Basic Information
Taken from and old Gaelic word for "lad" or "servant", a ghillie, or gillie is a Scots term for a kind of hunting guide. Originally a ghillie was an attendant to a Highland Chief; but the term came to be used for a servant who attends on a hunting or fishing trip. A ghillie would also in some cases act as a gamekeeper, hired to protect a landowner's property from poachers and other predators.
The position also gives its name to the ghillie suit which was developed from the suits of camouflage material worn for deer-stalking in the Scottish Highlands.
See also
- Huntsman
- The Ghillie Dubh - a Green Man figure from Scottish myth.
Sources
Game and Story Use
- A ghillie could be a possible occupation for a Devoted Servant NPC to a character with aristocratic background.
- Or for that matter, a PC could well be a ghillie.
- PC's in a campaign set in the Victorian Era or earlier who go travelling in the Scottish Highlands will undoubtably encounter a ghillie or two.