equil-es the use of the Dungeons & Dragons® Player's Handbook, Third Edition, published by Wizards of the Coast®
ro Tales of the
•
rse Gods
An Adventu Module for High Level Characters
'D2.0 Sptem' ~nd the '1)2.0 Spl('m' logo are Tradrmdr1c.s own e d by \\\ldrJ~ of the C(l,'~l .ll1d
olfe
UM·.:! ",~eordlllg to th~ terms of rb ... [l2.u
System Liel'lIse version I .U, A cop>' o( thi~ License "m b c found at WW"."'Ldrd~.col11, T he Open Game Contrnl
In
this h..1<,k includes gdmr rules, charact er ~nJ crcarurc sIJlI'U,'" .lIId SIIll1lM mJI,'r'JI usmg th .. \)2.0 S\"SICIll. Th,s
content rv d..noted by it s pl~ee1l1rm In rhe siJebar ~lyl ...1"",11 below, In ,IJJllltln, .tll of PArt Om' IS considered Open Game Conto>nl, as IS d"y tcxr III BolJ " lIlit ,ypt'f~re. rh e Open GJ.mc Lie euse do.... nOi cover rhc rnt of the text ll<;lT ,ts I'rrwntJtlon J.S ;t ",mpl..te work. \\'ith the exc..puon of rhe Open Game Coerenr. r('production of th,s work" «hour the wmren 1"'rmlHIon of the CopvTlght Holder IS d. \"tolJ.lion of ,opvTlghl IJ"',
Opt" Coerenr
• 'ot - Open Con tent
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ln rrodurr io n
.
Th e Mvth of Ragnarok , \\'h.lt You Need to Pl.n' Us ing
(h l ~
Prod uct Th C' Rol es of God~ H lsto ri':.ll M vrh
Part I : The RAce of Lesser God s In th e Begmnmg. , , . Divine Abil it ies Alignment ,md Gl'nder Cons ide r,HlOns Ou tfi tti ng the ChJr.l.-ur
Equip.nenr Resrncucns
The Lesser R.l
T
Parr 2: The Campaign H l st O T\ '
~I y t h
and ReJIlty Weapo ns and \\'Jrfu e Norse :--': ,1\".11 C.lpabd ltles Berserker Women Rt"iiglOn The Com ing of Chrm i.ln n~· T he Worl ds of Ygg JrJ:' 11
Al fheim .md Svu t.llfnenn Nidavellir j o runhcim .lIl d M uspelherm Niflcheim A:.g.lrd an d Vm.rhcim :-'I idgard
Th e Nor rhcrn KlI1 gdom T Ill" West er n KingJ om
T he Middle Kingdom The East ern Kingdom The Sout he rn Kingdom Th e Is lands Running a C..mp.lign G ett in g Stu ted F.IIt' Poi nt s Di vim rv Poi n t s AW.I rJ IIlg Exre ru'n(l' Desigm ng Adventu res ~ I o ns t e r s
Q uest Suds
Ban le of Wi t s Fire at UpsaIJ
Th e :-' lonsters of S\·.Irld lf'helm T he T heft of H erdrun
Part J : The God s The G reater Gods Bdlda BrJ gl Frev Freva
a
b 1 e
Fr l ~ g J
Helmd.d
Hd LokI 0 .:1 111 Thor T l'f
UIIl' r Vidar
The God s .md ~ 1.' gi (
o
f
c o
n t
e n t
s
' liP:>
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H
g.Hhered the host and leads the Valkyr ies int o bat tle JS the rest of the gods and heroes follo w. Odm makes for t he Fen-is Wolf now grown ~u large he seems ab le to swallow the sun Itself. The AII-FJther cuts his m ighty spear to no avail as rhe great hound devou rs him and h is wmgt'd horse. Vidar arrrves [0 awnge lus Farber by slaying rhe beast. which collapses lOW t he swtrlmg melee. killing manv more. In (he meanrrrnc. Od in
hAS
-r:rr .10.1 the Hound or Hel. Garm. meet and s.lav one another, Thor at lasl comes face to [ace with rbc vile Midgard Serpent. HIS m,ghry hammer kills the abormnation, but hrs \Icwry is short-lived. Engulfed bv rhe pOIsonous breath of the worm, he staggers back nine steps and d ies, Frey confronts the mighty Fire Gianr. Sun. and IS slam as the fiend unleashes gredt mdgK t hat sets fire to all. The conflagration becomes umverSoli and all the .... orlds of Yggdr.ls il are burned. T he cornbaranr s not felled m bar rlc are consumed in flames. Yet t he fires burn both WdYS, and evil passes from the world with the good dS ~ l i Jgd rd sinks beneath the waves. Somehow, two humans have survived. hid den in a Jeep cave at the base of rhc Tree of Life. T hey Will repopu late the New Worl d , A few of t he gods have also su rvived. an d Bald er re turns fro m rh e dept hs of :":llle he im ro lead t hem In the br igh ter fu tu re that III'S ahead.
Introduction The Mytb of Ragnarok This IS the vision that Odin has seen. H e does 11m understand all that II means. but he does know t hat it foretells the Doom of the Gods.
Follo w ing the death of noble Balder. brought about by Loki's jealousy. rhe seams of Order come unsr irche d. Despite the vigilance of H eim dal ;I t the Gate of Asgard. J surprise- at rac]; made poss ible by gre.lt rndgi.:: IS Launched br an alliance 1:>1'[\\ een the blac k-hearted joruns and the forces o f H el. When the Guardian of Bifrosr shakes off h is due and reaches for his great horn to sound the alarm, he finds Loki. the Deceiver. msrcdd. The two fight J greAt barrle rhar evemuallv becomes a "" resrlmg march. Both gods gl\'(" their all bur fall. their hearts bcrsnng with the strain.
And )'t"r, all rhi.. is the Slu ff o f visio n. It has yet [0 come [0 p'lSS. It is poss ible (hat It may be p revented, Perhaps th e [a t a] days of RJgnarok n eed no t ar rive . T hu s arc ,Ill go ds .1I1d tht' lr min ions tasked with preventing th e End of Days. And should t hey fail. let rhem at least leave t he field o f battlc w ich cou rage 111 th eir hearts.
Wbat You Need to Play Ragn arok is J campa ign seu mg for the dlO System. It IS nor a ca mpier!' gJme 111 irs own figh t. A good working know ledge of the Nordic :-' lyrhos is high ly recommended. though nOI required. Th is produCi includes enough ma teria l to get pl.l~·t'rs started.
Using
tu. product
R.lgn.lrok IS based on the mvihs of the Norse people, commonly known as t he Vikings. The gJme semng IS a bnd of mvrh wuh J little real-w orld hisroncalmformauon added, The Hi gh Skald runs t he gJme, deSigning heroic
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quests and adventures fo r the plavers to co mp lete t hro ugh th eir characn-rs. The .~bY l' r s (idedlIr three o r fo ur ) rake the rol es of lesse r gods and go ddesses fro m the i\:orse pantheon, questmg and pe rform ing he roic deeds wor thy of d SolgA. in order to forestall rhe " Doom of t he Gods" kno w n .IS R.lgna ro k.
Tbe Higb
suu
Sbld IS the person who runs the He or she creates the: adventures. III ",hlCh the pl,we:rs' .h..r acrers partlClpJte: Orber f.mtil!>\ RPGs h.1vt' used the term Mg"mf" llU'lrr to describe rhis J'
Tb» Roles of Gods Despiee Ihelr tilking the roles of gods
.,
~"mr.
In
the campaign .
players milY find rhe con.:epr of drrries radically changed from other {am asv role-p!.l\"lng gAm(':;. In t he past. gods have been portrayed .1S hideouslv powerful and. t hu s. of lnde USl" In an RPG ("dmp.ugn. ,\ lost ofte n, t he supplements In whrch they "HO[e fe,nured we re little more t han reference works fo r the G,\t. In Rdgn .u ok, however, the gods are simply high-level cha racters who are '1ult e powe rful but not invincible. T he adve ntures created by the Hi gh Skald are therefore hlgh. lewl affdir s. Morral races are present mos rlv as no n-p layer charac te rs (N PC s) . O pr ionallv the HI gh Skald can allow for ad \'emu ri ng with mo rral charac ters, but suc h ddnemuring is indicat ive of lackeys belOg sent on missions t hat the gods ar e (00 busy to co mp lete themselves.
So III h\-". "High Skald:" SuUs were ancrenr Seandm..' IAn poet~. ~ru("uIJtI... from the so, afled 'Vlkll1g Pcnod:' It \US these poets who arc responsible (Of what we 1:nolll abocr the "JOfS<." M tho It therefore seemed both JrrfOrflJlf OIInJ poetiC to r.n homollge to their work b\ lAbelmll! thc G:-'t AS a s6ld. The term , "] II~h 'Sold:' h meant to lmoll- und~fCl. of [ht' master ,,~ the ultimate seorvreller
gJmt>
With th e pLiyl'f cha racters at alread j high levels. th e C
best Hewed as "his roric almvrh." wherein th e mvth olll:;: ical , ' " dement s o f it ar e Introdu ced into ~I mIli eu refle ct ive o f the histon c;ll period In which thl' Y held th e greates t sway. Thus, the t echnology availa ble in RJ gnarok is ro ugh ly eq uivalent to th at of th e "Dark Ages" of Eur op ean hist ory (approximately th e 9 th and 10t h Cen turies}, Co nscquent jv, a lis-t appeMs in "Pan I: C ha racrcr" mdking changes to th e sran d.ird list of JVd iiJ ble elJUlpmellt. In addit io n to altera t ions in equ ip ment availebil itv. other cha nges are made III t he structu re of the game, wh ich arc noted throughou t th e text o f Ra gna rok where appropriate. In .1 11 cases. chdnges were made to properly emulate N orse cult ure And belief du nng the crh and 10th Ce nt ur ies.
H istorical Myth Despite shdrmg rhe myrh rcal natu re o f most fdm asy rolepI.lying sett ings. Ragnarok hds a "real worl d " equivalent thilt gi\'cs it perspective dnd Imkes I( recognizable to those of .In h lS(OflG1I (rdme of mm d . T he setting is 5
The Trollborn The Trollborn arc called so due to theIr I.o\rgr: (urnes and I,lglv coun tenances. but
\\ herher the name
IS JCCUr,Ht IS m.HU T
of
some debut'. Thev ;arr not now the offsrnn~ of Trolls and humans. ThC\' arc the lT own race. br('tdln~ .unong them-
selves. To haH' ,) Trollborn I::>abv two adult Trollborn have to mare.
It
I~
of
the o rigin!> of rhe [.leI' iadf wherein
Part I : T he Rare Lesser God, T hi s sectron of th e ru les d eals with cre.1ti n~ charac te rs .lFprop tl J [e to th e RAgn .lrok sett mg. All of t h is section Put I shou ld be co nsi de red Open Con tent for license ~~ urpost'S , not Simply t h,1( In the i"'orse-p.luern side bars AS IS rh e Crise fo r [h e res t o f th is book) . [ntormation on t he gods themselves IS locat ed In PJn ~. Plavcrs and Skalds sho u ld 1'1'((" 1' 10 rhar sectton when chOOSing d
t he mnten lies. At ~om(' rtme III the' dist.!n( put there mav h.nc been iI un ion between ,) Troll ,m d J human t hat cre,He'd the" firST of the sp<'CEes. But It j ~ lust as l.kC'h that rhev are COU~In~ to humanirv,
T he S0rM' had no undl'r5[.lnJlng o f en>.. lunon. bu t rhe rd.Ulonship between the' t.Kes l~ best und erstoo d bv sec mg t he Tr ollborn .;r,s ,10 evolut ionary pn:,cursor to
p,u ro n dell y for IIlt"lr Divine Portfolios (see belo w).
humankind. Th..y arc more advanced th an, S.IV, Neandcrrh.ils, but they aren't quite to th e level o f born" wpwu,
111 Ihe Begillllillg ...
In ~o:n.-rJI. the Troll born ,ut" 1'1 01 well accept ed by m O ~ 1 human cu ltures o n
Pl.lyecs bl'gin rhc C,lIl1 p,llg n by sp en d ing qualit y ti me with thc H l ~ h Ska ld . The l'l.lyer and High Ska ld mu st ,Ig rl'c on .1 Do-inc Po rt fo lio . which wi ll be based aro u nd o ne o f rb c Grc.ncr God s o f 1\sg,ircl (see " P.IC[ ~: The G od s") . For exam p le. Tnsha chooses Freya, th e
MiJg;lcd. T hey are u ~] y and ~ar.lg{" in .I way that makr s th ..m rep ulsive to humanity, for , h", mo..t r art, they l in ' 10 "null tribal com muni ucs o f thr u 0 \\1'1, .. et apa rt (wm major hu man colonies. T hey trade with rheu - hum an cou ..ins when thr\' CJ I'I, joll'l th crn when tht"}' are allowed, .m'J war w uh t hem when thf"Y must,
G odd ess o f Lo ve and \Vac (n or .1Il ox ymoron to the :"01' Sl') , .IS her main d eit y. Trisha will occasionally g et t o ~,l.l ~· thi s Great er G odde ss in high-le\'el adventures, but , for Ih t' m o st I' art , 1_IJ y Frep will be busy domg
S.lJk (ull~' 50% of rh c Trollbo rn arc srerile. Thus. ~ht"y .11''' a J r ing rKe m ,Ill .lpOC,Iln't ic age. With tach dC,lth, it seems mo rt" hkelv , hal rbe memo rv of them wJlI be 'J\ iped (ro m the N ine': W~ rl d~ foreve r.
o t he r t h in gs ( tu rn in g head s. b ashing h eads, erc. ) A pla yer IllA)' 1'101 cho os e Odin to be the fo u n d at io n for hi S o r he r Divine Ponfol io . Th is great figure of \\'estern myth , re!tglOn , an d h istory IS rhe sale p ro\' ince o f the. hgb S kald . Th e next ch u.Il'lt'r III the port fo lio represent s d Lesser God hereto fo re lo st III rh e m is ts of time and is the f'fll1ld ry ch,lt,te lcr fo r t h e pI.l~'er in t h e c .lmpdi~n . ThI S god IS restfl ct ed 10 chOOS ing a Cl ass .I S Jicldlt'd by th r p,Hron god 's dllrib u tes for more o n Ch.lrdCler Cl dss, see below. T h u s. In o u r t" Xd mrle. Trishd would hal'{' to choose d Cbss JI CtdUJ by Fre\'.l's dltr ibute s. 6
"Y: ' \ 1\
Add 10 to each Ablln)' Sco re for .l. Lesser God. T hese should never sun ,I[ less rh.m 20 or g rea ter rhan 24. Each Greater God also h.Is J favored Ab iluv. A Lesser God JI'gned with rhe deuy should nO I have a score in t hat Ability less than 21. 00':(' the placer h.H> selected the patron god for hi::' or her D ivine Porrfolio. he or she consulr s the deny's listing In Part' to dctcrrrunc wh ich Abilm' IS favored. Add I -1- to each Abrlirv Score for Greater Gods. These should never s rar r at less than 24 or grl".uer t han 28 . while thei r favored one begrns ar 2; .
.,1
•\ I \
New Class Skill: Hurl Axe In some Nordrc SOClC'IlCS. mIssile " C';lrons are frowned upo n ~ s " unman lr," H owever. shcrrnngC'd ll< (';Jpons rhal can be both hurled JnJ used 1I1 mele e are acceptable. The mo re adept. wa r r ro r s In ~(J m C' CUh Uft'S learn ed t o hurl even la rger Il<e.ll)(" m e ffec lll el~': J bat tleaxe MlI1g the mos t popula r becau se I t CJn be balanced Il
..
Race IS nOT J concern for gods. Thcv are divine and. bv. their \'er~' nature. greater rhan mortals. In shan. rbcv are high-len·1 bt'mgs who all" more powerful rhan the
mere morr als who walk the Earr h. They do . however. recetvc [he CX[U FeCIt bonus. four extra Skill POIn[s. and a bdse move of ;0 ' [hat standard hu mans recerve.
,\ B.-lrb.mJ n characte r onlv
The p,Hron d\,It~· m the DIVine Portfolio determ ines J Lesser God's C I.ISS. T he new cha racter must be' of the same Cbss JS rhe r,lIrOn. So in our examp le. Tri sha has chosen to rldY .l Lesser God aligned with Frcva. Consulting Frevas entry m Part l. she sees that the goddess IS ,I 11 t h Leve l l-ighter and 6th Level Bard. T hu s, Trisha must choose either A Figlu er OC;I BoITd {o r J
>'
muluclnss Fighter/ Ba rd).
T hl' sr.!T ung levelis somewhat at the d iscretion o f t he H igh Skald. bu t It cannot be cqu.r ! to th at o f th e p,n TOn dl'ir F' So Trish.l \ Ch,lf,Ktrf could lwgin rhe C1 mpa ign as .m I I th L\,\·e1 Fightl'f or ,15th Level B,ud . If she chose (0 make her ,I mulri class Fighr cr/Bard . her cha racter coul d start WIth ,IS ill,lIly ,IS 16 levebe so long as she d idn' t exceed II rh Level ,IS Fighter or s rh Level as a Bard .
T Ill' P,d,ld m
~ nd
marri.r ] arrisr M on k have no equivalent
in this Sl'tt lllg ,lIld arc then' fore nor available as Character C lass choices. :-' Ion ks cxrsr (in the Southern and \Vesrrrn Ringd ollls) ,IS Wcs tcm mo nasti c characters and (Quid have been ,lll)' of the other classes befo re Join mg a rnonasterv. Balder is the onlv P.ll.ldm in Norse m\'tholo~\'. ,
I
Addinon.dly. Dru id s only
,
~,
W har level ,11 which rhc Ch;ILlctl'r act ual lv begms IS at the discrenon of till' H igh SkJ.ld, H e or she IS encouraged to m,lke su re ,III ch,lr.lc[crs Me roughly the same level .It the sta r! of the camp,lIgn, Mid.level chArdClers ( bet wt'en 51h an d 8th Level) .trc gene r.llly J good Fldce to begm. As d result. mu ltlcldss ch.lrJctc rs ,If(' not l'ncourJ.ged dt Ihe surr of.l C.lmr.llgn sinct" the}' wllutd bl' of lower Level per CI.tss dnd thc'ft'foce not re.illy m the re.urn of gods.
from the Islands. Thcv c.mnor be {rom ;\ 11)' the other kingdoms of J>.1tdgJrd (see P.ltl 2: The C,ullf'.I lgn ) . Con\'Crsely. there Jre no C leriCS from [h\' Isldnds. Pb yers who chost' to cr("ate Cll'flC ch.lr,IClC'fS of the Less('r R,lCes must hdv(' thelll come from Ont' of th\· I1ve kll1gdoms. ReC.l.use most chJrdCtl.'fs of the Lesser Ra.:-es .:-omt" from thc :--:onhern Ringdom. pld}'ers should check ",nh their SkJ ld before .:-hoosmg on\' of th("se C l.lsses to s("e whal restrictIOns m.1\' be in effen.
Keep in mmd that. sma the Ch.lrdCl\'rS are Stdrtlng dt mid-le\·eJ. th ..y should hJ\ 'e the Skl1l Points. Fedts. dnd weJlth ne~ess.lrr to !;.m' eqUipmen l dppropfldte to their lewJ. ~ lofe mformdllOn on thiS (';In be found In Feat s and EqUIpment below.
Gods stut wuh ,I numbl'r of FeJ ts comml'nsurdle .... lth their CIJSS Lew!. plus one. R.l~nJrok fedtures (\1'0 nev. Fedts ch.uilcurs CJn purchdse . "WeJpon-C.lIching" dnd ..Thro.... mg Sredr,"
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Divine Abilitirs
New Skill: Charioteering (Dex) In the ISOl.ltt'..:! 1~l.m..:! of Enn. chanors thou:-;h useless for war. are ",nil used In sport and sp;clade. A characrer with rh is Skill IS c;ap..ble of Jmmg;a chanot pulled bv two lIght horses. A DC IS not req urred IN normal rldmg but mav be netdtJ for eUf,;aordm,uli ;action" such ..5;
Di fficu lt\' Event Check Turnmg sfurpl~' ..I hl~h speed 5 or 10 Orl' mg OH'r tough {("rU In 10 Jumpmg ,h,uIO[ ever low obsudr 15 j·.lsstngt r flghung from chanor 10 Driver flghtm g fro m mO"lug chario e 15 chano t mav o nlv mo ve str,ughr at curt... nt speed
""'' '''' Ch;anotetrmg I S J C l..ss Skill for FIghun . CI..fl Cs and R~Ul·S . It I S a non -C lass Sk ilJ for all othen, ~
In add u ic n to other t ran s. all ~oJs have certa in natural .ib iluies d l.l[ set (hem bevond mort als. DIVine characrcrs h'I\"C' each of rhc Specid l Abilit ies listed. below, all of whic h arc h X ( r ;lO rJm ar ~' ex("t'pl fo r .\I.tgic Ite m. which acts JS a standa rd plect' o f t""1Ulpmt'nt.
Pla/l( Trawl -
00('
per Jay. a god can tra vel
ro one of
the Nine Worlds see "Par r 1: T he C.lrnpa ign" ). The worl ds are connected to YggJ rasil III various ways. A gre.H sed . . epdtdItS Asg.uJ and the gld.nrs' land of [oru nhei m. fo r example ..and the famous Rainbow Bridgt' connec ts AsgJ rJ and .\ lidgJ.rd. the land of mortals, Tr.l\'ell!> not necessanlv msr anr aneous and itself mav be ,10 adventu re. l nsplft - Gods inspi re their morta l worshippers. If d mo rra l who acknowledges the gods IS \\ irhin vrsual r,mgt" o trbe charac te r and IS aware he o r she l lo divi ne}. rhe morrali s tr eat ed .I S rhough he or she is one level higha rh an IS ,lCtU;llly th e case. Ro ll .I tem porary hit d ie for the c ha rac te r, bu t he or she d oe s not ~dm
addnional Skrl l Points or Feat s. The effec r LJ5t5 50 lo ng as t he god is 10 the ch aracr cr's presen("c. O nce the go d leaves. th e charac re r's level re t urns to no rm al.
Splll RtSlSlall({ - Lesser G o d s han" Spell Resi st,lnn" o f 10 . For G rea ter G od s, the number
IS
15.
Cast Rums - Les ser G o ds Lin Lis t t wo Run es per ddY. Grearcr God s c.m c.u t three Run es. A god b .-gins pb)' With ,1 number o f Runes equa l to h IS o r her Level . For more information o n the Run es and how see rhc Run ic ,\ bg l( ce nte rfo ld.
Fmrtrss - G od s
New Skill: R,,"uraft (Int)
1
T hrs 1 thr kno", lrd~t" o f rhe Runts. II can onlv be ukrn bl drvinc ch.n:rcrers ..nd 1" co nsid ered J. Cl.h skIll for,;all of them. Mo rtals mav have ~~ll kno",ll'dgc of the Runts , bu t thev canno t bendlt from Ihr pt'clJllud kno",ledgt thaI t~ gods h"le d$ tepruenrrd hI' thIS Sk.t1I. Runur... ft "'orks In ;a ll rrspE'ets th(' S;l~ ;I S Spd ln dfl n..-rpt lhat 11 pr rt;lms to RUniC 111 .IS"'- not "prlls. SprllcrJ..ft J~s nor gUIlt ;anv undrr UnJlll~ 01 rhr Runes mJ vICe ' rlSa.
,In'
(0
Cd S[
th em ,
1111111Ulle to th e effect s of Fear.
S tout - Cods arc rough characters. Consequently. th c)" .1Iw.1yS
gl"ner.lte at k .lSt half th e ror al num be r of pomt s available
pe r Hit D ie whe n gt'ne ra ti ng H it Point s.
Dlltllagl Bdvrnon - Lesser Ciod s have a DR o f 5/ + I. For G reater Gods. ir's 10/+ 1IgllC'rr /),u nl1gr RrJulll C'n - At tht" S.lml'" l im e. gods are Icss .lffc("[cd by CTCd turcs wit h D Jm agc Red un io n thdn are morta ls. A Lesscr God can ha rm an\, creatu re wilh .I DR of + 2 o r 1(" 55 as though he o r she had an approp ri.Ite m.lgicJI wcapon. For G rrd tn Gods. .:redtu res w ith .t DR o f
+.J
o r Irss can br no r ma ll~' d am.lgcd .
Rapid lllll/illg -
Lc s!'oer Gods HrJI J[ twi ce the normal t al C; G rca lc r Gods (hrc(" t i ml" ~ tht" nonnJ. 1 rau .
-
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Limltrd l mmorta/rl} - Befo fe the> List Rattl e of
Rilgnarok. the Gods are effect ively Im mo rta l un less t he}' are killed 011 Asgar d or Vanahe im. G ods "killed" else w here awaken the nex t day in their div ine abode. T he dea th of a player character god scores negative poi nt s in the c.lmpa lgn (see Part 2) . C harac ters red uced to -10 Hn Points o r less are considered dead (or the purpose of detennining Fare Poin t penalncs.
New Feat: Weapon-Catching [General] Prmi"wW - Shield Proficie-ncy: Do 12 +
MagI( [trm - Lesse r God player characters beg in the game with one rodg lC nem chosen by the High Ska ld.
Btnifl/ - This Fear. whrch em onls be used to ctTrct " ith;a wooden shIeld. enables the warrtor til catch an cncm~"~ "capon sl.loShmg or placmg We..lp'lflS only m the- ~hidd'~ run. If the- opponrnt rolls an unmodified ", ~ on llls or her atuck roll. rhc defender h~s CAught the "'~.ipon . the blade bem~ buried In the wood. The defender can choose 10 discard the sfndd as a p.1rtW a..-.n on, rhereb j- d lSArmmg the J[[4ckcr. Addiuon.1H). the- opponCrH is thrown off balance and suffers -I to hrs o r her lnm anve for the ncxr round. If I J~:11 rhe defender does nor spend the partial act.ton to lmlned liltek discard the shield, the Jtt.l'~er can wrench the We..l.ron [ree. Reg,lrdlns. If the We,lpon -Cat .:hmg Fear is emp loyed rhcre IS .1 cha nce th.lr the shield rnav be- rumed m thr ac non. Roll .1 dzu And ',1dd the at rackers St rrngth Bonus to the result. If the number gcntriltl'"d IS 2n or morro t he vl neld IS rum cd.
M agic items are rolfe and precIOus t hings in the mvrhos so gre.H care should be taken In makmg the choice.
Skalds are encou raged to solic it players' requests for the rrem in question. but the final decision belongs to IS chosen, It should no t have a bonus of more rhan + 1. Xon-weapon items are JUSt as appropn;ate, t ho ugh. For example. magical boots are qu ite fitting for a min ion of U lle r. t he God of \Vin ter and Hun ting. Skalds m ;ay choose to crea te a unique Ite m but should rem em ber to keep it in balance with the rest o f the campa ign, M os t o f th e Greater Gods have magic already detailed (see Parr 3). bur for J ny who dont , feel free to ;assign it em s slightly m ore power fu l rhan t hose allowed to the Lesser Gods. For more informat ion on begin nin g rnagrc Item s see "Outfitt ing the Cha rac te r" below.
the High Skald. If ~ ~capon
lmprowd A rrnor Class - Lesser G ods' base AC
The above rules assume the use of shie ld. [I" t he character
12 . For G rea ter G od s. th e bast' is 15. Armor. Dext erity. and o t he r bon uses ca n. of co urse. modify th ese bas es. IS
IS
,I
large
using a sma ll sh ield,
\\bpon -C,ltchm g can be employed on an op ponent's unmodifi ed arrac]; roll of I or 2.
Lillguislics - Gods can speak and understand any language.
D ivilllty Points - Divinit y POint s allow a god t o change the results of ,tny one di e ro ll t hat wou ld affec t him o r he r. Thu s,
A lignmtfl t anJ GrnJer Considerations Wh et he r rbe players arc controlling a morr al mi nion o r a Le-sser God rhey rep rese nt " the good guys" for p urpose-s of cosmic balance. Hence. p layers rna)' not choose Evil Alig nments.
Lesser Gods begin t he campaign wit h o ne to three D in nn y Points ( ro ll a six -si ded die and d l\·ide t he result b)' two ). \\'hen iI Lesser God uses hiS o r he r last Divinirv Poinr. he or she has no more. G reater Gods always h;avc one [)l\"lnlty Point to spend. Since they can only be spent once pe r quest. It doesn't ma tter how mam' t he deity actuJJly hJ.s.
Similarlv. for be tter o r wo rse, the world of the crh and 10th Cen turies IS male-dornmatcd. While placers may choose to pl;a)' ferrule characters, no P.lrt)' mJ.~· be mAde up of more fCT1u ll's thJ.n ma les. panlCularly ;amongst the usser RJ.C('s. The sole exception to this would be if the- p la)·ers \\ ere All pl.lymg V;alkyries.
9
Outfitting the Character characters beg in with .IO amount of go ld shown on "Ta blc 1·1; St;ming \\"l'Jlrh." First LeH'1 characters roll for t heir st.trt ing fund s no rrnaljv. Divine characters shou ld use the available funds to purchase the ~lartmg magic Item .l.ss igned them by rhe H igh Skald in adduion to ,m~' other equipment rbey m.l.~· Wish to have. Given rbe r.trIty of nl.lglC In the g.lme world. charactrr s from rhe Le sser Races 11I.l~' not sun With a magic item. Lesser Gods md~' purchase .1 second irern only with the pcrmissron of the SIuJd. If he or she forbids n. II doesn't mat rer how much monev rhe charec ter has available. The character can't purchase the irern. St.ut ll1g
New Feat: Weapon Expertise: Throwing Spear [General] PTmfIlIJI/( -
Proficrern wuh Sborrspear:
J2+ ; \V(',1pon Focus: Shorr~p('..r
Bmpl • The SIX"r "';IS the most common "'(''''pon of rhe ,age sm ce It was useful tOf" both melee .m d r"nged .nt,1.:ks. Skill In us usc was h'ghh .:!tSlublt. and some warriors became m;lSU'IS. A character wnh thrs Fc.;lr can throw two shcrrspear-s In tn('
his or her otT-lund
IS
5,1m(' round M) long ,IS (uC', However, there are
Equipment Restriction s
some [unuarions. Borh throws lose 15 feet ~r range increment, and rhe second throw does not (teelH' the + I bonus (0 the artac]; roll normallv conferred bv Wupon Focus.
In addition 10 rhe hmuancn on m.lgic items. some Items on rhe sl.md.l.rd e'lUlpmcm list are not available d ue to t he D ar k Ages period of rhe semng. "Table 1-1: Pro hibit ed ElJu ipmenl"I I~IS rhe Items rhar mav not be purchased. Anv re m.llnmg e<J ul p ment moly be purchased normally Charac ters 111.1\" also buv a charier for lOO gold p ieces.
The Lesser Races If the H igh Skald chooses, he o r she can allow rhc pbye rs ( 0 cre.ne mem be rs o f t he Lesser Races t ha t popu late t he campaign, H owe ver. such ch nr.rcrcrs always populate t he lowest end ofa playe- r's Divi ne Portfol io. The Lesser R .ICl' S are D war ves, Elves, H uman s. and t he Trollbo rn. or t hese. H uma n and Troll born are .l\"JiLlble ;IS player characters. ()W.l.f\T S and Elves a re only encou nte red ,IS NPCs, To ge nerdtt" Abihrv Scores for t hest' races. follow the standard rul es for character gcn eration. H Ullu m , Dwa rves. and Elves ,III have their USU JI rJCi.ll abiliues. Trollborn arc t reated .IS half-orcs. U nless the H igh Ska lJ chooses otherwise. assume t hat allmort al characters rolled up for pIJ~' come from the X ort hcr n hll1 gdolll (set" Par r l: T he Ca mpaign). Thl' Northe rn Kingdom is ideal for the ru rbulcn r world. of ~ f i d gJrJ since borh rhe Aesir and Vani r (classif icancns of gods: for more. see Part 2) are worshrpped equally, corrcsponJlI1g 10 rhe Viking culture of our own history.
10
Table
1-2:
Prohibited
Equipment Crllr Block and Tackle Ink .l:nd Pm
.iJwnlunn:
Lantern
Am-
Pdpt' r
ct.w T""Js & Si.tI Klls
Alchrmlst 's Lab
Hourgl.ol5 s
Part 2 : The Campaign
nin g
.I
GlASS
\ v'uer C lock
CfclblJ1l Court ier 's Oudlt ~l o n k ' s Outfit
Th is parr of rhe ru les d ('t ,1I 1 ~ the ..-.lmp.llgn w o rld. It bt"gms wirh the mvrbic hi st o ry of th e Xorsc people to set th e sf,lgt' and rben delvcs In to the spe(l fio of run-
"'OIIJ1/J (,
R,lgn Jr ok ..-.lInp.ugn.
RtlaltJ Gtar B,ndmg ',
I led\'YW.lrhorsc S,lddlr ) . Illll,lfy
Histo ry Whar fo llo ws IS an lus ronca l over view o f t he X orsc peopl e, rh crr cult ure. and the infl uence o f t he go ds thl' )' \\ orsh ip rwd .
Ar mor
Spikes B.lIldr.:! ~tlll Full Plait: Half P IJ[ l' Locked G J.lmtl,'! Shield [Tower} SpluH ~l.1iJ Arm or
Myth alld Reality Evcrvon c know s so me thing abour till' N o rse people. if on ly J Ul' (0 rhe t'xpo.~un· [0 wh;lI I S kn own .:IS "pop cull ure: ' T he d ,m ga of pl1F his tory. howeve r. is that it is o fte n III error ,1nJ papt'tr,lles mi vco ncep tions. Norse legl"nds and cul t ure .In' o fte n nu sunderstood. Fo r exampic. Vikings we.lrlng horned hel m c t s is J co mmon m isconception. O nlv Dill' .lrch.teo logKal dig fro m the vendc l period /circa 700 C E) H·\TJ I~ the us,' o f ho rned belmers. ,md thl~ IS appa rcn rlv of nr ual rehg rc us s,gn ifiL.l na no t rrnlirarv usage.
SHflp/e
• .\fda
GI;lI\'("
Guis.Jnne H.Jlb<:rJ
L.ance Heav...
Oil Sp\"gl,l)s
~ lJgm (nng
....I .utl...1 Utarons
m.. ro"'
Rap ier Ransec r Scimitar Available m (he Easrem " mgJ om onlv
Mllrtw.1 U;"'l"'tlJ" - R...ngcJ Composite Longbow
Exeuc IItllpcns • Mel" Dlrr Plnl Hammer Gnom e. H ooked) K.JrnJ (Any
Kukn Nu nch,lclY (Any) Ore Double At e Siangharn (A n ~) Urgrosh Exonc ~h"pcns - RangtJ
Crossbow , Any Shurikl."n
• RolngeJ Crossbow . An r
described rhem. T he "\'ikmgs"" ..-ert.un l~· thought 01
The name. 'Viking," i~ its elf a misnomer and ra rclj- use d o urvide S('Jndmd\· id. In wrmen Scandinavian literatu re. "\'ikmg"' denot es gOing on d r.lid o r an of pi racv: hence [he occasional rcfcrenc.. [Q someone h.l"mg "gont" .l \'ikmg:' :--':orrhtn en or Norsemen were how rnosr outside rs
themsd\'Cs as D.1O"S. Swedes, o r ~orweg lans depending on where [ht'~·II \'("d. Rignarok uses Norrh men ,IS "officu!" because the Xonhern Kingdom wnhm liS p.loges is rhe one t har best mirrors Dark Ages Scandi navia.
"
q
.v l \
l\
Another co mmon misconcepnon regarding Viki ngs IS rhar they WC fC bloodthirsty raiders. Ce rtainly. raiding WdS a Pdrt of thei r rnarna l pro.....ess. but they were also traders And colonizers. In fact. they di d so wit h m uch greater regulariry rhan raiding. Vik ing trade rou t es reached the New \Vorld In a quest fo r fur s an d Baghdad for silks and sp ices. The legacy they left In the lands [her visited was much more than bloodshed. and places like Ireland were rransformed by the colonists who sett led down and mingled with the narive populations. (See
the GREEl"L\:":D SAGA supplement from Avalanche Press for mort on the fare of one of these colonies. )
The wherefore and the why of their sudden appearance on the intemanonal scene ( t he firs t recorded encounter being 789 CE) is a bit more open to 9ucstion. Ce rrainlv the increased opportunitIes afforded t hem due to centralized European govern ments ~ubi lizlng mercant ile development in the West (t he Carol ing ian Em pire be ing the pri me example] g'1\'e me to both t rade and pi racy. Finally. the ir oe rghbcrs had someth ing wo rt h ~teali ng, T he colonizanon im pu lse see ms to han' bee n due to a massive pop ulation explosion in the 7 th and Srh Centuries.
lYeapon, and Waifa" Despite t hei r pro we ~ s in both co loniza tion and t rad e. t he Norse were grea t fig hters. Indeed , the ste reotype of the barb ari c Viking warrior fits man y a cla ssic image pre~ ent in fanta sy lite rature and rol e.playmg games. As usual, an element of tr ut h exists within the popular concept ion. T he N orse fought wirh more di scipline than is often cred ited rhem . Cou pled with a culture that st resse d ind ivid ual bravery and feats of co urage. t hey became a for midable foe who domin ated West ern European bat tle fields for nearly JOO years. Their mQ~1 common battle fo rmat ion was a solid phal anx of infantry. often aptly called .1 shiel d wall. T he me n were t ightly pac ked. sh ields so mewhat overlapping to afford protect ion ag,unst an mirul cha rge. T he be t te r-armed and ar mored men were to t he front. Once ba ttle was joined. t hey pushed Into the enemy ra nks to create room for a solid axe o r sword hack. Thus. t he format ion opened up after the ininal conr acr unl ike the ol d Greek pike phalanx or even the Roma n legio nary fo rmation. The shield wall could also be fanned in .1 CIrcular fashion. though this was almost exclusively done for defensive
pu rposes. Archers wou ld be sra rioned at the center ro ra m deat h upQn approac hing foes. Commanders would sorncnmcs lead from the center o f such for mat ions set up around them. Another cornmonlv , used [ormat ion was the "swme-arrav," , a type of flying wedge that was used more offenm'e!y. Two men would fo rm the point. three more took the second rank. four worked t he third position, and so on. Acco rding to I~g~nd, Odm himself ins tituted this [ormanon. which d isplayed its anriquitv, Ir IS essermallv a flying wedge as employed by the ancient Germans. last seen in Gaius Ma rius" lifet ime and reflects the strong Teut on ic root s rhar the old Germans shared with the Norsemen of rhe Dark Ages. Cava lry was ra rely use d in large numbers since the extra room taken up by horses on sh ips meant less space for men and loot. H owever, so me Eng lish chronicles describe N o rse horsemen in a few ba rdes. T hey wou ld have prt mat ily been used fo r scouting and extra mobil ity with the me n d ismounnng to fight in a fashion Similar t o King H arold's el ite Saxo n H ou sccar ls.
Nom Naval Capabilities T he Norse were gre.1t sailo rs. and ma ny battles that were fo ug ht ,I mo ngst the m were contrived to be fo ught o n sea, no t land . Th .u is. lu st like the Romans. th e sea battl es were fought as if th ey were land en gagem ent s. Ramming was not com mo nly em ployed, nor was th e old racnc o f shea r ing o ff o ars. Any man euver was design ed to bring abo ut bO.lrding acnons. As th e ships closed bows, javelin s and rocks were emp loyed ro cause casua lties and disrupt an enemy's app roach. Sh ields were used extensively to defend aga inst such act io ns. and the popular Image o f s hie lds lin in g the sides of sh ips is no t wi thout just ification, As sa ils were fur led and bat tles fought under oar; shield men were specifically designated to prouct t he vulne rable oarsmen, As th e sh ips carne alongside, heavy rocks were dropped in great numbers on an enemy. and J. ship wirh higher prow therefore had a distinct adva nrage. Rocks were qUite useful fo r breaking sh ields, arms, and even damJgmg the wooden ships themselves. lr WJ.S common fo r ships to be lashed together to crcsu: stable battle lmes, This WJS d cumbersome formation to move. but it gan;' the commander a stable platform to lead the lTOOPS once the banle was joined, Faster ships
., I \
were used as skirm ishers and to bring rcin fo rce menr s
~,
\1..-
•\ I \
Rr[igion
(0
cnncal points along the banl e line.
T he ;--':orse were one of th e !.lst gredt Pdg,m peoples o f Europe to resist rhe coming o f Chnsnamrv, T he tr iumph o f t he lar rer was assured under th e reign of Snnr Ob( t he King o f Norway. and co mp leted by the end of the I l lh Cen tury. As J resu lt of miss ionary vitriol. few records of how the Norse worshipped survive. :\ luch IS known about thei r gods. iJ.rgely due to an Icelandic poet m th e I ~th Century na med Snorri Stu rleson. who romanticized his count ry 's history.
Wlu le t he Viking Long Ship or Dragon Ship I S well known, rhe hCJ\' IC'r Knorr I S also w o rth ment ioni ng. II was pnmarll y used for Hold mg d ue [0 u s Large cargo capaci ty. but rhat SA me adva nrage made it an excelle nt warsh lp stnce l [ hold a greater capacirv fo r carrymg t roo ps. Sail and oar weft' the means of propulsion for Norse ships. and rh.. two means were alternated as need dicrared. T he m o st ("OIllITlOn ship) seem to have had 13- I S pairs o f
rowmg benches, though ships wi th both more and less han" been uncovered. Some had as mJn~' as ~o of benches. and King H.u.tlJ H u drdda's Grear Drdgon had 35. T he Goksrad ship (circa coo CE) • a typ ical vessel. was 76 feCI lon g. 17 1/2 fee t wide , and had 16 rowing be nches for a [QuI o f 32 oars. T he bow and stern o f Norse vessels hOld raised decks. T he mid-section co uld be cove red wit h tups to gu'e t he crew prorecuon from the har sh eleme nts.
T he names of rhe gods are familiar. and t her rep rt"sefl[ JungiJn arcberypes in a mvsrical sense. In fdr less esorenc te rms , t heir in fluence ts still felt todav In mundane mat t er s. DOl}"" o f t he week in t he English iJ.ngudge are based on the o ld gods. WednesdJ Y is Woden's Dd~' (Wod en bei ng th e German ic fo rm of O d in ). T he Aur ora Borealis W.lS said ro represt"nt the Valkvnes m Illght u king dead heroes [Q th eir Valbal lan reward.
r.ms
The Norse Gods were .I gri m lot overall. reflecnng the people who w o rs hipped them. The go ds struggled in muc h th e same man ner as rnorrals. an d, in the end, they would fai l s ince Chaos wo uld be unleashed upon the world at the bat tle of Rdgn arok . Yet th er fought th e good figh t , never gIVI ng up while t he br ear h of life sti ll o:xlstcd within th em.
Berserktr JVorntn Compa red to t he rest of Euro pe m th iS t ime pe riod. when wome n were seen .IS th e so urce of O riginal Sin and rrcarcd likl" propn t),. Norse wome n were quit e liberated, \\'omen were see n .'IS ,I viral P.lrt of soci ety and helped in keeping the socia l srrucrure from disintegrdung into feud s and ot her up beavals. Sto ries abound of st rong -wI(led wom en who are more rhom s im ply the po wer behmd the throne, Still, it was mo stly J man 's world, and the everyday life of a woman definitel y cons isted of putting up with her man' s foolishness. Th ere is one her oine , H ervor. who even hOI s her own saga. So adventuring women . while ra re, are not unh eard o f and at e hardly alus ro r ical for th e eJ l11 p,lign se tti ng,
Religion W.1S esse nriallv seen ,IS .1 per sonal matter, A pr iesthood o f so r ts did exist, and the term, God, was use d to describe such ,1 per son , Some orgdnized te mp les existe d, notably th e Great H o f at UppS.1la (in Sweden) , destroyed by t he C hris t ians in I 100 CEo Sacred sites were com mo n and co uld be dIlythin g from J Runi c stone t o .1 simp le road sid e alta r. As in all th e o ld Pagan cult ures, blood sac ri fices were pract iced . Famil ies would o fte n h.1 \"1" alrars and sh ri nes m t heir homes dedicated to th e go ds. Few worshi pped a ni}' J single go d beca use it was deemed mo re pru de nt to placate t hem all, \\'orsh ip see ms to have be...n so methi ng of a cont ract , however, an d not a me re abas ing of one's sel f be fo re an almighty bein g. T he' Norse expec te d somet hmg in re t urn for worshi p, and it is not uncom mon to read in t he sagas whe re a hero mi ght tu rn his bac k on the go ds o ut o f ange r, D evot ion W.lS ofte n expressed m a personJI ......ly. Ico ns were u sed in a fash IOn Similar to the Eastern O rthodox fa ith wit h little bronze st at ues of O din bemg com mo n household ile ms. Likewise, .....arriors often
T he Bl'rserk t"rs art" rhe subject o f m uch lir erarurc and even more spec ulanve co nject ure. The word actually IS de rived fro m a Norse t erm me.min g, " bea r shirr." T here was also a cul r dedic,lIed to rhe wolf. T hese warriors, often de railed OIS A jarl's personal bodyguard. co uld wo rk th emselve s up to .I. great [.lge Jus t before ba t t le was joi ned. H ow t his .... as acco mplished isn't full y understood. Stories tell of them b iting th eir own sh ields in Ant iCIpAtiOn of b.lttle .m d wres tl mg t rees Afte rwards If t heir bat tle lust was not sati sfied so AS not to turn on comrAdes . :-'1 0re mund.lne expbnJ. t ions h.lve hinted ,I.[ t he use of n.u cot ics. Il
=-y; I\
-
~\ \
wore J. ham mer svmbol around t heir neck s like J Carholic wo uld W(',lf.1 cr uCifix w,hr ' w e th e G REESL-\,\;D S AGA cover fo r an example ,.
T hr Comillg
of noble bcanng. an d rhey hold the .1bil ity to d iscern good fro m evil. O d m W ol~ wise and convinced his brothers th .lt rhev co uld use t he raw ~tu ff of crear ro n 10 fashio n J wo rld. They t here-fore rose up in rebell ion. sle w Yrr nr. .m d used his m.1SSIVe bo dv 10 fo rm the heavens and the earth. ~ t J n ~' gldnlS perished durlll~ rhi s li me. d ro wned b~' Yrmrs blood. bur two. Bergelmir and his wife. escaped.
of Chris tiallity
Conversion to Cbnsnanuv was polincally motivate d at
first, .mJ King Olaf hold
VJrlOUS
dubclical wavs of getting
Yggd r.lsll is the Great Ash, rhe Tree of Life. It s highest branches - rrerch 10 the heavens..llld li S deepest root s cxrend into the depths 01 H eL li s !nnbs reach OU! 10 the Nine \\'o rld s of u s branches. It s most rrominem bou~hs cXI\'nJ [0 As~ard dnd [o runhcuu. At [he base o f the former is the sacred w..J1 tended bv Urd whose name means "Past" . who keeps rhe t ree g ree n bv srnnklm~ holv wate r from rhc well itsel f on ils roo ts . At [he root of [oumheim Ill' S ~t lll1l r \ \\·dl. where Wisdom and knowledge - borh good and evil - can be fo und for those who are w illl1l~ [0 po1~· rhc rrice, The fo ul l-' st root o f Y ~gd rds i l goes to X iflchc im fro m whence comes t he fo ul water 01 H vergel nur. ihcbirtb pl.rce of e" 11 serpenls and m on st er s.
his jarls to convert. SO!nr liml"s rhev .... ere not eflectln·,
In Yggdr.lsil' s h, ~ h e s [ reac hes a g reJ I and no ble ed~le f'e rc hl's .111.:1 w;l(c hes ove r the wo rlds of mort als and go d,s. Fo ur st.lg'" ro.un n s branches. prun ing Its leaves. AI it s base rbe d r.l~on ;-"':ldh o~..1Z eats JI rt s root s fro m Nifl ehcim ..m d rhc trouble-making squ irrel. Rurarc sk. c.u-r u-s nll' S S ,I ~ e s t o all above.
T he conve rsio n had 01 mod l fr ln~ effect o n the ol d m vt hs. T he .lp 0.:";l l ~T [l':" n.nure of R.lgn o1rok mirrors th at of Arma geddon In t h.u .1 n....... and bett er wo rld IS pro m ised afte r t he desrrucuo n. Th e So n of God (O din's boy. rim is). B.dder. became 01 m o re Christ -like figur,·. who wo uld lc.rd rhc rebuilt heaven s and earth. Paralle ls bet ween Loki ;ln d Lucifer are also eas,' to Sl"C.
.
A lfbrim and Sva rtalfbrim Alflicun is th e world of the Elves. who arc the cr eati on of thl' . ~o ,i. , Frn . ,lIld thus en jov , his sf'e cial protection , SVJrl,llflll'im IS rill' I.l11d uf th ... D;lTk Elves. a s ll ~ h dy
Tbr Worlds of Yggdrasil In the ht'~ innin ~ "".IS dw primo rdi.l1chaos, In rhe rurbull-'n! \'oid known as (ilUnnung.lga p . whl"r,' t hl" raw ic,' and fire met and gavc o ff g reJt spu rts o f stca m as Ihe t\\'o cleme nls w.lrre d lI'il h (';I(h mh er. a bemg slow ly form ed . T hi S was Ymlr. .Ulcest o r o f rhe ~1.1n t r.lce. O ver tl mc unco unlcd. rhC' bodr of Ym lr brou~ht . fo nh child ren rhe first gianrs. who wenI fort h and mult ipli ed and who hdd no co ncep tion of good ,m d e\·il.
Illo re nl.1l lclUus \';lrieIY. Elvcs .lre sm all o f s[acure and very slight. l endl1lg to f.lir skin for regular Elves and d,uk skin for tIll' D .lrk Eh es. BOlh VaTlell eS Jr e o fte n us,' d .IS r .1wn s III rhe slrug gll-' lw tween the giant s ,m d [h e ~o ds. ;} f.K t rhe D ol rk Eh-es fl' Sl-' nl cons ide rdbly.
.
EI\'l's .tre clt.lo rlc b\' n.Hurt', They haw a , ulr Ule alien to h u m.m ll~· and purs ue their own gOJls. rndkmg th e few encou nt erl-'.:! b\' hu n1.l ns see m odd. Indeed. At home. Ih t' ~· .tre ruled by wh im. T hey seem 10 go fro m imerest 10 interl"s l \\ lIh no d iscern ib le- rJltern o r co nnect io n. ded lc.Hing.tn i1pp.lrently r;m do m .tmou nl of li me 10 Jn~' ginn co naTn. T he few m o ru is who meet them cldSS lf~ ' Ih ..m .IS fick le 011 bes!.
Once bC~lI n . rhe proccss of credrlOn co n rlnued. The fi rs l do m esl ic beas!. the gredt cow. Audumi.:l . nursed Y mi r. T hu s ma rc gldnlS "'e rr bor n. unlil. .It Ids!. Ih er c wcrr some ",ho were not wllhoU I me n!. 1\"0 of Ihese. BaH dnd the ~ldn lrss. Bcslla, ~o1 \·C bi rth 10 sons who werc nOl ~ldniS bUI [he fi rsl ~ods. T h c ~' werc O dm. ViIi. dnJ \e. T he ~oJs were much smdll"r Ihan the ~l.lnIS bUI were
T hl' gods know Ihem 14
J
lill ie b..lter. bem~ Fa mfull~·
., 1\
~~~
' \I f
aware of their magl(.11 nature. Th e ma gical skills o f
J
long -l in~d
Elf (and they don't die of natural causes) e m surpass even th;1I of rhe gods. Th ankfully for the other Lesser RJ«('s. their bi rth rate 110 verv slow. Unfortunatelv, they do hJ.H' .I eendcncv to acqu ire human women and childre n. usu.l II~· Ihrough unsavory means. for use as mares. Un like humans, H is d rare Elf who cannot rravel between worlds. allowing t hem to triteract with other socieries as the individual Elf wills.
New Races Elws.
underground. No rhmg resemblmg an established nobifirv
109 wuh rhem a nskv venture.
exists. though Dark Elves of J strung natu re can Impose their will on others m dicuwrlJ.1 fashion. Otherwise. Elves. if gon-rned at all. ho ld to deceions by t heir respective ,"il1.Ige councrls, Bo r h morals ar leasr bv, human sundard s ) and nuc lear familv unns are d isn ncrlv absent. Child ren Me' r.ns ed comrnunallv dnd lineage I S traced through t he mother.
Froll GIol1llS Frost G I.lnts are clever, with most h.l\"Ill~ an Inlelll~ence and \ \i"Jom score III the r~ngr of 12_ 1S. Some 2S% of all Frost GIJ.m~ J.re Sorcerers . r.ln~lllg up to 10th Level. SranJlllg, on average. 1; fee[ tall, the\·'rr ..lso lough. When crutlng a Frost GlJnt for use 10 the camp;ugn, the H Igh SIuIJ shou ld re-roll "m )" I 's generaled on H it Dice rolls to re-Ilcn th is. 0
-
J.
mav not be of U'" ful Alignmrnt.
l>w.Jrws 1.l\lOg mosrl v underground. D.... arves suffer d -J penalH· to all die rolls in normal ~unllght. Regardless of ....-hether they are uwful or Chaotic. Neutral or Evil. ft10 n.... arves are of Good Ah~nmem. m.ik..ing deal-
Elves don't budd large C!tIC), choosmg in st ead to congreg.He In t nbal villages. Dark Elves mostly lin'
Some famous Eh·e:. ar e Vin dalf
Eh·r~
war rtor who can rid e
t he \-n nds, G and.ll f. J Intgh ty praClltlOne r of m.lgl ':: ..10.1 Alrhjof ;1 ma st er o f rh icves. Thc latter two are Da r k Elves. Alrhjof IS more than w illing co in ter act w nh mort als and reach his sk ills to all ..... ho C,1n p.1y, Four D ar k Elves - Nordi. S udn. Auvm, an d Vt'stn - aid O d m willIn gly, hel ping rn.unt .nn rhc bal an ce o f th e .....o rlds.
HS-
Fire G"H1t$. l.ike Frost Gianr s, the- Sk..lIJ shou ld re-roll ;my ts on H it Dice..Also highh lI\tcll.gt'nt. Fire G I.lnts tyrically range between 12 ~ l1d I (, for their Intelligence score-s. O n..lluart"r of them are \\'i7,1rds '"ho can reach as hIgh .lS 12 t h Level. Utg.lrd- Loki, king of the Fir.. Gi.m t s, IS a t s rh Level Wizard an illLl siml ist srf'c ialJst) wirh an 18 lnrelligence.
Ntdovellir Nidavellir is rhc Lind o f rh c D w arvcs. Whi le Elves at least supe r fic ially res em ble th eir ty p ical (ant ,ls}' counrerpart s. the D warves o f Norse myth art' quit e d l n~ rc lH fro m ..... hat playe rs mAy expect. Nidavellir is .l bleak place t ha t even the gods avoid if ,It ,ill possible. D warves are secrc uvc and mysterious .md ann-soc ial even amongst themse lves. Ours ide the exten,:h-d t:ullily unit . they have no real gowrn ment. T her J.re reclusiw, USUJlly qu ite ug ly. dnd J.re gr ner.tlly full o f sel f-pity .1l1d lo.n hin g fo r t he know n uni\"('rsl".
delayed \\Tdlh. A D warf \\"1 11 hArdly be- J ble to hunt down o ne who h.ts wro nge d him. but J potent skill III m,lg i.:: make'> the cu rst' o f .I wronged Dwarf somrthmg to fe.lr! Few e-\'en J mong t he ~ods have t he ("our.tge to J tlempt to swi nd le J. D WJ.r f ou t of his or her fee.
As J gl·ner.11 rule. ther .Ire not good fighters but .Ire quite adepr .It l1lJglC. In f.t(" t, mo st of rhe m agic fo und III the ;-":orse uni'·erse comes fro m f) Wdrwn fo rges. The re IS no ahrUlsm ro be found in rhei r 10\ "1: o f ("fJ.frtng magl('J.I weJ.pons and rools. A D war f exJ.C(s d hIgh price for the fJ.\"or of cre.lting d mJglc Item. To che.1t a Dwarf IS to incur .1 long-idstlllg .md often
D WAf\'es arc pJ.lllfu lly ugly. J nd some e\"en have crow's fee l. They te nd to d ress rusticd lly And .Ire r.l rel ~· encountered .Inned. The Dwa r\"('n blnh rate is ewn 10ll'rr than Elves. dnd fClnJlcs J.re scarce. A.-:qu lflng a br ide IS often .1 major gOdl for J. D W.1r f th.lt wishes to intera.:t with the 0 1her Td("es, J.nd dcqu lflng ant' IS frt' q u e n rl ~' part of the bArgJ.in whrn negotiJ.tmg .I fee wuh a
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D warf. Some nmes capt ured hu man m ares are released back in to hu ma n <;ocH'r}' w ith srdn ling effects. M ost such hu mans ret urn q ui re mJ.J, rh ou ~h a few are gIfted
with InAg_c.ll powe rs.
New M onster: Sea C iant CR: II ; SZ: Hug~ GiJO[: HO: 16.:18 + 96 1f,S HP . ISIT + I: SPD: so ft.; AC!.1 .z SIze. + I Dt-I. + 12 ~,lturOlI : ATR: GilrgolnrlLUl Spur +221+li.'+Il melee or +12/+7'+2 [,mg~d 4d6+18 melee or -+d6+12 r,mged' FACE: 10 fl. ~ tofe.. REACH: IS [r.; SA: TI>i~J W:u~· SQ: Amplubroes. Underw .are r Sn1 • S\': Fon + 16. Rtf +6, \VIII +6; ABIUTIES: Str ,{-t,On ILCon!.L!nt 14. Wis I2.Cholll: AL Of[en -"";E: ~R ILLS: Climb + 10. Jumr +8. usten -e io. Spol +10. $"'lIn +12; FE.\TS: Alerrness, Cleave. Greater Cleave. Power .\[(.;I;::k Tidal Wa\e Ex - Due {O their l,1rg.. \ 17e and Jrtlnll\ ",ith water. SC,l, G I.;Inu have learned to fUp their h.uds. ,lnd push urge' amounts of ....-arer at rhetr opponent!>. A glolnt's TldJ.I \V,}H' moves at 50 ({ per round from the round that II ~[a rts and travels up to -1-00 feer before it breaks. The VoJ\(' dolmolg~~ .... h..rev...r H bre..ks upon. mtl i.:tmg ~d6+f, pOUltS (11 dam;l;g~ plus In additiona1 IJ6 tor everv ;0 f~~{ it travels beyond the first so fcrt. Thus•.\ Tid.ll W;He [h.lt breaks 5 1~ IOO feer JWJV fro m the ~ I.mt would deal 4d6 + 6 pomts ~f J,lm~ge. ,;ne Ih,1[ breaks IO I- I50 feet .lway would cause 5.16+6 pomts of d ~ m.lge . .1Il,{ so on. The SrJ (j i,lllt can co ntrol whe re [ he b reak occur-s by nuk mg an ,lllil ck roll agaimt ,10 AC to. All creatures within 50 f- er of [ht' bre.lkn rake rhe d:lmag e. th o ugh the)' mJy nukr ~ Refl ex Saw tu tak.. h.l.l ( J
A mpblblC'US £': - Su Gl.lnts are eqUol1lv .....ell at home Ul the .... atrt" or on Im J. Tky (.;Ill bll:ilthe and mo\"('· undcnu[cr JUSt;lS II mn' ~cre on dry bnd.
c"J,""",ur 5rnu Ex -,4" Seil GI.l.lII (.Ill lUCille crealure!> undenulcr .... uhin iI 50-foot tildius. ncg..t1ng Ihe ~ffC'(a of poor \Islbilit)' ,md mVlsibl!uy. 10 % of,)11 Sf"iI G loiInb be-com~ Sotcuc:rs.. The~f" nuglC-wll"ldl"rs (";10 reJch up to 6th lc\el.
U nl ike Elves w ho have J di vine p.n TOn. rhe D warves were created br accident from the blood of slain M innr. T hi s rac ial mem o ry o nly serves [0 dar ken the ir already do ur pe rsona lities. M o st D warves are quite bi rter about rhe cosmic scheme. A few. ho wever. are outright evi l and some even d well In rhe o uter regio ns c
of the lands of H el. Some fam o us D warves In t he mvrhos include Andean. who gU.lrds rhe grea test D warven treasure hoard o f .III. T he hoa rd is cu rsed. of co u rse. to all who plunder n ! Si nd n was accou nte d the fi nest sm it h in Nidavellir.•md hIS bro ther Brokkr t he ugJ.est !
[otunheim and MIIsptlhtim These are rhe lands of t he gi ants (somel im es refer red
as. "[ onms") . ete rna l and \"(' r~' worthy foes of the gods. Jot unhcim is the brger of rhe two . an d is pop ulat ed by Fro st G iants. M uspelh eim. su rro unde d by the dar k and dread fo res t o f Mirk wood . is home to t he less numerou s but far more deadly Fir... Gi ants. Neither realm I S for rhe fault -heart ed. N o n-divine bem gs usually end up as a giant's IUI,,:h , and even ti ll" gods are a bu overwhelmed at tunes. to
The gi'lnts wac nearl y all slain ea rly in t he cosmic g am l" bv Odin and his brother s, and t hcv have been enenues ever s mce. Thi s do es not pr ev{'nt them from havin g dealings wit h th e god s, but it is always for self-gain and not for th e co m mo n weal th at suc h events transpi re. All gu nts ar!;" blJck-h edrt ed and cunning. seeming to pers oni(~' the wo rs t tr ,Ill S o f hu m,m l[}'. The st ructu re of their soc irty is tribal in nat ur e wit h J I,ul havin g nomina l r ule ove r a certain te rr itory .md reponmg to the King of t he Gi,lnt s.
.
.
Fire G IOln tS ,lft' l'\'en mo re worthy fOt's Ihan Fro st G I.lntS. Th,m kfully. they are not as numerou s. T hey l end to be more cc: ntrd lly o rganiud an d lawful. though sti ll tr ibal in nat urc. W hil e It Cdn bt' arg ued [ha t Fro st G iants oUe bt'ner WArrior s. Fire G iants .Ire undoubtedly bt'u{'r soldiers. In additio n t o Frost and Fire G iants. less{'r types do ell:ist. Hill Giants arc com mo n to bOlh rt'alms and 0lfC' occas io nally fo u nd in Mi dgard ( t he land of mort als).
Thev are typ lcdlly brutish beings. often used .IS pdwns and cannon fodde r by true giant s {rha r IS, the Fro st and Fire Gianrs}.
M orral beings can adventure m the outer regions of :--':i lleht'lm. and J few brave or foo lhardy ones risk rhe wrarh of Garm fo r rare herbs and or her treasures to be found there. T here IS a place wirh in the underworld. however, rhar no II\'mg bemg Coin penetrate: rhe H alls of the Dead. The dead here .Io,\.IIt the End of T imes far d ifferenth' than those In V.1lhdll.t. When mosr mortals d ie, rhey ~,mply cease to exist, but H el claims those of noteworthy deeds rhar do nor merrr Valh
Sea GiJnts are verv rare. They can breathe arr or water equallv well and move .H the same rate In water as on land (alt hough they rarelv have need to). Sea G iants pursut' their 0\1. n gOdb. and keep th~lr own counsel. Like ,1.11 glo1ntS, rhcv are evil. but they are not .1S malicious d.S the Frost and Fire Gunts. Sed. Gunrs are luger but more recluvive cousins lO rhe other principal Jotuns. Frost Giants and Fire Gianrs. Thev are J.S black-beaned and evil as other giants, but they have their own agenda and typlC.1Jly keep to themselves, Mosr Sed. GldntS live in underwater castles built in the greJt sed thar sepuates [oeunheirn from Asgard. but they CJn be found throughout the Xine Worlds. mdudmg the oceans of ~ t idgard.
The occasional l)ark Elf. Giant or even Dwa rf will also sometimes dwelli n the outer regton s of N ifleheim. These individuals tend to be ourcas rs even .Imong their own peoples - especially evil members of those races who fin d rhernselves m exile - who wen r to avoid the at ten t ions of the gods they would su relv attract If tht'), carne to M idg'lrd III force. T hey are the worst of a bad lot.
Sea Giants prefer 10 fight with their gd.rgantud.n spears. gonng their opponents wheneve r possible. T hey will also throw the weapons o n the rare occasions when they choose to at tac k at range. :-"1dny GIants are important to t he rnvrho s. Thrvm is gene rdlly aeknnwll'dgl.'d as J grl'Jt lor d (jol rl) among the Fros t Gianrs. Surt IS .I powerful Fire Gi.mt who is also .I gre.u nllill ary leade r, T he nomi nal King o f the G iants is the Fire G iant known as Utg;lTd- Lokl.
AsgarJ anJ Vanahtirn These are the realm s of the gods. Asgard is home to the fierce Aesir, t he scio n." of O d in. T hey are t he most warlike of th e gods, invoki ng the Vik ing-lik e st rreot ype most co mmo nly associ ate d WI th t he rnyth o s. T he Vanir live in Vanahei m ;11,,:1 are a more nat ure-oriented sect of :.::ods tha t seem more akin to .I Cclric morif than Norse. Bot h lands are beaut iful: the sky seems bluer and the grdss greener there. H owever, there IS a ha rshness to the beau ty o f Asgard much like the beauty of the Norweg ran land scape wirh it s fjor ds an d rugged moun rainscapes. Vd.n.lhenn is softe r with lush forests and rollm g plains mor e rem iniscent of Sweden.
Nif/ehtitn Niflehcim. t he land of t he dead. is no t a pleasa nt place by ,my s tandard. It can only be ente red through a can' guarded by the H oun d of H el. Ga rm. Ga rm .1Ttempts to slay all mo n.ds who dare enter the d read realm, dhhough gods are no! assaulted. nor are gues ts of Lady H el. H e can set' (and smell ) invisible ob jects, but he IS not infallible. A pe rpetua l gloom h.mgs over t he realm like .I shroud, and an endless twi light lights the underworld regIOns. One cannot stJ.r he re too lon g without gomg mad .
T he Aesir and Vamr fou~ht 01 bttter conflict with one dnother m ti mes long .Igo. T hi s W.IS called the \Var of th~ Wanes and endrd With both sides exchangmg hostJges dnd tdter forgmg a firm alli,mce ag.unsl all rht' e\"lls m the universe,
H e! IS the rulrr of the nctherworld ,md the daughtt'r of Loki. She IS both grottsque ,md be;lutiful in
Due to their \·er~· n,Hure, the \'.Inir .Ire more open to mmgle wjth the Lesser Races. :--':oble [h'es ,md e\"Cn some I;
'j
·,
\1
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his n\l~h t~· hom to warn rhc ether goJs. Fro m the BlffLl Sl. the pl.un of Vignd srrcrchcs to the on' m \dllch mos l of Ihl" god .. rr-... ide surrounded bv
m.rssrcc walls an d b.mlemem s. H ere Odm All-Father holds court fro m lus m.msron o f Gladsheirn. both seeking and glnng counsel. Od in often IS silent. however. and keeps much from the crhcr gods.
Madness of N iflebeitn Begmnlng tbe second da v. for eve-r, J.-.y.l mortal
spends In S,ll('h{,lm. he or she must nuke ;I Will S;llIng Thro\!, bc~mntng at DC 10 and m.;r('Jsmg bv 'i for everv ..ddinoml dol')' spCll[ In
rhe underworld. Thus . the thud .hr
\'alh.lI1.1 IS the mJSSIH' H;111 of H eroes where rhe Valkvnes l>rlll~ rhe noblest at" fallen warrrors from . ~lid~drd to hom' their marual skills for the: time when thev \1 III fl~hl beside the ~o,fs at the Final Barde. Oaih rhev fighl on rhc Plain of Ida. Those IIho are slam return to life III rune for the feJstm~ and dnnkm~ of much mead that \Tr~' evcmng. H alf these warriors. the Emhena r. .1r,' S\\ orn to rhe direct service of Odin. The
-
In
""-iitlo:h('lm .. a uld force the character to make ;I Will S.l\tng Thro.. ;1.1 15. she fourth d,~y would
be 20, and so on . So long
,loS
th e charact er
mrs nukmg hi :> or her S.o\nng Throws. th ere IS no JJH'r",(' dIcer . H'->W('\"tT. If tnt" character (,uls. he or she goes mad .n though suffermg from the dTC'Ch of an lnsanu v Spell cast by ;I lith Leve! Wizard. Thrs effecl USH until it is ~1~:t1 prop('rl~ dlspdlrJ bv a (ire.ut"T Rcsroranon. Limrred Wish. ~ltr.ld('. or Wish Spell.
rest saw rh .. godJo:ss. Freva. O rher norable POliltS o f mrcrevt III AsgarJ include Thor's nUSSl'" mansion. Bdsktrmr, .... hich has 5--lU rooms, .mJ Ualda's h01l1", BrelJ abllk , where It IS s.nd rhar no un c lean Ih l n ~ c.m cruer, Balders son l-orserns house, Glulla, IS J bi t gr,mJe r wich a roo f o f silver and pillars of gold. Pa h,lf' s most ["ecious to t he guJ~ is che sacred grove where rhc goddess, Id un , wr fe of rhe P'>" BrJgl. cu lt 1\"..111' .<' tilt' golden ,Ipple:s, It IS t hese m.lgi("a l ,lpI'I,'s [h,1l pr,'sl'n'O: the gods' eternal yo uth.
Sl tl...helm IS populated bv OUH iJeTs. The H igh Skald rna,' Cw.h)mILC the Cdmpalgn by .:hoosmg "h.lt sort. sbld) m.l\ choose to populate Sdlehelm .... nh eirber Demons or Devils, bur not both. This decuion shoul d be made ;H rhe ~r.lr[ of [he: camp.ugn . and the High Skald ~hould inform the pl.lre:n. T hese m,lgjc.l1 bClng~ .lrt' often fo und In Midg.m l, sent on errands bv Ihe-ir rtust ress H shr Spins her webs of Intrigue and malice across the worlds.
Asg.1 rd IS t he 1.1lld o f myth .md ma gic, O n rhc silwr roof o f V,Jl h,db the gre;lt go,l[ Heidrun runs tr ee. ('.\tlng the bran clu-s o f rh c ovc rh.mgi ng Tn-e. It s te,lts g Ive fo rth till' s,h- rl'd hOlh'\" 'I'mI.', :-'h' .IJ, which is th e drink of choi ..e for gods .m J m ort .lls, T h,' g rl'.11 hO.H S.1e hrim m ir IS cookl'd ne r\, nl ~h t to fn 'd Ihl' w;l rriors and :;::ods and is , n \;l ~i cJ II \' Jill'" till' next lTl O rnlll ~ . T h" roo f of VJlh.l1lJ IS . m.ld", o f silwr sh l" lds, ,md ItS r.1fters an' of Sf"'MS, Shmmg swords I'rOl'ide: Ilg hl owr the tJbles, an d nOlle m hl'r IS m'l'dl'J. Some SIlO heroes are g,ufison",d t here, but the han ':-,1Il S,'.1 1 .lS lll.llly as ("0 1111' fo r Ih,' t'H'nmg fea st mg,
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morul hUlll.lns l',m soml"til1ll"s be fOLl nd o n Vanahei m. The go ds who dwdl Ihl'H' [end to be m d il'iduahsts and b\"c dpan from one anot her in thf ir prllTld ry dements, Fo r eXdmpk ;-..1/ord, t he God o f the Sea, keeps his mam abode un derne.lth the waters, H e ffiaint,l ins a court in \a ndhe lm. howe'I'er, (or (I'asts and for entertaining gUl'SIS.
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lIfidgard ~l i d gJr d IS th,' H".1lm of moruls and the rnJIll settmg
T he oft-tra\'cled Bifros l, aptly cdlled t he Rambow Br id ge. is the gateWd~' to Asg.trd and IS gua rded by rhe god, H eimdal. tht' eHr-ngilan l Sentry of thf Gods. H e :Jreh- Ie:a\'cs hIS home by Ihe bridge ,md neds \'fn' In. de' s!e:ep, HIS bnef dbsenl'e~ are .lst nde hIS ml g h t ~, .... arhorse. Goldtop. In t he event of d.mgff, he sounds
fo r the cJ mpalgn. :\ Sl'p.1fate di SCUSSio n of its kingdoms n h grl"all"r Jl"ta d follows.
\1
T her t' are II\\' Illam kmgdOlns. m ~lI d g a rd. The~' .1fe sllnpl~' known a:- th,' ~orthem, \\'..stem, ~liddle. Soulht'm, and Ea~tern "i n ~ d o m s . There IS .I.lso a l.trge Island to
IS
the northwest of t h,· mai nland t hat
I S .I
-sep.lr,H" po lnic al
ent ll~·. Each kin gd om has ItS own Llngu,l~e t·x.:.:-p t fo r
the Island s, which spea k
deba sed fo rm of \ \'esurn. Unlike most l~lI\tds\" KPG s. tha,' I S no "common tongue." Nat urJ II~" chis isn't a problem fo r t he ~ods sin.:e rhcv ':':10 speak .10,'1 understand .loy I.m g u.l g.:-. ,I
New Monster . Gann,
tbt Hound oj Hel The Northern Kingdom
CR,: 12; 5Z: L ~laglc.J Ik.1M ; rm. IldS + 60; I~ P: 110; I~ II: +8 ++ DEX, ++ Imp. Inn. SPO:;o iC't"t ; :\C: 13 -I SZ . ++ DE.X . +10 "";,HurJ] ; ArK: 81t(, + 12 '+; +2 mel ee
CrC'grolph;' - The topogr.l.~hy of chc Northern Kingdo m IS alterna telv mounta inous with small. fertile vallevs In be tween and tlat wnh large . t rackless forests. Open plains are rare outside" of .In'.I!'> cleared for tJrmbnd. .M ore
+dlo+s fAG: : S"' bv 10'; REACH:; ' SA: Fear Aur,l DC 16. Trample .2dS +; ; SQ: D.ilm,1~(, Rt'du(lltln lS I + Z, Scrnt . SR 12; SV: Fort + 1 ~ . Rei + s . Will + 5; STR 20 . DEX 1S ,
t rees are frlled as the ~'ears go by. howeve r. to budd the ships on whrch the l'conomy of the Xorrhc m Kingd o m depends. R,' gard less o f spcelli e geog raph~·. the clirna rc of the :"orthern Km gd o m I S uruversallv harsh an d cold.
CO:--: 20. I:"T r z. \\'IS r 2. CHA 10; .'\1.: :'\:F.. SkilLS: ~l"""l + I S. \\'ildemess Lore + 10. LI'>tC'n + 10, Jump +S ; FE·\TS: Imp roved InUI;Jt!\e. Tuek, Alertness,
The coastl ine IS po c krna rked with Inlets fro m rhc sea. an d it IS on these [h,u mo st sct tlcme n t s a re fo u nded. The t erram keeps scrrlcrnc n rs small with onlv a half dozen rcco qni zablc towns bei ng p resen t. Or hcrwise.
G~rm IS
rhe 'mghf\ dog that serves both as the udy H er ~ fX'1 and IhC' gU;Jrdi.ln of Sitlt'hC'lm . Very lirrlc gC'ts 1'''''1 hi" keen senses, All mcrrals and .1 few lesser \!od~ over the \ ears \\ho have rrted to enter H t'l 's demesne "i'thout her leave have become perm,olnen[ resident s of the dread realm due to hl~ It·Hlcin·. He is rarelv awav from the !iale, dlOU!ih s'omettmr~ H:I will'send hun o~ an nrand. If he IS absen t. d IJrge pac], IS + ld6. of Worgs \\ ill rake hIS place. T h..Tt' I ~ a 10% chance that he will be encountered wirh a standard-sized pack ( 6 ~ 1 I of \ Vorgs since these crea tures worship [urn ,IS .1 "gnd."
peop le dw ell m exte nded fal1uly Unit s t hat roug hly co rrespond to smal l villages. T he b rg" s, town s are rb c capita l. Ozlo, .1111.'1 Tr ek h'"lln.
Rrh..eINI • T Ill' Xort hc rn Kin gd om fo11O\\"5 the r ruesr pat h as far as relt g lOus beliefs arc concern ed . Both the Aesir .m d Vanir are hon or ed III t he N orth ern Km gd o m . T ho r is t h r mo st co mrnon lv worshipped d eity, followed clos rlv by Odin. Frey.1 I S .1 di sr.nu third in sheer I1UITI bcr of toll ow r rs. C lt' rgy arc nor org,lniZl'J on a national level. ;md 10C.ll pri est s o fte n s hare time presiding o ver sacrificc.s and fes t ivals wi t h rt'glOBal notabl es. often th e jarl o f th e area. TI lt' big t'x,ep t lon is till" m,lssi ve te m ple .11 Uppsala. A Iw.lU llfu l b u ildi ng wirha roo f inl.lid WIt h
Gann IS on .. of the greatrr monsters of the mvr hos. Su(h creaturc s wou ld never be encountered by morcal minions and are J huge challenge for Lesser Gods. C reatu res lik.. Gar m f.Ke ,1 dt'stm\' iIt Rali:nJrok .md. Ihus, should nOI b(' r.tn.fom l\" ('~(ounte red, Su,h mUlmgs should .Il".l>'~ b~ Jel.bC'rJtel\' pl.mned .I S pJTl of .I hlgh.I('\·d or 1'1'1(, s.lga-ch.lngmg quesl. Garm is Ihe 1C'.lst of the "Big Thtet'"' mon~ters. Both Fenns .lnd J o rm un ~.lI1der UI' more pow erful . ~
~ol d, the te m ple i~ t he cen te r o f .. lit eral .:alllpus d n 'o t ed to wo rsh ip and leJrnmg. T h." d.-rgy he re is q Uite org.ln l;ud wi l h ,I <,t n.·[ hler.Jfchy. A High Pr it' s t of O d in i~ in ch argr Jn d hol ds th e o fti..:e fo r life.
Cultll rr • A h,lrd dnd d o u r pr o pit'. [he :--': onherner s Jre mo re su i (~d to W.-aT [h J Il tW.I ..... H Owt' \','r, th er US U.lJly do not fig ht fo r s.1ke of co mbJ [. T he .-ountry h.ls lit tle in d us , r~' dnd whJ( economy eXIS[S is b.lsed on fishmg .md Sm.il l! (dr m s. H en ce. the :\'onht"Tn Kin gd om reli es he;Jn l~' o n tr J d ln g dn d rJi dmg tu ~hore Up.1 wea k
ti n.mcld l silu.ltion. T he IslJ nd s .md other coastdl rt"gions m o lh rr eounlnes arr [Jrgr(cd fo r Jttempts to open 19
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run their n- mrorv with linle interference from Ozlo. Th e Hi gh Priest o f Odin Is far more meddle some than IS the f...: ing, Twice a re,u. a nanonal COlldJW (a meeting of state IS hel d. T he Conclave ae the Winter Solstice is held at
Vel/bamll vrh Leve] awe. SZ;
~I<,dlum
Ozlo, and rhe su rmnernme gathering H umanc rd
pcr Dav, 0 b. 1st 5+1 . znd ,+1 , 4th
1+1,
5th
p,HttculJr. He:
IS
In
rhe Xorrhem Kingdom. M ili tAry Tht towntry IS poor ttr,..,in fo r tavalry, anJ bonrs af't rart f or planting. mwth liSS ,,,./llary uS{. Tbt StAwara Jarls mAintAin mAny shipsfew raiaing ami traJing, but An orxanizta nary ana naval st raltgy aon', (Xisl. ,Vaval raiairs art typitaUy armtJ with sbonsptars ana hanJaxes. Th ry wtar paUta armor anJ tArry wooJtn SbitlJs, Most art Uarrion of IKtwt{pt znJ ami 4th Inti. p
Most tommon infantry ha\'t a small wooJm shit/J anJ wtar a Itatbt r .ap for p'Ottl'ion. PaJatJ armor is tht most common typt of armor W(/rn . T ht sbortsptar ana hanJa.n art tht Prt aominAnt wtarons among 'bt rant ana filt. Bowmm arc rare, hwt tbry ao txis', comprista mainly of min juagta too SmAll bt gooJ mtltt fighltrs . Inf antry solJim art a mix of Commonm (40%) ana Uarriors (60%). Tht /aUtr rangt btt wtm lSI ,ma yJ Ltwl. War partits of mort tban j O bavt a jO% cb",nu of bring Ita by a f igbtt r of ut to j ra Ln'tl,
~rd
p
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'0
\cllbJum IS t he Htgh Pnesr of Uppsala and IS rocallv dedicated [0 rhe gods In geneT,.1 and Odin In
at Uppsala.
In addinon to humans. Trollborn are commonplace
HD: 9d 8 + 1~. HI': 72 : 1 "IT: +1 +1 Des » SPD: W [ t.: AC. Ii + 1 D C'.s: . +6 Armor ATK: Hr~ \ \ ;\bu +8 +l melee 1.:18+1 ; FACE. 5 it 'i [r : RFACH : ifr. S\': Fort + to, Ref +~. \\111 +1 0. ABIUTES. Str 12. Dell" 11. C.on I J. lnt 14, \\'IS 18. Ch.l 1-1-; AL: LG : SKILL'\: Dlpl omAc\' It>. Ht'.l.1 15. hno",lC'dge: . Mow!('dgC'; 'varure I L Serve S; fEATS : Comb.u c.utln~ . Endurance . GlTa{ Forurudc lmpeo- ..d Unarmed Strike', Sltill Focus: Diplom".:y: SPECIAL: Turn Undead: SPELLS; Dom,un\ - 1..oJ'" and .\bgK, Spells 4+1
IS
qUill: lireral in hrs belief III
Odm's wtll as he st'n H ; but is not ne.lr lv.n Jogm.HJ' U the Hi gh P,H TI ~ r ~ h of the- Romani. \eUNum sees h lm~l( J~ the gn.·JU~t figure In the t'onhtm KIIl~,fom ...... rh the Klnl'. rnerelv muscle and stnew to be used in secula r affarrs. H e IS growmg ~un"l' rn ... d I< uh the menace (rom t he
Jarls tttp an t/ilt boaygwara callta H owsu arls. Swth w",rriors usually wtar cbatn shirts ana conic",1 bt ims. T bry wit ia batt lt axts ana tarry lar;gt wooam sbitlas. A ja rl will owtJil bimst lj as txpms ivtly as possiblt, ana it is Ollly amOtlg tht "obits tbat sworas art rommonpiart. Jl owsu arls art Warriors of 3rJ to 5th Ltv tl.
E.l~t, hJl° lng rr"d d isturbing Slgn~ and po rttnts. To th IS ... nd hI." l ~ rven I
I~"'~I As befittmg hIS Sl .uion, \Hlh.mltl ha.~ morc
to rm. ~ I ': than mos t. He \\-un a + I Bre.astplate and I
m ,l ,· C. III addIt ion heposse-SStS ont ot lhr (ou r Grc-,H Rings of t~~ll POl|
new ffiukets for the procuremen t o( goods not e.asilv .acqUired olt home. \\Then tr.ade (.ails. rAid in g puties are sent mste.ad,
The IVrs ffrn Kingdom Grography • \Varm alld pledsdllt temperatures make the W es tern Kin g d om a l.1nd of milk Jn d hont)' co mpAred to the other cou llIries. Ro ll m g countrys ide .l.nd small fo rest s predollu n.lte with mount .l1nous regIOns on thc borders helpmg (o rm a ndlllrdl d cfl'ns iw barrier. Ri ..ers are lo ng , n.l\"lg.able, .and imponant in d'lily li fe. The pl.ains .and r i"er s hJ\'e givrn r ise to .l. good ly number of luge settlemf'n ls ("ompued to mo:">t of the other kingdoms, Impo n .l.nt \\"ollled ("l(CS arc Potree. C.alhr . B.1rdot, and :-'Iul.m. RtlJgum. In thIS cJ,tegory. the \Vestern Kin~Jom is at a .:rossroJJs In compol rison to the others. Throughout much of us history. Ihe gods of the \'amr hdJ s\\".a\'. This IS stilI true J,mong some conserntiw nobiJ.t~, .1Ild
A nomin.tl king t"XISU, but hc= is IiterJ1J.~· "first .among equals" (.;Ither than a traditionoll ruler, Loc.allords (called '·prls'·
!O
or
most the ccunr rysi dc. T he seas and rrvers are o f great Importa nce to Wesre mcrs. and. con seq uendv. Aegir. rhe GoJ of th e Sed, and his Wife, R an . arc th e most commonlv wo r..hipped de nies. Frey. Ullcr; an d Freva though only In her Goddess LO\'e aspect ] arc also highly vene rated. C lergy are organ ized on a local an.:! reglon.ll le\·el. wnh pr iests and pr iestesses play ing a key role In local affairs.
or
Linbelm srh Level BdIbilTlan: 52: ~l edlUm Humanoid I l D: xJ I 2 + T6; H P: 7 J; t-"": IT: + , +JD('l( SPD: JO ft AC' 17 +2 Dell. +5 Armor AT!\.: Shonspur +11/+71+2 melee. +11 r.lOged Idi\+o+. Gre.ll~.. ord +15 +10 +i melee 2J6+6 ~AC~...: ~ fr J( 'i fl; Rr:-\CH: HI. S\'. fort +8 , Rtf +5, Wlil +5: ..\ ,SlUtES: S[r 18. Des 17. Con n.IO{ IL \\'15 J 2, Ch.l f i; AL eG. SKILLS: Dlp!o1T1.1,;"\ 10. Handle Amnul l L Intlmid.ae Ii, S.. I1T1 0; \\ I!,-ferne~) Lore t z . \\'eapons1T1nhmgI.! fEATS; Iron Will, Leadership, Power Amck, W("aron r"OCu~: Greats..-ord: SPECIAL: Rage ) JJ.Y. Unc.lt1n\ Dodge' Dex bonus to AC Unc.an",· Dodge' can't be Ihn~J
H o wever, t he Western Kingdom I S d Ffllne tdrgel fo r i'-:orthern raiders. Over the yeJ.r), some Nonhemers came not [Q lust raid. hut also to serrle J.long the coastline. ,md rhev brought rhe rr own rchglOus \ iews with t hem. Most Xort hern raiders follow the mOH' a~greSSl\'e Aes ir ( t ho ugh the Vanlr are equally wo rsluppcd ar horne}. and the senlers thus brought heavy wo rship o f Odin along with Thor and T}'f. Far more insidi o us rhan rhe colo niZing X orrherner s ( who art" nOI an apostolic lot ) i s the f.m h o f the So uthe rn Kingdom . The Ro mani Templars have begun to step up miss ronarv dctiv ity rece ntly. a practic e th ey beg.1n near lv two de("J. dl',s p rior. The Romani heavily pros elytize, bUI have made o nly ,I few Inroads into the co unervs ide. More nnpoftJ.1H ro th e "Iemplars is rhe no bi lit y. M J.ny key no bles h.l\'l· been co nven ed, forCin g th eir ser fs Int o th e new faith . The vile Duke de Rhone was the m ost important nobl e ('" OIlHTU d until this very year. :--:ow. the dderly King Co me ah has become a convert. Whar [hi .~ holds for th e future of the kingdom is unknown but o f g re.lt co nce rn for Westerners.
l.inhelm 15 the titular kmg of rhe North Unlike most of hl~ predecessors. he una) to t,lke his lob )crtousl\· 'he does more than force the prls ro .acc("pt him .IS an honored guest so IhJ.1 he coin ~ponge off of them . .In.:! IS the most effecu\'C' H igh ~ m g m the lasl cenrurv. This asserrtvcness h.ls won him grudgmg [("'reet from most of the prJ) bur often rurs hUll ,II odds with the H Igh Priest at Uppsala, Fortunatelv, both Linhelrn anJ H ll:h Pn(sl lii~lj \efJ~.lum il J\'(' been good (ril'nd~ for m,\Il~ j'r,us dnd were so long b..-forc ascending to rhctr curre nt positions. Srill, e,lo: h has his own dgcnJJ, ,1IIJ Northerners !J,.(' In (e.lr of the Jay rhar rhese two )tron!:-wilJ.·d and stubborn men end up on "PPOSHf 's"i('s ofa cru.icalrssuc.
Culture - Cl t".lr cla ss lin es di vid e Western sociery. At the bottom of rbe soc ial l.ldda .ire th e serfs . and their [c wer-clas s eq uivalents in th e towns and crtres. Slightly above rhem o n th e soc ial rung arc rhe tradesm en and profess io nal sold iery of the nobles and town s. Then co me the ciry and co ur t o ffic ials, alo ng with the cle rgy. At the ro p o f t he pecking o rder is t he nobility. These arc dl\'ld t"d Into kn ights (.....ho .m: landles s) . Baron s, Co unts (..... ho ru le to..... n ships) , Dukes and fin ally t he King. U n like the :-":orthern Kingdom .....he re t hey arc qu ite rol'ulous, no Trollbom hw 1t1 the West ern Kingdom.
Lmlrclm wears chalnmdll mto battle and carshort spear; \\ hich he Will rnuahstlc.llh~~N hurl dunng ;l clurgI' mimicking Odin .. H.' rhen reiII'S upon his mlghn Greatsword, which IS .I m;tglCJI + 1 we..lpon. ncs
1
The country is pr ima rily.m ag r icu h ufd l powerhouse, but guild J.ainty .lmongst the \'olrlOUS t roldesmen enlivens most to " ns. ;\ rising middl e c1.tss molY threat en th e eX isting SOC ial o rde r if th e wo rld SU [l;I\'es t hat lo ng. i':obles produce nothmg bu t In t he .trts, and w.trs among themseh'es ,Ire ofun cons ide red J.n ,u t form. \\'est ern
.1
no bl.,s a[l' nOI expa nSIOnists, t hough . prefe rring to fight e;ach other b...t \\ een h.trwSls n rher t han conqurr new re rmor)" beyond t he borders of the kin gd om . M ilita'} - Each nob" 10rJ maintains a small, tnuttJ rrtimu of mm-at-anns. loyalguarJJ arr t.rt to 41b f.n,tI nAmon
nest
21
anntJ ",ith 101lgl",orJI a"J largt ItttllhitlJl. T hty ",tar
[ ac Corneah 6th Level Erpert ~1t"f(hJnl '5th Le-el Aristocrat/ 4th Level Expert S.lilor SZ; Medium Hum.an HD: IOd6+SdS+4S ; HP; 118; I. ' IT: +j: SPO: in fr.: AC. Ii +.2 Dex, + 5 Annor \T!\. : Llgln Mace +11 '+7/+2 melee Id6+2 : FACL ; II I ; ft : REACH : 5(t: S\': l-on +4 . Rtf +4. Will + I I: ABILITES: Sir (5 , Dex If;! , Con 16 . Int 16. \\I~ 12. Cha
zo, At. CG ; SKILLS : Appr ;u!>(' I S. Bluff 15. Diplornacv 15. ForgC'o 15. Ga rher lnformarion
Ir->11
1 fl , lntirrudatc 16 . Intuit Dtrecrr on 10. ProfC'sslon Merchant 17. PrOfl'S~IOn S.;ailing
I.... Speak Llngu.l.g(' South..rn • SfX" 15. Swim 15: FEATS: Alertness. Gr ut Fonuude. Iron Will. Leadership, Skill Focus : Diplomacv, Skill Focus: Pro(CSSiOI\ :-.terchJnt . ToughncH Good Kmg [ac IS [he .lgmg ruler or rhe Wes[('rn Kmgdom. " former merchant dnd explorer Famous for hrs journeys on rhe K"II'plO, he carne [0 the throne In .10 unusual fhhlOn. When fhr previous king died henles~ and .:i\·i1 W.1r ~t.lrIed ro bruk out, Ide U:M.'d h l~ popularnj: .m':! forum.. to l;lu~' the throne! He proved a capable monarch, bur .n 50 his mind I~ fJ.ding. FI',H1n~ for hiS soul
In
his old olge .I.S.l roung
sailor based In (hcst fit' 11.15 a g-re.l.! wum.sr nzer .I.nJ frit'nd to snhy seamen .m'! their wicked
l'.'.I.ys ). he h.IS .1.11 bur hdndt'd rhl.' keys to the Romani'Te-mpl.l.fS han' be-t'n given lull ,1CCt'~~ 10 the- (ounlry. ,and the!, .I.rt' qUlckl)' and thoroughly tr.msfmmmg 10c.l1 worshIp to !h.1l ot thr Southern wJr. H i ~ soIl' chIld. Pnneess Lorre, reSlSU thj~ usurpmg of her eountn'. Shr IS J natlon.llist who IS offtnd"d h, I'.holt th.... Rom;mi .Ire dom~ to her p,,-orlt .mJ h.. . t euhun·. Wholl !mle po'...tt Ihe \\rsl Ius It"lt o~er Its ol'.n Jestmv ~hr I'.lelds. a dedlc.!.te.:! po\\t't hthln.:! the tbronl'".
IE,..Cl ki~gdom to ~I.llfieius III. The
In the ol.:! d.ns. JJe "orr ehJmmOlil inlO b.ude ;md \ll"lrl.:!...:! .1 J.~ht 1ll.l':C'. \\Imh he u<,ed " 'Hlt rur,:lOr.:!III.1f\ r(tiocnn. He I S ~mll rroh.:ient "lth the I'.r.lpon. but II srl'"ms lik.el\· hi, . .b p on Ihr b.ltrll':fidJ .H e fimsh rd.
ItuJJtJ Itathtr armor anJ roniral htlmtts. Thirty ptrunt oj thtm an mou"ttJ anJ wtar rhai" sbirts iruttaJ of ItuJJtJ It~ tbtr anJ rarry a lana in aJJilio" to thtirI01lg114'OrJI. .\fOlt of thr armin, thougb, art rompoltJ almolt m tin(v of Commonrn. Tbm ulIf0rlunatt conscripts tag along, tontributing Imlt to tbt tault l4·bilt ablorbi"g trrmm J oul losln along tbr front lmes. Thry an' l)'pitally anruJ with rptafl anJ pitebjorltsalT)·tbing to poJtr aJotJrom as far away as possibU. Armor iJnJ othtr protrction Jon't exut for tbrm. A small numhtr of thil rahblt an Iki/kJ bunttrl armtJ l4'itb rompolitt lborr bOWl iJnJ knivn for ptrlonal JtJnm (though running is ulually mosr tffutivr) but, again, no armor. Sobin outfit thtmltlvn as txptnsivtly as possiblt, rbooling rbam mall or a brrl1ltplatt if Ihry ran aiforJ tht latter. Evrry noblt riJn a mount into battlt allJ, thul . rarrits a lamr . A lu onJary l4'tapon il a matltr of ptrsonal rboiu, anJ thtrrJon varin from noblt to noblt.
The Middle Kingdom Crogr'lphy - T he ~lld dl c Kingdo m is .ilmosr tor.l lly isola ted fro m LIS n l'l ~h bo n dcspu c b"mg .u t he cen te r of .\l ld~.u d and s h.trln~ borde rs wit h th e other fo ur k in .~dom s . T h is is because rhc nat ur a] bar rie rs o f wood. Wolte r, and mouru .un. II hil t' not impe ne t ra ble. are forrnida bl e n on ethele ss. In sidl' th e :-'liddl1,' Kin gd om. virg in fore st s abound man almost id ylli c physical se tt ing (q u ire .Ira rt from till' rough ness of its inh.rbir.mrs) . Wic h o nly scattcrcd f'Llln ~ an d c1 e.ltin gs. th l' !\1lddle Kin gdom I S h.udl r (ri l' ndl }' to eHhe r 1ll\',lder s or t he (ormation of largt' st" t tll'men ts by ItS il1 habitant s.
.
RdiglC'1l - On 1r the AeSlf ;Ire wo rs h Ipped hef e. 111 11('h like th l' gentlef \ :ulIr lIsed t o h,' III th e \ \'est ern Kingd o m . U nlikt' Ihl' \\'est . the ROlmni Temple hJ.s not w mpllcatt"d tht' mi x bC'ousc th ey holH' m ad e few mro J. lh . Thl ~ IS p.u dy due 10 the fac i tha t t h t' Ro ma ni do nOI \'iew Illod.fp ng A"'slr 1I0fs hip (('\'eo If the)" fin d It b.1fhanc) .IS "'t"i n~ of as h l~h p r IOri ty .:as .-::o tl\"erlm~ thost" who foll o w the ftl\'ol o us Vamr. M ort"O\·er. t he xl'nophobi;l of ~l iddll' J..:. ingd o m ers is not conducive to miss ionary J.:t .\"lt~·. ~ lore t h.m a few Ro m an i Temrl.~rs hJ.H' been burned JS warn ings. b 'en the ~orthern [f ad ers who hJ.\"t" eSlolb l.sht"d ("omans along t h e borders do not b rin~ knowleJ~e . of the Vamr WI th t hem . T ho r IS the most commonl~' worshipped god. fo llowed b~' Odm.
.
~Jfl1j( ~a~i( All god~ ~round
M(" rrofiocnl In rhe use of Runes 10 )Npc' rhe universe rhern. Odm won kr1Ol'lcJg.: of rhe Runes ~rlrr U"C"mC'nJou.,
,.:Ji-~~cr1fi.:(, losing hi' ':VC In Ihor rrUoC"s'. Th':fe are .!... Run ... m all, and each h~~ bcrh ~ bt'ncfh.ul ~nJ ~ b~n..fcl L'pc'i:t. Knowledlle of ~ pUlIeulaT Runf' tn~blt. thor user 10 cast enher ('fr..rI. Th.. U:s~cr Races canner e~'1 Runts. Ho....r'·rr. thn do \liten mscrl~ theln onto objeers, ~!Il'\lng Ihal there IS some benefit 10 domt: so. In order fllr the Rune to hne anv 1T;lI .:IT.:,;I. !ho1-lgh. II mu~t tu~.. been c~.! br a god.
All Sod, Itno~ one RuM pc.'r .:h~u':ltr level ncepl fOf Odin. ~ho lnmH all 4"', 10 dnnmlne which ones a dei!\ k.nows. Uart ~lth Ihe GCC:;ller God lo rh.. plaHT', Oi"n.. Portfolio. Tht plarer .md tilt H'gh skoilJ ~hn1U[(' chOili.mg one Runt pef Itytl up to th" .:h~f~1("f's maerrnum number. The Hig.h skoild pidls fu)t. lU-K"f Gods choose lhelr Runes from rhose lno...n hI' their palmns. h~ 109 been t.Iughl them 1;".. th .. Greater God. To I..arn Runes. ~S~f Gods mUI! nul.. a Iu,::c6s(ul Runc'n~ft Skill chn:l ~t .I DC ef I~. FallulT mJle.lt~ llul Ih... Rene is prt.stnlh ~'onJ the eh.uKltr" ~hllllv 10 undrr'l~nd. He or she nul' In 10 Ic~rn Ih,s Rime ~g.lIn Ilnl~ ,,·hrn re:a.::hmg a n..... level or If Ihe god h.b Im·d ~nJ f.lliN 10 le~m.lll olht-r ~'~II.lble Runn. Ol"e pl-ll hal kgun. Ih(' chdu('tcr Ic;r,rns nt'... Runcs Iht samt IUV. \\'hrn (,.lrnmg an,," I..,el, h" or sht m.l,· .lll~mpt to lurn on(" nr'" Run... ILI~r God pes ma~' attcmpl to I~.lrn Run{'$ not kno"n b\ thr,r p.lIron~ on,t' Ih.. (ampalgn IS und ..rw~~·. C.lsting Ih~ Runes IS .In eU(lmg pru.:tSI JnJ (.In b..- lOll,...,necd Ihrough Ih.. d{,lty'S RUlm Modifier scc kluw . A god's Rum.: Modlllrr I~ et.Ju.lllO hts Of hcr 11lIcllig,-n{'c Modiflrr. Castmg J RUIl': IS a S[~II,lard ae!l<~11 In-ll-'ruvokcs .In AHad. of Opportunity ...hen d01l1' ill (orllb.ll. The I.lrgrl of.1 Runt' c.ln nthrr b.. th~ caSln hllnsdf ur hnst'lf or Jllolher r<'npielll. "'I!lmg or mhawls", 1,) tJrg<'r rh.. r."tn, Ihe god must snnpl}' "NloIlne Ih,. e£ftrt and SJy the Run .. .Iluud. To Jff..rl J wlllmg reriplem, ,h(" ~"d musl lrar.. th .. RUllc Oil thaI .,,·n.lll. 1,) JITret .In unwilling tdrg"!. dlr Run .. tTlU'1 b.. 'p"hn and hurled h~' powrr of will n the rccipi~nr. TIlt r.mgt for thiS l.lell.: 1$ r,v.. forrl pu 1.... I·d of tht •.ISler .Iud lin,. o( sighl. Unl ..s) spr-Clfi";lll~' 'l.I(ed Olh..f\<-ut'. ;I Rune (;In onlv afftn on" t-lrgt'"t ~t .I lime. UnwllImg t:argt'ts "m .Ilttmpl to reSISI tht' ..frcns of Run~s cast upon Ih..m. rh.. b:a .. dunct ((lr such .In aHcmpt IS 10 + the God 1"rt ~lodifi"r + Inr Rumc Modrfin God Type' reft n to the- Jrnr'- sUlus ~ a u:s!>Cr Of GrralC'f God. f"Ol' ~s.srr God•. Iht muddle' IS + I. Gre.ltcr Gods fu", a modrfin- (If + 2. For cump['" ~SOl. LolJsd.uter .If!l,'mpts ((I ca~1 lilt Run... 1'nl. (In .I (0<'. To prrvC'f)t ha..ng tWU p"'mts of ConsulUtion stoltn fmm him. the IJt I (If til... Rune mu.1 a Forulud... Sa>e Wllh the follo"m!! ionnula: 10 + 1 ~.~ God T,-pc MuJ,f~
nu.u
+ 6 her RunIC .\ loddltr· , nukmg Ih... DC for hiS unng Ihtll'" 17. If ~u«ns(ul. AI"Sd' Runc fal],. I f nor. it succ......ds .ll1d rbe urgrr loses ewe points of Con~titutilln for ~o mmules the dUrdllOn of rhc Rune 10 mmuI~slpr-r level wnh Aes~ bemg 5th Lr,,·1 C:aSIIIl~ Runts rrqulT':s a trrmmdous .leI of \I; rllpowee. and rh... gods .lIT Illftlud m the number of IIITK'S [hr~ can summon anJ foc us Ihn lmd II( enn-gy. A Lesser God can suC'rr'ssfulh e:asl only TWO Runt's a dar. Grratorr Gods C;In C;l.\.1 rhree. Then art 1"0 tx(epuons 10 Ihl~ rule. Odm, b..eausr be kno ....s all tht Runcs and und e rsl.lnd~ them benet dun J1l\' of lilt other gods. can eJst fl" e. Also. a Lesser (;0.:1 "Ith Balder .IS hlS or her p.llmn eJn easl Ihru Run ..' .ll dav, Runes whese dftrt~ .lIT s1-l((essfulh· resrsted do not count .lIgJm~t the- toral number Ih.ll! can be c;r,~t. t be- full eff...(ts of tht Rune must be mvob-d and arr1lord (or Ih" god III be: d",mt'"d of the t'nt'rg\' need..d 10 cast It. HO"''('Ver, sam... Runt~ .Il1o.. a Sa' mg Thro.... for half d.llmag.:. Suc:enst"ul s.nn .IgJIn:it rhese Ruoes ar e sulllrurcd .IS Ihough Ih... Runr ".lI' fully ,.(ic(un .lind 001 .I fn!urt.
Tbe Runts Below art brte f dn.cnpllons of t-lch Runc anJ the- tffl'CU of C'aslmg thrm. r..lch tntrv ronums Ihe: n.mc of tht Runt, Its tr~n,lal1Qund, along wHh a hTlrf Jcfmlllon. Tht rntriors ..J~o Itsl tht brnt(l(lal .lind bJI...fu[ tffcru of each Run.:. All Runi.: effeCls .II'C trratrJ a, Spell-lilt ..fftCls for purposrs of gam... play.
Rmrfr(l~1
EffUl Any finanCial tr.lnHeU,ln or Ji~
pusan undrr thr dTrn ofthl' Runc profit. Roll 1..1(, +.; to dl"!Cmlll1(" the f\{,f(elll;l.~t JlKft;l~e. lxpl.lnal1om of the resuhs include bettcr h~ggljng. purtr meral eontent m c"in~ (m!Od. elc. B,mif,,1 F.ffm, S"m~' .1' Ikornodl but ",lIh a corresponding dc:crta~e In V.I]ue' instcad of the m.::reasc, S""JIlI rh('W; \\'111 neg"'lI"~ COl
err br
J
n'~uh\;1\ ,'11 c.~tra ~%-I(l%
Llllr"'r~n'
10 nlIlHltes/C~,[tr L....d
Brnprr,,1 flim Th ... r~(l1'lrnr of Ihls Rune gams I...." POIl1I~ oi Slrength ttmpor.lrrly Bolniful Lffter: The urget lo,..~ '",0 pom[s of Strcngrh. 5",·,"1 Ibrow ("orlll udt nrga[':1 llto'''/I('n I rounJ/C~ ..ttr Lc.rl
Thorn
[)CVlI
TJI. A
fill Run, Ie e''(Trr!mi
£'f'
(itl.
Bl'tljuJ.1 lifter: ( hauCI",r, under tht bcocfirlal dToreh o( th .. Run .....nIO, glT-l[.:r rrooi .lI~atnu harm. All 5J,\'Ing Ihm", fT("t'l\t .I + I bonw for tlu- duullon of th(" Runc" .:fitclS.
Baniflli Effin, Ju~t ~s Thorn CJn offer gll'Jur protecllon from h.irm. ir can also nl.lkt a (ft'
o..,.I,.:m I hour
wei
Caster
Os c . A, A R""r ~f L"lrlbffn1fft1l1 Bfftt fl411..lJUf_ \\1111(' und~r rbe e!T('ct of rhi, Rune. Ihe U'(lr,("nl I~ nf'C'oalh· insIghtful. -~ ch...rKtff ~JJs +! to "'''''/ICII I hour C.UItr (.LV~I
lk'".firw/ Effur The C,/,.SIeT IS able rc summon
.I.
h,m or her. Upon thIS R... n~ lu.\lng 1>«-11 (.lSI, the nurnt unnJd c n hnrlot ,,"III come to serve the ch,/,u('(<'T rile amount of ume It uus for the hOri,t 10 arrrve " comt'l~t~lv J~pt"nd('nt on II' d"unc~ from rhe god (.ISting rhe Rune. ho~vtr, the absolute fUr!h~st .I sued ....111 come is on .. mIle. Th c hor'e .. b.ov~ thl'" summons .... qUl.:klv .IS ~uible. \\"hlle under the df«(u of the 'ummon•. It "'Ill N: (ompletel" steed
loval
10 SCfTe
Ihe Runt'. Bol",ftol E.bill The .:~ster mar urget .I. 'lOgle- 'reed of olony fypt. If rh", Rune l~ succe,sflllly (~~l, the c.... ur~tt fl..... \,.arr\'in~ its [0
rhe god who
CHt
rr.f,.r from th( god olot
speed in the I11<>SI conveni..m direaiun J.voloIIJ.ble, ...hl.:h Ina" lak.. It 111 ~ huadou, direction. 'l1\e ,rud r<'cci\-e~ olo Will SJvr ro negale Ihe eneccs, bur the throw IS mold.. by Ihe mounc luell: not in rider. S~\"ng Ihr~w' \\-'111 negH('~ IJ"r~IIQ" Iknrfin.•I· I hour/CJ.sh'r I.e.-d. Ihnrful . ruunJiCIMtt I..t·vd
<
lOp
Ktn Tm~. K,
['gb,
,lila f,rt
BllltJltf.ll CifW Bv ms.:nbmg this Rune on an obJra. Ihe C.I,I('r "ails forlh .I m;lgi':;l! rhmc that
c,/,nnor be C::UlllgUlShrd
1...
llOrmolol fTl<"ans. The flame pnmdes
f'C-rfr.·1 .llummJ.l1nn In .I .?lI-foot F.ld.u~ from the ObJl."t'l on ..·h,ch Ihe Rune IS In''fI~J, B..,,~,..l f:.jfw A1tnn.. tl\e!v. Ken e..n N: used to Immedi'/'ldv extlngu,sh ..m 'lnglr Ilghl sour.:e. S('lrm..J.1llghu ~~vC-..1.5
usual. A m.lglC.a1 II~ht SO\Ircr r..cell n .a bonus equ.ll 10 the leve! of ti,e ,J.,ur 'oIh" ..,e,/,uJ H. 5"","1 n-. WIll n"gut's 1),."./IClf 10 mmute Cnur wei
Gyfu
Gifl, G, Giflsj~r jlfVCT lind b¢n,'r'
Bm(!'(I.ll L.ifm Unhke other Rum",_ the ctfcct s of ,h,s Rune are nOI Immcd,atrl~' mvoltcJ. G\'fu IS Ins.:n~d on .In (>~Ie.:t r'th.. r In the god'. PO_~s(""lon or th.H of J. "'11l11l)!: renplen!, Its mAgI': Ins durm.lllr unnllhe obJe" IS Su b....'lUC11tk gIven to "'klthcr ~rson... ho v.111 treat the glHT .I, hI> or her N:~' fflen.1 for the .1uruion of ,he Rune" cff,'et. B~llrfwf I.Jfrn The baneful applrcarron of Gefu 1$ shghth· mort" .51111,tn Once ~~"/'m the Rune IS C.lISi on = oble,-I. Hm.'-('Ver th" lime Ih(' owner of the cbjecr so In)(;nbcd sees it J.'S ..bhorrenr ,/,nd ('/'~u II 0.1.> f~r from his or her person J.'S p""'ble. He 01" she ,,·,11 refuse It> le[r,C'Ve or even ro touch the uem unllilhe durJlllon or rhe Runt' e.lp,res. 5,",,,& Threw- wm ncg,,/,In D"••I",,, I 0 minutes, Caster u"d
IJy n G~.
H,Clory,"JuholoroJ""
&"1u..J fJfw A ere..rure under the mtluence 01 ,I'll. Run~ t.s more pew~rful ,/,nd glorIOUS III .. II tlU{ It does. Tnge[ crNtutt's tt'mponnl,· g.ain Ont ~.1.:IlfIonal Level ,/,nd.ill dv bmdlu hll pmnu, mo.,Miers, de. WI JIC.:omp.ny it. Sot(' ttUt rhlS Level g,un docs not gr.ant kno.. ledgc or ~bllilles dUI rbe creature wouldn't "/'lrC.ld, have. Thus. while .. 'f""II,.ster .. ould be able to ,,/,\t more 'pell~ lh.an nonnJl, he or ..he wouldn'l h.,-e access. ro ncv. sf""lIs the character .:aul.1n·1 preVlouslv kno..',
B"",!"l t..ifut Ch~u(rers under the b.aneful eff,.([s of\\'yn are of scrne of their glory ~n.1, nmsequ..mly. some of the .Ibiliun th.ll J.~company It, Th~ b'/'neful effeLt reduces .I ~rtlppeJ
rh.lr,,/,.-tn {rmpo.,r.lnlv onc Level. Ail benetlU of th.. (hJ'Jcr('r'~
proper I." el .Irt' lo~t until II IS reswred. SoI""'l Throw \\-'il1 negJ.les /)11'.11",11' I round/CJ.~let
N
11(gal
Ltvd
(Had, 11, A E",wtrfllljom of nollu.r)
fltltrJl(I~1 Ljful:
Ht'gal calls upol1 the power of .I ,tmln to .Iffect Ihe surrounding ar..;!.. B..nd'(i.llIr
use.1, the ';I.
mod..-r.alt' r.aln(,/,I! with .III the nJ.{uul bcnefiH .nherent
In
\1\.:h. ThiS Slorm C"VerR
B.l"rfwl Effm ThIS ,lprljc~llOn summons a violent .storm "\..it produces hl'.l\V u,n .In.:! ro..:k-~lu.1 h.liI. The (OIstCf can .:I,re(! ~ number of h.ldsronc.s equoll to I"s or her Level 10 Sln!
1-
NyJ
.VmJ, .10.;- TN "(fa Ie Ind/llrr
BnufinlllEffm ;-":,-d ..110\\0. ,ho!-t bencfiO.llh aff..cred 1<1
endure h..rm berrer, gT.lntmg (Mm .. fC'tnpoln.n-
bonu. of I"~ pomts of COIHllluUOn. Ius tM oppos!{(: ...( ( -, on
B-tfoJ Effin It
t~ UfiC'uJ ..
1m ia
111 dfC'~u. UUllog than [0 sulfrr. ~uch creatures r.. mponnh lose
I""
POints of COM,lltuIlOn,
""""p In
mInd rhar anv crea-
lure redured to 0 Constiturion i. J,.. llcd .
.'ion·,,,, Tbn;>....· Forurud.. ncgJIC'. Lhmm"" I foun·d
I
Is ,lee, 1, TIlt ""''!Y IIIP/Woj
WIHU'
BtIItJ"'l~l Ejjw' Th",C' b.>ndi(l~lIy ..tT"'lfd
bv Is h..\·C' Iht ".:-10... 0 F . AJJIIWnJlIv. the creator e gJIn' .. + ~ ~onu' on 4!1 S
goo
Gtr JI~rw51, I. horN"",l'" (.,tIt n'bu/ sf lift BtPltfin.J Effttt The Wgf't hu gff.U Inslghr mto lIfe .mJ (~NrU~ of Ill(' um'n~, H... or IS tfw.rrl"Orr ..(fordrd .. + 1 NmUS on 5.l1'<"m\t Throws "g;llll~t IlluslQns. B~,ujNll:.:Ul(1 The ttul' n..[\..r~ of thlllgs b«omes clouJed m ..n ..fteet('J Illdl\lJU.l1. H(' or ~h~ mUM r('I'erSt on(' H~('{ of th(' ch..u~tcr·~ J.li~nm~nl, Tht caster ehoo,..-s ",hi~h, Thu~. u"'(ul ,hJuett'" btcoml' Ch.lotie, b·,l ones b«ornt Good. rtc. ChJrll'l..-rs ....ho .arr Ntutr..ING, l"E. LN. or eN alwa~" ch..n~..- tht non-f\euH,,1 J,~pt(t of ,h..-ir ..llgnmenL True Nl'utrJI ChM.lCltrs Wome rither L
*
Eon
&,.tfiti.J Effm' wnn'Vs the ..J'-Jnt"ges of tht \Ol trco:_ 'll".l- oo..s WCI"(' Jmon\l: thr bt'!, n\ti th< ttC"pu'nt of thIS Rune's dTens r..c..,ve-s .I + 2 bonus on ~II unged oI!t.,ch u the- "Wllmts of rhose bows ..ft Imhu..d ..-ithm hiS Of hn ..nuh, &''Iljullifm When u.rg~ted "'ith the- baneful ~fftns. .ill of th~ C'\O's qu"llIltS J~ nnppt'd from rh~ mdlvldu"I, >.Ubj~ctmg hIm or her to .. -2 pelUllrv on ..Il ungd "uoId; rolls, ~oImrg TIr",", \\"Il negJ[ts lJ...."IO~.· I rounJ!CoIsur
u ..d
Btrrificwl/:.1fur ThiS Run .. I In~crlbtd on a PltCt 01 fruit. If r~ lrull I~ consumrJ hdOrr the- JUt.lUOtl of tile' tft~"(lS expIre, th.. perso.>n .... ho toilS It M..I. d..mage Ho.. much dt"pen.:is on rhe tvf't" of dloirUttt Ih..u con!.UlTlfi the m..g.o.l oIpplc, . foruls hnl IdlO+ I hit POint,. God,. who '.lin oil-sorb molt? of rhe m..'!:lC. Lrre b..-UH. Lesser (jods receive .!dIO+1 hit pmnt:\.. ..nd l ....e..rer G<>d~ he..1 IdIO+ I !lol"rf.,1 Effirt PNtrd c.. n ..lso b.. Col,t on .. crearure, c"usmg It 10 .ulfer .l.s though It h.ld been 1'O,!>Ontd ~Iornl ntollUl"(', suffer ldlO+ ~ pomt' of d..lTUgC. Gods .. re .. [Itllt more ImmUlle \lith Lesser Gods loIkmg 2d ltl+ 2 romlS of darn..gr. oInJ Greater GoJs suf(rrmg I J 10+ I hr. SoIl'IIlt lbrcow: Fcnuude negau, /)lImrJC'M l\.rnrllclJ.l - 1 hour/CaM cr I..••-vcl, B,lnrful ~ In,I.rnl.lne<.>U,
Eolb
Difm>t. Z. Vrjrllu ~IIJ I'rorwlcft
BuufimJ lffm. Eolh provides those under
ItS PO'HI\'t'
.I.
+ 1 AC !xmus
to
refluence
n."rrjul flJtrr· It subtruu 1 from the AC of those It is mt ..ndl'd rc hJnn. 54
I'" rbrow
" " ••tlt",·
Fort1tudl' nt"oltr
1 round/Curtr Level
Sigil s.. ~
.~, T1R ~11",,€t o/rlK '''II
Bt~
lffm, Tlv hlo':ht of the on blo"'~ rht tttiptrnt of duo Rune's rtTect A lTYgl~'" II§u cmt.errd on .he urgtl ..ntnd.. m a raJlU~ ..f 6tf olnd olff.. r~ IlIumln..uun cqu..1 10 rhJ.t of mid-afternoon un .I. dOlJJI..~~ JoI\·. BoIlI",,1 Efftlt me light of Iht sun un ..Iso c..u# hum. though. A Urgel cr-carul"(' i. Blmded bv the brilll.ln.:e of tnt Mlll'S power. S""'rw ~, Rtfl ..l< nC~J.te. Du.alll''' B..-netlcloll - 10 mmu[cs/CJ"er Lt:lrl, BoIne(ul roun.!/CJster Lnd
Tiw ryf, T.
~~~r tlllJ M~"I.JI j!ll/
Btllrfitiorl EitUi. ThoM: bl"ssrd b\' Tiw knO'l' grC"ltncss lunJ-w-h.md .:omb.IL C..,rrtsponJingly, thr\ Jur~tlon of thr Rr..U \(,'s tff.-clS. &t1l~f..1lffra· Cn.u.l.Curs who ..r....d.,tud, oIlftct,.J holve theIr m"rU.l1 prOWtSS nnPfll'd from them J.nd suffer -1 ptnall on Joll md~ .uuda ""hilt undrr T,,, mI1utn.·.. 54v .., Tbrrnr Fonitudt ntg..ft [h,r,u",,, I round/CUltr unl In
golm J.
+ 2 bonus on ..II mdu J.tucb for the
Btorc
Brrd: B, S!'!"l J
.....
b-"'~ Htll Ie
&..tjin.zl fjfm: \\lul.. unckr the lfll~ of Brorc. ther..rgtr IS rnJe\O--rJ "no::! rr'f~ JS though Spnng ltSl'lf W('(r Jollve In th.. .-ruturr's bod~' The- urgtl tt"mpololnlv gol,m; lVo'o hn POints prr Level of rhr rr':lp't"nt, ..ud rhtSl' bonus lip ..rt
lost frr~1 10 my J~m.l~~ Ihl'" (h.lu("{l'"f 'lL\t.lm~ ",'hile so aII«I..d. &rrrfi
Eh
1I~.
E,
Tr.n~./I~.noJ
SpuJ
Rnttfin41 tIfm The rrClplnll of tim RuI1(C·, rffl'"ch" Imbul'"d Wlln the- >pttJ of .I mlg.hty COUfM'f. HI' or lin mcvernem UII'" IS uml-'Ol.lJ"ih· double.! B.rrtfiJ f.jfrn 1M 1.I1).'l'"t of rll< hant.jul dINn of FJ> " bur~ .1$ thou~h he 01' she- _~ a FkhorK O\TI"loaJed ",,~h goods.. TN.hna..-ur·~ monrnrol 's sl"",,.J .u If W "l'"lgh~ of the- "¥Upmml he- or \hl'"" c.unmg .... rel'" one 11'"'-1'"1 hlghl'"T th.1n I~ a;:[u.. l1~ IS. \".no,,,&, rarmud.:- nl'"gatl'"s V._lI~rr I rounJ;CuttT Levd
rh,,,,,,
Alan
Mol", ,\1. Tbt '''u/l1(11h ......'ty .....·rr bwu,
8,rr~fitllJ lJfut· ThIS Rune Iifu the Intdll'"l'"! of rhe utg<"t creature, grMltmg.a + 2 bonus ro lorelhgence fee th" Jut.!Hon of ItS dIccr a.rrrfw/ It coin also be- "sed to Jug .. chn.tncr. mind down 10 the louTT Irvd 01 .Inm1.lb. CrUfllll'"S so .If1cned suITer a t....o-poinr loss to rhelr I"tdllgrn~e. 5011I\'1"1 Th"",·; V"·III,\rjt.lu') 1)"'oIIIl,e", I round;CJ.'lcr Lrld
Lagu »"/lr, I., Tin S"!cc"smlfj if H"molMy 8,mJ,r'olll:.fjirr Smul.lr to l\lan, Ltgu surs ;lt the mn... r rcets~e) of th,· llllllJ. Bt'ncfjcl.llly .1ppllcd. It r.u ses thl'" tug.'t dur;tctr,\ \Vi,..-l"Fn b~ t..... o pOilUS. B"1I1,,1 tffm, As if Colli lllolkc thing" dCM. though, so roo c~n it .-loud Ilwlll. Th"se ~trllck d,l.... n hy thIS Rune ~urrrr 01 -2 pell.l]ty to their \\'i.,J"m ".1'1"<". .\·olV''\t 1 brew \\'111 nrl!ples D"'olftcrr. I founJ,iChlt:r L.r..d
I ng
,J-rrnliIY.....'G, lwllrrlU oj L!(r "lid StxUllluy
Brrr~fr(Jll/
LjJ,f1. Tho~ .. undtt th .. milu..nc,. of Ing 5«nl more \ mk .Il1d .IP~lllg. lhr,. thus hk"sed \lInh a +2 bolllU 10 ,h"'lr Chansma "or.:-' .... h,le so cn,h.mtcd. BiltUfiJ f,[lm SOl ~Il u\' pcrfrC! '~cimrns. though. omd rhose eur!
.I""
Datg
DolY, D. / 'lbllc tbollS{ ""'''-' Jllri"US ilrrJ/,., Bmrfit,.1 ThiS Run ... is .. po... erfel one ag.lIlHI 11Ildc.ld. \\'hen (.1st It mllKts rau pomts of dam.lgr pn C.ast('f Level on .In\" numN-r "f und".ld creatures ..... nhm the T.lngC of IfS mOurncr. Thl'" god chooses how to apply th .. .um.1gc-. bur only undcad crNlurr, coin be ol(fccte-J bv this usc of 1M Run c. B."if,,1 tjfm C... ung thl'" Rene in rhrs mann t: r cause a bl.i,t of nghuou\ lighl Inoll n stunning to 0111 creatures, The caster fJU\· .IIT,,("[ .I number 01' ("r'C.ltull" eq\1.11 to hiS 01 hc r Level. ThOM' of ~ Levrlll'"H than the (.InN .Ill' kno<1rd unLOnSClOUS (or I .It' round ThOS(' of equal or g.ro:.aUT lK\'d tlun 1M god. are SrunJl("d ror J round 54\""1 BrncflCul Rdla (01 n.alf d~magl:_ Bane-ful \\ ,II neg.lf" 0..''''1"," Imt.tnunl'"Ous
n......
Etbtl
1If1f'fU14'lJ, O. l1c- uo
BmtfiruJ LjJUl. Ethc:-l prO'·,J.., oldJed securirv for those urgeted bv ,ts bcndlCl.ll dTI'"C!s. It ere..res a ,"'idd. Tn.at nte-nds tn ~11 drrecuons 'or a r...Jius of up to one foOl P" C"St... r Level, Thr shll'"ld will ;Il-mrb 1.14 hit rollin of d..molgt' P" Level ot rhe caster before 'I I ' d.ntrorl'"d. All dJ.molgr duh to rhe goo priOr to the- sh,d.l·s colldpsl'" IS .Ibwrbl'"d bv the- shldd msr.:-..d. Oner It fJ.11s. any .Lm.lgl'" III ...xce-ss of the amount required to knock II do ....n IS mlllCtl'"d on tbe , ..srer. Wb,l.. InSide th .. ,hlel.l. rhe ~oJ fJUl' fight h.l..-i<. bur 0pP"'"enu bevond the r.lng" of Ihc .hleld must be .Hu,k..d "'llh r..ngn1 ....e,J,pons. Opponents insld." thc rAngl'" of Ihe shield m.l\· ignor... ir. bur Ihe)" c;>nnOI rntl'"l "'ithin ils w,llls on..-c il hJ.s bc.. .n crecll,J until it i, km,.:kc-J do .....n. Th,. i:J.""f moll' mclud... oth..r ch.trJ.ctrrs >I ithin thl r.lng... of {hI'" shidd. but they su((cr frum Ih ... '"mc r" , l n cHons. oIfld If th~y Ir.l.\'e lhe- s,l,fcty (If il. Ihry C.lnnlll rrtum until il IS d l.spdlrd. The ostf( C,llmO! I...l\'t" Ih" udius of lhl'" shidd ~, it is cenraed Uplll! htlll or her. Tht" shldd rrlnJ.lns 10 pl.tCI'" unlil .lrslro\'e.l or WIlled .IWAy by t hc god. 8,,":(,,1 tffl(/' Oursi.-I... of nnl'"', homr, on ... c.1n hI' oil the mnn' of Ihl'" .. Iem.·nt~ ..IllJ tho" ... t.lr~ ...trJ by thr b.ln...ful d"fc..-u of Elh ..1 .Irt" '" .lff.,ctrd. ,\ tugt"t 'r.....luTe is Ift'J.Il'"d .IS though unde-r the tlfecH of nlrcml'" cold or nlrclnl~ h"at cJ.stl'"r·~ (hOlU . H" or ,he suffers Ihl' full ,.ffecu .IS Ihough J.ctually ol,solulrrd by tilt' c<'ndHion in que.lum. Thus II IS possIble In gd fr......tblle Oil ol ~[C.lmy .ill" or sucrtr from h':-.lt exhaustion In Iht m,ddl... (If .I bhuud. .f."I"I I1tr<'l>o' BcllefiCl.lI· 'one, I\.anl'"ful - Fortitude n.:-g.ttt") n"rollll'C" IkncfiCloll- ~c- d..scrirtion. BJ.n.:-ful - 10 mllluus! C.I,trf Lt ..d
-
'"
,~
Uller rhe Hu m sm.m I~ also revered . Th e p riest hood
\
1\\\
IS
hc rc JIt.lf\' an d org. mrzed ,lIo n-.: [fi b,11 lm cs.
-
,-
Cui/un - The :\ lidJ I\' Kingdom is no r J un ifie d entnv In a polmcn l m.mncr. T he <'fKil'(~' IS u ibalm Its st ruc ture. sh.H m~ .l. co m mon I.m~UJ~l· and so me cultu ral habus. W.u(are IS the favo red p.ls1 lme alllong the rubes and is mdul~ed freq uen rlv both Among themselves and wirh Jn~' outs ide force fool ish enough [0 chJllengc the ir terrnorv-. Onlv rcrelv In hrsrorv have rhev moved bcvond t heir bo rders . and all of these IIht.llh:es were due to overpopulanon. Tribes fight 1000.lJO:TS ;IS isolated entitles unless rhe 0PfXlnt'nt IS too strong the tribe got thumped In u s first encounter . In rhis Lase , rhe chit'fs band together fo r mutual prott'(tlon . \ \'hen r rrb es Join forces an overa ll co mmande r I~ appointed dmong the chiefs bv the dcmocranc met hod of kno.:km~ heads , rogerher un til onlv o ne .... .mrs tor IS able [0 rake t he lo b. T he all iances frdgml' nl J~ soon as rbc threat has rdssed.
--
-
T he rr ibes subsrsr almost cnnrclv
by hunt ing. g.nhe rmg.
and graz mg. Some mdrgmal trad ing ("x ists ,lmong tr ib e:'> close to rhe bor der. It t,l kc~ .l br ave m...rch.m r to trv 10 prol' tra re the im er ior, M ost su ffer rhe s.unc fate .I S th e missionaries. Trollbom arc uncomm on bur .Keer tc J w n hm the tribal struct u res. No s"'p,lrarc tribe of Trollhorn cxtsts.
Military. EVnI mort warlikt than tluir Northern rollsins, each malt oj the Middle King Jom is considrrrd 11 warrior from tht timt ht is able to hoM a weapoll sttady until ht is too Il llSu ad), with old agt to stalld on hisJut. T he vast major ity of tribal warriors are art/ud with bllttlt,IXtS and stllll ll woodetl shit Ms. Somt (.2.0%) havt shortsptars. Th e t litt tribal war riors will haveg reat axtS and IVta r l llrtd leatherfor protretioll. Yo unger warriors tarry sfVeral j avr!ins, a h,mtillg knift, and small woodrn shit lds. T hrsryoullg /lUll art ustd as skirm ishtrs. Bows art knowlI but a re ustd Ollly for hllnting. T hry are cOllsidt rtd too cowardly for tombat. T ht older lIIen are ustd as reservists allJ havt tbrusti ng spears anJ shitlJs. Cava lry is ran JUt to tht topograpby of tht land. What littlt exists is uStJ as moun ted scouts allJ skirm ishers. Tribal tb irJs an armtd and a rmored as thry pleast , oJ'm with gooJs of higb qualIty purohasrJ outsidt tbt borJtrs . SolJ itrs ill ,ht M iJJlt Kl ng Jom art mrnlors oj IS' through 5th Levtl , bu' ,ht rr is a 10% tbantt that any war pa rty ojJO or mort from tht MiJJlt K ingdom "'ill be 'tJ by a Barbarian oj 1St to yJ Ltv t l. Tribal ChirJs an 4 th anJ jib Ltv tl B..rbarians .
Tbllrtg iN Level ILrban.ul SZ: ~ I ...dium iJI.?+6: HP: 14: I;-':IT: +6 +1. Dex. +4 lrnproved !n1tlA[I\e : SPD: JO ft.: AC: 14 + l Dn. +2 Armor ATK: Gr e.tuxe +7 +2 melee IdI2+~
; FACE. 5 f[ l[ j ft; REAC H: 5fr; SV
Fen + S. RC'f + 5. Will + 2. ABIl.ITES; Str I t, Do; 14. Con J; , Inr 10, Wis 12. B; AL C;-.J;
au.
SKILLS;; Cllml> 6, lnumidare 6. Intuit Direcncn 6. Spc~k L..mgUd~e S'orrhem Wi!dernC's~ LOft 6: FEATS; Improved Initi.une. Lightnmg Rdlexe) . WC'Apon Focus: GreAfolx..-; SPECIAL R.tge J / dav, Un canny OoJgC' Dcx bonus to AC .
Thurrg
1\
."('lmethm g of An oddity. H e
IS J
Trollborn \I ho leads ol .... ar band and J mixed ODt ar that. l Its raw strength. guts. and fl'".lfsomen... s~ lcve \lOll him the ~F'0t, 1I1'F'lrm~ both fear atld .I\1'e m rhe men he le"Js. Thurn:,'s band J .....ells near rhe border of the Xorthcrn K"mgdom . and rhc\' have taken Nnh III uding the ir nrlg-hOOrs and br.mng back Northern .lttacb many of .....hrch art" In ret.Ji.lrion (ur h iS ()\\TI actions}, H<' docs somenmes rradc WI th the Sorth,-rnns, bu t onlv \I hen il IS ;J t.lcnc.111r superior str.lt('g}' [0 raking what he needs. In b.rrtlc, he \\ It'kb an eno rmous G reataxe. H e" has cloven 1n,lIlY [oes wirh this gi'll1t wcapon, and the mrrr sight o f 111m wI..-ld mg it hAS made rVt'n dle stOUI Nonherntrs \\ rak in the knees on I ~~~ 1 <XcJ.sion. H ,· Wl'.HS le,lthrr drillor fo r prote.:tioll.
T hurrg's \\"r
p,ut}' I ~
maJr up of lO other
Tro l1 bo rn .mJ 10 H u m AIlS. ThC\' :m; illl 3rd Lrod \\'J.rrrors .Innor... J In I...arhe r i,k(" [heir 1l'":&Jcr. ~ h l l of tll(" Trollbo l'n .md .11 of the H umans \ndJ BJu ll·a.lCs, The l't'In.uning Troll born .ur ;umtd with shon~pcau ,md Jaggrrs.
Thurrg .1IlJ Ill... group should g'vt" an~' p"rtr 01 mortJ.ls of low- to m iJ-lc<e1 a goo.:! chd llrnge. If tht i><.:s need to go!O the MiJJle Ki rJ~dom or through It . I hurr~ makrs a (lOt obsrack A!tc"l'n.olu
.)1\
"l\
"
Tbt Eastern Kingdom K in~dom is rema rkablv open and bleak. It consists of endless steppes and dest'rt s and IS arid and dry exct'p t for a few river s, L.u ge cines abound. mostly on the "'Jterways and coastline. H alf the populat ion IS nomadic and the other half ur ban , and r;lfely do they m reract. Onlv through the machmmons of a powerfullocal lord does this occur. Land near the cmes IS culuvared fo r ItS use while fertile sni l Ju-~t .t few miles J.way IS left untouched.
Gtography - T he te rra in of th e Eastern
Tbllrrg (continlltd) D~~P ltt"
h., ficr cenevs, Thurgg ., nOI ... nhout
phdosophv, Like' manv Trollborn. he .' sterile, .Ina , 0 .H( man v o f hI' Trollborn [cllowers, 11ii"::'!JJ \\'h.l c It sadden s him, he find s lude po m l in tl~htlng mc\ HJblc doom. Thus, he throw s himself Into the hear of barrle kno",m~ that It will one dolv und o h un. Yet. as he h,n ~orhms he cc nsrd..u worrh hung lor. he I ' J ... rermmed I~~ltj [0 emb r.., e hi" f.lt e ..nd leave th... world with coura!'iC' .In .::! h onor. .\t lusl th iS IU . h e filoturcs , there ~11l be J. sear (or him In V.llh.lll.l.. -
Rtf/g iM - The E.lS[(Tn " i n ~dom is unique in its religIOUS views. For rhrs Jspect of its culture the Eas ter ner s are branded as barba rians by all other peoples 111 ~ tidgJrd. T hey pay no heed {Q the gods and goddesses of the Aesl r and Vamr, The only nati o nal cults are those of Death ( Hel) and the Trickste r (Loku . The universaluv o f those two gods wit hin the East ern borders. however. does not ser th em above local cus toms. Each crtv-vtate and tribe o f nomads has ns local de nies. rnosrlv heroes and form er kings or Pflt'srS. \\'eah hy famil ies who are co nsi de red Im p0 ft J nt eno ug h are allowed wo rship of key ancestors. D espi t e nOI wors hippmg .I de ity as such. priest s and p fle sresses (wo men are qUIte eq ua] III this so ciet v} Wield real po wer. S pells Me g ranted from th e prim ordia l st uf f of chaos it sel f The East erner s view other fai t hs as false and 'ICtively co n t ain t he sp read of such ideology within t heir bo rders. The growt h o f t he East ern Fairh is an ind ica! Io n of t he End of Ti m es,
Yog-Awass 5th Level SurCCTa: 52: MeJium (H um.moiJ ' t~i'i;a:1 HD: 5d..;.+ 10; H P; 28; IN IT + 3 +) On ; SP[): 10 (r.; t\C: I ~ + l Dcx) AT/-:.: D.lggn +4 melce, +5 r;mgrd Id4+l ): FACE: 5 {r x 5 Fr. REACH: 'iIi; S\': fon +5, Rei +4, Will + 6: ATULI TES: S« 14. f)C)( J 6, elm I s, lnt [8. Wis 11 , Cha t z: AI.: eN; SI..:. ILlS Akht'mr In, Conccntranon 9, Knowlcdg..: Arcana 12, Serve 9. Spellceafe 10, Profession (Apolhec.lry) 8. Speak L1n~U,lg~ 'Nurthern . SpeJk Ll1lguage 'Western. SpeAk l.olngu,lgt' (Southem \ Sp..ak '~,,",'" Lmgu.lge MIdd le : fEATS ; Comb... t CASting. Iron Will; SPECIAL: Summon FamiIIU. Scr ibe Scroll; SPEIJS "I SI Change Self. CharmPerson. Comprehend l.l.nguag(". 1\hg(' Armor. 1\hgic Missile, ~lount. Protection from uw. Shield. !nd Eat's Grace. Detect Thoughts. ll1\u ibility. Set In\'l'ibilm:, Jrd , Ton~ues Firtb.lll.
Cul/urt - If po ssib le. rhl' East erners are
even mo re
xenophobi c t han th e people of t he M iddl e Kin gdom. T h js IS no t d ue to isolauorusm . ho wever. Rat her. It IS engendered bya fee1 m g of supe rio r ity o ver th e o the r people of M id gJr d.
Each cit)' is ruled by J 10cJ.I king and each noma d ic t ribe by its o wn khan. T hese ind ividua ls arc complete aurocr ars so far JS au rhonrj- I S co nce rne d. T he cit ies and rribes do no t in te r-ac t soci ally. th o ugh th ey do trad e. Civil strife is rare. despi te the frJgmemed power structu re. All Eastern ers are "of the same bl o nd " when cu mr;lrt'd to outs iders. Some o utsi dt" t ndc is perm itted in tr .ld m g colollles .llong the border s .lnd in specu lly design at ed areas of the po rt cit ies. A fo reIgner founJ elsewhere risks .1 qU Ick. deat h. Troll bo rn .Ire r.u e bu t accepted III the bste rn Kingd o m. A small tribe colllpflse J solel~· of Troll bo rn exis ts dnd is renowned for it s w.lrlike .lbihn'.
28
- ., An .im.lZmg lcve] o f culture exrsr s In th e cit ies, rivaled
onlv by (ho se of th e S o u t hern Km gd om. In terms o f arc hi tectu ra l beaurv. t he sr t uc t ures o f th e East are wi t hou t prer.
Yog-Awass (continued)
E.asternrrs have .I keen sense of th eir o wn ide ntity and destmy. Pro p hecy speaks of an lrnam who wrll un ite t he rnbes and the cines. T hi s G reat Khan willlead the liasr
Yog.A\\.ISS hollis from the E.lS[ anJ IS d,:slgnC'J a..' an .mugont~t for plaver characters of rhe
in a holy war to pu rge Midga rd o f lesser peoples , ('\"Crr o ne else).
Lesser Races. Aes.JI Lokisdocur is his sponsor. and he se r...ts her more f.alfhful!} ;and more u5t'julh, dun .In} of hC"T crher rmmons. This relauonship :<>hould .lIlt",. [he skaIJ to weave togclher a s('nt~ of adventures for che Lesser R.l,;"C' dur.lc(c[s and their drvene p.1tfons featutlng these two vIU.llns.
Military. ts, cultural sptit btt",,,n nomads and urbanitts hItS naturally cnattd t"", Jistind military modtlsJor tht Eestem Kingdom. Tbt nomaJic trihts rtly almost soltly on cavalry forus . Fully 80% oj tbtir forcts art mounted. Thtst solJim art mostly (60%) 2nJ to 4th Ltwl mrrriors anntJ with javt!ins and various banJ wtapons, tbt uimitar bring a Javontt. Tbty wcarltatbtr annor into battit . Thc ff1Flaining portion is ctmrpristJ oj bontbac' arc},trs anntd witb sbon compositt bows, a lot of Jaring, and littlt tlst. Tbtrt is a 30% cbantt tbat any nomadic war party will also contain "4 Figbters bttw"n 1st and JrJ Lwtl.
Yog-Aw.lss IS a m.lSltr plotter wirhou I 01 (OUOrrv, Thou~h he IS Easeem b~ J..scent. hrs clum.lll" arm IS (0 bring anarchv chaos Tn the name of inJividuJ.! (re...dom to J.!I. He should be more than .I match ford group of low-level ch.lr.lC[C'f:<>. ;m J . like hrs mistress. he' prefers to U~ dupes and mrruons to accomplish his mrssrous. Thus. he' can be defeated, bur he IS more difficult [0 kill. m.tkmg n possible: for him [0 nc.l~ cnlv (0 return (0 haunt the p;ury In the future. As the characrers grow m powC'r. ,ldjusr 'r'og.AI'.;l.ss up to match,
ti,
rest of tht tribal Jorm art "bohilars" who ridt into barth butJigbt JismounttJ. Tbe vast majority of tbm solJitn art ut to 3rd Lwtl U'izrriors anntJ with shorr sptar, long sword, la?:t wooJIn shit!J anJ Icathtr armor. ti, othtrs are archtrs with composite short bow anJ scimitar
Fiend th.ll he IS. Ycg-Awass prefers to analvzc ~IlU;l.tI,11l carefullv ro determine how besr co mcoke hl~ sch("ml"~ of ("holos. H e rhus pretcr s ro hide in rhc shadows and listen so rhar he mav learn rhe monvanons the people- he Ln(~nd~ to \'[([ilmze. Whde he rdies on ~pells 10 hldf" him while 50 C"lIg.lged. he has re.:emly eOll1l· into the ros~l"ssion .I Cloolk uf ImisibiJ.ry. which h.1S gre.ltlv aided him m Ihls prolctice. When he f;l. IS("S rhe hood. he \·;l.l\lsh..s JUSt .IS If he C.lSI the spell. .Ill oWing him ro moVt'· abour unsren as he plots hiS dark misSton~. In .ldditlon. hIS ral famibar. AS.l.m. IrtI~;:jitl qu(nd~' .iSS1SU hIm III le.lrnmg othas' secrelS. .\
An £lilt Gilard of yJ to 5th Ln-tl Fighttrs ridt into battlt witb tht Khans. Thtse ftarsomt warriors carry Janet, scimitar, stuJJtJ ltather, and a small wooJtn shielJ. The Khans themselves art typically 5th anJ 6th Ltv" Fighters anJ are similarly anntJ.
or
or
For city fOrtiS, tht prin(iplt is rn'trseJ. Tht vast majority of urban JtjrnJers art inJantry armtJ as their hobilar counttrparts. ltifantry solJim art typirally Uarriors oj ut to jrd Ltv". Tht (avalry rontingrnt amounts to abeut 20% oj tht rotal urban fora anJ art (quipptd the samt as tbtir tribal (ousins. 1I0Wtvtr, thtrt are no horsthac' ar(htN among the tity tavalnts, and rhert is only a 20% rhantt oj etl£ountering a 1St to jrJ Lwei Fighter among the urbanites. Kings do maintain an t!itt Palau GuarJ similar to tbe Elite Guard oj tbt tribes. The kings themsell'es, though, art glntrally Aristorrats and not Figbttrs. A(ross tbe spertrum, tbert is a smst of proJtssionalism in tbi militaries oj tbt Easttrn Kingdtmr that is far suptri"r to the anned mobs of tbe other countries.
'"
II':::::!I
Rtfrgr,'/! - The Southern
1\.1Il~dom IS home to a un ique
svsrcm of rd lg lolls b\,II'+ [he R01T1 dlll "lcrnple. Oncea land where ,III ~ods we- re honore-d, the cul r of Odm kept grOll'lng m IIn~'ortdn.: c, cspcciallv ,IS the count rv fr.igmenred afrer J vr,:IOUS cenrurv of civil strife
Alsa Lokisdottir
fro m d un ified klOgdolll
;[h Level Rogue SI'.: ~1 l.'Jlum Lesser God HD: 'jJt!+w: HP ; ;4; I:"'IT: +11 '+7 Dex. +4 lmf'ro'"t'JlnIlLolIl\t , ~ P D: JO (r.:AC l l +; 00:.
ItS pn.·s,'nt cirv-srare .1
sense o f nauorul «icntnv.
+1
Armor. + 1 ~ JturJI ATK: Shorr sword + 9 melee IJ6+6 Ddgger +9 melee, + 10 rmgeJ
The Temple IS devoted to the worship ot Odm dS AII-Falho:r. H... IS ,ih\,I\.'> r...ft're ...d to by that urle and
Id4+6 : FACE: 5 It x ;: fc REACH: 5f[; S\ : Fort +7. Ref + II. \\ill + 5. ABJUTES : Srr 11. Dex 25 . Coo. 22 . Int 11. WI S 11. 0 13 H : AL CEo SKILLS: B.iuocr 8. Bluff 13. Climb 11,
not b~' name oursrdc of pncstlv rheological debate. Evcepung two others, worship of other gods IS prohibited and punishable .IS heresv the penalrv being death , Th... ocher cults thd[ survive are Fflg~.1 .IS 01 junior p.lrlnt'r to the AIl·FJther but not hiS equal and their son, Hilder the Son of God . Balder rerresl"nrs 01 pertecuoo
Dsplomscv 14 . F-l><:.lpc'MISI I ' . Listen I I. :\10.)'11('
S.lrnriv I j , Open Leek I J. P...:k Pockt:'t H . R..-JJ uJh 11. Ru~r3f[ 6; Search 11. s..T1~ MO(l\"(' 13. Spot II , Swnn 6, Tumble' Ii : FE.4.TS: Ambi..k ll ~ tertrv, Improved lninanvc, Tw O-\\dpUfl FI~hung; I'~~l SPECIAL Snuk AtldCk + ~d6 . E U.S1un Ex . Un.:mny noJ~(' Dcx bonus roAC) : RU~ES: Thorn, O~ , Svd. Euh. Eolh.
to which humarutv must stru-c.
T he tJ uh IS '-Iulte 11l1SSUlOJry, Jnd the Wes tern K in~dolll
has ncarlv bun won over with rhc recent conver-s ion
ot
Its kIng. T h ro u ~ h n ll t rh ... cou n try the d ...vout hdng s l~ns In rbeir storefronts thaI read . "Ba lder Lo n ' s Yo u." Like
one of Loki"s children Jnd ~pom.O[ S Yog. A",,~~. She 1l1.!kc~ J guod nC'mI.' SI~ (or Ihe Lesser God plaver characrers over i/o series of que sts . Aesa regularly treqcent s Midg.lrd disguised as a re~dl ladv to direct her rmnrons and further her f.lrher's schemfs. She prefers 10 avoid direct conflrcr \.\ h"ne'..er possible. Sl.'n-iing devoted human followers ,m,! pet.' to their dcarhs while mdklOg good her r S':.lr l". Our side of :-'-l idgard, she sheds ' '' '>111 dlts d lsgui~c, 1-1't·.lml~ k',nhu annllr cut in such d W.1)'.IS 10 tm,111r disH,ln ,11l1
M)d
10
.ur'-lIl~elllcn t , T he Rom.lOl Tetnf,le gd\"(' rhr- people
IS
,III apostolic f.urhs. It seeks to make converts of .,11 people. progress h.ls been made In rhrs regdrJ m t he lsl.mds but no ne dSl·whl'f". T Ill' Temple is now refo(" usmg ItS
S0111 ..
em' r~~' to smrm~ up the Nonhem and l\ lidJI,' K i n ~d olll s .lgainst the Easr in an .ltll'mp [ to fo ment the fo reseen
D oom -d.i v Itlld" , So [ar. till'}' 1I.IH· h,IJ lin k' success. C ullllrt - The cult ur e of the Sout h is w ry nlsrnof,o[ItJ n. All s(Ki;ll llrl' rcvol l" ' s ,Hou nd rh e ,;tty-stoHes. Peopl,· o f th t' coulltr~·si dl' ,lfl' c itiullS o f o ne (t ty-s t,\te or .mother. ,md eVC"1l ,1 blInd. rude ~'l'olS;lllt (,lkes viLlrlOUS pleasure from , l.ii111111g l'lt lh'nshlp I II t he lo('al ur bdn center, T It" CH I,'S Ihems,' h't.'.'. .Ire;\ Ill('rcmr ile 1,.H.ldl sC", Jn d t rade is dbu n,i.lIl( both wHh "Jc h o tht'r olnJ (he other ki ngd o m s. CuIrUfl' ,1lld so.:i;IIII (,' ;Ir,' l'xpurt(·J .1~ mu(h OlS consumer
The SOli them Kingdom
~oods ( So u t ha ll ,lfI b...mg f,llnous throughoul
Ctogr.tphy - T h\' gl'o~rdph~' of the Southern Kingd o m IS dS full and "dr led as the \ \'esl. The primary dIfference berween the two is [hI" mo un tdin cham tha t e[feerin·h· d i,"ides the Southrrn Kingd om 10 hdlf. This [edtu re sl"rws to discou rage overland t rd\·d fincre':lSIng the lInp0rlJ.n(e of the sC'J. IJnes and forces popul.lllon centers to t he .-:oa.st. urge .-:iry-s[dtes dOlnuute [hI" coostline..m d fertile f,mnLmd IS encountered dS \'OU procC'ed IOl.m d to t he slopes. There, some grulOg dnd "lOeyards the .:ount ry IS known for ItS \.line .tre [he InJIO suples.
~ l iJgolrd). F.lfInmg IS lInp0rtd nt onk m.ls lnu.:h as tt supports tht" ':Hies. T r.ld t" ;md craft gUlld~ are Ihe hub on \,hl,h t he ,ountn' turns.
Tht' Trollborn .tre d t111n~ uf tllt.' p.tSI h"'rt', ,\ny Inem bl"rs o t [h is r,l('l' who enlt'r t hl' Southern Kingd o m Will find themst"1n's I't.'fst.'(u'l"d .It best dnd rrobdbh- d ead ,f t he\'
.
.
lJ.rr\, too l o n ~ .
Military . Tbt politjtalJragmtnr.ttion oj tbt tounrry JOts not promort .t grtat millrary srnu t urt, anJ , btntt, st.tnJing annits
'0
tlrt rare. Conflict is {"wly (amtJ out Ihrough traJt wars. Tbm struggltS err ojtm vinous but harJly as bloody as (rossing J\I.'OrJs. Evtry tlblt ·b oJitJ ptrson, in(luJing womtn anJ (bilJrtn , ll'ill mil) , to tbt Jifrnst of a (ity·stalt unJtr a/tatk. CiliZtns
Aesa Lokisdottir ({ontinued)
tan Jrop ro(ks o r hurl Jart s (whi(b (tln bt lurntJ oul rapidly by tbt 8ull's Eyt CuilJ) quitt \l,tll . Sitgt (raft is Vtry AJvanu J on both Auark anJ Jiftnst.
\\'hil(' not .IS cun m n ~.Is her polITon. Loki, sht IS ntrtrthdtss ,010 lO(dJ. ~enr opponent. Lnlike her farher. who I ~ .slmph jealous of B.L1da. AtSo,;l I S .I bbck-hl-.Inl-J. llldlIOl)W; godden.. H IT u1ullldr.. go.J I~ desrrucrron, and .J.II of her schemes are armed .It tuuung OJm's (.J.Rfulh preserved order She IS charmmg ..nd well-spoken, but this mask cover's an t'il person .... ho (oos un r" searches for he r ~iii;;~1 O (' X[ Victim.
Whtn an ann.l' is jitlJrJ it IS rompristJ of 90% infantry. Thm IJt anJ :uu/ Ln~1 UamON art ",~Il tquipptJ by tbt fnv Military Cui lJs. Tbe vast majority of this fom is annrJ will, longsptar, short sworJ, ronital btlm , la'lt mtlal sbu lJ AnJ stuJJrJ Iratbtr ermor. AriNrs ",'ith short romPOSltt bvws, kathn anncr; anJ short S'o4'OrJs proviJt support. T}u small (avalry r01ltingtn ts arr ol4tJittt d anJ iqUlpprJ as thi main boJy infantry bUI substitutt a ligbt !anuf or tbt Lmgsptdr; anJ &zVi a smalln- shitlJ. Oifi.m art rompristJ of 70% j rJ • JIb &wI UamON anJ jO% 1St - j rJ L{Vil Fig htm. Tbry art JUkiJ out in wbal{vir thry ran afforJ (tbi in[isuJ mrn 's gta r is p"iJ for by tht guilJs) .
Aes.l IS lured here .I~ St h Level. bur she should be of the- same ltVI'I .IS t he PC Lesser Gods so as to be A march lor the m. Incr ease he r Itv d .as
ApprornJ.tr. Remember th;n she " J Lt S'itr God herself and rhercfore hJS .III of the DI\lne ,\ b i lr tl ~'s of the PCs.
U~~I
Loki's dOlu~h(('r POUtss<."s a Rmg of Ch.trm,ng. nng .L1lo"s her to .IITte[ humanoid creatures J.~ thoubh thry"~ under the mflucrKe ola Chann Xlonsrer spell CJ.SI bv J 7th Level Wizard.
The Isiands
Thi~
Crcgrllp~}' • "The lsl.mds" IS J tam used to des'::f1 be the group of (WO I.U gl' ,md one sm,lll »l.md off rhe north west (O.1S 1 o f the Western Kingd o m. The Emerald Isles are their officral name. o r .1[ least It IS [0 the mhabiran rs. T he largesr IS Erin. which (l'J.t u res 0 pl' n and beaut iful countryside. Caledon I ~ reeky and fo rbidd ing hut sti ll picturesque. T he smaller isle between th em is rhc Isle of ~ 1.lll and IS the center o f relig ious life. bmdmg all of thelll tO~I·t hl'T. Frl' ll lll' nt T.li n bri ngs ,I dr e,lry h'nor to an mht"Twise piCHC'SI\lIl' phn·. Accord Ing to legend. Ihe Isl,lJlds bro ke off from t h l' \\\' ~ t l' rn Kingdom as a resul t of d mis,ldvl.'murl' of T hor 's.
tal"tl..-s for t he I.ltter. In rhl.' past thr ee ,enlunes, Rom.1Il1 mi ssion ,lr il' s h,u'l' Int rod ucl'd thl' worship of B,tlJ ef .IS "tlll' Son" to go with t he Lord .mJ L,l dy concept. T h is h,IS bt't'n SOIlH·\\h,H sllI'Cessful. Long-ern n rLms .Ht' 10 lrJ llsfon n worsh lt' of the Lord .-ll1d Lady to the All- Fatht'r .md Consort.
Rrligion - Tbt ptopk of tbr E",tralJ Isk s pr,,{fiu a u{f of l-anir \4'Orship. Thi orlly two Jriti(J ",.., Frty anJ Frf)''', who ",.., known as ,bt LorJ doJ La~y anJ art of tqual importallU . Tht rb"ngt in thtology lOti bafk 10 thi isolationfrom tbt Utst following tht srpara'ion. Tht rima of Ihi Err~r,,/J Islts art DNids, not pritns likt normal human r!trits. Thr Islr of Man is tbt stat of D N iJi( btfirf anJ St"'tl as tbm' offinal training grounJ. C,..,at stllnJing ltoniS ",.., rrnttrs of 'oI.'Orsbip throughout tbr IslanJs .
Cuillm ~ Organlud .lIang tribdllllles, the people of [he Islolllds arc unltt'd largely by custom .md Llllguage. T here is (e..- hlllcJ.lIy a H Igh Kmg who rule~ rhe ETnt'rald Islt's. but rhe m i l' IS mo rl' .m hunorific dun.1Il .l(wJ I m,m d,He 10 rule. Tht H igh Kmg hAS no real Authority 10 comnund h l~ pl'oFle to do .m}'rhmg.
The Romalll on"-l' nltd 1O Im .ldl' Ihl' Isle of M,m . brlil.'nng that tf [hey ~ut off the head o f the hereti..-al sect. the body ",ould wllher. The Temr Lu s took the Isle. but enoui:h OrUld~ eS •.lFed ro rally resist.m . e. The suhsl'qul'nl .s.lck of Romam led to J ch.lnge III
IsI,mJ er s .I re I s o l a tl u nl ~ t s with rC'~ard [ 0 the other k.mgdoms. TrJ.dm g tS \"it.ll to theIr eXlstenct'. espe"-Iall~' C.dedon. whi..-h su ffers from d b,k of Jfable I.lIld. But. for the mosl F,nt, [he l~"orle of the Island s ..-ould do WHhout [he rest of ~ lidg.lTd. 1I
De spue ht' mg labeled .l~ ruvric r rnn itlH'1'> by others. rhe songs and stories o f the Island s are famous rhe world O\"(" T. A bud from t he Emerald Isles IS sure [0 get J warm welcome even III (he liast ,
Mi!itQry .. Tribal wamON arT Iwaw, but thl tribes arT not warlilt, Slirmisbts somt timts happln OVtr points of Ixmor; but ranly crvtr ttTTitorial ambltJons. uOoJrn shitUs of vanous si:.!s USIJ by all troops, but outsiJt oj tlx chiifs (~,bo ~'tar as mMtb gawJy rtotbing as possibk), armor is sbunntJ. Tbt mon' Jana tilal troops lVtn go into batril naktJ txupt Jor tattoos anJ sworJ btlts, to show thtir bravny, t s« Ian bt an umlln'ing sigbt to outSiJtN. loung" mtn art traintJ as slingm anJ u.5tJ as slirmisbm. Tbt bulk oj tbt troops in C.:IIIJon arT armtJ witb jat'tlins aru/ tbtir infamous bastarJ so,wrJs. CaltJonian so/Jitrs arr usually 1St to yJ uwl 114m oN, but thtrT is 1.0% oj tnlOunttring a ut to 3rJ uwl Barbarian Itadlng tI,l attall. arT
In Erin, tbt inJantry IUt short spta N anJ long swcrJs. Cav41ry is plm tiful in Erin. anJ jaw/ins anJ long swords arT uuJ by mounttJ troops. Botb infantry anJ lavalry arT {omprist J oj U4m ON oj 1St through yJ Llw/. T blrT is only a 10% th4nil, though, oj tnlounttring a Fig btt r of 1St to 3rJ LlVtl with tbt war group . Even though tht (bariot bU4mt outJatt J as military tubnologY rm tu rin ago. tbry art still tht prim4ry battltjitl J transport fo r tb itjtai ns anJ War DruiJs on all tbm islanJs.
Running a Campaign
Vi/kie
or
5th LC'I'd Bard SZ; Medi um (Hu man) HD:
Sdc>+'i; HP: 27: IN IT AC. It'
+...
+{ Do:, + ~
+~
( ()~'x );
SPD: 30 fr.:
Armor AT K; Shorts-peM
me lee. +6 T
+4-
melee. +6 ran..;cd I d4+J : FACE: 5 [t x
s [t:
RI:AClt ~ft SV: Fort +2, Ref +7. WIll +6; ABI LITES: Srr 12. Ik .: 1("I, Con 12. Int 1'L Wis 15. Cha 17. AI.: eN: SKILL<;; Diplomacy 10, Gather lnformauon 9. f\-rform 10 . Sense \lollvC' 7. Kno.., !('dgC': Hlswry 9. Pro fession
SWN fl, Speak Lm~u;l~(, ~onht"rn
Sf'C"..k
L;;mgU.lgr 'Western . \\'ild"mcu Lore -I; FF.ATS:
Alertness. Dodge' brm,~ , SPECt"L..: furdlC i\1u~lo:.
o
l.
&rdlc Knowledge: sPELL"; PER DAY: l ar 4 , .Ind .z
Th e rest PMt 1 co nce rns it self wIt h the mechanics o f runn ing a Raglufok campaign, M ost o f t hi s inform ation is for t he Skald's ben efi t . bur th er e IS nOlhing her e p Ll~'l' rs sho uld be rcsr ri cred from read in g.
Getting Started The campa ign beg ins in the "Wolf T im e," the period lust before Ragu arck . O d m IS tr oubl ed by SInister \'ISIOns he received fro m Mirmrs \Veli. yet he I S not able to fully unde rstand them o r what rhey mea n fo r the future. Conseq uenr lv the Lesser Gods and rheir m o rt al rnmicns ate be ing aSSigned ques ts bv t heir patrons des igned to stave off Rag naro k - the Fatal Dest in y of Odin's vmon. The players control the gods and morral .. whose Job It IS [ 0 struggle against [he inevnabilirv of the onset of [he End of Days.
~
"
High SkaJds
CAn
effecnvcly
.y
-
\
custom ize t h l'ir ca mpdlg n s
with th e pla yers controll lllg weak mortal s o r rum o r
deities. Th is allows the Skald the o p t ion of surt ing the characters off
rvprcal low- leve l t:lShion
Maljitins III (continned)
.IS
.\1 ~III(IU ~ III "the f('l gnm~ Hi gh Patriarch of th e Ro maru Tem ple . As such. h(' co nsi ders hlm sc!( the "\I1-F.il.ther 's" Vicar on Midg.u d ~nJ JleB ~ e ..-orJln gh . H eave-handed bUI fur. he IS th e ultllTl.il.[e ro IlIlCl,an. H e ascended q Ulcld Ihrough the Temple hierarchv through gl..dh ~ndlng. c.lretu lh placed bribes. and rh.. occaslon.il.1 clun m anon of hiS n\·~ l s.
mix of adventu res IS up to the moo d of the H igh Skald omd hIS o r her pl avers. but most .:.1Tnpa igns ru n well ~'u h .1 70%-JO% nu x between divine and morra l lows. Th e Ability [ 0 dnuJ. lIr play one of the G rea t er G ods also exrsts.
bU I
such occurrences are best left for tr ul y
great. myrhos-relared. h,gh.lnel adven tu res.
M,/,l(iclus
IS
f~nJt1C.lIl\· dedicated to the
':;l, U S('
01
'1prndmg che- Southern reirglOn. H e md \eUblum
Bear in minJ that LUll" GoJs ar( thtt7utlvts powtrful
art' arcbcnennes clespue S("f\ mg th e S.lffie god chou.::h CCTt.llnh· neuher sees l [ that Vo n
,baracttN. A 5tb Ltvtl goJ w,th avtragt bit points anJ a COlUtitut,on StMt of 22 (Iow avt ragt) is, witb all of bis or btr Divint Abilitits, rougbly a CR 8 maturt. AnJ tbat's btJOrt yeu start aJding tbt mtlu anJ rangtJ attatl bonum from Strtngtb and Dattrity storts in tht 20's. not to mention tbt Armor Class and Initiativt bonusts. Tbus, if you wtrt llsing tlmt tbaradtN (Jth uwl Laser CoJs) as monsters in a standard aJvtnturt, tbrtt of tbtm '4'oulJ malt a suitablt 'ballingt for a party of lith Ltvtl advm turtrs . If thtn werr four gods, tbt party woulJ bavt to bt t2tb I.tvtl . T hegods are powtrful indud, and SlalJs should lttp tbat in mind wbm Jtttrmin ing tXattly what sorts of thalltngts thry wish to haw tht;r playtrs' {haradtrs fact.
Th ere' h.il. \ C' been rum ors of , !,/,lfinus f.il.ISlng J I'O::::ll religIous crusade co .:onqucr [he hearhens wuh I~';:'~I the S\lorJ If the Romani cannot do so wuh their (.lIth Such rumors .tre hUI idle I":0~ SIP thus f.u. (hough. There .tTl' som e .... ho clnm It Will never happ en because Malfictus, thuugh cfdf(~· .lnJ (an.1I1(;'1, h .l~ no stomach for [h~t son of bloodshed. Ochers claim he does nor vet have ('nou~h influ ence to persuade [he Temple's ,Illits ill the:- \\hr .1Ild South [0 provide the- soldiers .m,j g'ln,h such au effon would r('qulrc. MJlfi,· ,u~ , ~ . III Ill.my wavs, oil rvpical bookish scholar, He has Just pcblished his first work: 01 book prophnrmg rhe ulumate suugg]t: of good .lnJ eviland rhe commg of Th.. One coill1 ..cl The \\'orld lOlTlorrow. Those of the i'orth .lllJ Midd].. Kingdoms indY holt.. him. and rh.. f'wr1o: of the hl.lllds and the W..st m.ll" lament .... h.11 It.. IS .Il tempu ng to do to ,heir i:liths, but on(' [hmg IS (crt,nn: ~ l.ur;.::Jm' mfluence IS spruJmg rapidl\!. He' IS on.l co urse w become the most powerful lll.ln III Ihe world.
Fare Points T hrou gh o ut till' co u rse of eac h adventu re. t hl' Hi gh
Skald s.:-ores th l' play er s b" sed on t he pl'rform ancl' o f th e:-i r characcers and th e o~' e:-r,l ll ~ ucc ess of th eIr mis sions. T hl'se are called Fat e:- POint s, and t he\", are use:-d to track th e o nset o f Ragn arok. T he campdign begins with three Fat e:- Po int s, dnd t he ,1C (IOns o f th e pe s add o r subtract poi nts fro m t hi!> to lJl. If t he to ta l number o f Fdt e POints In t he:- cam paig n ewr fall s belo w u ro, t he cam paign ends JS Ragnarok beg ins, BeClU se th e tone o f th e settmg is fata list ic. fJ ilu re is pUnished more than succe ss is rew.il.rded . Remem ber: th e chu.h:urs are struggling t o prn enr the End o f T ime. J task t hat . according ( 0 (h e myr ho s. is impo:
l)ivinit:v ]>o;nts Di vinlry Pomt s .He most lInpo rr Jnt to Lesser Gods b.x .il.use once spe nt . rhl'"
Vilkie (eon/inned) \'ilkir 1".lI \\ ;lndl'nnll; bard from the bLinds. who h,1S ,Jct.juucd ,J cerram muslin' of reno....n. He IS welcomed equally In the halls of ,J great J,Jrl or dr ,ommon OOUX' of ,J bundstTWl. He tr.i\c151i,>!hL but IS qUIte' capable o f )ln~lng for his
"urr"'£'
He rs an mcuuble gOS)IP .md IS quite incapable of rCS1Sl1n~ the urge to find 0\.11 ~crnhmg he
can about the local gomgs-on. He is no less H~:!. ! forthcommg 'With inforrnanon he h.l'< he.ard It~::J
.
from d)l"\\ h
It
.lIlong to ,m~' "00 Me
mrercsted. In (.tel, he 10"'1'5 to weave lnrC'rcsling lIdbla mto hiS so n ~ s . Thar said , he .:100 h.l~C' 11';:;~1 tht goo.:! ','nse to keep hIS. mouth shut when In th .. pu'srncC' (If anv who would ukC' offense. 1tii:::Il \ Ilkll' rs an excellent ch;lf,lC(rr to use ,JS'" \OUT((' of mformanon. He .lIh...l\ s seems to know ...hat IS gOIng on. cnJ0\' s f'oI)smg such Intdligc:nce
-ilong. and IS quirk with -i song or a roc:m [ 0 enrert.nn anv Illho Illl~h to hsren. HI S stories of the l e g rn d ~ of the Islands are ott-requested. even in the Southern Kmgdom where rhey arc g,meralh- viewed .l~ s'Krilc:ge. Ills travels uk him (.If and ... rdc. so It IS no:ar!y alw.lYs reasonable for plavcr characrcrs to encounter him wherever Iher rnJy Ir,II·e\ In :-'lidgard. Sk.llds ma~' USI' him .I~ .I rt'currlll~ informant for both divine and mortal Chard([rfS.
Vrlk re rhr~ drums ;md horns, pref...rrmg to make loud, martial mUSIC, He IS flluallr good ar a qUlel poem. however. When rUH:l1lng, he wears hide armor and camcs a d.1gger III Olddiuon fO his spe.1r.
an increment of fi\'(' Fate Po m t s IS reached fo r the .-:amp;ugn. ,III dei lif's th.u surVln~ Ihe qUf'st recein' one D l\"l n n y POInt. As mentioned abo\'('. the campaign bf'gins \luh three Fate Points. \ \'hf'n rhe plarers. through the success of their cha r.Kters. m,mage- to bump it up [Q fin' POints. f'ach Lesser God PC gets a D i\'iniry Pomt as a re\\'J.rd, If the~' sameho.... manage to ge t It up [Q 10 Fare Points. thC'~' .... ill real\'(' another l)l\'inity Point.
H o wever. then: is one lun u.ni on . Place r s o nlv rece ive t he Di vmir v POlllt (o r the ir characte rs pJss Ing J m ill'stone once. T her can't do II multiple runes. For Ins tance, rhrougb th e success ful completion o f a Mor ral Quest .md then J Lesser God Quest, t he pl.J~·en get th e Fate Poi nt s o f their CJlllrd lgn up to six. Each Lesser God PC receives one Dl\"lm(~' Point. O n rhe next quest, though. one of the PC gods IS " lulled" In Nidavell ir, "-dusing J two -po m r loss to the c.Jmpdlgn·s Fare Po int roral. whIch redua'~ It to fou r. Despite th is setback. the plavers successfullv complete the quest. e.J rmng another [\\0 Fare Points and kIcking the [OrJI back up to si\ . T hev do not recewe another Di vmuv Po int , though. because rhey have alreadv gotten one for p.Jssmg rbe [ive-pomt milestone, To earn another D ivini t y Peine . cbev W ill have to be successful enough to r.nse the FdIC Points roral to 10 . Rem em ber t hat onlv Lesser Gods are awarded Di n lll t\' Po int s, M o rt al charac rer s do not receive them , and G reat er G 'ld s don' t nee d t hem smce t hey alwavs have one fo r use on J "'I (U' s(. Xlo rr als ca n earn DIVInity Pomrs fo r rh er r pJtton. ho wever ( r hc PC Les ser God 1Il rh c Di vm e Po rt foli o ) .
Dtsigllitlg Advmturts Rol e -rl.l ~' lIl g in th e wo rld o f Norse mj"th ul o gy sho uld have a drffcrcnt (e c:I t h,1I1 th e typic dl fant asy RPG . TI14.' adve n t ures in which the chnrncrers partlci p'lle arc l'p ic in s.:opc, ,111.:1 th e f,H e of the wurld licerallv hinges up o n rh cir success,
Ad venrure s in R 'lgn'lrok are refe rr ed t o J. S " q ues ts." A q uest IS direct ed towa rd d high er gaol!. It is not a d ungeon ("f,nd, T he d urdet er s do nul en.-:ounter a d ragon ,n t he centl'( o f the m Jze they've bl','n explOring. T hl' !" ga un ;1 ll llesr spl'Cl ficllIy to slay t he drdgo n t h,lt .lbducted rh(' p rl's daughtl·r. T hey do not find a mdgic.l 1 amulet III ol trt".lsur e ha .ltd . They attempt t o re.-:o r l'f lhe Amu lel o f Comma nd before it fall s into Ih e h.Ulds of the Fire G iJ.nls . h .-ryrhm g the PC :-; do has great Importance III the grand schem,' o f th mgs. DI \"Ine characters .Jre ar the center o( [he colllmg struggle and mort.l l ones do thei r b idding. Thus. each c1ellll'nt of a qUl'st should hd\'e so me purpose in the g rJnder scheml" of Havi ng off R.Jg naro k. Don'[ hd\"(' rht' t~I.l~·ers explore .J dungeon un less t here IS some
[CdSOn (0 do so. For eva rnple, (ht')' nu ght ,Humpr to
plunder rbc home of J crafrv Dwarf If he hJS hidden the ke~' 10 the nex t pUt of the
llUl'S I
wnhm n.
Furt her. tho: mfarnous ":-' Iomy Hau l" dungC'on, dri pping with md~ic Items and riches for the l'Iu.:-kmg o f IIltrq'. iJ adventurers. should no r exist. ~ IJgl': u erns art' ("spe': 1,]1I~' rare and prcClous thmgs. A mortal gt'tt lng it + I WedrOn IS an excepnona l event . A. + 2 w('.lron In such hands is J sr orv about \\ luch to write J sJ.gJ. And tho: wcapon IS sure to cause .IS much harm .IS good to irs 0\\ nr r smce orhers 11111 cover 1(. Even among the Lesser
Gods. mdgl, Ih"ms »mplv do not abound. :-' fJny of the wondrous ncrns of the myrbos are no r even weapons.
Th c Gjallor-horn of Heimd,lll!> EHTY
J
pfllne example.
adventun- should hJ\'C: .1 justllicdnon for emba rk-
in~ on It. It should have both d clear beglnmng and a
resolution. Cliched suns Ilk(' meet in~ in a tavern or dnswenng.l call for mcrccnanes redlly .lH·n·t dppropnate for th is setting. Mon al m ini on s WI ll be anlng on the \-iSlUOS or mess.l.ges sent by the Lesse r Go~-ts or t heir priests. The Lcsscr Gods wil l be given 9ues t s di recrlv by their p.ltron or even O din. T here can be exceptions to t he lat ter .IS long
Mon sters For the most ~'Jrt. there arc few re st rictions placed on the monstrous creatures rh,U nu \" be encou ntered. Overzealous Ch nsc ian m isslOn uies deS[foved muc h of the :\'orsc culture, esreClall~' Its rdlglUn. dnd onl)' a f('w writlrn m~·ths SUf\I\"C. The rest must he f'xtrapob ted. Indl\'id udl Sblds musr therefore decl d t' whdt creatures the gods and rhe lr mimons nld}' enCOUllll'r. T here are nlnl.' lrorlds In the 0:ors~ myrhos, .!Od rlenr~' of room exists for rdllorlng the beings l'n.:oun tl.'red rhl.'rl'in.
Cbariots A ('Mior IS pulled b\ C\l.O .Immah usual" horses, bUI rhis rnav V.Ir"" (Of cod s . The charrot moves at [he speed of I[!> br; scs with the extra \l.el~ht of Ill- dussI!> being co mpensated for bv rhe cxtr.a animal. If one aruma] is killed. th(' chance's speed IS redcced bv one-third, .n':! rhe driver mUH Cut rhe Trace DC 15 or rhe charier WIll crash. If .I crash occurs. all ~:iiltl oC(updnts must mdkC' .II Jump check .1~ainM a DC of 12 or t.lke Id6 dAm.l\:e .IS thc\ are thrown from the \'Ireck.age. ~
In cornbat.u suacssful "Flghtmg (rom Chanot" check reduces the mov mg mount pen.llrv b\ half and .Id.:ls a ddma~e muddier of + I JUl.' to the marc' stAblc plJcf~rm of the chariot.
Table
2-1:
Fate Points
COlllr lec ion of Morral Mmion Ques t: + I Dearh of a Mor u l Minion: -1 Failure of .I Mor tal Quest: -2 Completion of .I Lesser Go d Quest: + 2 Temporal) Death of a Lesser God;" ~2 Permanent Death of a Lesser God:" -i Failure of.l Lesser God Quest: -,
+,
Comp letion of d Grra[er God Quest: Temporal")' Death of .I Greater God:" _'j Prrmdnt'nt Dl'.uh of a Greater God:· · 10 Fallurl.' of.a Grearer God M ISSion: _;
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Battle of Wits Cbsrarnrs: Lesser G od s C{I<Jf: Ou tw it Lo ki
Optiorral Rule: Fortune arrd Glory
Sttup: In the gre.lt hall of Gladsheun. one of the gods became d runk and boasted that he or she could face a challenge
gl'f' morral Pes more I.~ting
Issued by.my of the other gods. Mosr d ismissed rhe drunkm claim ~ or acknowledged that It was true, derendmg upon who the patron 15), but Loki saw an opportunity to cause some mischief and perhaps disgrace a rival. H eaccepted the invirauon. hut , when rhe god prepared for banle. Loki countered saying that the challenge hold not ban spec ified .lnJ rhar he chose not to (ighL Inste ad . he mdd ... J. mental challenge. H e bid the god brew an ale wrrh no rasre that could sansfv, even T ho r 's '2;reJ.t thirst c (o r, if Thor IS the god III quest ion, Odin's). The challenged
SIuId5 I'o ho\\lSh
to
pl,l\.lWltv can use this OptlorJ..ll rule' to cncumvenr the morul ch,u,;Icuu" prohibit ion from g.Ufung and usmg DIllnnv l-\)mr~..\s thn· complete ~Ia .md overcome du,lIt'ng('!> In adventures, mortals "('1UII"(' Fortune Pomts. \Vhcn the character .Iequlrts teo I ortunc Pcuu s. he or she receives IGloO' Pom t. '" hleh ran be )pt"nt Just like '" On uutv Point.
Forcune IS gJIr1ltd or lost :!oubj«r to ehe prmlSlOOS of the follul'omg ,..bit ..nd the drscrerron of the Skald. '"ho JIw,H ) has the firul s.l v In rhe matter,
god has o ne cycle o f the moon to complete t he task.
mo:m, m Slflgk comOO{ 1-," Ch.illm~ lUring FIC'C' from p<>fson.11combat the CR of the foe Loot gold per qu('st 11 100 gp ... .Jut: Fulfill an Oarh 2 Brr Jk .m O.Hh -; Complete a Qunt I f al l [0 complc re a Quest ·2 Su.::ccsful PfJ ~ cr 2 S~
T hen" are severa l W.l}'S to h,1I1dle getting the p!J.yers in volved . You can choose to haw o ne of the PCs have m ad e the boa st . ma ke It one of the PC's patrons, or even up the sta kes o f th is q ues t and allow t he players to use their Greater God cha racter-s (wit h o ne of rhern as the acc use d}. If it 's " p,nron god who IS und er the thumb of Lok i's challenge. he o r she is pe rplexed and unable to arr ive a t .lny conclusion. H e or she begs t he pes to help.
Flttmg fro m J combat afrer swords o r .l XCS o r whar eve r , have been crossed wrl l merit rhe n"'gall \'(' pen.llry re g.lTJI e-~ s ofcircumstances. Remember: rht" i1H1 l u dt' W W,lTd death is dilTerent 10 rh...se rimes. An heroic dearh go t you tnt o Valhall,l. l.ikcwivc, 10 .1 doly be-for e wrir rcn con rracrs ber nrn... d lolwyl' r' s d re.II11. gi\'in g your word W ,l S s'\cud.
How the characte rs go ab out so lvin g the riddle IS t heir o wn bu siness. You co u ld ha ve th em dri nk from Mimi r's \Vell to rece ive " VIsi on that would reveal the an swer , o r they co uld t ravel to one o f the o t her N ine Worlds seeking ad vice . Perhaps .I wizen ed Elf in Alfhe im o r a crafty Dw arf in N idavellir has the an swer they seek. :".'e.'([ have them t ravc] to othe r world s to gJ.in th e IIlgr rdiellt s t hey nee d to brew t he ale with each it em bei ng inc reasingly difficult to obtai n. Finally, th ey should arr ive back in Asg.lrd jus t in tim e to foil Loki's r ims. T hi s q uest is largely an mr ellect ual o ne so you cou ld change th e sol ution to real iz ing that t he cha llenge itsel f is a tri ck. Perh aps the el ixir t he characters see k is some pe rfec tly o rdina ry drin k such J.S water. Also, t here is no need fo r them to be involved m co mbat unless rou Wish
Quest Seeds List ed below are several ideas fo r su itable adve nt ures for rour Ragnarok cilmpa ign. Eac h idea list s th e basic type of cha rac te r involved ( mo rt al. Lesser God. G reater God), the goal of the quest. a se tup (J. p lot hook to ge t you sta rred ). and ;lny other mfo rm anon char m a), be necessary to get you goi ng. The}' do not provide antagonists, monsters, or Level recommend at io ns so t hat }'ou mar cus to mize t he ideas to ro ur own campa ign.
it. W hil e yo u cou ld have the ingredients gu arded by s,lvage mon st er s, you co uld Jus t as effec t ively have them locat ed in Imposs ible to reac h 10 c;J1 lOns or ow ned by creatures who w ill o nlv, sell th em for exaet in~c prices ( such as ;I D warf 100 km 'O: for a human wife o r J. Gun t seeking a boon fro m Asga rd ).
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Remem ber too rhar failu re will COSI the p.m)' Fare Po int s. Just because t here are no epic bat t les to he fo ug ht in this adventu re does not make it anj' less Important in the grand sche me of du ngs. If the' ch aracte rs cannot solve the riddle. it IS a su re s ign th at the gods' infl uen ce over t he U01 \"erSe I S weakening.
Fire at Uppsala Ch"rolfUrJ:
Mortals
C""J: Prevent the Romani "Iemplars from burning the Temple of Uppsala 5ttup : H igh Priest
Vellbaum (see sidebar} is attempting
forge a working alliance with the Roman i t o comba t the scourge of the East. T he Romani have ideas of t h e ir own abou t t he convers io n of t he Northern people to the Somhem farrh. though.•and see t his as an o pportuni ty to get oil. fir m foothold In the Northern Kingd o m . T he alliance IS sabo taged by 'ro g-Awass (see his aidebar). who ac ts as Vellbaum's .lge n r to rhe Ro m ani and sp reads lies o n bo th sides. [0
T her e are a number of ways to ge t the pla yer s in vol ved in t his quest. T hey co ul d be wor kmg fo r vellbaum. who wanr s the Romani .lge n ts in vesri gat ed to m.rke sure they are no t plani ng tr eachery, T hey cou ld also be wor k mg for King Linhclm (sec his side bar), who sus pects Vdlbaum o f being u p to so me t hi ng t ha t isn' t in t he king dom's bes t int erest , In th is ca se. rhcyl l pr o babl y sru mble o n to the Ro man i p lo r in t he co u rse o f spy in g o n Vellba u rn.
Table 3-2: Prayer Modifiers
They co uld also be acn ng o n th e behest of one o f th eir patr on go ds ( t h;lt is, o ne o f th e playe rs ' Lesser God
if praYing holr area
characte r). who IS co nce rned abou t ralks between Vellbaum and t he Ro mani o r who ha s noti ced that the vile Yog-Awa ss is somehow involved. Th is las t is an espec ially good hook If the p laye rs Lesse r G ods ha ve
if 01. pnesr or pricerees
dealt wit h Aesa Lok isd ornr ( see her side ba r) in the pas t. Rega rdless o f how t hey ge t in vo lved, wh at t he p e s need to d iscove r is this: Yog-Awa ss I S d eli bera t ely misrepresenti ng each side to the o t her. H e has helped to bri ng them together.•and no w he IS crea nng chaos between t hem. H e tells each represenrar ive rha r the o ther sees himself as in ehar~l" of the' alliance an d sees the' other his [001. As the frustf.lllons an d OI.nger mount, Yog-Aw,}ss sti rs rhe pot unt il borh Sides are more in t ereste d in gomg to Wolf wirh each other rhan in forming an all iance .lgainst the EISt. In the end, he convmces the Rornaru
,11 ,1
temple. church, or o ther
IS
present
If the character Ius .sldln An "enemy"
...mhlO 24 hours
If the charac ter has been gr.l.ntrd a "vision" of rhe god Ihe character hAS acted OUI of
allg nmt"n t s lIlcr rhe LaS! Praver ,Utrmpl
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St L"fS \ S l"l" below) . War p.lrt ll·S sent b~' t he jar!s haH' cn her been una ble to t rac ]; th ese creatu res do wn. Of. wo rse, found them and been cornplct c]v wipe d out. T he people have f'r .lyed to rh e gods [or del iverance. You c. minvolve the pes by ha\' ing rhcm Jssigned the task o r so n ing OU I th iS lll~'s le~' by t he ir patrons. Alremanvelv. Ih l " mort a] cha ractcrs In lilt;" 1,IJ\·t" rs· D IHne Pa n folios could r r.l~· to rbe rr p.u rons fo r succor. ,lllowmg rhc PCs 10 res p o n d on the rr own. Yo u need 10 sl.HI bv choosing .1 suitable monster fo r rbc advcnrure. It should b., on,' rhar c.m 1\ reak all sorts o f havoc on mere mort als parucularlc If there are sever a] lll\oheJ I and will make a good ch.1I1enge fo r Ih l , Lcs scr GoJs III vour .-dlllpdign. Obviouslv. the more-
monvtcr s
powerful "our PC s arc . the marc d ead ly will be rhc monster vou choose at least to the mortals seeking re!lef .
ca rd inal wirh whom he 15 J edllll g char Vellbaurn sees h imself as JbO\'(' rhe Sourbe mers .m d char he p lans in fe..:: t their people wit h the "true faith" of X orrhcr n worship.
T he monvt er
Deemln~ ,
nor on lv hun d.m ,~('ro u s bur the enure N orr hcm r im [0 m urd a Vellb.lum and bu rn tho: Temple o f UppSJ ld [0 th e grou nd. (lith ,lS w ('11. rh.. Romani B~'
III
t.lul"~ [lo n
should. however, be
d
lit tle
le ss powl'fful t han th e PC s so that ~'ou em r('.lso nablv thro w J num ber o f the-m at the gods. O nce yo u've d ecided o n
.1
mon st e r. t he players w.J1 have
go 10 ~l l d g .,rJ ttl lI1 \"(' ~ ll gd t e t he an acks. L 1Y J o wn m . mv c lues .IS ro u Itke- , but eve n rual lv they shou ld ..- ome upon J village Jus t as an attack o cc ur s. The cha r.1.-h"r<; sho uld be able to sec .I po rc.d open o ut o f which rhc monst ers wi ll surge to at rack rhc rown. Once th e 10
the nme the PCs get involved. Yo~-Awass should be well
.IS
Jlong in to his rnachin anons. The potent ial allian ce is ,1 I rt:',ld~' [r.lying .II rhe St'.IITIS .mJ neither side trusts the other, The Ch d fJ("tl'fS mu st un cover tI". p lo t [0 b urn th e tem ple before can be set Into mo non. If d ll')" CJ n t'xpose Yog-AwJS S ;IS th e trw: VIllain. so much t he better, but the prlm.lfy goal is to pr eserve th e N orth ern fdith JnJ it s temple as wholly
It
c rc.n urcs arc dcfe .n ed . It will be up 10 rhc PC s to fig ure OUI h all' (0 foll ow th e r rai] ba ck. Wh.ncver mean s yO ll devise for l hem. the p .ll h leads b.ick to Svarr alfhcim .
as po ssible.
H ere. ,I powerful Dark Elf WlZ,ITd IS summonin g t he mon st rrs .md sending th em through .I dimensional g,lIc
You should gin" Yo g-Aw.lsS seve ralmi nio ns with which t o work . As thi s adve n t ure IS I.lrgely d polniralllltriguc. yoo"H want t o keep the p l.l}'t"TS rlll1ll1ng down a {ew
t o ;"Iidgd rd to c.uoc c baos and wo e. ThI S wiz ard is bei ng mani pulated by the villainou s Acsa l.oki sdor nr In dl sg ui sl". She wears the guise o f ,I lJ.lrk El f an ci ac rs as the co nsort o f t he elfin wizard. T he char acters will have to p u t .1 S lO p to rh e .... 1/ ..lrJ · S pla n, fighllng Ihro ugh hIS minion s an d SOlth" m a n." of Ih e monste r~ m th,' p rocl'ss.
blmd alleys as they t ry to di sco ver wh at 's happening. Yo g-Awass wil1 lrr t o have rhcm killed ..IS soon as he SUSpl"cts t hem of t he r" ITlOIt'St po ssibility o f inr crterence. so ~'o u'll ha \'e SOffit" actlon to t h row at thelll as well . Try to kt"t" p th t" t ensI o n up so t hat th t" playe rs re.1lizt' th e .1\\ ful (r Ulh .1 1 the 1.lsl possible moment .
\\'hcn expost'J for who she t rul ~' IS. Aesa wil l tl ec the SCl"I1l", I'rl"fern ng to wre.lk mischit'f clst'whcre. Thi s adw!1ture
The Monsters of Svartaifbeim
IS
J f.lld }' slTJight forv.a rd h ug hu m . W hile
Ch,mWtrs: Lesser Gods C{,<1.f: S top t ht" D .1 rk E h'es fr olll U nlt' .1s h m g Chaos
there- is somt' mYSler y In\"ol\"Cd. it 's mJ inl ~' about the dCllo n. It mdkes J good que-si 10 u~e afte r a p a rtlcularl~' .:-erebrdl ad\",,!1tufl" o r when your p1J.wrs .Ire ("[dYIng
o n ~lid g .1rd
so m" straigh l up ffionsle r-b.lsh mg.
5aup: 5e\"l:,,[;)1 \"J11.Jges J nd somc sm.llI to .....ns h.ln" becn
overrun .1nd completdv deslroyed by ram pag ing m o n-
'8
Th, Thift of Heidrun Cba r(lm[s; Greater GoJ~ Coal: Recover rhe stolen
gO,H,
H eiJru n
S(/UP; L.lIC J I mghL J. rter the grc.H fe.l.st in the f fall of Ht'TO<"s. [he black-hearted Fire Giant, Surl. snuck mro AsgarJ and stole rhe mJ glcal gO.H H ..idrun. whose tea ts provide the sacred wtne. mead,
(0
the gods. The deed
WJS
Prayer and Benediction A Lesser God can fcrcefullv utter the name of his or her poltro" before entermg 01 battle. If rhe emrearv IS heard rhe p.atHln .... ill bestow some benefit on his o r her servant. To erurear hl~ or her poltron. the Leeser God makes J Ch.ltlSm.a check wuh .lI DC of I;. If it is suecessful . thoe poitrOn has heard rhe ple.ll .mJ gr.llnts J ttmponrv gift. Roll a J6 and consult " Table i-I: B..nefit s of Paeronage." This abili, 1\' mJ~' onlv be- ateempred once pc-r J.:I\'.
discove red
before it W.IS completed. hU I bv the rune the alarm cou ld be raised. Sud Wd.S dlrcdJ\' well ou r onto the sea en mutt" to Muspelheirn. Odin has ordered rhar this offense be punished ,mJ [he SJ..:Tl·j goat ret urned ro If S prop.:r 1'1.\(t''.
The plavers "Ill be rJJ~'mg the ir Greater Gods
In
rhrs
adventure ..ina' rbe honor o f AsgarJ could not be> defended if rruruons were scm to J.ccOInrhsh rlus quest. If one of your
pl.l\"crs has H cl In (0
h IS
.\ :-'f~lnJ.1 prJ\'lng 10 hIS or her gods IS J. bit more involved. The gods ..xpected rh.. mortals to live and dl.. hkt- heroes, so J. ~ 1.J u nd t\ list" of «'qut'sts IS In.lpproprwe. The sblJ hdS the right to pumsh such pr.l\·ers wnh .lI ·1 penaltv on [he nexe dre rolled b, such a be-ggm~ Chard(ltr.
or her Divme Portfol io. you'll have
make some dJj us[Jllen(~ to rhis adventure see
below .
Su rl IS e".lsily idcn nfied .IS J Fire G I.ml befo re" he" es.::apes. dnd hi s pa rh across t he" g re,l[ sea mJk es It obvious wh ere he will go: Mu spelhcim . Su r! IS e,:as~' to rr.rck. bur th e parb ends ar .l SIn.11l ( fo r gl,Ints rh ar I S ) ho use. wh ich is populated by ;1S nl.lny Fir e Gi.ln l~ .IS t he re are PCs. Thev know whe n' Su r! is. but refus e 10 help go ds. Thi s enco un ter should eS('.I I.Hc int oa fighl. Assu m mg the PC s win . t hc gi. mrs will .It last gn'C up rhe in formarion. Sur! took rhe go,1[ to Niflch eun. H e 's an o utca st Jmong th e g i.!n ts. .md rh.u's wh ere he h"TS.
However, J serrous cnrrearv of the gods' f.l\or mdY get thl'lr .Ittem ion. ,\ morral character can only offt'r such .I powerful praycr once .I we"..k, A Ch.lrIslll.l Check wuh .l DC of 10 IS required. "Table hl: Praver 11oddltn;" lists ".1\,5 for tlit' roll to be enhanced. If it IS suece~sful. I he gild!> have heard rhe morral's pt.l~ er and Will bestow one of the gifts listed on "lable '1-\: Bencfits of Pr.wer," Roll J db to Jo:tennlnl' whICh. Such bt"n'efits last for one full ,tw, Umucces,ful rolls IllJic.He rhe ,n,u.Icrrr's'pll'
Tht' ~oJs .Ire not wd col11l' in :"Itl eh cim. but few of it s den izl'ns have Ih e co llt ag~' to ch.llle nge tht'm. Feel free to cast till' ('harJe ll' rS into ,1 lIght to spice things lip. but it sho uld n' t bl'il te"rrib!)' g rea t challcnge to th em . Regardl t" ss. S url IS no wh l'n' to be fo und. Even t uAll y, H el t akC's noti Ce of t he in ('llrsH1n int o hrr dr eAd [t' ,llm . an d sum mons th e gods before her. \\'h en she" leuns th e n.H UH' o f their e"rrand. she te lls t hem IhJt she can hd p, m dt'ed. but her JSSlst ,m ee ("OIllCS wit h A
fo r.::o:- t hdt the PC s Will hJH' d , l"fiwh~' de ft'dt ing it . Ther should be ,Ible to W in If .lll goes Ild l. but it should defi niteh', be lou gh, If It bCCOlOl' S olw io us thai the pes are gO lO~ to Will, S url wd l dtlemrl to kil l H eid run o ut o f sp ite. If he" su(,ccl'ds. t he mi SSio n is
price. The gods \.11 11 hJve t o nego ti ,l[e" with he r until shc IS s.u isfied b\' wh,u Ih e\", o ffer hcr. \\'hnever ,\'O U dllow, it should cost rhe c!l,lranc rs dear ly.
.
At last, she" re\·e3.ls whert' Su rl hJS hidde n Ih e bCJst . W hen the plolyer ch .lrAners ,u I.lst Arr i\"('. the~' will find the \- ile" ri re GiAIH " lth;1 slTlollI urn\" o f foll ow er s. These .Ire m Jd e up of L>drk Eh·t s, Dw .!rn~ s , Hi ll Gi.mts. .and the occds lonJ.l Fi re G ldnr. T he exac i co mposi tion is up to ~'ou. bu t It should he A su ffinenth- ('h.lllengmg
\9
Balder U \·cIJCIa....: 15th Level P;I!JJin Favor ed Abilit y: DOlJUln~ ;
WI sdom
Good.
Tr~;
H e:llrn~ .
Law
MS I T
Special. Balder (;In .lt u:mpf
[0
Chum anv
Supernatural . bili!\ . ThiS p O'ACT IS hmired to rhree tim es ;I d.t" bur II IffiF"-'Ses J -; modifier to the urger 's S.a\'rng Throw. He IS
bemg
;IS :I
the onlv P.ll.aJIO
the mvthos and Ius the
In
abilnies of rh,H el.IS....
full
.
Part 3: The Gods The Greater Gods
Bragi Ln·d.'C~u:
15t h Le v e] B,uJ Ch.;ansma Domain..: Good. H ea l m~, Prouxuon ~\lloL": Aesir
Favored Abilit y:
Frey Level/Class:
t zrh Level Flghterj 6th Level Sorcerer
Favored Abilit y: Intell igence Domains: Animal, Chaos, Sun TyJlf': Vanir
Freya lc-veIiClass:
rzrh Level F,ghto:rl 6th Level B.1rJ
Favored Ability: Ch.msm.l
Donuins: Plant. Travel. War ~l·pe': V.tnir Special: Frey.l can Sh,lpt' Chang.. Into once per day ,\S .lo Spell-like- Jbilily.
.I
falcon
Co nta ined here in are capsule b iograph ies o f the InaJor dei ties of the Norse M yrho s. T he entries list the god'.. na me, Class and Level. favo red Ability..and the domains fo r Div ine Spells granted to their priests. lr also Indicates whether they are AeSIT or Vanir. 0:0 g,l.Ine at atis tic s are listed so rhar player , s .1nJ Sblds mav, create their own vers ions of the gods for pld}'. Since each player m ust choose a patron god fo r his or her D ivine Portfolio . rhis allows the player to create the charac te r somewhat fro m scrat ch while still keep mg within the fr am ework for t he ind ividual mvr , h s. Obviously, this ma kes it best If each player has a d ifferent p,Hron in his or her Divine Port fol io. Odin represents the H igh Skald and. thus, is detai led more m inutely. Some of the gods have m.lglCal Items from the myths detailed In their desc riptions while others do not. In most cases. if the item W.lS Import.mt [Q the god's legend (Thor's hammer, for example), It w as included. O t herwise they were left o ff. Again. th is W.lS done to allow pbyers and Skalds t o cus tomize the campaign to th eir tasr es. Aft er the Skald and t he playe r have created th e Lesser God PC, t he Ska ld should flesh out t he G rea ter God pa t ron, incl udmg an appropriate md~ic item o r two. Th IS W.lY, he or she coin create a pdtron railored to rhe Lesse r God who serves hi m Of her. Skalds should remember rhar mJglc is rare m the Norse :-'l p ho s a nd nOI ove rload the Greater God w ith magical rrinker s.
alJer Balder
IS
the young so n o f
Od in JnJ Fn gg,}. li e IS often called "The Beautiful" or "The Good:' Ba lder IS the least warlike of the Norse dcines. bur
The Death of Balder
he is not .I coward bv .my means. Sensi t ive [0 the nee ds and feelings of those around him, Balde r seems [0 represent what the Norse strove to be but (auld not
The rale of B.llder·~ death I~ the turfllng pomt in rhe rnvrhos. BotherrJ b\ disturbing dreams .md ornene 8.11Jtr (orts,a", hn 0" n rum. HIS mochn, Ft'~.I, dnvtn b\ 100e tor her <.im and thl'" l~ar (h.1I rhe b..'~t of thl'" gcxb was rbrearened \lent om Into (he world dnd m.de vIr{lulh all
anam. In tune with nature more rhan the other Aesir, he is gtven to dreams and omens. though it is often [he ras]; of others to Interpret them.
of creancn swear not (0 hum hun. However. sht overlooked mistletoe'. Lckr drscov..red thh weaknes.s and exploited It. Jealous of &aldet lor
hd\lng e\enthlllii: he did not looks. love he conspired to kiU him.
[avor, etc.
rag;
The ~od~ would often have ~pon bv sp.unn" ... uh B.lIJa and uSlOg him for target rr;IcHce smce he could not be harrned, Loki secrcdv m..de a ~p(".u o f mrstletoe and (hen convinced [he blrnd god. Hodur, to lorn m [he ten. Hodur used Loki's spur. il 11e\l true. and &1J<.'"t ... .1" sl..rn. HIS death sets 10 monon the chain of e\COIS that le...ds to RoIgn.l.tok. but the promise u( hl\ return from dC.lrh after the La S [ Batrl.. IS th.. p rom l~e of OJ gold...n olge fur humanity.
Brag. IS anot her god who, though brave. IS not known J.S .1 war r ior. H e IS th e ulnmate
Bard. a ska ld of the highest o rde r. T he N o rse value d he ro ic Idles of
mighty deeds
In
song
far more th an wri tten words, and t he s kalds (.m d rhus Rr.lgi ) have an llllp0rt ,lnl pla ce in
the hierarchy of lIfe. Br.1£1 appears .15.m older m.m wit h a majestic beard. So me stori es imply he " ,.1S raised (0 god- ho o d because it is his wife, Id u n (to whom HrJgi is absolutely devoted) , who keep s th e G olden Apple s r hat prt's('rv(' rhc gods' yout h. HI S cou nsel IS so ug ht (J nd usually heeded) by all. Brag, uses ,111 B.lTdlC abilit ies at max imum effec L H e is mentioned 1Il mo st stones. thou gh not promi ncntlv,
of it s spec ies and can be eate n an d regen er at e overnigh t as lo ng as one bo ne- is lefr . H IS hor se. Blod ug-H ofi, (an telepor t with Frey on lC S back once per day. H e is served lo y,lll )' by a devoted se rvant god, Skirn ir. Ftc)' will unsuccessfully fight the Fire G iant. Sun. ,11 the Last Banle .
rey Fr('}" is o ne o f t he Varu r: the mo re peace fu l. carth- oriented de ities. H e IS closely in tune wit h nat u re and ra t he r lust y. corresponding to th e G reen M an o f Celtic legend. He is t he crea tor and protector of rhe Elves . Unl ike most Aes IT, Frey loves magical trinket s and has 9u ue a few. H e bas J. folding Boar ( Skid blaJnir) . He also h.1s a pel boa r. Golden Bri stl es. wh ich IS a granr
Tlya Freva , is Frev's , bea utiful sister and th e daughter o f i':jorJ. To get her. t her bear a more t han strikmg resemblance to rhc "Lo rd and Ladv " of modem Wiccan belief: Freya I S known as the Goddess of Lo\"C and \\'ar and can ho ld her 0\\ n m either endeavor. H er 41
favors a re so ugh t b~' all. She comma nds half the \ Jlk~' fle ~ .m d Einherr ar, H er neck l.l':l' is .... onh rhe for tune of rhe JIl rhe Xine \'-o rld .. an d glows when someone tells J lie 10 her rresenct". She rid es mro ba ttle m J golden chance pulled by two gi.lnI cars.
ngga FriggJ I ~ Odin's wife .1Od t h us Q ueen o f th e G ods. Wlule not .1 " po wer behind th e thron e" per sc. sh e is fwdl }" ol housewife! rri gg.l is qui ll.' inde-pendent and p ursues h e-r own agen J .l. H er m.lrrl,l gt' w uh O d in isn ·( alwavs .umc.ible. and she maint ain s her o .... n home- III Asgard (called Fens..lir Her favo rit e mode of r ravc] IS her horse. Hotvarpmr. who C.1I1 t ravr] over w,11('[ .IS well as land. She dotes on B.11Jer conv tantlv and is more dist rustful of Loki t h an an~' of rh e other go Js. H er mos t famous moment In the mvrhos is her quest to secure Balder's safety bv cnsuri n~ alll i\'ing th ings s.... ear nor to harm him see "The D eat h of Bald er ·· side bar till'
eimdal H t'lIThi Jl ls t he suprl' me g U.lrdl an and I S worshippt'J o n l\1I..:lg'lrJ by rh osc invol ved in public satery such as tow n
watc hmen. H " is even mor e do ur and tacit urn t han mo st o f th e Aesir and IS o ften mocked by Loki fo r suc h seriouvnevs. A lo ne r by na ture, he lives nca r the Asgolrd la n Side of th e Rainbo.... Bridge . .I post he rarclv leaves. A brave warr tor. hr, migh l IS o f len the- fir st and lasr thing encou ntered by J ny Int ruder. H e- ca rrres the- famous horn. Gjallor. on .... hich he blows var tous notes [ 0 ale r t the others of mr ruvionv. T here is OIl\' note t1u t will onlv be blown o nce: when he calls the god:- and hero es to assemble for [he Fi nal Ban le. Ragnarok . HI ~ horse I.'> also q uite fam ou s and an cye-c.nche r for th e ladles, H e plays o nly .1 min or role in mo st m vrh.., though he is dcsrincd to kdl Coln d be killed by) Loki III the Final Baul c.
42
'"
-=---
~'l\
"')h
~h
Htl H e! is descr ibed in th e sec-non on X iflehe irn.
ok;
Odin
. ure in t he en ri r... m vt hos. He is .
Loki is the most en i,>:m aric fi~-
blood brother
to
Odm dod has
accompa nied him and o rher gods on m.my advent ures. Noneth eless. he is qu ite self, servi ng and no t tru st ed by manv. It is his jealousv of the uncondinonal ~ ;lnd in h is cp.·s unwa rranted } love g iven by .III
[0
Ln'eVCIOIss:
BAl d er t hat \-\111
set In motion a chain o f evenr s th.lt leads to the Pin al Battl e. Exrrcmelv, promiscuous. loki's [tnt!' , > have spawned mallY mon strou s creat u res. most notably th e Frons Wol f and H e!' Loki has ,he gre.l[cs t sens e of humor amo ng an o t he rwise dour bu nch, bu t I t tend s to have J down side wit h pracrical jokes. H e will s ide wit h the granrs in the Fin.11 Banle and die figbung H eirndal.
din Odin . called the All. Father and the Guy \\'.mda l'r. is t he supreme go d of the mvrhos. H e is o ft en away fro m Asgard all subtle ad vcnrure s. Unlike T hor. who is rhc proverbial bull in a chi na sho p. Odin prefers to wo rk beh ind the scenes m most cases. Hi s Wisdom IS great but not wit ho ut gaps. The re IS much he does not und erst and . an d his 9uesc for k n o wl ed ~e is without equal. H e is thus respect ed .tnd worshipped by schola rs OlS mu ch as kings. H e is Also "err skilled m the an of magic. and ~l idga rdl,m magicians of All varieries seek his blessings. H e also keep s man y useful pets. Two wolves. Freke an d Gere (Iirerally. "G ree dy" an d "Ravenou s.") . sit by hi s thr on e and often ;Iccomp.tny him on journeys. H IS ravens, H ugin and Mun in (" T hought" and "Me mo ry "). fl y t he uruvers e br mg ing messages ,m d hdpi ng hu n k('cp tra(k o f rhings. Hi s steed is Sieipm r. a gr;lyishwhite. ("ght -Iegged horse that can tl ~'.
15th Level Wi zar d {Divinat ion 1 15t h Le vel Fightl."r
Favored Abilit}': Wisdom Domains. Li....... ~l'C :
b~iL.
\ \ '.H
Aesrr
Special. O dm ran mspl re Ikr~eru r nge In .all mo rtals o n hrs Sid c wnhm 200' as though ehev '~~~l hold th e Barbarian R.lge .lbllity. TIm. IS ,111 t1 Exrraordinarv abili ty. H is ~re.lr, Grungnrr. IS .l + 5 wrarun th at ra n be thrown ou t to too'. W hen held .110 ft , it .Iffects all enemies with in 50 ' as though th e Fear spe ll had bl'l'l\ (.1s t by ,l 15th 1...-\'('1 Wizard. HI ~ ring. Drau pr ur. can s1';a" n A non -m ;agh:.I1 COl'} o f Itself ev... rT night. O din gl\'~S t hese rings · 10 .000 gp value 10 those who plea...e him. HI '" pt)\H'fful throne . Hi ld skl.tff. functions .I'" .t Ct\:\l,ll Ball 1Il1rh C lai raudiance unlimited dur.ltlon when
O din
Sl[S In Its
Beca usc he
IS
sear. .IS a I f1gh Slu ldfurther derailed here
only available
com rolled N PC. Odi n
IS
com plete wHh .111 rh... nC'ctssary gam e
s Ut ISlI'S.
15th Level Wi7..1rd/5 t h Level Fighter : SZ:
fi8~1 M edium (GrMl'r God) HI): 15d4+'idI O+ ( 60 ; HP: zs i: INIT: + 8 (Du . ; SliD: 30 Ir.: AC: N + 8 Dex. + 5 Armor. + 1 Sflleld, + 'i ~.Jtu r.ll ATK: Shorrspear +17/ +2 21+ 17 15!l111 melee, + 1 6 ran ~(d I d 8 + 16 , = FACE: s fr: ~:III R EACH : 5ft; SV; Fort +17. Ref + 14 , Will + 2 1: ABILIT ES: Srr 19. Dex 17 . Con 17 .lnt 28. WI ~ rz. Ch.1 Z9 : AL Neutral Good; SKILI.S: lnumidare 24. Kno""ll"dge: ,\n:.n.a H . Kocwledge: R£llglon H . Serve 33. RIJt ll. Sense Monve 28. Spellcrafr 3s. RunC(f.1 fl 35 ; FEAT S: Brew Porion , Comba t Gstmg, C om bat Refl exes. C raft ~ l.l g l( Arms and Armor. Craf Wondrous h em. Weapon Focus: Sh ort spea r. Wrapon Sp cci.rlizat ion : Sho rtspea r. Leadershi p. Mo urn ed Comb;al, Scr ibe Scro ll. Spell For us: D ivinAtion
I
It:;!!fl
,.. \ 1\
cull IS ,1'-lUally more widespread on Midg.u d dun t11J.t of
Odi n. T ho r IS the god of cho ice for the co mmon man. whrle nobles and thelt Ilk f,H"OT his fat her. Tho r i, not unimelligcnr . but ncu hcr is he an inrellcc nul.
Odill (colltill ued)
He
IS
ccrt amlv wise enough
(Q
rcl v o n h is strength.
Srt':-loIl Notes: Odin\ Ravens funcrion Illst
like tr1odmon.a] \Vu..lrd'~ F.llntll.llrs and have all .lIb.lllle'S thereof. Ho....ever, rhl"Y ,l~ rcflecucns O,hn'~ mind and. rhus. cannot be- harmed. of course If .In}(hin~ happens to Odm. the
of
Rivens ".11 suffer
15
The Fell,.is Wolf
well.
H I S wohcs are rreared as \\'lnter Wolves oCtpt. of course. that rht'1r Alignment IS eurral Good mSItold 01 . '("utu] Evil. Tbev h.t\t m.l.lImum tllt pomts .md an /\C of J 8.
The Ft'nn Wolf IS 0111" o( th . (rr
wor IJ
1111'(>
hours
10
Odin (".I~IS the Run es mort 1'((c(Ilvch, than anv othe r g.xt. When hl' cmplcvs t hem, ;hcy affe,.'t rh,-ir tJr gl'IS .IS t hou gh they hold been a n by d z orh Level Wiz ard . In add it ion, he rnn C:lS I five Runes a d,IV !nsIt':ld (I ( the U~U .lt three (or G reatl,"f Gods.
F
Th
"";IS VOUIlt.:
('nn .~ l\a5 ;)
J
uct
ot
h
One
pup" en rh('
[0 [l"5[
us "'n)\" ln~
h
ar II was a "'..lmr
f L_ . b "'It" ",hl"h the e-"'oJsttenl;!l ' . f'nfl5~.ll1chalns
~
S
e
[0
!Orcure rr
Ac !..lst. h Is .,"'.. anJ . . 01 Iarlllr J [hr 0 j b O'<"
to
I 1C
tc s t.
.
F,'nris was Un•Ibl·, , 0 b r ('.I li' til ' ..nd lh c goJ, r"/Ol,' 'd d r' IS 1rI,1glcaJ d Idio, < dn ft'lll scd t b· J B
hUt
hoy T h e son o f Odin and Jord is the mo st f.lmou s .Idno n lUTer in t he mythos an d the Aes lr's gre,Hest g l.lnl -k iller. H e cu£!'. qUH(' ;:a fi gurt' wit h h iS m.1Ssi'·e fr;:arne ,m d th mlOg red h;:alr. T h or 's li fe is one ad\'entu re ;:afttr ,mother• .l.nd h is up loi ts .lre well k n ow n to .l.1 1. H e consu n tlr hunts m o n st er s bo th to p ro\"!" hIS met tle ,md to prorI"Cl hum.lnity. H is
of
Th vrnallor gl\..".. III Lr gods
Jay.
When he g<.lC" 10 war. Odin wean.l fine- breastplate and carnes J small stueld, H e normallv does no t wear them on a J 1oil, bJ..\oIS. T hev do no t mrerfe re with hiS casl lng '.abi lity. nor doe s the bn:J~IpIJIC ImpJ IT h l~ O t"XI CrlI Y bo nus.
.
thou"'h and a, h· (' go S (ruta I rs lo;rowth , ~ , { <""or/dl o ~, Fenn, Wolf's L I S[ Us Innocencr, t~
0.::110'5 SIH'd IS treated .IS .I he a'-, warhorse IIE;~I "uh maximum hit pomts and an im proved AC of 15. It can move .J[ .I. utt of too fr. on the H~~
gmunJ or flv "'0 it. for up to
.
(' \'til
thcll T "
.
It, 1\
b
0
kll... w
0 un
d
In
Jlim.
I (' gods r l
Fenn s \\ol f
g rt \\ so O wa fllen dum Id <"ou 0 0
..loS l o r
Jol f '"
naught. T he
h eoe r a[ .. , C'n t h r /0
broke rh ,s fettrr ngrf Con rolln Jr. It tOo ,1n d CS",1 d ' h r t" N ine Worlds _/ h' pc [ 0 pl.1"ut" R. (111 11 [t" La 00> .1go;l fok I< hr n II wrll It. II Sf D .:In of fal1in ~", 10 \ 'idJr. I Od Ul h lm~elfht-(orr'
which
bv, [ar his ,greacesr asset. When he obviouslv, superior to an opponent, 111: prefers to wield a sturdy barrleaxe rather than his r rndmonal hammer. T h e other gods depend on his proV,TSS a bit too much sometimes. When Thor cannot overcome some obstacle. it is often the cause for great debate and no small panic. IS
Thor Level/Class:
r Srh Level Fighter
H e IS fa Irly well equipped WI th magIc Items. main ly o f Dwarvcn manufacture. H e often Hies through the .nr in
Favored Abilit y: Strength
a mighty W~lr chariot pulled by rhe two great boa rs. Tannqrisner and Tan n gjo s t. Bo t h can be c.ir cn by T h o r
TYP'"
[and ,my companions) an d will ar-ise the next day whole as long as one bone remains. At the Final Barr ie, T ho r will slay the vile Midgard Serpent but succumb to the pOIsonous fumes from the beast.
yr Noble Tyr has two roles in the myt hos. H e IS t he God o f Law and o f \Var. Hi s word is h is h onor, an d he expects t he same o f everyone else. T h us, he is t he patron o f strict law to the lett er. o mpassion (o r evert justice, perhaps) do not en ter mto cons idcranon. T he end never justifies t he means with h im. As the God of War, he drills th e heroes an d eve n t h e gods in the finer points of rna rrial comba t. It is ~v r who will lead the ,Irmy of Asgard into th e F inJI Banle.
Domains : Air, Strengrh. Travel
l!,;\lIil j
II
Acsrr
Special: Thor 's mag,c~l belt. ~lcgmhard~r, adds + 2 to his Slrength score. His glol'cs, Jam Greiper. convfJ the rr,lt , \Ve.lpon Focus: \Varhammer. Thor's hammer is the grc,1t wonder of creation. It IS a + 5 wC.lpon and inflicrs lodS points of d.lmage. Once per d.ly. rhe wielder can throw a Lightmn~ Bolt as the arcane spell ) ,IS though cast by a tech Level \Vi7Jrd. USing his glovl!'s. Thor ran rhro ...' the hammer [tlo;:;1l1 with .I range increment of 30 feer. So long as he wears '\1egmharder, It returns to his hand.
Level/ Cla ss: [51h Level Figll1er Favored Abilit y: Constitution Domains: Law, Protection. \\'.l.r Type: Acsrr Special: Tyr has rhe power to III.SPItC· Berserker R..:age In .1.11 Einhenar wirhin 100 yards of him as rhough they had the Barbarian Rage ability. This power IS an Extraordinary ;Ibilrry.
Tyr's m o st prom inent pan in t he m yth in vol ves t h e mighty Fen r is Wol f and demonst ra tes his obsession with the lcner of the law (see s ideba r). In the Fin al Battle, he WIt! kill G arm , rh e H o u nd o f H el. but will likewise be slain by t he beas t.
II" Uller IS the son o f the goddess, Si f. from .1 liaison ( who m;ly have been .1 Vanir) before she m ar ri ed T ho r. T h or. be ing a lusty fe llow hi mself. bea rs no resentment towards t he previo us tryst an d ge ts along quite well with his stepson. Uller is rh c God of Hunters and Archers, a nd he spends mu ch o f his ti me
Utler Level/ Class: Favored Abilit y: Dom;l.ins:
TYP'"
15th Level Rangt'r Dexrertt v
Earth, Fire. Tr.wel Vanir
Special : Uller is such a gifted archer that he may rc-roli any miss with his ~red( yew bow. This is an Extraordinary .1bility. bUI Uller rnJ.y only employ ir onc-e prr shot. Adduionallv, his arrows Always inOict a maximum ddnuge.
'l\ \
.,
\
--
., II :>'
\
., -
The Gods alld Magic
Tbe Midgard Serpent The l\.·lidg;ud Serpent, whose name h )ormungJnder. prowls the depths of the ocean around :-" liJg,nd. It is JIlOIhn of loki' s \Jf(..pn ng. thi~ film" with the Cdl gynrl.'"S~, Angur-BoJa Od in casr rhe Sl"rprnt 1010 the ocean where II connnu.Uly gr..,. In SIU Jnd menace. Thor, the greatest monster-slaver of tnt' gods. made II his lifelong <{ues! to ,1.1\ the beast. H e !.':.Jmr close only once \0 hik fishm~ ~ lln.l gunt In uncharted IO.l. [trs. H I S (omp.J.nlon ca..t out J net and pulled up part of the serpent's bodv As Thor prepared to strike. the giJrH panicked and cut ehc net, t hereby ,,110\\ mg [ormung.mder to escare. lnfuei.ned, T hor killl'd his fishm g p d.f t ne.r imt c.lJ , Tho r will ll n.lllv kill t n t' crca rure ar R.l ~ .J. nJ k . but he Will "ucc~mb to IfS POlsonam. b; earh.
It should be obvious rhat most o f the gods do not hJW magical ab d u )'. whet he r arc.m e o r divi ne. In Norse ~fyth ol o g y. tmgic I S ,I rare abil ity ,1 1Tlong t he gods. It I~ far more common Jlllong th e bad guys. This docs not. however, pre \'t"nt gods without m,lgh'· 'll ,lbtlit r fr om bestowing d ivine spells on th \' lr human pri ests. The abili cy [0 cas t spe lls co m es from th e rJW SlU ff o f ChJOS itsel f T h cse priests haw spe ll abihr v .IS normal. rhough the nature o f the go d or god dess rhe v wo rs hip has d direct bea n ng on t his abihrv De spne rhdt, theft' IS no precede nt III the N orse M yrho s fo r resu rrection. T herefore. cha rac ters mdY no r lake am' spells t hat would rein car nat e. rcsu r recr , o r orherwrse bnng a ch arac te r bac k from the dead. With th e excep tlon of the go ds ' limited immorraluv. on ce .t ch.irac rer di es. th ere is no coming back from the afrcrlife.
Credits Text: Willi am Sar iego ou tdoors, being uncomforta ble whe n co n fined in ,m y wav. , H e a.lvo h .l. ~ control ove r weathe r. esreci,lllr, wi n ter. H e is held in high es te em among t he gods, ,m d once ruled 10 years in O di n's place.
idar Vidar is ano t her o f O d in's many so ns , H e is a qu iet go d not given to boiste rous behavio r or braggmg abo ut h is exp loits. which are co ns ide rab le. Vidar never gets mad . H e ju st gets even. Vidar is e.l~ l lr th e second mos t reno wne d glant - sb ya amo ng th e Aesir. H e specializes in unarmed combat and. wears .t set of magical boors th,u. when he steps 0 11 an "Pl'?" nenr's foot. pin s th e foe [0 th e spot. pre ven ti ng him from retreat ing. Once he hJS t hem pinned . Vidar pummels his enem ies to dearh . At t he Last Barrle he will awnge t he dea th of Odin by slaymg the Fen m Wol f
Art Dtnaion: Peggy Gordon Front Cover: Lorenzo Sp erlonga
Back Cover: Terry Srricklaud Interior Art: Pcggy Gordon EJiting: John
R. Phvr hyon
Jr.
AJJitionai C h" rarttr Dtsign : Tommy Jones. Jo h n r. Morris
Playttst, AJvia ""J Assistanrt: Mar celo A. Figueroa . Br ian L. Knippl e. Tomm y Jones. John E Mor ris. Barrel Cam per. Bubba Dunn . Vernon H u ndley. Danny Ha rbinson. Jo hn C. Morris. Joey Pruitt . Lori Tolson
Plotline Combinations: D ou g MeNai r:
Sptnal Thanks to Ji m Lai
Midgard
M IDDLE
• SroJbI
• Kiif
rI': Mul
Alsofrom
I..,.. .
SynJ"r
Avalanche Press
+ + +
,ltm -souru book j rom a nottJ autbority on tbt VIking sagas and wng ng inal sourtrs, Playtrs takt tbt rolts oj la ser gods and o Jmts from tbt Norst pantbton, 'lutsling and performing btroic duJs worthy oj a saga, in ordtr to fortStall tbt "Doom of tbe Gods," called tbt RA GNAROK. Contains a romplttt systnnJor wing Not'St Runic Magic, easily transJtrnd to your own campaign!
ISBN
O'707'~11 -0
I
9 780970 7961 1
Avalanche Press LTD, Virginia Beach, VA. 1-800-56+-9008 / _ ..ay.al.anc ht' Pct'ss .com c..p,rigIu: C.lOOO, Anl-dw Prn.lTn. AD Rip. R..--l
APL902
