Megagame Makers

The origins of the Free Folk is shrouded in mystery. It is however clear that the general human populace and the Free Folk have common ancestry. They live in tribal groups and their main activities are hunting, some farming and hunting.

Each tribe (or Tuath as it is known in the language of the Folk) is run by a Council of the Free. The Free Folk are the chiefs in the tribe and certain folk who have been declared Free as a result of their worth to the Tuath. For example, skilled artisans or valued servants may be given their Freedom. The majority of the Tuath are servants of the Free, or slaves (although slaves are usually of other species). Normally only about 1 in ten of the population of a tribe are Free Folk. Obviously, only the Free have the right to bear arms or make decisions in the Council.

The rest till the soil and grow the delectable snozzcumbers and burgleweeds that form the Folk’s staple diet. For the Free, the diet is enhanced considerably by the fruits of hunting and occasionally, fishing.

The decisions of the Tuath are made by a Council of the Free, which is led by the Big Chief, who whilst acnowledged as the leader, is only the first among equals. Decisions are reached usually by a consensus and often with little or no bloodshed.

The general pastime of the Free Folk Chiefs is raiding. This involves going into another Tuath’s area, killing a few servants and taking away some treasure, slaves or cattle. Raiding is an acceptable social norm. That is, nobody really minds being raided, any more than they mind raiding. It goes on all the time and is socially useful because it gives the Free Folk Chiefs a chance to hone their martial skills, perhaps taking a head in the process and keeps them occupied. It also provides the essential raw material for later outrageous boasting.

Unfortunately, this raiding is frowned upon by the uncivilised tribes of humans, dwarves and other folk (the Free Folk cannot bring themselves to say the word elf) who, for some reason respond to raids by totally over the top attacks on the Folk, usually wiping out entire Tuatha. This basic misunderstanding has gone on for as long as anyone can remember. The Folk will not give up their traditional way of raiding - and so many terrible wars of reprisal and counter-reprisal have followed.

The Free Folk Chiefs in a Tuath can gather their followers and form a BattleGroup. This consists of every available fighting Free Folk, and is only called upon for major wars - especially since it takes a long time to gather and it must then fight or disperse. A Battlegroup can number many thousands of Free Folk.

Smaller raiding parties are sometimes formed of the immediate followers of a few chiefs, and these have been known to wander far and near on missions at the direction of their Council, or to gain notoriety or loot.

The Council of the Strong

The various Folk Tuatha are ‘ruled’ by the Council of the Strong which is a council of the Big Chiefs of every tribe and these meet a regular festival times. In times of great trouble, they might elect a High Chief to lead an army of Battlegroups.

The 'Dark Lord'

This lord is reviled by many species (such as the narrow minded humans and other folk) because he does not accept their fixed world-view. Abranoth has always respected the freedom of the Folk and their ways - for example in the case of raiding.

The name Orc

The other species of the world have often called the Ordinary Folk, Orcs. This is another of those misunderstandings since the word orc merely means ‘kill’ in the folk’s language. Generally, Free Folk Chiefs chant “Orc, Orc, Orc, Orc!” as they go into battle. Hence the name.

Taking Heads

The main measure of a Free Folk Chief’s prowess is the number of heads he has taken. The more the heads the greater his standing. All chiefs look forward to battle as an opportunity to take heads. Obviously, only the head of a fighting creature counts - chopping up the unarmed is nothing to boast about.

The Free Folk on raiding the Dwarven kingdoms

If you want to be a man, go raiding. If you want to be a real man go raid the Redbeards. If you want to have a jeweled sword, go raid the Longbeards. If you want to die a hero, go raid the elfs. But never raid the Gnomes, because they are ruled by A Living God. – received Free Folk wisdom

Orcs in Yendor

The orc population in Yendor is actually quite large, and in many cases they merge into the local population with barely a remark. Like many social underclasses, the orc immigrants have their own ghetto, the Orc Quarter, which is rarely, if ever, policed and effectively runs itself.

In the wider city, orcs get the really scummy jobs, such as nightsoilmen, sewer workers, bilge cleaners, chimney scourers, and estate agents. In fact, Yendor probably couldn’t function without them.

They have had to adapt their cultural values a little in Yendor, since many of their natural proclivities are frowned upon - even by Yendorian standards. However, among their own kind they cling on to the old ways of the tuath.

• Free Folk fighting units are the equevalent of Heavy Inf. (They stand appart, well trained in raiding.)
• To gain the head of an elf makes a Free person legendary. (But only within the Free Folk and short lived because he and his Tuath might be hunted down by the elfs.)
• If the Free Folk get the rumour that somebody is friendly to elfs they will leave him as unreliable and get his head if possible.