Crom & his Dark Race

Religion in Cimmeria

Cimmerians believe in a rather dark pantheon of gods, all of whom are ruled by Crom and are of his race. Crom is a dire god, as gloomy as the Cimmerians themselves, and as dangerous. The Cimmerians do not pray to Crom, nor do they worship him or any of his kind. Crom and his race of gods despise weaklings who call on them for aid and would likely make the situation worse for the petitioner. The Cimmerians value individuality and self-worth; their gods expect them to take care of life themselves. Indeed, Crom only takes pride in a Cimmerian if ‘They have no hope here or hereafter,’ that Cimmerian never calls answered Conan. ‘Their gods are Crom upon him for aid in his life. and his dark race, who rule over a sunless Cimmerians are supposed place of everlasting mist, which is the to take what they want world of the dead.’ from life, not ask a god for blessings, wealth, health or Robert E. Howard, The Phoenix on the anything else. Sword In The Tower of the Elephant, Howard wrote, ‘His gods were simple and understandable; Crom was their chief, and he lived on a great mountain, whence he sent forth dooms and death. It was useless to call on Crom, because he was a gloomy, savage god, and he hated weaklings. But he gave a man courage at birth, and the will and might to kill his enemies, which, in the Cimmerian’s mind, was all any god should be expected to do.’ Crom was imagined to live on Ben Morgh so Cimmerians stay away from that tall mountain to avoid his ‘dooms and death.’ After death, the Cimmerians believe their spirit travels to a grey realm, misty and icy, where they forever wander in cheerless gloom. Still, the Cimmerians do not fear death and gladly meet it with steel in hand and a war cry on their lips.

Cimmerian funerary customs are quick and deadly. The slain are left where they fell, or disposed of simply; it is no matter, since their shades are departed. A wake is held, with those present drinking a toast to the departed, then pouring out the remainder of their beverages onto the ground for the dead. If revenge is called for – and the Cimmerians can feud like no-one but the Tlazitlans – the drinking-vessels are then smashed, with each warrior boasting of how he personally will take his revenge on behalf of the deceased. Such vengeance is usually in the form of a number of heads, to be collected from the enemy tribe that slew him. Many of the Cimmerian tribes practice headhunting of their fallen foes in a ritualistic manner, similar to that of their later Celtic descendants. To capture the feel of Howard’s milieu in your campaign, avoid the pitfall of presuming Crom is ‘good’. Cimmerians do not want to attract Crom’s attention, or any god’s, for Conan once said he would not want to walk even on their shadow. As Conan said, ‘What use to call on him? Little he cares if men live or die. Better to be silent than to call his attention to you; he will send you dooms, not fortune! He is grim and loveless…’ The actions of Crom, of any real supernatural entity, usually bring about the destruction of men, not the succour of man. Simply put, the Cimmerians do not pray to Crom… ever. An indifferent creator god is a characteristic of many animist religions. The primitive religious beliefs of the Cimmerians fall into this category. Spirits walk the earth and they inhabit the things of the earth. While men have no chance of communicating with Crom, they might be able to influence the spirits through minor rituals. Ritual is a part of life, important for placating the spirits so that food may be found and survival ensured. They have death rituals, divinatory rituals, agricultural rituals, hunting rituals, rites of passage, healing rituals and war rituals. Common rites of passage include birth rites, naming rites, marriage rites, initiation

rites (such as initiating a warrior or a chief) and death rites. Many of these rituals, while rooted in an animist or ancestorworship religious context, have practical purposes. Most of these rites involve chanting or singing sombre dirges.

The other gods of the Cimmerians are just as grim and indifferent as Crom himself. The Cimmerians believe in their existence, but they do not worship them. They are just as anything else – there, but what use is worshipping them? One may as well pray to a tree or a statue as pray to a god. Cimmerians will often use the name of a god in a curse, but never in a prayer or even in a so-called halfprayer. Cimmerians do not worship their own gods lest their attention be attracted.

Cimmerians do not build temples. The spirit world occupies two places, the soul and the universe (the invisible and the visible), so specific places cutting them off from the world would also effectively cut them off from the soul. A temple is a civilised concept the Cimmerians do not really understand.

Crom and the Cimmerian Pantheon

Crom is the main Cimmerian god. He grants no boons save strength of arm and will, which are his gifts to all Cimmerians. He and his pantheon do not truly have worshippers or priests. Nominally, every Cimmerian is a follower of Crom but they have long since learned that he takes pride in them only if they never call on his aid during their lives. Cimmerians are expected to take what they want from life using Crom’s gifts, not call on him for assistance every time they are in need. That would be weak and Crom despises weaklings – he would sooner see them dead than help them out.

According to Robert E. Howard, the Cimmerians also have lesser gods. In a list of names prepared in 1932, Howard gives the names of several Cimmerian gods, including Badb, Morrigan, Macha, Nemain, Dianchecht and Dagda. In later stories, Conan swears by the names of Lir and Mannanan Mac Lir. Just as with Crom, these gods and goddesses are considered to be bleak and dire entities and are not worshipped. To the Cimmerians, these gods’ names are to be used when making a particularly strict oath or when cursing but never in a more religious context.

Badb: Badb is a war goddess who often appears in the shape of a crow. Badb favours the Cimmerians with the gift of battle fury at birth just as Crom grants the Cimmerians the might and will to slay their enemies. Lir: Lir, the father of Mannanan Mac Lir, is the god of the sea in its primal, elemental form, which is a little strange as Cimmeria is a land-locked nation without access to the ocean. Perhaps in their history, the Cimmerian lands included part of Pictland (which would also account for some of the Cimmerian hatred of that dusky race). Lir’s son governs the weather as well as the sea. Macha: Macha is a goddess of war, but she also is in charge of fertility, helping to fill the land with warring Cimmerians. Mannanan Mac Lir: The son of Lir, Mannanan Mac Lir is also a sea god in a more humanised, heroic form but governs weather too. Morrigan: The primary Cimmerian war goddess is Morrigan. If the Cimmerians had philosophers or even priests, they might speculate that Badb, Macha and Nemain are aspects of Morrigan; the ordinary Cimmerians do not much seem to care. Nemain: Another war goddess, Nemain, also governs sacred springs and wells. In battle she is known as ‘the venomous’.

‘Crom! I know this place! The blind bards have sung the story of this battle with the Vanir around every campfire in Cimmeria!’

Larry Hama, ‘The Corridor of MullahKajar’, Conan the Barbarian, Vol. 1, No. 117, December 1980 This was something he could understand. The barbarians had their oracles.

Robert E. Howard, Black Colossus

Requirements of Worship: Be a Cimmerian. Benefits of Worship: None. Requirements for Ordained Priesthood: None (no priests). Benefits of Ordained Priesthood: –Typical Punishments for Disloyal Priests: –

Cimmerian Oracles

Cimmerians are not the scholarly sort and are prohibited from taking the scholar class at 1st level. The Cimmerians have no priests, sorcerers, shamans or witches. Those who traffic with the power of the gods, even through prayer, are weaklings in their eyes. The Cimmerians do not make sacrifices to Crom or any other deity and see those that do as either touched in the head or simply weak. The Cimmerians are superstitious, not wanting to try the gods. Those Cimmerians who take the barbarian/scholar multiclass path are known as oracles, as befitting their superstitious nature. These oracles can read the dooms evident in a flight of birds or in the entrails of an animal. Just about any aspect of nature is endowed with spiritual significance that can be read by those who are wise. These Cimmerian oracles learn the sorcery style of Divination only; thereafter they take bonus feats in lieu of additional sorcery styles and, when they run out of divination spells to learn, they take +2 skill points in lieu of additional advanced spells.

Cimmerian Blind Bards

In addition to the oracles, Cimmeria also has an oral tradition of story-telling by blind-men who can no longer provide for themselves, their families or their clans. Cimmerians fear the written word, believing letters and runes to be magical. Blind or blinded Cimmerians often multiclass into scholars and become the oral repositories for Cimmerian and clan histories and stories, thus earning their keep. It is also possible that Cimmerians intentionally blind their bards to prevent them from becoming literate. Again, just like the oracles, if a blind bard of Cimmeria learns a sorcery style, he will likely limit himself to Divination only. Many Cimmerians consider writing to be a form of magic, so literacy is rarely available to Cimmerian scholars who have not travelled. These scholars will focus on Knowledge skills (as many as possible) and Perform skills (to convey their knowledge).