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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jolly Giant" data-source="post: 1826509" data-attributes="member: 5278">Couldn't agree more!  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />  Full of excellent tales and brilliant plot-ideas for a RPG. And required reading in Norwegian schools, I might add!  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />  But I'd very much like to take the PCs through some real-world adventures before taking the campaign to the mythological level, and it's ideas for this part of the campaign I'm looking for. Since it's treathening to derail the thread I'll quickly go through the three places of historical importance outside my windows:1) A very long, very narrow straight/sound that runs south to north on the western coast of Norway. In viking times this straight was considered to be the most strategically vital part of geography in Norway. In fact, historians believe that it gave the nation its name; that this straight is the "Road to the north" or "north way" as the vikings would have put it. My house lies 30 ft from the water.2) By the water, across the straight from my house (800-900 ft away) is where the very first king of Norway used to live, back in the early 10th century. He went by the name of Harald Hårfagre (Harald the fair-haired). Before his time Norway was a loose alliance of many, many tiny kingdoms. He was courting a girl named Gyda, but she said she wouldn't marry him until he ruled all of Norway; thinking she'd be rid of him. He in turn swore to conquer all of Norway, vowing not to cut his hair or beard until he was done. It took him many years, but he made it. He cut his hair and beard again, went and got his girl and settled down to rule the new nation right across from where I live today. (Not because he was from around here, but because of the strategic importance of the straight; he is quoted in Snorre as saying "he who controls this straight controls Norway".) The place remained the royal seat for many generations; up until christianity raised its ugly head.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />  The second christian church to be built in Norway is still there (the very first one lies a bit north of town, my fathers christening was held there and my grandmothers funeral). A historical society has built a big viking farm (complete with longship!) where the kings' used to be and arrange a week-long viking festival there every summer.3) A underwater rock, down the straight a bit. (Doesn't sound like much, I know. Read on!) You can see the waves breaking over it when the tide is low. People who where found guilty of witchery and other particularly heineous crimes where chained and left on that rock during low tide. It's called Skratteskjær ("Laughing rock") because people would gather around it in their boats, laughing at the condemned as the tide slowly rised. There's an picture in the oldest illustrated version of Snorres history of the Norwegian kings; three heads just peeking over the waves, screaming as they wait for the tide to rise that last little bit...</blockquote>

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