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Marchlands Pocket Adventures Volume 0:
Marchlands Setting Primer
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Published By: Sad Fishe Games, LLC

Written by: Tyler A. Thompson

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 FOREWORD
This document is intended to be used to help frame the ongoing
series of pocket adventures (1-2 relatively self-contained
sessions) set in the Marchlands. As that series develops, so too
will this guide, with additions and changes made as the lore and
story of the world develops. Many things are, for now, left
intentionally vague so accommodate for future divergence
between the original vision and the end products. Enjoy.

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INTRODUCTION

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Some might call the Marchlands a feral wilderness. Barbarian
territory, unexplored, untamed, uncivilized, and inhabited by
outlaws, exiles, and savages. Such people might be correct, in
some ways, but the vast Marchlands are far from empty or lacking
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in history or culture. The people of the Marchlands live in
roaming bands or pastoral clan communities, ranging from a few
dozen to a thousand or so in population, though rarely do they
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sustain anything larger. These communities are governed by
chiefs or councils of respected (or feared) members of the
community. Sometimes one clan will come to dominate others
and form an often short-lived kingdom, or several clans will
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come together to form a confederation for a time to address

some common concern, but the tribal clan persists as the
dominant level or organization for Marchlanders, and serves as
an important part of individuals’ identities.
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Historically, the people that are now Marchlanders came from all
directions, settling in waves from the surrounding regions,
sometimes from far beyond what is now regarded as the known
world: refugees from the frigid wastes of the far north, exiles
from a once-young empire to the south, pioneers from the lands
beyond the eastern nomad ranges, and most recently those
fleeing the newfound tyranny in the west. Despite their varied
origins, however, the Marchlanders have come to have a distinct
and identifiable culture of their own, which serves as a unifying
force among the many communities. Where many Marchlander

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communities feud and ordinarily refuse to cooperate within this
culture, the Marchlanders tend to favor their own over outsiders,
and can typically set aside their grievances to address any such
threats or issues.
Marchlander society is divided by profession and class, though
such divisions are rarely treated as anything immutable.
Thralldom is practiced by some, whereupon person’s are
deprived of legal status and put to work against their will for the
good of the community, but such status is never hereditary

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among decent folk. Others, though, reject thralldom entirely and
judge other communities harshly based on how they treat their

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thralls. Lacking any sophisticated system of currency, wealth
generally is defined by the size of one’s herd of cattle, sheep, and
horses; farmers with substantial flocks are regarded as carls, those
with less as cottars, and those with the most as thanes- the closest
thing to nobility Marchlander communities have. Others, such as
craftsmen, have wealth in the goods they produce and trade to
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others for animals and other goods. Others still are employed by
communities full-time as warriors; while all are freedmen are
expected to participate in community defense as part of the Fyrd,
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such thane-warriors take on a special status and need not farm or
craft to generate their wealth or justify their place in the
community. A few are permitted to spend their days hunting and
scavenging from the unfarmed portions of a community’s
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territory. A select few are given special roles in the community as

lawspeakers, ritualmasters, or medicinefolk.
Marchlander’s worship a variety of gods, with a vague, somewhat
malleable pantheon that is regarded with different priorities in
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every community, sometimes with different names, mythologies,

and local spirits or sub-deities, but almost always recognizable to
other Marchlanders who simply accept the differences as one
would a foreigner’s accent.

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 MAJOR MARCHLANDS COMMUNITIES
The people of the Marchlands are bound by a common, if
mostly informal, system of law and social custom, but otherwise
lack any sort of overarching institution or governance. As such,
each tribe conducts its own affairs and is led by its own leaders
with their own, often quite different structure. From time to time
a federation will form or multiple tribes will join forces to combat
a common threat, but such alliances are often short-lived and

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rarely last more than a generation. While most folk in the
Marchlands like it this way, it makes fighting off persistent,
organized threats from the outside all the more difficult, and

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dealing with an emergency is often just as much a crisis of getting
the other tribes on board as it is actually dealing with the
problem. The formation of the Northern Kingdom, once a
mere collection of clan communities like the Marchlands, and the
longevity of the grouping of the Federated Tribe has led to some
evolution in the people’s thinking on this matter; change is
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coming, and while folk still need convincing to join together, they
are begrudgingly realizing that it may be necessary unless they are
to be consumed by a growing Empire or any of their other
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neighbors.
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The Lost Tribe
Tribes come and go through the ages, some merging with others,
some departing for a new homeland, and some scattered to the
winds for one reason or another. Still, such an occurrence is a
major event in the lives of those that remain in the region, often
changing the social and political landscape in serious ways. The
Lost Tribe is the most recent victim of the ages: they had only
settled the region in the last generation, and met with an
unfortunate fate whereupon its entire population, with a sole

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survivor, was struck first by a vile illness and those that failed to
succumb later carted off by ratfolk for some nefarious demise.

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Their former domain has sat empty since, and while neighboring
tribes venture in to hunt or forage no one has laid claim to it; the
land is rocky and far from ideal for either farming or grazing, the
surrounding spaces devoid of any special resources that would
make patrolling the space worthwhile, with, simply put, nothing
to make the extra expense and effort of settling the area a
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desirable notion so soon after the tribe met its end. Still, despite
nature retaking the main settlement and criminals, outcasts, and
monsters now calling the landscape home, there is little reason
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this territory could not be reclaimed.

The Ambitious Tribe

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A smaller tribe with tremendous aspirations. Long subject to the

whims of other tribes, the members of this tribe now have an
ingrained desire for more, something which shines through in
their chieftain. They are easy to sway with credible promises of
power and control- something which the Tyrant and Empire will
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readily offer in exchange for their support. Bringing this tribe

into the fold without such promises will be an arduous task, and
an unreliable prospect at best.

The Ancient Tribe

Tribes come and go, and many remain for ages, but one tribe has
remained a constant in the Marchlands for as far back as memory
and records go- throughout every account, the Ancient Tribe is
as close to the original inhabitants of the region as can be

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ascertained. There are few corners of the Marchlands left
unknown to the records of the Ancient Tribe, and through many
trials and tribulations they have endured. However, this long
history also tends to make its members resistant to change- why
do something different if the way of things has gotten them
through so much? This includes a staunch resistance to any
newfangled ideas of confederation or whatever mess the folks up
north have become involved in.

The Brewing Tribe

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Some mock this community as one of drunkards and layabouts.

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This is, of course naught but slander- while there is a fair amount
of drinking and laying about among many members of this
community, it is their business to do so, as there is nowhere in the
Marchlands able to produce wines, ales, meads, and stronger
spirits of the purity, quality, and taste as the Brewing Tribe. Mock
as their neighbors might, it is to this community’s palisades that
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their wagons up to when planning a king’s feast or magnificent
wedding. So renowned are this tribe’s brews that even some of
more refined taste in the Empire know of and seek out what few
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imports they can find. This skill has made the Brewing Tribe
friends of a great many folks, with few willing to go out of their
way to wrong them.
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The Cattle Tribe

Some tribes have cattle. Others have a great many cattle. The so-
called Cattle Tribe by far has the most cattle per capita in all of
the Marchlands, a fact that they are never slow to point out, but
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one with which they must also constantly cope; it should come as
no surprise that where there are surplus cattle, there are thieves
and raiders. This has forced this community to take on a special
martial role, as well as to adapt to having to more aggressively
patrol and police their pastures. Even when they fail to protect
their herds, though, there are always more cattle forthcoming- for
whatever reason their herds seem especially fertile, ensuring a
steady stream of new and easily accessed wealth for the tribe by
way of supplying cattle to those in need.

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The Crusading Tribe
It is from experience that the great many peoples of the
Marchlands despise beings of chaos and corruption, but it is
from a place of valiant passion that the members of the
Crusading Tribe work seemingly tirelessly to root it out and cull
if from their homeland. Whenever rumors of some kind of
chaos reach the ears of this community’s leaders, it is with grim
promptness that they send envoys with axe and sword in hand to
help. The resolve of such warriors is also a boon to their fellows-

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“gifts” from those they help are a happy and steady source if
income for the community, and plenty necessary to keep their

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offerings to the gods robust and their blades sharp.

The Crusading Gecko Tribe

Free lizardfolk, living out from under the yoke of any ancient
celestial beings or other monstrous overlords. They carry an
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ingrained disdain for Chaos as fervent as any human community
in the Marchlands, and would be one and the same with the
human Crusading Tribe but for their species. While their
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scouring bands are less well-received and less kindly than their
human counterparts, they are a potent force for the living world
all the same. They are also devoted to their more peaceful kin in
the Marchlands, leaping to their aid when others unduly wrong
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them. More than a few bands of roaming opportunists have

made the mistake of seeing the peaceful lizardfolk as easy prey,
only to have the righteous fury of these folk coming down on
them.
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The Egalitarian Tribe

Where many communities vary with regard to how kindly they
treat their men and women, least fortunates, and those that stand
out as different from the rest of their community, this tribe
stands apart in consistently treating all of their folk with
consideration and kindness, for better or worse. Thralldom is a
foreign notion to these people, as is having thanes with anything
to spare while brothers and sisters of the tribe need blankets. Of
course, such efforts at kindness do not always end well for the

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tribe, with outsiders plenty willing to exploit such behaviors or
make special targets of such frilly folk in raids. Embattled as they
may be with such problems, this tribe carries on, persistent.

The Empire-Hating Tribe

Few in the Marchlands can be said to have any fondness for the
Empire, and more than a few have plenty reason to despise it and
its folk. Only among this tribe, however, does such hatred
become an identity all its own. So wronged was this community

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by the Empire that they now make the downfall of that accursed
place the subject of their every celebration and prayer, and

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toward its people the majority of their aggression. Travelers are
always advised to steer clear, or be prepared to prove their origin
from elsewhere, lest they end up battered and stripped on the
road- if they are lucky.

The Federated Tribes

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Federations never last long in the Marchlands, as unifying forces
weaken and infighting leads once more to independent tribes.
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This federation of several tribes is nearing the age where falling
apart seems inevitable- and yet, no signs of fracturing are visible
to those looking inward to this federation. Perhaps a sign of the
changing times in the Marchlands, the Federation has yet to sort
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out enough internally to fully leverage what five fully integrated

tribes are capable of against their neighbors. This too will
change, if they can keep this union together, and may leave these
peoples poised for greatness in the coming decades.
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The Field Tribe

While most communities emphasize the importance of their
herds, this tribe has adopted a more sedentary style of
agriculture. They have traded their pastures for commodity
cropland, refining their crop strains and growing methods to rival
even the most advanced Imperial farms. Their produce is always
to first to be gone at the common markets, and their
commodities always spike the hardest when consumed. Many
look upon them with disdain for their small herds- but those

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same folk will time and time again choose their crops to add to
the pot over the fields closer to home.

The Horse Tribe

The people of the Marchlands are proud of their horses: light,
hardy, brave things, able to handle the multitude of jobs they are
tasked with in such savage lands. There are Marchlander horses,
however, and then there are Horse Tribe horses, bred to be
premium specimens among their fellows. This tribe keeps horses

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like many keep cattle, and it is always from this tribe that the
finest warriors with they could obtain a prime mare as their steed.

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The proliferation of horse ownership among these folk is a
source of frustration for others in the Marchlands that challenge
them, as so other one community can bring quite so many
horsemen to bear when pressed.

The Hunting Tribe

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The many communities of the Marchlands have their pastures
and fields of which they are so proud, but this community
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prefers to stick to the old ways, minimizing the acreage of their
territory that they clear or convert to more economical used.
They prefer to forage and hunt, and as a result have a general
mastery of survival in the wooded wilderness- as well as how to
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avoid being detected within it. This lifestyle works well for this
tribe, as they have little that can be readily looted and less still that
can be reached without detection followed by a flurry of arrows.

The Independent Tribe

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Where most communities form strong relationships with this or

that neighbor and relies on a complex network of trade and
travel to provide themselves with the best the Marchlands has to
offer, this is not so for this tribe. As a people they are viciously
unwilling to let outsiders meddle in their affairs, and strive
tirelessly to sustain themselves all on their own, and to keep
external influences on their culture and way of life to a minimum.
This comes at a cost, with little of the prosperity of the region
making its way to their benefit, but when times are hard due to

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incursions by corruptive forces, war, or natural disaster, they are
at least marginally more sheltered from the ill effects than most.

The Long-Suffering Tribe

Among the most recent arrivals to the Marchlands, this
community has a long history of abuse and oppression wherever
they have traveled. Forced to migrate long ago by a long-
forgotten threat, and later forced once again to depart their new
homeland in the face of the earliest of Imperial expansion in

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what is now its core territories. For generations they endured the
ravages of the nomads to the east, and some time ago were

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forced a final time to depart or face extinction. This persistent
generational trauma has created a forlorn but hardy people, ever
hopeful but equally suspicious of strangers. This has not
dampened their generosity, and their arrival to the region was met
with kindness by their neighbors. Times are still hard for this
tribe, and as the Marchlands grow ever nearer to irreversible
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change they have grown worried that another migration will be
necessary in their lifetimes. They have not given up on their new
home yet, however.
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The Northerner Tribe
Folk immediately descended from the clans that now make up
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the Northern Kingdom, this community remains independent

from their northern kin. For how long this will be the case is
unclear, as diplomats from the north arrive regularly in an effort
to court the local leaders. Such a decision would surely cause a
ruckus in the region, and may be the trigger to much larger
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changes yet to come to the Marchlands.

The Pariah Tribe

Few people are born wretched to the bone, and fewer still are
beyond redemption. To many in the Marchlands, however, this
community represents the worst that someone could be without
succumbing to banditry and outlawdom, Ever unwilling to be
held accountable for the misdeeds of their fellows and seemingly
always at the center of every debacle in the region, the Pariah

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Tribe has made themselves just that, with their folk largely
unwelcome around the hearths of others. This has made this
community a prime target for the foreign powers that be to find
ready allies in the region, with no loyalty to their regional kin or
and a strong desire for revenge against those that look upon them
with such disdain.

The Peaceful Gecko Tribe

This idyllic community is marked by eschewing the typical

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militance and fervency of their fellow lizardfolk. To bring these
people to violence is to have forced the matter far beyond what

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one could expect to be tolerated. This has, over the years, led to
many taking advantage of them, their non-human nature making
them targets of ire among the less tolerant. Of course, few get
away with such transgressions for long- this community has its
ways of taking revenge without themselves lifting a spear. At the
same time, they are ardently loyal to those that show them
kindness.
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The Pottery Tribe
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There are craftsmen in the Marchlands, and then there are true
artisans. One can find more of such artisans among the so-called
pottery tribe than anywhere else, and not merely potters but all
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trades. With inferior materials the members of this tribe

somehow manage to make adequate goods, and their neighbors
are more than happy to provide to them their finest materials in
hopes of acquiring the finest of goods to be found in the region.
This is itself a fine form of defense for this community, as they
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refuse to work with those who have wronged them, and will
ensure their goods are sold at a premium if slighted.

The Powerful Tribe

This tribe has grown large, cohesive, and powerful of late, in yet
another sign of the changing times in the Marchlands.
Historically, whenever one such tribe became too large or
influential, a coalition would form to bring them back down to
the same level as the rest, thus preserving the delicate balance in

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the region. So far, no coalition against this tribe has materialized,
but nor has this tribe attempted to unduly influence or abuse its
neighbors with its newfound power. How long this will last is
anyone’s guess, but for now this community looms above the
rest, a filling dam that may burst at any time.

The Raiding Tribe

Communities raid one another in the Marchlands, and bandits
rob and pillage. It is a reality, one known and accepted by all. For

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this community, however, raiding is a way of life, and something
they have turned into a science. Though many accuse them of

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otherwise, they do not descend into banditry, following all the
rules as closely as anyone else. Still, nowhere in the region seems
safe from their envious eyes, and this tribe’s herds are made of us
long stolen livestock from all essentially every other pasture in
the region. This behavior does not behoove their neighbors to
look fondly upon such raiders, but their suits and fines are always
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paid and they are in all other respects fully upstanding as a
people.
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The Reforming Tribe
All tribes, from time to time, are forced to exile their members
for this or that offense, and all territories are plagued by
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troublesome travelers and bandits now and then. Most respond

to such trespassers with execution or chasing them off, finding
no place in their hearts or around their hearths for folk with such
blackened souls. Not so for these reformers, who long ago were
formed by one-time marauders wishing to put such bleak
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histories behind them. Where others may find no home

elsewhere, they just may here. Some look down on this
community as a den of thieves and murderers, but the reality is
that those they take in are held to an even higher standard that
the common folk elsewhere. While their efforts to reform the
worst of humanity are not always successful, a great many folk
over the years have found a second chance among this tribe.

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The Trading Tribe
No other tribe maintains as many caravans traveling along as
many distant roads as the Trading Tribe, whose merchants supply
much of the foreign merchandise that makes its way into the
Marchlands, and who peddle much of the exported goods in
Imperial frontier towns or neglected wilderness settlements of
other neighboring nations. Where commerce is still a somewhat
chaotic and hard to predict art for most of the Marchlands, the
trading tribe have begun to understand it as a science, and this

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has left their coffers full with coin and bullion from near and far,
which keeps their larders full and territory well-defended.

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The Tyrant-Hating Tribe
Long beleaguered by the lineage of tyrants and uprisings to the
west, this tribe has a seething mistrust and hatred for the Tyrant
and those that serve him. Where few tribes ever attempt to exert
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influence far beyond the edges of the Marchlands proper, it has
become routine for members of this community to depart for
weeks on end to engage in a sort of guerilla war against the
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Tyrant. This has naturally caused that cruel despot to similarly
despise this tribe, with every intention of razing their territory to
ashes and subjecting its people to the worst tortures he can
conjure- eventually, of course, as for now he struggles to keep his
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own head from being lopped off by rebellious peasants.

The Writing Tribe

Legends tell that this tribe was the first to begin writing things
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down, and it is a well-known fact that this tribe keeps the most
comprehensive collection of historic, legal, and other writings in
all of the Marchlands. They are proud and protective of this
library, but plenty willing to share the wealth of knowledge it
contains- though typically at some price. In general, others
respect the task of maintaining such knowledge, with routine
donations to its contents and care from other communities, and
rapid vengeance on those that threaten it. This places the Writing
Tribe into a precarious situation politically, having to be careful
to retain some semblance of neutrality, except on matters of

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learning.

The Troll Band

Trolls come and go throughout the Marchlands, though typically
in small, ephemeral groups of little concern to permanent
residents. One large and persistent band roams the territories,
however, and while they endeavor to stay out of trouble this is
rarely a possible reality for them. Still, they are generally
tolerated, if briefly, and only rarely get into serious fights with any

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human settlements. Many swear they will one day round up a
party to exterminate this band, but none have ever been serious

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or brave enough to actually endeavor to do so, and so the trolls
remain.

The Forest Elves

The elves persist in the wilderness of the Marchlands, working
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constantly to limit the gradual eating away at the forest that
humans inevitably succumb to. Most go their whole lives
without seeing such folk, but every so often a story will circulate
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of elves attacking or bewitching those that dwell too near to their
sacred groves. They know better than anyone that change is
coming, and are seemingly paralyzed when it comes to finding a
solution to it; their groves are in danger, and unless something
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changes will one day burn, whether it is from Marchlander axes,

Imperial furnaces, or something else.

The Undermountain Dwarves

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Isolated under the few truly giant mountains of the Marchlands,

the region’s dwarves reside in peace and prosperity. So rarely do
they traverse the surface world themselves that many forget or
simply do not believe that they are there at all. They are, though,
and simply choose to use a handful of trusted merchants to
supply them with what little they cannot produce or forage for
near their homes. As isolationist as they desire to be, they are a
smart people, more than aware that the powers beyond their
mountains’ shadows will eventually threaten them if the
Marchlands were to fall. To stop such a thing, they just might

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come out from the undermountain.

The Ratfolk Enclaves

The ratfolk are a vile bunch, and the handful of subterranean
enclaves of their kind in the Marchlands are only marginally less
vile than their kin abroad. However, so far from the undercities
of which they are so fond, these enclaves are tempered some in
their cruelty, preferring subsistence to certain eradication if they
stir up too much trouble. Each den of these creatures has its

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own leadership, all dominated by a local king of sorts and ever
infighting in the tunnels that connect all these dens. Still, there

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are a handful of such dens that come close to being civilized by
the Marchlander’s definition- and among such dens there is a
growing desire to bring their people in line with the surface
communities, and to cease the wretched scheming and service of
darker powers that plagues their kind.
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 THE FOREIGN FACTIONS
CHAOS
It is simply the way of things, as it has been for as long as anyone
can remember or find record, that this or that chaos horde or
chaos champion emerges in the Marchlands every so often,
bringing a period of danger of misery before being pushed back
to the dark corners where they belong, or boring of their ravages

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and slinking off to a bleaker pasture. Today, Chaos once again
festers around the edges of the Marchlands, looking for a chance
to take hold and once again spread terror and corruption. Of

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course, in these changing times it is entirely possible that pushing
back against Chaos may not be so simple as in eras long passed.

THE EMPIRE
The cosmopolitan behemoth of a state ruled by an allegedly god-
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emperor. The Empire is undeniably the hegemon of the known
world, and few even among its citizenry could tell you the true
extent of its borders. Its inhabitants consider themselves quite
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civilized compared to most of its neighbors, and do not hesitate
to tell foreigners as much. If the Empire truly wanted, it could
conquer the Marchlands in half a year, but the region is fortunate
that a number of more pressing concerns and internal politics
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prevent this. Still, only petty politicians, a mountain chain, and a

few hardy, isolationist mountain kingdoms have spared the
Marchlands from Imperial conquest to date, but a handful of
plucky senators and oligarchs have turned their eye toward those
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barbarian lands, and successfully authorized a new expedition

into the region at Fort Prudence. This expedition is small at its
inception, but persistent lobbying diverts new funds and
resources all the time toward what its advocates hope will
eventually lead to a new Imperial territory to rule and exploit.

THE NOMADS
Nomad raids are simply the way of things, but of late there has
been quite the lull in such incursions. No one in the Marchlands
knows it, but an upstart chieftain supposedly ordained by the

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nomads’ gods has set to work bringing many of the nomad clans
under his personal rule. This is a protracted and bloody
prospect, but one which this Upstart appears equipped to
succeed in doing. Of course, once satisfied with unification of
the clans he will need a soft target for his new battered but
numerous subjects to loot to their desire to keep them loyal. The

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Marchlands are an ideal target, though conquest of the region is
far from his mind (okay, perhaps suzerainty if it can be managed;
the real prize will be sacking Imperial cities once his power is
more established.

THE TYRANT
The Western Tyrant has long despised the Marchlands for not
supporting his conquest of their cousin tribes in his present
domain several decades ago, and that hatred has only grown with

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every spear thrust at his half-hearted invasions since. His initial
conquest was not kind to his domain, leaving it impoverished and

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his armies occupied with maintaining internal order, but at long
last an opportunity has presented itself. What little resources he
can spare, the Tyrant aims toward the Marchlands, knowing that
his domain will not survive in the decades to come without more
territory.

THE NORTHERN KINGDOM

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The hero-king of the young Northern Kingdom has taken a land
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not unlike the Marchlands and turned it into a burgeoning,
prosperous powerhouse- and all to fend off chaos flowing in
from the far north. He knows he can do the same in the
Marchlands, if given a chance. The hero-king’s motives are
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benevolent, if his ultimate approach heavy-handed; he will bide

his time, currying favor with the Marchlanders to draw them
under his protection- then forcing them if need be. His
paternalistic approach has not yet been well-received by the
people of the Marchlands, but he will be patient in bringing them
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around. However, he would rather see an independent

Marchlands than one occupied by another power.

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 LAW
Law in the Marchlands is
rarely written, instead
based on ancient oral
rules simply understood
by members of
communities or based
on how similar issues

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were resolved long ago,
with dedicated
lawspeakers whose jobs

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are to articulate and
interpret the law, with
the final decision resting
in the hands of the chief,
council, or sometimes
community itself. While
individual communities
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can vary in their law, the
core principles among
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them remain the same.
When a wrong is
committed within a community, the wronged person seeks to
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have the community hold them responsible. When a member of

a community wrongs someone from another community or that
community itself, the wronged community is able to hold the
offending individual’s community liable. It is then that
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community’s decision as to how to punish their offending

individual. While somewhat formalized courts exist, typically the
law is enforced merely by going to the accused or their
community and letting the offense be known, calling for the
lawspeakers to hear on the matter.
Conflict among communities is common and may appear to
outsiders to be anarchic, but in reality it is quite structured, with
many restrictions on when and how it may take place- unless a
community wishes to incur the wrath of the whole Marchlands
for flouting the rules and pay substantial weregeld, or blood

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money, for their wrongdoings.
Of course, while the rules may be well known, all things rely
greatly on precedence, and will be argued in the context in which
they occurred. Hals accidental maiming of a carl during a cattle
raid will be less offensive if that carl was obviously striking to kill.
Aeld’s destruction of a cottar’s property might mean far less if
that cottar can be shown to have wrongly taken something of
Aeld’s or slandered his household unduly. All things have
context, and all rules have exceptions, sometimes exceptions

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within exceptions- made all the more complex and malleable by
the few comprehensive written texts on the matter, instead

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relying on common knowledge and oral history.
The following is a heavily abridged example of generally shared
principles of law.
• If any one be summoned before the Council or Chief, and do
e
not come they shall be fined one cow.
• But they who causes another to be summoned, and does not
pl
come themselves, shall, if a lawful impediment have not
delayed them, be fined 1 cow, to be paid to the person
summoned.
m

• And one who summons another shall walk with witnesses to

the home of that man, and make known to them or the
others of the household that they have been summoned to
court.
Sa

• If anyone steal pig, sheep, goat, chicken, horse, cattle, or

other such animal, and it be proved against them, they shall
be fined thrice the value of that animal.
• If anyone steal 25 of a herd or flock other than cattle, where
there were no more in that herd or flock, and it be proved on
them, they shall be fined five times the value of the taken
animals.
• If anyone, even one from another community, shall steal the
preferred horse of a thane, such person shall be fined 10
20
 times the value of that horse, and if they refuse to return such
horse may be brought to trial by combat with the one from
whom they stole or their representative.
• If anyone steal that bull which rules the herd and never has
been yoked, they shall be fined tenfold the value of that bull.
• If anyone steal 25 of a herd of cattle, where there were no
more in that herd or flock, and it be proved on them, they
shall be fined 10 times the value of the taken animals.

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• Anyone from one community who steals livestock from

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another community shall not be fined, so long as such theft is
otherwise lawful; a community shall have a duty to safeguard
the fields and livestock of its people, and make them whole
when unable.
• If anyone finds cattle, or a horse, or flocks of any kind in his
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crops, they shall not at all mutilate them.
• If they do this and confess it, they shall restore the worth of
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the animal in place of it, and shall themself keep the
mutilated one.
• But if they have not confessed it, and it have been proved on
them, they shall be fined, besides the value of the animal and
m

the fines for delay, the same fine for as though they had stolen
the animal.
• If any freedperson steal, outside of the house, something
Sa

worth less than a sheep, they shall be fined twice its value if
they can return it.
• If any freedperson steal, outside of the house, something
worth less than a sheep and they are unable to return it, they
shall be fined not less than two sheep, and up to tenfold its
value.
• If they steal, outside of the house, something worth a sheep
or more, they shall be fined twice its value, as well as the cost
of replacement, or if unable to replace the stolen thing, up to
21
 tenfold its value.
• If a freedperson break into a house and steal something, they
shall be fined tenfold its value.
• But if they have broken, or tampered with, the lock, and thus
have entered the house and stolen anything from it, they shall
be fined, besides the worth of the object and the fines for
delay, twenty times its value.

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• And if they have taken nothing, or have escaped by flight,
they shall, for the housebreaking alone, be fined for any

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damage caused while entering and not less than one sheep.
• If a thrall shall steal something and cause another to pay their
fine, the value of that fine shall be added to the debt that
caused their thralldom
•
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If one should abduct another, or lay hands on them
unlawfully, they shall be fined for the cost of harms and
delays caused, as well as ten sheep.
pl
• If anyone have assaulted and plundered a freedperson, and it
be proved on them, he shall be fined any costs and not less
than one cow.
m

• If anyone have assaulted and plundered a foreigner on the

roads or in a Marchlander town, and it be proved on them,
they shall be fined any costs and not less than one sheep.
Sa

• If anyone shall wish to migrate to a new community, and have

made known their intent known by public hearing among
their fellows and been accepted by their new community, the
law shall consider them part of the new community and not
the former.
• If anyone shall set fire to a house in which people were
sleeping, as many freedpersons as were in it can make
complaint, and if any one shall have been burned in it, the
incendiary shall be fined the costs of such injury and not less
than one cow per complainant.
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• If anyone have wished to kill another person, and the blow
have missed, they shall be fined not less than one cow.
• If anyone shall have struck another so that blood falls to the
floor, and it be proved on them, they shall be fined not less
than a pig and sheep.
• But if a freedperson strike a freedperson with fists so that
blood does not flow, they shall be fined not less than a horn
of mead per blow.

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• If anyone shall have struck another so that they are injured or

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maimed, they shall be fined weregeld proportionate to the
injury or maining.
• But if anyone shall have struck first, or gave cause to another
to strike them, there shall be no fine.
•
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If any one have given herbs to another so that they die, they
shall be fined, above and on top of any other fines, 10 cows,
or else they shall surely be given over to fire.
pl
• If any person have bewitched another, or otherwise used
sorcery upon them, the person who is proved to have
committed it shall be fined not less than a cow, or shall be
given over to fire.
m

• If anyone shall have slain a child before their 13th year, they
shall be fined 20 cows.
Sa

• If anyone shall have committed offense such that they can no

longer be among the fellows of their community, or if they
should be fined and refuse to pay, they may be cast out, and
stripped of protection under the law.
• If anyone, man or woman, shall have made a false statement
against another, and it can be proven false, the slanderous
person shall be fined one tenth of a sheep, in addition to
costs.
• If any man shall have cut 3 staves by which a fence is bound
23
 or held together, or have stolen or cut the heads of 3 stakes,
or moved such stakes, they shall be fined for the value of the
land as though fertile pasture, and must make payment to
remedy the damage or correct the border.
• If any one shall have drawn a harrow through another's
harvest after it has sprouted, or shall have gone through it
with a wagon where there was no road, they shall replace the
lost crops twofold come harvest.

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• If any one shall have gone, where there is no way or path,
through another's harvest which has already become thick,

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they shall replace the lost crops threefold come harvest.
• If anyone have moved to a new community without
permission and without hearing at their former community,
and within 12 months no one have given them warning to
depart, they shall remain as secure as the other neighbors.
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• If any freedperson have made to another a promise to pay,
then they to whom the promise was made shall, within 40
pl
days or within such term as was agreed, go to the house of
that person with witnesses, or with appraisers. And if the
debtor be unwilling to make the promised payment, they shall
be fined one sheep above that which was promised.
m

• If a debtor be unable to pay a promised sum or unwilling to

do so, one-twentieth of a cow per cow of debt owed shall be
added to the debt each year.
Sa

• If anyone shall have dug up and plundered a corpse already

buried, and it shall have been proved on them, they shall be
outlawed until the day when they comes to an agreement with
the relatives of the deceased.
• If a person shall die, their spouse shall inherit, unless they
shall have children by another, whereupon such children shall
first take an equal share of one-fourth the whole. If a person
shall die and leave no spouse, their children shall inherit, in
equal shares, and if they leave no children, their brothers and

24
 sisters shall inherit.
• The weregeld for a cottar shall be five cows.
• The weregeld for a carl shall be ten cows.
• The weregeld for a thane shall be twenty cows.
• There shall be no weregeld for outlaws or unfree persons.

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pl
m
Sa

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