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<blockquote data-quote="Nemesis Destiny" data-source="post: 6866699" data-attributes="member: 98255"><p>I can try, but I'll stick it in a spoiler tag to keep it from cluttering up the thread.</p><p></p><p>[sblock]In the game world that I co-DM with my wife, there is a human culture that draws cues from vikings; they live predominantly in cold, northern climes, build fast, agile and fairly seaworthy ships, and have a warrior culture. It's basically completely ripped off from real world Scandinavian vikings, though the geography doesn't work the same, so their history is a bit different.</p><p></p><p>In their history, a king had twin sons. One was promised rulership of the mainland, and the other, a volcanic island off the coast. They were blown off course, never arriving on the island. They were thought lost, but in fact formed a colony on distant shores of another continent, where life was hard. They are a hardy people though, and despite the fact that their boats were dashed on the shores, they persevered and the colony prospered, to a point.</p><p></p><p>Fast-forward a bunch, and a prophesy on the mainland (ironically brought from a seer from the second continent) foretold of the reuniting of the lost colony. A voyage was sent to find them. There was also something about bringing proof in the form of the Crown of the Lost King. A new campaign idea formed, so I launched a game set in the colony.</p><p></p><p>I was inspired in part by the green AD&D Vikings Campaign Sourcebook; I've always wanted to run a viking-like game. I also drew inspiration from Tolkien's <em>Rohirrim</em> (as envisaged in the recent movies), <em>The 13th Warrior</em> film, Tim Severin's <em>Viking</em> series of quasi-historical fiction, Poul Anderson's <em>War of the Gods</em>, and the viking folk-metal band <em>Ensiferum</em>.</p><p></p><p>I wanted low-magic, and a dash more grit, but still heroics. I asked the players for input and feedback, and asked that they stick with the theme when making characters. I should also point out that while no mechanical choices are banned, many are reskinned to suit the world's established themes, and anything is up for reflavouring as desired. Each PC had a simple rune reading prior to play, and the runes drawn would show them their Strength, their Skill, and their Wyrd. Strength granted a stat bonus, Skill granted additional skill training, and their Wyrd was deliberately nebulous, but a collaboration between me and the player. Characters would not have assumed literacy, but were free to buy it with a language choice. I used Inherent Bonuses, and Alternative Rewards based on the DarkSun content (with a few tweaks), though there were still some magic items.</p><p></p><p>I was not disappointed. I got an interesting bunch of characters with interesting hooks.</p><p><strong>Hjotvar</strong>, a human male Sentinel Druid of Winter, who was an axe-wielding fellow with a raven companion (we had to make the seasonal benefits custom) who drew Reido for the Wyrd (granted Terrain Walk on ice and snow with Mark of Handling);</p><p></p><p><strong>Kara</strong>, a human female Paladin of the Moon Goddess (kitted up like a Valkyrie) who drew Eiwhyr (profound change and death - interesting); </p><p></p><p><strong>Heidarr</strong>,a human male Warden bearing an indestructible ancestral halberd dating back to the original crew that accompanied the Lost King, he drew Oetla for Birthright and Possessions; </p><p></p><p><strong>Gretchen Thalmasdottir</strong>, a hunter ranger and 2nd cousin of the current king, who drew Nyd (constraint) and had a foul temper. She made a pact with the lesser of the world's two evil gods. Letha, goddess of Vengeance, granted her a boon, of sorts; any enemy striking her would <em>mark</em> her, but enemies marking her were considered her quarry, and as such she gained bonus damage as a normal ranger. Letha, I will point out, is one of two gods well-known for meddling in mortal affairs, the other being goddess of luck, who would also play a role. More on that later;</p><p></p><p><strong>Herger</strong>, a male Firbolg (refluffed Dragonborn) storm sorcerer. He drew the Perth rune (initiation), and was trained in ritual magic, and could use Cantrips as a mage. He was not trusted by several PCs, notably the druid and warden, but proved a stalwart ally;</p><p></p><p><strong>Arodis</strong>, a human male barbarian. He drew Ing (inner strength), and had a divine gift of luck, granting an ability much like Heroic Effort, but more broadly usable.</p><p></p><p>Kara was killed by bandits two sessions in (interesting that Death was her Wyrd), and was replaced a short time later by <strong>Kjar</strong>, a male human adolescent with a secret. He turned out to be a hamfarir, or shapechanger. He could assume the forms of creatures he killed and performed a ritual on afterward. He favoured the form of a white dragon wyrmling that the group slayed at the end of 1st level.</p><p></p><p>He eventually left the campaign to complete a pivotal goal while the rest of the party moved on toward their fate, at which point he brought back his old character as an actual Valkyrie. She was sent back by the gods to guide them to their fate as <strong>Einherjar</strong>. I don't normally railroad anything, but this was something I really wanted to explore with this group.</p><p></p><p>They were later joined by Draugorin, a grendel-like male Trollborn (refluffed half-orc) Fighter|Ranger hybrid, that fought with only his bare fists (Master of the Fist monk multiclass).</p><p></p><p>The campaign ran for over two years (though not constantly), and I can go into more detail if you like.[/sblock]</p><p></p><p>Amusingly, one of my players is a great big redhead with a beard. He'd spent some time in Costa Rica where they nicknamed him "el bikingo" haha.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nemesis Destiny, post: 6866699, member: 98255"] I can try, but I'll stick it in a spoiler tag to keep it from cluttering up the thread. [sblock]In the game world that I co-DM with my wife, there is a human culture that draws cues from vikings; they live predominantly in cold, northern climes, build fast, agile and fairly seaworthy ships, and have a warrior culture. It's basically completely ripped off from real world Scandinavian vikings, though the geography doesn't work the same, so their history is a bit different. In their history, a king had twin sons. One was promised rulership of the mainland, and the other, a volcanic island off the coast. They were blown off course, never arriving on the island. They were thought lost, but in fact formed a colony on distant shores of another continent, where life was hard. They are a hardy people though, and despite the fact that their boats were dashed on the shores, they persevered and the colony prospered, to a point. Fast-forward a bunch, and a prophesy on the mainland (ironically brought from a seer from the second continent) foretold of the reuniting of the lost colony. A voyage was sent to find them. There was also something about bringing proof in the form of the Crown of the Lost King. A new campaign idea formed, so I launched a game set in the colony. I was inspired in part by the green AD&D Vikings Campaign Sourcebook; I've always wanted to run a viking-like game. I also drew inspiration from Tolkien's [I]Rohirrim[/I] (as envisaged in the recent movies), [I]The 13th Warrior[/I] film, Tim Severin's [I]Viking[/I] series of quasi-historical fiction, Poul Anderson's [I]War of the Gods[/I], and the viking folk-metal band [I]Ensiferum[/I]. I wanted low-magic, and a dash more grit, but still heroics. I asked the players for input and feedback, and asked that they stick with the theme when making characters. I should also point out that while no mechanical choices are banned, many are reskinned to suit the world's established themes, and anything is up for reflavouring as desired. Each PC had a simple rune reading prior to play, and the runes drawn would show them their Strength, their Skill, and their Wyrd. Strength granted a stat bonus, Skill granted additional skill training, and their Wyrd was deliberately nebulous, but a collaboration between me and the player. Characters would not have assumed literacy, but were free to buy it with a language choice. I used Inherent Bonuses, and Alternative Rewards based on the DarkSun content (with a few tweaks), though there were still some magic items. I was not disappointed. I got an interesting bunch of characters with interesting hooks. [B]Hjotvar[/B], a human male Sentinel Druid of Winter, who was an axe-wielding fellow with a raven companion (we had to make the seasonal benefits custom) who drew Reido for the Wyrd (granted Terrain Walk on ice and snow with Mark of Handling); [B]Kara[/B], a human female Paladin of the Moon Goddess (kitted up like a Valkyrie) who drew Eiwhyr (profound change and death - interesting); [B]Heidarr[/B],a human male Warden bearing an indestructible ancestral halberd dating back to the original crew that accompanied the Lost King, he drew Oetla for Birthright and Possessions; [B]Gretchen Thalmasdottir[/B], a hunter ranger and 2nd cousin of the current king, who drew Nyd (constraint) and had a foul temper. She made a pact with the lesser of the world's two evil gods. Letha, goddess of Vengeance, granted her a boon, of sorts; any enemy striking her would [I]mark[/I] her, but enemies marking her were considered her quarry, and as such she gained bonus damage as a normal ranger. Letha, I will point out, is one of two gods well-known for meddling in mortal affairs, the other being goddess of luck, who would also play a role. More on that later; [B]Herger[/B], a male Firbolg (refluffed Dragonborn) storm sorcerer. He drew the Perth rune (initiation), and was trained in ritual magic, and could use Cantrips as a mage. He was not trusted by several PCs, notably the druid and warden, but proved a stalwart ally; [B]Arodis[/B], a human male barbarian. He drew Ing (inner strength), and had a divine gift of luck, granting an ability much like Heroic Effort, but more broadly usable. Kara was killed by bandits two sessions in (interesting that Death was her Wyrd), and was replaced a short time later by [B]Kjar[/B], a male human adolescent with a secret. He turned out to be a hamfarir, or shapechanger. He could assume the forms of creatures he killed and performed a ritual on afterward. He favoured the form of a white dragon wyrmling that the group slayed at the end of 1st level. He eventually left the campaign to complete a pivotal goal while the rest of the party moved on toward their fate, at which point he brought back his old character as an actual Valkyrie. She was sent back by the gods to guide them to their fate as [B]Einherjar[/B]. I don't normally railroad anything, but this was something I really wanted to explore with this group. They were later joined by Draugorin, a grendel-like male Trollborn (refluffed half-orc) Fighter|Ranger hybrid, that fought with only his bare fists (Master of the Fist monk multiclass). The campaign ran for over two years (though not constantly), and I can go into more detail if you like.[/sblock] Amusingly, one of my players is a great big redhead with a beard. He'd spent some time in Costa Rica where they nicknamed him "el bikingo" haha. [/QUOTE]
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