Northlands

10
I n the North, life is harder than south of the Nieder Straits. In the fjordlands,
running out of firewood doesn’t mean a chill night, but exposure to
bone‑wracking cold or a trip into the dark and dangerous forest for kindling.
Everyone from king to lowly thrall must work hard daily to survive. A life of
indolence is unheard of—and impossible without help from powerful magic.
Work-shy characters aren’t just lazy; they’re ostracized as threats to the
community.
People of the North are practical and independent, energetic, and inured
without complaint to the hardships of life. No central authority demands taxes
or a cut of a party’s loot, but at the same time no one reins in the excesses of
monsters and unscrupulous rulers. When bandits or trolls or a jarl’s bullying
huskarls come prowling, it’s down to each family and their friends to choose
fight or flight. Death comes to all sooner or later, for no matter how well
prepared and defended, nothing lives one moment longer than it’s fated.

296