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