Norse-inspired adventuring

[uzirath]

I was never much interested in Norse adventures in my games. (My longest multi-decade campaign was in a world inspired by the Arabian Nights.) Then Douglas Cole came along with a series of great books for my current favorite RPG, the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game. His first adventure, Hall of Judgment, was published for both 5e and DFRPG. Then, last spring, he kickstarted The Citadel at Norðvörn. Both are among my favorite recent game supplements. Now he's in the final week of a kickstarter to publish a set of three new books, collectively known as The Nordlond Sagas.

I love the idea of getting three books in a single kickstarter. And then he added on a fourth book that we can get via backerkit for Norse-inspired clerics. I thought I'd mention this for anyone who is interested in Nordic cultures in a classic dungeoneering world. I've added Nordlond to my existing game world and am excited to run many more adventures there.

I'm curious about how popular the Norse are around here. Do any of your games feature a Norse-themed setting? What kinds of adventures have you run there?


Nordlond Sagas for the Dungeon Fantasy RPG

 

[uzirath]

The Nordlond Sagas campaign is in its final hours. If you're a fan of DFRPG, GURPS, or Norse-themed campaign material, I hope you'll join me in supporting these books.

To get a sense of the design quality, here's Doug's latest preview, a page from Hand of Asgard:

 

[GMMichael]

Uh, yeah Norse adventures!? Snow, beards, pillaging, horns, and runes - what's not to love?

I was trying to figure out how to become a GURPS player in another thread (without my head blowing up)...I hope someone mentioned Dungeon Fantasy. I hope they capitalized the name, too, otherwise one might get the wrong impression from it.

Does Nordlond work as fluff for other games, or is the GURPS part more or less required?

 

[uzirath]

I hope someone mentioned Dungeon Fantasy. I hope they capitalized the name, too, otherwise one might get the wrong impression from it.

The name does feel a bit problematic. When I run the DFRPG activity at my middle school, I often wonder if someone won't lodge a complaint about appropriateness.

Does Nordlond work as fluff for other games, or is the GURPS part more or less required?

The books published so far have a lot of material that could work for other games. The Citadel at Nordvorn, for example, is a setting book that is largely system-agnostic. The first 88 pages are focused on history, geography, and climate, including a nifty random village generator. Then there are 16 pages of NPC writeups that include small stat blocks along with their backstories, so maybe 50% useful. The book ends with a 10-page bestiary that is fully statted for DFRPG; it's useful for inspiration but is otherwise not especially helpful for other systems.

 

[Istbor]

I am very much into the Norse vib in my campaigns.
So much so, that I try to tone it down. Heh.

Currently, there is a couple of groups that fit this culture, but they have not been encountered largely by the group.

We will see as time marches on. This set of books does look a little interesting, I am interested to know what exactly is in the Norse Clerics book.

 

[Voadam]

Many settings have norse-ish cultures so you can have vikings in your game.

Greyhawk has the ice, snow, and hold of stonefist barbarians.

Forgotten Realms has northmen in their Moonshaes novels and in the 1e Moonshae supplement, though I don't remember seeing a lot of them in the big setting books. Rashemon (sp?) near Thay with their witch led society has a big berserker theme for their warriors. Plus Tyr is in the pantheon and the one-eyed spear wielding storm god head of a mini pantheon is a lot like an evil Odin.

Deities & Demigods/Legends and Lore have always had norse pantheons throughout D&D editions.

Gygax said some of the first player characters swore by Crom and Odin before he started developing the Greyhawk pantheons.

Pathfinder's Golarion has the Ulfen (norse) and the Lands of the Linnorm Kings where they live.

Frog God Games' Lost Lands has a whole viking north area, a huge adventure path, and a number of adventures set their with Norse themes.

Avalanche Press had a sourcebook and adventure which I really liked (except for the adventure cover) for viking myth D&D.

Storm Bunny's Twilight of Rhune is all about a norse fantasy setting.

Warhammer has their norse in the north where they normally are berserk raiders dedicated to Chaos. I believe they are called Nords or Norsc there.

Lankhmar has its northern cold living barbarians where Fafhrd comes from.

R.E. Howard's World of Hyborea has the Vanir and Aesir lands.

 

[pemerton]

I have a Norse-themed Cortex+ Heroic Fantasy game: first session play report here.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

My buddy’s campaign world has Norse-inspired “Ash-Men” in a northern-eastern semi-arctic peninsula. They’re Shadar-kai, and based on fearful tales of Vikings from medieval England.

Then, the folk of the north-west of that continent are more Celtic, but with some definite Norse influence. They gather in Things to settle disputes, for instance, and we draw as much on Germanic paganism for their form of pagan-animism as we do on Celtic practice. This is where Forest gnomes mostly come from, but it also has Dwarven and Goliath refugees and their descendants, and humans and a smattering of Elves and Half-Elves.

 

[Parmandur]

Forgotten Realms has northmen in their Moonshaes novels and in the 1e Moonshae supplement, though I don't remember seeing a lot of them in the big setting books.

The Moonshae Northmen are Illuskan's from the islands off of the far North of the Sword Coast. See also, the city of Luskan ruled by Pirate clans that are sort of an Age of Sail version of Vikings

Rashemon (sp?) near Thay with their witch led society has a big berserker theme for their warriors.

Rashemen has an Eastern Europe vibe going on.

 

[Don Durito]

Check out the Northlands Saga by Frog Gog Games.