10 Tribes of Technobarbarians & their Ancient Artifacts

Each tribe of Technobarbarians holds and defends an ancient megalith or advanced machine from the times before savagery. Make no mistake, these are barbarians and their main skill is always in warfare; but each tribe has a special technological skill that has been passed down through the generations. To the fellow survivors and hardy wasters of the post-apocalypse, these may as well be sorceries.

Art @Jimmy Duda

[1] Arcologia

Skill- Nutrition and Sanitation.

These barbarians live nomadic lives on the “holy mountain”, which they claim is the center of the world and the great pole that the sun rotates around each day. The mountain is a massive arcology; a humongous internal city-scape where a citizen of the before times may live their entire lives without needing to step outside. The doorways into this super structure are thankfully closed; nobody knows what sort of horrible descendants of the rich advanced people that once lived within have left behind, or how many robotic servants may still be lurking in those dark halls.

[2] Protectors

Skill- Computer Science & Robotics (mostly in how to destroy them)

These barbarians live around a dark pit, within which is the core of an evil super-computer hyper intelligence. This machine hates all living things, and is encased in something no primitive human tool can pierce, but is thankfully powerless. It can only make threats. Routinely cursing and describing in great details the tortures it will inflict upon the tribe if they don't help regain its power; they have become steadfast in defending this relic from evil hands. These barbarians are highly suspicious of and destroy any technology coming within their territory, as they vaguely know that the super computer can interface with technology to regain functions or go beyond its otherwise powerless physical shell.

[3] Mirroiands

Skill- Solar Energy Capture

In a hot desert waste, these barbarians protect a great refraction tower of solar energy. At the top of this tower is where their Sun-Shamans can aim the great discs, creating beams of heat during the hottest parts of the day to incinerate those who march against this tribe, to fry birds for food, or to help forge slag metal dragged from ancient derelicts into useful iron for tools. These barbarians are ruled by these Sun-Shamans, who are always blind. While those who are born blind are preferred for the role, everyone who becomes a Sun-Shaman eventually goes blind anyway from the intense light and glare of these magic solar reflection array. They don't actually need to be able to see to use the array however; helpful accessibility controls built in from the time before mean that the blind can aim it just as well as anyone else.

[4] Arcadians

Skill- Herbology and Husbandry

These barbarians are mostly settled; they live in a harsh land with a secret canyon. Within this canyons are thousands of ridges, cliff sides, and faces fitted with tubs lined with an unusual, artificial material no human can name in this age (plastic). Within the tubs are thousands of plants, vines, and miniature trees which bare the fruit of a thousand varieties. They grow without dirt, water is simply moved through the system endlessly and moving over their roots like sorcery. The barbarians here are becoming a thriving farming civilization, but must defend their homeland and its secret garden at all costs, as it is too tempting a prize for enemy powers to try and steal.

[5] Sky-Watchers

Skill- Astronomy; can navigate by watching the night sky.

In a land of falling meteorites, these barbarians live on the move. Every few weeks, meteors crash in the desert landscape, causing explosions and great tremors on the night they fall. These meteors come from the sky; made of metal and glass, with complex construction that mimics that of the advanced peoples that were before the times of savages. These objects remain hot for days on end after falling; the barbarians crowd around them at night to stave off the desert's cold. Within these fallen stars are occasional glowing objects, packages of strange tasting food, sometimes even advanced weapons or the bones of a person from before. It is equal parts exciting and frightening to open a fallen star; they are known by the Sky-Watchers as Caskets of the Sky.

[6] Hivers

Skill- Aeronautics. (They can design parachutes and gliders)

These barbarians are more nomadic then the others, and their technological wonder is mobile. It is a massive swarm of tiny flying machines which buzz like insects. They follow the holder of the sacred scroll, which is a baton of lights that directs the swarm to both the motions and mental commands of its wielder- the heart-rate monitor in the handle can cause them to fly in to protect the holder, for example. The drone swarm must remain within a few miles of the spread out radio towers in the region, but is otherwise free to move anywhere the commander wishes, and they often hide it within caves or on the top of every tree and fallen ruins at night. The drone swarm is terrifying to behold, nearly immune to your arrow fire, and can rip a man apart or carry him into the sky to be stolen away or dropped to his death, which is the traditional method of execution for those who break the tribal taboos.

[7] Homemakers

Skill- Domestic

This is a small tribe of barbarians living within the ruin of a long forgotten city- without natural sources of water or game to hunt nearby this ancient spot of civilization, it is not valuable land. These barbarians mostly protect a single residence; a house from the before time. Its walls all still stand, its windows clean and sparkling. There is a square of perfect green grass kept around the house at all times in the year, water that shouts from tiny devices in the grass which the tribe collects when the rains refuse to come. The house is always well painted and locked at night. The barbarians both fear and respect the false man inside- he appears in the shape of a man, but with transparent skin like water frozen in place. The man has never attacked them, but it can shatter chains and stone with its hands, and does so to remove anything put on the outside of the house by the tribe. The robot is only active at night, which is when the barbarians marvel at the electric lights or “frozen fires” as they call them that line the residence's walls and pour out from its windows.

[8] False Tree Tribe

Skill- Radio Signals & Climbing

Around a forest of dead and dying trees, ancient gray husks from the olden days, these barbarians hold to be holy a fake tree. Near the center of this woodland is a tree with a bold brown trunk, with bright green leaves arranged in symmetrical patterns. Every day this tree moves slightly; releasing and intaking huge quantities of gas all at once, gaining power by the sunlight that hits its artifical glass leaves. It also emits a high pitched buzzing sound that causes the dogs in the barbarians' camp to go wild for a few minutes; the signals stop after a moment. These barbarians tell their young to climb as high as they dare, and up in the branches they stay as still as they can and hold on tight as the signals during that time of day blast their brains and make them wobble and speak in riddles for a day or two after exposure. This is a rite of passage by the barbarians, and many future events as have ordained from these oracles. However, the children who climb too high or become too unsteady will fall to their death; as such the ritual is always dangerous.

[9] Replayers

Skill- History & Costuming

This tribe lives around a small square pedestal made of metal that was deployed in the center of a stony field. In front of this pedestal is a large square expanse, about 50 ft each direction, which is cordoned off with stones and ropes put up by the tribe as holy ground. Anyone who enters this field is said to be disturbing the spirits that sleep within. The leader of this tribe has access to four special “tapes” which, if placed into the pedestal, make a frozen image appear in the holy square. This image are like people and things stuck in place, all from the time before, a hologram that the barbarians believe are spirits frozen in place and time. The first tape shows a beautiful park with grass and trees, among them children playing with a feast of food on a table and on several unusual cooking devices. This is believed to be heaven that the tribesmen who die in glorious battle may be allowed to join if they prove themselves. The other three tapes show times of warfare frozen in time; warriors in metal using weapons similar to the barbarians, warriors in trenches and giant metal wagons rolling over muddy ground, and the third being an advanced war with glass and plastics formed into strangely shaped rods with bright flashes of light emitting out the ends. These three tapes are considered hell and intruders or prisoners of war are sacrificed within these scenes of destruction; as the tribe thinks they will trap their souls within them and bring more power to their warrior clan.

[10] Mattori

Skill- Weaving & Leathermaking

Outside of a lowly fabrication factory, this barbarian tribe roams. The old factory still functions, but is severely limited in what it can achieve. Once a touch-screen display could create custom rugs, mats, throw pillows, and other homely decor options on demand for costumers. Now the dye wells are long dry and the material chute is empty; except for what the barbarians put in. Killing and skinning intruders and tribal enemies alive; filling the dye reserves with their blood and pushing the button, these barbarians create brutal constructs of woven skin and hair, sprayed and painted with blood by using this gruesome factory. Around the entrances to their land they have plastered these as warnings to all who dare approach.