Powerful Picts recalled in new role-playing game
Concept art from the new game
- Published
A time when the Picts were a powerful political force in what is now Scotland has been recreated in a new table-top role-playing game.
Carved in Stone draws on the latest archaeological research and excavations of Pictish sites that go back 1,300 years.
They include this year's dig of Burghead Fort in Moray.
Edinburgh-based game design company Dungeons on a Dime and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland’s Dig It! project are developing Carved in Stone.
An artist's impression of the Picts' King Bridei
Table-top role-playing games see players take on the role of characters in a story. Dungeons and Dragons is among the best-known of these types of games.
Carved in Stone covers the period just after the Battle of Dun Nechtain, also known as the Battle of Nechtansmere, in 685 AD when the Picts, led by King Bridei, defeated an army of Northumbrian Angles.
The battle is believed to have been fought at Dunnichen near Forfar in Angus.
The Picts created intricately-decorated standing stones and also constructed impressive hill forts to defend themselves against rival tribes and invaders. Their stones and the remains of their hillforts have been found across Scotland, including the Highlands, Perthshire and Aberdeenshire.
The Picts battled against the Romans, Angles and the Vikings.
A reconstruction of Burghead Fort
Dan MacLean, of Aberdeen University's Northern Picts Project, said Scotland was experiencing an "archaeological revolution" in terms of understanding Pictish kingdoms.
He said: "Excavations and project work by universities, commercial companies and community groups and museums are writing a new and exciting chapter in Scottish history.
"Carved in Stone lets you get in on the action - just in time for Scotland's Year of Stories 2022."
A crowdfunding campaign has been launched to help pay for the publication of the game, and copies are to be made available as an educational resource.