Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Gauls: Social Status and wealth

Social Structure:

Status level -2: Outsiders (Gl namhaid) have no place in any tribe and therefore no kin to protect them. They can be killed without fear of reprisal. An outsider might be a foreigner living in Celtic territory or a Celt who has been rejected by his clan for some crime, allowing their war-chief to die in battle or being on the losing side of a power struggle. This is a -10 point disadvantage.
Status level -1: Thralls (Gl sclabhai)are slaves. They have no freedoms and must work for another, however their owner will protect them from harm and a penalty must be paid if they are killed. This is a -5 point disadvantage.
Status level 0: Tribesmen (Gl duime) are the balk of the Celtic population.
Status level 1: Druids (Gl draoithe, Ln druides) are the priests and priestess of Gallic society. They are specialists in natural world, law and moral order. They act as judges, mediators and ritualists. They officiate sacrifices (including, so it's said, human sacrifices). It is believed by many that they have magical powers. This class and this class only gets the following advantages at half price: animal empathy, beast-kin, plant empathy, tree-kin. This class has several sever restrictions, which if broken will lower the character to status level -2. This is a 5 point advantage.
Status level 1: Bards (Gl file) are knowledge specialists. Bards study poetry and lore, though have a broader area of expertise than is indicated by these restrictive categories. They train their memories from a young age and most have eidetic memory (this class and this class only can buy eidetic memory at half price). They are encyclopedias, libraries, propagandists, advocates and entertainers. This is a 5 point advantage.
Status level 2: Lord (Gl tiarna)are the ruling class among Celts. They look after the welfare of their people and maintain order and defense. Each lord is the leader of a community of between 300 and 700 free adult Gauls and can field an army of male warriors equal to 20% of the community (60 to 140 warriors). The lord also has 4 above average warriors as a personal body guard. This is a 10 point advantage.
Status level 3: Chieftain (Gl taoiseach)are lords who lead a community of between 600 and 1100 free Gauls, fielding an army of 20% of this total (120-220 warriors). In addition each chieftain commands the loyalty of between 4 and 8 lords. A chieftains bodyguard is made up of 5-15 fine warriors. This is a 15 point advantage.
Status level 4: King (Gl ri, Ln rix)are really just very powerful chieftains. A king leads a community of between 1000 and 1800 free Gauls, an army of 20% of this total (200-360 warriors), the loyalty of 5-10 chieftains and a bodyguard of between 20 and 40 excellent warriors. Thus the least powerful theoretical king can field an army of 2151 warriors and the most powerful can field an army of 4481 warriors (for comparison a typical Roman legion of this period is 5120 men). This is a 20 point advantage.
(Status level 5: High king usually there is no high king, but occasionally due to circumstances or unusual talent one King will gain the allegiance of 4 or more kings and becomes a high king. The high king leads a community of 2000-4000 free Gauls with 400-800 warriors and a body guard of 60-100 outstanding warriors. Vercingetorix is an example of a high King, so would Boudica and King Artur, though, being Britons, they are not technically Gauls. This is unavailable as an advantage)

Wealth among Gauls is different than among Romans. Firstly there is just less of it, Romans were rich, Gauls were poor. Secondly, Gauls did not use coins as much as Romans did, most wealth was in goods or livestock that could be bartered. Thirdly, Gauls favored movable wealth to property or land. Finally, Gauls did not have banks, they carried their wealth with them, often resulting in huge booty trains when on campaigns.
Wealth level -3 Dead broke characters have almost nothing. They have 1 outfit of ragged clothing, boots and a knife. They live as a servant in someone's home or sleep in a hollow log. Points:-25
Wealth level -2 Poor characters have 2 plain outfits, a knife, boots and other goods to a value of 5d (example: a spear, a small shield and 1 copper ring). Points:-15
Wealth level -1 Struggling have the same goods as level -2 plus a winter cloak and other goods equalling a value of 12d (example:

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