These people live in the harsh, cold climate of the Frozen North where food is scarce and the neighbors hostile. Each clan is composed of large extended families lead by a patriarch. Every clan has its demesne that it frequently roams through heading north in the short summer and back south for the fall through spring. They hunt when game is available and forage if the opportunity presents itself, but their chief means of survival is raiding. Typically, in the fall through spring the tribe survives by raiding their Ice Elf and Nymidian neighbors, and when times are hard, each other. This has made them marked and all the people in the area seek their eradication making them very xenophobic, even to other Northern Barbarian people outside their tribe.

Northern Barbarians do not take slaves or captives, they have nothing to use them for and only cause a drain on their already limited resources. Both men and women share the responsibilities for tending the tribe’s needs and welfare. Both are found equally in the raiding parties and with the tribe caring for the young and wounded, animals and food stocks. There are very few elderly people in the tribe as most do not live long enough to grow old or if they do, are eventually unable to keep up and are left behind. Northern Barbarians have very little free time to spend pursuing things that do not directly aid the survival of the tribe. There is little or no art work, jewelry or other such frivolous things. Most Northern Barbarians do not take coins, gems or anything they cannot wear, wield or eat as much of their economy – such as it is – is based on trade and their xenophobic nature prevents them from trading with the outside world. They have very little, if any, knowledge of arcane skills or low magic. However, some tribes have managed to hold on to the rudiments of the magical arts. Highly superstitious, they shun magic generally and are very careful on choosing what magics to learn. Their hard, stressful lives leave little room for religion and most do not follow any of the gods. The very few that do, follow the three in equal numbers.