Megagame Makers

Each clan (or Tuath as it is known in the language of the Free Folk) is run by a Council of the Free. The majority of a Tuath are slaves of the Free. Normally only about one in ten of the population of a clan are Free Folk. Obviously, only the Free have the right to bear arms or have an opinion. The Council is led by a Chief, who whilst acknowledged as the leader, is only the first among equals. Decisions are usually reached by consensus and often with only a little bloodshed. Tuaths make their own choices and there is no reason beyond coincidence to cooperate with other Tuaths.

The others have often called the Free 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.

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. As far as the Free Folk are concerned, the Tuath with the most heads at the end of the game wins.

(The Free Folk forces in Ur are described in the Ur briefing)

Each Tuath has:

• 2 regular infantry
• 1 archer unit
• 2 raider units
• 1 militia unit (the militia unit consists of all members of the Tuath who can put up a fight, but are not part of the usual fighting force, things have gotten desperate if the militia of a Tuath is getting involved)

If you want to be a man, go raiding. Smart* men go raid those who can't put up a fight. Men desperate for a a jeweled sword, raid the Longbeards and if you want to die a hero, go raid the Tree Sitters. But leave those who must not be named alone, because they are ruled by The Living Goddess. – received Free Folk wisdom

*Smart in this context is not intended as a compliment.

The Free Folk like the Dark Emperor en his son The Prince of Darkness in theory. The empire is reviled by many species (such as the narrow minded humans of Ur) because he does not accept their soft, sentimental world-view. The emperor has always respected the freedom of the Folk and their ways, especially in the case of raiding. Liking the emperor however does not mean we will fight for him for free.

They are spineless and soft, but have lots of goodies. Now they are in trouble and will want our help. Maybe if they pay enough.

Embarrassingly enough the Free Folk population in Urr is actually quite large, and in many cases they are integrating into the local population surprisingly well. Instead of having a ghetto, the Free Folk immigrants share the cheapest part of Urr with some Red Beards and the normal poor. They have had to adapt their cultural values considerably, since raiding the local butcher and returning home with his head on a pike just won't do. It says something about how scary and miserable life as part of Free Folk civilization can be, that many are willing to exchange it for life as sewer maintenance workers in Urr.

Taking the head of one makes a Free person legendary. The glory will probably be short lived, because the Elves will make a good faith effort to hunt down the newly created legend and his extended family.

In The Mountain that Smokes lives She Who Must be Avoided. Her angels look like dwarves with four eyes. When the most noble of the Free Folk clans needed new brides, they captured a load of female flesh coming out of Urr. What they did not know was, that it was intended as tribute to The Living Goddess. Instead of punishing faithless Urr for failing to deliver its tribute, The Lady of Hosts took issue with the raiders.

Now there is one less clan…