Craith

🍄 Overview

The Craith are a race of warlike tribes that hail from the Darkwood. Heavily tattooed, with razor sharp teeth and intense eyes - the Craith are a formiddable race of warriors who are experts with weaponry. They fear nothing in The Darkwood and have no masters. The creatures that used to hunt them in the night have learned that it is the Craith that are relentless predators. Craith have heightened senses and excellent physical attributes for hunting and fighting.

They are split into three distinct tribes who live in different areas of The Darkwood and have slightly different specialities.

• The Grass Clan —  These Craith live on the Dunns (plains), hunting the beasts that stalk in the long grass. They specialise in weaponry and martial combat.

• The Swamp Clan — These Craith live in the swamps and specialise in animal husbandry.

• The Fire Clan — These Craith live in the burned up forests, building in and around the ruined trees. They act as an informal border guard to the Summer Duchy and tend to hassle travellers. They specialise in black magic and are more resistant to poison as they are used to the black forest.

Despite their frightening exterior, Craith are a noble and spiritual people deeply in tune with nature. They reject modern, arcane technology and live a hard existence hunting and gathering off of the land. They know the wilds of The Darkwood like the back of their hand and protect its forests, swamps and plains fiercly from those who would do it harm.

They revere Morrigan as their goddess and claim to be her descendants.

🍄 Appearance

Craith are humanoid in appearance, however they have sickly grey skintones, sharp teeth and intricate tattoos all over their bodies. They are muscular and athletic in shape and wear only a little (if any) clothing.

Design Guidelines

• Craith are heavily tattooed. At least 50% of their bodies should be covered in tattoos. Tattoos often depict natural motifs like flora and fauna, organic patterns, harvests, monsters slain, faces of legendary ancestors, and Morrigan iconography. Take inspiration from Pict warriors and try not to make your tattoos look modern. You can also take inspiration from Ogham runes and celtic knots.

• Craith have razor sharp teeth.

• Hair is often tied out of the face in Viking styles. Braids are very common. Small wooden ornaments, bones, ribbon and other miscellaneous objects may be tied into their hair.

• Craith have black rings around their irises, making their irises look way bigger.

• Craith may have piercings made from bone, lacquered wood or black metal. They never wear silver nor gold and aren't interested in gems.

Clothing Guidelines

• Craith wear minimal clothing. They prefer to wear spider silk ropes tied across their bodies to hang their weapons off.

• They may wear tattered rags scavenged off dead bodies, or animal furs and pelts. Fabrics are often worn and faded and only cover the bare essentials: chest straps, loincloths, ragged tunics etc.

• Martial Craith do not wear a lot of clothing, whereas Magic types may wear more than usual. Swamp Clan wear layered rags to keep biting insects off their extremities.

• Leather pieces, sewn together in a haphazard manner, form the basis of some Craith attire. This might include simple vests, belts, or arm guards. The leather is often taken from defeated beasts and shows signs of wear and tear.

• Bones, berries, leaves and twigs make excellent decorations.

• They often sling horns, waterskins, or pouches around their waist. Braided leather brooches and armlets are also common. 

🍄 Birth, Life and Death

Birth

• Craith are created through a magical birthing ritual done by a Druid or Mystic. It involves a blood sacrifice and a great many offerings. The Druid performs the rites at a saced coolie well called The Noricum. The Druid takes the blood of the family, the animal sacrifices, and the offerings and chants in an ancient, forgotten language. They then stand in the center of the muddy ground of the Noricum and mold a baby out of the clay-like mud. If the spell has worked, a pail of water is thrown over the baby and the mud will wash off and the babe will start crying. If it hasn't worked, the mud simply loses form and washes away.

• Craith young 'born' during Mabon time are considered auspicious.

• Babies share the genes and traits of both parents. How? Blood magic.

Life

• The Craith live relatively long lives, degrading and dying at around 500 years old. They attribute their longevity to being in the favour of Morrigan. Often, an old Craith will be sacrificed in a family to create a newborn Craith. 

• Craith receive their first tattoos at age 14 and keep adding to them over the course of their entire lives. Tattoos can represent significant events such as bountiful harvests, the birth of children or siblings, battles fought and won, monsters slayed, marriages, deaths etc. The more heavily tattooed, the more a Craith is seen to have lived a full and noble life.

Death

• Craith age like humans do - developing grey hairs (then white) and wrinkles as they age. Their physique degrades and they are more prone to sickness and injury. 

• Cremation is a common practice among the Craith. The deceased are placed in a wicker man or funeral pyre and cremated. The ashes would then be collected and often buried or scattered in a significant location. They have a Druid to lead the ceremony and perform the ritual rites. Offerings to Morrigan are placed on the funeral pyre to appease the Goddess and grant the body admission into the Other World. 

🍄 Craith Customs & Culture

Personality Traits

• Craith are wise, supersticious, and strategic.

• They can be ambitious and greedy.

• They are brave, aggressive and independent.

• They are loyal, honourable, and tradition bound.

• They are spirital, respectful, but fierce.

Your Craith character should have a few of these traits but certainly doesn’t have to have all of them. Please feel free to put a unique spin on it.

Romance, Marriage and Offspring

Romance

• Craith are enthusiastic lovers and believe strongly in equal partnership.

• They are open to same sex relationships but may be suspicious of interracial relationships with Seelie races. An Arachnus relationship would be frowned upon.

Marriage

• They have a polyamorous society and are unlikely to marry another Craith. However this might change upon being exposed to other Seelie races. 

Offspring

• Craith rarely adopt outside their own race. There is a legendary story of how the Dunn clan leader Coligny adopted a Darkwood Stonefolk into their tribe, and he became a serf/squire to the head of the clan. He was loyal and looked after as a result but was never able to advance in their society beyond that and was expected to serve the clan for life.

• They do not like Arachnus as their greatest enemies in the Darkwood are the Dire Spiders. If they came across a fledgling Arachnus they are likely to leave it in the wilderness, or worse.

Miscellaneous

• The most powerful Craith tribe is in the Dunns and their settlement is called Gaul. Craith engage in a lot of tribal warfare for resources so don't even necessarily get along with their own race if they're from a different clan.

• They have their own prophet who acts as a medium between the living and the dead. It is a talking head and sits in a sacred nemeton, protected by legendary Craith head hunters. 

• There is a legend that Dullahan are the enemies of the Craith who have had their heads severed by Craith, and cannot return to the living nor pass on to the Other World. 

• They have a neutral relationship with Darkwood Dryads, a poor relationship with Arachnus, and a good relationship with Darkwood Stonefolk. They believe Arachnus to be abominations.

• Craith enjoy raw meats, birds, fish, etc. They don't much care for sugary foods or vegetables. 

• A Craith who worshipped Rhiannon would be totally blasphemous.

If you have questions about Craith, please ask them in the helpdesk channel on Discord!