<aside> 📜 Note: This section is, in the dev team’s opinion, too long & detailed; it will, at some point in the future, be streamlined down into something closer to 2500 words. Until then, if you don’t want to read through the whole thing, you can refer to the TL;DR & Visual References portions for a primer.
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Rivermark garb is shaped by the Kingdom’s environment, its people, and its rulers. Marcher clothing tends to be practical in cut, with simple and clean lines, but luxurious wherever possible in material and decoration. They favor warm colors, from bright reds and golds to more humble ochres and browns, though many outfits have at least one bit of decoration in a bright blue that symbolizes the nation’s love and respect for the Rothlin River. The general aesthetic is “early to high medieval,” with a love of jewelry and rich fabric, and always with at least one garment fashioned of their signature tartans and plaids.
Celtic, Arthurian, Medieval, Bardic, Prosperous, Noble, Proud, Regal, Glorious, Powerful, Resilient
High fantasy, Arthurian knights & myths, medieval English historical garb, Scottish highlanders, Celtic motifs, Irish myths
https://www.pinterest.com/veilguardlarp/kingdom-of-rivermark/ (a Pinterest board for garb and aesthetic inspiration.)
Rivermark garb tends to be extremely warm in color, featuring bright reds, oranges, yellows, and whites, as well as more muted maroons, ochres, golds, browns, and blacks. Brighter colors tend to be worn by more prosperous individuals, though considering how much coin flows through the Kingdom it’s not uncommon for a peasant to have at least one brightly-hued outfit.
The few cool colors that creep into Marcher wardrobes are often small trinkets or bits of embroidery, and never any kind of garment itself. Bright blue spirals, river motifs, and Celtic knotwork are some of the most common of these decorations, frequently embroidered on a brown or black background.
Marcher garb tends to avoid having multi-colored patterns in it except for plaid. Whenever there is a pattern woven into a garment, such as a fancy brocade, it tends to be a slightly lighter or darker shade of the base color of the fabric rather than a highly-contrasting color, making it an understated but still clear sign of wealth. Where they do use contrasting colors in the same garment it tends to be mi-parti (multi-part) outer garments with panels of different-colored fabrics stitched next to each other, such as in the front panels of a tabard or tunic, or a cloak or chaperon being fashioned in two halves of different colors.
The people of Rivermark do not have easy access to cotton due to the cooler climates experienced in the Kingdom; when traveling to warmer climates Marchers rely on imported fabric for their cotton garments. Flax grows well in the sandy loam closer to the ocean but due to flax’s tendency to deplete the soil it is heavily regulated, and thus linen clothing tends to be a sign of wealth and status. On the other hand, the flocks of sheep and cattle tended to by the Cairnfolk provide large quantities of wool and leather, and therefore many Marchers rely upon these materials to keeps themselves clothed. Particularly expensive woven fabrics like velvet are often found in the clothes of wealthy Marchers; brocade and other patterned fabrics are common in trim for such garments when fur isn’t used.
Functionally, for your soft kit (i.e. clothing) you’ll want to use linen and wool as your primary fabrics, though if money is tight you can absolutely still use cotton. Generally, you’ll want to have linen or cotton as an underlayer against the skin, and then wool as an outer layer over the top, though this is more a matter of comfort and ease of maintenance for your clothing rather than a hard rule that you must follow.
Leather isn’t a major part of Rivermark soft kit outside of the leather jerkins sometimes worn by Cairnfolk, though all Marchers like to wear finely-tooled leather belts and accessories, often decorated with Celtic knotwork designs. Furs are used as decorative trim, and sheepskin pelts are frequently used for insulation in cold weather, either on their own and wrapped around the shoulders or stitched onto a cloak.
Rivermark fashion has been deeply affected by the Crowns’ taste over the past century for simple, warrior-like outfits. While Dalean City-fashion has gone through intense innovation and experimentation with fancy slashes and puffed sleeves, Marcher nobles (and thus everyone else in Marcher society) have imitated the Crown and kept to a much more conservative set of tunic, simple pants, and tabard or surcoat as the basic standard for their garments, adding embellishments via jewelry and expensive materials but keeping the basic cut of their clothing much simpler than their neighbors to the southwest.
The basic layers of a Marcher outfit are a tunic; a pair of pants; a tabard; and, if it’s cold, raining, or particularly sunny, a kind of hooded mantle called a chaperon. Another tunic, a surcoat, and/or a bliaut are worn as a second layer, and great cloaks or ruannas are thrown over the top of everything if the person is still cold.
For those seeking a more feminine look, a long tunic-style dress forms the base layer, with an over-dress or bliaut of a contrasting color worn over it; a fancy belt or sash is used to cinch the outfit in at the waist. Any shaping garments such as corsets or stays are worn beneath the outer layer of the outfit. Wimples or veils held on the head by a circlet, cord, or pins are common feminine headwear amongst the wealthy and nobility, worn for their regal appearance rather than any societal expectation of modesty.
Cairnfolk frequently dress in a manner matching the national fashion, but they have their own cultural garb that some of them prefer, especially in the cold and damp of their highland homes. Rather than the long surcoats or tabards of the Rivelin outfit, they wear sleeveless jerkins or doublets similar to what Daleans prefer, and a plaid kilt instead of pants, complete with a sporran pouch. Some add a great kilt on top of this instead of a cloak or ruanna during the autumn and winter, wrapping themselves in yards of fabric to keep warm.
The magic-focused Archetypes of Rivermark tend to wear robes, long-sleeved outer garments that go down to the knees or lower (what you would probably think of as “wizard robes”). The color(s) and decorations on these garments vary dramatically depending on the mage and their position in society.
If you are playing a character from Rivermark, you must wear some form of plaid fabric to signify your membership in the nation. This can be a fly plaid, a full plaid, a belted plaid/great kilt, a plaid cloak or cape, or a plaid belt flag that is clearly visible hanging from or wrapped around your waist. Ideally, the colors of the plaid should match any other tartan that you are wearing elsewhere in your outfit; however, this is an aspirational goal rather than a baseline requirement. The colors of your plaid do not have to match the Rivermark national heraldry or the national color pallette; if you want to wear a blue, green, and purple plaid, that is acceptable, so long as the rest of your garb mostly matches the Rivermark brief.
Rivermarker footwear tends to be designed for cold and wet conditions, and for the noble or knightly classes for riding horses. Tall boots are very common, preferably designed to keep water out should they step in a particularly deep puddle, and every Marcher household has multiple pairs of well-oiled and -waxed boots (or even rubber galoshes, if you can make them look decorum) that go up to the knee for when the rain is really coming down outside. Knights and martially-inclined nobles often wears boots with a notably higher-than-average heel, the better to fit in stirrups. Rich Ponters and nobles without any interest in showing martial prowess often wear slippers or fancy shoes to show off their wealth and the fact that they don’t have to worry about stepping in mud — though even these folk will still have a pair of galoshes waiting for them at the door should they ever actually need to go out in the rain.
The Kingdom is rich. Its economy is thriving spectacularly, especially in the current age, and even peasants often have enough coin to spare to buy themselves some nice jewelry. Marchers may not have very diverse fashion choices for the cut of their clothing, but they make up for it with the amount of gold, silver, and gems that they sport on their persons. Jewelry styles tend towards the chunky and gaudy, showing off wealth through sheer quantity of precious metal and gems.
There are many different forms that jewelry takes in Rivermark fashion. Rings, amulets, and brooches are by far the most common, but plaque belts, livery collars, torcs, armbands, and hat pins are also fair game for making into displays of wealth and status. However, every Marcher wears some form of silver jewelry on their right wrist, to let them test anyone they meet for lycanthropy; this can take the form of a bracelet, a torc, or just a simple silver medallion on a leather cord.
Motifs that are common in jewelry vary between medieval heraldic ones (lions, eagles, dragons, etc.) and Celtic knotwork and spirals. Cairnfolk tend to prefer more abstract designs and motifs, while Rivelin tend to like clear heraldic animals (particularly wolves and dragons) or geometric designs, preferably embellished by precious stones, but the two styles blend together regularly within a single outfit. Religious iconography is also frequently seen in Rivermark jewelry, regardless of how devout the person wearing it might be. (Note that this is not Christian crosses or other real-world religious symbols, but rather emblems of the True Gods and their Saints; check before you buy anything that it doesn’t have any clear cross iconography on it.)
Large Rivermark camps tend to look like there’s a tourney going on, regardless of what they’re actually there for, full of colorful flags and tents, armor and weapon racks, and tasteful but rich decorations such as tapestries and rugs. Cairnfolk and lower-class Rivelin often prefer to keep things a bit more practical, but even they like to keep up appearances where they can, ensuring that roads are kept clear, their House and Clann heraldry or flags are on full display, and that their tents are both clean and as well-appointed as they can afford.
Armor is a common sight in Rivermark, and tends to be the most flamboyant and decorated piece of a warrior’s kit. The warrior ethos in the Kingdom makes armor a fashion statement as much as it is protection, and it’s not unusual to see nobles or Knights at court wearing half-plate or some other form of armor as part of their outfits. The Marchers have developed a number of techniques to protect their armor from the ravages of water and time, and armor will often get passed down in a family for generations, altered and repaired as necessary but rarely being scrapped entirely.
Any Marcher with martial inclinations will have a Light Armor gambeson, which they wear underneath heavier armor or just as an extra layer of protection and insulation when out and about. What armor they possess beyond that depends upon their economic means and place within the Kingdom’s military forces.
Medium Armor in the Kingdom takes two forms: either a hardened leather breastplate, greaves, and bracers, worn primarily by Cairnfolk Reivers, or a chain hauberk and coif, worn by any other warriors who want more protection than a gambeson but either aren’t trained in wearing Heavy Armor or are too poor to afford a suit of it.
Heavy Armor tends to be either brigandine (or coat of plates), worn by Galloglaich, or half- or full plate, worn by Knights. Galloglaich always prefer practicality over style in their armor, while Knights tend to prefer armor that looks knightly, even if it’s not always easy to move in or maintain. Suits of full or half plate tend to be decorated richly, either having elaborate curves and shapes to them or decorative etchings and inscriptions. Plain and functional plate armor is rare in the Kingdom, though it does show up occasionally, especially in the possession of Knights who are new to their calling or don’t have patrons or parents to give them a more elaborate suit of armor.
Metallic lamellar is never worn, no matter how practical or economical it might be; Marchers view it as too similar to the armor worn by their rivals in Iskaldur and Tomarr, and will go to great lengths to wear “more civilized” forms of armor to quietly show their superiority.
Swords are the weapon of choice in Rivermark, either the straight and broad one-handed arming swords used by Knights and Reivers both or the massive claymores of the Cairnfolk. Polearms such as halberds, Dane axes, and pikes are often used by Galloglaich, preferably in massive formations to tear apart any enemies who get too close. Hammers and maces are common side-arms of many on the lower end of the economic spectrum, and particularly for Scalmirks. Daggers are frequently worn by folk of all classes, and tend to be gaudy pieces if their owner can afford it — a daggers is usually the first weapon that a Marcher will purchase with gems in its hilt or scabbard.
Bows are not terribly common amongst Marchers. Reivers are the only warriors who use them with any frequency; they prefer longbows over shortbows, the better to snipe prey from across the moors or atop a mountain ridge. Scalmirks have been known to make use of crossbows, preferring the more compact and powerful design for the jobs they often take inside urban areas, though they almost never have reason to use such weapons in a military context.
Shields are very common amongst the fighters of Rivermark; if they aren’t wielding a Heavy Weapon in both hands, they’ll likely have a Medium Weapon in one hand and either a Shield or a Buckler in the other. Buckler-and-broadsword is a favorite combination of many Reivers (they call their small shields “targes”), and quite a few mages who go out into battle with a Rod and Buckler. Knights and other fighters who are trained in how to wield larger shields tend to prefer kite shields where possible, disdaining the round shields of their Iskaldur rivals. However, just like the Skaldings, Marchers view their shields as important symbols of personal identity, and (with the exception of Knight Errants) frequently paint their House, Clann, or personal heraldry onto their shields as a sign of pride and a source of power.
Mage Armor in Rivermark is usually built on and around a tabard painted or embroidered with the symbols of the mage’s Magical Tradition. Bracers and a hood or headband adorned with similar symbols are worn to complete the suit of armor. Riversages wear black or dark red Mage Armor inscribed or embroidered with bright blue spirals and knotwork, as well as talismans of their God and favorite Saint(s). Scriveners prefer Runic inscriptions for their Mage Armor, whether stitched onto cloth, inscribed in metal or leather, or written on parchment that’s then pinned to clothing. Filidhean and other mages in the Kingdom tend to use heraldic Osteomantic imagery in their Mage Armor, incorporating images of wolves, dragons, bears, and other noble and terrible beasts.
Implements either have a noble and majestic appearance, adorned with gold and gems in addition to any magical symbols, or lean heavily into the Cairnfolk tradition of knotwork inscriptions and blue spirals and river motifs. Staves in particular tend to be well-ornamented, and are frequently small works of art used strictly for ritual magic and never for combat, though quite a few battlemages keep a second Stave on hand that’s more utilitarian for when they do need to fight.