A tunic is a long overgarment, much like a shirt which stretches down to the knees. It was worn with a belt around the waist. Any similarity to the modern skirt is entirely coincidental.
A stola is the sort of dress worn by the higher class Roman woman. It’s generally made of nice, brightly colored fabric (like silk or cotton).
The garb of choice for the Roman gentleman. It’s folded from a long, semi-circular piece of cloth, not a bedsheet, as frat houses would have us believe.
The 0 AD equivalent of a nice, warm jacket. A cloak is a heavy sheet of cloth affixed around the neck with a clasp (called a fibulae).
Even 2000 years ago, regular people (both Romans and Celts) could take great comfort in a nice pair of pants. Britannians preferred plaid.
Shirts, sometimes plaid, sometimes not, were frequently worn by Celtic peoples. That is, worn when they didn’t bare their chests and paint them blue.
Druids, the holy men of the ancient Celts, are thought to have worn long robes, much like these.
This isn’t actually armor, but a heavy leather jerkin, which will absorb some of the blows you take in combat. Neither Romans nor Celts generally wore anything like this in battle. Of course, the Celts usually fought nearly naked.
Roman soldiers often wore scale mail in combat. This was a leather jerkin with pieces of overlapping metal attached. In Nethergate, this is referred to as studded leather armor.
Both Romans and wealthy Celts wore chain mail in battle. This is a jacket made of intricately interwoven metal rings. It’s very heavy, and it’s about as strong armor as you can get.
Both Roman soldiers and Celts often carried daggers, vicious stabbing weapons with blades 8 to 10 inches long. Very effective in close quarters.
Swords were the weapon of choice for most warriors at the time. They were used for both slashing and stabbing and had blades from 12 to 22 inches long. The blades were usually made of iron, though bronze was sometimes used.
A spear is a roughly six foot long piece of wood with an iron blade at the tip, often weighted with lead. They were very popular in combat, on the grounds that it’s often a bright idea to hit your enemy before he even gets near you.
This axe wasn’t made for chopping wood, but for chopping heads. It consists of a large double blade, set on a heavy wooden handle.
The weapon of choice for the berserker on a budget. It’s basically a technologically advanced stick, made of carved and polished hardwood. Sometimes molten lead or other metal is used to give it some extra heft.
Once, it was a proud part of a tree. Now, it’s lonely and alone. If you’re desperate, you can clonk someone on the head with it.
The Celts’ religious practices are thought to occasionally run towards the gory, including bloody sacrifices of animals, and, possibly, humans. This decorated knife is used for these sorts of unpleasant events.
Not as nasty as most of the knives you’ll encounter. Used for carving up carrots, not foes.
In skilled hands, a good, stout walking staff can serve as a vicious weapon. Reference well documented riverside duel between Daffy Duck and Porky Pig.
A good, solid weight at the end of a stick can be a great aid for crushing rocks, forging blades, and, if need be, fighting your enemies.
It is known that the sling was a popular weapon in Britannia. Hordes of slingstones from that period have been found. Bows and arrows, by the way, were used on the continent.
Javelins, wooden shafts with soft iron tips, were the missile weapon of choice for the Roman soldiers. Most soldiers carried three javelins with them into battle.
You have no idea what this funny looking wood and crystal thing is. It’s beautifully made, though. You think if you point one end at a foe and press this other little thing on the handle, the foe will get hurt.
Formed when the Earth cooled, this exciting piece of stone has been busy ever since helping to provide ground for you to stand on. It’s a lovely shade of gray. Also, it can be flung at someone’s head.
Both Romans and Celts wore a wide variety of boots and sandals, often made of leather, in order to protect their feet from the chilly Britannian climate.
This is a small round shield (or clipeus), sometimes worn strapped to an arm, sometimes held by a handle in the middle. The design provides less protection than the full length body shields, but it’s lighter and easier to maneuver.
This style of long, oval body shield (called a scutum by the Romans) is favored in combat by both Roman soldiers (along with armor) and Celtic warriors (along with not much else).
While, by this time, most Romans were able to use metal helmets, sometimes the poorer Celts resorted to wearing head protection made of thick, sturdy leather. Better than nothing.
Both Roman and Celtic warriors protected their delicate skulls with caps made from iron and bronze. They often had side flaps to protect the sides of the face.
Leather gloves can protect your hands from the hard blows of combat. They also prevent blisters, and, of course, painful, painful chafing.
The sack is laden with the rich fruits of the harvest, waiting to be ground in a quern and made into delicious bread. It’s quite heavy, but someone will probably give you a few coins for it.
Both Romans and Celts used that most basic of tableware: the bowl. They were made of both wood and clay. Fired, glazed pottery bowls were not common, but such quality wares did see use.
Everyone loved their wine, and people generally served in from pitchers such as this. Sometimes they were clay, sometimes metal. Wealthier households used finely decorated metal flagons.
Cloth was a popular trade good, and was a key ingredient in such staples of civilization as nice pants. It was usually made from wool and beaten flax and hemp, although cotton and silk were not unknown.
A fibulae is a clasp, used to hold a cloak around someone’s neck. They could be made of precious metals and be quite fancy.
This is a tool for iron and bronze working, a highly useful and well developed craft for both the Romans and the Britannians. In fact, it was the timely development of iron which helped the Celts spread rapidly over all of Europe.
Buckets are marvelous, multi-purpose containers. They can carry all manner of liquids and can, in a pinch, serve as a toilet in crowded barracks.
A flagon is a type of pitcher, often used to serve wine. Wine was the chief beverage, trade good, religious offering, and recreational activity of the time, both for Romans and Celts.
Blow on it and it makes a loud noise. Not recommended near peacefully sleeping Emperors.
Amphorae were the jugs used for transporting and storing large amounts of that incredibly significant liquid: wine. No gentleman’s kitchen was complete without several of these things propped up in the corner.
A device which produces light through the igniting of a wick suspended in a container of oil. Of great assistance when delving into some incredibly dangerous dungeon or other.
A sack of feathers, leaves, or other soft material, upon which one’s head can rest while sleeping. Probably not too useful in a fight, though it can keep your neck from getting sore afterwards.
This is a stone bowl (mortar) and a long, thin piece of stone (pestle). It’s used to grind up herbs, pepper, and the like. They’re quite useful in modern life too, if, like me, you’re too lazy to go out and buy a pepper grinder.
Romans didn’t make their paper from wood pulp. Instead, they used papyrus, which was made from a water plant which grew primarily in the Nile. They also wrote on vellum, which was the treated skin of certain unlucky farm animals.
This is a papyrus scroll. Something has been written on it. Use it (by clicking on it) to read it.
In ancient times as now, dice were a popular tool for gambling. Not much is known about the actual games which they played, though.
The Romans didn’t have soap. To do serious cleaning, they would coat themselves with oil and scrape it off with a metal or wood implement, called a strigil. Let’s all give thanks for soap.
Medical treatments in ancient times were crude, but not nonexistent. Surgeons did exist, and they were, sometimes, better than nothing. Surgery was performed, although it was only somewhat effective, and, of course, agonizingly painful.
This is a simple, ordinary household needle.
This is a spool of crudely dyed thread.
This is a small gardening implement. It could come in handy much later, after you retire from your dangerous lifestyle.
These are the dry, pitiful mortal remains of some unfortunate person. They are dry and clean, and now serve mainly as a grisly souvenir or decoration.
Neither the Romans nor the Celts were known for their attention to human rights. Both kept slaves, and neither were above a bit of corporal punishment when it seemed appropriate.
This is a quill pen and a pot of ink, made of carbon, gum, and water. Many Romans could read and write. Some Celts could, but literate tribes were scarce.
The Celts were very fond of jewelry, and both men and women wore it. Both Celts and Roman women liked to wear earrings, often of beaten gold and silver.
Customs may change. Beliefs are malleable. Ideas are found and lost. But the need to occasionally take out the trash is eternal.
This is a rough beeswax candle, which can provide dim light during your dungeon explorations.
Tin and lead were two of Britannia’s most valuable exports. They mined these metals and traded them with the Romans for wine, glass, and other trade goods.
Some silver was mined on the isle of Britannia, and traded to the Romans for wine, glass, and other trade goods.
Then as now, precious gemstones were valued and traded about. They were kept as wealth and used in jewelry.
Both Romans and Celts were fond of jewelry. Rings were popular items, plain and covered with designs, and made of bronze, silver, gold, copper, and other precious metals.
Both Romans and Celts wore beautiful bracelets made of silver, gold, and other metals. The Celts’ skill at metalwork was considerable, so much so that when archaeologists first found Celtic jewelry, they thought it must have all been imported.
Necklaces were another piece of jewelry favored by both Romans and Celts. They were made of gold, silver, and other metals, strung beads, and other eye-pleasing materials.
A torc was a type of jewelry much favored by the Celts. It was a round piece of metal, usually gold or silver, worn around the neck.
Woad is a blue dye, made from a plant in the mustard family. It it used to give Celtic warriors their distinctive blue markings before battle. In NetherGate, use of woad helps Celtic warriors achieve their trademark berserk rage.
Mistletoe is a parasitic plant which grows on trees, such as oak. It is said to have been sacred to the ancient druids, who used it in their rituals.
Because of their lack of modern medicine, the ancients had to be aware of the healing properties of the local flora. Of course, some herbs were used more because of superstition than of any actual healing properties.
There is some evidence that Romans used wine infused with herbs of drugs in their rituals. Opiates and henbane were definitely used, for pain killing and perhaps recreation. Needless to say, such behavior is frowned upon now.
These are herbs known for their energizing, invigorating properties. Not exactly coffee beans, but that’s the sort of thing we’re talking about.
This is a small bottle of weak potion. It was made using the arcane techniques of Shadowvale, and thus drinking it will have some sort of immediate effect.
This is a small bottle of thick, strong potion. It was made using some of the more powerful, arcane techniques of Shadowvale, and thus drinking it will have some sort of immediate effect.
This is a scroll, written on vellum (soft, treated animal skin) of very high quality. Runes have been carefully painted on it in metallic ink. You think that if you read them, something very interesting would happen.
This is a ring made of precious metal, not unlike the rings popular throughout Roman and Celtic lands. This ring, however, is exceptionally beautifully made, and is sparkles more than you would expect in the light.
This is a long, slender piece of wood (or bone, or horn, or ebony), polished and carved with elegant designs and runes. It’s a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. It’s also slightly warm to the touch.
This is a beautifully made pair of leather gloves.
This is a pair of boots, made of very thick leather. Iron studs have been set in the soles, and the insides are lined with fur.
This is a beautiful bracelet, made of precious metal. It’s a Celtic design, and represents the highest levels of craftsmanship attained by the Britannian people.
This necklace is an excellent piece of craftsmanship. It looks brand new, as if nobody has worn it at all. Looking at it, you start to feel a strange, persistent urge to pick it up and put it on.
This seems like an ordinary item. At first. The more you look at it, though, the more interesting it seems. It fascinates you, although you can’t be sure why. You have a hard time pulling your eyes away.
This is a sack, filled with medicinal herbs, bandages, wind and turpentine for sterilization, and crude surgical instruments, in other words, the standard medical equipment at the time. Having this item helps you perform First Aid.
This is a polished stone, about the size of the palm of your hand, carved into a ‘+’ shape.
This is an embryonic spear, waiting for a suitably inclined and talented person with a long piece of wood to elevate it into true, full spearness.
Neither Romans nor Celts used knives and forks when eating. They mainly ate with their hands, although they also used spoons, bowls, and plates.
This is a very powerful magical unguent, white, creamy, and very pleasant smelling. It is used for certain obscure Shadowvale rituals having to do with the raising of the dead.
This is a long, thin piece of metal with a hook at one end, suitable for opening a lock when one doesn’t have the key. The Romans were able to make locks, although the Celts were not so mechanically inclined.
This is a stick with pitch-soaked rags wrapped tightly around one end. When lit, it provides more light than a candle but less than a lamp.
