Viking Ship Thor and the Great Atlantic Crossing

I am a crew member on the viking ship Thor, built by Captain Robert McDonald and thousands of children out of 15 million ice creams sticks. We will be attempting to cross the Atlantic Ocean in the Thor, a feat which has not been accomplished in a viking ship since the vikings did so. An attempt from Norway got about halfway, going east-to-west, before they turned around. Likewise, an attempt from the U.S. got about halfway before they turned around. The entire project, including the building of the ship and the trip, is for the benefit of international childrens organizations. At the end of the journey, the ship will be auctioned and proceeds donated to childrens organizations as well. Imax and Discovery Channel, two of our sponsors, have installed cameras on the ship and will be documenting the entire journey. Completing the cross-Atlantic portion of the trip will add another spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for the ship. That's a short synopsis.

The web page for the the project can be found at:
http://www.obvikingship.com

There are various news stories regarding the project as well; many can be found by Googling 'ice cream ship'.

I have been gaming for 28 years, and have always appreciated appropriate settings. A viking ship following a viking route seems to be an ideal setting for playing a viking-themed rpg. Though time played will depend heavily on conditions and crew interest, I plan to introduce them to role-playing and run games along the trip. Unfortunately, I do not know any viking-specific rpgs. Any suggestions?

Wind in Your Sails!
Aaron

Deleting double post.

I saw this on CNN- the whole thing totally rocks!

AFAIK, there are Viking sourcebooks for a variety of RPGs (including 2Ed D&D).

There is also the Viking inspired Rune (available in book and CRPG form).

FWIW, there are also the very cool Rune dice from www.Q-workshop.com.

Thank you for the link - I followed it and the dice are great, especially the runic ones. In a very strange bit of coincidence, the company is located in Poznan, Poland - about 12 miles from where I live.

Thanks for the info!

Aaron

Vikings!

Good luck in your cruise! I was pleased to find that a gamer is among the crew of the "Thor." Good role-playing resources for a Viking campaign include the following:

-GURPS Vikings (written for 3rd Ed., but could easily be used w/ the Generic Universal Role-Playing System 4e); GURPS "Middle Ages I," "Low-Tech," and "Russia" are also recommended.

-Useful D&D3.5/D20 texts can be found at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/syltguides/fullview/VRA1RRJ2WE64

I myself prefer "Frost & Fur" to "Frostburn," but I agree that the latest editions of "Deities & Demigods" and "Viking Age" would be helpful. The old AD&D2 "Vikings Campaign Sourcebook" is also good and can be found through some online retailers and used book shops. Happy sailing!

That is soooo cool, Hellefire. I'll be keeping an eye out.

Thank you for the link - I followed it and the dice are great, especially the runic ones. In a very strange bit of coincidence, the company is located in Poznan, Poland - about 12 miles from where I live.

Click to expand...

You might want to talk to them- judging from some of their product description, they're very into paying attention to customer feedback.

You might even get them to do some kind of custom dice!

I emailed them yesterday. I'll be in Poznan today, so might drop by and talk to them in person. Thansk again!

Aaron

Good Luck & Safe Journey!

(Across the sea, I mean- I'm pretty sure your trip to Poznan will be relatively uneventful. )

Good luck - and listen to some viking metal on the way over!!


The Pursuit of Vikings by Amon Amarth

"Odin! Guide our ships,
our axes, spears and swords,
guide up through storms that whip,
and in brutal war!"

cheers,
--N