Barbarian Tribes

The term 'barbarian' tends to refer to any individual or group that is not a part of a major 'civilized' faction in an area. Despite the name, not all barbarian tribes are barbaric, and tend to be quite diverse. Some can rely on agriculture while others may be hunter-gatherers. Barbarian tribes are found mostly in the sierra nevada, the coastal ranges and the grasslands of the central valley.

Resources and Technology
Being so diverse, the barbarian tribes each have different access to resources and different levels of technology. Generally, however, the small size of each tribe means that they will have little to no access to any levels of tech beyond stone age tools, only being able to scavenge for such technology. Take note, however, that some barbarian tribes are deeply superstitious and collect all old-world 'artifacts' they can find.

Society and Diplomacy
The large diversity of barbarian tribes generally means that there are a large number of possible ways one is organized. Most often, there will be an individual or group of individuals that leads the tribe and organizes the barbarians. Sometimes there are groups with distinct roles, such as hunters, craftsmen, or farmers, but more often individuals freely switch from task to task as they are needed, particularly if the tribe has too few individuals to allow for any real specialization or division of labor.

Barbarian tribes have little real importance in the politics and diplomacy of the world, being usually too few and too poorly armed to hold their own against any civilized faction. More often, tribes close to these factions are absorbed into them, become their vassals, or are driven out by them, depending on the tribe and the civilized faction.