The North

The land north of Hadrian's Wall has been known as Caledonia since Roman times. It is surrounded on the east by the North Sea, on the north by the Icelandic Sea and on the west by the North Channel. It is a wild land - full of adventure.

Only four "proper" kingdoms exist in Caledonia, Gorre, Garloth, Lothian, and Strangorre, with Lothian being the most influential, wealthy, and powerful. In these lands a knight can be confident that the people follow most of the normal customs found in Logres. However, even in these lands differences to Logres are marked. Most of the people are Pagan. The land is, for the most part, wilder and the commoner's life is harsher. Cattle and sheep herding is the main type of farming; little of the land is arable, so few towns or cities exist

Apart from those relatively normal feudal lands, the kingdoms of Caledonia follow an older, less sophisticated way of life. In most, all civilizing influence is completely unknown. The people live in a way which has remained unchanged for hundreds of years. Life is bleak, harsh and dangerous. Commoners do not farm. Instead they herd cattle and sheep from pasture to pasture. A few kingdoms are at least beginning to accept and adopt the ways of Feudalism.

Settlements
People live in cities, towns, hillforts, villages and hamlets. Cities are much rarer than in Logres. Towns are usually in the lowlands and are often clustered around a castle for protection. Hillforts are much more widespread than elsewhere in Britain. Though most are long abandoned, many are still occupied and in effect form small towns - especially for the wild Picts. Villages cluster around the towns in farming areas. Hamlets are the seasonally used huts in the hills and Highlands. They are the homes of the tribes who herd their animals in the high pasture land in summer. They are always small as the lands cannot support many.

Castles
Castles are not as widespread as they are in Logres. They are mostly found in the south of the region and few are impressive or modem. Most are flimsy motte and baileys.

Even these, though, are better than the hillforts which serve as defenses for many, especially the Picts. The Picts have hardly a castle to their name. They also use strange towers, called brochs, which are cold, cramped and cheerless.

Settled Areas
These are almost the same as those found throughout Britain. Towns and villages throughout the lowlands are surrounded by ploughed fields. The earth is less fertile than that of Logres and the crops grow thin and sickly. In the Highlands, settlements are clustered in the river valleys but their fields are smaller and poorer still.

Forests
Vast, thick forests cover Caledonia. The greatest single forest is the massive Caledonian Forest. It is extremely dense and virtually impassable to knights, who would struggle to even walk their horses through. Like the forests in Logres, the heartlands of the forests are within the demesne of Faerie. Unless one wants to provoke a confrontation with the denizens of the Otherworld they should be avoided.