4	Duel to Death: A staple which need no explanation. Surprisingly less common than one may expect.

D4	Arcane Tradition
1	Skin-Writing: These people lack books and sorcerers amongst their kind will write down spells, formulas and whatnot on their very skin so that initiates which have been taught how to read these can read it on their master’s flesh.
2	Elemental Powers: These people have a limited form of elemental magic or rituals which allow them to either imbue their weapons or call minor disasters such as earthquakes or forest fires by appealing to elemental spirits.
3	Infusion: By imbibing certain plants or the blood of animals, these people are able to gain a measure of temporary preternatural strength, agility or endurance or enter a berserk fury.
4	Sorcerer-Tribes: In spite of being seen as savages, these people maintain centuries-long and complex traditions of magic which rival that of any so-called civilized folks.

D6	Unusual Appearance
1	Supernatural Albinism: These people are extremely prone to a condition similar albinism, which they see as both a curse and blessing. They have pure white hair, skin and in some cases even empty white eyes. Many of their champions bear such a condition.
2	Clawed Hands: While human, these people are prone to having long and hardened fingernails which they can use to claw opponents if disarmed. Their fingers are, likewise, longer than average to not affect dexterity.
3	Animalistic Markings: These people have tiger stripes, jaguar spots or maybe some scale-like patterns on their skin. Alternatively they could have facial features which vaguely suggest animals, such as hawk-people with long and pointy faces.
4	Fearsome: These people have a naturally intimidating appearance, be it a striking and terrifying gaze or just looking generally intimidating and scary, which is a very useful advantage in combat.
5	Poisonous: These people naturally emit a poison from their skin and/or mouth, which they are immune to. This often give them an odd skin tone or greenish-blue lips and tongues. They can coat their weapons in poison.
6	Piercing Gaze: These people have an unsettling, almost glowing gaze, possibly having golden or red eyes. They don’t quite have night vision but their eyesight is always sharp and never decline with age.

D4	Ghost Touched
1	Wasting: Many members of this tribe are sickly and pale, seemingly one foot already in the grave. They feel less pain and are less emotional, more detached and able to fight without any fear nor feeling injuries too much.
2	Reanimated Warriors: This tribe is not above raising the corpses of their own warriors as undead creature. This is sanctioned, approved and seen as culturally significant rather than horrifying.
3	Pain Craft: These people practice some dark craft which involves pain, bloodshed and turning angry ancestor-ghosts against their enemies. They bring fear wherever they go.
4	Necrocracy: Rather than being manipulated by their ancestral spirits, these people are flat out ruled by an undead chief who openly display his undead nature and is worshiped almost as an unliving god.

What do they look like?

D10	Appearance	Tribal Markings
1	Muscular: These people do in fact live up to the stereotype of ‘barbarians’ being muscular or brutish, being on average rather strong and/or stout looking, even the women.	Impossibly Long Braids: Men have long, elaborate braids in their beards while the women have long braided hair. Their hair is never cut and the shape and decoration of the braid indicate social status.
2	Beautiful: In spite of their possibly odd way of life, these people tend to be rather healthy and beautiful individuals, proud and well-formed. While they may have battle scars, horribly disfigured individuals are seen as bringing bad luck and are shunned, seeking honorable death.	Bald: These people shave all body hair, even eyebrows (and down there), be it for health or religious reasons. Thus their culture associate physical cleanliness with spiritual cleansing. They will not attack a bald individual in a party unless he or she attack first.
3	Skinny: These people, while perhaps quite fearsome, are known for their wiry builds. Any muscles they have are lean and hard muscles, not bulky.	Vivid Hair Color: These people are known for having wildly colored hair, which could be natural but is most likely some natural dye.
4	Impossibly Tall: These people tend toward a height noticeably higher than the average for the region but within human limits. This increased height is an advantage in combat, both for the purpose of intimidation and for added reach.	Colorful Robes: These people’s robes, while simple, are decorated in a very impressive and colorful fashion and they are easily spotted. These robes are worth quite a bit.
5	Amazonian: In this tribe, it is the women which tend to be larger and stronger than the men. This could have a more mundane explanation or have ties to something more supernatural.	Piercings: These people are known for their extensive use of piercings and body modifications, often decorated with precious gemstones or metals.
6	Hideous: These people are naturally rather unsightly, having natural and non-deformed but otherwise unsightly features as the norm such as googly eyes, large noses and ears or a tendency toward warty skin.	Mutilated: Through some bizarre practice, these people willingly undergo some form of ritual mutilation that won’t impair their daily lives but will no doubt unsettle outsiders which they could very well end up using to their advantage in combat.
7	Filed Teeth: These people all file their teeth, giving them a menacing grin and making them look like wild animals. This also allow them to bite opponents.	War Masks: In battle, these people wear terrifying masks depicting savage beasts and demons, which are decorated with precious jewels and other fineries. Steal at your own risk.
8	Ritual Scarring: Intense ritual scars adorn the entire bodies of their warriors. These have complex symbolic meanings no outsider can hope to decipher. Alternatively, this scarring could indicate successful kills.	Ancestral Arms: These people are known for their beautifully crafted weapons and armors, colorful and unique. These are passed from father to son and may or may not be magical.
9	Long-Lived: The members of this tribe are known for a life span above the average of the area. They have many older warriors who fight with the ferocity of men decades younger.	Body Art: These people love to cover themselves with impressively detailed paint, either for war and/or religious events. This paint may or may not have magical powers.
10	Roll on Inhuman Appearance.	Soot-Covered: These people cover themselves in soot, giving them grayish-white skin. This is part of religious rituals.