Viking Modules?
- Thread starter Silver Moon
- Start date
Emirikol
Adventurer
Jolly Giant
First Post
I'm working on a Viking adventure at the moment, but obviously it won't be released until the Vikings D20 book is out. Shouldn't be too long now, though; it is in the final stages of editing.
The adventure is supposed to take the party from level 1 to level 3, but it shouldn't be too hard to scale it up a little. It will be heavy on RPing and relatively light on combat, so if you like that style of play...
The adventure is supposed to take the party from level 1 to level 3, but it shouldn't be too hard to scale it up a little. It will be heavy on RPing and relatively light on combat, so if you like that style of play...
Emirikol
Adventurer
Just along those lines, I just started a low magic vikings campaign and I've noted the following things:
Here are the products I started with:
Frostburn
Vikings AD&D Greenbook
ConanRPG info on Nordheim
Encyclopedia of Mythology
Dragon #83 EVIL UNEARTHED
Giantcraft AD&D-FR (useless)
Northern Reaches D&D (BD&D)
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures upcoming CRPG website monsters, etc.
This campaign has been noticeably HARDER to set-up and get a feel for. I can't put my finger on it, but I think it's because of the lack of CAMPAIGN material. ALL of the products that I've read spend too much time on the mythology.
The easiest thing to do was to read a paragraph on mythology and have the gist of it. The hardest thing to do is find ways to make scenarios look and FEEL like they are set in Vanaheim (of Hyboria) with the material currently available.
D&D, as it is now, is very far removed from any kind of medieval/historical feel.
Jay
Here are the products I started with:
Frostburn
Vikings AD&D Greenbook
ConanRPG info on Nordheim
Encyclopedia of Mythology
Dragon #83 EVIL UNEARTHED
Giantcraft AD&D-FR (useless)
Northern Reaches D&D (BD&D)
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures upcoming CRPG website monsters, etc.
This campaign has been noticeably HARDER to set-up and get a feel for. I can't put my finger on it, but I think it's because of the lack of CAMPAIGN material. ALL of the products that I've read spend too much time on the mythology.
The easiest thing to do was to read a paragraph on mythology and have the gist of it. The hardest thing to do is find ways to make scenarios look and FEEL like they are set in Vanaheim (of Hyboria) with the material currently available.
D&D, as it is now, is very far removed from any kind of medieval/historical feel.
Jay
Last edited:
Emirikol
Adventurer
For anyone who cares..here is the preface to our house rulebook:
Preface
“This campaign takes you into an exciting new realm of adventure-the world of Conan and the Hyborian Age! Created by author Robert E. Howard and others, the Hyborian Age forms part of an imaginary prehistory of our Earth. It is a world filled with ancient and terrible gods, palaces and tombs filled with treasures beyond all record, sorcerers studying long-lost arts, demonic creatures from dimensions outside space, princesses in peril, and beasts from an earlier, more barbaric age.
It is a time when bravery, trickery, and magic decide men’s fates and a steel sword can make the difference between life and death. For the daring, strong, and clever, there are fortunes to find and lands to rule. But evil also reigns in dark kingdoms and magic-haunted citadels-evil that strikes horribly and unseen” ~ David Cook, “CN2-Conan Unchained”
The campaign year is 1276 A.A. (Aquilonian Age).
Nordheimr Campaign
Campaign Levels: 1-12
The lands of Nordheim are Norse in culture. It is a hardy land worthy of warrior clans struggling under the constant threat of “neighborly” raids, giants, hideous snow apes and worse.
History of the Nordheimr (from Hyborian War PBM)
“Once, long, long ago, thy people inhabited a land far to the north. It was the land of the gods, where days were counted in weeks and nights would last a month or more but the Great Glaciers had not yet come. Our people were simply known as Ice People then and lived in peace, hunting and fishing for their livelihood. Then the great Snow Apes came upon us from the north, mad, hungry raging animals. Great was the battle and when it was done the snow lay red for a year. Greatness grew from such an event, and we were never to be the same.
Within a generation we were invaded yet again, this time by Hyborian warrior tribes to the south. Great men of war, they deemed us as gods in battle! We fought them too and in time overcame them. And from their survivors we heard tales. They were tales of strange lands to the south, of war and glory; they stirred our blood. We could not stay!
Our people began the long trek south, where they met more Hyborians. At first their bright swords an axes drove us back in great slaughter, but in time we too learned to wield sword and axe. They came to call us the Nordheimr, and having none for ourselves we accepted the name. For a thousand years we warred with the Hybori, and we honor their heroes among our own. At last they were betrayed by their own kin, the Hyperboreans who fell upon them as we struck from the north yet again. The northern Hyborians were driven south, in turn driving their southern neighbors even farther, thus beginning the great southern migrations of the proud Hyborian people. We now sit on the remnants of their first empires.
At that time the Nordheimr began to war amongst themselves. Two great clans grew strong to dominate the rest. The red-maned Vanir fought their way to the western ocean, slaying all before them to rule Vanaheim and it’s nearby seas. The Aesir command the lands of Asgard and use ice ships on the great glacier.
Of all the Hybori peoples whose lands once bordered the lands of the Nordheim only Hyperborea remains. That country’s albino nobles have firmly resisted all Nordheim and Turanian onslaughts upon their huge stone citadels with sorcery and an evil view for the world.
To the south are the descendents of Atlantis, who have warred with each other for 5,000 years. They are the Cimmerians and the savage Picts.
Still in the glacier to the north remain our mysterious forefathers, the Ice Folk. Their ways of survival there are wondrous and they use strange Ice minerals that can be formed into weapons, armors and tools.” ~ From the Wise Authors of Hyborian War and Frostburn
Preface
“This campaign takes you into an exciting new realm of adventure-the world of Conan and the Hyborian Age! Created by author Robert E. Howard and others, the Hyborian Age forms part of an imaginary prehistory of our Earth. It is a world filled with ancient and terrible gods, palaces and tombs filled with treasures beyond all record, sorcerers studying long-lost arts, demonic creatures from dimensions outside space, princesses in peril, and beasts from an earlier, more barbaric age.
It is a time when bravery, trickery, and magic decide men’s fates and a steel sword can make the difference between life and death. For the daring, strong, and clever, there are fortunes to find and lands to rule. But evil also reigns in dark kingdoms and magic-haunted citadels-evil that strikes horribly and unseen” ~ David Cook, “CN2-Conan Unchained”
The campaign year is 1276 A.A. (Aquilonian Age).
Nordheimr Campaign
Campaign Levels: 1-12
The lands of Nordheim are Norse in culture. It is a hardy land worthy of warrior clans struggling under the constant threat of “neighborly” raids, giants, hideous snow apes and worse.
History of the Nordheimr (from Hyborian War PBM)
“Once, long, long ago, thy people inhabited a land far to the north. It was the land of the gods, where days were counted in weeks and nights would last a month or more but the Great Glaciers had not yet come. Our people were simply known as Ice People then and lived in peace, hunting and fishing for their livelihood. Then the great Snow Apes came upon us from the north, mad, hungry raging animals. Great was the battle and when it was done the snow lay red for a year. Greatness grew from such an event, and we were never to be the same.
Within a generation we were invaded yet again, this time by Hyborian warrior tribes to the south. Great men of war, they deemed us as gods in battle! We fought them too and in time overcame them. And from their survivors we heard tales. They were tales of strange lands to the south, of war and glory; they stirred our blood. We could not stay!
Our people began the long trek south, where they met more Hyborians. At first their bright swords an axes drove us back in great slaughter, but in time we too learned to wield sword and axe. They came to call us the Nordheimr, and having none for ourselves we accepted the name. For a thousand years we warred with the Hybori, and we honor their heroes among our own. At last they were betrayed by their own kin, the Hyperboreans who fell upon them as we struck from the north yet again. The northern Hyborians were driven south, in turn driving their southern neighbors even farther, thus beginning the great southern migrations of the proud Hyborian people. We now sit on the remnants of their first empires.
At that time the Nordheimr began to war amongst themselves. Two great clans grew strong to dominate the rest. The red-maned Vanir fought their way to the western ocean, slaying all before them to rule Vanaheim and it’s nearby seas. The Aesir command the lands of Asgard and use ice ships on the great glacier.
Of all the Hybori peoples whose lands once bordered the lands of the Nordheim only Hyperborea remains. That country’s albino nobles have firmly resisted all Nordheim and Turanian onslaughts upon their huge stone citadels with sorcery and an evil view for the world.
To the south are the descendents of Atlantis, who have warred with each other for 5,000 years. They are the Cimmerians and the savage Picts.
Still in the glacier to the north remain our mysterious forefathers, the Ice Folk. Their ways of survival there are wondrous and they use strange Ice minerals that can be formed into weapons, armors and tools.” ~ From the Wise Authors of Hyborian War and Frostburn
As-is they're not viking adventures, but I think mixing the Against the Giants series with Norse mythology would probably go somewhere fun. Maybe not that great for a historical viking campaign, though.
For a more historical/realistic approach, you might want to see if you can find a copy of Ivinia, which was the equivalent of Scandinavia in Harn's setting. It's set slightly after the viking age, but has lots of history and details on day-to-day life. Harn and Shorkyne also have some areas settled by the Ivinians, inspired by historical Vikings-in-England and Vikings-in-France, respectively.
Emirikol said:
For a more historical/realistic approach, you might want to see if you can find a copy of Ivinia, which was the equivalent of Scandinavia in Harn's setting. It's set slightly after the viking age, but has lots of history and details on day-to-day life. Harn and Shorkyne also have some areas settled by the Ivinians, inspired by historical Vikings-in-England and Vikings-in-France, respectively.
Ogrork the Mighty
Explorer
Wasn't there a Dungeon adventure that touched upon Vikings in the area of a clockwork fortress?
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