Skogsman

Description
The northern people of Skogsland, often referred as the Dens by the people of Branoria, are a strong and hardy group of merchants, raiders and slavers that live in various separated tribes and villages scattered all over Skogsland.

All Skogsmen are taller than the average human, standing over six feet or two meters tall. They all have fair skin, hair and eye colors, the most common eye color being blue.

Culture
Skogsmen have a strangely progressive culture, with the people of the tribe electing a law-speaker, often an elder and well versed citizen, who'll be in charge of all the legal issues of the common people in the tribe while the Jarl and his Hirdmen will be in charge of the protection of the tribe, the realm and in the raids. Women can serve as warriors equally with men, but they are slightly rare due to the violent nature of Skogsmen raids.

Due to their raids and violent nature in combat, most races in Utaria think of the Skogsmen as violent brutes. But this is not really the case, Skogsmen are smart and well spoken, with a strong code of honor. They value bravery above all else and Skogsmen who live a life of cowardice are outcasted from the tribes. To them, raiding is natural and necessary, as they need metals, ores, cloth and other commodities that the Skogmen can't produce, as well as slaves to serve as servants or as Thralls.

The warrior culture of the Skogsmen also makes them deadly enemies in the battlefield. They do not back down even when the odds are not in their favor, as dying a warrior is incredibly important for most of them.

The average Skogman male is often seen with tattoos or body painting, this serves to mark who is part of each caste, with Jarls and Thanes having intricate blue tattoos while the common trader or Thrall has red, simplistic tattoos. Women can be seen with such tattoos as well, women with blue tattoos are known as Shieldmaidens, while the wives and daughters of a Jarl who excel in combat are called Valkyries.

Religion
The Skogsmen are one of the few human groups that do not follow the faith of the Church of Lorelei, their religion is known as 'The Old Gods of Asatu'. A religion full of Gods and guardian spirits, the leader of those Gods is known as The Outcast, who led his Hirdmen beyond the realm of the Gods and settled in a different realm, he gave the Skogsmen with his knowledge of hunting, fighting and surviving in the cold mountains of the north. Other gods include Jotrud, the dwarf god that makes legendary weapons, Lynn, the elf god of love and fertility and Erika, the goddess of hunting.

Equipment
Due to the rarity of metal ores in Skogsland, their swords and only the mighty and rich of the Skogsman society carry armor and weapons of high quality. Skogsmen armor is similar to the Branorian scale armor, but much stronger due to the techniques of their smiths. Some rich and zealous warriors can be seen wearing horned helmets, which often cause fear among non-Skogsmen warriors due to the similarities to a devils horns.

Skogsmen who wear nothing but bear furs in combat, and carry large swords and axes, these men are known as Berserkers, who use their zealous nature to combat their enemies in the name of the Old Gods of Man.

Trivia

 * The Skogsmen are inspired by the Scandinavian vikings.